Revealing the God Whom Allah Worships and Prays To!

According to the Quran, Muhammad’s deity prays just like the angels and Muslims do:

They are those on whom are the prayers (salawatun) from their Lord and mercy, and it is they who are the guided-ones. S. 2:157

Those on whom are prayers from their lord and mercy, and those are the guided. (Usama Dakdok. The Generous Qur’an: An accurate, modern English translation of the Qur’an, Islam’s holiest book [Usama Dakdok Publishing, LLC], p. 74; bold and italicized emphasis mine)

He it is who prays (yusallee) for you and His angels too, to bring you forth out of the darkness into the light, for He is merciful to the believers. S. 33:43 Palmer

He is who prays on you and his angels that he may bring you forth out of the darkness into the light, and he was merciful to the believers. (Usama Dakdok, pp. 690-691; bold and italicized emphasis mine)

Verily, God and His angels pray (yusalloona) for the prophet. O ye who believe! pray for him and salute him with a salutation! S. 33:56 Palmer

Surely Allah and his angels pray on the prophet. O you who have believed, pray on him and salute, saluting. (Dakdok, p. 694; bold and italicized emphasis mine)

Islamic tradition also affirms that the Islamic god actually prays:

1387. Abu Umama reported that the Messenger of Allah said, “Allah AND His angels AND the people of the heavens AND the earth, EVEN the ants in their rocks AND the fish, PRAY for blessings on those who teach people good.” [at-Tirmidhi] (Aisha Bewley, Riyad as-Salihin (The Meadows of the Righteous), Book of Knowledge, 241. Chapter: the excellence of knowledge http://bewley.virtualave.net/riyad7.html#ilm; bold and capital emphasis ours)

2685. Abu Umamah al-Bahili narrated: “Two men were mentioned before the Messenger of Allah. One of them a worshipper, and the other a scholar. So the Messenger of Allah said: ‘The superiority of the scholar over the worshipper is like my superiority over the least of you.’ Then the Messenger of Allah said: ‘Indeed ALLAH, His Angels, the inhabitants of the heavens and the earths – even the ant in his hole, even the fish – say Salat upon the one who teaches the people to do good. (Hasan)

[Abu ‘Eisa said:] This Hadith is Hasan Gharib Sahih… (English Translation of Jami‘ At-Tirmidhi, Compiled by Imam Hafiz ‘Eisa Mohammad Ibn ‘Eisa At-Tirmidhi, From Hadith no. 2606 to 3290, translated by Abu Khaliyl (USA), ahadith edited and referenced by Hafiz Abu Tahir Zubair ‘Ali Za’i, final review by Islamic Research Section Darussalam [Darussalam Publishers & Distributors, First Edition: November 2007], Volume 5, Chapter 19. What Has Been Related About the Superiority Of Fiqh Over Worship, p. 80 – listed as number 70 in the ALIM Online version of at-Tirmidhi’s hadith http://www.alim.org/library/hadith/TIR/70; capital and underline emphasis ours)

The people of Israel said to Moses: “Does your Lord pray?” His Lord called him [saying]: “O Moses, they asked you if your Lord prays. Say [to them] ‘Yes, I do pray, and my angels [pray] upon my prophets and my messengers,’” and Allah then sent down on his messenger: “Allah and His angels pray…” (Tafsir Ibn Kathir, Q. 33:56)

Hadith 216:

The Israelites said to Musa: Does your Lord pray? Musa said: Fear Allah, O Sons of Israel! Allah said: O Musa! What did your people say? Musa said: O my Lord, You already know? They said: Does your Lord pray? Allah said: Tell them MY PRAYER for My servants is that My Mercy should precede My Anger. If it were not so, I would have destroyed them. [Ibn ‘Asakir] (Al-Ahadith Al-Qudsiyyah – Divine Narratives, translated by Dr. Abdul Khaliq Kazi & Dr. Alan B. Day, Section 2: Al-Ithafat Al-Saniyya Bi‘l-Ahadith Al-Qudsiyyah by Shaikh Zain al-Din Abdul Ra‘uf b. Taj al-‘Arifin b. ‘Ali b. Zayn al-‘Abidin al-Munawi [Dar Al Kitab Arabi – USA, 1995], pp. 305-306; capital and underline emphasis ours)

The following is taken from the Dalail-al-Khayrat Sharhi of Kara Da’ud, d. 1541:

“Then I beheld a single pearl of emerald green upon which was written this line of writing:

 LA ILAHA ILLALLAH, MUHAMMAD-UR-RASULULLAH,
ABU BAKR AS AS-SIDDIQ WA ‘UMAR AL-FARUQ 

THERE IS NO GOD BUT THE ONE TRUE GOD (AL-LAH);
MUHAMMAD IS THE MESSENGER OF ALLAH.
ABU BAKR – THE TRUTHFUL, AND ‘UMAR – THE ONE WHO DISTINGUISHES TRUTH FROM FALSEHOOD.

“The Declaration of Unity (Kalimat-at-Tawhid) is written on the base THAT SUPPORTS THE DIVINE THRONE, and upon THE LEGS OF THE THRONE ITSELF, and it is written over THE GATES OF THE SEVEN HEAVENS. Sometimes, this phrase was added: ‘I have strengthened him through Ali.’

“When I reached the Divine Throne, I witnessed great events. One drop fell from the Throne into my mouth and the sweetness of it surpassed everything I have ever tasted. When I had swallowed it, the Lord of the Universe enlightened my heart with the knowledge and wisdom of all that had gone before and was yet to come. The light from the Throne surrounded me and I was engulfed by it. I was aware of nothing but that light. When faced with this light, I perceived everything through my heart’s eye as clearly as though I were looking through my eyes. I perceived what was behind me as clearly as that, which was before me, at a level with my chest.

