This is a continuation of my rebuttal (*) to Umars
critique (*)
of my paper (*) on Jesus crucifixion from
an Islamic perspective.
Umar has the consistent habit of writing papers that he thinks refute my
articles but that actually end up establishing my case since he only manages to bring out
the confusing and contradictory positions of Islamic scholars. It is truly amazing that
Umar doesnt see this for himself.
For instance, what makes Umars "rebuttal" so ironic is
that he provides lengthy quotations from Muslim scholars who actually prove my point that
the Quran is unclear regarding Jesus final hours! His own sources admit that Muslims
held to different and oftentimes conflicting viewpoints even though they were all reading
the same Quran! This is despite the Qurans claim that it is a clear scripture that
supposedly provides further clarification regarding the matters that Jews and Christians
differ:
There is, in their stories, instruction for men endued with understanding.
It is not a tale invented, but a confirmation of what went before it,- a detailed
exposition of all things, and a guide and a mercy to any such as believe. S. 12:111 Y. Ali
By Allah, most certainly We sent (apostles) to nations before you, but the
Shaitan made their deeds fair-seeming to them, so he is their guardian today, and they
shall have a painful punishment. And We have not revealed to you the Book except
that you may make clear to them that about which they differ, and (as) a guidance
and a mercy for a people who believe. S. 16:63-64 Shakir
With the foregoing in mind we turn our attention to addressing the main points of
Umars paper, omitting material that does very little to address the issues
we raised.
My Response:
The Holy Qur'an is clear that Jesus (A) wasn't crucified, that the Jews
didn't kill him. It says clearly that it appeared to them that Jesus was crucified, simple
and clear.
The Quran is not as simple and clear as Umar makes it seem since it doesnt
expressly say that Jesus wasnt killed or crucified. The Quran only says
that the Jews didnt kill or crucify Christ:
and for THEIR saying, 'We slew the Messiah, Jesus son of Mary, the
Messenger of God' -- yet THEY did not slay him, neither crucified him, only a
likeness of that was shown to THEM. Those who are at variance concerning him surely
are in doubt regarding him; they have no knowledge of him, except the following of
surmise; and THEY slew him not of a certainty -- no indeed; S. 4:157 Arberry
Umar is simply distorting what the text actually says.
The language of the passage is such that it can have more than one plausible meaning.
For instance, by denying that the Jews killed or crucified Jesus does the Quran mean
to suggest that Christ was never crucified or killed? If so then the testimony of
history is overwhelmingly against the Quran since both Christian and non-Christian sources
agree that Jesus was crucified and buried:
Or is the Quran denying that the Jews killed Jesus by crucifixion?
If so then the Quran would be correct since technically the Jews didnt crucify
Jesus, but the Romans did since they had the authority to put people to death via
crucifixion. Specific Jews were responsible for instigating Jesus death at the hands
of the Romans, but they themselves didnt personally kill or crucify him.
Moreover, the Holy Bible expressly proclaims that it was Gods will
that Jesus die on the cross:
"He was despised and rejected by men; a man of sorrows, and
acquainted with grief; and as one from whom men hide their faceshe was despised, and
we esteemed him not. Surely he has borne our griefsand carried our sorrows; yet we
esteemed him stricken, smitten by God, and afflicted. But he was wounded for our
transgressions; he was crushed for our iniquities; upon him was the chastisement that
brought us peace, and with his stripes we are healed. All we like sheep have gone astray;
we have turned every one to his own way; and the LORD has laid on him the iniquity
of us all. He was oppressed, and he was afflicted, yet he opened not his mouth;
like a lamb that is led to the slaughter, and like a sheep that before its shearers is
silent, so he opened not his mouth. By oppression and judgment he was taken away; and as
for his generation, who considered that he was cut off out of the land of the living,
stricken for the transgression of my people? And they made his grave with the wicked and
with a rich man in his death, although he had done no violence, and there was no deceit in
his mouth. Yet it was the will of the LORD to crush him; he has put him to
grief; when his soul makes an offering for sin, he shall see his offspring; he shall
prolong his days;" Isaiah 53:3-10
Hence, even though the Jews in one sense were responsible for
Christs death and could therefore be held accountable:
"And I will pour out on the house of David and the inhabitants of
Jerusalem a spirit of grace and pleas for mercy, so that, when they look on me, on
him whom THEY have pierced, they shall mourn for him, as one mourns for an only
child, and weep bitterly over him, as one weeps over a firstborn." Zechariah 12:10
"For you, brothers, became imitators of the churches of God in Christ
Jesus that are in Judea. For you suffered the same things from your own countrymen as they
did from the Jews, who killed both the Lord Jesus and the prophets, and
drove us out, and displease God and oppose all mankind by hindering us from speaking to
the Gentiles that they might be saved--so as always to fill up the measure of their sins.
But God's wrath has come upon them at last!" 1 Thessalonians 2:14-16
In reality it was God who determined that the Romans through the instigation of the Jews
would kill Jesus:
"Men of Israel, hear these words: Jesus of Nazareth, a man attested
to you by God with mighty works and wonders and signs that God did through him in your
midst, as you yourselves know-- this Jesus, delivered up according to the definite
plan and foreknowledge of God, you crucified and killed by the hands of lawless men.
God raised him up, loosing the pangs of death, because it was not possible for him to be
held by it." Acts 2:22-24
"The God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob, the God
of our fathers, glorified his servant Jesus, whom you delivered over and denied in
the presence of Pilate, when he had decided to release him. But you denied the
Holy and Righteous One, and asked for a murderer to be granted to you, and you
killed the Author of life, whom God raised from the dead. To this we are
witnesses. And his name--by faith in his name--has made this man strong whom you see and
know, and the faith that is through Jesus has given the man this perfect health in the
presence of you all. And now, brothers, I know that you acted in ignorance, as did also
your rulers. But what God foretold by the mouth of all the prophets, that his Christ
would suffer, he thus fulfilled." Acts 3:13-18
"When they were released, they went to their friends and reported
what the chief priests and the elders had said to them. And when they heard it, they
lifted their voices together to God and said, Sovereign Lord, who made the heaven
and the earth and the sea and everything in them, who through the mouth of our father
David, your servant, said by the Holy Spirit, "Why did the Gentiles rage, and the
peoples plot in vain? The kings of the earth set themselves, and the rulers were gathered
together, against the Lord and against his Anointed"-- for truly in this city there
were gathered together against your holy servant Jesus, whom you anointed, both
Herod and Pontius Pilate, along with the Gentiles and the peoples of Israel, to do
whatever your hand and your plan had predestined to take place."
