August 2014 – What is the Truth?

the Old or New Testament or an Entirely Different Book?

The world today holds an abundance of religions, varying on who they “worship”, what and who they look up to and idolize… Out of all of them, there are three that hold more attributes in common than the rest, the Abrahamic religions: Judaism, Christianity and Islam. Strictly speaking they all worship the same God, all three were introduced by men chosen by God; Moses, Jesus, and Muhammad peace be upon them all. So, the question comes down to this which one do we follow, which one do we choose. People today believe that these three religions are in conflict, however, the truth is that they all validate each other as both Torah and the Bible mention that Muhammad will come.

Prophet Muhammad, peace be upon him (pbuh), is mentioned by name in the Song of Solomon chapter 5 verse 16: “Hikko Mamittakim we kullo Muhammadim Zehdoodeh wa Zehraee Bayna Jerusalem.” Translated to “His mouth is most sweet: yea, he is altogether lovely. This is my beloved, and this is my friend, O daughters of Jerusalem.” in King James Bible, English Revised Version and is present in many more (1). In the Hebrew language “im” is added for respect. As shown above “im” is added after the Prophet Muhammad’s (pbuh) name. The Prophet’s (pbuh) name has been translated to “altogether lovely”. In Arabic the name means the thanked one, the praised one or the one pleased with. Regardless, in the Old Testament in Hebrew, the name of Prophet Muhammad (pbuh) is still present (Rabbi reciting Song of Solomon 5:16). Another verse from the Torah (chapter 18 verse 18: Book of Deuteronomy) states that God said the following to Moses (pbuh) “I will raise them up a Prophet from among their brethren, like unto thee, and I will put my words in his mouth; and he shall speak unto them all that I shall command him. Prophet Muhammad (pbuh) is like Moses (pbuh):
Both had a father and a mother, while Jesus (pbuh) was born miraculously without any male intervention.
[Mathew 1:18 and Luke 1:35 and also Al-Qur’an 3:42-47]
Both were married and had children. Jesus (pbuh) according to the Bible did not marry nor have children.
Both died naturally, while Jesus (pbuh) was raised up to the heavens alive. Al-Qur’an 4:157-158: “And [for] their saying, “Indeed, we have killed the Messiah, Jesus, the son of Mary, the messenger of Allah .” And they did not kill him, nor did they crucify him; but [another] was made to resemble him to them. And indeed, those who differ over it are in doubt about it. They have no knowledge of it except the following of assumption. And they did not kill him, for certain”
Muhammad (pbuh) is from among the brethren of Moses (pbuh). Arabs are brethren of the Jews. As Abraham (pbuh) had two sons: Ishmail and Isaac peace be upon them both, the Arabs are the descendants of Ishmail (pbuh) and the Jews are the descendants of Isaac (pbuh).

In the Gospel, according to John (Chapters 14, 15, 16) Jesus spoke of the “Paraclete” or the “Comforter” who will come after Jesus, who will be sent by Father as another Paraclete, who will teach new ideas that the people surrounding Jesus could not sustain. While, the Paraclete is described as the spirit of truth (whose meaning resembles Muhammad’s title as “Al-Amin“, translated to “the trustworthy”), he is identified in one verse as the Holy Ghost (John 14:26). Also, the idea that the prophecy is in reference to the Holy Ghost is seemingly incorrect as the prophecy mentions that the “Comforter” will only come after Jesus (pbuh) is gone. While, the Holy Ghost was around during Jesus’s earthly life. The Dictionary of the Bible (Ed. J. Mackenzie) stated “Those items, it must be admitted do not give an entirely cohesive picture.”

There were Christians that knew that the Paraclete was a man not a spirit, but they were led astray by men that did not meet full description provided by the prophecy. Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) was the Paraclete, the Comforter, the Helper, the Trustworthy sent by God following the time of Jesus. He spoke of Jesus and his mother, Virgin Mary through what he was taught by God and his book the Qur’an. He preached a novel doctrine, he spoke of what he was revealed by means of the Holy Ghost, which the Qur’an identifies as the angel Gabriel, God’s most trusted and magnificent creation. He won over many believers through his well-preserved teachings. Muslims till today still pray, worship, fast and recite the Qur’an the exact way the Prophet (pbuh) did. These teachings will remain preserved as will the Holy book, a promise made by God to his loyal slaves. Muhammad peace be upon him was and is the last messenger of God. He was also the only messenger that was capable of uniting humanity under God and leading them down the straight path of truth. He spoke of many details of the past, future and science, as he was taught them through the Qur’an. Muhammad (pbuh) was an illiterate man that knew nothing of science or poetry, but through his revelations he recited the most intricate of poetry that spoke of details he personally had no knowledge of. The criterion given by Moses to distinguish between true and false prophets (Deuteronomy 18:22), described no one other than Muhammad (pbuh).

As for those that argue that John the Baptist is the Prophet that the Torah and the New Testement speak of, I implore you to consider this: John 1:19-21
19 Now this was John’s testimony when the Jewish leaders[a] in Jerusalem sent priests and Levites to ask him who he was.
20 He did not fail to confess, but confessed freely, “I am not the Messiah.”
21 They asked him, “Then who are you? Are you Elijah?” He said, “I am not.” “Are you the Prophet?” He answered, “No.”

