TODAY’S MUSLIM CHALLENGE: HOW CAN PAUL HAVE INVENTED THE FAITH AND TRINITY DOCTRINES WHICH HE WAS FORMERLY THE NOTORIOUS PERSECUTOR OF?
1). INTRODUCTION
This post is the first of a new series about the Apostle Paul, an overdue pushback against the unjustified Muslim attacks on him.
A typical Muslim claim will say: “So you believe the story of Paul or Saul who claimed God became human and died on the cross to save sinners and evil doers?”
I suggest below an illustrative not exhaustive series of questions and answers for how to address this question and others like it.
2). THE RESPONSE
(i). Were the Gospels which contain the crucifixion narrative written by Paul?
Answer: No they were not.
(ii). Who were the Apostles as recorded in the early chapters of Acts preaching about?
Answer: Christ crucified and resurrected for the forgiveness of sins.
(iii). Which of the Apostles are named as leaders at this time?
Answer: Peter and John (eg Acts 3:1, 3:11, 4:7, 4:13, 4:19).
(iv). Do we see Muslim opposition specifically to the teaching of Peter or John?
Answer: Not that I am aware of, they save their personal attacks for Paul who is not amongst the Apostles at this stage nor even yet mentioned as an opponent.
(v). Was the doctrine of the Trinity visible at that time?
Answer: Yes it is, as illustrated by Peter’s Pentecost sermon and the prayers for strength after they had been first arrested by the rulers, elders and brought before the high priest:
“When they heard this, they came under deep conviction and said to Peter and the rest of the apostles: “Brothers, what must we do?” [38] “Repent,” Peter said to them, “and be baptized, each of you, in the name of 👉 Jesus Christ 👈 for the forgiveness of your sins, and you will receive the gift of the 👉 Holy Spirit 👈. [39] For the promise is for you and for your children, and for all who are far off, as many as the 👉 Lord our God 👈 will call.” [40] And with many other words he testified and strongly urged them, saying, “Be saved from this corrupt generation! ” [41] So those who accepted his message were baptized, and that day about 3,000 people were added to them. [42] And they devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching, to the fellowship, to the breaking of bread, and to the prayers. [43] Then fear came over everyone, and many wonders and signs were being performed through the apostles. [44] Now all the believers were together and held all things in common. [45] They sold their possessions and property and distributed the proceeds to all, as anyone had a need. [46] Every day they devoted themselves to meeting together in the temple complex, and broke bread from house to house. They ate their food with a joyful and humble attitude, [47] praising God and having favor with all the people. And every day the Lord added to them those who were being saved” (Acts 2:37-47 HCSB).
“After they were released, they went to their own people and reported everything the chief priests and the elders had said to them. [24] When they heard this, they all raised their voices to God and said, “👉 Master 👈, You are the One who made the heaven, the earth, and the sea, and everything in them. [25] You said through the 👉 Holy Spirit 👈 by the mouth of our father David Your servant: Why did the Gentiles rage and the peoples plot futile things? [26] The kings of the earth took their stand and the rulers assembled together against 👉 the Lord 👈 and against 👉 His Messiah 👈 [29] And now, Lord, consider their threats, and grant that Your slaves may speak Your message with complete boldness, [30] while You stretch out Your hand for healing, signs, and wonders to be performed through the name of 👉 Your holy Servant Jesus 👈.” [31] When they had prayed, the place where they were assembled was shaken, and they were all filled with the 👉 Holy Spirit 👈 and began to speak 👉 God’s message 👈 with boldness” (Acts 4:23-26, 29-31 HCSB)
(vi). Who was the arch persecutor of the early church?
Answer: Saul (Paul) was.
(vii). How can Paul have invented the faith which he was formerly trying to stamp out at source?
Answer: he could not.
“Saul agreed with putting him [Stephen] to death. On that day a severe persecution broke out against the church in Jerusalem, and all except the apostles were scattered throughout the land of Judea and Samaria. Devout men buried Stephen and mourned deeply over him. Saul, however, was ravaging the church. He would enter house after house, drag off men and women, and put them in prison.” (Acts 8:1-3 HCSB)
(viii). Paul received the gospel independently from the other Apostles, or any human source (Galatians 1:12), but when they met was Paul’s message the same as and well received by the others?
Answer: Yes it was.
According to Paul’s letter to the Galatians, it was the three key figures of Peter James and Paul who met together in Jerusalem, three years after Paul’s Damascus road experience (Galatians 1:18-19). Paul states that he went to Jerusalem to visit Cephas (Peter), but the verb he used was “historeo”,¹ which means not just to visit but to investigate or research matters. Furthermore he stayed with him for 15 days (Galatians 1:18). He says that he saw none of the other apostles at that time, except James the Lord’s brother (verse 19). So when Paul wrote in 1 Corinthians 15 that the risen Christ appeared individually to both Peter and James, he was effectively saying “I know this because I have heard their story first hand”.
The context of his report in Galatians concerns the content of the Gospel. The Galatians had been embracing “a different gospel” because some had been “distorting the gospel” (Galatians 1:6-7). So Paul didn’t visit Jerusalem to discuss trivialities. In clarifying the gospel which they were preaching, it is overwhelmingly probable that Paul received this authoritative oral creed with its list of witnesses from Peter and James. And Paul did not spend two weeks with Peter if they were in disagreement. Again in Galatians 2 we have confirmation that all the Apostles were united:
“When James, Cephas [Peter], and John, recognized as pillars, acknowledged the grace that had been given to me, they gave the right hand of fellowship to me and Barnabas, agreeing that we should go to the Gentiles and they to the circumcised” (Galatians 2:9 HCSB).
3). CONCLUSIONS
The above Q&A sequence puts Muslims in a real bind. If Paul was the inventor of Christ’s redeeming death and resurrection, why were Peter John and the other Apostles preaching it and being persecuted for doing so, in the pre-Pauline earliest nascent phase of the church? Ditto with their recognition and acknowledgement of the Three persons of the Trinity.
If Paul was inspired by Satan in his “invention” of Christianity why was he arrested on the road to Damascus and having a life changing encounter with the risen Christ (the first of several such personal encounters)?
If Paul was being misled by Satan as MusIims claim, then he had no need of any such encounters. He was already doing a good job in His persecution of the church (which wasn’t Islam). What purpose does his Damascene conversion serve, unless to put him on the right road? Surely Muslims must applaud the original Saul of Acts chapter 8? Why then can’t you be honest enough to say so?
And if all this is the case, then it simply doesn’t add up that Paul could have invented what was already established doctrine, which the Jewish authorities were already trying to silence, and which he himself was trying to destroy.
And once he became an Apostle is there any evidence that supports singling out Paul as a heretic, or his message at odds with the rest of the Apostles? Not at all.
So Muslims I have yet to see any attempt to reconcile the claim that Paul invented what he was dedicated to destroying before a certain encounter took place. Now is another chance for you to do so.
Over to you Muslims for on point comments.
Footnote:
¹ Theological Dictionary of the New Testament Eerdmans 1985 (Kittel and Friedrich, editors).
NO HOLIEST MONTH OF RAMADAN IN THE QURAN OR THE BIBLE Firstly let’s challenge the Muslims to bring the Quran verse which declares Ramadan as the holiest month of the year. The Quran says that there are only four holy or prohibited (haram) months. They do NOT include the month of Ramadhan. These are the 4 months of Muharram, Rajab, Dzul Qadah, and Dzul Hijjah (Surah 9:36-37; 2:197 & 217; 5:2; 9:2-5 – see also Bukhari Volume 4, Book 54, Hadith Number 419) – during which Arabs did not fight. Or rather were not supposed to fight. The Quran verses speaking of Ramadan say nothing about it being the holiest month, and they wrongly declare it had any history. “O you who believe! fasting is prescribed for you, as it was prescribed for those before you, so that you may guard (against evil). [184] For a certain number of days; but whoever among you is sick or on a journey, then (he shall fast) a (like) number of other days; and those who are not able to do it may effect a redemption by feeding a poor man; so whoever does good spontaneously it is better for him; and that you fast is better for you if you know. [185] The month of Ramazan is that in which the Quran was revealed, a guidance to men and clear proofs of the guidance and the distinction; therefore whoever of you is present in the month, he shall fast therein, and whoever is sick or upon a journey, then (he shall fast) a (like) number of other days; Allah desires ease for you, and He does not desire for you difficulty, and (He desires) that you should complete the number and that you should exalt the greatness of Allah for His having guided you and that you may give thanks” (Surah 2:183-185 Shakir). Turning to the Bible, the go to text which Muslims claim Jeremiah 36:9 HAS ABSOLUTELY NOTHING to do with your pagan fast/feast! Nor does any other reference in Scripture to fasting. The fast in Jeremiah 39:6 was NOT a DECREED on by the LORD nor the people! “In the fifth year of Jehoiakim son of Josiah, king of Judah, in the ninth month, all the people of Jerusalem and all those coming in from Judah’s cities into Jerusalem proclaimed a fast before the Lord” (Jeremiah 36:9 HCSB). Here, the fast was simply a fast by the people and NOT by the LORD, even to the people it WASN’T a decree for a COMPULSORY FAST on the ninth month is NOT forced on any Jew even after this event. It was the ONLY fast that just happened to fall on the ninth month. This fast by coincidence fell on the ninth month, for it could fall on any other month! Looking closely, Israel was near exile when the people observed their OWN fast by the emergence of the time! There was no special significance in this month! Moreover, this fast changed nothing! => ISRAEL FURTHER WENT INTO EXILE! There’s NO DECREE where YHWH commanded a fast specifically on the NINTH MONTH! The Jews DON’T specifically fast on the ninth month because it’s NOT a decree by the LORD nor one they made up fir themselves! If this is not so, Muslims should point to any where apart from Jeremiah 39:9 where a Jew or any Biblical figure fasted on the ninth month! We can also observe that in Zechariah 8:18-19 tells God Himself commanded His people to fast on the 4th, 5th, 7th and 10th months and He Himself promised them there shall be blessings as a result. “Then the word of the Lord of hosts came to me, saying, “Thus says the Lord of hosts: ‘The fast of the fourth month, The fast of the fifth, The fast of the seventh, And the fast of the tenth, Shall be joy and gladness and cheerful feasts For the house of Judah. Therefore love truth and peace.’” (Zechariah 8:18-19 NKJV) Here we see God commanding fasts Himself during certain precise months and NOWHERE does God command fast in the 9th month. Neither is there anywhere God commanded anyone to fast for 30 days and nor at specific times every day during the fast like the Muslim starve/binge gluttons are doing. Moreover these commands are for the House of Israel only. MUSLIMS FAILED, ALLAH LIED!… make no mistake #ISLAM_is_FALSE
HOW TO TURN NUMBERS 23:19 INTO THE CONDEMNATION OF ISLAM. □ INTRODUCTION Anyone who has debated with Muslims knows that Numbers 23:19 (but only part of the first clause, in fact only the first 5 words out of a verse containing 27 words), is probably one of their top three go to verses to try and disprove the Incarnation. But Numbers 23:19 is not a valid argument against the Incarnation unless you’re argument is that you can’t read even a single verse properly. I mean seriously it’s a metaphor saying God is always faithful and fulfills His word and promises. If anything it’s actually a heads up advance flyer for the divinity of Christ because Christ did everything He said He would do. Jesus is the antithesis of the Numbers 23:19 charge of human deceit and vacillation. We can express Jesus thus: “Jesus as God, is a man who told the truth, never changed His mind, who never just spoke, but always acted, who’s promises He always fulfilled”. That’s putting in the positive what the verse actually says in its original negative construction: “God is not a man who lies, or a son of man who changes His mind. Does He speak and not act, or promise and not fulfill?” (Numbers 23:19 HCSB) Jesus is the ultimate personification and fulfilment of this prophecy. He did indeed fulfil the promises of the Old Testament. Jesus cleansed lepers, healed the blind, cast out demons, raised the dead to life and Himself rose again from the dead entirely in line with the OT prophetic context. When the imprisoned John the Baptist sent word asking if Jesus was the expected Messiah, Jesus replied: “Jesus replied to them, “Go and report to John what you hear and see: [5] the blind see, the lame walk, those with skin diseases are healed, the deaf hear, the dead are raised, and the poor are told the good news” (Matthew 11:4-5). In this reply Jesus proved that He was fulfilling the promises by His actions. In His darkest hour the night before He died, Jesus never wavered or changed His mind, He knew what the fulfilment of His destiny required. He spoke no untruth, on the contrary He both claimed and proved that He is the epitome of truth. “Jesus told him, “I am the way, THE TRUTH, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me” (John 14:6). No Muslims, far from proving that God is not a man, Numbers 23:19 actually vindicates the Incarnation. Note this commentary on Numbers 23:19: “That he should lie — Break his promise made to his people for their preservation and benediction. Neither the son of man that he should repent — Change his counsels or purposes, as men change theirs, either because they are not able to execute them, or because they are better informed, or their minds are changed by some unexpected occurrence, or by their passions, none of which things have place in God. When the inspired writers speak of God’s repenting, as Jeremiah 18:8, and Amos 7:3-6, they are to be understood as speaking figuratively, and adapting their language to our apprehensions. They only mean that God changes the course of his providence toward mankind, according as He sees a change in their dispositions and actions.” (Benson) □ NUMBERS 23:19 PROVES THE QURAN’S MANMADE ORIGINS It may not be obvious, because Christians have been so used to playing defence with this verse, but Numbers 23:19, this verse that Muslims love to partially quote trying to disprove the Incarnation, actually rebounds on them and condems the Quran. Yes, the “changing of mind” abrogation in the Quran is a sure proof of its manmade origin. A classic example of changing revelations to suit his circumstances, is Muhammad’s teaching on drinking. In the early days, before Muhammad gained a significant following he said that although a sin, it was alright to drink: Surah 2:219 “They ask thee concerning wine and gambling. Say: “In them is great sin, and some profit, for men; but the sin is greater than the profit.” They ask thee how much they are to spend; Say: “What is beyond your needs.” Thus doth God Make clear to you His Signs: In order that ye may consider” (Yusuf Ali) As his power base grew, he presented a stronger position. It was not acceptable to have had any intoxicants “close enough to prayers to fog the mind.” This surely recognises that drinking alcohol at other times wasn’t a problem. Surah 4:43 “O ye who believe! Approach not prayers with a mind befogged, until ye can understand all that ye say” (Yusuf Ali) But, when his position had become strongly established, Muhammad forbade the use of intoxicants entirely. Surah 5:90 – 91: “O ye who believe! Intoxicants and gambling, (dedication of) stones, and (divination by) arrows, are an abomination,- of Satan’s handwork: eschew such (abomination), that ye may prosper. [91] “Satan’s plan is (but) to excite enmity and hatred between you, with intoxicants and gambling, and hinder you from the remembrance of God, and from prayer: will ye not then abstain?” (Yusuf Ali) His final revelation calls the use of intoxicants “Satan’s handiwork.” This puts him in the awkward position of having had Allah approve of “Satan’s Handiwork’ when he said that there was “some profit for men” in the use of intoxicants. □ DOES GOD VACILLATE ON SIN? When the Bible speaks of God repenting, there is no thought of sin. Neither is there any hint of vacillation, as if God wavers in His purpose or changes His plans in response to man’s doings. God is unchanging or immutable. His purpose has been fixed from eternity and He will establish it (Isaiah 46:10; Ephesians 1:11). He does not change His mind as man does (1 Samuel 15:29). So how do we explain the many Old Testament references to God repenting? When Scripture speaks of God repenting, it is viewing God from man’s viewpoint (“anthropomorphism”). From man’s viewpoint it seems as if God is changing His mind, although from God’s viewpoint, He never changes His mind and His purpose is always carried out. We refer to the sun setting, but that is only from our limited viewpoint. The actual truth is, the sun did not move; the earth revolved. But we speak from our viewpoint. For an in depth look at what it takes to change God’s mind, this is an example of excellent teaching on the subject: bible.org/seriespage/lesson-3-man-who-caused-god-repent-exodus-327-14-30-35-331-6-12-17 □ WHY QURANIC ABROGATION IS NOT GOD CHANGING HIS MIND The central passage that deals with abrogation is Surah 2:106: “None of Our revelations do We abrogate or cause to be forgotten, but We substitute something better or similar: Knowest thou not that Allah Hath power over all things?” (Yusuf Ali) Not all Muslim scholars agree on what abrogation covers. Briefly here is a simplified assessment: # Muslim scholars of old hold to the concept that some ayahs in the Quran abrogate other ayahs in the Quran, but do not all hold to the same set of abrogated and abrogating ayahs. # Other Muslim scholars are of the opinion that the Quran may abrogate the Quran as well as the Sunnah (deed or example of Mohammad) and vice versa. # Some Muslim scholars hold that the Quran abrogates all the previous scriptures, specifically the scriptures sent to Musa (The Torah) and Isa (Gospel), but not itself. # Some Muslim scholars, especially of recent times do not believe in the concept of abrogation at all. Thus we can see, as so often the case, there is no consensus amongst Islam’s scholars as to what is meant by Surah 2:106. Nevertheless, we can still draw some valid conclusions as follows: (i). If abrogation is true, then the Quran cannot be an eternal guide because half its content has already been deemed useless by Islamic scholars. (ii). If the Quran is an eternal guide, then abrogation is false and scholars who defend abrogation are wrong. (iii). In either case the Quran cannot be the timeless and inspired word of God. Some Muslims, in order to justify the Quranic doctrine of abrogation, claim that the Bible teaches something similar. They assert that the Bible contains many instructions and practices which have been abrogated, annulled, by later commandments, i.e. Sabbath observance, dietary restrictions etc. Muslims think that they can justify the Quranic problem of abrogation if they can prove that the Bible also contains abrogation. This presents huge difficulties of which these are just 2 that stand out: 1). To begin with, appealing to the Bible does absolutely nothing to support the doctrine of Islamic abrogation for several reasons. First, if abrogation is a logical and/or theological problem then appealing to the Bible doesn’t resolve the dilemma. It would only prove that both the Holy Bible and the Quran are wrong and cannot, therefore, be revelations from God. This is a fallacy of false analogy and a red herring. Attempting to justify committing a wrong on the grounds that someone else is guilty of another wrong is clearly a red herring ― that is, a fallacy of irrelevance ― because if this form of argument were cogent, one could justify anything ― assuming that there is another wrong to point to. 2). Secondly, the Bible in any event does not teach abrogation since the Quran defines abrogation as blotting out, previous instructions: “God blots out, and He establishes whatsoever He will; and with Him is the Essence of the Book” (Surah 13:39 Arberry). The Bible, on the other hand, doesn’t blot out or abolish previous revelations but fulfills and consummates them, just as Jesus taught: “Do not think that I have come to ABOLISH the Law or the Prophets; I have not come to ABOLISH them but to FULFIL them. For truly, I say to you, until heaven and earth pass away, not an iota, not a dot, will pass from the Law until all is accomplished.” (Matthew 5:17-18) [Caps for emphasis] Jesus doesn’t abolish the Hebrew Bible, but perfectly fulfills it in his life and teachings. What Jesus was basically telling the people is that the Hebrew Bible was specifically revealed in such a way so as to find its true meaning expression and completion in the Messiah’s work and interpretation of it. For a more thorough and complete exegesis of this passage see James Arlandson’s excellent article, ‘How Jesus Christ fulfills the Old Testament’: www.answering-islam.org/Authors/Arlandson/fulfilled.htm Other passages basically reiterate the above point, indicating that the Hebrew Bible had a sequential specific fulfillment in the Messiah, and that once it was fulfilled, believers were then required to apply the Messiah’s interpretation and completion of it. “The Law and the Prophets were until John; since then, the good news of the kingdom of God has been proclaimed, and everyone is strongly urged to enter it. [17] But it is easier for heaven and earth to pass away than for one stroke of a letter in the law to drop out” (Luke 16:16-17). Notice that the progress from the Law and the Prophets toward the new era occurred after John had been sent to announce the Messiah’s advent. The Law and the Prophets are now subsumed and consummated in the Gospel of God’s kingdom as proclaimed in the life, ministry, death and resurrection of our all in one, Prophet, Priest and King Himself, the Lord Jesus Christ. “Brothers, my heart’s desire and prayer to God for them is that they may be saved. I bear them witness that they have a zeal for God, but not according to knowledge. For, being ignorant of the righteousness that comes from God, and seeking to establish their own, they did not submit to God’s righteousness. For Christ is the end of the law for righteousness to everyone who believes” (Romans 10:1-4). Christ is the focal point of the Law, the very One who consummates the Law as he brings it to its completion and fulfillment. “Therefore the Law has become our tutor to lead us to Christ, so that we may be justified by faith” (Galatians 3:24). The Law was designed to lead us to Christ, its true fulfillment. It is clear from the foregoing that the view of the New Testament writers is that the Hebrew Scriptures were deliberately designed by God to foreshadow Christ and his Church. The Old Testament Scriptures contained shadows, types, analogies, and copies of spiritual realities that awaited the coming of Christ. Old Testament peoples, places, events and things were deliberately designed to be copies of a far greater spiritual reality, with Christ manifesting that reality through his fulfillment of it. The New Testament Scriptures are basically the record of how Christ unveiled the spiritual reality underlying the Old Testament revelation: “Hear now, O Joshua the high priest, you and your friends who sit before you, for they are men who are a sign: behold, I will bring my servant the Branch. For behold, on the stone that I have set before Joshua, on a single stone with seven eyes, I will engrave its inscription, declares the LORD of hosts, and I WILL REMOVE THE INIQUITY OF THIS LAND IN A SINGLE DAY.” (Zechariah 3:8-9) □ CONCLUSIONS We can distinguish the orderly, sequential, progressive, revelation and fulfilment of God”s word and contrast it with the disordered Quran. Craig Winn in his blistering broadside against Islam in “Prophet of Doom” describes the Quranic concept of “abrogation” thus:- “A perfect book cannot by definition be disordered. Yet there is a larger problem. The second Surah contains the verse on abrogation which says: “Whenever We cancel a message or throw it into oblivion, We replace it with a better one.” (Surah 2.106) Without dismembering the entire Quran so that every line follows the revelation that immediately preceded it, the “cancel and replace” concept is futile. How is anyone to know which verses Allah “threw into oblivion?” Without context and chronology, the “cancel and replace” verse renders the entire Quran irrelevant. If one line encourages slavery and another condones it, which is to be believed? If one verse says that infidels are to be taxed to death and others order them put to death, what are Muslims to do? The answer is obvious, but apparently not to Muslims (or those in our statehouses, media, and pulpits) who coddle Islam. A “god” who changes his mind repeatedly over a score of years and needs a verse to deal with his contradictions cannot be “God.” A religion devoted to a false spirit isn’t worth protecting, especially when it motivates men to murder.” And again Winn hits the nail on the head … “This brings us to one of the Quran’s biggest problems—Allah’s contradictions. Muhammad wants us to believe that the creator of the universe, is capricious and unreliable, changing his mind by canceling prior truths and obliterating his divine revelations. In the context of God, this is senseless, and as Numbers 23:19 points out, is a mark of a capricious human mind, and not of God. But in the context of a forgetful man trying to counterfeit the written record of God to serve his own self serving agenda, it’s perfect. The religion of Islam failed in Mecca. Muhammad had to cast it into oblivion, to abrogate it, to move on with the doctrine of politics and submission. Allah replaces Ar-Rahman. Piracy replaces inheritance. Jews replace Meccans. Swords replace words. Muslims replace everybody. And Muhammad gets what he wants: money, women, and power. The reason the “abrogation” verse is so important is that it wipes out Islam as a religion. The first ninety surahs are cast into oblivion. The prophet has a new Qiblah—and a political doctrine built upon submission and the sword. But as bad as that sounds, you don’t know the half of it yet. The last two dozen surahs are by far the worst; they contain some of the most immoral, hateful, intolerant, and violent words ever uttered by men.” In summary we can thus easily demonstrate by using Numbers 23:19 (as a whole) as the benchmark, that the Quran is not the unchanging Word of God but a disposable, dispensible and capricious work of the man Muhammad, thus once again proving that Muhammad was a false prophet. Get Outlook for Android<aka.ms/AAb9ysg>
Continuing the series of Posts based upon and calling out the more egregious lies of Muslim Posts. Shehu Ahmad Rabiu posted: REFUTING POSTS OF MUSLIMS: “✨ BIBLE SAYS THAT GOD IS NOT MAN.” Numbers 23:19 “God is not a man…” Hosea 11:9 “…For I am God, and not man…” Jesus is called a man many times in the Bible: John 8:40 “…a man who has told you the truth…” Acts 2:22 “Jesus the Nazarene, a man attested to you by God with miracles and wonders and signs which God performed through Him in your midst, just as you yourselves know.” Acts 17:31 “He will judge the world in righteousness through a man whom He has appointed” 1 Tim. 2:5 “…the man Christ Jesus.” God is not a man, but Jesus, may the mercy and blessings of God be upon him, was a man, therefore, Jesus was not God.” RESPONSE: We can examine each of the above references in turn: □ Numbers 23:19 Note the incomplete quote, what the verse actually says, in effect is that God is not like man: “God is not a man who lies, or a son of man WHO CHANGES HIS MIND. Does He speak and not act, or promise and not fulfill?” (Numbers 23:19 HCSB) The whole premise of the post fails from the get go because of a deliberate partial quote which alters its meaning. Numbers 23:19 does not rule out the possibility of God appearing as a man and/or becoming a man. It simply states that God’s essence is distinct from man, without denying the fact that God could/would eventually take on a human nature. In reality, this text simply illustrates that God is not a man by NATURE and doesn’t therefore lie or change his mind like men normally do. (Or indeed as the capricious god of Islam does with all his abrogations). What this basically means is that if God chose to become a man then He wouldn’t be like other men … He would be completely pure and holy and above all truthful. And since God did become man in Christ we find that this is exactly the kind of person Jesus was, namely, absolutely pure and sinless: “What have you to do with us, Jesus of Nazareth? Have you come to destroy us? I know who you are–the Holy One of God.” (Mark 1:24) “Simon Peter answered him, ‘Lord, to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life, and we have believed, and have come to know, that you are the Holy One of God.’” (John 6:68-69) “Jesus told him, “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me. [7] “If you know Me, you will also know My Father. From now on you do know Him and have seen Him.” (John 14:6-7) □ Hosea 11:9 “I will not vent the full fury of My anger; I will not turn back to destroy Ephraim. For I am God and not man, the Holy One among you; I will not come in rage.” (Hosea 11:9 HCSB) Another verse where God is contrasting His behaviour to ours. Nothing to say He cannot or will not take human form. “For I am God and not man: “not swayed by human passions, but so tempering His wrath, as, in the midst of it, to remember mercy; so punishing the iniquity of the sinful children, as at once to make good His gracious promises which He made to their forefathers.” : “Man punishes, to destroy; God smites, to amend.” (Barnes Notes) “God, … not man—not dealing as man would, with implacable wrath under awful provocation (Isa 55:7-9; Mal 3:6). I do not, like man, change when once I have made a covenant of everlasting love, as with Israel (Numbers 23:19). We measure God by the human standard, and hence are slow to credit fully His promises; these, however, belong to the faithful remnant, not to the obstinately impenitent.” (JFB Commentary) □ John 8:40 Again it needs reading in context: [38] “I SPEAK WHAT I HAVE SEEN IN THE PRESENCE OF THE FATHER; therefore, you do what you have heard from your father.” [40] But now you are trying to kill Me, a man who has told you the truth that I heard from God. Abraham did not do this! [42] Jesus said to them, “If God were your Father, you would love Me, BECAUSE I CAME FROM GOD AND I AM HERE. FOR I DIDN’T COME ON MY OWN, BUT HE SENT ME.” (John 8:38, 40, 42 HCSB) What mere man can claim to have spoken “what I have seen in the presence of the Father”? What mere man can say “I came from God … He sent Me”? Obviously there is much more to be learned about Jesus identity than the ripped out of context John 8:40 alone says. □ Acts 2:22 Another verse which, if Muslims could only quote verses in context we would never see from them: [22] “Men of Israel, listen to these words: This Jesus the Nazarene was a man pointed out to you by God with miracles, wonders, and signs that God did among you through Him, just as you yourselves know. [23] THOUGH HE WAS DELIVERED UP ACCORDING TO GOD’S DETERMINED PLAN AND FOREKNOWLEDGE, you used LAWLESS PEOPLE TO NAIL HIM TO A CROSS AND KILL HIM. [24] GOD RAISED HIM UP, ending the pains of death, because it was not possible for Him to be held by it. [25] For David says of Him: I saw the Lord ever before me; because He is at my right hand, I will not be shaken. [26] Therefore my heart was glad, and my tongue rejoiced. Moreover, my flesh will rest in hope, [27] because You will not leave me in Hades or allow Your Holy One to see decay. [31] Seeing this in advance, he spoke concerning the resurrection of the Messiah: He was not left in Hades, and His flesh did not experience decay. [32] “GOD HAS RESURRECTED THIS JESUS. WE ARE ALL WITNESSES OF THIS. [33] Therefore, since He has been exalted to the right hand of God and has received from the Father the promised Holy Spirit, He has poured out what you both see and hear. [34] For it was not David who ascended into the heavens, but he himself says: The Lord declared to my Lord, ‘Sit at My right hand [35] until I make Your enemies Your footstool.’ [36] “Therefore let all the house of Israel know with certainty that GOD HAS MADE THIS JESUS, WHOM YOU CRUCIFIED, BOTH LORD AND MESSIAH!” (Acts 2:22-27, 31-36 HCSB) Oops! Epic fail! …. “you used LAWLESS PEOPLE TO NAIL HIM TO A CROSS AND KILL HIM. [24] GOD RAISED HIM UP” … “GOD HAS RESURRECTED THIS JESUS. WE ARE ALL WITNESSES OF THIS.” … “GOD HAS MADE THIS JESUS, WHOM YOU CRUCIFIED, BOTH LORD AND MESSIAH!” I am not sure how many errors we find in the Quran from the above but at least 3 Muslim claims debunked that stand out: 1. The crucifixion happened, albeit unlawfully, it was all part of God’s pre ordained plan. 2. God not only resurrected Jesus, but has made Him Messiah and Lord. 3. The disciples witnessed these events. □ Acts 17:31 Paul speaking to the men of Athens: “For as I was passing through and observing the objects of your worship, I even found an altar on which was inscribed: TO AN UNKNOWN GOD. Therefore, what you worship in ignorance, this I proclaim to you. [24] The God who made the world and everything in it — He is Lord of heaven and earth and does not live in shrines made by hands. [30] “Therefore, having overlooked the times of ignorance, God now commands all people everywhere to repent, [31] because He has set a day when He is going to judge the world in righteousness by the Man He has appointed. HE HAS PROVIDED PROOF OF THIS TO EVERYONE BY RAISING HIM FROM THE DEAD.” (Acts 17:23-24, 30-31 HCSB) Well well, what do you know? Another deceitful partial and incomplete quotation, with the second sentence omitted for obvious reasons. Yes Jesus is the God-man who as He also said in His own words He will be coming to judge the world: “When the Son of Man comes in His glory, and ALL THE ANGELS WITH HIM, THEN HE WILL SIT ON THE THRONE OF HIS GLORY. [32] ALL THE NATIONS WILL BE GATHERED BEFORE HIM, and He will separate them one from another, just as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats. [33] He will put the sheep on His right and the goats on the left.” (Matthew 25:31-33 HCSB) Muslims what mere man commands all His angels? And sits in a throne of glory judging all the nations before Him? □ 1 Timothy 2:5 “For there is one God and one mediator between God and humanity, Christ Jesus, Himself human, [NKJV “The Man Christ Jesus] (1 Timothy 2:5 HCSB) Again no ordinary man. Jesus uniquely lived the perfect life. He proved that He is that “no one is good except God” that alone makes Him God by leading a sinless life. He used the adjective “good” of Himself when He said here “I am the good shepherd”: “I am the good shepherd. I know My own sheep, and they know Me, as the Father knows Me, and I know the Father. I lay down My life for the sheep. But I have other sheep that are not of this fold; I must bring them also, and they will listen to My voice. Then there will be one flock, one shepherd. This is why the Father loves Me, because I am laying down My life so I may take it up again.” (John 10:14-17 HCSB) In overcoming death Jesus proved his claim to have the power over death and life that alone belongs to God and apart from anything else it proves that He is eternal and alive. Having been born in the flesh make no mistake He can return in the flesh and He will be seen to reappear again just as He was seen to leave. Only this time He will reappear in His heavenly glory and with the heavenly host of HIS angels. (Matthew 24.31) who will gather up His elect from every corner of earth: “Then the sign of the Son of Man will appear in the sky, and then all the peoples of the earth will mourn; and they will see the Son of Man coming on the clouds of heaven with power and great glory. He will send out HIS ANGELS with a loud trumpet, and they will gather His elect from the four winds, from one end of the sky to the other.” (Matthew 24:30-31 HCSB) Jesus promised He will return to judge and rule the world in perfect justice. And He alone is uniquely qualified to be the one true Mediator between God and man, because having both a divine nature and a human nature, He sees and can judge everything with perfect justice, having the 20:20 vision of His dual nature. In the meantime He told us to pray to Him. (John 14.14) He promised to answer prayers: “Whatever you ask in My name, I will do it so that the Father may be glorified in the Son.” (John 14:13 HCSB) Jesus told us that He is present whenever two or more are gathered in His name. (Matthew 18.20) He promised that by remembering His death and resurrection and His blood shed for us we are cleansed from all unrighteousness and can inherit eternal life. What mere man can hear, answer and be present at every prayer gathering in His name? The post concludes “God is not a man, but Jesus, may the mercy and blessings of God be upon him, was a man, therefore, Jesus was not God.” Well, sorry the first clause was defeated merely by a proper reading of Numbers 23:19. Likewise Hosea 11:9. So the rest falls by default. And when we look at other passages the Bible quite explicitly states that God will become a man, in direct contradiction of the partial Muslim claim for Numbers 23:19. The Old Testament confirms that God will walk amongst us: “I WILL WALK AMONG YOU AND BE YOUR GOD, AND YOU WILL BE MY PEOPLE. [13] I am Yahweh your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, so that you would no longer be their slaves. I broke the bars of your yoke and enabled you to live in freedom.” (Leviticus 26:12-13 HCSB) Again the Old Testament develops this theme further … a child will be born who will be called MIGHTY GOD and He will rule over an everlasting kingdom: “For a child will be born for us, a son will be given to us, and the government will be on His shoulders. He will be named Wonderful Counselor, MIGHTY GOD, Eternal Father, Prince of Peace. [7] The dominion will be vast, and its prosperity will never end. He WILL REIGN ON THE THRONE OF DAVID AND OVER HIS KINGDOM, to establish and sustain it with justice and righteousness from now on and FOREVER. The zeal of the Lord of Hosts will accomplish this.” (Isaiah 9:6-7 HCSB) Continuing this progressive revelation, the New Testament tells us the name of this God-man king: “Then the angel told her: Do not be afraid, Mary, for you have found favor with God. [31] Now listen: You will conceive and give birth to a son, and YOU WILL CALL HIS NAME JESUS. [32] He will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High, and the LORD GOD WILL GIVE HIM THE THRONE OF HIS FATHER DAVID. [33] HE WILL REIGN OVER THE HOUSE OF JACOB FOREVER, AND HIS KINGDOM WILL HAVE NO END. [35] The angel replied to her: “The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you. Therefore, the holy One to be born will be called the SON OF GOD.” (Luke 1:30-33, 35 HCSB) Thus another Muslim Post bites the dust, caught out and exposed by its own deceit. When will they learn to debate honestly?
