7. Qur'an & The Bible

1. Adam erected the sacred Kaba stone in Mecca.
Surah 2:127 - And when Abraham and Ishmael were raising the foundations of the house, (they prayed): "Our Lord! Accept from us (this act)"

[A note following 2:127 explains that when Adam and Eve were expelled from "Heaven", they went west to the present site of the Kaba stone in Mecca where Adam erected a simple building with the black stone in one corner. After Noah's flood the building was lost beneath the sands, but Abraham and Ishmael uncovered the original foundation and stone and rebuilt the edifice as this surah indicates.]

[A note following 6:90 states that "Islam is not a departure from God's way with mankind, and the Prophet is simply sent to remind humanity of the message taught by earlier Prophets". Another note after 46:12 reiterates that "there was Torah before Qur'an as a Book of Guidance, and Qur'an endorses the previous books."]

Where nothing in biblical scripture states that Jews or Christians are to follow any other law, scripture, or prophet and emphatically warns against false prophets, these surahs certainly indicate that all Muslims should, at the very least, be reading the biblical messages of specific earlier prophets listed here. This is all the more important due to the credibility afforded these records by both religious and secular sources. If their collective revelations corroborate any message over or against that of Muhammad's, one must assume that Muhammad has issued a flawed reminder and the divine nature of his revelations comes into question.

And after recounting the biblical story of Moses and Pharoah:
Surah 10:91 - Now (do you believe)?
Surah 10:94 - If you are in doubt regarding what We have revealed to you, then ask those who have been reading the Book before you.

[A note following 10:38 states that disbelievers reject the Qur'an, "the divine Reminder", simply because they cannot understand it. A note after 28:51 says "Now that Word is brought to their own doors, in their own Arabic tongue, by a man of their own race and family…"]

References to "the Book" and earlier revelations are all the more odd since biblical credibility is discredited as indicated in point #4 above and also #1 in the chapter Jews & Christians. And yet the Qur'an is rampant with Bible replication, and accounts of its personalities are given and repeated throughout for Adam and Eve, Moses, Noah, Abraham and Sarah, Lot, David and Solomon, Jonah, and Joseph among others. In fact, references to these characters alone comprise around a thousand verses, a major portion of the Qur'an's content.

[A note following 5:14 states that the Christians became widely scattered from persecution and the "Christian Covenant which was given by Jesus to his apostles was lost in the process, and although a variety of gospels were written by various hands, they contained only an oblique reference to the fact that God's messages to man had not come to an end, and that the Comforter, [Muhammad], would come to reestablish monotheism."]

[Notes prior to and after this surah state that the story of Cain and Abel represents Israel who rebelled against the Lord, slew the righteous, was jealous when Allah transferred His favor to another nation, believed they were the chosen yet denied Jesus and Muhammad, and "have earned the astonishment and condemnation of all intelligent people".]

[A note following 6:104 says just as we have eyes to see the physical, that Allah has given us "eyes of the heart, faculties of intuition and physical realization which enable us to recognize Him in a way which is direct and leaves no room for doubt."]

Though the true Holy Spirit is indeed our "eyes of the heart", it does not rely on mere feelings and experience. All people have opinions based on degrees of these, but is that from God, Satan, or themselves? The only way to avoid guessing is to also prove all things through a credible Word.

[A note after 6:151-153 states that these are Muhammad's version of the "famous Ten Commandments".]

Does the reiteration of them in the Qur'an become a clear proof for the credibility of the Qur'an, or a clear proof of the credibility of the Scripture where they were first revealed? Mimicry is not proof of revelation.

[A note following 6:158 states that the signs of the end of the world that would prove Islam are: "the appearance of a Smoke, the appearance of a beast creeping upon the earth, the appearance of the Antichrist (dajjal), the rising of the sun from the west, the appearance of Gog and Magog, and the appearance of a Fire in Aden." Another note after 47:18 describes the signs of the Final Hour as "the coming of the last Prophet Muhammad, the split of the moon into two halves, the famine and the black cloud which will appear."]

The moon has already been split into two halves. See point #6 in the chapter Muhammad.

[A note following this last surah explains that Muhammad once held pebbles in his hand that praised God.]

[A note following 7:129 states that the Israelites would be given authority, kingship, and material power in Canaan after Joshua's conquest of Jerusalem.]

[A note following 10:47 states that the various messages are culturally tailored to social and ritual practice, but Islam is a tolerant and universal doctrine unconfined to one people or period as is Christianity and Judaism.]

This social design underscores the appeal of Islam to Arabs as Mormonism, an "Americanized" Christianity, appeals to some Americans. However, many previous points here disclaim Islam's tolerance where Christianity's tolerance is best underscored by the apostle Peter's statements in Acts 10:34-36.

[A note following 11:46 names the other sons Shem, Ham, and Japheth who boarded the ark, but no name was mentioned for the lost son.]

[A note following 66:10 says the Noah's wife "used to tell the people that he was a madman."]

When it comes to the personal projects of men, I thought all wives did that! However, the Bible gives no such indications for Noah's wife.

[A note following 37:102 reveals the son as Ishmael. It also claims that "the whole thing is symbolical" since God does not require such sacrifice.]

This lacks credibility for several reasons. One is that the much earlier biblical accounts reiterated here profess that it was Isaac. Secondly, it is obvious that the greater sacrifice would have been Abraham's long awaited son by his own wife Sarah rather than Ishmael, the son of his wife's slave Hagar, and which is only more compelling if it is a symbolical gesture. Thirdly, the biblical account that the young child was unaware of what was transpiring is far more credible than him actually giving his blessings to his own sacrifice.