Acts 4:23-28
If this is what the Quran is saying, that even though the Jews instigated
Jesus death they still werent the ones who killed him but Allah did since this
was his will, then this would be similar to what the Quran says about the battle of badr
where Muslims defeated the larger contingent of the Meccan pagans:
You killed them not, but Allah killed them. And you (Muhammad SAW) threw
not when you did throw but Allah threw, that He might test the believers by a fair trial
from Him. Verily, Allah is All-Hearer, All-Knower. S. 8:17 Hilali-Khan
As the following commentaries explain:
You did not slay them, at Badr by your own might, but God slew them, by
giving you assistance, and you threw not, O Muhammad (s), [against] the eyes of the
[unbelieving] folk, when you threw, the pebbles, for a handful of pebbles thrown by a
human being cannot strike the eyes of [every person in] a large troop, but God threw, by
making that [throw] reach them. He did this in order to vanquish the disbelievers, and
that He might try the believers with a fair test, a [fair] gift, namely, booty; surely God
is Hearing, of their sayings, Knowing, of their conditions. (Tafsir al-Jalalayn;
source)
(Ye (Muslims) slew them not) on the Day of Badr, (but Allah slew them)
through Gabriel and the angels. (And thou (Muhammad) threwest not when thou didst throw)
you did make the dust reach the faces of the idolaters, (but Allah threw) did make it so
reach, (that He might test the believers) through the throwing of dust (by a fair test
from Him) by giving them victory and spoils of war. (Lo! Allah is Hearer) of your
supplications, (Knower) of your help. (Tanwr al-Miqbs min Tafsr Ibn Abbs;
source)
It was Allah who caused the Muslims to throw and kill thereby defeating
their enemies, otherwise if he hadnt done so then the Muslims would have suffered a
loss. In a similar fashion it was Allah who decreed that the Jews would be responsible in
causing Jesus crucifixion, otherwise they would have never been able to cause
Christs death had Allah not wanted it. In the words of the Lord Jesus himself:
"For this reason the Father loves me, because I lay down my life that
I may take it up again. NO ONE TAKES IT FROM ME, but I lay it down of my own
accord. I have authority to lay it down, and I have authority to take it up again. This
charge I have received from my Father." John 10:17-18
To reiterate the main point, the Quran does not explicitly deny that Jesus
was crucified but merely denies that the Jews crucified him. The language of the text
lends itself to several explanations, language which has caused Muslims to come up with
varying interpretations. This merely highlights the fact that the Quran is an imperfect
and incomplete book, contrary to its own assertion of being fully detailed.
My Response:
Lets correct Shamoun here. The Islamic view that Jesus
did not die is that:
In reality it is Umar who needs correction since he speaks of THE Islamic
view as if Islam has always historically held to one position.
1) He ASCENDED to God
2) He will return back to earth and DIE, and will later on be RESURRECTED.
To begin with, this is not what the Quran teaches since it doesnt
say that Christ will return from heaven in order to die. This is simply one view among
many and is based on interpreting specific Quranic passages (i.e. Q. 4:159; 43:61) in
light of later Islamic reports, not on the plain meaning of the texts themselves.
There are certain Islamic traditions, however, that claim that Jesus was
beaten, scourged, crucified and eventually died:
According to al-Muthanna Ishaq b. al-Hajjaj Isma'il b. 'Abd
al-Karim 'Abd al-Samad b. Ma'qil Wahb: When Jesus son of Mary was told by
God that he was about to leave this world, he became afraid of death and grieved.
He summoned the apostles and prepared food for them saying, "Come to me tonight. I
have something to discuss with you." When they assembled at night, he served
them with supper. When they finished the meal, he began to wash their hands, cleansing
them with his hands, and wiping their hands with his garment. But they considered it a
grievous act and were displeased, whereupon Jesus said, "Indeed, he who rejects
anything I do tonight, is not of mine, and I am not of his." Then he said, "What
I have done with you tonight in serving you the meal, washing your hands with mine-this is
to make you and me equal. You consider me the best of you, so do not be arrogant towards
one another. Sacrifice yourselves for one another, just as I sacrifice myself for you. My
request of you is that you call out to God; call fervently to postpone my end."
When they turned to pray and sought to be fervent, they fell asleep and could not pray. He
began to wake them, saying, "Praise be God, could you not watch one night to help
me?" They said, "By God, we do not know what happened to us, we were keeping
vigil but were unable to keep awake tonight, and as soon as we attempted to pray, we were
prevented from doing so." He said, "The shepherd is taken away, the flock
disperses."
He began to use such language announcing his death. Then he
said, "The truth is that one of you shall deny me thrice before the cock-crow,
and one of you will shall sell me for a few coins, and he shall eat my price."
They walked out and dispersed. The Jews were looking for him. They seized Simeon, one of
the apostles, and said, "This one is a companion of his." But he denied it, and
said, "I am not his companion." So they left him. Then another caught him, but
he denied it again. Then he heard the cock crow, and wept. When morning came, one of
the apostles came to the Jews, and said, "What will you give me if I lead you to
Christ?" And they set for him thirty pieces of silver. He took those, and led them to
him. Before that they were not sure of Christ. But now they seized him,
chained him, tied him with cord, and began to lead him away, saying, "You
revived the dead, chased away the devil, and cured the possessed, will you not set
yourself free from this cord?" They spat upon him and threw thorns upon him,
until they brought the wooden board upon which they wanted to crucify him. But God
raised him up to Himself and they crucified "only a likeness of that shown
them." A week passed. Then his mother and the woman whom Jesus healed and cured from
derangement came weeping at the place of crucifixion. But Jesus came to them and said,
"Why are you weeping?" They said, "Because of you;" whereupon he
replied, "God raised me up to Himself, and nothing but good has happened to me. Only
a likeness was shown to them. Instruct the apostles to meet me at place such and
such." They met him at that place, eleven of them, as the one who had betrayed
him and led the Jews to him was missing. Jesus asked the apostles about him. They
said, "He rued what he had done, AND STRANGLED HIMSELF TO DEATH."
Jesus said, "Had he repented, God would have forgiven him." He asked them about
John, a youth who was following them, and said, "He is with you. Go! Each of you will
speak the language of a people to warn and summon them."
According to Ibn Humayd Ibn Ishaq an impeccable
authority Wahb b. Munabbih al-Yamani: GOD ALLOWED JESUS, THE SON OF MARY,
TO DIE AT THREE O'CLOCK IN THE DAY; then He took him unto himself.
