The following passage asserts that the Quran is composed of two sets of verses, one that is clear and unambiguous and another set that is not so clear:
It is He who sent down upon thee the Book, wherein are verses clear
(muhkamatun) that are the Essence of the Book, and others ambiguous
(mutashabihatun). As for those in whose hearts is swerving, they
follow the ambiguous part, desiring dissension, and desiring its
interpretation; and none knows its interpretation, save only God. And those
firmly rooted in knowledge say, ‘We believe in it; all is from our Lord’; yet
none remembers, but men possessed of minds. S. 3:7 Arberry Medina
I am now going to show how this text actually exposes Muhammad
as a false prophet.
In the first place, this verse contradicts the repeated
assertion of the Quran that it is a scripture which is clear.
Thus doth God MAKE
CLEAR His Signs to you: In order that ye may understand.
S. 2:242 Y. Ali Medina
Alif Lam Ra. A
Book whose verses ARE
SET CLEAR (ohkimat), and then distinguished, from One
All-wise, All-aware: S. 11:1 Arberry Mecca
1. L. R. These are the Ayats of
Revelation, – of
a Qur’an that makes things clear. S. 15:1 Y. Ali Mecca
And indeed We know that they (polytheists and pagans) say: “It
is only a human being who teaches him (Muhammad).” The tongue of the man they
refer to is foreign, while
this (the Qur’an) is a clear Arabic tongue. S. 16:103
Hilali-Khan Mecca
We verily, have made it a Qur’an in Arabic, that you may be able to
understand (its meanings and its admonitions). S. 43:3
Hilali-Khan Mecca
By the manifest Book (this Qur’an) THAT MAKES THINGS CLEAR,
S. 44:2 Hilali-Khan Mecca – cf. Q. 2:187, 219, 266; 3:103, 118; 4:26, 176;
5:89; 24:18, 58-59, 61; 57:17
The Islamic scripture also makes the repeated assertion that it
is a book which fully explains all its verses:
And thus do We explain the Ayat (proofs,
evidences, verses, lessons, signs, revelations, etc.) IN DETAIL, that
the way of the Mujrimun (criminals,
polytheists, sinners), may become manifest. S. 6:55 Hilali-Khan Mecca
It is He Who has set the stars for you, so that you may guide
your course with their help through the darkness of the land and the sea. We have (indeed) explained IN
DETAIL Our Ayat (proofs, evidences, verses, lessons,
signs, Revelations, etc.) for people who know. It is He Who has created you
from a single person (Adam), and has given you a place of residing (on the
earth or in your mother’s wombs) and a place of storage [in the earth (in your
graves) or in your father’s loins]. Indeed,
We have EXPLAINED IN DETAIL Our revelations (this Qur’an) for
people who understand. S. 6:97-98
Thus We explain variously the Verses so
that they (the disbelievers) may say: “You have studied (the Books of the
people of the Scripture and brought this Qur’an from that)” and that We may make the matter
clear for the people who have knowledge. S. 6:105
Hilali-Khan
[Say (O Muhammad)] “Shall I seek a judge other than Allah while
it is He Who has sent down unto you the
Book (The Qur’an), EXPLAINED IN DETAIL.” Those unto whom We
gave the Scripture [the Taurat (Torah)
and the Injeel (Gospel)]
know that it is revealed from your Lord in truth. So be not you of those who
doubt. S. 6:114 Hilali-Khan
And this is the Path of your Lord (the Qur’an and Islam) leading
Straight. We
have DETAILED Our Revelations for a people who take heed.
S. 6:126
Say (O Muhammad): “Who has forbidden the adoration with clothes
given by Allah, which He has produced for his slaves, and At-Taiyibat [all
kinds of Halal (lawful) things] of food?” Say: “They are, in the life of this
world, for those who believe, (and) exclusively for them (believers) on the Day
of Resurrection (the disbelievers will not share them).” Thus We explain the Ayat (Islamic
laws) IN DETAIL for people who have knowledge. S. 7:32
Hilali-Khan Mecca
Certainly, We
have brought to them a Book (the Qur’an) which We have explained IN DETAIL WITH
KNOWLEDGE, – a guidance and a mercy to a people who believe. S.