“After all this occurred, I came into a state when I heard absolutely nothing, not the voices of the angels, nor the sound of any other thing. This state caused me to experience great terror. Then I suddenly heard a voice that seemed to be the voice of Abu Bakr saying to me, ‘Qif, ya Muhammad, inna rabbuka YUSALLI. (Stay your step, oh Muhammad, FOR YOUR LORD IS PRAYING BLESSING.’) When I heard this voice, all the terror departed from me completely, and I began to wonder, ‘What is Abu Bakr doing here? Has he surpassed me, I wonder? And what does this mean, THE LORD IS PRAYING, the Lord Who is free from all exigence! What could be the meaning of all this?’” (Muhammad the Messenger of Islam – His Life and Prophecy, by Hajja Amina Adil, Shaykh Muhammad Hisham Kabbani, Shaykh Nazim Adil Al-Haqqani [Islamic Supreme Council of America, Washington, DC 2002], The Seventh Heaven, pp. 231-232: https://books.google.com/books?id=31tscfPF4tkC&printsec=frontcover#v=onepage&q&f=false; capital and underline emphasis ours)

Furthermore, traditional orthodox Sunni Islam teaches that the Quran is the uncreated speech/word of Allah:

35. The Qur’an is the Word of God that emanated from Him without modality in its expression. He sent it down to His messenger as a revelation. The believers accept it as such literally. They are certain it is, in reality, the Word of God, the Sublime and Exalted.

36. Unlike human speech, it is eternal and uncreated. (The Creed of Imam Al-Tahawi (Al-Aqidah al-Tahawiyyah), translated, annotated and introduced by Hamza Yusuf [Zaytuna Institute, 2007], p. 54; bold emphasis ours)

73. We do not argue about the Qur’an. Rather, we testify that it is the Word of the Lord of the universe as revealed through the Trustworthy Spirit, who taught it to the paragon of messengers, Muhammad. It is the Word of God, the Sublime and Exalted. No mortal speech compares to it, and we do not say it is created. (Ibid., p. 64; bold emphasis ours)

Moreover, the following surah is a prayer of worship and supplication:

In the name of God, Most Gracious, Most Merciful. Praise be to God, the Cherisher and Sustainer of the world; Most Gracious, Most Merciful; Master of the Day of Judgment. Thee do we worship, and Thine aid we seek. Show us the straight way (al-sirata al-mustaqeema), The way of those on whom Thou hast bestowed Thy Grace, those whose (portion) is not wrath, and who go not astray. Surah al-Fatihah 1:1-7 Y. Ali

Therefore, since the Quran is supposed to be uncreated this means that this surah is an eternal prayer, one that existed even before creation came into being. As such, there must have been someone praying this in eternity. And since Allah is supposed to be the only one that existed in eternity, this implies that he must have been praying this surah.

This is not only confirmed by the fact that the hadiths plainly teach that Allah used to recite two surahs of the Quran a thousand years before creation,

Narrated AbuHurayrah:

Allah’s Messenger said, “A thousand years before creating the heavens and the Earth, Allah RECITED Ta-Ha and Ya-Sin, and when the angels HEARD the recitation they said, ‘Happy are the people to whom this comes down, happy are the minds which carry this, and happy are the tongues which utter this.”

Darimi transmitted it (Al-Tirmidhi Hadith, 660 – ALIM Online Version http://www.alim.org/library/hadith/TIR/660; bold emphasis ours)

It is also confirmed by v. 6 of this very surah, where the one praying makes the following request,

“Guide us in the right path (al-sirata al-mustaqeema),” Palmer

Shockingly, the Quran admits that Allah is actually on a straight path in the same way that Muslims are!

“I put my trust in God, My Lord and your Lord! There is not a moving creature, but He hath grasp of its fore-lock. Verily, it is my Lord that is ON A STRAIGHT PATH (inna rabbee ala siratin mustaqeemin).” S. 11:56 Y. Ali

Therefore, since it is acknowledged that Muhammad’s lord is himself on the straight path this simply confirms that it is Allah who was actually reciting surah al-Fatihah, even before creation, much like he used to recite surahs Ta-Ha and Ya-Sin.

In other words, the Islamic sources are inadvertently testifying to the fact Allah is actually praying, praising, glorifying, worshiping etc., much like Muslims do!

This brings me to my next point. I am now going to show whom it is that Allah worships and prays, especially for guidance.

According to God’s Word, Jesus Christ is the straight path to everlasting life:

“Let not your heart be troubled: ye believe in God, believe also in me. In my Father’s house are many mansions: if it were not so, I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you. And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again, and receive you unto myself; that where I am, there ye may be also. And whither I go ye know, and the way ye know. Thomas saith unto him, Lord, we know not whither thou goest; and how can we know the way? Jesus saith unto him, I AM THE WAY, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me.” John 14:1-6

Note that our Lord is both the way and the destination, unlike Allah who is never said to be the way to salvation. Rather, as the Quran amply testifies the Islamic deity is on the straight path to being saved. Note the passage once again as I quote it in various English versions:

Pickthall: “… Lo! my Lord is on a straight path.”

Hilali-Khan: “… my Lord is on the Straight Path (the truth).”

Shakir: “… surely my Lord is on the right path.”

Khalifa: “… My Lord is on the right path.”

Arberry: “… Surely my Lord is on a straight path.”

Palmer: “… Verily, my Lord is on the right way!”

Rodwell: “… Right, truly, is the way in which my Lord goeth.”

Sale: “… Verily my Lord [proceedeth] in the right way.”

Hence, since Allah is on a straight path and prays to be guided on the straight path, and since the risen Lord is the way and destination to everlasting life, and therefore is himself that straight path, a strong case can be made that Muhammad’s lord is actually worshiping and praying to the Lord Jesus, beseeching him to guide him to himself!

