Islamic infants, repeating, Show me where Jesus Christ said, “I Am God, Worship Me.”
Yet the Bible EXPLICITLY DECLARES THAT JESUS CHRIST IS GOD IN THE HUMAN FORM, HE IS THE VISIBLE MANIFESTATION OF THE CREATOR AND IN HIM ALL THE FULLNESS OF DEITY LIVES IN BODILY FORM.!!
Why can’t muslims and other cults followers comprehend this Irrefutable Truth?
It’s because they are blinded by satan, the father of lies and deception
‘Isaiah 9:6-7; Daniel 7:13-14; John 1-21; 2 Corinthians 4:3-4; Colossions 2:9; 1Timothy 3:15; Hebrews 1:1-13; 2:14-15; Revelation 1:1-19;5:1-14.!!’
Category Archives: Refuting Islam
Islamic Isa
Islamic Isa is a FAKE person that never existed in history. Jesus is YASU in Arabic. Send your dumb god to school
Jesus – die in your sins
John 8 23-24
23 He said to them, “You are from below; I am from above. You are of this world; I am not of this world. 24 I told you that you would die in your sins, for unless you believe that I am he you will die in your sins.”
Jesus and Jihad
Jihad is a Muslim term. It came into existence with Islam about 600 years after Jesus was crucified. Thus, it certainly does not appear in the Bible and Jesus could not have preached it.
Terrorism is an 18th century term that has only come to be used popularly in modern times. Thus for the same reasons, it also does not appear in the Bible and Jesus could not have preached it.
Conceptually, Jesus preached neither. He never advocated for armed struggle against anyone. Many were frustrated with him for this, as they believed the Messiah would overthrow Roman rule and lead the Jews to a restoration of the Davidic Kingdom. This way of thinking later resulted in a series of Jewish-Roman wars which resulted in the near complete destruction of the Jews in Judea.
When Peter used a sword to try to protect Jesus, this is what happened:
Then said Jesus unto him, Put up again thy sword into his place: for all they that take the sword shall perish with the sword.
Mt 26:52 (he also healed the damage done)
He also preached this:
43 Ye have heard that it hath been said, Thou shalt love thy neighbour, and hate thine enemy.
44 But I say unto you, Love your enemies, bless them that curse you, do good to them that hate you, and pray for them which despitefully use you, and persecute you;
45 That ye may be the children of your Father which is in heaven: for he maketh his sun to rise on the evil and on the good, and sendeth rain on the just and on the unjust.
46 For if ye love them which love you, what reward have ye? do not even the publicans the same?
47 And if ye salute your brethren only, what do ye more than others? do not even the publicans so?
48 Be ye therefore perfect, even as your Father which is in heaven is perfect.
Mt 5
Doesn’t sound much like jihad or terrorism to me.
Jeremiah 8.8
Jeremiah 8.8 answered
You are starting from three incorrect postulates:
1. Scribes are just copyists, not interpreters of the law.
2. The doctrine of preservation of scripture is the same as inerrancy.
3. Variants have semantic importance
All three of those need to be true for your statement to make sense. Unfortunately, none of them are.
1. Scribes aren’t just secretaries. They are teachers, who in this case, were corrupt
In context, Jeremiah 8 is clearly inveighing against “false” teachers of the law. This a common theme throughout the Old Testament generally, and the prophets specifically. (It is also picked up in the New Testament for that matter – Jesus seems to be more annoyed with “religious” teachers than with sinners.)
The text says:
“‘How can you say, “We are wise, for we have the law of the Lord,” when actually the lying pen of the scribes has handled it falsely? 9 The wise will be put to shame; they will be dismayed and trapped. Since they have rejected the word of the Lord, what kind of wisdom do they have?
Note the antecedent of “they” is those who are saying “We are wise, for we have the law of the Lord.” Notice these same people are being said to have rejected the word of the Lord.
This is very common throughout the OT – those who are claiming to speak for God but are not. Malachi calls them out, Amos calls them out, and Jeremiah calls them out. It was a recurring theme.
Note that scribes are not just writers of the law – they are teachers too. Especially at this time, there was a hefty oral tradition of interpretation that had added much to the Torah.
In the New Testament, Jesus makes the same charge (Matthew 23):
13 “Woe to you, teachers of the law and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You shut the door of the kingdom of heaven in people’s faces. You yourselves do not enter, nor will you let those enter who are trying to. [14] [b]
15 “Woe to you, teachers of the law and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You travel over land and sea to win a single convert, and when you have succeeded, you make them twice as much a child of hell as you are.
16 “Woe to you, blind guides! You say, ‘If anyone swears by the temple, it means nothing; but anyone who swears by the gold of the temple is bound by that oath.’ 17 You blind fools! Which is greater: the gold, or the temple that makes the gold sacred? 18 You also say, ‘If anyone swears by the altar, it means nothing; but anyone who swears by the gift on the altar is bound by that oath.’ 19 You blind men! Which is greater: the gift, or the altar that makes the gift sacred? 20 Therefore, anyone who swears by the altar swears by it and by everything on it. 21 And anyone who swears by the temple swears by it and by the one who dwells in it. 22 And anyone who swears by heaven swears by God’s throne and by the one who sits on it.
23 “Woe to you, teachers of the law and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You give a tenth of your spices”mint, dill and cumin. But you have neglected the more important matters of the law”justice, mercy and faithfulness. You should have practiced the latter, without neglecting the former. 24 You blind guides! You strain out a gnat but swallow a camel.
Note: Some translations will even say “scribes and Pharisees” rather than “teachers of the Law and Pharisees.” The King James, for example, says:
13 But woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for ye shut up the kingdom of heaven against men: for ye neither go in yourselves, neither suffer ye them that are entering to go in.
14 Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for ye devour widows’ houses, and for a pretence make long prayer: therefore ye shall receive the greater damnation.
A scribe was also a teacher of the law. More modern translations clarify that aspect of the culture we no longer have.
It isn’t the pen, it is the oral additions.
2. Preservation of Scripture != Inerrancy
There is a wide spectrum of belief about how literally one takes the Bible.
Preservation of Scripture says only that God communicates his Law to all men. It doesn’t depend on the mechanism. Even if you could find somebody who tried to misprint the Bible, the doctrine of Preservation says that the transmission isn’t the point anyway.
3. We know the “variants” in Scripture, and trust me, they are a lot less “variant” than you think.
It is true that there are over 5000 manuscript fragments from which we arrive at what we believe the “Scriptures” to be. You can see these variations yourself by consulting a biblical apparatus. It is true that prior to the invention of the printing press in 1453, documents were copied by hand. It is also true that minor variations existed as a result.
It also should be understood that when the Dead Sea Scrolls were rediscovered in 1947, we found out how very, very small the differences were. Great care was taken to preserve the manuscripts.
Not the Religion of Peace
NOT THE RELIGION OF PEACE: THE QURAN SANCTIONS ALL JIHADIST ACTS OF TERROR
■ THE PURPOSE OF JIHAD
There is only one religion which makes it an article of faith to wage war on unbelievers.
