tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5583590907399695052024-03-28T20:28:50.419-07:00Truth behind the veil Mustafa Ahmedhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14172750188773095424noreply@blogger.comBlogger980125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-558359090739969505.post-65490395842027655992024-02-26T13:04:00.000-08:002024-02-26T13:04:44.868-08:00Re-Examining Banu Qurayzah Incident<p> </p><p align="center" style="background: white; line-height: 16.25pt; margin-bottom: 11.25pt; margin-left: 0cm; margin-right: 0cm; margin-top: 11.25pt; text-align: center;"><br /></p>
<p align="center" style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background: white; box-sizing: border-box; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; line-height: 16.25pt; margin-bottom: 11.25pt; margin-left: 0cm; margin-right: 0cm; margin-top: 11.25pt; orphans: 2; text-align: center; text-decoration-color: initial; text-decoration-style: initial; text-decoration-thickness: initial; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px;"><span style="color: #111111; font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 13.0pt;">Kaleef
K. Karim & Aliyu Musa Misau<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background: white; box-sizing: border-box; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; line-height: 16.25pt; margin-bottom: 11.25pt; margin-left: 0cm; margin-right: 0cm; margin-top: 11.25pt; orphans: 2; text-align: start; text-decoration-color: initial; text-decoration-style: initial; text-decoration-thickness: initial; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px;"><span style="color: #111111; font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 13.0pt;">Content:<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background: white; box-sizing: border-box; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; line-height: 16.25pt; margin: 0cm; orphans: 2; text-align: start; text-decoration-color: initial; text-decoration-style: initial; text-decoration-thickness: initial; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px;"><span style="color: #111111; font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 13.0pt;">1.
Introduction<br style="box-sizing: border-box;" />
2. Jewish tribes Made a Pact with Muslims<br style="box-sizing: border-box;" />
3. Events that Occurred Before Quraiza Incident<br style="box-sizing: border-box;" />
4. Prophet Muhammed Thwarted Their Plans<br style="box-sizing: border-box;" />
5. Banu Qurayza Siding, Waging War and Supplying Enemies with Weapons<br style="box-sizing: border-box;" />
6. Banu Qurayza were Left to Face the Music Alone<br style="box-sizing: border-box;" />
7. Who were Killed?<br style="box-sizing: border-box;" />
8. Were Children Killed?<br style="box-sizing: border-box;" />
9. Were All the Banu Qurayza Men Killed?<br style="box-sizing: border-box;" />
10. How Many Men of the Quraiza were Killed?<br style="box-sizing: border-box;" />
11. Anti-Semitism Claim<br style="box-sizing: border-box;" />
12. Conclusion<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background: white; box-sizing: border-box; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; line-height: 16.25pt; margin: 0cm; orphans: 2; text-align: start; text-decoration-color: initial; text-decoration-style: initial; text-decoration-thickness: initial; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px;"><strong style="box-sizing: border-box;"><span style="color: #111111; font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 13.0pt;">1.</span></strong><span style="color: #111111; font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 13.0pt;"> <strong style="box-sizing: border-box;"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;">Introduction</span></strong><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background: white; box-sizing: border-box; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; line-height: 16.25pt; margin-bottom: 11.25pt; margin-left: 0cm; margin-right: 0cm; margin-top: 11.25pt; orphans: 2; text-align: start; text-decoration-color: initial; text-decoration-style: initial; text-decoration-thickness: initial; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px;"><span style="color: #111111; font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 13.0pt;">The aim of this article is to examine an episode in the life
time of Prophet Muhammed (p), concerning the Banu Qurayza warrior-men being
killed. In this piece, we will respond to claims orientalists and other critics
have made regarding this incident of the Arab Jewish tribe, Banu Qurayza.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background: white; box-sizing: border-box; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; line-height: 16.25pt; margin-bottom: 11.25pt; margin-left: 0cm; margin-right: 0cm; margin-top: 11.25pt; orphans: 2; text-align: start; text-decoration-color: initial; text-decoration-style: initial; text-decoration-thickness: initial; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px;"><span style="color: #111111; font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 13.0pt;">For many reasons, it is obvious that this episode of the Banu
Qurayza incident has had a lot of attention from non-Muslim scholars and
apologists. But, we find a lot of their conclusions about it has either been
lacking substance in showing the true picture of the event or deliberately
misconstrued this historical event in showing Prophet Muhammed (p) in a bad
light for allowing Sa’d ibn Mu’adh (a former Jew) to judge those that committed
treachery.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background: white; box-sizing: border-box; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; line-height: 16.25pt; margin: 0cm; orphans: 2; text-align: start; text-decoration-color: initial; text-decoration-style: initial; text-decoration-thickness: initial; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px;"><strong style="box-sizing: border-box;"><span style="color: #111111; font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 13.0pt;">2. Jewish tribes made a Pact with
Muslims</span></strong><span style="color: #111111; font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 13.0pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background: white; box-sizing: border-box; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; line-height: 16.25pt; margin: 0cm; orphans: 2; text-align: start; text-decoration-color: initial; text-decoration-style: initial; text-decoration-thickness: initial; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px;"><span style="color: #111111; font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 13.0pt;">The
Muslims, fleeing </span><span style="box-sizing: border-box;"><span style="box-sizing: border-box;"><u><span style="color: blue; font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 13.0pt;"><a href="https://discover-the-truth.com/2016/01/23/did-quraysh-persecute-muslims-when-they-fled-to-madinah/" style="box-sizing: border-box;">persecution</a></span></u></span></span><span style="color: #111111; font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 13.0pt;"> from
Makkah, found Medina (Yathrib) a safe sanctuary to live in. Shortly after the
persecuted Muslims arrived and welcomed in Medina. They made a pact with the
Jewish tribe Banu Quraiza (and other tribes) that so it happens if an enemy
were to attack Madinah, they would all protect each other and will not aid the
enemy in any way. These facts are related to us in a number of early sources:<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p style="background: #F2F2F2; box-sizing: border-box; line-height: 16.25pt; margin: 0cm;"><span style="box-sizing: border-box;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 11.0pt;">“… To the Jew who follows us belongs help and equality. He shall
not be wronged nor shall his enemies be aided. The peace of the believers is
invisible … The Jews shall contribute to the cost of war so long as they are
fighting alongside the believers… The Jews must bear their expenses and the
Muslims their expenses. <strong style="box-sizing: border-box;"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;">Each must help the other against anyone
who attacks the people of this document</span></strong>. They must seek mutual
advice and consultation, and loyalty is a protection against treachery. A man
is not liable for his ally’s misdeeds. The wronged must be helped. The Jews
must pay with the believers so long as war lasts. Yathrib shall be a sanctuary
for the people of this document. …. Quraysh and their helpers shall not be
given protection. The contracting parties are bound to help one another against
any attack on Yathrib. If they are called to make peace and maintain it they
must do so; and if they make a similar demand on the Muslims it must be carried
out except in the case of a holy war. Every one shall have his portion from the
side to which he belongs; the Jews of al-Aws, their freedmen and
themselves have the same standing with the people of this document in pure
loyalty from the people of this document.” <strong style="box-sizing: border-box;"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;">[1]</span></strong></span></span><span style="color: #76767a; font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 11.0pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background: white; box-sizing: border-box; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; line-height: 16.25pt; margin-bottom: 11.25pt; margin-left: 0cm; margin-right: 0cm; margin-top: 11.25pt; orphans: 2; text-align: start; text-decoration-color: initial; text-decoration-style: initial; text-decoration-thickness: initial; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px;"><span style="color: #111111; font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 13.0pt;">Mawsili:<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p style="background: #F2F2F2; box-sizing: border-box; line-height: 16.25pt; margin: 0cm;"><span style="box-sizing: border-box;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 11.0pt;">“The first treaty which the Messenger of God concluded with the
Jews of Medina took place when he concluded a truce with the Nadir, Qurayza,
and Qaynuqa in Medina, stipulating that they refrain from supporting the pagans
and help the Muslims. …” <strong style="box-sizing: border-box;"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;">[2]</span></strong></span></span><span style="color: #76767a; font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 11.0pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background: white; box-sizing: border-box; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; line-height: 16.25pt; margin-bottom: 11.25pt; margin-left: 0cm; margin-right: 0cm; margin-top: 11.25pt; orphans: 2; text-align: start; text-decoration-color: initial; text-decoration-style: initial; text-decoration-thickness: initial; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px;"><span style="color: #111111; font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 13.0pt;">The above evidences show that the Muslims and Banu Quraiza (and
other tribes) in Madinah made a pact that no one will help an enemy against any
of them. But, as we shall soon witness, this is exactly what the Banu Quraiza
did against the Muslims!<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background: white; box-sizing: border-box; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; line-height: 16.25pt; margin: 0cm; orphans: 2; text-align: start; text-decoration-color: initial; text-decoration-style: initial; text-decoration-thickness: initial; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px;"><strong style="box-sizing: border-box;"><span style="color: #111111; font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 13.0pt;">3. Events that occurred Before
Quraiza incident</span></strong><span style="color: #111111; font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 13.0pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background: white; box-sizing: border-box; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; line-height: 16.25pt; margin-bottom: 11.25pt; margin-left: 0cm; margin-right: 0cm; margin-top: 11.25pt; orphans: 2; text-align: start; text-decoration-color: initial; text-decoration-style: initial; text-decoration-thickness: initial; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px;"><span style="color: #111111; font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 13.0pt;">The events that took place prior to the killing of the
treacherous Banu Quraiza warrior-men, 1400 years ago.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background: white; box-sizing: border-box; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; line-height: 16.25pt; margin-bottom: 11.25pt; margin-left: 0cm; margin-right: 0cm; margin-top: 11.25pt; orphans: 2; text-align: start; text-decoration-color: initial; text-decoration-style: initial; text-decoration-thickness: initial; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px;"><span style="color: #111111; font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 13.0pt;">With the help of the Jewish tribe, Banu Nadir, the polytheist
Quraish leader Abu Sufyan had rounded up a force of 10.000 men to attack
Madinah and kill the Muslims once for all. All Muhammed (p) could gather to
fight back against Quraish was 3000 men; and they adopted a new way of
defending the city of Madinah by digging a trench around where Muslims resided
in Medina so that the enemy warriors couldn’t easily attack the Muslims inside
the city. The idea of digging up a trench was suggested by a Persian Muslim
convert Salman Al Farisi.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background: white; box-sizing: border-box; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; line-height: 16.25pt; margin-bottom: 11.25pt; margin-left: 0cm; margin-right: 0cm; margin-top: 11.25pt; orphans: 2; text-align: start; text-decoration-color: initial; text-decoration-style: initial; text-decoration-thickness: initial; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px;"><span style="color: #111111; font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 13.0pt;">When the polytheists attacked Madina, the Muslims were under
siege for two weeks.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background: white; box-sizing: border-box; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; line-height: 16.25pt; margin-bottom: 11.25pt; margin-left: 0cm; margin-right: 0cm; margin-top: 11.25pt; orphans: 2; text-align: start; text-decoration-color: initial; text-decoration-style: initial; text-decoration-thickness: initial; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px;"><span style="color: #111111; font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 13.0pt;">Abu Sufyan’s army was thrown aback by the design made for the
defence of the city i.e., the great trench made around Madina where the Muslims
resided, without which they were open, weak to cavalry attack. The
offensive enemy found themselves unprepared for such an unexpected defence when
they arrived. On the other hand, while the Muslims were busy protecting the
community from the deadly attack of the confederates, the Medinan Jewish tribe,
Banu Qurayza were busy making negotiations with the polytheists of Makkah to
turn against Muhammed (p). Authentic reports state that the polytheists and
Quraiza were in negotiations:<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background: white; box-sizing: border-box; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; line-height: 16.25pt; margin-bottom: 11.25pt; margin-left: 0cm; margin-right: 0cm; margin-top: 11.25pt; orphans: 2; text-align: start; text-decoration-color: initial; text-decoration-style: initial; text-decoration-thickness: initial; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px;"><span style="color: #111111; font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 13.0pt;">Ibn Ishaq:<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p style="background: #F2F2F2; box-sizing: border-box; line-height: 16.25pt; margin: 0cm;"><span style="box-sizing: border-box;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 11.0pt;">“The enemy of God Huyayy b. Akhtab al-Nadri went out to Ka’b b.
Asad al-Qurazi who had made a treaty with the apostle. When Ka’b heard of
Huyayy’s coming he shut the door of his fort in his face, and when he asked
permission to enter he refused to see him, saying that he was a man of ill omen
and that he himself was in treaty with Muhammad and did not intend to go back
on his word because he had always found him loyal and faithful. Then Huyayy
accused him of shutting him out because he was unwilling to let him eat his
corn. This so enraged him that he opened his door. He said ‘Good heavens, Ka’b,
I have brought you immortal fame and a great army. I have come with Quraysh
with their leaders and chiefs which I have halted where the torrent-beds of
Ruma meet; and Ghatafan with their leaders and chiefs which I have halted in
Dhanab Naqma towards Uhud. They have made a firm agreement and promised me that
they will not depart until we have made an end of Muhammad and his men.’ Ka’b
said: ‘By God, you have brought me immortal shame and an empty cloud which has
shed its water while it thunders and lightens with nothing in it. Woe to you
Huyayy, leave me as I am, for I have always found him loyal and faithful.’
Huyayy kept on wheedling Ka’b<strong style="box-sizing: border-box;"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;"> until at last he gave way</span></strong> in
giving him a solemn promise that if Quraysh and Ghatafan returned without
having killed Muhammad he would enter his fort with him and await his fate.
Thus Ka’b broke his promise and cut loose from the bond that was between him
and the apostle.” <strong style="box-sizing: border-box;"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;">[3]</span></strong></span></span><span style="color: #76767a; font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 11.0pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background: white; box-sizing: border-box; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; line-height: 16.25pt; margin-bottom: 11.25pt; margin-left: 0cm; margin-right: 0cm; margin-top: 11.25pt; orphans: 2; text-align: start; text-decoration-color: initial; text-decoration-style: initial; text-decoration-thickness: initial; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px;"><span style="color: #111111; font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 13.0pt;">Al-Tabari:<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p style="background: #F2F2F2; box-sizing: border-box; line-height: 16.25pt; margin: 0cm;"><span style="box-sizing: border-box;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 11.0pt;">“The enemy of God, Huyayy b. Akhtab, went out and came to Ka’b b.
Asad al-Qurazi, who was the possessor of the treaty and covenant of the Banu
Qurayzah. Ka’b had made a truce with the Messenger of God for his people,
making a contract and covenanting with him on it. When Ka’b heard Huyayy b.
Akhtab, he shut his fortress in his face. Huyayy asked to be allowed in, but
Ka’b refused to open to him. Huyayy called to him, ‘Ka’b, open to me!’ ‘Woe to
you, Huyayy,’ answered Ka’b, ‘you are a man who brings bad luck! I have made a
treaty with Muhammad and will not break the pact that exists between me and
him. I have seen nothing but faithfulness and truth on his part.’ Huyayy said:
‘Woe to you! Open to me, and I will speak to you!’ ‘I will not do it,’ said Kab.</span></span><span style="color: #76767a; font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 11.0pt;"><br style="box-sizing: border-box;" />
</span><span style="color: black; font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 11.0pt;"><span style="box-sizing: border-box;">Huyayy said, ‘ By God, you have shut me out only
on account of your gruel, lest I should eat any of it with you.’ This angered
the man, so that he opened to him. Huyayy said: ‘Woe to you, Ka’b! I have
brought you everlasting might and an overflowing sea. I have brought you
Quraysh, with their leaders and chiefs, and have caused them to encamp where
the stream beds meet at Rumah, and Ghatafan, with their leaders and Chiefs, and
have caused them to encamp at Dhanab Naqama beside UHUD.</span></span><span style="color: #76767a; font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 11.0pt;"><br style="box-sizing: border-box;" />
</span><span style="color: black; font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 11.0pt;"><span style="box-sizing: border-box;">They have made a treaty and covenant with me not
to withdraw until they root out Muhammed and <strong style="box-sizing: border-box;"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;">THOSE WHO ARE WITH HIM</span></strong>.’
Ka’b b. Asad said to him: ‘By God, you have brought me everlasting humiliation
– a cloud that has already sheds its water, that thunders and lightens but has
nothing in it. Woe to you! Leave me to continue with Muhammad as I am now, for
I have seen nothing from Muhammed except truth and faithfulness.’</span></span><span style="color: #76767a; font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 11.0pt;"><br style="box-sizing: border-box;" />
</span><span style="color: black; font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 11.0pt;"><span style="box-sizing: border-box;">But Huyayy kept wheedling Ka’b <strong style="box-sizing: border-box;"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;">UNTIL
HE YIELDED TO HIM</span></strong>, Huyayy having given him a promise and oath
by God that ‘If Quraysh and Ghatafan retreat without having killed Muhammed, I
will enter your fortresses with you, so that whatever happens to you shall
happen to me.’ So Ka’b b. Asad broke his treaty and renounced the bond that had
existed between him and the Messenger of God.” <strong style="box-sizing: border-box;"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;">[4]</span></strong></span></span><span style="color: #76767a; font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 11.0pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background: white; box-sizing: border-box; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; line-height: 16.25pt; margin-bottom: 11.25pt; margin-left: 0cm; margin-right: 0cm; margin-top: 11.25pt; orphans: 2; text-align: start; text-decoration-color: initial; text-decoration-style: initial; text-decoration-thickness: initial; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px;"><span style="color: #111111; font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 13.0pt;">From the above reports, we see that Huyayy b. Akhtab al-Nadri
visited Ka’b b. Asad al-Qurazi house on changing his mind to break his pact and
that he should join the enemies of the Muslims in order to slaughter the Muslim
community.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background: white; box-sizing: border-box; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; line-height: 16.25pt; margin-bottom: 11.25pt; margin-left: 0cm; margin-right: 0cm; margin-top: 11.25pt; orphans: 2; text-align: start; text-decoration-color: initial; text-decoration-style: initial; text-decoration-thickness: initial; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px;"><span style="color: #111111; font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 13.0pt;">At first Ka’b b. Asad al-Qurazi was not convinced and tried
avoiding what Huyayy b. Akhtab was saying but eventually, as the report informs
us, Ka’b b. Asad gave in and sided with the enemies of Muhammed (p) to fight
against the Muslims.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background: white; box-sizing: border-box; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; line-height: 16.25pt; margin: 0cm; orphans: 2; text-align: start; text-decoration-color: initial; text-decoration-style: initial; text-decoration-thickness: initial; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px;"><strong style="box-sizing: border-box;"><span style="color: #111111; font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 13.0pt;">4.</span></strong><span style="color: #111111; font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 13.0pt;"> <strong style="box-sizing: border-box;"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;">Prophet
Muhammed (p) Thwarted Their Plans</span></strong><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background: white; box-sizing: border-box; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; line-height: 16.25pt; margin-bottom: 11.25pt; margin-left: 0cm; margin-right: 0cm; margin-top: 11.25pt; orphans: 2; text-align: start; text-decoration-color: initial; text-decoration-style: initial; text-decoration-thickness: initial; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px;"><span style="color: #111111; font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 13.0pt;">Reading the above reports, we see that the Muslims were
surrounded from all sides during the siege, Muhammed (p) had no choice left at
this point but send Nu’aym Ibn Mas’ud, to divide his enemies from within.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background: white; box-sizing: border-box; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; line-height: 16.25pt; margin-bottom: 11.25pt; margin-left: 0cm; margin-right: 0cm; margin-top: 11.25pt; orphans: 2; text-align: start; text-decoration-color: initial; text-decoration-style: initial; text-decoration-thickness: initial; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px;"><span style="color: #111111; font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 13.0pt;">Ibn Ishaq:<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p style="background: #F2F2F2; box-sizing: border-box; line-height: 16.25pt; margin: 0cm;"><span style="box-sizing: border-box;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 11.0pt;">“Then Nu’aym b. Mas’ud b. Amir b. Unayf b. Tha’alaba b. Qunfud b.
Hilal b. Kalawa b. Ashja b. Rayth b. Ghatafan came to the apostle saying that
he had become a Muslim though his own people did not know of it, and let him
give what orders he would. The Prophet said: ‘You are only one man among us, so
go and awake distrust among the enemy to draw them off from us if you can, for
there is deceit in war. Thereupon, Nu’aym went off to B. Quryaza, with whom he
had been a boon companion in His heathen days, and reminded them of his
affection for them and of the special tie between them. When they acknowledged
that they did not suspect him he said: ‘Quraysh and Ghatafan are not like you;
the land is your land, your property, your wives, and your children are in it;
you cannot leave it and go somewhere else. Now Quraysh and Ghatafan have come
to fight Muhammad and his companions and you have aided against him, but their
land, their property, and their wives are not here, so they are not like you.
If they see an opportunity they will make the most of it; but if things go
badly they will go back to their own land and leave you to face the man in your
country and you will not be able to do so if you are left alone. So do not fight
along with these people until you take hostages from their chiefs who will
remain in your hands as a security that they will fight Muhmmad with you until
you make an end of him.’ The Jews said that this was excellent advice.</span></span><span style="color: #76767a; font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 11.0pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p style="background: #F2F2F2; box-sizing: border-box; line-height: 16.25pt; margin: 0cm;"><span style="box-sizing: border-box;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 11.0pt;">Then he went to Quraysh and said to Abu Sufyan b. Harb and his
company: ‘You know my affection for you and that I have left Muhammad. Now I
have heard something which I think it my duty to tell you of by way of warning,
but regard it as confidential.’ When they said that they would, he continued,
‘Mark my words, the Jews have regretted their action in opposing Muhammad and
have sent to tell him so, saying: ‘Would you like us to get hold of some chiefs
of the two tribes of Quraysh and Ghatafan and hand them over to you so that you
can cut their heads off? Then we can join you in exterminating the rest of
them. He has sent word back to accept their offer; so if the Jews send to you
to demand hostages, don’t send them a single man.’</span></span><span style="color: #76767a; font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 11.0pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p style="background: #F2F2F2; box-sizing: border-box; line-height: 16.25pt; margin: 0cm;"><span style="box-sizing: border-box;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 11.0pt;">Then he went to Ghatafan and said: ‘You are my stock and my
family, the dearest of men to me, and I do not think that you can suspect me.’
They agreed that he was above suspicion, and so he told them the same story as
he had told Quraysh. On the night of the Sabbath of Shawwal 5 A.H., it occurred
by divine providence that Abu Sufyan and the chiefs of Ghatafan sent Ikrima b.
Abu Jahl to B. Qurayza with some of their selected men saying that they had no
permanent camp, that the horses and camels were dying; therefore they must make
ready for battle and make an end of Muhammad once and for all. They replied
that it was the Sabbath, a day on which ritually do no work, and it was well
known what had happened to those of their people who had violated the Sabbath.
They added: ‘Moreover we will not fight Muhammad along with you until you give
us hostages whom we can hold as security until we make an end of Muhammad; for
we fear that if the battle goes against you and you suffer heavily you will
withdraw at once to you country and leave us alone with the man in our country,
and we cannot face him alone.’</span></span><span style="color: #76767a; font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 11.0pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p style="background: #F2F2F2; box-sizing: border-box; line-height: 16.25pt; margin: 0cm;"><span style="box-sizing: border-box;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 11.0pt;">When the messengers returned with their reply, the Quraysh and
Ghatafan said that what Nu’aym told them was thus the truth. Then they
resolved: ‘Send to B. Qurayza that we will not give them a single man, and if
they want to fight let them come out and fight.’ Having received this message
from the Quraysh, B. Quryaza said: ‘What Nu’aym told you is the truth. The
people are bent on fighting and if they get an opportunity they will take
advantage of it; but if they do not they will withdraw to their own country and
leave us to face this man alone here. So send word to them that we will not
fight Muhammad with them until they give us hostages as a security.’ But the
Quraysh and the Ghatafan refused to do so, and God sowed distrust between them
and sent very strong cold wind against them in those winter nights which upset
their cooking-pots and overthrew their tents.</span></span><span style="color: #76767a; font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 11.0pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p style="background: #F2F2F2; box-sizing: border-box; line-height: 16.25pt; margin: 0cm;"><span style="box-sizing: border-box;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 11.0pt;">Then Abu Sufyan said: ‘O Quraysh, we are not in a permanent camp;
the horses and camels are dying; the B. Qurayza have broken their word to us
and we have heard disquieting reports of them. You can see the violence of the
wind which leaves us with neither cooking-pots, nor fire, nor tents to count
on. Be off, for I am going! Then he went to his camel which was hobbled, mounted
it, and beat it so that it got up on its legs… The Ghatafan heard of what the
Quraysh expectedly did, that they broke up and returned to their own country.</span></span><span style="color: #76767a; font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 11.0pt;"><br style="box-sizing: border-box;" />
</span><span style="color: black; font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 11.0pt;"><span style="box-sizing: border-box;">In the following morning, the Prophet and the
Muslims left the trench and returned to Medina, laying their arms aside. <strong style="box-sizing: border-box;"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;">[5]</span></strong></span></span><span style="color: #76767a; font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 11.0pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background: white; box-sizing: border-box; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; line-height: 16.25pt; margin-bottom: 11.25pt; margin-left: 0cm; margin-right: 0cm; margin-top: 11.25pt; orphans: 2; text-align: start; text-decoration-color: initial; text-decoration-style: initial; text-decoration-thickness: initial; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px;"><span style="color: #111111; font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 13.0pt;">Al-Tabari:<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p style="background: #F2F2F2; box-sizing: border-box; line-height: 16.25pt; margin: 0cm;"><span style="box-sizing: border-box;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 11.0pt;">When the news of the treachery of B. Qurayza reached the Messenger
of God and the Muslims, the Messenger of God sent out Sa’d b. Mu’adh b.
al-Nu’man b. Imru al-Qays (one of the Banu Abd al-Ashhal who at that time was
the chief of al-Aws), Sa’d b. Ubadah b. Dulaym (one of the Banu Sa’idah b. Kab
b. al-Khazraj who at that time was the chief of al-Khazraj), and with them
Abdullah b. Rawahah (a member of the Banu al-Harith b. al-Khazraji) and Khawwat
b. Jubayr (a member of the Banu Amr b. Awf), and said:</span></span><span style="color: #76767a; font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 11.0pt;"><br style="box-sizing: border-box;" />
</span><span style="color: black; font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 11.0pt;"><span style="box-sizing: border-box;">‘Go and see whether what has reached us about
these men is true or not. If it is true, speak to me in words that we can
understand but that will be unintelligible to others, and do not break the
strength of the people. But if these men remain loyal to the pact between us
and them, announce it to the people.’</span></span><span style="color: #76767a; font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 11.0pt;"><br style="box-sizing: border-box;" />
</span><span style="color: black; font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 11.0pt;"><span style="box-sizing: border-box;">So they went out and came to the B. Qurayza.
They found that they were actually guilty of worst of what had been reported
about them! They slandered the Messenger of God and said, ‘There is no treaty
between us and Muhammad and no covenant.’ Sa’d b. Ubadah reviled them and they
reviled him – Sa’d was a man with sharp temper.</span></span><span style="color: #76767a; font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 11.0pt;"><br style="box-sizing: border-box;" />
</span><span style="color: black; font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 11.0pt;"><span style="box-sizing: border-box;">So Sa’d b. Mu’adh said to him, ‘Stop reviling
them, for the disagreement between us and them is too serious for an exchange
of taunts.’ The two Sa’d’s and the men with them went back to the Messenger of
God, and having greeted him, said, ‘Adal and al-Qarah!’ [They meant that it was
like the treachery of Adal and al-Qarah to the companions of the Messenger of
God who were betrayed at al-Raji)’.(Khubayb b. Adi and his Companions..</span></span><span style="color: #76767a; font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 11.0pt;"><br style="box-sizing: border-box;" />
</span><span style="color: black; font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 11.0pt;"><span style="box-sizing: border-box;">The Messenger of God said: ‘God is the greatest!
Rejoice, people of the Muslims!’” <strong style="box-sizing: border-box;"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;">[6] [7]</span></strong></span></span><span style="color: #76767a; font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 11.0pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background: white; box-sizing: border-box; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; line-height: 16.25pt; margin-bottom: 11.25pt; margin-left: 0cm; margin-right: 0cm; margin-top: 11.25pt; orphans: 2; text-align: start; text-decoration-color: initial; text-decoration-style: initial; text-decoration-thickness: initial; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px;"><span style="color: #111111; font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 13.0pt;">In simple words, Nuyam was sent to disunite the enemies within
so as to weaken them and wouldn’t have the chance of attacking the Muslim
community all together at once. Hence, Prophet (p) succeeded in this.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background: white; box-sizing: border-box; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; line-height: 16.25pt; margin: 0cm; orphans: 2; text-align: start; text-decoration-color: initial; text-decoration-style: initial; text-decoration-thickness: initial; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px;"><strong style="box-sizing: border-box;"><span style="color: #111111; font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 13.0pt;">5.</span></strong><span style="color: #111111; font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 13.0pt;"> <strong style="box-sizing: border-box;"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;">Banu
Qurayza Siding, Waging War and Supplying Enemies with Weapons</span></strong><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background: white; box-sizing: border-box; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; line-height: 16.25pt; margin-bottom: 11.25pt; margin-left: 0cm; margin-right: 0cm; margin-top: 11.25pt; orphans: 2; text-align: start; text-decoration-color: initial; text-decoration-style: initial; text-decoration-thickness: initial; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px;"><span style="color: #111111; font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 13.0pt;">Besides the foregoing evidences for the Banu Qurayza siding with
the enemy, there are further evidences that the Banu Qurayza were also arming
the enemy of the Muslims with weapons and supplies. Conclusively, there are
evidences in other historical reports that the Banu Qurayza actively fought
against the Muslims.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background: white; box-sizing: border-box; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; line-height: 16.25pt; margin-bottom: 11.25pt; margin-left: 0cm; margin-right: 0cm; margin-top: 11.25pt; orphans: 2; text-align: start; text-decoration-color: initial; text-decoration-style: initial; text-decoration-thickness: initial; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px;"><span style="color: #111111; font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 13.0pt;">Commentary on Quran 8:55 – 58 from Tabari:<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p style="background: #F2F2F2; box-sizing: border-box; line-height: 16.25pt; margin: 0cm;"><span style="box-sizing: border-box;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 11.0pt;">“Those of them with whom thou hast made compact, then they break
their compact every time’: ‘You, Muhammed, took from them their bonds
(muwathiqahum) and compacts (uhudahum) that they would not fight you nor aid
anyone who fights you, like Qurayza and (people) like them, who had compacts
(ahd) and treaties (aqd)’; then they break’ … : they fight you (harabuka) and
aid (zaharu) against you.’ (<span style="box-sizing: border-box;"></span><em style="box-sizing: border-box;"><span style="color: blue; font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 11.0pt;">Al-Tabari, Tafsir, [ed. Shakir] volume 14, page 21 – 22</span></em></span><span style="color: black; font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 11.0pt;">) <strong style="box-sizing: border-box;"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;">[8]</span></strong></span></span><span style="color: #76767a; font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 11.0pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background: white; box-sizing: border-box; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; line-height: 16.25pt; margin-bottom: 11.25pt; margin-left: 0cm; margin-right: 0cm; margin-top: 11.25pt; orphans: 2; text-align: start; text-decoration-color: initial; text-decoration-style: initial; text-decoration-thickness: initial; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px;"><span style="color: #111111; font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 13.0pt;">Muqatil ibn Sulayman al-Balkhi – Muqatil Tafsir:<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p style="background: #F2F2F2; box-sizing: border-box; line-height: 16.25pt; margin: 0cm;"><span style="box-sizing: border-box;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 11.0pt;">‘The Jews violated the compact between them and the Prophet and
aided the unbelievers of Mecca by <strong style="box-sizing: border-box;"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;">providing them with weapons</span></strong> with
which to fight the Prophet and his Companions. (</span><em style="box-sizing: border-box;"><span style="box-sizing: border-box;"><span style="color: blue; font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 11.0pt;">Tafsir Muqatil, volume 1, 147a</span></span></em><span style="color: black; font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 11.0pt;">) <strong style="box-sizing: border-box;"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;">[9]</span></strong></span></span><span style="color: #76767a; font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 11.0pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background: white; box-sizing: border-box; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; line-height: 16.25pt; margin-bottom: 11.25pt; margin-left: 0cm; margin-right: 0cm; margin-top: 11.25pt; orphans: 2; text-align: start; text-decoration-color: initial; text-decoration-style: initial; text-decoration-thickness: initial; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px;"><span style="color: #111111; font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 13.0pt;">Tafsir Baghawi on 8:56<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p style="background: #F2F2F2; box-sizing: border-box; line-height: 16.25pt; margin: 0cm;"><span style="box-sizing: border-box;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 11.0pt;">[This verse refers] to the Jews of Qurayza who broke the treaty
between themselves and the Messenger of God by furnishing the heathen with
weapons in order to help them in fighting the Prophet. But afterwards they
said: ‘We forgot, and we did wrong.’ Therefore the Prophet concluded a second
treaty with them, <strong style="box-sizing: border-box;"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;">until they broke it by inciting the
unbelievers against the Messenger of God</span></strong> on yawm al-Ahzab.
Ka’b b. al-Ashraf <strong style="box-sizing: border-box;"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;">went to Mecca and established an
alliance, directed against the Prophet</span></strong>, between them.”(</span><em style="box-sizing: border-box;"><span style="box-sizing: border-box;"><span style="color: blue; font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 11.0pt;">Tafsir
Baghawi, volume 2, page 257</span></span></em><span style="color: black; font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 11.0pt;">) <strong style="box-sizing: border-box;"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;">[10]</span></strong></span></span><span style="color: #76767a; font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 11.0pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background: white; box-sizing: border-box; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; line-height: 16.25pt; margin-bottom: 11.25pt; margin-left: 0cm; margin-right: 0cm; margin-top: 11.25pt; orphans: 2; text-align: start; text-decoration-color: initial; text-decoration-style: initial; text-decoration-thickness: initial; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px;"><span style="color: #111111; font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 13.0pt;">Besides the above, we also have historical Hadith shedding more
light on Banu Qurayzah’s treachery:<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background: white; box-sizing: border-box; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; line-height: 16.25pt; margin-bottom: 11.25pt; margin-left: 0cm; margin-right: 0cm; margin-top: 11.25pt; orphans: 2; text-align: start; text-decoration-color: initial; text-decoration-style: initial; text-decoration-thickness: initial; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px;"><span style="color: #111111; font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 13.0pt;">Sahih al-Bukhari:<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p style="background: #F2F2F2; box-sizing: border-box; line-height: 16.25pt; margin: 0cm;"><span style="box-sizing: border-box;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 11.0pt;">“Narrated Ibn `Umar: Bani An-Nadir and Bani Quraiza fought
(against the Prophet violating their peace treaty), so the Prophet exiled Bani
An-Nadir and allowed Bani Quraiza to remain at their places (in Medina) taking
nothing from them till <strong style="box-sizing: border-box;"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;">THEY FOUGHT AGAINST THE PROPHET AGAIN</span></strong>.
He then killed their men and distributed their women, children and property
among the Muslims, BUT SOME OF THEM CAME TO THE PROPHET AND HE GRANTED THEM
SAFETY, and they embraced Islam. He exiled all the Jews from Medina. They were
the Jews of Bani Qainuqa’, the tribe of `Abdullah bin Salam and the Jews of
Bani Haritha and all the other Jews of Medina.” (</span><em style="box-sizing: border-box;"><span style="box-sizing: border-box;"><span style="color: blue; font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 11.0pt;">Sahih al-Bukhari Volume 5, Book 59, Hadith 362</span></span></em><span style="color: black; font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 11.0pt;">).</span></span><span style="color: #76767a; font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 11.0pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background: white; box-sizing: border-box; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; line-height: 16.25pt; margin-bottom: 11.25pt; margin-left: 0cm; margin-right: 0cm; margin-top: 11.25pt; orphans: 2; text-align: start; text-decoration-color: initial; text-decoration-style: initial; text-decoration-thickness: initial; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px;"><span style="color: #111111; font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 13.0pt;">Sunan Abi Dawud:<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p style="background: #F2F2F2; box-sizing: border-box; line-height: 16.25pt; margin: 0cm;"><span style="box-sizing: border-box;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 11.0pt;">“Ibn ‘Umar said ‘The Jews Al Nadir and Quraizah fought with the
Apostle of Allah, so the Apostle of Allah expelled Banu Al Nadir and allowed
the Quraizah to stay and favored them. <strong style="box-sizing: border-box;"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;">The Quraizah thereafter fought (with the
Prophet)</span></strong>‘. So he killed their men and divided their women,
property and children among Muslims except some of them who associated with the
Apostle of Allah. He gave them protection and later on they embraced Islam. The
Apostle of Allah expelled all the Jews of Madeenah in toto, Banu Qainuqa, they
were the people of ‘Abd Allah bin Salam, the Jews of Banu Harith and any of
Jews who resided in Madeenah.” (</span><em style="box-sizing: border-box;"><span style="box-sizing: border-box;"><span style="color: blue; font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 11.0pt;">Sunan Abi Dawud Book 19, Hadith 2999</span></span></em><span style="color: black; font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 11.0pt;">)</span></span><span style="color: #76767a; font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 11.0pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background: white; box-sizing: border-box; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; line-height: 16.25pt; margin-bottom: 11.25pt; margin-left: 0cm; margin-right: 0cm; margin-top: 11.25pt; orphans: 2; text-align: start; text-decoration-color: initial; text-decoration-style: initial; text-decoration-thickness: initial; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px;"><span style="color: #111111; font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 13.0pt;">Musannaf Abd al-Razzaq:<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p style="background: #F2F2F2; box-sizing: border-box; line-height: 16.25pt; margin: 0cm;"><span style="box-sizing: border-box;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 11.0pt;">“Abd al-Razzaq on the authority of Musa b. Uqba: The Nadir and
Qurayza fought the Prophet; the Prophet expelled the Nadir and agreed that
Qurayza should stay. Later<strong style="box-sizing: border-box;"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;"> QURAYZA FOUGHT THE PROPHET</span></strong>.
They were defeated, the men were executed, the women, children and property
were divided among the Muslims. SOME OF THE JEWS RECEIVED THE AMAN (SAFETY) OF
THE PROPHET and converted to Islam.” (</span><em style="box-sizing: border-box;"><span style="box-sizing: border-box;"><span style="color: blue; font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 11.0pt;">Musannaf Abd al-Razzaq, volume 6, pages 54 – 55</span></span></em><span style="color: black; font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 11.0pt;">) [11]</span></span><span style="color: #76767a; font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 11.0pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background: white; box-sizing: border-box; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; line-height: 16.25pt; margin-bottom: 11.25pt; margin-left: 0cm; margin-right: 0cm; margin-top: 11.25pt; orphans: 2; text-align: start; text-decoration-color: initial; text-decoration-style: initial; text-decoration-thickness: initial; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px;"><span style="color: #111111; font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 13.0pt;">Musnad ibn Hanbal:<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p style="background: #F2F2F2; box-sizing: border-box; line-height: 16.25pt; margin: 0cm;"><span style="box-sizing: border-box;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 11.0pt;">“The Jews of Banu Nadir and Banu Qurayza attacked the Messenger of
God. So the Messenger of God in turn expelled the Banu Nadir, but warranted the
security of the B. Qurayza and made an agreement with them. [This lasted] <strong style="box-sizing: border-box;"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;">until
the Qurayza took to military action after that</span></strong>.” (</span><em style="box-sizing: border-box;"><span style="box-sizing: border-box;"><span style="color: blue; font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 11.0pt;">Musnad Ibn
Hanbal, volume 9, page 181</span></span></em><span style="color: black; font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 11.0pt;">) <strong style="box-sizing: border-box;"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;">[12]</span></strong></span></span><span style="color: #76767a; font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 11.0pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background: white; box-sizing: border-box; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; line-height: 16.25pt; margin-bottom: 11.25pt; margin-left: 0cm; margin-right: 0cm; margin-top: 11.25pt; orphans: 2; text-align: start; text-decoration-color: initial; text-decoration-style: initial; text-decoration-thickness: initial; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px;"><span style="color: #111111; font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 13.0pt;">The following Hadith also shows that the Prophet (p) was on
guard and warning his people that the Banu Qurayza tribe may attack, slaughter
Muslims (this incident took place during the Battle of the Confederates):<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p style="background: #F2F2F2; box-sizing: border-box; line-height: 16.25pt; margin: 0cm;"><span style="box-sizing: border-box;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 11.0pt;">“Carry your weapons with you for <strong style="box-sizing: border-box;"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;">I fear the tribe of Quraiza (may harm
you)</span></strong>.” (</span><em style="box-sizing: border-box;"><span style="box-sizing: border-box;"><span style="color: blue; font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 11.0pt;">Sahih Muslim Book 26, Hadith 5557</span></span></em><span style="color: black; font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 11.0pt;">)</span></span><span style="color: #76767a; font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 11.0pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background: white; box-sizing: border-box; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; line-height: 16.25pt; margin-bottom: 11.25pt; margin-left: 0cm; margin-right: 0cm; margin-top: 11.25pt; orphans: 2; text-align: start; text-decoration-color: initial; text-decoration-style: initial; text-decoration-thickness: initial; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px;"><span style="color: #111111; font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 13.0pt;">Muwatta Imam Malik:<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p style="background: #F2F2F2; box-sizing: border-box; line-height: 16.25pt; margin: 0cm;"><span style="box-sizing: border-box;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 11.0pt;">“I went to Abu Said al-Khudri and found him praying. I sat to wait
for him until he finished the prayer. I heard a movement under a bed in his
room, and it was a snake. I stood up to kill it, and Abu Said gestured to me to
sit. When he was finished he pointed to a room in the house and said, ‘Do you
see this room?’ I said, ‘Yes.’ He said, ‘There was a young boy in it who had
just got married. He went out with the Messenger of God, to al-<strong style="box-sizing: border-box;"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;">Khandaq</span></strong>,
(the ditch which the Muslims dug in the 5th year of the Hijra to <strong style="box-sizing: border-box;"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;">defend
Madina against the Quraysh</span></strong> and their allies). When he
was there, the youth came and asked his permission, saying, “Messenger of God.
Give me permission to return to my family.” The Messenger of God, gave him
permission and said, “<strong style="box-sizing: border-box;"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;">Take your weapons with you, for I fear
the Banu Quraydha (Qurayzah) tribe. They may harm you</span></strong>. …” (<span style="box-sizing: border-box;"></span><em style="box-sizing: border-box;"><span style="color: blue; font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 11.0pt;">Muwatta
Malik Book 54, Hadith 33</span></em></span><span style="color: black; font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 11.0pt;">)</span></span><span style="color: #76767a; font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 11.0pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background: white; box-sizing: border-box; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; line-height: 16.25pt; margin-bottom: 11.25pt; margin-left: 0cm; margin-right: 0cm; margin-top: 11.25pt; orphans: 2; text-align: start; text-decoration-color: initial; text-decoration-style: initial; text-decoration-thickness: initial; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px;"><span style="color: #111111; font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 13.0pt;">The following report from al-Waqidi (745 – 822 AD) points out to
us that the men of Banu Qurayza showered the Muslims with arrows, wounding a
number of Muslims:<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p style="background: #F2F2F2; box-sizing: border-box; line-height: 16.25pt; margin: 0cm;"><span style="box-sizing: border-box;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 11.0pt;">“The elders of the banu Waqid informed me that they took their
women and children to the fortress while they were with the Prophet, but they
had promised to meet their families at mid day, with the permission of the
Prophet. The Prophet, however, forbade them, but when they begged, he commanded
them to <strong style="box-sizing: border-box;"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;">TAKE THEIR WEAPONS, FOR FEAR THAT THE BANU QURAYZA MIGHT
ATTACK THEM</span></strong>. Hilal b. Umayya used to say: I approached with a
group of my people and the Banu Amr b. Awf. We had deviated from al-Jasr, and
from Safna and we took the road to Quba. When we reached Aswa, all of a sudden, <strong style="box-sizing: border-box;"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;">A
GROUP OF THEM (THE BANU QURAYZA), INCLUDING NABBASH B. QAYS AL-QURAZI SPRAYED
IS WITH ARROWS FOR W WHILE</span></strong>, we aimed back at them, and <strong style="box-sizing: border-box;"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;">SOME
OF US WERE WOUNDED</span></strong>. Then they withdrew to their garrison and we
returned to our familes. …</span></span><span style="color: #76767a; font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 11.0pt;"><br style="box-sizing: border-box;" />
</span><span style="color: black; font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 11.0pt;"><span style="box-sizing: border-box;">…</span></span><span style="color: #76767a; font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 11.0pt;"><br style="box-sizing: border-box;" />
</span><span style="color: black; font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 11.0pt;"><span style="box-sizing: border-box;">While the Messenger of God and the Muslims were
in al-Khandaq, Umar b. al-Khattab came to the Messenger of God who was in his
tent – the ten was made of leather and had been put up beside the masjid, which
was at the bottom of the mountain. With the Messenger of God was Abu Bakr. The
Muslims at their trench were taking shifts. With them were some thirty horses.
… They employed men and placed them in positions at the trench, until Umar
arrived. He said, ‘O Messenger of God, it has reached me that the <strong style="box-sizing: border-box;"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;">BANU
QURAYZA HAVE DESTROYED THE AGREEMENT ARE PREPARING FOR WAR</span></strong>.
That distressted the Messenger of God and he said, ‘Whom shall we sent to seek
out information about them?’ Umar said, ‘al-Zubayr b. al-Awwam.’ The first of
the people that the Messenger of God sent was al-Zubayr b. al-Awwam. He said,
‘God to the Banu Qurayza.’ Zubayr went and observed, then he returned and said,
‘O Messenger of God, I saw them putting their fortresses in order, and
preparing the roads and they have herded their cattle.’ That was when the
Messenger of God said, ‘Indeed for every Prophet is a disciple. Al-Zubayr is my
disciple and the son of my aunt.’ Then the Messenger of God called for Sa’d Ibn
Mu’adh and Sa’d b. Ubada and Usayd b. Hudayr. He said, ‘Indeed it has reached
me that the Banu Qurayza have destroyed the agreement which was between us, and
gone to war. Go and observe if what has reached me is true. If it is baseless,
proclaim it aloud. If it is true say it in code and I will know. Do not
undermine the support of the Muslims. … … The Messenger of God said: Indeed I
hope to circumambulate the ancient house and take the key, for God will destroy
Khusrau and Ceasar and their wealth will be paid in the way of God. He was
saying that when he saw the suffering of the Muslims, and Mu’attib heard him
and repeated what he said. Ibn Abi Sabra related to me from Harith b. al-Fudayl
saying: The Banu Qurayza intended to raid the main part of Medina by night.
