A Critique of Shabir Ally’s Debate Tactics Pt. 2a

We continue with our series exposing Ally’s debate tactics and tricks https://answeringislamblog.wordpress.com/2018/09/29/a-critique-of-shabir-allys-debate-tactics-pt-1b/.

Ally’s Assertions About the Quran

This is what Ally told Nabeel Qureshi in their debate when the latter asked him whether if he agreed with the Mutazilites that the Quran is created, or whether he actually sided with the Asharites/Maturidis who believe it is eternal:

“I believe that this debate has been overblown, as many debates have been overblown in history. Sometimes people differ and they argue with each other. And if they really sat down and listened to what they were saying to each other they would realize the difference is not as great as they thought it was. And this is the kind of kitchen table debates that go on in many households. When we look back at what they were debating we realize that both were right in some way. When some people spoke about the uncreated word of God, they were thinking about the eternal knowledge of God, which cannot conceivably be absent from God. And when others spoke about the Quran being created, they’re speaking about the text that we hold in our hands, that we recite with our tongues, that we write with pen and ink. So there were to different perspectives, they were arguing about two different things. Sometimes people have to stop and define their terms. And because people don’t take the time to define their terms they argue about two different things, and it looks like they have an argument, but essentially there is no real disagreement. So I think that they were both right in some way. There’s an eternal word of God always with God – that is his knowledge. And at the same time there is a revealed word of God which comes at a certain time in history, and it responds to questions that were being asked of the prophet Muhammad and occasions as they arose.” (What is God Really Like: Tawhid or Trinity? https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FWpqqqZn7Kg)

And this is what Ally stated in his opening statements to Nabeel Qureshi concerning the traditional Sunni view concerning the uncreated nature of the Quran:

“So what about the mihna then, the question that Muslims had to ask about is the Quran created, for example? And are the attributes of God part of him, or not him? And the statement bi la-kayf, we say, ok, we’re going to say we don’t know exactly about some of these things? Now these are mysteries! But those mysteries are not particular to Muslims; those mysteries exist in Christianity as well, and also in Judaism. When Jews spoke of the Torah, they spoke about the Torah in terms which are similar to Muslims’ speaking about the Quran. And the same question arises, as for example as is explained by F. E. Peters in his book, ‘Children of Abraham,’ similar questions arose among Jews; what do you say about the Torah? Is that God or not God?

“Now the problem in Christianity is not this, the problem is something else. In Christianity, we have another Person who is suddenly being worshiped. If Muslims took the Quran and said, ‘This Quran is God,’ and they start worshiping the Quran, then we have something similar to what has happened in Christianity. But this has not happened in Islam. If Muslims took the knowledge of God and say the knowledge of God is a separate person from God, and they start worshiping this knowledge of God, then we have something comparable with Christianity. But nothing like this has happened in Islam, so in fact there is nothing comparable. Now what has happened in Islam is there in Christianity; so Christianity has a double problem, if we consider this to be a problem. First, how do you explain the Trinity? And second, how do you explain this particular aspect, when we speak about the knowledge of God, for example?

“Now John’s Gospel speaks about the Logos of God… Jesus is the Logos of God come down on earth. What is the Logos? The Word of God! Now the Word of God became a human being. Does he have words of his own? Yes! Now if the Word of God, the Logos, is also God, what about the words of Jesus? Does that also become God? Ok, if the Holy Spirit is God and the Holy Spirit speaks, does that make his word also somehow God? So now you have a different problem to explain here, and that is what you are pointing to as a Muslim problem. That problem is shared by Muslims, by Jews, by Christians, and we have ways of getting over that. We’re saying there’s some things about God which we are told in scripture, which we know about, we don’t understand how it may be so. Ok, that much is a mystery. But when you start taking some aspect of God and making that a separate person, and you’re considering that to be God, now suddenly you have the 3-in-1 problem. How do explain that they are three and yet one?”

And here is what he also stated in his rebuttal:

“It is true that in Islamic history people discusses some mysteries about God, Yes, there was the mihna, the inquisition. Yes people quarrel over whether the Quran was created or not. But that is a quarrel that is not unique to Islam, and that is not the same problem as… or problem at the level of the Trinity. That’s a problem that exists for Jews as well, and also for Christians. So in addition to the Trinity you still have this problem, because we still can ask you: Ok is the Old Testament created or not created? Is it not the uncreated word of God? Nabeel has suggested, ‘Yeah! You Muslims should worship the Quran because that’s the eternal word of God.’ Ok so the Torah is the eternal word of God. Should Christians now worship the Torah? No! Should Muslims worship the Quran? No! I think this is a very weak argument Nabeel… you have to do better than that.” 

