From: wwww.islamic-awareness.org
What Is The Challenge Of The Qur'an With Respect To Arabic Prose & Poetry?
M S M Saifullah, cAbd ar-Rahman Robert Squires & Muhammad Ghoniem
The Qur'an in many places challenges the people to produce a surah like it. It appears that the Christian missionaries who call the challenge irrelevent or an utterly subjective criterion are pretty much unaware of how the Arabic poetry and prose compares with the Qur'an. This article is devoted to deal with one aspect of the Qur'anic challenge of produce a surah like it. What is meant by surah like it with respect to the Arabic prose and poetry?
The verses of the Qur'an dealing with the challenge are given below (Hilali and Muhsin Khan's Translation):
Say: "If the mankind and the 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 (Arab pagans, Jews, and Christians) are in doubt concerning that which We have sent down (i.e. the Qur'an) to Our slave (Muhammad Peace be upon him ), then produce a surah (chapter) of the like thereof and call your witnesses (supporters and helpers) besides Allah, if you are truthful. [Qur'an 2:23]
And this Qur'an is not such as could ever be produced by other than Allah (Lord of the heavens and the earth), but it is a confirmation of (the revelation) which was before it [i.e. the Taurat (Torah), and the Injeel (Gospel), etc.], and a full explanation of the Book (i.e. laws and orders, etc, decreed for mankind) - wherein there is no doubt from the the Lord of the 'Alamin (mankind, jinns,and all that exists).
Or do they say: "He (Muhammad(P)) has forged it?" Say: "Bring then a surah (chapter) like unto it, and call upon whomsoever you can, besides Allah, if you are truthful!" [Qur'an 10:37-38]
Or they say, "He (Prophet Muhammad(P)) forged it (the Qur'an)." Say: "Bring you then ten forged surah (chapters) like unto it, and call whomsoever you can, other than Allah (to your help), if you speak the truth!" [Qur'an 11:13]
Or do they say: "He (Muhammad(P)) has forged it (this Qur'an)?" Nay! They believe not! Let them then produce a recital like unto it (the Qur'an) if they are truthful. [Qur'an 52:33-34]
cAbdur Rahim Green mentions that:
These are the sixteen al-Bihar (literally "The Seas", so called because of the way the poem moves, according to its rhythmic patterns): at-Tawil, al-Bassit, al-Wafir, al-Kamil, ar-Rajs, al-Khafif, al-Hazaj, al-Muttakarib, al-Munsarih, al-Muktatab, al-Muktadarak, al-Madid, al-Mujtath, al-Ramel, al-Khabab and as-Saria'. So the challenge is to produce in Arabic, three lines, that do not fall into one of these sixteen Bihar, that is not rhyming prose, nor like the speech of soothsayers, and not normal speech, that it should contain at least a comprehensible meaning and rhetoric, i.e. not gobbledygook.
To begin with; the Arabic language and Arab speech are divided into two branches. One of them is rhymed poetry. It is a speech with metre and rhyme, which means every line of it ends upon a definite letter, which is called the 'rhyme'. This rhymed poetry is again divided into metres or what is called as al-Bihar, literally meaning 'The Seas'. This is so called because of the way the poetry moves according to the rhythmic patterns. There are sixteen al-Bihar viz; at-Tawil, al-Bassit, al-Wafir, al-Kamil, ar-Rajs, al-Khafif, al-Hazaj, al-Muttakarib, al-Munsarih, al-Muktatab, al-Muktadarak, al-Madid, al-Mujtath, al-Ramel, al-Khabab and as-Saria'. Each one rhymes differently. For metres of Arabic poetry please see please see Lyall's book Translations Of Ancient Arabian Poetry, Chiefly Pre-Islamic.[1] He discusses al-Kamil, al-Wafir, al-Hajaz, at-Tawil, al-Bassit, al-Khafif and al-Madid briefly.[2]
The other branch of Arabic speech is prose, that is non-metrical speech. The prose may be a rhymed prose. Rhymed prose consists of cola ending on the same rhyme throughout, or of sentences rhymed in pairs. This is called "rhymed prose" or sajc. Prose may also be straight prose (mursal). In straight prose, the speech goes on and is not divided in cola, but is continued straight through without any divisions, either of rhyme or of anything else. Prose is employed in sermons and prayers and in speeches intended to encourage or frighten the masses.[3] One of the most famous speeches involving sajc is that of Hajjaj bin Yusuf in his first deputation in Iraq in post-Islamic and Quss bin Sa'idah in pre-Islamic times.
So, the challenge, as cAbdur Rahim Green mentions, is to produce in Arabic , three lines, that do not fall into one of these sixteen al-Bihar, that is not rhyming prose, nor like the speech of soothsayers, and not normal speech, that it should contain at least a comprehensible meaning and rhetoric, i.e. not gobbledygook. Indeed
The Qur'an is not verse, but it is rhythmic. The rhythm of some verses resemble the regularity of sajc, and both are rhymed, while some verses have a similarity to Rajaz in its vigour and rapidity. But it was recognized by Quraysh critics to belong to neither one nor the other category.[4]
It is interesting to know that all the pre-Islam and post-Islamic poetry collected by Louis Cheikho falls in the above sixteen metres or al-Bihar.[5] Indeed the pagans of Mecca repeated accuse Prophet Muhammad(P) for being a forger, a soothsayer etc. The Arabs who were at the pinnacle of their poetry and prose during the time of revelation of the Qur'an could not even produce the smallest surah of its like. The Qur'an's form did not fit into any of the above mentioned categories. It was this that made the Qur'an inimitable, and left the pagan Arabs at a loss as to how they might combat it as Alqama bin cAbd al-Manaf confirmed when he addressed their leaders, the Quraysh:
Oh Quraish, a new calamity has befallen you. Mohammed was a young man the most liked among you, most truthful in speech, and most trustworthy, until, when you saw gray hairs on his temple, and he brought you his message, you said that he was a sorcerer, but he is not, for we seen such people and their spitting and their knots; you said, a diviner, but we have seen such people and their behavior, and we have heard their rhymes; you said a soothsayer, but he is not a soothsayer, for we have heard their rhymes; and you said a poet, but he is not a poet, for we have heard all kinds of poetry; you said he was possessed, but he is not for we have seen the possessed, and he shows no signs of their gasping and whispering and delirium. Oh men of Quraish, look to your affairs, for by Allah a serious thing has befallen you.
It is a well known fact that the Qur'an was revealed in seven ahruf (or seven forms) to facilitate greater understanding of it among the Arabs who had different dialects. This was also to challenge them on their own grounds to produce a surah like that of the Qur'an. The challenge became more obvious when none of the seven major tribes could imitate it even in their own dialects as no one could claim that it was difficult to imitate due to it not being in their own dialect.[6]
Tuesday, December 26, 2006
Quran in Sayings of Non-Moslem Scholars
From www.roshd.org
Quran is a book which guides human beings in several dimensions of life and nobody can deny its several special characteristics and everybody may use it according to his capacity, here we want to talk about different viewpoints of non-Muslim scholars about Quran which show that the divine trainings of this book will soon spread through the world. Of course it should be mentioned that every scholar has looked at Quran from his own point of view and has not been able to discover all characteristics and deepness of its trainings.
1) Albert Einstein (1979-1955): Quran is not a book of algebra or geometry but is a collection of rules which guides human beings to the right way, the way which the greatest philosophers are unable to decline it.
2) Will Dorant (born in 1885): Religious treatments in Quran contain worldly treatment too and all of its affairs are sent from Allah by revelation. Quran contains rules such as: good manners, healthiness, marriage, divorce, treatments with children and animals and slaves, commercials, politics, unlawful profit, debt, contracts, recommendations, industrial affairs, wealth, amercements and punishments and war and peace. Quran creates simple beliefs in simple souls, which are free from bad traditions and worship of idols. Quran has established principles of union discipline and social unity between Muslims.
3) Napoleon Bonaparte (1769-1721): Quran takes the responsibility of man prosperity alone. I hope it will not be too late that time which I can unite all the scholars of all the countries together and establish a monotone society based on principles of Quran only which will guide people to prosperity.
4) Gandhi (1869-1948): By learning Quran, every body will achieve revelation secrets and religion knowledge. In Quran we don't see anything which allows using obligation to change others religion. This sacred book says in the simplest way: 'there is no obligation in religion.'
5) Dr. Johan Wolfgang Von Goethe (German Poet): In 1832 said, for long years, priests prevented us understanding Quran realities and greatness of its bringer, but by improvement of sciences this book will take human attention to it and become axis of thoughts.
6) Lion Tolstue (Russian philosopher): Quran contains clear realties and tenets and human beings can utilize it generally.
7) Bernard Shaw (English philosopher): He foretells that Europe will accept religion and book of Muhammad (PBUH).
8) DR. Marks (1818-1883): Quran contains all divine messages, which exist in all sacred books for all nations. There are verses in Quran that relates to learning science and thinking and discussing and training and I confess that this firm book has corrected many of the man mistakes.
9) Dr Shebly Shommyel (1853-1917) (Special student of Darwin): Prophet of Islam took attentions of human being wisdom towards him by Quran eloquence and made them unconscious against his book.
10) Charles Francis (American professor): Bible is a book which no one knows in America but Quran is a book which every Muslim knows and it is not a lie. But it should be mentioned that being unaware of bible is a good luck for religion.
11) P.H Corbin (France contemporary Islam knower): If Muhammad thought was superstitious and Quran was not revelation, he never dared to invite man to science. No thought and no person have invited human beings to science as Muhammad did. As we see that it has talked about science 950 times.
Of course, the quotations mentioned above are very little, we would prefer no to refer to all of them and suggest the researches to research references for more information.
Quran is a book which guides human beings in several dimensions of life and nobody can deny its several special characteristics and everybody may use it according to his capacity, here we want to talk about different viewpoints of non-Muslim scholars about Quran which show that the divine trainings of this book will soon spread through the world. Of course it should be mentioned that every scholar has looked at Quran from his own point of view and has not been able to discover all characteristics and deepness of its trainings.
1) Albert Einstein (1979-1955): Quran is not a book of algebra or geometry but is a collection of rules which guides human beings to the right way, the way which the greatest philosophers are unable to decline it.
2) Will Dorant (born in 1885): Religious treatments in Quran contain worldly treatment too and all of its affairs are sent from Allah by revelation. Quran contains rules such as: good manners, healthiness, marriage, divorce, treatments with children and animals and slaves, commercials, politics, unlawful profit, debt, contracts, recommendations, industrial affairs, wealth, amercements and punishments and war and peace. Quran creates simple beliefs in simple souls, which are free from bad traditions and worship of idols. Quran has established principles of union discipline and social unity between Muslims.
3) Napoleon Bonaparte (1769-1721): Quran takes the responsibility of man prosperity alone. I hope it will not be too late that time which I can unite all the scholars of all the countries together and establish a monotone society based on principles of Quran only which will guide people to prosperity.
4) Gandhi (1869-1948): By learning Quran, every body will achieve revelation secrets and religion knowledge. In Quran we don't see anything which allows using obligation to change others religion. This sacred book says in the simplest way: 'there is no obligation in religion.'
5) Dr. Johan Wolfgang Von Goethe (German Poet): In 1832 said, for long years, priests prevented us understanding Quran realities and greatness of its bringer, but by improvement of sciences this book will take human attention to it and become axis of thoughts.
6) Lion Tolstue (Russian philosopher): Quran contains clear realties and tenets and human beings can utilize it generally.
7) Bernard Shaw (English philosopher): He foretells that Europe will accept religion and book of Muhammad (PBUH).
8) DR. Marks (1818-1883): Quran contains all divine messages, which exist in all sacred books for all nations. There are verses in Quran that relates to learning science and thinking and discussing and training and I confess that this firm book has corrected many of the man mistakes.
9) Dr Shebly Shommyel (1853-1917) (Special student of Darwin): Prophet of Islam took attentions of human being wisdom towards him by Quran eloquence and made them unconscious against his book.
10) Charles Francis (American professor): Bible is a book which no one knows in America but Quran is a book which every Muslim knows and it is not a lie. But it should be mentioned that being unaware of bible is a good luck for religion.
11) P.H Corbin (France contemporary Islam knower): If Muhammad thought was superstitious and Quran was not revelation, he never dared to invite man to science. No thought and no person have invited human beings to science as Muhammad did. As we see that it has talked about science 950 times.
Of course, the quotations mentioned above are very little, we would prefer no to refer to all of them and suggest the researches to research references for more information.
Monday, December 25, 2006
Jesus, Peace Be Upon Him, Was a Muslim
By Brandon Yusuf Toropov
It's what millions of people believe.
It's what the best New Testament scholarship now suggests.
In the name of God, the Compassionate, the Merciful
We hear a great deal today about a "war," "conflict," or "clash" between Islam and Christianity. The topic is so prominent in the media that many people assume that there is something irreconcilable between these two approaches to God. It is not surprising, then, that so many Christians of good will have concluded that Islam and Christianity are fundamentally incompatible. Yet, if, by "Christianity," we mean "that which Jesus Christ (pbuh) meant to convey to his hearers," I believe that these people of good will are mistaken when they tell us that Islam is incompatible with Christianity.
What's more, I believe we can now prove that the historically oldest Gospel verses reflecting the reported sayings of Jesus (pbuh) are entirely compatible with Islam.
WRESTING WITH THE DOCTRINE OF THE TRINITY
The more I looked at these sayings, the more impossible it became for me to reconcile the notion of the Trinity with that which seemed most authentic to me in the Gospels. I found myself face-to-face with some very difficult questions.
* Where in the Gospels did Jesus use the word "Trinity"?
* If Jesus (pbuh) was God, as the doctrine of the Trinity claims, why did he worship God?
* AND -- if Jesus (pbuh) was God, why in the world would he say something like the following?
"Why callest thou me good? There is none good but one, that is, God." (Mark 10:18)
Did he somehow forget that he himself was God when he said this?
(A side note -- I had a discussion with a woman who assured me that this passage was not really in the Gospels, and who refused to believe that it appeared there until I gave her the chapter and verse number and she looked it up for herself!)
THE HOLY QUR'AN
In November of 2002, I began to read a translation of the Qur'an.
I had never read an English translation of the entire text of the Qur'an before. I had only read summaries of the Qur'an written by non-Muslims.(And very misleading summaries at that.)
Words do not adequately describe the extraordinary effect that this book had on me. Suffice to say that the very same magnetism that had drawn me to the Gospels at the age of eleven was present in a new and deeply imperative form. This book was telling me, just as I could tell Jesus (pbuh) had been telling me, about matters of ultimate concern.
AUTHORITATIVE GUIDANCE
The Qur'an was offering authoritative guidance and compelling responses to the questions I had been asking for years about the Gospels.
"It is not (possible) for any human being to whom God has given the Book and Wisdom and Prophethood to say to the people: 'Be my worshippers rather than God's.' On the contrary, (he would say): 'Be devoted worshippers of your Lord, because you are teaching the Book, and you are studying it.' Nor would he order you to take angels and Prophets for lords. Would he order you to disbelieve after you have submitted to God's will?" (Qur'an 3:79-80)
The Qur'an drew me to its message because it so powerfully confirmed the sayings of Jesus (pbuh) that I felt in my heart had to be authentic. Something had been changed in the Gospels, and that something, I knew in my heart, had been left intact in the text of the Qur'an.
STARTLING PARALLELS
Below, you will find just a few examples of the parallels that made my heart pliant to the worship of Allah (swt). Each Gospel verse comes from the reconstructed text known as Q -- a text that today's scholars believe represents the earliest surviving strata of the teachings of the Messiah. Note how close this material is to the Qur'anic message.
Q AGREES WITH QUR'AN ON TAWHEED (MONOTHEISM)
In Q, Jesus (pbuh) endorses, in no uncertain terms, a rigorous monotheism.
"Get thee behind me, Satan: for it is written, 'Thou shalt worship the Lord thy God, and him only shalt thou serve.' (Luke 4:8)
Compare:
"Children of Adam, did We not command you not to worship Satan? He was your sworn enemy. Did We not command you to worship Me, and tell you that this is the straight path?" (Holy Qur'an 36:60-61)
Q AGREES WITH QUR'AN ON AQABA (THE UPHILL PATH)
Q identifies a Right Path that is often difficult, a path that unbelievers will choose not to follow.
"Enter ye in through the narrow gate. For wide is the gate, and broad is the way that leadeth to destruction, and many there are who go in there. Narrow is the gate, and narrow is the way, which leadeth unto life, and few there be that find it." (Matthew 7:13-14)
Compare:
"The worldly life is made to seem attractive to the disbelievers who scoff at the faithful, but the pious, in the life hereafter, will have a position far above them." (Holy Qur'an 2:212)
"Would that you knew what the uphill path is! It is the setting free of a slave or, in a day of famine, the feeding of an orphaned relative and a downtrodden destitute person, (so that he would join) the believers who cooperate with others in patience and kindness." (Holy Qur'an 90:12-17)
Q AGREES WITH QUR'AN ON TAQWA (FEAR OF GOD)
Q warns us to fear only the judgment of God.
"And I say unto you, my friends, Be not afraid of them that kill the body, and after that have no more that they can do. But I will forewarn you whom ye shall fear. Fear Him, which after He hath killed, hath the power to cast into Hell. Yea, I say unto you, fear Him!" (Luke 12:4-5)
Compare:
"To Him belongs all that is in the heavens and the earth. God's retribution is severe. Should you then have fear of anyone other than God?" (Holy Qur'an 16:52)
Q AGREES WITH QUR'AN ON THE TRAPS OF DUNYA (EARTHLY LIFE)
In Q, Jesus (pbuh) warns humanity plainly that earthly advantages and pleasures should not be the goal of our lives:
"Woe unto you that are rich! For you have received your consolation. Woe unto you who are full! You shall be hungry. Woe unto you who laugh now! You shall weep and mourn." (Luke 6:24)
Compare:
"The desire to have increase of worldly gains has preoccupied you so much (that you have neglected the obligation of remembering God) -- until you come to your graves! You shall know. You shall certainly know (about the consequences of your deeds.) You will certainly have the knowledge of your deeds beyond all doubt. You will be shown hell, and you will see it with your own eyes. Then, on that day, you shall be questioned about the bounties (of God). (102:1-8)
Q WARNS MANKIND NOT TO ASSUME ENTRY TO HEAVEN IS ASSURED!
Consider also the following chilling words from the Messiah, which should (!) make every heart humble, choke off all forms of arrogance in spiritual matters, and quiet every attack upon a fellow monotheist:
"And I say unto you, that many shall come from the east and west, and shall sit down with Abraham and Isaac and Jacob in the kingdom of heaven. But those who believe they own the kingdom of heaven shall be cast out into the outer darkness. There shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth." (Matthew 8:11-12)
Obviously, this is an important teaching for all people of good will to bear in mind ... and to etch upon the memory.
Q SAYS NOTHING OF CRUCIFIXION OR SACRIFICE!
You have seen how the historically earliest verses -- the Q verses -- parallel the major teachings of the Qur'an. Also worthy of mention is the fact that Q teaches nothing whatsoever of the Crucifixion, of the sacrificial nature of the mission of Jesus (pbuh) ... an intriguing omission indeed!
We are left then with an amazing early Gospel -- a Gospel that (non-Muslim) scholars believe is historically closest to Jesus (pbuh) -- a Gospel that has the following characteristics:
· Agreement with the Qur'an's uncompromising message of God's Oneness.
· Agreement with the Qur'an's message of an afterlife of salvation or hellfire ... based on our earthly deeds.
· Agreement with the Qur'an's warning not to be misled by dunya -- the attractions and pleasures of worldly life.
AND ...
A complete ABSENCE of any reference to Christ's death on the cross, resurrection, or sacrifice for humanity!
This is the Gospel that today's most advanced non-Muslim scholars have identified for us ... and this Gospel is pointing us, if only we will listen to it, in precisely the same direction as the Qur'an!
MY DEAR CHRISTIAN BROTHERS AND SISTERS -- I BEG YOU TO ASK YOURSELVES PRAYERFULLY, TO SEEK ALMIGHTY GOD'S GUIDANCE ON THIS QUESTION: CAN THIS POSSIBLY BE A COINCIDENCE?