They sent Huyayy b. Akhtab to the Quraysh to bring with them a thousand men,
and from the Ghatafan a thousand, to attack them. News of that great misfortune
came to the Messenger of God, so he sent Salama b. Aslam b. Huraysh al-Ashhali
with two hundred men, and Zayd b. Haritha with three hundred, to protect Medina
while proclaiming takbir, and with them were cavalry of the Muslims. When it
was morning, they were safe. Abu Bakr al-Siddiq used to say: We feared more our
children in Medina from the Qurayza than from the Quraysh and Ghatafan. I used
to go to the hill of Sal’ and look at the houses of Medina. When I saw them
calm, I would praise God.” (<span style="box-sizing: border-box;"></span><em style="box-sizing: border-box;"><span style="color: blue; font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 11.0pt;">The Life of Muhammad: Al-Waqidi’s Kitab Al-Maghazi [Translator:
Rizwi Faizer] page 216 – 226</span></em></span><span style="color: black; font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 11.0pt;">)</span></span><span style="color: #76767a; font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 11.0pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background: white; box-sizing: border-box; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; line-height: 16.25pt; margin-bottom: 11.25pt; margin-left: 0cm; margin-right: 0cm; margin-top: 11.25pt; orphans: 2; text-align: start; text-decoration-color: initial; text-decoration-style: initial; text-decoration-thickness: initial; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px;"><span style="color: #111111; font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 13.0pt;">These (above) historical traditions show that the Banu Qurayza
more than once supported the Quraysh enemy in attacking the Muslims in Madinah,
financially, militarily, and giving them supplies of weapons against the
Muslims. It thus shows that the Banu Qurayza weren’t innocent as Orientalists
and other critics make them out to be.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background: white; box-sizing: border-box; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; line-height: 16.25pt; margin: 0cm; orphans: 2; text-align: start; text-decoration-color: initial; text-decoration-style: initial; text-decoration-thickness: initial; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px;"><strong style="box-sizing: border-box;"><span style="color: #111111; font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 13.0pt;">6. Banu Quraiza were left to face
the music alone</span></strong><span style="color: #111111; font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 13.0pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background: white; box-sizing: border-box; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; line-height: 16.25pt; margin-bottom: 11.25pt; margin-left: 0cm; margin-right: 0cm; margin-top: 11.25pt; orphans: 2; text-align: start; text-decoration-color: initial; text-decoration-style: initial; text-decoration-thickness: initial; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px;"><span style="color: #111111; font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 13.0pt;">What Nu’aym Ibn Mas’ud did was indeed a victory and now the Banu
Qurayza were left by themselves to face the music. Coming back from Khandaq
after which the polytheist Makkans retreated, the Prophet (p) didn’t even put
his armour and sword down when Angel Gabriel commanded him to march against the
Banu Quraiza for what they had done.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background: white; box-sizing: border-box; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; line-height: 16.25pt; margin-bottom: 11.25pt; margin-left: 0cm; margin-right: 0cm; margin-top: 11.25pt; orphans: 2; text-align: start; text-decoration-color: initial; text-decoration-style: initial; text-decoration-thickness: initial; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px;"><span style="color: #111111; font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 13.0pt;">Sahih Muslim:<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p style="background: #F2F2F2; box-sizing: border-box; line-height: 16.25pt; margin: 0cm;"><span style="box-sizing: border-box;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 11.0pt;">“Narrated by A’isha : … When he returned from the Ditch and laid
down his arms and took a bath, the angel Gabriel appeared to him and he was
removing dust from his hair (as if he had just returned from the battle). The
latter said: You have laid down arms. By God, we haven’t (yet) laid them down.
So march against them. The Messenger of Allah asked: Where? He pointed to Banu
Quraiza. So the Messenger of Allah fought against them. They surrendered at the
command of the Messenger of Allah, but he referred the decision about them to
Sa’d who said: I decide about them that those of them who can fight be killed,
their women and children taken prisoners and their properties distributed
(among the Muslims).” (<span style="box-sizing: border-box;"></span><em style="box-sizing: border-box;"><span style="color: blue; font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 11.0pt;">Sahih Muslim: Book 19, Hadith 4370</span></em></span><span style="color: black; font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 11.0pt;">)</span></span><span style="color: #76767a; font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 11.0pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background: white; box-sizing: border-box; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; line-height: 16.25pt; margin-bottom: 11.25pt; margin-left: 0cm; margin-right: 0cm; margin-top: 11.25pt; orphans: 2; text-align: start; text-decoration-color: initial; text-decoration-style: initial; text-decoration-thickness: initial; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px;"><span style="color: #111111; font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 13.0pt;">As he heard these words from Angel Gabriel, the Prophet (p)
aroused his Companions (Sahaba) to march upon the Banu Qurayza tribe. They
arrived and found the Banu Quraiza in their fortresses. The Prophet (p) would
have forgiven them had they asked, but they preferred to resist fighting him
and hurl abuse at him at the same time [Ibn Ishaq]:<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p style="background: #F2F2F2; box-sizing: border-box; line-height: 16.25pt; margin: 0cm;"><span style="box-sizing: border-box;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 11.0pt;">“The prophet ordered it to be announced that none should perform
the afternoon prayer until after he reached B. Qurayza. The apostle sent Ali
forward with his banner and the men hastened to it. Ali advanced until he came
near the forts <strong style="box-sizing: border-box;"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;">he heard insulting language used of the
apostle</span></strong>.” <strong style="box-sizing: border-box;"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;">[13]</span></strong></span></span><span style="color: #76767a; font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 11.0pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background: white; box-sizing: border-box; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; line-height: 16.25pt; margin-bottom: 11.25pt; margin-left: 0cm; margin-right: 0cm; margin-top: 11.25pt; orphans: 2; text-align: start; text-decoration-color: initial; text-decoration-style: initial; text-decoration-thickness: initial; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px;"><span style="color: #111111; font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 13.0pt;">Instead of begging for forgiveness for what they did do against
the Muslims, here we the Banu Qurayzah insulting the Prophet (p) at the same
time still wanted to fight ready from their fort.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background: white; box-sizing: border-box; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; line-height: 16.25pt; margin-bottom: 11.25pt; margin-left: 0cm; margin-right: 0cm; margin-top: 11.25pt; orphans: 2; text-align: start; text-decoration-color: initial; text-decoration-style: initial; text-decoration-thickness: initial; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px;"><span style="color: #111111; font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 13.0pt;">The Prophet (p) besieged them for over 3 weeks at the end they
surrendered in terms that they should be left to be judged by a former Jew, by
the name of Sa’d bin Mu’adh to judge them on their treachery. Hence Sa’d
brought out the Torah to judge them, and he decreed by the Law of Torah
(Deuteronomy) that warrior-men who participated in this be killed and the rest
be enslaved or freed:<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p style="background: #F2F2F2; box-sizing: border-box; line-height: 16.25pt; margin: 0cm;"><span style="box-sizing: border-box;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 11.0pt;">“When thou comest nigh unto a city to fight against it, then
proclaim peace unto it. And it shall be, if it make thee answer of peace, and
open unto thee, then it shall be, that all the people that is found therein
shall be tributaries unto thee, and they shall serve thee. And if it will make
no peace with thee, but will make war against thee, then thou shalt besiege it:
And when the LORD thy God hath delivered it into thine hands, thou shalt smite
every male thereof with the edge of the sword: But the women, and the little
ones, and the cattle, and all that is in the city, even all the spoil thereof,
shalt thou take unto thyself; and thou shalt eat the spoil of thine enemies,
which the LORD thy God hath given thee. (</span><em style="box-sizing: border-box;"><span style="box-sizing: border-box;"><span style="color: blue; font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 11.0pt;">Bible – Deuteronomy 20:10-14</span></span></em><span style="color: black; font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 11.0pt;">)</span></span><span style="color: #76767a; font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 11.0pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background: white; box-sizing: border-box; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; line-height: 16.25pt; margin-bottom: 11.25pt; margin-left: 0cm; margin-right: 0cm; margin-top: 11.25pt; orphans: 2; text-align: start; text-decoration-color: initial; text-decoration-style: initial; text-decoration-thickness: initial; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px;"><span style="color: #111111; font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 13.0pt;">I find it amusing for the double standards and hypocrisy of the
detractors, they attack Prophet Muhammed (p) for the judgement passed onto the
Jewish tribe Banu Qurayza, from their own Book. If Christians and Jews and
others find this ruling from their own book abhorrent then they should tear
away such verses apart from the Bible. The blame should be on the Bible for
making such rulings for those who commit treachery and wage war.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background: white; box-sizing: border-box; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; line-height: 16.25pt; margin-bottom: 11.25pt; margin-left: 0cm; margin-right: 0cm; margin-top: 11.25pt; orphans: 2; text-align: start; text-decoration-color: initial; text-decoration-style: initial; text-decoration-thickness: initial; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px;"><span style="color: #111111; font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 13.0pt;">Lastly, critics always fail to tell is the judgement was not
passed by Prophet Muhammed himself but by a former Jew, Sa’d Ibn Mu’adh, who
was CHOSEN by the Banu Qurayza to judge their treachery according to their
scriptures.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background: white; box-sizing: border-box; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; line-height: 16.25pt; margin: 0cm; orphans: 2; text-align: start; text-decoration-color: initial; text-decoration-style: initial; text-decoration-thickness: initial; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px;"><strong style="box-sizing: border-box;"><span style="color: #111111; font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 13.0pt;">7. Who Were Killed</span></strong><span style="color: #111111; font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 13.0pt;">?<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background: white; box-sizing: border-box; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; line-height: 16.25pt; margin-bottom: 11.25pt; margin-left: 0cm; margin-right: 0cm; margin-top: 11.25pt; orphans: 2; text-align: start; text-decoration-color: initial; text-decoration-style: initial; text-decoration-thickness: initial; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px;"><span style="color: #111111; font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 13.0pt;">According to historical evidences only the warrior-men were
killed. Those who actively participated in the treachery and were siding in
fighting against the Muslims were killed. Historical reports state the
following:<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background: white; box-sizing: border-box; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; line-height: 16.25pt; margin-bottom: 11.25pt; margin-left: 0cm; margin-right: 0cm; margin-top: 11.25pt; orphans: 2; text-align: start; text-decoration-color: initial; text-decoration-style: initial; text-decoration-thickness: initial; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px;"><span style="color: #111111; font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 13.0pt;">Kitab Futuh al-Buldan:<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p style="background: #F2F2F2; box-sizing: border-box; line-height: 16.25pt; margin: 0cm;"><span style="box-sizing: border-box;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 11.0pt;">The Prophet besieged banu Kuraizah for few days in Dhu-l-qa’dah,
and a few days in Dhu-l-Hijjah, of the year 5 After Hejira, the whole period
being fifteen days. These Banu Quraizah were among those who had assisted in
the fight against the Prophet in the battle of al-Khandaq (the moat) also
called battle of al-Ahzab [the confederates]. Finally they surrendered and he
installed Sa’d ibn Mu’adh al-Ausi as their ruler. </span><span style="box-sizing: border-box;">The latter decreed that every <strong style="box-sizing: border-box;"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;">ADULT
BE EXECUTED</span></strong>, that women and children be carried as captives and
that all that they possessed be divided among the Moslems. …” (</span><em style="box-sizing: border-box;"><span style="box-sizing: border-box;"><span style="color: blue; font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 11.0pt;">Kitab Futuh
al-Buldan, volume 1, page 40</span></span></em><span style="color: black; font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 11.0pt;">) <strong style="box-sizing: border-box;"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;">[14]</span></strong></span></span><span style="color: #76767a; font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 11.0pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background: white; box-sizing: border-box; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; line-height: 16.25pt; margin-bottom: 11.25pt; margin-left: 0cm; margin-right: 0cm; margin-top: 11.25pt; orphans: 2; text-align: start; text-decoration-color: initial; text-decoration-style: initial; text-decoration-thickness: initial; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px;"><span style="color: #111111; font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 13.0pt;">Sahih al-Bukhari:<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p style="background: #F2F2F2; box-sizing: border-box; line-height: 16.25pt; margin: 0cm;"><span style="box-sizing: border-box;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 11.0pt;">The people of (Banu) Quraiza agreed to accept the verdict of Sa`d
bin Mu`adh. So the Prophet sent for Sa`d, and the latter came (riding) a donkey
and when he approached the Mosque, the Prophet said to the Ansar, “Get up for
your chief or for the best among you.” Then the Prophet said (to Sa`d).” These
(i.e. Banu Quraiza) have agreed to accept your verdict.” Sa`d said, “<strong style="box-sizing: border-box;"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;">KILL
THEIR WARRIORS</span></strong> and take their offspring as captives, “On
that the Prophet said, “You have judged according to Allah’s Judgment,” or
said, “according to the King’s judgement.”(</span><em style="box-sizing: border-box;"><span style="box-sizing: border-box;"><span style="color: blue; font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 11.0pt;"><a href="http://sunnah.com/bukhari/64/165" style="box-sizing: border-box;" target="_blank">Sahih al-Bukhari volume 5, Book 59, Hadith
447</a></span></span></em><span style="color: black; font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 11.0pt;">)</span></span><span style="color: #76767a; font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 11.0pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background: white; box-sizing: border-box; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; line-height: 16.25pt; margin-bottom: 11.25pt; margin-left: 0cm; margin-right: 0cm; margin-top: 11.25pt; orphans: 2; text-align: start; text-decoration-color: initial; text-decoration-style: initial; text-decoration-thickness: initial; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px;"><span style="color: #111111; font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 13.0pt;">Sahih Muslim:<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p style="background: #F2F2F2; box-sizing: border-box; line-height: 16.25pt; margin: 0cm;"><span style="box-sizing: border-box;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 11.0pt;">“It has been narrated on the authority of Ibn Umar that the Jews
of Banu Nadir and Banu Quraiza fought against the Messenger of Allah who
expelled Banu Nadir, and allowed Quraiza to stay on, and granted favour to them
until they too fought against him <strong style="box-sizing: border-box;"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;">THEN HE KILLED THEIR MEN</span></strong>,
and distributed their women, children and properties among the Muslims, except
that some of them had joined the Messenger of Allah who granted them security.
They embraced Islam. The Messenger of Allah turned out all the Jews of Medina.
Banu Qainuqa’ (the tribe of ‘Abdullah b. Salim) and the Jews of Banu Haritha
and every other Jew who was in Medina.”(</span><em style="box-sizing: border-box;"><span style="box-sizing: border-box;"><span style="color: blue; font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 11.0pt;"><a href="http://%28http/sunnah.com/muslim/32/73)" style="box-sizing: border-box;" target="_blank">Sahih Muslim Book 19 Hadith 4364</a></span></span></em><span style="color: black; font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 11.0pt;">)</span></span><span style="color: #76767a; font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 11.0pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background: white; box-sizing: border-box; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; line-height: 16.25pt; margin-bottom: 11.25pt; margin-left: 0cm; margin-right: 0cm; margin-top: 11.25pt; orphans: 2; text-align: start; text-decoration-color: initial; text-decoration-style: initial; text-decoration-thickness: initial; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px;"><span style="color: #111111; font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 13.0pt;">Ibn Ishaq:<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p style="background: #F2F2F2; box-sizing: border-box; line-height: 16.25pt; margin: 0cm;"><span style="box-sizing: border-box;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 11.0pt;">The Apostle had ordered that every adult (who participated in
treachery) of theirs should be killed. Shu’ba b. al-Hajjaj told me from
Abdu’l-Malik b. Umayr from Atiya al-Qurzai: The Apostle had ordered that every
adult of B. Qurayza should be killed. I was a lad and they found that <strong style="box-sizing: border-box;"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;">I
was NOT AN ADULT and so they let me go</span></strong>.<strong style="box-sizing: border-box;"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;">[15]</span></strong></span></span><span style="color: #76767a; font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 11.0pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background: white; box-sizing: border-box; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; line-height: 16.25pt; margin-bottom: 11.25pt; margin-left: 0cm; margin-right: 0cm; margin-top: 11.25pt; orphans: 2; text-align: start; text-decoration-color: initial; text-decoration-style: initial; text-decoration-thickness: initial; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px;"><span style="color: #111111; font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 13.0pt;">Kitab al-Maghazi – al-Waqidi:<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p style="background: #F2F2F2; box-sizing: border-box; line-height: 16.25pt; margin: 0cm;"><span style="box-sizing: border-box;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 11.0pt;">… Ibrahim b. Ja’far related to me from his father, who said: When
the Banu Qurayza were killed, Husayl b. Nuwayra al-Ashjari arrived at Khaybar-
he had gone for two days. The Jews of the Banu Nadir- Sallam b. Mishkam, Kinana
b. Rabi b. Abi l-Huqayq and the Jews of khaybar were sitting in council to
consider the news of the Qurayza. It had reached them that the Messenger of God
had besieged the Qurayza, and they dreaded what it was. They said, ‘What
brought you’? He said, ‘Evil. The <strong style="box-sizing: border-box;"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;">QURAYZA WARRIORS</span></strong> were
executed by the sword,’… ” <strong style="box-sizing: border-box;"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;">[16]</span></strong></span></span><span style="color: #76767a; font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 11.0pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background: white; box-sizing: border-box; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; line-height: 16.25pt; margin-bottom: 11.25pt; margin-left: 0cm; margin-right: 0cm; margin-top: 11.25pt; orphans: 2; text-align: start; text-decoration-color: initial; text-decoration-style: initial; text-decoration-thickness: initial; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px;"><span style="color: #111111; font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 13.0pt;">Abu Dawud:<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p style="background: #F2F2F2; box-sizing: border-box; line-height: 16.25pt; margin: 0cm;"><span style="box-sizing: border-box;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 11.0pt;">Ibn ‘Umar said “The Jews Al Nadir and Quraizah fought with the
Apostle of Allaah, so the Apostle of Allaah expelled Banu Al Nadir and allowed
the Quraizah to stay and favored them. The Quraizah thereafter fought (with the
Prophet).” So <strong style="box-sizing: border-box;"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;">HE KILLED THEIR MEN</span></strong> and
divided their women, property and children among Muslims except some of them
who associated with the Apostle of Allaah. He gave them protection and later on
they embraced Islam. The Apostle of Allaah expelled all the Jews of Madeenah in
Toto, Banu Qainuqa, they were the people of ‘Abd Allaah bin Salam, the Jews of
Banu Harith and any of Jews who resided in Madeenah.” (</span><em style="box-sizing: border-box;"><span style="box-sizing: border-box;"><span style="color: blue; font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 11.0pt;"><a href="http://sunnah.com/abudawud/20/78" style="box-sizing: border-box;" target="_blank">Sunan
Abi Dawud Book 19, Hadith 2999</a></span></span></em><span style="color: black; font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 11.0pt;">)</span></span><span style="color: #76767a; font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 11.0pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background: white; box-sizing: border-box; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; line-height: 16.25pt; margin-bottom: 11.25pt; margin-left: 0cm; margin-right: 0cm; margin-top: 11.25pt; orphans: 2; text-align: start; text-decoration-color: initial; text-decoration-style: initial; text-decoration-thickness: initial; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px;"><span style="color: #111111; font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 13.0pt;">Reading the above reports, one thing stands out clear, only men,
“warriors” (adults), who participated in war against the Muslims were killed.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background: white; box-sizing: border-box; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; line-height: 16.25pt; margin: 0cm; orphans: 2; text-align: start; text-decoration-color: initial; text-decoration-style: initial; text-decoration-thickness: initial; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px;"><strong style="box-sizing: border-box;"><span style="color: #111111; font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 13.0pt;">8.</span></strong><span style="color: #111111; font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 13.0pt;"> <strong style="box-sizing: border-box;"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;">Were
Children Killed?</span></strong><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background: white; box-sizing: border-box; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; line-height: 16.25pt; margin-bottom: 11.25pt; margin-left: 0cm; margin-right: 0cm; margin-top: 11.25pt; orphans: 2; text-align: start; text-decoration-color: initial; text-decoration-style: initial; text-decoration-thickness: initial; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px;"><span style="color: #111111; font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 13.0pt;">A myth that has been circulating among orientalists and other
critics of Islam is that children of Banu Qurayza were executed along with the
men. The reports used for the allegations are the following:<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background: white; box-sizing: border-box; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; line-height: 16.25pt; margin-bottom: 11.25pt; margin-left: 0cm; margin-right: 0cm; margin-top: 11.25pt; orphans: 2; text-align: start; text-decoration-color: initial; text-decoration-style: initial; text-decoration-thickness: initial; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px;"><span style="color: #111111; font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 13.0pt;">Sunan an-Nasa’i:<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p style="background: #F2F2F2; box-sizing: border-box; line-height: 16.25pt; margin: 0cm;"><span style="box-sizing: border-box;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 11.0pt;">It was narrated that Kathir bin As-Sa’ib said: “The sons of
Quraizah told me that they were presented to the Messenger of Allah on the Day
of Quraizah, and whoever (among them) had reached puberty, or had grown pubic
hair, was killed, and whoever had not reached puberty and had not grown pubic
hair was left (alive).” (</span><em style="box-sizing: border-box;"><span style="box-sizing: border-box;"><span style="color: blue; font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 11.0pt;">Sunan an-Nasa’i Volume 4, Book 27, Hadith 3459</span></span></em><span style="color: black; font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 11.0pt;">).</span></span><span style="color: #76767a; font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 11.0pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background: white; box-sizing: border-box; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; line-height: 16.25pt; margin-bottom: 11.25pt; margin-left: 0cm; margin-right: 0cm; margin-top: 11.25pt; orphans: 2; text-align: start; text-decoration-color: initial; text-decoration-style: initial; text-decoration-thickness: initial; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px;"><span style="color: #111111; font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 13.0pt;">Sunan an-Nasa’i:<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p style="background: #F2F2F2; box-sizing: border-box; line-height: 16.25pt; margin: 0cm;"><span style="box-sizing: border-box;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 11.0pt;">“It was narrated that ‘Atiyyah said: ‘I was among the prisoners of
Quraizah; we were examined, and whoever had grown (pubic) hair was killed, and
whoever had not grown hair, he was allowed to live and was not killed.” (<span style="box-sizing: border-box;"></span><em style="box-sizing: border-box;"><span style="color: blue; font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 11.0pt;">Sunan
an-Nasa’I volume 5, Book 46, Hadith 4984</span></em></span><span style="color: black; font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 11.0pt;">).</span></span><span style="color: #76767a; font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 11.0pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background: white; box-sizing: border-box; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; line-height: 16.25pt; margin-bottom: 11.25pt; margin-left: 0cm; margin-right: 0cm; margin-top: 11.25pt; orphans: 2; text-align: start; text-decoration-color: initial; text-decoration-style: initial; text-decoration-thickness: initial; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px;"><span style="color: #111111; font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 13.0pt;">Jami at-Tirmidhi:<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p style="background: #F2F2F2; box-sizing: border-box; line-height: 16.25pt; margin: 0cm;"><span style="box-sizing: border-box;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 11.0pt;">“Narrated ‘Atiyyah Al-Qurazi: “We were presented to the Messenger
of Allah on the day of (the battle of) Quraizah. Whoever had pubic hair was
killed and whoever did not was left to his way. I was of those who did not have
pubic hair so I was left to my way.” (</span><em style="box-sizing: border-box;"><span style="box-sizing: border-box;"><span style="color: blue; font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 11.0pt;">Jami` at-Tirmidhi, volume 3, Book 19, Hadith 1584</span></span></em><span style="color: black; font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 11.0pt;">)</span></span><span style="color: #76767a; font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 11.0pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background: white; box-sizing: border-box; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; line-height: 16.25pt; margin-bottom: 11.25pt; margin-left: 0cm; margin-right: 0cm; margin-top: 11.25pt; orphans: 2; text-align: start; text-decoration-color: initial; text-decoration-style: initial; text-decoration-thickness: initial; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px;"><span style="color: #111111; font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 13.0pt;">Reading the above reports, some claim that kids were among those
killed of the Banu Qurayza.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background: white; box-sizing: border-box; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; line-height: 16.25pt; margin-bottom: 11.25pt; margin-left: 0cm; margin-right: 0cm; margin-top: 11.25pt; orphans: 2; text-align: start; text-decoration-color: initial; text-decoration-style: initial; text-decoration-thickness: initial; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px;"><span style="color: #111111; font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 13.0pt;">However, what critics fail to mention, or deliberately leave
out, is that “pubic hair” was not the only factor used in this incident. We
have a report from early Islamic scholar Al-Shaybani (Born: 749 AD, died 805)
telling us that revelation was sent down to Prophet Muhammed (p) instructing
him that puberty was the limit of their penal responsibility as fighting
warriors those who willingly participated in this:<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p style="background: #F2F2F2; box-sizing: border-box; line-height: 16.25pt; margin: 0cm;"><span style="box-sizing: border-box;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 11.0pt;">Al-Shaybani’s opinion is different: he points out that there are
differences in the age of puberty between various peoples (for instance between
Turks and Indians). But in the case of Banu Qurayza the Prophet disclosed to
Sa’d b. Mu’adh (on the basis of a revelation) that their age of puberty <strong style="box-sizing: border-box;"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;">WAS
THE LIMIT OF THEIR PENAL RESPONSIBILITY AS FIGHTING PERSON</span></strong>” (</span><em style="box-sizing: border-box;"><span style="box-sizing: border-box;"><span style="color: blue; font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 11.0pt;">Al-Shaybani,
op. cit., volume 2, page 591</span></span></em><span style="color: black; font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 11.0pt;">) <strong style="box-sizing: border-box;"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;">[17]</span></strong></span></span><span style="color: #76767a; font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 11.0pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background: white; box-sizing: border-box; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; line-height: 16.25pt; margin-bottom: 11.25pt; margin-left: 0cm; margin-right: 0cm; margin-top: 11.25pt; orphans: 2; text-align: start; text-decoration-color: initial; text-decoration-style: initial; text-decoration-thickness: initial; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px;"><span style="color: #111111; font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 13.0pt;">Some may ask, what is penal responsibility?<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background: white; box-sizing: border-box; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; line-height: 16.25pt; margin-bottom: 11.25pt; margin-left: 0cm; margin-right: 0cm; margin-top: 11.25pt; orphans: 2; text-align: start; text-decoration-color: initial; text-decoration-style: initial; text-decoration-thickness: initial; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px;"><span style="color: #111111; font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 13.0pt;">Penal responsibility, or criminal responsibility, refers to a
person’s ability to understand when the crime was committed. A person is
responsible and could go to jail having fully known at the time of the crime
what they did, and that they understood the implications.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background: white; box-sizing: border-box; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; line-height: 16.25pt; margin-bottom: 11.25pt; margin-left: 0cm; margin-right: 0cm; margin-top: 11.25pt; orphans: 2; text-align: start; text-decoration-color: initial; text-decoration-style: initial; text-decoration-thickness: initial; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px;"><span style="color: #111111; font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 13.0pt;">So besides the prerequisite for pubic hair, the treacherous Banu
Qurayza were also checked out for having possessed the requisite state of mind
when they committed the treachery.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background: white; box-sizing: border-box; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; line-height: 16.25pt; margin-bottom: 11.25pt; margin-left: 0cm; margin-right: 0cm; margin-top: 11.25pt; orphans: 2; text-align: start; text-decoration-color: initial; text-decoration-style: initial; text-decoration-thickness: initial; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px;"><span style="color: #111111; font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 13.0pt;">Hence, those who understood clearly and were aware that what they
did were the only ones who were killed. Those who didn’t understand the crime
because they don’t know what was right or wrong (even though having pubic
hair), were not touched.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background: white; box-sizing: border-box; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; line-height: 16.25pt; margin-bottom: 11.25pt; margin-left: 0cm; margin-right: 0cm; margin-top: 11.25pt; orphans: 2; text-align: start; text-decoration-color: initial; text-decoration-style: initial; text-decoration-thickness: initial; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px;"><span style="color: #111111; font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 13.0pt;">To recap, the historical reports already mentioned all quite
clearly state that people who were killed for actively been involved in this
treachery were:<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background: white; box-sizing: border-box; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; line-height: 16.25pt; margin-bottom: 11.25pt; margin-left: 0cm; margin-right: 0cm; margin-top: 11.25pt; orphans: 2; text-align: start; text-decoration-color: initial; text-decoration-style: initial; text-decoration-thickness: initial; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px;"><span style="color: #111111; font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 13.0pt;">“Men”<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background: white; box-sizing: border-box; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; line-height: 16.25pt; margin-bottom: 11.25pt; margin-left: 0cm; margin-right: 0cm; margin-top: 11.25pt; orphans: 2; text-align: start; text-decoration-color: initial; text-decoration-style: initial; text-decoration-thickness: initial; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px;"><span style="color: #111111; font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 13.0pt;">“Warriors”<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background: white; box-sizing: border-box; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; line-height: 16.25pt; margin-bottom: 11.25pt; margin-left: 0cm; margin-right: 0cm; margin-top: 11.25pt; orphans: 2; text-align: start; text-decoration-color: initial; text-decoration-style: initial; text-decoration-thickness: initial; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px;"><span style="color: #111111; font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 13.0pt;">“Adults”<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background: white; box-sizing: border-box; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; line-height: 16.25pt; margin-bottom: 11.25pt; margin-left: 0cm; margin-right: 0cm; margin-top: 11.25pt; orphans: 2; text-align: start; text-decoration-color: initial; text-decoration-style: initial; text-decoration-thickness: initial; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px;"><span style="color: #111111; font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 13.0pt;">In fact one of those who witnessed everything explicitly states
in a report in Ibn Ishaq that only adults who actively engaged in this
treachery were killed;<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p style="background: #F2F2F2; box-sizing: border-box; line-height: 16.25pt; margin: 0cm;"><span style="box-sizing: border-box;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 11.0pt;">“Shu’ba b. al-Hajjaj told me from Abdu’l-Malik b. Umayr from Atiya
al-Qurzai: The Apostle had ordered that every adult of B. Qurayza should be
killed. I was a lad and they found that<strong style="box-sizing: border-box;"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;"> I was not an adult and so they let
me go</span></strong>” <strong style="box-sizing: border-box;"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;">[18]</span></strong></span></span><span style="color: #76767a; font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 11.0pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background: white; box-sizing: border-box; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; line-height: 16.25pt; margin-bottom: 11.25pt; margin-left: 0cm; margin-right: 0cm; margin-top: 11.25pt; orphans: 2; text-align: start; text-decoration-color: initial; text-decoration-style: initial; text-decoration-thickness: initial; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px;"><span style="color: #111111; font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 13.0pt;">So for critics to claim that children were killed is a lie which
has no historical basis. Furthermore, there are countless Hadiths where Prophet
Muhammed (p) categorically and unequivocally forbade the killing of children:<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background: white; box-sizing: border-box; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; line-height: 16.25pt; margin-bottom: 11.25pt; margin-left: 0cm; margin-right: 0cm; margin-top: 11.25pt; orphans: 2; text-align: start; text-decoration-color: initial; text-decoration-style: initial; text-decoration-thickness: initial; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px;"><span style="color: #111111; font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 13.0pt;">Sahih al-Bukhari:<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p style="background: #F2F2F2; box-sizing: border-box; line-height: 16.25pt; margin: 0cm;"><span style="box-sizing: border-box;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 11.0pt;">“Narrated Ibn `Umar: During some of the Ghazawat of Allah’s
Messenger a woman was found killed, so Allah’s Messenger forbade the killing of
women and children.” (</span><em style="box-sizing: border-box;"><span style="box-sizing: border-box;"><span style="color: blue; font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 11.0pt;">Sahih al-Bukhari volume 4, Book 52, Hadith 258</span></span></em><span style="color: black; font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 11.0pt;">)</span></span><span style="color: #76767a; font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 11.0pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background: white; box-sizing: border-box; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; line-height: 16.25pt; margin-bottom: 11.25pt; margin-left: 0cm; margin-right: 0cm; margin-top: 11.25pt; orphans: 2; text-align: start; text-decoration-color: initial; text-decoration-style: initial; text-decoration-thickness: initial; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px;"><span style="color: #111111; font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 13.0pt;">Sunan Abi Dawud:<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p style="background: #F2F2F2; box-sizing: border-box; line-height: 16.25pt; margin: 0cm;"><span style="box-sizing: border-box;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 11.0pt;">“It was narrated from Ibn ‘Umar that the Prophet saw a woman who
had been killed on the road, and he forbade killing women and children.” (</span><em style="box-sizing: border-box;"><span style="box-sizing: border-box;"><span style="color: blue; font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 11.0pt;">Sunan Abi
Dawud, volume 4, Book 24, Hadith 2841</span></span></em><span style="color: black; font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 11.0pt;">).</span></span><span style="color: #76767a; font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 11.0pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background: white; box-sizing: border-box; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; line-height: 16.25pt; margin-bottom: 11.25pt; margin-left: 0cm; margin-right: 0cm; margin-top: 11.25pt; orphans: 2; text-align: start; text-decoration-color: initial; text-decoration-style: initial; text-decoration-thickness: initial; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px;"><span style="color: #111111; font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 13.0pt;">Jami at-Tirmidhi:<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p style="background: #F2F2F2; box-sizing: border-box; line-height: 16.25pt; margin: 0cm;"><span style="box-sizing: border-box;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 11.0pt;">That a woman was found killed in one of the expeditions of the
Messenger of Allah, so the Messenger of Allah rebuked that, and he prohibited
killing women and children. (</span><em style="box-sizing: border-box;"><span style="box-sizing: border-box;"><span style="color: blue; font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 11.0pt;">Jami` at-Tirmidhi Volume 3, Book 19, Hadith 1569</span></span></em><span style="color: black; font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 11.0pt;">)</span></span><span style="color: #76767a; font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 11.0pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background: white; box-sizing: border-box; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; line-height: 16.25pt; margin-bottom: 11.25pt; margin-left: 0cm; margin-right: 0cm; margin-top: 11.25pt; orphans: 2; text-align: start; text-decoration-color: initial; text-decoration-style: initial; text-decoration-thickness: initial; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px;"><span style="color: #111111; font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 13.0pt;">Sunan Abi Dawud:<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p style="background: #F2F2F2; box-sizing: border-box; line-height: 16.25pt; margin: 0cm;"><span style="box-sizing: border-box;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 11.0pt;">“Narrated Anas ibn Malik: The Prophet said: Go in Allah’s name,
trusting in Allah, and adhering to the religion of Allah’s Apostle. Do not kill
a decrepit old man, or a young infant, or a child, or a woman; do not be
dishonest about booty, but collect your spoils, do right and act well, for
Allah loves those who do well.” (</span><em style="box-sizing: border-box;"><span style="box-sizing: border-box;"><span style="color: blue; font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 11.0pt;">Sunan Abi Dawud Book 14, Hadith 2608</span></span></em><span style="color: black; font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 11.0pt;">).</span></span><span style="color: #76767a; font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 11.0pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background: white; box-sizing: border-box; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; line-height: 16.25pt; margin-bottom: 11.25pt; margin-left: 0cm; margin-right: 0cm; margin-top: 11.25pt; orphans: 2; text-align: start; text-decoration-color: initial; text-decoration-style: initial; text-decoration-thickness: initial; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px;"><span style="color: #111111; font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 13.0pt;">Muwatta Malik:<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p style="background: #F2F2F2; box-sizing: border-box; line-height: 16.25pt; margin: 0cm;"><span style="box-sizing: border-box;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 11.0pt;">“Do not kill women or children or an aged, infirm person. Do not
cut down fruit-bearing trees. Do not destroy an inhabited place. Do not
slaughter sheep or camels except for food. Do not burn bees and do not scatter
them. …” (</span><em style="box-sizing: border-box;"><span style="box-sizing: border-box;"><span style="color: blue; font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 11.0pt;">Muwatta
Malik Book 21, Hadith 10</span></span></em><span style="color: black; font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 11.0pt;">).</span></span><span style="color: #76767a; font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 11.0pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background: white; box-sizing: border-box; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; line-height: 16.25pt; margin-bottom: 11.25pt; margin-left: 0cm; margin-right: 0cm; margin-top: 11.25pt; orphans: 2; text-align: start; text-decoration-color: initial; text-decoration-style: initial; text-decoration-thickness: initial; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px;"><span style="color: #111111; font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 13.0pt;">Sunan al-Bayhaqi:<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p style="background: #F2F2F2; box-sizing: border-box; line-height: 16.25pt; margin: 0cm;"><span style="box-sizing: border-box;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 11.0pt;">“The Messenger of God forbade those whom he sent to Ibn Abi
l-Huqayq to kill women and children.(</span><em style="box-sizing: border-box;"><span style="box-sizing: border-box;"><span style="color: blue; font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 11.0pt;">Sunan al-Bayhaqi, volume 9, page 78</span></span></em><span style="color: black; font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 11.0pt;">) <strong style="box-sizing: border-box;"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;">[19]</span></strong></span></span><span style="color: #76767a; font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 11.0pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background: white; box-sizing: border-box; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; line-height: 16.25pt; margin: 0cm; orphans: 2; text-align: start; text-decoration-color: initial; text-decoration-style: initial; text-decoration-thickness: initial; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px;"><strong style="box-sizing: border-box;"><span style="color: #111111; font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 13.0pt;">9.</span></strong><span style="color: #111111; font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 13.0pt;"> <strong style="box-sizing: border-box;"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;">Were
all the Banu Qurayza Men Killed?</span></strong><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background: white; box-sizing: border-box; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; line-height: 16.25pt; margin-bottom: 11.25pt; margin-left: 0cm; margin-right: 0cm; margin-top: 11.25pt; orphans: 2; text-align: start; text-decoration-color: initial; text-decoration-style: initial; text-decoration-thickness: initial; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px;"><span style="color: #111111; font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 13.0pt;">Another myth propagated is that not a single man of the Qurayza
was left alive. Thus they call it “genocide”. This claim again when we scratch
the surface of it will be seen as nothing but lie based on distortion of
historical facts.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background: white; box-sizing: border-box; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; line-height: 16.25pt; margin-bottom: 11.25pt; margin-left: 0cm; margin-right: 0cm; margin-top: 11.25pt; orphans: 2; text-align: start; text-decoration-color: initial; text-decoration-style: initial; text-decoration-thickness: initial; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px;"><span style="color: #111111; font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 13.0pt;">The most authoritative book in Islam is the Quran. The Quran
indicates that some of them lived and some were killed:<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p style="background: #F2F2F2; box-sizing: border-box; line-height: 16.25pt; margin: 0cm;"><span style="box-sizing: border-box;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 11.0pt;">“And He brought down those who supported them among the People of
the Scripture from their fortresses and cast terror into their hearts [so that] <strong style="box-sizing: border-box;"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;">a
party you killed</span></strong>, and you took captive a party” – Qur’an 33:26.</span></span><span style="color: #76767a; font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 11.0pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background: white; box-sizing: border-box; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; line-height: 16.25pt; margin-bottom: 11.25pt; margin-left: 0cm; margin-right: 0cm; margin-top: 11.25pt; orphans: 2; text-align: start; text-decoration-color: initial; text-decoration-style: initial; text-decoration-thickness: initial; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px;"><span style="color: #111111; font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 13.0pt;">The Book of Hadiths also report to us some were killed and some
were left alive:<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background: white; box-sizing: border-box; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; line-height: 16.25pt; margin-bottom: 11.25pt; margin-left: 0cm; margin-right: 0cm; margin-top: 11.25pt; orphans: 2; text-align: start; text-decoration-color: initial; text-decoration-style: initial; text-decoration-thickness: initial; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px;"><span style="color: #111111; font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 13.0pt;">Sahih Bukhari:<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p style="background: #F2F2F2; box-sizing: border-box; line-height: 16.25pt; margin: 0cm;"><span style="box-sizing: border-box;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 11.0pt;">“Narrated Ibn `Umar: Bani An-Nadir and Bani Quraiza fought
(against the Prophet violating their peace treaty), so the Prophet exiled Bani
An-Nadir and allowed Bani Quraiza to remain at their places (in Medina) taking
nothing from them till they fought against the Prophet again. He then killed
their men and distributed their women, children and property among the Muslims, <strong style="box-sizing: border-box;"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;">BUT
SOME OF THEM CAME TO THE PROPHET AND HE GRANTED THEM SAFETY</span></strong>,
and they embraced Islam. He exiled all the Jews from Medina. They were the Jews
of Bani Qainuqa’, the tribe of `Abdullah bin Salam and the Jews of Bani Haritha
and all the other Jews of Medina.” (</span><em style="box-sizing: border-box;"><span style="box-sizing: border-box;"><span style="color: blue; font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 11.0pt;">Sahih al-Bukhari Volume 5, Book 59, Hadith 362</span></span></em><span style="color: black; font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 11.0pt;">)</span></span><span style="color: #76767a; font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 11.0pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background: white; box-sizing: border-box; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; line-height: 16.25pt; margin-bottom: 11.25pt; margin-left: 0cm; margin-right: 0cm; margin-top: 11.25pt; orphans: 2; text-align: start; text-decoration-color: initial; text-decoration-style: initial; text-decoration-thickness: initial; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px;"><span style="color: #111111; font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 13.0pt;">Al-Musannaf abd al-Razzaq:<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p style="background: #F2F2F2; box-sizing: border-box; line-height: 16.25pt; margin: 0cm;"><span style="box-sizing: border-box;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 11.0pt;">“Abd al-Razaq on the authority of Musa b. Uqba: The Nadir and
Qurayza fought the Prophet; the Prophet expelled the Nadir and agreed that
Qurayza should stay. Later Qurayza fought the Prophet. They were defeated, the
men were executed, the women, children and property were divided among the
Muslims. <strong style="box-sizing: border-box;"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;">SOME OF THE JEWS RECEIVED THE AMAN (SAFETY) OF THE PROPHET</span></strong> and
converted to Islam. (</span><em style="box-sizing: border-box;"><span style="box-sizing: border-box;"><span style="color: blue; font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 11.0pt;">Al-Musannaf abd al-Razzaq, volume 6, page 54</span></span></em><span style="color: black; font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 11.0pt;">) <strong style="box-sizing: border-box;"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;">[20]</span></strong></span></span><span style="color: #76767a; font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 11.0pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background: white; box-sizing: border-box; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; line-height: 16.25pt; margin-bottom: 11.25pt; margin-left: 0cm; margin-right: 0cm; margin-top: 11.25pt; orphans: 2; text-align: start; text-decoration-color: initial; text-decoration-style: initial; text-decoration-thickness: initial; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px;"><span style="color: #111111; font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 13.0pt;">Kitab Futuh al-Buldan:<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p style="background: #F2F2F2; box-sizing: border-box; line-height: 16.25pt; margin: 0cm;"><span style="box-sizing: border-box;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 11.0pt;">“… The Prophet pressed siege against banu Quraizah until they
surrendered to Sa’d ibn Mu’adh who decreed that their men be executed, their
children be taken as captives and their possessions be divided. Accordingly, <strong style="box-sizing: border-box;"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;">A
CERTAIN NUMBER OF MEN WERE PUT TO DEATH ON THAT DAY</span></strong>.” (</span><em style="box-sizing: border-box;"><span style="box-sizing: border-box;"><span style="color: blue; font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 11.0pt;">Kitab Futuh
al-Buldan, volume 1, page 41</span></span></em><span style="color: black; font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 11.0pt;">) <strong style="box-sizing: border-box;"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;">[21]</span></strong></span></span><span style="color: #76767a; font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 11.0pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background: white; box-sizing: border-box; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; line-height: 16.25pt; margin-bottom: 11.25pt; margin-left: 0cm; margin-right: 0cm; margin-top: 11.25pt; orphans: 2; text-align: start; text-decoration-color: initial; text-decoration-style: initial; text-decoration-thickness: initial; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px;"><span style="color: #111111; font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 13.0pt;">Sunan Abi Dawud:<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p style="background: #F2F2F2; box-sizing: border-box; line-height: 16.25pt; margin: 0cm;"><span style="box-sizing: border-box;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 11.0pt;">Ibn ‘Umar said “The Jews Al Nadir and Quraizah fought with the
Apostle of God, so the Apostle of God expelled Banu Al Nadir and allowed the
Quraizah to stay and favored them. The Quraizah thereafter fought (with the
Prophet).” So he killed their men and divided their women, property and
children among Muslims <strong style="box-sizing: border-box;"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;">EXCEPT SOME OF THEM WHO ASSOCIATED WITH
THE APOSTLE OF GOD. HE GAVE THEM PROTECTION AND LATER ON THEY EMBRACED ISLAM</span></strong>.
The Apostle of God expelled all the Jews of Madinah, Banu Qainuqa, they were
the people of ‘Abd Allaah bin Salam, the Jews of Banu Harith and any of Jews
who resided in Madeenah.” (</span><em style="box-sizing: border-box;"><span style="box-sizing: border-box;"><span style="color: blue; font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 11.0pt;">Sunan Abi Dawud Book 19, Hadith 2999</span></span></em><span style="color: black; font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 11.0pt;">)</span></span><span style="color: #76767a; font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 11.0pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background: white; box-sizing: border-box; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; line-height: 16.25pt; margin-bottom: 11.25pt; margin-left: 0cm; margin-right: 0cm; margin-top: 11.25pt; orphans: 2; text-align: start; text-decoration-color: initial; text-decoration-style: initial; text-decoration-thickness: initial; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px;"><span style="color: #111111; font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 13.0pt;">I would like to emphasize here those that did receive pardon,
later converted to Islam freely. Forced conversion is forbidden (Haram) in
Islam. They were most probably pardoned because they weren’t involved in the
treachery. In fact, the last Hadith (above) in Sunan Abi Dawud quoted, clearly
states they were freed and “later” embraced Islam.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background: white; box-sizing: border-box; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; line-height: 16.25pt; margin-bottom: 11.25pt; margin-left: 0cm; margin-right: 0cm; margin-top: 11.25pt; orphans: 2; text-align: start; text-decoration-color: initial; text-decoration-style: initial; text-decoration-thickness: initial; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px;"><span style="color: #111111; font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 13.0pt;">We also have definitive proof from a number of early historical
sources, specifically mentioning names of Banu Qurayzah men who were left alive
because they didn’t participate in this treachery in waging war against the
Muslims.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background: white; box-sizing: border-box; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; line-height: 16.25pt; margin-bottom: 11.25pt; margin-left: 0cm; margin-right: 0cm; margin-top: 11.25pt; orphans: 2; text-align: start; text-decoration-color: initial; text-decoration-style: initial; text-decoration-thickness: initial; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px;"><span style="color: #111111; font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 13.0pt;">Al-Tabari:<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p style="background: #F2F2F2; box-sizing: border-box; line-height: 16.25pt; margin: 0cm;"><span style="box-sizing: border-box;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 11.0pt;">“…Tha’labah b. Sa’yah, Usayd b. Sa’yah, and Asad b. Ubayd – a
group of men from the Banu Hadl, not from the Banu Qurayzah or al-Nadir [their
genealogy was superior to that], but cousins of the men in question – became
Muslims the night that Qurayzah submitted to the judgment of the Messenger of
God. During that night, Amr b. Su’da al-Qurazi went out and passed by the
guards of the Messenger of God – Muhammad b. Maslamah al-Ansari was in charge
of them that night. When the latter saw Amr, he said, ‘Who said it?’ Amr b.
Su’da,’ he replied. Amr had refused to go along with the Banu Qurayzah in their
treachery toward the Messenger of God. ‘Never’, he had said, ‘Will I act
treacherously toward Muhammad.’ Having recognized him, Muhammad b. Maslamah
said, ‘O Noble’ – and he let him pass. Amr went his way and spent that night in
the mosque of the Messenger of God in Medina. Then he went away, and no one
knows to this day into which of God’s lands he went. His story was mentioned to
the Messenger of God who said, “He was a man whom God rescued for his loyalty.”
