MY REBUTTAL TO THE
DECEPTION AND FALSEHOOD
PROPAGATED BY
THE CHRISTIAN WEB SITE
http://www.answering-islam.org/Silas/bible.htm
IMPORTANT ADDITIONS
January 30 and February 2, 2003
You will find at the end, responses to
my rebuttal from Silas and Sam Shamoun - a colleague of Silas, and also
my
refutations to those responses.
Under the article entitled
MUHAMMAD AND THE BIBLE
by Silas
You shall discover the following sub-titles
PART 1 THE BIBLE IS
TRUE ACCORDING TO ISLAM
PART 2 WHAT SCRIPTURES
WERE AVAILABLE IN THE HIJAZ?
PART 3 MUHAMMAD AND
THE BIBLE
PART 4 MUHAMMAD AND
THE BIBLE
FALSEHOOD AND DECEPTION
The word "BIBLE"
and/or the phrase "THE HOLY BIBLE"
or their Arabic equivalents did not appear in the Qur'an that Prophet Muhammad
(peace be upon him) used to recite in his days. Neither do they appear
in the copies of the Qur'an that the Muslims do recite today. Furthermore,
if one was to do the key-word search for the words BIBLE,
OLD TESTAMENT or NEW TESTAMENT within the
majority of the translated ENGLISH TEXTS of the Glorious Qur'an, the results
would be ZERO. In other words, these words or phrases DO NOT appear in
these translated texts of the Qur'an. To claim that the author of this
article - Silas, (which could be a pen name) who uses the following
sub-heading, was in reality not aware of the above mentioned facts,
is to say that the author's work could not be relied upon. To
say otherwise, would be to admit that Silas is the master of DECEPTION.
The noteworthy sub-heading to be found
within the article by Silas:
C. THE QURAN
STATES THAT THE BIBLE IS TRUE
WHAT IS MENTIONED IN THE QUR'AN?
The Book of Abraham
In the Qur'an (87 : 19), there appears the
mention of "The Book of Abraham".
This "Book of
Abraham" does not appear at all within the
66 Books of the Protestant Bible nor within the 73 Books of the Catholic
Bible, in circulation today.
The Book of Moses
In the Qur'an (5: 44), it is recorded that
Allah (S.W.T.) had Himself Revealed / Bestowed "The
Taurat" on Moses (peace be upon him), and
therein was the Guidance and the Light.
By its Standard the Jews were judged by their Prophets.
It is absolutely incorrect or rather a folly
to claim that "The Taurat" refers
to the collection of the 39 Books of "The Old Testament". It is an indisputable
fact that this entire collection of 39 Books was not Revealed to Prophet
Moses. Similarly, it is ALSO incorrect to assert that the First
Five Books of the Old Testaments called "The Pentateuch" (lit. "The Five
Books"), which are often erroneously declared as the "Five Books of Moses",
were Revealed to Prophet Moses. The Bible Scholars (mostly Christians
and Jews), who have examined The Pentateuch (Five Books attributed to Moses),
have discovered four or more main sources underlying them.
Here are the Four Recognized Main Contributors
or the Main Source Documents.
1. J = Yahwistic Text. Written
by the authors in the time of
David or Solomon.
2. E= Elohistic Text. Written
by the author after the disruption of
the old Solomonic Kingdom.
3. D= The work of Deuteronomists.
The Text was written in the last
quarter of the 7th and the first quarter of the 6th centuries BCE
4. P= The Priestly Accounts.
Written after the Babylonian exile
(586-538 B.C.E.).
Note: In the First Four
Books of Moses, the Priestly Writers used both
the "J" and the "E" Texts and also rewrote some materials. The proof
of this is to be found in the textual differences or disagreements that
are
found between the REPEATED TWIN NARRATIONS, e.g. The
Sequences of the Two Descriptions of the Creation Story in the Genesis.
(cf. the first story in Genesis 1: 21-31 and the second in Genesis 2: 4-23).
Below is the irrefutable proof that
Prophet Moses did not write or dictate "The Pentateuch". The following
historical account that appears in the end part of "The Pentateuch" and
records what did transpire after the death of Moses could neither be qualified
as Revealed by Allah Himself to Prophet
Moses nor as The
Book written or dictated by Moses nor
as The text written during the lifetime
of Moses.
As seen earlier, the Qur'anic Term "The
Taurat" refers specifically to the
Revealed Transcript by Allah Himself to His Prophet Moses and within
this Revealed Transcript was "The Guidance and the Light." A
Muslim is asked in the Qur'an to believe in this "Taurat"
and not in everything that is identified or published as "The
Books of Moses" in the Bible.
Here are two eye-opening passages from "The Fifth Book of Moses" which
is known as "Deuteronomy":
"Moses was one hundred twenty years
old when he died; his sight was unimpaired and his vigor had not abated.
The Israelites wept for Moses in the plains of Moab thirty days; then the
period of mourning for Moses was ended" Deuteronomy
34: 7-8
"Never since has there arisen a prophet in
Israel like Moses, whom the Lord knew face to face." Deuteronomy
34: 10
The above text upholds the theory of Priestly
and other Sources in The Pentateuch.