SHARE THE WORD!
I became a Muslim on March 20, 2003. It became obvious to me that I had to share this message with as many thoughtful Christians as I could. I wrote a book of Dawah to share with open-minded students of the Gospels. There are many, many more parallels between the oldest words of Jesus (pbuh) and the Holy Qur'an; I discuss them at length in my book BEYOND MERE CHRISTIANITY.
Please share this book's message with the Christians in your life!
============================
Read Brandon Yusuf Toropov's BEYOND MERE CHRISTIANITY at:
http://www.islambasics.com/view.php?authID=111
aw well www.19.org
It's what millions of people believe.
It's what the best New Testament scholarship now suggests.
In the name of God, the Compassionate, the Merciful
We hear a great deal today about a "war," "conflict," or "clash" between Islam and Christianity. The topic is so prominent in the media that many people assume that there is something irreconcilable between these two approaches to God. It is not surprising, then, that so many Christians of good will have concluded that Islam and Christianity are fundamentally incompatible. Yet, if, by "Christianity," we mean "that which Jesus Christ (pbuh) meant to convey to his hearers," I believe that these people of good will are mistaken when they tell us that Islam is incompatible with Christianity.
What's more, I believe we can now prove that the historically oldest Gospel verses reflecting the reported sayings of Jesus (pbuh) are entirely compatible with Islam.
WRESTING WITH THE DOCTRINE OF THE TRINITY
The more I looked at these sayings, the more impossible it became for me to reconcile the notion of the Trinity with that which seemed most authentic to me in the Gospels. I found myself face-to-face with some very difficult questions.
* Where in the Gospels did Jesus use the word "Trinity"?
* If Jesus (pbuh) was God, as the doctrine of the Trinity claims, why did he worship God?
* AND -- if Jesus (pbuh) was God, why in the world would he say something like the following?
"Why callest thou me good? There is none good but one, that is, God." (Mark 10:18)
Did he somehow forget that he himself was God when he said this?
(A side note -- I had a discussion with a woman who assured me that this passage was not really in the Gospels, and who refused to believe that it appeared there until I gave her the chapter and verse number and she looked it up for herself!)
THE HOLY QUR'AN
In November of 2002, I began to read a translation of the Qur'an.
I had never read an English translation of the entire text of the Qur'an before. I had only read summaries of the Qur'an written by non-Muslims.(And very misleading summaries at that.)
Words do not adequately describe the extraordinary effect that this book had on me. Suffice to say that the very same magnetism that had drawn me to the Gospels at the age of eleven was present in a new and deeply imperative form. This book was telling me, just as I could tell Jesus (pbuh) had been telling me, about matters of ultimate concern.
AUTHORITATIVE GUIDANCE
The Qur'an was offering authoritative guidance and compelling responses to the questions I had been asking for years about the Gospels.
"It is not (possible) for any human being to whom God has given the Book and Wisdom and Prophethood to say to the people: 'Be my worshippers rather than God's.' On the contrary, (he would say): 'Be devoted worshippers of your Lord, because you are teaching the Book, and you are studying it.' Nor would he order you to take angels and Prophets for lords. Would he order you to disbelieve after you have submitted to God's will?" (Qur'an 3:79-80)
The Qur'an drew me to its message because it so powerfully confirmed the sayings of Jesus (pbuh) that I felt in my heart had to be authentic. Something had been changed in the Gospels, and that something, I knew in my heart, had been left intact in the text of the Qur'an.
STARTLING PARALLELS
Below, you will find just a few examples of the parallels that made my heart pliant to the worship of Allah (swt). Each Gospel verse comes from the reconstructed text known as Q -- a text that today's scholars believe represents the earliest surviving strata of the teachings of the Messiah. Note how close this material is to the Qur'anic message.
Q AGREES WITH QUR'AN ON TAWHEED (MONOTHEISM)
In Q, Jesus (pbuh) endorses, in no uncertain terms, a rigorous monotheism.
"Get thee behind me, Satan: for it is written, 'Thou shalt worship the Lord thy God, and him only shalt thou serve.' (Luke 4:8)
Compare:
"Children of Adam, did We not command you not to worship Satan? He was your sworn enemy. Did We not command you to worship Me, and tell you that this is the straight path?" (Holy Qur'an 36:60-61)
Q AGREES WITH QUR'AN ON AQABA (THE UPHILL PATH)
Q identifies a Right Path that is often difficult, a path that unbelievers will choose not to follow.
"Enter ye in through the narrow gate. For wide is the gate, and broad is the way that leadeth to destruction, and many there are who go in there. Narrow is the gate, and narrow is the way, which leadeth unto life, and few there be that find it." (Matthew 7:13-14)
Compare:
"The worldly life is made to seem attractive to the disbelievers who scoff at the faithful, but the pious, in the life hereafter, will have a position far above them." (Holy Qur'an 2:212)
"Would that you knew what the uphill path is! It is the setting free of a slave or, in a day of famine, the feeding of an orphaned relative and a downtrodden destitute person, (so that he would join) the believers who cooperate with others in patience and kindness." (Holy Qur'an 90:12-17)
Q AGREES WITH QUR'AN ON TAQWA (FEAR OF GOD)
Q warns us to fear only the judgment of God.
"And I say unto you, my friends, Be not afraid of them that kill the body, and after that have no more that they can do. But I will forewarn you whom ye shall fear. Fear Him, which after He hath killed, hath the power to cast into Hell. Yea, I say unto you, fear Him!" (Luke 12:4-5)
Compare:
"To Him belongs all that is in the heavens and the earth. God's retribution is severe. Should you then have fear of anyone other than God?" (Holy Qur'an 16:52)
Q AGREES WITH QUR'AN ON THE TRAPS OF DUNYA (EARTHLY LIFE)
In Q, Jesus (pbuh) warns humanity plainly that earthly advantages and pleasures should not be the goal of our lives:
"Woe unto you that are rich! For you have received your consolation. Woe unto you who are full! You shall be hungry. Woe unto you who laugh now! You shall weep and mourn." (Luke 6:24)
Compare:
"The desire to have increase of worldly gains has preoccupied you so much (that you have neglected the obligation of remembering God) -- until you come to your graves! You shall know. You shall certainly know (about the consequences of your deeds.) You will certainly have the knowledge of your deeds beyond all doubt. You will be shown hell, and you will see it with your own eyes. Then, on that day, you shall be questioned about the bounties (of God). (102:1-8)
Q WARNS MANKIND NOT TO ASSUME ENTRY TO HEAVEN IS ASSURED!
Consider also the following chilling words from the Messiah, which should (!) make every heart humble, choke off all forms of arrogance in spiritual matters, and quiet every attack upon a fellow monotheist:
"And I say unto you, that many shall come from the east and west, and shall sit down with Abraham and Isaac and Jacob in the kingdom of heaven. But those who believe they own the kingdom of heaven shall be cast out into the outer darkness. There shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth." (Matthew 8:11-12)
Obviously, this is an important teaching for all people of good will to bear in mind ... and to etch upon the memory.
Q SAYS NOTHING OF CRUCIFIXION OR SACRIFICE!
You have seen how the historically earliest verses -- the Q verses -- parallel the major teachings of the Qur'an. Also worthy of mention is the fact that Q teaches nothing whatsoever of the Crucifixion, of the sacrificial nature of the mission of Jesus (pbuh) ... an intriguing omission indeed!
We are left then with an amazing early Gospel -- a Gospel that (non-Muslim) scholars believe is historically closest to Jesus (pbuh) -- a Gospel that has the following characteristics:
· Agreement with the Qur'an's uncompromising message of God's Oneness.
· Agreement with the Qur'an's message of an afterlife of salvation or hellfire ... based on our earthly deeds.
· Agreement with the Qur'an's warning not to be misled by dunya -- the attractions and pleasures of worldly life.
AND ...
A complete ABSENCE of any reference to Christ's death on the cross, resurrection, or sacrifice for humanity!
This is the Gospel that today's most advanced non-Muslim scholars have identified for us ... and this Gospel is pointing us, if only we will listen to it, in precisely the same direction as the Qur'an!
MY DEAR CHRISTIAN BROTHERS AND SISTERS -- I BEG YOU TO ASK YOURSELVES PRAYERFULLY, TO SEEK ALMIGHTY GOD'S GUIDANCE ON THIS QUESTION: CAN THIS POSSIBLY BE A COINCIDENCE?
SHARE THE WORD!
I became a Muslim on March 20, 2003. It became obvious to me that I had to share this message with as many thoughtful Christians as I could. I wrote a book of Dawah to share with open-minded students of the Gospels. There are many, many more parallels between the oldest words of Jesus (pbuh) and the Holy Qur'an; I discuss them at length in my book BEYOND MERE CHRISTIANITY.
Please share this book's message with the Christians in your life!
============================
Read Brandon Yusuf Toropov's BEYOND MERE CHRISTIANITY at:
http://www.islambasics.com/view.php?authID=111
aw well www.19.org
Sunday, December 24, 2006
Quran- Word of God or Muhammad ?
Quran- Word of God or Muhammad ?
Mukto-mona (Collection)
Dear Readers, have you noticed there are many verses in Quran which uses Muhammad's word directly ? If we read those verses, we clearly understand that those were Muhammad's own word, not Allah's.
Well, according to the Muslims the Quran contains the words of God. Quran is to be read as if God Himself had spoken these words stated in it. It is important to emphasize this point because if Quran is the word of God then it should not contain any errors and it should hold true for all times. However, such is not the case.
Dear Readers, we will see how some of the verses in the Quran itself show clearly that these words were obviously spoken by Muhammad and Not God.
The Opening Sura Fatihah:
(Quran 1:1-7)
In the name of the Merciful and Compassionate God.
Praise belongs to God,
The Lord of the worlds, the merciful, the
compassionate, the ruler of the day of
the day of judgment! Thee we serve and Thee
we ask for aid. Guide us in the right path,
the path of those Thou art gracious to;
not to those Thou art wroth with, nor of
those who err.
Someone need not be a rocket-scientist to comprehend that these words are clearly addressed to God, in the form of a prayer. They are Muhammad's words of praise to God ("Guide us in the right path,..." ~ 001.006), asking for God's help and guidance. Some Muslim compilers conveniently add the imperative "say" in the English translation of the Quran at the beginning of the sura to remove this difficulty. This imperative form of the word "say" occurs at least 350 times in the Quran, and its obvious that this word has, in fact, been inserted by later compilers of the Quran to remove countless similarly embarrassing difficulties. Thus, we have direct evidence that the Quran starts out with the words of Muhammad.
My Answer: God teach us in Quran the sayings to praise him. At times he says: Say.
in fataha the absence of the word say make it even more appealing, you praise God in every prayer with the Fatha, you feel he does not order you to say it but you are willingly happily say it as it was your own words and not God's. No wonder it is called the opening sura and is spoken by muslims in every Prayer. It is usally followd by other Sura. Please consult other websites for the 5 muslims'daily prayers and other prayers.
Mukto-mona (Collection)
Dear Readers, have you noticed there are many verses in Quran which uses Muhammad's word directly ? If we read those verses, we clearly understand that those were Muhammad's own word, not Allah's.
Well, according to the Muslims the Quran contains the words of God. Quran is to be read as if God Himself had spoken these words stated in it. It is important to emphasize this point because if Quran is the word of God then it should not contain any errors and it should hold true for all times. However, such is not the case.
Dear Readers, we will see how some of the verses in the Quran itself show clearly that these words were obviously spoken by Muhammad and Not God.
The Opening Sura Fatihah:
(Quran 1:1-7)
In the name of the Merciful and Compassionate God.
Praise belongs to God,
The Lord of the worlds, the merciful, the
compassionate, the ruler of the day of
the day of judgment! Thee we serve and Thee
we ask for aid. Guide us in the right path,
the path of those Thou art gracious to;
not to those Thou art wroth with, nor of
those who err.
Someone need not be a rocket-scientist to comprehend that these words are clearly addressed to God, in the form of a prayer. They are Muhammad's words of praise to God ("Guide us in the right path,..." ~ 001.006), asking for God's help and guidance. Some Muslim compilers conveniently add the imperative "say" in the English translation of the Quran at the beginning of the sura to remove this difficulty. This imperative form of the word "say" occurs at least 350 times in the Quran, and its obvious that this word has, in fact, been inserted by later compilers of the Quran to remove countless similarly embarrassing difficulties. Thus, we have direct evidence that the Quran starts out with the words of Muhammad.
My Answer: God teach us in Quran the sayings to praise him. At times he says: Say.
in fataha the absence of the word say make it even more appealing, you praise God in every prayer with the Fatha, you feel he does not order you to say it but you are willingly happily say it as it was your own words and not God's. No wonder it is called the opening sura and is spoken by muslims in every Prayer. It is usally followd by other Sura. Please consult other websites for the 5 muslims'daily prayers and other prayers.
That Prophet.
By Yusuf Estes
"Are you THAT Prophet?"
[Bible - John 1:20]
"The Comforter, the Spirit of Truth, whom the Father will send in my name, he shall teach you all things, and bring to your remembrance all that I said unto you."
[Bible - John 14:26]
Jesus, the son of Mary, said, "A messenger will come after me,named Ahmad."
[Quran 61:6]
The chief priests and Levites asked John the Baptist, "If you are not the Christ (Messiah), and not Elijah - are you THAT Prophet?"
[John 1:20]
When the chief priests and Levites asked John the Baptist who he was, they asked him in a very strange way. First the questioned him as to whether or not he was the anticipated "Messiah" [Christ in Koine Greek]. He was not the "Messiah" that had hoped for. Next they asked if he was the prophet Elijah and again he tells them, "No." Now comes the really strange part. Finally, they asked him if he is "That Prophet?"
1. Are you Christ? - [No]
2. Are you Elijah? - [No]
3. Are you THAT Prophet? - [No]
What did they mean by "That Prophet?" We of course, know who the "Christ" is. After all, Christians should know that "Christ" is merely a shortened form of the Koine Greek word "christos," intended to mean the Hebrew word "Messiah."
The Jews of two thousand years ago were definitely looking for the Messiah, who it was foretold in their books, would come and lead them to victory over their oppressors and thus gain for them mastery over this world. They were very oppressed under Roman domination and even their own Jewish kings were seen as nothing more than puppets or agents for the disbelievers. Certainly, they would have been most happy to see someone come on the scene who would defeat their Roman masters and slave drivers.
Then the priests and Levites asked John the Baptist if he might be the prophet Elijah, returning back after hundreds of years being away. There was the notion amongst them that Elijah would come back. But again, John the Baptist is denying he is Elijah.
Then, who is he? They wonder at this man living out in the desert and forsaking wealth and luxury and fasting, avoiding the material attractions of life.
Again, they ask John the Baptist who he is. "Are you THAT Prophet?" And one more time he denies being "THAT Prophet," but then he does tell them about someone who will come after him soon, whom he claims he is not worthy to even unlace his shoes.
However, this does not answer the question, "Who were they expecting besides the Messiah?" Could it be they were looking for someone like Muhammad? (Could be)
Who is THAT Prophet? -
Keep reading and learn who "That Prophet" is and what other proofs can be discovered within the Holy texts to support this idea.
____________________
For centuries Muslims have believed Jesus, peace be upon him, was "THAT Prophet" mentioned in these words of the Gospel of John. The Quran states one of the important features of Jesus' mission was to give the "bashir" or 'glad tidings' of the coming of the Prophet Muhammad, peace be upon him. During his short missionary career that lasted not more than three years, and which was overshadowed by the hostile attitude of his own people, Jesus gave them the good news of Ahmad, (one of the forms of "Muhammad") the last messenger of God, who would perfect the divine teaching both in theory and in practice. The Quran mentions that, Jesus says:
"O Children of Israel! I am the messenger of Allah {Almighty God} (sent) to you, confirming the Law (Torah or Old Testament) before me, and giving glad tidings of a messenger to come after me, whose name shall be Ahmad." (Surah 61:6)
The Quran gives the name as Ahmad, one of several ways to say Muhammad's name. Just as we have in English the name Joseph, and often use a shorter form such as "Joe" or the familiar form, "Joey," and other names like "Jonathan" which becomes "John"; "Jack" or "Johnny", so in the same way we find Arabic has similar forms for a name. Muhammad, Ahmad and Hamad are a few of the names originating from the root word, "hamd" (meaning 'praise) in Arabic, and can be understood as "The one who praises (God)"; "the praised one"; "praising"; etc.
Abdullah Yusuf Ali in his translation of the meanings of the Quran to English, he states, "Ahmad or Muhammad, the Praised One is a translation of the Koine Greek word Periclytos. In the present gospel of John 14:16, 15:26 and 16:7, the Greek word Paracletos is translated in the NIV as Comforter. Paracletos can mean an Advocate, or "one called to the help of another", "a kind friend." Muhammad, peace be upon him, was known from birth as one who brought comfort and reconciliation to family, friends and strangers alike, especially in bringing together the ties of kinship and brotherly love.
Another nick name of the prophet Muhammad, peace be upon him, mentioned in the Bible (or at least what is left of it in the English language) is "The Spirit of Truth." As-Saddiq means exactly that and it is was another name given to Muhammad, peace be upon him, by those who knew his proclivity for honesty and integrity.
The New Testament Gospel according to John, Jesus, peace be upon him, promises them the Paracletos will come four times (John 14:16; 14:26; 15:26; 16:7). Naturally, Jesus, peace be upon him, did not return in their lifetime nor did any other prophet for that matter, so later thinkers came up with the notion that it was not Jesus "in person" but rather, Jesus coming back in "spirit form." This led some Christians to assert, this was to be the Holy Spirit, who would descend upon the disciples on the Day of the Pentecost (Acts 2), to witness Christ and lead them into the whole truth and to be with the believers forever, and they would not die (John 3:16), but have everlasting life. Also, some added verses later (see footnotes to Revised Standard Version of the Bible) to the very last chapter of Mark (16), wherein, they have the Spirit coming upon them in such a way they imagined themselves going to be able to speak with new languages; pick up snakes, lay hands on the sick to cure them and even drink poison and nothing would hurt them. [Luke 23:17-18]
Another point is, the Paracletos, comforter or the Spirit of truth, was going to dwell with us from now on. Certainly anyone could see Muhammad's influence and his message of worshipping only One God without any partners has prevailed long after his earthly life.
"Are you THAT Prophet?"
[Bible - John 1:20]
"The Comforter, the Spirit of Truth, whom the Father will send in my name, he shall teach you all things, and bring to your remembrance all that I said unto you."
[Bible - John 14:26]
Jesus, the son of Mary, said, "A messenger will come after me,named Ahmad."
[Quran 61:6]
The chief priests and Levites asked John the Baptist, "If you are not the Christ (Messiah), and not Elijah - are you THAT Prophet?"
[John 1:20]
When the chief priests and Levites asked John the Baptist who he was, they asked him in a very strange way. First the questioned him as to whether or not he was the anticipated "Messiah" [Christ in Koine Greek]. He was not the "Messiah" that had hoped for. Next they asked if he was the prophet Elijah and again he tells them, "No." Now comes the really strange part. Finally, they asked him if he is "That Prophet?"
1. Are you Christ? - [No]
2. Are you Elijah? - [No]
3. Are you THAT Prophet? - [No]
What did they mean by "That Prophet?" We of course, know who the "Christ" is. After all, Christians should know that "Christ" is merely a shortened form of the Koine Greek word "christos," intended to mean the Hebrew word "Messiah."
The Jews of two thousand years ago were definitely looking for the Messiah, who it was foretold in their books, would come and lead them to victory over their oppressors and thus gain for them mastery over this world. They were very oppressed under Roman domination and even their own Jewish kings were seen as nothing more than puppets or agents for the disbelievers. Certainly, they would have been most happy to see someone come on the scene who would defeat their Roman masters and slave drivers.
Then the priests and Levites asked John the Baptist if he might be the prophet Elijah, returning back after hundreds of years being away. There was the notion amongst them that Elijah would come back. But again, John the Baptist is denying he is Elijah.
Then, who is he? They wonder at this man living out in the desert and forsaking wealth and luxury and fasting, avoiding the material attractions of life.
