Iman Way

Imam Abu Hanifah and the Atheist

Sat, 12 Sep 2009 20:30:00 +0600

Long ago in the city of Baghdad, there was a Muslim empire. On one side of the River Tigris were the royal palaces and on the other side was the city. The Muslims were gathered in the Royal Palace when an athiest approached them. He said to them, 'I don't believe in God, there cannot be a God, you cannot hear Him or see Him, you're wasting your time! Bring me your best debator and I will debate this issue with him.'

The best debator at the time was Imam Abu Hanifah Rahimullah. A messenger from amongst the Muslims was sent over the River Tigris to the city, where Abu Hanifah Rahimullah was, in order to tell him about the athiest who was awaiting him. On crossing the River Tigris, the messenger conveyed the message to Abu Hanifah Rahimullah saying, 'Oh Abu Hanifah, an athiest is waiting for you, to debate you, please come!' Abu Hanifah Rahimullah told the messeneger that he would be on his way.

The messenger went over the River Tigris once again and to the Royal Palaces, where everyone including the athiest awaited the arrival of Abu Hanifah Rahimullah. It was sunset at the time and one hour had passed, but Abu Hanifah Rahimullah still hadn't arrived. Another hour had passed, but still there was no sign of him. The Muslims started to become tense and worried about his late arrival. They did not want the athiest to think that they were too scared to debate him, yet they did not want to take up the challenge themselves as Abu Hanifah Rahimullah was the best of Debators from amongst the Muslims. Another hour passed, and suddenly the athiest started laughing and said, ' Your best debator is too scared! He knows he's wrong, he is too frightened to come and debate with me. I gurantee he will not turn up today.'

The Muslims increased in apprehension and eventually it had passed midnight, and the athiest had a smile on his face. The clock ticked on, and finally Abu Hanifah Rahimullah had arrived. The Muslims inquired about his lateness and remarked, 'Oh Abu Hanifah, a messenger sent for you hours ago, and you arrive now, explain your lateness to us.'

Abu Hanifah Rahimullah apologises for his lateness and begins to explain, while the atheist listens to his story.

'Once the messenger delivered the message to me, I began to make my way to the River Tigris, and on reaching the river bank I realised there was no boat, in order to cross the river. It was getting dark, and I looked around, there was no boat anywhere nor was there a navigator or a sailor in order for me to cross the river to get to the Royal Palaces. I continued to look around for a boat, as I did not want the athiest to think I was running away and did not want to debate with him.

I was standing on the river bank looking for a navigator or a boat when something caught my attention in the middle of the river. I looked forward, and to my amazement I saw planks of wood rising to the surface from the sea bed. I was shocked, amazed, I couldn't believe what I saw seeing. Ready made planks of wood were rising up to the surface and joining together. They were all the same width and length, I was astounded at what I saw.

I continued to look into the middle of the river, and then I saw nails coming up from the sea floor. They positioned themselves onto the boat and held the planks together, without them being banged. I stood in amazement and thought to myself, 'Oh Allah, how can this happen, planks of wood rising to the surface by itself, and then nails positioning themselves onto the boat without being banged?' I could not undertsand what was happening before my eyes.'

The athiest meanwhile was listening with a smile on his face. Abu Hanifah Rahimullah continued, 'I was still standing on the river bank watching these planks of wood join together with nails. I could see water seeping through the gaps in the wood, and suddenly I saw a sealant appear from the river and it began sealing the gaps without someone having poured it, again I thought, 'Ya Allah, how is this possible, how can sealant appear and seal the gaps without someone having poured it, and nails appear without someone having banged them.' I looked closer and I could see a boat forming before my eyes, I stood in amazement and was filled with shock. All of a sudden a sail appeared and I thought to myself, 'How is this happening, a boat has appeared before my eyes by itself, planks of wood, nails, sealant and now a sail, but how can I use this boat in order to cross the river to the Royal Palaces?' I stood staring in wonderment and suddenly the boat began to move. It came towards me against the current. It stood floating beside me while I was on the river bank, as if telling me to embark onto it. I went on the boat and yet again it began to move. There was no navigator or sailor on the boat, and the boat began to travel towards the direction of the royal palaces, without anyone having programmed it as to where to go. I could not understand what was happening, and how this boat had formed and was taking me to my destination against the flow of water. The boat eventually reached the other side of the River Tigris and I disembarked. I turned around and the boat had disappeared, and that is why I am late.'

At this moment, the athiest brust out laughing and remarked, 'Oh Abu Hanifah, I heard that you were the best debator from amongst the Muslims, I heard that you were the wisest, the most knowledgable from amongst your people. From seeing you today, I can say that you show none of these qualities. You speak of a boat appearing from nowhere, without someone having built it. Nails positioning themselves without someone having banged them, sealant being poured without someone having poured it, and the boat taking you to your destination without a navigator against the tide, your taking childish, your talking rediculous, I swear I do not belive a word of it!'

Abu Hanifah Rahimullah turned to the athiest and replied, 'You don't believe a word of it? You dont believe that nails can appear by themselves? You dont believe sealant can be poured by itself? You dont believe that a boat can move without a navigator, hence you don't believe that a boat can appear without a boat maker?'

The athiest remarked defiantly, 'Yes I dont believe a word of it!'

Abu Hanifah Rahimullah replied, 'If you cannot believe that a boat came into being without a boat maker, than this is only a boat, how can you believe that the whole world, the universe, the stars, the oceans, and the planets came into being without a creator?

The athiest astonished at his reply got up and fled.

Transcribed from a lecture delivered by Shaykh Ahmad Ali.

Ref::: www.haqislam.org

Existence of God

Sat, 05 Sep 2009 20:00:00 +0600

Question
I am an atheist who was reccomended to you by a muslim friend. I am interested in your opinion as to proving god's existence. If you have any proof I would love to hear it. If you feel proofs are unneccessary could you explain to me why they are?

Answer
Hi Phil and thanks you for your interest

No one dared so far to claim creating, or being able to create, any single thing, even a hair!! The Creator and The Sustainer of all these Creatures is One only; if there were more than one there would have been confusion in the heavens and the earth! That One is Allah (the only true God).

Can we find an explanation of the great universe? Is there any convincing interpretation of the secret of existence? We realize that no family can function properly without a responsible head, that no city can prosperously exist without sound administration, and that no state can survive without a leader of some kind. We also realize that nothing comes into being on its own. Moreover, we observe that the universe exists and functions in the most orderly manner, and that it has survived for hundreds of thousands of years. Can we, then, say that all this is accidental and haphazard? Can we attribute the existence of man and the whole world to mere chance.