The above text can be qualified as the history
of Moses written by the historians.
But certainly cannot be declared or qualified
as; "The true Taurat that was
revealed or bestowed upon Prophet Moses by the Almighty Allah".
The Injeel/Gospel bestowed on
Jesus Christ
In the Qur'an (5: 46), it is recorded that
Allah (S.W.T.) had Himself bestowed "The
Injeel / Gospel" on Jesus, the son of Mary
(peace be upon him), and therein was
the Guidance and the Light and the confirmation of the Taurat that came
earlier and admonition for those who fear Allah. It is very important to
differentiate between "The Gospel" bestowed
on Jesus by Allah and "The
Gospels" according to the Four Apostles
of Jesus that are included in The Bible
under The New Testament. The first one is "The
Gospel (Good News) of God" preached by Jesus
Christ himself. The second one is "The Good
News of Jesus" written by the four Apostles.
Understanding of this fundamental difference is equally important for the
Muslims as well as the Christians, as such I have written a separate article
on this subject. I strongly suggest you to visit http://www.mostmerciful.com/kofgg.htm.
The article goes at length explaining what the Qur'an has attested as "The
Injeel / Gospel". In the Gospel according
to Mark (1: 14), the apostle confirms that Jesus, after his stay of forty
days in the wilderness; "came to Galilee,
proclaiming the good news of God". Jesus spoke
of "the Kingdom of God".
Jesus asked the people to "believe in The
Gospel / Injeel (good news)" that he was
preaching to them.
The Book given to David
In the Qur'an (17: 55), it is revealed that
Allah (S.W.T.) had Himself given "The
Zabur" (The Psalms) to Prophet David (peace
be upon him). In the Old Testament of the Bible, there are Five Books of
Psalms comprising of 150 Psalms. Out of these 150, a total of 73 Psalms
are ascribed to Prophet David; 51 to anonymous writers, 12 to Asaph or
his descendants; 9 to the sons of Korah (temple assistants); 2 to King
Solomon and one each to Heman, Ethan (a musician) and Prophet Moses.
The Books sent to the earlier
Prophets
The Glorious Qur'an reveals:
Say ye: "We believe in Allah and the
revelation given to us and to Abraham, Ismai'l, Isaac, Jacob and the Tribes
and that given to Moses and Jesus and that given to (all) Prophets from
their Lord we make no difference between one and another of them and we
bow to Allah (in Islam)." 2: 136 Translation
by Abdullah Yusuf Ali
In the Bible there are no books written by or
ascribed to the prophets
Abraham (Ibrahim), Ishmael (Isma'il), Isaac
(Is-haq) and/or Jacob (Ya'qub).
IS THE "THE TRUTH" OR "ANOTHER
DECEIT" BY SILAS?
In his article under the rebuttal, Silas writes
the following:
Many Muslims today say the Bible is
corrupted. But there is nothing in the
Quran that supports this. There is not one word in the Quran that
teaches that the Scriptures of the Jews and Christians have been perverted
by man. Instead, the opposite is true.
The Quran supports the Bible.
Isn't it interesting that the Muslims' Quran
has nothing to say about the corruption of the Scriptures
of the largest religion on earth?
READ THE QUR'ANIC VERSES AND YOU
BE THE JUDGE...
Allah did aforetime take a Covenant
from the Children of Israel and We appointed twelve captains among them
and Allah said: "I am with you: if ye (but) establish regular prayers practice
regular charity believe in My apostles honor and assist them and loan to
Allah a beautiful loan verily I will wipe out from you your evils and admit
you to gardens with rivers flowing beneath; but if any of you after this
resisteth faith he hath truly wandered from the path of rectitude."
5: 12
But because of their breach of their Covenant
We cursed them and made their hearts grow hard: they
change the words from their (right) places and forget a good part of the
Message that was sent them nor wilt thou cease
to find them barring a few ever bent on (new)
deceits: but forgive them and overlook (their
misdeeds): for Allah loveth those who are kind. Glorious
Qur'an 5: 13 Translation by Yusuf Ali
The changing of "the
words from their (right) places" within "the
Message that was sent them", is NOT considered
"the
corruption of the Scriptures"
by Silas!!!
We certainly gave the Book to Moses
but
differences arose therein: had it not been
that a Word had gone forth before from thy Lord the matter would have been
decided between them: but they are in suspicious doubt concerning it. Glorious
Qur'an 11: 110
Commentaries #1613 and # 1614 by translator
Yusuf Ali to 11: 110:
# 1613 Cf. x. 19. Previous
revelations are not to be denied or dishonoured because those
who nominally go by them have corrupted and deprived them of spiritual
value by their vain controversies and disputes.
It was possible to settle such disputes under the flag, as it were, of
the old Revelations, but Allah's Plan was to revive and rejuvenate His
Message through Islam, amongst a newer and younger people, unhampered by
the burden of age long prejudices.