Again, they ask John the Baptist who he is. "Are you THAT Prophet?" And one more time he denies being "THAT Prophet," but then he does tell them about someone who will come after him soon, whom he claims he is not worthy to even unlace his shoes.
However, this does not answer the question, "Who were they expecting besides the Messiah?" Could it be they were looking for someone like Muhammad? (Could be)
Who is THAT Prophet? -
Keep reading and learn who "That Prophet" is and what other proofs can be discovered within the Holy texts to support this idea.
____________________
For centuries Muslims have believed Jesus, peace be upon him, was "THAT Prophet" mentioned in these words of the Gospel of John. The Quran states one of the important features of Jesus' mission was to give the "bashir" or 'glad tidings' of the coming of the Prophet Muhammad, peace be upon him. During his short missionary career that lasted not more than three years, and which was overshadowed by the hostile attitude of his own people, Jesus gave them the good news of Ahmad, (one of the forms of "Muhammad") the last messenger of God, who would perfect the divine teaching both in theory and in practice. The Quran mentions that, Jesus says:
"O Children of Israel! I am the messenger of Allah {Almighty God} (sent) to you, confirming the Law (Torah or Old Testament) before me, and giving glad tidings of a messenger to come after me, whose name shall be Ahmad." (Surah 61:6)
The Quran gives the name as Ahmad, one of several ways to say Muhammad's name. Just as we have in English the name Joseph, and often use a shorter form such as "Joe" or the familiar form, "Joey," and other names like "Jonathan" which becomes "John"; "Jack" or "Johnny", so in the same way we find Arabic has similar forms for a name. Muhammad, Ahmad and Hamad are a few of the names originating from the root word, "hamd" (meaning 'praise) in Arabic, and can be understood as "The one who praises (God)"; "the praised one"; "praising"; etc.
Abdullah Yusuf Ali in his translation of the meanings of the Quran to English, he states, "Ahmad or Muhammad, the Praised One is a translation of the Koine Greek word Periclytos. In the present gospel of John 14:16, 15:26 and 16:7, the Greek word Paracletos is translated in the NIV as Comforter. Paracletos can mean an Advocate, or "one called to the help of another", "a kind friend." Muhammad, peace be upon him, was known from birth as one who brought comfort and reconciliation to family, friends and strangers alike, especially in bringing together the ties of kinship and brotherly love.
Another nick name of the prophet Muhammad, peace be upon him, mentioned in the Bible (or at least what is left of it in the English language) is "The Spirit of Truth." As-Saddiq means exactly that and it is was another name given to Muhammad, peace be upon him, by those who knew his proclivity for honesty and integrity.
The New Testament Gospel according to John, Jesus, peace be upon him, promises them the Paracletos will come four times (John 14:16; 14:26; 15:26; 16:7). Naturally, Jesus, peace be upon him, did not return in their lifetime nor did any other prophet for that matter, so later thinkers came up with the notion that it was not Jesus "in person" but rather, Jesus coming back in "spirit form." This led some Christians to assert, this was to be the Holy Spirit, who would descend upon the disciples on the Day of the Pentecost (Acts 2), to witness Christ and lead them into the whole truth and to be with the believers forever, and they would not die (John 3:16), but have everlasting life. Also, some added verses later (see footnotes to Revised Standard Version of the Bible) to the very last chapter of Mark (16), wherein, they have the Spirit coming upon them in such a way they imagined themselves going to be able to speak with new languages; pick up snakes, lay hands on the sick to cure them and even drink poison and nothing would hurt them. [Luke 23:17-18]
Another point is, the Paracletos, comforter or the Spirit of truth, was going to dwell with us from now on. Certainly anyone could see Muhammad's influence and his message of worshipping only One God without any partners has prevailed long after his earthly life.
Statistical Miracle in Quran
by Dr. Tariq Al-Suwaidan
A Well known scholar from the Islamic Gateway www.ummah.net brings you a glimpse of this study.
Dr.Tarig Al Swaidan discovered some verses in the Holy Qur'an that mention one thing is equal to another, i.e. men are equal to women.
Although this makes sense grammatically, the astonishing fact is that the number of times the word man appears in the Qur'an is 24 and number of times the word woman appears is also 24, therefore not only is this phrase correct in the grammatical sense but also true mathematically, i.e. 24 = 24.
Upon further analysis of various verses, he discovered that this is consistent throughout the whole Qur'an, where it says one thing is like another. See below for astonishing result of the words mentioned number of times in Arabic Qur'an: Word/ Meaning Mentioned in the Quran
Al-Dunya (This world) 115
Al-Akhira (The hereafter) 115
Word/ Meaning Mentioned in the Quran
Al-Mala'ikah (Angles) 88
Al-Shayateen (Satan) 88
Word/ Meaning Mentioned in the Quran
Al-Hayat (Life) 145
Al-Maout (Death) 145
Word/ Meaning Mentioned in the Quran
Al-Rajul (Man) 24
Al-Mar'ha (Women) 24
Word/ Meaning Mentioned in the Quran
Benefi't 50 . Corrupt 50
Word/ Meaning Mentioned in the Quran
People 50 .. Messengers 50
Word/ Meaning Mentioned in the Quran
Eblees (king of devils) 11 . Seek refuge from Eblees 11
Word/ Meaning Mentioned in the Quran
Museebah (calamity) 75 . Thanks 75
Word/ Meaning Mentioned in the Quran
Spending (Sadaqah) 73 . Satisfaction 73
Word/ Meaning Mentioned in the Quran
People who are mislead 17 . Dead people 17
Word/ Meaning Mentioned in the Quran
Muslimeen 41 . Jihad 41
Word/ Meaning Mentioned in the Quran
Magic 60 . Fitnah (dissuasion, misleading) 60
Word/ Meaning Mentioned in the Quran
Zakat (Taxes Muslims pay to the poor) 32 . Barakah (Increasing or blessings of wealth) 32
Word/ Meaning Mentioned in the Quran
Mind 49 . Noor (light) 49
Word/ Meaning Mentioned in the Quran
Tongue 25 . Sermon 25
Word/ Meaning Mentioned in the Quran
Speaking publicly 18 . Publicising 18
Word/ Meaning Mentioned in the Quran
Hardship 114 .... Patience 114
Word/ Meaning Mentioned in the Quran
Muhammed 4 . Sharee'ah (Muhammed's teachings) 4
Word/ Meaning Mentioned in the Quran
Al-Shahr Month 12
Word/ Meaning Mentioned in the Quran
Al-Yahom Day 365
Word/ Meaning Mentioned in the Quran
Al-bahar Sea 32
Al-bar Land 13
If we add up the total words of both "sea" and "land" we get 45. Now if we do a simple calculation:
32/45 X 100% = 71.11111111%
13/45 X 100% = 28.88888888%
Above is what we know today, the percentages of Water (Sea) and Land in the world. Yet another miracle in the Quran.
The Miracles of the Quran will never end. There will never be a time where mankind can fully take in the knowledge that is in this holy book. It is a miracle to all mankind, the word of God. There is no value that one can set to the words of the Creator. It is a treasure of which guides those that want to succeed in this life and the hereafter.
A Well known scholar from the Islamic Gateway www.ummah.net brings you a glimpse of this study.
Dr.Tarig Al Swaidan discovered some verses in the Holy Qur'an that mention one thing is equal to another, i.e. men are equal to women.
Although this makes sense grammatically, the astonishing fact is that the number of times the word man appears in the Qur'an is 24 and number of times the word woman appears is also 24, therefore not only is this phrase correct in the grammatical sense but also true mathematically, i.e. 24 = 24.
Upon further analysis of various verses, he discovered that this is consistent throughout the whole Qur'an, where it says one thing is like another. See below for astonishing result of the words mentioned number of times in Arabic Qur'an: Word/ Meaning Mentioned in the Quran
Al-Dunya (This world) 115
Al-Akhira (The hereafter) 115
Word/ Meaning Mentioned in the Quran
Al-Mala'ikah (Angles) 88
Al-Shayateen (Satan) 88
Word/ Meaning Mentioned in the Quran
Al-Hayat (Life) 145
Al-Maout (Death) 145
Word/ Meaning Mentioned in the Quran
Al-Rajul (Man) 24
Al-Mar'ha (Women) 24
Word/ Meaning Mentioned in the Quran
Benefi't 50 . Corrupt 50
Word/ Meaning Mentioned in the Quran
People 50 .. Messengers 50
Word/ Meaning Mentioned in the Quran
Eblees (king of devils) 11 . Seek refuge from Eblees 11
Word/ Meaning Mentioned in the Quran
Museebah (calamity) 75 . Thanks 75
Word/ Meaning Mentioned in the Quran
Spending (Sadaqah) 73 . Satisfaction 73
Word/ Meaning Mentioned in the Quran
People who are mislead 17 . Dead people 17
Word/ Meaning Mentioned in the Quran
Muslimeen 41 . Jihad 41
Word/ Meaning Mentioned in the Quran
Magic 60 . Fitnah (dissuasion, misleading) 60
Word/ Meaning Mentioned in the Quran
Zakat (Taxes Muslims pay to the poor) 32 . Barakah (Increasing or blessings of wealth) 32
Word/ Meaning Mentioned in the Quran
Mind 49 . Noor (light) 49
Word/ Meaning Mentioned in the Quran
Tongue 25 . Sermon 25
Word/ Meaning Mentioned in the Quran
Speaking publicly 18 . Publicising 18
Word/ Meaning Mentioned in the Quran
Hardship 114 .... Patience 114
Word/ Meaning Mentioned in the Quran
Muhammed 4 . Sharee'ah (Muhammed's teachings) 4
Word/ Meaning Mentioned in the Quran
Al-Shahr Month 12
Word/ Meaning Mentioned in the Quran
Al-Yahom Day 365
Word/ Meaning Mentioned in the Quran
Al-bahar Sea 32
Al-bar Land 13
If we add up the total words of both "sea" and "land" we get 45. Now if we do a simple calculation:
32/45 X 100% = 71.11111111%
13/45 X 100% = 28.88888888%
Above is what we know today, the percentages of Water (Sea) and Land in the world. Yet another miracle in the Quran.
The Miracles of the Quran will never end. There will never be a time where mankind can fully take in the knowledge that is in this holy book. It is a miracle to all mankind, the word of God. There is no value that one can set to the words of the Creator. It is a treasure of which guides those that want to succeed in this life and the hereafter.
Saturday, December 23, 2006
Preservation of The Quran.
In this Book, the Holy Prophet's life, the history of the Arabs and the events which occurred during the period of the revelation of the Quran have not been mingled with the Divine Verses, as is the case with the Bible. The Quran is the pure word of God. Not one word therein is not divine. Not a single word has been deleted from its text. The Book has been handed down to our age in its complete and original form since the time of Prophet Muhammad. From the time the Book began to be revealed, the Holy Prophet had dictated its text to the scribes. Whenever some Divine Message was revealed, the Holy Prophet would call a scribe and dictate its words to him. The written text was then read out to the Holy Prophet, who, having satisfied himself that the scribe has committed no error of recording, would put the manuscript in safe custody. The Holy Prophet used to instruct the scribe about the sequence in which a revealed message was to be placed in a particular Surah (chapter). In this manner, the Holy Prophet continued to arrange the text of the Quran in systematic order till the end of the chain of revelations. Again, it was ordained from the beginning of Islam that a recitation of the Holy Quran must be an integral part of worship. Hence the illustrious Companions would commit the Divine verses to memory as soon as they were revealed. Many of them learned the whole text and a far larger number had memorized different portions of it.
Method of preservations of the Quran during the Prophet's time
Besides, those of the Companions (pbut) who were literate used to keep a written record of several portions of the Holy Qur'an. In this manner, the text of the Holy Qur'an had been preserved in four different ways during the lifetime of the Holy Prophet (PBUH):
a) The Holy Prophet (PBUH) had the whole text of the Divine Messages from the beginning to the end committed to writing by the scribes of revelations.
b) Many of the Companions learned the whole text of the Qur'an, every syllable of it, by heart.
c) All the illustrious Companions, without an exception, had memorized at least some portions of the Holy Qur'an, for the simple reason that it was obligatory for them to recite it during worship. An estimate of the number of the illustrious Companions may be obtained from the fact that one hundred and forty thousands Companions had participated in the Last Pilgrimage performed by the Holy Prophet (PBUH).
d) A considerable number of the literate Companions kept a private record of the text of the Qur'an and satisfied themselves as to the purity of their record by reading it out to the Holy Prophet (PBUH).
Method of preservations of the Quran after the demise of the Prophet:
It is an incontrovertible historical truth that the text of the Holy Qur'an extant today is, syllable for syllable, exactly the same as the Holy Prophet (PBUH) had offered to the world as the Word of God. After the demise of the Holy Prophet, the first Caliph Hadhrat Abu Bakr (PBUH) assembled all the Huffaz and the written records of the Holy Qur'an and with their help had the whole text written in Book form. In the time of Hadhrat 'Uthman (PBUH) copies of this original version were made and officially dispatched to the Capitals of the Islamic World. Two Of these copies exist in the world today, one in Istanbul and the other in Tashkent. Whosoever is so inclined may compare any printed text of the Holy Qur'an with those two copies, he shall find no variation.
And how can one expect any discrepancy, when there have existed several million Huffaz in every generation since the time of the Holy Prophet (PBUH) and in our own time? Should anyone alter a syllable of the original text of the Qur'an, these Huffaz would at once expose the mistake.
In the last century, an Institute of Munich University in Germany collected FORTY-TWO THOUSAND copies of the Holy Qur'an including manuscripts and printed texts produced in each period in the various parts of the Islamic World. Research work was carried out on these texts for half a century, at the end of which the researchers concluded that apart from copying mistakes, there was no discrepancy in the text of these forty-two thousand copies, even though they belonged to the period between the 1st Century Hijra to 14th Century Hijra and had been procured from all parts of the world. This Institute, alas! perished in the bombing attacks on Germany during World War II, but the findings of its research project survived.
Another point that must be kept in view is that the word in which the Qur'an was revealed is a living language in our own time. It is still current as the mother tongue of about a hundred million people from Iraq to Morocco. In the non-Arab world too, hundreds of thousands of people study and teach this language.
The grammar of the Arabic language, its lexicon, its phonetic system and its phraseology, have remained intact for fourteen hundred years.
A modern Arabic-speaking person can comprehend the Holy Qur'an with as much proficiency as did the Arabs of fourteen centuries ago. This, then, is an important attribute of Muhammad (PBUH), which is shared by no other Prophet or Leader of Religion. The Book which God revealed to Him for the guidance of mankind is today's in its original language without the slightest alteration in its vocabulary.
From Islamic Web site,
Method of preservations of the Quran during the Prophet's time
Besides, those of the Companions (pbut) who were literate used to keep a written record of several portions of the Holy Qur'an. In this manner, the text of the Holy Qur'an had been preserved in four different ways during the lifetime of the Holy Prophet (PBUH):
a) The Holy Prophet (PBUH) had the whole text of the Divine Messages from the beginning to the end committed to writing by the scribes of revelations.
b) Many of the Companions learned the whole text of the Qur'an, every syllable of it, by heart.
c) All the illustrious Companions, without an exception, had memorized at least some portions of the Holy Qur'an, for the simple reason that it was obligatory for them to recite it during worship. An estimate of the number of the illustrious Companions may be obtained from the fact that one hundred and forty thousands Companions had participated in the Last Pilgrimage performed by the Holy Prophet (PBUH).
d) A considerable number of the literate Companions kept a private record of the text of the Qur'an and satisfied themselves as to the purity of their record by reading it out to the Holy Prophet (PBUH).
Method of preservations of the Quran after the demise of the Prophet:
It is an incontrovertible historical truth that the text of the Holy Qur'an extant today is, syllable for syllable, exactly the same as the Holy Prophet (PBUH) had offered to the world as the Word of God. After the demise of the Holy Prophet, the first Caliph Hadhrat Abu Bakr (PBUH) assembled all the Huffaz and the written records of the Holy Qur'an and with their help had the whole text written in Book form. In the time of Hadhrat 'Uthman (PBUH) copies of this original version were made and officially dispatched to the Capitals of the Islamic World. Two Of these copies exist in the world today, one in Istanbul and the other in Tashkent. Whosoever is so inclined may compare any printed text of the Holy Qur'an with those two copies, he shall find no variation.
And how can one expect any discrepancy, when there have existed several million Huffaz in every generation since the time of the Holy Prophet (PBUH) and in our own time? Should anyone alter a syllable of the original text of the Qur'an, these Huffaz would at once expose the mistake.
In the last century, an Institute of Munich University in Germany collected FORTY-TWO THOUSAND copies of the Holy Qur'an including manuscripts and printed texts produced in each period in the various parts of the Islamic World. Research work was carried out on these texts for half a century, at the end of which the researchers concluded that apart from copying mistakes, there was no discrepancy in the text of these forty-two thousand copies, even though they belonged to the period between the 1st Century Hijra to 14th Century Hijra and had been procured from all parts of the world. This Institute, alas! perished in the bombing attacks on Germany during World War II, but the findings of its research project survived.
Another point that must be kept in view is that the word in which the Qur'an was revealed is a living language in our own time. It is still current as the mother tongue of about a hundred million people from Iraq to Morocco. In the non-Arab world too, hundreds of thousands of people study and teach this language.
The grammar of the Arabic language, its lexicon, its phonetic system and its phraseology, have remained intact for fourteen hundred years.
A modern Arabic-speaking person can comprehend the Holy Qur'an with as much proficiency as did the Arabs of fourteen centuries ago. This, then, is an important attribute of Muhammad (PBUH), which is shared by no other Prophet or Leader of Religion. The Book which God revealed to Him for the guidance of mankind is today's in its original language without the slightest alteration in its vocabulary.
From Islamic Web site,
MUHAMMAD IN THE BIBLE
By Dr. Jamal Badawi
Those who follow the Apostle, the unlettered Prophet, Whom they find mentioned in their own Scriptures, in the Torah and the Gospel... (Holy Qu'ran: VII - 157; Translation: Yusif Ali)
BIBLE PROPHECIES ABOUT THE ADVENT OF MUHAMMAD
Abraham is widely regarded as the Patriarch of monotheism and the common father of the Jews, Christians and Muslims. Through His second son, Isaac, came all Israelite prophets including such towering figures as Jacob, Joseph, Moses, David, Solomon and Jesus. May peace and blessings be upon them all. The advent of these great prophets was in partial fulfillment of God's promises to bless the nations of earth through the descendents of Abraham (Genesis12:2-3).Such fulfillment is wholeheartedly accepted by Muslims whose faith considers the belief in and respect of all prophets an article of faith.
BLESSINGS OF ISHMAEL AND ISAAC
Was the first born son of Abraham (Ishmael) and his descendants included in God's covenant and promise? A few verses from the Bible may help shed some light on this question;
1) Genesis 12:2-3 speaks of God's promise to Abraham and his descendants before any child was born to him.
2) Genesis 17:4 reiterates God's promise after the birth of Ishmael and before the birth of Isaac.
3) In Genesis, ch. 21. Isaac is specifically blessed but Ishmael was also specifically blessed and promised by God to become "a great nation" especially in Genesis 21:13, 18.
4) According to Deuteronomy 21:15-17 the traditional rights and privileges of the first born son are not to be affected by the social status of his mother (being a "free" woman such as Sarah, Isaac's mother, or a "Bondwoman" such as Hagar, Ishmael's mother). This is only consistent with the moral and humanitarian principles of all revealed faiths.
5) The full legitimacy of Ishmael as Abraham's son and "seed" and the full legitimacy of his mother, Hagar, as Abraham's wife are clearly stated in Genesis 21:13 and 16:3. After Jesus, the last Israelite messenger and prophet, it was time that God's promise to bless Ishmael and his descendants be fulfilled. Less than 600years after Jesus, came the last messenger of God, Muhammad, from the progeny of Abraham through Ishmael. God's blessing of both of the main branches of Abraham's family tree was now fullfilled. But are there additional corroborating evidence that the Bible did in fact foretell the advent of prophet Muhammad?