According to Ibn Ishaq: Some men allege that he was bound with an old frayed
rope along with the Banu Qurayzah who were bound when they submitted to the
judgement of the Messenger of God. In the morning his rope was cast aside, and
no one knew where he had gone. …” <strong style="box-sizing: border-box;"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;">[22]</span></strong></span></span><span style="color: #76767a; font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 11.0pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background: white; box-sizing: border-box; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; line-height: 16.25pt; margin-bottom: 11.25pt; margin-left: 0cm; margin-right: 0cm; margin-top: 11.25pt; orphans: 2; text-align: start; text-decoration-color: initial; text-decoration-style: initial; text-decoration-thickness: initial; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px;"><span style="color: #111111; font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 13.0pt;">Ibn Ishaq:<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p style="background: #F2F2F2; box-sizing: border-box; line-height: 16.25pt; margin: 0cm;"><span style="box-sizing: border-box;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 11.0pt;">“Ibn Shihab al-Zuhri told me that Thabit b. Qays b. al-Shammas had
gone to al-Zabir b. Bata al-Qurazi who was Abu Abdu-l-Rahman. Al-Zabir had
spared Thabit during the pagan era. One of al-Zabir’s sons told me that he had
spared him on the day of Bu’ath, having captured him and cut off his forelock
and then let him go. Thabit came to him (he was then an old man) and asked him
if he knew him, to which he answered, ‘Would a man like me not recognize a man
like you?’ He said: ‘I want to repay for your service to me. ‘He said, ‘The
noble repays the noble.’</span></span><span style="color: #76767a; font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 11.0pt;"><br style="box-sizing: border-box;" />
</span><span style="color: black; font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 11.0pt;"><span style="box-sizing: border-box;">Thabit went to the Apostle and told him that
al-Zabir had spared his life and he wanted to repay him for it, and the Apostle
said that his life would be spared. When he returned and told him that the
Apostle had spared his life he said, ‘What does an old man without family and
without children want with life?’ Thabit went again to the Apostle, who
promised to give him his wife and children. When he told him he said, ‘How can
a household in the Hijaz live without property?’ Thabit secured the Apostle’s
promise that his property would be restored and came and told him so, and he
said, ‘O Thabit, what has become of him whose face was like a Chinese mirror in
which the virgins of the tribe could see themselves, Ka’b b. Asad?’ ‘Killed,’
he said.</span></span><span style="color: #76767a; font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 11.0pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p style="background: #F2F2F2; box-sizing: border-box; line-height: 16.25pt; margin: 0cm;"><span style="box-sizing: border-box;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 11.0pt;">‘And what of the prince of the Desert and the sown, Huyayy b.
Akhtab?’ ‘Kiled.’ And what of our vanguard when we attacked and our rearguard
when we fled (T. returned to the charge), Azzal b. Samaw’al?’ ‘Killed.’ ‘And
what of the two assemblies?’ meaning b. Ka’b b. Qurayza and B. Amr b. Qurayza.
‘killed’. He said, ‘Then I ask of you, Thabit by my claim on you that you join
me with my people, for life holds no joy now that they are dead, and I cannot
bear to wait another moment to meet my loved ones.’ So Thabit went up to him
and struck off his head.</span></span><span style="color: #76767a; font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 11.0pt;"><br style="box-sizing: border-box;" />
</span><span style="color: black; font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 11.0pt;"><span style="box-sizing: border-box;">…</span></span><span style="color: #76767a; font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 11.0pt;"><br style="box-sizing: border-box;" />
</span><span style="color: black; font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 11.0pt;"><span style="box-sizing: border-box;">Thabit b. Qays said concerning that, mentioning
al-Zabir b. Bata:</span></span><span style="color: #76767a; font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 11.0pt;"><br style="box-sizing: border-box;" />
</span><span style="color: black; font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 11.0pt;"><span style="box-sizing: border-box;">My obligation is ended; I was noble and
persistent when others swerved from steadfastness. Zabir had a greater claim
than any man on me And when his wrists were bound with cords I went to the
Apostle that I might free him. To Apostle was a very sea of generosity to us.” <strong style="box-sizing: border-box;"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;">[23]</span></strong></span></span><span style="color: #76767a; font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 11.0pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background: white; box-sizing: border-box; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; line-height: 16.25pt; margin-bottom: 11.25pt; margin-left: 0cm; margin-right: 0cm; margin-top: 11.25pt; orphans: 2; text-align: start; text-decoration-color: initial; text-decoration-style: initial; text-decoration-thickness: initial; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px;"><span style="color: #111111; font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 13.0pt;">Kitab Al-Maghazi – Al-Waqidi:<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p style="background: #F2F2F2; box-sizing: border-box; line-height: 16.25pt; margin: 0cm;"><span style="box-sizing: border-box;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 11.0pt;">… al-Zabir b. bata had done a favour for Thabot b. Qays on the day
of Bu’ath. Thabit came to al-Zabir and said, ‘O Abu Abd al-Rahman, do you know
me?’ He replied, ‘Do you think one like me will not know the likes of you.’
Thabir said, ‘You have done me a good deed and I want to repay you.’ Zabir replied,
‘Indeed the noble reward the noble. I am in the greatest need of your help
today.’ Thabit came to the Messenger of God and said, ‘O messenger of God,
Zabir helped me when my hopes were cut off on the day of Bu’ath. I mentioned
this good deed to you, for I desire to help him, so give him to me.’ The
Messenger of God said, ‘He is for you.’ Then Tabit came to Zabir and said, ‘
Indeed the Messenger of God has given you to me.’ Al-Zabir said, ‘I am an old
man. I have no family or son or wealth in Yathrib. What will I do with my
life?’ So Thabit came to the Messenger of God and said, ‘O Messenger of God,
give me his son.’ So he gave him his son. Then he said, ‘O Messenger of God,
give me his property and his family.’ So the Messenger of God gave Thabit Zabir’s
property, son and family.</span></span><span style="color: #76767a; font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 11.0pt;"><br style="box-sizing: border-box;" />
</span><span style="color: black; font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 11.0pt;"><span style="box-sizing: border-box;">Thabit returned to al-Zabir and said, ‘Indeed
the Messenger of God has given me your son and your property and your family.’
Zabir said, ‘O Thabit, you have rewarded me and repaid your debt, but, what has
happened to him whose face is like a Chinese mirror, in which virgins of the
neighbourhood could see themselves, Ka’b b. Asad?’ He said, ‘He is killed.’
Al-Zabir said, ‘What happened to the master of the cities and the desert, the
lord of the two neighbourhoods who carries them in war and deeds them at home,
Huyayy b. Akhtab?’ He said, ‘He is killed.’</span></span><span style="color: #76767a; font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 11.0pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p style="background: #F2F2F2; box-sizing: border-box; line-height: 16.25pt; margin: 0cm;"><span style="box-sizing: border-box;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 11.0pt;">Al-Zabir said, ‘What happened to the leader of the vanguard of the
Jews at war when they charge, and their protector at the back when they
retreat, Ghazzal b. Samaw’al?’ He said, ‘He is killed.’</span></span><span style="color: #76767a; font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 11.0pt;"><br style="box-sizing: border-box;" />
</span><span style="color: black; font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 11.0pt;"><span style="box-sizing: border-box;">…</span></span><span style="color: #76767a; font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 11.0pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p style="background: #F2F2F2; box-sizing: border-box; line-height: 16.25pt; margin: 0cm;"><span style="box-sizing: border-box;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 11.0pt;">Al-zabir said, ‘O Thabit? What good is life after those? Must I
return to the home they were living in to stay after them? I do not desire
that. Indeed I ask you in return for my debt to send me forward and kill me
with the killing of the nobility of the Banu Qurayza. Take my sword for surely
it is sharp, and strike me with it, and finish it off. Raise your hand away
from the food and bring it closer to the head, lower from the brain. Indeed it
is best that the body remain with the neck. O Thabit, I am impatient to find my
loved ones.’</span></span><span style="color: #76767a; font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 11.0pt;"><br style="box-sizing: border-box;" />
</span><span style="color: black; font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 11.0pt;"><span style="box-sizing: border-box;">…</span></span><span style="color: #76767a; font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 11.0pt;"><br style="box-sizing: border-box;" />
</span><span style="color: black; font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 11.0pt;"><span style="box-sizing: border-box;">‘O Thabir, send me forward and kill me.’ Thabit
said, ‘I will not kill you.’ Al-Zabir said, ‘I do not care who kills me! But, O
Thabit, see to my wife and my son for they anxious about death. Ask your friend
to releasethem and return their property. I will go towards Al-Zubayr b.
al-Awwam.’ He reproached al-Zubayr and al-Zubayr struck off his head.</span></span><span style="color: #76767a; font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 11.0pt;"><br style="box-sizing: border-box;" />
</span><span style="color: black; font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 11.0pt;"><span style="box-sizing: border-box;">Thabit asked the Messenger of God about his wife
and his property and his son. The Messenger of God returned all of that to his
son. He set his wife free, and he returned their property of dates and camels
and clothes, but not the weapons, to them. They stayed with the family of
Thabit b. Qays b. Shammas. <strong style="box-sizing: border-box;"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;">[24]</span></strong></span></span><span style="color: #76767a; font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 11.0pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background: white; box-sizing: border-box; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; line-height: 16.25pt; margin-bottom: 11.25pt; margin-left: 0cm; margin-right: 0cm; margin-top: 11.25pt; orphans: 2; text-align: start; text-decoration-color: initial; text-decoration-style: initial; text-decoration-thickness: initial; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px;"><span style="color: #111111; font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 13.0pt;">Although Zabir Thabit was forgiven for taking part in this, he
none the less, sadly wanted to be killed since his other friends were killed
because of the treachery they were involved in. Notice, the Muslims didn’t want
to kill him but he insisted on it.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background: white; box-sizing: border-box; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; line-height: 16.25pt; margin-bottom: 11.25pt; margin-left: 0cm; margin-right: 0cm; margin-top: 11.25pt; orphans: 2; text-align: start; text-decoration-color: initial; text-decoration-style: initial; text-decoration-thickness: initial; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px;"><span style="color: #111111; font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 13.0pt;">Moreover, the above reports show that his family actively
participated in this treachery and wanted to wage war against the Muslims.
Notice the words that were used that they got everything back except “their
weapons”. Showing that some of the family members were also liable for death
penalty hadn’t it been for one of the Companions of the Prophet (p) intervening
on their behalf by being forgiving them. The Prophet in his noble, merciful
character let all the family go and they got everything back; they walked away
free including Zabir’s grown son.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background: white; box-sizing: border-box; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; line-height: 16.25pt; margin-bottom: 11.25pt; margin-left: 0cm; margin-right: 0cm; margin-top: 11.25pt; orphans: 2; text-align: start; text-decoration-color: initial; text-decoration-style: initial; text-decoration-thickness: initial; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px;"><span style="color: #111111; font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 13.0pt;">Islamic scholars also mention a number of Banu Quraiza men’s
names who were left alive for their faithfulness in not getting involved in
this treachery.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background: white; box-sizing: border-box; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; line-height: 16.25pt; margin-bottom: 11.25pt; margin-left: 0cm; margin-right: 0cm; margin-top: 11.25pt; orphans: 2; text-align: start; text-decoration-color: initial; text-decoration-style: initial; text-decoration-thickness: initial; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px;"><span style="color: #111111; font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 13.0pt;">Imam Shafi’i , a prominent second-century scholar, says:<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p style="background: #F2F2F2; box-sizing: border-box; line-height: 16.25pt; margin: 0cm;"><span style="box-sizing: border-box;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 11.0pt;">“…not all of them took part in aiding against the Prophet and his
Companions, but all of them remained in their stronghold and did not abandon
the treacherous people from among them, <strong style="box-sizing: border-box;"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;">EXCEPT A SMALL PARTY (NAFAR) AND THIS
(ACTION) SAVED THEIR LIVES AND KEPT THEIR POSSESSIONS IN THEIR HANDS</span></strong>“. <strong style="box-sizing: border-box;"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;">[25]</span></strong></span></span><span style="color: #76767a; font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 11.0pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background: white; box-sizing: border-box; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; line-height: 16.25pt; margin-bottom: 11.25pt; margin-left: 0cm; margin-right: 0cm; margin-top: 11.25pt; orphans: 2; text-align: start; text-decoration-color: initial; text-decoration-style: initial; text-decoration-thickness: initial; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px;"><span style="color: #111111; font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 13.0pt;">Shaykh Muhammed Al-Ghazali says:<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p style="background: #F2F2F2; box-sizing: border-box; line-height: 16.25pt; margin: 0cm;"><span style="box-sizing: border-box;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 11.0pt;">“The siege continued for twenty-five days during which the Muslims
allowed the Jews who had refused to betray the Prophet during the Battle of the
Ditch <strong style="box-sizing: border-box;"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;">TO LEAVE AND GO WHEREVER THEY WISHED AS A REWARD FOR THEIR
FAITHFULNESS</span></strong>. <strong style="box-sizing: border-box;"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;">[26]</span></strong></span></span><span style="color: #76767a; font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 11.0pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background: white; box-sizing: border-box; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; line-height: 16.25pt; margin-bottom: 11.25pt; margin-left: 0cm; margin-right: 0cm; margin-top: 11.25pt; orphans: 2; text-align: start; text-decoration-color: initial; text-decoration-style: initial; text-decoration-thickness: initial; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px;"><span style="color: #111111; font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 13.0pt;">Islamic scholar, Syed Maududi:<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p style="background: #F2F2F2; box-sizing: border-box; line-height: 16.25pt; margin: 0cm;"><span style="box-sizing: border-box;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 11.0pt;">From among the prisoners of the Banu Quraizah, the Holy <strong style="box-sizing: border-box;"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;">Prophet
forgave</span></strong> Zabir bin Bata and ‘Amr bin Sa’d (or Ibn Su’da),
the former because he had given refuge to Hadrat Thabit bin Qais Ansari in the
Battle of Bu’ath, in the pre-Islamic days of ignorance; therefore, he handed
him over to Hadrat Thabit that he may repay him for his favor. And he forgave
‘Amr bin Sa`d because it was he who was exhorting his tribe not to be
treacherous when the Bani Quraizah were committing breach of the trust with the
Holy Prophet. <strong style="box-sizing: border-box;"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;">[27]</span></strong></span></span><span style="color: #76767a; font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 11.0pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background: white; box-sizing: border-box; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; line-height: 16.25pt; margin-bottom: 11.25pt; margin-left: 0cm; margin-right: 0cm; margin-top: 11.25pt; orphans: 2; text-align: start; text-decoration-color: initial; text-decoration-style: initial; text-decoration-thickness: initial; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px;"><span style="color: #111111; font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 13.0pt;">Dr. Resis Haylamaz:<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p style="background: #F2F2F2; box-sizing: border-box; line-height: 16.25pt; margin: 0cm;"><span style="box-sizing: border-box;"><strong style="box-sizing: border-box;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 11.0pt;">THE FATE OF
THOSE PARDONED AND THE CAPTIVES</span></strong><span style="color: black; font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 11.0pt;">:</span></span><span style="color: #76767a; font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 11.0pt;"><br style="box-sizing: border-box;" />
</span><span style="color: black; font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 11.0pt;"><span style="box-sizing: border-box;">“The judgement passed by Sa’d ibn Muadh did not
include all of the Banu Qurayza; among the Banu Qurayza that day there were
youths such as atiyyatu-l-Qurazi and Rifa’a ibn Shamwal Amr ibn Su’da, ibn
Sa’ya’s sons Salaba and Usayd and their cousin Asad ibn Ubayd. <strong style="box-sizing: border-box;"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;">THESE
MEN OF CONSCIENCE WERE FORGIVEN</span></strong>. Zabir ibn Bata had cone a
great favour for Thabot ibn Qays ibn Shammas during the times of Buath wars. …” <strong style="box-sizing: border-box;"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;">[28]</span></strong></span></span><span style="color: #76767a; font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 11.0pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background: white; box-sizing: border-box; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; line-height: 16.25pt; margin: 0cm; orphans: 2; text-align: start; text-decoration-color: initial; text-decoration-style: initial; text-decoration-thickness: initial; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px;"><strong style="box-sizing: border-box;"><span style="color: #111111; font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 13.0pt;">10. How Many Men of the Quraiza
were Killed?</span></strong><span style="color: #111111; font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 13.0pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background: white; box-sizing: border-box; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; line-height: 16.25pt; margin-bottom: 11.25pt; margin-left: 0cm; margin-right: 0cm; margin-top: 11.25pt; orphans: 2; text-align: start; text-decoration-color: initial; text-decoration-style: initial; text-decoration-thickness: initial; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px;"><span style="color: #111111; font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 13.0pt;">Ibn Ishaq:<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p style="background: #F2F2F2; box-sizing: border-box; line-height: 16.25pt; margin: 0cm;"><span style="box-sizing: border-box;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 11.0pt;">“Then they surrendered, and the Apostle confined them in Medina,
in the house of d. al-Harith, a women of banu al-Najjar. Then the Apostle of
God went out to the market of Medina and dug trenches in it. Then he sent for
them and struck off their heads…” <strong style="box-sizing: border-box;"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;">[29]</span></strong></span></span><span style="color: #76767a; font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 11.0pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background: white; box-sizing: border-box; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; line-height: 16.25pt; margin-bottom: 11.25pt; margin-left: 0cm; margin-right: 0cm; margin-top: 11.25pt; orphans: 2; text-align: start; text-decoration-color: initial; text-decoration-style: initial; text-decoration-thickness: initial; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px;"><span style="color: #111111; font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 13.0pt;">Number of those executed is uncertain: According to few sources,
the number given for the men killed, for the treachery they committed are, 400,
500, and Ibn Ishaq puts it as high 600 – 900 men were executed. These numbers
are not given in the Quran, and Hadith which are the most authoritative in
Islam. The numbers are only reported in some sources which some scholars have
doubt on.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background: white; box-sizing: border-box; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; line-height: 16.25pt; margin-bottom: 11.25pt; margin-left: 0cm; margin-right: 0cm; margin-top: 11.25pt; orphans: 2; text-align: start; text-decoration-color: initial; text-decoration-style: initial; text-decoration-thickness: initial; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px;"><span style="color: #111111; font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 13.0pt;">This doubt itself is well evidenced. When we read Ibn Ishaq he
tells that after the banu Quraiza surrendered to be judged, they were sent to
the house (dar) of Bint al-harith, a women belonging to the Banu al-Najjar
tribe.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background: white; box-sizing: border-box; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; line-height: 16.25pt; margin-bottom: 11.25pt; margin-left: 0cm; margin-right: 0cm; margin-top: 11.25pt; orphans: 2; text-align: start; text-decoration-color: initial; text-decoration-style: initial; text-decoration-thickness: initial; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px;"><span style="color: #111111; font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 13.0pt;">If the number of 600 – 900 is true, then each of the warrior men
would on average, have two kids plus wife, times the 900 by 3, we would have
over 2000 people confined in one house. This is impossible given the fact that
no such prison existed in Madinah, to house that many people. In fact it was
not even a prison, it was just a house.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background: white; box-sizing: border-box; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; line-height: 16.25pt; margin-bottom: 11.25pt; margin-left: 0cm; margin-right: 0cm; margin-top: 11.25pt; orphans: 2; text-align: start; text-decoration-color: initial; text-decoration-style: initial; text-decoration-thickness: initial; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px;"><span style="color: #111111; font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 13.0pt;">Furthermore, if we were to go with this, Madinah must have had
one of the most advanced, well-organized prison’s ever. Given that over 2000
people had to be tied up, how big was Haritha’s house? Were the prisoners
routinely fed, taken to toilet whenever needed? Given that none of the fully
grown warriors (900) didn’t run away I doubt (as other scholars have) that such
was the number of soldiers killed.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background: white; box-sizing: border-box; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; line-height: 16.25pt; margin-bottom: 11.25pt; margin-left: 0cm; margin-right: 0cm; margin-top: 11.25pt; orphans: 2; text-align: start; text-decoration-color: initial; text-decoration-style: initial; text-decoration-thickness: initial; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px;"><span style="color: #111111; font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 13.0pt;">Thus the most appropriate thing regarding the number of the
treacherous Banu Quraiza men executed is to ignore the contradictory and
doubtful sources that mention the numbers. If these sources can’t agree with
one another besides being doubtful to begin with, how can we be confident that
such were the actual number of the men executed? Given the fact that Quran and
Hadith are silent on the number and most importantly tell us that only some
were killed and some were spared, we can confidently say that the varying
numbers from 400 to 900 is nothing but conjecture.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background: white; box-sizing: border-box; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; line-height: 16.25pt; margin-bottom: 11.25pt; margin-left: 0cm; margin-right: 0cm; margin-top: 11.25pt; orphans: 2; text-align: start; text-decoration-color: initial; text-decoration-style: initial; text-decoration-thickness: initial; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px;"><span style="color: #111111; font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 13.0pt;">Islamic scholar Barakat Ahmad lists a number of great examples
where the Quraysh made major issues regarding smaller matters and if such a
“massacre” ever occurred why isn’t it mentioned in any historical record from
Jews, Christians or any reliable Muslim record?<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p style="background: #F2F2F2; box-sizing: border-box; line-height: 16.25pt; margin: 0cm;"><span style="box-sizing: border-box;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 11.0pt;">The incident of the B. Qurayzah occurred before the armistice of
Hudaybiyah and the peace with Khaybar were achieved. It is impossible that the
pagans and the Munafiqun (hypocrites) would have remained muted. When Jahsh
violated the sacred month and shed blood therein, when the palms of the B.
al-Nadir were burnt, when the Apostle married the divorced wife of his adopted
son, the people criticised and the Qur’an defended the Apostle. It is
improbable that the Apostle’s critics would have paid less attention to the
lives of the Banu Qurayzah than to the palms of the B. al-Nadir. That the news
of this ‘massacre’ did not reach Syria, which included Jerusalem and Adhra’at,
with which the Medina Jews had contacts, and the Exilarchate in Iraq, which
exercised religious authority over them is highly unlikely. <strong style="box-sizing: border-box;"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;">[30]</span></strong></span></span><span style="color: #76767a; font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 11.0pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background: white; box-sizing: border-box; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; line-height: 16.25pt; margin: 0cm; orphans: 2; text-align: start; text-decoration-color: initial; text-decoration-style: initial; text-decoration-thickness: initial; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px;"><strong style="box-sizing: border-box;"><span style="color: #111111; font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 13.0pt;">11.</span></strong><span style="color: #111111; font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 13.0pt;"> <strong style="box-sizing: border-box;"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;">Anti-Semitism
claim</span></strong><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background: white; box-sizing: border-box; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; line-height: 16.25pt; margin-bottom: 11.25pt; margin-left: 0cm; margin-right: 0cm; margin-top: 11.25pt; orphans: 2; text-align: start; text-decoration-color: initial; text-decoration-style: initial; text-decoration-thickness: initial; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px;"><span style="color: #111111; font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 13.0pt;">Another widely false idea held by critics, believed and
circulated by bigots, is that the Banu Qurayza were killed because of the
inherent hatred Muslims and the religion Islam have towards Jews as a race.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background: white; box-sizing: border-box; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; line-height: 16.25pt; margin-bottom: 11.25pt; margin-left: 0cm; margin-right: 0cm; margin-top: 11.25pt; orphans: 2; text-align: start; text-decoration-color: initial; text-decoration-style: initial; text-decoration-thickness: initial; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px;"><span style="color: #111111; font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 13.0pt;">However, as we have already read the sources in history, these
are baseless lies. The historical reports tell us that some of the Banu Quraiza
men were killed because they actively committed the crime of treason, waged war
and supplied the enemies of the Muslims with weapons and supplies, while they
had a pact with the Muslims that they would not do any of this. And, the Banu
Qurayza were Arab Jews. So it is inconceivable for Arabs to hate other Jews
just for their race.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background: white; box-sizing: border-box; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; line-height: 16.25pt; margin-bottom: 11.25pt; margin-left: 0cm; margin-right: 0cm; margin-top: 11.25pt; orphans: 2; text-align: start; text-decoration-color: initial; text-decoration-style: initial; text-decoration-thickness: initial; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px;"><span style="color: #111111; font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 13.0pt;">Muslims and the Arab Jews have been living in peace and harmony
for centuries, from the time of the Prophet Muhammed to this. In fact we have
authentic historical reports where the Prophet (p) even after the Banu Quraiza
incident showed love, mercy, and kindness to Jews.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background: white; box-sizing: border-box; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; line-height: 16.25pt; margin-bottom: 11.25pt; margin-left: 0cm; margin-right: 0cm; margin-top: 11.25pt; orphans: 2; text-align: start; text-decoration-color: initial; text-decoration-style: initial; text-decoration-thickness: initial; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px;"><span style="color: #111111; font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 13.0pt;">If the Prophet (p) really hated Jews as some critics claim, then
why did he free those who didn’t partake in the treachery? The evidences shown
in this article quite clearly show us that the Prophet (p) only killed some
Banu Qurayza warrior-men because they broke the pact, waged war, and supplied
enemies with weapons against the Muslims.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background: white; box-sizing: border-box; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; line-height: 16.25pt; margin-bottom: 11.25pt; margin-left: 0cm; margin-right: 0cm; margin-top: 11.25pt; orphans: 2; text-align: start; text-decoration-color: initial; text-decoration-style: initial; text-decoration-thickness: initial; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px;"><span style="color: #111111; font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 13.0pt;">We have a number of incidents after the Banu Qurayza episode in
which the Prophet (p) and his companions showed utmost respect to Jews.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background: white; box-sizing: border-box; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; line-height: 16.25pt; margin: 0cm; orphans: 2; text-align: start; text-decoration-color: initial; text-decoration-style: initial; text-decoration-thickness: initial; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px;"><strong style="box-sizing: border-box;"><span style="color: #111111; font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 13.0pt;">11.1</span></strong><span style="color: #111111; font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 13.0pt;"> –
Islamic faith has never taught its followers to be anti-semitic. The
Arab-Israeli conflict is a political conflict which started in the 1948,
Muslims, Christians and Jews have lived in that area for centuries.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background: white; box-sizing: border-box; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; line-height: 16.25pt; margin: 0cm; orphans: 2; text-align: start; text-decoration-color: initial; text-decoration-style: initial; text-decoration-thickness: initial; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px;"><strong style="box-sizing: border-box;"><span style="color: #111111; font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 13.0pt;">11.2</span></strong><span style="color: #111111; font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 13.0pt;"> –
The Quran tells us that Kosher food prepared by Jews is allowed for Muslims
(Qur’an 5:5).<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background: white; box-sizing: border-box; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; line-height: 16.25pt; margin: 0cm; orphans: 2; text-align: start; text-decoration-color: initial; text-decoration-style: initial; text-decoration-thickness: initial; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px;"><strong style="box-sizing: border-box;"><span style="color: #111111; font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 13.0pt;">11.3</span></strong><span style="color: #111111; font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 13.0pt;"> –
Islam accepts and respects all Jewish Prophets: Moses, Solomon, David, Abraham
etc.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background: white; box-sizing: border-box; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; line-height: 16.25pt; margin: 0cm; orphans: 2; text-align: start; text-decoration-color: initial; text-decoration-style: initial; text-decoration-thickness: initial; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px;"><strong style="box-sizing: border-box;"><span style="color: #111111; font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 13.0pt;">11.4</span></strong><span style="color: #111111; font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 13.0pt;"> –
When the Prophet was asked by one his Companions why he stood up for Jewish
funeral procession, he remarked that we are all equal in death. Respect was
given to a funeral of a Jew at time of Mohammed (p):<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background: white; box-sizing: border-box; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; line-height: 16.25pt; margin-bottom: 11.25pt; margin-left: 0cm; margin-right: 0cm; margin-top: 11.25pt; orphans: 2; text-align: start; text-decoration-color: initial; text-decoration-style: initial; text-decoration-thickness: initial; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px;"><span style="color: #111111; font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 13.0pt;">Sahih Muslim:<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p style="background: #F2F2F2; box-sizing: border-box; line-height: 16.25pt; margin: 0cm;"><span style="box-sizing: border-box;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 11.0pt;">…while Qais b. Sa’d and Sahl b. Hunaif were both in Qadislyya a
bier passed by them and they both stood up. They were told that it was the bier
of one of the people of the land (non-Muslim). They said that a bier passed
before the Prophet and he stood up. He was told that he (the dead man) was a
Jew. Upon this he remarked: Was he not a human being or did he not have a
soul? (</span><em style="box-sizing: border-box;"><span style="box-sizing: border-box;"><span style="color: blue; font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 11.0pt;"><a href="http://sunnah.com/muslim/11/103" style="box-sizing: border-box;" target="_blank">Sahih
Muslim Book 4, Hadith 2098</a></span></span></em><span style="color: black; font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 11.0pt;">)</span></span><span style="color: #76767a; font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 11.0pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background: white; box-sizing: border-box; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; line-height: 16.25pt; margin-bottom: 11.25pt; margin-left: 0cm; margin-right: 0cm; margin-top: 11.25pt; orphans: 2; text-align: start; text-decoration-color: initial; text-decoration-style: initial; text-decoration-thickness: initial; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px;"><span style="color: #111111; font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 13.0pt;">Sunan Abi Dawud:<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p style="background: #F2F2F2; box-sizing: border-box; line-height: 16.25pt; margin: 0cm;"><span style="box-sizing: border-box;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 11.0pt;">Narrated Jabir: We were with the Prophet when a funeral
passed hi and he stood up for it. When we went to carry it, we found that it
was a funeral of a Jew. We, therefore said: Messenger of Allah, this is the
funeral of a Jew. He said: Death is fearful event, so when you see a funeral,
stand up. (<span style="box-sizing: border-box;"></span><em style="box-sizing: border-box;"><span style="color: blue; font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 11.0pt;"><a href="http://sunnah.com/abudawud/21/86" style="box-sizing: border-box;" target="_blank">Sunan Abi Dawud Book 20, Hadith 3168</a></span></em></span><span style="color: black; font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 11.0pt;">)</span></span><span style="color: #76767a; font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 11.0pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background: white; box-sizing: border-box; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; line-height: 16.25pt; margin-bottom: 11.25pt; margin-left: 0cm; margin-right: 0cm; margin-top: 11.25pt; orphans: 2; text-align: start; text-decoration-color: initial; text-decoration-style: initial; text-decoration-thickness: initial; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px;"><span style="color: #111111; font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 13.0pt;">Sunan an-Nasai:<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p style="background: #F2F2F2; box-sizing: border-box; line-height: 16.25pt; margin: 0cm;"><span style="box-sizing: border-box;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 11.0pt;">Jabir said: “The Prophet and his Companions stood up for the
funeral of a Jew until it disappeared.” (</span><em style="box-sizing: border-box;"><span style="box-sizing: border-box;"><span style="color: blue; font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 11.0pt;"><a href="http://sunnah.com/nasai/21/112" style="box-sizing: border-box;" target="_blank">Sunan an-Nasa’i Vol. 3, Book 21, Hadith 1930</a></span></span></em><span style="color: black; font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 11.0pt;">)</span></span><span style="color: #76767a; font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 11.0pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background: white; box-sizing: border-box; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; line-height: 16.25pt; margin-bottom: 11.25pt; margin-left: 0cm; margin-right: 0cm; margin-top: 11.25pt; orphans: 2; text-align: start; text-decoration-color: initial; text-decoration-style: initial; text-decoration-thickness: initial; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px;"><span style="color: #111111; font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 13.0pt;">Sahih al-Bukhari:<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p style="background: #F2F2F2; box-sizing: border-box; line-height: 16.25pt; margin: 0cm;"><span style="box-sizing: border-box;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 11.0pt;">A funeral procession passed in front of us and the Prophet stood
up and we too stood up. We said, ‘O Allah’s Messenger! This is the funeral
procession of a Jew.” He said, “Whenever you see a funeral procession, you
should stand up.” (</span><em style="box-sizing: border-box;"><span style="box-sizing: border-box;"><span style="color: blue; font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 11.0pt;"><a href="http://sunnah.com/bukhari/23/70" style="box-sizing: border-box;" target="_blank">Sahih al-Bukhari, volume 2, Book 23, Hadith 398</a></span></span></em><span style="color: black; font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 11.0pt;">)</span></span><span style="color: #76767a; font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 11.0pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background: white; box-sizing: border-box; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; line-height: 16.25pt; margin-bottom: 11.25pt; margin-left: 0cm; margin-right: 0cm; margin-top: 11.25pt; orphans: 2; text-align: start; text-decoration-color: initial; text-decoration-style: initial; text-decoration-thickness: initial; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px;"><span style="color: #111111; font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 13.0pt;">Sahih al-Bukhari:<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p style="background: #F2F2F2; box-sizing: border-box; line-height: 16.25pt; margin: 0cm;"><span style="box-sizing: border-box;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 11.0pt;">Sahl bin Hunaif and Qais bin Sa`d were sitting in the city of
Al-Qadisiya. A funeral procession passed in front of them and they stood up.
They were told that funeral procession was of one of the inhabitants of the
land i.e. of a non-believer, under the protection of Muslims. They said, “A
funeral procession passed in front of the Prophet and he stood up. When he was
told that it was the coffin of a Jew, he said, “Is it not a living being
(soul)?” (</span><em style="box-sizing: border-box;"><span style="box-sizing: border-box;"><span style="color: blue; font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 11.0pt;"><a href="http://sunnah.com/bukhari/23/71" style="box-sizing: border-box;" target="_blank">Sahih
al-Bukhari, volume 2, Book 23, Hadith 399</a></span></span></em><span style="color: black; font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 11.0pt;">)</span></span><span style="color: #76767a; font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 11.0pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background: white; box-sizing: border-box; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; line-height: 16.25pt; margin: 0cm; orphans: 2; text-align: start; text-decoration-color: initial; text-decoration-style: initial; text-decoration-thickness: initial; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px;"><strong style="box-sizing: border-box;"><span style="color: #111111; font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 13.0pt;">11.5</span></strong><span style="color: #111111; font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 13.0pt;"> –
The Prophet had a Jewish wife called Saffiya. Once, one the Prophet’s wives,
Hafsah, called her, ‘daughter of a Jew”. Upon this, the Prophet (p) cautioned
her to “Fear God”. He was not happy with her to call her such, and reprimanded
her to think about what she says because she would be held liable for hurting
her.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background: white; box-sizing: border-box; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; line-height: 16.25pt; margin-bottom: 11.25pt; margin-left: 0cm; margin-right: 0cm; margin-top: 11.25pt; orphans: 2; text-align: start; text-decoration-color: initial; text-decoration-style: initial; text-decoration-thickness: initial; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px;"><span style="color: #111111; font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 13.0pt;">Jami at-Tirmidhi:<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p style="background: #F2F2F2; box-sizing: border-box; line-height: 16.25pt; margin: 0cm;"><span style="box-sizing: border-box;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 11.0pt;">Narrated Anas: said: “It reached Safiyyah that Hafsah said: ‘The
daughter of a Jew’ so she wept. Then the Prophet entered upon her while she was
crying, so he said: ‘What makes you cry?’ She said: ‘Hafsah said to me that I
am the daughter of a Jew.’ So the Prophet said: ‘And you are the daughter of a Prophet,
and your uncle is a Prophet, and you are married to a Prophet, so what is she
boasting to you about?’ Then he said: ‘Fear Allah, O Hafsah.'” (</span><em style="box-sizing: border-box;"><span style="box-sizing: border-box;"><span style="color: blue; font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 11.0pt;"><a href="http://sunnah.com/urn/637820" style="box-sizing: border-box;" target="_blank">Jami
at-Tirmidhi Vol. 1, Book 46, Hadith 3894</a></span></span></em><span style="color: black; font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 11.0pt;">)</span></span><span style="color: #76767a; font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 11.0pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background: white; box-sizing: border-box; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; line-height: 16.25pt; margin: 0cm; orphans: 2; text-align: start; text-decoration-color: initial; text-decoration-style: initial; text-decoration-thickness: initial; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px;"><strong style="box-sizing: border-box;"><span style="color: #111111; font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 13.0pt;">11.6</span></strong><span style="color: #111111; font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 13.0pt;"> –
The Qur’an tells us that Muslim men are allowed to marry Jewish women (Qur’an
5:5). Thus if the religion and its founder were as the misguided critics claim
then this would never have been allowed. But on the contrary, we see this
endorsed by God and His Messenger in order to bring love and mercy and blood
ties among Muslims and Jews.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background: white; box-sizing: border-box; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; line-height: 16.25pt; margin: 0cm; orphans: 2; text-align: start; text-decoration-color: initial; text-decoration-style: initial; text-decoration-thickness: initial; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px;"><strong style="box-sizing: border-box;"><span style="color: #111111; font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 13.0pt;">11.7</span></strong><span style="color: #111111; font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 13.0pt;"> –
Once the Prophet (p) didn’t have enough food in his house, so he went to a Jew
who had food and mortgaged his armour for the food.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p style="background: #F2F2F2; box-sizing: border-box; line-height: 16.25pt; margin: 0cm;"><span style="box-sizing: border-box;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 11.0pt;">Narrated `Aisha: The Prophet purchased food grains from a Jew
on credit and mortgaged his iron armor to him. (</span><em style="box-sizing: border-box;"><span style="box-sizing: border-box;"><span style="color: blue; font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 11.0pt;"><a href="http://sunnah.com/bukhari/34/21" style="box-sizing: border-box;" target="_blank">Sahih al-Bukhari volume 3, Book 34, Hadith 282</a></span></span></em><span style="color: black; font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 11.0pt;">)</span></span><span style="color: #76767a; font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 11.0pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background: white; box-sizing: border-box; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; line-height: 16.25pt; margin: 0cm; orphans: 2; text-align: start; text-decoration-color: initial; text-decoration-style: initial; text-decoration-thickness: initial; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px;"><strong style="box-sizing: border-box;"><span style="color: #111111; font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 13.0pt;">11.8</span></strong><span style="color: #111111; font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 13.0pt;"> –
The Prophet greeted Jews and Muslims together and insisted that Muslim should
greet everyone:<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p style="background: #F2F2F2; box-sizing: border-box; line-height: 16.25pt; margin: 0cm;"><span style="box-sizing: border-box;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 11.0pt;">Narrated Usamah bin Zaid: that the Prophet passed by a gathering
in which the Muslims and the Jews were mixed, so he gave the Salam to them. (</span><em style="box-sizing: border-box;"><span style="box-sizing: border-box;"><span style="color: blue; font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 11.0pt;"><a href="http://sunnah.com/tirmidhi/42/15" style="box-sizing: border-box;" target="_blank">Jami
at-Tirmidhi volume 5, Book 40, Hadith 2702</a></span></span></em><span style="color: black; font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 11.0pt;">)</span></span><span style="color: #76767a; font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 11.0pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background: white; box-sizing: border-box; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; line-height: 16.25pt; margin-bottom: 11.25pt; margin-left: 0cm; margin-right: 0cm; margin-top: 11.25pt; orphans: 2; text-align: start; text-decoration-color: initial; text-decoration-style: initial; text-decoration-thickness: initial; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px;"><span style="color: #111111; font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 13.0pt;">Adab Al-Mufrad:<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p style="background: #F2F2F2; box-sizing: border-box; line-height: 16.25pt; margin: 0cm;"><span style="box-sizing: border-box;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 11.0pt;">Ibn ‘Abbas said, “<strong style="box-sizing: border-box;"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;">Return the greeting to whomever it is,
Jew, Christian, or Magian</span></strong>. That is because Allah says, ‘When
you are greeted with a greeting, greet with one better than it or return it.’
(4: 86)” (</span><em style="box-sizing: border-box;"><span style="box-sizing: border-box;"><span style="color: blue; font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 11.0pt;"><a href="http://sunnah.com/adab/44/7" style="box-sizing: border-box;" target="_blank">Al-Adab Al-Mufrad Book 44, Hadith 1107</a></span></span></em><span style="color: black; font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 11.0pt;">)</span></span><span style="color: #76767a; font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 11.0pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background: white; box-sizing: border-box; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; line-height: 16.25pt; margin-bottom: 11.25pt; margin-left: 0cm; margin-right: 0cm; margin-top: 11.25pt; orphans: 2; text-align: start; text-decoration-color: initial; text-decoration-style: initial; text-decoration-thickness: initial; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px;"><span style="color: #111111; font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 13.0pt;">Riyad as-Salihin:<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p style="background: #F2F2F2; box-sizing: border-box; line-height: 16.25pt; margin: 0cm;"><span style="box-sizing: border-box;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 11.0pt;">The Prophet passed by a mixed company of people which included
Muslims, polytheists and Jews, and he gave them the greeting (i.e., saying As-
Salamu ‘Alaikum). (</span><em style="box-sizing: border-box;"><span style="box-sizing: border-box;"><span style="color: blue; font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 11.0pt;"><a href="http://sunnah.com/riyadussaliheen/6/24" style="box-sizing: border-box;" target="_blank">Riyad as-Salihin Book 6, Hadith 868</a></span></span></em><span style="color: black; font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 11.0pt;">)</span></span><span style="color: #76767a; font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 11.0pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background: white; box-sizing: border-box; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; line-height: 16.25pt; margin: 0cm; orphans: 2; text-align: start; text-decoration-color: initial; text-decoration-style: initial; text-decoration-thickness: initial; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px;"><strong style="box-sizing: border-box;"><span style="color: #111111; font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 13.0pt;">11.9</span></strong><span style="color: #111111; font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 13.0pt;"> – A
companion of the Prophet (p), Jabir owned some money to a Jew. When he couldn’t
pay back, he asked the Jew if he could pay the amount he owned the following
year, the Jew refused and wanted his money straight away. The Prophet hearing
this went over to the Jew and asked him to wait patiently till next year when
he could pay. But the he refused even when the Prophet (p) insisted. Thus there
seemed to be compromise, so the Prophet (p) told Jabir to start working for the
Jew by plucking dates so that he could pay back his money in time. Jabir agreed
and started working hard until he paid back the Jewish man in full.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background: white; box-sizing: border-box; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; line-height: 16.25pt; margin-bottom: 11.25pt; margin-left: 0cm; margin-right: 0cm; margin-top: 11.25pt; orphans: 2; text-align: start; text-decoration-color: initial; text-decoration-style: initial; text-decoration-thickness: initial; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px;"><span style="color: #111111; font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 13.0pt;">Sahih Bukhari:<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p style="background: #F2F2F2; box-sizing: border-box; line-height: 16.25pt; margin: 0cm;"><span style="box-sizing: border-box;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 11.0pt;">“Narrated Jabir bin `Abdullah: There was a Jew in Medina who used
to lend me money up to the season of plucking dates. (Jabir had a piece of land
which was on the way to Ruma). That year the land was not promising, so the
payment of the debt was delayed one year. The Jew came to me at the time of
plucking, but gathered nothing from my land. I asked him to give me one year
respite, but he refused. This news reached the Prophet whereupon he said to his
companions, “Let us go and ask the Jew for respite for Jabir.” All of them came
to me in my garden, and the Prophet started speaking to the Jew, but he Jew
said, “O Abu Qasim! I will not grant him respite.” When the Prophet saw the
Jew’s attitude, he stood up and walked all around the garden and came again and
talked to the Jew, but the Jew refused his request. I got up and brought some
ripe fresh dates and put it in front of the Prophet. He ate and then said to
me, “Where is your hut, O Jabir?” I informed him, and he said, “Spread out a
bed for me in it.” I spread out a bed, and he entered and slept. When he woke
up, I brought some dates to him again and he ate of it and then got up and
talked to the Jew again, but the Jew again refused his request. Then the
Prophet got up for the second time amidst the palm trees loaded with fresh
dates, and said, “O Jabir! Pluck dates to repay your debt.” The Jew remained
with me while I was plucking the dates, till I paid him all his right, yet
there remained extra quantity of dates. So I went out and proceeded till I
reached the Prophet and informed him of the good news, whereupon he said, “I
testify that I am Allah’s Messenger.”</span></span><span style="color: #76767a; font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 11.0pt;"><br style="box-sizing: border-box;" />
</span><span style="color: black; font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 11.0pt;"><span style="box-sizing: border-box;">(</span><em style="box-sizing: border-box;"><span style="box-sizing: border-box;"><span style="color: blue; font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 11.0pt;">Sahih al-Bukhari volume 7, Book 65, Hadith 354</span></span></em><span style="color: black; font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 11.0pt;">)</span></span><span style="color: #76767a; font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 11.0pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background: white; box-sizing: border-box; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; line-height: 16.25pt; margin-bottom: 11.25pt; margin-left: 0cm; margin-right: 0cm; margin-top: 11.25pt; orphans: 2; text-align: start; text-decoration-color: initial; text-decoration-style: initial; text-decoration-thickness: initial; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px;"><span style="color: #111111; font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 13.0pt;">Sunan an-Nasa’i:<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p style="background: #F2F2F2; box-sizing: border-box; line-height: 16.25pt; margin: 0cm;"><span style="box-sizing: border-box;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 11.0pt;">“My father owed some dates to a Jew. He was killed on the Day of
Uhud and he left behind two gardens. The dates owed to the Jew would take up
everything in the two gardens. The Prophet said: ‘Can you take half this year
and half next year?’ But the Jew refused. The Prophet said: ‘When the time to
pick the dates comes, call me.’ So I called him and he came, accompanied by Abu
Bakr. The dates were picked and weighed from the lowest part of the palm trees,
and the Messenger of Allah was praying for blessing, until we paid off
everything that we owed him from the smaller of the two gardens, as calculated
by ‘Ammar. Then I brought them some fresh dates and water and they ate and
drank, then he said: ‘This is part of the blessing concerning which you will be
questioned.'” (</span><em style="box-sizing: border-box;"><span style="box-sizing: border-box;"><span style="color: blue; font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 11.0pt;"><a href="http://sunnah.com/nasai/30/29" style="box-sizing: border-box;" target="_blank">Sunan an-Nasa’i, volume 4, Book 30, Hadith 3669</a></span></span></em><span style="color: black; font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 11.0pt;">)</span></span><span style="color: #76767a; font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 11.0pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background: white; box-sizing: border-box; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; line-height: 16.25pt; margin-bottom: 11.25pt; margin-left: 0cm; margin-right: 0cm; margin-top: 11.25pt; orphans: 2; text-align: start; text-decoration-color: initial; text-decoration-style: initial; text-decoration-thickness: initial; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px;"><span style="color: #111111; font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 13.0pt;">Sahih Bukhari:<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p style="background: #F2F2F2; box-sizing: border-box; line-height: 16.25pt; margin: 0cm;"><span style="box-sizing: border-box;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 11.0pt;">Narrated Jabir bin `Abdullah: When my father died he owed a Jew
thirty Awsuq (of dates). I requested him to give me respite for repaying but he
refused. I requested Allah’s Messenger to intercede with the Jew. Allah’s
Messenger went to the Jew and asked him to accept the fruits of my trees in
place of the debt but the Jew refused. Allah’s Apostle entered the garden of
the date-palms, wandering among the trees and ordered me (saying), “Pluck (the
fruits) and give him his due.” So, I plucked the fruits for him after the
departure of Allah’s Apostle and gave his thirty Awsuq, and still had seventeen
Awsuq extra for myself. Jabir said: I went to Allah’s Messenger to inform of
what had happened, but found him praying the `Asr prayer. After the prayer I
told him about the extra fruits which remained. Allah’s Messenger told me to
inform (`Umar) Ibn Al-Khattab about it. When I went to `Umar and told him about
it, `Umar said, “When Allah’s Messenger walked in your garden, I was sure that
Allah would definitely bless it.” (</span><em style="box-sizing: border-box;"><span style="box-sizing: border-box;"><span style="color: blue; font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 11.0pt;"><a href="http://sunnah.com/bukhari/43/12" style="box-sizing: border-box;" target="_blank">Sahih al-Bukhari, volume 3, Book 41, Hadith 581</a></span></span></em><span style="color: black; font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 11.0pt;">)</span></span><span style="color: #76767a; font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 11.0pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background: white; box-sizing: border-box; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; line-height: 16.25pt; margin-bottom: 11.25pt; margin-left: 0cm; margin-right: 0cm; margin-top: 11.25pt; orphans: 2; text-align: start; text-decoration-color: initial; text-decoration-style: initial; text-decoration-thickness: initial; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px;"><span style="color: #111111; font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 13.0pt;">What is remarkable about this story is that the Prophet (p) then
in Medina had the power and the authority force the Jew to be paid back in any
time he wished. But that was not his character, never was. He respected the
Jewish man and recognized his due right and thus told his companion to work for
him to pay back his debt in the shortest time possible. This also shows that
Muslims at the time freely interacted with the Jews and conferred them their
due rights. They never treated others (non-Muslims) unjustly. This is the noble
character of our beloved Prophet Muhammed (p) and those with him.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background: white; box-sizing: border-box; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; line-height: 16.25pt; margin: 0cm; orphans: 2; text-align: start; text-decoration-color: initial; text-decoration-style: initial; text-decoration-thickness: initial; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px;"><strong style="box-sizing: border-box;"><span style="color: #111111; font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 13.0pt;">11.10</span></strong><span style="color: #111111; font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 13.0pt;"> –
Some Jews at the time of the Prophet (p) used to be very disrespectful in
Madinah, so whenever they used to see the Muhammed (p) they used to greet him
with, “As-Samu-Alaikum.” (i.e. death be upon you). Aisha the wife of the
Prophet (p), hearing this, got angry and responded by saying to them: Death and
the curse of God be upon you! The Prophet (p) demanded her to be calm and then
told her that God loves the one who is kind and lenient in all matters:<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background: white; box-sizing: border-box; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; line-height: 16.25pt; margin-bottom: 11.25pt; margin-left: 0cm; margin-right: 0cm; margin-top: 11.25pt; orphans: 2; text-align: start; text-decoration-color: initial; text-decoration-style: initial; text-decoration-thickness: initial; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px;"><span style="color: #111111; font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 13.0pt;">Sahih Bukhari:<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p style="background: #F2F2F2; box-sizing: border-box; line-height: 16.25pt; margin: 0cm;"><span style="box-sizing: border-box;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 11.0pt;">“Narrated `Aisha: (the wife of the Prophet) A group of Jews
entered upon the Prophet and said, “As-Samu-Alaikum.” (i.e. death be upon you).