Muslims often say “Islamic Law forbids aggressive warfare”. There is no truth in that claim:
1). The purpose or goal of Jihad. The Quran is the ultimate source for later legal opinions. It is considered completely reliable and inerrant. What does it say about jihad:- Surah 9:33 “It is He Who has sent His Messenger (Muhammad) with guidance and the religion of truth, to make it superior over all religions, though the Mushrikûn (polytheists, pagans, idolaters, disbelievers in the Oneness of Allah) hate (it)”. This verse is repeated two more times, word for word, in Suras 61:9 and 48:28.
The Arabic word for “to make it superior” comes from the root z-h-r, which means “to become distinct, obvious, conspicuous, or manifest; to ascend or to mount; to have the upper hand.” It can also mean “triumph” or “victorious” or “prevail.” That alone gives justification for violent Jihad as prescribed in over 100 verses of the Quran.
2). Rules for Jihad.
(i). Conquered women and children may be enslaved (Surah 33.25-26)
(ii). Women captives may be forced to marry their Muslim masters, regardless of the marital status of the women. That is, the masters are allowed to have sex with the enslaved sex objects. (Surah 4.24)
(iii). A captured enemy may be killed, ransomed by money or by an exchange, enslaved, or released freely. (Surah 47.4)
(iv). 4. The conquered are allowed (or forced) to convert. (Surah 8.70)
(v). Old men and Christian monks may be killed. (Surah 9.29 and 9.33)
(vi). Property may be stolen. (Surah 8.7 and 33.27).
(vii). Property – including homes and fruit trees may be destroyed. (Surah 59.2 and 59.5)
(viii). Ultimatum imposed on the enemy – basically 3 choices: (1) Fight and die; (2) convert; (3) keep their religion, but pay a tax, the jizyah. (Surah 9.29)
■ LEGAL OPINION
Al-Misri (d. 1368), ‘Reliance of the Traveler: A Classic Manual of Islamic Sacred Law’, (rev. ed., trans. Nuh Ha Mim Keller, Beltsville, Maryland: Amana, 1994), summarizes rulings in the Shafi school of fiqh. says that jihad establishes the religion of Islam. “. . Jihad means to war against non-Muslims and is etymologically derived from the mujahada, signifying warfare to establish religion.” (p. 599, o9.0)
So in light of the above, Muslims claim that Islamic law forbids aggressive warfare is frankly tosh.
By comparison and in total contrast there is not a single verse from the New Testament (which is what governs Christian behaviour) that advocates violence not even in self defence. The sword belongs to the State: “For government is God’s servant for your good. But if you do wrong, be afraid, because it does not carry the sword for no reason. For government is God’s servant, an avenger that brings wrath on the one who does wrong.” (Romans 13:4 HCSB)
It is arguable from a Biblical perspective that even individuals carrying a sword is for purely deterrence value only. But that is not a subject for this Post or discussion thread.
Nevertheless it is not uncommon to hear Muslims claiming that the Bible is more violent than the Quran. Really? Then, how do we explain all the violence committed day after day by Muslims all over the world? Where does their incentive to kill come from? It is incredible how Muslims can even come up with such an absurd allegation. What is even more bizarre than this outrageous lie is the number of Westerners who are taken in by this deception. It is really mind-boggling how people can allow themselves to become blinded so easily. Many of my generation who lived during the early sixties are familiar with a well-known Bob Dylan song, “Blowing in the Wind.” A couple of verses in the song read: “How many times can a man turn his head pretending he just doesn’t see? The answer my friend is blowing in the wind.”
Yes, the answer is blowing in the wind. It is blowing all over the world where Muslims routinely murder innocent people on a daily basis in the name of Allah. Nigeria sees it on a daily basis. Burkina Faso is showing a similar emerging pattern of terror and violence against individuals and institutions. Mozambique, Kenya and Uganda have suffered Islamic insurgency. And many are turning their heads pretending not to see the connection between the teachings of Allah in the Quran and the violence perpetrated by Muslims. And they deliberately ignore the fact that Islam is directly responsible for much of the violence that we are now experiencing around the globe. Comedian Richard Pryor once told the story about how his wife caught him red-handed in bed with another woman. He denied everything and then asked his wife: “Whom are you going to believe, me or your lying eyes?” This is exactly how Muslims argue – along with the politicians and the mainstream media – and they seriously expect to fool the rest of us. They want us to turn a blind eye to the reality. And they think that by repeatedly proclaiming the lie that “Islam means peace” we will somehow become oblivious to all the violent acts committed right before our eyes in the name of Islam.
Both Muslims and Christians are on the world stage. It does not take much looking around to see which group is bombing churches, looting and pillaging whole villages, killing, raping, torturing and beheading in the name of its religion. If you put 100 Christians of different denominations in a room, you will find them arguing over virtually every aspect of their faith. But, you would not find them debating whether they’re supposed to be out killing cartoonists, shooting up schools, murdering some neighbors, beheading fellow-workers, taking hostages at a café, or blowing themselves up in crowded markets. Only one religion inspires such heinous acts.
There are criminals in every society. Criminals carry out their evil crimes by submitting to their own evil desires and acting on those cravings. Anyone claiming to do it in the name of Christianity is acting in total violation of its values, and such cases can NEVER justify any supposedly copycat behaviour. However, in Islam it is different. Muslims carry out their violent crimes in the name of Allah. They use the Quran not the Bible as their justification and their inspiration. Every beheading, every attack by suicide bombers, and every violent act that is religiously sanctioned in Islam is carried out to the accompaniment of the blood-thirsty cries of “Allahu Akbar” – the war cry of Islam. And jihadists often quote passages from the Quran before executing their victims. The evil crimes of the Muslims originate with Allah. The seeds of terror and the violence that we are now witnessing worldwide are sown in the Quran. To those who disagree that the Quran encourages violence, we would like them to examine the facts. Can Muslims honestly say that the Quran promotes peace when it teaches the followimg:
○ Muslims are to slay those who leave Islam?
Surah 4:89: “If they turn back, seize them and kill them wherever you may find them; and take no friend or helper from among them. (W. Khan)
○ Sanctions rape of the women captives of war–even married ones?
Surah 4:24: “Also forbidden are married women unless they are captives of war. Such is the decree of God.” (Ahmed Ali)
○ Commands the violent elimination of adherents to all other religions?
Surah 2:193: “And fight with them until there is no persecution and religion should be only for Allah.” (Shakir)
○ Authorizes the complete extermination of those who do not submit to the teachings of Islam?
Surah 8:7: “But Allah wished to confirm the truth by His words, and wipe the unbelievers out to the last.” (Samira)
Surah 2:191: “And kill them wherever you find them.” (Shakir)
○ Commands Muslims to “murder and crucify” those who “make mischief” in the land?