According to Ibn Humayd Salamah Ibn Ishaq: The Christians
assert that God granted him death for seven hours of the day, and then resurrected him
saying, "Descend upon Mary Magdalene on her mountain, for nobody wept for thee as she
did, nor did anybody grieve for thee as she did. Let her assemble for thee the apostles,
and send them forth as preachers for God, for you have not done that." God let him
descend to her; the mountain was aglow with light as he descended, and she gathered the
apostles. Jesus sent them out and commanded to tell men IN HIS NAME of the divine
injunction. Then God raised Jesus unto Himself, gave him wings of an angel and dressed him
in radiance. No longer did Jesus relish food or drink; he was flying along with the
angels, around the throne.
He was (both) human and angelic, celestial and terrestrial. The apostles
then dispersed, as commanded. The night on which he was sent down is celebrated by the
Christians with frankincense." (The History of Al-Tabari: The Ancient Kingdoms,
translated by Moshe Perlmann [State University of New York Press (SUNY), Albany 1987],
Volume IV, pp. 120-123; bold, capital and italic emphasis ours)
And:
According to Ibn Humayd Salamah Ibn Ishaq 'Umar b.
'Abdullah b. Urwah b. al-Zubayr Ibn Sulaym al-Ansari al-Zuraqi: One of our women
was under a vow to appear on al-Jamma', a mountain in 'Aqiq near Madinah, and I went with
her. We stood on the mountain and, lo and behold, there was a huge grave with two huge
stone slabs over it- one at the head, one at the feet. On them was an inscription in the
ancient script (musnad) which I could not decipher. I carried the slabs with me
halfway down the mountain, they proved too heavy, however, so I threw one (down) and
descended with the other. I showed it to readers of Syriac (to determine) whether they
knew its script; but they did not. I showed it to psalm (zabur) copyists from the
Yaman and those versed in reading the musnad script; but they did not recognize it,
either.
As I found nobody who recognized it, I threw it under a coffer we had, and
there it lay for years. Then people from Mah in Persia cam to us looking for pearls, and I
said to them, "Do you have a script?" "Yes," they said. I brought out
the stone for them and lo and behold, they read it. It was in their script, "This
is the tomb of Jesus, son of Mary, God's messenger to the people of this land."
They were its people at that time. Among them HE DIED, SO THEY BURIED HIM ON THE
MOUNTAINTOP.
According to Ibn Humayd Salamah Ibn Ishaq: The rest of the
apostles were assaulted, viciously exposed to the sun, tortured, and dishonorably paraded.
The Roman king, who ruled over them and who was an idol-worshiper, heard this. He was told
that a man among the Israelites, subject to his rule, WAS ASSAULTED AND SLAIN.The
man had announced to them that he was God's messenger. He performed miracles, revived the
dead and healed the sick. He created a bird of clay, breathed into it, and it flew, by
God's permission. He told them of hidden things. The king exclaimed, "But why
did you not mention this to me, about him and them? By God, had I known, I would not have
let them have a free hand against him!" Then he sent for the apostles and snatched
them from the hands of the Israelites. He asked the apostles about the faith of Jesus
and about his fate. They told him, whereupon he embraced their faith. The king
released Sergius, and concealed him. He took THE WOODEN CROSS WHICH JESUS HAD BEEN
CRUCIFIED, AND HE HONORED AND PRESERVED IT BECAUSE JESUS HAD TOUCHED IT. The king thus
became an enemy of the Israelites, and killed many of them. From this arose
Christianity in Rome. (Tabari, pp. 123-124; bold and capital emphasis ours)
Anyone remotely familiar with the Gospel traditions can see how they have
heavily influenced the foregoing narratives. The question that Umar is going to have to
address is how can Muslims such as Wahb bin Munabbih, who happened to be a follower of
Muhammads companions, and others believe that Jesus was beaten and scourged, with
some even narrating that the cross on which Jesus was placed was preserved, if the Quran
so clearly denies that Jesus was killed or crucified? The answer should be rather obvious.
As pointed earlier, one view is that Jesus did not die, but was raised to
heaven in his body, a view supported by Ibn Kathir:
And (remember) when Allah said: "O `Isa! I will take you and raise
you to Myself.'') When `Isa ascended, those who were in the house came out.
When those surrounding the house saw the man who looked like `Isa, they thought that he
was `Isa. So they took him at night, crucified him and placed a crown of thorns on his
head. The Jews then boasted that they killed `Isa and some Christians accepted their false
claim, due to their ignorance and lack of reason. As for those who were in the house with
`Isa, they witnessed his ascension to heaven, while the rest thought that the Jews killed
`Isa by crucifixion. They even said that Maryam sat under the corpse of the crucified man
and cried, and they say that the dead man spoke to her. All this was a test from Allah for
His servants out of His wisdom. Allah explained this matter in the Glorious Qur'an which
He sent to His honorable Messenger, whom He supported with miracles and clear, unequivocal
evidence. Allah is the Most Truthful, and He is the Lord of the worlds Who knows the
secrets, what the hearts conceal, the hidden matters in heaven and earth, what has
occurred, what will occur, and what would occur if it was decreed. He said,
(Tafsir Ibn Kathir for Sura 4 Ayat 157)
Umar omitted a portion of Ibn Kathirs statements which help put things in proper
perspective (note: he does quote the specific part later on in his article):
These Verses tell us that Prophet Jesus
(peace be upon him) was lifted up to the heaven after his opponents from Jews complained
and misled the king of that time, as they wanted to slay him and crucify him.
Ibn Abu Hatim has narrated from Ibn Abbas saying: "'When Allah wanted
to lift him up to heaven, Jesus came to his companions in the house. There were twelve
people, with some from among his disciples. He had just a bath, and his head was still
dribbling with water. He said to them: 'There are those among you who will disbelieve in
me twelve times after he had believed in me! Then he said: 'Who will from among you
take my likeness and be killed in my place, so will become in my rank?' A young
youth came forwards. But Jesus said to him: 'Sit down! Then he repeated the same question,
and the same youth stood up and came forwards, and said: I.' Jesus said: 'You
are the one,' and then the likeness of Jesus was put on him, and Jesus was lifted up to
the heaven from the window of his house.
Jews came looking for him. They took the youth and killed him and
then crucified him
Hasan Basri and Ibn Ishaq said: The king who ordered the killing of
Jesus, was David bin Naura. He commanded Jesus to be killed and hanged. They surrounded
Jesus who was in a house inside Bait-ul-Maqdis. It was a Saturday night. When they were
about to enter the house, his likeness was put on one of those who were present
there with him. And Jesus was lifted up from the window of that house to the
heaven. When the police entered the house they found the youth on whom the likeness
of Jesus was put, so they took him and crucified him. Even they put a crown of thorns on
his head to mock him. Those Christians who were not present there at that time, believed
what Jews claimed, that they killed Jesus. (Elevation or Crucifixion of Jesus?