In the world then there must be a Great Force in action to keep everything in order. In the beautiful nature there must be a Great Creator who creates the most charming pieces of art and produces everything for a special purpose in life. The deeply enlightened people recognize this creator and call him Allah 'God'. He is not human because no human can create or make another human. He is not an animal nor is He a plant. He is neither an idol nor is He a statue of any kind because none of these things can make itself or create anything else. He is different from all of these things, because He is the maker and keeper of them all. The maker of anything must be different from and greater than the things which he makes.
Scientists, even though they are able to reproduce human and animal life through artificial processes like in-vitro fertilization and cloning, cannot accomplish these feats without the basic elements of human life that consist of genes and cells and other organic properties. Scientists are not able to create these things. Even the processes that are used by scientists to accomplish various procedures originated from a source whose intellect was obviously far greater than those who seek to discover and imitate the creative processes.

There are various ways to know God "Allah", and there are many things to tell about Him. The great wonders and impressive marvels of the world are like open books in which we can read about Allah. Besides, Allah Himself comes to our aid through the many messengers and revelations He has sent down to man. These messengers and revelations tell us about everything we need to know about Allah.

The Atheist position is indeed hopeless. The believer has hope. If there is a God and there is life after death then the believer wins. If there is no God or no life after death the believer loses nothing. On the other hand, the Atheist loses badly if he wakes up to discover himself in the afterlife. In sum, if there is no afterlife both the believer and the Atheist are safe. But if there is an afterlife then the Atheist loses. The only one who can possibly lose is the Atheist.

On the other hand, it is the Atheist who is wasting his life. His life has no purpose but temporary enjoyment. But such enjoyment is always tempered by nagging doubts about whether or not life is heading in the right direction. It is the believer who lives in quiet confidence that God's promise is true.

Man cannot attain to his true humanity and acquire peace of mind unless he realises this aim for which he was created. But how can he do this! God, being merciful and Just, has helped him in many ways. He granted him an originally good nature that is inclined to know and serve its true Lord. He granted him a mind that possesses a moral sense and the ability to reason. He made the whole universe a natural book full of signs that lead a thinking person to God. But to make things more specific, to give him more detailed knowledge of his Lord, and to show him in a more detailed manner how to serve Him, God has been sending down verbal messages through His prophets chosen from among men, ever since the creation of man

BY:: Abo Muhammed Samir Faid

Please prove to me that God exists.

Thu, 03 Sep 2009 12:30:00 +0600

In the name of God the Most Gracious, Most High, I seek refuge with Allah from Satan the accursed.

Please prove to me that God exists.

Salaam Quresh,

Thank you very much for your question.

One important point we need to understand in the first place is that the existence of God cannot be proved in the same way you prove the existence of a physical object. This is simply because God is not a physical object. Any physical object is subject to your five senses. In simple terms, you can see, hear, smell, touch or taste a physical object. This is not possible in the case of God, as He (swt) is a Transcendental Being [existing on a level beyond our sensual perception].

There are people who argue that the only form of knowledge available to humans is experiential knowledge or experimental knowledge, gained primarily by the use of outer senses. This led to the belief that human beings are constituted in such a way that the knowledge of reality is always unavailable to them; and so it resulted in a renewal of attention to the everyday world of appearances. The knowledge of here and now became the only object of human knowledge and concern. Thus from this point of view, the project of seeking knowledge of reality behind appearances must be abandoned, because it is beyond the scope of human understanding.

Now think: Canât there be a way of âbeingâ [existing], that is not susceptible of being perceived by the limited capabilities of humans through their defective senses?

I hope that the implications of the two expressions I used above [âlimited capabilitiesâ and âdefective sensesâ] are evident to any thinking person. The claim that something does not exist, because you havenât seen or heard it, etc. is untenable. When we consider the limitations of our sensual perception and of our reasoning powers, it is not necessary that we understand everything. We can speak meaningfully about everything simply on the basis of our perception. So to speak of âproofâ with regard to a Transcendental Being becomes irrelevant.

What we can do is to point out facts which lead to a constant and inescapable awareness of the presence of God. It is clear that logically we cannot rule out the possibility of more things existing than can be perceived by our senses or can be arrived at by our reasoning. As for Man, there are two dimensions to his existence: One of matter and the other of spirit.

Reduced merely to the level of material existence, Man becomes a machine, or a mere animal at best. But think of a machine that rebels against being a machine; or of an animal that refuses to be an animal. That is what man is! What is it that makes him rebellious, angry, disappointed, frightened or hopeful? What is his dimension that gives him his imagination, his artistic genius, his creative urge? Why does he have nightmares and sweet dreams?

It is not matter that does it; evidently it is his spirit that makes him so different from animals. So to base our knowledge of the world and our philosophy of life simply on the material side of our existence to the complete exclusion of the spiritual dimension, is undoubtedly faulty. The strength of Islam as a philosophy and as a way of life is that it does not separate manâs material life from spiritual life, and that it seeks a balance between the two dimensions of human existence.

We should understand that human spirit is a reality incommensurable with material realities, and that it owes its existence only to God. Thus dear brother, if we ponder over the phenomena of the world around us and over the complexities of our own existence, we are bound to conclude that God is the Reality behind all appearances. The Holy Qurâan says in Surah 2, verse 164, the meaning of the following:

*{Behold! in the creation of the heavens and the earth; in the alternation of the night and the day; in the sailing of the ships through the ocean for the profit of mankind; in the rain which God Sends down from the skies, and the life which He gives therewith to an earth that is dead; in the beasts of all kinds that He scatters through the earth; in the change of the winds, and the clouds which they Trail like their slaves between the sky and the earth;- [Here] indeed are signs for a people that are wise.}*

That is to say the external signs we see in the universe should necessarily lead a wise person to the Ultimate Reality behind it all. And that is how we arrive at the realization that Allah Almighty is the Moving Power behind all life and all existence.

And Allah knows best.

Ref :: Unknown

Who is the Creator of People and Plants?

Thu, 03 Sep 2009 12:20:00 +0600

To those arrogant people who deny the existence of God, Allah questions them about His creatures. Who is the creator of sperm and plant? People or God the All Wise Creator?

âHave ye seen that which ye emit?

Do ye create it or are We the creator?â [Quran 56:58-59]
âHave ye seen that which ye cultivate?

Is it ye who foster it, or are We the Fosterer?â [Quran 56:63-64]
âWas it ye who made the tree thereof to grow, or were We the grower?â [Quran 56:72]

Can Men Create a Fly?

In another verse, Allah challenges others to create a fly if they could do it. Men may be could make robots from things that created by Allah. Yet, none could make a fly from nothing nor thing that could reproduce except Allah:

ââ¦Lo! Those on whom ye call beside Allah will never create a fly though they combine together for the purpose. And if the fly took something from them, they could not rescue it from him. So weak are (both) the seeker and the sought!â [Quran 22:73]

There are many other Quran verses that describe the existence of God and God is the All Wise Creator.

Ref:: islammyreligion.wordpress.com

The Story of a Scholar and an Atheist

Thu, 03 Sep 2009 12:10:00 +0600

There is one story of a Scholar and an Atheist. Long ago an Atheist did not believe the existence of God. He asked a scholar for a debate about the existence of God. Among the questions are: âDoes God exist?â and âIf God exists then where is God?â
Then they decided when and where the debate takes place.