Surah 5:33: The punishment of those who wage war against Allah and His messenger and strive to make mischief in the land is only this, that they should be murdered or crucified or their hands and their feet should be cut off on opposite sides…” (Shakir)
The open license that Surah 5:33 gives Muslims is shocking. It opens a flood-gate of reasons for Muslims to simply kill and crucify all those whom they perceive as opposing the “religion of peace”. Simply questioning the teachings of Islam or Muhammad can be construed as an act of “mischief.” Yes! What about all these verses in the Quran? The objective of Islam is crystal clear. It is to subjugate by force and threat of force, and if that fails the to kill all those who do not accept Allah as their God or Muhammad as their Prophet! Read carefully the unambiguous warning of Muhammad:
Sahih Muslim, Book 1, Hadith 31: “It is reported on the authority of Abu Huraira that he heard the Messenger of Allah say: I have been commanded to fight against people, till they testify to the fact that there is no god but Allah, and believe in me that I am the messenger (from the Lord) and in all that I have brought. And when they do it, their blood and riches are guaranteed protection on my behalf except where it is justified by law, and their affairs rest with Allah.”
Only by submitting to Islam are “blood and riches are guaranteed protection.” The Quran contains more than a hundred verses that call for the Muslims to wage war against the infidels.
○ Hypocrites also become the enemy ripe for slaughter.
Muslims who do not join the fight against the non-Muslims are branded as “Hypocrites” in the Quran. And these “Hypocrites” will also be targeted for slaughter if they do not share in the killings of the non-Muslims. Therefore, if you are a peaceful non-violent Muslim, you are a “Hypocrite” according to the Quran:
Surah 3:167: “And the Hypocrites also. These were told: “Come, fight in the way of Allah, or (at least) drive the foe from your city.” They said: “Had we known how to fight, we should certainly have followed you.” They were that day nearer to Unbelief than to Faith, saying with their lips what was not in their hearts but Allah hath full knowledge of all they conceal.” (Yusuf Ali)
○ Open ended subjugation of unbelievers.
The Quranic verses calling for the violent subjugation of non-Muslims are open-ended. This means that they are not restrained or limited by time or circumstance. In other words, they are part of the eternal, unchanging word of Allah. Therefore, the call for warfare against the non-Muslims is just as relevant today as it was in Muhammad’s time:
Surah 8:65: “O Prophet! Rouse the Believers to the fight. If there are twenty amongst you, patient and persevering, they will vanquish two hundred: if a hundred, they will vanquish a thousand of the Unbelievers: for these are a people without understanding.” (Yusuf Ali)
Islam is not a religion of peace, and it has never been. The following are direct quotes from the Quran. According to the Quran not only is warfare “ordained” for the Muslims but Allah also states that “warfare” is “good” for them:
Surah 2:216: “Warfare is ordained for you, though it is hateful unto you; but it may happen that you hate a thing which is good for you, and it may happen that you love a thing which is bad for you. Allah knoweth, you know not.” (Pickthall)
To deceive us, Muslim scholars deceitfully claim that Islamic wars are defensive in nature. The following Quranic verse belies their claim:
Surah 9:29: “Fight those who believe not in Allah nor the Last Day, nor hold forbidden which hath been forbidden by Allah and His Messenger, nor acknowledge the religion of Truth, even if they are the People of the Book, until they pay the Jizya with willing submission and feel themselves subdued.” (Yusuf Ali)
Carefully study the commandment of Allah in the above Quranic verse. It does not say that Muslims should only fight against those who attack them. The Quran clearly commands Muslims to fight all those “who believe not in Allah” nor “acknowledge the religion of Truth.” And this means every one of us who are not Muslims.
As we can clearly see, the commandment in Surah 9:29 does not restrict the Muslims to fight only in self-defense as Islamic scholars deceitfully claim. It is an unmistakable commandment to wage offensive warfare against all those who do not recognize Islam as the religion of Truth. Therefore, doing anything which is forbidden in the Quran by Allah means that you have signed your own death warrant when Islam reigns supreme. The only reason why Muslims are not exterminating us today on a global scale is because of the prevailing strength of the infidels. It may not remain this way forever. But there is more to Surah 9:29.
■ MUSLIMS AS THE VICTIMS: THE BASIS FOR THE EXTORTION OF JIZYA.
While Surah 9:29 commands Muslims to wage warfare against the non-Muslims, this Quranic verse specifically singles out the “People of the Book.” The term, “People of the Book” refers to the Jews and the Christians. Muslims were commanded to fight the Jews and the Christians “until they pay the Jizya with willing submission, and feel themselves subdued.” It is important to understand the reason for Allah’s commandment to fight against the Jews and the Christians in spite of their pacifism. Not only is it not because they were attacking or even planning to attack the Muslims. There is a more sinister aspect to it. It may shock you to learn that it was simply because the Muslims feared poverty. A new situation developed during the early days of Islam, resulting in the sudden loss of trade for the Muslims. This was because Allah decided to prohibit the pagans from entering the sacred Mosque in Mecca. It had unintended consequences, by resulting in financial loss for the Muslims. Thus the Muslim victim mentality was spawned.
What was Allah’s solution for the financial reversal of the Muslims? Simply attack the Jews and the Christians and let them compensate for the loss of trade. This is made clear in Surah 9:28 – the verse preceding Surah 9:29. We will now consider both these verses together so as to understand how the Jews and the Christians were forced to compensate for the loss of trade of the Muslims:
Surah 9:28-29: “O ye who believe! Truly the Pagans are unclean; so let them not, after this year of theirs, approach the Sacred Mosque. And if you fear poverty, soon will Allah enrich you, if He wills, out of His bounty, for Allah is All-knowing, All-wise. Fight those who believe not in Allah nor the Last Day, nor hold that forbidden which hath been forbidden by Allah and His Messenger, nor acknowledge the religion of Truth, even if they are of the People of the Book, until they pay the Jizya with willing submission and feel themselves subdued.” (Yusuf Ali)
Just like a common criminal, Allah is willing to murder for money (bounty and extortion) The Tafsir (Commentary) by the renowned Muslim scholar, Ibn Kathir, provides the historical context for the purpose of revealing Surah 9:28-29.
Ibn Kathir, “The Battles of the Prophet,” pp. 183-4:
“Allah, Most High, ordered the believers to prohibit the disbelievers from entering or coming near the sacred Mosque. On that, Quraish thought that this would reduce their profits from trade. Therefore, Allah, Most High, compensated them and ordered them to fight the people of the Book until they embrace Islam or pay the Jizyah.