WHY THE PHARISEES WERE THE PROTO-ISLAMISTS OF JESUS DAY 1). INTRODUCTION To begin we need an understanding of who Jesus is, according to the Gospel. An ideal starting point for this Post is this verse from John’s gospel, one of the most profound yet understated declarations of Jesus deity: “No one has ever seen God. The One and Only Son — the One who is at the Father’s side [KJV “who is in the bosom of the Father”] — He has revealed Him” (John 1:18 HCSB). To grasp something of its meaning, note what some commentaries say: “No human eyes have seen Him; but Christ had a knowledge of God which might be expressed to our apprehension by saying that He saw Him. He knew Him intimately and completely, and was therefore fitted to make a fuller manifestation of Him. (See John 5:37; John 6:46; 1 John 4:12; Exodus 33:20; John 14:9). This passage is not meant to deny that men had witnessed “manifestations” of God, as when He appeared to Abraham in Genesis 18, or Moses and the prophets (compare Numbers 12:8; Isaiah 6:1-13); but it is meant that no one has seen the essence of God, or has “fully known God.” The prophets delivered what they “heard” God speak; Jesus what he knew of God as his equal, and as understanding fully nature. “The only-begotten Son: – See the notes at John 1:14 which states: [Only-begotten “monogenēs” Strongs G3441 and G1096; only born that is sole: – only (begotten child). This term is never applied by John to any but Jesus Christ. It is applied by him five times to the Saviour, John 1:14, John 1:18; John 3:16, John 3:18; 1 John 4:9. It means literally an only child. Then, as an only child is especially dear to a parent, it means one that is especially beloved. Compare Genesis 22:2, Genesis 22:12, Genesis 22:16; Jeremiah 6:26; Zechariah 12:10. On both these accounts it is bestowed on the Savior. i). As He was eminently the Son of God, sustaining a special relation to Him in His divine nature, exalted above all human beings and angels, and thus worthy to be called, by way of eminence, His only Son. Saints are called His “sons” or children, because they are born of His Spirit, or are like Him; but the Lord Jesus is exalted far above all, and deserves eminently to be called His only-begotten Son. ii). He was especially dear to God, and therefore this appellation, implying tender affection, is bestowed upon him]. Verse 18 shows John’s sense of the meaning of that phrase, as denoting an intimate and full knowledge of God. “In the bosom of the Father” – This expression is taken from the custom among the Orientals of reclining at their meals. See the notes at Matthew 23:6. It denotes intimacy, friendship, affection. Here it means that Jesus had a knowledge of God such as one friend has of another – knowledge of his character, designs, and nature which no other one possesses, and which renders him, therefore, qualified above all others to make him known. “Hath declared him: – Hath fully revealed him or made him known. Compare Hebrews 1:1, Hebrews 1:4. This verse proves that Jesus had a knowledge of God above that which any of the ancient prophets had, and that the fullest revelations of his character are to be expected in the gospel. By his Word and Spirit he can enlighten and guide us, and lead us to the true knowledge of God; and there is no true and full knowledge of God which is not obtained through his Son. Compare John 14:6; 1 John 2:22-23. (Barnes Notes) “which is in the bosom of the Father”, denotes unity of nature, and essence, in the Father and Son; their distinct personality; strong love, and affection between them; the Son’s acquaintance with his Father’s secrets; his being at that time, as the Son of God, in the bosom of his Father, when here on earth, as the son of man; and which qualified Him to make the declaration of Him: “he hath declared him” He has clearly and fully declared His nature, perfections, purposes, promises, counsels, covenant, word, and works; His thoughts and schemes of grace; His love and favour to the sons of men; His mind and will concerning the salvation of His people: He has made, and delivered a fuller revelation of these things, than ever was yet; and to which no other revelation in the present state of things will be added. Somewhat like this the Jews ¹ say of the Messiah, “there is none that can declare the name of His Father, and that knows Him; but this is hid from the eyes of the multitude, until He comes, “and He shall declare him” (Gill’s Exposition). From this single verse of Scripture we can understand that Jesus, as He is revealed in the Bible, is the fullest, clearest, most enlightened, truest, and expressive picture we have of God. The post continues on the basis of this premise. 2). THE MUSLIM – CHRISTIAN DEBATE When a Muslim and a Christian, who have been discussing whether they are worshiping the same God, look at God as represented by Jesus, He Jesus settles the matter in short order: “No,” says the Muslim, “that’s not who I am talking about.” But that is who the Christian is talking about. As we’ve seen, John 1:18 says, “No one has ever seen God; the only God, who is at the Father’s side, He has made Him known.” Jesus makes known the invisible God for us to see. In John 14:8, Philip said, “Lord, show us the Father, and it is enough for us.” To this Jesus responded, “Have I been with you so long, and you still do not know me, Philip? Whoever has seen me has seen the Father. How can you say, ‘Show us the Father’” And Paul said in 2 Corinthians 4:6, “God, who said, ‘Let light shine out of darkness,’ has shone in our hearts to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ.” In other words, Jesus is the touchstone that settles the issue of who is worshipping the true God and who is not. (See also Luke 20:17-18). If a worshipper of God does not see in Jesus Christ the person of his or her God, he does not worship God. This is the resounding testimony of Jesus and the apostles as we see in the following texts. ▪︎ Mark 9:37, “Whoever receives Me, receives not Me but him who sent Me.” (See also Matthew 10: 40; Luke 9:48; John 13:20).
▪︎John 5:23, “Whoever does not honor the Son does not honor the Father who sent Him.” ▪︎ 1 John 2:23, “No one who denies the Son has the Father. Whoever confesses the Son has the Father also.” ▪︎ Luke 12:9, “The one who denies Me before men will be denied before the angels of God.” ▪︎ John 12:44-46, “The one who believes in Me believes not in Me, but in Him who sent Me. [45] And the one who sees Me sees Him who sent Me.” ▪︎ John 15:23, “Whoever hates Me hates My Father also.” ▪︎ 2 John 1:9, “Everyone who goes on ahead and does not abide in the teaching of Christ, does not have God. Whoever abides in the teaching has both the Father and the Son.” No Muslim will accept any of the above testimony. Given the gulf between the Bible and Quran it’s a very short debate. We do not worship the same God. Now let’s turn the clock back 2000 years to when Jesus was on earth. 2). THE PHARISEE – JESUS FOLLOWER DEBATE If we take this question back two thousand years and turn a Muslim-Christian question into a Pharisee-Jesus-follower question, the exact same thing emerges. Were the Pharisees worshipping the same God that the followers of Jesus were worshipping? That’s not to imply that every Pharisee was the same. For example, Nicodemus (John 3:1ff.) did not seem to be of the same spirit with most (though even he found the new birth incomprehensible at first). In asking this question, we are simply referring to the Pharisee sect in general as Jesus saw them and addressed collectively. Did these Pharisees worship the same God as the followers of Jesus? This question is even more striking than the Muslim-Christian question, because Pharisees and followers of Jesus had the same Holy Book, the Tanach — the Old Testament. That means that they used the same name for God – Hashem or Yahweh and told the same stories about God and followed the same rituals in relating to God. Why would the question even come up about whether the Pharisees and the followers of Jesus worshipped the same God? The answer is simple: Because Jesus brought it up. When Jesus addressed the Jewish leaders of his day (Pharisees, lawyers, elders, Sadducees, chief priests), his resounding conclusion was they do not even know God. And, not knowing God, their lived-out religion (the kind Jesus is concerned with) is not “out of gratitude,” nor is it a “proper response to grace.” Take this withering condemnation Jesus gives of them in John 8: “I know you are descendants of Abraham, but you are trying to kill Me because My word is not welcome among you. [38] I SPEAK WHAT I HAVE SEEN IN THE PRESENCE OF THE FATHER; therefore, you do what you have heard from your father.” [39] “Our father is Abraham! ” they replied. “If you were Abraham’s children,” Jesus told them, “you would do what Abraham did. [40] But now you are trying to kill Me, a man who has told you the truth that I heard from God. Abraham did not do this! [41] You’re doing what your father does.” “We weren’t born of sexual immorality,” they said. “We have one Father — God.” [42] Jesus said to them, “If God were your Father, you would love Me, because I came from God and I am here. For I didn’t come on My own, but He sent Me. [43] Why don’t you understand what I say? Because you cannot listen to My word. [44] YOU ARE OF YOUR FATHER THE DEVIL, AND YOU WANT TO CARRY OUT YOUR FATHER’S DESIRES. He was a murderer from the beginning and has not stood in the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he tells a lie, he speaks from his own nature, because he is a liar and the father of liars. [46] Who among you can convict Me of sin? If I tell the truth, why don’t you believe Me? [47] THE ONE WHO IS FROM GOD LISTENS TO GOD’S WORDS. THIS IS WHY YOU DON’T LISTEN, BECAUSE YOU ARE NOT FROM GOD” (John 8:37-44, 46-47 HCSB) When Jesus asked the Jewish leaders in verse 46, “If I tell the truth, why don’t believe me?” His answer was, “The one who is from God listens to God’s words. This is why you don’t listen, because you are not from God” (or as the NKJV puts it: “He who is of God hears God’s words; therefore you do not hear, because you are not of God” (John 8:47) This is the claim of Jesus to be the picture of God. “I am from God and I am speaking the words of God. You are not seeing or hearing God, therefore you are not of God.” Indeed Jesus said to them, “If God were your Father, you would love Me, because I came from God and I am here. For I didn’t come on My own, but He sent Me” (John 8:42). That is, they do not have God as their Father, but rather the devil. Jesus said, “If God were your Father, you would love me . . . . You are of your father the devil, and your will is to do your father’s desires” (John 8:42-44). This is the root reason why the Jewish leaders do not come to Christ. Their will is governed not by gratitude to God, giving a “proper response to grace,” but by their father’s will, and it is not the love of God. “You refuse to come to me that you may have life. . . . I know that you do not have the love of God within you. I have come in my Father’s name, and you do not receive me” (John 5:40-43). They simply do not know the true God: “You have not known him” (John 8:55). Jesus is the picture of God that the Pharisees did not recognize. The reason they didn’t is because they wanted a Messiah who would confirm their love of the praise of men for their own achievements (John 5:43-44) and reward their self righteousness. The reasons why they didn’t recognise Jesus had nothing to do with His not claiming and proving Himself, (they regarded who He was claiming equality with as blasphemy), and all to do with their inbuilt pride and preconceptions. For more on why the Jews for the most part failed to recognise Jesus, see this Post: □ WHY THE JEWS EXPECTED A DIFFERENT MESSIAH 4 November 2021 m.facebook.com/story.php?story_fbid=286549766808033&id=100063590342443 The follower of this self-exalting religion, just as with Islam, may sincerely be thankful to God for some of his or her outward moral purity – “God, I thank you that I am not like other men, extortioners, unjust, adulterers” (Luke 18:11). But his or her confidence before God is what he or she is (regardless of who made them that way). Whether one should call this religion a “self-help moralism” is an open question. But that it is a religion that trusts in its own morality and exalts self is clear. What Jesus thought of it is also clear: ▪︎ They accused Jesus of being demonic (Matthew 12:24). ▪︎ They do not know how to understand the law (Matthew 12:2-7). ▪︎ They sought to destroy Jesus (Matthew 12:14). ▪︎ They are “an evil and adulterous generation” (Matthew 16:4). ▪︎ They break the commandments with their traditions (Matthew 15:6). ▪︎ They worship vainly and their heart is far from God (Matthew 15:8-9). ▪︎ They are not planted by the Father (Matthew 15:12). ▪︎ Their teaching is leaven to be avoided (Matthew 16:12). ▪︎ They do not bear the fruit of the kingdom and will lose it (Matthew 21:43-45). ▪︎ They are children of hell (Matthew 23:15, 33). ▪︎ They neglect the weightier matters of the law (Matthew 23:23). ▪︎ They are full of greed and self-indulgence (Matthew 23:25, 27). ▪︎ Outwardly they appear righteous, but are lawless within (Matthew 23:28). ▪︎ They were lovers of money (Luke 16:14). 3). PARALLELS BETWEEN PHARISEES AND MUSLIMS The Pharisees and Sadducees never believed Jesus Christ to be God Almighty, they believed that Jesus Christ was a mere man. They even accused Him of having a demon to be able to perform His exorcisms (Mark 3:22). Likewise Muslims allege the Trinity is a Satanic concept and they reject Jesus as anything more than a prophet. Pharisees were always looking for an opportunity to trap Jesus, just as Muslims try to with His followers. Pharisees like Muslims today were always seeking a sign from Jesus even when He had just healed a blind and mute demoniac (Matthew 12:38) and again when they asked for a sign from heaven (Matthew 16:1). Instructive to all Christian apologists Jesus refused and referred them to the prophetic sign of Jonah. □ Both Sects use deception The Pharisees sent spies, pretending to be righteous, just as we find Muslims pretending to be Christian in order to attack us: “So they watched Him, and sent spies who pretended to be righteous, that they might seize on His words, in order to deliver Him to the power and the authority of the governor” (Luke 20:20). □ Both sects demand a sign The Pharisees wanted a simple statement from Jesus that he was the Messiah, (John 10:24), just as Muslims demand a statement from Him saying “I am God worship Me”. Jesus reply is as good for both sects, neither will accept the evidence of His signs, because neither are “His sheep”. “Then the Jews surrounded Him and asked, “How long are You going to keep us in suspense? If You are the Messiah, tell us plainly.” [25] “I did tell you and you don’t believe,” Jesus answered them. “The works that I do in My Father’s name testify about Me. [26] But you don’t believe because you are not My sheep” (John 10:24-26) □ Both sects have an identity crisis about Jesus. Because they cannot accept His true identity, MusIims like the Pharisees have an identity crisis about who He is. In both cases resulting in antagonistic view of Him. One key difference though, while the Jews recognised that Jesus was making Himself equal with God, Muslims cannot even recognise that much, or rather they dare not admit it. This schizophrenic ambivalence of Muslims towards Jesus is even carried into the Quran. Surah 4:171 bestows the divine titles of The Word (Kalimatullah) and Spirit (Ruhullah) of Allah upon Isa, and yet contradicts itself elsewhere by limiting him to mere servant and messenger (Surah 5:75; 43:59). □ Pride a stumbling block for both sects. Pharisees pride was a stumbling block to them just is it for Muslims. The Pharisees in Jesus’ day were experts in two things. They were diligent in following the traditions and customs and rules that they had added to the Word of God, especially in public. (Following the things the Bible actually said was somewhat optional.) And they were diligent in judging and condemning all those who did not measure up to their regulations. They exercised judgment by fear and guilt. Islam does the same. The irony is that though they had memorized the first five books of the Bible and at least outwardly tried to present themselves as complying with all that God had commanded, they completely missed the point. Just as Muslims boasting of memorising the Quran misses the point. The root of their problem, as we so often find in our day, was in their pride. They were relying on their own efforts and righteousness to gain acceptance from God without realizing how far short of His perfection they fell. □ Both sects display and seek God’s approval by self righteousness Jesus condemned Pharisees for their overt self righteous displays, “Whenever you pray, you must not be like the hypocrites, because they love to pray standing in the synagogues and on the street corners to be seen by people. I assure you: They’ve got their reward!” (Matthew 6:5) Likewise Muslims love to be seen and heard entering mosques to prayers. The Adhan (Azan) call to prayers let’s everyone know within miles of every mosque and its an imposition and intrusion on the peace of non Muslims. And prayers are often conducted in public spaces on roads and walkways as a demonstration. □ In both cases this is antithetical to Jesus teaching on prayer: “And when you pray, you shall not be like the hypocrites. For they love to pray standing in the synagogues and on the corners of the streets, that they may be seen by men. Assuredly, I say to you, they have their reward. [6] But you, when you pray, go into your room, and when you have shut your door, pray to your Father who is in the secret place; and your Father who sees in secret will reward you openly. [7] And when you pray, do not use vain repetitions as the heathen do. For they think that they will be heard for their many words” (Matthew 6:5-7) □ Both sects adopt iconic dress. Pharisees adopted iconic dress styles to make themselves look distinguished as Jesus observed: “They do everything to be observed by others: They enlarge their phylacteries and lengthen their tassels” (Matthew 23:5) Muslims dress code adopts similar iconic marks of recognition, a beard for men a hijab for women, it gets them noticed. These are marks of superiority. Muslims like the Pharisees, believe that if you do certain things, you become righteous (like praying facing east growing a beard, covering your face etc). This righteousness by works cannot save you, it only helps to cover up the unrighteousness in your heart. One of the more egregious examples of frankly superstitious rituals adopted by Islam is that of “Durood Shareef” the incantation of PBUH. See Footnote ¹ for why they do it. □ Both sects display hypocrisy Jesus exposed the hypocrisy of the Pharisees in Matthew 23: “Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you are like whitewashed tombs which indeed appear beautiful outwardly, but inside are full of dead men’s bones and all uncleanness. [28] Even so you also outwardly appear righteous to men, but inside you are full of hypocrisy and lawlessness” (Matthew 23:27-28) Paul also called out the hypocrisy: The Jews of Romans 2:17-24 claimed to be successful moralists. They taught morality, but did not teach themselves (verse 21). They preached against stealing, but engaged in stealing (verse 21). They opposed adultery, but committed adultery (verse 22). They denounced idolatry, but committed idolatry (verse 22). They boasted in the law, but dishonored the law (verse 23). And in all this, they caused the Gentiles to blaspheme God (verse 24). We can observe similar hypocrisy in Islam. Whether its accusing the Bible of corruption yet appealing to to it to validate their prophet and Islamic violence, or mocking the west (synonymous with Christianity) for licentious llifestyles eg gambling wine and women, to say such things do not occur in Muslim States would be far from reality. Saudi Arabia for instance has a culture of gambling. They enjoy so much pleasure, gambling abroad and more recently at home. While gambling for money is strictly forbidden in this conservative kingdom, and officially has no casinos, equestrian and gaming centers activities such as ‘belote’ (a trick-taking card game) are massively popular in Saudi Arabia. Horse racing is a massively popular sport attracting huge gambling interest. People play belote with friends, with their families, in cafés and online. And although gambling for prize money is forbidden, casino hotels have rapidly developed and significant prize money is at stake. Expedia claims there are in excess of 2400 such establishments! Check out some here: www.expedia.co.in/Destinations-In-Saudi-Arabia-Casino-Hotel.0-0-d157-tCasinoHotel.Hotel-Filter-Destinations Isaiah 47:10 – “For you have trusted in your wickedness; You have said, ‘No one sees me’; Your wisdom and your knowledge have warped you; And you have said in your heart, ‘I am, and there is no one else besides me.’” Yes, Saudis commit sins and live in pleasures and lusts, yet they think that since it is all hidden and forbidden, that somehow it’s OK. But God sees them. Their cities are sinning in “secret”. This is just one example of many of the hypocrisy of Islam. 4). ISLAM ON JESUS TODAY Just as the Pharisees sought to have Jesus killed, there is only one major religion today who would drive stakes into Jesus’ hands and feet and crucify Jesus. If the Jesus of the Bible were alive today in a Muslim country with his message that He is the Christ the Son of the Living God He would be killed for blasphemy just as the Jews did. Muslims according to the Quran would crucify Jesus today as a blasphemer. They hate Jesus and mock him calling His words a lie and a blasphemy and claiming His word to be corrupted. This “religion of peace” does this to Jesus’ followers today when they repeat Jesus’ words. They hate Jesus’ words and when His followers repeat them they throw them in prison, torture them, kill them. Their unholy book even specifies crucifixion for repeating Jesus’ words, which contradict the words of their prophet, teaching truth and love instead of lies and hate – thus spreading mischief in the land (i.e. showing their prophet was wrong). John 3: 13-21 [13] And no man hath ascended up to heaven, but he that came down from heaven, even the Son of man which is in heaven. … [14] And as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, even so must the Son of man be lifted up: [15] That whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have eternal life. [16] For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life. [17] For God sent not his Son into the world to condemn the world; but that the world through him might be saved. [18] He that believeth on him is not condemned: but he that believeth not is condemned already, because he hath not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God. [19] And this is the condemnation, that light is come into the world, and men loved darkness rather than light, because their deeds were evil. [20] For every one that doeth evil hateth the light, neither cometh to the light, lest his deeds should be reproved. [21] But he that doeth truth cometh to the light, that his deeds may be made manifest, that they are wrought in God. 5). CONCLUSIONS This is the Jesus Muslims can’t believe in, the Son of God whom you mock and call a liar. Just as the Pharisees did before you. The upshot of all this, and the lesson we must take from history repeating itself with Islam’s adoption of Pharisaic principles is simply this. We should always reach for the New Testament Gospel accounts to see the picture of Jesus. And they are also a true reflection of how the Spirit of opposition, the source for which is Satan, produces the same antichrist mentality in both Pharisees and Muslims. The Gospel is the only guidance we need. It settles the matter. No other source provides a comprehensive guide to how we should and should not behave. And when we read the Gospel accounts ask the Holy Spirit to convict us of any Pharisaic spirit in us (yes we are all at risk of falling into this trap), He will make clear that Muslims and Christians are not worshipping the same God, just as Pharisees and followers of Jesus of His day were not worshipping the same God. One thing is for sure, and this is the bottom line, we should be imitators of Christ and not the Pharisees. Christ is our only role model for life as well as our only strength and source of salvation which can secure eternal life. Amen. Footnote ¹ PBUH as in its written short form or the full “Peace Be Upon Him” when spoken, is primarily said in connection with the prophet’s name. Why do Muslims do it? Well check out a few Muslim blogs and you can find listed a whole range of reasons why it’s essential. Here we have what seems to be a comprehensive list of 40 reasons. Really worth reading them all to the end. It’s quite entertaining … 1. For every Durood Shareef that you recite, ten sins are forgiven, ten good deeds are entered into your sheet of actions and ten positions are upgraded.
2. Allah showers ten blessings on the man who recites a Durood. 3. The first man who will meet Muhammed on the Day of Judgement will be that person who had recited the Durood maximum number of times in his lifetime.
4. Those who recite Durood in maximum number will be nearest and dearest to Muhammad in the next world.
5. If any one is involved in a difficulty then he must recite countless number of Durood Shareefs.
6. Reciting Durood Shareef eradicates poverty and hunger. 7. If the Sawaab (meaning: benefit also spelt as Thawaab) of the Durood Shareef is dedicated to another person, then that person will receive the Sawaab, while the Sawaab of the reciter will not be lessened.
8. Reciting excessive Durood Shareef brings purity. 9. Reciting maximum number of Durood Shareef is full compensation of all sins. 10. Any one who recites excessive Durood Shareef in this world will be safe and sound in the next world.
11. When a prayer is made to Allah it is never accepted unless praise of Allah Ta’ala and Durood Shareef on Muhammad is first of all recited.
12. Those who recite Durood quite often will see Divine Light on the dark Day of Judgement. 13. Three persons will be under the cool shade and the favours of Allah Ta’ala on the Doom’s Day. One who kept Muhammad’s Sunnah alive, one who removed difficulty of a fellow being and one who recited maximum number of Durood Shareef in his lifetime.
14. When you forget anything and your memory fails to recollect it, then recite Durood, you will remember the forgotten thing.
15. Reciting Durood in this world is rewarding in the next. 16. The reciter of 10 Duroods in the morning and 10 in the evening will receive the help of Muhammad on the Day of Judgement.
17. One who recites Durood Shareef near the shrine of Muhammad is heard by him there and then alone.
18. Any one who recites Durood is just as one who purchased a slave and freed him.
19. Muhammad said that he himself recites blessings on one who recites Durood on him.
20. Any one who wants to meet his Allah with a happy face must recite countless number of Durood Shareef.
21. Reward equivalent to a big mountain (Uhad) is given to one who recites one Durood.
22. All people will be presented to Muhammad with their habits, natures and distinct manner, so it is obligatory for a man to recite maximum number of Durood.
23. Allah is Great and Almighty to forgive all sins of the reciter during the day and night when he recites Durood Shareef.
24. If any one meets in a tragedy, he should recite Durood Shareef in countless numbers.
25. Reciting Durood is like giving something in charity.
26. Reciting maximum number of Durood kills all hardships.
27. Recite Durood Shareef in countless number on Friday, as it is presented to me (Muhammad).
28. Bad deeds of 200 years (equivalent) are obliterated if a man recites 100 Durood on Friday.
29. Anyone who recites Durood will overcome all their troubles.
30. If the name of Muhammad is mentioned and one who hears it but does not recite Durood Shareef, understand that he has forgotten the path to Paradise.
31. “I pray for all those who recite Durood on me”, said Muhammad.
32. If any one recites Durood Shareef from any place, any part of the world from any distance, it actually reaches Muhammad immediately. Allah Ta’ala has appointed several Angels who are given exclusive duty to collect all Durood Shareef and present the same before Muhammad immediately.
33. Angels of Allah shower 70 blessings on a man who recites Durood once.
34. Whenever you hear the call of prayers (Azaan) you should recite Durood.
35. Wherever you are, from any quarter of the world, you must recite Durood as it reaches Muhammad.
36. Ablution is not complete if Durood is not recited on it.
37. Muhammad said to his wife that any one who hears the name of Muhammad and does not recite Durood on him will not see the beautiful face of Muhammad on the Day of the Judgement.
38. Sayyiduna Ali (radi Allahu anhu) reports that Rasoolullah said, “The real miser is he in whose presence I am mentioned and then he fails to recite “Durood” on me”.