7:52 Hilali-Khan
Thus do We explain the Ayat (proofs,
evidences, verses, lessons, signs, revelations, etc.) IN DETAIL,
so that they may turn (unto the truth). S. 7:174 Hilali-Khan
And this Qur’an is not such as could ever be produced by other
than Allah (Lord of the heavens and the earth), but it is a confirmation of
(the revelation) which was before it [i.e. the Taurat (Torah), and the Injeel (Gospel),
etc.], and A
FULL EXPLANATION of the Book (i.e. laws and orders, etc, decreed for mankind) –
wherein there is no doubt from the Lord of the ‘Alamin (mankind, jinns, and all that
exists). S. 10:37 Hilali-Khan Mecca
But if they repent, perform As-Salat (Iqamat-as-Salat) and
give Zakat,
then they are your brethren in religion. (In this way) We explain the Ayat (proofs,
evidences, verses, lessons, signs, revelations, etc.) IN DETAIL for
a people who know. S. 9:11 Medina
Alif Lam Ra. This is a Book, whose verses have been made firm
and free from imperfection and
then they have been expounded in detail. It is from One Wise,
and All-Aware. S. 11:1 Shakir Mecca
Indeed in their stories, there is a lesson for men of
understanding. It (the Qur’an) is not a forged statement but a confirmation of
Allah’s existing Books [the Taurat (Torah),
the Injeel (Gospel)
and other Scriptures of Allah] and
A DETAILED EXPLANATION OF EVERYTHING and a guide and a
Mercy for the people who believe. S. 12:111 Mecca
One day We shall raise from all Peoples a witness against them,
from amongst themselves: and We shall bring thee as a witness against these
(thy people): and
We have sent down to thee the Book EXPLAINING ALL THINGS, a
Guide, a Mercy, and Glad Tidings to Muslims. S. 16:89 Y. Ali
He sets forth for you a parable from your ownselves, – Do you
have partners among those whom your right hands possess (i.e. your slaves) to
share as equals in the wealth We have bestowed on you? Whom you fear as you
fear each other? Thus
do We explain the signs IN DETAIL to a people who have
sense. S. 30:28 Hilali-Khan Mecca
A Book whereof the
Verses are
explained IN
DETAIL; A Qur’an in Arabic for people who know. S. 41:3 Hilali-Khan
Mecca
Here is another version of this last passage:
A scripture whose
verses PROVIDE THE COMPLETE DETAILS, in an Arabic Quran, for
people who know. Khalifa
The above verses (most of which were composed in Mecca) go out
of their way to affirm that all of the Quran’s passages (not just some) are
clear and fully detailed. It is therefore evident from the foregoing texts that
Muhammad actually thought that the Quran was a perspicuous book which could be
easily understood by the people he was communicating with.
In fact, all throughout his stay in Mecca, and up until his
final years in Medina, Muhammad was repeatedly boasting of just how clear and
fully detailed his “revelation” was. This means that his audience had been led
to believe that all of the verses of the Quran were perspicuous and explained
in detail. It wasn’t until Muhammad composed Q. 3:7 in his later years in
Medina that these individuals heard for the first time that the Muslim
scripture actually contains ambiguous passages whose meanings were known only
to Allah.
However, here is where the problem lies for Muslims. There
shouldn’t be any passage whose meaning is uncertain in a book which constantly
says that it is a clear exposition, one that provides complete details for all
of its verses so that others may understand. Yet not only do we find ambiguous
and unintelligible passages, Q. 3:7 even admits that such verses do exist and
can actually be found in the Quran!
The Muslim scripture is therefore contradicting its own repeated
emphasis and insistence that it is a complete revelation whose verses are
plainly detailed.
This leads us to our second point. According to the Islamic
sources, Q. 3:7 was composed after a Christian group from Najran used
Muhammad’s own teachings concerning Jesus against him.
The early 8th-century Muslim biographer Ibn Ishaq wrote:
… ‘The plain verses are the mother of the Book; the rest are
obscure.’1
I heard a scholar above suspicion mentioning that these verses were sent down
about the people of Najran when they came to the apostle to ask him about Jesus
the son of Mary. (Guillaume, The Life of Muhammad, p. 257; bold
emphasis ours)
1. Sura 3.5. (Ibid.)
And:
When the two divines spoke to him the apostle said to them, ‘Submit
yourselves.’ They said, ‘We have submitted.’ He said: ‘You have not submitted,
so submit.’ They said, ‘Nay, but we have submitted before you.’ He said, ‘You
lie. Your assertion that God has a son, your worship of the cross, and your
eating pork hold you back from submission.’ They said, ‘But who is his father,
Muhammad?’ The apostle was silent and did not answer them. So God sent down concerning their
words and their incoherence the beginning of the sura of the Family of ‘Imran
up to more than eighty verses… (Ibid., p. 272; bold emphasis
ours)
Noted Muslim expositor, Ibn Kathir concurs with Ibn Ishaq:
Surah Al `Imran was revealed in
Al-Madinah, as
evident by the fact that the first eighty-three Ayat in it relate to the
delegation from Najran that arrived in Al-Madinah on the ninth year of Hijrah (632 CE). We
will elaborate on this subject when we explain the Ayah about
the Mubahalah [3:61]
in this Surah, Allah willing. We should also state that we mentioned the
virtues of Surah Al
`Imran along with the virtues of Surat Al-Baqarah in
the beginning of the Tafsir of Surat Al-Baqarah…
<He it is Who shapes you in the wombs as He wills.> meaning,
He creates you in the wombs as He wills, whether male or female, handsome or
otherwise, happy or miserable.