The Atheist and the villagers were waiting for the scholar, but the scholar did not come right on time. When the Atheist and the villagers thought that the scholar will not come for the debate, then the scholar showed up.

âI am sorry to keep you waiting for so long. But the rain is so heavy so the river floods. The bridge drifted away so I could not cross it. Thank God suddenly there was a big tree fell down. Then the branches cut out by themselves so the trunk was branchless. After that the trunk was cut and a hole was created so it became a boat. So I used the boat and crossed the river,â said the scholar.
The Atheist and the villagers were laughing. The Atheist said to the villagers, âThis scholar is mad. How can a tree became a boat by itself with no one made it? How can a boat exist with no maker who made it?â

The villagers were laughing out loud.

After the people calmed down, the scholar said, âIf you believe that the boat could not exist without its maker, then how could you believe the earth, sky, and its contents exist without its creator? Which is the most difficult to make? Making a boat or creating the earth, sky, and its contents?

Hearing that, they realized that they trapped with their own statement.

âThen answer my second question,â said the Atheist. âIf God exists, why canât He be seen? Where is God?â The Atheist thought since he cannot see God then God does not exist.
The scholar slapped the Atheistâs cheek hardly so the Atheist felt so much pain.

âWhy did you slap me? Itâs very painfulâ

The scholar asked, âThere is no pain. I cannot see pain. Where is pain?â

âThe pain is here,â the Atheist pointed his cheek.
âNo, I cannot see pain. Do you see the pain?â asked the scholar to the villagers.

The villagers said, âNo!â

âSo, though we cannot see the pain does not mean that the pain does not exist. So is the God. Just because we cannot see the God does not mean that God does not exist. Though we cannot see Him, but we can see His creations.â Said the scholar.
The argument of the scholar is very simple. Yet, the argument that God does not exist just because humanâs sense could not sense the existence of God is very wrong.

How many things that could not be seen or heard by people but exist?

We cannot see the Wind but the Wind exists. We cannot see electricity (what you can see is wire) but electricity exist.
How many things in the sky that billions light years away, even trillions light years away that could not be seen by people yet the things exist?

How many molecular things even nucleus (hair divided in millions) that cannot be seen by people yet exist? People could only see those things by using a very powerful microscope.
How many waves (radio, electromagnetic, electricity, etc) that cannot be seen yet exist?

Those things exist, yet the human sense is very limited so it cannot sense their existence.

The human ability to see colors limited to certain frequencies. People only could hear limited frequencies. Sometimes the light not only very dazzling but also could make people blind. So is the sound. Certain sound could not be heard by human sense while other sound which is very loud could destroy humanâs hearing.
If to sense the creatures of God, sometimes people could not do it, even more to sense the Creator: God!

Ref:: islammyreligion.wordpress.com

The Universe, Who is its Creator?

Thu, 03 Sep 2009 12:10:00 +0600

It is hard to proof that God exists. But if we take a look to the planes, cars, TVs, etc, it would be irrational if we say that all exist by themselves. There must be people who make them!
If the simple thing such as the match has its makers, then the universe that far more complex than that must be has its creator.
The Earth where 8 billion people live has circumference 40,000 km. The circumference of the Sun is 4.3 million km. The Sun and its 8 planets along with 100 billion stars are in the Milky Way galaxy whose length is 100,000 light years away.

Milky Way is only a galaxy among thousands galaxies that form a Cluster. This cluster with thousands clusters form 1 Super Cluster. And thousands of Super Clusters form the Universe whose length is 30 billion light years away! Remember, the number 30 billion light years away only current estimation since the strongest telescope today only could reach 15 billion light years away.

Imagine if the distance between Earth and the Sun is 150 million km and passed by the light in just 8 minute, then the whole Universe passed by the light in 30 billion years. That is equal to 285 billion trillion km away. If a man could run 40 km/hour without stopping, he would pass the distance in 810,000 trillion years!

That is the greatness of Allahâs creation! If we believe in the magnificence of Allahâs creation, then we should believe in the magnificence of Allah.

In the Quran Allah explains that He is the creator of Heaven, Star, Sun, Moon, and others:

âBlessed be He Who hath placed in the heaven mansions of the stars, and hath placed therein a great lamp and a moon giving light!â [Quran 25:61]

Is there a Controller of the Universe?

There are millions of people controlling the traffic on road, sea, and air. Beacons are built. People also build traffic light and radar. Air Traffic Control is built to prevent accident. All vehicles have drivers. Even on airplane there are pilot and co-pilot to make the flight safer. On the ships there are Captain, navigator, and engineers. Yet thousands of accidents happen every year on land, sea, and air. Even though there are many controllers, the accidents still happen.

On the contrary, the Earth, Sun, Moon, Stars, and others always revolve for billions of years without single crash. Most scientists believe that the Earth, Sun, and all of the other planets and moons in the solar system formed about 4.6 billion years ago. For billions of years until now the Earth never bump into the Sun, and the Sun never collides with the Moon. There is no mark, police, nor pilots to drive them. Without God, the Controller of the Universe, none of these would happen. Everything is in order because there is God who controls everything. Allah has put orbit for each of those things. If we really think about it then we will know that God exist.
âHe it is who appointed the sun a splendor and the moon stages, that ye might know the number of the years, and the reckoning. Allah created not (all) that save in truth. He detaileth the revelations for people who have knowledgeâ [Quran 10:5]

âIt is not for the sun to overtake the moon, nor doth the night outstrip the day. They float each in an orbitâ [Quran:40]
.
People who think a lot about universe insha Allah will believe that there is a God!

âAllah it is who raised up the heavens without visible supports, then mounted the Throne, and compelled the sun and the moon to be of service, each runneth unto an appointed term; He ordereth the course; He detaileth the revelations, that haply ye may be certain of the meeting with your Lord.â [Quran 13:2]

âSuch as remember Allah, standing, sitting, and reclining, and consider the creation of the heavens and the earth, (and say): Our Lord! Thou createdst not this in vain. Glory be to Thee! Preserve us from the doom of Fireâ [Quran 3:191]

PROVING THE EXISTENCE OF ALLAH (SWT)TO AN ATHEIST

Wed, 02 Sep 2009 19:10:00 +0600

by Dr. Zakir Naik

CONGRATULATING AN ATHEIST

Normally, when I meet an atheist, the first thing I like to do is to congratulate him and say, " My special congratulations to you", because most of the people who believe in God are doing blind belief - he is a Christian, because his father is a Christian; he is a Hindu, because his father is a Hindu; the majority of the people in the world are blindly following the religion of their fathers. An atheist, on the other hand, even though he may belong to a religious family, uses his intellect to deny the existence of God; what ever concept or qualities of God he may have learnt in his religion may not seem to be logical to him.
My Muslim brothers may question me, "Zakir, why are you congratulating an atheist?" The reason that I am congratulating an atheist is because he agrees with the first part of the Shahada i.e. the Islamic Creed, âLa ilaahaâ - meaning âthere is no Godâ. So half my job is already done; now the only part left is âil lallahâ i.e. âBUT ALLAHâ which I shall do Insha Allah. With others (who are not atheists) I have to first remove from their minds the wrong concept of God they may have and then put the correct concept of one true God.

