Islam and Truth

Facts become myths, and myths become facts

Islam accepts fictions as fact and rejects facts as fiction.

1. Allah is claimed to have made Jews into pigs.

" And ye know of those of you who broke the Sabbath, how We said unto them: Be ye apes, despised and hated!" (2:65)

What kind of evidence is given for this? None! There is nothing like this in the Bible which gives an accurate picture of the disobedience as well as obedience of the Jewish people in ancient times.

Yahweh did judge the sins of the people in a way that they would know and remember that judgement as expressed in Jeremiah, Isaiah, Ezekiel, and others. God made man in his image and even in judgement they were still humans, not pigs. The vendetta against the Jews by Muhammad and later Muslims was born of hatred rather than a revelation from Yahweh.

It is possible to think of A lying, but not Yahweh.

2. One cannot be sure about what Allah has said since he can change his mind capriciously whenever the occasion demands it. Allah is not reliable in his word.

" Nothing of our revelation (even a single verse) do we abrogate or cause be forgotten, but we bring (in place) one better or the like thereof. Knowest thou not that Allah is able to do all things?" (2:106)

3. The Qur’an claims that Abraham and Ishmael prayed at Mecca at the Kabah (2:125). There are lots of reasons why this verse is false. First, what we know about Abraham historically is found in the Bible. Written many centuries before Muhammad, there is no reason to suppose anyone had an ax to grind against Islam. In light of this there is nothing in the Bible to suggest that Abraham and Ishmael were in Mecca. There is nothing in the Genesis story to imply they ever were in Mecca together (with Ismael). Second, there are lots of myths about Abraham and we shall see some of them recorded in the Qur’an as fact, but you can never make a fiction a fact. Nor can a real fact become a fiction even though it is believed to be a fiction.

4. Is the religion of Abraham the same as that of Muhammad and the Qur’an?

" And who forsaketh the religion of Abraham save him who befooleth himself? Verily We chose him in the world, and lo! in the Hereafter he is among the righteous." (2:130).

The translation of Hilali-Khan speaks of this as Islamic Monotheism. What was the religion of Abraham? First, it was the worship of Yahweh who is named (Gen 14:22). Allah is a word for God whose name we do not know. Second, Yahweh appeared to Abraham by the oaks of Mamre (Gen 18:1). Only Gabriel is claimed to have appeared to Muhammad. Third, Yahweh did a miracle for Abraham in promising that Sarah would have a child, Isaac, in her old age. No miracles were done for Muhammad. Fourth, Abraham did not engage in banditry. When he rescued Lot from the captivity of several kings, he refused to take any booty (Gen 14:22-24). On the other hand Muhammad attacked the caravans of the Quraish and planned and executed many campaigns against people for booty, for converts, and for power. Fifth, Abraham committed himself to Yahweh out of response to Yahweh’s goodness. There was no army to convert people to the worship of Yahweh. The strict rules relating to worship later in the nation of Israel were for them only. Abraham lived among polytheistic people and he did not wage jihad against them. Neither did the Israelites later invade countries that Yahweh had not promised to them. Polytheism still existed there. Sixth, the Qur’an claims that Ishmael is to be numbered among the prophets (2:136). There is no indication of such a position in the Old Testament. Claiming it in the Qur’an is done without any evidence.

Another fiction declared to be a fact.

5. The Qur’an is confused between Saul and Gideon (2:249). There is nothing in 1 Sam 17-18 in that is described in this verse of the Qur’an. The real story about the drinking out of the hollow of the hand is found in the story of Gideon in Judges 7:5. What happened in this confusion? Does not Allah remember what took place long ago? Misunderstanding is not permissible in revelation. Fictions do not become facts.

6. The Qur’an is wrong about Zachariah and the birth of John the Baptist ( 3:41). Luke declares concerning the event, on the day that the child was born:

" And they made signs to his father, how he would have him called. And he asked for a writing table, and wrote, saying, His name is John. …. And his mouth was opened immediately, and his tongue loosed, and he spake, and praised God." (Luke 1:62-64).

Zachariah could not speak for the whole 9 months of the pregnancy. Muhammad got it wrong again.