39. If a person recites 1,000 Durood Shareef daily, he will never die unless he himself sees his place in Heaven with his own eyes. 40. The Durood Shareef that is recited by the person is written with a Golden Pen on a Silver tablet by the Angels. The Angels then present this Durood Shareef to Sayyiduna Rasoolullah and proclaim, “O Habeeb of Allah! The son of such and such a person has presented this gift in your majestic court”. Source: free-minds.org/forum/index.php?topic=9605445.0 en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Salawat For more see post: □ 40 REASONS WHY “DUROOD SHAREEF” MAKES ISLAM IDOLATROUS 29 May 2021 www.facebook.com/100063590342443/posts/172148884914789/
THE QURAN FAILS BASIC TESTS OF AUTHENTICITY 1). INTRODUCTION When Muslims say “The Quran is revealed knowledge from God”, they’re just making a claim that is unwitnessed, unheralded and uncorroborated. These supposed revelations and “prophet” do not pass even basic tests for authenticity of the sort which uphold the divine inspiration for the Bible. Consider the following: ▪︎ No record of prophetic fulfilment. ▪︎ No witness testimony. ▪︎ No miraculous healing. ▪︎ No historical support. # There is for example not a shred of evidence for the Muslim Isa; the very name Isa is corrupt as this Post demonstrates: □ CORRUPTION OF THE NAME JESUS IN THE QURAN 23 May 2021 www.facebook.com/100063590342443/posts/167701865359491/ # There is no Covenant theology in the Quran as this post shows: □ DIVINE COVENANTS PROVE THE BIBLE AND EXPOSE THE QURAN 27 Aug 2021 www.facebook.com/100063590342443/posts/237362678393409/ # There is not a shred of evidence for a lost “gospel of Jesus” # There is not a shred of evidence for an uncrucified Messiah as this post shows: □ ISLAM’S NEMESIS: THE HERESY OF SURAH 4:157 30 Aug 2021 m.facebook.com/story.php?story_fbid=240035528126124&id=100063590342443 # The Quran is rife with errors of fact. For example it claims the Psalms (Zabur) were “given” to David, which is factually wrong on numerous grounds as this post shows: □ HOW MANY QURAN ERRORS DO YOU NEED PROOF OF MUSLIMS? 17 Oct 2021 m.facebook.com/story.php?story_fbid=273757028087307&id=100063590342443 Again historically awry, the Quran claims the Promised Land is Egypt, see this Post for the proof: □ THE QURAN AND ITS ERRORS: ISRAEL’S PROMISED LAND IS EGYPT!? 1 January 2021 www.facebook.com/100063590342443/posts/326836136112729/ The claim for ‘nazil’ revelation of the Quran, comes from one source alone, the man to which it was supposedly revealed, Muhammad. There are no outside witnesses, heralding in advance or at the time who can corroborate Muhammad’s testimony; nor are miracles provided to substantiate his claims. In fact, the evidences for the authority of God’s revelation, which the Bible emphatically produces are completely absent in the Quran, such as: ▪︎ That the revelation of God must speak in the name of God, Yahweh not in the name of a foreign god as Allah is. ▪︎ That the message must go out from Zion as Isaiah says: “For instruction will go out of Zion and the word of the Lord from Jerusalem” (Isaiah 2:3b); “Out of Zion” appears at least 17 times in the Bible. No mention of anything Islamic in the Bible, including then non existent Mecca. ▪︎ The message must conform to revelation which has gone before. ▪︎ That it must make predictions which are verifiable. ▪︎ That the revelation must be accompanied by signs and wonders in order to give it authority as having come from God. Because all these are missing in the case of the Muhammad and the Quran, for those of us who are Christians, it is obviously the Quran and not as Muslims claim, the Bible, which turns out to be the most humanly flawed and corrupt of documents. 2). QURAN FAILS BIBLICAL STANDARDS FOR WITNESS TESTIMONY A knockout blow against Islam is the fact it does not and cannot be substantiated by basic rules of witness testimony which the Bible enshrines. Indeed, the Bible instructs everyone to withhold judgement unless there is sufficient corroborative evidence. We can observe this biblical principle in both the Old Testament and the New Testament. We have come to call this the principle of “the testimony of two or more witnesses.” In Deuteronomy 13:1-5, God tells the Jews that they are not to believe someone who claims to be a prophet unless he comes with the correct knowledge of God as God had been revealed to them through the Prophet Moses, whose claim to represent God was affirmed by the miracles he performed before them and the Egyptians. (See, for example, Exodus 4:1-9.) Deuteronomy goes on to say that someone who claims to be a prophet must be right 100% of the time he prophecies – if anything he says is going to come to pass does not come to pass, he is not to be believed (Deuteronomy 18:18-22). If this principle were applied today, no one would believe a newspaper’s horoscope column, a psychic hotline “friend,” a fortune teller, Nostradamus, or anyone else whose track record is not 100%. The biblical prophet, then, should not be believed merely because he proclaims his prophetic gift, but only if that claim is substantiated by at least two witnesses: its correspondence to what God told Moses and its 100% track record. In the very next chapter of Deuteronomy, a general principle is given affirming the two witness idea that is to govern all the civil and criminal courts of the Jews. We read that one witness is not enough to convict a man accused of any crime or offense he may have committed. A matter must be established by the testimony of two or three witnesses. Jesus upheld the same principle (Matthew 18:16). Paul likewise: “This is the third time I am coming to you. Every fact must be established by the testimony of two or three witnesses” (2 Corinthians 13:1) The Quran absolutely fails these tests. 3). THE QURAN’S PLAGIARIZED SOURCES (see Footnote ¹ for a comprehensive list) In addition to its drawing heavily from Old Testament Biblical narrative and recasting of the Patriarchs as Muslim, the Quran is a book of copied myths, fables and fairy tales.It contains a revised counterfeit of 6th century polytheism, composed of previously existing pagan beliefs, practices and fairy tales. Many of these legends are repeated many times. # Example: Probably the most notorious example of plagiarism is Surah 5.32. Here is the original saying from hundreds of years before the Quran: “For this reason was man created alone, to teach thee that whosever destroys a single soul of Israel [of Israel is absent in some texts], scripture imputes (guilt) to him as though he had Destroyed a Complete World; and whosever preserves a single soul of Israel, scripture ascribes (merit) to him as though he had Preserved a Complete World [since all mankind originated from one man].” Source: Babylonian Talmud, Mishnah Sanhedrin 37a That’s only for starters. It gets worse. 5:32 is the most ripped-out-of-context verse of the Quran by Western commentators. Muslims (and even news organizations) often refer to this verse in order to show that Islam teaches murder is wrong and saving lives is the prescribed action for all people. President Obama notoriously gave it credence by partially quoting it in his first overseas presidential address in Cairo in 2009. But this is absolutely not what this verse says. In fact, it says almost the exact opposite: that Muslims can kill those who are their enemies! The only way you can conclude, as Muslim apologists have, is to ignore the verses that immediately follow 5:32, as well as to ignore part of the verse itself. Here is Surah 5:32 in its context, with all words included: “On that account: We ordained for the Children of Israel that if any one slew a person – unless it be for murder or for spreading mischief in the land – it would be as if he slew the whole people: and if any one saved a life, it would be as if he saved the life of the whole people. Then although there came to them Our apostles with clear signs, yet, even after that, many of them continued to commit excesses in the land.” Salient points: (i). It explicitly states that this was a commandment to the Children of Israel, i.e. the Jews! This is not a commandment to all people, and it certainly should not be misused as if this is Allah’s command to Muhammad’s people. (ii). Even if this were a command to the Muslims, there’s still an escape clause: “unless it be for murder or spreading mischief in the land.” If someone is “spreading mischief”, he can still be killed. Now let’s think for a moment. The would-be Times Square bomber considers Americans to be spreading mischief in Palestine and around the world (practically all Muslims I know think this, even the ones who are American citizens). Accordingly, even if this verse were to apply to someone like Faisal Shahzad, he would still be justified in his slaughter. As if this weren’t obvious enough from the verse itself, the Quran further expounds this point in the very next verse. Surah 5:33 says: “The punishment of those who wage war against God and His Apostle, and strive with might and main for mischief through the land is:execution, or crucifixion, or the cutting off of hands and feet from opposite sides, or exile from the land: that is their disgrace in this world, and a heavy punishment is theirs in the Hereafter.” This verse is referring to the Muslims, not the Jews anymore, as we can tell in the shift from past tense to present tense. And here, the punishment for mischief is clearly prescribed: execution, crucifixion, mutilation, or at the least, exile. This is the command given to the Muslims. Quite clearly, it does not teach what the Muslims proclaim it teaches; in fact, it teaches almost the exact opposite. For a supposedly divinely authored and inspired “holy” book, don’t you find it a little strange Muslims that Muhammad is pulling stuff from historic uninspired manmade sources and passing it off as “Revelatory” and “Holy”? Muslims need to ask themselves why so much of Islamic scripture and ritual is borrowed from pre-existing sources. There is virtually nothing original in Islam and certainly nothing worthy of being labelled “Revelation.” Furthermore, something which in its original form is from non canonical gnostic, not sacred sources, cannot magically be transformed into Holy Writ. This is fallacious special pleading at its worst. 4). CONCLUSIONS A book that is 95% unoriginal can never be a miracle. A book that plagiarized all bar 5 of the characters it contains can never be called a revelation. A book that is drawn from uninspired non Canonical sources can never be elevated to holy writ. On these 3 basic grounds alone the Quran fails the attributes Muslims claim for it. The Quran cannot be the Word of God. # God does not need to copy. The Quran is mostly plagiarism. # God’s Word is coherent progressive and sequential. The Quran is an incoherent repetitive jumble without any chronology, narrative or sequence. # God’s Word is supported by multiple witness testimony. For a start the Bible is not one book, but a collection of 66 books written by 40 authors over a period of 1,500 years. Yet the Bible has a consistent message from beginning to end: how to restore the relationship that man had with God in the creation. The Quran is one man’s unwitnessed and uncorroborated testimony. In fact it has zero evidence base of testimony, still less multiple witnesses, because it’s written at least half a millennium after the events which it purports to correct. # God’s Word does not need to change its tone or it’s commands. The Quran is antithetical to the Bible on all core doctrines, and its abrogations over a few years reflect the changing circumstances of its fickle human origin. # God’s Word is self attesting through fulfilled prophecies, the testimonies of changed lives and recorded history and archaeology. The Quran has no such qualities. It is without prophecies, is not merely historically inaccurate but has schoolboy howler errors of fact and contains the scientifically impossible which again prove it’s man made origin. # The Word of God has the highest moral paradigm (the Ten Commandments as amplified by the Sermon on the Mount). The Ten Commandments are nowhere in the Quran and were broken systematically and comprehensively by its only supposed prophet and replaced by rules which can only be described as demonic. # The Word of God is instruction, comfort, and inspiration for sound living, peace, love and eternal life. Its both a mirror of reflection on human weakness as much as a window of revelation on God’s plan of redemption. The Quran is a manual for totalitarianism enforced by war hate and death for apostasy. Footnote: ¹ THE QURAN’S COPIED FAIRYTALES & FABLES Pre-Islamic Sources for material in the Quran. While the devout Muslim believes with all of his heart that the rituals and doctrines of Islam are entirely heavenly in origin and thus cannot have any earthly sources, Middle East scholars have demonstrated beyond all doubt that every ritual and belief in Islam can be traced back to pre-Islamic Arabian culture. In other words Muhammad did not preach anything new. Everything he taught had been believed and practiced in Arabia long before he was ever born. Even the idea of “only one God” was borrowed from the Jews and the Christians. # ARABIAN SOURCES • The Quran repeats fanciful Arabian fables as if they were true. • “Arabic legends about the fabulous jinns fill its pages” (G.G. Pfander, Balance of Truth, pp. 283). • “The story of the she-camel who leapt out of a rock and became a prophet was known long before Muhammad” (Surahs 7:73-77,85; 91:14; 54:29). • The story of an entire village of people who were turned into apes because they broke the sabbath by fishing was a popular legend in Muhammad’s day (Surahs 2:65; 7:163-166). • The gushing 12 springs story found in Surah 2:60 comes from pre-Islamic legends. •In what is called the “Rip Van Winkle” story, seven men and their animals slept for 309 years in a cave and then woke up perfectly fine (Surah 18:9-26)! This legend is found in Greek and Christian fables as well as Arabian lore. • The fable of the pieces of four dead, cut-up birds getting up and flying was well known in Muhammad’s time (Surah 2:260). • It is also clear that Muhammad used such pre-Islamic literature as the Saba Moallaqat of Imra’ul Cays in his composition of Surahs 21:96; 29:31,46; 37:59; 54:1, and 93:1. # JEWISH SOURCES Many of the stories in the Quran come from the Jewish Talmud, the Midrash, and many apocryphal works. This was pointed out by Abraham Geiger in 1833, and further documented by another Jewish scholar, Dr. Abraham Katsh, of New York University, in 1954 (The Concise Dictionary of Islam, p. 229; Jomier, The Bible and the Quran — Henry Regency Co., Chicago, 1959, 59ff; Sell, Studies, pp. 163ff.; Guillaume, Islam, p. 13). Here is a selection: 1. The source of Surah 3:35-37 is the fanciful book called The Protevangelion’s James the Lesser. 2. The source of Surah 87:19 is the Testament of Abraham. 3. The source of Surah 27:17-44 is the Second Targum of Esther. 4. The fantastic tale that God made a man “die for a hundred years” with no ill effects on his food, drink, or donkey was a Jewish fable (Surah 2:259ff.). 5. The idea that Moses was resurrected and other material came from the Jewish Talmud (Surahs 2:55, 56, 67). 6. The story in Surah 5:30,31 can also be found in pre-Islamic works from Pirke Rabbi Eleazer, the Targum of Jonathan ben Uzziah and the Targum of Jerusalem. 7. The tale of Abraham being delivered from Nimrod’s fire came from the Midrash Rabbah (see Surahs 21:51-71; 29:16, 17; 37:97,98). It must be also pointed out that Nimrod and Abraham did not live at the same time. Muhammad was always mixing people together in the Quran who did not live at the same time. 8. The non-biblical details of the visit of the Queen of Sheba (Saba) in Sura 27:20-44 came from the Second Targum of the Book of Esther. 9. The source of Surah 2:102 is no doubt the Midrash Yalkut (chapter 44). 10. The story found in Surah 7:171 of God lifting up Mount Sinai and holding it over the heads of the Jews as a threat to squash them if they rejected the law came from the Jewish book Abodah Sarah. 11. The story of the making of the golden calf in the wilderness, in which the image jumped out of the fire fully formed and actually mooed (Surahs 7:148; 20:88), came from Pirke Rabbi Eleazer. 12. The seven heavens and hells described in the Quran came from the Zohar and the Hagigah. 13. Muhammad utilized the Testament of Abraham to teach that a scale or balance will be used on the day of judgment to weigh good and bad deeds in order to determine whether one goes to heaven or hell (Suras 42:17; 101:6-9). # HERETICAL “CHRISTIAN” SOURCES One of the most documented and damaging facts about the Quran is that Muhammad used heretical “Christian” Gnostic gospels and their fables for material in the Quran. Encyclopedia Britannica comments: “The gospel was known to him chiefly through apocryphal and heretical sources” (15:648). This has been demonstrated many times by various scholars (Richard Bell, Introduction to the Quran, pp. 163ff. See also: Bell, The Origin of Islam in Its Christian Environment, pp. 110ff, 139ff; Sell, Studies, pp. 216ff. See also Tisdall and Pfander). • For example, in Surah 3:49, the baby Isa speaks from the cradle! Later on, the Quran has Isa making clay birds come alive. # ISA SPEAKING FROM THE CRADLE “He shall preach to men in his cradle and in the prime of manhood, and shall lead a righteous life”. (Surah 3:46). Another reference to this is Surah 19:28-34: “O sister of Aaron! Thy father was not a wicked man nor was thy mother a harlot. Then she pointed to him. They said: How can we talk to one who is a child in the cradle? He said: “I am indeed a servant of Allah. He has given me the Book and has made me a prophet. And has made me blessed wheresoever I may be, and has enjoined upon me prayer and almsgiving so long as I remain alive, And (has made me) dutiful toward her who bore me, and hath not made me arrogant, unblest. Peace on me the day I was born, and the day I die, and the day I shall be raised alive! Such was Isa, son of Mary: (this is) a statement of the truth concerning which they doubt.” This came from the Injilu’t Tufuliyyah better known as the Arabic “Gospel of the Infancy of Jesus Christ”. It is a 2nd century Arabic apocryphal fable from Egypt. This is the source for the referenced verse in the Quran. Here is the similar passage from the Gospel of the Infancy of Jesus Christ: “… Jesus spake when he was in the cradle, and said to his mother: “Mary, I am Jesus the Son of God, the Word, which thou didst bring forth according to the declaration of the angel Gabriel, and My Father hath sent me for the salvation of the world.” Comparing the two verses, it’s another obvious plagiarism of Muhammad’s. Muhammad revised what he had heard, to bring it into accord with his own beliefs and teachings.” # ISA TURNING CLAY BIRDS INTO LIVING BIRDS He will say: “I bring you a sign from your Lord. From clay I will make for you the likeness of a bird. I shall breath into it and, by God’s leave, it shall become a living bird.” (Surah 3:49) Both of these events, the speaking in the cradle and the birds from clay are mentioned again in Surah 5:110: “When Allah saith: O Isa, son of Mary! Remember My favour unto thee and unto thy mother; how I strengthened thee with the holy Spirit, so that thou spakest unto mankind in the cradle as in maturity; and how I taught thee the Scripture and Wisdom and the Torah and the Gospel; and how thou didst shape of clay as it were the likeness of a bird by My permission, and didst blow upon it and it was a bird by My permission, and thou didst heal him who was born blind and the leper by My permission; and how thou didst raise the dead by My permission; and how I restrained the Children of Israel from (harming) thee when thou camest unto them with clear proofs, and those of them who disbelieved exclaimed: This is naught else than mere magic” This comes from “The Gospel of Thomas the Israelite” – A known and documented book of fables. “Here is the similar passage: The child Jesus, when 5 years of age, was playing on the road by a dirty stream of running water; and having brought it all together into ditches, immediately made it pure and clean; by saying a single word. Then having moistened some earth, he made of it twelve sparrows. And it was the Sabbath day when he did these things. There were many other children playing with him. Now a Jew, seeing what Jesus did, that he was playing on the Sabbath day, went his way to (Jesus’) father Joseph. He said, “Behold, your son is at the stream of dirty water, and having taken up some mud, has made of it twelve sparrows, thus desecrating the Sabbath. On this Joseph went to the spot, and cried out, “Why did you do these things on the Sabbath day which it is not lawful to do?” Jesus then clapped his hands at the sparrows and cried aloud to them, “Go off!” So they, clucking, flew away. The Jews seeing it were astonished, and went and told their rulers what they had seen Jesus do.” Again, note the similarities. Another Heretical Christian fable, another story circulated by the people living in the Mideast. And, another fable that made it’s way into the Quran.” # SABEAN SOURCES Muhammad incorporated parts of the religion of the Sabeans into Islam (Encyclopedia of Islam (ed. Eliade), pp. 303ff.; International Standard Bible Encyclopedia, pp. 1:219ff.). He adopted such pagan rituals as: ▪︎The Haj pilgrimage and worshipping at the Kaaba with all its incidental rituals. ▪︎Praying five times a day towards Mecca (Muhammad chose five of the same times the Sabeans prayed, which incidentally is an example where Muhammad overrode the Quran which nowhere mentions 5 daily prayers; it is only found in the Hadith). ▪︎Fasting for part of a day for an entire month. # EASTERN RELIGIOUS SOURCES Muhammad derived some of his ideas from Eastern religions such as Zoroastrianism and Hinduism. All of these things were in existence long before Muhammad was born. The Quran records the following things which are ascribed to Muhammad but in reality were previously known stories now attributed to him for the first time (Sell, Studies, pp. 219ff.). ▪︎The story of a flying trip through seven heavens. ▪︎The Houris of paradise. ▪︎Azazil and other spirits coming up from Hades. ▪︎ The “light” of Muhammad. ▪︎The bridge of Sirat. ▪︎Paradise with its wine, women, and song (from the Persians). ▪︎The king of death. ▪︎The peacock story. ▪︎ Pilgrimage is found in both Hinduism and lslam, Hajj to Mecca in Islam, while Kumbh Mela and Tirtha Yatra in Hinduism. ▪︎ Muslims performs 7 circuits around the Kaaba during Hajj which is called Tawaf. Hindus also perform one or more circuits around the centre (Garbhagriha) of a Temple (one to twenty-one, which is called as Parikrama (known in Sanscrit as pradakśiṇā). Both rituals are commonly called circumambulation. ▪︎ In the Hindu marriage rite of Saptapadi, the married couple circumnavigate the fire seven times. ▪︎ In the Islamic ritual of Tawaf, Muslim circumnavigation of the Kaaba incorporates, religious phrases repeated during the circumambulation. Some of the rituals that Muslims follow during the Hajj are the same as the rites observed by Hindus in their worship of Shiva. Note these striking similarities: (1) Both Hindu and Muslim male devotees are required to shave their heads during their pilgrimage. (2) And similar to their Hindu counterparts, male Muslim pilgrims are also required to dress in a garment consisting of two sheets of white cloth. This type of garment is known as Dhoti in Hinduism. (3) Just as the worshippers of Shiva observe a rite in which they walk around their object of reverence seven times, Muslim pilgrims also walk around the Kaaba seven times. (4) Both their objects of reverence are Black Stones. In Hinduism, the Black Stone is known as Shiva lingam. (5) While Hindus drink water from the Ganga River as part of the sacred rites in their worship of Shiva, Muslims drink from the Well of Zamzam during the Hajj. (6) Additionally, the Crescent moon, which is associated with the Hindu deity Shiva, is also a symbol for Islam. In the Hindu portrayal of the Shiva symbol, the crescent moon is always painted across his forehead. Moreover, in every portrayal of Shiva, there is always a depiction of a snake curled around his neck. Weirdly, in pre-Islamic times, Allah is supposed to have sent a snake to guard the treasures of the Kaaba. Get Outlook for Android<aka.ms/AAb9ysg>
THEMES ABOUT SIN, RIGHTEOUSNESS AND HOLINESS. 1). INTRODUCTION The Muslim Anas Anas tries to argue on another thread that by virtue of Genesis 6:9 Noah was righteous and blameless before God and thus Paul is wrong in Romans 3:10 to say “no-one is righteous.” What all Muslims fail to do is read Scripture in its context, to recognise that Scripture interprets Scripture and that Scripture must harmonise. And in this case they also ignore its cross references: In the first place Paul is declaring nothing new but is echoing the Psalmist and the writer of Ecclesiastes, and acknowledges that when he says “As it is written” – here are his sources: “The fool says in his heart, “God does not exist.” They are corrupt; they do vile deeds. There is no one who does good. [2] The Lord looks down from heaven on the human race to see if there is one who is wise, one who seeks God. [3] All have turned away; all alike have become corrupt. There is no one who does good, not even one” (Psalms 14:1-3 HCSB – see also Psalm 53). “There is certainly no righteous man on the earth who does good and never sins” (Ecclesiastes 7:20 HCSB). “What then? Are we any better? Not at all! For we have previously charged that BOTH JEWS AND GENTILES ARE ALL UNDER SIN, [10] AS IT IS WRITTEN: THERE IS NO ONE RIGHTEOUS, NOT EVEN ONE. [11] There is no one who understands; there is no one who seeks God. [12] All have turned away; all alike have become useless. There is no one who does what is good, not even one. [20] For no one will be justified in His sight by the works of the law, because the knowledge of sin comes through the law. [21] But now, apart from the law, God’s righteousness has been revealed — attested by the Law and the Prophets [22] — that is, God’s righteousness through faith in Jesus Christ, to all who believe, since there is no distinction. [23] For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God. [24] They are justified freely by His grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus. [25] God presented Him as a propitiation through faith in His blood, to demonstrate His righteousness, because in His restraint God passed over the sins previously committed. [26] God presented Him to demonstrate His righteousness at the present time, so that He would be righteous and declare righteous the one who has faith in Jesus” (Romans 3:9-12, 20-26 HCSB). In the second place Noah was not without sin. None of God’s prophets were, except the only One who can save us, Jesus Christ. 2). GOD USED WEAK FALLIBLE SINNERS TO DISPLAY HIS POWER & PERFECTION Consider the following: Jacob was a cheater 😳 Peter denied his crucifixion and denied knowing Jesus ✌🏻 David covetousness led him to have Uriah killed 🤺 Noah got drunk🍷 Elisha lied 💬 Jonah ran from God 🏃 Saul consulted the witch of Endor 🧙 Solomon’s polygamy led him away from God 💑 Balaam was cruel to animals 🐎 Paul was a murderer 🤺 Peter denied Miriam was a gossiper 🗣 Elijah was depressed 😢 Gideon made an ephod and led Israel into idolatry 🧥 Abraham lied 👴🏻 David had an affair with Bathsheba 😍 Moses murdered an Egyptian 🤺 Nathan spoke for Himself not God 💬 So whenever the Bible speaks of people who were righteous we have to dig deeper. As we shall see in the next section, ultimately righteousness always leads to, and can only be accounted for by, the Cross. 3). COULD GOD HAVE FORGIVEN US WITHOUT THE ATONEMENT OF JESUS? Muslims and other sceptics might argue: “Well, didn’t He forgive the Israelites before the cross?” Answer: Yes, but only superficially and contingently. The New Testament consistently teaches that OT forgiveness was not the same as the forgiveness that came through the Cross: “For since the law has but a shadow of the good things to come instead of the true form of these realities, it can never, by the same sacrifices that are continually offered every year, make perfect those who draw near. Otherwise, would they not have ceased to be offered, since the worshipers, having once been cleansed, would no longer have any consciousness of sins? But in these sacrifices there is a reminder of sins every year. For it is impossible for the blood of bulls and goats to take away sins.” (Hebrews 10:1-4) Instead of the eradication of sin, the Old Testament forgiveness merely covered over sin: “[Jesus] whom God put forward as a propitiation by his blood, to be received by faith. This was to show God’s righteousness, because in his divine forbearance he had passed over former sins.” (Romans 3:25) Because Israel’s sins were merely “passed over,” Jesus’ atonement had to work retroactively to cleanse the sins of the OT saints: “For if the blood of goats and bulls, and the sprinkling of defiled persons with the ashes of a heifer, sanctify for the purification of the flesh, how much more will the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered himself without blemish to God, purify our conscience from dead works to serve the living God. Therefore he is the mediator of a new covenant, so that those who are called may receive the promised eternal inheritance, since a death has occurred that redeems them from the transgressions committed under the first covenant.” (Hebrews 9:13-15) It is only through Christ that our sins are cleansed and purified so that we can confidently enter into the presence of God (Hebrews 10:19-22). Instead, OT forgiveness was only a matter of God passing over sins, not purifying them: “Blessed is the one whose transgression is forgiven, whose sin is covered.” (Psalm 32:1;) “Who is a God like you, pardoning iniquity and passing over transgression for the remnant of his inheritance?” (Micah 7:18) The OT saints would only experience a “passing over transgression,” but they were also promised a New Covenant through which God would “remember their sins no more” (Jeremiah 31:34). Because their sins hadn’t been eradicated, even the deceased OT saints could not come into the presence of a God whose righteousness had not yet been satisfied by the Cross: “And all these, though commended through their faith, did not receive what was promised, since God had provided something better for us, that apart from us they should not be made perfect.” (Hebrews 11:39-40) Consequently, after Jesus proclaimed that “It is finished” and the veil of the Temple was torn in two, symbolizing the fact that the way into presence of God was now opened, there was a great earthquake to reinforce this lesson: “And behold, the curtain of the temple was torn in two, from top to bottom. And the earth shook, and the rocks were split. The tombs also were opened. And many bodies of the saints who had fallen asleep were raised, and coming out of the tombs after his resurrection they went into the holy city and appeared to many.” (Matthew 27:51-53) 4). HOW WAS JESUS DEATH ABLE TO BE APPLIED RETROSPECTIVELY? Because the Gospel was preached retrospectively: “For this reason the gospel was also preached to those who are now dead, so that, although they might be judged by men in the fleshly realm, they might live by God in the spiritual realm.” (1 Peter 4:6 HCSB) Not to be confused with: “For Christ also suffered for sins once for all, the righteous for the unrighteous, that He might bring you to God, after being put to death in the fleshly realm but made alive in the spiritual realm. In that state He also went and made a proclamation to the spirits in prison.” (1 Peter 3:18-19 HCSB) First, (I Peter 3:18-19) to the evil angels in the “bottomless pit” (7 mentions in Book of Revelation). The Greek term here is kerusso, to herald, proclaim, as a town crier. Jesus would have been proclaiming His paying the world’s sin debt. Second, (I Peter 4:6) Jesus preached to the righteous Old Testament souls who were waiting for access to Heaven. His shed blood freed them from their waiting place. Greek- euaggelizo, we call it evangelize, to announce good news, glad tidings. Note from Luke the Isaiah passage that Jesus declared fulfilled: “The Spirit of the Lord is on Me, because He has anointed Me to preach good news to the poor. He has sent Me to proclaim FREEDOM TO THE CAPTIVES and recovery of sight to the blind, to set free the oppressed,” (Luke 4:18 HCSB) Now see the sequence of fulfilment: “He replied to them, “Go and report to John the things you have seen and heard: The blind receive their sight, the lame walk, those with skin diseases are healed, the deaf hear, the dead are raised, and the poor are told the good news.” (Luke 7:22 HCSB) What isn’t mentioned in Luke 7:22? No mention of the release of captives. He hadn’t accomplished that yet … because it wasn’t time for the cross at that point. Other relevant supportive texts: “I assure you: An hour is coming, and is now here, WHEN THE DEAD WILL HEAR THE VOICE OF THE SON OF GOD, AND THOSE WHO HEAR WILL LIVE. Do not be amazed at this, because a time is coming when all who are in the graves will hear His voice and come out — those who have done good things, to the resurrection of life, but those who have done wicked things, to the resurrection of judgment.” (John 5:25, 28-29 HCSB) “The tombs were also opened and many bodies of the saints who had fallen asleep were raised. And they came out of the tombs after His resurrection, entered the holy city, and appeared to many.” (Matthew 27:52-53 HCSB) “For it says: When He ascended on high, He took prisoners into captivity; He gave gifts to people. But what does “He ascended” mean except that He descended to the lower parts of the earth? The One who descended is also the One who ascended far above all the heavens, that He might fill all things.” (Ephesians 4:8-10 HCSB) Also check out this post for more: □ GOD WILL BY NO MEANS LEAVE THE GUILTY UNPUNISHED: THE APPARANT CONTRADICTION OF EXODUS 34:7 10 May 2021 www.facebook.com/100063590342443/posts/158327186296959/ Pursuit of self righteousness by good deeds is doomed to fail. God’s standard is perfection and anything less is vanity. Can you attain perfection? Nobody can! 5). WHAT DID JESUS MEAN WHEN HE TOLD US TO BE PERFECT? Answer: To put it bluntly, perfectionism is a hoax. We cannot be perfect! Yet many well-meaning people continue to strive for this unattainable goal. They want to exceed expectations at work, at home, at church, in sports, in hobbies, in physical appearance—and the list goes on. They have somehow convinced themselves that to be acceptable requires them to measure up to a personal or societal standard of perfection. A perfectionist mindset brings stress and can only lead to discontent and frustration. Perfectionism often involves raising the bar to absurd heights and striving in our own efforts for something that only God can do. The point of the gospel is that we are unable to save ourselves. We all “fall short”; we all “miss the mark” (Romans 3:23). Sinners need a Savior, and that’s why Jesus came. When we trust in Him, He forgives our shortcomings, imperfections, and iniquities. We can stop striving for an arbitrary, worldly “perfection” and rest in the Perfect One (Matthew 11:28). Martha, who was “worried and upset about many things,” probably struggled with perfectionism as she served the Lord (Luke 10:40-41). As she prepared the dinner and set the table, she wanted everything to be just right. The problem was that she was setting a higher standard for herself than Jesus was setting for her. “Only one thing is needed,” Jesus told her. Then He pointed her to Mary’s example of peace and rest (Luke 10:42). It is true that the Bible calls us to be “perfect as [our] heavenly Father is perfect” (Matthew 5:48). The Greek word for “perfect” here is telios. It means “brought to its end, completed, or perfect.” So, to be “perfect” in this sense is not how perfectionists so often imagine it. Rather, it is to be completed in Christ. Philippians 1:6 says that completion is the work of God. He created us, saved us, and is faithful to perfect us. This is not to say that we have no responsibility to grow in our faith (2 Peter 3:18). We must cooperate with God’s work in us (His perfection of us)—see Philippians 2:12. This is what pursuit of righteousness means. We are called to live godly lives and to submit to God. But the focus of the Bible’s commands is not on others’ perception of us, as is so often the idol of the perfectionist. Instead, the focus is on our heart’s posture toward God. “Just then someone came up and asked Him, “Teacher, what good must I do to have eternal life? ” “Why do you ask Me about what is good?” He said to him. “There is only One who is good. If you want to enter into life, keep the commandments.” “Which ones? ” he asked Him. Jesus answered: Do not murder; do not commit adultery; do not steal; do not bear false witness; honor your father and your mother; and love your neighbor as yourself. “I have kept all these,” the young man told Him. “What do I still lack? ” “If you want to be perfect,” Jesus said to him, “go, sell your belongings and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven. THEN COME, FOLLOW ME.” When the young man heard that command, he went away grieving, because he had many possessions. Then Jesus said to His disciples, “I assure you: It will be hard for a rich person to enter the kingdom of heaven! Again I tell you, it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich person to enter the kingdom of God.” When the disciples heard this, they were utterly astonished and asked, “Then who can be saved? ” But Jesus looked at them and said, “WITH MEN THIS IS IMPOSSIBLE, BUT WITH GOD ALL THINGS ARE POSSIBLE” (Matthew 19:16-26 HCSB). I would go further and say ONLY with God are all things possible, including being made perfect (righteous). See this Post for more: □ WHAT JESUS TEACHING ON BEING GOOD AND PERFECT MEANS FOR US (MATTHEW 19:16-26) 22 Aug 2021 www.facebook.com/100063590342443/posts/233884235407920/ 6). THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN HOLINESS AND RIGHTEOUSNESS? The short answer is: we are righteous because God counts Jesus’ goodness instead of our sins when we have faith in Jesus. We are becoming holy as we obey God more and more in our lives. ▪︎ Being righteous Being righteous is being acceptable to God. Noah is the first person in the Bible to be called righteous: “Noah was a righteous man, blameless in his generation. Noah walked with God” (Genesis 6:9). Here we see the two aspects of being righteous: doing the right thing (being blameless) and having a relationship with God (walked with God). In the Old Testament this is often connected to the law of God. In Psalm 1, the description of the righteous says “his delight is in the law of the LORD”. The law is about what you should do. But doing that is a delight, because it is the law of the Lord. So again, doing the right thing and having the right relationship go hand in hand. In the final analysis, being righteous is dependent on faith. Paul strongly emphasizes this in Romans 3-5, and quotes Genesis 15:6 about Abraham to prove his point: “And he believed the LORD, and he counted it to him as righteousness.” So as Paul uses the term, being righteous IS NOT BASED ON WHAT WE DO, BUT SOMETHING WE RECEIVE WHEN WE BELIEVE IN GOD’S PROMISES. Through faith in Jesus we receive forgiveness of sins and are acceptable to God. ▪︎ Being holy Being holy means being set apart for God. It can be used for objects (a holy altar), time (a holy day), or persons (a holy priest). All believers are set apart for God, and are therefore made holy (or sanctified, which has the same meaning). We see this for example in 1 Corinthians 6:11: “But you were washed, you were sanctified, you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and by the Spirit of our God.” At the same time, there is also a sense in which being made holy is not a one time event, but a continuing process. 1 Thessalonians 5:23 says “Now may the God of peace himself sanctify you completely”. As we are living with God, we are growing in faith. More and more we are changed into the likeness of Jesus. More and more we display the fruit of the Holy Spirit. In that way, we are made holy. This process will only be complete when we are with God in heaven. ▪︎ What we are and what we become So one way to distinguish between being righteous and being holy (perfected) is to say that we are righteous, and are becoming holy. We are righteous through faith in Christ, and we are becoming holy (perfected or sanctified) as we grow in faith in Christ. We have been declared righteous because of something that happened outside us: Christ died for our sins. This is God’s work for us. We are not contributing anything to that. We just receive God’s blessing of righteousness when we believe. We are becoming holy because something is happening in us: we are becoming more and more like Christ. This is the work of God’s Holy Spirit in us. It is still God’s work, but we are fully involved, we are living it out. 7). CONCLUSIONS We are sinners in need of redemption. Christ alone can achieve that for us. By His atonement, we exchange our sins for His righteousness. From that moment we are like Noah declared righteous before God, because like Noah we are “walking with God” in our daily relationship with the Risen Christ; even though like Noah who got drunk, we are guilty of drunkenness and many other sins of the flesh. So in summary, righteousness equates to our justification while being perfected is the lifelong process of sanctification, becoming holier by the work of the Holy Spirit acting upon our lives. Being made righteous is the one time event of being clothed in Christ’s righteousness, the moment we yield our lives to Him. Holiness is a work in progress which none fully achieves in our fallen sinful state, its a journey with its destination only reached in the resurrection. Being made righteous is our deposit and guarantee upon our becoming perfected. Amen. Get Outlook for Android<aka.ms/AAb9ysg>
THE BIBLE WARNINGS AGAINST HERESY CONDEMN ISLAM 1). INTRODUCTION Muslims have you ever stopped to wonder this? Accept for the moment that the Bible is the true word of God. Set aside your prejudices and preconceptions that its corrupted, misinterpreted or misunderstood by Christians. Just take it as a given fact, that Jesus death on the cross and His resurrection defeated Satan. Now Satan is not going to roll over and accept defeat right? All the while he is at large in the world and ruler of it, he is going to find ways to stop people getting to heaven. And since our only route to heaven is through Jesus and the atonement of the Cross (Matthew 26:26-28, Mark 10:45, John 14:6), Satan has to block that avenue. But more than that, Satan is trying to usurp God. Ever since he was cast down from heaven he is the envier, enemy and accuser of God and of God’s people. He wants to be worshipped (Isaiah 14:14; Matthew 4:8-10), so needs an identity that can deceive people into thinking he is God. He needs a disguise and he needs his servants to appear in disguise, for he is not so stupid as to play himself – though the church of Satan does worship him overtly – to attract the masses, he needs to appear more orthodox and mainstream with at least a superficial “pedigree” of legitimacy. Enter Islam. Islam fits Satan’s purposes perfectly. It denies the crucifixion our only hope of salvation. It also denies the divinity of Jesus and vehemently opposes the Triune God of Scripture. For Satan being a singularity (albeit with a third of the fallen angels as his army), cannot replicate God’s multiple personality. Also Satan demands blind allegiance and submission as Islam’s god does. He discourages and does not accept questions or being tested for he can’t stand up to scrutiny. So he becomes the ultimate in obscurity, making himself inscrutibly unknowable. Just as Islam’s Allah does. He is proud and boastful and covets everything that belongs to God. Just as Allah does. He glorifies death since death is his domain. Hence we find shedding blood, killing and being killed, in appeasement of Allah, the ultimate honour for a Muslim and a straight pass to a sensually alluring Paradise, where God is nowhere. All that is in polar opposite contra-distinction to Christ who conquered death, redeemed us by shedding His own blood and glorifies God and God’s people with eternal life in God’s presence. 2). THE MUSLIM DILEMMA Muslims how can you be sure that Islam is from God? How can you be sure that Allah isn’t Satan and that what assaulted Muhammad at Hira wasn’t a demon disguised as an angel? If you’re still in suspended judgment mode consider what the Bible says. Given that there is no mention of Islam, Muhammad or Allah in all of Scripture how can you test your faith against Biblical precepts? After all, the Bible warns us of Satan appearing as an angel of light and his servants disguised as servants of righteousness (2 Corinthians 11:14-15). We can very simply test Islam against some foundational Biblical principles of which the following is only a selection. 3). BIBLE WARNINGS The Bible may not mention Muhammad by name but it does warn us of false prophets along with these warnings and strictures for living by and establishing the truth: ● Not going after, following or worshipping “other gods” (Deuteronomy 13:1-4, 18:20). ● Angels appearing and preaching “another gospel” and pronounces a curse on anyone following them (Galatians 1:8-9). ● Not taking up the sword for all who do will die by it (Matthew 26:52). ● Not denying the Cross of Christ which is Satanic (Matthew 16:23). ● Being easily seduced by the many who will come in Jesus name claiming to be the Christ (Matthew 24:23-24; Mark 13:21-22; Luke 21:8) or “another Jesus” (2 Corinthians 11:4). ● Against being “carried away by varied and strange teachings” (Hebrews 13:9) or being captivated by “philosophy, empty deceptions based on traditions and worldly principles, rather than on Christ” (Colossians 2:8). ● Against falling back into Old Covenant legalism or being subject to rules of not “handling tasting or touching” based on the rules of men (Mark 7:19; Colossians 2:20-22; Hebrews 8:13). ● Having nothing to do with worldly myths and fables “fit only for old women” (1 Timothy 4:7); not following “cleverly devised myths when we made known to you the power and coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, but we were eyewitnesses of his majesty” (2 Peter 1:16) and “paying no heed to (Jewish) myths and the commands of men who reject the truth” (Titus 1:14). ● Against being “enticed by fleshly desires and sensuality” being “promised freedom by those who are slaves of corruption” (2 Peter 2:17-22). ● Against denying the divinity of Christ for the one who does is a liar and the antichrist, who denies the Father and the Son (1 John 2:22-23). ● To be discerning and “not believe every spirit, but test the spirits to see whether they are from God, because many false prophets have gone out into the world” (1 John 4:1). ● How to recognise the Spirit of God (Holy Spirit) “every spirit that confesses that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh is from God; and every spirit that does not confess Jesus is not from God; this is the spirit of the antichrist” (1 John 4:2-3). ● For a charge to be brought or settled it requires the testimony of two or three witnesses (Deuteronomy 19:15; Matthew 18:16; 2 Corinthians 13:1) ● Against adding to or taking away from God’s word (Deuteronomy 4:2, 12:32; Revelation 22:18-19) 4). COMMENTS Muslims how many of the above 15 criteria does Islam meet? Let’s mention a few. Islam fails the multiple attestion/witness rule. Just for starters, Muhammad had no witnesses to his cave encounters nor any of his claimed signs. There is zero witness testimony to support the claims of Surah 4:157. Islam follows “other gods” ie the pagan Allah (previously Hubal) and Muhammad his equal and mediator for Muslims. The ‘Isa’ of Islam is “another Jesus” as warned about by Paul in 2 Corinthians 11:4. He is always referenced “son of Mary” never the Son of God and is a mere prophet to Israel only, without His universal Biblical titles of priest and king. Although acknowledged as “Al-Masih” (Messiah), Islam does not recognise that He is God. Islam fails the spiritual discernment tests of 1 John 2 and 4 for it does deny Christ’s divinity and unity with the Father. Moreover it discourages asking questions as a matter of principle. Islam is not an enquring faith it is a blind faith. Islam does what 2 Peter 2:17-22 says not to do being “enticed by fleshly desires and sensuality” which sums up the lure of Islam’s illusory carnal paradise. The Quran is rife with embarrassing accusations of Muhammad’s contemporaries that he was a plagiariser and bringer of the fairy tales of the ancients; “mere fables of the men of old” (Surah 16:24 Pickthall); “And they say `these are fables of the ancient; and he has got them written down and they are read out to him morning and evening'” (Surah 25:5 Sherali). See also Surah 6:25; 8:31; 10:38; 11:13, 35; 27:68; 46:8-9, 17; 52:33; 68:15; 83:13. … all of which is in stark contrast to, and falls foul of 1 Timothy 4:7, 2 Peter 1:16 and Titus 1:14 amongst others. Islam is a religion of violence and the sword (princially Surah 9:5, see also 2:193 & 216, 4:89, 5:33, 8.67, 47:4 and many others), all contrary to Matthew 26:52. Islam imposes legalism par excellence burdening Muslims with rules for everything from what can be eaten, to dress code to form and times of prayer and ablution etiquette. This is contrary to the New Covenant based on grace not law, whereby Jesus perfectly fulfilled the law on our behalf and is thus contrary to Mark 7:19; Colossians 2:20-22, Hebrews 8:13 amongst others. Above all, Islam denies the crucifixion in direct opposition to the Gospel narrative the entire New Testament, hundreds of OT prophecies and not least Matthew 16.23. 5). CONCLUSIONS Given the premise of our starting position for this post, namely that the Cross defeated Satan how is Islam shaping up as Satan’s thinly disguised attempt to overwrite it Muslims? Even from this incomplete review, when you look at the tenets of Islam it should by now be obvious that this wholesale opposition to Biblical principles is not mere “correcting” of wrong interpretation or corrupt Bible doctrines, it is ANTITHETICAL TO GOD’S WORD on every level. It is REPLACEMENT THEOLOGY, with not so much theological content, and an emphasis rather on rules for secular life and totalitarian political hegemony. Hitler’s manifesto Mein Kampf, still a best seller in the Arabic world does much the same, and makes the same enemies of God’s people, while being a lot more coherent and transparent. Who opposes God? Satan does. Islam is the religion of Satan. Case closed.