Ally’s Distortions and Misrepresentations Refuted

With the foregoing in mind, we can now address Ally’s claims.

An uncreated Torah? 

In the first place, it is simply not the case that traditional or rabbinic Judaism holds to the view of the Torah being uncreated like the Quran. Rather, the rabbinic sources teach that the Torah is one of the seven things that God created before he brought the world into being, with some of these references even going as far as stating that the Torah was created two thousand years before the creation of the heavens and earth:

Seven things were created before the world, viz., The Torah, repentance, the Garden of Eden, Gehenna, the Throne of Glory, the Temple, and the name of the Messiah. The Torah, for it is written, The Lord possessed me [the Torah] in the beginning of his way, before his works of old. Repentance, for it is written, Before the mountains were brought forth, or ever thou hadst formed the earth and the world… Thou turnest man to destruction, and sayest, Repent, ye sons of men. The Garden of Eden, as it is written, And the Lord God planted a garden in Eden from aforetime. Gehenna, as it is written, For Tophet is ordained of old. The Throne of Glory, as it is written, Thy Throne is established from of old. The Temple, as it is written, A glorious high throne from the beginning is the place of our sanctuary. The name of the Messiah, as it is written, His name [of Messiah] shall endure forever, and [has existed] before the sun! (Babylonian Talmud, Nedarim 39b – See the following translation https://halakhah.com/rst/nashim/26a%20-%20Nedorim%20-%202a-45a.pdf; bold and underline emphasis ours)

And:

Two thousand years before the world was created, [God] created the Torah [that is, divine wisdom]. – Targum Neophyti Gen. 3:24 (James L. Kugel, The Bible As It Was [The Belknap Press of Harvard University Press, Cambridge, Massachusetts/ London, England, 1997], p. 54; bold and underline emphasis ours)

Again:

… He had created the world, He created the law; He prepared the garden of Eden for the righteous, that they might eat and delight themselves with the fruit of the tree; because they would have practised in their lives the doctrine of the law in this world, and have maintained the commandments: (but) he prepared Gehinnam for the wicked, which is like the sharp, consuming sword of two edges; in the midst of it He hath prepared flakes of fire and burning coals for the judgment of the wicked who rebelled in their life against the doctrine of the law. To serve the law is better than (to eat of) the fruit of the tree of life, (the law) which the Word of the Lord prepared, that man in keeping it might continue, and walk in the paths of the way of life in the world to come.

[JERUSALEM. And the Word of the Lord God said, Behold, Adam whom I have created is sole in my world, as I am sole in the heavens above. It is to be that a great people are to arise from him; from him will arise a people who will know how to discern between good and evil. And now it is good that we keep him from the garden of Eden before he stretch forth his hand and take also of the fruit of the tree of life, and eat, and live for ever……And He cast out Adam, and made the glory of His Shekina to dwell at the front of the east of the garden of Eden, above the two Kerubaia. Two thousand years before He had created the world, He created the law, and prepared Gehinnam and the garden of Eden. He prepared the garden of Eden for the righteous, that they should eat, and delight themselves with the fruit of the tree, because they had kept the commandments of the law in this world. For the wicked He prepared Gehinnam, which is like the sharp, consuming sword with two edges. He prepared in the depth of it flakes of fire and burning coals for the wicked, for their punishment for ever in the world to come, who have not kept the commandment of the law in this world. For the law is the tree of life; whoever keepeth it in this life liveth and subsisteth as the tree of life. The law is good to keep in this world, as the fruit of the tree of life in the world that cometh.] (The Targum of Jonathan Ben Uzziel, The Targums of Onkelos and Jonathan Ben Uzziel On the Pentateuch With The Fragments of the Jerusalem Targum From the Chaldee, by J. W. Etheridge, M.A. First Published 1862 http://targum.info/pj/pjgen1-6.htm; bold and underline emphasis ours)

And now for our final, somewhat lengthy reference:

94. SEVEN THINGS CREATED BEFORE THE CREATION OF THE WORLD

Seven things were created before the creation of the world. They are; the Torah, Repentance, Paradise, Gehenna, the Throne of Glory, the heavenly Temple, and the name of the Messiah. The Messiah’s name as engraved on a precious stone on the altar of the heavenly Temple, as it is said, His name existed before the sun (Ps. 72:17). Nor will King Messiah ever know death. All seven preceded the creation of the world by two thousand years, and all were borne up by the power of God…

God is said to have created these seven things before the creation of the world (Midrash Tehillim 90:12). These seven things are regarded as the indispensible essentials for the world to exist. Each of these seven things is explained by a verse that suggests they were created before the rest of the creation of the world. The Torah’s pre-existence is supported by the verse The Lord possessed me in the beginning of His way, before His works of old (Prov. 8:22)…

B. Pesahim 54a; B. Nedarim 39b; Midrash Tehillim 8, 72:17; 90:3, 90:12; Sefer ha-Zikhronot 1:8; Orhot Tzaddikim; Avodat ha-Kodesh, Helek ha-Yihud 21…

308. THE CREATION OF THE TORAH

God CREATED the Torah at the very beginning, before the heavens were created and the earth was brought into being, before the mountains were sunk, before the hills were born, before there were any streams or sources of water, as it is said, Yahweh created me at the beginning of His course (Prov. 8:22). It lay in God’s bosom and sang praises of God along with the ministering angels.