MUHAMMAD:
The Prophet Like Unto Moses
Long time after Abraham, God's promise to send the long-awaited Messenger was repeated this time in Moses' words.
In Deuteronomy 18:18, Moses spoke of the prophet to be sent by God who is:
1) From among the Israelite's "brethren", a reference to their Ishmaelite cousins as Ishmael was the other son of Abraham who was explicitly promised to become a "great nation".
2) A prophet like unto Moses. There were hardly any two prophets ,who were so much alike as Moses and Muhammad. Both were given comprehensive law code of life, both encountered their enemies and were victors in miraculous ways, both were accepted as prophets/statesmen and both migrated following conspiracies to assassinate them. Analogies between Moses and Jesus overlooks not only the above similarities but other crucial ones as well (e.g. the natural birth, family life and death of Moses and Muhammad but not of Jesus, who was regarded by His followers as the Son of God and not exclusively a messenger of God, as Moses and Muhammad were and as Muslim belief Jesus was).
THE AWAITED PROPHET WAS TO COME FROM ARABIA
Deuteronomy 33:1-2 combines references to Moses, Jesus and Muhammad. It speaks of God (i.e. God's revelation) coming from Sinai, rising from Seir (probably the village of Sa'ir near Jerusalem) and shining forth from Paran. According to Genesis 21:21, the wilderness of Paran was the place where Ishmael settled (i.e. Arabia, specifically Mecca).
Indeed the King James version of the Bible mentions the pilgrims passing through the valley of Ba'ca (another name of Mecca) in Psalms 84:4-6.
Isaiah 42:1-13 speaks of the beloved of God. His elect and messenger who will bring down a law to be awaited in the isles and who "shall not fail nor be discouraged till he have set judgement on earth." Verse 11, connects that awaited one with the descendants of Ke'dar. Who is Ke'dar? According to Genesis 25:13, Ke'dar was the second son of Ishmael, the ancestor of prophet Muhammad.
MUHAMMAD'S MIGRATION FROM MECCA TO MEDINA:
PROPHECIED IN THE BIBLE?
Habakkuk 3:3 speaks of God (God's help) coming from Te'man (an Oasis North of Medina according to J. Hasting's Dictionary of the Bible), and the holy one (coming) from Paran. That holy one who under persecution migrated from Paran (Mecca) to be received enthusiastically in Medina was none but prophet Muhammad.
Indeed the incident of the migration of the prophet and his persecuted followers is vividly described in Isaiah 21:13-17. That section foretold as well about the battle of Badr in which the few ill-armed faithful miraculously defeated the "mighty" men of Ke'dar, who sought to destroy Islam and intimidate their own folks who turned -to Islam.
THE QUR'AN (KORAN) FORETOLD IN THE BIBLE?
For twenty-three years, God's words (the Qur'an) were truely put into Muhammad's mouth. He was not the "author" of the Qur'an. The Qur'an was dictated to him by Angel Gabriel who asked Muhammad to simply repeat the words of the Qur'an as he heard them. These words were then committed to memory and to writing by those who hear them during Muhammad's life time and under his supervision.
Was it a coincidence that the prophet "like unto Moses" from the "brethren" of the Israelites (i.e. from the lshmaelites) was also described as one in whose mouth God will put his words and that he will speak in the name of God, (Deuteronomy 18:18-20). Was it also a coincidence the "Paraclete" that Jesus foretold to come after Him was described as one who "shall not speak of himself, but whatsoever he shall hear, that shall he speak (John 16:13)
Was it another coincidence that Isaiah ties between the messenger connected with Ke'dar and a new song (a scripture in a new language) to be sang unto the Lord (Isaiah 42:10-11). More explicitly, prophesies Isaiah "For with stammering lips, and another tongue, will he speak to this people" (Isaiah 28:11). This latter verse correctly describes the "stammering lips" of Prophet Muhammad reflecting the state of tension and concentration he went through at the time of revelation. Another related point is that the Qur'an was revealed in piece-meals over a span of twenty three years. It is interesting to compare this with Isaiah 28:10 whichspeaks of the same thing.
THAT PROPHET- PARACLETE- MUHAMMAD
Up to the time of Jesus (peace be upon him), the Israelites were still awaiting for that prophet like unto Moses prophecied in Deuteronomy 18:18. When John the Baptist came, they asked him if he was Christ and he said "no". They asked him if he was Elias and he said "no". Then, in apparent reference to Deuteronomy 18:18, they asked him "Art thou that Prophet" and he answered, "no". (John 1: 1 9-2 1).
In the Gospel according to John (Chapters 14, 15, 16) Jesus spoke of the "Paraclete" or comforter who will come after him, who will be sent by Father as another Paraclete, who will teach new things which the contemporaries of Jesus could not bear. While the Paraclete is described as the spirit of truth, (whose meaning resemble Muhammad's famous title Al-Amin, the trustworthy), he is identified in one verse as the Holy Ghost (John 14:26). Such a designation is however inconsistent with the profile of that Paraclete. In the words of the Dictionary of the Bible, (Ed. J. Mackenzie) "These items, it must be admitted do not give an entirely coherent picture."
Indeed history tells us that many early Christians understood the Paraclete to be a man and not a spirit. This might explain the followings who responded to some who claimed, without meeting the criteria stipulated by Jesus, to be the awaited "Paraciete".
It was Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) who was the Paraclete, Comforter, helper, admonisher sent by God after Jesus. He testified of Jesus, taught new things which could not be borne at Jesus' time, he spoke what he heard (revelation), he dwells with the believers (through his well-preserved teachings). Such teachings will remain forever because he was the last messenger of God, the only Universal Messenger to unite the whole of humanity under God and on the path of PRESERVED truth. He told of many things to come which "came to pass" in the minutest detail meeting, the criterion given by Moses to distinguish between the true prophet and the false prophets (Deuteronomy 18:22). He did reprove the world of sin, of righteousness and of judgement (John 16:8-11)
WAS THE SHIFT OF RELIGIOUS LEADERSHIP PROPHECIED?
Following the rejection of the last Israelite prophet, Jesus, it was about time that God's promise to make Ishmael a great nation be fulfilled (Genesis 21:13, 18)
In Matthew 21:19-21, Jesus spoke of the fruitless fig tree (A Biblical symbol of prophetic heritage) to be cleared after being given a last chance of three years (the duration of Jesus' ministry) to give fruit. In a later verse in the same chapter, Jesus said: "Therefore, say I unto you, The Kingdom of God shall be taken away from you, and given to a nation bringing forth the fruit thereof" (Matthew 21:43). That nation of Ishmael's descendants (the rejected stone in Matthew 21:42) which was victorious against all super-powers of its time as prophecied by Jesus: "And whosoever shall fall on this stone shall be broken, but on whomsoever it shall fall, it will grind him to powder" (Matthew 21:44).
OUT OF CONTEXT COINCIDENCE?
Is it possible that the numerous prophecies cited here are all individually and combined out of context misinterpretations? Is the opposite true, that such infrequently studied verses fit together consistently and clearly point to the advent of the man who changed the course of human history, Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him). Is it reasonable to conclude that all these prophecies, appearing in different books of the Bible and spoken by various prophets at different times were all coincidence? If this is so here is another strange "coincidence"!
One of the signs of the prophet to come from Paran (Mecca) is that he will come with "ten thousands of saints" (Deuteronomy 33:2 KJV). That was the number of faithful who accompanied Prophet Muhammad to Paran (Mecca) in his victorious, bloodless return to his birthplace to destroy the remaining symbols of idolatry in the Ka'bah.
Says God as quoted by Moses:
And it shall come to pass, that whosoever will not hearken unto my words which he shall speak in my name, I will require it of him. (Deuteronomy 18:19)
Those who follow the Apostle, the unlettered Prophet, Whom they find mentioned in their own Scriptures, in the Torah and the Gospel... (Holy Qu'ran: VII - 157; Translation: Yusif Ali)
BIBLE PROPHECIES ABOUT THE ADVENT OF MUHAMMAD
Abraham is widely regarded as the Patriarch of monotheism and the common father of the Jews, Christians and Muslims. Through His second son, Isaac, came all Israelite prophets including such towering figures as Jacob, Joseph, Moses, David, Solomon and Jesus. May peace and blessings be upon them all. The advent of these great prophets was in partial fulfillment of God's promises to bless the nations of earth through the descendents of Abraham (Genesis12:2-3).Such fulfillment is wholeheartedly accepted by Muslims whose faith considers the belief in and respect of all prophets an article of faith.
BLESSINGS OF ISHMAEL AND ISAAC
Was the first born son of Abraham (Ishmael) and his descendants included in God's covenant and promise? A few verses from the Bible may help shed some light on this question;
1) Genesis 12:2-3 speaks of God's promise to Abraham and his descendants before any child was born to him.
2) Genesis 17:4 reiterates God's promise after the birth of Ishmael and before the birth of Isaac.
3) In Genesis, ch. 21. Isaac is specifically blessed but Ishmael was also specifically blessed and promised by God to become "a great nation" especially in Genesis 21:13, 18.
4) According to Deuteronomy 21:15-17 the traditional rights and privileges of the first born son are not to be affected by the social status of his mother (being a "free" woman such as Sarah, Isaac's mother, or a "Bondwoman" such as Hagar, Ishmael's mother). This is only consistent with the moral and humanitarian principles of all revealed faiths.
5) The full legitimacy of Ishmael as Abraham's son and "seed" and the full legitimacy of his mother, Hagar, as Abraham's wife are clearly stated in Genesis 21:13 and 16:3. After Jesus, the last Israelite messenger and prophet, it was time that God's promise to bless Ishmael and his descendants be fulfilled. Less than 600years after Jesus, came the last messenger of God, Muhammad, from the progeny of Abraham through Ishmael. God's blessing of both of the main branches of Abraham's family tree was now fullfilled. But are there additional corroborating evidence that the Bible did in fact foretell the advent of prophet Muhammad?
MUHAMMAD:
The Prophet Like Unto Moses
Long time after Abraham, God's promise to send the long-awaited Messenger was repeated this time in Moses' words.
In Deuteronomy 18:18, Moses spoke of the prophet to be sent by God who is:
1) From among the Israelite's "brethren", a reference to their Ishmaelite cousins as Ishmael was the other son of Abraham who was explicitly promised to become a "great nation".
2) A prophet like unto Moses. There were hardly any two prophets ,who were so much alike as Moses and Muhammad. Both were given comprehensive law code of life, both encountered their enemies and were victors in miraculous ways, both were accepted as prophets/statesmen and both migrated following conspiracies to assassinate them. Analogies between Moses and Jesus overlooks not only the above similarities but other crucial ones as well (e.g. the natural birth, family life and death of Moses and Muhammad but not of Jesus, who was regarded by His followers as the Son of God and not exclusively a messenger of God, as Moses and Muhammad were and as Muslim belief Jesus was).
THE AWAITED PROPHET WAS TO COME FROM ARABIA
Deuteronomy 33:1-2 combines references to Moses, Jesus and Muhammad. It speaks of God (i.e. God's revelation) coming from Sinai, rising from Seir (probably the village of Sa'ir near Jerusalem) and shining forth from Paran. According to Genesis 21:21, the wilderness of Paran was the place where Ishmael settled (i.e. Arabia, specifically Mecca).
Indeed the King James version of the Bible mentions the pilgrims passing through the valley of Ba'ca (another name of Mecca) in Psalms 84:4-6.
Isaiah 42:1-13 speaks of the beloved of God. His elect and messenger who will bring down a law to be awaited in the isles and who "shall not fail nor be discouraged till he have set judgement on earth." Verse 11, connects that awaited one with the descendants of Ke'dar. Who is Ke'dar? According to Genesis 25:13, Ke'dar was the second son of Ishmael, the ancestor of prophet Muhammad.
MUHAMMAD'S MIGRATION FROM MECCA TO MEDINA:
PROPHECIED IN THE BIBLE?
Habakkuk 3:3 speaks of God (God's help) coming from Te'man (an Oasis North of Medina according to J. Hasting's Dictionary of the Bible), and the holy one (coming) from Paran. That holy one who under persecution migrated from Paran (Mecca) to be received enthusiastically in Medina was none but prophet Muhammad.
Indeed the incident of the migration of the prophet and his persecuted followers is vividly described in Isaiah 21:13-17. That section foretold as well about the battle of Badr in which the few ill-armed faithful miraculously defeated the "mighty" men of Ke'dar, who sought to destroy Islam and intimidate their own folks who turned -to Islam.
THE QUR'AN (KORAN) FORETOLD IN THE BIBLE?
For twenty-three years, God's words (the Qur'an) were truely put into Muhammad's mouth. He was not the "author" of the Qur'an. The Qur'an was dictated to him by Angel Gabriel who asked Muhammad to simply repeat the words of the Qur'an as he heard them. These words were then committed to memory and to writing by those who hear them during Muhammad's life time and under his supervision.
Was it a coincidence that the prophet "like unto Moses" from the "brethren" of the Israelites (i.e. from the lshmaelites) was also described as one in whose mouth God will put his words and that he will speak in the name of God, (Deuteronomy 18:18-20). Was it also a coincidence the "Paraclete" that Jesus foretold to come after Him was described as one who "shall not speak of himself, but whatsoever he shall hear, that shall he speak (John 16:13)
Was it another coincidence that Isaiah ties between the messenger connected with Ke'dar and a new song (a scripture in a new language) to be sang unto the Lord (Isaiah 42:10-11). More explicitly, prophesies Isaiah "For with stammering lips, and another tongue, will he speak to this people" (Isaiah 28:11). This latter verse correctly describes the "stammering lips" of Prophet Muhammad reflecting the state of tension and concentration he went through at the time of revelation. Another related point is that the Qur'an was revealed in piece-meals over a span of twenty three years. It is interesting to compare this with Isaiah 28:10 whichspeaks of the same thing.
THAT PROPHET- PARACLETE- MUHAMMAD
Up to the time of Jesus (peace be upon him), the Israelites were still awaiting for that prophet like unto Moses prophecied in Deuteronomy 18:18. When John the Baptist came, they asked him if he was Christ and he said "no". They asked him if he was Elias and he said "no". Then, in apparent reference to Deuteronomy 18:18, they asked him "Art thou that Prophet" and he answered, "no". (John 1: 1 9-2 1).
In the Gospel according to John (Chapters 14, 15, 16) Jesus spoke of the "Paraclete" or comforter who will come after him, who will be sent by Father as another Paraclete, who will teach new things which the contemporaries of Jesus could not bear. While the Paraclete is described as the spirit of truth, (whose meaning resemble Muhammad's famous title Al-Amin, the trustworthy), he is identified in one verse as the Holy Ghost (John 14:26). Such a designation is however inconsistent with the profile of that Paraclete. In the words of the Dictionary of the Bible, (Ed. J. Mackenzie) "These items, it must be admitted do not give an entirely coherent picture."
Indeed history tells us that many early Christians understood the Paraclete to be a man and not a spirit. This might explain the followings who responded to some who claimed, without meeting the criteria stipulated by Jesus, to be the awaited "Paraciete".
It was Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) who was the Paraclete, Comforter, helper, admonisher sent by God after Jesus. He testified of Jesus, taught new things which could not be borne at Jesus' time, he spoke what he heard (revelation), he dwells with the believers (through his well-preserved teachings). Such teachings will remain forever because he was the last messenger of God, the only Universal Messenger to unite the whole of humanity under God and on the path of PRESERVED truth. He told of many things to come which "came to pass" in the minutest detail meeting, the criterion given by Moses to distinguish between the true prophet and the false prophets (Deuteronomy 18:22). He did reprove the world of sin, of righteousness and of judgement (John 16:8-11)
WAS THE SHIFT OF RELIGIOUS LEADERSHIP PROPHECIED?
Following the rejection of the last Israelite prophet, Jesus, it was about time that God's promise to make Ishmael a great nation be fulfilled (Genesis 21:13, 18)
In Matthew 21:19-21, Jesus spoke of the fruitless fig tree (A Biblical symbol of prophetic heritage) to be cleared after being given a last chance of three years (the duration of Jesus' ministry) to give fruit. In a later verse in the same chapter, Jesus said: "Therefore, say I unto you, The Kingdom of God shall be taken away from you, and given to a nation bringing forth the fruit thereof" (Matthew 21:43). That nation of Ishmael's descendants (the rejected stone in Matthew 21:42) which was victorious against all super-powers of its time as prophecied by Jesus: "And whosoever shall fall on this stone shall be broken, but on whomsoever it shall fall, it will grind him to powder" (Matthew 21:44).
OUT OF CONTEXT COINCIDENCE?
Is it possible that the numerous prophecies cited here are all individually and combined out of context misinterpretations? Is the opposite true, that such infrequently studied verses fit together consistently and clearly point to the advent of the man who changed the course of human history, Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him). Is it reasonable to conclude that all these prophecies, appearing in different books of the Bible and spoken by various prophets at different times were all coincidence? If this is so here is another strange "coincidence"!
One of the signs of the prophet to come from Paran (Mecca) is that he will come with "ten thousands of saints" (Deuteronomy 33:2 KJV). That was the number of faithful who accompanied Prophet Muhammad to Paran (Mecca) in his victorious, bloodless return to his birthplace to destroy the remaining symbols of idolatry in the Ka'bah.
Says God as quoted by Moses:
And it shall come to pass, that whosoever will not hearken unto my words which he shall speak in my name, I will require it of him. (Deuteronomy 18:19)
Thursday, December 21, 2006
Hajj " Islamic Pilgrimage To Makka" Makes Sense.
Islam is the religion of reasoning. The same God who put reason in the laws of creation also put reasons to understand his religion. These are the reasons behind the Hajj:
1- Call to Muslims to come back to God.
2- Forgiveness of sins and cleansing of soul from the materialistic life.
3-Remind Muslims of the history of religion Particularly Abraham who built the house of God.
4- Unite All Muslims they all are equal participating in same Hajj coming from all world from different races, languages, social class ..... to appreciate the reality of humanity one God and on nation under God.
5- Purity of cloths, body and soul of humans as they meet their God in this holy place.
6- Give new beginning to people when they go back to their countries with a new affidavit with their creator to be better humans.
7- Sacrifice and feeding the poor.
8- In other religions even man made the pilgrim is essential. It is something in human heart to have a spiritual trip back to their creator and take a break from their routine life to renew their spirit.
9- It is a reminder of day of judgment when people go back to their God from everywhere to meet him. This is a great preparation to this day. A successful Hijj give you a great asset in day of judgment.
10- Muslims do not worship the Kappa but they look at it as a holy place where God asked Abraham to build his house it reminds you of the holy Temple ( al Masjid Al aqsa) and the mountain of Sinai where God spoke to Moses. It also remind you how Satan inspired humans to bring idols at the site of Kappa so not to worship their God and Who Muhamad (PBUH) succeeded to bring back Abraham religion to its true call for a true and one God.
11- A call to humanity to Islam. When Pilgrim is announced and seen by whole world people would give this great religion consideration and enthusiasm to know its roots and explore its reality.
1- Call to Muslims to come back to God.
2- Forgiveness of sins and cleansing of soul from the materialistic life.
3-Remind Muslims of the history of religion Particularly Abraham who built the house of God.
4- Unite All Muslims they all are equal participating in same Hajj coming from all world from different races, languages, social class ..... to appreciate the reality of humanity one God and on nation under God.
5- Purity of cloths, body and soul of humans as they meet their God in this holy place.
6- Give new beginning to people when they go back to their countries with a new affidavit with their creator to be better humans.
7- Sacrifice and feeding the poor.
8- In other religions even man made the pilgrim is essential. It is something in human heart to have a spiritual trip back to their creator and take a break from their routine life to renew their spirit.
9- It is a reminder of day of judgment when people go back to their God from everywhere to meet him. This is a great preparation to this day. A successful Hijj give you a great asset in day of judgment.
10- Muslims do not worship the Kappa but they look at it as a holy place where God asked Abraham to build his house it reminds you of the holy Temple ( al Masjid Al aqsa) and the mountain of Sinai where God spoke to Moses. It also remind you how Satan inspired humans to bring idols at the site of Kappa so not to worship their God and Who Muhamad (PBUH) succeeded to bring back Abraham religion to its true call for a true and one God.