Allah says, “O ye who believe! Truly the pagans are unclean; so let them not, after this year of theirs, approach the sacred Mosque. And if ye fear poverty, soon will Allah enrich you, if He wills, out of His bounty, for Allah is All-Knowing, All-Wise. Fight those who believe not in Allah nor the Last Day, nor hold that forbidden which hath been forbidden by Allah and His Messenger, nor acknowledge the religion of Truth, from among the People of the Book, until they pay the Jizyah with willing submission, and feel themselves subdued.” (Surah 9:28-29)
Therefore, the Messenger of Allah decided to fight the Romans in order to call them to Islam.” (End of Quote)
As we have learned, the Messenger of Allah waged warfare against the Jews and the Christians not because they were attacking or planning to attack the Muslims but simply because of Allah’s commandment in Surah 9:29. Muslims are clearly authorized to wage unilateral wars against the Jews and the Christians. It was Allah’s easy solution to reimburse the Muslims. Christians who refused to convert to Islam have to pay a hefty sum as compensation for their lives. And this is not a one-off thing. The monetary compensation has to be paid on a regular basis as long as they live under the Muslim yoke. Hence, the only reason the Christians were not killed is because the Muslims needed a steady flow of cash to make up for the loss of their income. Dead Christians cannot be extorted on a regular basis. And Allah knew that. Therefore, it would be a lie to conclude that Allah was more merciful towards the Christians as Muslim apologists deceitfully claim.
This form of protection money that Allah shamelessly extorts from the Christians is known as the “Jizya” in Islam. Christians who fail to pay the “Jizya” will be put to death. Allah knew that most Christians would rather pay than convert to Islam. Thus, like a common gangster, Allah enriched the Muslims through extortion.
#Make_No_Mistake: Allah is an extortioner.
■ THE BIBLICAL STANDARD FOR TREATING FOREIGNERS
Compare the wicked attitude of Allah with the compassion of Yahweh. See how the laws that Yahweh gave to the ancient nation of Israel demonstrate his loving concern even for the foreigners who were living in their midst. The Israelites were commanded to love these foreigners as themselves. Instead of extorting, they were commanded to provide for the needs of these strangers. Please read the following verses carefully:
Deuteronomy 10:17-19: “For the Lord your God is the God of gods and Lord of Lords, the great, mighty, and awesome God, showing no partiality and taking no bribe. [18] He executes justice for the fatherless and the widow, and loves the foreigner, giving him food and clothing. [19] You also must love the foreigner, since you were foreigners in the land of Egypt.” (HCSB)
Leviticus 19:9-10: “When you reap the harvest of your land, you are not to reap to the very edge of your field or gather the gleanings of your harvest. [10] You must not strip your vineyard bare or gather its fallen grapes. Leave them for the poor and the foreign resident; I am Yahweh your God.” (HCSB)
Leviticus 19:33-34: “When a foreigner lives with you in your land, you must not oppress him. [34] You must regard the foreigner who lives with you as the native-born among you. You are to love him as yourself, for you were foreigners in the land of Egypt; I am Yahweh your God.” (HCSB)
Unlike Allah, Yahweh does not command his worshippers to extort for their livelihood. Instead, he commanded them to love the foreigners even to the extent of providing for them. These are the hallmarks of a true Creator. It is obvious that Islam cannot be the religion of the true God. Islam’s origin began on the foundation of violence. Yes, the reason Muslims kill with an untroubled conscience is because they reflect the same murderous spirit as the deity they worship. If you think Islamic terrorism is a new phenomenon, think again. The success of Islam came through terrorism. We are not the ones saying this. The prophet of Islam himself boastfully admitted to this fact.
Sahih Bukhari Volume 4, Book 52, Number 220:
“I have been made victorious with terror.”
■ LOVE YOUR ENEMIES
Terror was Muhammad’s weapon of choice. In opposition to the murderous spirit of Islam, Christians are commanded to love their enemies:
Matthew 5:44-45: “But I tell you, love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, [45] so that you may be sons of your Father in heaven. For He causes His sun to rise on the evil and the good, and sends rain on the righteous and the unrighteous.” (HCSB)
This is some of the most profound teaching in the entire Bible. Jesus taught His followers to love their enemies. He taught them that by loving their enemies, Christians will be imitating the loving nature of their heavenly Father. In contrast, Allah made a bargain with the Muslims. He commanded Muslims to murder their enemies and promised them Paradise if they “slay and are slain” for his cause. To entice Muslims to kill, Allah also assured them that their past sins will be forgiven and they will be delivered from the “grievous suffering” of “Hell-fire.” The only definite way for a Muslim to gain salvation is through murder:
Surah 9:111: “Allah hath purchased of the believers their persons and their goods; for theirs in return is the garden of Paradise: they fight in His cause, and slay and are slain: a promise binding on Him in truth, through the Law, the Gospel, and the Qur’an: and who is more faithful to his covenant than Allah? Then rejoice in the bargain which ye have concluded: that is the achievement supreme.” (Yusuf Ali)
Surah 61:10-13: “O you who have attained to faith! Shall I point out to you a bargain that will save you from grievous suffering? You are to believe in God and His Apostle, and to strive hard in God’s cause with your possessions and your lives: this is for your own good – if you but knew it! He will forgive you your sins, and will admit you into gardens through which running waters flow, and into goodly mansions in gardens of perpetual bliss: that will be the Supreme Triumph! And [withal, He will grant you] yet another thing that you dearly love: succor from God and a victory soon to come.” (Muhammad Asad)
According to Islamic theology, all Muslims will descend into the “Islamic-Hell” immediately upon their death. (Surah 19:70-72) And they will remain there until the Day of Resurrection. Thus, Allah made a bargain with the Muslims. Allah told them if they die fighting for his cause, he will save them from the “grievous suffering” of Hell-fire. In other words, they will be spared from the fires of the “Islamic-Hell” which all Muslims are destined to suffer until their deliverance on the Day of Resurrection. Paradise will be instant for the murdering martyrs.
Until today, Muslim suicide-killers are motivated by this murderous bargain of Allah. Allah’s bargain is still in force in the Quran. And the assurance of Paradise for those who die murdering in the name of Allah is still the standing order in the Book of Hate. The shortest route to the Islamic Paradise is through the sword:
Sahih Bukhari, Volume 4, Book 52, Number 73:
“Narrated ‘Abdullah bin Abi Aufa: Allah’s Apostle said, “Know that Paradise is under the shades of swords.”
■ THE QURAN’S MURDEROUS RITE OF PASSAGE
If you have read this far and still believe that the Quran promotes peace, please let the following Quranic verse sink in:
Surah 8:67: “It is not for any Prophet to have captives until he hath made slaughter in the land.” (Pickthall)
Ibn Ishaq, who was one of the earliest biographers of Muhammad, clarified the meaning behind the chilling words of Allah in the above Quran verse.
Ibn Ishaq: 327: “Allah said, “A prophet must slaughter before collecting captives. A slaughtered enemy is driven from the land. Muhammad, you craved the desires of this world, its goods and the ransom captives would bring. But Allah desires killing them to manifest the religion.”
“Allah desires killing to manifest the religion.” Do we need to say more? Muslim terrorists are passionately satisfying the sadistic desires of Allah. Even though mankind have long transcended the primitive age of barbarism, we still find acts of barbarism in Islam. Muslim terrorists execute hundreds of their captives by beheading them without mercy. It seems to be their favorite form of execution. Are their acts of beheading a misrepresentation of Islam? Is it un-Islamic? To the contrary, the cruel practice of beheading is sanctioned by Allah in the Quran. And the ritual beheading of the enemies has a long precedent in the history and theology of Islam.