God wrote the Torah while seated on the Throne of Glory, high in the firmament above the heads of the celestial creatures. The Garden of Eden was at God’s right hand, and Gehenna was at His left. The heavenly sanctuary was set up in front of Him, with the name of the Messiah engraved on the altar. There, as the Torah rested on His knees, God wrote the letters in black fire on white fire. Later, it was tied to the arm of God, as it is said, Lightning flashing at them from His right (Deut. 33:2). Others say that the Torah was written on the arm of God, while still others say it was carved in fire on God’s crown.

The Torah was there when God created the heavens, drawing a circle on the face of the depths. So too was it there when God fashioned the heavens and set the streams into motion.

The Torah was reared by God, and it was His daily joy, giving God great pleasure. Later Moses arose and brought it down to earth to give it to humanity.

Here the passage from Proverbs that is spoken by Wisdom is attributed to the Torah; Yahweh created me at the beginning of His course (Prov. 8:22). Thus Wisdom and the Torah are identified as the same figure, since the Torah is regarded as the sum of Jewish wisdom.

This myth answers the question of what the Torah was written on before it was given to Moses. The answer is that it was written with black fire on white fire and tied to the arm of God. An alternate version says that it was tied to the knee of God. Sill another version says that the Torah was carved with fire on God’s crown.

According to Avot de-Rabbi Natan, God created the Torah 974 generations before the world was created.

Sources:

Midrash Tehillim 90:12; Eliyahu Rabbah 31:160; Midrash Mishlei 8; Midrash Konen in Beit ha-Midrash 2:24-39; Avot de-Rabbi Natan 31; Alpha Beta de-Rabbi Akiva in Otzar Midrashim p. 424.

309. CREATION BY THE TORAH

The Torah was one of the seven things CREATED before the creation of the world, and the Torah served as God’s advisor when He was about to create this world. God looked into the Torah and created the world and all created beings through it.

When the time came to create man, the Torah said, “Master of the Universe, the world is Yours to create. The days of this man You want to create will be short and full of anger, and he will be drawn into sin. If You are not going to have patience with him, it’s better for him not to be created.”

God answered, “It’s not for nothing that I’m called Merciful.”

After that God consulted only the Torah, and let the Torah serve as a blueprint for all creation. So too did the Torah serve as an artisan in all the work of creation. With the assistance of the Torah, God stretched out the heavens and established the earth. With the Torah He bound up the sea, lest it go forth and overflow the world. So too did He fashion the sun and moon with it. Thus we learn that the world was indeed founded upon the Torah, and that God created the world and all created beings through the Torah. How did God do this? He looked into the Torah and created the world with it. With every single act of creation, God looked into the Torah, and created that detail of creation…

Thus not only was the Torah CREATED prior to the creation of the world, it was the vessel by which the world was created. Thus the universe was created through the letters of the Torah.

So too did God declare, at the time of man’s creation, that the world was created only for the sake of the Torah, and that as long as the Jewish people occupy themselves with the Torah, the world will continue to exist. But if the Jewish people abandon the Torah, God will return all of creation to a state of chaos.

God is able to consult the Torah because it is one of the seven things CREATED before the creation. See “Seven Things Created before the Creation,” p. 74. A parable is given to explain God’s use of the Torah to create the world: “When a king wishes to build a palace, he does not build it himself but brings in an artisan. Nor does the artisan build it himself. He uses sketches and notebooks. So too did God look into the Torah and created the world.” (Genesis Rabbah 1:1). Here the Torah is presented as an “artisan,” while God is the architect, that is, as an active, creating force, not simply a text that was consulted. Here the Torah seems to participate in the creation in much the same way as the angels are said to have done in other rabbinic sources. See “Creation by Angels,” p. 116… In this scenario, God created the Torah, which, in turn, was used to create the elements, which were used to create the world… ((Howard Schwartz, Tree of Souls: The Mythology of Judaism [Oxford University Press, 2007], pp. 74-75, 248-250; capital and underline emphasis ours)

The above quotations refute Shabir Ally’s assertion since the Jews do not claim that the Torah is the uncreated word of God. As such, the Jewish view is unlike that of Sunni Islam, which teaches that the Quran has no beginning since it is the eternal speech of Allah. Therefore, this is nothing more than another case of Shabir Ally distorting the facts so as to mislead his audience for the express purpose of scoring points against his opponents.