11- A call to humanity to Islam. When Pilgrim is announced and seen by whole world people would give this great religion consideration and enthusiasm to know its roots and explore its reality.
Wednesday, December 20, 2006
The Bible and the Quran: Which You Believe More?
When Muslims and Christians stuck in their religious dialogue each one rightly use his book as the decisive reference. This is an inherited bias. So the most important question in religious dialogue is which reference is the decisive one. Let us examine the differences between both books:
1- According to the author Dr. Gary Miller: The Bible is a collection of writings by many different authors. The Qur'an is a dictation. The speaker in the Qur'an - in the first person - is God talking directly to man. In the Bible you have many men writing about God and you have in some places the word of God speaking to men and still in other places you have some men simply writing about history. The Bible consists of 66 small books. About 18 of them begin by saying: This is the revelation God gave to so and soÂ… The rest make no claim as to their origin. 2- The Quran dictated to Muhammad by God in 23 years, the bible is inspired in part by God over thousands of years and only partly so. The man who had the Quran dictated to him, has his life as open book recorded in precise matter than the writers of the Bible.
3- As Gary Miller indicated: The Quran make it clear that this book form God the verse. 2:2 "THIS DIVINE WRIT - let there be no doubt about it is [meant to be] a guidance for all the God-conscious". Compare that to one of the four accounts of the life of Jesus, Luke begins by saying: “many people have written about this man, it seems fitting for me to do so too”. That is all… no claim of saying “ these words were given to me by God here they are for you it is a revelation”, there is no mention of this. The Bible does not contain self-reference, that is, the word 'Bible' is not in the Bible. Nowhere does the Bible talk about itself.
4- Gary miller says as well: So that the Qur'an does not demand belief - the Qur'an invites belief, and here is the fundamental difference. It is not simply delivered as: Here is what you are to believe, but throughout the Qur'an the statements are always: Have you O man thought of such and such, have you considered so and so. It is always an invitation for you to look at the evidence; now what do you believe ?
The citation of the Bible very often takes the form of what is called in Argumentation: Special Pleading. Special Pleading is when implications are not consistent. When you take something and you say: Well that must mean this, but you donÂ’t use the same argument to apply it to something else. To give an example, I have seen it in publications many times, stating that Jesus must have been God because he worked miracles. In other hand we know very well that there is no miracle ever worked by Jesus that is not also recorded in the Old Testament as worked by one of the prophets. You had amongst others, Elijah, who is reported to have cured the leper, raise the dead boy to life and to have multiplied bread for the people to eat - three of thfavoritevourite miracles cited by Jesus. If the miracles worked by Jesus proved he was God, why donÂ’t they prove Elijah was God ? This is Special Pleading, if you see what I mean. The implications are not consistent.
5- The Quran has miracles both scientificallyifically and linguistically that the Bible is not up to.
6-The Bible has inconsistancies and the Quran do not. The verse "If it was not from God they would have found a lot of inconsistencies".
1- According to the author Dr. Gary Miller: The Bible is a collection of writings by many different authors. The Qur'an is a dictation. The speaker in the Qur'an - in the first person - is God talking directly to man. In the Bible you have many men writing about God and you have in some places the word of God speaking to men and still in other places you have some men simply writing about history. The Bible consists of 66 small books. About 18 of them begin by saying: This is the revelation God gave to so and soÂ… The rest make no claim as to their origin. 2- The Quran dictated to Muhammad by God in 23 years, the bible is inspired in part by God over thousands of years and only partly so. The man who had the Quran dictated to him, has his life as open book recorded in precise matter than the writers of the Bible.
3- As Gary Miller indicated: The Quran make it clear that this book form God the verse. 2:2 "THIS DIVINE WRIT - let there be no doubt about it is [meant to be] a guidance for all the God-conscious". Compare that to one of the four accounts of the life of Jesus, Luke begins by saying: “many people have written about this man, it seems fitting for me to do so too”. That is all… no claim of saying “ these words were given to me by God here they are for you it is a revelation”, there is no mention of this. The Bible does not contain self-reference, that is, the word 'Bible' is not in the Bible. Nowhere does the Bible talk about itself.
4- Gary miller says as well: So that the Qur'an does not demand belief - the Qur'an invites belief, and here is the fundamental difference. It is not simply delivered as: Here is what you are to believe, but throughout the Qur'an the statements are always: Have you O man thought of such and such, have you considered so and so. It is always an invitation for you to look at the evidence; now what do you believe ?
The citation of the Bible very often takes the form of what is called in Argumentation: Special Pleading. Special Pleading is when implications are not consistent. When you take something and you say: Well that must mean this, but you donÂ’t use the same argument to apply it to something else. To give an example, I have seen it in publications many times, stating that Jesus must have been God because he worked miracles. In other hand we know very well that there is no miracle ever worked by Jesus that is not also recorded in the Old Testament as worked by one of the prophets. You had amongst others, Elijah, who is reported to have cured the leper, raise the dead boy to life and to have multiplied bread for the people to eat - three of thfavoritevourite miracles cited by Jesus. If the miracles worked by Jesus proved he was God, why donÂ’t they prove Elijah was God ? This is Special Pleading, if you see what I mean. The implications are not consistent.
5- The Quran has miracles both scientificallyifically and linguistically that the Bible is not up to.
6-The Bible has inconsistancies and the Quran do not. The verse "If it was not from God they would have found a lot of inconsistencies".
Monday, December 18, 2006
The Soul of Hajj: A Short Introduction to Pilgrimage
From www.aljazeerah.info
By Habib Siddiqui
Al-Jazeerah, December 17, 2006
Editor's Note:
Haj, or pilgrimage to Makkah, is the fifth pillar of Islam. It is required of capable Muslims once in a person's lifetime.
No annual event on the face of the globe, religious or non-religious, compares to hajj in terms of the sheer number of participants, duration of the event and the breadth of agenda. In spite of this fact, it has always remained equally fascinating and mysterious to not only non-Muslims, who are barred from entering the holy city, but also to millions of Muslims, who had not performed hajj.
What then is hajj? In essence, hajj is man’s evolution toward Allah; his return to Him. It is a symbolic demonstration of the philosophy of creation of Adam (AS: alayhis salam, peace be upon him), the first man. To further illustrate this, it may be stated that the performance of hajj is a simultaneous show or exhibit of many things. It is a show of creation. It is a show of history. It is a show of unity. It is a show of Islamic ideology. It is a show of Ummah, the community of Muslims. That is why, it is said in the Qur’an: “And proclaim unto mankind the hajj …. That they may witness things that are of benefit to them.” (22:27-8)
Just as in any other good show or movie or theatre-play, the following conditions prevail in hajj. Allah is the stage Manager. The theme portrayed is the actions of these main characters – Adam, Haw’a (Eve), Ibrahim (Abraham), Hajar (Hagar), Isma’il (AS), and Shaytan (Satan). The main scenes are – Masjid al-Haram, ‘Arafat, Mas’a (space between the mountains – Safa and Marwa), Mash’ar (area between ‘Arafat and Mina) and Mina. Important symbols are – Ka’ba, Safa, Marwa, day, night, sunshine, sunset, idols and rituals of sacrifice. The dress and make-up are – ‘Ihram, halq and taqseer (part of ceremonies of hajj involving cutting of hair and nails, afterward). Lastly, the player of the show is – YOU – the Hajji. You are the main feature of the performance. The role of Adam, Ibrahim, Isma’il (Ishmael) and Hajar in confrontation between Allah and Satan is all played by you. As a result, you are the hero of the show!
Hajj is a duty unto Allah for mankind, for him or her who can find a way or means to get there (Qur’an 3:97). It is not a tax on your wealth, but a duty. Thus, to qualify, you must be sane and wise to understand what you are getting into, and able-bodied to go through this task, and lastly, have the means or resources to perform hajj.
The rites of hajj are five – (1) ‘Ihram, (2) waiting at ‘Arafat, (3) Tawaf of the Ka’ba, (4) sa’iy or running between the Safa and the Marwa and (5) cutting or trimming of hair. Others are not pillars, although some may require kaffara or penalty, if not done. The person who puts on the ‘Ihram or cloth for either ‘Umrah (lesser pilgrimage) or hajj (greater pilgrimage) is called a Muhrim.
By Habib Siddiqui
Al-Jazeerah, December 17, 2006
Editor's Note:
Haj, or pilgrimage to Makkah, is the fifth pillar of Islam. It is required of capable Muslims once in a person's lifetime.
No annual event on the face of the globe, religious or non-religious, compares to hajj in terms of the sheer number of participants, duration of the event and the breadth of agenda. In spite of this fact, it has always remained equally fascinating and mysterious to not only non-Muslims, who are barred from entering the holy city, but also to millions of Muslims, who had not performed hajj.
What then is hajj? In essence, hajj is man’s evolution toward Allah; his return to Him. It is a symbolic demonstration of the philosophy of creation of Adam (AS: alayhis salam, peace be upon him), the first man. To further illustrate this, it may be stated that the performance of hajj is a simultaneous show or exhibit of many things. It is a show of creation. It is a show of history. It is a show of unity. It is a show of Islamic ideology. It is a show of Ummah, the community of Muslims. That is why, it is said in the Qur’an: “And proclaim unto mankind the hajj …. That they may witness things that are of benefit to them.” (22:27-8)
Just as in any other good show or movie or theatre-play, the following conditions prevail in hajj. Allah is the stage Manager. The theme portrayed is the actions of these main characters – Adam, Haw’a (Eve), Ibrahim (Abraham), Hajar (Hagar), Isma’il (AS), and Shaytan (Satan). The main scenes are – Masjid al-Haram, ‘Arafat, Mas’a (space between the mountains – Safa and Marwa), Mash’ar (area between ‘Arafat and Mina) and Mina. Important symbols are – Ka’ba, Safa, Marwa, day, night, sunshine, sunset, idols and rituals of sacrifice. The dress and make-up are – ‘Ihram, halq and taqseer (part of ceremonies of hajj involving cutting of hair and nails, afterward). Lastly, the player of the show is – YOU – the Hajji. You are the main feature of the performance. The role of Adam, Ibrahim, Isma’il (Ishmael) and Hajar in confrontation between Allah and Satan is all played by you. As a result, you are the hero of the show!
Hajj is a duty unto Allah for mankind, for him or her who can find a way or means to get there (Qur’an 3:97). It is not a tax on your wealth, but a duty. Thus, to qualify, you must be sane and wise to understand what you are getting into, and able-bodied to go through this task, and lastly, have the means or resources to perform hajj.
The rites of hajj are five – (1) ‘Ihram, (2) waiting at ‘Arafat, (3) Tawaf of the Ka’ba, (4) sa’iy or running between the Safa and the Marwa and (5) cutting or trimming of hair. Others are not pillars, although some may require kaffara or penalty, if not done. The person who puts on the ‘Ihram or cloth for either ‘Umrah (lesser pilgrimage) or hajj (greater pilgrimage) is called a Muhrim.
Al Mahdi Al Muntazer Is Fired.
By: Maged Taman
If Imam Al Mahdi to come today he will be fired at site. From my reading of Islamic prophecies he will be a politician and not a military guy. Through knowledge, wisdom and a lot of politics he will gather people for a peaceful coexistence. These are my reasons why he either quit or fired at site if he to come today:
1- Arab moderates are giving in to the west and Arab tyrants and will not push for drastic changes.
2- Extremists would inflame the Middle East and terror against the west would play well for the west agenda to maintain the status quo and the status of the Arab leaders.
3- The Iranian hard-liners are not helping to get a lot of moderates in the west and Israel to advance our cause for peaceful coexistence and proclaim the Islamic values of peace and justice.
4- Hamas and Fath are doing everything possible to undermine the cause of the Palestinian people. That is why I continue to be a strong disbeliever of the party system particularly in the Arab world.
5- The west would support El Mahdi agenda but for only limited progress and suppress him as long as they can. People daily life in the Arab world is a hell of life already. I do not think a regular American will not feel for them.
6- Still the hope is the west since a lot of people have close mentality to his, I hope they do not fire him as well.
7- The time of tribulation is man-made and is due to people going in different directions with no considerations to the others and lack of belief of very comprehensive agenda.
If Imam Al Mahdi to come today he will be fired at site. From my reading of Islamic prophecies he will be a politician and not a military guy. Through knowledge, wisdom and a lot of politics he will gather people for a peaceful coexistence. These are my reasons why he either quit or fired at site if he to come today:
1- Arab moderates are giving in to the west and Arab tyrants and will not push for drastic changes.
2- Extremists would inflame the Middle East and terror against the west would play well for the west agenda to maintain the status quo and the status of the Arab leaders.
3- The Iranian hard-liners are not helping to get a lot of moderates in the west and Israel to advance our cause for peaceful coexistence and proclaim the Islamic values of peace and justice.
4- Hamas and Fath are doing everything possible to undermine the cause of the Palestinian people. That is why I continue to be a strong disbeliever of the party system particularly in the Arab world.
5- The west would support El Mahdi agenda but for only limited progress and suppress him as long as they can. People daily life in the Arab world is a hell of life already. I do not think a regular American will not feel for them.
6- Still the hope is the west since a lot of people have close mentality to his, I hope they do not fire him as well.
7- The time of tribulation is man-made and is due to people going in different directions with no considerations to the others and lack of belief of very comprehensive agenda.
Wednesday, December 13, 2006
The Place of Qur'an in the World Literature
From: www.islamweb.net
The Holy Qur'an occupies a place of such eminence in Arabic literature as is not and cannot be enjoyed by any other piece of literature. The place so occupied by it has not been attained at any time by any other book anywhere. This Book has not only remained admittedly the standard of the language in which it is revealed, but has also originated a world-wide language which became the mother-tongue of vast countries and mighty domains. It produced a literature which is the basis of the culture of powerful nations from one end of the world to the other. There was no literature properly speaking, in Arabic, before the Holy Qur'an. The few pieces of poetry that did exist never soared beyond the praise of wine or woman, or horse and sword, and can hardly be called literature at all. It was with the Qur'an that Arabic literature originated, and through the Qur'an that Arabic became a powerful language spoken in many countries and casting its influence on the literary histories of many others. without the Qur'an, the Arabic language would have been nowhere in the world. There are other considerations which entitle the Holy Qur'an to a place of eminence to which no other book can aspire. This book gives a masterly exposition of the fundamental truths of religion and a complete scheme of life, the existence and unity of God, the principles or reward and punishments for evil, the inevitability of life after death, the existence of heaven and hell, the truth and necessity of revelation, etc., etc.It offers a solution of the most bewildering problems of man's life on this earth, such as: the distribution of wealth; the relationship between individual and society; the question of man's true status and station in life; the balanced relationship between man and woman; whether his freedom is unbridled or he is accountable and answerable for his deeds; and all such other questions on which depends in any degree the happiness and advancement of man, and about which the human intellect cannot present a balanced and satisfactory solution, and which have been a major, rather the only source of all human misery and suffering throughout the long history of mankind. More wonderful still is the effect which the Holy Qur'an produced on the life of the Arab people. The transformation wrought by its influence is unparalleled in the history of mankind. The most revolutionary change was brought about in the lives of an entire people in an incredibility short span of time, that its, a period of not more than twenty-three years. The Qur'an found the Arabs as worshippers of idols, of trees and of heaps of sand; yet in less than a quarter of a century the worship of One God became the creed of the whole land, and polytheism in all its conceivable aspects had been wiped out from one end of the country to the other. It swept away all superstitions, and in their place, gave the most rational code of life the world was thirsty for. The Arabs who had stooped to take pride in ignorance were, as if by a magician's wand, transformed into the lovers of knowledge, drinking deep at every fountain of learning. And this was directly the effect of the teachings of the Qur'an which not only appealed to reason, but also declared man's thirst for knowledge to be insatiable. The Holy Qur'an did not accomplish the transformation of the individual alone. Equally, it brought about a transformation of the family, of society, of the entire peoples. Out of the warring elements of the Arab race, the Holy Qur'an welded a nation, united and full of life and vigour, before whose onward march the greatest kingdoms of the world crumbled! This way the Holy Qur'an effected a transformation of humanity itself, a transformation material as well as moral, an awakening intellectual as well as spiritual. There is no other book which has brought about a change so deep and everlasting in the lives of men. By: Begum A. B. Wakf [From: Islam, An Introduction]
The Holy Qur'an occupies a place of such eminence in Arabic literature as is not and cannot be enjoyed by any other piece of literature. The place so occupied by it has not been attained at any time by any other book anywhere. This Book has not only remained admittedly the standard of the language in which it is revealed, but has also originated a world-wide language which became the mother-tongue of vast countries and mighty domains. It produced a literature which is the basis of the culture of powerful nations from one end of the world to the other. There was no literature properly speaking, in Arabic, before the Holy Qur'an. The few pieces of poetry that did exist never soared beyond the praise of wine or woman, or horse and sword, and can hardly be called literature at all. It was with the Qur'an that Arabic literature originated, and through the Qur'an that Arabic became a powerful language spoken in many countries and casting its influence on the literary histories of many others. without the Qur'an, the Arabic language would have been nowhere in the world. There are other considerations which entitle the Holy Qur'an to a place of eminence to which no other book can aspire. This book gives a masterly exposition of the fundamental truths of religion and a complete scheme of life, the existence and unity of God, the principles or reward and punishments for evil, the inevitability of life after death, the existence of heaven and hell, the truth and necessity of revelation, etc., etc.It offers a solution of the most bewildering problems of man's life on this earth, such as: the distribution of wealth; the relationship between individual and society; the question of man's true status and station in life; the balanced relationship between man and woman; whether his freedom is unbridled or he is accountable and answerable for his deeds; and all such other questions on which depends in any degree the happiness and advancement of man, and about which the human intellect cannot present a balanced and satisfactory solution, and which have been a major, rather the only source of all human misery and suffering throughout the long history of mankind. More wonderful still is the effect which the Holy Qur'an produced on the life of the Arab people. The transformation wrought by its influence is unparalleled in the history of mankind. The most revolutionary change was brought about in the lives of an entire people in an incredibility short span of time, that its, a period of not more than twenty-three years. The Qur'an found the Arabs as worshippers of idols, of trees and of heaps of sand; yet in less than a quarter of a century the worship of One God became the creed of the whole land, and polytheism in all its conceivable aspects had been wiped out from one end of the country to the other. It swept away all superstitions, and in their place, gave the most rational code of life the world was thirsty for. The Arabs who had stooped to take pride in ignorance were, as if by a magician's wand, transformed into the lovers of knowledge, drinking deep at every fountain of learning. And this was directly the effect of the teachings of the Qur'an which not only appealed to reason, but also declared man's thirst for knowledge to be insatiable. The Holy Qur'an did not accomplish the transformation of the individual alone. Equally, it brought about a transformation of the family, of society, of the entire peoples. Out of the warring elements of the Arab race, the Holy Qur'an welded a nation, united and full of life and vigour, before whose onward march the greatest kingdoms of the world crumbled! This way the Holy Qur'an effected a transformation of humanity itself, a transformation material as well as moral, an awakening intellectual as well as spiritual. There is no other book which has brought about a change so deep and everlasting in the lives of men. By: Begum A. B. Wakf [From: Islam, An Introduction]
Is the Holy Quran Muhammad’s invention ?
From www.55a.net
By DR :Abd Al-Raheem Al-Shreef
h.D. of the science of Qur’an and its interpretation
Translated by May Saleh
Revised By Magdy Abd Al-Shafy
Many critics of Islam throughout their continuous searching to find a human source to the Holy Qur'an, their imagination conducted them to the idea that the Holy Qur'an is prophet Muhammad's invention for three purposes:
1. To facilitate his domination over his followers.
2. To frighten the hypocrites, the unbelievers and those who disobey his orders.
3. To permit his pleasures.
To answer this fallacy we say:
The allegation that the Holy Qur’an is out of prophet Muhammad’s passions and imaginations is the weakest one of their suspicions. Are million of Arabs’ mothers unable to give birth to one like him (prophet Muhammad PBUH)? Were all his life circumistances qualified him to be in peace of mind, happy and sitting on his sofa .. holding a piece of peaper and pen and writing some verses of the Holy Qur’an?! What a single human can do, certainly a group of human can do too. So, Why they did not do that?