To put this in a logical syllogism:

A. Allah is on a straight path and actually prays to someone to guide him on the straight path.

B. Jesus Christ testifies to being the only straight path to salvation.

C. Therefore, the Muslim deity must be praying to the risen Christ to keep guiding him on the straight path since there is no salvation apart from the Lord Jesus:

“And it came to pass on the morrow, that their rulers, and elders, and scribes, and Annas the high priest, and Caiaphas, and John, and Alexander, and as many as were of the kindred of the high priest, were gathered together at Jerusalem. And when they had set them in the midst, they asked, By what power, or by what name, have ye done this? Then Peter, filled with the Holy Ghost, said unto them, Ye rulers of the people, and elders of Israel, if we this day be examined of the good deed done to the impotent man, by what means he is made whole; be it known unto you all, and to all the people of Israel, that by the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, whom ye crucified, whom God raised from the dead, even by him doth this man stand here before you whole. This is the stone which was set at nought of you builders, which is become the head of the corner. Neither is there salvation in any other: for there is none other name under heaven given among men, whereby we must be saved. Now when they saw the boldness of Peter and John, and perceived that they were unlearned and ignorant men, they marvelled; and they took knowledge of them, that they had been with Jesus. And beholding the man which was healed standing with them, they could say nothing against it.” Acts 4:5-14

In light of the foregoing, I would advise all Muslims to follow the example of their god and pray to the Lord Jesus to guide them to everlasting life, since it is quite obvious Muhammad’s deity can’t guide anyone to the path of life when he himself prays to be guided aright.

Muslims, since you have obvious problems trusting in your deity when himself needs to be guided, isn’t therefore time for you to turn to the Lord Jesus Christ and trust him for everlasting life?

Source: https://answeringislamblog.wordpress.com/2019/03/13/revealing-the-god-whom-allah-worships-and-prays-to/

IHS

The Quran’s Confirmation of the Judeo-Christian Scriptures

In this somewhat lengthy article we are going to cite some of the many verses of the Quran which acknowledge and testify that the original, uncorrupt Scriptures that God had given to the Jews and Christians were still in existence during the lifetime of Muhammad. The purpose of doing so is to help Christians refute and silence the oft-repeated Muslim charge that the Quran does not acknowledge the textual reliability and authority of the books of the Holy Bible.

1. Muhammad refers to the previous revelations such as the Torah and the Gospel as still being extant during his lifetime.

“those who follow the Messenger, ‘the Prophet of the common folk, whom they find written down WITH THEM IN THE TORAH AND THE GOSPEL, bidding them to honour, and forbidding them dishonour, making lawful for them the good things and making unlawful for them the corrupt things, and relieving them of their loads, and the fetters that were upon them.” S. 7:157

God has bought from the believers their selves and their possessions against the gift of Paradise; they fight in the way of God; they kill, and are killed; that IS a promise binding upon God IN THE TORAH, AND THE GOSPEL, and the Koran; and who fulfils his covenant truer than God? So rejoice in the bargain you have made with Him; that is the mighty triumph. S. 9:111

They say, ‘Why does he not bring us a sign from his Lord?’ Has there not come to them the clear sign of WHAT IS IN THE FORMER SCROLLS? S. 20:133

Truly it is the revelation of the Lord of all Being, brought down by the Faithful Spirit upon thy heart, that thou mayest be one of the warners, in a clear, Arabic tongue. Truly IT IS IN THE SCRIPTURES OF THE ANCIENTS. Was it not a sign for them, that it is known to the learned of the Children of Israel? If We had sent it down on a barbarian and he had recited it to them, they would not have believed in it. S. 26:192-197

Thou seest them bowing, prostrating, seeking bounty from God and good pleasure. Their mark is on their faces, the trace of prostration. That is their likeness IN THE TORAH, and their likeness IN THE GOSPEL: as a seed that puts forth its shoot, and strengthens it, and it grows stout and rises straight upon its stalk, pleasing the sowers, that through them He may enrage the unbelievers. S. 48:29

Or has he not been told of what IS in the scrolls of Moses, and Abraham, he who paid his debt in full? S. 53:36-37

Note the use of the present tense, i.e. “IS,” “IN,” when speaking of the previous revelations.

2. The Quran confirms the Scriptures that were in the possession of the Jews and Christians of Muhammad’s time.

Children of Israel, remember My blessing wherewith I blessed you, and fulfil My covenant and I shall fulfil your covenant; and have awe of Me. And believe in that I have sent down, confirming that WHICH IS WITH YOU, and be not the first to disbelieve in it. And sell not My signs for a little price; and fear you Me. And do not confound the truth with vanity, and do not conceal the truth wittingly. And do not confound the truth with vanity, and do not conceal the truth wittingly. And perform the prayer, and pay the alms, and bow with those that bow. Will you bid others to piety, and forget yourselves WHILE YOU RECITE THE BOOK? Do you not understand? S. 2:40-44

And they say, ‘Our hearts are uncircumcised.’ Nay, but God has cursed them for their unbelief; little will they believe. When there came to them a Book from God, confirming WHAT WAS WITH THEM — and they aforetimes prayed for victory over the unbelievers — when there came to them that they recognized, they disbelieved in it; and the curse of God is on the unbelievers… And when they were told, ‘Believe in that God has sent down,’ they said, ‘We believe in what was sent down on us’; and they disbelieve in what is beyond that, yet it is the truth confirming WHAT IS WITH THEM. S. 2:89, 91

When there has come to them a Messenger from God confirming WHAT WAS WITH THEM, a party of them that were given the Book reject the Book of God behind their backs, as though they knew not, S. 2:101

You who have been given the Book, believe in what We have sent down, confirming WHAT IS WITH YOU, before We obliterate faces, and turn them upon their backs, or curse them as We cursed the Sabbath-men, and God’s command is done. S. 4:47

3. The Quran claims that the Jews and Christians of Muhammad’s time were studying and reciting the Book, thereby implying that they possessed the original, uncorrupt Scriptures.