Is the Quran really Allah’s Knowledge?

The second problem with Ally’s claim is that the Quran is believed to be the word/speech of Allah (kalamullah), not his knowledge (al–ilmu bil-Lah). The Islamic “revelation” contains (but is not identical with) those aspects or parts of Allah’s knowledge and will that the Muslim deity wanted to make known to mankind. However, the Quran is not identical to Allah’s knowledge. And this is just common sense since a person’s words are not the same as his wisdom and knowledge. Rather, words are used to communicate the knowledge and wisdom possessed by the individual.

This again exposes Ally’s willingness to twist facts and misrepresent sources in order to win by any means necessary, even if this means employing deceptive and dishonest tactics to do so.

We have more to say in the second part of our rebuttal https://answeringislamblog.wordpress.com/2017/08/11/a-critique-of-shabir-allys-debate-tactics-pt-2b/.

Source: https://answeringislamblog.wordpress.com/2017/08/11/a-critique-of-shabir-allys-debate-tactics-pt-2a/ 

IHS

Shabir Ally Proves Muhammad was a Terrorist! Pt. 2

I continue from where I left off https://answeringislamblog.wordpress.com/2017/03/06/shabir-ally-proves-muhammad-was-a-terrorist-pt-1b/.

Recall Ally’s second criteria which he uses to determine whether a religious book’s teaching on war is just or not, namely, does the Book present its heroes and models as peaceful individuals? Ally employs this specific criterion to show how specific OT characters, which are associated with violence, are depicted within the Quran as being peaceful individuals, whose violent deeds are not recorded or are considerably toned down. Ally argues that this is evidence that the Quran’s message to Muslims is that they are to strive to live at peace with everyone, including the unbelievers, and should never harm or attack anyone simply because they do not believe in Islam.

We are now going to use Ally’s criterion to prove the exact opposite point by showing how Muhammad took a rather important biblical figure and reshaped his story in such a way as to mimic Muhammad’s view of unbelievers, in order to give the deceptive and misleading impression that all of God’s true prophets treated disbelievers in the exact same way that Muhammad did.

The Quranic Proof

And We verily gave knowledge unto David and Solomon, and they said: Praise be to Allah, Who hath preferred us above many of His believing slaves! And Solomon was David’s heir. And he said: O mankind! Lo! we have been taught the language of birds, and have been given (abundance) of all things. This surely is evident favour. And there were gathered together unto Solomon his armies of the jinn and humankind, and of the birds, and they were set in battle order; Till, when they reached the Valley of the Ants, an ant exclaimed: O ants! Enter your dwellings lest Solomon and his armies crush you, unperceiving. And (Solomon) smiled, laughing at her speech, and said: My Lord, arouse me to be thankful for Thy favour wherewith Thou hast favoured me and my parents, and to do good that shall be pleasing unto Thee, and include me in (the number of) Thy righteous slaves. And he sought among the birds and said: How is it that I see not the hoopoe, or is he among the absent? I verily will punish him with hard punishment or I verily will slay him, or he verily shall bring me a plain excuse. But he was not long in coming, and he said: I have found out (a thing) that thou apprehendest not, and I come unto thee from Sheba with sure tidings. Lo! I found a woman ruling over them, and she hath been given (abundance) of all things, and hers is a mighty throne. I found her and her people worshipping the sun instead of Allah; and Satan maketh their works fairseeming unto them, and debarreth them from the way (of Truth), so that they go not aright; So that they worship not Allah, Who bringeth forth the hidden in the heavens and the earth, and knoweth what ye hide and what ye proclaim, Allah; there is no God save Him, the Lord of the Tremendous Throne. (Solomon) said: We shall see whether thou speakest truth or whether thou art of the liars. Go with this my letter and throw it down unto them; then turn away and see what (answer) they return, (The Queen of Sheba) said (when she received the letter): O chieftains! Lo! there hath been thrown unto me a noble letter. Lo! it is from Solomon, and lo! it is: In the name of Allah, the Beneficent, the Merciful; Exalt not yourselves against me, but come unto me as those who surrender. She said: O chieftains! Pronounce for me in my case. I decide no case till ye are present with me. They said: We are lords of might and lords of great prowess, but it is for thee to command; so consider what thou wilt command. She said: Lo! kings, when they enter a township, ruin it and make the honour of its people shame (athillatan). Thus will they do. But lo! I am going to send a present unto them, and to see with what (answer) the messengers return. So when (the envoy) came unto Solomon, (the King) said: What! Would ye help me with wealth? But that which Allah hath given me is better than that which He hath given you. Nay it is ye (and not I) who exult in your gift. Return unto them. We verily shall come unto them with hosts that they cannot resist, and we shall drive them out from thence WITH SHAME, AND THEY WILL BE ABASED (athillatan wahum saghiroona). He said: O chiefs! Which of you will bring me her throne before they come unto me, surrendering? A stalwart of the jinn said: I will bring it thee before thou canst rise from thy place. Lo! I verily am strong and trusty for such work. One with whom was knowledge of the Scripture said: I will bring it thee before thy gaze returneth unto thee. And when he saw it set in his presence, (Solomon) said: This is of the bounty of my Lord, that He may try me whether I give thanks or am ungrateful. Whosoever giveth thanks he only giveth thanks for (the good of) his own soul; and whosoever is ungrateful (is ungrateful only to his own soul’s hurt). For lo! my Lord is Absolute in independence, Bountiful. He said: Disguise her throne for her that we may see whether she will go aright or be of those not rightly guided. So, when she came, it was said (unto her): Is thy throne like this? She said: (It is) as though it were the very one. And (Solomon said): We were given the knowledge before her and we had surrendered (to Allah). And (all) that she was wont to worship instead of Allah hindered her, for she came of disbelieving folk. It was said unto her: Enter the hall. And when she saw it she deemed it a pool and bared her legs. (Solomon) said: Lo! it is a hall, made smooth, of glass. She said: My Lord! Lo! I have wronged myself, and I surrender with Solomon unto Allah, the Lord of the Worlds. S. 27:15-44 Pickthall 