Surah 8:12: “When your Lord revealed to the angels: I am with you, therefore make firm those who believe. I will cast terror into the hearts of those who disbelieve. Therefore strike off their heads and strike off every fingertip of them.” (Shakir)
Surah 47:4: “When you encounter the unbelievers, strike off their heads, until you have made a great slaughter among them.” (Sale)
Compare the teaching of Allah in the Quran with the teaching of Yahweh in the Bible:
1 John 3:10-12: “This is how God’s children — and the Devil’s children — are made evident. Whoever does not do what is right is not of God, especially the one who does not love his brother. [11] For this is the message you have heard from the beginning: We should love one another, [12] unlike Cain, who was of the evil one and murdered his brother. And why did he murder him? Because his works were evil, and his brother’s were righteous.” (HCSB)
John 8:44: “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.” (HCSB)
■ WIFE BEATING THE ISLAMIC NORM
What is absolutely important for readers to understand is the fact that violence is an integral part Islam. In Islam, violence is fostered at the very place where love should reign supreme. It begins within the family unit of the Muslims. Shamelessly, Allah authorizes wife-beating in the Quran. While wife-beating is considered a serious problem by civilized societies, the opposite is true in Islam. In Islam, it is considered as a solution, a process to administer “discipline” in matrimonial disputes. Since wife-beating is divinely ordained and justified in the Quran, Muslims cannot see it as a problem. They simply cannot see it as an act of gross violence against and violation of human sanctity:
Surah 4:34: “Men are the maintainers of women because Allah has made some of them to excel others and because they spend out of their property; the good women are therefore obedient, guarding the unseen as Allah has guarded; and as to those on whose part you fear desertion, admonish them, and leave them alone in the sleeping-places and beat them; then if they obey you, do not seek a way against them; surely Allah is High, Great.” (Shakir)
In contrast, Christian husbands are given the following commandment in the Bible:
Ephesians 5:25-30: “Husbands, love your wives, just as Christ loved the church and gave Himself for her [26] to make her holy, cleansing her with the washing of water by the word. [27] He did this to present the church to Himself in splendor, without spot or wrinkle or anything like that, but holy and blameless. [28] In the same way, husbands are to love their wives as their own bodies. He who loves his wife loves himself. [29] For no one ever hates his own flesh but provides and cares for it, just as Christ does for the church, [30] since we are members of His body.” (HCSB)
The Bible does not authorize a Christian husband to beat his wife. Just as he will not entertain self harm or hurt himself, a Christian husband does not have the authority to hurt his wife. This is the kind of love that is required in a Christian marriage. This is the kind of love that a Christian husband is commanded to demonstrate towards his wife. Wife-beating is not an option in Christianity. It is forbidden. The laws of Yaweh are the laws of a loving Creator. The kind of love that is commanded to be demonstrated within the institution of a Christian marriage is too profound for Islam to understand.
Colossians 3:19: “Husbands, love your wives and don’t be bitter toward them.” (HCSB)
If it is even forbidden for a Christian husband to be bitterly angry with his wife, would he then be permitted to beat her? We can go on citing many more examples to show the contrast between the teachings of the Bible and the Quran. But we believe the above references are sufficient to help you to arrive at the right conclusion. Jesus Christ stated a vital principle in the Bible:
Matthew 7:16-18: “You’ll recognize them by their fruit. Are grapes gathered from thornbushes or figs from thistles? [17] In the same way, every good tree produces good fruit, but a bad tree produces bad fruit. [18] A good tree can’t produce bad fruit; neither can a bad tree produce good fruit.” (HCSB)
■ CONCLUSIONS
Accordingly, we can determine the true nature of Islam by observing its fruitage – by observing the kind of people it produces. We need to focus primarily on those who strictly follow the teachings of Allah in the Quran. And the fruits of Islam are violently evil. All the Islamic terror groups around the world have but one common denominator. They are all fruits of the same tree. And that tree is Islam. Moreover, Jesus taught his followers to live by the Golden Rule:
Matthew 7:12: “Therefore, whatever you want others to do for you, do also the same for them — this is the Law and the Prophets.” (HCSB)
In contrast, the Quran states:
Surah 48:29: “Muhammad is the messenger of Allah. And those with him are hard against the disbelievers and merciful among themselves.” (Pickthall)
The entire Quran is a violation of the Matthew 7:12 Golden Rule. Islam calls upon Muslims to do evil to others simply because they are not Muslims. The Quran has turned men into cold-blooded murderers, rapists, bandits, and terrorists. Muslims commit the most evil crimes with an untroubled conscience because these violent criminal acts are sanctioned in the Quran. The inspiration to murder comes directly from the teachings of Allah in the Quran. Islam is a culture of death and destruction. Just look at the evidence.
Look around at all the acts of violence committed by Muslims in the name of Allah inspired by the Quran and the plethora of terror groups it spawns: ISIS, Boko Haram, Al Qaeda, its affiliate group Al-Nusra Front, the Taliban, Hamas, Hezbollah, the Sunni Hezbollah in Turkey (unrelated to the Shia Hezbollah in Lebanon); the Salafist Islamic Group Ansar Al-Iskam in Iraq and Syria, Al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb (AQIM), Armed Islamic Group of Algeria (GIA), Somali group l-Itihad al-Islami (AIAI), the Somali based Wahhabi Al Shabbab group, Jamaat-ul-Mujahideen and Ansarullah Bangla, both in Bangladesh; Lashkar-e-Taiba, Jaish-e-Mohammed, Al Badr & Hizbul Mujahideen are militant groups seeking accession of Kashmir to Pakistan from India, the National Thowheeth Jama’ath in Sri Lanka, which carried out the 2019 Easter bombings and openly acknowledged Zakir Naik as their inspiration; the Abu Sayyaf Group in the Philippines. This is by no means an exhaustive list.
April 2018, the EU anti-terror coordinator estimated there to be 50,000 radicalized Muslims living in Europe.
Does not this teach you something about this religion? Islam is making headlines for all the wrong reasons. Do not be misled by the deception of the Muslims when the truth about Islam is crying out on the streets.
Muslim challenge arising:
A proof of the Islamic position can be shown by issuing the following simple challenge to Muslims:
1). Produce a single verse from the Quran that preaches Allah’s love for unbelievers, which Muslims are to practice.
2). Produce a single verse from the New Testament that preaches hate for, or violence towards, unbelievers or any ethnic minority.
Another proof is to compare the behaviour and lifestyle of Muhammad as held up as “model behaviour” by Islam with the pacifism of Jesus and Christian scripture. Remember it is the attitude of the founders of faith and their Scriptures that is the ultimate test of comparison.