The
name Allah is reverenced by over 1.2 billion Muslims around the world. Muslims
believe that he is the same God that spoke to Abraham, David, Moses, and Jesus.
But is this true? The Quran shows many of the known biblical prophets calling
God ?Allah?. In the Arabic language “Allah” is supposed to be the equivalent
to “God”. It is very difficult to find information historically, on
the name Allah before Islam. One thing that needs to be investigated is the idea
or whether Allah has been thought of as the same God of the Bible, as Muslims
would want us to believe. Is Allah originally Arabic? Has Allah always been known
as God to the Arabs? In this synopsis, we will investigate the origin of Allah
before Islam. In order to verify Islamic claims we should find evidence of their
claims. This paper is an intent to be historically accurate and present the true
history of Allah before Islam. Then we will investigate the character of Muhammad,
for it is he who claimed that Allah inspired him which led to a new religion called
Islam.
Unfortunately when one tries to search out the history of Allah before
Islam, there is little or no information from the Arab point of view. The Arabs
had no written history before Muhammad and the Quran is the first Arabic writing
of any importance. This bodes well for Muslim who use the Hadith literature to
show that Allah was the God who inspired Abraham. However the Hadith is a very
late compilation and isn’t present until 2 centuries after the prophet Muhammad
lived. Therefore the dating of the Hadith is around the 800’s which is hardly
a contemporary source in verifying the life of Abraham, which lived almost 3000
years before. The name Allah isn’t from Arabic nor is Allah found within the written
languages of “the people of the Book”. However despite the origin of
the name, Allah is found in pre-islamic writings:
“Allah is found. .
.in Arabic inscriptions prior to Islam.” Encyclopedia Britannica, I:643.
And
“Allah”
is a pre-Islamic name. . .” Encyclopedia of Religion, I:117.
“Allah was known
to the pre-Islamic Arabs; he was one of the Meccan deities.” Encyclopedia
of Islam, ed. Gibb, I:406.
The name Allah is pre-Islamic as we have seen
and the Quran helps to verify this matter in telling Muhammad to ask the pagans,
what God is supreme, etc.
The name Allah, as the Qur’an itself is witness,
was well known in pre-Islamic Arabia. (Arthur Jeffrey, ed., Islam: Muhammad and
His Religion, New York: The Liberal Arts Press, 1958, p. 85)
However this
matter still doesn’t satisfy the question as to where Allah originated from. It
is a historical fact that Allah was known long before Muhammad, and proof can
be seen by looking at the name of his father which had “abdallah” in it. Historically
there is a general consensus that Allah was a pagan deity who was worshipped along
with 360 idols in the Kaaba before Muhammad and the beginning of Islam.
Historians
like Vaqqidi have said Allah was actually the chief of the 360 gods being worshipped
in Arabia at the time Mohammed rose to prominence. Ibn Al-Kalbi gave 27 names
of pre-Islamic deities…Interestingly, not many Muslims want to accept that Allah
was already being worshipped at the Ka’ba in Mecca by Arab pagans before Mohammed
came. Some Muslims become angry when they are confronted with this fact. But
history is not on their side. Pre-Islamic literature has proved this. (G.
J. O. Moshay, Who Is This Allah?, Dorchester House, Bucks, UK, 1994, pg.
138)
If you look up the definition of the word Pagan you would see that
its meaning is “One who worships false gods; an idolater; a heathen”. In Modern
Dictionaries pagan refers to anyone who isn’t a Christian, Jew or Muslim. However
Pagan was the name given to idolaters in the early Christian church, because the
villagers, being most remote from the centers of instruction, remained for a long
time unconverted. Modern dictionaries have converted the word Pagan to include
anyone other than Muslims along with Jews and Christians. But, the word Pagan
applies in context to the God of the Jews and Christians, whose religions existed
long before Islam. Neither Jews nor Christians consider Muslims as true believers
of God. The first definition of pagan idols and gods stems from the Bible, whose
God is called Yahweh Elohim. The Muslim addition is based on modern commentary
and however, when investigated is historically unfounded.
In any case
it is extremely important fact that Muhammad did not find it necessary to introduce
an altogether novel deity, but contented himself with ridding THE HEATHEN ALLAH
of his companions subjecting him to a kind of dogmatic purification. (Encyclopedia
of Religion and Ethics, I:664)
The Islamic idea of Allah being the one
true God is foreign in retrospect of archeological and historical evidence. Before
Islam we can?t find a single shred of evidence to support the Islamic claim that
Allah was just one God without partners or consorts or as the God of Abraham.
Allah seems to have been worshipped with a family since his appearance in Arabia,
before the birth of Muhammad. Muslims might contend that the pagan Arabs tainted
the monotheistic religion of “worshipping Allah alone” by resorting to worship
of idols as intercessors to worship Him. Now one must see immediately this Islamic
fallacy because we must ask them this question, Which religion was pure in nature
in Arabia before Islam? Also what type of inscription evidence can be presented
to actually show that Allah was worshipped alone without intercessors? None. This
is a later idea which developed after the founding of Islam.
We have seen
that Allah is a well known deity, that existed before Muhammad and now we must
investigate where the name “Allah” originated. Muslim scholars like Ceaser Farah
have stated this about Allah:
All?h, the paramount deity of pagan Arabia,
was the target of worship in varying degrees of intensity from the southernmost
tip of Arabia to the Mediterranean. To the Babylonians he was “Il” (god);
to the Canaanites, and later the Israelites, he was “El’; the South Arabians
worshipped him as “Ilah,” and the Bedouins as “al-Ilah” (the deity).
This
position about Allah is correct and is affirmed by more historial sources:
Allah,
MUSLIM NAME FOR THE SUPREME BEING. The term is a contraction of the Arabic
al-llah,”the God.” Both the idea and the word existed in pre-Islamic Arabian tradition,
in which some evidence of a primitive monotheism can also be found. Although
they recognized other, lesser gods, the pre-Islamic Arabs recognized Allah as
the supreme God. (Microsoft Encarta Online Encyclopedia)
The complete
name of Allah before it is contracted to the shorter form, is “AL-ILAH.” “ILAH”
is the masculine root word for Allah, or “god”, in Arabic. “AL ILAT” is the
feminine resulting in Allat. (Hitti, Philip, History of The Arabs, London,
1950, 8)
Historical sources say that the contraction of the name Allah
means “AL-ILAH”. This name is the Muslim name of the Supreme god. Muslims may
say that the reference from Mr. Farah shows that Allah was the same god as EL
which is found in the bible. This has led to many historical misrepresentations
in equating EL with Allah. Even though both technically means “god”, there is
a big difference between the two. Allah falls under the catagory as a heathen
or pagan deity since it isn’t EL or Elohim since pagan refers to any other idol
other than EL. The bible was the first book to verify what gods were idols and
pagan and what were not. Neither Christians nor Jews before the inhabitants of
Arabia used the term Allah to refer to the name of God. Islamist Mr. Farah continues:
With Muhammad he becomes All?h, God of the Worlds, of all believers,
the one and only who admits no associates or consorts in the worship of Him. Judaic
and Christian concepts of God abetted the transformation of All?h FROM A PAGAN
DEITY TO THE GOD OF ALL MONOTHEISTS.
Historically we see that Allah
was originally a pagan deity which is later stripped of his heathanism by Muhammad.
Farah finishes by saying:
There is no reason, therefore, to accept
the idea that “Allah” PASSED TO THE MUSLIMS FROM CHRISTIANS AND JEWS.
This
is very important to note due to the fact that Christians and Jews already considered
ELOHIM as a monotheistic God who was the God of Abraham. This source from the
Britannica Encyclopdia verifies this historical data:
Etymologically, the
name All?h is probably a contraction of the Arabic al-Ilah, “the
God”. The name’s origin can be traced back to the earliest Semitic writings
in which the word for god was Il or El, THE LATTER BEING AN OLD TESTAMENT SYNONYM
FOR YAHWEH. (Encyclopedia Britannica, 1992)
Notice that EL is the
synonym and for Yahweh, not IL. IL is found in the name Allah who is “AL-ILAH”
and not “AL-ELAH”. The earliest source for IL comes to us from The Babylonians.
The name Babylon itself means gate of gods:
Babylon, the name which is
Greek, is a rendering of the Babylonian bab-Ili; plural bab ?ilani,
which in turn translates the earlier Sumerian name ka’-dingir-ra, gate of god:
(Tyndale, New Bible Dictionary pg. 111 2nd ed. 1982).
All false
religion began in ancient Sumer with Nimrod. The Babylonian Pantheon is very elaborate
and the city of Babylon, which is termed in the bible as THE WICKED CITY.
All
archeologists now agree that the first civilization was in the Fertile Crescent
particularly at Shinar (Lissner, pg. 25-27)
Shinar is located in Babylonia,
which is latter kingdom that descended from the Sumerians and the civilization
called Sumer. Both Babylon and Assyria are sister civilizations whose common forefathers
originated from the Sumerians. The common root for virtually all Babylonian dieties
is called the Dinger root.
DINGER
ROOT
The term “Dinger” is a logogram that represents
“god” in Ancient Mesopotamian text and language. A logogram is the function of
a sign as a concept, usually represented by an entire word. The word for god in
Ancient Babylon is IL(U), IL. We have already seen that Allah evolved from IL
or ILU, even Muslim cited sources verify this, so now lets look at IL in action.
Allah’s history is highly paganistic and it’s very intriguing that this name seems
to orginate from the Babylonian territory, which was the origin of pagan religions.
Islam picks up the same Mesopotamian traits, with Allah, in naming him the same
name which can also be found in countless other dieties.
Tammuz,
the lover of thy youth.
Thou causest to weep every year.
The BRIGHT-COLORED ALLALLU bird thou didst love.
Thou didst crush him and break his pinions.
(Frazer,
J G, The Golden Bough, Vol. IX, Unabr.Edition, The Scapegoat, Lond , pg.
371)
In an allegory, a poem was written centered on Gilgamesh, another Nimrod
re-name. The goddess is addressed and scolded for trying to kill Gilgamesh as
shown above. Note the Allalu in the above poem:
This was an Allah god
form from 2300 B.C. In one list, two gods come up-Alla and Alala. This at
least dated from 2300 B.C. and it shows that the name Allah had in the most
literal sense from the Assyrian era. (Livingston, Alasdair, Mystical and Mythological
Explanatory Works of Assyrian and Babylonian Scholars, Oxford, 1986 , pg. 198-201).
The Dinger root or “IL” is present in this name and it would precede
the word as a prefix in the cuneiform text. The name Allah was at work in Semitic
language forms long before Muhammad and Islam. I’ve seen many cases in which Muslims
have tried to use Alla to equal EL, or Elah or Ela, but history shows that Allah
god forms were known at the time of EL and Elohim. The Bible considered these
to be idols and pagan gods. The Islamic idea of Allah being the one true God and
Abraham’s God is foreign in light of archeological and historical inscription
evidence.
Common epithets of ?El
Bull El / God – th?ru
?ilu
El at the sources
of the two rivers – ‘ilu mabbuk nahar’mi
El in the midst of the springs of the two oceans – ‘ilu qirba “apig”
tihamat’mi
Father of Humanity – ‘abi ?’adamu
The Creator
of Creatures – baniyu banawati
The Ageless
One who Created Us – dordoru dykeninu
Kindly/Beneficent
El the Compassionate/Sympathetic – lutipanu ‘ilu du pa’idu
The King, the Father of Years/Time – malik
‘abi shanima/shunemi
Biblical titles include:
‘abi
‘ad = “eternal father”
‘el `olam, = “God/ ‘El the Eternal One”
`attiq
yomin/yomayya’ = “Ancient of Days,”
all of which clearly reflect the epithets of
the Ugaritic ‘El.
The
chief Canaanite god is El, which means simply “God,” familiar as one
of the names of the single god of the Bible. The linguistic root may mean “That”
or “the One.” He is called “Creator of all Created Things,”
as well as “Father of Humanity.” El is therefore the prime creator god
of the pantheon, although we do not currently have a Canaanite creation story.
El is also the king and head of the divine assembly, the council of the gods,
although He is not necessarily ‘biological’ father of all the deities. (Qadash
Kinahnu, a Canaanite-Phoenician Temple; The Temple of the Deities – Room one,
the Major Deities in the Myths of Ugarit, pg. 1-2)
It is important
for us to look at the study of El due to the fact that Pagan first referred to
any person worshipping a diety other than EL. This destroys the idea of El being
a so-called pagan based on the original meaning of what pagan was, as we noted
at above.
Despite
His position as creator, El thereafter was comparatively inactive. He is described
as an old bearded man and, in most stories we have, He is seated in His hall up
on His mountain – between the two rivers, which are the source of the world oceans.
Although He is rather remote, and not usually directly approached, El is strong,
powerful and wise. He is Thoru ‘Ilu, the Bull God, identified with this animal
for its strength and steadfastness. Whatever happens, He conserves His dignity.
El
is a major figure in most of the Ugaritic myths, in the stories of Ba`al, of Aqhat,
of Keret, and of Shahar and Shalim. He is also at or near the top of the offering
lists at Ugarit, figuring in all of them. Kings on Earth are referred to as Sons
of ?El. ?El is also the host of the ritual feast association, the Marzeah, which
among other events, sponsored an annual Feast for the Dead. (IBID)
People
usually don’t associate El like they do pagan deities because his characteristics
are strikingly similar to Biblical concepts. The only time we do see El associated
with heathen idols is due to later man made myths. If we look at the epithets
of El, we see that he is a god originally without a consort, daughters or association
with pagan idols. El’s past is highly Biblical.
If we need His aid,
we must first gain the assistance of another deity who can go to His distant palace.
Frequently this is Asherah, although `Anat is often not shy to approach Him directly.
But El is latipanu ‘ilu dupa’idu, “the Compassionate God of Mercy.” He is not
easily moved to anger. The Kindly One, He blesses us and He forgives us when we
do things we shouldn’t. If we say we are sorry, this is usually sufficient, and
He accepts this as atonement. He mourns for our pain and rejoices in our happiness.
The
earliest known evidence of the worship of the Goddess Asherah goes back to Sumer,
where an inscription dating from 1750 BCE was found on a monument set up by an
Amorite official in honor of Hammurapi, on which She is mentioned as Ashratum,
bride of Anu, an Akkadian god who corresponds to ?El as god of heaven at the source
of the rivers where the two world oceans meet. (IBID)
El’s consort, unlike
Allah, was added on after him. The earliest is 1750 BCE, which is real late compared
to El, which was known hundreds of years earlier without a consort. This is one
piece of evidence that Islam has not be able to produce in their support of Allah’s
monotheism without any partners. The Islamic argument is to believe that Allah
has always been the true god alone without providing anything to support this
claim.
If we add 360 years onto 70 A.D. (note we are counting backwards toward
B.C.) we see that it was around 290 B.C. that Asherah was worshipped as a consort
to Yahweh, which again was real late since unlike Allah, El?s consort was later
added by pagans. If you look at the epithets closely you will notice that the
term god is called “ilu”. This is the Mesopatamian equivalent which orignated
from the god An of Sumer. An is Hamatic while El is Semitic. Even though they
both mean god, neither one is linguistically related to each other as Muslim would
have us to believe. Dieu in French is equal to God in English but equating these
two together as being linguistically related is impossible.
Both Muslim
and non-Muslim historical sources verify that the name “Allah” had a history before
Islam as well as Arabia. They also verify that the origin of the name is AL-ILAH
with the “IL” coming from Mesopatamia. This is the first evidence shown which
links the god “Allah” to a heathen and pagan origin. The word pagan, as mentioned
before, first applied to a person worshipping any other god other than EL. Both
Jews and Christians followed this God and despite their differences in theology,
neither would tell you that any deity whose origin stems from Sumer is the same
as their God. Later works added in the Muslim to be the same like the Christians
and the Jews. However this accolade falls under the fallacy of equivocation since
Jews don’t call God “Allah” but Yahweh Elohim. Christians are trinitarians, unlike
Muslims and they along with the Jews consider Muhammad to be a false prophet.
The inclusion of Islam is a strict violation of what pagan orginally meant- “anybody
serving a deity other than EL”.
In continuing the indepth study of the orgin
of the name “Allah”:
Allah , [Arab.,=the God]. Derived from an old semitic
root refering to the Divine and used in the Canaanite El, the Mesopotamian ilu,
and the Biblical Elohim, the word Allah is used by all Arabic-speaking Muslims,
Christians, Jews, and others. Allah, as a deity, was probably known in pre-Islamic
Arabia. Arabic chronicles suggest a pre-Islamic recognition of Allah as a supreme
God, with the three goddesses al-Lat, al-Uzza, and Manat as his ?daughters.?
The Prophet Muhammad, declaring Allah the God of Abraham, demanded a return
to a strict monotheism. Islam supplements Allah as the name of God
with the 99 most beautiful names (asma Allah al-husna), understood as nondescriptive
mnemonic guides to the Divine attributes.
See S. Friedlander, Ninety-Nine
Names of Allah (1978).
When we look at this piece of data we see that
it refutes Islamic argument of Allah not being a heathen god without a family..
Notice that this source says that Arabic chronicles showed that Allah was supreme
God WITH THE THREE GODDESSES AL-LAT, AL-UZZA, AND MANAT AS HIS DAUGHTERS!!! This
source doesn?t say that Allah was the supreme God and was just worshipped monotheistically
by himself as Muslims try and promote. It was MUHAMMAD THAT DECLARED THAT ALLAH
WAS THE GOD OF ABRAHAM AND DEMANDED A RETURN TO STRICT MONOTHEISM. This is putting
the cart before the horse because if Islamic arguement is correct as it claims
then we are incorporating Islamic thought into pre-Islamic times without anything
to prove that it is true.
The name Allah, as the Qur’an itself is witness,
was well known in pre-Islamic Arabia. Indeed, both it and its feminine form,
Allat, are found not infrequently among the theophorous names in inscriptions
from North Africa. Arthur Jeffrey, ed., Islam: Muhammad and His Religion (New
York: The Liberal Arts Press, 1958), p. 85.
The name Allah and Allat were
present in Hamatic cultures of North Africa, long before the origins of Islam.
However, Allah’s history extends further back which we shall continue to investigate.
As shown earlier, from Islamic sources, Allah was the Mesopatamian “IL”, which
is actually the Akkadian (Pre-Babylonian) evolution of the name “AN”. Scott Nogel,
Professor of Near Eastern History at the University of Washington Biblical and
Ancient Near Eastern Studies, Ph.D. Cornell University 1995, verifies that IL
was originally AN, the first high deity of Sumer:
The cuneiform wedge
is DINGIR, and the Sumerians read it as AN, not ilu. It is the Akkadian speakers
who read it as ilu/ilanu.
The god name An comes from the civilization
of Sumer, who is perhaps the first civilization in the world, although human remains
from Egypt in Africa predate it.
History
Sumer was a collection
of city states around the Lower Tigris and Euphrates rivers in what is now southern
Iraq. Each of these cities had individual rulers, although as early as the mid-fourth
millennium BCE the leader of the dominant city could have been considered the
king of the region. The history of Sumer tends to be divided into five periods.
They are the Uruk period, which saw the dominance of the city of that same name,
the Jemdat Nasr period, the Early Dynastic periods, the Agade period, and the
Ur III period – the entire span lasting from 3800 BCE to around 2000 BCE. In addition,
there is evidence of the Sumerians in the area both prior to the Uruk period and
after the Ur III Dynastic period, but relatively little is known about the former
age and the latter time period is most heavily dominated by the Babylonians…
Religion
The religion of the ancient Sumerians has left its mark on
the entire middle east. Not only are its temples and ziggurats scattered about
the region, but the literature, cosmogony and rituals influenced their neighbors
to such an extent that we can see echoes of Sumer in the Judeo-Christian-Islamic
tradition today. From these ancient temples, and to a greater extent, through
cuneiform writings of hymns, myths, lamentations, and incantations, archaeologists
and mythographers afford the modern reader a glimpse into the religious world
of the Sumerians. Sumerian FAQ
The
echoes of Sumer found in Islamic tradition is the god root “AN” which is later
identified as “IL” or “ILU”. Here is the history of An in Sumerian religion:
An,
god of heaven, may have been the main god of the pantheon prior to 2500 BC., although
his importance gradually waned. (Kramer 1963 p. 118) In the early days he carried
off heaven, while Enlil carried away the earth. (Kramer 1961 p. 37-39) It seems
likely that he and Ki/Ninhursag were the progenitors of most of the gods. although
in one place Nammu is listed as his wife. (Kramer 1961 p. 114) Among his children
and followers were the Anunnaki. (Kramer 1961 p. 53) His primary temple was in
Erech. He and Enlil give various gods, goddesses, and kings their earthly regions
of influence and their laws. (Kramer 1963 p. 124) Enki seats him at the first
seat of the table in Nippur at the feast celebrating his new house in Eridu. (Kramer
1961 p. 63) He hears Inanna’s complaint about Mount Ebih (Kur?), but discourages
her from attacking it because of its fearsome power. (Kramer 1961 pp. 82-83) After
the flood, he and Enlil make Ziusudra immortal and make him live in Dilmun. (Kramer,
Samuel Noah, History Begins at Sumer, University of Pennsylvania Press, Philadelphia,
1981 p. 98)
Muslims may claim that An isn’t the same deity as “Allah”–IL.
However Islamic and historical sources say otherwise. What is more shocking than
this is the cuneiform text themselves:
phonetic:an, (ìl,
in words related to ilum `god’)
phonetic, old: èl
determinative: before deities and demons, transcribed as d
for dingir
examples in New Assyrian orthography:
DINGIR.MEsh
(MEsh is plurial sign) ilü ‘(the) gods’
DINGIR.MEsh (MEsh is plurial sign) ilü ‘(the) gods’
logogram:
AN, DINGIR
AN
Anu
supreme god
AN
amû
`sky’, `heaven’
DINGIR
ilu
`god”
If you look at the available text you see
that the AN which is dinger, shown earlier is AN (ANU) the original god of Sumer.
The AN is equal to IL which later became used as IL in ILAH. We have already verfied
this from Muslim and non-Muslim sources.
THE CUSTOMS OF HEATHENISM
HAVE LEFT AN INDELIBLE MARK ON ISLAM, notably in the rites of the pilgrimage,
so that for this reason alone something ought to be said about the chief characteristics
of Arabian paganism.
The relation of this name, WHICH IN BABYLONIA AND ASSYRIAN
BECAME A GENERIC TERM SIMPLY MEANING ‘god’, to the Arabian Ilah familiar to us
in the form Allah, which is compounded of al, the definite article, and Ilah by
eliding the vowel ‘i’, is not clear. Some scholars trace the name to the South
Arabian Ilah, a title of the Moon god, but this is a matter of antiquarian interest…it
is clear from Nabataen and other inscriptions that Allah meant ‘the god.’
The
other gods mentioned in the Quran are all female deities: Al-Lat, al-Uzza, and
Manat, which represented the Sun, the planet Venus, and Fortune, respectively;
at Mecca they were regarded as the daughters of Allah… As Allah meant ‘the
god’, so Al-Lat means ‘the goddess’. (Alfred Guilaume, Islam, Penguin, 1956
pgs. 6-7)
The origin of Allah which is “AN” the high god of Sumer is found
in every Babylonian god and demon! Therefore if we believe the Islamic argument
that Allah is the same god of the Bible, historically we must also believe that
“ALLAH” or “AN or IL” was also other gods as well as demonic entities. The god
AN is known as the heaven god of Sumer whose meaning also means heaven:
From
verses scattered throughout hymns and myths, one can compile a picture of the
universe’s (anki) creation according to the Sumerians. The primeval sea (abzu)
existed before anything else and within that, the heaven (an) and the earth
(ki) were formed. The boundary between heaven and earth was a solid (perhaps tin)
vault, and the earth was a flat disk. Within the vault lay the gas-like ‘lil’,
or atmosphere, the brighter portions therein formed the stars, planets, sun,
and moon. (Kramer, The Sumerians 1963: pp. 112-113)
And
Each of the four
major Sumerian deities is associated with one of these regions. An, god of
heaven, may have been the main god of the pantheon prior to 2500 BC., although
his importance gradually waned. (IBID, p. 118)
The origin of An (later
IL) is heaven which is also a synonym of LIL, which in turn means atmosphere or
air, another definition of heaven. Both Allah and Allat have the “IL” or “AN”
roots present in the makeup of their names, which clearly shows us that both originated
from heathen deities in Sumer. Since Allat was busy in Babylonian inscriptions
and cuneiform accounts, we know very well that Allah was on hand at least as a
grammatical “other”. J J M Roberts, in his list of god / goddess names has shown
very clearly that:
The IL and ILUM ROOTS ARE THE FOUNDATION OF NEARLY
ALL god names in Mesopotamia before UR III. (Roberts, J J M, The Earliest
Semitic Pantheon, Johns Hopkins Univ, Baltimore, 1972, all)
Many Muslims
have argued that the name Allah is Arabic but this is historically unfounded since
An is IL from Sumer where Arabic was never spoken. Another unfounded claim is
the idea that the Kaaba was originally a monotheistic place for worship.
There
is NO CORROBATIVE EVIDENCE whatsoever for the Qu’ran’s claim that the Ka’aba was
initially a house of monotheistic worship. Instead there certainly is evidence
as far back as history can trace the sources and worship of the Ka’aba that it
was thoroughly pagan and idolatrous in content and emphasis.” Gilchrist, The Temple,
The Ka’aba, and the Christ (Benoni, South Africa, 1980), p. 16.
One thing
that is very interesting is the idea of the Kaaba being built by Abraham. This
theory isn’t found anywhere in Arabia prior to Islam. If we are to believe the
claims of the Quran and Hadith literature, how come that there is no evidence
in support of this assertion also? Even Muhammad never mentioned that the Kaaba
was built by Abraham until after the advent of Islam. The inscriptions found in
Arabia dealing with both the Kaaba and Allah, show heathen and paganism and nothing
more. Therefore we are left only with the unprovable claims of Muslims, the Quran
and the Hadith.
It is very clear that these sacred concepts, such as
Allah, the Kaaba with its black stone, running around the Kaaba seven times,
climbing mount Arafat, as well as the god-name Rahman, and stoning Satan, (which
Muhammed got “by revelation”) WERE SALVAGED FROM THE DUNG HEAPS OF
ANCIENT PAGANISM IN ARABIA. (Gabrieli, Francesco, Muhammed and The Conguests
of Islam, World Univ. Press, NY, Toronto, pg. 41).
All of Muhammad?s
ideas about the Kaaba and the god-name Rahman can from ancient Arabian paganism.
Muslims basically claim that Allah is the true god because he was the supreme
God of Arabia. Anu was the supreme god of Sumer but I wonder would Muslims call
him the true god too? No they wouldn’t. However, history does show that Allah’s
“IL” root stems from the very god mentioned, An of Sumer.
We know that
Allah isn?t the same God as El because both were known by the people of that time.
How could the two be the same when El is ?EL? and Allah is ?IL? derived from ?An?.