LOGICAL CONCEPT OF GOD

My first question to the atheist will be: "What is the definition of God?" For a person to say there is no God, he should know what is the meaning of God. If I hold a book and say that âthis is a penâ, for the opposite person to say, âit is not a penâ, he should know what is the definition of a pen, even if he does not know nor is able to recognise or identify the object I am holding in my hand. For him to say this is not a pen, he should at least know what a pen means. Similarly for an atheist to say âthere is no Godâ, he should at least know the concept of God. His concept of God would be derived from the surroundings in which he lives. The god that a large number of people worship has got human qualities - therefore he does not believe in such a god. Similarly a Muslim too does not and should not believe in such false gods.
If a non-Muslim believes that Islam is a merciless religion with something to do with terrorism; a religion which does not give rights to women; a religion which contradicts science; in his limited sense that non-Muslim is correct to reject such Islam. The problem is he has a wrong picture of Islam. Even I reject such a false picture of Islam, but at the same time, it becomes my duty as a Muslim to present the correct picture of Islam to that non-Muslim i.e. Islam is a merciful religion, it gives equal rights to the women, it is not incompatible with logic, reason and science; if I present the correct facts about Islam, that non-Muslim may Inshallah accept Islam.
Similarly the atheist rejects the false gods and the duty of every Muslim is to present the correct concept of God which he shall Insha Allah not refuse.
(You may refer to my article, âConcept of God in Islamâ, for more details)

QURâAN AND MODERN SCIENCE

The methods of proving the existence of God with usage of the material provided in the âConcept of God in Islamâ to an atheist may satisfy some but not all.
Many atheists demand a scientific proof for the existence of God. I agree that today is the age of science and technology. Let us use scientific knowledge to kill two birds with one stone, i.e. to prove the existence of God and simultaneously prove that the Qurâan is a revelation of God.
If a new object or a machine, which no one in the world has ever seen or heard of before, is shown to an atheist or any person and then a question is asked, " Who is the first person who will be able to provide details of the mechanism of this unknown object? After little bit of thinking, he will reply, âthe creator of that object.â Some may say âthe producerâ while others may say âthe manufacturer.â What ever answer the person gives, keep it in your mind, the answer will always be either the creator, the producer, the manufacturer or some what of the same meaning, i.e. the person who has made it or created it. Donât grapple with words, whatever answer he gives, the meaning will be same, therefore accept it.
SCIENTIFIC FACTS MENTIONED IN THE QURâAN: for details on this subject please refer to my book, âTHE QURâAN AND MODERN SCIENCE â COMPATIBLE OR INCOMPATIBLE?

THEORY OF PROBABILITY

In mathematics there is a theory known as âTheory of Probabilityâ. If you have two options, out of which one is right, and one is wrong, the chances that you will chose the right one is half, i.e. one out of the two will be correct. You have 50% chances of being correct. Similarly if you toss a coin the chances that your guess will be correct is 50% (1 out of 2) i.e. 1/2. If you toss a coin the second time, the chances that you will be correct in the second toss is again 50% i.e. half. But the chances that you will be correct in both the tosses is half multiplied by half (1/2 x 1/2) which is equal to 1/4 i.e. 50% of 50% which is equal to 25%. If you toss a coin the third time, chances that you will be correct all three times is (1/2 x 1/2 x 1/2) that is 1/8 or 50% of 50% of 50% that is 12Â½%.
A dice has got six sides. If you throw a dice and guess any number between 1 to 6, the chances that your guess will be correct is 1/6. If you throw the dice the second time, the chances that your guess will be correct in both the throws is (1/6 x 1/6) which is equal to 1/36. If you throw the dice the third time, the chances that all your three guesses are correct is (1/6 x 1/6 x 1/6) is equal to 1/216 that is less than 0.5 %.
Let us apply this theory of probability to the Qurâan, and assume that a person has guessed all the information that is mentioned in the Qurâan which was unknown at that time. Let us discuss the probability of all the guesses being simultaneously correct.
At the time when the Qurâan was revealed, people thought the world was flat, there are several other options for the shape of the earth. It could be triangular, it could be quadrangular, pentagonal, hexagonal, heptagonal, octagonal, spherical, etc. Lets assume there are about 30 different options for the shape of the earth. The Qurâan rightly says it is spherical, if it was a guess the chances of the guess being correct is 1/30.
The light of the moon can be its own light or a reflected light. The Qurâan rightly says it is a reflected light. If it is a guess, the chances that it will be correct is 1/2 and the probability that both the guesses i.e the earth is spherical and the light of the moon is reflected light is 1/30 x 1/2 = 1/60.
Further, the Qurâan also mentions every living thing is made of water. Every living thing can be made up of either wood, stone, copper, aluminum, steel, silver, gold, oxygen, nitrogen, hydrogen, oil, water, cement, concrete, etc. The options are say about 10,000. The Qurâan rightly says that everything is made up of water. If it is a guess, the chances that it will be correct is 1/10,000 and the probability of all the three guesses i.e. the earth is spherical, light of moon is reflected light and everything is created from water being correct is 1/30 x 1/2 x 1/10,000 = 1/60,000 which is equal to about .0017%.

The Qurâan speaks about hundreds of things that were not known to men at the time of its revelation. Only in three options the result is .0017%. I leave it upto you, to work out the probability if all the hundreds of the unknown facts were guesses, the chances of all of them being correct guesses simultaneously and there being not a single wrong guess. It is beyond human capacity to make all correct guesses without a single mistake, which itself is sufficient to prove to a logical person that the origin of the Qurâan is Divine.

CREATOR IS THE AUTHOR OF THE QURâAN

The only logical answer to the question as to who could have mentioned all these scientific facts 1400 years ago before they were discovered, is exactly the same answer initially given by the atheist or any person, to the question who will be the first person who will be able to tell the mechanism of the unknown object. It is the âCREATORâ, the producer, the Manufacturer of the whole universe and its contents. In the English language He is âGodâ, or more appropriate in the Arabic language, âALLAHâ.

QURâAN IS A BOOK OF SIGNS AND NOT SCIENCE

Let me remind you that the Qurâan is not a book of Science, âS-C-I-E-N-C-Eâ but a book of Signs âS-I-G-N-Sâ i.e. a book of ayaats. The Qurâan contains more than 6,000 ayaats, i.e. âsignsâ, out of which more than a thousand speak about Science. I am not trying to prove that the Qurâan is the word of God using scientific knowledge as a yard stick because any yardstick is supposed to be more superior than what is being checked or verified. For us Muslims the Qurâan is the Furqan i.e. criteria to judge right from wrong and the ultimate yardstick which is more superior to scientific knowledge.
But for an educated man who is an atheist, scientific knowledge is the ultimate test which he believes in. We do know that science many a times takes âUâ turns, therefore I have restricted the examples only to scientific facts which have sufficient proof and evidence and not scientific theories based on assumptions. Using the ultimate yardstick of the atheist, I am trying to prove to him that the Qurâan is the word of God and it contains the scientific knowledge which is his yardstick which was discovered recently, while the Qurâan was revealed 1400 year ago. At the end of the discussion, we both come to the same conclusion that God though superior to science, is not incompatible with it.