An all loving God and hell
By Aalstair Tucker
QURAN AND BIBLE CONTRASTS (REVISITED): HOW CAN AN ALL LOVING GOD SEND PEOPLE TO HELL?
1). INTRODUCTION
# PROPOSITION: ALLAH PREDESTINES MEN FOR HELL; YHWH WILLS ALL TO BE SAVED.
When the Quran and Bible are compared so many doctrinal differences, anomalies and contradictions are evident that it’s obvious they cannot be from the same source. Nowhere is this more evident than in how the WILL of God is portrayed towards their creature men and women.
On the one hand 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. Without atonement nor can he exercise mercy except at the expense of justice.
On the other hand, the Biblical 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. The following references show 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.
(My caps for emphasis)
□ THE QURAN
“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)
“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 BIBLE
“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? And if he finds it, I assure you: He rejoices over that sheep more than over the 99 that did not go astray. In the same way, IT IS NOT THE WILL OF YOUR FATHER IN HEAVEN THAT ONE OF THESE LITTLE ONES PERISH.” (Matthew 18:11-14 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)
“[1]. I exhort therefore, that, first of all, supplications, prayers, intercessions, and giving of thanks be made for all men; [2]. For kings, and for all that are in authority; that we may lead a quiet and peaceable life in all godliness and honesty. [3]. For this is good and acceptable in the sight of God our Saviour; [4]. WHO WILL HAVE [NKJV – “DESIRES”; HCSB – “WANTS”] ALL MEN TO BE SAVED, and to come unto the knowledge of the truth. [5]. For there is one God, and one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus; [6]. Who gave himself a ransom FOR ALL, to be testified in due time.” (1 Timothy 2:1-6 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)
2). DISCUSSION
The background to this post is a debate on my assertion on another thread under this Post
m.facebook.com/story.php?story_fbid=10158813519528275&id=726018274
that
(i). God in the Bible is love and His love is unconditional – in contrast to the Islamic god whose love is contingent, conditional and only reciprocating (he does not initiate love).
and
(ii). That God desires that NONE shall perish, where Allah boasts that he makes people to fill hell.
A Muslim has no problem admitting:
“Of course it is unconditional love – it’s not dependent on whether the object of your affection loves you back. Unconditional means I love you with no “ifs, ands or buts.”
It’s a promising start because such a definition is not how Islam’s god expresses love. In Islamic doctrine God only loves those who first love and obey him. His love is conditional, it’s reciprocating and it’s partial. But the bigger problem comes when the Muslim is faced with the consequences of his freely made decision to respond. (As if he/she cannot cope with exercise of free will). A Muslim will dispute the concept as follows:
“because you are saying rejecting the gift [of eternal life through the cross of Jesus] has negative consequences and that’s not unconditional love, that’s blackmail and coercion. To be unconditional love literally means you can accept or reject it without consequences – not “if you reject the gift you are going to a horrible place.”
The problem here with this objection is its stopped being a free gift, something freely given and freely accepted. Because it demands acceptance it’s now an imposition, involving coercion. It’s immediately removed the right of the individual to accept or reject it. God would have to override His making mankind as free moral agents and He would be violating His sovereign justice by such an imposition.
A good place to get to the heart of the philosophical issues as to “how can an all loving God send people to an eternal hell of torture” is this debate between Dr William Lane Craig (WLC) and the atheist Dr Ray Bradley to be found here on the Reasonable Faith website. I urge all readers and apologists of whatever persuasion to read it.
www.reasonablefaith.org/media/debates/can-a-loving-god-send-people-to-hell-the-craig-bradley-debate/
WLC in his conclusions hits the nail on the head when he says:
“This problem of the doctrine of hell isn’t really for most people an intellectual problem at all. And I think that in many of the comments Dr. Bradley just made in that last speech we saw that. It’s an emotional problem. And I think that this is easily proven. How many people do you know who reject God or Christianity because of the question: “How could an all-holy and just God send people to heaven?” As a purely intellectual problem that is every bit as difficult as how an all-loving God could send people to hell. But how many people reject God or Christ because they just can’t figure out how an all-holy, all-just God could permit people to go to heaven? Nobody, right?
I think this shows that the problem is primarily emotional, not intellectual. People just don’t like the idea of a God who might send them to hell, and so they choose not to believe in Him. But that kind of attitude is just suicidal. Imagine you’re standing in the middle of the street, and suddenly a friend on the curb says, “Look out! Here comes a car!” Now what do you do? Do you stand there and close your eyes real tight and say, “anybody who would run over me can’t be a very nice person! If I don’t believe in him, then it won’t affect me! I just won’t believe that he exists!” And then it is too late. A lot of people look at God that way. They think that just because they don’t like the idea of God sending them to hell, if they close their eyes real tight and pretend that He doesn’t exist, then it doesn’t affect them. And that kind of attitude is just fatal.”
What bothers Muslims is they want to have their cake and eat it. More than that they all want to “play God”. They accuse and deny God of being able to become incarnate, and that’s just the tip of the iceberg. All Muslims boast of wanting to be able to freely reject the “door of Christ” to heaven and find the door of his own self righteousness. They forget or deny the reason why Christ is the only door in the first place. That an all loving and holy God of perfect justice, who cannot compromise His own nature, NECESSARILY must admit only those washed clean in His sight, whose sins have been paid for and God’s wrath and justice satisfied. Hence why the doctrine of atonement (totally absent in the Quran), is an ever present theme throughout the Bible. As WLC said, God’s perfect justice, His being all loving AND HIS wrath against sin came together and collided on the cross. Christ vanquished sin death and eternal separation from God. In essence LOVE CONQUERED DEATH.
That #FACT alone demolishes the intellectual basis to reject the proposition of an all loving God and eternal hell for those who reject Him, as being mutually incompatible propositions.
Another answer WLC gives in the Q&A session is on point:
“God does it for the greater good, which is to achieve this multitude of persons who come to know and experience His love and forgiveness. And what I’m saying is the fact that some people freely would choose to reject it shouldn’t be allowed to blackmail God into not being free to create a world. They shouldn’t have a veto power over what God wants to do, so long as God gives them sufficient grace to be saved as well. Their loss is the result of their own free will.”
He elaborates in another answer:
“[The theological issue is] whether a divine pardon must be accepted in order to be efficacious. Given my commitment to human freedom of the will, I think that it must. Obviously, God is not constrained by some higher law, but He is constrained by human freedom. Theologians have differed on whether God’s grace is intrinsically efficacious and so irresistible by Him upon whom it is bestowed or whether grace is extrinsically efficacious and so requires the free consent of the creaturely will in order to produce its effect. I take the latter view. God treats us as significant moral agents who make free moral choices. He would violate His own essential justice if He forced a pardon upon us.
By contrast, on the Muslim view God’s omnipotence trumps God’s justice. He can treat human beings, not as significant moral agents whose choices He respects, but as mere puppets to be manipulated by Him, and who’s destiny is predetermined by him. Here again we see the theological superiority of the Christian conception of God to the Muslim understanding.”