I understood it and said, “Wa-Alaikum As-Samu wal-la’n. (death and the curse of
Allah be Upon you).” Allah’s Messenger said “Be calm, O `Aisha! <strong style="box-sizing: border-box;"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;">Allah
loves that one should be kind and lenient in all matters</span></strong>.” I
said, “O Allah’s Messenger! Haven’t you heard what they (the Jews) have said?”
Allah’s Messenger said “I have already told them: Upon you”(</span><em style="box-sizing: border-box;"><span style="box-sizing: border-box;"><span style="color: blue; font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 11.0pt;">Sahih
Bukhari, volume 8, book 53, Hadith 83</span></span></em><span style="color: black; font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 11.0pt;">).</span></span><span style="color: #76767a; font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 11.0pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background: white; box-sizing: border-box; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; line-height: 16.25pt; margin: 0cm; orphans: 2; text-align: start; text-decoration-color: initial; text-decoration-style: initial; text-decoration-thickness: initial; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px;"><strong style="box-sizing: border-box;"><span style="color: #111111; font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 13.0pt;">11.11</span></strong><span style="color: #111111; font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 13.0pt;"> –
Another remarkable example is of Abdullah bin Amr who had slaughtered a sheep
for his family and he asked whether he would give some of that meat to their
neighbour who was a Jew. The Companion, Abdullah bn Amr, was thus following the
Prophet Muhammed (p) in treating their neighbours kindly and politely and to
share with them when there was enough food in their houses.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background: white; box-sizing: border-box; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; line-height: 16.25pt; margin-bottom: 11.25pt; margin-left: 0cm; margin-right: 0cm; margin-top: 11.25pt; orphans: 2; text-align: start; text-decoration-color: initial; text-decoration-style: initial; text-decoration-thickness: initial; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px;"><span style="color: #111111; font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 13.0pt;">Jami at-Tirmidhi:<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p style="background: #F2F2F2; box-sizing: border-box; line-height: 16.25pt; margin: 0cm;"><span style="box-sizing: border-box;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 11.0pt;">“Abdullah bin Amr had a sheep slaughtered for his family, so when
he came he said: ‘</span><strong style="box-sizing: border-box;"><span style="box-sizing: border-box;"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;">Have
you given some to our neighbour, the Jew?</span></span></strong><span style="box-sizing: border-box;"> Have you given some to our neighbor, the
Jew? I heard the Messenger of Allah saying: ‘Jibril continued to advise me
about (treating) the neighbors so (kindly and politely), that I thought he
would order me (from Allah) to make them heirs.” (</span></span><em style="box-sizing: border-box;"><span style="box-sizing: border-box;"><span style="color: blue; font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 11.0pt;">Jami
at-Tirmidhi, volume 4, Book 1, Hadith 1943</span></span></em><span style="box-sizing: border-box;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 11.0pt;">).</span></span><span style="color: #76767a; font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 11.0pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background: white; box-sizing: border-box; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; line-height: 16.25pt; margin-bottom: 11.25pt; margin-left: 0cm; margin-right: 0cm; margin-top: 11.25pt; orphans: 2; text-align: start; text-decoration-color: initial; text-decoration-style: initial; text-decoration-thickness: initial; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px;"><span style="color: #111111; font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 13.0pt;">Sunan Abi Dawud:<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p style="background: #F2F2F2; box-sizing: border-box; line-height: 16.25pt; margin: 0cm;"><span style="box-sizing: border-box;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 11.0pt;">Abdullah ibn Amr slaughtered a sheep and said: Have you presented
a gift from it to my neighbour, the Jew, for I heard the Messenger of Allah
say: Gabriel kept on commending the neighbour to me so that I thought he would
make an heir? (</span><em style="box-sizing: border-box;"><span style="box-sizing: border-box;"><span style="color: blue; font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 11.0pt;"><a href="http://sunnah.com/abudawud/43/380" style="box-sizing: border-box;" target="_blank">Sunan Abi Dawud Book 42, Hadith 5133</a></span></span></em><span style="color: black; font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 11.0pt;">)</span></span><span style="color: #76767a; font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 11.0pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background: white; box-sizing: border-box; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; line-height: 16.25pt; margin-bottom: 11.25pt; margin-left: 0cm; margin-right: 0cm; margin-top: 11.25pt; orphans: 2; text-align: start; text-decoration-color: initial; text-decoration-style: initial; text-decoration-thickness: initial; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px;"><span style="color: #111111; font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 13.0pt;">Here again, we witnessed the noble character of our beloved
Prophet Muhammed (p). He cared for everyone, be they those who have a
religion or not – he treated all the same.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background: white; box-sizing: border-box; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; line-height: 16.25pt; margin: 0cm; orphans: 2; text-align: start; text-decoration-color: initial; text-decoration-style: initial; text-decoration-thickness: initial; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px;"><strong style="box-sizing: border-box;"><span style="color: #111111; font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 13.0pt;">11.12</span></strong><span style="color: #111111; font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 13.0pt;"> –
The Prophet visited a sick Jew in bed:<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p style="background: #F2F2F2; box-sizing: border-box; line-height: 16.25pt; margin: 0cm;"><span style="box-sizing: border-box;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 11.0pt;">Chapter: Visiting A Sick Dhimmi</span></span><span style="color: #76767a; font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 11.0pt;"><br style="box-sizing: border-box;" />
</span><span style="color: black; font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 11.0pt;"><span style="box-sizing: border-box;">Narrated Anas: A young Jew became ill. The
Prophet went to visit him. He sat down by his head and said to him: Accept
Islam. He looked at his father who was beside him near his head, and he said:
Obey Abu al-Qasim. So he accepted Islam, and the Prophet stood up saying:
Praise be to Allah Who has saved him through me from Hell. (</span><em style="box-sizing: border-box;"><span style="box-sizing: border-box;"><span style="color: blue; font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 11.0pt;"><a href="http://sunnah.com/abudawud/21/7" style="box-sizing: border-box;" target="_blank">Sunan
Abi Dawud Book 20, Hadith 3089</a></span></span></em><span style="color: black; font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 11.0pt;">)</span></span><span style="color: #76767a; font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 11.0pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background: white; box-sizing: border-box; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; line-height: 16.25pt; margin: 0cm; orphans: 2; text-align: start; text-decoration-color: initial; text-decoration-style: initial; text-decoration-thickness: initial; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px;"><strong style="box-sizing: border-box;"><span style="color: #111111; font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 13.0pt;">11.13</span></strong><span style="color: #111111; font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 13.0pt;"> – A
Jew gave free food because he heard about the noble, merciful character of
Prophet Muhammed (p). This shows had the Prophet (p) been hostile to Jews, this
Jew wouldn’t have given him something for free.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background: white; box-sizing: border-box; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; line-height: 16.25pt; margin-bottom: 11.25pt; margin-left: 0cm; margin-right: 0cm; margin-top: 11.25pt; orphans: 2; text-align: start; text-decoration-color: initial; text-decoration-style: initial; text-decoration-thickness: initial; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px;"><span style="color: #111111; font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 13.0pt;">Sunan Abi Dawud:<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p style="background: #F2F2F2; box-sizing: border-box; line-height: 16.25pt; margin: 0cm;"><span style="box-sizing: border-box;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 11.0pt;">Sahl bin Sa’d said: `Ali bin Abi Talib entered upon Fatimah
while Hasan and Husain were crying. He asked: Why are they crying? She replied:
Due to hunger. ‘Ali went out and found a dinar in the market. He then came to
Fatima and told her about it. She said: Go to such and such a Jew and get some
flour for us. He came to the Jew and purchased flour with it. He said : Are you
the son-in-law of him who believes that he is the Messenger of Allah. He said :
Yes. The Jew said : Have your dinar with you and you will get the flour. Ali
then went out and came to Fatima. He told her about the matter. She then said:
Go to such and such a butcher and get some meat for us for a dirham. Ali went
out and pawned the dinar for a dirham with him and got the meat, and brought it
(to her). She then kneaded the flour, put the utensil on fire and baked the
bread. She sent for her father : (i.e. the Prophet (SWAS). He came to them. She
said to him : Messenger of Allah, I tell you all the matter. If you think it is
lawful for us, we shall eat it and you will eat with us. She said: The matter
is such and such. He said: eat in the name of Allah. So they ate it. While they
were (eating) at their place, a boy cried adguring in the name of Allah and
Islam: He was searching the dinar. The Messenger of Allah (SWAS) commanded and
he was called in. He asked him. The boy replied, I lost it somewhere in the
market. The Prophet (SWAS) said : `Ali, go to the butcher and tell him that the
Messenger of Allah (SWAS) has asked you : send the dinar to me and one dirham
of yours will be due on me. The butcher returned it and the Messenger of Allah
(SWAS) handed it to him (the boy). (</span><em style="box-sizing: border-box;"><span style="box-sizing: border-box;"><span style="color: blue; font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 11.0pt;"><a href="http://sunnah.com/abudawud/10/16" style="box-sizing: border-box;" target="_blank">Sunan Abi Dawud Book 9, Hadith 1712</a></span></span></em><span style="color: black; font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 11.0pt;">)</span></span><span style="color: #76767a; font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 11.0pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background: white; box-sizing: border-box; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; line-height: 16.25pt; margin-bottom: 11.25pt; margin-left: 0cm; margin-right: 0cm; margin-top: 11.25pt; orphans: 2; text-align: start; text-decoration-color: initial; text-decoration-style: initial; text-decoration-thickness: initial; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px;"><span style="color: #111111; font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 13.0pt;">From the above we may judge that the Prophet (p) always had kind
feelings towards every human being. He loved and respected everyone. Hatred is
something he never had, it was against his nature. And those who accuse him of
anti-Semitism are nothing but bigots propelled by their inherent hatred towards
Muhammad (p) to say anything bad against him with a view to tarnishing his
noble character.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background: white; box-sizing: border-box; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; line-height: 16.25pt; margin: 0cm; orphans: 2; text-align: start; text-decoration-color: initial; text-decoration-style: initial; text-decoration-thickness: initial; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px;"><strong style="box-sizing: border-box;"><span style="color: #111111; font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 13.0pt;">12. Conclusion</span></strong><span style="color: #111111; font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 13.0pt;">:<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background: white; box-sizing: border-box; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; line-height: 16.25pt; margin-bottom: 11.25pt; margin-left: 0cm; margin-right: 0cm; margin-top: 11.25pt; orphans: 2; text-align: start; text-decoration-color: initial; text-decoration-style: initial; text-decoration-thickness: initial; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px;"><span style="color: #111111; font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 13.0pt;">The evidences presented on Banu Qurayza’s treacherous
warrior-men’s fate shows that we can get the clear picture that they were not
innocent as some would like us to believe. Only the warrior-men who committed
treachery and participated in combat against the Muslims were executed. Hadn’t
Sa’d ibn Mu’adh dealt with the treacherous among them, they would have gone and
come back with other enemies to kill the Muslims once again. Just as Banu Nadir
did when the Prophet (p) let them go – they came back and plotted to kill the
Muslims in Madinah. We have to look at the fact, hadn’t the Prophet (p)
executed the traitors’, punished the treacherous warrior-men of Qurayza, they
would have come back and slaughtered Muslim men, women and children. We have to
remember, the Banu Qurayza already were forgiven once before for siding with
enemies and when the Prophet forgave them, they hatched up further plots to
kill Muslims.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background: white; box-sizing: border-box; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; line-height: 16.25pt; margin-bottom: 11.25pt; margin-left: 0cm; margin-right: 0cm; margin-top: 11.25pt; orphans: 2; text-align: start; text-decoration-color: initial; text-decoration-style: initial; text-decoration-thickness: initial; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px;"><span style="color: #111111; font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 13.0pt;">The evidences shown proves that the Banu Qurayza broke the pact
they had, they sided with enemy against the Muslims. They attacked Muslims,
waged war against the Muslims. They armed Quraysh (and other enemies) with
weapons and provisions against the Muslims. The Banu Qurayza waging-war against
Muslims part is mentioned in many authentic Hadiths, sadly the sources do not
give us any more details where this battle took place. However, given these
facts, we can safely state that, what those treacherous Banu Qurayza
warrior-men got was justice of the highest order demanded for them to be their
fate.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background: white; box-sizing: border-box; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; line-height: 16.25pt; margin: 0cm; orphans: 2; text-align: start; text-decoration-color: initial; text-decoration-style: initial; text-decoration-thickness: initial; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px;"><strong style="box-sizing: border-box;"><span style="color: #111111; font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 13.0pt;">References</span></strong><span style="color: #111111; font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 13.0pt;">:<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background: white; box-sizing: border-box; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; line-height: 16.25pt; margin: 0cm; orphans: 2; text-align: start; text-decoration-color: initial; text-decoration-style: initial; text-decoration-thickness: initial; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px;"><strong style="box-sizing: border-box;"><span style="color: #111111; font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 13.0pt;">[1]</span></strong><span style="color: #111111; font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 13.0pt;"> Ibn
Ishaq’s Sirat Rasul Allah – The Life of Muhammad [Translated by A. Guillaume],
page 232-233<br style="box-sizing: border-box;" />
<strong style="box-sizing: border-box;"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;">[2]</span></strong> Dhimmis
and Others”, (“Jews and Christians and the World of Classical Islam”,) [Israel
Oriental Studies], by Michael Lecker, volume 17, page 31<br style="box-sizing: border-box;" />
<strong style="box-sizing: border-box;"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;">[3]</span></strong> Ibn
Ishaq’s Sirat Rasul Allah – The Life of Muhammad [Translated by A. Guillaume],
page 453<br style="box-sizing: border-box;" />
<strong style="box-sizing: border-box;"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;">[4]</span></strong> History
of al-Tabari, The Victory of Islam. Muhammad at Medina, [Translator Professor
W. Montgomery Watt], volume 8, Page 14 – 15<br style="box-sizing: border-box;" />
<strong style="box-sizing: border-box;"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;">[5]</span></strong> Ibn
Ishaq’s Sirat Rasul Allah – The Life of Muhammad [Translated by A. Guillaume],
pages 458 – 460).<br style="box-sizing: border-box;" />
<strong style="box-sizing: border-box;"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;">[6]</span></strong> The
History of al-Tabari – The Victory of Islam: Muhammad at Medina [Michael Fishbein
– Translator], Volume 8, page 15<br style="box-sizing: border-box;" />
<strong style="box-sizing: border-box;"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;">[7]</span></strong> Understanding
who Adal and al-Qarah were, footonote 84 gives an explanation. “For the story
of how a group of men from the clans of Adal and al-Qarah came to Muhammed in
Medina in A. H. 4 and asked for me to instruct them in Islam and how, after
Muhammed had sent six men back with them (including Khubayb b. Adi), they
betrayed the six to the pro-Meccan Lihyan subtribe of Hudhayl (which had a
vendetta against the Muslims) at the watering place of al-Raji…”<br style="box-sizing: border-box;" />
The History of al-Tabari – The Victory of Islam: Muhammad at Medina [Michael
Fishbein – Translator], volume 8, page 16, footnote 84<br style="box-sizing: border-box;" />
<strong style="box-sizing: border-box;"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;">[8]</span></strong> The
Massacre of the Banu Quraiza. A re-examination of a tradition – [Jerusalem
Studies in Arabic and Islam (Magnes Press, Hebrew University of Jerusalem –
1986)] by, Professor Meir J. Kister, 8, page 81<br style="box-sizing: border-box;" />
<strong style="box-sizing: border-box;"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;">[9]</span></strong> The
Massacre of the Banu Quraiza. A re-examination of a tradition – [Jerusalem
Studies in Arabic and Islam (Magnes Press, Hebrew University of Jerusalem –
1986)] by, Professor Meir J. Kister, 8, page 95<br style="box-sizing: border-box;" />
<strong style="box-sizing: border-box;"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;">[10]</span></strong> The
Biography of Muhammad: The Issue of the Sources [Copyright 2000] By Marco
Scholler, volume 32, page 31<br style="box-sizing: border-box;" />
<strong style="box-sizing: border-box;"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;">[11]</span></strong> Al-Musannaf
abd al-Razzaq’s isnaad as recorded, Abd al-Razzaq – Ibn Jurayj – Musa b. Uqba –
Nafi – Ibn Umar, volume 6, pages 54-55, number 9988). The Massacre of the Banu
Quraiza. A re-examination of a tradition – [Jerusalem Studies in Arabic and
Islam (Magnes Press, Hebrew University of Jerusalem – 1986)] by, Professor Meir
J. Kister, volume 8, page s 82 -83<br style="box-sizing: border-box;" />
<strong style="box-sizing: border-box;"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;">[12]</span></strong> This
report is also mentioned in the following hadith books, Musannaf Abd al-Razzaq,
volume 6, page 54; Musnad Ibn Hanbal, volume 9, page 181; and Bayhaqi, Dala’il,
volume 3, page 183; “The Biography of Muhammad: The Issue of the Sources”,
[Copyright 2000], by Marco Scholler, volume 32, page 32<br style="box-sizing: border-box;" />
<strong style="box-sizing: border-box;"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;">[13]</span></strong> Ibn
Ishaq’s Sirat Rasul Allah – The Life of Muhammad [Translated by A. Guillaume],
page 461<br style="box-sizing: border-box;" />
<strong style="box-sizing: border-box;"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;">[14]</span></strong> Kitab
Futuh Al-Buldan, By al-Imam abu-l Abbas Ahmad Ibn-Jabir al-Baladhuri,
(Translated by Philip Khuri Hitti, PH. D.), [New York – Columbia Univeristy,
Longmans, Green & Co., Agents – London: P. S. King & Son, LTD. 1916],
volume 1, page 40<br style="box-sizing: border-box;" />
<strong style="box-sizing: border-box;"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;">[15]</span></strong> Ibn
Ishaq’s Sirat Rasul Allah – The Life of Muhammad [Translated by A. Guillaume],
page 465 – 466<br style="box-sizing: border-box;" />
<strong style="box-sizing: border-box;"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;">[16]</span></strong> The
Life of Muhammad: Al-Waqidi’s Kitab Al-Maghazi [ Translator: Rizwi Faizer],
page 260<br style="box-sizing: border-box;" />
<strong style="box-sizing: border-box;"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;">[17]</span></strong> The
Massacre of the Banu Quraiza. A re-examination of a tradition – [Jerusalem
Studies in Arabic and Islam (Magnes Press, Hebrew University of Jerusalem –
1986)] by, Professor Meir J. Kister, volume 8, page 73<br style="box-sizing: border-box;" />
<strong style="box-sizing: border-box;"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;">[18]</span></strong> Ibn
Ishaq’s Sirat Rasul Allah – The Life of Muhammad [Translated by A. Guillaume],
page 465 – 466<br style="box-sizing: border-box;" />
<strong style="box-sizing: border-box;"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;">[19]</span></strong> (Shafi’I,
Umm, al-hukm fi qital al mushrikun wa-mas’alat mal a;-harbi, volume 4, page
239; Sunan al-Bayhaqi, volume 9, page 78). The Massacre of the Banu Quraiza. A
re-examination of a tradition – [Jerusalem Studies in Arabic and Islam (Magnes
Press, Hebrew University of Jerusalem – 1986)] by, Professor Meir J. Kister, 8,
page 67<br style="box-sizing: border-box;" />
<strong style="box-sizing: border-box;"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;">[20]</span></strong> The
Insaad for Al-Musannaf Abd al-Razzaq’s Hadith as recorded: Abd al-Razzaq – Ibn
Jurayj – Musa b. Uqba – Nafi – Ibn Umar.<br style="box-sizing: border-box;" />
The Massacre of the Banu Quraiza. A re-examination of a tradition – [Jerusalem
Studies in Arabic and Islam (Magnes Press, Hebrew University of Jerusalem –
1986)] by, Professor Meir J. Kister, 8, page 82 – 83<br style="box-sizing: border-box;" />
<strong style="box-sizing: border-box;"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;">[21]</span></strong> Kitab
Futuh Al-Buldan, By al-Imam abu-l Abbas Ahmad Ibn-Jabir al-Baladhuri,
(Translated by Philip Khuri Hitti, PH. D.), [New York – Columbia Univeristy,
Longmans, Green & Co., Agents – London: P. S. King & Son, LTD. 1916],
volume 1, page 41<br style="box-sizing: border-box;" />
<strong style="box-sizing: border-box;"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;">[22]</span></strong> The
History of al-Tabari: The Victory of Islam: Muhammad at Medina, [Translator:
Michael Fishbein], volume 8, page 32 – 33<br style="box-sizing: border-box;" />
<strong style="box-sizing: border-box;"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;">[23]</span></strong> Ibn
Ishaq’s Sirat Rasul Allah – The Life of Muhammad [Translated by A. Guillaume],
page 465 – 466<br style="box-sizing: border-box;" />
<strong style="box-sizing: border-box;"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;">[24]</span></strong> The
Life of Muhammad: Al-Waqidi’s Kitab Al-Maghazi, page 254 – 255<br style="box-sizing: border-box;" />
<strong style="box-sizing: border-box;"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;">[25]</span></strong> Al-Shafi’i.
al-Umm, n.p. 1321; repr. Kitab al-Sha’b, 1968, volume 4, page 107. The Massacre
of the Banu Quraiza. A re-examination of a tradition – [Jerusalem Studies in
Arabic and Islam (Magnes Press, Hebrew University of Jerusalem – 1986)] by,
Professor Meir J. Kister, 8, page 67<br style="box-sizing: border-box;" />
<strong style="box-sizing: border-box;"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;">[26]</span></strong> Fiqh-Us-Seerah
– Understanding The Life Of Prophet Muhammad,[International Islamic Federation
of student organizations – IIFSO: – Revised second edition, copyright CE
1999/AH 1420] by Muhammad Al-Ghazali, page 346<br style="box-sizing: border-box;" />
<strong style="box-sizing: border-box;"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;">[27]</span></strong> The
Meanings of the Holy Quran Syed Maududi: chapter 47. Last accessed 31st
December 2015, Time 21:01 pm, <a href="http://www.englishtafsir.com/Quran/47/index.html#sdfootnote8sym" style="box-sizing: border-box;"><span style="color: #3e9dd0;">http://www.englishtafsir.com/Quran/47/index.html#sdfootnote8sym</span></a>)<br style="box-sizing: border-box;" />
<strong style="box-sizing: border-box;"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;">[28]</span></strong> The
Prophet Muhammad, The Sultans of Hearts, by Resit Haylamaz volume 2, page 133<br style="box-sizing: border-box;" />
<strong style="box-sizing: border-box;"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;">[29]</span></strong> Ibn
Ishaq’s Sirat Rasul Allah – The Life of Muhammad [Translated by A. Guillaume],
page 464<br style="box-sizing: border-box;" />
<strong style="box-sizing: border-box;"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;">[30]</span></strong> Muhammad
and the Jews: A Re-examination, [New Delhi: Vikas, 1979], by Barakat Ahmad,
page 93 – 94<o:p></o:p></span></p>Mustafa Ahmedhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14172750188773095424noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-558359090739969505.post-47629297187592234452024-02-20T12:07:00.000-08:002024-02-21T12:22:45.742-08:00 A response to the objection, the Qur’ān copied from apocrypha Gospels and is ignorant of the historical Jesus<p><span style="background-color: white; color: #0f1419; font-size: 11.5pt;"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="background: white; color: #0f1419; font-family: "TwitterChirp",serif; font-size: medium; line-height: 107%;">The NT mentions not
everything related to Jesus is documented</span><o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="background: white; color: #0f1419; font-family: "TwitterChirp",serif; font-size: 11.5pt; line-height: 107%;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEgCV9q62JcM43ua8oq-cJakjkIjwkouSZvcljX3-waATqbRfxsBkvufgkYQ2iMXoCNFm_qF4grx_4LIv9B8l_x69NJrBwv4-LvidIz1_L3mFC9_U4FrjLBzb1Td1BBo1u_9Wwj94Dop7Mn-eN3h5PdCHwoh4uvESDYpOEXmy9P6Rq7lnMeutTawvIAJA2vM" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="780" data-original-width="940" height="474" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEgCV9q62JcM43ua8oq-cJakjkIjwkouSZvcljX3-waATqbRfxsBkvufgkYQ2iMXoCNFm_qF4grx_4LIv9B8l_x69NJrBwv4-LvidIz1_L3mFC9_U4FrjLBzb1Td1BBo1u_9Wwj94Dop7Mn-eN3h5PdCHwoh4uvESDYpOEXmy9P6Rq7lnMeutTawvIAJA2vM=w571-h474" width="571" /></a></div><br /><br /><p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="background: white; color: #0f1419; font-family: "TwitterChirp",serif; font-size: 13pt; line-height: 107%;">Scholars mention how
historically “inspired” Books and writings within the Bible were lost.</span><o:p></o:p></p><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEg7M_feoytnAT2DZvVC7pMct-80ctJBsAj2OO2gV1_04tHXJxPnIjxDFxpK921Bdt9h_9iQNKEeVscEnbwgwjmsIdkTkuqu0WyK4yx0RrH8aWa6bDBlHeV5r2LiYDXvBF2DKvteIRE6Ly6-HZLZA8f9hGrm3WPpEsAZD5g0Qgqw6w0T8TzDwdWXnse41By1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="1454" data-original-width="882" height="839" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEg7M_feoytnAT2DZvVC7pMct-80ctJBsAj2OO2gV1_04tHXJxPnIjxDFxpK921Bdt9h_9iQNKEeVscEnbwgwjmsIdkTkuqu0WyK4yx0RrH8aWa6bDBlHeV5r2LiYDXvBF2DKvteIRE6Ly6-HZLZA8f9hGrm3WPpEsAZD5g0Qgqw6w0T8TzDwdWXnse41By1=w511-h839" width="511" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhCyqczenCIdohZJys8XjthnO7-Km_9aLaUMycprfhUztWhI0iw8-DNwDyHWNu50J2YjqcVEsPK-8rzcvvsAa7fgDcQ87ObSLtItpOtqEmNvmXer_EG1ekDry1J-rrsBAXjElsPH6ue7HJeo3fWnIj92vpY-YXAttIM_hck5gwnCV0QvWcD7bWCq8ZCW6sx" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="805" data-original-width="940" height="485" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhCyqczenCIdohZJys8XjthnO7-Km_9aLaUMycprfhUztWhI0iw8-DNwDyHWNu50J2YjqcVEsPK-8rzcvvsAa7fgDcQ87ObSLtItpOtqEmNvmXer_EG1ekDry1J-rrsBAXjElsPH6ue7HJeo3fWnIj92vpY-YXAttIM_hck5gwnCV0QvWcD7bWCq8ZCW6sx=w566-h485" width="566" /></a></div><br /><div><br /></div><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /><br /></span><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="background: white; color: #0f1419; font-family: "TwitterChirp",serif; font-size: medium; line-height: 107%;">Hence Qur’ān mentioning
something about Jesus not found in the present Bible, doesn't necessitate it's
false As the Philosophers say, “Absence of evidence is not evidence of Absence”
Scholars Admit the Qur’ān didn't copy from the Infancy Gospel, but it's the
other way around.</span><o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="background: white; color: #0f1419; font-family: "TwitterChirp",serif; font-size: 11.5pt; line-height: 107%;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjcDvVChSu_Q4MSO_x2RB9JMGcn9yAMlGdk0S6vFCRO19GCT6rUFWP7xVyXiaaTqWfBYADOjiFzvZaoJaRszk1QnUQtbKPvgzlLl7mPf3CVnfofmbRWyGvjgbZcc4Q-r8I9dSHO-6DquQBexeNlJvvXS6dxh-A4xni7nwZ3hFtqtJg7c4Jz5XFO00_5k8i1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="548" data-original-width="940" height="355" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjcDvVChSu_Q4MSO_x2RB9JMGcn9yAMlGdk0S6vFCRO19GCT6rUFWP7xVyXiaaTqWfBYADOjiFzvZaoJaRszk1QnUQtbKPvgzlLl7mPf3CVnfofmbRWyGvjgbZcc4Q-r8I9dSHO-6DquQBexeNlJvvXS6dxh-A4xni7nwZ3hFtqtJg7c4Jz5XFO00_5k8i1=w607-h355" width="607" /></a></div><br /><br /><p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="background: white; color: #0f1419; font-family: "TwitterChirp",serif; font-size: 11.5pt; line-height: 107%;">Moreover, The only two
surviving manuscripts date from 1299 AD and the 15th/16th century in Arabic.</span><o:p></o:p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhJFIfTXm4xgVCv6ajY2z8ZICeg_gpJYDcrK5NapA2vDTSen4bMyCQCps4W3mwmDpeqqEuEHOWlIqktaL8zcGk1HJG_xftzuJ_IBxRQEfSaNLEok9J8CdNWNTl9aSV9ZOPNM5l04OdqECHriDVz9e1wV00ktVIuIMiJt-xLJ_ZMM0ZfGAtjD83HzG2DQ0D7" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="1454" data-original-width="916" height="965" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhJFIfTXm4xgVCv6ajY2z8ZICeg_gpJYDcrK5NapA2vDTSen4bMyCQCps4W3mwmDpeqqEuEHOWlIqktaL8zcGk1HJG_xftzuJ_IBxRQEfSaNLEok9J8CdNWNTl9aSV9ZOPNM5l04OdqECHriDVz9e1wV00ktVIuIMiJt-xLJ_ZMM0ZfGAtjD83HzG2DQ0D7=w607-h965" width="607" /></a></div><br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEiu_TkjEZW5YZbAHaI7z330OzsCWstUOnP1NNniL2wDZpRwuIdSpdPwM-yBuRB1BdjZeA16J7klCNrkOVJFSQff8TjdlpDCTgUhIJiNGNJFetvVzHL5r4Gcspe46exCp_01KLOLpsGAKXGHpbLOnjpkiFgSg8LKRFAfkJ2S0VPMK3YEJ4nbO79i5i-Koctq" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="1386" data-original-width="940" height="919" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEiu_TkjEZW5YZbAHaI7z330OzsCWstUOnP1NNniL2wDZpRwuIdSpdPwM-yBuRB1BdjZeA16J7klCNrkOVJFSQff8TjdlpDCTgUhIJiNGNJFetvVzHL5r4Gcspe46exCp_01KLOLpsGAKXGHpbLOnjpkiFgSg8LKRFAfkJ2S0VPMK3YEJ4nbO79i5i-Koctq=w624-h919" width="624" /></a></div><br /><br /><p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEiQ0rYyTr7EJJDEJn21YGIOY16sx3Is1P0y6uPCq7jwLBT2nz7v-q5eUqXeOBxWUPwqLRDbnZaMAhm800E8h6ZhPPLFXdbpcrO14JaVx64hgpTJR2HAn4WR89-lW3xSfqxgNZomvcrSbEjvlUvehRpIcVYc5XZV_ywBxSUbpwuL1iFkIaaGuuN2EsLGrpZj" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="1435" data-original-width="940" height="899" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEiQ0rYyTr7EJJDEJn21YGIOY16sx3Is1P0y6uPCq7jwLBT2nz7v-q5eUqXeOBxWUPwqLRDbnZaMAhm800E8h6ZhPPLFXdbpcrO14JaVx64hgpTJR2HAn4WR89-lW3xSfqxgNZomvcrSbEjvlUvehRpIcVYc5XZV_ywBxSUbpwuL1iFkIaaGuuN2EsLGrpZj=w589-h899" width="589" /></a></div><br /><br /><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="background: white; color: #0f1419; font-family: "TwitterChirp",serif; line-height: 107%;">The Scholars they say,
there were no Christian groups to have copied the Qur’ān from.</span><o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="background: white; color: #0f1419; font-family: "TwitterChirp",serif; font-size: 13pt; line-height: 107%;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhzlNPLjlB4xXlh4hYZWx-wiHwEE6Nx9FC7MZUVKP0BvwuKVtpwvpuJhMoU5gpMho5EIyNsvlRY7r5kgGAdojeaEjsjT0K2g4aflyfh1x0kG4dWInVxAlGzSFnxEL39Hghar2fwOAGL19ZBsPA7M3T0GwEtyYbU5Idi44uO2BedpdplI8LTruP1Me8IHp2a" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="1410" data-original-width="940" height="926" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhzlNPLjlB4xXlh4hYZWx-wiHwEE6Nx9FC7MZUVKP0BvwuKVtpwvpuJhMoU5gpMho5EIyNsvlRY7r5kgGAdojeaEjsjT0K2g4aflyfh1x0kG4dWInVxAlGzSFnxEL39Hghar2fwOAGL19ZBsPA7M3T0GwEtyYbU5Idi44uO2BedpdplI8LTruP1Me8IHp2a=w617-h926" width="617" /></a></div><br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEgrt04puqLxyl2JvoArPMfHx_WHZbNC5o9Nl-0ce3N6i5UwW00eY6m9krC2uSZugiL1o5np8TgeSprM6CVpP-El3mm99xfhCUA9pXkMmjf1H_u0Lbqh6Q5ITZQXTWGlmtPQLmrLuRMGcNIODRHADO-qW1EhpMYnM7fyQJI7F-aCR-XiQfCaL8a5TnWJP51R" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="1410" data-original-width="940" height="1011" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEgrt04puqLxyl2JvoArPMfHx_WHZbNC5o9Nl-0ce3N6i5UwW00eY6m9krC2uSZugiL1o5np8TgeSprM6CVpP-El3mm99xfhCUA9pXkMmjf1H_u0Lbqh6Q5ITZQXTWGlmtPQLmrLuRMGcNIODRHADO-qW1EhpMYnM7fyQJI7F-aCR-XiQfCaL8a5TnWJP51R=w674-h1011" width="674" /></a></div><br /><br /><p class="MsoNormal"><span _mstmutation="1" style="font-size: medium;"><span _mstmutation="1" style="background: white; color: #0f1419; font-family: "TwitterChirp",serif; line-height: 107%;">Even the Bible, wasn't
translated at the time of the Prophet </span><span _mstmutation="1" style="background: white; color: #0f1419; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; line-height: 107%;">ﷺ</span><span _mstmutation="1" style="background: white; color: #0f1419; font-family: "TwitterChirp",serif; line-height: 107%;">, as acknowledged by many scholars.</span></span><o:p></o:p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEgDQUiH--HoqcuWl7JH22zTPL4CmYFT59ZYVjFw7MJ2u2LgItnzPROfLR7kZG_PHkrrEsZmZzFzcBVoeVxv-a-uBKfv96qKMy-xH3LzJo6gbrm3ve4T7NHnGOzflsE1Nh2-FIaOQznObuP7ein7SgMkw0N6oLY0SbJgP8br1ADQtFPuQh0BUWvAfnYxcUrg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="1410" data-original-width="940" height="873" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEgDQUiH--HoqcuWl7JH22zTPL4CmYFT59ZYVjFw7MJ2u2LgItnzPROfLR7kZG_PHkrrEsZmZzFzcBVoeVxv-a-uBKfv96qKMy-xH3LzJo6gbrm3ve4T7NHnGOzflsE1Nh2-FIaOQznObuP7ein7SgMkw0N6oLY0SbJgP8br1ADQtFPuQh0BUWvAfnYxcUrg=w581-h873" width="581" /></a></div><br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhrUCeNiHPMYSL90DGFwQ_iMRbBzIMCMJIYJJpW9t9bCOaxL9lJ47h-20hvuARfB-p88fNdx3zuDojodK6w3Y0osNJBrGW2UTO7ZIw61qZOYM4FYozYZLkNPkTiQ9sWyuW0GGaMl4OEYP2N3_PehQNocmvhw7V7B-N5TQxYfqmWcVybuBO_e1j9mENcrlLu" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="1454" data-original-width="894" height="1055" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhrUCeNiHPMYSL90DGFwQ_iMRbBzIMCMJIYJJpW9t9bCOaxL9lJ47h-20hvuARfB-p88fNdx3zuDojodK6w3Y0osNJBrGW2UTO7ZIw61qZOYM4FYozYZLkNPkTiQ9sWyuW0GGaMl4OEYP2N3_PehQNocmvhw7V7B-N5TQxYfqmWcVybuBO_e1j9mENcrlLu=w650-h1055" width="650" /></a></div><br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEiQHHOH7geaqcACGvst7fTabwJdRnkbHtm3UXgmJQobHPFazg5RIPgyxSs9kLJOONA5p95CejUiJ9kn7wfMmV5Fs6vOwfnhNk22xsbM7R6DLqJKs47XPzsS1pdjqJlUdl3EQ6gWs5kB2ADbmBeJhSqNdm7rO-biGuJGu0NVMx7rFAdqphyxyv26FEV7MwmN" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="1454" data-original-width="890" height="1080" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEiQHHOH7geaqcACGvst7fTabwJdRnkbHtm3UXgmJQobHPFazg5RIPgyxSs9kLJOONA5p95CejUiJ9kn7wfMmV5Fs6vOwfnhNk22xsbM7R6DLqJKs47XPzsS1pdjqJlUdl3EQ6gWs5kB2ADbmBeJhSqNdm7rO-biGuJGu0NVMx7rFAdqphyxyv26FEV7MwmN=w661-h1080" width="661" /></a></div><br /><br /><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="background: white; color: #0f1419; font-family: "TwitterChirp",serif; line-height: 107%;">In the Eight and Ninth
century the Bible started translating.</span><o:p></o:p></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEgX68Nb5978SqxXgpK-ZnBMmSAfFDMxGRBdACeYMmiUkoRzp27asl6UXc0IQEPqu-JkppLkqLDVdcvRUeJN4vmIxoDSlIlbPl1t7RdxZWSdkL9ZpYaETaDFCAUqBos9rgrP5KgZVbQE_3d5tLWOaZ6h8h1ehgUI6PHBU_napdQgJotKotKFdtX6mCp4Oj8F" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="1426" data-original-width="940" height="971" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEgX68Nb5978SqxXgpK-ZnBMmSAfFDMxGRBdACeYMmiUkoRzp27asl6UXc0IQEPqu-JkppLkqLDVdcvRUeJN4vmIxoDSlIlbPl1t7RdxZWSdkL9ZpYaETaDFCAUqBos9rgrP5KgZVbQE_3d5tLWOaZ6h8h1ehgUI6PHBU_napdQgJotKotKFdtX6mCp4Oj8F=w639-h971" width="639" /></a></div><br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjZC_Zy1e-e3yBh7z1oYvjV19-LQd_Ixm45E88JDj5352z2rqtqBA5UJvE3F4aSwXrFu22D3nCN6q8QS1kvPal4beWJQAHt3CbdDLhbdys2S03xrDBE40jyn8rilq4lYQ6x9qVlS2EW6-BouCGb5sc0VpMOeKw4W04CD8y5ureLQqX-FjylrCbKcsqRkRsf" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="1426" data-original-width="940" height="1000" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjZC_Zy1e-e3yBh7z1oYvjV19-LQd_Ixm45E88JDj5352z2rqtqBA5UJvE3F4aSwXrFu22D3nCN6q8QS1kvPal4beWJQAHt3CbdDLhbdys2S03xrDBE40jyn8rilq4lYQ6x9qVlS2EW6-BouCGb5sc0VpMOeKw4W04CD8y5ureLQqX-FjylrCbKcsqRkRsf=w659-h1000" width="659" /></a></div><br /><br /><p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: 18pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span lang="EN" style="border: 1pt solid black; color: #0f1419; font-family: "TwitterChirp",serif; mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-border-alt: solid black .25pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB; padding: 0cm;">20th century greatest Textual
Scholar, Bruce Metzger, mentions likewise.</span><span lang="EN" style="color: #0f1419; font-family: "TwitterChirp",serif; mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEgxatUDTJZcgsKMZ4omYSgcPdrQYu2aXDkuthBOB7L4OUhOc5qhicwmSuU7Zhi4HF0rIi7tomP4zZZ_11_ipNx9lbuP7DHoAi35KrJ2ANAkHMuhH9QW83YgqSUC13jKHIKDsSUWOwc8MOa_gaNBWK2QMi-UrLhzajzzWDe7k0oAmGYHq1PjM8tRxuz91H3X" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="1453" data-original-width="940" height="877" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEgxatUDTJZcgsKMZ4omYSgcPdrQYu2aXDkuthBOB7L4OUhOc5qhicwmSuU7Zhi4HF0rIi7tomP4zZZ_11_ipNx9lbuP7DHoAi35KrJ2ANAkHMuhH9QW83YgqSUC13jKHIKDsSUWOwc8MOa_gaNBWK2QMi-UrLhzajzzWDe7k0oAmGYHq1PjM8tRxuz91H3X=w567-h877" width="567" /></a></div><br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEis0X21dy3hpVlIDRQ-qLh7Uvpaf-CXoMLC2s_MM6qYrXYNEkxR5AQD6XQYRQMXL7OwZjm0wkHbuY7cIR_9eOo2mbJiY7qG1ONoId1WHnm9eKIxV0qmQjpCjS1IM39AJ2k3wr8K-7Ub_aw8xdvVZ8cCqJOVGg7RVmTmGhQYFCAMwZSeN-cnjTL__eYgs8l9" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="1416" data-original-width="940" height="1001" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEis0X21dy3hpVlIDRQ-qLh7Uvpaf-CXoMLC2s_MM6qYrXYNEkxR5AQD6XQYRQMXL7OwZjm0wkHbuY7cIR_9eOo2mbJiY7qG1ONoId1WHnm9eKIxV0qmQjpCjS1IM39AJ2k3wr8K-7Ub_aw8xdvVZ8cCqJOVGg7RVmTmGhQYFCAMwZSeN-cnjTL__eYgs8l9=w663-h1001" width="663" /></a></div><br /><br /><p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: 18pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span lang="EN" style="border: 1pt solid black; color: #0f1419; font-family: "TwitterChirp",serif; mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-border-alt: solid black .25pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB; padding: 0cm;">If the Qur’ān copied the
Bible, it'd have copied the Mistake as well, The Bible Mentions Pharoah not
with regards to Moses, but at the time of Joseph as well, Qur’ān on the other
hand mentions King in relation to Joseph, and Pharaoh at Moses's time.</span><span lang="EN" style="color: #0f1419; font-family: "TwitterChirp",serif; mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEiUaMHRMpVkEUvgPQHTAqb_WQ7axcrRDXEbRjk4bQzOj5DuMpZvoVpH6kz28ASam-chN4ShEwlVkL5NyShqbJjNM2YbzIuyBd6U4-6Gs8HEEF7WPXQq7vl4zJKDnvCToidIz8nR4o_V5_oZlJNZsPiPUFacRFi40BZy1VKYdpeeNYOVPihXgx3JoeeJ818I" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="870" data-original-width="940" height="508" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEiUaMHRMpVkEUvgPQHTAqb_WQ7axcrRDXEbRjk4bQzOj5DuMpZvoVpH6kz28ASam-chN4ShEwlVkL5NyShqbJjNM2YbzIuyBd6U4-6Gs8HEEF7WPXQq7vl4zJKDnvCToidIz8nR4o_V5_oZlJNZsPiPUFacRFi40BZy1VKYdpeeNYOVPihXgx3JoeeJ818I=w548-h508" width="548" /></a></div><br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhz2wQILLfJOjDl6TukH6UTwmQfLCwNtD81jhQYoZhFgLYQLjrRltFm998rOPbT4zMGEzqw5mUmvKNu4Ys9hN55W6dcVg5FffLQPDY1JmcxTKq1E5k9jHFohKj0fUcFG9FSJeDkmxDfuDGQJlTNLaBAzIjkJIuVDmp6xlEL7gek6XZ8p43u4TfaPGBhyewN" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="784" data-original-width="940" height="504" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhz2wQILLfJOjDl6TukH6UTwmQfLCwNtD81jhQYoZhFgLYQLjrRltFm998rOPbT4zMGEzqw5mUmvKNu4Ys9hN55W6dcVg5FffLQPDY1JmcxTKq1E5k9jHFohKj0fUcFG9FSJeDkmxDfuDGQJlTNLaBAzIjkJIuVDmp6xlEL7gek6XZ8p43u4TfaPGBhyewN=w605-h504" width="605" /></a></div><br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEg0Lf_4-u5FXF__HgsFQoJ8M965DJGq4tDwkhTiiN8neoXqSrKnH7NCzngMnM4OuGhmuevUBF7oCDwTzAcELIxGiMjRX4O0lqf5aFY77_vcb77hEFHxQpP-kgiTGUYzCqSTAJ8ilyCqYsuI1_U_io3bYx3201klhG7Ux81A3vqziE9G6FI0D8o5JxKwP8GR" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="878" data-original-width="940" height="507" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEg0Lf_4-u5FXF__HgsFQoJ8M965DJGq4tDwkhTiiN8neoXqSrKnH7NCzngMnM4OuGhmuevUBF7oCDwTzAcELIxGiMjRX4O0lqf5aFY77_vcb77hEFHxQpP-kgiTGUYzCqSTAJ8ilyCqYsuI1_U_io3bYx3201klhG7Ux81A3vqziE9G6FI0D8o5JxKwP8GR=w543-h507" width="543" /></a></div><br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEiCNlnZJs3MKoS6xbcH1YQFQqdTiFgVAKCULCLKDwpRKDJiT4iYkwxDRQukDJeGfK9ZumjXWR1E1ilhSDMZhdC-0l9IoJRM0xPACEK8jkDB28zn_v1hCt56Adv1eKC2v244_kiPgfIoY4Tvp-HSh0fKtPbRjKMtEjnvWMjewb9NRAseVLmCdkoNfzkuP30D" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="555" data-original-width="940" height="344" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEiCNlnZJs3MKoS6xbcH1YQFQqdTiFgVAKCULCLKDwpRKDJiT4iYkwxDRQukDJeGfK9ZumjXWR1E1ilhSDMZhdC-0l9IoJRM0xPACEK8jkDB28zn_v1hCt56Adv1eKC2v244_kiPgfIoY4Tvp-HSh0fKtPbRjKMtEjnvWMjewb9NRAseVLmCdkoNfzkuP30D=w583-h344" width="583" /></a></div><br /><br /><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="background: white; color: #0f1419; font-family: "TwitterChirp",serif; line-height: 107%;">Archeologists mention,
“Pharoah” wasn't used before 1,500 BC and is Anochronistic, but rather “King”
was used. The Qur’ān didn't “copied” this mistake, but rather corrected. Alḥamdulillāh</span><o:p></o:p></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjVo4U4Qgvj0q2ii8dOiY8tUtNRDjK4XDshm-Q-9pKtKS5Mi9B6m5wVffL6e2ukPosR-ELe28MMx-ptKgLcC0JpBQeXxhRSM6_H91Zc9Ix_xmWmMyWZPC-E1XnMyLWNPJFiXzpD_Gk1ATNeu9jsrXFgFWj2nW5X9WNkihYnOHoiv5fCZ5tQziYl-Xko4e5A" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="1259" data-original-width="940" height="684" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjVo4U4Qgvj0q2ii8dOiY8tUtNRDjK4XDshm-Q-9pKtKS5Mi9B6m5wVffL6e2ukPosR-ELe28MMx-ptKgLcC0JpBQeXxhRSM6_H91Zc9Ix_xmWmMyWZPC-E1XnMyLWNPJFiXzpD_Gk1ATNeu9jsrXFgFWj2nW5X9WNkihYnOHoiv5fCZ5tQziYl-Xko4e5A=w510-h684" width="510" /></a></div><br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEj2m3f102mCrxns4fZLuCFTSyXgaV3POVly2_i7Z74dl-FmRvFP5EiHbIyiIXvsmGZnjE7NhpUE4wU_NDcsxsqinHBULmdPs0a3VtsAEzT_MabqT4kEm6Msdzy3SoSVwGK6_l3dqyo5G0ulVOv2hLT7y93vQ8etEe7dATg1Tp08sVwV66mnlCm3-5BWRbYy" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="1391" data-original-width="940" height="901" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEj2m3f102mCrxns4fZLuCFTSyXgaV3POVly2_i7Z74dl-FmRvFP5EiHbIyiIXvsmGZnjE7NhpUE4wU_NDcsxsqinHBULmdPs0a3VtsAEzT_MabqT4kEm6Msdzy3SoSVwGK6_l3dqyo5G0ulVOv2hLT7y93vQ8etEe7dATg1Tp08sVwV66mnlCm3-5BWRbYy=w608-h901" width="608" /></a></div><br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEj3s5pKwspr_VbeaTUveeVfpqxb_qUizMqTtrr8dj5YrKZ0mvaNd3QcHQKH4gyIPGGcQPFITliOQBUSxlI7a7TJaTsRdBlTlEXXWcIv0I25W_ZSEjsH2jJVhmE9UaLL2ywPzKRvVdVLzkR8LIlh0RIbuv5khxdCD-RlteoRwUHzpLXNxsYRiookyOxibl0e" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="1310" data-original-width="940" height="766" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEj3s5pKwspr_VbeaTUveeVfpqxb_qUizMqTtrr8dj5YrKZ0mvaNd3QcHQKH4gyIPGGcQPFITliOQBUSxlI7a7TJaTsRdBlTlEXXWcIv0I25W_ZSEjsH2jJVhmE9UaLL2ywPzKRvVdVLzkR8LIlh0RIbuv5khxdCD-RlteoRwUHzpLXNxsYRiookyOxibl0e=w548-h766" width="548" /></a></div><br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEh8Rby6X1YRIcpJlNFsluXKVD_ZHF6FJ1D2VxTMz3kwU1AxUZIQRwGOAfnrCQ5fY4XQxeSOsqkLRByc7rS7UUPFTA5TQJDKIwKCLSCdkFRUpUFPAg4Ze0sjyUIO8wn3QPPzLtTWpaEi6GEnD2vI4wzuSXIgMJj9ADMzJUrHkZCeOGV6QW5-5FU6ATO5XWll" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="1248" data-original-width="940" height="869" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEh8Rby6X1YRIcpJlNFsluXKVD_ZHF6FJ1D2VxTMz3kwU1AxUZIQRwGOAfnrCQ5fY4XQxeSOsqkLRByc7rS7UUPFTA5TQJDKIwKCLSCdkFRUpUFPAg4Ze0sjyUIO8wn3QPPzLtTWpaEi6GEnD2vI4wzuSXIgMJj9ADMzJUrHkZCeOGV6QW5-5FU6ATO5XWll=w656-h869" width="656" /></a></div><br /><br /><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="color: #0f1419; font-family: "TwitterChirp",serif; line-height: 107%;">Jeffrey J. Bütz mentions how the Islāmic
understanding of Jesus is in line with Jesusʼ original first-century Jewish
followers.</span><o:p></o:p></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEiLewNEJmBt8R2k7nPvPapaAirNg2wNqeqyyrAmR8E6gB0HVA5y75SZQsPDUZmb1U4wjwf1QkpPsBSRj3oL9AnxCMY9VJ6vQqg1_P2-29Q-qQLYBSAFqJ2qmtll9gi2JhldMzHo6NeT9UGqew1f3n9Aqopv3_gMcXyxu4TJ1BHQ4_QnpNUW8xbpDbnemx2l" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="1453" data-original-width="940" height="675" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEiLewNEJmBt8R2k7nPvPapaAirNg2wNqeqyyrAmR8E6gB0HVA5y75SZQsPDUZmb1U4wjwf1QkpPsBSRj3oL9AnxCMY9VJ6vQqg1_P2-29Q-qQLYBSAFqJ2qmtll9gi2JhldMzHo6NeT9UGqew1f3n9Aqopv3_gMcXyxu4TJ1BHQ4_QnpNUW8xbpDbnemx2l=w435-h675" width="435" /></a></div><br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEj35kxE4y-lJKWA_ju89KFXJPIzppoQiOTcX0TsZdPUbB0b4sWhqcseWD9podxhuBvcNSjO1uZzDgE4nEqXU7pU3FAwlDIMTRMlg1OxwrOONeO_vkU4nUKMDOLRZwVmKHmkFVU-_SsUM4ITIM12iMr6PNvyFZPQX_iZfVIl_lT0P4vOisjh0vcZEcw8MVB2" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="1379" data-original-width="940" height="861" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEj35kxE4y-lJKWA_ju89KFXJPIzppoQiOTcX0TsZdPUbB0b4sWhqcseWD9podxhuBvcNSjO1uZzDgE4nEqXU7pU3FAwlDIMTRMlg1OxwrOONeO_vkU4nUKMDOLRZwVmKHmkFVU-_SsUM4ITIM12iMr6PNvyFZPQX_iZfVIl_lT0P4vOisjh0vcZEcw8MVB2=w588-h861" width="588" /></a></div><br /><br /><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="background: white; color: #0f1419; font-family: "TwitterChirp",serif; line-height: 107%;">Ebionites, the earliest
followers of Christ Jesus all rejected his pre-existence and divinity They
rejected Paul as a liar, Apostate, enemy of Christ</span><o:p></o:p></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEgdQQMDjH_5AfwXblX2aBkdLuwWSl7joLcVGIgU_SL3XmR1UCLjmx7lcedH4OSB3D5hB5wVEjSPoFG6AE-KIA959WS8RCj52VnVje7ZVF_6jp6PK4plZ144owZSVCg4JfhG7FaS2Mi-o0MVXJvftnKmgjMz_6-lb3_XExE5W1HImyvMUCu8vOLzgavs8rpt" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="1454" data-original-width="861" height="925" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEgdQQMDjH_5AfwXblX2aBkdLuwWSl7joLcVGIgU_SL3XmR1UCLjmx7lcedH4OSB3D5hB5wVEjSPoFG6AE-KIA959WS8RCj52VnVje7ZVF_6jp6PK4plZ144owZSVCg4JfhG7FaS2Mi-o0MVXJvftnKmgjMz_6-lb3_XExE5W1HImyvMUCu8vOLzgavs8rpt=w547-h925" width="547" /></a></div><br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEi388AeXvhJcU5_13rSebAdnQus-JiP2ZfZHqqv4IOWjHnDBywbqpJOKSSzOgc-ckH-CtJIb3ezSzFxAoCS4N3TV_EcUzMrHQZQuhruTEzd78ZesaR20FxFX49mwL6L1Hy9cEKqOcbZ-G9k5pQpb05jFLokt6WqGHo5xfMx9EC6MdIh9HNRYrFlaq8ES7-x" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="1454" data-original-width="868" height="956" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEi388AeXvhJcU5_13rSebAdnQus-JiP2ZfZHqqv4IOWjHnDBywbqpJOKSSzOgc-ckH-CtJIb3ezSzFxAoCS4N3TV_EcUzMrHQZQuhruTEzd78ZesaR20FxFX49mwL6L1Hy9cEKqOcbZ-G9k5pQpb05jFLokt6WqGHo5xfMx9EC6MdIh9HNRYrFlaq8ES7-x=w569-h956" width="569" /></a></div><br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEgiKolhenSm8Fr3S5guMr6Z4ArVTiQ5Ekk7QBzuvqHcY_9jV5jYBY9PTJgye-yUvVyaRdsbmpCakV7eu2Iau0E0T2WI_4nJ3R5LcSpomSe3KR8BRn0CJFJfII7aJjTTWwAaqATsQAYXzDymSIfb7tombJqAPbX2EnX3NZG8tgcFIgkmnR5CDzbr0mAfv8Xc" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="1454" data-original-width="864" height="995" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEgiKolhenSm8Fr3S5guMr6Z4ArVTiQ5Ekk7QBzuvqHcY_9jV5jYBY9PTJgye-yUvVyaRdsbmpCakV7eu2Iau0E0T2WI_4nJ3R5LcSpomSe3KR8BRn0CJFJfII7aJjTTWwAaqATsQAYXzDymSIfb7tombJqAPbX2EnX3NZG8tgcFIgkmnR5CDzbr0mAfv8Xc=w593-h995" width="593" /></a></div><br /><br /><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="background: white; color: #0f1419; font-family: "TwitterChirp",serif; line-height: 107%;">The New Jerome Biblical
commentary admits, Jesusʼ message of abiding by the Torah contradicts Paul.