# 1614 Cf. xi. 62.
There is always in human affairs the conflict between the old and the new,
-the worn-out system of our ancestors, and the fresh living spring of Allah's
inspiration fitting in with new times and new surroundings. The advocates
of the former look upon this latter not only with intellectual doubt but
with moral suspicion, as did the People of the Book upon Islam, with its
fresh outlook and vigorous realistic way of looking at things.
The Ark of the Covenant
The so called Fifth Book of Moses - Deuteronomy,
records that Prophet Moses made an Ark of acacia wood and cut two tablets
of stone like the ones he had received on the mountain, while God spoke
to him. As God had commanded him to do, Moses put these two tablets containing
the Original Message from God into the Ark (see Deut. 10: 1-5). Later,
the contents of the original Ark were transferred and sealed into another
Ark of wood and gold made by Bezalel of the tribe of Judah. This Ark served
as a holy archive for the safe keeping of the sacred testimonies, reminders
and messages. It also contained a golden jar having the manna and the rod
of high priest Aaron. Before Moses died, he gave a copy of the "Book of
Law" to the Levitical priests with instructions to place that copy not
within the Ark of the Covenant of the Lord, but place it beside the sacred
Ark. Moses added;
"...let it remain there as a witness against
you. For I know well how rebellious and stubborn you are. If you already
have been so rebellious towards the Lord while I am still alive among you,
how much more after my death!" (Deut. 31:
26-28).
This Ark of the Covenant was brought by King
David to Jerusalem. Today, the researchers like Mike Sanders believe that
the Ark was probably destroyed by Ramesses III. The original Message of
God that was bestowed upon Moses and written by Moses himself and placed
by him in the Ark is no where to be found.
IMPORTANT ADDITIONS
RESPONSES FROM SILAS AND SAM SHAMOUN
MY REFUTATIONS TO THOSE RESPONSES
The combined responses from Silas (the original author)
and Sam Shamoun (a colleague of Silas), is an article twenty-seven pages
long and is divided into two parts. Since much of it is either irrelevant
or deviates from the ORIGINAL CLAIM made by Silas that is under rebuttal,
I am only reproducing the essential and related excerpts. Silas
has claimed;
"THE QURAN STATES THAT THE BIBLE IS
TRUE". To this false claim I have rightly called a deception. Silas
has now invited his "esteemed" colleague - Sam Shamoun, to play around
with the well established and distinctly defined terminology "THE BIBLE"
and to manipulate the ORIGINAL CLAIM. It is often, within the Divine
Plan of Allah, to expose the deceit from the writings of those who wish
to propagate falsehood in His name. The seekers of Truth may be elated
to read how Sam Shamoun contradicts his colleague. After reading my refutations,
if someone feels the need to read the entire lengthy response, the URLs
for both the parts are given at the end.
Silas writes: My esteemed
colleague, Mr. Sam Shamoun, had already written an analysis of Meherally's
"rebuttal." I have only added a few comments to his work. Hence the reader
may see our work switch back and forth from first person to second, to
third. It should not be difficult for the informed reader.
Sam: I choose to call
Meherally's response a deception for several reasons.
First in order to call our readers' attention to Meherally's ad
hominem slurs. Do note that Meherally begins his article
with the bold claim that Silas' article is a falsehood and a deception.
This is presumably done in order to poison the minds of Meherally's readers
from seriously considering Silas' arguments. Yet, all Meherally has managed
to do throughout his article is to expose his shoddy scholarship. As I
shall shortly demonstrate the only one who is promoting falsehood and lies
is Meherally.
Instead of attacking a person's character and/or using cheap polemical
tricks, Meherally needs to show respect to those whom he
opposes. His attacks do nothing to help his case but only expose
his immature and unprofessional attitude.
(The change of typeface to bold, is mine).
Meherally: I
did call the article written by Silas a deception, because the well
established and distinctly defined terms BIBLE or THE HOLY BIBLE do
not appear in the Qur'an. Even this twenty-seven page article has not been
able to substantiate that which is non-existent. Earlier, I have already
enumerated that which has been Revealed by Allah (s.w.t.) in His Book.
If, Sam considers my calling Sisal's article a deception to be "ad
hominem slurs", what does he consider his
opening remark that reads:
"I choose to call
Meherally's response a deception"?
Silas/Sam have quoted the following passage
from my rebuttal
The word "BIBLE" and/or the phrase "THE HOLY
BIBLE" or their Arabic equivalents did not appear in the Qur'an that Prophet
Muhammad (peace be upon him) used to recite in his days. Neither do they
appear in the copies of the Qur'an that the Muslims do recite today. Furthermore,
if one was to do the key-word search for the words BIBLE, OLD TESTAMENT
or NEW TESTAMENT within the majority of the translated ENGLISH TEXTS of
the Glorious Qur'an, the results would be ZERO. In other words, these words
or phrases DO NOT appear in these translated texts of the Qur'an. To claim
that the author of this article - Silas, (which could be a pen name) who
uses the following sub-heading, was in reality not aware of the above mentioned
facts, is to say that the author's work could not be relied upon. To say
otherwise, would be to admit that Silas is the master of DECEPTION.