The Jews say, ‘The Christians stand not on anything’; the Christians say, ‘The Jews stand not on anything’; YET THEY RECITE THE BOOK. S. 2:113

Those to whom We have given the Book and who recite it WITH TRUE RECITATION, they believe in it; and whoso disbelieves in it, they shall be the losers. S. 2:121

It belongs not to any mortal that God should give him the Book, the Judgment, the Prophethood, then he should say to men, ‘Be you servants to me apart from God.’ Rather, ‘Be you masters in that YOU KNOW THE BOOK, and in that YOU STUDY.’ S. 3:79

Those are they to whom We gave the Book, the Judgment, the Prophethood; so if these disbelieve in it, We have already entrusted it to a people who do not disbelieve IN IT. Those are they whom God has guided; so follow their guidance. Say: ‘I ask of you no wage for it; it is but a reminder unto all beings.’ They measured not God with His true measure when they said, ‘God has not sent down aught on any mortal.’ Say: ‘Who sent down the Book that Moses brought as a light and a guidance to men? YOU OUT IT INTO PARCHMENTS, REVEALING THEM, AND HIDING MUCH; and you were taught that you knew not, you and your fathers.’ Say: ‘God.’ Then leave them alone, playing their game of plunging. This is a Book We have sent down, blessed and confirming that which was before it (Ar. musaddiqu alathee bayna yadayhi – lit. confirming that which is between his/its hands), and for thee to warn the Mother of Cities and those about her; and those who believe in the world to come believe in it, and watch over their prayers. S. 6:89-92

Of the people of Moses there is a nation who guide by the truth, and by it act with justice… and there succeeded after them a succession who inherited the Book, taking the chance goods of this lower world, and saying, ‘It will be forgiven us’; and if chance goods the like of them come to them, they will take them. Has not the compact of the Book been taken touching them, that they should say concerning God nothing but the truth? AND THEY HAVE STUDIED WHAT IS IN IT; and the Last Abode is better for those who are godfearing. Do you not understand? And those who hold fast to the Book, and perform the prayer — surely We leave not to waste the wage of those who set aright. S. 7:159, 169-170

4. Muhammad calls the Jews and Christians to judge by their respective Scriptures, which again presupposes that these communities possessed the original, genuine revelations of God.

Hast thou not regarded those who were given a portion of the Book, being called to the Book of God, THAT IT MIGHT DECIDE BETWEEN THEM, and then a party of them turned away, swerving aside? S. 3:23

Here is how the Muslim expositors explained this particular text:

Have you not seen those who were given a portion, a share, of the Book, the Torah, being called to the Book of God (yud‘awna, ‘being called’, is a circumstantial qualifier), that it might decide between them, and then a party of them turned away, opposed? to the acceptance of its rulings. This was revealed concerning the Jews: two of them fornicated and they [the Jews] asked the Prophet to adjudicate the case. He ruled that they be stoned, but they [the Jews] refused to do so. WHEN THE TORAH WAS BROUGHT AND CONSULTED, the same verdict was found, and so the two were stoned, but they [the Jews] became wrathful. (Tafsir al-Jalalayn http://altafsir.com/Tafasir.asp?tMadhNo=0&tTafsirNo=74&tSoraNo=3&tAyahNo=23&tDisplay=yes&UserProfile=0&LanguageId=2; bold, capital and underline emphasis ours)

(Hast thou not seen how those who have received a portion of the Scripture…) [3:23]. There is a difference of opinion about this verse’s occasion of revelation. Al-Suddi said: “When the Prophet called the Jews to embrace Islam, al-Nu‘man ibn Awfa said to him: ‘Come, O Muhammad, and let the rabbis judge between us’. He said: ‘Let the Scripture of Allah be judge between us’. They said: ‘No! Let the rabbis judge’. And so Allah, exalted is He, revealed this verse”. On the other hand, Sa‘id ibn Jubayr and ‘Ikrimah reported that Ibn ‘Abbas said: “The Messenger of Allah entered in on a group of Jews in a Jewish place of study and called them to Allah. Nu‘aym ibn ‘Amr and al-Harith ibn Zayd said to him: ‘O Muhammad, which religion are you on?’ He said: ‘The religion of Abraham’. They said: ‘But Abraham was a Jew’. The Messenger of Allah said: ‘In that case, let us go to the Torah and let it judge between us’. They refused. And Allah, exalted is He, revealed this verse”. Said al-Kalbi: “This was revealed about those who committed fornication in Khaybar and the Jews who asked the Prophet about the legal punishment of fornication”. The elaboration on this will come in Surah al-Ma’idah, Allah, exalted is He, willing”. (‘Alī ibn Ahmad al-Wahidi, Asbab Al-Nuzul, trans. Mokrane Guezzou http://altafsir.com/Tafasir.asp?tMadhNo=0&tTafsirNo=86&tSoraNo=3&tAyahNo=23&tDisplay=yes&UserProfile=0&LanguageId=2; bold and underline emphasis ours)

Other Quranic verses which command the Jews and Christians to judge by their respective books include the following:

All food was lawful to the Children of Israel save what Israel forbade for himself before the Torah was sent down. Say: ‘Bring you the Torah now, and recite it, if you are truthful.’ Whoso forges falsehood against God after that, those are the evildoers. S. 3:91