Also, there are many replies concerning this allegation ;these are:[1]
1. The style of the Holy Qur’an is different from that of the Noble Hadeeth, certainly a person , irrespective of his qualifications , can impossibly produce sentences with different style at the same time. Allah’s Messenger is a human being ,who could be angry, happy, sad and so on .. but you can see the difference clearly between the prophetic Noble Hadeeth , that he said and what he told us that it is a Holy Qur’an.
If the Qur’an and the Hadeeth have the same source, it will be very difficult to differentiat between their styles and their composition .
And why Muhammad did not claim that his Hadeeth is a Qur’anic verses in spite of the fact that it is also inspired by Allah. [2]
We cannot say that prophet Muhammad had two different styles, a very ornamented and decorated one which is for the Holy Qur’an and an inferior one for the Noble Hadeeth. Meanwhile most of the Holy Qur’an was brought down to prophet Muhammad unexpectedly, he is hates speech decoration more than any one , and we must not forget that we are talking about the golden age of Arabic when the Arabs’ instinct and sense were free from any kind of grammatical mistakes.
1-Show us a person who has a talent of speech and then write down his style characteristics. Then ask him to change his style into another one and write its characteristics too. Ask him to write a third one ... so he will never be able to abandon his first style; because style is something innate in any person on expressing the meaning. As long as a person has a special way in expressing the meaning, his performance would have inescapable characteristic.. [3]
2. When you observe the prophet’s biography (Seerah) you can notice his great fear of Almighty Allah, and his devoutness. Therefore, it is impossible for him to leave lying and cheating on people, then to lie and cheat on Allah.
3. What does an ordinary person want by pretending prophethood, if he is a liar? No more than some honor and money. While Quraish offered to Allah’s Messenger the most extreme things that any Arabic imagination could wish at that time, (money, honor, women…) but he left all of these and slept on a straw mat which affected his honorable body by leaving some lines on it, and he was exposed to many assassination attempts. He fought the polytheists.. although he could live in glory and bliss, if he gave up the calling for Islam.
4. The different Qur’anic miracles whether (illustrative, scientific, invisible or legislative) were behind the reach of any human being .
5. The Holy Qur’an does not contain any important events concerning Prophet Muhammad’s life or any names of his lovers or his closest persons such as ( his parents, his children, the earlier muslims, his wives..etc) even his name was not mentioned more than four times in the Holy Qur’an.
6. There are many verses of blame against Prophet Muhammad in the Holy Qur’an.
7. Prophet Muhammad underwent many problems and cases which demanded an immediate answer such as the slander incident concerning his wife “A'ishah may Allah be pleased with her” and the three who did not join the Tabuk expedition… also, his wife Khadejah “may Allah be pleased with her”, his uncle Abu Taleb and his son Abraham died without any indication concerning their death in the Holy Qur’an to console him
Moreover, the Holy Qur’an does not refer to his marriage to the believers’ mother Aishah (may Allah be pleased with her) whereas, his marriage to the believers’ mother Zienb (may Allah be pleased with her) is mentioned in the Holy Qur’an for its relation to a special Islamic legislation.
8. He did not obligate his followers to his personal opinons like: the story of fertilizing the palm tree[4], and his frequent cosultation to his followers on many occasions confirm that.
9. The Holy Qur’an stated that if it had been the prophet Muhammd’s invention, he would not have written any hard word according to his pleasure. As Almighty Allah says : (And you were not expecting that the Book (this Qur’an) would be sent down to you, but it is a mercy from your Lord.)[28:86]. of course, it is a hard word as Allah says :( Verily, We shall send down to you a weighty Word (i.e. obligations, laws) [73:5].
Even, if the matter was in his hand , he would send down words complying with their requirements, but this is inappropriate. Almighty Allah says: (And if you do not bring them a miracle (according to their (i.e. Quraish-pagans') proposal), they say: "Why have you not brought it?" Say: "I but follow what is revealed to me from my Lord. This (the Qur'ân) is nothing but evidences from your Lord, and a guidance and a mercy for a people who believe).[7:202]. Verily, Prophet Muhammad did not response to their demands in order to make them follow the evidence and the guidance, as a mercy for people who believe and to be sure that he is not the source of this revelation.
Glory to Allah who converts their fallacies evidence against them!
10. Another evidence is that the Holy Qur’an was sent down separated in 23 years and was arranged in a very wonderful and accurate style without any flaw, contradiction or any change in its rhetoric. All of these could never have been produced by an ordinary human being known with his natural deficiency.
11. This suspicion indicates that there are a hiden knowledge inside Prophet Muhammad’s mind, so from where did he obtain this former knowledg ? I have discussed above the invalidity of the suspicion that its source is either human or Jinn.
11. The Holy Qur’an enjoins many hard worships and prohibits a lot of pleasures that any human being eager to, while Quraish did not find any difficulty in doing it . It is incredible that Prophet Muhammad’s desire forced him to pray most of the night and to fast many days of the month connecting the day with the night without breaking fast … or to forbbid himself from drinking alcohol, usury, wearing gold and silk, accepting charity and to inherit his children (which is spechial for him because he is a prophet).
12. Prophet Muhammad could frighten his followers – if we assume he invented the Holy Qur’an for this purpose – but .. is there any human being all over the world would intimidate himself from the agony of hell, or facing many risks by living in a place full of enemies (where the hiden enemies more than the apparent ones) and without any bodyguards? –In fact this what prophet Mohummed did .
See what Almighty Allah says: (O Messenger (Muhammad (peace be upon him))! Proclaim (the Message) which has been sent down to you from your Lord. And if you do not, then you have not conveyed His Message. Allâh will protect you from mankind. Verily, Allâh guides not the people who disbelieve).[5:67]
This self sincerity led to another sincerity with others.. as Almighty Allah says : (And when Our Clear Verses are recited unto them, those who hope not for their meeting with Us, say: "Bring us a Qur'ân other than this, or change it." Say (O Muhammad (peace be upon him)) "It is not for me to change it[5] on my own accord; I only follow that which is revealed unto me. Verily, I fear the torment of the Great Day (i.e. the Day of Resurrection) if I were to disobey my Lord(15) Say (O Muhammad (peace be upon him)) "If Allâh had so willed, I should not have recited it to you nor would He have made it known to you. Verily, I have stayed amongst you a life time before this. Have you then no sense?(16) So who does more wrong than he who forges a lie against Allâh or denies His Ayât (proofs, evidences, verses, lessons, signs, revelations, etc.)? Surely, the Mujrimûn (criminals, sinners, disbelievers and polytheists) will never be successful!(17)). [10: 15:17]
Certainly, our Prohet Muhammad is honest, for the content of the Holy Qur’an does not belong to any creature (mankind or jinn), rather it is confirmed by Almighty Allah , God say in this regard what means : (And thus We have sent to you (O Muhammad (peace be upon him)) Ruh (a Revelation, and a Mercy) of Our Command. You knew not what is the Book, nor what is Faith? But We have made it (this Qur'ân) a light wherewith We guide whosoever of Our slaves We will. And verily, you (O Muhammad (peace be upon him)) are indeed guiding (mankind) to the Straight Path (i.e. Allâh's religion of Islâmic Monotheism). [42:52]
Any spirit longing to find the truth, would believe in that and would be confident by the lowest thought and searching.. but the passions, the lack of discernment and the deception of some unfair researchers could blind it, Almighty Allah says : (Those who disbelieve say: "This (the Qur'ân) is nothing but a lie that he (Muhammad (peace be upon him)) has invented, and others have helped him at it. In fact they have produced an unjust wrong (thing) and a lie(4) And they say: "Tales of the ancients, which he has written down, and they are dictated to him morning and afternoon(5) Say: "It (this Qur'ân) has been sent down by Him (Allâh) (the Real Lord of the heavens and earth) Who knows the secret of the heavens and the earth. Truly, He is Oft-Forgiving, Most Merciful(6).) [25:4:6]
Besides the envy which is mentioned in the following chapter : (Many of the people of the Scripture (Jews and Christians) wish that if they could turn you away as disbelievers after you have believed, out of envy from their ownselves, even, after the truth (that Muhammad (peace be upon him) is Allâh's Messenger) has become manifest unto them. But forgive and overlook, till Allâh brings His Command. Verily, Allâh is Able to do all things).[2:109]
[1] Qur’anic issues in the British encyclopedia, Dr. Fadel Hasan Abbas, p208. And an introduction to a study of the Holy Qur’an, Muhammad Abu Shahbh, p 98. And Manahel Al-Arfan, Al-Zarqani, 1/62.
[2] Al-Bukhari narrated in pilgrimmage (Al-hajj) chapter (1789): "A man came to the Prophet while he was at Ji'rana. The man was wearing a cloak which had traces of Khaluq or Sufra (a kind of perfume). The man asked (the Prophet ), 'What do you order me to perform in my 'Umra?' So, Allah inspired the Prophet divinely and he was screened by a place of cloth. I wished to see the Prophet being divinely inspired. 'Umar said to me, 'Come! Will you be pleased to look at the Prophet while Allah is inspiring him?' I replied in the affirmative. 'Umar lifted one corner of the cloth and I looked at the Prophet who was snoring. (The sub-narrator thought that he said: The snoring was like that of a camel). When that state was over, the Prophet asked, "Where is the questioner who asked about 'Umra? Put off your cloak and wash away the traces of Khaluq from your body and clean the Sufra (yellow color) and perform in your Umra what you perform in your Hajj (i.e. the Tawaf round the Ka'ba and the Sa'i between Safa and Marwa). "
Islam opponents’ suspisions and fabrications and anulled them, Muhammad Metwali Al-Shaarawi, p 38.
Muslim narrated in virtues chapter (2363) : “The Prophet passed by a group of people who were fertilizing the palm trees and said: it is better if you do not fertilize these palm trees. The narrater said: bad dates (shaess) grew. Then the Prophet passed them again and said: what is the matter with your palm trees? They said : because you said earlier “it is better if you do not fertilize these palm trees” and we did so. The Prohet said: ‘you know more than me about your present life”.
Shaess means the date with soft kernel or without kernel at all .
[5] Al-Zamakhshari talked in his book ‘Al- Kshaf” about the reason behind Quraish unbelievers’requirements : “the unbelievers’suggestion of replacement and changing is out of greed and to test him. That because if he makes any replacement: Allah will either perish him and they will escape or to not perish him and they will make fun of him and this replacement will be an evidence against him and a correction for his fabrication”.
Many critics of Islam throughout their continuous searching to find a human source to the Holy Qur'an, their imagination conducted them to the idea that the Holy Qur'an is prophet Muhammad's invention for three purposes:
1. To facilitate his domination over his followers.
2. To frighten the hypocrites, the unbelievers and those who disobey his orders.
3. To permit his pleasures.
To answer this fallacy we say:
The allegation that the Holy Qur’an is out of prophet Muhammad’s passions and imaginations is the weakest one of their suspicions. Are million of Arabs’ mothers unable to give birth to one like him (prophet Muhammad PBUH)? Were all his life circumistances qualified him to be in peace of mind, happy and sitting on his sofa .. holding a piece of peaper and pen and writing some verses of the Holy Qur’an?! What a single human can do, certainly a group of human can do too. So, Why they did not do that?
Also, there are many replies concerning this allegation ;these are:[1]
1. The style of the Holy Qur’an is different from that of the Noble Hadeeth, certainly a person , irrespective of his qualifications , can impossibly produce sentences with different style at the same time. Allah’s Messenger is a human being ,who could be angry, happy, sad and so on .. but you can see the difference clearly between the prophetic Noble Hadeeth , that he said and what he told us that it is a Holy Qur’an.
If the Qur’an and the Hadeeth have the same source, it will be very difficult to differentiat between their styles and their composition .
And why Muhammad did not claim that his Hadeeth is a Qur’anic verses in spite of the fact that it is also inspired by Allah. [2]
We cannot say that prophet Muhammad had two different styles, a very ornamented and decorated one which is for the Holy Qur’an and an inferior one for the Noble Hadeeth. Meanwhile most of the Holy Qur’an was brought down to prophet Muhammad unexpectedly, he is hates speech decoration more than any one , and we must not forget that we are talking about the golden age of Arabic when the Arabs’ instinct and sense were free from any kind of grammatical mistakes.
1-Show us a person who has a talent of speech and then write down his style characteristics. Then ask him to change his style into another one and write its characteristics too. Ask him to write a third one ... so he will never be able to abandon his first style; because style is something innate in any person on expressing the meaning. As long as a person has a special way in expressing the meaning, his performance would have inescapable characteristic.. [3]
2. When you observe the prophet’s biography (Seerah) you can notice his great fear of Almighty Allah, and his devoutness. Therefore, it is impossible for him to leave lying and cheating on people, then to lie and cheat on Allah.
3. What does an ordinary person want by pretending prophethood, if he is a liar? No more than some honor and money. While Quraish offered to Allah’s Messenger the most extreme things that any Arabic imagination could wish at that time, (money, honor, women…) but he left all of these and slept on a straw mat which affected his honorable body by leaving some lines on it, and he was exposed to many assassination attempts. He fought the polytheists.. although he could live in glory and bliss, if he gave up the calling for Islam.
4. The different Qur’anic miracles whether (illustrative, scientific, invisible or legislative) were behind the reach of any human being .
5. The Holy Qur’an does not contain any important events concerning Prophet Muhammad’s life or any names of his lovers or his closest persons such as ( his parents, his children, the earlier muslims, his wives..etc) even his name was not mentioned more than four times in the Holy Qur’an.
6. There are many verses of blame against Prophet Muhammad in the Holy Qur’an.
7. Prophet Muhammad underwent many problems and cases which demanded an immediate answer such as the slander incident concerning his wife “A'ishah may Allah be pleased with her” and the three who did not join the Tabuk expedition… also, his wife Khadejah “may Allah be pleased with her”, his uncle Abu Taleb and his son Abraham died without any indication concerning their death in the Holy Qur’an to console him
Moreover, the Holy Qur’an does not refer to his marriage to the believers’ mother Aishah (may Allah be pleased with her) whereas, his marriage to the believers’ mother Zienb (may Allah be pleased with her) is mentioned in the Holy Qur’an for its relation to a special Islamic legislation.
8. He did not obligate his followers to his personal opinons like: the story of fertilizing the palm tree[4], and his frequent cosultation to his followers on many occasions confirm that.
9. The Holy Qur’an stated that if it had been the prophet Muhammd’s invention, he would not have written any hard word according to his pleasure. As Almighty Allah says : (And you were not expecting that the Book (this Qur’an) would be sent down to you, but it is a mercy from your Lord.)[28:86]. of course, it is a hard word as Allah says :( Verily, We shall send down to you a weighty Word (i.e. obligations, laws) [73:5].
Even, if the matter was in his hand , he would send down words complying with their requirements, but this is inappropriate. Almighty Allah says: (And if you do not bring them a miracle (according to their (i.e. Quraish-pagans') proposal), they say: "Why have you not brought it?" Say: "I but follow what is revealed to me from my Lord. This (the Qur'ân) is nothing but evidences from your Lord, and a guidance and a mercy for a people who believe).[7:202]. Verily, Prophet Muhammad did not response to their demands in order to make them follow the evidence and the guidance, as a mercy for people who believe and to be sure that he is not the source of this revelation.
Glory to Allah who converts their fallacies evidence against them!
10. Another evidence is that the Holy Qur’an was sent down separated in 23 years and was arranged in a very wonderful and accurate style without any flaw, contradiction or any change in its rhetoric. All of these could never have been produced by an ordinary human being known with his natural deficiency.
11. This suspicion indicates that there are a hiden knowledge inside Prophet Muhammad’s mind, so from where did he obtain this former knowledg ? I have discussed above the invalidity of the suspicion that its source is either human or Jinn.
11. The Holy Qur’an enjoins many hard worships and prohibits a lot of pleasures that any human being eager to, while Quraish did not find any difficulty in doing it . It is incredible that Prophet Muhammad’s desire forced him to pray most of the night and to fast many days of the month connecting the day with the night without breaking fast … or to forbbid himself from drinking alcohol, usury, wearing gold and silk, accepting charity and to inherit his children (which is spechial for him because he is a prophet).
12. Prophet Muhammad could frighten his followers – if we assume he invented the Holy Qur’an for this purpose – but .. is there any human being all over the world would intimidate himself from the agony of hell, or facing many risks by living in a place full of enemies (where the hiden enemies more than the apparent ones) and without any bodyguards? –In fact this what prophet Mohummed did .
See what Almighty Allah says: (O Messenger (Muhammad (peace be upon him))! Proclaim (the Message) which has been sent down to you from your Lord. And if you do not, then you have not conveyed His Message. Allâh will protect you from mankind. Verily, Allâh guides not the people who disbelieve).[5:67]
This self sincerity led to another sincerity with others.. as Almighty Allah says : (And when Our Clear Verses are recited unto them, those who hope not for their meeting with Us, say: "Bring us a Qur'ân other than this, or change it." Say (O Muhammad (peace be upon him)) "It is not for me to change it[5] on my own accord; I only follow that which is revealed unto me. Verily, I fear the torment of the Great Day (i.e. the Day of Resurrection) if I were to disobey my Lord(15) Say (O Muhammad (peace be upon him)) "If Allâh had so willed, I should not have recited it to you nor would He have made it known to you. Verily, I have stayed amongst you a life time before this. Have you then no sense?(16) So who does more wrong than he who forges a lie against Allâh or denies His Ayât (proofs, evidences, verses, lessons, signs, revelations, etc.)? Surely, the Mujrimûn (criminals, sinners, disbelievers and polytheists) will never be successful!(17)). [10: 15:17]
Certainly, our Prohet Muhammad is honest, for the content of the Holy Qur’an does not belong to any creature (mankind or jinn), rather it is confirmed by Almighty Allah , God say in this regard what means : (And thus We have sent to you (O Muhammad (peace be upon him)) Ruh (a Revelation, and a Mercy) of Our Command. You knew not what is the Book, nor what is Faith? But We have made it (this Qur'ân) a light wherewith We guide whosoever of Our slaves We will. And verily, you (O Muhammad (peace be upon him)) are indeed guiding (mankind) to the Straight Path (i.e. Allâh's religion of Islâmic Monotheism). [42:52]
Any spirit longing to find the truth, would believe in that and would be confident by the lowest thought and searching.. but the passions, the lack of discernment and the deception of some unfair researchers could blind it, Almighty Allah says : (Those who disbelieve say: "This (the Qur'ân) is nothing but a lie that he (Muhammad (peace be upon him)) has invented, and others have helped him at it. In fact they have produced an unjust wrong (thing) and a lie(4) And they say: "Tales of the ancients, which he has written down, and they are dictated to him morning and afternoon(5) Say: "It (this Qur'ân) has been sent down by Him (Allâh) (the Real Lord of the heavens and earth) Who knows the secret of the heavens and the earth. Truly, He is Oft-Forgiving, Most Merciful(6).) [25:4:6]
Besides the envy which is mentioned in the following chapter : (Many of the people of the Scripture (Jews and Christians) wish that if they could turn you away as disbelievers after you have believed, out of envy from their ownselves, even, after the truth (that Muhammad (peace be upon him) is Allâh's Messenger) has become manifest unto them. But forgive and overlook, till Allâh brings His Command. Verily, Allâh is Able to do all things).[2:109]
[1] Qur’anic issues in the British encyclopedia, Dr. Fadel Hasan Abbas, p208. And an introduction to a study of the Holy Qur’an, Muhammad Abu Shahbh, p 98. And Manahel Al-Arfan, Al-Zarqani, 1/62.