The Islamic argument of trying to equate IL to EL isn?t true because IL has been
historically shown to be ?AN? first. Also since Semitic cultures added suffixes
to the God names ex. AH to IL to = ILAH, how come EL suffixes are El-OAH and EL-OHIM?
Because Allah was the high god doesn’t make him the same God of the Bible. Using
that methodology, every other high god in religions of other cultures are considered
the one true god, or in Muslims case, Allah also. Our Muslim apologist would be
quick to interject but however this same method was used to make Allah the so-called
God of Abraham. Allah has had a relationship to other notable high god deities
some are recognized from this historical source:
It is also interesting
to find that Rammanu, who was Rimmon of Assyria, Brahman of India, and RAHMAN
OF ISLAM, was also known in Babylon as IL-hallabu. (Langdon, Stephen H, The
Mythology of All Races, Vol V, Archeological Institute of America, Boston, 1931
pg. 39)
Another intruiging factor is shown by the Babylonian “Halla”
which is later found in Arabia. In South Arabia, it is HLH in writing inscriptions.
Let us look at one long bridge as reported by Hitti. He shows that the Arabs of
Saba in South Arabia inscribed HLH in some of their inscriptions for the high
god.
With the vowels supplied this becomes HALLAH, AND LATER, ALLAH.
This inscription was also found in the Lihyan inscriptions in North Arabia, its
origin was Assyria. (Hitti, Philip, History of The Arabs, London, 1950 pg.100-101)
This
certainly shows us that Allah and AN of Ancient Sumer carried the same divine
heritage and survived in the minds and writings of the Arabs indeed to the Indian
ocean and Zanzibar. Also notice that when IL-hallabu reached Arabia it lost the
“BU” to become Allah. In the Sumerian language, words are written from left to
right, however in Arabic words are written from right to left. If you right Halla
from right to left beginning with the first letter from that side, or backwards
it is Allah! However before it became Allah it was Hallah first.
One incriminating
fact against Allah’s monotheism as well as being the God of Abraham, as Muslims
claim, can be seen from studying the account of Herodotus, who visited Arabia
in the centuries predating Islam:
The Arabs keep such pledges more
religiously than almost any other people. They plight faith with the forms
following. When two men would swear a friendship, they stand on each side of a
third: he with a sharp stone makes a cut on the inside of the hand of each near
the middle finger, and, taking a piece from their dress, dips it in the blood
of each, and moistens therewith seven stones lying in the midst, calling the while
on Bacchus and Urania. After this, the man who makes the pledge commends the stranger
(or the citizen, if citizen he be) to all his friends, and they deem themselves
bound to stand to the engagement. They have but these two gods, to wit, Bacchus
and Urania; and they say that in their mode of cutting the hair, they follow Bacchus.
Now their practice is to cut it in a ring, away from the temples.
BACCHUS THEY CALL IN THEIR LANGUAGE OROTAL, AND URANIA, ALILAT.
. . .
There is a great river in Arabia, called the Corys, which empties
itself into the Erythraean sea. (Herodotus, Translated by J Enoch Powell, pg.
200 1949)
Where is the name ?Allah? at? If Allah was such a well-known
deity, how come we find no such mention of him as the one true god and the God
of Abraham? Simple, Allah was just one of the many other deities and only Muhammad
promoted him to be the same God of the Bible. Even in the earliest accounts of
Pre-Islamic Arabia, we find no mention of Allah being the NAME OF THE SUPREME
GOD nor the God of Abraham. Alilat is the Babylonian name of Allat!!! This is
shown from the Pre-Islamic Arab language, mentioned by Herodotus!!! What was Orotal?
Here is what he was:
Orotal IS SIMPLY A CORRUPTION OF ALLAH, or Allah
Ta?al, God Most High (Zwemmer, Samuel. The Muslim Doctrine of God; a.m. Tract
Society, pg. 24; NY).
History clearly shows us that the Babylonian pantheon
was still prevelant thinking in Arabia, long before the founding of Islam, which
is easily seen from the name of Hallah. This isn’t shocking at all since a good
majority of the 360 idols present in the kaaba originated from Sumer, including
Allat. Allah was the exact unquestionable linguistic male gender compliment of
Allat, with suffix gender distinctions on the IL or AN root. In his Semitic Mythology,
Langdon indicates that
Allat was the high goddess of choice, even
more than Allah. In Safatic inscriptions of Hauran, she was referred to as
Alilat, Alitta, Hallat, or by her Babylonian title, Allitu. In South Arabia,
she was ILAT. (Langdon, Stephen H, The Mythology of All Races, Vol V, Archeological
Institute of America, Boston, 1931 pg. 14-17)
This shows the linguistic
variation caused by migration along the trade routes from Phoenicia, Assyria,
Babylon, and Sumer.
The Nabataeans claimed that Allat was the goddess-consort
of Dusares, which duplicated the North Arabian marriage of Tammuz and Ishtar,
the Babylonian godhead. The fact that Allat was the consort of Dusares (rather
than Allah) in Phoenicia and North Arabia simply shows how weak Allah had become
in the pantheon. (Hastings, James, Encyclopedia of Religion and Ethics, Scribners,
NY pg. 664)
Babylonian goddess worship saturated Arabia, there is no evidence
to prove that Allah was never worshipped without any family. This seems to be
the later invention of Muhammad who later decided that Allah had to be the god
of Abraham. The daughters and consorts of Allah were worshipped extensively in
Arabia. There is no evidence that any Muslim can show you in claiming that Allah
wasn’t originally pagan.
Long before the coming of the austere patriarchal
system of Islam, the Arabic people worshipped this trinity of desert Goddesses
who were the three facets of the one Goddess. Al-Uzza (?the mighty?) represented
the Virgin warrior facet; she was a desert Goddess of the morning star who had
a sanctuary in a grove of acacia trees to the south of Mecca, where she was worshipped
in the form of a sacred stone. Al-Lat, whose name means simply ?Goddess?,
was the Mother facet connected with the Earth and its fruits and the ruler of
fecundity. She was worshipped at At-Ta?if near Mecca in the form of a great uncut
block of white granite. Manat, the crone facet of the Goddess, ruled fate and
death. Her principal sanctuary was located on the road between Mecca and Medina,
where she was worshipped in the form of a black uncut stone. (McLean, The
Triple Goddess, pg. 80)
If you look at this evidence closely we see that
the kaaba itself was also a black uncut stone. History has shown us that the Kaaba
may have first been a sign of goddess worship. However no proof before Islam exist
to verify that the Kaaba was originally monotheistic. We will deal with that issue
in greater detail, later on. We saw earlier that Allah and Allat were called Hallah
and Hallat respectively, this disproves the Islamic idea about the name Allah
never evolving from any previous god names. Even in Arabia, Allah was called Hallah
first. Muslim’s who try an argue and claim that the “AL” differentiates the ILAH
to make Allah and therefore makes Allah the true god must explain to us why Allah
in Arabia wasn’t Allah but Orotal, Hallah, etc. None of the examples use the Arabic
“AL” or “THE” to differentiate the god name. This argument is also disproven by
the archeological evidence found in the Arabian penisula itself.
In times
of great stress, or pleadings, the Northern Arabs used the god-form, FHLH,
which meant, “so, O Allah.” THE GODDESS FORM USED JUST AS OFTEN was FHLT which
meant, “so, O Allat.” (Hastings, James, Encyclopedia of Religion and Ethics,
Scribners, NY pg. 248)
This shows that Allah was well established in
North Arabia and that he had a consort, or lady friend of high esteem, named Allat.
Also notice that the HLH which is Hallah was originally used. We’ve already seen
that this name did originate from Babylon, just east of Arabia.
ILAHA
was used for the sun god. This shows that ALLAH WAS THE SUN GOD FIGURE and
Allat was the moon goddess. (Hastings, James, Encyclopedia of Religion and Ethics,
Scribners, NY pg. 248)
History, contrary to bias Islamic claims clearly
shows us that Allah before Islam was no more than a heathen deity, who was never
addressed by the Arabs as the God of Abraham.
Allat was a Babylonian,
or earth and moon goddess.
Her consort Allah was simply the god who impregnates
the earth.
(Langdon, Stephen H, The Mythology of All Races,
Vol V, Archeological Institute of America, Boston, 1931pg. 5-19)
The
origin of Allah and Allat were as sun and moon deities. (Zwemmer, (Ed) The Daughters of Allah,
By Winnett, F V, MWJ, Vol. XXX, 1940, pg. 120-125).
Before the name [Allah] came into Islam, it had already long
been part of the pre-Islamic system, and a considerably important part, too…the
pagan concept of Allah, which is purely Arabian–the case in which we see the
pre-Islamic Arabs themselves talking about “Allah” as they understand the word
in their own peculiar way.” (Izutsu, Toshihiko, God and Man in the Koran,
Tokyo, 1964, pp. 103-104)
Each Arabian tribe adopted their own form of
Babylonian deity and Allah is no exception. Extensive study into the history of
Allah shows nothing more than a pagan god and nothing more. From it’s origins
of the god An in Sumer, Allah has seemed to have kept his high god status all
the way to Mecca. We must reiterate again that both the Mesopotamians like the
Arabs use the god name for virtually every deity. We will look into that in greater
detail also.
1. Before Islam Allah was reported to be know as:
–the supreme of a pantheon of gods. —THE NAME OF A god whom the Arabs
worshipped. –the chief god of the pantheon. –Ali-ilah, the god,
the supreme. –the all-powerful, all-knowing, and totally unknowable. –the
predeterminer of everyone’s life) destiny). –chief of the gods. —THE
SPECIAL DEITY OF THE QURAISH. —having three daughters: Al Uzzah (Venus),
Manah (Destiny), and Alat. –having the idol temple at Mecca under his
name (House of Allah). —THE MATE OF ALAT, the goddess of fate. (Afshari,
M. J., Is Allah The Same God As The God Of The Bible?, pg. 6)
There is
no documented history of Allah’s singularity. All we see is that Allah was a high
god with 3 daughters, while being the incestual mate of another one, ALLAT. We
must wonder why is there nothing ever found to prove that Allah was never worshipped
as a god without any consorts? The only thing Muslims try an use to offer in promoting
Allah’s monotheism is the Quran. But the Quran isn’t from pre-Islamic Arabia and
is neither a witnesses or an authority in pre-Islamic Arabia. Also notice that
Allah was the name of A GOD, not the name of THE GOD OF ABRAHAM. This Muslim argument
about this matter is lacking any historical support. This factor is very intruiging
indeed.
If we are to base Islamic argument on the idea of “Allah” being
the true God because he is the high god, then every other culture who has a high
god is also the same as the true god. Is Zeus the word for god in Greek? No it’s
theos, Is Brahman the name for God in India? No. Muhammad took the high god name
“Allah” and called him the God of Abraham because it was his favorite deity as
well as the special deity of his tribe, the Quraish.
Muhammad and the name
Allah
Muhammed at one point WANTED TO ABANDON
THE RATHER GENERIC NAME OF ALLAH for a more colorful one, but he later realized
that Allah was holding the folks’ attention just fine. (Hastings, James, Encyclopedia
of Religion and Ethics, Scribners, NY pg. 248)
If Muhammad originally
thought of Allah as Muslims do today and would want us to believe that he did,
why would he try to change the name of a god who was supposed to be the Almighty?
The Quran nor the Hadith literature says anything about this matter and we wonder
why is there no mention of this? When Muhammad spoke the Satanic verses he was
visited by Gabriel and was told about his mistake, but would God allow a human
man to take his name and then change it to what the man wants it to be? Blasphemy.
HOW MUHAMMAD DECIDED TO KEEP ALLAH is simply a matter of which god
HE THOUGHT WOULD BE UNIVERSALLY LEAST OFFENSIVE to any particular tribe of Arabs
around Mecca. (Muller, Herbert J, The Loom of History, Harper and Brothers,
NY pg. 264-265)
From this we have seen that the name Allah has been retained
basically because Muhammad was afraid to offend any tribe. That means both the
name Allah and the origins of Islam comes from the thinking and idea of the Prophet.
It would literally be unimaginable if we saw any biblical prophets try to change
the name of God. It would cause an uproar. However we don’t see anything like
this with Muhammad. If the Arabs knew that he would change the name of the so-called
Almighty God they would surely be angry at Muhammad. This shows us that Allah
was not really considered the god of Abraham but just the usual supreme deity
found in every heathen culture on earth since the beginning of time.
Islamic
Sheikh, Ibrahim Al-Qattan, in a lecture given to the International Progress Association
in Vienna, said:
The religion of Arabia can be traced by the epigraphic and
inscription evidence back to 500 BC, or 1000 years before Muhammed. He said that
they had gods named Baal Shamin, Dhu-Samawi, Rahman (which they got from Syria,
Persia, and the pagan Cabalist Jews), and Allah. (Al-Qattan, Sheikh Ibrahim,
Lecture on Monotheism, I P O Journal, Vienna, pg. 26-29)
Now if the Quran
says not to take Jews as friends then why is Muhammad using a name by PAGAN JEWS?
Allah was the highest deity, and his name was inscribed in stone BY
JEWISH TRADERS along the Arabian trade routes. These paganized Jews also
called him Rahman, while the Arabs called him Allah. (Ibid)
We don?t
see Elohim, the God of the Jews, mentioned here but a pagan deity called Rahman.
This same pagan deity was called Allah and was later used by Muhammad in the Quran!
These traders were described as being pagan and if since they were Jews we would
expect to see EL, Yahweh or Elohim mentioned as the name of God. However these
Jews were pagan and their high pagan god was name Allah. This should be a note
to us all in telling about how Allah has nothing to do with Elohim and that the
original concept dealing with the Jewish God is non-existent since these Jews
never called Allah the God of Abraham but extoled Rahman, a idol, who is mentioned
in the Bible as being the god Rimmon. More on this later.
Many other deities
were known as Allah and in order for us to believe the Islamic argument that Allah
was always the one true god. Then we must also believe that the other gods he
was is also the same god. Muslims may claim that the other deities were wrong
and therefore should be discarded but however this is based on mere opinion. If
we use this same argument with the people who worshipped these other Allah deities,
they would claim that the Islamic idea of Allah is also wrong. Hence we would
be drawn into an endless circular debate about which deity is the true Allah.
Since historically neither claim can be verified we are left with basically conjecture.
However we will look at some of these other deities which used the name Allah
also.
A stele is dedicated to Qos-allah ‘Qos is Allah’ or ‘Qos the god’,
by Qosmilk (melech – king) is found at Petra (Glueck 516). Qos is identifiable
with Kaush (Qaush) the God of the older Edomites. The stele is horned and the
seal from Edomite Tawilan near Petra identified with Kaush DISPLAYS A STAR AND
CRESCENT (Browning 28).
Allah is also known as Qos-allah but one
thing that is very interesting is the part in which the star crescent is found
before Islam in Petra. This symbol was first used as symbol of a older pagan deity.
Ironically this deity also had the name Allah and just like the modern version
used the crescent star. Muslims who attack other religions as being pagan should
really be careful since historical inscriptions are showing also that Islam did
clearly descend from a pagan heritage.
More and more historical evidence proves
that Allah isn?t an Arabic word, and was a pagan deity by looking further into
history. Persia (Modern-day Iran) has existed long before Arabia and Islam.
Archeologists
have found Persian coins in South Arabia that have been dated around 350 B.C.
With the record of Persian taxation of Yemen along with this, we see that Persian
influence was in Arabia long time ago. (Zwemmer, Current Topics, p. 97, H
G Wells…, By Zwemmer, MWJ, Vol. XXIX, 1939)
This is a very important
step for us to note since the Quran does contain many Persian words and Islam
also has many Persian-like practices. What is more revealing than that is this:
In 520 B.C. Darius, King of Persia built his citadel in a city called Allanush
(derived from Allah). Darius grand headquarters WAS NAMED ALLANUSH, IN HONOR
OF ALLAH (Olmstead, A T, History of Assyria, Scribner, NY, 1923)
The
Persians were clearly a pagan culture and it is interesting that the name Allah,
the same of Islam is used as one of the many pagan Persian deities. If Muslims
try to interject and claim that Allah was known as the true god and found his
way to Persia then they are required to produce their proof if they are truthful.
History however will disprove that claim since nowhere is it mentioned before
Islam in Persia or Arabia in which Allah was known as the same God of the Jews
but in a different name due to culture.
Muhammad Prophet of God?
The man responsible for promoting
Allah is Muhammad. He claimed that God?s name was Allah and everybody just took
his word for it. Muhammad is propogated by both Muslim, the Quran and the Hadith
to be a prophet as well as the seal of prophets. However, when we examine Muhammad
closely we will see that he is the furthest thing from a prophet. Now lets examine
Muhammad to see if we should trust what he claims.
Narrated ‘Aisha:
The
commencement of the Divine Inspiration to Allah’s Apostle was in the form of
good righteous (true) dreams in his sleep. He never had a dream but that it
came true like bright day light. He used to go in seclusion (the cave of)
Hira where he used to worship (Allah Alone) continuously for many (days) nights.
He used to take with him the journey food for that (stay) and then come back to
(his wife) Khadija to take his food like-wise again for another period to stay,
till suddenly the Truth descended upon him while he was in the cave of Hira. The
angel came to him in it and asked him to read. The Prophet replied, “I do not
know how to read.” (The Prophet added), “The angel caught me (forcefully) AND
PRESSED ME SO HARD THAT I COULD NOT BEAR IT ANYMORE. He then released me and
again asked me to read, and I replied, “I do not know how to read,” whereupon
he caught me again AND PRESSED ME A SECOND TIME till I could not bear it anymore.
He then released me and asked me again to read, but again I replied, “I do not
know how to read (or, what shall I read?).” Thereupon he caught me for the
third time AND PRESSED ME and then released me and said, “Read: In the Name
of your Lord, Who has created (all that exists). Has created man from a clot.
Read and Your Lord is Most Generous…up to….. ..that which he knew not.” (96.15)
Then Allah’s Apostle returned WITH THE INSPIRATION, HIS NECK MUSCLES TWITCHING
WITH TERROR till he entered upon Khadija and said, “Cover me! Cover me!” They
covered him till his fear was over and then he said, “O Khadija, what is wrong
with me?” Then he told her everything that had happened and said, ‘I fear that
something may happen to me.” KHADIJA SAID, ‘Never! But have the glad tidings,
for by Allah, Allah will never disgrace you as you keep good reactions with your
Kith and kin, speak the truth, help the poor and the destitute, serve your guest
generously and assist the deserving, calamity-afflicted ones.” Khadija then
accompanied him to (her cousin) Waraqa bin Naufal bin Asad bin ‘Abdul ‘Uzza bin
Qusai. Waraqa was the son of her paternal uncle, i.e., her father’s brother, who
during the Pre-Islamic Period became a Christian and used to write the Arabic
writing and used to write of the Gospels in Arabic as much as Allah wished him
to write. He was an old man and had lost his eyesight. Khadija said to him, “O
my cousin! Listen to the story of your nephew.” Waraqa asked, “O my nephew! What
have you seen?” The Prophet described whatever he had seen.
WARAQA SAID,
“This is the same Namus (i.e., Gabriel, the Angel who keeps the secrets) whom
Allah had sent to Moses. I wish I were young and could live up to the time
when your people would turn you out.” Allah’s Apostle asked, “Will they turn meout?”
Waraqa replied in the affirmative and said: “Never did a man come with something
similar to what you have brought but was treated with hostility. If I should remain
alive till the day when you will be turned out then I would support you strongly.”
But after a few days Waraqa died and the Divine Inspiration was also paused for
a while and the Prophet became so sad as we have heard that he intended several
times to throw himself from the tops of high mountains and every time he went
up the top of a mountain in order to throw himself down, Gabriel would appear
before him and say, “O Muhammad! You are indeed Allah’s Apostle in truth” whereupon
his heart would become quiet and he would calm down and would return home. And
whenever the period of the coming of the inspiration used to become long, he would
do as before, but when he used to reach the top of a mountain, Gabriel would
appear before him and say to him what he had said before. (Ibn ‘Abbas said regarding
the meaning of: ‘He it is that Cleaves the daybreak (from the darkness)’ (6.96)
that Al-Asbah. means the light of the sun during the day and the light of the
moon at night). Quoted from the Sahih (authentic) Hadith (traditions) of Bukhari,
Volume 9, number 111.
Keep these highlighted parts in mind, they will
be very usefull as we go along. We see that the Angel pressed poor old frightened
Muhammad and forced him to read. One thing to note is the fact of why the angel
didn’t know that Muhammad was illiterate? Surely Gabriel wouldn’t tell a man to
read and who couldn’t read. Also, notice that this so-called angel never claimed
to be Gabriel! This came later on. His uncle Waraqa said it was Gabriel, not Muhammad.
Why didn?t Gabriel mention his name to Muhammad? Again, how come Gabriel told
Muhammad to read when he was illiterate? Waraqa, a so-called Christian, is wrong
too, because Gabriel never appeared to Moses. Even the Quran says that Allah appeared
to Moses. What does this mean? It means that the beginning of Muhammad?s call
was based on error. 1.) The spirit never said it was Gabriel (this came later)
2.) Muhammad never claimed it was Gabriel, let alone an angel 3.) Waraqa said
this Gabriel appeared to Moses when it was ?God? who appeared to Moses.
Lets
look at people who?ve encountered visits with God as well as Gabriel in the Bible.
Noah – Gen. 6.
God speaks to Noah and tells him that He is going to destroy
the earth. Noah does not panic, become depressed, or driven by fear. He knows
that this God speaking to him, and there is no need for rash action. Noah knows
this is God, and Noah does not become irrational. Noah knows that this God is
not going to harm him.
Abraham – Gen. 12 – 18.
God speaks to Abraham. Abraham
does not panic, Abraham is not bewildered, Abraham does not doubt or become depressed,
Abraham believes and obeys. God visited Abraham, yet neither he nor Sarah attempts
any rash actions.
Moses – Ex. 3 – 34
God appeared to Moses in the burning
bush. Moses was afraid to look at God but Moses does not act paranoid. He knew
that this God was not a God of terror. Moses did not run back to his family frightened
out of his mind. Moses did not become depressed over the event, thinking he was
possessed or bewitched. Instead, because Moses personally experienced this God
and knew he could trust this God, Moses knew and obeyed.
Isaiah – Isaiah 6
Isaiah had a vision of God
Isaiah had a powerful vision and experience of
God. Yet he did not lose his mind, he was not driven by dread of God. He feared
God because of the sin in his heart, and the sinfulness of the people he dwelt
among, but he did not panic. During this experience he realized God had forgiven
him and accepted him. Because he experienced the real God, Isaiah did not attempt
suicide or any other rash action. His mind was sound, he did not need to have
a “spirit” continue to sooth him.
Mary – Luke 1.
The real Gabriel also visited
Mary. She too was perplexed and afraid. But during her experience with Gabriel,
she gained confidence and strength. She knew God loved her. She did not become
irrational, she did become depressed, and she did not run around frightened out
of her mind. She did not attempt suicide. Instead, because she experienced the
living God, she knew she was loved and accepted. She knew this God was real, and
she had nothing to fear.
As we read the stories about people in the bible who
encountered God I do not find anything that resembles Muhammad’s experience. These
people actually met God, while Muhammad’s entire prophet hood rests only upon
what a spirit / angelic interface told him. These people were filled with a reverent
fear, but never became depressed as a result of their experience. These people
fellowshipped with God. Some walked with Him, to other’s He revealed Himself.
None of them ever contemplated suicide. But several times over a course of up
to three years, Muhammad tried to commit suicide, and each time this “spirit”
stopped him. What plans did this spirit have in store for him?
Oh the other
hand, examine Judas. Satan put it into his heart to betray Christ; Satan entered
Judas. And, when Judas came to his facilities, he committed suicide. When Muhammad
had period of clear thought, without the influence of a spirit, he tried to do
the same thing – kill himself.
None of these people experienced suicidal thoughts,
so why should we accept a man who even admitted that ?woe is me poet or possessed?
dealing with the name of God? Look at Judas Iscariot, Satan persuaded him to betray
Christ; Satan entered Judas. When Judas came to his facilities, he committed suicide.
When Muhammad had a period of clear thought minus the influence of the spirit,
he tried to do the very same thing— kill himself! Ladies and gentlemen, this
is the great Apostle of Allah, a frightened poor little man. Yet Muslims follow
the idea of this man who called himself ?a poet? and then try to tell us that
Allah is the same as Yahweh.
When we continue to examine the character of Muhammad
we find that he was the furthest thing from a prophet. Lets look at the life of
Muhammad before his alleged claim to prophethood.
Muhammad first considered
himself as belonging to the category of SHAIR- “MEN WITH A MYSTERIOUS ESTEORIC
KNOWLEDGE WHICH WAS GENERARLLY ATTRIBUTED TO A FAMILIAR SPIRIT CALLED A JINN OR
SHAYTAN.” (Guillaum, Alfred, Islam, New York, Peguin, 1977, p. 28)
Isn’t
this interesting. This quote says:
The spiritistic appearance terrified THE
MYSTIC but it also prevented him from destroying himself (Ankerberg, John,
The Facts on Islam, Harvest, Eugene Oregon, 1991, p. 11-12)
It is a known
fact that Muhammad himself was a pagan, before he alleged revelation from Gabriel.
What should be noted is that he was not just a pagan, but a mystic who first considered
himself as a Shair. Because of his pagan heritage, Muhammad even allowed pagan
practices to remain in the Quran:
Narrated ‘Abdullah: Allah’s Apostle said
that he met Zaid bin ‘Amr Nufail at a place near Baldah and this had happened
before Allah’s Apostle received the Divine Inspiration. Allah’s Apostle presented
a dish of meat (that had been offered to him by the pagans) to Zaid bin ‘Amr,
but Zaid refused to eat of it and then said (to the pagans), “I do not eat
of what you slaughter on your stone altars (Ansabs) nor do I eat except that on
which Allah’s Name has been mentioned on slaughtering.” (Sahi Bukhari 7:407)
Despite the fact that the parenthetical statement “to the pagans” is
not part of the Arabic text, the point is still clear that Muhammad ate food sacrificed
to idols that Zaid refused to partake. The Quran itself commanded Muslims to continue
practicing the pagan rites as part of the religion:
“Behold! Safa and
Marwa are among the Symbols of Allah. So if those who visit the House in the
Season or at other times, should compass them round, it is no sin in them.
And if any one obeyeth his own impulse to good,- be sure that Allah is He Who
recogniseth and knoweth.” S. 2:158
Hence, we clearly get a picture of
how Muhammad’s mystic background affected his way of thinking. Why would God say
that pagan rites, from time memorial isn’t wrong? Muslims may claim that these
were first the practices of Abraham, but none of this came until the Hadith literature.
The fact that Muhammad himself didn’t even considered these rites, practices of
Abraham also strikes us as being pecular. Since the Quran, by Islamic claim was
revealed to Muhammad by Gabriel, we must continue the study of both him and Muhammad.
Let is continue after Muhammad’s first vision:
Then the thought came to him
that he must be a Sha’ir or possessed…Thereupon, he left the place with
the intention of throwing himself over a precipice. But while on his way, he heared
a voice from heaven hailing him as the Apostle of God, and while lifting up his
eyes, he saw a [supernatural] figure astride the horizon which in turned him
from his purpose and kept him rooted to the spot. (Guillaum, Alfred, Islam,
New York, Peguin, 1977, p. 38-39)
Muhammad’s religious experience obviously
wasn’t the same experience that the Biblical prophets and other figures had with
Gabriel, nor were those people mystics like the prophet of Islam. We also note
that:
Muhammad’s inspiration and religious experiences are remarkably
similar to those found in some form of spiritism. SHAMANISM, for example in notorious
for fostering periods of mental disruption as well as spirit-possession. Significantly,
Muhammad experienced SHAMAN-LIKE ENCOUNTERS -(Alfred Guillaume, Islam, New
York: Penguin Books, 1977, pp. 24-25, 37, 56, passim; cf. Michael Harner, The
Way of the Shaman, New York: Bantam, 1980)
Here is where the differentiation
between Muhammad and the Biblical prophets comes in. In the Hadith we saw that
Muhammad used to have a “form of good righteous (true) dreams in his sleep.” Before
this time we must note that Allah hadn’t personally been revealed to Muhammad,
this came later on. Note this from a site on Shamanism:
Shamans often
display significant psychic faculties of clairvoyance, dreaming of actual
events, becoming aware that a relative has died or having uncanny visions of
future events or far away places. Some of these ‘siddhis’ are very similar
to those expressed in the traditions of Indian mysticism and Tibetan Buddhism
which is founded on the earlier shamanism of the B?n.
Muhammad’s Shamanistic
behavior is very evident in the Hadith. Although he didn’t have any visions of
the dead, we do know that Muhammad did claim to have gone to the furthest mosque,
which Muslims claim was the Al-Asqa in Jerusalem. This is clear Shamanistic visions,
which were propogated to be prophetic. This falls under the criteria of a shaman
traveling to far-away places. The evidence is clearly seen from Muhammad’s background
as a mystic, who in Arabia, were nothing more than pagan worshippers.
Muhammad’s
prophetic call is very pecular and interesting to study about. When we continue
to examine the mystic’s prophetic call from authentic Islam traditions, it becomes
more apparent that his calling is more and more occultic and indulges heavly into
psychic phenomenon. There are more reports which make the careful reader aware
of the occult and shamanistic background of Muhammad’s calling.
Ayesha reported
that Haresah-b-Hisham asked the Apostle of Allah! How does revelation come to
you? The Apostle of Allah said: Sometimes it comes to me like the ringing of a
bell and that is the most troublesome to me; then it leaves me and indeed I remember
what is said; and sometimes the angel assumes the form of a man for me and
talks with me and I retain in memory what he says. Ayesha reported: And indeed
I saw him while the revelation descended upon him on an intensely cold day; then
it left him while his brow steamed with sweat.
Obadah-b-Swamet reported that
when a revelation came unto the prophet, he used to become greatly perturbed
and his face became changed. (Mishkat IV, p. 259)
And,
Ibn Ishaq
says that, before the Revelation first began to descend upon him, Muhammad’s
friends feared that he was suffering from the evil eyes: and that, when
it came upon him, almost the same illness attacked him again. What this particular
malady was we can perhaps infer from the statements of the Traditionalists. Ali
Halabi, in his Turkish work entitled ‘Insanu’l Uyun’, informs us that many people
declared that Aminah, MUHAMMAD’S MOTHER, USED A SPELL in order to recover him
from the influence of the evil eye. (“Mizanu’l Haqq” by C.G. Pfander D.D.,
pp. 345-356)
If you read the Bible you notice that no prophet ever had
these weird experiences. We must wonder why would Muhammad’s mother need to use
a magical spell to heal him from the evil eye? From his early childhood, we find
out that Muhammad was a very trouble kid. Muslims usually don’t mention anything
about Muhammad’s past in trying to convert people to Islam. They blindly follow
the Quran but they have yet really examine Muhammad. How do we know that the Quran
might not have been inspired by a evil spirit? Because it said so? A evil spirit
can say anything also including saying that it isn’t evil. Basically Muhammad’s
childhood and his prophetic experiences relate anything but a spirit of God visiting
him. However, Muhammad’s childhood and calling still continues to verify its shamanistic
origin:
Then, in a vision or a dream, the spirit who has chosen him appears
and announces his being chosen. This call is necessary for the shaman to acquire
his powers. The spirit who has chosen him first lavishes the unwilling shaman-to-be
with all sorts of promises and, if he does not win his consent, goes on to torment
him. This so-called shaman illness will anguish him for months, perhaps for
years, as long as he does not accept the shaman profession. (http://www.britannica.com/bcom/eb/article/9/0,5716,117459+6+109509,00.html)
From
examining the Islamic traditions this spirit that appeared to Muhammad does the
exact samething, like a spirit would appear to a shaman. Muslims might claim that
this is also the same case in the bible but the difference with Muhammad, in accordance
to the shamanistic experience was that he experienced torment for not immediately
accepting the spirit’s revelation about him being the apostle of Allah. Look at
the quote about Muhammad’s sickness again:
when it came upon him, almost
THE SAME ILLNESS ATTACKED HIM AGAIN.
This illness came right after
the ecounter with the spirit in the cave. This is common shamanistic illness followings
these types of encounters. For Muslims to claim otherwise then they must intentionally
ignore the facts about Muhammad. If they claim that Muhammad is a prophet, why
is his experiences fitting virtually perfect with shamanistic encounters? No prophet
in the Bible had these types of experiences. They never became sick after talking
to an angel of God nor were they ever known to have bizarre childhood experiences
which required spells to heal them. Islamic authorities were correct when they
claimed that Muhammad had shamanistic encounters.
Muhammad said to Khadijah,
‘When I was lone I heard a cry: O Muhammad, O Muhammad’. In tradition it is stated
that he said, ‘I fear lest I should become a magician, lest one should proclaim
me a follower of the Jinn‘; and again: ‘I fear lest there should be madness’
(or demonic possession) in me‘. After an accession of shivering and shutting
his eyes, there used to come over him what resembled a swoon, HIS FACE [mouth?]