By Ibn Kathir (Stories of the Prophets);
sources: 1;
2;
bold and italic emphasis ours)
The foregoing raises some more questions, such as why is there absolutely
no ancient historical evidence supporting the position that Jesus likeness was cast
upon one of the disciples who was subsequently crucified in his place? Where is the data
from the first century which mentions the name of this apostle who volunteered to die in
Jesus place? All the extant evidence we have which comes from the very eye and ear
witnesses of Christ emphatically proclaim that it was Jesus who was crucified, buried and
resurrected by the power of God.
Ibn Kathir doesnt stop here:
Ibn Jarir has narrated from Wahb bin
Munabbih, saying: Jesus came along with seventeen of his disciples to a house. Then police
came and surrounded the house. However, when they entered the house, Allah put the
likeness of Jesus on all of those who were there. They were confused, and said:
"You have bewitched us. Either Jesus come to us, or we will kill of you." Jesus
said to his companions: "Who can buy today a place in Jannah (Paradise)?" A man
said: "I"' and went out, claiming: "I am Jesus." They took him and
crucified him, and so they were deluded in their belief that they have killed Jesus, and
so are the Christians. But Jesus was lifted up to Allah on that day.
Now it was all of Jesus apostles who were made to look like him! How unfortunate
that Umar cannot see that Ibn Kathirs comments expose just how incoherent and
irrational Islam is, and just how wicked and deceptive Allah can truly be.
Ibn Kathir wants us to believe that God wouldnt allow Jesus to die on the cross but
would cause someone else, specifically one of the disciples, to die in his place and even
go as far as changing his appearance in order to make him look like Christ! Thus, instead
of Jesus dying as our substitute Ibn Kathir has a substitute die in Jesus place!
Interestingly, one Muslim candidly admits that, by making one of Jesus followers
look like him and die in his place, Allah was in fact acting deceitfully:
However, Allah deceived these people. He saved and raised His Prophet
from them, leaving them in disarray in the darkness of their transgression, thinking
that they had successfully achieved their goal. Allah made their hearts hard, and
defiant of the truth, disgracing them in such disgrace that it will remain with them until
the Day of Resurrection. This is why Allah said,
"And they plotted, and Allah planned too. And Allah is the Best of those who
plot."
55. "And (remember) when Allah said: "O `Isa! I will take you and raise you
to Myself and purify [save] you from those who disbelieve, and I will make those who
follow you superior to those who disbelieve till the Day of Resurrection. Then you will
return to Me and I will judge between you in the matters in which you used to dispute.''
56. "As to those who disbelieve, I will punish them with severe torment in this world
and in the Hereafter, and they will have no helpers.''
57. "And as for those who believe and do righteous good deeds, Allah will pay them
their reward in full. And Allah does not like the wrongdoers.''
58. "This is what We recite to you of the verses and the Wise Reminder."
(Ibn Juferi, The Jews plot to kill Jesus, peace be upon him, August 24, 2006;
source;
bold and underline emphasis ours)
Here is what Umar will say regarding my questioning Allahs morality
and ethical standards for causing an innocent person to look like Jesus in order to
deceive people into thinking that he was Christ so as to get him killed:
My Response:
Sam Shamoun raises two important objections here:
1) If God allowed for an innocent victim to
die, why shouldnt it have just been Jesus
2) Why didnt God just take Isa (A) up
in front of everyone, so that his enemies could see, and believe?
Objection no#1 is pretty simple to answer, just look at the verses given
in the introduction, and then see if a Merciful God would still allow his anointed one
(the Messiah) to be killed.
In other words, Allah showed mercy by sparing his Messiah from being
crucified through lying and deceiving the people into thinking that the person they killed
was Jesus, when in reality it was someone else made to look like him! How merciful of
Allah to prevent his Messiah from getting killed by allowing some other innocent victim to
die in his place!
The obvious question to ask is where was Allahs mercy for the victim
who died in Jesus place? If Umar responds by saying that Allah rewarded that person
with paradise for what he did which justifies Allahs acts then why not simply allow
Jesus to die on the cross and give him the reward of heaven instead? Furthermore, if Allah
was going to let anyone die then why not simply permit Christ to be killed? But if it
wasnt Allahs purpose that Jesus should be crucified then why have anyone
crucified at all?
Not realizing what my point was Umar decides to attack straw man by
explaining why God didnt simply raise Jesus in front of the unbelievers, since they
wouldnt believe such signs anyway! To prove his assertion he proceeds to cite Mark
8:11-12, Matthew 12:24-27 and some Islamic narrations where Muhammad allegedly performed
miracles which the unbelievers refused to believe. This wasnt the point I was
making, i.e. that God should have raised Jesus in front of them in order to convert them.
Here is what I wrote:
After sifting through all these conflicting reports we are still left to
wonder if it was Titawus, Judas Iscariot, or the watchman who was made to resemble Jesus?
And if it was one of the twelve, or thirteen, or seventeen, or nineteen (?!) disciples who
died in Jesus' place, which one of them was it? Furthermore, if God would allow an
innocent victim to die in Christ's place, why not just let Jesus die? Finally, what was
the point of allowing someone else to die at all when God could have easily taken Jesus to
heaven in full view of his enemies? This would have been the greatest act God could
have performed IN VINDICATING Jesus from all the lies of Christ's enemies.
I said nothing about converting the unbelievers, but of exposing their
lies and slanders by causing Jesus to ascend in full view of the people. This would have
served as the greatest vindication of the integrity of Jesus, that he is Gods
messenger, thereby silencing all the lies of the unbelievers completely, irrespective of
whether they would believe in this miracle or not.
Umar resorts to more straw men.
The view that he was raised to heaven (the
ascension) is not what Shamoun is trying to imply, and that is the last thing noted in
Sura 19:33, where it says:
"... And that day I shall be raised up to life ".
Or in other words, " The day I shall be RESURRECTED".
Contrary to Umars assertion I wasnt focusing merely on the
ascension of Christ, but on the fact that Muslims believe that he ascended before his
resurrection. It is ironic that Umar will even quote my words where I make this very point
without realizing how this basically exposes that he is doing nothing more than attacking
a straw man.
Shamoun mixed up the resurrection with Jesus ascending to heaven, as he
says:
"According to Islamic belief John the Baptist lived and died and will
be raised to dwell in paradise at the culmination of time. And yet certain Muslims
have Jesus ascending to God before dying, destroying the chronological sequence of the
passage."