The Analysis

This fairy tale provides several key insights into the mindset of Muhammad since it reveals that he had always intended to mount an offensive assault against anyone and everyone who believed in a religion other than Islam.

The first thing to notice is that the queen of Sheba is caught totally off guard when the hoopoe delivers and drops Solomon’s letter into her palace, showing that she hadn’t made any threats against Solomon and his people. Rather, she and her people were minding their own business when Solomon allegedly sent a letter threatening her that she and her people had to convert or suffer the consequences.

This is precisely what Muhammad did, namely, send threatening letters to various kings and peoples, telling them to surrender to Islam if they didn’t want to come under his wrath. Muhammad even started off his letters in the same way that he had Solomon begin the letter that he supposedly sent to the Queen of Sheba, namely, by writing “In the Name of Allah, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful”!

It has been narrated on the authority of Anas that the Prophet of Allah wrote to Chosroes (King of Persia), Caesar (Emperor of Rome), Negus (King of Abyssinia) and every (other) despot inviting them to Allah, the Exalted. And this Negus was not the one for whom the Messenger of Allah had said the funeral prayers. (Sahih Muslim, Book 019, Number 4382 http://searchtruth.com/book_display.php?book=019&translator=2&start=0&number=4382)

And:

The Prophet was commanded to convey Islam to all of mankind. Allaah said (interpretation of the meaning):

“And We have not sent you (O Muhammad) except as a giver of glad tidings and a warner to all mankind”

[Saba’ 34:28]

So the Messenger of Allaah did as he was commanded. He called his people and those who were around him first, and when Islam became established in Arabia, and the Arabs entered the religion of Allaah in crowds, he began to call others, and he sent his messengers and envoys to the kings and rulers.

Muslim (1774) narrated from Anas that the Prophet of Allaah wrote to Chosroes, Caesar, the Negus and to every tyrant, calling them to Allaah. This was not the Negus for whom the Prophet offered the funeral prayer.

Al-Haafiz said in al-Fath:

The Prophet wrote to the Negus who became Muslim and for whom he offered the funeral prayer when he died, then he wrote to the Negus who came to the throne after him and who was a kaafir.

The Prophet sent ‘Abd-Allaah ibn Hudhaafah to Chosroes; Dahyah to Caesar the king of Byzantium; Saleet ibn ‘Amr to Hawdhah ibn ‘Ali in al-Yamaamah; al-‘Ala’ ibn al-Hadrami to al-Mundhir ibn Saawa in Hajar; ‘Amr ibn al-‘Aas to Jayfar and ‘Abbaad, the two sons of al-Jalandi in ‘Ammaan; Shujaa’ ibn Wahb to Ibn Abu Shamir al-Ghassaani; and Haatib ibn Abi Balta’ah to al-Muqawqis. He wrote to the Negus and he became Muslim, and when he died, he wrote to the Negus who succeeded him and sent ‘Amr ibn Umayyah to him.