Mattew and James abided by Jewish Christianity which was defeated by
Paulinism... Later re-born as Islam.</span><o:p></o:p></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhZFJbT4iEuXRLvvGxoIWv1KCEXf9B2Kv2ml9UOHqRkjR3VuA0r9n-W189WXDCCd0SmytXTn22IXrAxgIW5FHOn2QLRX4cCfGNpHtE09bWaMn68czpngXIIOd-qaTm_NxURcunmQwK51nArK4M6BKaAD2pkbiqRg5oDTz3l3R1XSwS4FAsURSL5hwwIOhzH" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="705" data-original-width="940" height="446" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhZFJbT4iEuXRLvvGxoIWv1KCEXf9B2Kv2ml9UOHqRkjR3VuA0r9n-W189WXDCCd0SmytXTn22IXrAxgIW5FHOn2QLRX4cCfGNpHtE09bWaMn68czpngXIIOd-qaTm_NxURcunmQwK51nArK4M6BKaAD2pkbiqRg5oDTz3l3R1XSwS4FAsURSL5hwwIOhzH=w595-h446" width="595" /></a></div><br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span><a name='more'></a></span><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjbEzNoM2NXnLBtiqFltVoehXwvGc4VeTU1gqgkdZIPVSI7nTS73whH78abZ9d8pL-DzZXCSWzJMnvxUDwfej6hVqPPyFJvL_sQekq6dNPKjSlwyJRgTRpW6OINmMdmceOljMVpOaT3JNPeK964oEB0zCm-merZgeN_Pm5_jPfSk5s9rVHUFvVKXYC372gf" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="1416" data-original-width="940" height="1029" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjbEzNoM2NXnLBtiqFltVoehXwvGc4VeTU1gqgkdZIPVSI7nTS73whH78abZ9d8pL-DzZXCSWzJMnvxUDwfej6hVqPPyFJvL_sQekq6dNPKjSlwyJRgTRpW6OINmMdmceOljMVpOaT3JNPeK964oEB0zCm-merZgeN_Pm5_jPfSk5s9rVHUFvVKXYC372gf=w682-h1029" width="682" /></a></div><br /><br /><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="color: #0f1419; font-family: "TwitterChirp",serif; line-height: 107%;">Epiphanius reveals that these later
Nazarenes were, in fact, the very same Jewish converts who directly inherited
their church from the Apostles in first-century Jerusalem. The Panarion of
Epiphanius of Salamis: Book I (Sects 146) (Nag Hammadi and Manichaean Studies)</span><o:p></o:p></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEh-GmdLXasbaC1mGLkx6levAssCGYuY3i4pih0nmYyFgRLZ693HQa6NXif6nBzBzV7z1AnhS2SDTFIwNr2SQyL9ikgzzzgzcbaGX8wneiCBWcwLBPnNgXg7g_sJubigLR8rxaUagdYPHgaqNkeGcfgb1uGMjIqx79YeIhOgxnBH9p-6ZKkkggWzuSR0AB7S" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="1409" data-original-width="940" height="953" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEh-GmdLXasbaC1mGLkx6levAssCGYuY3i4pih0nmYyFgRLZ693HQa6NXif6nBzBzV7z1AnhS2SDTFIwNr2SQyL9ikgzzzgzcbaGX8wneiCBWcwLBPnNgXg7g_sJubigLR8rxaUagdYPHgaqNkeGcfgb1uGMjIqx79YeIhOgxnBH9p-6ZKkkggWzuSR0AB7S=w635-h953" width="635" /></a></div><br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEi-aFm4K9KRBQKjZQqw1g2qZmJ096pyDa5ga0LAxi3uWSHlj-8v9B6ngK2Y8mzBhAr-o-qAl3uF26yBCr8kL5yRknY_UN17m9o7op4v5VpNv5EgLk5WKwc84Jj7kquM7kjZ7Xk4XUyOH-0LsQ2NUSwfzT8YnAbGmpbWStZ_vtBkFdqOa-EzCvizOYn13epc" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="1409" data-original-width="940" height="929" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEi-aFm4K9KRBQKjZQqw1g2qZmJ096pyDa5ga0LAxi3uWSHlj-8v9B6ngK2Y8mzBhAr-o-qAl3uF26yBCr8kL5yRknY_UN17m9o7op4v5VpNv5EgLk5WKwc84Jj7kquM7kjZ7Xk4XUyOH-0LsQ2NUSwfzT8YnAbGmpbWStZ_vtBkFdqOa-EzCvizOYn13epc=w619-h929" width="619" /></a></div><br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEh-rQFeI2fgZf2QwtxduMPecktQsPOnNSs9nmLUB0-3zDgpYddQFxW6xjK5I39knUYEnVJfKUqkT5jd-_A8O8Uzdf0I3YpkyXyTyWtF796Zl_tt7XSUdE0rd0ktNDJqOUi6PcUCj4AzxtOdwSwDOwiuLFZ2z5aOyPhjdu5E7pPgsWbFShgJG3LyeDl7MVm3" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="1409" data-original-width="940" height="995" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEh-rQFeI2fgZf2QwtxduMPecktQsPOnNSs9nmLUB0-3zDgpYddQFxW6xjK5I39knUYEnVJfKUqkT5jd-_A8O8Uzdf0I3YpkyXyTyWtF796Zl_tt7XSUdE0rd0ktNDJqOUi6PcUCj4AzxtOdwSwDOwiuLFZ2z5aOyPhjdu5E7pPgsWbFShgJG3LyeDl7MVm3=w664-h995" width="664" /></a></div><br /><br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEgNCK9VWduIoAJJ7_83axw2F6e1La0X_l3pDBTI3gI1wCmvChffMyUhb5U5DJEXD4xOI-fpUIKuxJ7_QZyMdc2T7rs779c1ZbXvaezPugJoS4Y6gUb5MDnhEJ46V2eeKvSOCNP_RJbLVwd5q96zGgT3QGZ9pf77O6WMZz-flIR51cCtY3WDyzSHvKqLLAr1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="1409" data-original-width="940" height="1032" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEgNCK9VWduIoAJJ7_83axw2F6e1La0X_l3pDBTI3gI1wCmvChffMyUhb5U5DJEXD4xOI-fpUIKuxJ7_QZyMdc2T7rs779c1ZbXvaezPugJoS4Y6gUb5MDnhEJ46V2eeKvSOCNP_RJbLVwd5q96zGgT3QGZ9pf77O6WMZz-flIR51cCtY3WDyzSHvKqLLAr1=w688-h1032" width="688" /></a></div><br /><br /><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="background: white; color: #0f1419; font-family: "TwitterChirp",serif; line-height: 107%;">James Tabor a Professor of
Early Christianity says, The “Christian faith” was originated by Paul. Not from
Jesus, Peter, John, James or any other apostles. Infact the version of Jesus
and the apostles was quite opposite to that of Paul. This is the lost forgotton
Christianity.</span><o:p></o:p></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEgVU3DSvs6VbPttGZxCJ2Evno412BZQ2FKmkUt1wBzQhVaqwstMZM8WjI3Rfnb_NNNectyfheWD5mcZdx1teldCRKdf9MHqDYYMQ9bS0tgB_QYUYnSGRFF17RoRA37vjP_Ynm0PfLu1nAAkQjGrdwDX7UzUjH63sN-aO7SqJwJSCPNVG6BQ1M4C58UzVpBs" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="1454" data-original-width="940" height="742" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEgVU3DSvs6VbPttGZxCJ2Evno412BZQ2FKmkUt1wBzQhVaqwstMZM8WjI3Rfnb_NNNectyfheWD5mcZdx1teldCRKdf9MHqDYYMQ9bS0tgB_QYUYnSGRFF17RoRA37vjP_Ynm0PfLu1nAAkQjGrdwDX7UzUjH63sN-aO7SqJwJSCPNVG6BQ1M4C58UzVpBs=w479-h742" width="479" /></a></div><br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjZTk9ejbSFmRy0RN20Lf4hkoZbDq0octOZ8NauuI1DKzeqoP_rd_zW7Sd76BmAnN3MHw5mSUiJy6uIZyYcQkOAgHGUK0Ql5E-FxuKp3hMFLxW1jA8lzOJurTWD0AKHqa3ctXc41zWMcCC4mFlAWNBJsUjI0MdXkaHO5gIUn9A4qox_XwnX286IZtxzAvs_" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="1454" data-original-width="868" height="1092" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjZTk9ejbSFmRy0RN20Lf4hkoZbDq0octOZ8NauuI1DKzeqoP_rd_zW7Sd76BmAnN3MHw5mSUiJy6uIZyYcQkOAgHGUK0Ql5E-FxuKp3hMFLxW1jA8lzOJurTWD0AKHqa3ctXc41zWMcCC4mFlAWNBJsUjI0MdXkaHO5gIUn9A4qox_XwnX286IZtxzAvs_=w651-h1092" width="651" /></a></div><br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhxhi3ojDNm0QkWytjxlDUu5HiVRT-3bkpcc9yqXx83510mM_tLz1tphMWN3CThj-DpuK0Hy-hclAwZxexMI1HCxrnGWb08tHFrvoK7WR03d2GsHsYY7cuzO9bWnqBlsBsMQHTYPObrea89ng26OSNxGhOp6yMgczHA__ymGU-uk0xil-_CzwNleVuMPmKF" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="1454" data-original-width="867" height="1102" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhxhi3ojDNm0QkWytjxlDUu5HiVRT-3bkpcc9yqXx83510mM_tLz1tphMWN3CThj-DpuK0Hy-hclAwZxexMI1HCxrnGWb08tHFrvoK7WR03d2GsHsYY7cuzO9bWnqBlsBsMQHTYPObrea89ng26OSNxGhOp6yMgczHA__ymGU-uk0xil-_CzwNleVuMPmKF=w657-h1102" width="657" /></a></div><br /><br /><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="background: white; color: #0f1419; font-family: "TwitterChirp",serif; line-height: 107%;">Bart Ehrman says,
Christian leaders in Paul's time, considered his views to be a corruption of
the true message of Jesus.</span><o:p></o:p></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhj6z_p6CmfuefRdiI8mfRpmLLigtg-g-7HoMqDWhVdwvZf9jhMu2sQSe8YwkYXOg-jttFE12fOMjm81s3YfVCItd1qqv6N5iGBO0D4L1i5v136_-mLOVJibCsoujVSrA5HYgFFXMYSCkxojWLHo7jgeHE6BCn_cDqrOT2iMSlCVQwKE5lnsxB3Yw3Cl3B8" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="1454" data-original-width="939" height="879" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhj6z_p6CmfuefRdiI8mfRpmLLigtg-g-7HoMqDWhVdwvZf9jhMu2sQSe8YwkYXOg-jttFE12fOMjm81s3YfVCItd1qqv6N5iGBO0D4L1i5v136_-mLOVJibCsoujVSrA5HYgFFXMYSCkxojWLHo7jgeHE6BCn_cDqrOT2iMSlCVQwKE5lnsxB3Yw3Cl3B8=w568-h879" width="568" /></a></div><br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhMICgLhtxefWoQq9kVy3SBJQX8zSX_L_0EfTLhNeJj0tyJNx9O_k6t31k6ORwu4rawB_cpGSzAwQ9oD-EIxCdrfMBjWOE8RINBrwSASqmMn_6Sy8SmOdL0nR_7kgU_VjkSD2FunndjRBhcw6v53GvNx2P8FX2-oAqegSIexue-VLI60dPfzzfFDkUcmzq9" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="1454" data-original-width="846" height="1154" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhMICgLhtxefWoQq9kVy3SBJQX8zSX_L_0EfTLhNeJj0tyJNx9O_k6t31k6ORwu4rawB_cpGSzAwQ9oD-EIxCdrfMBjWOE8RINBrwSASqmMn_6Sy8SmOdL0nR_7kgU_VjkSD2FunndjRBhcw6v53GvNx2P8FX2-oAqegSIexue-VLI60dPfzzfFDkUcmzq9=w673-h1154" width="673" /></a></div><br /><br /><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="background: white; color: #0f1419; font-family: "TwitterChirp",serif; line-height: 107%;">Another Scholar says, Paul
is the First ‘Christian’ Heretic and his Teachings are a flagrant deviation
from the ‘original’ or ‘Pure’ form.</span><o:p></o:p></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEidSW4YuX2bKboANDhBaqe-jjvUoUO7PuIm2TF22o2yDxNIeUpuIak4HhCSYlAUu7hLhxSveve6LiEKyF9ErPuVKtGgyLhwAr8VM9Mdgt4AOsvCNdSv-U3VEBcjHrdn-eRsbuxWWNUi898eFNIj6THtt9928IwqV1G4pESOjjMdStJvNOyAateS5S1phfOh" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="1330" data-original-width="940" height="700" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEidSW4YuX2bKboANDhBaqe-jjvUoUO7PuIm2TF22o2yDxNIeUpuIak4HhCSYlAUu7hLhxSveve6LiEKyF9ErPuVKtGgyLhwAr8VM9Mdgt4AOsvCNdSv-U3VEBcjHrdn-eRsbuxWWNUi898eFNIj6THtt9928IwqV1G4pESOjjMdStJvNOyAateS5S1phfOh=w496-h700" width="496" /></a></div><br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEj7532LLmbAdvvK1XIdbgbqbNdPW8UIesc6EgoT-cxHKrQcxbA48boGr-9nQmZrmtRcBTWqipnRzpsbm_Q_ZtycHnarHc31w1Pdu4vjg9soWvlnamGyhsqjUI3PRAQkK9FvDQuGRh4c-Y7fIQqKRzRg7b6P2wAuFjaRyus4pTSLDpGkL-APFGQxhLL8FBG2" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="1329" data-original-width="940" height="825" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEj7532LLmbAdvvK1XIdbgbqbNdPW8UIesc6EgoT-cxHKrQcxbA48boGr-9nQmZrmtRcBTWqipnRzpsbm_Q_ZtycHnarHc31w1Pdu4vjg9soWvlnamGyhsqjUI3PRAQkK9FvDQuGRh4c-Y7fIQqKRzRg7b6P2wAuFjaRyus4pTSLDpGkL-APFGQxhLL8FBG2=w585-h825" width="585" /></a></div><br /><br /><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="color: #0f1419; font-family: "TwitterChirp",serif; font-size: 11.5pt; line-height: 107%;"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="color: #0f1419; font-family: "TwitterChirp",serif; line-height: 107%;">William Winwood Reade says, The Christians
of Judea, who had faithfully followed the customs and tenets of the twelve
apostles, were informed that they were heretics... The single Deity of the Jews
had been exchanged for the Trinity.</span><o:p></o:p></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjDCzd0zX5h_t1q4aYhAl2Nv_OHSyRK1VDyFvYm7d-NQKfqG7ZEOBYGQyGxBPStFdVI7w8g_fWr4zNPNOosm0swe0X2xPAATk10deIA74pQqfvw0pCWxYHypT9LefWElvueVPkGbLbryKQH3aY3cMThk5Sg8IOogZHbNkLi3R06PIYXLI9AAVjRwLEOme0z" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="1454" data-original-width="887" height="906" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjDCzd0zX5h_t1q4aYhAl2Nv_OHSyRK1VDyFvYm7d-NQKfqG7ZEOBYGQyGxBPStFdVI7w8g_fWr4zNPNOosm0swe0X2xPAATk10deIA74pQqfvw0pCWxYHypT9LefWElvueVPkGbLbryKQH3aY3cMThk5Sg8IOogZHbNkLi3R06PIYXLI9AAVjRwLEOme0z=w551-h906" width="551" /></a></div><br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEiay64RTNKtEAcNSO9rTSzHRMcQpi-oemSXtv2JdGRxZ7gjT_7ZiZhem5Y_c0K5_J_MT2HU87j3fsnId2V8tWaJaO1k7Akb3vmVnoyhLq82Bbt67OcOiB5nX_-RYP5tAee5dR00k06VY733xjNVpxXg7ZH7wC_qVokUHwBs2kPbez6QQ-dm2rV34f7ZAsQs" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="1454" data-original-width="897" height="1011" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEiay64RTNKtEAcNSO9rTSzHRMcQpi-oemSXtv2JdGRxZ7gjT_7ZiZhem5Y_c0K5_J_MT2HU87j3fsnId2V8tWaJaO1k7Akb3vmVnoyhLq82Bbt67OcOiB5nX_-RYP5tAee5dR00k06VY733xjNVpxXg7ZH7wC_qVokUHwBs2kPbez6QQ-dm2rV34f7ZAsQs=w623-h1011" width="623" /></a></div><br /><br /><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="background: white; color: #0f1419; font-family: "TwitterChirp",serif; line-height: 107%;">It is clear that just
prior to the second century, Jewish Christianity had been in “the comfortable
majority, as it was in the first generation of disciples and in the end of the
New Testament period.”</span><o:p></o:p></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjLqg6wCg9I7Y6nlg1_sfd2QM6qOz5lf9Wk8jJQNOJ0v3ZXnnDJqb0q7l6_esctM7DKpf9h08eHqohevLPNpA58nOjs-sEnRfe1fKTQuy8cOnE7-7ndwE6gGTVIxagajJ05wP--jHN4Gv5n1kJXCwsc02_E-cL0HQccNxD8uXx6qXetN8etP1zhh-3MEsjg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="1454" data-original-width="860" height="843" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjLqg6wCg9I7Y6nlg1_sfd2QM6qOz5lf9Wk8jJQNOJ0v3ZXnnDJqb0q7l6_esctM7DKpf9h08eHqohevLPNpA58nOjs-sEnRfe1fKTQuy8cOnE7-7ndwE6gGTVIxagajJ05wP--jHN4Gv5n1kJXCwsc02_E-cL0HQccNxD8uXx6qXetN8etP1zhh-3MEsjg=w499-h843" width="499" /></a></div><br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEiOKrB1Zv1aIN5eIxh5zaRlNVv_VqbwEwyqA6CKfrb-q4tYVomMfEKHC3l0-JqCaOUxRpiO2ZD8lvH4fyQuU8TPeL0CAlm8lsPmobWt4l21hp-tl6N2H0m_6btfSuVjTvROw7z9aGOZ8XnHfiWXAAz1ns0OMYu4ucZqPp1x-Pb7YtAYpw3yhmtHxsmoH2hU" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="1424" data-original-width="940" height="1025" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEiOKrB1Zv1aIN5eIxh5zaRlNVv_VqbwEwyqA6CKfrb-q4tYVomMfEKHC3l0-JqCaOUxRpiO2ZD8lvH4fyQuU8TPeL0CAlm8lsPmobWt4l21hp-tl6N2H0m_6btfSuVjTvROw7z9aGOZ8XnHfiWXAAz1ns0OMYu4ucZqPp1x-Pb7YtAYpw3yhmtHxsmoH2hU=w675-h1025" width="675" /></a></div><br /><br /><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="color: #0f1419; font-family: "TwitterChirp",serif; line-height: 107%;">Regarding this common white-washing of history,
the great Anglican bishop R. P. C. Hanson writes:</span><o:p></o:p></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEi8bUc4HzxTtapRwbCIkJb2uFeQmYQeVxSb_SEUkKR26nSftOp6Ay_7lDSQCTVyvqxBkMj9WhYOJK0LGMyEuDHvhTsj6Eqbcn2XgmSOorWet-2z-ga-hszSr2UfvRB4QQorrMJNzWjNAMA4sekDlg5BBxpbeI_MXXt_Wl81yJK275NAHYRO0rO5JNI05Osh" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="1454" data-original-width="928" height="941" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEi8bUc4HzxTtapRwbCIkJb2uFeQmYQeVxSb_SEUkKR26nSftOp6Ay_7lDSQCTVyvqxBkMj9WhYOJK0LGMyEuDHvhTsj6Eqbcn2XgmSOorWet-2z-ga-hszSr2UfvRB4QQorrMJNzWjNAMA4sekDlg5BBxpbeI_MXXt_Wl81yJK275NAHYRO0rO5JNI05Osh=w600-h941" width="600" /></a></div><br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEh78DdVFF2EGYWLqPFirD2aKyHRutAlORToIXKzlOuH_uMPJFSXZfXRkD1wuExlYmXaRVY_xHpTRZAmdrKy7eL7KxwtKzFPKNdtZ3pEGV3z5NKE72NbRD0ATSIaJDS6fz4MoQMl-FCK163gFoNtVxxXvxwttkCxA7d1Et9ijWt31chXBI-1elUWcBFphp0A" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="1454" data-original-width="921" height="1008" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEh78DdVFF2EGYWLqPFirD2aKyHRutAlORToIXKzlOuH_uMPJFSXZfXRkD1wuExlYmXaRVY_xHpTRZAmdrKy7eL7KxwtKzFPKNdtZ3pEGV3z5NKE72NbRD0ATSIaJDS6fz4MoQMl-FCK163gFoNtVxxXvxwttkCxA7d1Et9ijWt31chXBI-1elUWcBFphp0A=w638-h1008" width="638" /></a></div><br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjf79r3zuXd8EFaFPoYsNGBRdxSAnulgFs1Aie5MGImPL3xcqFpNh_2ZvDX5EiTCvh0KGHC94JAGLHP3BkfZAUC2AAtXml30LQV1akdcpiF1GtaBKT9x4uOs94grIfNe0J3sHhicGZ8gliCsiyYOYUffwDodZj5KnQwzdi7ROFMU4KYLD9wCCAkymVf-wai" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="1454" data-original-width="924" height="1031" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjf79r3zuXd8EFaFPoYsNGBRdxSAnulgFs1Aie5MGImPL3xcqFpNh_2ZvDX5EiTCvh0KGHC94JAGLHP3BkfZAUC2AAtXml30LQV1akdcpiF1GtaBKT9x4uOs94grIfNe0J3sHhicGZ8gliCsiyYOYUffwDodZj5KnQwzdi7ROFMU4KYLD9wCCAkymVf-wai=w657-h1031" width="657" /></a></div><br /><br /><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="color: #0f1419; font-family: "TwitterChirp",serif; line-height: 107%;">So in conclusion, The Qur’ān didn't copy
from the Bible or Gnostics The Qur’ān corrected the Bible The Qur’ān knows very
well about the historical Jesus, and his original followers, as admitted by the
Scholars.</span><o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="color: #0f1419; font-family: "TwitterChirp",serif; font-size: medium; line-height: 107%;"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="background: white; color: #0f1419; font-family: "TwitterChirp",serif; font-size: medium; line-height: 107%;">Here is a paradox of
world-historical proportions: Jewish Christianity indeed disappeared within the
Christian church, but was preserved in Islam. —Professor Hans-Joachim Schoeps,
religious historian and philosopher.</span><o:p></o:p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEgneZOs7nBsBsE-3vu-vPyTfjWI3NwG1gitjU8a40Y4umo0ceK5cILjrTBnZ9XunUjZQkosgEZjq-dkOoKKmC6DXz8oddCqJrw36-2I0ncRQOu2CbBOMCOWyxfqV9e3q2bU7nJknfnLafODyoMPspuLLuU10A2zPudZl8gqaQR69_6A7plERSg4_CDUXYwH" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="1454" data-original-width="905" height="877" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEgneZOs7nBsBsE-3vu-vPyTfjWI3NwG1gitjU8a40Y4umo0ceK5cILjrTBnZ9XunUjZQkosgEZjq-dkOoKKmC6DXz8oddCqJrw36-2I0ncRQOu2CbBOMCOWyxfqV9e3q2bU7nJknfnLafODyoMPspuLLuU10A2zPudZl8gqaQR69_6A7plERSg4_CDUXYwH=w543-h877" width="543" /></a></div><br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEisaqmlxt_AWRAAT09CsNnuITpe1-rKuFgZHs4AgyyzVQZmCUfK8kx4q4Kl0lfzKdwX-w3pmXdAaePplx3Oq6zgUbD90xH_ENa1u2FCKdRT2sk8lxF7jQBqLUmuPM6VRQO0R8lB_kpNSrBomzmbzVQeWqNOJjDrrsOR-fQhz2QrghAtNo1KdKwknHdP6ti9" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="1454" data-original-width="916" height="1042" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEisaqmlxt_AWRAAT09CsNnuITpe1-rKuFgZHs4AgyyzVQZmCUfK8kx4q4Kl0lfzKdwX-w3pmXdAaePplx3Oq6zgUbD90xH_ENa1u2FCKdRT2sk8lxF7jQBqLUmuPM6VRQO0R8lB_kpNSrBomzmbzVQeWqNOJjDrrsOR-fQhz2QrghAtNo1KdKwknHdP6ti9=w655-h1042" width="655" /></a></div><br /><br /><p class="MsoNormal"><span _mstmutation="1">….</span><o:p></o:p></p><p>
</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><br /><p></p>Mustafa Ahmedhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14172750188773095424noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-558359090739969505.post-87781943414916634922024-02-20T02:56:00.000-08:002024-02-20T02:58:09.312-08:00Does the Qur'an know the Bible?<p> </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span face="Helvetica, sans-serif" style="background-color: white; color: #1d2129; font-size: 14pt; text-align: left;">Recently, some Christians that I encountered have alleged
that the Qur'an does not actually know the Bible. Although I have written on
this topic before, the following is my latest response to this issue.</span></div><p style="margin-bottom: 4.0pt; margin-left: 0cm; margin-right: 0cm; margin-top: 4.0pt; margin: 4pt 0cm;"><span face=""Helvetica",sans-serif" style="color: #1d2129; font-size: 14pt;"> </span></p><p style="margin-bottom: 4.0pt; margin-left: 0cm; margin-right: 0cm; margin-top: 4.0pt; margin: 4pt 0cm;"><span face=""Helvetica",sans-serif" style="background: white; color: #1d2129; font-size: 14pt;">by Ibn Anwar<o:p></o:p></span></p><p style="margin-bottom: 4.0pt; margin-left: 0cm; margin-right: 0cm; margin-top: 4.0pt; margin: 4pt 0cm;"><span face=""Helvetica",sans-serif" style="color: #1d2129; font-size: 14pt;"> </span></p><p style="margin-bottom: 4.0pt; margin-left: 0cm; margin-right: 0cm; margin-top: 4.0pt; margin: 4pt 0cm;"><span face=""Helvetica",sans-serif" style="background: white; color: #1d2129; font-size: 14pt;">In critiquing the Qur'an, Christian apologists
often accuse it of having no knowledge of actual Christian scriptures, i.e.,
the Bible(s). They allege that the Qur'an often misrepresents what Christians
believe or simply fails to address Christian doctrines and that to them
indicate the Qur'an's supposed unawareness of Christianity and its holy book,
the Bible. This is absolutely false. It can be demonstrated rather convincingly
that the Qur'an has intimate awareness and knowledge of not only what
Christians believe but what their scriptural books contain. Consider the
following examples of how the Qur'an exhibits familiarity with the Bible(s):<o:p></o:p></span></p><p style="margin-bottom: 4.0pt; margin-left: 0cm; margin-right: 0cm; margin-top: 4.0pt; margin: 4pt 0cm;"><span face=""Helvetica",sans-serif" style="color: #1d2129; font-size: 14pt;"> </span></p><p style="margin-bottom: 4.0pt; margin-left: 0cm; margin-right: 0cm; margin-top: 4.0pt; margin: 4pt 0cm;"><span face=""Helvetica",sans-serif" style="background: white; color: #1d2129; font-size: 14pt;">1. The Bible famously claims that God created
the heavens and the earth but that astronomical task taxed the Almighty:<o:p></o:p></span></p><p style="margin-bottom: 4.0pt; margin-left: 0cm; margin-right: 0cm; margin-top: 4.0pt; margin: 4pt 0cm;"><span face=""Helvetica",sans-serif" style="color: #1d2129; font-size: 14pt;"> </span></p><p style="margin-bottom: 4.0pt; margin-left: 0cm; margin-right: 0cm; margin-top: 4.0pt; margin: 4pt 0cm;"><span face=""Helvetica",sans-serif" style="background: white; color: #1d2129; font-size: 14pt;">"By the seventh day God had finished the
work he had been doing; so on the seventh day he rested from all his
work." (Genesis 2:2)<o:p></o:p></span></p><p style="margin-bottom: 4.0pt; margin-left: 0cm; margin-right: 0cm; margin-top: 4.0pt; margin: 4pt 0cm;"><span face=""Helvetica",sans-serif" style="color: #1d2129; font-size: 14pt;"> </span></p><p style="margin-bottom: 4.0pt; margin-left: 0cm; margin-right: 0cm; margin-top: 4.0pt; margin: 4pt 0cm;"><span face=""Helvetica",sans-serif" style="background: white; color: #1d2129; font-size: 14pt;">The above is repeated in Exodus 21:11:<o:p></o:p></span></p><p style="margin-bottom: 4.0pt; margin-left: 0cm; margin-right: 0cm; margin-top: 4.0pt; margin: 4pt 0cm;"><span face=""Helvetica",sans-serif" style="color: #1d2129; font-size: 14pt;"> </span></p><p style="margin-bottom: 4.0pt; margin-left: 0cm; margin-right: 0cm; margin-top: 4.0pt; margin: 4pt 0cm;"><span face=""Helvetica",sans-serif" style="background: white; color: #1d2129; font-size: 14pt;">"For in six days the LORD made the heavens
and the earth, the sea, and all that is in them, but he rested on the seventh
day. Therefore the LORD blessed the Sabbath day and made it holy."<o:p></o:p></span></p><p style="margin-bottom: 4.0pt; margin-left: 0cm; margin-right: 0cm; margin-top: 4.0pt; margin: 4pt 0cm;"><span face=""Helvetica",sans-serif" style="color: #1d2129; font-size: 14pt;"> </span></p><p style="margin-bottom: 4.0pt; margin-left: 0cm; margin-right: 0cm; margin-top: 4.0pt; margin: 4pt 0cm;"><span face=""Helvetica",sans-serif" style="background: white; color: #1d2129; font-size: 14pt;">Seeing the apparent difficulty in saying that
the All-Powerful needed to rest after a hard week's worth of work, the
Christian apologist would typically claim that the 'rest' meant in those verses
is not the 'rest' that means a 'break from exhaustion,' but it is the kind of
'rest' that means 'to stop' or 'to cease' from doing something, e.g., "the
car rested on the road abruptly when he pulled the breaks." This
amelioratory attempt might work if Exodus 31:17 didn't actually define 'rest'
in those verses to actually mean "exhaustion":<o:p></o:p></span></p><p style="margin-bottom: 4.0pt; margin-left: 0cm; margin-right: 0cm; margin-top: 4.0pt; margin: 4pt 0cm;"><span face=""Helvetica",sans-serif" style="color: #1d2129; font-size: 14pt;"> </span></p><p style="margin-bottom: 4.0pt; margin-left: 0cm; margin-right: 0cm; margin-top: 4.0pt; margin: 4pt 0cm;"><span face=""Helvetica",sans-serif" style="background: white; color: #1d2129; font-size: 14pt;">"It will be a sign between me and the
Israelites forever, for in six days the LORD made the heavens and the earth,
and on the seventh day he rested and was refreshed.'"<o:p></o:p></span></p><p style="margin-bottom: 4.0pt; margin-left: 0cm; margin-right: 0cm; margin-top: 4.0pt; margin: 4pt 0cm;"><span face=""Helvetica",sans-serif" style="color: #1d2129; font-size: 14pt;"> </span></p><p style="margin-bottom: 4.0pt; margin-left: 0cm; margin-right: 0cm; margin-top: 4.0pt; margin: 4pt 0cm;"><span face=""Helvetica",sans-serif" style="background: white; color: #1d2129; font-size: 14pt;">The above is rather self-explanatory and it
evidently refutes the excuse that the Christian apologist suggested. The
'resting' that is meant is clearly that of relaxation after tiresome work as
the word 'refreshed' indicates. Also, Psalm 44:23 which describes God as being
'asleep' ("Awake, why do you sleep, O Lord?) certainly doesn't help the
Christian apologist's case.</span><span face=""Helvetica",sans-serif" style="color: #1d2129; font-size: 14pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></p><p style="margin-bottom: 4.0pt; margin-left: 0cm; margin-right: 0cm; margin-top: 4.0pt; margin: 4pt 0cm;"><span face=""Helvetica",sans-serif" style="background: white; color: #1d2129; font-size: 14pt;">Refuting all of the above biblical texts that
impugn on God's divine nature as the One that is All-Powerful, the Qur'an
declares:<o:p></o:p></span></p><p style="margin-bottom: 4.0pt; margin-left: 0cm; margin-right: 0cm; margin-top: 4.0pt; margin: 4pt 0cm;"><span face=""Helvetica",sans-serif" style="color: #1d2129; font-size: 14pt;"> </span></p><p style="margin-bottom: 4.0pt; margin-left: 0cm; margin-right: 0cm; margin-top: 4.0pt; margin: 4pt 0cm;"><span face=""Helvetica",sans-serif" style="background: white; color: #1d2129; font-size: 14pt;">"We created the heavens, the earth, and
all that is between them in six days without experiencing any fatigue."