The noteworthy sub-heading to be found within
the article by Silas:
C. THE QURAN STATES THAT THE BIBLE IS TRUE
Silas: Meherally's
thrust here is that since the word "Bible" is not found in English translations
of the Quran, then my assertion "THE QURAN STATES THAT THE BIBLE IS TRUE",
is false.
At this point, I need to say to Meherally,
"Meherally! Before you ‘rebut’ anything, please read all of it!!! Otherwise
you appear to be a barking dog or a
braying donkey." If Meherally would have bothered to read all of
my article, he would have found where I address his question. Meherally
is not the first person to make such an objection. Consequently, I specifically
addressed this in Section D, Muslim objection #2. So much time would be
saved if people bothered to read, and then be able to understand what they
read.
(The change of typeface to bold, is mine).
Meherally: If
Silas had indeed addressed this question earlier, as he claims so vehemently,
why has Silas not reproduced that text here and made the short end of
this dialogue? Why has Silas invited an "esteemed writer" his aid?
And, why this helper has written such a LENGTHY RESPONSE to prove that
which has already been proven by Silas? The readers will find out, once
they finish reading my entire response (part of which is yet under editing
and typing) how baseless is the claim: "THE
QURAN STATES THAT THE BIBLE IS TRUE".
Surprisingly, Silas has completely overlooked and disregarded the advise
given by his "esteemed colleague" of showing respect to those
whom you oppose and introduced disrespectful and derogatory phrases
as "a barking dog" and "a braying donkey".
I
wish to invite the attention of Silas - a follower of Jesus, to the following
warning by Christ; "...and if you say, 'You
Ra'cah', (a derogatory personal remark
to another person), you will be liable
to the fire of Hell." Matthew
5 : 22.
Sam:
Further, Meherally has evidently not even
bothered to thoroughly read the Quran. The claim that "Bible", "Holy Bible"
or their Arabic equivalents do not appear in the Quran is blatantly false.
The
term Bible comes from the Greek word Biblos, and simply means "Book."
Instead of expecting to find Bible in the Arabic Quran we should see if
whether the Quran refers to the Holy Bible by its Arabic equivalent, namely
Kitab
meaning Book. This is precisely
what we find the Quran calling the previous revelation:
(The change of typeface to bold, is mine).
Meherally:
Please make a note that Sam has claimed; the term BIBLE simply means
"BOOK"
(singular).
Now examine what his colleague Silas has claimed for the same term BIBLE.
Here is an excerpt from the original writings by Silas:
Yet, if one were to trace the word
Bible back to the Greek,
one would discover that the word itself comes
from the term biblia, meaning "books."
(The change of ink color to Red
and
the typeface, are mine).
Silas had argued in his original article that
the word BIBLE means "books".
However,
the Arabic word
"KITAB"
-- that appeared in the Qur'anic Verse that Silas had quoted underneath
-- was in its SINGULAR form. So, he now attempts to change that form
Plural to Singular by introducing one more falsehood, as you will soon
discover. On the other hand, Sam Shamoun simply changed the Greek word
for the BIBLE to its singular form and then make it tally it with the Qur'anic
term "KITAB". An ingenious method of changing the form of
the crucial word in Greek, and then try to prove: "THE
BIBLE" = "THE BOOK" = "THE KITAB".
A helper invited by Silas to help, proves
that Silas was wrong in his derivation.
However, the Encyclopedia Britannia
( 1953) records; The English word "Bible" is derived
through Mediaeval Latin from the Greek, which simply means "the
books." The above published prestigious record
proves Sam to be wrong and thus his attempt falls flat on its face unless
Sam claims to be more knowledgeable!!!
Silas continues:
Hence, in time the collection became classified
as the Book due to the fact that although the Bible consisted of 66
individual writings, the author was one, the
Holy Spirit, having one unifying theme: the advent of God's Messiah-Deliverer.
Not surprisingly, we find the Quran mentioning the Book
(Arabic- al-Kitab) of the Jews and Christians:
Meherally:
Silas is shy of using the common term "individual
books", and hence he prefers to write "individual
writings", just a casual observation. Silas
and Sam both belong to the "Protestant" Denomination of Christianity that
follows a BIBLE with 66 Books. Have they ruled out
all other BIBLES, including the famous
Catholic Bible,
which has 73 individual books? Who was the author of those Seven individual
books? IF, the same "one" - the Holy Spirit, why reject them? IF not, how
do you know for sure the 66 books that you read have no such spurious Book
or Books? The history records that the Protestant Sect came into
existence nearly eight centuries after the QUR'AN WAS REVEALED,
when it separated from the Roman Catholic Church. Which BIBLE was the one
that was being read during that long period of eight centuries? My
next question for Silas and Sam is; WHICH SPECIFIC BIBLES, that
the Jews and Christians read today, are for sure have been attested
by the QUR'AN with the Revealed Arabic term "KITAB", and which have been
for sure rejected???