It is clear, Sura 19:33 talks about:
1) His birth
2) His death
3) The day he gets RESURRECTED.
The correct interpretation of Sura 19:33 is as follows:
And Salam (peace) be upon me the day I was born, and the day I die, and
the day I shall be raised alive!) This is his affirmation that `he is a worshipper of
Allah, the Mighty and Sublime, and that he is a creature created by Allah. He (`Isa)
will live, die and be resurrected, just like the other creatures that Allah has created. However,
he will have peace in these situations, which are the most difficult situations for
Allah's creatures.' May Allah's peace and blessings be upon him
(Tafsir Ibn Kathir)
So lets just summarize the main point here:
Jesus ascension is not the same as what is being spoken about in the
Ayat, which is the Resurrection. The Muslim view is that indeed Jesus will die and be
resurrected when he returns (as confirmed by the Ayat), and he ascended to heaven,
this view in no way contradicts the Noble Ayat.
Let me expose Umars straw man. My reference to John should have made
it clear to him that I wasnt speaking merely of Christs ascension, but how his
life and death are supposed to parallel Johns. After all, I dont believe that
the Quran is speaking merely of Johns ascension into heaven when it says that he
will be raised but to his eventual resurrection from the dead.
I will go step by step in order to assist Umar in understanding the point
so that he can refrain from attacking straw men.
In the first place, the Islamic reports claim that John is in the second
heaven with Jesus:
... Then we ascended to the second heaven. It was asked, 'Who is
it?' Gabriel said, 'Gabriel.' It was said, 'Who is with you?' He said, 'Muhammad' It was
asked, 'Has he been sent for?' He said, 'Yes.' It was said, 'He is welcomed. What a
wonderful visit his is!" Then I met Jesus and Yahya (John) who said, 'You are
welcomed, O brother and a Prophet.' (Sahih al-Bukhari, Volume 4, Book 54,
Number 429)
This means that the sequence of Johns life goes something like this:
Q. 19:15 says that John will be born, eventually die, his soul be taken into heaven, and
will subsequently be resurrected in that precise order. Historically we know that John
didnt ascend to heaven without dying first, but that he was beheaded at the orders
of Herod Antipas.
Q. 19:33 uses the exact same language regarding Christ, i.e. that Jesus was born, will
eventually die and then be resurrected.
Since we know that John didnt ascend to heaven before dying, and since Jesus
birth, death and resurrection are spoken of in the same exact manner as the
Baptists, this leads us to assume that Christ would not ascend before dying. Christ,
like John, had to die after his birth before he could ascend into heaven or be
resurrected.
Yet this is not what Muslims like Umar would want us to believe. They want
us to accept that Jesus was born, was taken into heaven without dying, will return to the
earth and eventually die! This clearly goes against the plain reading of Q. 19:15 and 33
which uses the exact language in relation to the birth, death and resurrection of both
John and Jesus.
Moreover, the Quran presents additional similarities between John and
Jesus, making it evident that the author of the Quran deliberately intended to parallel
their lives with one another. For instance:
Angels announced the births of John and Jesus (Q. 3:37-48; 19:2-21).
Both of their births were miraculous in nature, since one was born to old and barren
parents while the other was born to a virgin (Q. 3:37-48; 19:2-21).
Both are said to be pure (Q. 19:13, 19).
One (John) is sent to confirm Gods Word, whereas the other is said to be
Gods Word (Q. 3:39, 45; 4:171).
Their lives, deaths and resurrections are described in the same way (Q. 19:15, 33).
Seeing that their lives are so similar we would expect that their deaths
would be somewhat similar as well. Since history testifies that Herod killed John, showing
that this was the way that God intended for him to die, we would expect that Christ would
experience a similar fate. Lo and behold, this is precisely what we find history
attesting, that Jesus died violently by means of crucifixion!
There is additional proof from the Quran that Jesus died at his first
coming, some of which was cited in my paper. I had mentioned Q. 3:144 which says that all
the messengers before Muhammad died:
And Muhammad is no more than an apostle; the apostles have already
passed away before him; if then he dies or is killed will you turn back upon your
heels? And whoever turns back upon his heels, he will by no means do harm to Allah in the
least and Allah will reward the grateful. Shakir
I even quoted the comments of the late Maulana Muhammad Ali who used this
reference to support that Jesus died. The following citations further solidify this point:
And We sent none before thee, but men to whom we made revelation --
question the People of the Remembrance, if you do not know -- nor did We fashion them as
bodies that ate not food, neither were they immortal; S. 21:7-8 Arberry
We have not assigned to any mortal BEFORE THEE to live forever;
therefore, if thou diest, will they live forever? Every soul shall taste of death; and We
try you with evil and good for a testing, then unto Us you shall be returned. S. 21:34-35
Arberry
The human messengers were not immortals, the Quran says, which clearly
shows that Jesus must have died at some point in his earthly ministry; otherwise the Quran
is contradicting itself!
In light of his gross misunderstanding Umar has the audacity to say:
Moreover, Shamoun's interpretation itself
is very ludicrous. The Holy Prophet (S) also ascended to heaven (Me'raj), yet we do not
say he died first then ascended. Obviously, since he has confused ascension with
resurrection, he would find a contradiction.
It shouldnt be hard to see that Umar has committed the fallacy of
false analogy since Muhammads life is never paralleled with that of Johns, so
it is irrelevant whether he ascended or not. Moreover, the Quran never mentions
Muhammads Meraj, which is itself a mirage, an illusion plagiarized from the stories
of other religious figures who were believed to have been given a vision of heaven
(cf. this article).
In fact, the story of Muhammads alleged night journey contains a gross
historical anachronism, a quite blatant error, which the readers can see here:
This is simply more evidence that this journey never took place, except perhaps
in Muhammads imagination or that of the Muslims who concocted this fable.
As if Umars logical fallacies couldnt get any worse he says:
My Response:
The commentary for that Ayat is pretty simple. Allah SWT has enjoined
prayer, and charity forever. The Muslims are even commanded to do this:
And be steadfast in prayer; practise regular charity; and bow down
your heads with those who bow down (in worship). (Surah Al Baqara Ayat 43)
What Isa (A) is basically saying is that Allah SWT has told him, as well
as everyone else, to pray to God, and to give charity "as long as you live", which
is basically showing the importance ofit, as charity and praying Salaat leads one
to Paradise.