Yet how will they make thee their judge seeing THEY HAVE THE TORAH, wherein IS God’s judgment, then thereafter turn their backs? They are not believers. Surely We sent down the Torah, wherein IS guidance and light; thereby the Prophets who had surrendered themselves gave judgment for those of Jewry, as did the masters and the rabbis, following such portion of God’s Book as they were given to keep and were witnesses to. So fear not men, but fear you Me; and sell not My signs for a little price. Whoso judges not according to what God has sent down — they are the unbelievers. And therein We prescribed for them: ‘A life for a life, an eye for an eye, a nose for a nose, an ear for an ear, a tooth for a tooth, and for wounds retaliation’; but whosoever forgoes it as a freewill offering, that shall be for him an expiation. Whoso judges not according to what God has sent down — they are the evildoers. And We sent, following in their footsteps, Jesus son of Mary, confirming the Torah before him (Ar. musaddiqan lima bayna yadayhi minal-tawrati–confirming that which is between his hands of the Torah) and We gave to him the Gospel, wherein IS guidance and light, and confirming the Torah before it (Ar. wa’musaddiqan lima bayna yadayhi minal-tawrati), as a guidance and an admonition unto the godfearing. So let the People of the Gospel judge according to what God has sent down THEREIN. Whosoever judges not according to what God has sent down — they are the ungodly. S. 5:43-47

The obvious question to ask at this point is, why in the world would Muhammad exhort the Jews and Christians to judge by corrupted texts that no longer reflected what the original revelations actually taught? Doesn’t this refute the common Muslim assertion that the previous Scriptures had been corrupted, and that the Jews and Christians therefore no longer had them in their possessions?

In light of this fact, notice how Ibn Kathir, one of the greatest Muslim scholars that ever lived, interpreted this specific text:

“… The Prophet recited…

<<Bring here the Tawrah and recite it, if you are truthful.>> So they brought the Tawrah and read from it until the reader reached the verse about stoning. Then he placed his hand on that verse and read what was before and after it. `Abdullah bin Salam, who was with the Messenger of Allah , said, “Order him to remove his hand,” and he removed his hand and under it was the verse about stoning. So the Messenger of Allah commanded that the adulterers be stoned, and they were stoned. `Abdullah bin `Umar said, “I was among those who stoned them and I saw the man shading the woman from the stones with his body.” Abu Dawud recorded that Ibn `Umar said, “Some Jews came to the Messenger of Allah and invited him to go to the Quff area. So he went to the house of Al-Midras and they said, ‘O Abu Al-Qasim! A man from us committed adultery with a woman, so decide on their matter.’ They arranged a pillow for the Messenger of Allah and he sat on it and said…

<<Bring the Tawrah to me.>> He was brought the Tawrah and he removed the pillow from under him AND PLACED THE TAWRAH ON IT, saying…

<<I TRUST YOU and He Who revealed it to you.>> He then said…

<<Bring me your most knowledgeable person.>> So he was brought a young man… and then he mentioned the rest of the story that Malik narrated from Nafi`. These Hadiths state that the Messenger of Allah issued a decision that conforms with the ruling in the Tawrah, not to honor the Jews in what they believe in, for the Jews were commanded to follow the Law of Muhammad only. Rather, the Prophet did this because Allah commanded him to do so. He asked them about the ruling of stoning in the Tawrah to make them admit to what the Tawrah contains and what they collaborated to hide, deny and exclude from implementing for all that time. They had to admit to what they did, although they did it while having knowledge of the correct ruling… (Tafsir Ibn Kathir, Q. 5:41 http://www.qtafsir.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=776&Itemid=60; bold, capital and underline emphasis ours)

Pay careful attention to Muhammad’s reverential treatment of the copy of the Torah that the Jews had in their possession. Instead of telling the Jews that what they had was a defective, corrupt copy of the original Torah, Muhammad actually praises their very own copy by confessing his complete trust in its textual veracity and authority!

Here is a final passage:

But had the People of the Book believed and been godfearing, We would have acquitted them of their evil deeds, and admitted them to Gardens of Bliss. Had they performed the Torah and the Gospel, and what was sent down to them from their Lord, they would have eaten both what was above them, and what was beneath their feet. Some of them are a just nation; but many of them — evil are the things they do… Say: ‘People of the Book, you do not stand on anything, until you perform the Torah and the Gospel, and what was sent down to you from your Lord.’ And what has been sent down to thee from thy Lord will surely increase many of them in insolence and unbelief; so grieve not for the people of the unbelievers. S. 5:66-68

Muslim biographer Ibn Ishaq provides the supposed historical context behind the “revelation” of the foregoing verses:

Rafi b. Haritha and Sallam b. Mishkam and Malik b. al-Sayf and Rafi b. Huraymila came to him [Muhammad] and said: ‘Do you not allege that you follow the religion of Abraham and believe in the Torah WHICH WE HAVE and testify that it is the truth from God?’ He replied, ‘CERTAINLY, but you have sinned and broken the covenant CONTAINED THEREIN and concealed what you were ordered to make plain to men, and I dissociate myself from your sin.’ They said, ‘We hold by WHAT WE HAVE. We live according to the guidance and the truth and we do not believe in you and we will not follow you.’ So God sent down concerning them: ‘Say, O Scripture folk, you have no standing until you observe the Torah and the Gospel and what has been sent down from your Lord. What has been sent down to thee from they Lord will assuredly increase many of them in error and unbelief. But be not sad because of the unbelieving people.’ (The Life of Muhammad: A Translation of Ibn Ishaq’s Sirat Rasul Allah, with introduction and notes by Alfred Guillaume [Oxford University Press, Karachi, Tenth impression 1995], p. 268; bold and capital emphasis ours)

Here was Muhammad’s chance to plainly tell the Jews that they had corrupted the text of the Torah. Instead, Muhammad tells them quite clearly that he fully believed the Torah which they possessed.