7. The Qur’an dignifies a myth into a fact in the story of JC speaking from his cradle ( 3:45-46). Did this really happen? No. This is a myth that circulated in the apocryphal literature that even Chris did not accept. The original source for this is the Arabic Gospel of the Infancy. It reads:

" We have found it recorded in the book of Josephus the Chief Priest, who was in the time of Christ (and men say that he was Caiaphas), that this man said that Jesus spake when He was in the cradle, and said to Mary His Mother, ‘Verily I am Jesus, the Son of God, the Word which thou hast borne, according as the angel Gabriel gave thee the good news; and My Father hath sent Me for the salvation of the world.’"

While Chris accepted Jesus Christ as the Son of God from the beginning, the idea of his speaking from the cradle is not accepted as historical.

8. Did Jesus Christ make a clay pigeon and give it life by breathing into it? The Qur’an says so ( 3:49). Where did Muhammad come up with these stories? One suggestion is that he learned them from Mary the Copt who was a gift to Muhammad from the Christian governor of Egypt (second chapter of the Gospel of Thomas). See as well (The Original Sources of the Qur'an, by The Rev. W. St. Clair Tisdall, M.A., D.D.)

9. The story of Cain in the Qur’an: after Cain killed his brother Abel, the Qur’an declares:

" Then Allah sent a raven scratching up the ground, to show him how to hide his brother's naked corpse. He said: Woe unto me! Am I not able to be as this raven and so hide my brother's naked corpse? And he became repentant." (5:31)

There is absolutely nothing in the account in Genesis about a raven coming to teach Cain what to do with the body of his slain brother. Where did the raven come from? The legend of the raven came from the Jewish Targum of Joseph in chapter xxi. Mohammed adapted the legend to his own purposes, and passed it off as a revelation from Allah. (Sources, St. Clair Tisdall, chapter 3)

10. Muhammad’s confusion of the vision of Peter and the Lord’s Supper. The Qur’an says:

" Jesus, son of Mary, said: O Allah, Lord of us! Send down for us a table spread with food from heaven, that it may be a feast for us, for the first of us and for the last of us, and a sign from Thee. Give us sustenance, for Thou art the Best of Sustainers. Allah said: Lo! I send it down for you. And whoso disbelieveth of you afterward, him surely will I punish with a punishment wherewith I have not punished any of (My) creatures. And when Allah saith: O Jesus, son of Mary! Didst thou say unto mankind: Take me and my mother for two gods beside Allah? he saith: Be glorified! It was not mine to utter that to which I had no right. If I used to say it, then Thou knewest it. Thou knowest what is in my mind, and I know not what is in Thy Mind. Lo! Thou, only Thou, art the Knower of Things Hidden?" (5:114-116)

The only reference of a table in the words of Jesus Christ are found in Luke 22:30 where Jesus Christ told the disciples that they would eat at his table in the Kingdom of Heaven. The only lowering of anything from heaven is described in Peter’s experience in Acts l0:9-15. Clearly, there is confusion in the Qur’an about these two separate events. This would pose a problem only for the claim that the Qur’an is revealed by Allah.

Surely, Allah knows the difference. Did Muhammad receive it in error? Or, was Allah in error?

There are many more issues that could be cataloged here. Some of the above and many other issues have been dealt with in the sections of Contradictions in the Qur'an and Sources of the Qur'an. You are invited to peruse these links for more detailed information.

We have considered a number of examples in which Islam takes fictions and turned them into facts. Now, we must turn to the opposite situation where Islam takes facts and turned them into fictions or lies. The prime examples of this are seen in two areas: who Jesus is, and what he did.

The first example concerns the view of who Jesus is. The whole of the New Testament declares that Jesus is the eternal Son of God who has become Incarnate. This claim is affirmed from Matthew to Revelation. Jesus Himself claimed equality with God. This is the reason for his condemnation by the Pharisees.

" They said, "Tell us! Are you the Messiah?" Jesus replied, "If I said so, you wouldn't believe me. And if I asked you a question, you wouldn't answer. But from now on, the Son of Man will be seated at the right side of God All-Powerful." Then they asked, "Are you the Son of God?" Jesus answered, "You say I am!" They replied, "Why do we need more witnesses? He said it himself!" (Luke 22:67-71 CEV)

" In the beginning was the one who is called the Word. The Word was with God and was truly God. From the very beginning the Word was with God." (John 1:1-2) ... " The Word became a human being and lived here with us. We saw his true glory, the glory of the only Son of the Father. From him all the kindness and all the truth of God have come down to us. (John 1:14) ..