Because it is Christ the sinless and not we the sinner who has discharged the sentence for our sins, our redemption is not accomplished unless and until we freely receive God’s pardon. It requires of us repentance, (recognising our need for a pardon which we are powerless to earn for ourselves), and then receiving it. In contrast to the criminal who has been pardoned after fully serving his sentence, we remain in our state of judicial condemnation until we accept the pardon offered us by God. If anyone refuses the pardon offered by God, then Christ’s sacrifice avails him nothing, for he has rejected the satisfaction of God’s justice wrought by Christ. Thus, “those who receive the abundance of grace and the free gift of righteousness will reign in life through the one man Jesus Christ” (Romans 5.17).
A Muslim trying to argue that, by not accepting His gift of eternal life means the consequence of eternal hell is effectively “blackmail” and “coercion” in other words “you are free to choose to accept my gift but woe to you if you refuse it”, is effectively refuted by turning the argument around and correctly labelling the detractors as the blackmailers. Why should my acceptance of what a loving God chose to do for me be denied to me because some very selfish people chose not to accept it? Worse still they then have the nerve to complain at the unfair punishment they have brought upon themselves! How can they attack God after what He did to send Jesus to die the death we deserve? Yet that is effectively what all Muslims are trying to do 24/7. They mock and sneer and make excuses and pretend a God of justice can simply forgive without retribution. Muslims make God into an appeaser where there is no retribution or consequences for sin and where mercy can be exercised without any regard for justice. In other words they are recasting God in their image and that is idolatry.
3). CONCLUSIONS
No case has been shown that an all loving God and the doctrine of hell are mutually exclusive, contradictory or incompatible. God foreknew who would choose to accept His gift of eternal life and who would reject it but He desires that none shall perish (unlike the God of Islam who made men to fill hell). God in His infinite wisdom elected to make this world anyway because Jesus was always central to God’s purposes to be our salvation from eternity. (1 Peter 1:18-20; Revelation 13:8)
God knew about Satan and He made the world anyway. He made provision for Satan’s defeat and the termination of his tenure and demise are imminent. Love conquered death on the cross. Satan is defeated. Sadly many people have been blinded by him and don’t recognise his defeat, using another emotional response as an excuse that is the evil and suffering in the world.
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.
The bottom line is that 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 (and that means it’s not for us to concern ourselves with who goes to hell which is none of our business). Leave that to God knowing His justice is PERFECT. Amen.
God’s wrath is the obverse, converse, or 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.
The bottom line is that God loves righteousness because righteousness is the very essence of God. We can NEVER attain that for ourselves.
Don’t be surprised therefore when you discover that having spurned His unconditional love to redeem you at such a heavy price you become the object of His divine wrath.
The worst words anyone can ever hear are these of Jesus who is our Lord and Judge: “away from me I never knew you” for the righteous judgment of a wrathful God is all they have left to receive, and is all they can have any right to expect.
Horus
For Horus, there’s no mention at all of twelve disciples, three king visitations, and death by crucifixion and the three day entombment. In fact, Horus was stung by a scorpion and a magic incantation by the god of wisdom, Thoth, purges the venom from his body. This all happens while Horus was a young child, well before his adulthood and battle for the throne. It’s nothing like Jesus’s resurrection at all.
There’s a significant difference between Jesus’s resurrection and what you read in the ancient myths. Osirus, according to a late tradition recorded in the first century AD by the Roman Plutarch, was cut into fourteen pieces by his nemesis Typhon and they were scattered all along the Nile. Osirus’s wife Isis was able to gather thirteen of those to reassemble her husband. The tale tells us that unfortunately Osirus’s sexual organ was eaten by fish and so Isis assembled another out of gold in order for Osirus to impregnate her with Horus. Osirus, since he will never be a complete being again, now resides as the god of the underworld.
Certainly, given the events above, calling Horus’s conception a virgin birth strains the idea to its breaking point. Other fables, such as Zeus impregnating Semele with Dionysus. He had physical relations with her even though she couldn’t see him. Zeus took Dionysus adds a fetus and sewed him into his thigh and from there Dionysus was born. To say the virgin birth stories should be considered comparable is itself laughable.
Lastly, the claims of December 25th are completely erroneous. Many myths don’t specify any date at all for the birth of the deities (again, read the originals!) For Horus, Plutarch tells us he was born “about the time of the winter solstice… imperfect and premature.”5 Beside the fact that Plutarch mixed many Greek ideas with the Egyptian myths, it is a huge stretch to assume an exact date for Horus’s birth. Taking Plutarch’s account, the term “about the time of the winter solstice” can be a swing of weeks in either direction. But if the Egyptians wanted to be more precise and attach Horus with the solstice, then his birthday would be the 21/22 of December in the modern calendar, not the 25th. As I’ve explained before, Jesus’s actual birth is not known, and celebrating Christmas on December 25 has nothing to do with the winter solstice whatsoever.
The Archeological Evidence against Islam – Shaking the Strongholds
The Qur’an is facing a blistering attack from contemporary scholarship. The mounting archaeological case against Islam.Muslims are adamant in asserting that the Qur’an is the final true word of God. However the historical reliability of Islam has been challenged by contemporary scholarship. Manuscript, documentary and archaeological evidence all fail to confirm the claims of Islam. In the last issue (Isa Masih no. 6, p8-9) we exposed the gaps in qur’anic manuscript evidence, and revealed apocryphal sources for much of the Qur’an’s borrowed mythology. Here, we explore the mounting case against Islam from external documentary sources and modern archaeology.
Non-Muslim Sources
The Jews
The Qur’an implies that Muhammad severed his relationship with the Jews in 624 AD, soon after the Hijra (migration to Mecca). At that time the direction of prayer, the Qibla, was moved from Jerusalem to Mecca (Sura 2:144, 149-150).
However, non-Muslim sources, the Doctrina Iacobi and the Armenian Chronicle of 660 AD, maintain the Arabs and the Jews were allies as late as 640 AD, during the conquest of Palestine. Muhammad established a community of Ishmaelites and Jews based on their common birthright to the Holy Land. This relationship endured at least 15 years beyond the qur’anic date.
Mecca
According to the Qur’an, Mecca was the first and most important city in the world. Adam placed the black stone in the original Ka’ba (sanctuary) there, while Abraham and Ishmael rebuilt the Meccan Ka’ba centuries later (Sura 2:125-127). Mecca was allegedly the centre of Arabian trading routes before Muhammad’s time.
Yet there is no archeological corroboration for this. Such a great ancient city would surely have received a mention in ancient history. However, the earliest reference to Mecca as a city is in the Continuato Byzantia Arabica, an 8th century document. Mecca is certainly not on the natural overland trade routes- it is a barren valley requiring a one hundred mile detour. Moreover, there was only maritime Graeco-Roman trade with India after the first century, controlled by the Ethiopian Red Sea port Adulis, not by the Arabs. If Mecca was not even a viable city, let alone a great commercial centre until after Muhammad’s time, the Qur’an is seriously in doubt.