[2] Al-Bukhari narrated in pilgrimmage (Al-hajj) chapter (1789): "A man came to the Prophet while he was at Ji'rana. The man was wearing a cloak which had traces of Khaluq or Sufra (a kind of perfume). The man asked (the Prophet ), 'What do you order me to perform in my 'Umra?' So, Allah inspired the Prophet divinely and he was screened by a place of cloth. I wished to see the Prophet being divinely inspired. 'Umar said to me, 'Come! Will you be pleased to look at the Prophet while Allah is inspiring him?' I replied in the affirmative. 'Umar lifted one corner of the cloth and I looked at the Prophet who was snoring. (The sub-narrator thought that he said: The snoring was like that of a camel). When that state was over, the Prophet asked, "Where is the questioner who asked about 'Umra? Put off your cloak and wash away the traces of Khaluq from your body and clean the Sufra (yellow color) and perform in your Umra what you perform in your Hajj (i.e. the Tawaf round the Ka'ba and the Sa'i between Safa and Marwa). "
Islam opponents’ suspisions and fabrications and anulled them, Muhammad Metwali Al-Shaarawi, p 38.
Muslim narrated in virtues chapter (2363) : “The Prophet passed by a group of people who were fertilizing the palm trees and said: it is better if you do not fertilize these palm trees. The narrater said: bad dates (shaess) grew. Then the Prophet passed them again and said: what is the matter with your palm trees? They said : because you said earlier “it is better if you do not fertilize these palm trees” and we did so. The Prohet said: ‘you know more than me about your present life”.
Shaess means the date with soft kernel or without kernel at all .
[5] Al-Zamakhshari talked in his book ‘Al- Kshaf” about the reason behind Quraish unbelievers’requirements : “the unbelievers’suggestion of replacement and changing is out of greed and to test him. That because if he makes any replacement: Allah will either perish him and they will escape or to not perish him and they will make fun of him and this replacement will be an evidence against him and a correction for his fabrication”.
By DR :Abd Al-Raheem Al-Shreef
h.D. of the science of Qur’an and its interpretation
Translated by May Saleh
Revised By Magdy Abd Al-Shafy
Many critics of Islam throughout their continuous searching to find a human source to the Holy Qur'an, their imagination conducted them to the idea that the Holy Qur'an is prophet Muhammad's invention for three purposes:
1. To facilitate his domination over his followers.
2. To frighten the hypocrites, the unbelievers and those who disobey his orders.
3. To permit his pleasures.
To answer this fallacy we say:
The allegation that the Holy Qur’an is out of prophet Muhammad’s passions and imaginations is the weakest one of their suspicions. Are million of Arabs’ mothers unable to give birth to one like him (prophet Muhammad PBUH)? Were all his life circumistances qualified him to be in peace of mind, happy and sitting on his sofa .. holding a piece of peaper and pen and writing some verses of the Holy Qur’an?! What a single human can do, certainly a group of human can do too. So, Why they did not do that?
Also, there are many replies concerning this allegation ;these are:[1]
1. The style of the Holy Qur’an is different from that of the Noble Hadeeth, certainly a person , irrespective of his qualifications , can impossibly produce sentences with different style at the same time. Allah’s Messenger is a human being ,who could be angry, happy, sad and so on .. but you can see the difference clearly between the prophetic Noble Hadeeth , that he said and what he told us that it is a Holy Qur’an.
If the Qur’an and the Hadeeth have the same source, it will be very difficult to differentiat between their styles and their composition .
And why Muhammad did not claim that his Hadeeth is a Qur’anic verses in spite of the fact that it is also inspired by Allah. [2]
We cannot say that prophet Muhammad had two different styles, a very ornamented and decorated one which is for the Holy Qur’an and an inferior one for the Noble Hadeeth. Meanwhile most of the Holy Qur’an was brought down to prophet Muhammad unexpectedly, he is hates speech decoration more than any one , and we must not forget that we are talking about the golden age of Arabic when the Arabs’ instinct and sense were free from any kind of grammatical mistakes.
1-Show us a person who has a talent of speech and then write down his style characteristics. Then ask him to change his style into another one and write its characteristics too. Ask him to write a third one ... so he will never be able to abandon his first style; because style is something innate in any person on expressing the meaning. As long as a person has a special way in expressing the meaning, his performance would have inescapable characteristic.. [3]
2. When you observe the prophet’s biography (Seerah) you can notice his great fear of Almighty Allah, and his devoutness. Therefore, it is impossible for him to leave lying and cheating on people, then to lie and cheat on Allah.
3. What does an ordinary person want by pretending prophethood, if he is a liar? No more than some honor and money. While Quraish offered to Allah’s Messenger the most extreme things that any Arabic imagination could wish at that time, (money, honor, women…) but he left all of these and slept on a straw mat which affected his honorable body by leaving some lines on it, and he was exposed to many assassination attempts. He fought the polytheists.. although he could live in glory and bliss, if he gave up the calling for Islam.
4. The different Qur’anic miracles whether (illustrative, scientific, invisible or legislative) were behind the reach of any human being .
5. The Holy Qur’an does not contain any important events concerning Prophet Muhammad’s life or any names of his lovers or his closest persons such as ( his parents, his children, the earlier muslims, his wives..etc) even his name was not mentioned more than four times in the Holy Qur’an.
6. There are many verses of blame against Prophet Muhammad in the Holy Qur’an.
7. Prophet Muhammad underwent many problems and cases which demanded an immediate answer such as the slander incident concerning his wife “A'ishah may Allah be pleased with her” and the three who did not join the Tabuk expedition… also, his wife Khadejah “may Allah be pleased with her”, his uncle Abu Taleb and his son Abraham died without any indication concerning their death in the Holy Qur’an to console him
Moreover, the Holy Qur’an does not refer to his marriage to the believers’ mother Aishah (may Allah be pleased with her) whereas, his marriage to the believers’ mother Zienb (may Allah be pleased with her) is mentioned in the Holy Qur’an for its relation to a special Islamic legislation.
8. He did not obligate his followers to his personal opinons like: the story of fertilizing the palm tree[4], and his frequent cosultation to his followers on many occasions confirm that.
9. The Holy Qur’an stated that if it had been the prophet Muhammd’s invention, he would not have written any hard word according to his pleasure. As Almighty Allah says : (And you were not expecting that the Book (this Qur’an) would be sent down to you, but it is a mercy from your Lord.)[28:86]. of course, it is a hard word as Allah says :( Verily, We shall send down to you a weighty Word (i.e. obligations, laws) [73:5].
Even, if the matter was in his hand , he would send down words complying with their requirements, but this is inappropriate. Almighty Allah says: (And if you do not bring them a miracle (according to their (i.e. Quraish-pagans') proposal), they say: "Why have you not brought it?" Say: "I but follow what is revealed to me from my Lord. This (the Qur'ân) is nothing but evidences from your Lord, and a guidance and a mercy for a people who believe).[7:202]. Verily, Prophet Muhammad did not response to their demands in order to make them follow the evidence and the guidance, as a mercy for people who believe and to be sure that he is not the source of this revelation.
Glory to Allah who converts their fallacies evidence against them!
10. Another evidence is that the Holy Qur’an was sent down separated in 23 years and was arranged in a very wonderful and accurate style without any flaw, contradiction or any change in its rhetoric. All of these could never have been produced by an ordinary human being known with his natural deficiency.
11. This suspicion indicates that there are a hiden knowledge inside Prophet Muhammad’s mind, so from where did he obtain this former knowledg ? I have discussed above the invalidity of the suspicion that its source is either human or Jinn.
11. The Holy Qur’an enjoins many hard worships and prohibits a lot of pleasures that any human being eager to, while Quraish did not find any difficulty in doing it . It is incredible that Prophet Muhammad’s desire forced him to pray most of the night and to fast many days of the month connecting the day with the night without breaking fast … or to forbbid himself from drinking alcohol, usury, wearing gold and silk, accepting charity and to inherit his children (which is spechial for him because he is a prophet).
12. Prophet Muhammad could frighten his followers – if we assume he invented the Holy Qur’an for this purpose – but .. is there any human being all over the world would intimidate himself from the agony of hell, or facing many risks by living in a place full of enemies (where the hiden enemies more than the apparent ones) and without any bodyguards? –In fact this what prophet Mohummed did .
See what Almighty Allah says: (O Messenger (Muhammad (peace be upon him))! Proclaim (the Message) which has been sent down to you from your Lord. And if you do not, then you have not conveyed His Message. Allâh will protect you from mankind. Verily, Allâh guides not the people who disbelieve).[5:67]
This self sincerity led to another sincerity with others.. as Almighty Allah says : (And when Our Clear Verses are recited unto them, those who hope not for their meeting with Us, say: "Bring us a Qur'ân other than this, or change it." Say (O Muhammad (peace be upon him)) "It is not for me to change it[5] on my own accord; I only follow that which is revealed unto me. Verily, I fear the torment of the Great Day (i.e. the Day of Resurrection) if I were to disobey my Lord(15) Say (O Muhammad (peace be upon him)) "If Allâh had so willed, I should not have recited it to you nor would He have made it known to you. Verily, I have stayed amongst you a life time before this. Have you then no sense?(16) So who does more wrong than he who forges a lie against Allâh or denies His Ayât (proofs, evidences, verses, lessons, signs, revelations, etc.)? Surely, the Mujrimûn (criminals, sinners, disbelievers and polytheists) will never be successful!(17)). [10: 15:17]
Certainly, our Prohet Muhammad is honest, for the content of the Holy Qur’an does not belong to any creature (mankind or jinn), rather it is confirmed by Almighty Allah , God say in this regard what means : (And thus We have sent to you (O Muhammad (peace be upon him)) Ruh (a Revelation, and a Mercy) of Our Command. You knew not what is the Book, nor what is Faith? But We have made it (this Qur'ân) a light wherewith We guide whosoever of Our slaves We will. And verily, you (O Muhammad (peace be upon him)) are indeed guiding (mankind) to the Straight Path (i.e. Allâh's religion of Islâmic Monotheism). [42:52]
Any spirit longing to find the truth, would believe in that and would be confident by the lowest thought and searching.. but the passions, the lack of discernment and the deception of some unfair researchers could blind it, Almighty Allah says : (Those who disbelieve say: "This (the Qur'ân) is nothing but a lie that he (Muhammad (peace be upon him)) has invented, and others have helped him at it. In fact they have produced an unjust wrong (thing) and a lie(4) And they say: "Tales of the ancients, which he has written down, and they are dictated to him morning and afternoon(5) Say: "It (this Qur'ân) has been sent down by Him (Allâh) (the Real Lord of the heavens and earth) Who knows the secret of the heavens and the earth. Truly, He is Oft-Forgiving, Most Merciful(6).) [25:4:6]
Besides the envy which is mentioned in the following chapter : (Many of the people of the Scripture (Jews and Christians) wish that if they could turn you away as disbelievers after you have believed, out of envy from their ownselves, even, after the truth (that Muhammad (peace be upon him) is Allâh's Messenger) has become manifest unto them. But forgive and overlook, till Allâh brings His Command. Verily, Allâh is Able to do all things).[2:109]
[1] Qur’anic issues in the British encyclopedia, Dr. Fadel Hasan Abbas, p208. And an introduction to a study of the Holy Qur’an, Muhammad Abu Shahbh, p 98. And Manahel Al-Arfan, Al-Zarqani, 1/62.
[2] Al-Bukhari narrated in pilgrimmage (Al-hajj) chapter (1789): "A man came to the Prophet while he was at Ji'rana. The man was wearing a cloak which had traces of Khaluq or Sufra (a kind of perfume). The man asked (the Prophet ), 'What do you order me to perform in my 'Umra?' So, Allah inspired the Prophet divinely and he was screened by a place of cloth. I wished to see the Prophet being divinely inspired. 'Umar said to me, 'Come! Will you be pleased to look at the Prophet while Allah is inspiring him?' I replied in the affirmative. 'Umar lifted one corner of the cloth and I looked at the Prophet who was snoring. (The sub-narrator thought that he said: The snoring was like that of a camel). When that state was over, the Prophet asked, "Where is the questioner who asked about 'Umra? Put off your cloak and wash away the traces of Khaluq from your body and clean the Sufra (yellow color) and perform in your Umra what you perform in your Hajj (i.e. the Tawaf round the Ka'ba and the Sa'i between Safa and Marwa). "
Islam opponents’ suspisions and fabrications and anulled them, Muhammad Metwali Al-Shaarawi, p 38.
Muslim narrated in virtues chapter (2363) : “The Prophet passed by a group of people who were fertilizing the palm trees and said: it is better if you do not fertilize these palm trees. The narrater said: bad dates (shaess) grew. Then the Prophet passed them again and said: what is the matter with your palm trees? They said : because you said earlier “it is better if you do not fertilize these palm trees” and we did so. The Prohet said: ‘you know more than me about your present life”.
Shaess means the date with soft kernel or without kernel at all .
[5] Al-Zamakhshari talked in his book ‘Al- Kshaf” about the reason behind Quraish unbelievers’requirements : “the unbelievers’suggestion of replacement and changing is out of greed and to test him. That because if he makes any replacement: Allah will either perish him and they will escape or to not perish him and they will make fun of him and this replacement will be an evidence against him and a correction for his fabrication”.
Many critics of Islam throughout their continuous searching to find a human source to the Holy Qur'an, their imagination conducted them to the idea that the Holy Qur'an is prophet Muhammad's invention for three purposes:
1. To facilitate his domination over his followers.
2. To frighten the hypocrites, the unbelievers and those who disobey his orders.
3. To permit his pleasures.
To answer this fallacy we say:
The allegation that the Holy Qur’an is out of prophet Muhammad’s passions and imaginations is the weakest one of their suspicions. Are million of Arabs’ mothers unable to give birth to one like him (prophet Muhammad PBUH)? Were all his life circumistances qualified him to be in peace of mind, happy and sitting on his sofa .. holding a piece of peaper and pen and writing some verses of the Holy Qur’an?! What a single human can do, certainly a group of human can do too. So, Why they did not do that?
Also, there are many replies concerning this allegation ;these are:[1]
1. The style of the Holy Qur’an is different from that of the Noble Hadeeth, certainly a person , irrespective of his qualifications , can impossibly produce sentences with different style at the same time. Allah’s Messenger is a human being ,who could be angry, happy, sad and so on .. but you can see the difference clearly between the prophetic Noble Hadeeth , that he said and what he told us that it is a Holy Qur’an.
If the Qur’an and the Hadeeth have the same source, it will be very difficult to differentiat between their styles and their composition .
And why Muhammad did not claim that his Hadeeth is a Qur’anic verses in spite of the fact that it is also inspired by Allah. [2]
We cannot say that prophet Muhammad had two different styles, a very ornamented and decorated one which is for the Holy Qur’an and an inferior one for the Noble Hadeeth. Meanwhile most of the Holy Qur’an was brought down to prophet Muhammad unexpectedly, he is hates speech decoration more than any one , and we must not forget that we are talking about the golden age of Arabic when the Arabs’ instinct and sense were free from any kind of grammatical mistakes.
1-Show us a person who has a talent of speech and then write down his style characteristics. Then ask him to change his style into another one and write its characteristics too. Ask him to write a third one ... so he will never be able to abandon his first style; because style is something innate in any person on expressing the meaning. As long as a person has a special way in expressing the meaning, his performance would have inescapable characteristic.. [3]
2. When you observe the prophet’s biography (Seerah) you can notice his great fear of Almighty Allah, and his devoutness. Therefore, it is impossible for him to leave lying and cheating on people, then to lie and cheat on Allah.
3. What does an ordinary person want by pretending prophethood, if he is a liar? No more than some honor and money. While Quraish offered to Allah’s Messenger the most extreme things that any Arabic imagination could wish at that time, (money, honor, women…) but he left all of these and slept on a straw mat which affected his honorable body by leaving some lines on it, and he was exposed to many assassination attempts. He fought the polytheists.. although he could live in glory and bliss, if he gave up the calling for Islam.
4. The different Qur’anic miracles whether (illustrative, scientific, invisible or legislative) were behind the reach of any human being .
5. The Holy Qur’an does not contain any important events concerning Prophet Muhammad’s life or any names of his lovers or his closest persons such as ( his parents, his children, the earlier muslims, his wives..etc) even his name was not mentioned more than four times in the Holy Qur’an.
6. There are many verses of blame against Prophet Muhammad in the Holy Qur’an.
7. Prophet Muhammad underwent many problems and cases which demanded an immediate answer such as the slander incident concerning his wife “A'ishah may Allah be pleased with her” and the three who did not join the Tabuk expedition… also, his wife Khadejah “may Allah be pleased with her”, his uncle Abu Taleb and his son Abraham died without any indication concerning their death in the Holy Qur’an to console him
Moreover, the Holy Qur’an does not refer to his marriage to the believers’ mother Aishah (may Allah be pleased with her) whereas, his marriage to the believers’ mother Zienb (may Allah be pleased with her) is mentioned in the Holy Qur’an for its relation to a special Islamic legislation.
8. He did not obligate his followers to his personal opinons like: the story of fertilizing the palm tree[4], and his frequent cosultation to his followers on many occasions confirm that.
9. The Holy Qur’an stated that if it had been the prophet Muhammd’s invention, he would not have written any hard word according to his pleasure. As Almighty Allah says : (And you were not expecting that the Book (this Qur’an) would be sent down to you, but it is a mercy from your Lord.)[28:86]. of course, it is a hard word as Allah says :( Verily, We shall send down to you a weighty Word (i.e. obligations, laws) [73:5].
Even, if the matter was in his hand , he would send down words complying with their requirements, but this is inappropriate. Almighty Allah says: (And if you do not bring them a miracle (according to their (i.e. Quraish-pagans') proposal), they say: "Why have you not brought it?" Say: "I but follow what is revealed to me from my Lord. This (the Qur'ân) is nothing but evidences from your Lord, and a guidance and a mercy for a people who believe).[7:202]. Verily, Prophet Muhammad did not response to their demands in order to make them follow the evidence and the guidance, as a mercy for people who believe and to be sure that he is not the source of this revelation.
Glory to Allah who converts their fallacies evidence against them!
10. Another evidence is that the Holy Qur’an was sent down separated in 23 years and was arranged in a very wonderful and accurate style without any flaw, contradiction or any change in its rhetoric. All of these could never have been produced by an ordinary human being known with his natural deficiency.
11. This suspicion indicates that there are a hiden knowledge inside Prophet Muhammad’s mind, so from where did he obtain this former knowledg ? I have discussed above the invalidity of the suspicion that its source is either human or Jinn.
11. The Holy Qur’an enjoins many hard worships and prohibits a lot of pleasures that any human being eager to, while Quraish did not find any difficulty in doing it . It is incredible that Prophet Muhammad’s desire forced him to pray most of the night and to fast many days of the month connecting the day with the night without breaking fast … or to forbbid himself from drinking alcohol, usury, wearing gold and silk, accepting charity and to inherit his children (which is spechial for him because he is a prophet).
12. Prophet Muhammad could frighten his followers – if we assume he invented the Holy Qur’an for this purpose – but .. is there any human being all over the world would intimidate himself from the agony of hell, or facing many risks by living in a place full of enemies (where the hiden enemies more than the apparent ones) and without any bodyguards? –In fact this what prophet Mohummed did .