The Holy Qur’an was and is the last of God’s revelations and in His book he mentions that Muhammad (pbuh) was mentioned previously in both the Torah and Bible:
“Those who follow the Messenger, the unlettered Prophet, whom they find written [i.e., mentioned] in what they have of the Torah and the Gospel, who enjoins upon them what is right and forbids them what is wrong and makes lawful for them the good things and prohibits for them the evil and relieves them of their burden (2) and the shackles which were upon them (3). So they who have believed in him, honoured him, supported him and followed the light which was sent down with him – it is those who will be the successful.” (7:157)

(1) Find proof of which I speak here – http://biblehub.com/songs/5-16.htm
(2) Difficulties in religious practice.
(3) i.e., extreme measures previously required for repentance and retribution without recourse to compensation.

ARISTOTLE A SCIENTIFIC GOD OR A MERE MORTAL?

Astronomy has been known as a an Arab forte as they were the first to excel in that specific domain. So, regardless of whether one believes that the Qu’ran said it first and it was the soul book that educated them on astronomy, the Qur’an served to educate humanity on so much more. Now, its time to venture into the knowledge of physics the Qur’an supplied humankind with.

Democritus, a man of Greek origin was the first to propose the theory of atomism, assuming that the atom was the smallest unit of matter. Nevertheless, we now know better, as modern science has taught us that an atom can be split and within it, protons, electrons and neutrons can be located. The Arabs held the belief in the same theory “Dharrah” being the Arabic word for atom. Nonetheless, the Qur’an came along and challenged this notion “But those who disbelieve say, “The Hour will not come to us.” Say, “Yes, by my Lord, it will surely come to you. [Allah is] the Knower of the unseen.” Now absent from Him is an atom’s weight within the heavens or within the earth or [what is] smaller than that or greater, except that it is in a clear register-” This verse conveys that Allah knows the seen and unseen and He does not miss anything whether it be as minuscule as the weight of an atom or even smaller or bigger, whether it be on land or the heavens above.

What about an entirely different study, geography what does the Qur’an teach about geography? Let’s begin with the water cycle, Bernard Palissy (1580) was the first narrate the process of the water cycle. Within the narration he reported the amount that evaporates from the oceans and the amount that cools down to form clouds. He described how the clouds move towards the land where they rise, condense and release precipitation. Further, the water gathers in lakes and streams and eventually pours back into the sea. Another wonder people speculated and hypothesized about was the underground water. Aristotle theorized that water condensed within cool mountain caverns and later formed underground lakes that pooled into springs. Now, it is known that water seeps into the ground through cracks on its surface. Now, lets look to see what the Qur’an said “Do you not see that Allah sends down rain from the sky and makes it flow as springs [and rivers] in the earth; then He produces thereby crops of varying colours; then they dry and you see them turned yellow; then He makes them [scattered] debris, Indeed in that is a reminder for those of understanding.” (Al-Quran: 39:21) How about this verse “And of His signs is [that] He shows you the lightening [causing] fear and aspiration and He sends down rain from the sky by which He brings to life the earth after its lifelessness. Indeed in that are signs for a people who use reason.” (30:24)
And, this “And We have sent down rain from the sky in a measured amount and settled it in the earth. And indeed, We are able to take it away.” (23:18)

So, my personal vote is Aristotle is but a simple mortal, at liberty of error just as much as the rest of us. What’s yours?
Always,
S

Shall I compare thee to a summer’s day? – William Shakespeare: Sonnet 18

The Sun, one of the most curious of creations, a mass of fire floating up in space, one we have grown so accustomed too. It greets us at the crack of dawn and bids us good night a number of hours later. In ancient times, people looked up to the sun and moon, called upon them as their gods and prayed and worshiped these two entities because they believed them to be so daunting and beautiful two aspects which we still hold today. We wax poetic literature comparing a beautiful woman to the moon. Maya Angelou described the “Phenomenal Woman”‘s smile to the sun. Another attribute that made them worthy of this title was their immortally. Without fail we can calculate the exact time the sun rises any time of the year because it abides by a clock that can be studied and synced to science. However, is the sun really as immortal as our fathers thought it to be or will it, like everything else, come to an end? “And the sun runs unto a resting place, for him: that is the decree of (Him), the Exalted in Might, the All-knowing. (Al-Qur’an 36:38)

The sun’s light is a result of a chemical process that has been occurring persistently for five billion years. However, in sync with the rest of creations it too will cease to exist marking the end of life on earth. As seen in the above English interpretation there is mention of the sun running unto a resting place, suggesting that it runs to a determined place and on a prescribed day it will terminate.

It was earlier believed that space was but a vacuum, later this notion was rectified as it was discovered that there are in fact bridges of matter referred to as plasma. Plasma is at times considered the fourth state of matter and consists of ionized gas containing corresponding numbers of free positive ions and electrons. The Quranic verse that mentions this is “He who created the heavens and the earth and all that is between” (25:59).

Edwin Hubble (1925) was the first, to be able to provide observational evidence for the receding of the galaxies from one another, thus suggesting the expansion of the universe. This is now regarded as irrefutable scientific fact. The Qur’an recited “And raw heaven We constructed with strength, and indeed, We are [its] expander” (51:47). Stephen Hawking once stated in his book A Brief History of Time (1988) “The discovery that the universe is expanding was one of the greatest intellectual revolutions of the 20th century.” The Qur’an said it before 1409 years before Stephen Hawking!

There are those that attempt to refute the knowledge of the Qur’an as they claim that Arabs were advanced in astronomy anyway. However, what they fail to realize is that the Arabs were advanced in astronomy due tot he knowledge the Qur’an provided not the other way around.

How could anyone, but the Creator possibly know such intricate detail?
S