WOULD FOAM, AND HE WOULD ROAR LIKE A YOUNG CAMEL. Abu Hurairah says: ‘As for
the Apostle of God, when inspiration descended on him, no one could raise his
glance to him until the inspiration came to an end’. In Tradition it is stated
that ‘He was troubled thereat, AND HIS FACE FOAMED, AND HE CLOSED HIS EYES,
AND PERCHANCE ROARED LIKE THE ROARING OF THE YOUNG CAMEL‘. Umar ibnu’l Khattab
says: ‘When inspiration descended on the Apostle of God, there used to be heard
near his face as it were the buzzing of bees‘. (“Mizanu’l Haqq” by C.G. Pfander
D.D., pp. 345-356)
This is absolutely amazing! Muslims call a man who
foamed at the mouth a prophet. This is an ugly site and anybody seen in today’s
society would be considered insane or mentally sick, if they constantly foamed
at the mouth. If you saw Muhammad in this situation you’d think that he had rabbies!
Roaring like a camel? This is clear demonic traits since no normal prophet ever
roared like a animal in the the Bible. The characteristic of swooning was considered
by biblical prophets to be demonic. One must wonder why only notable traits, found
in common medium trances, are seen in Muhammad’s prophetic encounters? Should
we ignore all of this and claim that Muhammad was a prophet of God, though he
had these experiences because Muslims want us too?
Muslims who try to reject
the demonic nature of Muhammad’s inspirational experiences, first have him to
thank for propogating this belief. When we continue you to study Muhammad’s prophetic
inspiratation we find out that:
The text was transmitted to the Prophet Muhammad
in portions of variable length while he was in kind of trance. It is said
that his companions could recoginize from certain physical signs when a
revelation was about to come. (Wilson, J. Christy, Introducting Islam, New York,
Frienship Press, 1965, p. 26)
Again we cleary see that Muhammd’s experiences
were nothing more than mere medium experiences which is considered an abomination
in the Bible. Many mediums consider themselves as prophets but should we take
their word for it because they said so? Muslims would say no, but they did the
same thing with Muhammad. What makes Muhammad so special from any other Shaman
or Medium? Because he brought God’s final message? The Bahai prophet and Joseph
Smith of the Mormons claimed to have done the same thing “bring God’s final message”.
So basically Muslims are left with nothing more than circular arguments by claming
that Muhammad was a prophet. Hence, when you examine Muhammad you find out that
he is far from being a prophet but considered more as a spiritist who indulged
in shamanistic experiences:
Today thousands of mediums, spiritists, and “channelers”
ALSO ENTER TRANCE STATES to recieve revelations from alleged angels
and spirits— and their telltale signs of inspiration ARE JUST AS PRONOUNCED
AS THEY WERE TO MUHAMMAD’S COMPANIONS. (Ankerberg, John, The Facts on Islam,
Harvest, Eugene Oregon, 1991, p. 42)
So using the Islamic method, should
we consider them prophets? All of these people experience the same experiences
similar to Muhammad. The Quran might tell us to reject them but this is just one
piece of channeled literature telling you not to follow other channelers. This
seems more like petty jealousy found in today’s mediums who operate for profit
and who don’t want to lose their clients to other competing soothsayers.
It
is significant that the Quran’s teachings fit the characteristics of modern “channeled
literature. IN CHANNELED LITERATURE, PEOPLE ARE POSSESSED BY SPIRITS who
speak and teach through them. Channeled literature forcefully rejects the Christian
faith and opposes the biblical God. (ibid pg. 43)
The Quran falls
easily under this category. Muhammad experienced excrutiating torment throughout
his life by spirits, but yet he seemed to have hated Christianity’s idea of atonement
through the cross. This will be discussed later. More evidence showing that Muhammad
was having shamanistic experiences can be seen from this tradition:
In the
Turkish Insanu’l Uyun of ‘Alt Halabi we read: Zaid ibn Thabit relates: ‘When
inspiration descended on the Prophet, he became very heavy. Once his leg fell
upon mine, and, by God, there is no such heavy leg as was that of the Apostle
of God’. Sometimes a revelation would come to him when he was on his camel.
Then it shuddered as if it would collapse, and it usually knelt down … As
often as the Prophet received inspiration, it seemed as if HIS SOUL WERE BEING
TAKEN FROM HIM, FOR HE HAD ALWAYS A KIND OF SWOON AND LOOKED LIKE ONE INTOXICATED.
(Mizanu’l Haqq” by C.G. Pfander D.D., pp. 356)
Not only was Muhammad’s
experiences strange, they also seem to endow him with supernatural strength. Is
this also a characteristic of Shamanism? Yes it is:
The shaman may fulfill
his obligations either by communicating with the spirits at will or through ecstasy.
The latter has two forms: possession ecstasy, in which the body of the shaman
is possessed by the spirit, AND WANDERING ECSTASY, IN WHICH HIS SOUL DEPARTS INTO
THE REALM OF SPIRITS. In passive ecstasy the possessed gets into an intense
mental state and SHOWS SUPERHUMAN STRENGTH and knowledge: he quivers,
rages, struggles, and finally falls into an unconscious trancelike condition.
AFTER ACCEPTING THE SPIRIT, the shaman becomes its mouthpiece–“he becomes
him who entered him.” In active ecstasy the shaman’s life functions decrease to
an abnormal minimum, and he falls into a trancelike condition. THE SOUL OF
THE SHAMAN, IT IS BELIEVED, THEN LEAVES HIS BODY and seeks one of the three
worlds, or strata, of heaven. After awakening, he relates his experiences,
where he wandered, and with whom he spoke. THERE ARE CASES OF POSSESSION ECSTACY
AND WANDERING ECSTASY COMBINED, when the spirit first enters the shaman and
then leads his soul to the world of supernatural beings. Scholars differ as to
which is the original and which the derivative form; e.g., the historian of religions
Mircea Eliade did not consider possession ecstasy to be essential to shamanism.
http://www.britannica.com/bcom/eb/article/9/0,5716,117459+8+109509,00.html
Islamic
history shows that Muhammad’s soul departed his body, a clear trait in Shamanism.
Also notice that Muhammad always quivered, raged and roared before an alleged
revelation. These experiences were forms of Shaman ecstacy and the acceptance
of the spirit’s claim that he was an apostle of Allah also verifies this. In the
revealing of the Quran, the spirit always used Muhammad as a mouthpiece to voice
itself.
Muhammad’s superhuman strength, is shown when he was able to sit atop
the camel and then force it to its knees. Muhammad’s shamanistic experiences also
left him mentally disturbed many times. We must wonder why would God allow a person
to suffer so much just to reveal things through him while other previous prophets
were clearly able to speak his words without falling into these extravagant ecstatic
behaviors?
If we look at all this information, a picture begins to form. Anyone
acquainted with occult phenomena has become aware of certain happenings that may
be expected at a seance. Occult phenomena in childhood, daydreams, the hearing
of voices and calls, nightly meditations, excessive perspiration during trance
and the subsequent exhaustion and swoonlike condition – even the ringing of bells,
are not uncommon. The condition that looked like intoxication is revealing. Anyone
being in a real reasonable deep trance has that look. Muhammad had experiences
which coincide perfectly with occultic and shamanistic experiences. There is no
evidence whatsoever, other than his own claim, in proving that Muhammad is a prophet.
The noted Quranic translator Rodwell observes:
At the same time, he was
probably, more or less, throughout his whole career, the victim of certain
amount of self-deception. A CATALEPTIC SUBJECT FROM HIS EARLY YOUTH, born–
according to the traditions– of a HIGHLY NERVOUS AND EXCITABLE MOTHER,
he would be peculiarly liable to MORBID AND FANTASTIC HALLUCINATIONS, and
alterations of excitement and depression, which would win for him, in the eyes
of his ignorant countrymen, the credit of being inspired. (Rodwell, J.M., The
Koran, New York, 1977, p. 14)
Muhammad’s problems began earlier with his
mother and continued on through him. Maybe his mother dropped him on his head
too many times, which altered is brain. A man like this, who has hallucinations
is only viewed as inspired by ignorant people. That right there speaks for itself.
We see that Muhammad and his claims or prophethood developed among the throngs
of the ignorant. No Muslim would want to be taught in school by a ignorant person,
but however Islam itself is based on the judgement of the ignorant. At least all
of the Biblical prophets could read and write, something which is highly embarrassing
when we factor this with Muhammad, who was illiterate.
Muslims may try to claim
that Muhammad’s experiences weren’t really like this but we have shown extensively
that the alleged prophet of Islam experienced stranged and bizarre behavior. Early
biographers state that Muhammad had strange experiences while he was being cared
for by his wet-nurse, Halima. On one occasion he fell down in a kind of stroke
and when he finally stood up his face was quite livid. Ibn Ishaq states that two
men clothed in white had seized him and opened his chest.
The myth around the
story is that two angels took out his heart, cleansed it of impurity, and replaced
it in his body! Other traditions say the cleansing and removing of Muhammad’s
heart happened just before the mi’raj. When the story is stripped of its fanciful
features, one is left with a record of psychic experiences occurring during Muhammad’s
youth. Here is a Hadith talking about this experience from Bukhari:
Volume
5, Book 58, Number 227:
Narrated Abbas bin Malik:
Malik bin Sasaa said that
Allah’s Apostle described to them his Night Journey saying, “While I was lying
in Al-Hatim or Al-Hijr, SUDDENLY SOMEONE CAME TO ME AND CUT MY BODY OPEN FROM
HERE TO HERE.” I asked Al-Jarud who was by my side, “What does he mean?” He
said, “It means from his throat to his pubic area,” or said, “From the top of
the chest.” The Prophet further said, “He then took out my heart. Then
a gold tray of Belief was brought to me and my heart was washed and was filled
(with Belief) and then returned to its original place. Then a white animal which
was smaller than a mule and bigger than a donkey was brought to me.” (On this
Al-Jarud asked, “Was it the Buraq, O Abu Hamza?” I (i.e. Anas) replied in the
affirmative). The Prophet said, “The animal’s step (was so wide that it) reached
the farthest point within the reach of the animal’s sight. I was carried on it,
and Gabriel set out with me till we reached the nearest heaven…
Muslims
may try to allegorize this passage, but that can’t be due to the nature, that
Muhammad believed that it truely happened. If they allegorize this passage then
they must also allegorize Muhammad’s travel to the furthest mosque. However, this
experience also cast a shadow on Muhammad’s prophethood since this also another
characteristic of Shamanism:
When the candidate finally gives way to the
compulsion and becomes a shaman, he falls asleep and sleeps for a long
time–three days, seven days, or thrice three days. During the “long sleep,”
the candidate, according to belief, IS CUT INTO PIECES BY THE SPIRITS, who count
his bones, determining whether he truly has an “extra bone.” If so, he has
become a shaman. Some people, such as the Mongols and the Manchu-Tungus, still
initiate the shaman. They introduce him to the supernatural beings, and he
symbolically ascends the “tree-up-to-the-heavens”–that is, the pole representing
it. (http://www.britannica.com/bcom/eb/article/9/0,5716,117459+6+109509,00.html)
This quote is almost perfect in describing Muhammad’s experience to heaven.
Notice that Muhammad already accepted the call by the spirit so-called Gabriel,
which is in accordance with a shaman, then he is cut in his body and has his heart
removed before ascending to heaven where he meets supernatural beings. The minor
differences is that Muhammad’s heart is removed instead of his bones and that
the spirit and not any other human person introduces Muhammad to the people of
heaven. (Note: The prophets have already passed away and the term supernatural
refers to a spirit. A person is natural but their soul is supernatural because
it is a spirit. We are not saying that the prophets, with the exception of Jesus,
was supernatural). Also the spirits don’t always count the shaman’s bones, this
is just a well-known metaphor used to describe the many cases in where other things
are perhaps removed from the body. This quote verifies this as well gives us more
explanation of Muhammad’s experiences:
The shaman is born to his role, as
is evident in certain marks distinguishing him from ordinary men. He may be born
with more bones in his body–e.g., teeth or fingers–than other people. Therefore,
he does not become a shaman simply by willing it, for it is not the shaman
who summons up the spirits, BUT THEY, THE SUPERNATURAL BEINGS, WHO CHOOSE HIM.
They call him before his birth. At the age of adolescence, usually at the period
of sexual ripening, THE CHOSEN ONE suddenly falls into hysterics with faintings,
visions, and similar symptoms, being tortured sometimes for weeks. Then, in
a vision or a dream, THE SPIRIT WHO HAS CHOSEN HIM appears and announces
his being chosen. (IBID)
The Sahih Hadiths and the Quran clearly show
that the spirit appeared to Muhammad and claimed that he was chosen, much like
a shaman, we also see that Muhamamd encountered all of this shamanistic experiances
during his adolescence, which again is verified by authentic Islamic traditions.
This clearly shows us that this spirit chose Muhammad long before he knew what
he was going to be. This is totally different from Biblical inspiration due to
the fact that God never tortured anybody with symptons like these. We must wonder
why would he start now with the revelation of the Quran? This is something that
is very odd indeed.
It is also a very well-known fact, despite Muslim objection,
that Muhammad did suffer from epiletic behavior. Some Islamic apologists claim
that epilepsy leaves the victim without memory and therefore can’t refer to Muhammad.
However this is mere conjecture and is only partially true since both the Quran
and the Hadith verify that Muhammad did forget many of the revelations giving
to him:
We shall make thee read (O Muhammad) so that thou shalt not forgetSave that which Allah willeth. Lo! He knoweth the disclosed and that which still
is hidden; Surah 87:6-7
This is later changed in Surah
17:86-
And if We willed We could withdraw that which We have
revealed unto thee, then wouldst thou find no guardian for thee against Us in respect thereof.
Since epilepsy leaves the person forgetful, we wonder why is both Muhammad
and Allah forgetting? Allah claims that his word can’t be changed but yet he forgets
this and claims that Muhammad can also forget after claiming that he doesn’t let
him forget. We do know from authentic traditions that Muhammad did had epilepsy
when he went to live with his uncle Abu Talib at the age of 8. One fascinating
thing about this matter is that Muhammad is named as one of the world’s most famous
people with this disease mentioned as his disablility:
MOHAMMED [Mahomet
Muhammad], 570-632, (epilepsy),
Arab prophet and founder of Islam,
1622. Prophet of Allah. Wrote The Koran. Considered by most Muslims to have been
sinless. {4,85} http://www.hillsboroughcounty.org/agencies/acd/fpdp.html
This
list was composed by a whole host of people including medical doctors specializing
in Medical practices. It should be noted that different types of seizures occur
which closely resemble epilepsy. Nevertheless it can also be said that anyone
who is subject to occultic influences, like Muhammad does have these types of
fits and instead of forgetting does remember what happens. This is a known fact
throughout the world and is not uncommon at all among Mystics, such as Muhammad,
and is widely reported. Since we know that Muhammad’s experiances were in tune
more to occultic experiances, we know that this is the reason for his continous
torments throughout his life. Jesus healed people like this in the New testament.
During the life of Jesus a young boy was brought to him who was “an epileptic”
(Matthew 17.15) and who suffered extreme forms of epilepsy (he would suddenly
fall down, be convulsed. and be unable to speak). There is no doubt, however,
that this epilepsy was not naturally but demonically induced as all three records
of the incident (in Matthew 17, Mark 9 and Luke 9) state that Jesus exorcised
the unclean spirit in the child and healed the boy. We can safely say that Muhammad
needed Jesus.
Who
is this Gabriel?
Muhammad is claimed to have received
a message from Gabriel claiming that he was the prophet of Allah. The Qur’an describes
these manifestations in striking language:
In another passage the
Qur’an again states explicitly that Muhammad had a definite vision: “And without
doubt he saw him in the clear horizon” (Surah 81.23). Another verse states clearly
that the vision was given by Allah himself: “We granted the Vision which we showed
thee” (Surah 17.60). The confident manner in which Muhammad claimed that he had
had at least two definite visions strongly suggests that he really did see a strange
being on the horizon. He described the second vision in these words:
“Once
while I was walking, all of a sudden I heard a voice from the sky. I looked up
and saw to my surprise, the same Angel as had visited me in the cave of Hira.
He was sitting on a chair between the sky and the earth. I got afraid of him and
came back home and said, Wrap me! Wrap me!” (Sahih al-Bukhari, Vol. 6,
p. 452).
Muslims vehemently claim that it was the angel Gabriel who came to
Muhammad, yet the Qur’an only once refers to Jibril as the medium of the revelation
(Surah 2.97) while stating elsewhere that it came down with the Ruhul-Amin, the
Faithful Spirit (Surah 26.193). The identification of Gabriel as the Qur’anic
messenger is significantly only made in a very late passage of the Qur’an after
Muhammad had had many dealings with Jews and Christians. This spirit never identified
himself as Gabriel when Muhammad first met him. Waraq first claimed this and then
the spirit ironically claimed this. Also since the name Gabriel came in a very
late passage of the Quran, this shows us that Muhammad didn’t originally believe
Waraqa’s claim. He had to be around the Jews and Christians before finally deciding
that it must have been Gabriel. A telling story indeed.
“The pre-Islamic
Arabs believed in the demon of poetry, and they thought that a great poet was
directly inspired by demons….” (Tabari Vol. 9, page 167, note 1151)
This
explains why Muhammad thought he was demon possessed, or influenced by demons;
the Quran in many places reads like typical Arabic poetry. These supernatural
spirits or demons were called Jinn. We see that in the Quran, Satan was ONE OF
THE JINN! Hmm, very interesting because if we are to accept Muhammad?s claim about
Allah being Yahweh then it is imperative for us to look deeper into this matter.
According to Moslem tradition the Jinn were created of fire some thousands
of years before Adam. The Jinn are considered to be like men, capable of future
salvation and damnation; they can accept or reject God’s message. They are believers
or non-believers. According to the Koran Mohammed was sent to convert the Jinn
to Islam as well as the Arabs. (Suras 72: 1-7 and 15: 27.) The Jinn are reported
to be eaves-droppers and constantly trying to go behind the curtain of heaven
in order to steal God’s secrets. For this reason the good angels throw stones
at them, that is shooting stars, and the common name given to these demonic transgressors
is therefore “the stoned ones “- Ar-rajim. (See the commentaries on Suras 55:14;
51:56; 11:120, etc.) The general abode of all of these spirits or demons is
said to be the mountains of Qaf which are supposed to encircle the world.
(Zwemmer, The Influence of Animism on Islam, pg. 56)
Notice in the Bible,
how Jesus came to cast out devils (demons) and Muhammad came to convert them!
What type of demon would want to follow God? None, this is another clue showing
us how Allah isn?t the one true God, but a master deity inspired by the master
jinn Satan. Pay attention real closely because now comes the good part:
Professor
Macdonald in his fascinating book, “The Religious Attitude ‘and Life in Islam,”
throws considerable light on the doctrine of Jinn both before and after the rise
of Islam.
He tells us how Hasan ibn Thabit, a close friend of Mohammed,
and one who praised him in his poetry, WAS INITIATED INTO HIS VERSES BY A FEMALE
JINN. “She met him in one of the streets of Medina, leapt upon him, PRESSED
HIM DOWN and compelled him to utter three verses of poetry. Thereafter he
was a poet, and his verses came to him as the other Arab Poets from the direct
inspiration of the Jinn. He refers himself to his ‘brothers of the Jinn’ who weave
for him artistic words, and tells how weighty lines have been sent down to him
from heaven in the night season. The curious thing is that the expressions
he uses are exactly those used of the ‘sending down,’ that is revelation of the
Qur-an.” (IBID pg. 56)
Bull?s-eye!!! In Islamic history we see that
the spirit that met Muhammad pressed him, something the Jinn only did!!! This
is why you don?t see God nor Gabriel pressing people in the Torah, Gospel, and
Epistles, they don?t try to imitate jinn (devils). Another ironic thing about
this event is that this was Muhammad?s close friend who experienced an exact situation
with his encounter with a jinni. Seems like Misery loves company. Lets continue:
Dr. Macdonald points to the close parallel between the terms used in the
story of Hassan ibn Thabit’s inspiration and the account we have of the first
revelation of Mohammed. “Just as Hassan was thrown down by the female spirit
and had verses pressed out of him, SO THE FIRST UTTERANCES OF PROPHECY WERE PRESSED
FROM MOHAMMED BY THE ANGEL GABRIEL. And the resemblances go still farther
The angel Gabriel is spoken of as the companion (qarin) of Muhammad, just as
though he were the Jinni accompanying a poet, and the same word, nafatha,
‘blow upon,’ IS USED OF AN ENCHANGER, OF A JINNI INSPIRING A POET and of Gabriel
revealing to Muhammad.” (IBID pg. 57)
Even in Arab and Islamic history
we see no mention of Angels performing these types of activities! Only Jinn!!!
We see the handiwork of Hermaphrodite Allah at work, first the female jinn with
Muhammad?s friend and the male jinn posing as Gabriel to Muhammad! You see now
why the testimony of Muhammad is useless concerning Allah. He was fooled by a
jinn! What proof do the Muslim have in proving that this was Gabriel? Muhammad?s
claim and that?s it. There was no historical evidence at all that proves that
Allah was God like Elohim so this idea came into being based on Muhammad?s claim.
Therefore we have and will continue to examine Muhammad to see if we should trust
what he says about Allah.
Jinn are called forth by whistling or blowing a
pipe. This therefore is considered an omen of evil. Before Islam as now certain
places were considered as inhabited by the jinn. Higar (the city of the dead from
the days of Thamud), graveyards and outhouses are their special resort. when entering
such places a formula must be uttered to drive them away. Jinn are specially busy
at night and when the morning-star appears they vanish. Wherever the soil is disturbed
by digging of wells or building there is danger of disturbing the jinn as well.
whenever Mohammed changed his camp he was accustomed to have the Takbir cried
in order to drive them away. The whirlwind is also an evidence of the presence
of jinn. When the cock crows or the donkey brays it is because they are aware
of the presence of jinn (Bokhari 2: 182). They also dwell in animals and, as Wellhausen
rightly says, “The zoology of Islam is demonology.” The wolf, the hyena, the
raven, the hndhnd, the owl are special favorites in this conception. A specially
close connection exists between the serpent and the jinn; in every snake there
is a spirit either good or evil. Examples of the Prophet’s belief in this superstition
are given by Wellhausen. (IBID & Wellhausen, “Reste Arabischen Heidentums,Berlin,
1897, p. 153).
Since Muhammad came to convert the jinn then he would be
diligent in preaching the message of Allah to them. That means that he would have
to preach to the hyena, raven and the owl, since they had jinn in them! My dear
friends how would it look if you saw a person preaching to a wild animal? Weird!
Well since Muhammad was sent to convert the Jinn to Allah don?t be surprised if
he did this.
In the old Arabian religion the jinn were nymphs and satyrs
of the desert. They were in constant connection with wild animals and often appeared
in brute forms. Robertson Smith in his “Religion of the Semites,” shows us the
relations that were supposed to exist between these spirits of the wild and the
gods. He says: “In fact the earth may be said to be parceled out between demons
and wild beasts on the one hand, and gods and men on the other. To the former
belong the untrodden wilderness with all its unknown perils, the wastes and jungles
that lie outside the familiar tracks and pasture grounds of the tribe, and which
only the boldest men venture upon without terror; to the latter belong the regions
that man knows and habitually frequents, and within which he has established relations,
not only with his human neighbors, but with the supernatural beings that have
their haunts side by side with him. And as man gradually encroaches on the wilderness
and drives back the wild beasts before him, so the gods in like manner drive out
the demons; and spots that were once feared, as the habitation of mysterious and
presumably malignant powers, lose their terrors and either become common ground
or are transformed into the seats of friendly deities. From this point of view,
the recognition of certain spots as haunts of the gods is the religious expression
of the gradual subjugation of nature by man.” To the Arabs of Mohammed’s day this
teaching formed the background of their supernatural world. The heathen of Mecca
considered the jinn as the sons and daughters of Allah. when Islam came this relation
was denied, but the existence of the jinn and their character remained unchanged.
Dr. Macdonald quotes a number of instances in the history of Islam where the saints
had intercourse with God through Jinn (pp.139-152). We need not marvel at these
stories of later tradition for we find in Moslem books a number of in stances
given where Mohammed himself held converse with jinn. The following is a typical
example: “One day the Prophet prayed the morning prayer with us in the Mosque
of Al-Madina Then when he had finished, he said, ‘Which of you will follow
me to a DEPUTATION of the jinn tonight?’ But the people kept silence and none
said anything. He said ‘which of you?’ He said it three times; then he walked
past me and took me by the hand, and I walked with him until all the mountains
of al-Madina were distant from us and we had readied the open country. And there
were men, tall as lances, wrapped completely in their mantles from their feet
up. When I saw them a great quivering seized upon me, until my feet would hardly
support me from fear. When we came near to them the Prophet drew with his
great toe a line for me on the ground and said, ‘sit in the middle of that.’ Then
when I had sat down, all fear which I had felt departed from me. And the Prophet
passed between me and them and recited the Qur-an in a loud voice until the dawn
broke. Then he came past me and said, ‘Take hold of me.’ So I walked with him,
and we went a little distance. Then he said to me, ‘Turn and look; dost thou see
any one where these were?’ I turned and said, ‘O Apostle of God, I see much blackness!
‘ He bent his head to the ground and looked at a bone and a piece of dung, and
cast both to them. Thereafter he said, ‘They are a deputation of the jinn of Nasibin;
they asked of me traveling provender; so I appointed for them all bones and pieces
of dung.” (Zwemmer, Influence of Animism on Islam, pg. 59)
You see how
Muhammad was heavily involved with the devils. He even invited people to follow
him to the jinn! Muhammad was a deputation for the Jinn, this word is defined
as being a representative of a group, etc. How can we trust the testimony of a
man, about God, who was the representation of devils? Muhammad?s companion was
scared to death of them but he was their representative! So we are to follow a
prophet who represents the Jinn? If Muhammad was a representative of devils then
what type of god is Allah? Lord of the World or should I say ?Lord of the Underworld?!
Moslem tradition leaves no doubt as to the dealings which Mohammed
had WITH THESE INHABITANTS OF THE AIR (p.451). “It is related in (Kitab Khair
al-bushr bi-khair al-bashar) by the Imam, the very learned Muhammed b. Dafar on
the authority of Ibn-AIas’ud who said, ‘The Apostle of God said to his Companions,
being at the time in Mecca, “Whoever of you likes to be present to-night TO
SEE THE AFFAIR OF THE GENII, let him come with me“; so I went out with him,
and when we reached the upper part of Mecca, he marked out a boundary line for
me, and then going away stood up and commenced to recite the Koran, upon which
he was concealed (from my view) by many bodily forms which came between me and
him, so much so that I could not hear his voice; then they dissipated as clouds
do, and went away, only as clouds do, and went away, only a small company of them
under ten (in number) remaining behind. The Prophet then came and asked (me),
“what has the small company done?” and I replied, “There they are, O Apostle of
God.” He then took a bone and some dung and gave them to them and prohibited the
use of a bone or dung for cleaning oneself after answering the call of nature.'”
(IBID pg. 59)
You see how if you traveled with Muhammad, you?ll experience
the great and exciting world of the devils! This is embarrassing because it proves
that Muhammad was just a soothsayer and a representative of devils. For us to
accept his testimony about Allah being Yahweh means that we would follow a man
who was a mere medium. Allah wasn?t thought of as Elohim before Muhammad, nor
was he called the God of Abraham in pre-Islamic Arabic insciptions.
?There
shall not be found among you any one that? useth divination, or an enchanter,
or a witch, or a charmer, or a consulter with familiar spirits or a wizard, or
a necromancer. For all that do these things are AN ABOMINATION UNTO THE LORD?
Deu. 18:10-12.
Muhammad invited people to come and consult with the jinn
every chance he got! How are we supposed to accept the testimony of a man like
this? Because he was God?s apostle? Based on what evidence? The words of Allah
as well as Satan, in the Satanic Verses, were spoken by the mouth of Muhammad,
which eliminates this possibility of Muhammad being God?s prophet. If a person
consults with Jinn, he is a shaman or a medium and not a prophet. Notice how Yahweh
hated divination and Allah seems to allow it. Strange isn’t it.
From the
Hadith of Bukhari, Volume 7, # 660.
Narrated Aisha:
MAGIC WAS WORKED
ON ALLAH’S APOSTLE so that he used to think that he had sexual relations with
his wives while he actually had not (Sufyan said: THAT IS THE HARDEST KIND OF
MAGIC as it has such an effect). Then one day he said, “O ‘Aisha do you know
that Allah has instructed me concerning the matter I asked Him about? Two men
came to me and one of them sat near my head and the other sat near my feet. The
one near my head asked the other. What is wrong with this man?’ The latter replied
the is under the effect of magic The first one asked, Who has worked magic on
him?’ The other replied Labid bin Al-A’sam, a man from Bani Zuraiq who was
an ally of the Jews and was a hypocrite.‘ The first one asked, What material
did he use)?’ The other replied, ‘A comb and the hair stuck to it.’ The first
one asked, ‘Where (is that)?’ The other replied. ‘In a skin of pollen of a male
date palm tree kept under a stone in the well of Dharwan’ ” So the Prophet went
to that well and took out those things and said “That was the well which was shown
to me (in a dream) Its water looked like the infusion of Henna leaves and its
date-palm trees looked like the heads of devils.” The Prophet added, “Then that
thing was taken out’ I said (to the Prophet ) “Why do you not treat yourself with
Nashra?” He said, “Allah has cured me; I DISLIKE TO LET EVIL SPREAD AMONG MY
PEOPLE.” This Tradition is also found in Bukhari 4.490, 7.658, 7.660, 7.661,
8.89, 8:400.
If Muhammad thought he was having sex and he wasn?t, this
means that he was off somewhere having sex with himself!!! How can a hypocrite
bewitch a prophet of God? Easy, he wasn?t a prophet of El but of Satan the devIL.
Notice how Jesus cast out devils while, mere men bewitched Muhammad! Another reason
to reject his idea of Allah being the God of the Bible. Who would want to follow
a man that was bewitched into thinking that he was having sex with his wives,
when he was actually having sex with himself!
Additional details on this event
are provided in Ibn Sa’d’s “Kitab al-Tabaqat al-Kabir” (Book of the Major Classes),
volume 2, pages 244 to 248. Here is a relevant quote.
“The apostle of Allah
fell ill. He was bewitched about women and food…. There were eleven knots
[in the hair from the comb]. The two Surahs no. 113, and 114 were revealed to
him. No sooner did the apostle of Allah recited a verse than a knot loosened.
When all of them were loosened, he regained his urge for food and women.” (ibid,
pg 247)
See what happens when you spend too much time with jinn. You promote
a false deity and then you become deranged. The magic on Muhammad was worked by
demons. They are wicked, unclean, vicious, and have power to derange both mind
and body. This explains why Muhammad was having sex with himself and not his wives.
You can read in the word of God about demons in Matt. 12:22, 15:22, Luke 4:35,
8:26-36, 9:12. Demons are the ?Familiar spirits and wizards of the Old testament,
and the seducing spirits of whom Paul warned Timothy n 1 Tim. 4:1. Let us continue
your study into Gabriel and his contact with Muhammad. From this tradition:
“He
(Muhammad) said, I had been meditating throwing myself from a mountain crag, but
while I was so meditating, he appeared to me and said, “O Muhammad, I am Gabriel,
and thou are the Messenger of God.”…. Az-Zuhri said: “There was a gap for a
time in the revelation to the Messenger of God and he was very sorrowful. He
started going early to the tops of the mountains to throw himself down from them.
But whenever he reached the summit of a mountain, Gabriel would appear to him
and say, “Thou are the Prophet of God.”
Few people are aware of Muhammad’s
suicide attempts. Following his initial visitation by a spiritual being, that
claimed to be Gabriel, Muhammad was frantic with fear and attempted suicide. He
walked up to the top of a mountain and intended to throw himself off a cliff.
This same being that caused his fear then intervened. Later, over the course of
up to the next three years, the visitations by this spirit became rare, and Muhammad
would then again attempt suicide in a like manner. Again, it was only due to the
intervention of this being that Muhammad did not kill himself.
Few Islamic
leaders will teach this to their fellow Muslims because it casts a stain upon
Muhammad; it brings doubt to his credibility and the credibility of his assumed
“prophetic” experience.
In order for us to accept Allah and the attributes
of him being the same as Yahweh we must accept Muhammad?s sole testimony. He wasn?t
sure if his calling was from God. Here is where it gets real interesting, Muslims
claim that Muhammad was such an honest and truthful man, but in addition to rejecting
the testimony of Muhammad based on the lack of another witness, we will see how
the prophet and Gabriel weren?t of God at all.
Muhammad had many encounters
with a angel that identified himself as “Gabriel”. In some of these encounters
odd things came out about its nature. Like Muhammad’s odd experiences, this angel
was also unusual. Here are a number of references that show the circumstances
surrounding him are indeed bizarre. Most of these are from the Hadith of Bukhari
which is the most important hadith in Islam. . I want to point out a few of the
strange circumstances related to Gabriel in the Islamic writings. As you’ll see,
this “Gabriel” was an unusual angel or spirit.
It?s very interesting how when
other prophets came with a message they were despised because they brought a word
from God. However the Arabs recognized Gabriel to be a devil of Muhammad.
Aisha
could not see Gabriel
Bukhari 4.440
‘Aisha said that the Prophet said
to her “O ‘Aisha’ This is Gabriel and he sends his (greetings) salutations
to you.” ‘Aisha said, “Salutations … and addressing the Prophet SHE SAID,
“YOU SEE WHAT I DON’T SEE.”