In the first place, the Quran nowhere states that charity is enjoined upon
Muslims forever. The reader should see why this claim is simply absurd in light of the
fact that the Quran speaks of Muslims dwelling in paradise forever. What need will there
be for charity in paradise when all the believers will be given immortal bodies, rivers of
wine, milk, honey, and water to drink, meats and fruits to eat, couches to recline on,
maidens to sleep with etc.?
This leads us to our second point. Since Jesus is in paradise he is no
longer under any obligation to spend in charity. After all, there is no needy person in
paradise whom Jesus can give alms to! Yet the Quran expressly says that Jesus is obligated
to give alms as long as he lives, which means that he must have died before ascending to
heaven.
We break down our argument step by step so as to make it easier for Umar
to get the point:
Allah enjoined charity upon Jesus as long as he lives.
Jesus is currently in paradise.
The dwellers of paradise do not need charity since they have everything they need.
This implies that Jesus must have died, thereby freeing him from the obligation of
paying charity, before his ascension into heaven.
Hopefully Umar will now understand this particular argument.
Umar quotes Sunni writer G.F. Haddad who claims:
My Response:
Every Muslim should know that Isa (A) will return and kill the Dajjal
(anti-Christ) in the end times. Regardless of a view on these Ayats, every Muslim should
believe that Isa (A) will return, as Sheikh G.F. Haddad says:
The difference of opinion whether `Isa died or was raised to the
heaven alive and in the body, is also unrelated to his descent at the end of time.
Regardless of everything else Jesus WILL descend from the heaven.
He will destroy the cross and kill the swine. The sincere among the Jews and Christians
will enter Islam at his hand while the insincere will deny him and join the Dajjal - the
Arch-Liar. He will renew the Shari`a of our Prophet Muhammad and kill the Dajjal. He will
marry and have children and die together with the last band of believers left on earth,
after which the Hour will rise. This is our Sunni faith and whoever wishes to disbelieve
let them disbelieve.
The above reference can also be accessed here:
[1];
[2].
Before we address this, it is pertinent that we quote Haddads
position regarding Jesus final hours:
1. There is no difference of opinion among the Ulema of reports and of
Tafsir that `Isa, upon him peace, was raised to heaven with his material body as narrated
from Ibn `Abbas by al-Tabari and from Qatada by Ibn Sa`d and is now alive with his body in
the first heaven just as Idris is now alive with his body in the fourth although there is
divergence concerning the latter, upon our Prophet and them blessings and peace
References:
Ibn Sa`d, Tabaqat (1:53).
Al-Tabari, Tarikh (1:495).
Al-Baghawi, Tafsir (3:200).
Ibn Taymiyya, Fatawa (4:322-323).
Ibn Kathir, Bidaya (6:291).
Ibn Hajar, Fath al-Bari (7:209), Talkhis al-Habir (3:214).
`Azim Abadi, `Awn al-Ma`bud (11:307, 11:311-313).
2. Further, it is mass-transmitted (mutawatir) that `Isa will descend
again from the heaven both body and soul, and this can only be after he had been raised
there body and soul, upon him peace. In fact, the hadith of his descent in the two Sahihs
mentions that his head will be dripping with water. This is a reference to (a) the
presence of a physical body and (b) the suspension of time for him since his head was
dripping with water just before he was raised up, as narrated from Ibn `Abbas by
al-Tabari, Ibn Abi Hatim, al-Nasa'i, and Ibn Abi Shayba with a chain meeting the criterion
of Imam Muslim according to Ibn Kathir.
References:
Ibn Abi Shayba (6:339).
Al-Nasa'i, al-Sunan al-Kubra (6:489).
Al-Tabari, Tafsir (28:92).
Abu Ghudda in Anwar Shah Kashmiri, al-Tasrih (p. 116-117).
Ibn Kathir, Bidaya (2:92), Tafsir (1:366, 1:574-575, 4:363).
In light of the foregoing it should be apparent that it does indeed matter
whether one believes that Jesus died before he physically ascended to heaven. After all,
if Jesus died then the only way he could be taken into heaven both body and soul is if God
first resurrected him. Thus, this view comes closer to the Christian position that Jesus
died and was raised from the grave before ascending into glory!
Moreover, this also means that Jesus dies twice and will be resurrected
twice, which further destroys the parallel with John the Baptists life. Remember
that the Quran parallels their lives which means that since John died once and will be
raised only once Jesus will therefore only die and be raised once as well. Otherwise, the
parallelism is destroyed.
Thus, if Haddad and these Muslim sources are correct regarding Jesus
ascending with his body into heaven then Jesus has already been raised from the dead,
since the Quran is clear that he already died, which therefore refutes their assertion
that he will die when he returns.
Umar makes it worse for himself since he cites www.islamonline.net
to show that the word tawaffa can refer to taking or making someone fall asleep:
The Arabic word "mutawaffika" is
derived from the root "tawaffa" and is referred always in the Quran as
meaning "to cause someone to die". However, the word originally means
"taking". One says: "tawaffaytu min fulanin ma liya `alayhi". Meaning:
"I have taken back my debt from so and so". It also means "To make someone
fall asleep". This meaning is mentioned in the Quranic verse that
reads: "It is He who doth take your souls (yatawaffakum) by night, and hath knowledge
of all that ye have done by day: by day doth He raise you up (yab`athukum) again; that a
term appointed be fulfilled; In the end unto Him will be your return; then will He show
you the truth of all that ye did." (Al-An`am: 60)
Since Umar conveniently placed emphasis on the wrong part of the
paragraph, overlooking the part which soundly refutes him, we will help him see what he
obviously wanted to gloss over:
The Arabic word "mutawaffika" is derived from the root
"tawaffa" and is referred ALWAYS IN THE QURAN AS MEANING "TO CAUSE
SOMEONE TO DIE".
The above source clearly admits that the verb is always used in the Quran
to mean death! Hence, if the Quran always uses the term to mean death then this only
further proves that Jesus died.
We aren't the only ones to see it this way since other Muslims readily agree
that the clear implication of the verb is that Allah caused Jesus to die before his ascension:
Even if it is accepted that Aal Imraan 3: 144 entails the implication,
which Mr. Katz has mentioned, it is quite clear that Al-Nisaa 4: 157 - 158
does not say that God raised Jesus (pbuh), while he was still alive. There is no reason
to assume that Jesus (pbuh) was still alive, when God raised him up. In fact,
Aal Imraan 3: 55 clearly declares that before God raised Jesus (pbuh) up
to Him, He caused Jesus (pbuh) to die. Aal Imraan 3: 55 reads as:
When God said, 'Jesus, I shall cause you to die and raise you up to Myself.