We now add a few more citations from Ibn Ishaq which further corroborate this fact:

The apostle wrote to the Jews of Khaybar according to what a freedman of the family of Zayd b. Thabit told me from ‘Ikrima or from Sa‘id b. Jubayr from Ibn ‘Abbas: ‘In the name of God the compassionate the merciful from Muhammad the apostle of God friend and brother of Moses WHO CONFIRMS WHAT MOSES BROUGHT. God says to you O scripture folk, and you will find it in your scripture “Muhammad is the apostle of God; and those with him are severe against the unbelievers, merciful among themselves. Thou seest them bowing, falling prostrate seeking bounty and acceptance from God. The mark of their prostrations is on their foreheads. That is their likeness in the Torah and in the Gospel like a seed which sends forth its shoot and strengthens it and it becomes thick and rises straight upon its stalk delighting the sowers that He may anger the unbelievers with them. God has promised those who believe and do well forgiveness and a great reward.” I adjure you by God, AND BY WHAT HE HAS SENT DOWN TO YOU, by the manna and quails He gave as food to your tribes before you, and by His drying up the sea for your fathers when He delivered them from Pharaoh and his works, that you tell me, DO YOU FIND IN WHAT HE SENT DOWN TO YOU that you should believe in Muhammad? IF YOU DO NOT FIND THAT IN YOUR SCRIPTURE THEN THERE IS NO COMPULSION UPON YOU. “The right path has become plainly distinguished from error” so I call you to God and His Prophet’ (313). (Ibid., p. 256; bold and capital emphasis ours)

According to what I heard from ‘Ikrima, freedman of Ibn ‘Abbas or from Sa‘id b. Jubayr from Ibn ‘Abbas, Jews used to hope that the apostle would be a help to them against Aus and Khazraj before his mission began; and when God sent him from among the Arabs they disbelieved in him and contradicted what they had formerly said about him. Mu‘adh b. Jabal and Bishr b. al-Bara’ b. Ma‘rur brother of B. Salama said to them: ‘O Jews, fear God and become Muslims, for you used to hope for Muhammad’s help against us when we were polytheists and to tell us that he would be sent and describe him to us.’ Salam b. Mishkam, one of the B. al-Nadir, said, ‘He has not brought us anything we recognize and he is not the one we spoke of to you.’ So God sent down about that saying of theirs: ‘And when a book comes to them from God CONFIRMING what they have, though beforehand they were asking for help against those who disbelieve, when there came to them what they knew, they disbelieved in it, so God’s curse rests on the unbelievers.’

Malik b. al-Sayf said when the apostle had been sent and they were reminded of the condition that had been imposed on them and what God had covenanted with them concerning him, ‘No covenant was ever made with us about Muhammad.’ So God sent down concerning him: ‘Is it not that whenever they make a covenant a party of them set it aside? Nay most of them do not believe.’

Abu Saluba al-Fityuni said to the apostle: ‘O Muhammad, you have not brought us anything we recognize and God has not sent down to you any sign that we should follow you.’ So God sent concerning his words, ‘We have sent down to thee plain signs and only evildoers disbelieve in them.’ (Ibid., p. 257; bold, capital and italic emphasis ours)

These citations illustrate what Muhammad meant when he said in the Quran that his scripture confirms the books in the possession of the Jews and Christians. By confirmation he didn’t intend to convey the notion that the Quran accepts only certain parts of the Judeo-Christian books, as some Muslim polemicists would have us believe, but that it testifies to the fact of these texts being completely reliable and fully authoritative. If Muhammad believed that the Jewish-Christian Scriptures were corrupted he could have stated it here by simply telling the Jews that he didn’t fully believe that the Torah which they had was completely reliable. Instead of denouncing the textual purity of the Torah he confirms his belief in its authenticity and textual accuracy.

5. Quranic passages where Muhammad commands the people to consult the previous Scriptures in order to verify his claims and stories.

So, if thou art in doubt regarding what We have sent down to thee, ask those who recite the Book before thee. The truth has come to thee from thy Lord; so be not of the doubters, S. 10:94

And We gave Moses nine signs, clear signs. Ask the Children of Israel when he came to them, and Pharaoh said to him, ‘Moses, I think thou art bewitched. S. 17:101

Surely it is a Reminder to thee and to thy people; and assuredly you will be questioned. Ask those of Our Messengers We sent before thee: Have We appointed, apart from the All-merciful, gods to be served? S. 43:44-45

The two Jalals, considered some of Islam’s greatest commentators, explain Muhammad’s exhortation to his contemporaries to ask the Messengers that came before him for verification of his assertion:

And ask those of Our messengers whom We sent before you: Did We [ever] appoint, besides the Compassionate One, that is to say, [any] other than Him, gods to be worshipped? It is said that this is to be understood literally, in other words, that God gathered for him all the messengers on the Night [of the] Journey; but it is also said that this meant [that he should ask] any communities belonging to either of the two Peoples of the Scripture. According to one of the two opinions, he never asked [anyone] since the point of this command to ask is to affirm to the idolaters of Quraysh that no messenger or scripture ever came from God with the command to worship [any] other than God. (Tafsir al-Jalalayn http://altafsir.com/Tafasir.asp?tMadhNo=0&tTafsirNo=74&tSoraNo=43&tAyahNo=45&tDisplay=yes&UserProfile=0&LanguageId=2; bold and underline emphasis ours)

The foregoing citations conclusively prove that Muhammad believed in the inspiration and textual reliability of the biblical books since these were the only Scriptures that the Jews and Christians had in their possessions during his time. As such, this thoroughly refutes the Muslim claim that the Quran does not confirm the inspiration, preservation, reliability and authority of the Scriptures which the Jews and Christians have always possessed.