The Messenger of Allaah called them to Islam and to worship Allaah alone.

See Zaad al-Ma’aad by Ibn al-Qayyim (3/688-697), where he quotes the letters of the Prophet and the responses of those kings.

The text of the letter of the Messenger of Allaah to Heraclius the king of Byzantium was as follows:

“In the Name of Allaah, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful. From Muhammad the slave and Messenger of Allaah to Heraclius the ruler of Byzantium. Peace be upon those who follow true guidance. I call you with the call of Islam. Become Muslim and you will be safe, and Allaah will grant you a two-fold reward, but if you turn away, upon you will be the sins of the Areesiyyeen (peasants i.e., his followers and subjects who would follow him in kufr).

‘Say (O Muhammad): “O people of the Scripture (Jews and Christians): Come to a word that is just between us and you, that we worship none but Allaah (Alone), and that we associate no partners with Him, and that none of us shall take others as lords besides Allaah. Then, if they turn away, say: “Bear witness that we are Muslims”’

[Aal ‘Imraan 3:64].”

Narrated by al-Bukhaari, 7; Muslim, 1773.

None of these kings believed except for the first Negus, the king of Abyssinia (Ethiopia), and the king of ‘Ammaan and his brother.

Heraclius would have become Muslim, were it not that he feared what his people would do to him. He was afraid that he would lose his kingdom. The same was true of the others, who preferred the life of this world to the Hereafter, so ultimately they were the losers.

It is narrated in al-Bukhaari and Muslim, in the hadeeth referred to above, that when Heraclius asked Abu Sufyaan about the attributes of the Prophet and the message to which he was calling people, he acknowledged that he was indeed the Messenger of Allaah. He said:

“If what you say is true, then he is a Prophet, and he will soon occupy the place beneath these two feet of mine. I knew that he would emerge, but I did not think that he would be from among you. If I knew that I could reach him definitely, I would have done my utmost to go to meet him, and if I were with him, I would wash his feet.”

This indicates that he knew that he would not be safe from being killed if he were to migrate to the Prophet. It was narrated that he said: “I know that (i.e., what they said about the Prophet) is correct, but I cannot do anything. If I do anything my kingdom will be lost and the Romans (Byzantines) will kill me.” And it was also narrated that he said: “By Allaah, I know that he is a Prophet who has been sent, but I fear the Byzantines and what they will do to me. Were it not for that, I would follow him.”

Ibn al-Qayyim mentions in Zaad al-Ma’aad (3/694) that when Heraclius heard news of the Negus becoming Muslim, he said: “By Allaah, were it not for the sake of holding on to my kingdom, I would have done what he has done.”

His fear for himself and his kingdom prevented him from becoming Muslim and migrating to the Prophet.

But if Heraclius had really understood the words of the Prophet in the letter that he sent to him: “Become Muslim and you will be safe,” and he had understood that in general terms as applying both to this world and the Hereafter, he would have been safe from all that he feared if he had become Muslim. But guidance is in the hand of Allaah. The Negus, the king of Abyssinia, became Muslim and remained in power.

See Fath al-Baari, commentary on hadeeth no. 7; Sharh Muslim by al-Nawawi, hadeeth no. 1773. (Islam Question and Answer, 36861: The letters of the Prophet to the kings https://islamqa.info/en/36861; bold emphasis ours)

The supposed reaction of Heraclius is similar to the queen of Sheba’s alleged response and therefore highlights the fact that, much like the latter’s reaction to Solomon’s threat, the Byzantine emperor was caught off guard by Muhammad’s letter.

All of this indicates that Heraclius and the other leaders to whom Muhammad wrote hadn’t done anything to provoke Muhammad to war. It was Muhammad who started the threats and hostilities with the unbelievers, not the other way around.

This is further confirmed by what Muhammad has Solomon saying in response to the queen’s reply to his threatening letter:

Go thou back unto them [that have sent thee]! For, [God says:] “We shall most certainly come upon them with forces which they will never be able to withstand, and shall most certainly cause them to be driven from that [land of theirs], despicable and humbled! (athilatan wahum saghiroona)!’” S. 27:37 Muhammad Asad

Solomon threatens to attack the queen and her people until they are driven from their land in humiliation in order to show how despicable they truly are.