Let me refresh the claim: "THE QURAN STATES
THAT THE BIBLE IS TRUE".
Silas has claimed; "the author was
one, the Holy Spirit." (see above).
Again, a falsehood. The following text from the BIBLE exposes and demonstrate
that to be a blatant falsehood. In his First Epistle to the Corinthians
(one of the "66 Books" of the Bible), Paul admits in the opening verse,
he is the author of this entire Letter. And, what he has written in verse
25 and 26 is "his" own opinion :
"Now concerning virgins, I have
no command of the Lord, but I give my opinion as one who by the Lord's
mercy is trustworthy. I think that, in view of the impending crisis,
it is well for you to remain as you are."
1
Corinthians 7 :25 - 26.
Please visit again. Insha'Allah, more serious
refutations will be added.
Further 2nd Addition on February
2nd 2003
A typo error:
In the earlier page, a sentence that read:
IF, the same "one" - the Holy Spirit, was reject
them?"
has now been corrected to read:
IF, the same "one" - the Holy Spirit, why reject
them?"
My apologies.
------
Here are further Refutations as promised:
The following is a text reproduced from my
earlier Rebuttal:
The Book of Moses
In the Qur'an (5: 44), it is recorded that
Allah (S.W.T.) had Himself Revealed / Bestowed "The
Taurat" on Moses (peace be upon him), and
therein was the Guidance and the Light. By
its Standard the Jews were judged by their Prophets.
It is absolutely incorrect or rather a folly
to claim that "The Taurat"
refers to the collection of the 39 Books of "The Old Testament". It is
an indisputable fact that this entire collection of 39 Books was not Revealed
to Prophet Moses. Similarly, it is ALSO incorrect to assert that
the First Five Books of the Old Testaments called "The Pentateuch" (lit.
"The Five Books"), which are often erroneously declared as the "Five Books
of Moses", were Revealed to Prophet Moses.
Some text has been deleted.
The entire text does appear in the earlier
portion. Please continue reading...
Below is the irrefutable proof that
Prophet Moses did not write or dictate "The Pentateuch". The following
historical account that appears in the end part of "The Pentateuch" and
records what did transpire after the death of Moses could neither be qualified
as Revealed by Allah Himself to Prophet
Moses nor as The
Book written or dictated by Moses nor
as The text written during the lifetime
of Moses.
As seen earlier, the Qur'anic Term "The
Taurat" refers specifically to the
Revealed Transcript by Allah Himself to His Prophet Moses and within
this Revealed Transcript was "The Guidance and the Light."
A Muslim is asked in the Qur'an to believe in this "Taurat"
and not in everything that is identified or published as "The
Books of Moses" in the Bible. Here are two
eye-opening passages from "The Fifth Book of Moses" which is known as "Deuteronomy":
"Moses was one hundred twenty years old when
he died; his sight was unimpaired and his vigor had not abated. The Israelites
wept for Moses in the plains of Moab thirty days; then the period of mourning
for Moses was ended"
Deuteronomy 34: 7-8
"Never since has there arisen a prophet in
Israel like Moses, whom the Lord knew face to face."
Deuteronomy 34: 10
The above text upholds the theory of Priestly
and other Sources in The Pentateuch.
The above text can be qualified as the history
of Moses written by the historians.
But certainly cannot be declared or qualified
as; "The true Taurat that was
revealed or bestowed upon Prophet Moses by the Almighty Allah".
-- The end of reproduction --
Sam's response to the above:
Fourth, Meherally thinks that Deuteronomy 34
somehow refutes Mosaic authorship. Yet this only exposes Meherally's
hypocrisy. Meherally claims and believes that Deuteronomy contains two
prophecies about Muhammad, Deuteronomy 18:15-18, 33:2:
8. Finally, several millenniums before Christ
Jesus spoke for the coming of "another paraclete", the making of ISLAM
as a Great Nation was already in GOD'S MASTER PLAN and foretold in the
Holy Bible. God the Almighty had declared His Master Plan to His prophets
Abraham, MOSES, Solomon, Isaiah and Habakkuk. Here are few verses
from the Old and New Testaments. Genesis 17: 20; 21: 13-17-18; DEUTERONOMY
18: 15-18 AND IN PARTICULAR 33:2; Songs of Solomon 5: 10 to 16; Isaiah
42: 9 to 17 and Habakkuk 3: 3.
John 14: 16/26; 15: 26; 16: 7 to 15; 1 John 2:
1 and 1 John 4: 6. ( Source
)
And:
Nearly TWENTY CENTURIES before the birth of
prophet Muhammad AND A SHORT WHILE BEFORE HIS OWN DEATH, PROPHET MOSES
speaking
on the subject of the Holy One from mount
Paran, said to his people: (Source
)
If Meherally believes that Moses predicted the
coming of his prophet twenty centuries before Muhammad's birth, then on
what basis does Meherally use Deuteronomy 34 to reject Mosaic authorship?