Archaeology
Qibla
According to the Qur’an, the direction of prayer (Qibla) was canonized towards Mecca for all Muslims circa 624 AD, two years after the Hijra (see Sura 2:144, 149-50). Yet the earliest archaeological evidence from mosques built at the beginning of the 8th century suggests their sanctuary was located a long way north of Mecca, closer to the vicinity of Jerusalem.
The Qibla of the first mosque in Kufa, Iraq, constructed in 670 AD, pointed west instead of due south. Likewise, floor plans from two later Umayyad (650-750 AD) mosques in Iraq, demonstrate their Qiblas were oriented too far north. The Wasit mosque is off by 33 degrees, the Baghdad mosque by 30 degrees. The ‘Amr b. al ‘As mosque near Cairo, again pointed too far north and had to be corrected under a later governor.
Jacob of Odessa, a Christian writer and traveller, was a contemporary eye-witness writing in Egypt around 705 AD. His letter in the British Museum maintains the ‘Mahgraye’ (Greek term for Arabs) in Egypt prayed facing east, towards their Ka’ba, the place of their patriarchal origin- in other words towards Palestine, not Mecca.
Thus the evidence points to a sanctuary located not in Mecca, but in northern Arabia or even Jerusalem, until the early 8th century. It cannot be that the early Muslims wrongly estimated the direction of Mecca. They were desert traders and caravaners, adept at travelling by the stars. How else did they perform the obligatory Hajj, which was also canonized at this time? There is a serious discrepancy between the Qur’an and modern archaeology. Crucially, Walid I, who reigned as Caliph between 705 and 715, wrote to all the regions ordering the demolition and enlargement of all mosques. Could it be the Qibla only then shifted to Mecca?
Dome of the Rock
A possible answer as to why early mosques face towards Palestine is found in Jerusalem
In the city centre lies the ‘Dome of the Rock’, an imposing structure built by ‘Abd al-Malik in 691 AD. It is considered the third holiest site in Islam, after Mecca and Medina. It seems to have been intended as a sanctuary rather than a mosque, as there is no Qibla and its octagonal design indicates it was used for circumambulation. Muslims believe it commemorates the Mi’raj, the night Muhammad went up into heaven to speak to Allah and Moses regarding the number of prayers required of believers.
Yet the inscriptions on the walls of the building say nothing of the Mi’raj but are polemical qur’anic quotations, aimed primarily at Christians. Perhaps this imposing building was built instead as the early sanctuary of Islam, before the adoption of Mecca. This is logical given Muhammad’s intention to reclaim the land of his birthright.
Certainly Muslim tradition suggests the Dome of the Rock may have been the early religious centre for Islam. The caliph Suleyman, who reigned up to 717 AD, went to Mecca to ask about the Hajj. He was not satisfied with the reply, and chose instead to follow ‘Abd al-Malik, travelling to the Dome of the Rock.
Could it be that the Qiblas of the early mosques were aligned to the Dome of the Rock until the edict of Walid I in the early 8th century?
Nevo’s inscriptions
The late Yehuda Nevo from Jerusalem University extensively surveyed Arabic rock inscriptions, scattered over the Negev and Syro-Jordanian deserts. His research gives a useful picture of the historical Muhammad from contemporary non-Muslim sources.
In the Arab religious texts from the earliest Sufyani period (661-684 AD) there is a monotheistic creed but a complete absence of any reference to Muhammad. His name is only found on Arab inscriptions after 690 AD. The formula Muhammad rasul Allah (Muhammad is God’s prophet) occurs first on an Arab-Sassanian coin from 690 AD, struck in Damascus. More importantly, the first appearance of the Triple Confession of Faith including the Tawhid (God is one), Muhammad rasul Allah (Muhammad is his prophet) and rasul Allah wa-’abduhu (the human nature of Jesus) is in ‘Abd al-Malik’s inscription at the Dome of the Rock, dated 691 AD. Before this the Muslim confession of faith cannot be substantiated.
Hence, for a full 60 years after the death of Muhammad, the official Arab religious confession did not include Muhammad in its set formulae. Instead it revealed a monotheistic belief, developing Judaeo-Christian concepts in a particular literary style. When the Muhammadan creed is introduced, during the Marwanid period (after 684 AD) it appears almost overnight as the only form of official religious declaration in formal documents. It seems that Muhammad’s elevation to the status of universal prophet did not occur until the late 7th century, long after his death.
The Qur’an
Evidently the Qur’an underwent a transformation during the 100 years following the Prophet’s death. Recognisable qur’anic writings appear on coins and on the Dome of the Rock during the reign of ‘Abd al-Malik from 685 AD, but they differ from the official qur’anic text today. The Qur’an cannot then have been canonized during Muhammad’s lifetime, but must have undergone a process of evolution. Indeed the earliest reference to a book called the Qur’an from outside Islamic literature does not occur until the mid-8th century
It has been suggested that the Qur’an may have been compiled by editing materials from a plurality of traditions. The governor Hajjaj of Iraq is said to have collected all the old Hagarene writings, circa 705 AD, replaced them with others according to his taste, and spread them throughout the nation. It is possible the evolution of the Qur’an began at this time, to be canonized later.
Conclusion
Much of what the Qur’an maintains is at odds with historical data from the 7th-8th centuries. Specifically:
- The Jews retained a relationship with the Arabs until at least AD 640, not 624 AD
- Mecca was not the first and most important city in the world; it was unknown until the end of the 7th century and was not even on the international trade route
- The Qibla (direction of prayer) was not fixed towards Mecca until the 8th century but to an area further north, possibly Jerusalem
- The Dome of the Rock in Jerusalem was possibly the original sanctuary
- Muhammad was not known as the Seal of the Prophets until the late 7th century; the creeds from Muhammad’s time contain a monotheistic religion but no Muhammadan formulae
- The earliest we even hear of the Qur’an is not until the mid-8th century
- The earliest qur’anic writings on coins and on the Dome of the Rock do not coincide with the current qur’anic text
This suggests the Qur’an we now read is not the same as that which was supposedly collated and canonized in 650 AD by Uthman. The earliest qur’anic manuscripts in our possession today (dating from 790 AD) would appear to reflect an evolution in the qur’anic text. This challenges the Muslim contention that the Qur’an contains the original and exact revelation of Allah, as recited by Muhammad and hence strikes at the very heart of the Islamic faith. The Qur’an has in the past been protected by a kind of doctrinal embargo- but can Muslims ignore the mounting tide of evidence to the contrary?
He hath blinded their eyes
John 12:40 He hath blinded their eyes, and hardened their heart; that they should not see with their eyes, nor understand with their heart, and be converted, and I should heal them.
2 Corinthians 4:4 In whom the god of this world hath blinded the minds of them which believe not, lest the light of the glorious gospel of Christ, who is the image of God, should shine unto them.”
1 Corinthians 1:18
For the message of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God