Compare this with the way the following English versions of the Quran render this passage:

Go back to them, for We shall come to them with armies they can never resist. We shall expel them from it just like the meanest people, and they will be humiliated. T. B. Irving

Go back [and tell] them, that we will come to them with soldiers whom they will be unable to face, and We will expel them from their land in humiliation, and disgrace. Safi Kaskas

Go back to your people: we shall certainly come upon them with irresistible forces, and drive them, disgraced and humbled, from their land.’ Abdel Haleem

Return to them. We will come to them with troops they cannot face and we will expel them from it abased and humiliated. Aisha Bewley

“… Indeed, we will definitely drive them out there from humiliated, and they will be (utterly) belittled.” Muhammad Mahmoud Ghali

Go back to them, and we will bring to them forces they have no power to face, and we will certainly drive them out from there in humiliation while they are disgraced. Muhammad Taqi Usmani

Return to them, for we will surely come to them with soldiers that they will be powerless to encounter, and we will surely expel them therefrom in humiliation, and they will be debased. Sahih International

So go back to them (with your gifts). We shall come with such troops (to invade) them that they will not have (the power) to fight back, and, humiliating them, we shall drive them out from there in such a plight that they will be dishonoured (becoming prisoners).’ Dr. Mohammad Tahir-ul-Qadri

“… And we shall certainly cause them to be driven therefrom, humiliated and belittled!” Mohammad Shafi

(To the hoopoe, he said,) “Go back to them (and let them know that) we will come to them with forces they cannot imagine. We will evict them, humiliated and debased.” Khalifa

These translations help highlight what Muhammad was really thinking and what he really felt about the unbelievers.

In fact, what makes this verse all the more relevant in unveiling Muhammad’s view of the unbelievers, and what he was planning to do to them once he had the upper hand, is that the very word for humiliate, belittle etc., which appears here, namely saghiroona, is also found in Q. 9:29, which happens to be the very passage where Muhammad called for the humiliation and subjugation of Jews and Christians!

Here are a couple of translations of that particular text:

Fight those who neither believe in Allah nor the Last Day, who do not forbid what Allah and His Messenger have forbidden, and do not embrace the religion of the truth, being among those who have been given the Book (Bible and the Torah), until they pay tribute out of hand and have been humiliated (saghiroona). Hasan Al-Fatih Qaribullah

From those to whom the Knowledge (Book) has been given, fight those who do not believe in Allah and the life to come (beyond death), who do not consider unlawful what Allah and His Rasul have made forbidden, and who do not embrace the understanding of the Religion of Truth (the knowledge of the reality and sunnatullah) until they are humbled and give the jizyah (the cost of persisting on a false belief) willingly. Ahmed Hulusi

What makes this even more interesting is that this Arabic word saghir is employed in the context of Allah disgracing and humiliating Satan for disobeying his command:

(Allah) said: “(O Iblis) get down from this (Paradise), it is not for you to be arrogant here. Get out, for you are of those humiliated and disgraced (al-saghireena).” S. 7:13 Hilali-Khan

Hence, Muslims are to treat unbelieving Jews and Christians in the same way that Allah treats Satan!

Ally’s Dilemma

Thanks to Ally’s own criterion we have come to discover that Muhammad was indeed a violent man who had always intended to attack the unbelievers in order to force them to become Muslims or, in the case of the Jews and Christians, pay a sum of money as a sign that they had been subjugated/humiliated/abased/disgraced by Muhammad and his hordes. As one renowned Muslim scholar and commentator put it:

Paying Jizyah is a Sign of Kufr AND DISGRACE

Allah said…

<until they pay the Jizyah>, if they do not choose to embrace Islam…

<with willing submission>, in defeat and subservience…

<and feel themselves subdued.>, DISGRACED, HUMILIATED AND BELITTLED. Therefore, Muslims are not allowed to honor the people of Dhimmah or elevate them above Muslims, FOR THEY ARE MISERABLE, DISGRACED AND HUMILIATED. Muslim recorded from Abu Hurayrah that the Prophet said…

<<Do not initiate the Salam to the Jews and Christians, and if you meet any of them in a road, FORCE THEM TO ITS NARROWEST ALLEY.>>

This is why the Leader of the faithful `Umar bin Al-Khattab, may Allah be pleased with him, demanded his well-known conditions be met by the Christians, THESE CONDITIONS THAT ENSURED THEIR CONTINUED HUMILIATION, DEGRADATION AND DISGRACE. The scholars of Hadith narrated from `Abdur-Rahman bin Ghanm Al-Ash`ari that he said, “I recorded for `Umar bin Al-Khattab, may Allah be pleased with him, the terms of the treaty of peace he conducted with the Christians of Ash-Sham:

‘In the Name of Allah, Most Gracious, Most Merciful. This is a document to the servant of Allah `Umar, the Leader of the faithful, from the Christians of such and such city. When you (Muslims) came to us we requested safety for ourselves, children, property and followers of our religion.

We made a condition on ourselves that we will neither erect in our areas a monastery, church, or a sanctuary for a monk, nor restore any place of worship that needs restoration nor use any of them for the purpose of enmity against Muslims.