(Qur'an, 50:38)<o:p></o:p></span></p><p style="margin-bottom: 4.0pt; margin-left: 0cm; margin-right: 0cm; margin-top: 4.0pt; margin: 4pt 0cm;"><span face=""Helvetica",sans-serif" style="color: #1d2129; font-size: 14pt;"> </span></p><p style="margin-bottom: 4.0pt; margin-left: 0cm; margin-right: 0cm; margin-top: 4.0pt; margin: 4pt 0cm;"><span face=""Helvetica",sans-serif" style="background: white; color: #1d2129; font-size: 14pt;">One does not need theological training to
notice that the Qur'an in the verse above is clearly addressing the biblical
texts that speak of God having experienced fatigue or tiredness after creating the
heavens and the earth in six days. And refuting Psalm 44:23 which suggests God
sleeps, the Qur'an unambiguously declares the following:<o:p></o:p></span></p><p style="margin-bottom: 4.0pt; margin-left: 0cm; margin-right: 0cm; margin-top: 4.0pt; margin: 4pt 0cm;"><span face=""Helvetica",sans-serif" style="color: #1d2129; font-size: 14pt;"> </span></p><p style="margin-bottom: 4.0pt; margin-left: 0cm; margin-right: 0cm; margin-top: 4.0pt; margin: 4pt 0cm;"><span face=""Helvetica",sans-serif" style="background: white; color: #1d2129; font-size: 14pt;">"Neither slumber nor sleeps overtakes Him
(God)." (Qur'an, 255)<o:p></o:p></span></p><p style="margin-bottom: 4.0pt; margin-left: 0cm; margin-right: 0cm; margin-top: 4.0pt; margin: 4pt 0cm;"><span face=""Helvetica",sans-serif" style="color: #1d2129; font-size: 14pt;"> </span></p><p style="margin-bottom: 4.0pt; margin-left: 0cm; margin-right: 0cm; margin-top: 4.0pt; margin: 4pt 0cm;"><span face=""Helvetica",sans-serif" style="background: white; color: #1d2129; font-size: 14pt;">2. The Bible has a knack at tarnishing the
characters of God's messengers and prophets. One such prophet whose dignity was
violated by the Bible was Solomon. The Bible claims that even after God had
appeared to Solomon, he turned to other gods thereby becoming a disbeliever:<o:p></o:p></span></p><p style="margin-bottom: 4.0pt; margin-left: 0cm; margin-right: 0cm; margin-top: 4.0pt; margin: 4pt 0cm;"><span face=""Helvetica",sans-serif" style="color: #1d2129; font-size: 14pt;"> </span></p><p style="margin-bottom: 4.0pt; margin-left: 0cm; margin-right: 0cm; margin-top: 4.0pt; margin: 4pt 0cm;"><span face=""Helvetica",sans-serif" style="background: white; color: #1d2129; font-size: 14pt;">"For when Solomon was old his wives turned
away his heart after other gods, and his heart was not wholly true to the Lord
his God, as was the heart of David his father. For Solomon went after Ashtoreth
the goddess of the Sidonians, and after Milcom the abomination of the
Ammonites. So Solomon did what was evil in the sight of the Lord and did not
wholly follow the Lord, as David his father had done. Then Solomon built a high
place for Chemosh the abomination of Moab, and for Molech the abomination of
the Ammonites, on the mountain east of Jerusalem. And so he did for all his
foreign wives, who made offerings and sacrificed to their gods." (1 Kings
11:4-8)</span><span face=""Helvetica",sans-serif" style="color: #1d2129; font-size: 14pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></p><p style="margin-bottom: 4.0pt; margin-left: 0cm; margin-right: 0cm; margin-top: 4.0pt; margin: 4pt 0cm;"><span face=""Helvetica",sans-serif" style="background: white; color: #1d2129; font-size: 14pt;">Rescuing and exonerating Prophet Solomon a.s.
from such a horrendous and abominable allegation as disbelief and idolatry, the
Qur'an declares concisely that Solomon a.s. never fell into such
blameworthiness:<o:p></o:p></span></p><p style="margin-bottom: 4.0pt; margin-left: 0cm; margin-right: 0cm; margin-top: 4.0pt; margin: 4pt 0cm;"><span face=""Helvetica",sans-serif" style="color: #1d2129; font-size: 14pt;"> </span></p><p style="margin-bottom: 4.0pt; margin-left: 0cm; margin-right: 0cm; margin-top: 4.0pt; margin: 4pt 0cm;"><span face=""Helvetica",sans-serif" style="background: white; color: #1d2129; font-size: 14pt;">"And follow that which the devils falsely
related against the kingdom of Solomon. Solomon disbelieved not; but the devils
disbelieved, teaching mankind magic and that which was revealed to the two
angels in Babel, Harut and Marut. Nor did they (the two angels) teach it to
anyone till they had said: We are only a temptation, therefore disbelieve not
(in the guidance of Allah). " (Qur'an, 2:102)<o:p></o:p></span></p><p style="margin-bottom: 4.0pt; margin-left: 0cm; margin-right: 0cm; margin-top: 4.0pt; margin: 4pt 0cm;"><span face=""Helvetica",sans-serif" style="color: #1d2129; font-size: 14pt;"> </span></p><p style="margin-bottom: 4.0pt; margin-left: 0cm; margin-right: 0cm; margin-top: 4.0pt; margin: 4pt 0cm;"><span face=""Helvetica",sans-serif" style="background: white; color: #1d2129; font-size: 14pt;">Indeed, the holy messengers of God are free
from the indignities that the Bible falsely attributes to them.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p style="margin-bottom: 4.0pt; margin-left: 0cm; margin-right: 0cm; margin-top: 4.0pt; margin: 4pt 0cm;"><span face=""Helvetica",sans-serif" style="color: #1d2129; font-size: 14pt;"> </span></p><p style="margin-bottom: 4.0pt; margin-left: 0cm; margin-right: 0cm; margin-top: 4.0pt; margin: 4pt 0cm;"><span face=""Helvetica",sans-serif" style="background: white; color: #1d2129; font-size: 14pt;">There are many other Qur'anic texts that
showcase the Qur'an's great familiarity with the Christian scriptures, but the
two examples given above sufficiently demonstrate our point. Confirming that
the Qur'an does indeed illustrate that it is well acquainted with Christian
scriptures and refuting the Christian apologists that allege that it is not,
respected Christian scholar Professor Sidney Griffith, who is professor of
Early Christian Studies at the Catholic University of America, writes:<o:p></o:p></span></p><p style="margin-bottom: 4.0pt; margin-left: 0cm; margin-right: 0cm; margin-top: 4.0pt; margin: 4pt 0cm;"><span face=""Helvetica",sans-serif" style="color: #1d2129; font-size: 14pt;"> </span></p><p style="margin-bottom: 4.0pt; margin-left: 0cm; margin-right: 0cm; margin-top: 4.0pt; margin: 4pt 0cm;"><span face=""Helvetica",sans-serif" style="background: white; color: #1d2129; font-size: 14pt;">"The Qur'an is very conscious of the Bible
and sometimes presents itself as offering once again a revelation previously
sent down in the Torah and the Gospel...One of the first things that the
historian of Arabian Judaism and Christianity notices on approaching the Qur'an
is that for all its obviously high degree of biblical awareness, the Qur'an
virtually never actually quotes the Bible." [1]<o:p></o:p></span></p><p style="margin-bottom: 4.0pt; margin-left: 0cm; margin-right: 0cm; margin-top: 4.0pt; margin: 4pt 0cm;"><span face=""Helvetica",sans-serif" style="color: #1d2129; font-size: 14pt;"> </span></p><p style="margin-bottom: 4.0pt; margin-left: 0cm; margin-right: 0cm; margin-top: 4.0pt; margin: 4pt 0cm;"><span face=""Helvetica",sans-serif" style="background: white; color: #1d2129; font-size: 14pt;">Professor Griffith's observation is quite
clear: That although the Qur'an does not directly quote the Bible, it,
nevertheless, betrays great familiarity with the contents of the Bible.</span><span face=""Helvetica",sans-serif" style="color: #1d2129; font-size: 14pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></p><p style="margin-bottom: 4.0pt; margin-left: 0cm; margin-right: 0cm; margin-top: 4.0pt; margin: 4pt 0cm;"><span face=""Helvetica",sans-serif" style="background: white; color: #1d2129; font-size: 14pt;">It is quite clear, then, that the Christian
apologists' allegation against the Qur'an lies on a gossamer and it is
doubtless a very fragile gossamer that is easily ruined by the slightest swipe
of a hand.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p style="margin-bottom: 4.0pt; margin-left: 0cm; margin-right: 0cm; margin-top: 4.0pt; margin: 4pt 0cm;"><span face=""Helvetica",sans-serif" style="color: #1d2129; font-size: 14pt;"> </span></p><p style="margin-bottom: 4.0pt; margin-left: 0cm; margin-right: 0cm; margin-top: 4.0pt; margin: 4pt 0cm;"><span face=""Helvetica",sans-serif" style="background: white; color: #1d2129; font-size: 14pt;">Notes:</span><span face=""Helvetica",sans-serif" style="color: #1d2129; font-size: 14pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></p><p>
</p><p style="margin-bottom: 4.0pt; margin-left: 0cm; margin-right: 0cm; margin-top: 4.0pt; margin: 4pt 0cm;"><span face=""Helvetica",sans-serif" style="background: white; color: #1d2129; font-size: 14pt;">[1] Griffith, S. H. (2013). The Bible in
Arabic: The Scriptures of the "Pople of the Book" in the Language of
Islam. New Jersey: Princeton University Press. p. 51-56</span><span face=""Helvetica",sans-serif" style="color: #1d2129; font-size: 14pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></p>Mustafa Ahmedhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14172750188773095424noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-558359090739969505.post-82330700933344850172024-02-13T01:14:00.001-08:002024-02-13T01:14:54.908-08:00Are There Any Hadith Collections From Early Islam?<p> </p><h1 id="posttitle" style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; color: #0a0a0a; font-family: Bitter, Georgia, serif; font-weight: 400; line-height: 29.92px; margin: 0px 0px 0.5em; padding: 0px;">Are There Any Hadith Collections From Early Islam?</h1><section class="postmetadata" style="background-color: white; border-bottom-color: rgb(216, 216, 216); border-style: solid; border-top-color: rgb(183, 183, 183); border-width: 1px 0px; box-sizing: border-box; color: #111111; font-family: Bitter, Georgia, serif; font-size: 0.8em; letter-spacing: 0.1em; margin: 0px 0px 10px; padding: 9px 0px; text-transform: uppercase;"><em style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-transform: lowercase;">by</em> <a href="https://discover-the-truth.com/author/discoverthetruth2013/" rel="author" style="box-sizing: border-box; color: #3e9dd0; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration-line: none;" title="Posts by Discover The Truth">DISCOVER THE TRUTH</a> • OCTOBER 13, 2013</section><article class="entry clearfloat" style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; color: #111111; font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13.6px; margin: 0px; overflow: hidden; padding: 0px;"><p style="box-sizing: border-box; font-size: 1.1em; line-height: 21.692px; margin: 15px 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: center;"><strong style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">بِسۡمِ ٱللهِ ٱلرَّحۡمَـٰنِ ٱلرَّحِيمِ</strong></p><p style="box-sizing: border-box; font-size: 1.1em; line-height: 21.692px; margin: 15px 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: center;"><span style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration-line: underline;"><span style="box-sizing: border-box; color: blue; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"><a href="https://discover-the-truth.com/category/islam/" style="box-sizing: border-box; color: #3e9dd0; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration-line: none;" target="_blank" title="Kaleef K. Karim"><span style="box-sizing: border-box; color: blue; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">Kaleef K. Karim</span></a></span></span></p><p style="box-sizing: border-box; font-size: 1.1em; line-height: 21.692px; margin: 15px 0px; padding: 0px;">Yes there are early Hadith collections. One of the claims hurled at Muslims by Christian missionaries and Hadith-rejecters are that they say, “there are no hadiths collections from early Islam”. According to them, Hadith came into existence 250 to 300 years after the Prophet Muhammed’s (p) demise. In this article I will show evidences from non-Muslim Scholars that Hadith existed way before the dates they have brought forth.</p><p style="box-sizing: border-box; font-size: 1.1em; line-height: 21.692px; margin: 15px 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: center;"><strong style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">First Century Hadith Collections</strong></p><p style="box-sizing: border-box; font-size: 1.1em; line-height: 21.692px; margin: 15px 0px; padding: 0px;"><span style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration-line: underline;"><strong style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">Sahifa Hamman B. Munabbih</strong></span></p><p style="box-sizing: border-box; font-size: 1.1em; line-height: 21.692px; margin: 15px 0px; padding: 0px;">It is well-known fact among Muslim scholars that Hammam B. Munabbih was a student of Abu Huraira. The earliest hadith collection we have extant is Sahifa b. Munabbih which was written by the student of Abu Huraira. The Books name is ‘Sahifah Hammam b.Munabbih’.</p><p style="box-sizing: border-box; font-size: 1.1em; line-height: 21.692px; margin: 15px 0px; padding: 0px;">1. American Scholar William Albert Graham who is a Professor of middle eastern studies states:</p><blockquote style="background: rgb(242, 242, 242); border-bottom: 1px solid rgb(221, 221, 221); border-right: 1px solid rgb(221, 221, 221); box-sizing: border-box; color: #76767a; font-size: 1em; margin: 18px 20px; overflow: hidden; padding: 6px 20px;"><p style="box-sizing: border-box; font-size: 1.1em; line-height: 21.692px; margin: 15px 0px; padding: 0px;"><span style="box-sizing: border-box; color: red; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"><span style="box-sizing: border-box; color: black; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">“…..Of the four remaining collections, the earliest is the Sahifah of Hammam b. Munabbih (d. Ca. 101-02/719-20).</span> It is a collection of 138 hadiths that <span style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration-line: underline;">dates from around the end of the first Century A.H.</span> <span style="box-sizing: border-box; color: black; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">and contains some eighteen Divine sayings.”</span></span><span style="box-sizing: border-box; color: black; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"> <strong style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">[1]</strong></span></p></blockquote><p style="box-sizing: border-box; font-size: 1.1em; line-height: 21.692px; margin: 15px 0px; padding: 0px;">2. Professor Alfred Felix Landon Beeston also comments on Sahifa Hammam B. Munabbih,</p><blockquote style="background: rgb(242, 242, 242); border-bottom: 1px solid rgb(221, 221, 221); border-right: 1px solid rgb(221, 221, 221); box-sizing: border-box; color: #76767a; font-size: 1em; margin: 18px 20px; overflow: hidden; padding: 6px 20px;"><p style="box-sizing: border-box; font-size: 1.1em; line-height: 21.692px; margin: 15px 0px; padding: 0px;"><span style="box-sizing: border-box; color: red; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"><span style="box-sizing: border-box; color: black; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">“An example is the</span> Sahifah of Hammam b. Munabbih, (d. 110/719), a Yemenite follower and a disciple of Companion Abu Hurayrah, (d. 58/677), from whom Hammam learned and wrote this sahifah, which comprises 138 hadith and is believed to have been written around the mid-first/seventh Century.</span><br style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;" /><span style="box-sizing: border-box; color: red; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">It is significant that Hammam introduces his text with the words: ‘Abu Hurayra told us in the course of what he related from the Prophet’, thus giving the source of his information in the manner which became known as sanad or isnad i.e. the teacher or chain of teachers through whom an author reaches the Prophet, a practice invariably and systematically followed hadith in compilations.</span> <span style="box-sizing: border-box; color: black; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"><strong style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">[2]</strong></span></p></blockquote><p style="box-sizing: border-box; font-size: 1.1em; line-height: 21.692px; margin: 15px 0px; padding: 0px;">3. In the Book ‘Encyclopaedic Historiography of the Muslim World’, written by Professor Nagendra Kr. Singh, he goes in detail on Hadith and also comments on Sahifa B. Munabbih. Take also notice of him saying that ‘ORAL TRANSMISSION’ OF HADITH was the most favoured. He writes:</p><blockquote style="background: rgb(242, 242, 242); border-bottom: 1px solid rgb(221, 221, 221); border-right: 1px solid rgb(221, 221, 221); box-sizing: border-box; color: #76767a; font-size: 1em; margin: 18px 20px; overflow: hidden; padding: 6px 20px;"><p style="box-sizing: border-box; font-size: 1.1em; line-height: 21.692px; margin: 15px 0px; padding: 0px;"><span style="box-sizing: border-box; color: black; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">Compilation of hadith in a book form had become a known practice even during the prophet’s lifetime. We are told that Ali b. Abu Talib had compiled a small book containing Traditions of the Prophet, ‘Abdullah b. ‘Amr b. Al-As has also collected by permission of the Prophet, some Traditions in a book, which he named as al-Sahifa al-sadiqa. Similarly, Jabir b. Abdillah (d. 78 A.H.) was the compiler of a small collection of hadith. Abu Huraira and Amr b. Hazm are also reported to have gathered some Traditions while the latter had also committed to writing a number of such letters of the Prophet as he had despatched to the neighbouring rulers inviting them to embrace the new faith. Abu Huraira, a close companion of the Prophet, had preserved and transmitted a large number of traditions.</span></p><p style="box-sizing: border-box; font-size: 1.1em; line-height: 21.692px; margin: 15px 0px; padding: 0px;"><span style="box-sizing: border-box; color: red; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"><span style="box-sizing: border-box; color: black; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">Apart from oral transmission, he is reported to have dictated some traditions to his pupils who committed them to writing.</span> <span style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration-line: underline;">Hammam b. Munabbih compiled a book entitled al-sahifa, of which the manuscripts are found in the libraries of Berlin and Damascus.</span> <span style="box-sizing: border-box; color: black; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">Its Arabic text along with the Urdu Translation and necessary notes has recently been published by Dr. Hamidullah. Ma’mar b. Rashid, a disciple of Hammam, also compiled a book entitled Jami, Manuscripts of which are in the Ankara University Library and in Istanbul.</span></span></p><p style="box-sizing: border-box; font-size: 1.1em; line-height: 21.692px; margin: 15px 0px; padding: 0px;"><span style="box-sizing: border-box; color: red; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"><span style="box-sizing: border-box; color: black; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">Abu Bakr Abd al-Razzaq b. Hammam al-san’ani (126-211 A.H.) was a student of ma’mar and one of the teachers of Ahamd b. Hanbal. He is also the compiler of a book entitled ‘musannaf’.</span> <span style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration-line: underline;">In view of these facts, it would be erroneous to assume, as some of the orientalists do, that the work of hadith-compilation was unknown during the prophet’s lifetime</span>, <span style="box-sizing: border-box; color: black; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">and hence the entire collection of hadith becomes of questionable authenticity.</span></span></p><p style="box-sizing: border-box; font-size: 1.1em; line-height: 21.692px; margin: 15px 0px; padding: 0px;"><span style="box-sizing: border-box; color: red; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"><span style="box-sizing: border-box; color: black; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">We have seen that Abu Huraira, his pupil Hammam b. Munabbih, his disciple Ma’mar and his pupil Rashid, his student Abd al-Razzq and his pupil Ahmad b. Hanbal have made continued efforts in preserving and compiling the hadith literature. After the discovery of these works we may rightly suppose that there must have been some other compiled works which did not come down to us. It should be also kept in mind that because of scarcity and dearth of writing material,</span> oral transmission was a popular practice during the early days of Islam. Furthermore, this had become a common practice since the pre-Islamic days because ‘Days of the Arab’, legends of the Prophets, and the Jahiliyya poetry were transmitted orally. Nay, dictation or writing of such material was rather looked down upon as compared to oral transmission.</span> <span style="box-sizing: border-box; color: black; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"><strong style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">[3]</strong></span></p></blockquote><p style="box-sizing: border-box; font-size: 1.1em; line-height: 21.692px; margin: 15px 0px; padding: 0px;"><span style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration-line: underline;"><strong style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">‘Musanaf of Abdul Razzaq’ to be a source of Authentic Hadith from the 1st Century’*</strong></span></p><p style="box-sizing: border-box; font-size: 1.1em; line-height: 21.692px; margin: 15px 0px; padding: 0px;">Professor Harold Motzki believes ‘Musanaf of Abdul Razzaq’ to be a source of Authentic Hadith from the 1st Century*. His article is massive, I am just going to present his Conclusion.</p><blockquote style="background: rgb(242, 242, 242); border-bottom: 1px solid rgb(221, 221, 221); border-right: 1px solid rgb(221, 221, 221); box-sizing: border-box; color: #76767a; font-size: 1em; margin: 18px 20px; overflow: hidden; padding: 6px 20px;"><p style="box-sizing: border-box; font-size: 1.1em; line-height: 21.692px; margin: 15px 0px; padding: 0px;"><span style="box-sizing: border-box; color: red; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"><span style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration-line: underline;">“While studying the</span> <span style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration-line: underline;">Musannaf of `Abd al-Razzaq</span>, <span style="box-sizing: border-box; color: black; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">I came to the conclusion that the theory championed by Goldziher, Schacht, and in their footsteps, many others – myself included – which in general, reject hadith literature</span> <span style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration-line: underline;">as a historically reliable sources for the first century AH</span>, <span style="box-sizing: border-box; color: black; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">deprives the historical study of early Islam of an important and a useful type of source.”</span></span><span style="box-sizing: border-box; color: black; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"> <strong style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">[4]</strong></span></p></blockquote><p style="box-sizing: border-box; font-size: 1.1em; line-height: 21.692px; margin: 15px 0px; padding: 0px;"><span style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration-line: underline;"><strong style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">Muwatta Imam Malik’ compiled Mid-second century AH</strong></span></p><p style="box-sizing: border-box; font-size: 1.1em; line-height: 21.692px; margin: 15px 0px; padding: 0px;">Mālik ibn Anas who was born in the year 711 and died 795 (93 AH – 179 AH ) is another Early Scholar of Islam who collected hadiths. He was one of the most highly respected scholars of fiqh (Islamic Jurisprudence) in Sunni Islam. Imam Malik while he was alive compiled a Hadith book. The Hadith Book’s name is ‘Muwatta Imam Malik’ and we still have this Hadith book extant to this day.</p><p style="box-sizing: border-box; font-size: 1.1em; line-height: 21.692px; margin: 15px 0px; padding: 0px;">Ilya Pavlovich Petrushevsky (1898–1977) who was a Professor of History of the Near East at the University of Leningrad for twenty years, comments on Imam Malik’s Muwatta.</p><blockquote style="background: rgb(242, 242, 242); border-bottom: 1px solid rgb(221, 221, 221); border-right: 1px solid rgb(221, 221, 221); box-sizing: border-box; color: #76767a; font-size: 1em; margin: 18px 20px; overflow: hidden; padding: 6px 20px;"><p style="box-sizing: border-box; font-size: 1.1em; line-height: 21.692px; margin: 15px 0px; padding: 0px;"><span style="box-sizing: border-box; color: red; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"><span style="box-sizing: border-box; color: black; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">“The oldest collections of Hadith were compiled according to tariqs that is, the companions of the Prophet were listed in alphabetical order and under each name the hadith issuing from the particular fountain head would be supplied. This principle of compilation was known as ‘ala r-rijal, ‘ on (the names of) the earliest reporters’. Of the</span> EXTANT COLLEXTIONS <span style="box-sizing: border-box; color: black; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">of this type two are celebrated. One if the Muwatta or Beaten Track of malik b. Anas (d. 795), eponymous founder of the Malikite system…..”</span></span><span style="box-sizing: border-box; color: black; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"> <strong style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">[5]</strong></span></p></blockquote><p style="box-sizing: border-box; font-size: 1.1em; line-height: 21.692px; margin: 15px 0px; padding: 0px;">Professor Clinton Bennett</p><blockquote style="background: rgb(242, 242, 242); border-bottom: 1px solid rgb(221, 221, 221); border-right: 1px solid rgb(221, 221, 221); box-sizing: border-box; color: #76767a; font-size: 1em; margin: 18px 20px; overflow: hidden; padding: 6px 20px;"><p style="box-sizing: border-box; font-size: 1.1em; line-height: 21.692px; margin: 15px 0px; padding: 0px;"><span style="box-sizing: border-box; color: red; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"><span style="box-sizing: border-box; color: black; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">“Topically arranged (musannaf) works also appear in the mid-second/eighth century.</span> The earliest extant musannaf work is the Muwatta of Medinan Scholar malik b. Anas (d. 179 AH/795 CE),<span style="box-sizing: border-box; color: black; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"> the eponymous founder of the Maliki school of Sunni jurisprudence and teacher of Muhammad ibn Idris al-Shafii (d. 204 AH/820 CE).”</span></span><span style="box-sizing: border-box; color: black; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"> <strong style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">[6]</strong></span></p></blockquote><p style="box-sizing: border-box; font-size: 1.1em; line-height: 21.692px; margin: 15px 0px; padding: 0px;">I will finish my article of with a last reference by Professor Michael Bonner who refutes Joseph Schacht’s theory that somehow Hadith could not be traced before the year 718 -719. He says:</p><blockquote style="background: rgb(242, 242, 242); border-bottom: 1px solid rgb(221, 221, 221); border-right: 1px solid rgb(221, 221, 221); box-sizing: border-box; color: #76767a; font-size: 1em; margin: 18px 20px; overflow: hidden; padding: 6px 20px;"><p style="box-sizing: border-box; font-size: 1.1em; line-height: 21.692px; margin: 15px 0px; padding: 0px;"><span style="box-sizing: border-box; color: red; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"><span style="box-sizing: border-box; color: black; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">“Schacht thought that no hadith could be proved to date from before year 100 of the Hijra (718-719 CE). There is much more to Schacht’s theory than this, but here it will suffice to point out that for several decades in the West, much of the argument over the hadith has been an argument over the theories of Joseph Schacht. Nowadays Schacht’s work, together with Goldizher, is less favoured than it was not very long ago.</span> As more texts of hadith and early Islamic law have become available, several scholars have analyzed these materials, correlating the Isnad (the supporting chain of authority for such hadith itself) in more painstaking and systematic ways than Schacht had done in his day. As a result of this work, we can perceive in RICH DETAIL, the activities of transmission of learning and production of written texts, going on in early periods, <span style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration-line: underline;">sometimes before the cutoff date of AH 100</span> that Schacht declared to be the outer limit.”</span> <span style="box-sizing: border-box; color: black; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"><strong style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">[7]</strong></span></p></blockquote><p style="box-sizing: border-box; font-size: 1.1em; line-height: 21.692px; margin: 15px 0px; padding: 0px;"><strong style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">Conclusion:</strong> From all the evidence presented it just goes to show how reliable early Hadith transmitters and collectors were. Whatever Muslim Scholars of the past have said on Hadith reliability, now non-Muslim Scholars affirm this truth. I believe everything I have brought forth in this article from Academic sources thoroughly debunk missionary and Hadith-rejecter lies.</p><p style="box-sizing: border-box; font-size: 1.1em; line-height: 21.692px; margin: 15px 0px; padding: 0px;"><strong style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">References:</strong></p><p style="box-sizing: border-box; font-size: 1.1em; line-height: 21.692px; margin: 15px 0px; padding: 0px;"><strong style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">[1]</strong> Divine Word and Prophetic Word in Early Islam (1977) By William Albert Graham page 82<br style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;" /><strong style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">[2]</strong> Arabic Literature to the End of the Umayyad Period (2003) By A. F. L. Beeston page 272<br style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;" /><strong style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">[3]</strong> Encyclopaedic Historiography of the Muslim World By Nagendra Kr. Singh volume 1 Page 317 [Author Kr. Singh http://www.easternbookcorporation.com/moreinfo.php?txt_searchstring=3769]<br style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;" /><strong style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">[4]</strong> The Muṣannaf of ʿAbd al-Razzāq al-Sanʿānī as a Source of Authentic Aḥādīth of the First Century A. H. Harald Motzki Journal of Near Eastern Studies Volume 50, No. 1 (Jan., 1991), pp. 21<br style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;" /><strong style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">[5]</strong> Islam in Iran By Professor Ilya Pavlovich Petrushevsky page 105<br style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;" /><strong style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">[6]</strong> The Bloomsbury Companion to Islamic Studies by Clinton Bennett page 80<br style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;" /><strong style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">[7]</strong> Jihad in Islamic History: Doctrines and Practice By Professor Michael Bonner page 48</p></article>Mustafa Ahmedhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14172750188773095424noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-558359090739969505.post-50976935539950466872024-02-13T01:14:00.000-08:002024-02-13T01:14:17.772-08:00Why Did Ali Burn Some Apostates?<p> <b style="font-family: Tahoma; font-size: 13.3333px; text-align: center;"><u><span style="font-size: 18pt;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman;">Why Did Ali Burn Some Apostates?</span></span></u></b></p><p align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Tahoma; font-size: 13.3333px; margin: 0in 0in 0pt 0.5in; text-align: center;"> </p><p align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Tahoma; font-size: 13.3333px; margin: 0in 0in 0pt 0.5in; text-align: center;"><span class="nblue12"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman;">By</span></span></span></p><p align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Tahoma; font-size: 13.3333px; margin: 0in 0in 0pt 0.5in; text-align: center;"> </p><p align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Tahoma; font-size: 13.3333px; margin: 0in 0in 0pt 0.5in; text-align: center;"><span class="nblue12"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman;">Understanding Islam</span></span></span></p><p align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Tahoma; font-size: 13.3333px; margin: 0in 0in 0pt 0.5in; text-align: center;"> </p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Tahoma; font-size: 13.3333px; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"> </p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Tahoma; font-size: 13.3333px; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span class="nblue12"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman;"><b>Question:</b></span></span></span></p><p style="font-family: Tahoma; font-size: 13.3333px;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: small;">A Christian missionary has cited the following <i>Hadith</i> from <i>Bukhari </i>and is demanding an explanation:</span></p><p style="font-family: Tahoma; font-size: 13.3333px;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: small;">Volume 9, Book 84, Number 57:</span></p><p style="font-family: Tahoma; font-size: 13.3333px;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: small;">Narrated <i>`Ikrima</i>:</span></p><p style="font-family: Tahoma; font-size: 13.3333px;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: small;">Some <i>Zanadiqa</i> (atheists) were brought to <i>`Ali </i>and he burnt them. The news of this event, reached Ibn <i>`Abbas</i> who said, "If I had been in his place, I would not have burnt them, as Allah's Apostle forbade it, saying, 'Do not punish anybody with Allah's punishment (fire).' I would have killed them according to the statement of Allah's Apostle, 'Whoever changed his Islamic religion, then kill him.'"</span></p><p style="font-family: Tahoma; font-size: 13.3333px;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: small;">---------------</span></p><p style="font-family: Tahoma; font-size: 13.3333px;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman;">Can you briefly describe the background, which compelled <i>Hadhrat</i> <i>`Ali</i> to take this action? How valid is the <i>isnad</i><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><i><sup> [1]</sup></i></span> and <i>matn<span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><sup> [2]</sup></span></i> and the legality of such a punishment? If there is an <i>argument</i> that <i>Hadhrat</i> <i>`Ali </i>cited to justify this action, that too is welcome.</span></span></p><p style="font-family: Tahoma; font-size: 13.3333px;"><i><span style="font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: small;">Jazakumallah Khaira</span></i></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Tahoma; font-size: 13.3333px; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><br /><br /><span class="nblue12"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman;"><b>Answer:</b></span></span></span></p><p style="font-family: Tahoma; font-size: 13.3333px;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: small;">The referred narrative is placed in the <i>Kitaab Al-Jihaad</i> as well as the <i>Kitaab Istitaabah Al-Murtaddeen</i> by <i>Al-Bukhari</i> in his <i>"Sahih"</i>.</span></p><p style="font-family: Tahoma; font-size: 13.3333px;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman;">Although <i>Bukhari's</i> narratives do not give any details regarding the incident, yet in his exegesis on <i>Bukhari</i> - <i>"Fath Al-Baari" </i>- <i>Ibn Hajar</i> has mentioned a few other versions of the same incident<span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><sup> [3]</sup></span>. Considering all the narratives reporting this incident, the following major variations come to the forefront:</span></span></p><p style="font-family: Tahoma; font-size: 13.3333px;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman;">Firstly, there is quite a bit of variation regarding the people, who were subjected to this punishment. According to one version, they were atheists, according to a second version, they were apostates, according to a third version, they were a group of people, who secretly used to practice idolatry and according to a fourth version, they were a group of <i>Rawafidh</i><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><i><sup> [4]</sup></i></span>, who believed in the divinity of <i>`Ali</i> (ra).</span></span></p><p style="font-family: Tahoma; font-size: 13.3333px;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: small;">Secondly, there is a significant difference between the reports regarding the incident itself. Although, the narratives given in <i>Bukhari </i>do not give any details of how the incident happened, yet <i>Ibn Hajar</i> has given a few narratives, which give some details of the happening. According to one version, when <i>`Ali</i> (ra) was informed regarding a people who considered him to be god, he called them and asked them to refrain from such blasphemy. They refused to comply. This went on for three days. Till, finally, <i>`Ali</i> (ra) ordered to dig a deep pit and burn a huge fire in it. The criminals were brought to the fire. <i>`Ali </i>(ra) told them that if they do not agree to refrain from their blasphemy, they would be thrown in the fire. They persisted in their refusal and were, subsequently, thrown in the fire. According to a second version, <i>`Ali </i>(ra) was informed of a people who secretly worshipped idols in a house. <i>`Ali </i>(ra) went to investigate the report. An idol was recovered from the house and, subsequently, the house was burnt to ashes. According to a third version, <i>`Ali </i>(ra) was informed of some apostates. He called for them. When they arrived, <i>`Ali</i> (ra) gave them food to eat and asked them to return to Islam. They refused. At their refusal, <i>`Ali</i> (ra) made them stand in a pit and killed them in it. Subsequently, he burnt them.</span></p><p style="font-family: Tahoma; font-size: 13.3333px;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: small;">These are some of the various versions of the incident as reported in books of history and <i>Hadith</i>. One may take whichever explanation he believes to be more plausible to be accurate.</span></p><p style="font-family: Tahoma; font-size: 13.3333px;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: small;">In my opinion, the second and the third versions of the incident are quite considerable. It seems that:</span></p><p style="font-family: Tahoma; font-size: 13.3333px; margin-left: 0.5in; text-indent: -0.25in;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman;"><span style="font-size: small;">1.</span><span style="font-size: 7pt; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span><span dir="ltr"><span style="font-size: small;">After it had become evident that the house was secretly being used for idolatry, <i>`Ali</i> (ra) ordered that it be burnt down. However, due to a mistake on the part of one or more of the narrators, the incident has been reported in a way that it gives the impression that the house was burnt down with its inhabitants. Whereas, it may not have been so; or</span></span></span></p><p style="font-family: Tahoma; font-size: 13.3333px; margin-left: 0.5in; text-indent: -0.25in;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman;"><span style="font-size: small;">2.</span><span style="font-size: 7pt; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span><span dir="ltr"><span style="font-size: small;">People were killed for their apostasy and later on their corpses were burnt to ashes. This is clearly implied in the third stated version of the incident.</span></span></span></p><p style="font-family: Tahoma; font-size: 13.3333px;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: small;">Nevertheless, if someone is not willing to accept any of the above explanations and is persistent that <i>`Ali </i>(ra) actually burnt these criminals to death, even then the most that can be said is that <i>`Ali's</i> decision of burning the criminals to death was not correct, in view of the directive of the Prophet (pbuh) to the contrary. This, obviously, would amount to a criticism on <i>`Ali's</i> decision - not a criticism on Islam.</span></p><p style="font-family: Tahoma; font-size: 13.3333px;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: small;">After all, <i>`Ali</i> (ra) was but a human being, he may have erred in his decision.</span></p><p style="font-family: Tahoma; font-size: 13.3333px;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: small;">I hope this helps.</span></p><p style="font-family: Tahoma; font-size: 13.3333px;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: small;">October 11, 2000</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Tahoma; font-size: 13.3333px; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"> </p><p style="font-family: Tahoma; font-size: 13.3333px;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman;"><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><sup> [1]</sup></span> That is the chain of narrators of this reporting.</span></span></p><p style="font-family: Tahoma; font-size: 13.3333px;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman;"><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><sup> [2]</sup></span> That is, the text of this reporting.</span></span></p><p style="font-family: Tahoma; font-size: 13.3333px;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman;"><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><sup> [3]</sup></span> <i>Al-Fath Al-Baari</i>, <i>Kitaab Istitaabah Al-Murtaddeen</i>, Vol. 12, Pg. 270</span></span></p><p style="font-family: Tahoma; font-size: 13.3333px;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman;"><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><sup> [4]</sup></span> i.e. rejecters.</span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Tahoma; font-size: 13.3333px; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"> </p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Tahoma; font-size: 13.3333px; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"> </p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Tahoma; font-size: 13.3333px; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: small;">Source: </span><a href="http://www.understanding-islam.com/related/text.asp?type=question&qid=397&sscatid=259"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: small;">http://www.understanding-islam.com/related/text.asp?type=question&qid=397&sscatid=259</span></a></p>Mustafa Ahmedhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14172750188773095424noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-558359090739969505.post-40385665552542341882024-02-03T13:08:00.000-08:002024-02-03T13:22:11.970-08:00Responding to Hoaxer Dan Gibson: Did Early Mosques Really Face Petra?<p> </p><p align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; mso-outline-level: 1; text-align: center; vertical-align: baseline;"><b><span face=""Open Sans",sans-serif" style="color: black; font-size: 40.5pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB; mso-font-kerning: 18.0pt;">Responding to Hoaxer Dan Gibson: Did Early Mosques Really Face Petra?<o:p></o:p></span></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: 22.5pt; vertical-align: middle;"><b><span face=""Open Sans",sans-serif" style="color: #444444; font-size: 11.5pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;">By:</span></b><span face=""Open Sans",sans-serif" style="color: #444444; font-size: 8.5pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;"><a href="https://muslimskeptic.com/author/hudlesprit/"><b><span style="color: blue; font-size: 11.5pt;">Hud Lesprit</span></b></a> <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm; vertical-align: top;"><b><span face=""Open Sans",sans-serif" style="color: black; font-size: 11.5pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;">Date: </span></b><b><span face=""Open Sans",sans-serif" style="color: black; font-size: 11.5pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;">April 13, 2023</span></b></p>
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<blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0 0 0 40px; padding: 0px;"><p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; text-align: left; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 10.5pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p></blockquote>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 19.5pt; vertical-align: baseline;"><span face=""var(--global-font)",serif" style="color: black; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Open Sans"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;">Dan Gibson is a quack who tried to
convince people that, at the time of the Prophet Muhammad (may Allah bless him
and grant him peace), the real Makkah was actually Petra, an ancient city
located in Jordania.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 19.5pt; vertical-align: baseline;"><span face=""var(--global-font)",serif" style="color: black; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Open Sans"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;">His thesis consists mainly of cherry-picking
verses and narrations from the Islamic tradition and trying to force them to
fit his narrative. However, he claims to bring forth some pieces of evidence
that are more concerning. What exactly is he babbling on about? Well, according
to him, when examining its orientation, most of the early mosques faced Petra
and not Makkah!<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 19.5pt; vertical-align: baseline;"><span face=""var(--global-font)",serif" style="color: black; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Open Sans"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;">Gibson’s claim that the early mosques
faced Petra, rather than Makkah, has managed to stir up some doubts for a few.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 19.5pt; vertical-align: baseline;"><span face=""var(--global-font)",serif" style="color: black; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Open Sans"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;">While some have attempted to dismantle
Gibson’s thesis logically, very few have actually focused on the empirical
flaws in his work. That being said, however, we must not overlook the fact that
many early mosques do at least appear to face towards the direction of Petra.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 19.5pt; vertical-align: baseline;"><span face=""var(--global-font)",serif" style="color: black; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Open Sans"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;">And thus, we are left questioning the
legitimacy of Gibson’s claims.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 19.5pt; vertical-align: baseline;"><span face=""var(--global-font)",serif" style="color: black; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Open Sans"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;">It is high time these doubts were
decisively put to rest. We unequivocally reject Gibson’s thesis and aim to
provide evidence supporting the traditional orientation of the qiblah towards
Makkah. In the course of doing so, it is only appropriate that we also shed
light on the distortions pushed by Gibson throughout his observations.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 19.5pt; vertical-align: baseline;"><span face=""var(--global-font)",serif" style="color: black; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Open Sans"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;">Let us make it very clear from the
onset: <b>the early mosques did NOT face Petra</b>.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 19.5pt; vertical-align: baseline;"><span face=""var(--global-font)",serif" style="color: black; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Open Sans"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;">Gibson has twisted the facts in order
to bring them in line with his thesis, and we are obligated to challenge his
claims with vigor. It is imperative that we always protect the authenticity of
our traditions from misrepresentation and thoroughly dismantle any falsehood
that aims to threaten them.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 19.5pt; vertical-align: baseline;"><span face=""var(--global-font)",serif" style="color: black; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Open Sans"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;">Our faith is built upon centuries of
tradition, and we must be vigilant in preserving it.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 19.5pt; vertical-align: baseline;"><b><span face=""var(--global-font)",serif" style="color: black; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Open Sans"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;">RELATED: <a href="https://muslimskeptic.com/2022/08/16/salman-rushdie-neo-orientalism-western-hypocrisy/" target="_blank"><span style="color: blue;">Salman Rushdie: Neo-Orientalism and
Western Hypocrisy</span></a></span></b><span face=""var(--global-font)",serif" style="color: black; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Open Sans"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: 30pt; margin-bottom: 17.25pt; margin-left: 0cm; margin-right: 0cm; margin-top: 24.75pt; margin: 24.75pt 0cm 17.25pt; mso-outline-level: 1; vertical-align: baseline;"><b><span face=""Open Sans",sans-serif" style="color: black; font-size: 24pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB; mso-font-kerning: 18.0pt;">Gibson’s Distortion of the Data<o:p></o:p></span></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 19.5pt; vertical-align: baseline;"><span face=""var(--global-font)",serif" style="color: black; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Open Sans"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;">Let us start by taking a look at some
clear examples of distortion perpetrated by Gibson.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: 28.5pt; margin-bottom: 15.0pt; margin-left: 0cm; margin-right: 0cm; margin-top: 22.5pt; margin: 22.5pt 0cm 15pt; mso-outline-level: 2; vertical-align: baseline;"><b><span face=""Open Sans",sans-serif" style="color: black; font-size: 20.5pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;">Medmar Mosque<o:p></o:p></span></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 19.5pt; vertical-align: baseline;"><span face=""var(--global-font)",serif" style="color: black; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Open Sans"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;">In his fervor to spread his manipulated
ideas, Gibson alleges that the Medmar mosque was facing Petra. This is a claim
that can easily be debunked with a simple Google Maps search.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 19.5pt; vertical-align: baseline;"><span face=""var(--global-font)",serif" style="color: black; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Open Sans"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;">It is an undisputed fact that the
mosque being targeted by Gibson is not the authentic Medmar mosque, and the
true mosque is resolutely oriented towards Makkah, the holy city which lies at
the heart of our faith.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 19.5pt; vertical-align: baseline;"><span face=""var(--global-font)",serif" style="color: black; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Open Sans"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;">In a desperate attempt to defend his
baseless claim, Gibson suggests that the mosque underwent restoration and that,
during this process, the qiblah was changed. However, his desperation in
engineering the facts to support his narrative only underscores the extents to
which he is willing to go.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm; vertical-align: baseline;"><span face=""var(--global-font)",serif" style="color: black; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Open Sans"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;"><br /></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm; vertical-align: baseline;"><span face=""var(--global-font)",serif" style="color: black; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Open Sans"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;"></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span face=""var(--global-font)",serif" style="color: black; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Open Sans"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEioQLjnctr4PSFPJRfbeE2dPu1CVU-BN7sO8vWC3rBmfH8Tc7UOPuAJjeUBENapAA-8sCl0g-KqAN8HOZH8j3EEvZ_KzzzJl14GZ5nqyyb34I2zgVUq3cGrNa0P9mSoTKpe-csPulfNZHdn6MMX9t1kqW2B45g3oLxen6ROGuHSBfi_rgH6oE2RHUDfLCZW" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="391" data-original-width="781" height="258" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEioQLjnctr4PSFPJRfbeE2dPu1CVU-BN7sO8vWC3rBmfH8Tc7UOPuAJjeUBENapAA-8sCl0g-KqAN8HOZH8j3EEvZ_KzzzJl14GZ5nqyyb34I2zgVUq3cGrNa0P9mSoTKpe-csPulfNZHdn6MMX9t1kqW2B45g3oLxen6ROGuHSBfi_rgH6oE2RHUDfLCZW=w516-h258" width="516" /></a></span></div><span face=""var(--global-font)",serif" style="color: black; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Open Sans"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;"><br /><span style="font-size: 12pt;">The
building used by Gibson for his measurement.</span></span><p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm; vertical-align: baseline;"><span face=""var(--global-font)",serif" style="color: black; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Open Sans"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;"><span style="font-size: 12pt;"></span></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span face=""var(--global-font)",serif" style="color: black; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Open Sans"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEj8vkEedOAlcwfy30KbMLrz1MzsG6t8ffOlpYl2InoOsmlUXBJgH0VG1MJcjyszMx-pjNYzjj49P21FqIdIVU1HgLanR2wICKS8hAa5izS8rtyyh7HOjgcae8RDajR4r1L_gM3l9wxGFvMmWF1oxLAhazZAXZnzZixmNMPiFB7M660n2h7RprB9jc9BxcMD" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="430" data-original-width="781" height="289" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEj8vkEedOAlcwfy30KbMLrz1MzsG6t8ffOlpYl2InoOsmlUXBJgH0VG1MJcjyszMx-pjNYzjj49P21FqIdIVU1HgLanR2wICKS8hAa5izS8rtyyh7HOjgcae8RDajR4r1L_gM3l9wxGFvMmWF1oxLAhazZAXZnzZixmNMPiFB7M660n2h7RprB9jc9BxcMD=w524-h289" width="524" /></a></span></div><span face=""var(--global-font)",serif" style="color: black; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Open Sans"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;"><br /><br /></span><p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm; vertical-align: baseline;"><span face=""var(--global-font)",serif" style="color: black; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Open Sans"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;"><span style="font-size: 12pt;">The actual Medmar mosque according
to a simple Google Map search.</span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: 28.5pt; margin-bottom: 15.0pt; margin-left: 0cm; margin-right: 0cm; margin-top: 22.5pt; margin: 22.5pt 0cm 15pt; mso-outline-level: 2; vertical-align: baseline;"><b><span face=""Open Sans",sans-serif" style="color: black; font-size: 20.5pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;">Hama Mosque<o:p></o:p></span></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 19.5pt; vertical-align: baseline;"><span face=""var(--global-font)",serif" style="color: black; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Open Sans"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;">Gibson’s originally stated that this
mosque has never been rebuilt and that it was erected by Muslims in 15 AH:<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 19.5pt; vertical-align: baseline;"><span face=""var(--global-font)",serif" style="color: black; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Open Sans"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;"></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span face=""var(--global-font)",serif" style="color: black; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Open Sans"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEipEJoNZbe4CWj77GgRANoUreJLIEAQrl8wLibwqraRgyuBfxpRHAg4nzZCsL60LwUWQ9ZIT5qKSKCrBOJZp-QVwMZreX2ltKV6FibekvDrMwoAjIsAryiUi6a5JRWSBg1r_uBMtTBNGlnNoqKkgyDblTU2rXHsHh2W5LdwU9raCgSFUDi2RIFSqDux28xk" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="559" data-original-width="938" height="315" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEipEJoNZbe4CWj77GgRANoUreJLIEAQrl8wLibwqraRgyuBfxpRHAg4nzZCsL60LwUWQ9ZIT5qKSKCrBOJZp-QVwMZreX2ltKV6FibekvDrMwoAjIsAryiUi6a5JRWSBg1r_uBMtTBNGlnNoqKkgyDblTU2rXHsHh2W5LdwU9raCgSFUDi2RIFSqDux28xk=w527-h315" width="527" /></a></span></div><span face=""var(--global-font)",serif" style="color: black; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Open Sans"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;"><br /><br /></span><p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm; vertical-align: baseline;"><span face=""var(--global-font)",serif" style="color: black; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Open Sans"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;">A
screenshot taken from his original thesis.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 19.5pt; vertical-align: baseline;"><span face=""var(--global-font)",serif" style="color: black; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Open Sans"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;">Gibson’s claim that the mosque in Hama,
Syria, was facing Petra is not only erroneous but also lacks any historical
basis.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 19.5pt; vertical-align: baseline;"><span face=""var(--global-font)",serif" style="color: black; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Open Sans"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;">Once again, a simple internet search is
all that is required to dispel Gibson’s allegations. The Hama mosque in
question was originally a cathedral, and its orientation was determined long
before the arrival of Islam in Syria. The fact that the cathedral was not
destroyed but instead converted into a mosque confirms that the orientation was
not changed by Muslims.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 19.5pt; vertical-align: baseline;"><span face=""var(--global-font)",serif" style="color: black; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Open Sans"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;">It is alarming that Gibson, in his
book, which was published in 2022, was forced to retract his original statement
after being confronted with his error. It is a sad reflection of the academic
illiteracy that some people have been subjected to for decades, all because of
Gibson’s blatant disregard for the truth.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 19.5pt; vertical-align: baseline;"><span face=""var(--global-font)",serif" style="color: black; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Open Sans"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;">When your claims are being falsified by
the most basic of searches on the internet, it really calls into question your
academic acumen and integrity.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 19.5pt; vertical-align: baseline;"><b><span face=""var(--global-font)",serif" style="color: black; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Open Sans"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;">RELATED: <a href="https://muslimskeptic.com/2023/01/19/multi-faith-prayer-room/" target="_blank"><span style="color: blue;">The Multi-Faith Prayer Room: Modern
Equivalent to the ‘Ibādat Khāna of Akbar?</span></a></span></b><span face=""var(--global-font)",serif" style="color: black; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Open Sans"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: 28.5pt; margin-bottom: 15.0pt; margin-left: 0cm; margin-right: 0cm; margin-top: 22.5pt; margin: 22.5pt 0cm 15pt; mso-outline-level: 2; vertical-align: baseline;"><b><span face=""Open Sans",sans-serif" style="color: black; font-size: 20.5pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;">Fustat Mosque<o:p></o:p></span></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 19.5pt; vertical-align: baseline;"><span face=""var(--global-font)",serif" style="color: black; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Open Sans"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;">Gibson’s claim that the Fustat mosque,
in Egypt, faced Petra is based on unreliable and distorted sources.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 19.5pt; vertical-align: baseline;"><span face=""var(--global-font)",serif" style="color: black; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Open Sans"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;">To support his argument, Gibson relies
on a passage from Hagarism, written by Patricia Crohn and Michael Cooke.