SCIENCE IS ELIMINATING MODELS OF GOD BUT NOT GOD

Francis Bacon, the famous philosopher, has rightly said that a little knowledge of science makes man an atheist, but an in-depth study of science makes him a believer in God. Scientists today are eliminating models of God, but they are not eliminating God. If you translate this into Arabic, it is La illaha illal la, There is no god, (god with a small âgâ that is fake god) but God (with a capital âGâ).
Surah Fussilat:
"Soon We will show them our signs in the (farthest) regions (of the earth), and in their own souls, until it becomes manifest to them that this is the Truth. Is it not enough that thy Lord doth witness all things?"
[Al-Quran 41:53]

Reference: http://www.irf.net/irf/comparativereligion/index.htm

Satanâs Manipulation of the Christians

Wed, 22 Apr 2009 14:00:00 +0600

by Imâm Ibn Qayyim al-Jawziyyah

It is obvious to anyone with reason that Satan has greatly manipulated these misled people (Christians). He called them and they responded to him; he befooled them and they obeyed him.

He manipulated them with regards to Allah, the Exalted and Most High.

He manipulated them with regards to Jesus (peace be upon him).

He manipulated them with regards to the cross and the worship of it.

He also manipulated them with regards to making pictures and statues in churches and then worshipping them, so you will not find one of their churches without the picture of Mary and Jesus, saints and other holy individuals and martyrs of theirs. Most of them prostrate to pictures and statues, and pray to them instead to Allah the Most High…

The typical example of what these polytheists are doing is like that of a servant of a king who entered upon a man, so the man jumped from his place, prostrated to the servant, worshipped him, and did to him what he was not supposed to do except to the king. Every rational person would consider him an ignorant and a fool because of what he did, since he did to the king’s servant what he was supposed to do only to the king, in terms of honoring, humbleness and humility.

It is well-known that what the servant did here is more likely to cause the king to hate him and look down upon him than to honor him and exalt his status.

This is the situation of one who prostrates to creation, or a picture of creation. This is because he resorted to prostration which is the greatest means of reaching the Lord’s pleasure. Such an action is not valid except for Allah, so there is no greater repulsiveness or injustice than doing it for a picture or statue of a servant and equalizing between Allah and His servant.

This is why Allah the Most High said,

“Verily, shirk (polytheism, setting up partners with Allah) is a great injustice.” [Luqman: 33]

Allah the Most High has created his worshippers prone to recognize ugliness in expressing exaltation, glorification, sumbisiveness and humility towards king’s slaves and servants (as such actions are usually done for the king).

So what is the situation of the one who shows this type of reverence to king’s enemies? For Satan is the enemy of Allah, and the polytheist is in reality setting Satan, not Allah’s prophets and righteous servants¸ as a partner with Allah. For the prophets and righteous servants have nothing to do with those who set them as partners with Allah; they are against them and the strongest in hatred of all people towards them. The polytheists, therefore, are only setting up as partners with Allah His enemies, and equalizing between them and Allah in worship, exaltation, prostration and humility.

This is why the invalidity and ugliness of polytheism is recognized by sound innate nature and reason, and this type of ugliness is recognized more clearly than its other types.

The intent here was to mention Satan’s manipulation of these people in both the foundation and branches of their religion.

From “Ighatul-Lahfaan min Masaa`id al-Shaytan” Translalated by Islaam.com

Do you LOVE Jesus?

Tue, 27 Jan 2009 16:50:00 +0600

Like all humans all over the world, we desire Love, it is what makes us complete. Some are even willing to overlook Truth in order to attain Love. In Islam, you don't have to make any sacrifices, you can have both Truth and Love in God at the same time.

First we must know what True Love is. True Love is a two way street. This means we take Love as well as we give Love. For example, loving Jesus:

Muslims love Jesus more than Christians according to the meaning of True Love. This is because if you love someone, you would care for them:

There is some doubt within the Gospel as to whether or not Jesus died on the cross, with some evidence from scholars that perhaps Jesus did not die. This should make the Christians happy that Jesus was saved instead of insisting he was put through a horrifying long painful death.

Do Christians feel attached to Jesus out of selfless true love or out of greed? If Christians had true love with God, than they would be estatic to learn Jesus may not have been crucified and killed in such a horrid (accursed according the Bible) but rather that it had *appeared* as if he was killed, similar to Jesus appearing to be a unknown gardener to Mary in the Cave {John 20:15}

Instead, the Christians insist that Jesus suffered and bled and died filled with pain and anguish.

Is it love to insist this happened to someone you love even though some evidence suggests it may not have happened? Of course not, this is the farthest thing from love.

If someone you love was kidnapped, and there was some evidence that the one you love is safe, would you insist they are not safe?

To love is to share, another way Muslims love Jesus more than the Christians is that we do not pass our sins to Jesus, we take responsibility for our own sins. We believe Jesus was sent by God to assist Israel return to the Straight path. Jesus never claimed he was sent to consume everyone's sins, but instead to preach (which he did for over 30 years before returning to God) the good news of Peace.

If you love your neighbor, would you take your garbage and put it at your neighbors door? Absolutely not, you would take responsibility for your own garbage.

Paulian Christianity, in the scope of the big picture, is uncaring of Jesus, a bully to Jesus. This is not to suggest that our Creator, the Father of us all, is uncaring, for the fact is, that God does love.

A Loving God

The Holy Qur'an lists these attributes describing God, along with much more, for example, in the Holy Qur'an, our Creator is addressed as:

"Compassionate, Merciful, the Helper, the Nourisher, the Generous, the Guide, the Loving (al-Wadud in Arabic often translated into English as "the Kind One"), the Raiser of the Dead, the Patient"

Thus showing how the God of Islam which is the same God of Abraham, Moses and Jesus , is in fact a God of Love.