I am sure this would clarify the issue for the readers. (Moiz Amjad, Did Jesus (pbuh) Die?;
source)
And:
We have explained that according to the Qur'an God caused Jesus to die
and then raised him up. Verses 157-158 of Surah Al Nisaa' say
nothing in regards to Jesus being alive or dead, but rather, refutes both
Christian and Jewish claims regarding the crucifixion. The Jews claimed
they killed him but the Qur'an says that they never achieved their goals; they
neither humiliated him nor killed him. At the same time this negated the
Christian claims that Jesus suffered and died for the sins of people. Aal
Imraan 3:55 reads as follows... It is quite clear that God said to
Jesus that He will cause him to die and therefore is our
understanding... Considering that the Qur'an mentions Jesus' death and
does not mention any replacement then it should be clear that our
understanding does not stray from the Qur'anic text. (Ronnie Hassan,
Is Jesus (pbuh) Alive?;
source;
bold and underline emphasis ours)
Furthermore, adopting the original meaning of the term only causes Umar
additional problems since taking back ones debt is simply another way of saying that
the debt has been paid or fulfilled. In reference to Christ this would imply that God had
completed Jesus earthly term, that Christ fulfilled his mission and God was now
taking him back. But this means that there is no second coming for Jesus since his earthly
mission has been fulfilled, he has completed the full term of his ministry!
Finally, to say that Jesus was taken during his sleep, or was caused to fall asleep,
is basically a denial of his physical ascension into heaven. After all, sleep here would be
a euphemism for death, thereby implying that Jesus soul was taken out of his body
causing him to die physically. In other words, this interpretation basically means
that Allah caused Jesus to experience physical death which led to the ascension of
his soul into heaven, conflicting with the Muslim view that he was taken into heaven
with his body.
Umar quotes the late Sheikh Jadul-Haq `Ali Jadul-Haq who claims that anyone who believes
that Jesus was killed or crucified can no longer be called a Muslim:
The above is absolute nonsense! As
mentioned earlier by the Sheikh, any Muslim who says Isa (A) was crucified can not be
considered a Muslim anymore:
"A sound belief of every Muslim should be that Jesus was taken up and
saved from killing and crucifixion. Anyone who believes in the idea that Jesus was
killed and crucified can no longer be called a Muslim."
Apart from this being nothing more than the fallacy of appealing to
authority Umar fails to realize how this backfires against both his colleagues and
himself. After all, some of Umars fellow writers hold in high esteem certain Muslim
debaters and polemicists who actually believe that Jesus was crucified but that he did not
die on the cross. This theory is known as the apparent death or swoon theory.
An example of such a Muslim who holds to this erroneous view is apologist
Shabir Ally, who even tried to defend this theory (quite unsuccessfully I might add) in
his debate with Dr. William Lane Craig, "Did Jesus of Nazareth Physically Rise from
the Dead?", held on Monday, March 4, 2003 at the University of Toronto. When
confronted in the question and answer period by Christian Apologist Tony Costa jr. as to
why Mr. Ally was promoting the Ahmadiyya position of the swoon theory, seeing that this
view is considered heretical by orthodox Muslims, the latter responded:
So whereas Sunni Muslims believe that Jesus will be
coming again a second time on the authority of many authentic reports back to the prophet
Muhammad, reported in authentic collections like Bukhari and Muslims and so on, the
Ahmadiyya group believes that Jesus will not come again because he has actually already
returned in the person of the founder of that group. I believe that Jesus will come again.
Now our position seem to intersect on the point of Jesus surviving
death on the cross. I have looked at the reports that are generally followed by
Sunni Muslims, understanding that someone else was substituted for Jesus on the cross, and
I have seen that although there are a variety of reports, the commentators cannot
agree precisely on what has happened here and how exactly a substitute was given.
And it appears that they are following reports which originated in Iraq, according to an
excellent analysis done by Neal Robinson, whos a Muslim now, in his book Christ
in Islam and Christianity. And looking at the quranic text itself, which is the best
interpretation of itself, we see that the quranic text ends with a summary which says wama
qataloohu yaqeenan, "they did not kill him definitely", Bal rafaAAahu
Allahu ilayhi, "but God raised him to himself." I take this to be a summary
of the whole discussion on what has happened to Jesus. There was a plot to kill him but
they neither killed him nor crucified him, crucified him in the sense of killing him
by crucifixion. That is a definition that has been given in Tafsir-Ul-Quran
by Abdul Majid Daryabadi, which is a Sunni Tafsir on the Quran. So I am well within
my ranks and I havent changed positions on that, but perhaps interpretations.
Thus, if Umars Sheikh is correct then Shabir is a false Muslim,
which contradicts the position of Umars fellow writer Sami Zaatari. Zaatari has
written a few rebuttals to certain Salafis where he comes to the defense of Shabir:
He Wrote
Exposing his ignorance of
Islamic knowledge and its people, Sami cackles, "lol you guys are so pathetic you
attack jamal badawi, shabir ally, zakir naik, and many other great scholars and sheikhs.
you guys live in your own world, well guess what, all the non-salafee muslims dont have to
listen to your rubbish." Aside from the fact that the names Sami mentions are far
from "great scholars and sheikhs," the fact that each of the people named by
brother Sami all have legitimate criticisms held against them pretty much renders
Samis assertion here as nothing more than accusations based on love of personalities
rather than love of truth and Sunnah.
My Response
They are indeed great scholars, and have helped many Muslims, unlike
you, what do you do? You simply write articles against Muslims! Note how ignorant this man
is, he is now going off on Shabir Ally, Jamal Badawi, and DR.Zakir Naik! This in itself
shows what a problem people like Rasheed to our the Islamic community.
He Wrote
As the old adage goes,
"know the men by the truth and not the truth by the men." This is how we
Salafees judge the people. Take Shabir Ally, for examplea man I have known
personally for some time. He is very similar to Samis beloved Osama in that he
accepts and rejects authentic hadeeths according to what agrees or disagrees with his
flawed reasoning and intellect. Worse than that, however, is the fact that he holds the
heretic belief of the Qadarees: that Allah does not know things until they happen. He has
been advised by many over the past few years (including brother Dr. Bilal Philips) and
continues in vain to prove his views as valid by way of semantic tomfoolery. He attempts
to dupe his opponents into thinking that he does not really believe that Allah does not
know everything using sophistry. However, despite his repeated endeavoursagain,
similar to Osamashe continues to expose that he still holds the same twisted
notions and heretic beliefs concerning Allahs pre-decree and foreknowledge of
everything that is, was and will be.
Men like Shabir are mere feigners of Islamic knowledge and scholarship.