However, this passage does not even actually support his conclusion, i.e., that
the mosque was facing Petra. It merely suggests that the mosque was not
perfectly aligned with the Ka’bah.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 19.5pt; vertical-align: baseline;"><span face=""var(--global-font)",serif" style="color: black; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Open Sans"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;">In fact, the very same passage
contradicts Gibson’s claim, as it includes a contemporary eye-witness account
from Jacob of Edessa, stating that the mosque faced east, towards the Ka’bah.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: 15.75pt; vertical-align: baseline;"><b><span face=""Open Sans",sans-serif" style="color: black; font-size: 10.5pt; letter-spacing: -0.4pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;">From the Christian side we have the remarkable
statement of Jacob of Edessa, a contemporary eye-witness, that the ‘Mahgraye’
in Egypt prayed facing east towards the Ka’ba (Hagarism, p.24)<o:p></o:p></span></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 19.5pt; vertical-align: baseline;"><span face=""var(--global-font)",serif" style="color: black; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Open Sans"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;">Gibson’s attempt to have his cake and
eat it too here is nothing short of fraudulent. He quite evidently has some
misguided agenda which he is working towards, by manipulating sources and
distorting the facts.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: 28.5pt; margin-bottom: 15.0pt; margin-left: 0cm; margin-right: 0cm; margin-top: 22.5pt; margin: 22.5pt 0cm 15pt; mso-outline-level: 2; vertical-align: baseline;"><b><span face=""Open Sans",sans-serif" style="color: black; font-size: 20.5pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;">Humeima Qasr<o:p></o:p></span></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 19.5pt; vertical-align: baseline;"><span face=""var(--global-font)",serif" style="color: black; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Open Sans"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;">Gibson’s assertion that the mosque of
Humeima faced Petra is highly questionable. Upon a closer inspection of the
site’s plan, it becomes apparent that there is a sizeable structure with a
small mosque, which is facing downwards, located in the southeast region.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 19.5pt; vertical-align: baseline;"><span face=""var(--global-font)",serif" style="color: black; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Open Sans"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;">Take a look at what Gibson presented in
his original thesis:<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 19.5pt; vertical-align: baseline;"><span face=""var(--global-font)",serif" style="color: black; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Open Sans"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;"></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span face=""var(--global-font)",serif" style="color: black; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Open Sans"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEg_muaa1WOw62caHXpTaoNmQkoSLJ0GDFoWg9W2M4kQeoKtQW1R9wY3VcmvZVcPHVB4XxN-ojOTiM_S1vzsr42o56-uanXkSgeKhrDQb_jUBdEG3MChLXp4TnbfP4QXyVncWo7Mn5kVEaKU-ooZC2LWJMp5VuuQ0UU9anA24TfsKKqYTFYLKkrm5G8uXy0B" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="578" data-original-width="781" height="372" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEg_muaa1WOw62caHXpTaoNmQkoSLJ0GDFoWg9W2M4kQeoKtQW1R9wY3VcmvZVcPHVB4XxN-ojOTiM_S1vzsr42o56-uanXkSgeKhrDQb_jUBdEG3MChLXp4TnbfP4QXyVncWo7Mn5kVEaKU-ooZC2LWJMp5VuuQ0UU9anA24TfsKKqYTFYLKkrm5G8uXy0B=w501-h372" width="501" /></a></span></div><span face=""var(--global-font)",serif" style="color: black; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Open Sans"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;"><br /><span style="font-size: 12pt;">The
red arrow is pointing towards Petra and the green arrow is pointing towards
Makkah.</span></span><p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 19.5pt; vertical-align: baseline;"><span face=""var(--global-font)",serif" style="color: black; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Open Sans"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;">However, what Gibson failed to disclose
in his publication was that the large structure was, in fact, a castle, and it
did not contain a mihrab. There is no evidence to suggest that it was ever
utilized as a mosque. Conversely, the smaller building towards the south has
been identified as a mosque since a mihrab-like structure was excavated there.
This indicates that Gibson’s claims lack any credibility whatsoever and that
they are flawed at their very core.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 19.5pt; vertical-align: baseline;"><span face=""var(--global-font)",serif" style="color: black; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Open Sans"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;"></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span face=""var(--global-font)",serif" style="color: black; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Open Sans"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEgzBJBMhZnSHdbUDW-cEAIeFoJQp0zyMohHoT6s9B6omAAGtbIlJ59E8ovIn_fMr00GXsMo1xONrTxYt_W8nzJPMQuBPz9NYMkDWfTaKelpbBaS3NyVITmkNKkqs6zFJVYbsox6TsmP2tPH2KveLk_pQUUwelkoZO6H8rlrekPti9gqcDKnTOFzcuA9TRKV" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="570" data-original-width="648" height="332" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEgzBJBMhZnSHdbUDW-cEAIeFoJQp0zyMohHoT6s9B6omAAGtbIlJ59E8ovIn_fMr00GXsMo1xONrTxYt_W8nzJPMQuBPz9NYMkDWfTaKelpbBaS3NyVITmkNKkqs6zFJVYbsox6TsmP2tPH2KveLk_pQUUwelkoZO6H8rlrekPti9gqcDKnTOFzcuA9TRKV=w377-h332" width="377" /></a></span></div><span face=""var(--global-font)",serif" style="color: black; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Open Sans"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;"><br /><br /></span><p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm; vertical-align: baseline;"><span face=""var(--global-font)",serif" style="color: black; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Open Sans"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;">The
larger building shows no evidence of ever being a mosque, but the small
building on the bottom right of the image does. Can you guess which building
Gibson used as part of his thesis?<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 19.5pt; vertical-align: baseline;"><b><span face=""var(--global-font)",serif" style="color: black; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Open Sans"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;">RELATED: <a href="https://muslimskeptic.com/2022/07/26/muslim-women-men-evil-myth/" target="_blank"><span style="color: blue;">Why Muslim Women Tend to Fall for the
“All Men Are Evil” Myth</span></a></span></b><span face=""var(--global-font)",serif" style="color: black; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Open Sans"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: 28.5pt; margin-bottom: 15.0pt; margin-left: 0cm; margin-right: 0cm; margin-top: 22.5pt; margin: 22.5pt 0cm 15pt; mso-outline-level: 2; vertical-align: baseline;"><b><span face=""Open Sans",sans-serif" style="color: black; font-size: 20.5pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;">The Mosque of Umm al Walid<o:p></o:p></span></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 19.5pt; vertical-align: baseline;"><span face=""var(--global-font)",serif" style="color: black; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Open Sans"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;">It appears that Gibson’s claims
regarding the mosque of Umm al Walid facing Petra have no factual basis and
that they are simply not true. A quick glance at a satellite image of the
actual ruins reveals that the mosque is oriented towards the south, not Petra.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 19.5pt; vertical-align: baseline;"><span face=""var(--global-font)",serif" style="color: black; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Open Sans"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;">But it gets worse. In his presentation,
Gibson didn’t even show the real ruins of Umm al Walid. He, in his typical
fashion, manipulated the evidence in order to somehow force it to fit his false
narrative. Once again, this is yet another clear indicator that he lacks any
credibility.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 19.5pt; vertical-align: baseline;"><span face=""var(--global-font)",serif" style="color: black; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Open Sans"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;"></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span face=""var(--global-font)",serif" style="color: black; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Open Sans"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjxQD40Kthv5SvZB6rSHddCpSOuVJa5f0F2RMYTTE-MZKNCiSb-v_XI3qd_JtxKS5e-Y8QFnfNmq_CWOJHcf6QxRErRZeO1bwMXufqBRw0sb1Z7BPOb_L-KcdzACYTrgsYI_m8z9l5iOIvLoK3mXctpucX4c4llgkVZegC8aF5X0vYYdG1G87XkiIXi7_6Z" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="388" data-original-width="781" height="267" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjxQD40Kthv5SvZB6rSHddCpSOuVJa5f0F2RMYTTE-MZKNCiSb-v_XI3qd_JtxKS5e-Y8QFnfNmq_CWOJHcf6QxRErRZeO1bwMXufqBRw0sb1Z7BPOb_L-KcdzACYTrgsYI_m8z9l5iOIvLoK3mXctpucX4c4llgkVZegC8aF5X0vYYdG1G87XkiIXi7_6Z=w537-h267" width="537" /></a></span></div><span face=""var(--global-font)",serif" style="color: black; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Open Sans"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;"><br /><span style="font-size: 12pt;">What
Gibson presented in his original work as being Umm Al Walid mosque.</span><span style="font-size: 12pt;">The real ruins of Umm Al Walid.</span></span><p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 19.5pt; vertical-align: baseline;"><span face=""var(--global-font)",serif" style="color: black; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Open Sans"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;"><span style="font-size: 12pt;"></span></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span face=""var(--global-font)",serif" style="color: black; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Open Sans"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEiPGDHHHUsvQxRHxZi8NMe2RrFfKDugSJtSYiXSW1dj56S6LnhrQjnOpAcuTXv3B7tj3ERO7a1AArrxFBotD0LINrsBumtpldKryRtyJmtXHiVgXZVhI1PoP75QDKXqYbiF-C61TkrIHXSmP-UwYGEScuueM6jPHcoNjzz4Fi0ycVMLVaq93kFOznRRY6_P" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="333" data-original-width="781" height="235" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEiPGDHHHUsvQxRHxZi8NMe2RrFfKDugSJtSYiXSW1dj56S6LnhrQjnOpAcuTXv3B7tj3ERO7a1AArrxFBotD0LINrsBumtpldKryRtyJmtXHiVgXZVhI1PoP75QDKXqYbiF-C61TkrIHXSmP-UwYGEScuueM6jPHcoNjzz4Fi0ycVMLVaq93kFOznRRY6_P=w553-h235" width="553" /></a></span></div><span face=""var(--global-font)",serif" style="color: black; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Open Sans"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;"><br /><br /></span><p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 19.5pt; vertical-align: baseline;"><span face=""var(--global-font)",serif" style="color: black; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Open Sans"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;">And this is not some isolated instance.
Gibson makes numerous such blunders throughout his work, only eventually
correcting them after others pointed out his glaring mistakes.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 19.5pt; vertical-align: baseline;"><span face=""var(--global-font)",serif" style="color: black; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Open Sans"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;">It raises some important questions:<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 19.5pt; vertical-align: baseline;"><i><span face=""var(--global-font)",serif" style="color: black; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Open Sans"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;">Why
didn’t he ensure that his “research” was accurate to begin with, rather than
leaving it for others to come by and correct him before fixing his “mistakes”?</span></i><span face=""var(--global-font)",serif" style="color: black; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Open Sans"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 19.5pt; vertical-align: baseline;"><i><span face=""var(--global-font)",serif" style="color: black; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Open Sans"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;">How
incompetent does someone have to be in order to make such an array of amateur
“mistakes”?</span></i><span face=""var(--global-font)",serif" style="color: black; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Open Sans"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 19.5pt; vertical-align: baseline;"><i><span face=""var(--global-font)",serif" style="color: black; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Open Sans"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;">Isn’t
is quite evident by this point that there is a clear agenda here?</span></i><span face=""var(--global-font)",serif" style="color: black; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Open Sans"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 19.5pt; vertical-align: baseline;"><i><span face=""var(--global-font)",serif" style="color: black; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Open Sans"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;">How
could anyone take such blatantly fraudulent “research” seriously?</span></i><span face=""var(--global-font)",serif" style="color: black; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Open Sans"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 19.5pt; vertical-align: baseline;"><span face=""var(--global-font)",serif" style="color: black; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Open Sans"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;">Gibson seems to be so extremely
desperate in his frantic search to find any “evidence” whatsoever—anything that
can somehow be bended to support his claims—that he’s more than willing to
actually distort and manipulate the facts if doing so helps to further his
nonsensical claims.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 19.5pt; vertical-align: baseline;"><span face=""var(--global-font)",serif" style="color: black; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Open Sans"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;">True scholarship requires honesty and
integrity, and, sadly, Gibson is sorely lacking in both.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: 28.5pt; margin-bottom: 15.0pt; margin-left: 0cm; margin-right: 0cm; margin-top: 22.5pt; margin: 22.5pt 0cm 15pt; mso-outline-level: 2; vertical-align: baseline;"><b><span face=""Open Sans",sans-serif" style="color: black; font-size: 20.5pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;">Qasr El Bai’j<o:p></o:p></span></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm; vertical-align: baseline;"><span face=""var(--global-font)",serif" style="color: black; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Open Sans"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;"></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span face=""var(--global-font)",serif" style="color: black; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Open Sans"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhBpWQRT0yMa-9voRV1a_82JlFDi7mbNFeWcuUeJDd8_ZjUvY2NL6Lti4dz7nSdJTkbT1KOgovgmjVs3KAGWZWyIc1LUmQl4BPYDNzutKzehi9I03tz-Yu9NmXRyi065ORWis4LpHnQNxnM8_k8bVr62sn4K3rOW5A97356Bl2KEmRpf3PVmlS46sU2d5vr" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="541" data-original-width="781" height="348" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhBpWQRT0yMa-9voRV1a_82JlFDi7mbNFeWcuUeJDd8_ZjUvY2NL6Lti4dz7nSdJTkbT1KOgovgmjVs3KAGWZWyIc1LUmQl4BPYDNzutKzehi9I03tz-Yu9NmXRyi065ORWis4LpHnQNxnM8_k8bVr62sn4K3rOW5A97356Bl2KEmRpf3PVmlS46sU2d5vr=w501-h348" width="501" /></a></span></div><span face=""var(--global-font)",serif" style="color: black; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Open Sans"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;"><br /><br /></span><p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm; vertical-align: baseline;"><span face=""var(--global-font)",serif" style="color: black; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Open Sans"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;">The
red arrow is pointing towards Petra, and the green arrow is pointing towards
Makkah.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 19.5pt; vertical-align: baseline;"><span face=""var(--global-font)",serif" style="color: black; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Open Sans"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;">Let us now delve into Gibson’s claims
regarding the castle of El Bai’j.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 19.5pt; vertical-align: baseline;"><span face=""var(--global-font)",serif" style="color: black; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Open Sans"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;">He alleges that the buildings were
facing Petra, but let’s take a closer look at his evidence. <a href="https://nabataea.net/explore/cities_and_sites/qasr-el-baij/" target="_blank"><span style="color: blue;">According to</span></a> archaeologist
reports, there is no clear qiblah that can be established at this site, and
there is no evidence of a mosque.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 19.5pt; vertical-align: baseline;"><span face=""var(--global-font)",serif" style="color: black; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Open Sans"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;">Yet, despite this, Gibson seems to have
a different perspective. He has drawn a qiblah that points towards Petra,
despite there being no concrete proof to support his claim.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 19.5pt; vertical-align: baseline;"><span face=""var(--global-font)",serif" style="color: black; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Open Sans"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;">Again, this raises an important
question:<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 19.5pt; vertical-align: baseline;"><i><span face=""var(--global-font)",serif" style="color: black; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Open Sans"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;">Why
would he do that?</span></i><span face=""var(--global-font)",serif" style="color: black; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Open Sans"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 19.5pt; vertical-align: baseline;"><span face=""var(--global-font)",serif" style="color: black; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Open Sans"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;">It seems that Gibson, in his desperate
attempts to find even the smallest shred of evidence to support his theory,
deems it perfectly fine to resort to misrepresentation and manipulation of the
facts.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 19.5pt; vertical-align: baseline;"><b><span face=""var(--global-font)",serif" style="color: black; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Open Sans"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;">RELATED: <a href="https://muslimskeptic.com/2023/02/02/debunking-christian-miracle-of-fatima/" target="_blank"><span style="color: blue;">Debunking the Christian “Miracle of
Fátima”</span></a></span></b><span face=""var(--global-font)",serif" style="color: black; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Open Sans"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: 28.5pt; margin-bottom: 15.0pt; margin-left: 0cm; margin-right: 0cm; margin-top: 22.5pt; margin: 22.5pt 0cm 15pt; mso-outline-level: 2; vertical-align: baseline;"><b><span face=""Open Sans",sans-serif" style="color: black; font-size: 20.5pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;">Umm Jimal<o:p></o:p></span></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 19.5pt; vertical-align: baseline;"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEj7rfqOn7h1ClcJ1UJNsh-mrPOBkPJNRnG-gaw70u5Cv-HHA_q7hr7w5LpTSgVM5iDYWlbTqzqDWLjIJUbyoAcarWk_Zav0vPOWB4u1sc0vWe2jp-Z9BsPC_zLwW4LXQeeUf6kpL_KKJLtf84d964pSDF6cAA7ELwh48KI8XpmsBAHc_9yxOGI-s_LtczAn" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="667" data-original-width="781" height="427" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEj7rfqOn7h1ClcJ1UJNsh-mrPOBkPJNRnG-gaw70u5Cv-HHA_q7hr7w5LpTSgVM5iDYWlbTqzqDWLjIJUbyoAcarWk_Zav0vPOWB4u1sc0vWe2jp-Z9BsPC_zLwW4LXQeeUf6kpL_KKJLtf84d964pSDF6cAA7ELwh48KI8XpmsBAHc_9yxOGI-s_LtczAn=w500-h427" width="500" /></a></div><br /><br /><p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 19.5pt; vertical-align: baseline;"><span face=""var(--global-font)",serif" style="color: black; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Open Sans"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;">When it comes to the Umm Jimal mosque,
Gibson seems to once again be stretching the facts. Despite his claims that the
mosque faced Petra, the reality is quite different. Archaeologists who have
studied the site report that no mosque was found there, and that the buildings
themselves predate the Islamic period. I mean, just take a look at <a href="https://www.associationromanarchaeology.org/News%2027%20-%20web.pdf" target="_blank"><span style="color: blue;">this</span></a>:<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: 15.75pt; vertical-align: baseline;"><b><span face=""Open Sans",sans-serif" style="color: black; font-size: 10.5pt; letter-spacing: -0.4pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;">Umm al-Jimal is also notable for two important
inscriptions relating to its Nabataean culture: an ‘altar’ inscribed in
honour of Dushara, a powerful god associated with Zeus and Dionysus, and part
of a tomb inscription which is a valuable witness of the transition of
Nabataean script to an Arabic style and of the rise in power of the Tanukh, a
confederacy of Arab tribes whom the Romans enlisted as part of their frontier
forces. Unfortunately, both inscriptions have recently suffered damage due
to a lack of protection of the site. In an ideal world, there would be some
restoration work to shore up some of the walls that are threatening to
collapse. With such a large site, this would be a huge undertaking.<o:p></o:p></span></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 19.5pt; vertical-align: baseline;"><span face=""var(--global-font)",serif" style="color: black; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Open Sans"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;">Gibson’s insistence that some of these
buildings were possibly used as a mosque is nothing more than mere conjecture.
There is simply no evidence whatsoever that can be used to support his baseless
assertions.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 19.5pt; vertical-align: baseline;"><span face=""var(--global-font)",serif" style="color: black; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Open Sans"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;">Gibson is simply more invested in
promoting his own despicable agendas than he is in presenting accurate
information.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: 28.5pt; margin-bottom: 15.0pt; margin-left: 0cm; margin-right: 0cm; margin-top: 22.5pt; margin: 22.5pt 0cm 15pt; mso-outline-level: 2; vertical-align: baseline;"><b><span face=""Open Sans",sans-serif" style="color: black; font-size: 20.5pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;">Siraf Mosque<o:p></o:p></span></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 19.5pt; vertical-align: baseline;"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEgU4TMz9e58DRf3siazyG-uX7RDipSnC9RLhJr0lzIyD_h4Giy0d8z4v9JhR3MDLlQ3OU6Oz3FZ5oS3cZEZvtWsjDSUDvXHbrjhuKQHqr4KQ6xrSH2VDDxHPaObLcNC9Lf-xahpWZMdsIufTBOnoaGjY1W3hX9PvChKVfXJBDaxNzDQE4hX3s5zp6YLWX14" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="453" data-original-width="781" height="285" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEgU4TMz9e58DRf3siazyG-uX7RDipSnC9RLhJr0lzIyD_h4Giy0d8z4v9JhR3MDLlQ3OU6Oz3FZ5oS3cZEZvtWsjDSUDvXHbrjhuKQHqr4KQ6xrSH2VDDxHPaObLcNC9Lf-xahpWZMdsIufTBOnoaGjY1W3hX9PvChKVfXJBDaxNzDQE4hX3s5zp6YLWX14=w491-h285" width="491" /></a></div><br /><p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 19.5pt; vertical-align: baseline;"><span face=""var(--global-font)",serif" style="color: black; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Open Sans"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;">Let us now look into the mosque of
Siraf and the claims Gibson makes about it. He asserts that it was built in 750
and was facing Petra. However, his claims are not based on any sort of accurate
historical evidence. In fact, archaeologist David Whitehouse confirms that the
very first mosque in the city dates back to the 9th century, not the 8th
century as Gibson suggests.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 19.5pt; vertical-align: baseline;"><span face=""var(--global-font)",serif" style="color: black; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Open Sans"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;">Moreover, the testimony of one of the
inhabitants of Siraf reveals that this mosque was originally a Sassanid
monument and was only converted into a mosque later on. Gibson’s mistake in
relation to the date of the mosque’s construction and its origin as a Sassanid
monument leads one to seriously question the validity of his claims.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 19.5pt; vertical-align: baseline;"><span face=""var(--global-font)",serif" style="color: black; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Open Sans"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;">To add to this, an Iranian media outlet
states that David Whitehouse found evidence that the earliest mosque in Siraf
dates back to the ninth century CE; and that, in 2009, archaeologists
identified Sassanid layers and artifacts near the mosque.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 19.5pt; vertical-align: baseline;"><span face=""var(--global-font)",serif" style="color: black; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Open Sans"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;">This Iranian media outlet <a href="https://en.irna.ir/news/81730063/Siraf-an-ancient-port-sitting-north-of-Persian-Gulf-Daily" target="_blank"><span style="color: blue;">stated</span></a> the following:<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: 15.75pt; vertical-align: baseline;"><b><span face=""Open Sans",sans-serif" style="color: black; font-size: 10.5pt; letter-spacing: -0.4pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;">In addition to the castle, Siraf is home to an
ancient congregational mosque and cemetery. David Whitehouse found evidence
that the earliest mosque in Siraf dates to the ninth century CE. He found ruins
of a congregational mosque surrounded by many other smaller mosques.
Archeologists have identified Sassanid layers and artifacts near the mosque in
2009.<o:p></o:p></span></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 19.5pt; vertical-align: baseline;"><span face=""var(--global-font)",serif" style="color: black; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Open Sans"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;">Despite these findings, Gibson’s book
still claims that the first mosque in Siraf was built in 750 and that it was
facing Petra. Once again, it is clear that his claims are not actually
supported by any accurate historical evidence.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEgJEDd92rcvirHizw9gzr7Po9b8_4GPXJP8bKCamnKC34riL75ghSm7jTeJ0aOgsQ-cgxi6qx1qrBnS4i_iVhaBZGF5MxAftRuukwECbN1Z3InBAe9lB6sA5yAqu89_82DK1a-OiObNt_tzrzyUeB98CW-9WiVMC_B5RPiV7Szb_bqCnSOsSAttSHTEPE42" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="188" data-original-width="781" height="138" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEgJEDd92rcvirHizw9gzr7Po9b8_4GPXJP8bKCamnKC34riL75ghSm7jTeJ0aOgsQ-cgxi6qx1qrBnS4i_iVhaBZGF5MxAftRuukwECbN1Z3InBAe9lB6sA5yAqu89_82DK1a-OiObNt_tzrzyUeB98CW-9WiVMC_B5RPiV7Szb_bqCnSOsSAttSHTEPE42=w574-h138" width="574" /></a></div><p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm; vertical-align: baseline;"><span face=""var(--global-font)",serif" style="color: black; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Open Sans"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;">Excerpt
from Gibson’s latest book, Let The Stones Speak.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: 30pt; margin-bottom: 17.25pt; margin-left: 0cm; margin-right: 0cm; margin-top: 24.75pt; margin: 24.75pt 0cm 17.25pt; mso-outline-level: 1; vertical-align: baseline;"><b><span face=""Open Sans",sans-serif" style="color: black; font-size: 24pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB; mso-font-kerning: 18.0pt;">Misinterpretation of Mosque Orientation<o:p></o:p></span></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 19.5pt; vertical-align: baseline;"><span face=""var(--global-font)",serif" style="color: black; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Open Sans"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;">Gibson’s erroneous claim that early
mosques faced Petra is a testament to his flawed interpretation of mosque
orientation. When we delve into the orientation of mosques in Africa, Spain and
the Middle East, we find that they were all directed to the southeast or
southwest. Thus, Gibson’s attempt to create a new variety of mosques which face
between Petra and Makkah is baseless, as these mosques were simply oriented
towards the southeast.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 19.5pt; vertical-align: baseline;"><span face=""var(--global-font)",serif" style="color: black; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Open Sans"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;"></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span face=""var(--global-font)",serif" style="color: black; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Open Sans"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEgro_JkZnT7Qqe3CWrHC3hYHf_h_9VEDPz_Ex3qmVlv75yBKt5c6SE1jX0BuB2Ky3il-ZFV-qszSmu9SDepOH94jkHQXxaZX_9qAXD2uKt7h_53tMFFfp3iJQj-nTI1K-N0WOQjwRGJBxVtMZhkKKU7HGEFwdtzRW-1gi8bxfu-c9G-6fXvuwUcFFETYNOw" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="559" data-original-width="781" height="443" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEgro_JkZnT7Qqe3CWrHC3hYHf_h_9VEDPz_Ex3qmVlv75yBKt5c6SE1jX0BuB2Ky3il-ZFV-qszSmu9SDepOH94jkHQXxaZX_9qAXD2uKt7h_53tMFFfp3iJQj-nTI1K-N0WOQjwRGJBxVtMZhkKKU7HGEFwdtzRW-1gi8bxfu-c9G-6fXvuwUcFFETYNOw=w619-h443" width="619" /></a></span></div><span face=""var(--global-font)",serif" style="color: black; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Open Sans"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;"><br /><br /></span><p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm; vertical-align: baseline;"><span face=""var(--global-font)",serif" style="color: black; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Open Sans"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;">It
would seem that the Africans were not very skilled when it came to directing
themselves toward Petra or Makkah…<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 19.5pt; vertical-align: baseline;"><span face=""var(--global-font)",serif" style="color: black; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Open Sans"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;">Furthermore, Gibson’s bias is
manifestly evident throughout his thesis. He clearly started with his
conclusion and tries his hardest to make the data fit his theory rather than
the other way around. He wants us to believe that the mosques facing between
Petra and Makkah were pointing at Petra when, in fact, they were just oriented
south.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 19.5pt; vertical-align: baseline;"><span face=""var(--global-font)",serif" style="color: black; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Open Sans"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;">The fact that some orientalists and
Islamophobes have credited his theory is only a testament to their own personal
lack of intellectual honesty.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 19.5pt; vertical-align: baseline;"><span face=""var(--global-font)",serif" style="color: black; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Open Sans"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;">It is important for Muslims to remember
that some so-called “academics” will go to any lengths necessary in order to
try and undermine Islam. Gibson’s theory is just another attempt to rewrite our
history and distort our religion.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 19.5pt; vertical-align: baseline;"><span face=""var(--global-font)",serif" style="color: black; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Open Sans"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;">As Muslims who are true to our faith,
we must reject such fraudulent attempts at undermining the teachings of our
religion outright and, instead, uphold the traditional orientation of the
qiblah towards Makkah, as supported by historical evidence, over fourteen
centuries of Islamic scholarship and jurisprudence and the teachings of our
beloved Prophet Muhammad (may Allah bless him and grant him peace).<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 19.5pt; vertical-align: baseline;"><span face=""var(--global-font)",serif" style="color: black; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Open Sans"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;">Whenever such people try to manipulate
the facts, we must always be ready to debunk the lies and shine a bright light
on the truth.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 19.5pt; vertical-align: baseline;"><span face=""var(--global-font)",serif" style="color: black; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Open Sans"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;">In conclusion, Gibson is both biased
and glaringly incompetent. His thesis is extremely flawed. His arguments, as
well as their foundations, are baseless. His supposed evidences are merely
distortions and factual inaccuracies. His shoddy “research” is nothing more
than agenda-driven drivel.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; vertical-align: baseline;"><span face=""var(--global-font)",serif" style="color: black; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Open Sans"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;">Let us not fall prey to those who seek
to undermine our faith, heritage, and history.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p>Mustafa Ahmedhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14172750188773095424noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-558359090739969505.post-1608261029308063412024-02-01T11:28:00.001-08:002024-02-01T11:28:52.575-08:00Our Lord descends every night to the sky of this world when the last third of the night remains – Shaykh ‘Uthaymīn<p> </p><header class="entry-header th-stack--base th-links-inherit" style="--tw-ring-color: rgba(59, 130, 246, 0.5); --tw-ring-inset: var(--tw-empty, ); --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-shadow: 0 0 #0000; background-color: white; border-color: currentcolor; border-style: solid; border-width: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; color: #464646; font-family: "Noto Sans", sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px;"><h1 class="entry-title th-mb-0 th-text-4xl" style="--tw-ring-color: rgba(59, 130, 246, 0.5); --tw-ring-inset: var(--tw-empty, ); --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; 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margin: 0px 0px 2rem; text-align: center;"><a href="https://abdurrahmanorg.files.wordpress.com/2018/11/bismillah2.jpeg" style="--tw-ring-color: rgba(59, 130, 246, 0.5); --tw-ring-inset: var(--tw-empty, ); --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-shadow: 0 0 #0000; border-color: currentcolor; border-style: solid; border-width: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; transition: all 0.25s ease-in-out 0s;"><img alt="" class="aligncenter wp-image-53295" data-attachment-id="53295" data-comments-opened="0" data-image-caption="" data-image-description="" data-image-meta="[]" data-image-title="bismillah2" data-large-file="https://abdurrahmanorg.files.wordpress.com/2018/11/bismillah2.jpeg?w=715" data-medium-file="https://abdurrahmanorg.files.wordpress.com/2018/11/bismillah2.jpeg?w=300" data-orig-file="https://abdurrahmanorg.files.wordpress.com/2018/11/bismillah2.jpeg" data-orig-size="" data-permalink="https://abdurrahman.org/2018/11/30/day-of-resurrection-the-bridge-siraat/bismillah2/" height="84" src="https://abdurrahmanorg.files.wordpress.com/2018/11/bismillah2.jpeg?w=335&h=84" style="--tw-ring-color: rgba(59, 130, 246, 0.5); --tw-ring-inset: var(--tw-empty, ); --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-shadow: 0 0 #0000; border-color: currentcolor; border-style: solid; border-width: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; clear: both; display: inline-block; height: auto; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; max-width: 100%; vertical-align: middle;" width="335" /></a></p><h2 style="--tw-ring-color: rgba(59, 130, 246, 0.5); --tw-ring-inset: var(--tw-empty, ); --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-shadow: 0 0 #0000; border-color: currentcolor; border-style: solid; border-width: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; clear: both; color: var(--th-color-primary-dark); font-family: Lato, sans-serif; font-size: 1.802rem; letter-spacing: -0.03em; line-height: 1.25; margin: 0px 0px 0.75rem; text-align: center;"><span style="--tw-ring-color: rgba(59, 130, 246, 0.5); --tw-ring-inset: var(--tw-empty, ); --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-shadow: 0 0 #0000; border-color: currentcolor; border-style: solid; border-width: 0px; box-sizing: border-box;"><span style="--tw-ring-color: rgba(59, 130, 246, 0.5); --tw-ring-inset: var(--tw-empty, ); --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-shadow: 0 0 #0000; border-color: currentcolor; border-style: solid; border-width: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; color: #993300;">Our Lord’s Descent</span></span></h2><p style="--tw-ring-color: rgba(59, 130, 246, 0.5); --tw-ring-inset: var(--tw-empty, ); --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-shadow: 0 0 #0000; border-color: currentcolor; border-style: solid; border-width: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 2rem; text-align: justify;">The prophet ( صلّى الله عليه وسلّم ) said in an authentic ḥadīth:</p><h2 style="--tw-ring-color: rgba(59, 130, 246, 0.5); --tw-ring-inset: var(--tw-empty, ); --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-shadow: 0 0 #0000; border-color: currentcolor; border-style: solid; border-width: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; clear: both; color: var(--th-color-primary-dark); font-family: Lato, sans-serif; font-size: 1.802rem; letter-spacing: -0.03em; line-height: 1.25; margin: 0px 0px 0.75rem;"><span style="--tw-ring-color: rgba(59, 130, 246, 0.5); --tw-ring-inset: var(--tw-empty, ); --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-shadow: 0 0 #0000; border-color: currentcolor; border-style: solid; border-width: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; color: black;">يَنْزِلُ رَبُّنَا تَبَارَكَ وَتَعَالَى كُلَّ لَيْلَةٍ إِلَى السَّمَاءِ الدُّنْيَا حِينَ يَبْقَى ثُلُثُ اللَّيْلِ </span><span style="--tw-ring-color: rgba(59, 130, 246, 0.5); --tw-ring-inset: var(--tw-empty, ); --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-shadow: 0 0 #0000; border-color: currentcolor; border-style: solid; border-width: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; color: black;">الآخِرُ ، يَقُولُ : مَنْ يَدْعُونِي فَأَسْتَجِيبَ لَهُ ؟ مَنْ يَسْأَلُنِي فَأُعْطِيَهُ ؟ مَنْ يَسْتَغْفِرُنِي </span><span style="--tw-ring-color: rgba(59, 130, 246, 0.5); --tw-ring-inset: var(--tw-empty, ); --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-shadow: 0 0 #0000; border-color: currentcolor; border-style: solid; border-width: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; color: black;">؟ فَأَغْفِرَ لَهُ</span></h2><p style="--tw-ring-color: rgba(59, 130, 246, 0.5); --tw-ring-inset: var(--tw-empty, ); --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-shadow: 0 0 #0000; border-color: currentcolor; border-style: solid; border-width: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 2rem; text-align: justify;"><span style="--tw-ring-color: rgba(59, 130, 246, 0.5); --tw-ring-inset: var(--tw-empty, ); --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-shadow: 0 0 #0000; border-color: currentcolor; border-style: solid; border-width: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; color: olive;">Our Lord, the blessed and exalted, descends every night to the sky of this world when the last third of the night remains. He asks, “Who is calling on me so I can answer him? Who is asking me (for anything) so I can give (it to) him? Who is asking for my forgiveness so I can forgive him?”</span></p><p style="--tw-ring-color: rgba(59, 130, 246, 0.5); --tw-ring-inset: var(--tw-empty, ); --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-shadow: 0 0 #0000; border-color: currentcolor; border-style: solid; border-width: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 2rem; text-align: justify;">[Recorded by al-Bukhārī (no. 1145) and Muslim (no. 758)]</p><p style="--tw-ring-color: rgba(59, 130, 246, 0.5); --tw-ring-inset: var(--tw-empty, ); --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-shadow: 0 0 #0000; border-color: currentcolor; border-style: solid; border-width: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 2rem; text-align: justify;">This ḥadīth is a proof confirming the descent of Allah to the lowest heaven, the sky of this world.</p><p style="--tw-ring-color: rgba(59, 130, 246, 0.5); --tw-ring-inset: var(--tw-empty, ); --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-shadow: 0 0 #0000; border-color: currentcolor; border-style: solid; border-width: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 2rem; text-align: justify;">Some people of knowledge said this ḥadīth has come with many different chains of narration, and the scholars have always agreed that it is one of the famous ḥadīth often mentioned by the scholars of the Sunnah.</p><p style="--tw-ring-color: rgba(59, 130, 246, 0.5); --tw-ring-inset: var(--tw-empty, ); --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-shadow: 0 0 #0000; border-color: currentcolor; border-style: solid; border-width: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 2rem; text-align: justify;">The prophet ( صلّى الله عليه وسلّم ) says, “<span style="--tw-ring-color: rgba(59, 130, 246, 0.5); --tw-ring-inset: var(--tw-empty, ); --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-shadow: 0 0 #0000; border-color: currentcolor; border-style: solid; border-width: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; font-weight: 700;">Our Lord descends every night to the sky of this world</span>.” Allah’s descent is real and actual because, as we have mentioned before, anything mentioned with a pronoun that refers back to Allah, it must be attributed to him in a real, actual manner.</p><p style="--tw-ring-color: rgba(59, 130, 246, 0.5); --tw-ring-inset: var(--tw-empty, ); --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-shadow: 0 0 #0000; border-color: currentcolor; border-style: solid; border-width: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 2rem; text-align: justify;">So we should believe in it and accept it as truth, saying just as the ḥadīth says, “<span style="--tw-ring-color: rgba(59, 130, 246, 0.5); --tw-ring-inset: var(--tw-empty, ); --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-shadow: 0 0 #0000; border-color: currentcolor; border-style: solid; border-width: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; font-weight: 700;">Our Lord descends to the sky of this world</span>,” to the lowest heaven closest to the earth. There are seven heavens, and Allah (عزّ وجلّ) descends at this time during the night to be near his worshippers just as he does during the afternoon on the Day of ‘Arafah (during the pilgrimage), praising and boasting to the angels about his worshippers. [<span style="--tw-ring-color: rgba(59, 130, 246, 0.5); --tw-ring-inset: var(--tw-empty, ); --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-shadow: 0 0 #0000; border-color: currentcolor; border-style: solid; border-width: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; color: red;">41</span>]</p><p style="--tw-ring-color: rgba(59, 130, 246, 0.5); --tw-ring-inset: var(--tw-empty, ); --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-shadow: 0 0 #0000; border-color: currentcolor; border-style: solid; border-width: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 2rem; text-align: justify;">As for “<span style="--tw-ring-color: rgba(59, 130, 246, 0.5); --tw-ring-inset: var(--tw-empty, ); --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-shadow: 0 0 #0000; border-color: currentcolor; border-style: solid; border-width: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; font-weight: 700;">every night</span>” it is general to include every single night of the year. “<span style="--tw-ring-color: rgba(59, 130, 246, 0.5); --tw-ring-inset: var(--tw-empty, ); --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-shadow: 0 0 #0000; border-color: currentcolor; border-style: solid; border-width: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; font-weight: 700;">when the last third of the night remains</span>“. In Islamic legislation, the night begins at sunset and this is unanimously agreed upon. The difference (among scholars) however comes with regards to when the night ends. Does it end with the appearance of first light or the actual rising of the sun? Apparently, the night, according to legislation, ends with the appearance of first light, and the common, “astral” night ends with sunrise. Allah asks, ” “Who is calling on me…”. This is a question yet really intended as an encouragement and motivation rather than expecting an actual answer. It is like his statement (in the Qur’an):</p><h2 style="--tw-ring-color: rgba(59, 130, 246, 0.5); --tw-ring-inset: var(--tw-empty, ); --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-shadow: 0 0 #0000; border-color: currentcolor; border-style: solid; border-width: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; clear: both; color: var(--th-color-primary-dark); font-family: Lato, sans-serif; font-size: 1.802rem; letter-spacing: -0.03em; line-height: 1.25; margin: 0px 0px 0.75rem; text-align: justify;"><span style="--tw-ring-color: rgba(59, 130, 246, 0.5); --tw-ring-inset: var(--tw-empty, ); --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-shadow: 0 0 #0000; border-color: currentcolor; border-style: solid; border-width: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; color: black;">هَلْ أَدُلُّكُمْ عَلَى تِجَارَةٍ تُنجِيكُم مِّنْ عَذَابٍ أَلِيمٍ</span></h2><p style="--tw-ring-color: rgba(59, 130, 246, 0.5); --tw-ring-inset: var(--tw-empty, ); --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-shadow: 0 0 #0000; border-color: currentcolor; border-style: solid; border-width: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 2rem; text-align: justify;"><span style="--tw-ring-color: rgba(59, 130, 246, 0.5); --tw-ring-inset: var(--tw-empty, ); --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-shadow: 0 0 #0000; border-color: currentcolor; border-style: solid; border-width: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; color: green;">Shall I guide you to a transaction that will save you from a painful punishment?</span> [Sūrah al-Ṣaf, 61:10]</p><p style="--tw-ring-color: rgba(59, 130, 246, 0.5); --tw-ring-inset: var(--tw-empty, ); --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-shadow: 0 0 #0000; border-color: currentcolor; border-style: solid; border-width: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 2rem; text-align: justify;">“<span style="--tw-ring-color: rgba(59, 130, 246, 0.5); --tw-ring-inset: var(--tw-empty, ); --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-shadow: 0 0 #0000; border-color: currentcolor; border-style: solid; border-width: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; font-weight: 700;">…calling on me…</span>” saying, “Oh Lord…”</p><p style="--tw-ring-color: rgba(59, 130, 246, 0.5); --tw-ring-inset: var(--tw-empty, ); --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-shadow: 0 0 #0000; border-color: currentcolor; border-style: solid; border-width: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 2rem; text-align: justify;">“<span style="--tw-ring-color: rgba(59, 130, 246, 0.5); --tw-ring-inset: var(--tw-empty, ); --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-shadow: 0 0 #0000; border-color: currentcolor; border-style: solid; border-width: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; font-weight: 700;">…so I can answer him?</span>” This is the result and reward for doing the first part – calling on Allah.</p><p style="--tw-ring-color: rgba(59, 130, 246, 0.5); --tw-ring-inset: var(--tw-empty, ); --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-shadow: 0 0 #0000; border-color: currentcolor; border-style: solid; border-width: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 2rem; text-align: justify;"> “<span style="--tw-ring-color: rgba(59, 130, 246, 0.5); --tw-ring-inset: var(--tw-empty, ); --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-shadow: 0 0 #0000; border-color: currentcolor; border-style: solid; border-width: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; font-weight: 700;">Who is asking me (for anything) so I can give (it to) him?</span>” such as saying, “I ask You for Paradise,” or similar things.</p><p style="--tw-ring-color: rgba(59, 130, 246, 0.5); --tw-ring-inset: var(--tw-empty, ); --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-shadow: 0 0 #0000; border-color: currentcolor; border-style: solid; border-width: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 2rem; text-align: justify;">“<span style="--tw-ring-color: rgba(59, 130, 246, 0.5); --tw-ring-inset: var(--tw-empty, ); --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-shadow: 0 0 #0000; border-color: currentcolor; border-style: solid; border-width: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; font-weight: 700;">Who is asking for my forgiveness…</span>” saying, “Oh Allah, forgive me,” or “I seek your forgiveness, Allah.”</p><p style="--tw-ring-color: rgba(59, 130, 246, 0.5); --tw-ring-inset: var(--tw-empty, ); --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-shadow: 0 0 #0000; border-color: currentcolor; border-style: solid; border-width: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 2rem; text-align: justify;">“<span style="--tw-ring-color: rgba(59, 130, 246, 0.5); --tw-ring-inset: var(--tw-empty, ); --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-shadow: 0 0 #0000; border-color: currentcolor; border-style: solid; border-width: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; font-weight: 700;">…so I can forgive him?</span>” Forgiveness means to conceal one’s sins and overlook them.</p><p style="--tw-ring-color: rgba(59, 130, 246, 0.5); --tw-ring-inset: var(--tw-empty, ); --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-shadow: 0 0 #0000; border-color: currentcolor; border-style: solid; border-width: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 2rem; text-align: justify;">With this, it should be clear to every person who reads this ḥadīth that what is meant by “<span style="--tw-ring-color: rgba(59, 130, 246, 0.5); --tw-ring-inset: var(--tw-empty, ); --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-shadow: 0 0 #0000; border-color: currentcolor; border-style: solid; border-width: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; font-weight: 700;">descends</span>” here is that Allah Himself descends. We do not even need to say He descends “<span style="--tw-ring-color: rgba(59, 130, 246, 0.5); --tw-ring-inset: var(--tw-empty, ); --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-shadow: 0 0 #0000; border-color: currentcolor; border-style: solid; border-width: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; font-weight: 700;">personally</span>” because as long as the verb is associated with Him, then He himself does it. Still, some scholars did say, “He personally descends.” They resorted to saying that, compelled to adding “personally” only because there are those people who twist the meaning of ḥadīth, claiming that what really descends is the decision and decree of Allah. Others say it is Allah’s mercy that descends, and even others say it is one of his angels that descends.</p><p style="--tw-ring-color: rgba(59, 130, 246, 0.5); --tw-ring-inset: var(--tw-empty, ); --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-shadow: 0 0 #0000; border-color: currentcolor; border-style: solid; border-width: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 2rem; text-align: justify;">All of these are incorrect. For one thing, Allah’s decision and decree are constantly descending, and not only during the last third of night as he ( تعالى ) says generally:</p><h2 style="--tw-ring-color: rgba(59, 130, 246, 0.5); --tw-ring-inset: var(--tw-empty, ); --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-shadow: 0 0 #0000; border-color: currentcolor; border-style: solid; border-width: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; clear: both; color: var(--th-color-primary-dark); font-family: Lato, sans-serif; font-size: 1.802rem; letter-spacing: -0.03em; line-height: 1.25; margin: 0px 0px 0.75rem; text-align: justify;"><span style="--tw-ring-color: rgba(59, 130, 246, 0.5); --tw-ring-inset: var(--tw-empty, ); --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-shadow: 0 0 #0000; border-color: currentcolor; border-style: solid; border-width: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; color: black;">يُدَبِّرُ الأَمْرَ مِنَ السَّمَاءِ إِلَى الأَرْضِ ثُمَّ يَعْرُجُ إِلَيْهِ</span></h2><p style="--tw-ring-color: rgba(59, 130, 246, 0.5); --tw-ring-inset: var(--tw-empty, ); --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-shadow: 0 0 #0000; border-color: currentcolor; border-style: solid; border-width: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 2rem; text-align: justify;"><span style="--tw-ring-color: rgba(59, 130, 246, 0.5); --tw-ring-inset: var(--tw-empty, ); --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-shadow: 0 0 #0000; border-color: currentcolor; border-style: solid; border-width: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; color: green;">He arranges each matter from the heaven to the earth then it will ascend to him</span>.[Sūrah al-Sajdah, 32:5]</p><p style="--tw-ring-color: rgba(59, 130, 246, 0.5); --tw-ring-inset: var(--tw-empty, ); --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-shadow: 0 0 #0000; border-color: currentcolor; border-style: solid; border-width: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 2rem; text-align: justify;">And he says:</p><h2 style="--tw-ring-color: rgba(59, 130, 246, 0.5); --tw-ring-inset: var(--tw-empty, ); --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-shadow: 0 0 #0000; border-color: currentcolor; border-style: solid; border-width: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; clear: both; color: var(--th-color-primary-dark); font-family: Lato, sans-serif; font-size: 1.802rem; letter-spacing: -0.03em; line-height: 1.25; margin: 0px 0px 0.75rem; text-align: justify;"><span style="--tw-ring-color: rgba(59, 130, 246, 0.5); --tw-ring-inset: var(--tw-empty, ); --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-shadow: 0 0 #0000; border-color: currentcolor; border-style: solid; border-width: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; color: black;">وَإِلَيْهِ يُرْجَعُ الأَمْرُ كُلُّهُ</span></h2><p style="--tw-ring-color: rgba(59, 130, 246, 0.5); --tw-ring-inset: var(--tw-empty, ); --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-shadow: 0 0 #0000; border-color: currentcolor; border-style: solid; border-width: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 2rem; text-align: justify;"><span style="--tw-ring-color: rgba(59, 130, 246, 0.5); --tw-ring-inset: var(--tw-empty, ); --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-shadow: 0 0 #0000; border-color: currentcolor; border-style: solid; border-width: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; color: green;">And to him the matter will return, all of it</span>.[Sūrah Hūd, 11:123]</p><p style="--tw-ring-color: rgba(59, 130, 246, 0.5); --tw-ring-inset: var(--tw-empty, ); --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-shadow: 0 0 #0000; border-color: currentcolor; border-style: solid; border-width: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 2rem; text-align: justify;">As for their statement that it is really only the mercy of Allah that descends to the worldly sky when the last third of night remains, Allah is above such deficiencies and insults! Mercy does not descend except at that time?! Allah ( تعالى ) says:</p><h2 style="--tw-ring-color: rgba(59, 130, 246, 0.5); --tw-ring-inset: var(--tw-empty, ); --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-shadow: 0 0 #0000; border-color: currentcolor; border-style: solid; border-width: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; clear: both; color: var(--th-color-primary-dark); font-family: Lato, sans-serif; font-size: 1.802rem; letter-spacing: -0.03em; line-height: 1.25; margin: 0px 0px 0.75rem; text-align: justify;"><span style="--tw-ring-color: rgba(59, 130, 246, 0.5); --tw-ring-inset: var(--tw-empty, ); --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-shadow: 0 0 #0000; border-color: currentcolor; border-style: solid; border-width: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; color: black;">وَمَا بِكُم مِّن نِّعْمَةٍ فَمِنَ اللَّهِ</span></h2><p style="--tw-ring-color: rgba(59, 130, 246, 0.5); --tw-ring-inset: var(--tw-empty, ); --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-shadow: 0 0 #0000; border-color: currentcolor; border-style: solid; border-width: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 2rem; text-align: justify;"><span style="--tw-ring-color: rgba(59, 130, 246, 0.5); --tw-ring-inset: var(--tw-empty, ); --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-shadow: 0 0 #0000; border-color: currentcolor; border-style: solid; border-width: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; color: green;">And whatever you have of blessing, it is from Allah</span>. [Sūrah al-Naḥl, 16:53]</p><p style="--tw-ring-color: rgba(59, 130, 246, 0.5); --tw-ring-inset: var(--tw-empty, ); --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-shadow: 0 0 #0000; border-color: currentcolor; border-style: solid; border-width: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 2rem; text-align: justify;">Every blessing and favor is from Allah, and they are the results of his mercy; they can be witnessed at all times.