Besides God being Defined as Love in the Holy Qur'an , we also see quotes of how God Gives us Love in the Qur'an:

"... God loves the doers of justice." {Holy Qur'an 60:8}
"... God loves those who are fair (and just). " {Holy Qur'an 49.009}
" On those who believe and work deeds of righteousness, will (Allah) Most Gracious bestow love. " {Holy Qur'an 19:96}
"...God loveth those who make themselves pure." {Holy Qur'an 9:108}
"... For God loves those who put their trust (in Him). " {Holy Qur'an 3:159}
God in the Qur'an also gives Love unconditionally:

"It may be that God will ordain love between you and those of them with whom ye are at enmity. Allah is Mighty, and Allah is Forgiving, Merciful. " {Holy Qur'an 60:7}

" And among His Signs is this, that He created for you mates from among yourselves, that ye may dwell in tranquillity with them, and He has put love and mercy between your (hearts): verily in that are Signs for those who reflect." {Holy Qur'an 30:21}

"...for ye were enemies and He joined your hearts in love, so that by His Grace, ye became brethren; and ye were on the brink of the pit of Fire, and He saved you from it. Thus doth Allah make His Signs clear to you: That ye may be guided. " {Holy Qur'an 3:103}

" And He is the Forgiving, the Loving, " {Holy Qur'an 85:14}

The Qur'an reveals this false assertion that God only loves the Jews or the Christians:

"And the Jews and the Christians say: We are the sons of God and His beloved ones. Say: Why does He then chastise you for your faults? Nay, you are mortals from among those whom He has created, He forgives whom He pleases and chastises whom He pleases; and God's is the kingdom of the heavens and the earth and what is between them, and to Him is the eventual coming." {Holy Qur'an 5:18}

This is not a attack on either Faith , it only rebukes the claims by Jews who say 'only the children of Israel are the chosen people' or the Christians who say 'all non-Christians are demons'

This verse is only explaining that we are all from God and God loves us all.

"Those who believe (in the Qur'an), those who follow the Jewish (scriptures), and the Sabians and the Christians,- any who believe in God and the Last Day, and work righteousness - on them shall be no fear, nor shall they grieve. " {Holy Qur'an 5:69}

In conclusion, there are many more examples but this is to demonstrate that True Love is both equally given as well as taken. Let us love each other, stand together as partners, praying to God and enjoying the Love and guidance manifested in the Holy Qur'an.

Copyright (c) 1998 Mohamed Ghounem & Abdur Rahman

Why do Muslims reject the idea of the Crucifixion altogether?

Tue, 27 Jan 2009 16:40:00 +0600

There is nothing strange about the Muslims rejecting this idea, because the Qur’aan in which they believe and accept what it tells them definitively states that it did not happen, as God (Allaah) says (translation of the meaning):

“Their saying: Surely we have killed the Messiah, ‘Eesa (Jesus Christ) son of Maryam (Mary), the messenger of Allaah – but they did not kill him nor did they crucify him, but it so appeared to them; and those who differ therein are indeed only in a doubt about it; they have no knowledge respecting it, but just a conjecture they are following; and they certainly killed him not.” (An-Nisaa’ 4:157)

Rather the problem rests with the Christians for whom the doctrine of the crucifixion and redemption has become a central issue, so much so that the cross is the symbol of their religion.

At the mention of ‘Eesa (Jesus), and the Jewish claim of killing him, God has taken the opportunity to strongly refute their claim that they were successful in having him killed. Although they thought that he was killed, in reality he was not. People were just confused and mixed up on this matter. Although the Christians also believe that he was killed on the cross and was then resurrected and taken to heaven, even they have no knowledge of the facts about Jesus. Their whole story about his passion and his crucifixion is based on hearsay and conjecture, not on facts or knowledge. If we look at Christian sources, we find that there are so many versions, narrations and contradictory reports that it is impossible to say exactly what transpired. No eyewitness accounts are available. Some people believe that the four Gospels are eyewitness accounts, but nothing can be farther from truth. None of the four Gospel writers was a disciple of Jesus and none of the disciples personally witnessed the hanging in any way because, fearful of Roman authorities, they had escaped and gone into hiding. As all four of the accounts are based on hearsay, they are very inconsistent and self-contradictory. That is why the Qur’aan says that they have no knowledge but are following only conjecture.

The question is if people at that time were confused and mixed up and the subsequent generations of Christians are just following some wishful thoughts, not reality, then what really did happen? The Qur’aan categorically says that he was neither killed nor crucified but Allaah (God) raised him or lifted him up towards Himself. So what does “Allaah raised him or lifted him up towards Himself” mean? Obviously, it cannot mean ascension after resurrection because God is categorically denying his death before being raised.

A simple, straightforward and apparent meaning is that physically he was lifted up and taken to heaven. However, some people who cannot fathom a live person being raised to heaven interpret it to mean that Jesus was raised (elevated) in status. This act of ‘raising’ cannot mean raising of a status because neither is it expressly stated nor does the context allow that meaning. While declaring that the adversaries did not succeed in crucifying or killing Jesus, “but” cannot be followed by a mention of Jesus being raised in status. It can only relate to his physical existence.

Some people may assume that it just means natural death. Being lifted up or raised has never been used in the Qur’aan to imply death. This meaning is usually assumed by non-Arab Muslims because of the contemporary usage of the word “raised” to mean death. Because of the Muslims understanding that the soul of the dying person is raised to heavens, in some languages people have started figuratively using ‘raised’ to mean ‘died’. Based on that usage, which was developed long after the revelation of the Qur’aan only in oriental Muslim languages, some people think perhaps the Holy Qur’aan has also used ‘raised’ for his being dead. This is far from the truth. It cannot mean ‘raised to heaven in spirit’ as is used in our society for every dying person, regardless of how he died. This meaning, too, does not fit the context and rather makes it absurd because a statement to the effect, “they did not kill him, but his soul was taken up” does not make much sense. Also, there is no example of such use of the word ‘raised’ either in any other place in the Holy Qur’aan or in the Arabic usage of the Prophet Muhammad’s time.

In addition, none of these meanings (raising of his status or his natural death) can be justified in the context of the verse because immediately after saying “but Allaah lifted him up or raised him”, the Qur’aan refers to Allaah’s Omnipotence and His Wisdom indicating that it was an extraordinary incident involving Allaah’s Power and Authority, not an ordinary human death or raising of someone in status. Thus, ‘raised’ in this verse means raised physically.

Lifting up of or raising of Jesus has been mentioned only at one other place in the Holy Qur’aan – that is in Soorah Aali-‘Imraan 3:55 where the Holy Qur’aan says: “They (Jesus’ enemies) plotted and Allaah also planned, and Allaah is the best of the Planners. At that occasion, Allaah assured, ‘O Jesus! I will you take you back wholly, raise you unto Myself, purify you from those who have rejected you, and make your followers dominate those who reject you…”. This indicates that Jesus knew before the Roman legion attacked that he will not fall into the hands of the enemy, but will be raised unto Allaah. Although the message here seems to be clear, some people are confused by the use of the word “Mutawaffeeka” – “take you back wholly and completely”. This word means to take something completely. When a person dies, angels take his soul completely. For that reason, a derivative from the same root word is used metaphorically for death of a person. Because of this use of the word, people think that here also it is used for the death of Jesus. But again, this metaphoric meaning does not fit the context properly while the real meaning of the word does. Hence, the real meaning of the word should be used instead of the metaphoric. The Qur’aan needed to use this word in its real meaning to refute the Christian concept of being raised. Because Christians believe his being raised after resurrection which can only be in spirit, the Qur’aan, by using the words ‘take you back wholly’, indicates that he was raised physically both in body and spirit as a living human being.