This is very important for the reader
to recognize, ?Muhammad saw a spirit in which nobody else saw.? This again is
precarious because in order to believe that Gabriel came we would have to accept
only the testimony of Muhammad. It?s one thing to be visited by an angel and you
are by yourself but to claim that one came without anybody else seeing him in
the same room is another story. Muhammad was hallucinating or he was bewitched
into seeing things that wasn?t there. Either way why should we accept his testimony
about Allah? You can?t even verify that Gabriel was present. Even Muhammad?s companions
didn?t see him, which leaves him as a witness unto himself.
“Gabriel” won’t
go into a house with a dog or a picture.
Bukhari 4.450
Once Gabriel promised
the Prophet (that he would visit him, but Gabriel did not come) and later on he
said, “We, angels, do not enter a house which contains a picture or a dog.”
First
Gabriel lies to him and then claims that angels don?t enter a house with a picture
or a dog! This is very bizarre; how can Angels be afraid of mere animals, and
what can pictures do to them? This is a major clue that shows that this wasn?t
Gabriel because in the Bible, Gabriel appeared to Daniel and Mary, both whom were
Jewish and had pictures and paintings on their pottery, etc. The Jews back then
painted pottery and Gabriel wasn?t afraid to enter then. Even the angels that
appeared to the Shepards to announce the birth of Jesus weren?t afraid of dogs.
Shepards used dogs to help tend their sheep; so why was Gabriel who appeared to
Muhammad afraid? This Gabriel was a demon, and the clue was the dog and the picture.
Animals, especially dogs, can sense an intruder and evil better than humans. In
the U.S. in UFO cases, animals began to act funny and become excited. For example
look at how the demons affected the swine after Jesus cast them out from the man
who roamed the tombs. If Gabriel were come into a house, the dog would?ve been
able to sense the intruder and would?ve begun acting funny. Why do you think people
buy dog? To keep out intruders, and to sense them. Now with the picture, you can
see and recognize images, ex. Is when people here in the U.S. go into the bathroom,
lock the door and begin to practice witchcraft, a demonic manifestation can (although
not always) manifest in the mirror. This is just a very general brief description.
I won?t expound on this because this isn?t the place to discuss witchcraft and
spells.
The religion of Islam began on the testimony of Muhammad who claimed
that he saw Gabriel. But did he really see Gabriel all the time?
Other people
recognize “Gabriel” as a person they knew.
Bukhari 4.827
I got the news
that Gabriel came to the Prophet while Um Salama was present. Gabriel started
talking (to the Prophet and then left. The Prophet said to Um Salama, “(Do you
know) who it was?” (or a similar question). She said, “It was Dihya (a
handsome person amongst the companions of the Prophet ).” Later on Um Salama said,
“By Allah! I thought HE WAS NONE BUT DIHYA, till I heard the Prophet talking
about Gabriel in his sermon.? …..
Very strange, if we go on Muhammad?s
testimony we are supposed to say that this was Gabriel when Um Salama saw ?Dihya?
a known companion of the Prophet!!! Why didn?t she recognize Gabriel? The 3 wise
men recognized the angel and didn?t mistake his identity. However Muhammad thought
that his own companion was Gabriel!!! Since nobody else thought it was Gabriel
and saw him as a known friend, this shows us that Muhammad was bewitched into
believing that Dihya was Gabriel, or that he was hallucinating like the little
kid on the Six Sense. Either way he should be given an Oscar for the best acting
job ever, since he fooled millions of Muslims into following his claim. Notice
that this isn’t the deep indepth stuff you’ll find discussed on our friendly Islamic
websites.
“Gabriel” was responsible for the massacre and enslavement of a Jewish
tribe. Gabriel urges Muhammad to go and attack the Jews of Bani Quraiza. This
action ended with about 800 prisoners of war being massacred, and thousands of
Jewish women and children being enslaved by Muhammad.
Bukhari 5.448
…
When the Prophet returned from the (battle) of Al-Khandaq (i.e. Trench) and laid
down his arms and took a bath Gabriel came to him while he (i.e. Gabriel) was
shaking the dust off his head, and said, “You have laid down the arms?” By Allah,
I have not laid them down. Go out to them (to attack them).” The Prophet said,
“Where?” Gabriel pointed towards Bani Quraiza. So Allah’s Apostle went to
them (i.e. Banu Quraiza) (i.e. besieged them). They then surrendered to the Prophet’s
judgment but he directed them to Sad to give his verdict concerning them. Sad
said, “I give my judgment that their warriors should be killed, their women and
children should be taken as captives, and their properties distributed.”
If
all of these people were in battle why did Muhammad see Gabriel and not any one
else? In the Bible, angels were seen and recognized, but with Muhammad, he claimed
to see Gabriel, who wasn?t seen!!!! We saw how Muhammad was bewitched into believing
that he was having sex with his wives so what proof do we have that this is Gabriel
other than Muhammad?s sole claim? Absolutely zero. Regarding the massacre of the
Jews, other Muslims also failed to recognize Gabriel.
Here is the quote from
“The Life of Muhammad”, page 461. Note here that these men also recognized this
“Gabriel” as the same person Um Salama saw him as – “Dihya”! Why did Gabriel take
this merchants form twice?
According to what al-Zuhri told me, at the time
of the noon prayers Barbiel came to the apostle wearing an embroidered turban
and riding on a mule with a saddle covered with a piece of brocade. ….. The
apostle passed by a number of his companions in al-Saurayn before he got to the
B. Qurayza and asked if anyone had passed them. They replied that DIHYA B.
KHALIFA AL-KALBI had passed upon a white mule with a saddle covered with a piece
of brocade. He said, “THAT WAS GABRIEL who has been sent to B. Qurayza to shake
their castles and strike terror to their hearts.” (Ibid)
You see my
friends; Gabriel was either a hallucination or Dihya. Everybody that came in contact
with Gabriel never saw him or recognized him as a known companion!!! So in order
for us to believe that this was Gabriel we must ignore the countless people who
saw Dihya and other?s who never saw Muhammad talking to anybody!!! Even Khadja
never saw Gabriel after Muhammad was first visited. This Gabriel was very strange
and only Muhammad saw him making him a witness unto himself, which disqualifies
him as a prophet based on what God said in the O.T. dealing with the verification
of any claim using more than one witness.
Gabriel prayed for Muhammad to
be healed, but Muhammad wasn’t healed.
From the Kitab al-Tabaqat al-Kabir,
vol. 1, page 265 The apostle of Allah fell ill and he i.e. Gabriel, chanted on
him, saying, “In the name of Allah I chant on to ward off from you every thing
that harms you and (to ward off you) against every envier and from every evil
eye and Allah will heal you.”
Notice how none of the Biblical prophets
experienced this. How could evil overtake the Seal of Prophets? How come Gabriel
couldn?t even get a prayer through? Is it because this Gabriel imposter was a
jinn who used Muhammad like a cheap suit? Yes. Another reason to reject Muhammad?s
claim that Allah is the same God like Yahweh.
Who
is this Allah?
Here is where we will continue in our
historical analysis of Allah. We mentioned before that Allah’s root is found in
the Sumerian god AN, which is later known as IL by the Akkadians and Babylonians.
Now we will examine the deities in which Allah is directly related too, and what
is known and worshiped by people before and during the time of Muhammad.
The
origin of Allah and Allat were as sun and moon deities. (Zwemmer, (Ed) The
Daughters of Allah, By Winnett, F V, MWJ, Vol. XXX, 1940, pg. 120-125).
The
original name of the Sun god in Sumer was UTU. The cuneiform name for Allah is
shown here:
381 UD, U4 logogram:
U4 = UD = ummu `day’ logogram:
UTU = ama the sungod, written with the determinative for deities as:
The word IL is an abstract noun in the Akkadian language.
One ending added to abstract nouns such as IL or ILU is the utu(m) ending. This
is the same utu found in the sun god, one of the main forefathers of the name
Allah. Look at this chart to see some words with utu (m) endings:
Some abstract nouns with -ütu(m) endings
Akkadian abstract noun
meaning
-ütu(m) added to:
meaning
älikütu
(function of) messenger
äliku
he
who goes
bëlütu
lordship/rule
bëlu
lord
dannütu
fortress/stronghold
dannu
strong
dajjänütu
function of judge
dajjänu
judge
Enlilütu
Ellil-ship (supreme
rule)
Enlil
Enlil, the supreme god
errëütu
agriculture
errëu
farmer
eTlütu
”youngstership”
eTlu
young man
ilütu
deity, divinity
ilu
god
malikütu
sovereignty
malku
king
mälikütu
function of adviser
mu’errütu
chairmanship
mu’erru
principle
räbiSütu
watchman, guard
räbiS u
he who watches
g
(abstract noun from participle: the activity of a guard)
arrütu
kingship
arru
king
ïbütu
testimony
ïbu
witness
Look at the words belutu, Enlilutu,
and ilutu; Bel and Enlil are all god deities while ilutu with the “utu” ending
is “deity or divinity”. Look at the quote previously mentioned on Allah from Infoplease.com:
All’h;
Pronunciation: [al?u, ?lu] [Arab.,=the God]. Derived from an old semitic
root refering to the Divine and used in the Canaanite El, the Mesopotamian ilu,
and the Biblical Elohim…
Note: we already discussed earlier about
El not being related linguistically to ILU, much like Dieu isn’t linguistically
related to god, but we see here that Allah derived from a root meaning divine
which is found in the Mesopotamian ILU! Since Allah comes from the Mesopotamian
IL and not the Caanaanite El, what is the Mesopotamian root referring to divine
in dealing with god deities? It is the Mesopotamian “ilutu” which is the same
deity Allah is linguistically and historically shown to be related to in “dinger
Utu” or ILUTU! El is never used in cuneiform scripts or inscriptions anywhere
as the name or the divine root for god in Mesopotamia.
If Muslims claim that
EL is IL or AN, then why is both EL and IL present at the sametime? Why aren’t
the Mesopotamian characteristics incorporated with the name EL, like Allah? When
we continue to examine the history of Allah we see that the root word AN is found
as the name of the Original God of Sumer and the foundation of virtually every
god name in Ancient Sumeria. However as the godname evolved it was used in later
deities. Now we will begin to examine the godname that Allah actually was considered
before Islam. The Tribe that Muhammad was from in Arabia was the Quraysh.
The
Quraysh ADOPTED ALLAH AS BAAL, and added the goddesses to his cult the same
way as Baal had three daughters in the Fertile Crescent. They venerated him and
his three female companions in his new House, the Kaaba at Mecca. (Bergsson, Snorri
G., Goddesses and Wica worship,’Neo-paganism at its most deceptive form, Islam
and Goddess Worship Chpt. IV, pg. 15, 1998-2000)
This is very intruiging
because before Islam, Allah was known as Baal. Muslims might claim that the Quran
rejects Baal but however, we aren’t talking about Islam but the origins of Allah
before Islam. Muslims also may say that Baal doesn’t mean God while Allah does,
however that isn’t the truth historically. From Comptons Interactive Encyclopedia
article on the pagan Baal, we read:
The Semitic word baal, meaning
owner or master, was also used in ancient religions for lord or god, and it
is still defined as a Canaanite or Phoenician deity. Among the greatest of
the Semitic peoples’ deities were Baal and Astarte both symbols of fertility.
Baal, the god of the sun, was supposed to make crops grow and flocks increase.
Astarte, the goddess of the moon, was identified with passionate love. The religion
of Baal was spread by Phoenician sailors throughout the Mediterranean world (see
Phoenicians). Baal cults grew up in Asia Minor, Egypt, Greece, Rome, Carthage,
and Spain.Baal and Astarte, under different names, were worshiped in
Babylonia and Assyria. (ibid)
Not only is Baal and Astart worshipped
under different names but his wife is is known as ELAT or Allat:
Al-Lat,
whose name means simply ?Goddess?, was the Mother facet connected with the
Earth and its fruits and the ruler of fecundity. She was worshipped at At-Ta?if
near Mecca in the form of a great uncut block of white granite. Manat, the crone
facet of the Goddess, ruled fate and death. Her principal sanctuary was located
on the road between Mecca and Medina, where she was worshipped in the form of
a black uncut stone. (McLean, The Triple Goddess, pg. 80)
And,
This
goddess appearing under many names throughout the world of antiquity is the same
as was represented as Baal?s wife. She was called Astarte, Semiramis, Ashtaroth,
Isis, Venus, Fortuna, Diana, Asherah, Elat, etc.. Indeed, Isis was known as the
mother of one thousand names. However, regardless of her various titles, she
was Baal?s wife and worshipped as such. (Judges 2:13). (Cooper, Canaanite
Religion, pg. 86.)
From what we have seen above, Baal was THE GOD OF
THE SUN AND THE PAGAN SYMBOL OF FERTILITY. Read:
Baal was also known as a
weather god he impregnated the earth by raining down rainstorms and being responsible
for the vegetation growing (Qadash Kinahnu, a Canaanite-Phoenician Temple;
The Temple of the Deities ?Room one, the Major Deities in the Myths of Ugarit,
pg 7-9). Read
on Allah:
Allat was a Babylonian, or earth and moon goddess.
Her consort Allah was simply the god who impregnates the earth. (Langdon,
Stephen H, The Mythology of All Races, Vol V, Archeological Institute of America,
Boston, 1931, pg. 5-19)
The origin of Allah and Allat were as sun and
moon deities. (Zwemmer, (Ed) The Daughters of Allah, By Winnett, F V, MWJ,
Vol. XXX, 1940, pg. 120-125).
Baal was first found in Babylon and
Sumer before migrating to Phoencia. Baal or Bel ( in Babylon) like Anu has a very
misleading name until you look at the Cunieform name. The logogram for Bel in
Cuneiform is En just like the “En” in Enlil. Our friend mr. “IL” (dinger), which
is originally “AN” is found in the name Bel as a preceding logogram! 99
EN
phonetic:en, (in4)
examples in New Assyrian orthography: (verticals only recognizable from the heads) In ligature with dingir EN is often written like dingir.endingir.en
logograms: EN
EN
bëlu
`lord’, `master’, `ruler’, `owner’
d
dEN
d bël
`lord’, epithet later name of Marduk
d
dEN.KI
Enki/Ea
(Sum. Enki;
Akk. Ea) (water) god
d
dEN.LÍL
Enlil
supreme god
d
dZU.EN
Sîn
(moon) god
EN.URU
bël äli
“city king” `ruler
of a city’
EN.EN.EN
bël bëli
“lord of the lords”: `supreme lord’
This is very interesting since IL (U) found as the basis
for the name Allah is also found as the same thing for the god BEL! The analogy
doesn’t stop here. Baal also meant god, as shown above which isn’t suprising since
AN, later IL which is “god” in Sumer is the same exact thing in Al-ILah. Look
at this information from archeological evidence:
About 1350 BC the Phoenician
inscriptions at Ras Shamrah revealed the entry in full force of Ba’al. Ba’al
was derived from Ba-ili, meaning “of the godhead.” He arrived with the
Phoenicians when they migrated from the Negev south of Israel into their historic
home. His most obvious name in Phoenicia was Baal-Lebanon. He also had a son name
Aleyin. He was the god of springs and water for fertile crops. (Graves, Robert,
Latousse Encyclopedia of Mythology, Pub. Paul Hamlyn, London, 1959 ,75-76).
ILI
is plural of IL and it isn’t suprising to find this:
.In Babylon, Baal was
the high god. This derived from IL of Sumer. The breakdown of the name is BA’
ILAH, and the goddess is BA’ ILAT. Astarte was also Ba’ Alot or Beltis, the
wife consort of Gebel. (Langdon, Stephen H, The Mythology of All Races, Vol V,
Archeological Institute of America, Boston,1931 pg. 66-67; Graves, Robert, Latousse
Encyclopedia of Mythology, Pub. Paul Hamlyn, London, 1959 pg. 80)
Baal
was ever popular after his ascent from Sumer. Muslims would quickly crucify Christians
if they saw that the Trinity was a pagan god practice from previous cultures,
even if the culture existed after Christianity, however when we examine historically,
the origin of Allah we find that he is nothing more than a pagan evolution from
An, Baal and other Sumerian deities preceding him. Even the daughters of Allah
were originally used in context with Baal.
Manat is believed to be the Arabs?
original goddess, appearing some time before al-Uzza and al-Lat. Her name appears
in the house of Baal in 32 CE, but she originated much earlier among the Arabs.
Manat seems to have arrived in Arabia from Palmyra, WHERE SHE WAS WORSHIPPED
ALONG WITH BAAL. She was venerated beside several other deities in a temple
called ?the house of the gods,?THE PALMRAN EQUIVALENT OF THE KAABA. (Teixidor,
The Pantheon of Palmyra 3, pg. 12-18 ? The Pagan god, pg. 116.)
Manat
is one of the goddesses mentioned by Muhammad himself in Surah 53 of the Quran
as being guided by Allah!!! Manat has always been known as a daughter of Allah
and it?s comes as no surprise as to why she is found in the house of Baal centuries
before Islam. Remember, the idea of Allah being monotheistic isn?t a historical
fact, it is an idea of Muhammad. Allah, the name, was about to be discarded by
Muhammad as we noted earlier, showing us that Allah was just one of the countless
deities which he chose as a substitute for Yahweh.
She [Manat] was the CHIEF
DEITYchief deity of al-Aus and al-Khazraj and other pagan inhabitants of
Yathrib (Medina). It seems that she was represented by a wooden image, which
was covered in blood during her worship. (Guillaume, The Life of Muhammad,
pg. 38-39, 207.)
Manat was very much on the mind of Muhammad, when he
uttered the Satanic verses. Muhammad’s tribe, with him included, all worshipped
this deity along Allah. Muslims might say that this was the time of ignorance
and that God corrected Muhammad into finding the true religion of Abrahahm. However,
this claim is circular and comes from the Quran which again is what Muhammad claimed
that God said. However no Muslim can historically back up the claim about Allah
being worshipped as the God of Abraham, before Islam. Because Muhammad clamied
that a heathen God was the god of Abraham doesn’t mean he necesarily is right?
No, especially if there isn’t anything historically to back this claim up.
Another
one of Allah’s daughters is Al-Uzza. She is also mentioned as an intecessor in
the Satanic verses along with Manat and Allat. History shows that:
AL-UZZA
WAS BROUGHT TO MECCA BY THE QURAYSH and enjoined to the already established
Kaaba worship, but she probably was a local deity in Mecca since the time of ?Amr
ibn Lubayy. IN MUHAMMAD’S TIME, al-Uzza was the most important of the Meccan
local deities, perhaps save for ?THE LORD? HUBAL. Her main sanctuary was in
a valley called Hurad, just outside Mecca. ?It was complete with a haram and a
sacrificial altar.? (Peter, Muhammad, pg. 110)
This is very striking indeed
because it shows how gods (in this case Uzza) was brought from other lands but
most importantly it reveals the most important local deity. This deity was Hubal,
which is ?the Lord?. This is amazing because Hubal who was Baal was known by the
Arabs before Islam, especially the Qurayish (Muhammad’s tribe), and even during
Muhammad?s time as Allah!! In Islamic history Allah is known as ?THE LORD? of
the Kaaba. Since Hubal is known as “THE LORD” and Allah is known as the LORD of
the Kaaba, then Allah would be the HUBAL of the Kaaba, which explains why the
Qurayish used the name “ALLAH” as another name for Baal.
The least offensive
name of the god in Mecca was Allah according to Muhammad?s biographer, Ibn
Hisham. He admits that the pagan Kinanah and Kouraish tribes called the supervising
god of the Kaaba IHLAL. They called the Kaaba “BEIT- ALLAH”, house of the god!
(Van Netton, Allah Divine Demonic, pg. 94)
Notice earlier that Muhammad
wanted to abandon the name of Allah, but decided to keep it since it was least
offensive. We wonder what name would he have chose? Since his tribe extoled Hubal,
don’t be surprised if he would’ve chose this name. Hubal was the high deity, Allah
was also known as the high god of the Arabs and then Ibn Hisham says that the
LEAST OFFENSIVE NAME was Allah. If the least offensive name was Allah, this clearly
tells us that the god of Mecca had more than one name. Note how IHLAL is found
here. Note how again we see the linkage of Allah and Baal! Both were lord of the
Kaaba and it was mention that the LEAST OFFENSIVE NAME WAS ALLAH and not THE ONLY
NAME WAS ALLAH. There is no excuse about Muslims not knowing about this since
it is found in Islamic history. Muhammad?s own biographer mentioned about this
matter.
In Arabian archaeology a large number of inscriptions on rocks, tablets
and walls, have pointed to the worship of a family of four; one male and his
three ?daughters? or goddesses. Those three goddesses are sometimes engraved together
with Allah, represented by a crescent moon above them. But Allah was the ?Lord
of the Kaaba… Lord of Manat, al-Lat, and al-Uzza…and even as ?Lord of
Sirius?.?(Peters, Muhammad, 98)
And,
His ?daughters? were his associates,
helpers and were themselves worshipped, after the manner of ancient Babylonian
customs and symbolised by astronomical symbols. (Bergsson, Snorri G., Goddesses
and Wica worship,’Neo-paganism at its most deceptive form, Islam and Goddess Worship
Chpt. IV, pg. 15, 1998-2000)
Inscriptions with Baal?s name have been found
in Central Arabia at some oasis where Arabian inhabitants had settled. The great
scholar William Robertson Smith argues that:
The most developed cults of
Arabia belong not to the pure nomads, but to these agricultural and trading settlements,
which the Bedouin visited only as pilgrims, not to pay stated homage to the lord
of the land from which they drew their life, but in fulfilment of vows. (William
Robertson Smith, The Religion of the Semites. The Fundamental Institutions (London,
1902), 109)
Muhammad was one of the many traders who traveled the Near
East. His tribe was very wealthy and just like every other trader, they brought
foreign gods to Arabia. Allah isn’t domestic at all but a deity which came to
Arabia after his Hajj from Sumer. If Muslims claim that he is the one true God
and that he has always been known as this then we must ask them, “Where is your
proof before Islam”? We not only saw earlier that the Qurayish adopted Allah as
Baal but we also know that:
In pre-Islamic days, called the Days of Ignorance,
the religious background of the Arabs was pagan, and basically animistic.
Through wells, trees, stones, caves, springs, and other natural objects man could
make contact with the deity… At Mekka, Allah was the chief of the gods and
THE SPECIAL DEITY OF THE QURAISH, THE PROPHET’S TRIBE. Allah had three daughters:
Al Uzzah (Venus) most revered of all and pleased with human sacrifice; Manah,
the goddess of destiny, and Al Lat, the goddess of vegetable life.. Hubal and
more than 300 others made up the pantheon. The central shrine at Mekka was the
Kaaba, a cube like stone structure which still stands though many times rebuilt.
Imbedded in one corner is the black stone, probably a meteorite, the kissing of
which is now an essential part of the pilgrimage. (Van Ess, John, Meet the Arab,
New York, 1943, p. 29)
Not only was Allah the special deity of Muhammad’s
tribe, but they worshipped him with 3 daughters. Muslims claim that Allah has
always been the true god, but every tribe in Arabia had their own god which they
believed to be their favorite. Muhammad isn’t any different, nor will we treat
him different just because he claimed that Allah was the God of Abraham. If any
other proclaimed prophet aroused from any other tribe, and claimed that their
god is the One true God, their followers would believe them too. Hence, by taking
this approach we must accept every other person who claims that there god is the
true god.
The cult of a deity termed simply “the god” (al-ilah) was known
throughout southern Syria and northern Arabia in the days before Islam–Muhammad’s
father was named ‘Abd Allah (“Servant of Allah”)–and was obviously of central
importance in Mecca, where the building called the Ka’bah was indisputably his
house. Indeed, the Muslims shahadah attests to precisely that point: the Quraysh,
the paramount tribe of Mecca, were being CALLED ON BY MUHAMMAD TO REPUDIATE THE
VERY EXISTENCE OF ALL OTHER GODS SAVE THIS ONE. It seems equally certain that
Allah was not merely a god in Mecca but was widely regarded as the “HIGH god,”
the chief and head of the Meccan pantheon, whether this was the result, as has
been argued, of a natural progression toward henotheism or of the growing influence
of Jews and Christians in the Arabian Peninsula…Thus Allah was neither an unknown
nor an unimportant deity to the Quraysh when Muhammad began preaching his worship
at Mecca. (The Oxford Encyclopedia of the Modern Islamic World, ed. John L.
Esposito, New York, 1995, pp. 76-77)
Not only do we see why Allah became
the god of Abraham, but now we know for a fact that this god was Baal before being
stripped of its paganistic heritage. If you ask a Muslim how do they know that
Allah is the God of Abraham, they will say because of the Quran, and the worship
of him as the supreme god of the Arabs and Muhammad’s tribe. This would seem good
but they tend to use a selective approach, since Allah was originally worshipped
first as Baal and then the Quran is basically a self-testimony by Muhammad. More
evidence about Allah and Baal can be seen once we examine the epithets of Baal:
Ba`al– Common epithets of Ba`al
Most High Prince/Master – ?al?iyn. b`l, ?al?iyanu ba`lu
Conqueror of Warriors – ?al?iy. qrdm, ?al?iyu qarradima
Rider on the Clouds – rkb `rpt, rakab arpat or rakibu `arpati
Thunderer – r`mn, rimmon
or re`amin
Gapen & Ugar, Vineyard and Field, Baal’s pages
or messengers – gepanu wa ugaru (IBID)
One
of the common epithets, or term used to characterize the nature of a person or
thing, of Baal is Thunderer. This word is r?mm, re?amin or rimmon. Now lets investigate
about Rimmon from these sources:
In praising the ruler in line 17, the author
says he set up worship to Shamash and Rammam. This is the god Rimmon mentioned
in the Bible, II King 5:18: Naaman, the Assyrian General, says, “In this thing
the LORD pardon thy servant, that when my master goeth into the house of Rimmon
to worship there, and he leaneth on my hand… I bow down myself in the house
of Rimmon, the LORD pardon thy servant in this thing.” (Sayce in The Hibbert Lectures,
p. 511-12, Royal Asiatic Society, London, 1932, Line 14-17)
Naaman had
worshipped this god until he was converted to Yahweh through a healing experience
in Israel. He was told by God’s prophet to go in peace since his heart was right.
It is also interesting to find that Rammanu, who was Rimmon of Assyria,
Brahman of India, and RAHMAN OF ISLAM, was also known in Babylon as IL-hallabu.
(Langdon, Stephen H, The Mythology of All Races, Vol V, Archeological Institute
of America, Boston, 1931 pg. 39)
Not only is it archeologically verified
that names used for Baal were used by Muhammad but we know see that the verses
in the Quran dealing with Baal, being a false god are nothing more than futile
attempts to divert the origin of the name Allah.
In the Bible Baal is also
called Beelzebub, or Baalzebub, ONE OF THE FALLEN ANGELS OF SATAN. Beelzebub
is the patron god of the Philistines in ancient Palestine. He is also identified
with the god of Ekron, Baal-Zebub. The term is a deliberate mocking perversion
of the Canaanite Baal-Zebul (“Prince Baal”), one of the standard titles of the
god Baal. In the Bible, Beelzebub is the prince of evil spirits and in Milton’s
‘Paradise Lost’ he is Satan’s chief lieutenant. He is also called ‘Lord of the
Flies’, derived from the Hebrew “Baal-Zevuv”. (Hefner, Alan G., Encyclopedia
Mystica ? Baal Article )
Baal comes from the same AN, dinger root as Allah
and is the very same cuneiform root as Enlil. The AH in ILAH shows us that this
was a male deity. The IL or AN represented ?god?. If we added AT to IL, it would
be ILAT, which is ?goddess?. We discussed earlier from cited sources that suffixes
were added to IL to differentiate the gender. The only place in the Middle East
where ?IL? was first used as ?god? was Pagan Babylon. If Muhammad received a call
from the God of Abraham, why did he give him a name associated and originally
from Babylon? Abraham called God ?EL-ELYON?, not Allah, and he came from the area
of Sumer!!! This is another reason why we shouldn?t accept Allah, since Abraham
was from that area and, Arabic took it?s god roots from that area, and then Abraham
never called God this name with ?IL? or ?AN? in it why should we?
If you take
off the definite articles from Ba?IL and Al-ILah, and then remove the suffix,
which was added later for gender, you fin the same ?IL? present from pagan Babylon!!!
The only Hamatic culture that first used IL in their god names was Babylon. If
IL was only used in Babylonia and then is found in Arabia, where did it come from?
Easy, pagan Babil or Babylon. We mentioned earlier that Hubal or Baal was considered
the god of the Ka’ba before the time of Muhammad. We also noted that:
The
Quraysh ADOPTED ALLAH AS BAAL, and added the goddesses to his cult the same
way as Baal had three daughters in the Fertile Crescent. They venerated him and
his three female companions in his new House, the Kaaba at Mecca. (Bergsson, Snorri
G., Goddesses and Wica worship,’Neo-paganism at its most deceptive form, Islam
and Goddess Worship Chpt. IV, pg. 15, 1998-2000)
What does this mean? It
means that Baal was Allah to Muhammad and the Qurayish and that his monotheism
was used as a propoganda by Muhammad after he claimed to have received revelations
from Gabriel the Jinn. What does the name Hubal mean?
It cannot be explained
from the Arabic language (ENCYCLOPEDIA OF ISLAM by Gibb and Kramers)
This
shows us again that Baal, with it’s IL or AN root didn’t come from Arabia but
earlier cultures.
Interesting is the name HUBAL (in Arabic and Hebrew
script the vowels were not noted). This shows a very suspicious connection to
the Hebrew HABAAL (= the Baal). As we all know this was an idol mentioned
in the Bible (Num. 25:3, Hosea 9:10, Deut. 4:3, Josh. 22:17 and Ps. 106:28-29).
Where was Baal worshipped? In Moab! It was the “god of fertility”. Amr ibn
Luhaiy brought Hubal from Moab to Arabia.
The name ‘Allah’ (from ‘al-Illah’
– the god or ‘al-Liah’ = the one worshipped) was well used in pre-Islamic times.
It was rather a title than a name and, was used for a diversity of deities.
As we shall see later, an image called HUBAL WAS ADDRESSED AS ALLAH. Muhammad’s
grandfather reportedly prayed to Hubal and ADDRESSED HIM AS ALLAH. The
deities al-Lat, al-Uzza and Manat were called “the daughters of Allah” (Surah
53:19). “Allah was viewed, already before Muhammad, as the Lord of the Ka’ba,
while, if not surely, but very probably, this sanctuary was devoted to Hubal,
whose image was placed inside” (RESTE ARABISCHEN HEIDENTHUMS, p. 221 by J.Wellhausen)
and
While the rituals performed are still addressed to the respective deities,
Allah is seen as the creator, the father and with that the superior Lord. But
he is viewed to be too general, neutral and impersonal a Lord. (ibid p. 219)
This
verifies further that Baal was the Allah that the Qurayish was referrring too.
Hubal was the name of Allah before Muhammad’s coming and his own father had the
name “servant of Allah”. Muslims have used this information to show that Allah
has always been used as the supreme God, but Muhammad’s own father and grandfatheraddressed
Allah as HUBAL!!! So the servant of Allah in which his ancestors were serving
was Baal!!
It is presupposed by Muhammad and admitted by his opponents, that
Allah is the Lord of the Ka’ba. Is perhaps the Allah of Mecca Hubal? In
other words, was Hubal called Allah in Mecca as Jahweh was called Elohim in Israel?”
(ibid p. 75).
We see that:
This becomes even more likely when we
realize that the polytheists of Arabia recognized Allah as creator (Surahs
23:84-89; 29:61), and swore by him (Surah 6:109). So the name Allah must
at first have been a title. “At first Allah was the title used within each individual
tribe to address its tribal deity instead of its proper name. All said ‘Allah’,
but each one had its own deity in mind. The expression ‘the god’ (al-ilah),
which became the only usage, became the bridge to the concept of an identical
god which all tribes had in common‘ (J.Wellhausen, p. 218)
Muhammad
used the “ALLAH” part to bring all of the tribes together. If we base the name
of Allah from where Muhammad came from, then the Qurayish name would be BAAL or
HUBAL!! But let us have another look at Hubal, as he is reported of by the ‘Siratu’l
Rasul’ of ibn Ishaq (“The Life of the Prophet”, the oldest biography of Muhammad.
Ibn Ishaq was born 85 AH (after the Hedjra), which was 622 AD) and compiled this
biography from many sources. This is now lost, but a revision of his book by ibn
Hisham has been preserved:
Abdu’l-Muttalib’s vow to sacrifice his son
It
is alleged, and God only knows the truth, that when ‘Abdu’l-Muttalib encountered
the opposition of Quraysh when he was digging Zamzam, he vowed that if he should
have ten sons to grow up and protect him, he would sacrifice one of them to
God at the Ka’ba. Afterwards when he had ten sons who could protect him he
gathered them together and told them about his vow and called on them to keep
faith with God. They agreed to obey him and asked what they were to do. He
said that each one of them must get an arrow, write his name on it, and bring
it to him; this they did and he took them before Hubal in the middle of the Ka’ba.
(The statue of) Hubal stood by a well there. It was that well in which gifts made
to the Ka’ba were stored.
Now beside Hubal there were seven arrows, each
of them containing some words. One was marked ‘bloodwit’. When they disputed
about who should pay the bloodwit they cast lots with the seven arrows and the
one on whom the lot fell had to pay the money. Another was marked ‘yes’, and another
‘no’, and they acted accordingly on the matter on which the oracle had been invoked.