" No one has ever seen God. The only Son, who is truly God and is closest to the Father, has shown us what God is like." (John 1:18)

For the many references in the New Testament about Jesus as the Son of God as well as the crucifixion and resurrection consult these articles: 1, 2

It is without question that the New Testament books declare Jesus to be the Son of God.

However, the Qur’an takes the facts of the New Testament and turns them into fictions or lies.

"O People of the Scripture! Do not exaggerate in your religion nor utter aught concerning Allah save the truth. The Messiah, Jesus son of Mary, was only a messenger of Allah, and His word which He conveyed unto Mary, and a spirit from Him. So believe in Allah and His messengers, and say not "Three" - Cease! (it is) better for you! - Allah is only One God. Far is it removed from His Transcendent Majesty that He should have a son. His is all that is in the heavens and all that is in the earth. And Allah is sufficient as Defender." (4:171)

" They say: Allah hath taken (unto Him) a son - Glorified be He! He hath no needs! His is all that is in the heavens and all that is in the earth. Ye have no warrant for this. Tell ye concerning Allah that which ye know not?" (10:68) (Pickthall)

Mohammed rejected the Christian understanding of Jesus. Whatever influence the Jews had in this decision we cannot say with certainty. Regardless of the source or influence the first most cardinal truth of Christian faith is regarded as a falsehood, a fiction, a lie.

The second issue is even greater in its denial because there are so many other historical references to it, the crucifixion of Jesus.

" And because of their saying: We slew the Messiah, Jesus son of Mary, Allah's messenger - they slew him not nor crucified him, but it appeared so unto them; and lo! those who disagree concerning it are in doubt thereof; they have no knowledge thereof save pursuit of a conjecture; they slew him not for certain." (4:157)

Mohammed accuses the Jews of having "no knowledge" but they were right and he was wrong. The Gospels affirm that Jesus told his disciples that He would be crucified. As soon as the disciples came to understand that Jesus was the Son of God, he taught them that he would be crucified, die, and be raised in three days.

" From then on, Jesus began telling his disciples what would happen to him. He said, "I must go to Jerusalem. There the nation's leaders, the chief priests, and the teachers of the Law of Moses will make me suffer terribly. I will be killed, but three days later I will rise to life." (Mt. 16:21)

Later Matthew declares, " When the soldiers had finished making fun of Jesus, they took off the robe. They put his own clothes back on him and led him off to be nailed to a cross." (Mt. 27:31)

The early message of the believers on the day of Pentecost was about the crucifixion.

" Now, listen to what I have to say about Jesus from Nazareth. God proved that he sent Jesus to you by having him work miracles, wonders, and signs. All of you know this. God had already planned and decided that Jesus would be handed over to you. So you took him and had evil men put him to death on a cross. But God set him free from death and raised him to life. Death could not hold him in its power." (Acts 2:22-24)

These are records of the crucifixion by Christian eyewitnesses. There are other references to the crucifixion of Jesus that include pagans and Jews as well as Christians.

You can see these here.

We have here again the unusual situation in which Allah is alleged to give a revelation that the crucifixion did not take place. On the other hand, the early Christian message involved the idea that Yahweh had sent Jesus and planned that Jesus would be handed over to be crucified. Who is God? Which one did not know what happened? We are lead to believe that Yahweh knew and Allah or Mohammed didn’t.

This is simply an example, one of many, in which Islam takes fictions and turns them into facts at the same time taking established historical facts and turning them into fictions.

Jesus said, " You will know the truth, and the truth will set you free." (John 8:32)

He also personalized the nature of truth in saying, " I am the way, the truth, and the life!" Jesus answered. "Without me, no one can go to the Father. (John 14:6) The emphatic issue is this:

Do you really want God? There is no other way than through Jesus. I urge you to consider these words and give your commitment to Him. For " God loved the people of this world so much that he gave his only Son, so that everyone who has faith in him will have eternal life and never really die." (John 3:16 CEV) God’s love commands a response from you in love and faith.

Source: http://www.answering-islam.org/Authors/Roark/fact_fiction.htm

IHS