Some people think that Jesus was hanged but was taken down before his death. Some others go further and claim that, afterwards, he lived a normal life, got married and had children. About his subsequent life, some people theorize that he left for India to chase some lost sheep of Israel. There he died in Kashmir and is buried in Sarinagar. Some Japanese think that he migrated to Japan and lived and died there.

The Holy Qur’aan does not support these theories. Had Jesus survived crucifixion and died a natural death, the Holy Qur’aan would have mentioned it as such. The most important point about the discussions on topics such as these is to remember that the Qur’aan always states a point clearly instead of using a confusing style. If Jesus had died naturally subsequent to being saved from death on the cross, the Qur’aan would tell it clearly without mincing words. It would not use the words that give more indication of being raised alive than of dying, especially when there were already a big population of Christians believing in Jesus being raised after resurrection. If the purpose was to contradict the notion of Jesus being raised in any unusual form, it was much easier for the Qur’aan to say: Jesus did not die on the cross but died of natural causes in such and such circumstances, at so and so place. Instead of a report of that kind, Allaah has very clearly said that Jesus was not even crucified and has used such language that indicates some special, unusual incident of being raised to heaven without being put on the cross.

How did he evade arrest and how was he lifted up? How did all that happen? That is where the vagueness comes from. It is beyond our knowledge, experience or imagination. Thus being beyond our understanding, it is a matter of Mutashaabihaat. Allaah does not provide any details about Mutashaabihaat for many reasons.

First of all, Allaah being the Master rightfully expects of His servants to have full trust in Him and accept the facts as they are revealed by Him. As a matter of principle, He never explains how He does things. He just tells us that He commands the things to happen and they do happen. Secondly, even if Allaah had chosen to explain His actions for our understanding, people would have been unable to understand most of the things most of the time because His ways and means are infinite, always beyond human imagination and mostly beyond our finite understanding. Finally, even if Allaah would have given the details of what actually transpired, it would not have any value whatsoever because people would have no way of verifying the truth of the statements. The confusions and doubts would remain as they are. Any further information would have been useless in clarifying the issue and, hence, unproductive. So the statement that the Jews were not able to crucify Jesus and that Allaah raised him is sufficient and enough for the believers to know for all intents and purposes. For reasons such as these, Allaah has not described the way He caused the confusion and saved His messenger to raise him to the heavens. (Source: "Teachings of the Qur'aan - Soorah An-Nisaa' 150-158" by Ayub A. Hamid). http://groups.yahoo.com/group/islamicreflections/message/339

This difference between their Gospels and their historians with the story of the crucifixion is not the only one. They also differ concerning the timing of the Last Supper, which according to them was one of the events in the lead-up to the crucifixion. They differ concerning the traitor who led (the Romans) to Christ – did that happen at least one day before the Last Supper, as narrated by Luke, or during it, after Christ gave him the piece of bread, as narrated by John?

Was Christ the one who carried his cross, as John says, as was customary with one who was going to be crucified, according to Nottingham, or was it Simon of Cyrene, as the other three Gospels state?

They say that two thieves were crucified alongside Christ, one on his right and one on his left, so what was the attitude of these two towards the Messiah who was being crucified, as they claim?

Did the thieves scorn him for being crucified, and say that his Lord had abandoned him and left him to his enemies? Or did only one of them scorn him, and did the other rebuke the one who scorned him?

At what hour did this crucifixion take place – was it in the third hour, as Mark says, or in the sixth as John says?

What happened after the so-called crucifixion?

Mark says that the veil of the Temple was torn from top to bottom. Matthew adds that the earth shook and rocks crumbled, and many of the saints rose from their graves and entered the holy city, appearing to many. Luke says that the sun turned dark, and the veil of the Temple was torn in the middle, and when the centurion saw what had happened, he glorified God and said, “Truly this man was righteous.”

But John does not know anything about all that!

These are not the only weak elements and indications of falseness in the story of the crucifixion, as narrated in the gospels. Rather the one who studies the details of the gospel narratives of this story will, with the least effort, notice the great differences in the details of this story, which are such that it is impossible to believe it all or even any part of it!

How desperate are the failed attempts to fill this gap and conceal the faults of this distorted book. Allaah indeed spoke the truth when He said in His Book which He has preserved (interpretation of the meaning):

“Do they not then consider the Qur’aan carefully? Had it been from other than Allaah, they would surely, have found therein many a contradiction” (An-Nisaa’ 4:82)

Apart from the fact that the gospel accounts are not sound, and their authors themselves admit that they were not revealed to the Messiah in this form, nor were they even written during his lifetime, none of the witnesses were present at the events to which they testify, as Mark says:

“Then everyone deserted him and fled.” - Mark 14:50 – New International Version (NIV)

Because these events were not witnessed by anyone who narrated them, there is a great deal of room for imagination and poetic licence.

We will complete our discussion of the fable of the crucifixion of Christ (peace be upon him) by looking at what the Gospels say about the Messiah’s prediction that he would be saved from death:

On one occasion the Pharisees and chief priests sent the guards to arrest him and he said to them:

“I am with you for only a short time, and then I go to the one who sent me. You will look for me, but you will not find me, and where I am, you cannot come.” - John 7:33-34 – NIV

Elsewhere he says:

“Once more Jesus said to them, ‘I am going away, and you will look for me, and you will die in your sin. Where I go, you cannot come.’

This made the Jews ask, ‘Will he kill himself? Is that why he says, “Where I go, you cannot come”?’

But he continued, ‘You are from below; I am from above. You are of this world; I am not of this world.

I told you that you would die in your sins; if you do not believe that I am the one I claim to be, you will indeed die in your sins.’

‘Who are you?’ they asked.

‘Just what I have been claiming all along,’ Jesus replied. ‘I have much to say in judgment of you. But he who sent me is reliable, and what I have heard from him I tell the world.’

They did not understand that he was telling them about his Father.

So Jesus said, ‘When you have lifted up the Son of Man, then you will know that I am the one I claim to be and that I do nothing on my own but speak just what the Father has taught me.

The one who sent me is with me; he has not left me alone, for I always do what pleases him.’” - John 8:21-29 – NIV

Then at the end he tells them again:

“For I tell you, you will not see me again until you say, ‘Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord.’” - Matthew 23:39 – NIV, also Luke 13:35

The Messiah, as these texts and others show, was certain that God would never hand him over to his enemies, and would never forsake him.

“But a time is coming, and has come, when you will be scattered, each to his own home. You will leave me all alone. Yet I am not alone, for my Father is with me.

I have told you these things, so that in me you may have peace. In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world.” - John 16:32-33

Because of that the passers by, and indeed everyone who attended the so-called crucifixion, mocked the Messiah, as the writer of this Gospel says (although that could not have been true):

“Those who passed by hurled insults at him, shaking their heads

and saying, ‘You who are going to destroy the temple and build it in three days, save yourself! Come down from the cross, if you are the Son of God!’

In the same way the chief priests, the teachers of the law and the elders mocked him.

‘He saved others,’ they said, ‘but he can’t save himself! He’s the King of Israel! Let him come down now from the cross, and we will believe in him.