It seems to have never occurred to Meherally that just as it was possible
for God to reveal to Moses the advent of a prophet that came thousands
of years later, God was also able to reveal to Moses the manner of his
death and have him record it for future generations!
Fifth, since Meherally accepts the Documentary
Hypothesis and since this hypothesis rejects Mosaic authorship for the
great bulk of the Pentateuch, how then does Meherally know that Deuteronomy
18 and 33 are genuine prophecies by Moses? On what basis does he accept
Deuteronomy 18 and 33 as genuine while rejecting chapter 34?
Interestingly, Meherally contradicts himself since
elsewhere he calls Deuteronomy "the fifth book of Moses":
The Message that Jesus had brought was the same
as declared IN THE FIFTH BOOK OF MOSES, called Deuteronomy, which
is: "Thou shalt have no other gods before Me." "Thou shalt not bow down
thyself unto them, nor serve them; for I the Lord thy God am a jealous
God..." ( Source
)
So which is it? Is Deuteronomy the fifth book
of Moses or not? Meherally seemingly wants to have his cake and eat it
too and yet he can't have it both ways. Sadly, such shoddy scholarship
and deceptive methodology is a common feature of Meherally's articles.
(The underlines are mine.)
--- end of Sam's respose --
Meherally:
Please read carefully the opening sentence
from Sam's response. It reads:
Fourth, Meherally thinks that Deuteronomy 34
somehow refutes Mosaic authorship.
I have for sure refuted the MOSAIC authorship
for CHAPTER NUMBER 34,
which happens to be the LAST CHAPTER of that Book. To uphold and
support my refutation I have also quoted VERSES 7 - 8 and Verse 10 from
Chapter
34.
Now, please read once again the above quoted
misleading
Response of Sam.
He refers to my OTHER WORKS as the Source
Documents, that deal with CHAPTERS
18
and 33 of Deuteronomy. Sam,
the "esteemed writer" boasts that he has EXPOSED "Meherally's
hypocrisy". Need I spell out what has been in reality
exposed from the above Response of Sam, who has not quoted anything from
chapter 34? Sam, should read again my Sources and demonstrate where
have I rejected the entire Book of Deuteronomy to prove "Meherally's
hypocrisy". Let me, repeat what I had written earlier: "It
is often, within the Divine Plan of Allah, to expose the deceit from the
writings of those who wish to propagate falsehood in His name."
Sam writes in his response and I quote:
If Meherally believes that Moses predicted the
coming of his prophet twenty centuries before Muhammad's birth, then on
what basis does Meherally use Deuteronomy 34 to reject Mosaic authorship?
It seems to have never occurred to Meherally that just as it was possible
for God to reveal to Moses the advent of a prophet that came thousands
of years later, God was also able to reveal to Moses the manner of his
death and have him record it for future generations!
(The underlines are mine.)
Sam is trying to change the text of a post
Moses Historical Record into a Prophecy. Once again this ingenious scheme
falls flat on its face, before the following quote.
Here is a text copied from the NEW REVISED
STANDARD VERSION (NRSV) of the Bible, that appears under the subheading
of VITAL STATISTIC:
DEUTERONOMY
AUTHOR:
Moses (except for the final summary which
was probably written by
Joshua after Moses' death).
Note: Joshua the son of
Nun is the author of the next Book in the O/T.
I have a suggestion for Sam, Silas and his
Organization:
Write to the Editors of NRSV and ask them
to amend what they have written...
Here is another passage from Sam's Response:
Interestingly, Meherally contradicts himself
since elsewhere he calls Deuteronomy "the fifth book of Moses":
Meherally:
Is Sam trying to tell his readers that he has
never opened the famous King James Version of the Bible and read the headings
of the Books of the Old Testament?
In K.J.V. the title for the first book of
the Old Testament reads:
The First Book of Moses, called GENESIS.
And, this style is maintained by K.J.V. for
the 2nd, 3rd, 4th and the 5th Book.
The title for the fifth book of the Old Testament
reads:
The Fifth Book of Moses, called DEUTERONOMY.
In the Glorious Qur'an the Chapter (Sura) Number
69 is called Al-Haqqa meaning THE REALITY. If Sam was to call that
Chapter "The Reality", can anyone claim that Sam has
acknowledged that Chapter to be THE REALITY
(The Truth)?
Sam makes a very serious erroneous
claim below and then goes on to make the unwarranted serious remarks for
the Glorious Qur'an:
Finally and even more amazingly, it might come
as a complete shock to our readers to find that the Quran never actually
says that the Taurat was given to Moses. Instead, the Quran says
that Allah gave Moses the Book. This means that the only way for
Meherally to know whether the Taurat was given to Moses IS BY TURNING TO
THE HOLY BIBLE! Otherwise, Meherally can never prove from the Quran
itself that the Taurat was given to Moses. This
is another indication that the Quran is an incomplete and incoherent record.