<La ilaha illa Huwa (none has the right to be worshipped but
He), the Almighty, the All-Wise.> meaning, He is the
Creator and thus is the only deity worthy of worship, without partners, and His
is the perfect might, wisdom and decision. This Ayah refers to the fact that `Isa, son of Mary,
is a created servant, just as Allah created the rest of
mankind. Allah created `Isa in the womb (of his mother) and shaped him as He
willed. Therefore, how could `Isa be divine, as the Christians, may Allah’s
curses descend on them, claim `Isa was created in the womb and his creation
changed from stage to stage… (Tafsir
Ibn Kathir http://www.qtafsir.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=564&Itemid=46;
bold emphasis ours)
And:
The reason for the call to Mubahalah and the revelation of the
Ayat from the beginning of this Surah until here, is that a delegation from the
Christians of Najran (in Yemen) came to Al-Madinah to argue about `Isa,
claiming that he was divine and the son of Allah. Allah sent down the beginning
of this Surah until here, to refute their claims, as Imam
Muhammad bin Ishaq bin Yasar and other scholars stated. (Q. 3:61 http://www.qtafsir.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=531&Itemid=46;
bold emphasis ours)
These Christians successfully used Quranic verses to prove the Deity
of Christ by zeroing in on statements which called Jesus the Word of God which
he sent to Mary and a Spirit which proceeds from God himself:
O ye who have received the scriptures, exceed not the just
bounds in your religion, neither say of God [any other] than the truth. Verily Christ Jesus the son of
Mary [is]
the apostle of God, and his word, which he conveyed
into Mary, and a spirit [proceeding] from him. Believe
therefore in God, and his apostles, and say not, [there are] three [Gods];
forbear [this]; it will be better for you. God is but one God. Far be it from
him that he should have a son! Unto him [belongeth] whatsoever [is] in heaven
and on earth; and God is a sufficient protector. Christ doth not proudly disdain to
be a
servant unto God; neither the angels who approach near
[to his presence]: And whoso disdaineth his service, and is puffed up with
pride, [God] will gather them all to himself, [on the last day]. Q. 4:171-172
Sale
The angels said, ‘Mary, God gives you news of a Word from Him, whose name
will be the Messiah, Jesus, son of Mary, who will be held in honour
in this world and the next, who will be one of those brought near to God. S.
3:45 Sale – cf. Q. 3:39
Notice how the following version renders this last text:
“Behold,” the angels told Mary, “God has given you the glad news
of the coming birth of
a son whom
He calls His Word,
whose name will be Messiah, Jesus, son of Mary, who will be a man
of honor in this life and the life to come, and who will be one of the ones
nearest to God.” Muhammad Sarwar
The Quran is merely echoing some of the things that the inspired
Scriptures of God teach concerning Christ.
For instance, the Holy Bible says that Christ is our apostle
sent by/from the Father
“Therefore, holy brothers and sisters, who share in the heavenly
calling, fix your thoughts on Jesus, whom we acknowledge as our apostle and
high priest.” Hebrews 3:1
“As you
sent me into the world, I have sent them into the world.” John
17:18
“Again Jesus said, ‘Peace be with you! As the Father has sent me,
I am sending you.’” John 20:21
Christ is also the eternal Word through whom the Father created
all things:
“In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.
He was with God in the beginning. Through
him all things were made; without him nothing was made that has been made. In
him was life, and that life was the light of all mankind… The true
light that gives light to everyone was coming into the world. He was in the
world, and though
the world was made through him, the world did not recognize
him… The Word became
flesh and made his dwelling among us. We have seen his glory, the glory of the one and only Son,
who came from the Father, full of grace and truth.” John 1:1-4,
9-10, 14
“That which was from the beginning, which we have heard, which
we have seen with our eyes, which we have looked at and our hands have touched—this we proclaim concerning the
Word of life. The life appeared; we have seen it and testify to it,
and we proclaim to you the
eternal life, which was with the Father and has appeared to us. We
proclaim to you what we have seen and heard, so that you also may have
fellowship with us. And our fellowship is with the Father and with his Son,
Jesus Christ.” 1 John 1:1-3
“He is dressed in a robe dipped in blood, and his name is the Word of God.”
Revelation 19:13
Christ is even called a life-giving Spirit:
“So it is written: ‘The first man Adam became a living being’;
the last Adam, a
life-giving spirit.” 1 Corinthians 15:45
Finally, the Holy Bible says that Christ voluntarily humbled
himself to become a servant of God:
“For even the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to
give his life as a ransom for many.” Mark 10:45 – Cf. Matthew 20:28
“For who is greater, the one who is at the table or the one who
serves? Is it not the one who is at the table? But I am among you as one who serves.”
Luke 22:27 – cf. John 13:3-17
“In your relationships with one another, have the same mindset
as Christ Jesus: Who, being in very nature God, did not consider equality with
God something to be used to his own advantage; rather, he made himself nothing by taking the very nature of a
servant,
being made in human likeness. And being found in appearance as a man, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to
death—even death on a cross!” Philippians 2:5-8
Hence, there is nothing in Q. 3:45 and 4:171 about Jesus which a
Christian would object to.
With the foregoing in perspective, we are ready to proceed to
the second part of my discussion https://answeringislamblog.wordpress.com/2019/05/20/the-quranic-verse-that-exposed-the-fraud-who-is-muhammad-pt-2/.
IHS
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