Further Reading

Part 1: The Quran and the Bible (http://answeringislam.net/Campbell/s2c1.html)

Part 2: The Hadith and the Sunna (http://answeringislam.net/Campbell/s2c2.html)

What the Quran says about the Bible (http://answeringislam.net/Quran/Bible/index.html)

Source: https://answeringislamblog.wordpress.com/2019/03/09/the-qurans-confirmation-of-the-judeo-christian-scriptures-2/

IHS

Another Renowned NT Authority Proves that Muhammad was a False Prophet!

Richard A. Burridge is another renowned NT scholar and historian whom Muslims love to quote to discredit the historical veracity of the Gospels (https://bloggingtheology2.com/2018/12/03/what-are-the-gospels/). In light of this I have decided to quote what Burridge has written concerning the beliefs of Jesus’ first followers in order to show how even the claims of this noted NT authority proves that Muhammad was a false prophet and antichrist.

The following references are taken from a book that Burridge co-wrote with Graham Gould, Jesus Now and Then, published by William B. Eerdmans Publishing Company, 2004. All bold and capital emphasis will be mine.

When the first Christians, as they reflected on their experience in the early days of the Church, began to consider the question of who Jesus was, it was not just his teaching that impressed them, or the quality of his life, or his miracles, or even the fact that he had died as a martyr, the victim of a conspiracy between the Jewish religious authorities and the occupying Roman power. What was central to ALL EARLY CHRISTIAN ACCOUNTS of the significance of Jesus was the fact that he had been raised from death by God on the third day after his crucifixion.

‘But God raised him up’, says Peter in Acts 2.24 after summarizing Jesus’ life in terms of his miracles and crucifixion, ‘having freed him from death, because it was impossible for him to be held in its power’ (NRSV). Without the resurrection, there would be no significant story of Jesus to tell – no Christian movement and no question of Jesus for us to consider nearly two thousand years later. Whatever we believe the concept of resurrection actually means – whether physical resurrection is possible, and, if so, what actually happened when Jesus was raised and his tomb (according to the Gospel accounts) found empty – it is A FACT that it was THE EARLIEST CHRISTIANS’ EXPERIENCE OF JESUS AS RISEN, a living and present figure, which launched the Christian Church.

However, belief in Jesus’ resurrection alone would not entail belief in his divine status. To explain why Christians came to believe that Jesus was God as well as human, we need to look at other factors. (Pp. 6-7)

To say that stories were passed down by word of mouth is not to suggest that it was a totally haphazard affair. Many ancient texts, such as the poems of Homer – the Illiad and Odyssey – were passed down orally for four or five centuries before they were written down. The corresponding period for the Gospels is very brief – actually about a generation. The first Gospel was written during the 60s, thirty years after Jesus, and the other three witnesses during the 70s, 80s and 90s. This is quite a short period. And of course the ancient world was much more used to memorizing in this way and accuracy was A HIGH PRIORITY: the oral tradition actually preserved the original in a very clear way. (P. 28)

Examining these titles, some people say you can actually follow a development of the understanding of Jesus. Jesus is seen first as a human being, a prophet or peripatetic teacher – this is known as a ‘low’ view of Jesus. This early understanding evolved or developed over time into belief in a quasi-divine figure that people then began calling the Messiah, Son of God and Lord – this is known as a ‘high’ view. This theory of development is very neat, but it doesn’t actually work quite as simply as that. When we come to do a more detailed analysis of the New Testament text, we discover that the ‘high’ ideas of Jesus as God are used by the writers AT QUITE AN EARLY STAGE, and the ‘low’ ideas of Jesus as prophet or teacher still occur at quite a late stage. So this developmental theory doesn’t stand up to further study. (P. 31)

In Jesus’ case, they were up against something quite different, because the followers did not disappear. As we saw in the last chapter, without EARLY CHRISTIAN BELIEF in the resurrection, there would have been no Church. Whatever you believe about Jesus of Nazareth, you have to CONTEND WITH THE FACT that a significant movement developed from the fact that his followers believed that he was risen from the dead. His disciples, just a bunch of frightened people at the crucifixion, were turning Jerusalem upside down just A FEW WEEKS LATER with their preaching and teaching about Jesus: many of them went on to die for him.

In the New Testament two things are said about the aftermath of Jesus’ death. One is that the tomb was empty. Mark 16 tells us the women went to grieve, and found the tomb empty. Of course, grave-robbers were emptying tombs all the time. The problem is that robbers would take the linen and the spices, because they had a commercial value, and leave the body. In the case of Jesus, it appears to have been the other way round. It’s the body that has gone, and the linen and spices that are left.

The second phenomenon the New Testament describes is a long list of apparent appearances of the crucified Jesus, the first of which is to Mary Magdalene. In a Jewish court of the time, the word of a woman was not acceptable testimony. If the Christians wanted to claim that Jesus had appeared to somebody, they would not have chosen, as a first witness, somebody whose witness was not valid in court. So some people argue for the historicity of the resurrection in this way.

In 1 Corinthians 15.5-8, St Paul has a list of people to whom Jesus appeared. IT’S A VERY, VERY EARLY LIST, MUCH EARLIER THAN THE GOSPELS, DATING FROM ONLY A FEW YEARS AFTER JESUS’ DEATH. He says, if Jesus wasn’t raised from the dead then the Christians are deluded, and they are of all human beings most to be pitied. He goes on to say, ‘Jesus appeared to Peter, to the twelve, to a group of five hundred, and to me’, implying, ‘If you don’t believe it, come and ask us.’

Many people have tried to explain these events in different ways – that it was fraud, that the disciples went to the wrong tomb, that there were hallucinations – and people argue back and forth. For me, a key fact that cannot be explained away is that in all the other groups, the death of the leader ended the movement. Here, quite to the contrary, the death of the leader was the beginning of something immensely greater. (Pp. 45-46)

So what facts have we considered to be historically valid about Jesus? First, Jesus of Nazareth existed, he was baptized by John the Baptist and gathered a controversial group of followers. He had an itinerant ministry preaching about the Kingdom of God. This led to opposition, and he was executed by Pontus Pilate.