(The under lines and the color changes, are
mine)
Meherally:
Insha'Allah, God Willing, I am about to EXPOSE
Sam that will not only SHOCK the readers, but will DISCREDIT him, once
and for all the times. What Sam has claimed is a FALSEHOOD, that none can
deny after reading the following verse that speaks of "AT-TAWRAAT"
being revealed to Moses. After reading the following translations and the
transliteration
Sam should sincerely lament and apologize
for having written the following falsehood for THE QUR'AN, I quote:
This is another indication that the Quran
is an incomplete and incoherent record.
Here are the translations and transliteration
of Verse 5: 44:
Lo! We did reveal the Torah, wherein is guidance
and a light, by which the Prophets who surrendered (unto Allah) judged
the Jews, and the rabbis and the priests (judged) by such of Allah's Scripture
as they were bidden to observe, and thereunto were they witnesses. So fear
not mankind, but fear Me. And barter not My revelations for a little gain.
Whoso judgeth not by that which Allah hath revealed: such are disbelievers.
Translation by M. M. Pickthall
It was We who revealed the law (to Moses);
therein was guidance and light. By its standard have been judged the Jews
by the Prophet who bowed (as in Islam) to Allah's will by the Rabbis and
the doctors of Law: for to them was entrusted the protection of Allah's
Book and they were witnesses thereto: therefore fear not men but fear Me
and sell not My Signs for a miserable price. If any do fail to judge by
(the light of) what Allah hath revealed they
are (no better than) unbelievers.
Translation by Abdullah Yusuf Ali
Indeed We revealed the Taurat to Moses, in
which there is guidance and light: By its laws, all the Prophets, who were
Muslims, judged those who call themselves Jews and so did the rabbis and
jurists of law. They were entrusted the protection of Allah's Book and
they themselves were witnesses. Have no fear of people; fear Me, and do
not sell My revelations for a petty price: those who do not judge by the
law which Allah has revealed, are indeed kafirs (unbelievers).
Translation by F. Malik
'in(na) -naa anzalnaa at-
tawraah fe -haa huda(n) wa- nor yah.kum bi-
-haa an- nabeyon 'alladhena aslamo li- 'alladhena haado wa- ar- rabbaaneyon
wa- al- ah.baar bi- maa istuh.fiz.o min kitaab 'allaah wa- kaano calay
-hi shuhadaa' fa- laa takhshaw an- naas wa- ikhshaw -ni wa- laa tashtaro
bi- 'aayaat -e thaman(an) qalel(an) wa- man lam yah.kum bi- maa anzala
'allaah fa- 'olaa'ika hum al- kaafiron.
Transliteration of Verse 5: 44
Here is the greatest shock:
I had made a reference to this
verse number 5: 44 in the very opening of my Rebuttal's Sub-heading The
Book of Moses. Sam did not bother to open
the Qur'an and read that verse before making the accusations.
I could, but I do not wish to
repeat what Silas wrote to me about the dogs and donkeys. He may read it
himself, since that applies to him.
THE GOSPELS:
Here is an excerpt from the Encyclopedia Britannia
1953, under the Title BIBLE, Heading NEW TESTAMENT, Sub-heading TEXTUAL
CRITICISM Vol. 3, page 51. This passage gives several examples to demonstrate
that the interpolations within the Gospels are INTENTIONAL. The Gospels
that Christians are reading today have
materials from the external sources and
hence are corrupted.
In the Gospels, on the other hand,
the characteristic variations are intentional, such as the
addition or insertion of whole passages, some of which must certainly
have been supplied from an external source. The longest is the whole
story of the Woman taken in Adultery, inserted between John vii.
52 and viii. 12; others are a long insertion after Matt. xx. 28
(61 words), the saying about the Face of the Sky in Matt. xvi. 2-3
(31 words), the story of the Angel and the Bloody Sweat in Luke
xxii. 43-44 (26 words), and many other shorter passages. No satisfactory
paleographical explanation has ever been found for these variants; they
are evidently made on purpose, by persons who had new matter to insert
into the text and felt themselves at liberty to do so. The fact of the
occurrence of these longer Interpolations (as they are usually called)
prepares us to find that very many of the shorter variants are of the same
nature, i.e., that they did not arise through scribal errors but
by intentional efforts to improve or enrich the original.
Further 3rd Addition on February
6th 2003
Meherally:
DEUTERONOMY
Sam wrote in his rebuttal:
It seems to have never occurred to Meherally
that just as it was possible for God to reveal to Moses the advent of a
prophet that came thousands of years later, God was also able to reveal
to Moses the manner of his death and have him record it for future generations!
In my earlier response I had quoted the Vital
Statistics for the Book of Deuteronomy, from
the NEW REVISED STANDARD VERSION (NRSV). This Vital Statistics, written
by the editors of the Bible acknowledged that Joshua was probably the author
of that historical record and it was recorded after the death of Moses.
In case Sam Shamoun refuses to accept that Vital Statistic here is my alternate
response from the Biblical Texts. It seems that Sam has either not
read the specific wordings and the language of these prophecies for
the advent of a FUTURE PROPHET that
are recorded in CHAPTER 18 and compared them with the wordings and the
language of the PAST EVENTS that
are recorded in CHAPTER 34. Or, Sam is fully aware of those obvious
and glaring differences and is intentionally
responding with "esteemed" style of pretentious hollow arguments.