See what Almighty Allah says: (O Messenger (Muhammad (peace be upon him))! Proclaim (the Message) which has been sent down to you from your Lord. And if you do not, then you have not conveyed His Message. Allâh will protect you from mankind. Verily, Allâh guides not the people who disbelieve).[5:67]
This self sincerity led to another sincerity with others.. as Almighty Allah says : (And when Our Clear Verses are recited unto them, those who hope not for their meeting with Us, say: "Bring us a Qur'ân other than this, or change it." Say (O Muhammad (peace be upon him)) "It is not for me to change it[5] on my own accord; I only follow that which is revealed unto me. Verily, I fear the torment of the Great Day (i.e. the Day of Resurrection) if I were to disobey my Lord(15) Say (O Muhammad (peace be upon him)) "If Allâh had so willed, I should not have recited it to you nor would He have made it known to you. Verily, I have stayed amongst you a life time before this. Have you then no sense?(16) So who does more wrong than he who forges a lie against Allâh or denies His Ayât (proofs, evidences, verses, lessons, signs, revelations, etc.)? Surely, the Mujrimûn (criminals, sinners, disbelievers and polytheists) will never be successful!(17)). [10: 15:17]
Certainly, our Prohet Muhammad is honest, for the content of the Holy Qur’an does not belong to any creature (mankind or jinn), rather it is confirmed by Almighty Allah , God say in this regard what means : (And thus We have sent to you (O Muhammad (peace be upon him)) Ruh (a Revelation, and a Mercy) of Our Command. You knew not what is the Book, nor what is Faith? But We have made it (this Qur'ân) a light wherewith We guide whosoever of Our slaves We will. And verily, you (O Muhammad (peace be upon him)) are indeed guiding (mankind) to the Straight Path (i.e. Allâh's religion of Islâmic Monotheism). [42:52]
Any spirit longing to find the truth, would believe in that and would be confident by the lowest thought and searching.. but the passions, the lack of discernment and the deception of some unfair researchers could blind it, Almighty Allah says : (Those who disbelieve say: "This (the Qur'ân) is nothing but a lie that he (Muhammad (peace be upon him)) has invented, and others have helped him at it. In fact they have produced an unjust wrong (thing) and a lie(4) And they say: "Tales of the ancients, which he has written down, and they are dictated to him morning and afternoon(5) Say: "It (this Qur'ân) has been sent down by Him (Allâh) (the Real Lord of the heavens and earth) Who knows the secret of the heavens and the earth. Truly, He is Oft-Forgiving, Most Merciful(6).) [25:4:6]
Besides the envy which is mentioned in the following chapter : (Many of the people of the Scripture (Jews and Christians) wish that if they could turn you away as disbelievers after you have believed, out of envy from their ownselves, even, after the truth (that Muhammad (peace be upon him) is Allâh's Messenger) has become manifest unto them. But forgive and overlook, till Allâh brings His Command. Verily, Allâh is Able to do all things).[2:109]
[1] Qur’anic issues in the British encyclopedia, Dr. Fadel Hasan Abbas, p208. And an introduction to a study of the Holy Qur’an, Muhammad Abu Shahbh, p 98. And Manahel Al-Arfan, Al-Zarqani, 1/62.
[2] Al-Bukhari narrated in pilgrimmage (Al-hajj) chapter (1789): "A man came to the Prophet while he was at Ji'rana. The man was wearing a cloak which had traces of Khaluq or Sufra (a kind of perfume). The man asked (the Prophet ), 'What do you order me to perform in my 'Umra?' So, Allah inspired the Prophet divinely and he was screened by a place of cloth. I wished to see the Prophet being divinely inspired. 'Umar said to me, 'Come! Will you be pleased to look at the Prophet while Allah is inspiring him?' I replied in the affirmative. 'Umar lifted one corner of the cloth and I looked at the Prophet who was snoring. (The sub-narrator thought that he said: The snoring was like that of a camel). When that state was over, the Prophet asked, "Where is the questioner who asked about 'Umra? Put off your cloak and wash away the traces of Khaluq from your body and clean the Sufra (yellow color) and perform in your Umra what you perform in your Hajj (i.e. the Tawaf round the Ka'ba and the Sa'i between Safa and Marwa). "
Islam opponents’ suspisions and fabrications and anulled them, Muhammad Metwali Al-Shaarawi, p 38.
Muslim narrated in virtues chapter (2363) : “The Prophet passed by a group of people who were fertilizing the palm trees and said: it is better if you do not fertilize these palm trees. The narrater said: bad dates (shaess) grew. Then the Prophet passed them again and said: what is the matter with your palm trees? They said : because you said earlier “it is better if you do not fertilize these palm trees” and we did so. The Prohet said: ‘you know more than me about your present life”.
Shaess means the date with soft kernel or without kernel at all .
[5] Al-Zamakhshari talked in his book ‘Al- Kshaf” about the reason behind Quraish unbelievers’requirements : “the unbelievers’suggestion of replacement and changing is out of greed and to test him. That because if he makes any replacement: Allah will either perish him and they will escape or to not perish him and they will make fun of him and this replacement will be an evidence against him and a correction for his fabrication”.
Quran Study: Signs of God in the Qur'an
From www.islamfromwithin.org
In this lecture we will study what kinds of evidences are mentioned in the Quran for God’s existence and oneness. These verses are all talking about ‘signs of God’ that are found in the creation. Let us begin by a brief introduction to what the Quran is.
There are 114 chapters in the Quran. The Quran explains reality, yet refers us to the creation for the evidences. The one speaking in the Quran is the one who has created the universe. So if there is any discrepancy between the Quran and what we observe in the creation, either Quran’s claim is wrong, or our understanding of the creation is wrong. Most of the books that we read say that: although Muslims claim that Quran is God’s word, in fact it is Muhammad’s word. So they read the Quran as Muhammad’s word. Muslims keep emphasizing that Prophet Muhammad was an illiterate man, and also if you look at the language of the Quran, it is very evident that the style of language is completely different than Prophet Muhammad’s words. In 23 years time, the Quran was revealed to Prophet Muhammad. He has not changed even the punctuation of the letters, nor place of any words. And at the end of the 23 years, there was a complete book. This revelation has never been revised, as one would revise the first draft of a poem. Prophet Muhammad rejected the traditions of his society, as Jesus rejected the practices and ideas of the Rabbis and the money collectors…etc. When Prophet Muhammad was receiving revelation he was almost in an extraordinary state, not using his reason and free will to correct things. So can a person keep consistency throughout 23 years when he was in such a state? Thus, the Quran, from the very beginning, is extraordinary. It is not manmade, but God’s revelation. It is not poem, nor prose. It is very rhythmic, beautiful. It has been memorized by believers for 14 centuries. All people who have studied the Quran, from Spain to China, found it extraordinary, and wrote commentaries on it, not finding any discrepancies in it.
All the news that the Quran brings related to the creation is to let us know about the World of Unseen (alemu ghayb). The Quran brings the news about God, God is describing Himself, letting the people know who their Creator is. Whatever news the Quran brings about the Artist of the creation, or before and after the creation of this universe, it shows the evidences from the art/creation itself. Muslims might sound as if they are materialistic, because even when they talk about spiritual life, they still talk about the universe, descriptions of beauty in the creation, earth and the heavens. It seems like they are not religious or they are not in fact talking about God. Especially when reading the Sufi writings, it is as if they are talking about the love between creatures. But they are in fact talking about the love of the Creator towards the creatures and vice versa. They are looking at the art yet describing the Artist. People expect them to talk about do’s and don’ts, yet they talk about love. It is because Quran brings the evidence for its message from the creation. If you present a bunch of flowers to a Muslim, he/she would say ma’shallah (What God willed). S/he sees the flower but talks about God, this is the teaching of the Quran.
“74. Lo! Abraham said to his father Azar: "Takest thou idols for gods? For I see thee and thy people in manifest error." 75. So also did We show Abraham the power and the laws of the heavens and the earth, that he might (with understanding) have certitude. 76. When the night covered him over, He saw a star: He said: "This is my Lord." But when it set, He said: "I love not those that set." 77. When he saw the moon rising in splendour, he said: "This is my Lord." But when the moon set, He said: "unless my Lord guide me, I shall surely be among those who go astray." 78. When he saw the sun rising in splendour, he said: "This is my Lord; this is the greatest (of all)." But when the sun set, he said: "O my people! I am indeed free from your (guilt) of giving partners to God. 79. "For me, I have set my face, firmly and truly, towards Him Who created the heavens and the earth, and never shall I give partners to God" (Quran, Al-Anam (Cattle), 6:74-79).”
When we are reading this verse, God, in the Quran is talking to us/to me. Abraham here is me. So I am supposed to read all these words, as if God is talking to me directly.
In this lecture we will study what kinds of evidences are mentioned in the Quran for God’s existence and oneness. These verses are all talking about ‘signs of God’ that are found in the creation. Let us begin by a brief introduction to what the Quran is.
There are 114 chapters in the Quran. The Quran explains reality, yet refers us to the creation for the evidences. The one speaking in the Quran is the one who has created the universe. So if there is any discrepancy between the Quran and what we observe in the creation, either Quran’s claim is wrong, or our understanding of the creation is wrong. Most of the books that we read say that: although Muslims claim that Quran is God’s word, in fact it is Muhammad’s word. So they read the Quran as Muhammad’s word. Muslims keep emphasizing that Prophet Muhammad was an illiterate man, and also if you look at the language of the Quran, it is very evident that the style of language is completely different than Prophet Muhammad’s words. In 23 years time, the Quran was revealed to Prophet Muhammad. He has not changed even the punctuation of the letters, nor place of any words. And at the end of the 23 years, there was a complete book. This revelation has never been revised, as one would revise the first draft of a poem. Prophet Muhammad rejected the traditions of his society, as Jesus rejected the practices and ideas of the Rabbis and the money collectors…etc. When Prophet Muhammad was receiving revelation he was almost in an extraordinary state, not using his reason and free will to correct things. So can a person keep consistency throughout 23 years when he was in such a state? Thus, the Quran, from the very beginning, is extraordinary. It is not manmade, but God’s revelation. It is not poem, nor prose. It is very rhythmic, beautiful. It has been memorized by believers for 14 centuries. All people who have studied the Quran, from Spain to China, found it extraordinary, and wrote commentaries on it, not finding any discrepancies in it.
All the news that the Quran brings related to the creation is to let us know about the World of Unseen (alemu ghayb). The Quran brings the news about God, God is describing Himself, letting the people know who their Creator is. Whatever news the Quran brings about the Artist of the creation, or before and after the creation of this universe, it shows the evidences from the art/creation itself. Muslims might sound as if they are materialistic, because even when they talk about spiritual life, they still talk about the universe, descriptions of beauty in the creation, earth and the heavens. It seems like they are not religious or they are not in fact talking about God. Especially when reading the Sufi writings, it is as if they are talking about the love between creatures. But they are in fact talking about the love of the Creator towards the creatures and vice versa. They are looking at the art yet describing the Artist. People expect them to talk about do’s and don’ts, yet they talk about love. It is because Quran brings the evidence for its message from the creation. If you present a bunch of flowers to a Muslim, he/she would say ma’shallah (What God willed). S/he sees the flower but talks about God, this is the teaching of the Quran.
“74. Lo! Abraham said to his father Azar: "Takest thou idols for gods? For I see thee and thy people in manifest error." 75. So also did We show Abraham the power and the laws of the heavens and the earth, that he might (with understanding) have certitude. 76. When the night covered him over, He saw a star: He said: "This is my Lord." But when it set, He said: "I love not those that set." 77. When he saw the moon rising in splendour, he said: "This is my Lord." But when the moon set, He said: "unless my Lord guide me, I shall surely be among those who go astray." 78. When he saw the sun rising in splendour, he said: "This is my Lord; this is the greatest (of all)." But when the sun set, he said: "O my people! I am indeed free from your (guilt) of giving partners to God. 79. "For me, I have set my face, firmly and truly, towards Him Who created the heavens and the earth, and never shall I give partners to God" (Quran, Al-Anam (Cattle), 6:74-79).”
When we are reading this verse, God, in the Quran is talking to us/to me. Abraham here is me. So I am supposed to read all these words, as if God is talking to me directly.
The Quran is the word of God
All that we have seen so far shows us one clear fact: the Qur'an is such a book that all the news related in it has proved to be true. Facts about scientific subjects and the news given about the future, facts that no one could have known at the time, were announced in its verses. It is impossible for this information to have been known with the level of knowledge and technology of the day. It is clear that this provides clear evidence that the Qur'an is not the word of man. The Qur'an is the word of the Almighty God, the Originator of everything and the One Who encompasses everything with His knowledge. In one verse, God says on the Qur'an "If it had been from other than God, they would have found many inconsistencies in it." (The Qur'an, 4:82) Not only are there no inconsistencies in the Qur'an, but every piece of information it contains reveals the miracle of this divine book more and more each day.
What falls to man is to hold fast to this divine book revealed by God, and receive it as his one and only guide. In one of the verses, God calls out to us:
"And this is a Book We have sent down and blessed, so follow it and have fear of God so that hopefully you will gain mercy." (The Qur'an, 6:155)
In His other verses, God remarks:
"Say: 'It is the truth from your Lord. Let anyone who wishes to, believe, and let anyone who wishes to, disbelieve...'"(The Qur'an, 18:29)
"No indeed! Truly it (the Qur'an) is a reminder, and whoever wills pays heed to it." (The Qur'an, 80:11-12)
The Scientific Miracles of the Qur'an: Introduction The Coming of the Universe into Existence The Expansion of the Universe The Splitting Asunder of "The Heavens and Earth" Orbits The Roundness of the Earth The Protected Roof The Returning Sky The Layers of the Atmosphere The Function of Mountains The Movement of Mountains The Miracle in the Iron The Pairs in Creation The Relativity of Time The Proportion of Rain The Formation of Rain The Fecundating Winds The Seas not Mingling with One Another Darkness in the Seas, and Internal Waves The Region that Controls Our Movements The Birth of A Human Mother's MilkThe Identity in the FingerprintPART TWO: The Information Given About the Future in the Qur'an: Introduction The Victory of ByzantiumPART THREE: The Historical Miracles of the Qur'anThe Word "Haman" in the Qur'anTitles of Egyptian Rulers in the Qur'anConclusion: The Qur'an is the Word of God
Please investigate these miracles in Harun Yahya International. http://www.harunyahya.com
What falls to man is to hold fast to this divine book revealed by God, and receive it as his one and only guide. In one of the verses, God calls out to us:
"And this is a Book We have sent down and blessed, so follow it and have fear of God so that hopefully you will gain mercy." (The Qur'an, 6:155)
In His other verses, God remarks:
"Say: 'It is the truth from your Lord. Let anyone who wishes to, believe, and let anyone who wishes to, disbelieve...'"(The Qur'an, 18:29)
"No indeed! Truly it (the Qur'an) is a reminder, and whoever wills pays heed to it." (The Qur'an, 80:11-12)
The Scientific Miracles of the Qur'an: Introduction The Coming of the Universe into Existence The Expansion of the Universe The Splitting Asunder of "The Heavens and Earth" Orbits The Roundness of the Earth The Protected Roof The Returning Sky The Layers of the Atmosphere The Function of Mountains The Movement of Mountains The Miracle in the Iron The Pairs in Creation The Relativity of Time The Proportion of Rain The Formation of Rain The Fecundating Winds The Seas not Mingling with One Another Darkness in the Seas, and Internal Waves The Region that Controls Our Movements The Birth of A Human Mother's MilkThe Identity in the FingerprintPART TWO: The Information Given About the Future in the Qur'an: Introduction The Victory of ByzantiumPART THREE: The Historical Miracles of the Qur'anThe Word "Haman" in the Qur'anTitles of Egyptian Rulers in the Qur'anConclusion: The Qur'an is the Word of God
Please investigate these miracles in Harun Yahya International. http://www.harunyahya.com
Saturday, December 09, 2006
Ex-Reformer Speaks Out: The Cartoon of the Prophet.
By: Maged Taman
The Ex-Reformer Maged Taman in his blog writes: The clash of civilization is no doubt is well manifested with what happened with the cartoons of prophet Muhammad. The west needs to understand all of these factors:
1- Religion is sacred to all Muslims and the prophet is our way to God and the Islamic religion. All prophets are sacred and Muslims love Muhammad (PBUH) more than themselves. If you make a fun in a cartoon in one of them he would likely go after you. For their prophet it is outrageous.
2- The idea itself of making fun of someone in a carton is not even accepted yet to most Muslims. You see in the west politicians take it rather easy since freedom of speech has been there for long time. I highly suspect if someone would made fun of one of the Arab tyrants in the tyrant country he will be somewhere or nowhere that we can find him.
3- The anger of Muslims against the west is well appreciated even in the western counties. This is not a paranoia if the Muslims would have oppressed the west they would have done the same. Read in my blog the third structure.
4- No doubt that the extremists and the Arab tyrants feed the anti-American sentiment. All are playing billiard and all are hitting same balls for different reasons.
5- Besides for the Muslims to feel united even in one thing like the anger against carton against their prophet is a deep desire that they are yarning for.
6- The piece meal approach of America in spreading democracy is not even convincing the west. After the repression for long years the extremists that the west created are ready to jump in and take over. The made the game of freedom is even geopolitically dangerous.
Sincerely I do not know what is the sincerity of the west.So what is the right approach to these cartoons against Muslims. If I am one of the top leaders or imams I would have used a step up approach:
1- I would go to the Cartoon makers and sit with them as well with the magazine editor and explain to them how Muslims value there prophets and who they are very faithful that he was sent from God who created us and the universe and can destroy us all. They do not need to believe in our prophet but they have to accept our strong faith on him. Besides we do not even have a free speech and no one can touch the tyrants and now you go after their beloved prophet. I would asked them for a political apology like expressing their unawareness of the Islamic traditions and culture. This is not free speech versus Muslims intimidation. It is understanding how the matter is serious to Muslims even if you do not agree with them and your consideration why should someone put his finger in the wound that make someone else to feel more pain.
2- If they would decide against our view points I would talk to the Politicians in the same country and I would ask them for a political resolution.
3- For sure I would not do anything violent. The prophet himself was scolded harassed and was stoned when he was in early years spreading the message of Islam. He did not look back and try to get every one he suffered from. Actually his worst enemies became his best friends. His life was all about the message and not the messenger. That is why all Muslims believed he was a true prophet from God wants all the good to humanity.
4- Suing the magazine or boycotting of the country that published the cartoons would be my last steps.For the common comment why moderate Muslims are not standing to extremists we are doing a good job by laying out ideas. Besides, We hate you all the oppressor Arab tyrants, the extremists/terrorists/jihadists/freedom fighters and the American politicians(just kidding).
The Ex-Reformer Maged Taman in his blog writes: The clash of civilization is no doubt is well manifested with what happened with the cartoons of prophet Muhammad. The west needs to understand all of these factors:
1- Religion is sacred to all Muslims and the prophet is our way to God and the Islamic religion. All prophets are sacred and Muslims love Muhammad (PBUH) more than themselves. If you make a fun in a cartoon in one of them he would likely go after you. For their prophet it is outrageous.
2- The idea itself of making fun of someone in a carton is not even accepted yet to most Muslims. You see in the west politicians take it rather easy since freedom of speech has been there for long time. I highly suspect if someone would made fun of one of the Arab tyrants in the tyrant country he will be somewhere or nowhere that we can find him.
3- The anger of Muslims against the west is well appreciated even in the western counties. This is not a paranoia if the Muslims would have oppressed the west they would have done the same. Read in my blog the third structure.
4- No doubt that the extremists and the Arab tyrants feed the anti-American sentiment. All are playing billiard and all are hitting same balls for different reasons.
5- Besides for the Muslims to feel united even in one thing like the anger against carton against their prophet is a deep desire that they are yarning for.
6- The piece meal approach of America in spreading democracy is not even convincing the west. After the repression for long years the extremists that the west created are ready to jump in and take over. The made the game of freedom is even geopolitically dangerous.
Sincerely I do not know what is the sincerity of the west.So what is the right approach to these cartoons against Muslims. If I am one of the top leaders or imams I would have used a step up approach:
1- I would go to the Cartoon makers and sit with them as well with the magazine editor and explain to them how Muslims value there prophets and who they are very faithful that he was sent from God who created us and the universe and can destroy us all. They do not need to believe in our prophet but they have to accept our strong faith on him. Besides we do not even have a free speech and no one can touch the tyrants and now you go after their beloved prophet. I would asked them for a political apology like expressing their unawareness of the Islamic traditions and culture. This is not free speech versus Muslims intimidation. It is understanding how the matter is serious to Muslims even if you do not agree with them and your consideration why should someone put his finger in the wound that make someone else to feel more pain.
2- If they would decide against our view points I would talk to the Politicians in the same country and I would ask them for a political resolution.
3- For sure I would not do anything violent. The prophet himself was scolded harassed and was stoned when he was in early years spreading the message of Islam. He did not look back and try to get every one he suffered from. Actually his worst enemies became his best friends. His life was all about the message and not the messenger. That is why all Muslims believed he was a true prophet from God wants all the good to humanity.
4- Suing the magazine or boycotting of the country that published the cartoons would be my last steps.For the common comment why moderate Muslims are not standing to extremists we are doing a good job by laying out ideas. Besides, We hate you all the oppressor Arab tyrants, the extremists/terrorists/jihadists/freedom fighters and the American politicians(just kidding).
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