We will not prevent any Muslim from resting in our churches whether they come by day or night, and we will open the doors [of our houses of worship] for the wayfarer and passerby.

Those Muslims who come as guests, will enjoy boarding and food for three days.

We will not allow a spy against Muslims into our churches and homes or hide deceit [or betrayal] against Muslims.

We will not teach our children the Qur’an, publicize practices of Shirk, invite anyone to Shirk or prevent any of our fellows from embracing Islam, if they choose to do so.

We will respect Muslims, MOVE FROM THE PLACES WE SIT IN IF THEY CHOOSE TO SIT IN THEM.

We will not imitate their clothing, caps, turbans, sandals, hairstyles, speech, nicknames and title names, or ride on saddles, hang swords on the shoulders, collect weapons of any kind or carry these weapons.

We will not encrypt our stamps in Arabic, or sell liquor.

We will have the front of our hair cut, wear our customary clothes wherever we are, wear belts around our waist, refrain from erecting crosses on the outside of our churches and demonstrating them and our books in public in Muslim fairways and markets.

We will not sound the bells in our churches, except discretely, or raise our voices while reciting our holy books inside our churches in the presence of Muslims, nor raise our voices [with prayer] at our funerals, or light torches in funeral processions in the fairways of Muslims, or their markets.

We will not bury our dead next to Muslim dead, or buy servants who were captured by Muslims. We will be guides for Muslims and refrain from breaching their privacy in their homes.’

When I gave this document to `Umar, he added to it, `We will not beat any Muslim. These are the conditions that we set against ourselves and followers of our religion IN RETURN FOR SAFETY AND PROTECTION. If we break any of these promises that we set for your benefit against ourselves, then our Dhimmah (promise of protection) is broken and you are allowed to do with us what you are allowed of people of defiance and rebellion.’” (Tafsir Ibn Kathir, Q. 9:29 http://www.qtafsir.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=2566&Itemid=64; capital and underline emphasis ours)

This is why Muhammad deliberately reshaped Solomon’s character to resemble his own, recasting this true prophet and anointed Israelite king to mimic Muhammad’s own attitude and treatment of unbelievers. Muhammad obviously did this in order to convince his followers that this has always been the way that God’s true emissaries have dealt with the disbelievers.

Yet in painting Solomon in this manner, Muhammad revealed his true attitude and desires, exposing the fact that right from the very beginning his intention had been to attack the unbelievers until he had total control over them so he could then impose his will upon them.

Therefore, if Ally is going to be consistent and honest he has no choice but to accept the fact that per his own criterion, Muhammad was an evil tyrant whose desire had always been to violently subjugate the unbelievers since he could not tolerate the fact of people following a religion other than his own.

Thus, instead of vindicating Muhammad Ally’s methodology actually condemns him as an unjust and wicked impostor whose idea of peace meant that everyone either had to become Muslim or come under his total control and dominance. In Muhammad’s mind, this was the only way that true peace could be obtained and become a reality.

We therefore want to personally thank Ally for arbitrarily coming up with a criterion that ended up helping us expose his false prophet for being the evil, vile human being that he truly was. We truly appreciate Ally’s assistance in strengthening our case against his prophet, and do hope he continues his indirect jihad against Muhammad since we will be right here waiting for him to come with more arguments for us to use against his false prophet.

Related Articles

Muhammad – I am all the Prophets http://www.answeringislam.net/Quran/Sources/allprophets.html

Is Islam a Religion of Peace? http://answeringislam.net/Shamoun/na_debate.htm

Muhammad and the Meccans: Who Antagonized Whom? http://answeringislam.net/Shamoun/antagonizing.htm

Muhammad the Antagonist Still! http://answeringislam.net/authors/shamoun/rebuttals/zawadi/mo_antagonizer.html

Banu Qurayza – A Tribe Betrayed http://answeringislam.net/Responses/Osama/zawadi_banu_qurayza.htm

Reexamining Muhammad’s Treachery Against the Banu Qurayza http://answeringislam.net/authors/shamoun/rebuttals/zawadi/mo_qurayza.html

The Prophet of Terror and Mayhem Pt. 1 https://answeringislamblog.wordpress.com/2016/12/27/the-prophet-of-terror-and-mayhem-pt-1/, Pt. 2 https://answeringislamblog.wordpress.com/2016/12/28/the-prophet-of-terror-and-mayhem-pt-2/, Pt. 3 https://answeringislamblog.wordpress.com/2016/12/28/the-prophet-of-terror-and-mayhem-pt-3/

SOurce: https://answeringislamblog.wordpress.com/2017/05/02/shabir-ally-proves-muhammad-was-a-terrorist-pt-2/ 

IHS