The opening words of Prophecy No. 1 recorded
in Deut. 18: 15 reads:
"The Lord your God will raise up for
you a prophet like me...."
The opening words of Prophecy No. 2 recorded
in Deut. 18: 18 reads:
"I will raise up from them a prophet
like you from among their own people, I will put my words in the
mouth of that prophet..."
These prophecies REVEAL the Future Events
in their Future Tenses.
Now compare the wordings and language of the
following records in Deut. 34: 5 - 8
"Then Moses, the servant of the Lord, died
there in the land of Moab...
"He was buried in a valley in the land
of Moab..."
"The Israelites wept for Moses in the
plains of Moab thirty days; then the period of mourning for Moses was
ended."
These historical events are all RECORDED
in their Past Tenses.
It is unfortunate that some people argue for
the sake of arguing and they never LEARN THE TRUTH... Jesus rightly said:
"The Truth shall make you free...".
THE AUTHOR WAS ONE, THE HOLY SPIRIT
Silas wrote:
Hence, in time the collection became classified
as the Book due to the fact that although the Bible consisted of 66
individual writings, the author was one, the
Holy Spirit, having one unifying theme:
Please read the following TEXT from the 'Book
of Isaiah', one
of the 66 Books.
The reproductions are from a Bible CD and
the Version is the King James Version:
(KJV) Isa 61:1 The Spirit
of the Lord God {is} upon me; because
the Lord hath anointed me to preach
good tidings unto the meek; he hath sent me to bind up the brokenhearted,
to proclaim liberty to the
captives, and the opening of the prison to
{them that are} bound;
(KJV) Isa 61:2 To proclaim the
acceptable year of the Lord, and the day of vengeance of our God; to comfort
all that mourn;
Apostle Luke records that Jesus went into a synagogue
in Nazareth. He was given the Scroll of the prophet Isaiah to read. Jesus
unrolled the Scroll and read. Please compare the following TEXT from the
'Gospel of Luke, one of the 66
Books.
(KJV) Lk 4:18
The Spirit of the Lord {is} upon me, because he hath anointed me to preach
the gospel to the poor; he hath sent me to heal the brokenhearted, to preach
deliverance to the captives, and recovering of sight to the blind,
to set at liberty them that are bruised,
(KJV) Lk 4:19 To preach
the acceptable year of the Lord.
One would EXPECT, Luke to QUOTE here what we had
read earlier from the "Book of Isaiah". But, he ADDED his own text and
thus corrupted the Book.
Here are two serious question
for Silas:
IF the author was ONE,
the Holy Spirit for all the 66 Books, then
why the TWO TEXTS do not tally LINE FOR LINE and WORD FOR WORD? Who wrote
the ADDITIONAL LINE that reads "and recovering
of sight to the blind"?
IF Silas is NOT YET READY to change his statement
then Silas should disown the 'Doctrine
of Trinity' the foundation of his Christianity.
This Innovated Doctrine teaches that the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit
are ONE. Did God Err???
Silas claims: "THE
QURAN STATES THAT THE BIBLE IS TRUE".
By the Grace of Allah, it has been established
WITHOUT ANY DOUBT:
"THE BIBLE ESTABLISHES THAT ALL ITS BOOKS
ARE NOT TRUE".
Those interested in reading more on the Innovated
'Doctrine of Trinity' may click:
http://www.mostmerciful.com/trinity.htm
I close with a verse from the Glorious Qur'an:
Then in their wake We followed them up with
(others of) Our apostles: We sent after them Jesus the son of Mary and
bestowed on him the Gospel; and We ordained in the hearts of those who
followed him Compassion and Mercy. But the
monasticism which they invented for themselves
We did not prescribe for them: (We commanded) only the seeking for the
Good pleasure of Allah; but that they did not foster as they should have
done. Yet We bestowed on those among them
who believed their (due) reward but many of
them are rebellious transgressors.
Chapter 57, Verse 27
Those interested in reading more on the Gospel
bestowed on Jesus, may click:
http://www.mostmerciful.com/kofgg.htm
Here are the two URLs of Sam's response:
http://www.answering-islam.org/Responses/Meherally/bible.htm
http://www.answering-islam.org/Responses/Meherally/bible2.htm
Since the above responses deal mostly with
the re-narrated Hadeeths and the works of Ibn Kathir, I suggest the readers
to read my two articles on the subjects:
http://www.mostmerciful.com/hadithbook-sectionone.htm
(Myths & Realities of Hadeeths)
http://www.mostmerciful.com/bukhari--munkar-e-hadeeth.htm
(Please read the end part. It speaks of what has been discovered within
the Ibn Kathir's commentaries).
Akbarally Meherally February 6, 2003
To read other articles by the author, please click
INDEX
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Akbarally Meherally at webmaster9@mostmerciful.com
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