My Response
Quite frankly, since I do not trust you, I will personally email
Shabir Ally and ask him about this, quoting you, and I will see what he has to say, since
you are not to be trusted. You call Muslims kaffirs, you take the Quran out of context, so
you are unfit for trust, no offense.
Secondly, I challenge you, I CHALLENGE YOU TO CALL SHABIR ALLY A KAFFIR,
go on, go do it so everyone sees how lost people like you are.
Yes men like Shabir Ally are nobodies right? Yes, it is you, the great
Salafi scholar Rasheed GONZALES who knows all and is the great scholar of Islam. Please,
people are going to laugh at you, all you do is write articles against Muslims rather than
Christian polemic! You are a joke, and you are unfit to judge anyone.
The Salafi sheikhs you mention, who are they? Where are they? I
never see them do anything for Muslims, it is scholars like Shabir Ally, Zakir Naik, Jamal
Badawi, and the great scholar Ahmed deedat who were the actual scholars who did something
for the Muslims in defending Islam and refuting Christianity, in fact I guarantee you
anything that the majority of readers will not recognized any of those scholars you
mentioned, but they will recognize Ahmed deedat, Jamal badawi, and Shabir Ally.
(Responding to Gonzales article on me;
source)
He also says in the conclusion of another article:
It can be said without a doubt that Shabir Ally is a great scholar, and a
great brother to have in Islam, and no doubt Shabir Ally ranks up with the other great
scholars such as Ahmed Deedat, and Jamal Badawi. (Does Shabir Ally claim that Allah is
not All-Knowing? Shabir Ally responds;
source)
Umar has now placed himself in a dilemma. If Sheikh Jadul-Haq is correct
then Ally is a heretic, and by implication so is Zaatari for defending him. This would
also mean that Rasheeed Gonzales, the Salafi to whom Zaatari was responding, is correct
for questioning Allys orthodoxy. But if Zaatari is right that Ally is an orthodox
scholar then Umar and his Sheikh are not only wrong, but also have become infidels or
unbelievers for pronouncing a fellow Muslim as an unbeliever! Moreover, if Zaatari is
correct then this means one can in fact still be a Muslim and hold to Jesus being
crucified!
This isnt the only time that Umar has contradicted his fellow colleagues,
he did it another time by contradicting both Osama Abdallah and Bassam Zawadi in regard
to whether Q. 33:52 was abrogated or not (*).
I had quoted a narration where an unnamed prophet that was beaten cried
out to God to forgive his tormentors:
Narrated Ibn Masud:
As if I saw the Prophet talking about one of the Prophets whose nation had
beaten him and caused him to bleed, while he was cleaning the blood of his face and
saying, "O Allah! Forgive my nation for they have no knowledge."
(Sahih al-Bukhari, Volume 4, Book 56,
Number 683)
And showed how similar this is to what the Gospels say happened to Jesus
on the cross:
"There were also two others, criminals, led with Him to be put to
death. And when they had come to the place called Calvary, there they crucified Him, and
the criminals, one on the right and the other on the left. Then Jesus said, `Father,
forgive them, for they do not know what they do." Luke 23:32-34 NKJV
Here is what Umar has to say about this:
Here, the Holy Prophet (S) is narrating
that the Prophet was *cleaning* the blood off his face. In the biblical verse however,
Jesus couldnt do that since he was crucified on the cross, his two hands being
nailed to the end of the cross.
Moreover, the hadith doesnt make mention of a crucifixion, it just
says that the Prophet was beaten by the people of the nation.
If Sam Shamoun wants to assert that the hadith is referring to Isa (A)
then he will be facing a problem since the hadith doesnt mention a crucifixion, just
the Prophet being beaten, and then the Prophet saying "O Allah! Forgive my nation,
for they have no knowledge." If this hadith refers to Jesus, then that means that the
Gospel writers misquoted Jesus, by adding his words into events that never took place
(such as the crucifixion).
Umar is operating under several assumptions, all of which are simply erroneous. He assumes
that the only way this hadith can be a reference to Jesus if it happens to completely agree
with every detail found in the Gospels. This fails to take into account that both
the Quran and the Islamic
narrations garble up and distort the biblical stories.
Umar then assumes that since the hadith doesnt mention crucifixion
this further refutes any connection with Jesus. Umar is merely arguing from silence since
the text doesnt say one way or the other whether the person was crucified or not, it
neither affirms nor denies it. Umar thinks that the hadith somehow suggests that the
people simply beat the prophet and then stopped, yet one can just as easily assume that
their beating culminated with the prophet being crucified.
Umar further assumes that the text of al-Bukhari refers to the prophet
cleaning his face with his hands, which somehow provides strong evidence that this cannot
refer to Jesus whose hands were nailed and couldnt therefore wipe blood from his
face. The problem is with Umars assumption that the Arabic can only mean that the
prophet cleaned his face with his hands, whereas another translation shows that this
isnt the only plausible meaning of the narrative:
3290. It is related that 'Abdullah said, "It is as if I could
visualise the Prophet, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, recounting about one of
the Prophets whose people had beaten him and made him bleed. While the blood WAS
RUNNING DOWN his face, he was saying, 'O Allah, forgive my people! They do not
know.'" (Aisha Bewley, The Sahih Collection of al-Bukhari, Chapter 64. Book of
the Prophets; source)
As Bewleys rendering shows, the report doesnt necessarily say that the prophet
wiped his face, but that the blood was running down his face! In light of this rendition,
there is no conflict with what Lukes Gospel reports since Bewleys version shows
that these words could have been spoken during the time Jesus was hanging on the cross.
Umar provided a quote which made the following candid admission:
The view I find myself inclined to is that
Allah Almighty has taken Jesus up from among his enemies, rescuing him from them. Hence,
they neither killed nor crucified him as Christians claim. His enemies were in fact
confused with regards to him. At any rate, he was saved, but how? We do not know.
Indeed, no Muslim definitely knows but neither does the Quran!
Lord Jesus willing, we will follow this up with an analysis of Umars
defense of the late Ahmad Deedat who sought to defend the swoon theory of Jesus
crucifixion in his debates, lectures and writings.
The Holy Bible sternly warned Israel not to intermarry with the pagan nations lest they end up worshiping their gods/goddesses:
“Be sure to keep what I am commanding you this day: behold, I am going to drive out the Amorite before you, and the Canaanite, the Hittite, the Perizzite,
In this post I will show that the true God loves all nations equally, not just Israel. I will demonstrate that God commanded the Israelites to love the foreigner or non-Israelite as a fellow, native-born Israelite, and ordered that the same Law and commands equally apply to both Israelite and