He trusts in God. Let God rescue him now if he wants him, for he said, “I am the Son of God.”’

In the same way the robbers who were crucified with him also heaped insults on him.” - Matthew 27:39-44 – NIV

But it seems that Jesus’ certainty that God was with him began to waver, according to the distorted Gospel narrative, (although that could not have been true):

“Then Jesus went with his disciples to a place called Gethsemane, and he said to them, ‘Sit here while I go over there and pray.’

He took Peter and the two sons of Zebedee along with him, and he began to be sorrowful and troubled.

Then he said to them, ‘My soul is overwhelmed with sorrow to the point of death. Stay here and keep watch with me.’

Going a little farther, he fell with his face to the ground and prayed, ‘My Father, if it is possible, may this cup be taken from me. Yet not as I will, but as you will.’

Then he returned to his disciples and found them sleeping.

He went away a second time and prayed, ‘My Father, if it is not possible for this cup to be taken away unless I drink it, may your will be done.’

When he came back, he again found them sleeping, …

So he left them and went away once more and prayed the third time, saying the same thing.

Then he returned to the disciples and said to them, ‘Are you still sleeping and resting? Look, the hour is near, and the Son of Man is betrayed into the hands of sinners’” - Matthew 26:36-45 – NIV

Luke describes the scene and says:

“And being in anguish, he prayed more earnestly, and his sweat was like drops of blood falling to the ground.

When he rose from prayer and went back to the disciples, he found them asleep, exhausted from sorrow.

‘Why are you sleeping?’ he asked them. ‘Get up and pray so that you will not fall into temptation.’” - Luke 22:44-46 – NIV

Because of this mockery of the message of Christ – according to their claims – and because Christ thought that God was with him and would never forsake him, then it follows that the writer who fabricated this dramatic scene would end it with a vision of the despair of the Messiah and his feelings of being abandoned by God – exalted be Allaah far above what the wrongdoers say. The fabricator says:

“From the sixth hour until the ninth hour darkness came over all the land.

About the ninth hour Jesus cried out in a loud voice, ‘Eloi, Eloi, lama sabachthani?’—which means, “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?” - Matthew 27:38-47 – NIV

See also Mark 15:34

If we understand what this story means when subjected to criticism, the same will apply to the doctrine of redemption and sacrifice that is based on it. http://www.islamqa.com/index.php?ln=eng&QR=12615

Although one of the basic principles of the Muslim’s faith is to believe in the Gospel that was revealed to ‘Eesa (Jesus), we also believe that there is no longer any book that remained as it was revealed by Allaah, neither the Gospel nor anything else, apart from the Qur’aan. Even the Christians themselves do not believe that the books that they have before them were revealed in that form from God, nor do they claim that the Messiah wrote the Gospel or at least that it was written during his lifetime. Imaam Ibn Hazm (may Allaah have mercy on him) says in al-Fasl fi’l-Milal (2/2):

Quote: “We do not need to try hard to prove that the Gospels and all the books of the Christians did not come from God or from the Messiah (peace be upon him), as we needed to do with regard to the Torah and the books attributed to the Prophets that the Jews have, because the Jews claim that the Torah that they have was revealed from God to Moosa (Moses), so we needed to establish proof that this claim of theirs is false. With regard to the Christians, they have taken care of the issue themselves, because they do not believe that the Gospels were revealed from God to the Messiah, or that the Messiah brought them, rather all of them from first to last, peasants and kings, Nestorians, Jacobites, Maronites and Orthodox are all agreed that there are four historical accounts written by four known men at different times. The first of them is the account written by Matthew the Levite who was a disciple of the Messiah, nine years after the Messiah was taken up into heaven. He wrote it in Hebrew in Judaea in Palestine, and it filled approximately twenty-eight pages in a medium-sized script. The next account was written by Mark, a disciple of Simon ben Yuna, who was called Peter, twenty-two years after the Messiah was taken up into heaven. He wrote it in Greek in Antioch in the land of the Byzantines. They say that the Simon mentioned is the one who wrote it, then he erased his name from the beginning of it and attributed it to his disciple Mark. It filled twenty-four pages written in a medium-sized script. This Simon was a disciple of the Messiah. The third account written was that of Luke, a physician of Antioch who was also a disciple of Simon Peter. He wrote it in Greek after Mark had written his account, and is similar in length to the Gospel of Matthew. The fourth account was written by John the son of Zebedee, another disciple of the Messiah, sixty-odd years after the Messiah has been taken up into heaven. He wrote it in Greek, and it filled twenty-four pages in a medium-sized script. End quote.

Shaykh al-Islam Ibn Taymiyyah said in al-Jawaab al-Saheeh (3:21): “With regard to the Gospels that the Christians have, there are four Gospels, Matthew, Mark, Luke and John. They are agreed that Luke and Mark did not see the Messiah, rather he was seen by Matthew and John. These four accounts which they call the Gospel, and they call each one of them a Gospel, were written by these men after the Messiah had been taken up into heaven. They did not say that they are the word of God or that the Messiah conveyed them from God, rather they narrated some of the words of the Messiah and some of his deeds and miracles.” End quote.

Moreover, these books which were written after the time of the Jesus the Messiah did not remain in their original form. The original versions were lost long ago. Imaam Ibn Hazm (may Allaah have mercy on him) said:

With regard to the Christians, there is no dispute among them or anyone else that only one hundred and twenty men believed in the Messiah during his lifetime… and all of those who believed in him concealed themselves and were afraid during his lifetime and afterwards; they called people to his religion in secret and none of them disclosed himself or practised his religion openly, because any of them who was caught was executed.

They continued in this manner, not showing themselves at all, and they had no place where they were safe for three hundred years after the Messiah was taken up into heaven.

During this time, the Gospel that had been revealed from Allaah disappeared, apart from a few verses which Allaah preserved as proof against them and as a rebuke to them, as we have mentioned. Then when the Emperor Constantine became a Christian, then the Christians prevailed and started to practise their religion openly and assemble in safety.

If a religion is like this, with its followers practicing it in secret and living in constant fear of the sword, it is impossible for things to be transmitted soundly via a continuous chain of narrators and its followers cannot protect it or prevent it from being distorted. End quote. Al-Fasl, 2/4-5.

In addition to this huge disruption in the chain of transmission of their books, which lasted for two centuries, these books did not remain in the languages in which they were originally written, rather they were translated, more than once, by people whose level of knowledge and honesty is unknown. The contradictions in these books and their shortcomings are among the strongest evidence that they have been distorted and that they are not the Gospel (Injeel) that Allaah revealed to His Messenger ‘Eesa (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him). Allaah indeed spoke the truth when He said (interpretation of the meaning):

“Had it been from other than Allaah, they would surely, have found therein many a contradiction” (An-Nisaa’ 4:82). http://www.islam-qa.com/index.php?ref=47516&ln=eng

And Allaah is the Source of strength and the guide to the Straight Path, and there is no Lord but He.

K a r i m a