It is NO LESS A HISTORICAL FACT that after Jesus was dead and buried, an extraordinary event happened which transformed the once-terrified disciples and gave rise to a movement which we know as the early Church. From this initially fragile basis, Christianity spread through the rest of the world and through history and changed them for ever. (P. 46)

Each gospel writer portrays his belief about Christ in his own distinctive way. In Mark, Jesus’ identity is revealed through supernatural means, the demons and the heavenly voice, and is confirmed finally by the centurion at the cross: ‘Truly this was the Son of God’ (Mark 15:39). In Matthew we see Jesus being worshipped as God by the wise men at his birth, through the disciples in the storm-tossed boat, to the new community on the mountain. Luke makes the remarkable shift from using the phrase ‘the Lord’ to mean ‘the Lord God’ in the early chapters to making it his main term for Jesus: what God is, Jesus is. John makes this explicit, from the Prologue – ‘the Word was God’ right through to Thomas’ confession – ‘My Lord and my God’.

All four agree that in his deeds and words Jesus acts and speaks for God. He is not just a prophet, nor even the human agent of the Kingdom of God, for the extraordinary response is that of worship, worship which may only be given properly to God himself. There may be four Gospels, but there is only one Jesus, AND HE IS GOD, come among us in human form. (P. 68)

One thing that is clear about this very early period, the first decade or so after the life of Jesus, is that Jesus is already being worshipped. This is remarkable, of course, because Jesus was Jewish, the disciples were Jewish, and the early Christians were Jewish – strict monotheists, to whom the first commandment was ‘You shall worship the Lord your God alone and nobody else.’ How can it be that Jews of this period would actually take the extraordinary step, not just of worshipping an idol, or an emperor, or a personification, but actually somebody who they claimed was a human being, and had lived and died – and died shamefully – only a matter of a few years before? Something very significant had clearly happened. We can obviously debate the historicity of the resurrection, and the evidence for it, but what is AN ABSOLUTELY INCONTROVERTIBLE FACT is that it was the belief of the early Christians IN THE RESURRECTION that brought about that startling change (see Chapter 1). (Pp.70-71)

This calling of Jesus ‘Lord’ means that monotheistic Jews were using a word which could only be used of God, and applying it to Jesus. This is an indication of how VERY SOON THE EARLY CHRISTIANS were treating Jesus as God. First Corinthians 12.3, underlines this. Paul is trying to deal here with the issue of people who would shout out in the fairly lively services they were having, and how you could know whether they were being inspired by God or by an evil spirit. And here he quotes, as it were, the first creed. ‘if someone says, “Let Jesus be accursed”, that is an evil spirit, and if they say, “Jesus is Lord”, that is from God’. This is using the same idea, that of confessing Jesus as Lord. In Romans 10.9 he says that people who confess with their lips that Jesus is Lord are the ones who will be saved. (P. 73)

… The best example is Philippians 2.6-11… Now there is great debate about how much of that is pre-Pauline and how much is Paul, but it is very clear that Jesus is Lord to the glory of God. This passage has been used a great deal in church liturgies in the last two millennia. But it is indicative that the early Christians believed that the person of Jesus existed before the human being of Jesus of Nazareth. He was found in divine form but emptied himself, taking and the form of a slave, a human form, even died, and God has now exalted him as Lord. It is descending from God to become human, to live and to die, and then reascending back to God. This kind of pattern, descending and then going up again – like a ‘v’ or a ‘u’ – is echoed in other parts of the Bible.

We find an equally powerful Christology in another hymn that is often considered also to be a fragment preserved from pre-Pauline material, in Colossians chapter 1. Again, Paul is not particularly trying to teach about the person of Jesus at the time. Here he’s telling people to give thanks to God in Christ, and suddenly his thoughts are triggered off into a memory of this hymn or credal material.

Here we see Paul again drawing upon this figure of Wisdom, with the idea that, like Wisdom, Jesus was involved with God in creation, came among human beings, died, and that death was significant, and then he was exalted back to God.

So between the life of Jesus and Paul’s writings, we have a very early expression of faith. It’s not worked out in any kind of philosophical, theological or ontological fashion, but it is an expression of the experience of the worship of the early Christians. They found that in the human life of Jesus of Nazareth and his teaching, the God of their Fathers, the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, was being made known to them, just as their Scriptures described the Wisdom of God. Their experience was also that after his death, that same person was being made known to them in their worship, through what they then came to call the Spirit of God, and that they were worshipping him not only as the risen Christ, but as the Christ who existed before he was born, who came and lived among human beings and has now returned to be with God, where he can be worshipped as ‘Lord’. (Pp. 74-76)

There you have it folks. Another noted NT historian and scholar, which Muslim polemicists love to cite, confirms that Jesus’ very own Jewish followers went around preaching that Christ not only died on the cross, but that he also was physically raised back to life on the third day. These same Jewish disciples further worshiped the risen Jesus as the Lord God who had become flesh. And since Islam denies these core fundamental facts of the proclamation of the first Christians this means that Muhammad stands condemned as a false prophet and antichrist.

Therefore, Muslims you have a problem!

Further Readings

Another Hostile Liberal NT Scholar Proves that Muhammad Was a False Prophet! https://answeringislamblog.wordpress.com/2019/02/02/another-hostile-liberal-nt-scholar-proves-that-muhammad-was-a-false-prophet/

Source: https://answeringislamblog.wordpress.com/2019/02/26/another-renowned-nt-authority-proves-that-muhammad-was-a-false-prophet/

IHS