[A note after 22:37 states that "it was a pagan fantasy that Allah could be appeased by blood sacrifice. But Allah does accept the offering of our hearts, and as a symbol of such, some visible institution is necessary."]

Actually, this is a similar understanding to Judeo-Christian beliefs: blood represents life. The Qur'an derides the whole idea of God sacrificing His son Jesus though it represents eternal life and it follows the concept described here including the "offering of His heart".

[A note following 16:124 states that the biblical Sabbath had nothing to do with Abraham, and it was only in Mosaic law because of "Israel's hardness of heart". Christians and Jews will be judged for their sabbath "dispute", but Muslims are emancipated from the former sabbath restrictions.]

[A note after 20:121 rejects the biblical doctrine that man is inherently evil for it cannot be just that succeeding generations are held accountable for Adam's sin. In the Islamic vision, it is only "man's cultural environment which may misguide him".]

[A note following 28:42 states that when power and patronage causes a man's fall, the "curses of many generations follow those whose oppressions and wrongdoing spoiled the fair face of God's earth". A note after Surah 30:41 says that "all mischief or corruption is introduced by Evil, viz., arrogance, selfishness, etc." Another note following Surah 30:57 (not listed) says "there is no excuse for anyone to plead that he could not do good or was forced to evil by his circumstances and surroundings".]

Sounds like original sin, doesn't it? And yet this contradictory evidence is ignored in the previous point. Hadith - Sahih Muslim 6757 states that "there is none amongst you with whom is not an attache from amongst the jinn (devils)" including Muhammad. In other words, Islam has incorporated the concept of original sin within the context of a devil living amongst all of us.

Muslim and non-Muslim sources have described the jinn as inhuman with an evil nature, a corrupting influence on man, and the seed of which Satan was head. In Islam, they are below men and angels. The jinn are created from fire, man from dust (or clay), and angels from light. It is generally recognized that these demons, or demi-gods, come from ancient folklore and are not fallen angels. A Muslim confirmed that in pre-Islamic Arabia, the jinn were spirits who were worshipped and had the ability to inflict natural disasters like famine and disease. Though most Muslims have a hard time explaining jinn, their professed origin and background makes it obvious what they represent.

[A note following 72:2 states that the jinn were present during one of Muhammad's morning prayers but he did not see them. The previous verses revealed the event to him.]

It is disconcerting here that the jinn are presented as a people, as converts of Muhammad, and as those who attest to the truth of the Qur'an. What's wrong with this picture? Would they not be the embodiment of untruth? And as such, would they not declare that another such as Jesus Christ should not be recognized in faith or prayers? (See 72:18 in the next point.)

[A note after 34:72 explains that "The Heavens, the Earth, and the Mountains, i.e. other creatures of God, besides man, refused to undertake a Trust or a responsibility…In saying that they refused, we imply a will, but we limit it by the statement that they did not undertake to be given a choice between good and evil…which would give them far more happiness than a faculty of choice, with their imperfect knowledge."]

The concept of nature having a conscious will of its own is an obvious holdover and mainstay of pagan beliefs that are still held today. We can assume that pagans recognize a beauty and complexity to the universe that suggests intelligent design, so they reject the secularist notion of random coincidence. And yet they don't believe in God, so they must attribute that intelligence to nature itself. It is odd for the Qur'an to retain such a perspective while it declares God's design over the universe.

This is surprising if we accept that man was created in God's image [Genesis 1:26], and such would be far greater than the non-conscious universe. The concept of a greater universe would, however, fit the pagan beliefs in the previous point.

[A note following 50:38 refutes the idea of God having rested on the seventh day and states "it is out of the question that He would be tired and rested."]

Would God have rested because he was tired, or as an example to man? The surah appears to be a personal, simplistic, and flawed challenge to Jewish scripture itself - hardly the substance of divine revelations.

[A note following 60:4 states that Abraham was prevented from imploring this for his father since "forgiveness of a disbeliever is not permitted."]

This entire study has been about unique elements found within the Qur'an. However, once you've read through it, you'll find something conspicuously missing. While I read a lot of promises for heaven or hell and titles of a compassionate Allah in the Qur'an, I found no verses such as the ones above. The term love only showed up in four verses in my translation (2:165, 2:177, 3:31, 21:90). All referred to love of Allah, and one also referred to Allah's love for believers. Another stated that Allah does not love unbelievers (3:32). A request online turned up a translation with love in two more verses: one for believers and one for spouses (3:103, 7:189). Love was never once mentioned or encouraged for unbelievers, strangers, or the lost. In my discussions with Muslims on their internet forums, they actually attest that there is no such thing as an "unconditional love". They have no concept of it even when you raise the issue of their own children. I believe this all to be a root cause for the catastrophic condition of fundamental Islamic perspectives.

Strong's Concordance lists up to 400 biblical instances of love in varied forms. More than just merciful and all-knowing, God is loving and you would expect that such a heart and desire would be conspicuous in any message he ordains. In the verses above, it is revealed through the Father when he is willing to give up his son, through Jesus Christ when he is willing to give up his life, and through Paul the apostle when he is willing to give up salvation, all so that others might live. Muslims appear to regard such displays as a sign of weakness which is below Allah, but I believe most people can understand it as God reaching out to mankind with a love mankind can understand. As such, I believe the unique compassion of the Bible and Jesus' message speaks for itself.

 CONCLUSION

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