Another was marked ‘of you’; another mulsaq, another ‘not of you’; and the last
was marked ‘water’. If they wanted to dig for water, they cast lots containing
this arrow and wherever it came forth they set to work. If they wanted to circumcise
a body, or make a marriage, or bury a body, or doubted someone’s genealogy, they
took him to Hubal with a hundred dirhams and a slaughter camel and gave them
to the man who cast the lots; then they brought near the man with whom they were
concerned, saying, ‘O our god this is A the son of B with whom we intend to do
so and so; so show the right course concerning him’. Then they would say to
the man who cast the arrows ‘Cast!‘ and if there came out ‘of you’ then he
was a true member of their tribe; and if there came out ‘not of you’ then he was
an ally; and if there came out mulsaq he had no blood relation to them and was
not an ally. Where ‘yes’ came out in other matter, they acted accordingly; and
if the answer was ‘no’, they deferred the matter for a year until they could bring
it up again. They used to conduct their affairs according to the decision of the
arrows.
‘Abdu’l-Muttalib said to the man with the arrows, ‘Cast the lots
for my sons with these arrows’, and he told him of the vow which he had made.
Each man gave him the arrow on which his name was written. Now ‘Abdullah was his
father’s youngest son, he and al-Zubayr and Abu Talib were born to Fatima d.’Amr
b.’A’idh b.’Abd b.’Imran b. Makhzum b.Yaqaza b. Murra b. Ka’b b.Lu’ayy b.Ghalib
b.Fihr (113). It is alleged that ‘Abdullah was ‘Abdu’l-Muttalib’s favourite son,
and his father thought that if the arrow missed him he would be spared. (He was
the father of the apostle of God). When the man took the arrows to cast lots with
them, ‘Abdu’l-Muttalib stood by Hubal praying to Allah. Then the man cast
lots and ‘Abdullah’s arrow came out. His father led him by the hand and took a
large knife; then he brought him up to Isaf and Na’ila (T. two idols of Quraysh
at which they slaughtered their sacrifices) to sacrifice him; but Quraysh came
out of their assemblies and asked what he was intending to do. When he said that
he was going to sacrifice him, they and his sons said ‘By God! you shall never
sacrifice him until you offer the greatest expiatory sacrifice for him. If you
do a thing like this there will be no stopping men from coming to sacrifice their
sons, and what will become of the people then?’ Then said al-Mughira b. ‘Abdullah
b. ‘Amr b. Makhzum b. Yaqaza, ‘Abdullah’s mother being from his tribe, ‘By God,
you shall never sacrifice him until you offer the greatest expiatory sacrifice
for him. Though his ransom be all our property we will redeem him’. Quraysh
and his sons said that he must not do it, but take him to the Hijaz for there
there was a sorcerer who had afamiliar spirit, and he must consult her.
Then he would have liberty of action. If she told him to sacrifice him, he would
be no worse off; and if she gave him a favourable response, he could accept it.
So they went off as far as Medina and found that she was in Khaybar, so they allege.
So they rode on until they got to her, and when ‘Abdu’l-Muttalib acquainted her
with the facts she told them to go away until her familiar spirit visited her
and she could ask him. When they had left her ‘Abdu’l-Muttalib prayed to Allah,
and when they visited her the next day she said, ‘Word has come to me. How
much is the blood money among you?’ they told her that it was ten camels, as indeed
it was. He told them to go back to their country and take the young man and
ten camels. Then cast lots for them and for him; if the lots falls against your
man, add more camels, until you lord is satisfied. If the lots falls against
the camels then sacrifice them in his stead, for your lord will be satisfied and
your client escape death. So they returned to Mecca, and when they had agreed
to carry out their instructions, ‘Abdu’l-Muttalib was praying to Allah. Then they
brought near ‘Abdullah and ten camels while ‘Abdu’l-Muttalib stood by Hubal
praying to Allah. Then they cast lots and the arrow fell against ‘Abdullah.
They added ten more camels and the lot fell against ‘Abdullah, and so they went
on adding ten at a time, until there were one hundred camels, when finally the
lot fell against them. Quraysh and those who were present said, ‘At last your
lord is satisfied ‘Abdu’l-Muttalib’. ‘No, by God’, he answered (so they say),
‘not until I cast lots three times’. This they did and each time the arrow fell
against the camels. They were duly slaughtered and left there and no man was kept
back or hindered (from eating them)”.
“Siratu’l Rasul”
by Ibn Ishaq
Abdu’l-Muttalib was Muhammad’s grandfather, and Abdullah
his father (Abd-allah = servant of Allah). One of Abdu’l-Muttalib’s sons was to
be sacrificed to ‘god at the Ka’ba’. The god of the Ka’ba, as we already saw,
was Hubal. For circumcision, marriage, burial etc. people went to Hubal, the ‘Lord
of this house’. Magic was used to determine Hubal’s will (casting of arrows).
The boy Abdullah was brought to an idol to be sacrificed to ‘him’ (i.e. Hubal-Allah).
Abdu’l-Muttalib consulted a sorcerer who had a familiar spirit (‘demon attending
and obeying a witch’; Oxford Dictionary). He gets an answer from the ‘familiar
spirit’ through the witch. He is to cast lots before Hubal ‘until your lord is
satisfied’. This lord can only be Hubal-Allah.
This is very shocking indeed
because we see how the god of the kaaba was called HuBaal or THE BAAL or Baal.
After Muhammad?s grandfather went to the sorcerer, he went and prayed to Allah!
Muhammad?s grandfather then was instructed BY A FAMILIAR SPIRIT to go back
and sacrifice the camels until their lord HUBAL-ALLAH was pleased! You
see how Allah had his hand in Muhammad?s path beginning with his family and friends.
How can a demon instruct a person what God says? In Islamic history we see that
the lord of the Kaaba was Baal and that Allah was the name that described Baal!
Why would God reject his word in the Bible and then give Muhammad a revelation
with no miracles, no witnesses and no proof of seeing Gabriel, and then top it
off by using a name that originally belonged to Baal? Reason why is because Allah
isn?t the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. The Muslims have no proof at all before
Islam, which shows Allah being the god of Abraham.
Did
Abraham call God “Allah”?
The great patriach Abraham,
is extoled in the Quran and throughout both the Christian and Muslim World. Muhammad
claimed to have followed the religion of Abraham and that Islam was the fullfilment
of God’s revelation to mankind. One noticeable thing missing is the name that
Abraham called God. This name isn’t Allah but “EL-ELYON” which means “Most high
God”. Since Abraham is from the area of Sumer, Muslims must explain to us why
nothing is found with Abraham claiming that God’s name is Allah. A telling silence.
Abraham would’ve called god EL. Infact the early Arabs didn’t call God Allah nor
use the word Allah to refer to any god:
“Among the Northern Arabs of early
times, particularly in the region of Safa, THE WORD EL ‘GOD’ was still
very commonly used as a separate name of the Deity.” The IL and ILAH formations
came much later. This means that EL was used by Arabs at one time as the name
of God. This would be verified in the Bible, where the father of the Arabs,
IshmaEL, was given a name with the name of God, EL, in it. (Hastings, James,
Encyclopedia of Religion and Ethics, Vol 1, p. 664).
For the Muslim to
claim that Allah was always God is a lie. Allah isn?t the equivalent to El, because
the Arabs mentioned El as God, first!!! In the first ancient pre-Arabic writings,
there was no mention of Allah!!
THE PARENT OF THE ARABIAN SCRIPT WAS THE
parent of the Arabian script was the ?OLD THAMUDIC? (Old Negev) script. (The
Origin and Emergence of West Semitic Alphabetic scripts. Part I, pg. 1).
Drawing
from the main geographic location of its apparent origins the term “Old Negev”
script refers to unique archaic (2nd to 1st millennium BC) West Semitic
inscriptions found initially on rock surfaces and pottery fragments in the region
located between the boarders of Egypt, Israel and the Jordan today. Specifically,
a corpus of more than 140 panels have been identified in the deserts and the steppes
between the Edomite Escarpment and the Aravah of Jordan and Israel, and extending
through the central Negev (Nahal Avadot, Har Karkom) and the Northern Sinai regions.
A few have also been discovered in materials from Lachish, Bet Shemish, Jerusalem
and Shechem. This distinctive script was first identified and classified by Brigham
Young University Professor Emeritus James R. Harris, Ed. D. (Brigham Young University).
He was assisted in this work by Dann W Hone M.A. (Jerusalem University College),
an administrator with the Jerusalem Center for Near Eastern Studies (Brigham Young
University) and instructor of Ancient Scripture at B.Y.U. Prof. Harris’s discovery
was made while comparing Proto-Sinaitic, Proto-Canaanite AND PRE-ARABIC SCRIPTS
OF THE ARABIAN DESERT (such as Thamudic) with the Dedanite & Lihyanite-like
scripts of the Negev. His materials were drawn from the Palestine, Sinai and Arabian
Desert rock inscriptions discovered and published by 19th and 20th
Century scholars, linguists, and explorers, and from numerous personal explorations
in the region. (IBID, Introduction)
The content of the inscriptions along
with their archaeology, time and location combine to suggest that the persons
responsible for these inscriptions were a Canaanite people, speaking and writing
a Canaanite language. Further researches indicate its translation to be consistent
with the Proto- Canaanite language. In modern terms this language is best
expressed through Biblical (Old) Hebrew transliteration/translation rather than
the more recent West Semitic tongue of Arabic. Translated expressions
evidence Biblical phraseology and worship indicating a close tie to early Israelite
culture. Additionally, the content suggests that these people observed a covenant
relationship with their God “Yah” (also referred to in the inscriptions
as “EI Yah”, Yahu” and “Yahh”) all of which are the designation
of the Hebrew and Midianite God of Israel YHWH (Jehovah) worshipped in this same
area and time period. (IBID)
Arabic is a Hamatic-Semitic language,
just ask any Arabic experts. When the discoveries of the inscriptions were found
what characteristics did they show? Those of the Canaanites. Canaanite people
were Hamatic and the writings of the early Arabs and thinking were consistent
with theirs. The inscriptions of the Canaanites and the early Arabs worshiped
the God of the Bible as ?EL? and ?Yah?-short for Yahweh! We see that the language
of Arabic was a later addition and was more recent. Allah historically through
inscriptions has been proven to have originated from Sumer and was a later addition
after El.
Winnett was a tireless researcher of the nine or ten pre-Arabic
scripts of the Arabian Desert, among which he spent a major part of his professional
life. He also attempted to reconstruct the emergence, and identify some relationships,
between these alphabets. No doubt his work with pre-Arabic scripts was excellent
but his brief exposure to Old Negev resulted in his participation in perpetuating
the error that the Negev inscriptions were graffiti left by post Thamudic vagabonds.
The extensive research and study of J. R. Harris & D. W Hone has led to a more
probable and substantial conclusion, i.e. that the Negev inscriptions are Post
Proto-Canaanite and the major parent script of the pre-Arabic Thamudic scripts.
(IBID, pg. 3)
The Negev inscriptions were the parent of the Arabic script
and the pre-Arabic writing had the name El, same as the Bible, as God! Even the
Quran mentions the tribe of Thamud:
To the Tham?d people (We sent) S?lih,
one of their own brethren: He said: “O my people! worship Allah. ye have no
other god but Him. Now hath come unto you a clear (Sign) from your Lord! This
she-camel of Allah is a Sign unto you: So leave her to graze in Allah’s earth,
and let her come to no harm, or ye shall be seized with a grievous punishment.
“And remember how He made you inheritors after the ?d people and gave you habitations
in the land: ye build for yourselves palaces and castles in (open) plains, and
carve out homes in the mountains; so bring to remembrance the benefits (ye have
received) from Allah, and refrain from evil and mischief on the earth.” The leaders
of the arrogant party among his people said to those who were reckoned powerless
– those among them who believed: “Know ye indeed that S?lih is a messenger from
his Lord?” They said: “We do indeed believe in the revelation which hath been
sent through him.” The Arrogant party said: “For our part, we reject what ye believe
in.” Then they ham-strung the she-camel, and insolently defied the order of their
Lord, saying: “O S?lih! bring about thy threats, if thou art a messenger (of Allah)!”
So the earthquake took them unawares, and they lay prostrate in their homes in
the morning! So S?lih left them, saying: “O my people! I did indeed convey to
you the message for which I was sent by my Lord: I gave you good counsel, but
ye love not good counselors!” S. 7:73-79
Since the Quran verfies that
a prophet was sent to Thamud we see from history that the god name that they used
wasn’t Allah but EL!! This is very destructive to the Islamic argument of Allah
being EL. Notice this from the Quranic passage- “b>no other god but Him”. Since
the IL or AN of Allah was known, and even Hallah was also known in Babylonia and
then we see from history that EL was used at this time for God, it shows us that
the other gods included the name types of Allah which are used by Muslims today!!
Allah wasn’t called God at this time, EL was and this Quranic passage along with
history shows us that Allah was a pagan. If not why not use the name Allah in
their inscriptions as God at this time? This is a very intruging fact indeed.
To see inscription of EL in Ancient Negev
We
even find better proof that El is God and not Allah by looking in the Quran. Arabic
is a language of many copied words. One of them is the Arabs great patriarch Ishmael.
The name Ishmael mean ?God hears?. Hmm, very interesting because in Arabic people
who usually have god in their names usually reflect Allah, for example Abdallah.
However with Ishmael this isn?t the case. In Arabic the last 2 letters represent
EEL or EL, which is God in Hebrew. Why Hebrew, you might say? Simple, because
this name is an exact copy from the Hebrew language. This shows us that Allah
isn?t El because if the Arabs originally knew that the name Ishmael meant, ?God
hears? then they should?ve or could?ve implemented Allah into Ishmael. This along
with the knowledge that the Arabs called God ?EL? before Allah came on the scene
lets us know that EL can be used as God in Arabic. History shows this case but
yet disproves Allah. Read these verses from the Arabic Quran and notice how EL
in IshmaEL ?God hears? is present strong and well.
2.127 PICKTHAL: And when Abraham and
Ishmael were raising the foundations of the House,(Abraham prayed): Our Lord!
Accept from us (this duty). Lo! Thou, only Thou, art the Hearer, the Knower.
2:127.Wa-ith
yarfaAAu ibraheemu alqawaAAida mina albayti wa-ismaaaEELu rabbana taqabbal
minna innaka anta alssameeAAu a1AAa1eemu.
2.133 PICKTHAL: Or were ye present
when death came to Jacob, when he said unto his sons: What will ye worship after
me? They said: We shall worship thy god, the god of thy fathers, Abraham and Ishmael
and Isaac, One Allah, and unto Him we have surrendered.
2.136 PICKTHAL: Say (0 Muslims):
We believe in Allah and that which is revealed unto us and that which was revealed
unto Abraham, and Ishmael, and Isaac, and Jacob, and the tribes, and that which
Moses and Jesus received, and that which the prophets received from their Lord.
We make no distinction between any of them, and unto Him we have surrendered.
2:136.
Qooloo amanna biAllahi warna onzila ilayna wama onzila ila ibraheema wa-ismaaaEELa
wa-ishaqa wayaAAqooba waal-asbati wama ootiya moosa waAAeesa warna ootiya alnnabiyyoona
min rabbihim la nufarriqu bayna ahadin minhum wanahnu lalm muslimoona.
2.140
PICKTHAL: Or say ye that Abraham, and Ishmael, and Isaac, and Jacob, and the tribes
were Jews or Christians? Say: Do ye know best, or doth Allah? And who is more
unjust than he who hideth a testimony which he hath received from Allah? Allah
is not unaware of what ye do.
2:140.Am taqooloona inna ibraheema wa-ismaaaEELa
wa-ishaqa wayaAAqooba waal-asbata kanoo hoodan aw nasara qul aantum aAAlamu ami
Allalm waman athlamu mimman katama shahadatan AAindahu mina Allahi warna Allahu
bighafilin AAamma taAAmaloona.
3.84 PICKTHAL: Say (0 Muhammad): We believe
in Allah and that which is revealed unto us and that which was revealed unto Abraham
and Ishmael and Isaac and Jacob and the tribes, and that which was vouchsafed
unto Moses and Jesus and the prophets from their Lord. We make no distinction
between any of them, and unto Him we have surrendered.
3:84.QuI amanna
biAllahi warna onzila AAalayna warna onzila Aaala ibraheema wa-ismaaaEELa
wa-ishaqa wayaAAqooba waal-asbati warna ootiya moosa waAAeesa waalnnabiyyoona
min rabbihim la nufarriqu bayna ahadin minhum wanahnu lahu muslimoona.
4.163
PICKTHAL: Lo! We inspire thee as We inspired Noah and the prophets after him,
as We inspired Abraham and Ishmael and Isaac and Jacob and the tribes, and Jesus
and Job and Jonah and Aaron and Solomon, and as We imparted unto David the Psalms;
4:163.1nna awhayna ilayka kama awhayna ila noohin waalnnabiyyeena min baAAdihi
waawhayna fla ibraheema wa-ismaaaEELa wa-ishaqa wayaAAqooba waal-asbati
waAAeesa waayyooba wayoonusa waharoona wasulaymana waatayna dawooda zabooran.
6.86 PICKTHAL: And Ishmael and Elisha and Jonah and Lot. Each one (of them)
did We prefer above (Our) creatures,
21.85 PICKTHAL: And (mention) Ishmael, and ldris, and Dhu’l-Kifl. All were
of the steadfast.
21:85.Wa-ismaaaEELa wa-idreesa watha alkifli kullun
mina alssabireena.
38.48 PICKTHAL: And make mention of Ishmael and Elisha
and Dhu’l-Kifl. All are of the chosen.
38:48.Waothkur ismaaaEELa
wa-ilyasaAAa watha alkitli wakullun mina al-akhyari
Here is what Mr. Qahwash,
an Arabic expert said to me about the EE in IshamEL:
Dear friend
thank
you for your message
I like to say that as it is on the page “Transliteration
Table” we used AA for the letter # 18 in Arabic which is ayn . the ee is for
the vowel ya/.it is pronounced as in feet. Also I did not translate the text
but rather transliterate it. so it is like Arabic but in English letters.
thank you again.
salam.
Therefore the EE in Ishmael in the Arabic Quran
doesn?t read as IL (god root in Arabic) but EEL which is similar to EL in Hebrew.
Note: Ishmael means ?GOD HEARS? in Hebrew with the EL being God. This same word
is copied right into the Arabic text. This information is very incriminating against
Islamic arguments since Ishmael is a much older name than Arabic and isn’t transliterated
as Ishmallah or Ishmabdallah. Now we will move to the next section.
“Allah”, One true God because
in Arabic Bible?
Muslims love to use this argument
about Allah being in the Bible due to the fact that his name is in the Arabic
bible. This is a bogus defense since the Arabic was composed after Islam, when
Muhammad promoted Allah to the universal God of Abraham. If Muslims are to prove
to us that Allah is the God of Abraham, then they must show us an Arabic bible
before Islam. Also which Allah was Muhammad talking about? It wasn’t the God of
Abraham, since we have already seen that the deity of him and his tribe were Hubal.
Allah in Arabic means “THE GOD” not God. Al = The in Arabic. Just
ask any Arabic linguist. Elohim in Hebrew isn?t equal to ?The God? that would
have a “HA” in front of it. Basically we find that “ILAH”
is God in Arabic not just Allah which is ?The God.? Muslim scholars like Muhammad
Pickthall recognized this and he in his translation of the Quran says that there
IS NO CORRESPONDING ENGLISH WORD FOR ALLAH. ILAH IS USED AS GOD!!!
Also Muslims
make another fallacy by saying “THE WORD ALLAH DID INDEED EXIST IN THE ARABIC
TALMUD AND OTHER JEWISH HOLY SCRIPTURES”. If this existed in the Arabic Talmud
along with the other Holy scriptures, this doesn’t have any affect on the HEBREW
SCRIPTURES. Basically what they are saying is that Allah is in the bible because
the Arabs used it for God. I don?t know how someone can promote this argument
and then claim that Allah is in the Bible which was revealed in Hebrew and Greek.
One Muslim argument is:
In today’s Arabic Bible, the word “Allah” is used
for both the Old Testament and the New Testament.
Because Allah is in
TODAY’S Arabic bible doesn’t mean that the Arabs originally used this name for
God. This is an assumption used by Muslims who can’t since he can?t present you
with any type of evidence to show a Arabic Bible with Allah in it from that time.
I don?t doubt that Christian Arabs named their kids Abdallah, but what exactly
does this have to do with Allah being the original name of God in Arabic as well
as being the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob? Nothing. This is getting off the
point because it doesn’t answer the question as to what name was used for God
first.
Yet the problem arises from the fact that Muslims insist that Allah
is not a title, but the personal name of the God of Islam. This becomes problematic
since according to the Holy Bible the name of the God of Abraham is Yahweh/Jehovah,
not Allah:
God spoke further to Moses and said to him, “I am Yahweh
(YHVH) and I appeared to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, as God Almighty; BUT
BY MY NAME, YAHWEH, I did not make myself known to them.”; Exodus
6:2-3
Since we have already seen that Abraham never used the name of Allah,
nor was Allah the first name in Arabia but EL, here is the Hebrew word for God
in Arabic. Elohim=
Alef Lam Ha Ya Meem
A l h ee m
Muslims may
claim that Allah is spelled with the Alef and the Lam, but this is the definite
article added to ILAH which has a ALef with a Hamzah. If AL was the Same as IL
as Muslims claim then there would be no need for the Hamazah but just the Alef
by itself.
Steve Van Nattan Comments: I have on file
correspondence between Samuel Zwemmer and Van Dyke, who translated the Bible into
Arabic in about 1920, and Van Dyke was not happy with Allah as the name for Jehovah.
But, he did not know any other name to use. Since then Samuel Zwemmer has stated
in has later books that Allah is NOT the name of the God of the Bible. Both men
were highly degreed, Zwemmer from Princeton. so, the translator of the Bible in
Arabic did not like the name Allah.
“Allah”,
God of the Muslims?
In the Quran we see information
about the idea of being a Muslim. Islam claims to be the final revelation to mankind
from God so now lets look at the word Muslim in closer context:
S. 2.128
“Our Lord! make of us Muslims, bowing to Thy (Will), and of our progeny
a people Muslim, bowing to Thy (Will); and show us our place for the celebration
of (due) rites; and turn unto us (in Mercy); for Thou art the Oft-Relenting, Most
Merciful.
S. 12.101 “O my Lord! Thou hast indeed bestowed on me some power,
and taught me something of the interpretation of dreams and events,- O Thou Creator
of the heavens and the earth! Thou art my Protector in this world and in the Hereafter.
Take Thou my soul (at death) as one submitting to Thy Will (as a Muslim),
and unite me with the righteous.”
S. 33.35 For Muslim men and women,-
for believing men and women, for devout men and women, for true men and women,
for men and women who are patient and constant, for men and women who humble themselves,
for men and women who give in charity, for men and women who fast, for men and
women who guard their chastity, and for men and women who engage much in Allah’s
remembrance,- for them has Allah prepared forgiveness and great reward.
S.
51.36 But We found not there any, except one Muslim household:
The
word Muslim means submission. One word used in the Quran to describe Abraham is
Hanif, lets look at the historical information
hanif
in the Qur’an, the
sacred scripture of Islam, an Arabic designation for true monotheists (especially
Abraham) who were not Jews, Christians, or worshipers of idols. The word appears
to have been borrowed from a Syriac word meaning “HEATHEN” and, by extension,
designating a Hellenized person of culture. There is no evidence that a true hanif
cult existed in pre-Islamic Arabia, but there were certain individuals who, having
repudiated the old gods, prepared the way for Islam but embraced neither Judaism
nor Christianity. In this sense, some of Muhammad’s relatives, contemporaries,
and early supporters were called hanifs–e.g., Waraqah ibn Nawfal, a cousin
of the Prophet’s first wife, Khadijah, and Umayyah ibn Abi as-Salt, an early 7th-century
Arab poet. (http://www.britannica.com/bcom/eb/article/2/0,5716,39952+1+39144,00.html?query=hanif)
The
word Hanif used for true monotheist actually means Heathen, or a worshipper of
false gods!!! Not only does this verify that Muhammad’s tribe were heathens but
it also blasphemes Abraham who is called a Hanif, while he worshipped Yahweh Elohim
the God of the Bible! This is simply unbelievable!! After embarking on a long
historical journey we see that the name Allah was used to describe Baal, was never
monotheistic, that El was spoken of as God first and that Hanif actually means
a heathen. We also saw that Muhamamd was a shaman soothsayer and not a prophet
but a man bewitched. This shows the true essence of Islam, a cannoization of paganism.
I will leave you with the words of Muhammad
Sunan Abu-Dawud Book 3, Number
1092:
Narrated Abdullah ibn Mas’ud:
When the Apostle of Allah (peace_be_upon_him)
addressed, he would say: Praise be to Allah, from Whom we seek help and pardon,and
we seek refuge in Allah from the evils of our souls. He whom Allah guide
has no one who can lead him astray, and he whom He leads astray has no one to
guide him. And I bear witness that there is no god but Allah, and I bear witness
that Muhammad is His servant and apostle. He sent him before the coming of the
last hour with truth giving good tidings and warning. He who obeys Allah and His
Apostle follows the right path; and he who disobeys them shall harm none except
himself, and he will not harm Allah in the least.
And
Al Hadis, Vol
4, p. 786 Abul Azher al Anmari reported, When The Apostle of Allah went to bed,
he said, “In the name of Allah, I put down my side for Allah. O Allah! forgive
my sins and remove my EVIL SPIRIT…” Attested by Abu Daud
Need we
say more? No.
APPENDIX
Most of the cuneiform text have been posted here. The majority especially the
signs dealing with AN, IL in relation to Allah along with Enlil and Baal have
been posted. I apologize for the rest not being able to be put on but in the future
this should change. It will take time to scan and download them. When new information
become available, this paper will be updated. This paper is by no ways finished.
After reading this paper you will clearly see that Allah wasn’t originally
known as the God of Abraham and that Muhammad is a self-proclaimed prophet. The
Cuneiform text speaks for themselves in showing the origin of IL in Allah to be
from the god An. Peace be unto all.
THIS IS REALITY: ISLAM SENDS YOU TO HELL “And there is NOT ONE OF YOU BUT SHALL COME TO IT [HELL]. THIS IS AN UNAVOIDABLE DECREE OF YOUR LORD.” (Surah 19:71 Shakir) On another thread Kilunda Sylvester asked Mark Okwonkwo , “why does Allah command you to sin?” The true answer to this question which he and no Muslim will ever admit, is that Allah is only in the business of condemning people and sending them to hell. That’s his sole raison d’etre. He has no interest in saving anyone. The Quran does not even attempt to disguise why this wannabe god wants to make people sin. It sends them to hell where he wants them to be. Where he is going to be himself and for whom hell was prepared, hence how we find: “Whomsoever Allah guides, he is the one who follows the right way; and whomsoever HE CAUSES TO ERR, THESE ARE THE LOSERS.” (Surah 7:178) “Whomsoever he causes to err” – this is absolute proof positive of a demon speaking. It’s only Satan who makes and causes sin. “And certainly, WE HAVE CREATED FOR HELL MANY OF THE JINN AND THE MEN; they have hearts, with which they do not understand, and they have eyes, with which they do not see, and they have ears with which they do not hear; they are as cattle, nay, they are in worse errors; these are the heedless ones.” (Surah 7:179) “And it is not for a soul to believe except by Allah’s permission; and HE CASTS UNCLEANNESS ON THOSE WHO WILL NOT UNDERSTAND.” (Surah 10:100) “If We had so willed, We could certainly have brought every soul its true guidance: but the Word from Me will come true, “I WILL FILL HELL WITH JINNS AND MEN ALL TOGETHER.” (Surah 32:13) The god of Islam is capricious and sadistic; appearing to derive pleasure in causing humanity to stray, purposefully filling Hell with those Jinns and men he predestined to perish. Moreover he gives people no clue and no certainty as to their destiny. When in fact if we barely scratch the surface of this evil doctrine, its painfully obvious their certain destiny is hell as Surah 19:68 – 71 affirm: “So by your Lord! We will most certainly gather them together and the Shaitans, then shall We certainly cause them to be present round hell on their knees.[69] Then We will most certainly draw forth from every sect of them him who is most exorbitantly rebellious against the Beneficent God.[70] Again We do certainly know best those who deserve most to be burned therein. [71] AND THERE IS NOT ONE OF YOU BUT SHALL COME TO IT; THIS IS AN UNAVOIDABLE DECREE OF YOUR LORD.” (Shakir) Muslims your book shows you what your god is about. Everyone who is evil is going to hell. And we are all evil in God’s sight (Matthew 7:11). If you want to avoid hell then please come to Jesus, He is the ONLY WAY. Our one only and true God has ONE will and purpose – that NONE SHOULD PERISH, has provided the means that ALL should be saved, and Hell is reserved only for the devil and his fallen angels and those who fully deserve to be there. The contrast is stark. There is only one God who respects free will and takes no pleasure in anyone perishing. Above all the Christian God is uniquely able to show mercy AND preserve justice because of atonement. “Do I take any pleasure in the death of the wicked?” This is the declaration of the Lord God . “Instead, don’t I take pleasure when he turns from his ways and lives?” (Ezekiel 18:23 HCSB) “Tell them: As I live” — the declaration of the Lord God — “I TAKE NO PLEASURE IN THE DEATH OF THE WICKED, but rather that the wicked person should turn from his way and live. Repent, repent of your evil ways! Why will you die, house of Israel?” (Ezekiel 33:11 HCSB) “For the Son of Man has come to save the lost. What do you think? If a man has 100 sheep, and one of them goes astray, won’t he leave the 99 on the hillside and go and search for the stray? … IT IS NOT THE WILL OF YOUR FATHER IN HEAVEN THAT ONE OF THESE LITTLE ONES PERISH.” (Matthew 18:11-12, 14 HCSB) “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that WHOSOEVER BELIEVETH IN HIM should not perish, but have everlasting life.” (John 3:16 KJV) “For there is no difference between the Jew and the Greek: for the same Lord over all is rich unto all that call upon him. For WHOSOEVER SHALL CALL UPON THE NAME OF THE LORD SHALL BE SAVED.” (Romans 10:12-13 KJV) “The Lord is not slack concerning his promise, as some men count slackness; but is longsuffering to us-ward, NOT WILLING THAT ANY SHOULD PERISH, but that all should come to repentance.” (2 Peter 3:9 KJV) God cannot be accused or mocked. No one who finds themselves in hell will have anyone else to blame, and those headed there in anticipation who squeal ‘it’s not fair and God cannot be all loving if He permits people to spend eternity in hell’, have no right of veto over those who make the wise choice and respond in love, to our God of love. The Muslim loss, as a result of their being prisoners blinded to the consequences of exercising free will, cannot deny or be allowed to deny the rest of us who did the right thing. The only blackmail is with them not with God. God cannot compromise His nature and He cannot act contrary to His nature. Remember God is perfect love, holiness, justice and wrath (against sin and all that dishonours Him). Whether we escape His wrath is entirely up to us individually . God’s wrath is the reverse side of his love. Wrath is but love spurned. As Brunner puts it, “the wrath of God under which the idolatrous, sinfully perverted man stands is simply the divine love, which has become a force opposed to him who has turned against God. The wrath of God is the love of God, in the form in which the man who has turned away from God and turned against God, experiences it, as indeed, thanks to the holiness of God, he must and ought to experience it.” Judgment is according to one’s response to the love of God in Jesus Christ (John 3:16-21, 36). But why is this? It might appear that God’s judgment is no more than the macabre revenge of a jilted suitor. If wrath is nothing more than rejected love, God is open to the following charge: “Why does He get so angry, then, when we just want to be left alone?” But there is more to the story than simply jilted love. We are God’s creatures and owe Him our love and obedience. We are sinful people who have been “bought at a price” (l Corinthians 6:20). We are not autonomous beings receiving overtures of love from a neo-Marcionite God who has no more claims upon us than the romantic affections of a stranger. The love that is being spurned is the love of Creator for creature, of the One who has redeemed us at great cost. To reject such love is to turn one’s back upon one’s only hope and to consign oneself to wrath and judgment. As provided for by the doctrine of hell by the demon god Satan for whom hell was created, which is perfectly portrayed by Islam. The bottom line is that God loves righteousness because holy righteousness is the very essence and core of His being. Nothing that can taint pollute or mock that absolute, can enter His presence. He demands PERFECTION AS HE IS PERFECT. We can NEVER attain that for ourselves. If we redefine sin as “imperfections” then we must realise that we have no hope of ever reaching heaven. Since God sent His Son to recast us in His perfection likeness, and remove our imperfections, then we have no excuses, no one else to blame that God’s wrathful judgement is heading for us. Muslims, you have a clear choice to make. You can choose: 1). To remain on a straight broad road of Islam, a doctrine of demons in a perishing world, which is a one way ticket to hell, based on a lie, because no amount of good deeds can ever erase your imperfections, only the blood of Jesus can; Or 2). A narrower and harder road (only because of opposition and persecution in the world), of taking up your cross daily and following Jesus who is the only way to heaven. “No one comes to the Father except through Me”. This is what Jesus means by ‘His peace’, its our knowing where we are going. That in spite of trouble in the world Jesus has our backs covered. Indeed it is He who carries us. Get Outlook for Android<aka.ms/AAb9ysg>