</p><p style="--tw-ring-color: rgba(59, 130, 246, 0.5); --tw-ring-inset: var(--tw-empty, ); --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-shadow: 0 0 #0000; border-color: currentcolor; border-style: solid; border-width: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 2rem; text-align: justify;">We could then ask: What good does it do for us if mercy descends only down to the sky (and no further)?</p><p style="--tw-ring-color: rgba(59, 130, 246, 0.5); --tw-ring-inset: var(--tw-empty, ); --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-shadow: 0 0 #0000; border-color: currentcolor; border-style: solid; border-width: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 2rem; text-align: justify;">As for those who say it is really only an angel that descends, we ask: Does it make sense that an angel would say, “Who is calling on me so I can answer him? Who is asking me for anything…”?!</p><p style="--tw-ring-color: rgba(59, 130, 246, 0.5); --tw-ring-inset: var(--tw-empty, ); --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-shadow: 0 0 #0000; border-color: currentcolor; border-style: solid; border-width: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 2rem; text-align: justify;">So it is clear that these claims are distorted meanings, they are incorrect and proven so by the ḥadīth itself.</p><p style="--tw-ring-color: rgba(59, 130, 246, 0.5); --tw-ring-inset: var(--tw-empty, ); --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-shadow: 0 0 #0000; border-color: currentcolor; border-style: solid; border-width: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 2rem; text-align: justify;">By Allah, such people who claim these things do not know more about Allah than Allah’s messenger, they are certainly not more sincere in advising the servants of Allah than his messenger, and they are not more precise and eloquent in speech than the messenger of Allah (صلّى الله عليه وسلّم).</p><p style="--tw-ring-color: rgba(59, 130, 246, 0.5); --tw-ring-inset: var(--tw-empty, ); --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-shadow: 0 0 #0000; border-color: currentcolor; border-style: solid; border-width: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 2rem; text-align: justify;">Some people also ask: How can you say Allah descends? If He does so, then what about His being high above everything? What about His being over the throne? If He descends, this would involve movement and relocation. Also, if He descends, this would be an action that happens and anything that happens must have a cause.</p><p style="--tw-ring-color: rgba(59, 130, 246, 0.5); --tw-ring-inset: var(--tw-empty, ); --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-shadow: 0 0 #0000; border-color: currentcolor; border-style: solid; border-width: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 2rem; text-align: justify;">To this we say: This is baseless and pointless arguing. There is no reason not to say that Allah’s descent is real. Do you know what Allah deserves (of characteristics and descriptions) more than the companions of the messenger (صلّى الله عليه وسلّم)?</p><p style="--tw-ring-color: rgba(59, 130, 246, 0.5); --tw-ring-inset: var(--tw-empty, ); --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-shadow: 0 0 #0000; border-color: currentcolor; border-style: solid; border-width: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 2rem; text-align: justify;">The companions never made any of these false assumptions and conjectures. Instead they listened, they believed, they accepted, and they trusted it as absolute truth. Yet now, you people come and challenge the meanings, arguing for the sake of falsehood, asking, “How? Why?”</p><p style="--tw-ring-color: rgba(59, 130, 246, 0.5); --tw-ring-inset: var(--tw-empty, ); --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-shadow: 0 0 #0000; border-color: currentcolor; border-style: solid; border-width: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 2rem; text-align: justify;">We say Allah descends, and we do not delve into asking, “What about his throne? Does this mean he leaves it or not?”</p><p style="--tw-ring-color: rgba(59, 130, 246, 0.5); --tw-ring-inset: var(--tw-empty, ); --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-shadow: 0 0 #0000; border-color: currentcolor; border-style: solid; border-width: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 2rem; text-align: justify;">As for his being above, we say he descends and yet he is still high above his creation because “descent” here does not necessarily mean that he is surrounded by the lowest heaven to which he descends while the other heavens are above him. Rather, he is not contained within anything of his creation.</p><p style="--tw-ring-color: rgba(59, 130, 246, 0.5); --tw-ring-inset: var(--tw-empty, ); --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-shadow: 0 0 #0000; border-color: currentcolor; border-style: solid; border-width: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 2rem; text-align: justify;">So Allah actually descends in a real manner while he is actually high above in a real manner, and nothing is similar to him.</p><p style="--tw-ring-color: rgba(59, 130, 246, 0.5); --tw-ring-inset: var(--tw-empty, ); --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-shadow: 0 0 #0000; border-color: currentcolor; border-style: solid; border-width: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 2rem; text-align: justify;">Rising over the throne is an action, not a permanent, personal characteristic. We should not, as far as I am concerned, begin asking whether he leaves the throne or not. Instead, we should keep silent about it just as the companions did, may Allah be pleased with them all.</p><p style="--tw-ring-color: rgba(59, 130, 246, 0.5); --tw-ring-inset: var(--tw-empty, ); --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-shadow: 0 0 #0000; border-color: currentcolor; border-style: solid; border-width: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 2rem; text-align: justify;">However, the scholars of those who follow the Sunnah take one of three positions regarding the issue of whether Allah leaves his throne during his descent. Some say he leaves the throne, others say he does not leave it, and others say we should remain silent and not delve into the issue.</p><p style="--tw-ring-color: rgba(59, 130, 246, 0.5); --tw-ring-inset: var(--tw-empty, ); --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-shadow: 0 0 #0000; border-color: currentcolor; border-style: solid; border-width: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 2rem; text-align: justify;">Ibn Taymiyyah says in his <em style="--tw-ring-color: rgba(59, 130, 246, 0.5); --tw-ring-inset: var(--tw-empty, ); --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-shadow: 0 0 #0000; border-color: currentcolor; border-style: solid; border-width: 0px; box-sizing: border-box;">al-Risālah al-‘Arshiyyah</em> that Allah does not leave the throne (during his descent) because the evidence confirming he is on the throne is strong and explicit just as this ḥadīth is also a strong, explicit proof of his descent. The actions and characteristics of Allah (عزّ وجلّ) are not to be measured by those of creation. So we should leave the texts of his being on the throne confirmed as they are just as we leave the text of his descent confirmed as it is. We say he is established on his throne and yet he still descends to the sky of this world; Allah alone knows the “how” of it. Our minds are too deficient and incomplete to know everything about Allah, the Most High.</p><p style="--tw-ring-color: rgba(59, 130, 246, 0.5); --tw-ring-inset: var(--tw-empty, ); --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-shadow: 0 0 #0000; border-color: currentcolor; border-style: solid; border-width: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 2rem; text-align: justify;">The second position is that Allah leaves the throne during his descent and the third position is to remain silent – in other words, not to say whether he does or does not leave his throne.</p><p style="--tw-ring-color: rgba(59, 130, 246, 0.5); --tw-ring-inset: var(--tw-empty, ); --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-shadow: 0 0 #0000; border-color: currentcolor; border-style: solid; border-width: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 2rem; text-align: justify;">Some people more recently bring up yet another point of confusion. <span style="--tw-ring-color: rgba(59, 130, 246, 0.5); --tw-ring-inset: var(--tw-empty, ); --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-shadow: 0 0 #0000; border-color: currentcolor; border-style: solid; border-width: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; font-weight: 700;">Since the earth is round and revolves around the sun, they ask how Allah can descend during the last third of the night when the last third is a constant time</span>. For example, when the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia leaves this time, Europe and surrounding countries enter it. So is Allah constantly and forever descending?</p><p style="--tw-ring-color: rgba(59, 130, 246, 0.5); --tw-ring-inset: var(--tw-empty, ); --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-shadow: 0 0 #0000; border-color: currentcolor; border-style: solid; border-width: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 2rem; text-align: justify;">In reply, we say: First and foremost, you should simply believe and accept that Allah descends during this specific time. If you do believe in it, then there is nothing else required from you. Do not go into asking, “How?” Instead, accept that when the last third of night remains in Saudi Arabia, then Allah descends, and when it remains in America, Allah also descends. And His descent finishes when the light of morning appears in any place, respective to it.</p><p style="--tw-ring-color: rgba(59, 130, 246, 0.5); --tw-ring-inset: var(--tw-empty, ); --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-shadow: 0 0 #0000; border-color: currentcolor; border-style: solid; border-width: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 2rem; text-align: justify;">To conclude, our position is that we believe and accept everything that has come to us from Allah’s messenger, Muhammad ( صلّى الله عليه وسلّم ) in that Allah comes down to the sky of this world, the lowest heaven, when the last third of night remains and he asks, “Who is calling on me so I can answer him? Who is asking me (for anything) so I can give (it to) him? Who is asking for my forgiveness so I can forgive him?”</p><h3 style="--tw-ring-color: rgba(59, 130, 246, 0.5); --tw-ring-inset: var(--tw-empty, ); --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-shadow: 0 0 #0000; border-color: currentcolor; border-style: solid; border-width: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; clear: both; color: var(--th-color-primary-dark); font-family: Lato, sans-serif; font-size: 1.424rem; letter-spacing: -0.03em; line-height: 1.25; margin: 0px 0px 0.75rem; text-align: justify;"><span style="--tw-ring-color: rgba(59, 130, 246, 0.5); --tw-ring-inset: var(--tw-empty, ); --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-shadow: 0 0 #0000; border-color: currentcolor; border-style: solid; border-width: 0px; box-sizing: border-box;"><span style="--tw-ring-color: rgba(59, 130, 246, 0.5); --tw-ring-inset: var(--tw-empty, ); --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-shadow: 0 0 #0000; border-color: currentcolor; border-style: solid; border-width: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; color: #993300;">Beneficial Points We Learn from This Ḥadīth</span></span></h3><p style="--tw-ring-color: rgba(59, 130, 246, 0.5); --tw-ring-inset: var(--tw-empty, ); --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-shadow: 0 0 #0000; border-color: currentcolor; border-style: solid; border-width: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 2rem; text-align: justify;"><span style="--tw-ring-color: rgba(59, 130, 246, 0.5); --tw-ring-inset: var(--tw-empty, ); --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-shadow: 0 0 #0000; border-color: currentcolor; border-style: solid; border-width: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; font-weight: 700;">This amazing ḥadīth:</span></p><ul style="--tw-ring-color: rgba(59, 130, 246, 0.5); --tw-ring-inset: var(--tw-empty, ); --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-shadow: 0 0 #0000; border-color: currentcolor; border-style: solid; border-width: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; list-style-image: initial; list-style-position: initial; margin: 0px 0px 2rem 1.5em; padding: 0px;"><li style="--tw-ring-color: rgba(59, 130, 246, 0.5); --tw-ring-inset: var(--tw-empty, ); --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-shadow: 0 0 #0000; border-color: currentcolor; border-style: solid; border-width: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; text-align: justify;">Confirms that Allah is high above creation based on the words, “<span style="--tw-ring-color: rgba(59, 130, 246, 0.5); --tw-ring-inset: var(--tw-empty, ); --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-shadow: 0 0 #0000; border-color: currentcolor; border-style: solid; border-width: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; font-weight: 700;">Our Lord descends</span>.”</li><li style="--tw-ring-color: rgba(59, 130, 246, 0.5); --tw-ring-inset: var(--tw-empty, ); --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-shadow: 0 0 #0000; border-color: currentcolor; border-style: solid; border-width: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; text-align: justify;">Confirms that Allah does actions by his choice and will—these are known as “action” characteristics (see footnote no. 7 of the <a href="https://abdurrahmanorg.wordpress.com/2012/06/22/in-the-company-of-allaah-confirming-that-allaah-is-with-his-creation-shaykh-ibn-al-uthaymeen/" rel="noopener" style="--tw-ring-color: rgba(59, 130, 246, 0.5); --tw-ring-inset: var(--tw-empty, ); --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-shadow: 0 0 #0000; border-color: currentcolor; border-style: solid; border-width: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; transition: all 0.25s ease-in-out 0s;" target="_blank">main article</a>)—based on the statement, “<span style="--tw-ring-color: rgba(59, 130, 246, 0.5); --tw-ring-inset: var(--tw-empty, ); --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-shadow: 0 0 #0000; border-color: currentcolor; border-style: solid; border-width: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; font-weight: 700;">Our Lord descends…when the last third of the night remains.</span>.”</li><li style="--tw-ring-color: rgba(59, 130, 246, 0.5); --tw-ring-inset: var(--tw-empty, ); --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-shadow: 0 0 #0000; border-color: currentcolor; border-style: solid; border-width: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; text-align: justify;">Confirms that Allah speaks based on the statement, “<span style="--tw-ring-color: rgba(59, 130, 246, 0.5); --tw-ring-inset: var(--tw-empty, ); --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-shadow: 0 0 #0000; border-color: currentcolor; border-style: solid; border-width: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; font-weight: 700;">He asks…</span>“</li><li style="--tw-ring-color: rgba(59, 130, 246, 0.5); --tw-ring-inset: var(--tw-empty, ); --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-shadow: 0 0 #0000; border-color: currentcolor; border-style: solid; border-width: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; text-align: justify;">Confirms Allah’s kindness and generosity based on his questions, <span style="--tw-ring-color: rgba(59, 130, 246, 0.5); --tw-ring-inset: var(--tw-empty, ); --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-shadow: 0 0 #0000; border-color: currentcolor; border-style: solid; border-width: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; font-weight: 700;">“Who is calling on me…? Who is asking me…? Who is asking for my forgiveness…?”</span></li></ul><p style="--tw-ring-color: rgba(59, 130, 246, 0.5); --tw-ring-inset: var(--tw-empty, ); --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-shadow: 0 0 #0000; border-color: currentcolor; border-style: solid; border-width: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 2rem; text-align: justify;">People should take advantage of this part of the night, asking for whatever they need from Allah, calling upon him, and asking his forgiveness as he asks, “Who is calling on me…? Who is asking me…? Who is asking for my forgiveness…?” And again, the word “Who” here is presented in the form of a question but is actually intended to motivate rather than ask.</p><p style="--tw-ring-color: rgba(59, 130, 246, 0.5); --tw-ring-inset: var(--tw-empty, ); --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-shadow: 0 0 #0000; border-color: currentcolor; border-style: solid; border-width: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 2rem; text-align: justify;">So we should take advantage of this chance because nothing that has passed of your life is in your favor except the times you spent in obedience to Allah. Perhaps more days may pass you by, but when death comes it will be as if you were only born that minute. At that time, everything of one’s past life will mean nothing to him.</p><h3 style="--tw-ring-color: rgba(59, 130, 246, 0.5); --tw-ring-inset: var(--tw-empty, ); --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-shadow: 0 0 #0000; border-color: currentcolor; border-style: solid; border-width: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; clear: both; color: var(--th-color-primary-dark); font-family: Lato, sans-serif; font-size: 1.424rem; letter-spacing: -0.03em; line-height: 1.25; margin: 0px 0px 0.75rem; text-align: justify;"><span style="--tw-ring-color: rgba(59, 130, 246, 0.5); --tw-ring-inset: var(--tw-empty, ); --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-shadow: 0 0 #0000; border-color: currentcolor; border-style: solid; border-width: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; color: #993300;"><span style="--tw-ring-color: rgba(59, 130, 246, 0.5); --tw-ring-inset: var(--tw-empty, ); --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-shadow: 0 0 #0000; border-color: currentcolor; border-style: solid; border-width: 0px; box-sizing: border-box;">Footnotes</span>:</span></h3><p style="--tw-ring-color: rgba(59, 130, 246, 0.5); --tw-ring-inset: var(--tw-empty, ); --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-shadow: 0 0 #0000; border-color: currentcolor; border-style: solid; border-width: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 2rem; text-align: justify;">[<span style="--tw-ring-color: rgba(59, 130, 246, 0.5); --tw-ring-inset: var(--tw-empty, ); --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-shadow: 0 0 #0000; border-color: currentcolor; border-style: solid; border-width: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; color: red;">41</span>] The ḥadīth about this is recorded by Muslim (no. 1348). The prophet ( صلّى الله عليه وسلّم ) said:</p><h2 style="--tw-ring-color: rgba(59, 130, 246, 0.5); --tw-ring-inset: var(--tw-empty, ); --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-shadow: 0 0 #0000; border-color: currentcolor; border-style: solid; border-width: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; clear: both; color: var(--th-color-primary-dark); font-family: Lato, sans-serif; font-size: 1.802rem; letter-spacing: -0.03em; line-height: 1.25; margin: 0px 0px 0.75rem; text-align: justify;"><span style="--tw-ring-color: rgba(59, 130, 246, 0.5); --tw-ring-inset: var(--tw-empty, ); --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-shadow: 0 0 #0000; border-color: currentcolor; border-style: solid; border-width: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; color: black;">مَا مِنْ يَوْمٍ أَكْثَرَ مِنْ أَنْ يُعْتِقَ اللَّهُ فِيهِ عَبْدًا مِنْ النَّارِ مِنْ يَوْمِ عَرَفَةَ وَإِنَّهُ لَيَدْنُو ثُمَّ يُبَاهِي بِهِمْ الْمَلائِكَةَ ، فَيَقُولُ : مَا </span><span style="--tw-ring-color: rgba(59, 130, 246, 0.5); --tw-ring-inset: var(--tw-empty, ); --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-shadow: 0 0 #0000; border-color: currentcolor; border-style: solid; border-width: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; color: black;"> أَرَادَ هَؤُلاءِ</span></h2><p style="--tw-ring-color: rgba(59, 130, 246, 0.5); --tw-ring-inset: var(--tw-empty, ); --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-shadow: 0 0 #0000; border-color: currentcolor; border-style: solid; border-width: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 2rem; text-align: justify;"><span style="--tw-ring-color: rgba(59, 130, 246, 0.5); --tw-ring-inset: var(--tw-empty, ); --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-shadow: 0 0 #0000; border-color: currentcolor; border-style: solid; border-width: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; color: olive;">There is no day on which Allah frees more servants from the fire than the Day of ‘Arafah. He comes near (them) and praises and boasts about them to the angels, saying, “What do these want?” (or “Anything they want!”)</span></p><p style="--tw-ring-color: rgba(59, 130, 246, 0.5); --tw-ring-inset: var(--tw-empty, ); --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-shadow: 0 0 #0000; border-color: currentcolor; border-style: solid; border-width: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 2rem;">—</p><p style="--tw-ring-color: rgba(59, 130, 246, 0.5); --tw-ring-inset: var(--tw-empty, ); --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-shadow: 0 0 #0000; border-color: currentcolor; border-style: solid; border-width: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 2rem;"><span style="--tw-ring-color: rgba(59, 130, 246, 0.5); --tw-ring-inset: var(--tw-empty, ); --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-shadow: 0 0 #0000; border-color: currentcolor; border-style: solid; border-width: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; font-weight: 700;">Posted from the appendix of the article : <a href="https://abdurrahmanorg.wordpress.com/2012/06/22/in-the-company-of-allaah-confirming-that-allaah-is-with-his-creation-shaykh-ibn-al-uthaymeen/" style="--tw-ring-color: rgba(59, 130, 246, 0.5); --tw-ring-inset: var(--tw-empty, ); --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-shadow: 0 0 #0000; border-color: currentcolor; border-style: solid; border-width: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; transition: all 0.25s ease-in-out 0s;" title="# In the Company of Allaah: Confirming that Allaah is with His Creation – Shaykh Ibn Al-‘Uthaymeen">In the Company of Allaah: Confirming Allaah is with His Creation</a> </span>– Shaykh ibn Uthaymeen <em style="--tw-ring-color: rgba(59, 130, 246, 0.5); --tw-ring-inset: var(--tw-empty, ); --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-shadow: 0 0 #0000; border-color: currentcolor; border-style: solid; border-width: 0px; box-sizing: border-box;">rahimahullaah</em> | Translated by Abu az-Zubayr Harrison <em style="--tw-ring-color: rgba(59, 130, 246, 0.5); --tw-ring-inset: var(--tw-empty, ); --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-shadow: 0 0 #0000; border-color: currentcolor; border-style: solid; border-width: 0px; box-sizing: border-box;">rahimahullaah</em></p></div>Mustafa Ahmedhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14172750188773095424noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-558359090739969505.post-41897529452162553682024-01-25T06:13:00.000-08:002024-01-25T06:13:35.780-08:00Does the Targum say Isaiah 53 is about the Messiah?<p align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; text-align: center;"><br /></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"> </p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial;">CLAIM: The oldest Jewish commentary on Isaiah, the Targum Jonathan teaches that the suffering servant of Isaiah 53 is the Messiah.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"> </p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial;">In almost every missionary book or article that brings Rabbinic sources to try and prove their arguments, the Targum of Yonason Ben Uzziel is mentioned as a ‘proof’ that the ancient Rabbis believed that the suffering servant of Isaiah 53 was the Moshiach Ben Dovid, the King Messiah. Most sources just quote a single verse from it. Here is an example from an Internet article by Victor Buksbazen:</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"> </p><p class="MsoBodyTextIndent2" style="font-style: italic; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt 0.5in;"><span style="font-family: Arial;">‘From the earliest days, Isaiah 53 was interpreted by Jews as applying to the Messiah. Thus, Jonathan ben Uziel of the first century, in his Targum (an Aramaic translation of the Hebrew Bible) paraphrases Isaiah 53: "My servant, the Messiah, will be great, who was bruised for our sins."’</span><a href="http://www.judaismsanswer.com/targum.htm#_edn1" name="_ednref1" style="color: blue;" title=""><span class="MsoEndnoteReference" style="vertical-align: super;"><b><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 12pt;">[1]</span></b></span></a></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"> </p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial;">It should be noted that the author has fabricated part of this passage. The words: “who was bruised for our sins" do not appear in the original Targum in any place as we can see from the translation that will be discussed in detail below.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"> </p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial;">There are few sources that deal with the Targum in full. Those that do, while they claim that this Targum is a support for the idea that Isaiah 53’s suffering servant is the Messiah, they will at the same time attack the author of the Targum for ‘completely twisting’ the text, or making a ’virtual rewrite’. If the issue were not so serious, it would be laughable.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"> </p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial;">Here are some quotes from Dr. Michael Brown’s latest work that shows what I mean:</span><a href="http://www.judaismsanswer.com/targum.htm#_edn2" name="_ednref2" style="color: blue;" title=""><span class="MsoEndnoteReference" style="vertical-align: super;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 12pt;">[2]</span></span></a></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"> </p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt 0.5in;"><i><span style="font-family: Arial;">“So, for example the Targum interprets the passage with reference to the Messiah – as warring, victorious king, even to the point of <b>completely twisting</b> the meaning of key verses”</span><a href="http://www.judaismsanswer.com/targum.htm#_edn3" name="_ednref3" style="color: blue;" title=""><span class="MsoEndnoteReference" style="vertical-align: super;"><b><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 12pt;">[3]</span></b></span></a></i></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt 0.5in;"><span style="font-family: Arial;"><i> </i></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt 0.5in;"><i><span style="font-family: Arial;">“Targum Jonathan interprets Isaiah 52:13-53:12 (which for simplicity in this discussion, we will simply call Isaiah 53) with reference to the Messiah, despite the fact that the Targum <b>virtually rewrites</b> the entire passage, changing the verses that speak clearly of the servant’s sufferings so that they speak instead of the <b>suffering of the nations</b>.”</span><a href="http://www.judaismsanswer.com/targum.htm#_edn4" name="_ednref4" style="color: blue;" title=""><span class="MsoEndnoteReference" style="vertical-align: super;"><b><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 12pt;">[4]</span></b></span></a></i></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"> </p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial;">It should be noted that the second quote above has an error. The suffering (as we shall see) is not “of the nations” but of a single nation. It is the suffering of the Jewish people in exile. In another of his works we find:</span><a href="http://www.judaismsanswer.com/targum.htm#_edn5" name="_ednref5" style="color: blue;" title=""><span class="MsoEndnoteReference" style="vertical-align: super;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 12pt;">[5]</span></span></a></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt 0.5in;"><i><span style="font-family: Arial;"> “Note that the Targum Jonathan, the Targum to the prophetic books, applied this section directly to the Messiah (“my servant the Messiah”) but changed the text in a number of key points, thereby effectively removing all references to the Messiah’s suffering. How odd it is that the Targum recognized that the servant of the Lord spoken of in Isaiah 52:13-53:12 was actually the Messiah – a fundamental position of the New Testament – and yet found it necessary to radically alter the meaning of the text to make it into a statement of the Messiah’s military prowess and his victory over the nations. It would have been more logical to attempt to argue that the text did not refer to the Messiah at all!”</span><span class="MsoEndnoteReference" style="vertical-align: super;"><span style="font-family: Arial;"> </span><a href="http://www.judaismsanswer.com/targum.htm#_edn6" name="_ednref6" style="color: blue;" title=""><b><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 12pt;">[6]</span></b></a></span></i></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"> </p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial;">Why do they have to go through such contortions? Why not just accept that the Targum has another opinion? Why not just admit that the Targum does not help their cause? The reason is simple. The traditional church believed in a theology of Replacement of Israel by the church. This was not a good tactic to convince Jews to willingly convert. It failed for hundreds of years. Over the last few decades, the missionaries ‘got it.’ The overwhelming majority of Jews don’t want to stop being Jews. So the missionaries needed to say that the church does NOT replace the Jewish people.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"> </p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial;">This creates a problem. Historical Christianity and Historical Judaism are NOT the same, or even similar on many fundamental theological points. They need to show that the Jews weren’t so wrong, and that we can find ‘roots’ for Christianity in ancient Judaism. If they are there, then they can claim the Rabbis just made a wrong turn along the way.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"> </p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial;">But for that to work, there still needs to be some leftover traces of the ‘true’ theology by the Rabbis, in addition to their new mistakes. The further back, the closer to the truth. Rashi, Maimonides and all the later Rabbis got rid of the ancient beliefs. So the Targum and other sources have to have ‘hints’ showing that the ancient Jews, before the Rabbis ruined it, had beliefs that were consistent with Christianity. Whether it is with regards to Isaiah 53, or the Unity of G-d, or many of the other critical theological issues. Rabbinic works need to be examined to find indicators of the existence of this pre-Rabbinic ‘Biblical’ Judaism that believed similarly to the early Christians. THEN, they can claim that someone of Jewish background can become a Christian, and still be a Jew, since he has not abandoned the ancient Jewish beliefs. It was the RABBIS who have abandoned the ancient Jewish beliefs.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"> </p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial;">This explains the anger and exasperation that we see in the words of Dr., Brown and others when they discuss the full text of the Targum. We shall see that, in fact, the theology that comes out of the Targum is EXACTLY what later Rabbis, like Rashi, and Maimonides would write with regards to the Messiah and the subject of Isaiah 53.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"> </p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial;">The first issue we need to examine is what type of a commentary this Targum is. We shall see that this is a key issue to understanding the Targum, and also Jewish eschatology. Targum literal means ‘translation’, but not all Targums are the same. In my article <a href="http://www.judaismsanswer.com/Midrash.htm">'What is Midrash?'</a><span style="color: #3366ff;"> </span>I discuss the nature and content of Midrashic commentary. There I brought some sources that explain this method of interpretation. Dr. Michael Brown in his work ‘Answering Jewish Objections to Jesus’</span><a href="http://www.judaismsanswer.com/targum.htm#_edn7" name="_ednref7" style="color: blue;" title=""><span class="MsoEndnoteReference" style="vertical-align: super;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 12pt;">[7]</span></span></a><span style="font-family: Arial;"> states:</span></p><p class="MsoBodyTextIndent2" style="font-style: italic; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt 0.5in;"><span style="font-family: Arial;">“Talmudic citations are not meant to be precise interpretations of the biblical text but are often based on free association and wordplays.”</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial;">In his “Introduction to the Talmud”<i> </i>by Moses Mielziner</span><a href="http://www.judaismsanswer.com/targum.htm#_edn8" name="_ednref8" style="color: blue;" title=""><span class="MsoEndnoteReference" style="vertical-align: super;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 12pt;">[8]</span></span></a><span style="font-family: Arial;"> he states:</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt 0.5in;"><span style="font-family: Arial;"><i>“Where the Midrash does not concern legal enactments and provisions, but merely inquires into the meaning and significance of the laws or where it only uses the words of Scripture as a <b>vehicle to convey</b> a moral teaching or a religious instruction and consolation, it is called a ‘Midrash Agadah’ Interpretation of the Agadah, homiletical interpretation.” </i></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial;">In essence a Midrash is NOT a translation or literal commentary, but a pedagogical style of teaching theological concepts that is not strictly dependant on the text it is using.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"> </p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial;">The well-known scholarly translation of the Targumic Messianic texts, by Samson H<b>. </b>Levey<b>,</b> ‘The Messiah: An Aramaic Interpretation; The Messianic Exegesis of the Targum” says with regards to the Targum on Isaiah 53:</span><a href="http://www.judaismsanswer.com/targum.htm#_edn9" name="_ednref9" style="color: blue;" title=""><span class="MsoEndnoteReference" style="vertical-align: super;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 12pt;">[9]</span></span></a><span style="font-family: Arial;"></span></p><p class="MsoBodyTextIndent2" style="font-style: italic; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt 0.5in;"><span style="font-family: Arial;">“This is an excellent example of Targumic paraphrase at its best. It is not a translation, nor is it loose meaningless commentary, but a reworking of the text to yield what the Targumist desires it to give forth.”</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial;">This is almost exactly what appears in the quote from Mielziner above. From this we see that the Targum is a Midrashic commentary, and not a literal one. The Targum is not strictly telling us what the verses say, but what Judaism teaches. It is painting for us a picture of the end-times and Jewish eschatology.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"> </p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial;">This is something that the more knowledgeable missionaries KNOW, even if they are reluctant to admit it in a clear way in their books. This actually came up in an email dialogue with Dr. Michael Brown that involved a number of subjects including the Targum to Isaiah 53. In an email sent to me Sunday, October 20, 2002 he responded to some remarks I made with regards to this issue. I had made the following comment about the Targum on Isaiah 53: “1. It is a Midrashic commentary and not a translation. It is conveying ideas and theology, not exegesis. “ To which he responded: ”<b>I take for granted your point 1 on the Targum to Isaiah” </b>That the Targum to Isaiah 53 is Midrashic and theology, and NOT a literal translation is not even an issue open to debate.</span><a href="http://www.judaismsanswer.com/targum.htm#_edn10" name="_ednref10" style="color: blue;" title=""><span class="MsoEndnoteReference" style="vertical-align: super;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 12pt;">[10]</span></span></a></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"> </p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial;">Now that we recognize that this is a Midrashic comment, we need to try and understand what the Targum is trying to teach us. In it we see a picture painted for us. It is of the end-times. (See my article <a href="http://www.judaismsanswer.com/yosef.htm">'Who is Moshiach ben Yosef?'</a> for some texts dealing with this period, especially the passage of Isaiah 11 which gives some background on the Targumic references to the Messiah.) The Christian missionary scholar Dr. Louis Goldberg in his pamphlet ‘A Jewish Christian response’</span><a href="http://www.judaismsanswer.com/targum.htm#_edn11" name="_ednref11" style="color: blue;" title=""><span class="MsoEndnoteReference" style="vertical-align: super;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 12pt;">[11]</span></span></a><span style="font-family: Arial;"> summarizes what appears in the Targum.</span><a href="http://www.judaismsanswer.com/targum.htm#_edn12" name="_ednref12" style="color: blue;" title=""><span class="MsoEndnoteReference" style="vertical-align: super;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 12pt;">[12]</span></span></a><span style="font-family: Arial;"> He states that 'all the verses which relate to exaltation were applied to a (sic) personal Messiah, while the remainder of the passage relating to suffering was applied to the nation'. So the Targum is teaching us two points: The Messiah will be an exalted character, and the Jewish people suffered in exile. Sounds pretty much like what we find in traditional Jewish commentaries.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"> </p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial;">Let’s look at the Targum and compare it to a translation of the original passage. It will be easy to notice that this is not a translation at all. It is not a simple explanation of the verses. It is a Midrash, in the style we have just explored. The translation from the JPS is bold letters. The translation of the Targum is by Driver and Neubauer</span><a href="http://www.judaismsanswer.com/targum.htm#_edn13" name="_ednref13" style="color: blue;" title=""><span class="MsoEndnoteReference" style="vertical-align: super;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 12pt;">[13]</span></span></a><span style="font-family: Arial;"> as that is the one that is usually quoted from by the missionaries.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"> </p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt 0.5in;"><span style="font-family: Arial;"><b>52:13 Behold, My servant shall prosper, he shall be exalted and lifted up, and shall be very high.</b></span></p><p class="HTMLBody" style="font-family: "MS Sans Serif"; font-size: 10pt; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt 0.5in;"><i><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 12pt;">52:13. Behold my servant Messiah shall prosper; he shall be high, and increase, and be exceeding strong:</span></i></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt 0.5in;"><span style="font-family: Arial;"><b> </b></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt 0.5in;"><span style="font-family: Arial;"><b>52:14 According as many were appalled at thee—so marred was his visage unlike that of a man, and his form unlike that of the sons of men—</b></span></p><p class="HTMLBody" style="font-family: "MS Sans Serif"; font-size: 10pt; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt 0.5in;"><i><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 12pt;">52:14. as the house of Israel looked to him during many days, because their countenance was darkened among the peoples, and their complexion beyond the sons of men,</span></i></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt 0.5in;"><span style="font-family: Arial;"><b> </b></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt 0.5in;"><span style="font-family: Arial;"><b>52:15 So shall he startle many nations, kings shall shut their mouths because of him; for that which had not been told them shall they see, and that which they had not heard shall they perceive.</b></span></p><p class="HTMLBody" style="font-family: "MS Sans Serif"; font-size: 10pt; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt 0.5in;"><i><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 12pt;">52:15. so will he scatter many peoples; at him kings shall be silent, and put their hands upon their mouth, because that which was not told them have they seen, and that which they had not heard they have observed.</span></i></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt 0.5in;"><span style="font-family: Arial;"><b> </b></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt 0.5in;"><span style="font-family: Arial;"><b>53:1 ‘Who would have believed our report? And to whom hath the arm of the LORD been revealed?</b></span></p><p class="HTMLBody" style="font-family: "MS Sans Serif"; font-size: 10pt; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt 0.5in;"><i><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 12pt;">53:1. Who hath believed this our glad tidings? and the strength of the mighty arm of the Lord, upon whom as thus hath it been revealed?</span></i></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt 0.5in;"><span style="font-family: Arial;"><b> </b></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt 0.5in;"><span style="font-family: Arial;"><b>53:2 For he shot up right forth as a sapling, and as a root out of a dry ground; he had no form nor comeliness, that we should look upon him, nor beauty that we should delight in him.</b></span></p><p class="HTMLBody" style="font-family: "MS Sans Serif"; font-size: 10pt; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt 0.5in;"><i><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 12pt;">53:2. The righteous will grow up before him, yeah, like blooming shoots, and like a tree which sends forth its roots to streams of water will they increase - a holy generation in the land that was in need of him; his countenance no profane countenance, and the terror at him not the terror at an ordinary man; his complexion shall be a holy complexion, and all who see him will look wistfully upon him.</span></i></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt 0.5in;"><span style="font-family: Arial;"><b> </b></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt 0.5in;"><span style="font-family: Arial;"><b>53:3 He was despised, and forsaken of men, a man of pains, and acquainted with disease, and as one from whom men hide their face: he was despised, and we esteemed him not.</b></span></p><p class="HTMLBody" style="font-family: "MS Sans Serif"; font-size: 10pt; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt 0.5in;"><i><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 12pt;">53:3. Then he will become despised, and will cut off the glory of all the kingdoms; they will be prostrate and mourning, like a man of pains and like one destined for sicknesses; and as though the presence of the Shekhinah had been withdrawn from us, they will be despised, and esteemed not.</span></i></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt 0.5in;"><span style="font-family: Arial;"><b> </b></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt 0.5in;"><span style="font-family: Arial;"><b>53:4 Surely our diseases he did bear, and our pains he carried; whereas we did esteem him stricken, smitten of God, and afflicted.</b></span></p><p class="HTMLBody" style="font-family: "MS Sans Serif"; font-size: 10pt; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt 0.5in;"><i><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 12pt;">53:4. Then for our sins he will pray, and our iniquities will for his sake be forgiven, although we were accounted stricken, smitten from before the Lord, and afflicted.</span></i></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt 0.5in;"><span style="font-family: Arial;"><b> </b></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt 0.5in;"><span style="font-family: Arial;"><b>53:5 But he was wounded because of our transgressions, he was crushed because of our iniquities: the chastisement of our welfare was upon him, and with his stripes we were healed.</b></span></p><p class="HTMLBody" style="font-family: "MS Sans Serif"; font-size: 10pt; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt 0.5in;"><i><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 12pt;">53:5. But he will build up the Holy Place, which has been polluted for our sins, and delivered to the enemy for our iniquities; and by his instruction peace shall be increased upon us, and by devotion to his words, our sins will be forgiven us.</span></i></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt 0.5in;"><span style="font-family: Arial;"><b> </b></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt 0.5in;"><span style="font-family: Arial;"><b>53:6 All we like sheep did go astray, we turned every one to his own way; and the LORD hath made to light on him the iniquity of us all.</b></span></p><p class="HTMLBody" style="font-family: "MS Sans Serif"; font-size: 10pt; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt 0.5in;"><i><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 12pt;">53:6. All we like sheep had been scattered, we had each wandered off on his own way; but it was the Lord's good pleasure to forgive the sins of all of us for his sake.</span></i></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt 0.5in;"><span style="font-family: Arial;"><b> </b></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt 0.5in;"><span style="font-family: Arial;"><b>53:7 He was oppressed, though he humbled himself and opened not his mouth; as a lamb that is led to the slaughter, and as a sheep that before her shearers is dumb; yea, he opened not his mouth.</b></span></p><p class="HTMLBody" style="font-family: "MS Sans Serif"; font-size: 10pt; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt 0.5in;"><i><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 12pt;">53:7. He prayed, and he was answered, and ere even he had opened his mouth he was accepted; the mighty of the peoples he will deliver up like a sheep to the slaughter and like a lamb dumb before her shearers; there shall be none before him opening his mouth or saying a word</span></i></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt 0.5in;"><span style="font-family: Arial;"><b> </b></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt 0.5in;"><span style="font-family: Arial;"><b>53:8 By oppression and judgment he was taken away, and with his generation who did reason? for he was cut off out of the land of the living, for the transgression of my people to whom the stroke was due.</b></span></p><p class="HTMLBody" style="font-family: "MS Sans Serif"; font-size: 10pt; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt 0.5in;"><i><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 12pt;">53:8. Out of chastisements and punishment he will bring our captives near; the wondrous things done to us in his days who shall be able to tell? For he will cause the dominion of the Gentiles to pass away from the land of Israel and transfer to them the sins which my people have committed.</span></i></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt 0.5in;"><span style="font-family: Arial;"><b> </b></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt 0.5in;"><span style="font-family: Arial;"><b>53:9 And they made his grave with the wicked, and with the rich his tomb; although he had done no violence, neither was any deceit in his mouth.’</b></span></p><p class="HTMLBody" style="font-family: "MS Sans Serif"; font-size: 10pt; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt 0.5in;"><i><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 12pt;">53:9. He will deliver the wicked into Gehinnom, and those that are rich in possessions into the death of utter destruction, in order that those who commit sin may not be established, nor speak deceits with their mouth.</span></i></p><p class="HTMLBody" style="font-family: "MS Sans Serif"; font-size: 10pt; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt 0.5in;"><b><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 12pt;"> </span></b></p><p class="HTMLBody" style="font-family: "MS Sans Serif"; font-size: 10pt; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt 0.5in;"><b><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 12pt;">53:10 Yet it pleased the LORD to crush him by disease; to see if his soul would offer itself in restitution, that he might see his seed, prolong his days, and that the purpose of the LORD might prosper by his hand:</span></b></p><p class="HTMLBody" style="font-family: "MS Sans Serif"; font-size: 10pt; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt 0.5in;"><i><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 12pt;">53:10. But it is the Lord's good pleasure to try and to purify the remnant of his people, so as to cleanse their souls from sin; these shall look on the Kingdom of their Messiah, their sons and their daughters shall be multiplied, they shall prolong their days, and those who perform the Law of the Lord shall prosper in his good pleasure.</span></i></p><p class="HTMLBody" style="font-family: "MS Sans Serif"; font-size: 10pt; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt 0.5in;"><b><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 12pt;"> </span></b></p><p class="HTMLBody" style="font-family: "MS Sans Serif"; font-size: 10pt; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt 0.5in;"><b><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 12pt;">53:11 Of the travail of his soul he shall see to the full, even My servant, who by his knowledge did justify the Righteous One to the many, and their iniquities he did bear.</span></b></p><p class="HTMLBody" style="font-family: "MS Sans Serif"; font-size: 10pt; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt 0.5in;"><i><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 12pt;">53:11. From the subjection of the nations he will deliver their souls, they shall look upon the punishment of those that hate them, and be satisfied with the spoil of their kings; by his wisdom he will hold the guiltless free from guilt, in order to bring many into subjection to the law; and for their sins he will intercede.</span></i></p><p class="HTMLBody" style="font-family: "MS Sans Serif"; font-size: 10pt; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt 0.5in;"><b><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 12pt;"> </span></b></p><p class="HTMLBody" style="font-family: "MS Sans Serif"; font-size: 10pt; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt 0.5in;"><b><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 12pt;">53:12 Therefore will I divide him a portion among the great, and he shall divide the spoil with the mighty; because he bared his soul unto death, and was numbered with the transgressors; yet he bore the sin of many, and made intercession for the transgressors.</span></b></p><p class="HTMLBody" style="font-family: "MS Sans Serif"; font-size: 10pt; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt 0.5in;"><i><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 12pt;">53:12. Then will I divide for him the spoil of many peoples, and the possessions of strong cities shall he divide as prey, because he delivered up his soul to death, and made the rebellious subject to the Law: he shall intercede for many sins, and the rebellious for his sake shall be forgiven</span></i></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"> </p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial;">We can see clearly from the above that the Targum is not a translation, nor can it be called ‘commentary’ in the usual sense of the word. If we look in the commentaries of the Rambam (Maimonides) where he discusses the Messiah, his time, and his role we see most if not all of what appears in this Targum about the Messiah.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"> </p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial;">In his commentary to the Mishnah Sanhedrin 10:1 he states:</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"> </p><p class="MsoBodyTextIndent2" style="font-style: italic; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt 0.5in;"><span style="font-family: Arial;">“The twelfth principle… We believe the Messiah will be greater than any other king or ruler who has ever lived.”</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"> </p><p class="MsoBodyTextIndent2" style="font-style: italic; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt 0.5in;"><span style="font-family: Arial;">“The Messiah will be a very great king, whose government will be in Zion. He will achieve great fame, and his reputation among the nations will be even greater than that of King Solomon. His great righteousness and the wonders that he will bring about will cause all peoples to make peace with him and all the lands will serve him. Whoever rises up against him will be destroyed by G-d and given over into his hand.”</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"> </p><p class="MsoBodyTextIndent2" style="font-style: italic; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt 0.5in;"><span style="font-family: Arial;">“The main benefit of the Messianic Age will be that we will no longer be under the subjugation of foreign governments who prevent us from keeping all the commandments.”</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"> </p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial;">In his Mishnah Torah in the Laws of Kings Chapter 11 we have more:</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"> </p><p class="MsoBodyTextIndent2" style="font-style: italic; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt 0.5in;"><span style="font-family: Arial;">11:1. “The Messiah will be a king who will restore the kingdom of David to its original state. He will rebuild the Temple and gather together all Jews, no matter where they were scattered.”</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"> </p><p class="MsoBodyTextIndent2" style="font-style: italic; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt 0.5in;"><span style="font-family: Arial;">11:4. We may assume that a person is the Messiah if he fulfills the following conditions: He must be a ruler, from the house of David, immersed in Torah and its commandments like David his ancestor. He must also follow both the written and the Oral Torah, lead all Jews back to the Torah, strengthen the observance of its laws, and fight G-d’s battles. If one fulfills these conditions then we may assume he is the Messiah. If he does this successfully, and then rebuilds the Temple on its original site and gathers all the dispersed Jews, then we may be certain that he is the Messiah. He will then perfect the entire world and bring all men to serve G-d in unity.”</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"> </p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial;">There is nothing especially surprising here for anyone familiar with the beliefs of Historical Judaism. What is interesting is that so much of the Jewish beliefs are explicitly mentioned in the Targum to Isaiah 53. (I would also note that some of the Biblical quotes from my article on <a href="http://www.judaismsanswer.com/yosef.htm">Moshiach ben Yosef</a> indicate many of the things that the Rambam says.)</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"> </p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial;">I want to examine text of the Targum and explain what he is saying and point out where the Targum’s words agree with the Rambam about the messianic period. This will be in stark contrast to Christian theology about the Messiah, which is conspicuously absent from the Targum. I will be discussing each sentence of the Targum. I have made a few modifications of the translation based on the translation of Levey, and the wording of the original where the text used above gives a nuance that is not there in the original.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial;"><b> </b></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt 0.5in;"><span style="font-family: Arial;"><b>52:13 Behold, My servant shall prosper, he shall be exalted and lifted up, and shall be very high.</b></span></p><p class="HTMLBody" style="font-family: "MS Sans Serif"; font-size: 10pt; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt 0.5in;"><i><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 12pt;">52:13. Behold my servant Messiah shall prosper; he shall be high, and increase, and be exceeding strong:</span></i></p><p class="HTMLBody" style="font-family: "MS Sans Serif"; font-size: 10pt; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 12pt;"> </span></p><p class="HTMLBody" style="font-family: "MS Sans Serif"; font-size: 10pt; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 12pt;">Here the servant is the Messiah. The Targum is almost the exact same wording as the Hebrew, except that he mentions the Messiah. We see that the Messiah will be of an exalted character, something that the Rambam emphasizes in his commentary to the Mishnah. <i>“The Messiah will be a very great king, whose government will be in Zion. He will achieve great fame, and his reputation among the nations will be even greater than that of King Solomon.”</i></span></p><p class="HTMLBody" style="font-family: "MS Sans Serif"; font-size: 10pt; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 12pt;"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt 0.5in;"><span style="font-family: Arial;"><b>52:14 According as many were appalled at thee—so marred was his visage unlike that of a man, and his form unlike that of the sons of men—</b></span></p><p class="HTMLBody" style="font-family: "MS Sans Serif"; font-size: 10pt; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt 0.5in;"><i><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 12pt;">52:14. as the house of Israel looked to him during many days, because their countenance was darkened among the peoples, and their complexion (darkened) beyond the sons of men,</span></i></p><p class="HTMLBody" style="font-family: "MS Sans Serif"; font-size: 10pt; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 12pt;"> </span></p><p class="HTMLBody" style="font-family: "MS Sans Serif"; font-size: 10pt; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 12pt;">Here the servant is Israel. We see how Israel suffered abuse in their exile while waiting for the Messiah to come.</span></p><p class="HTMLBody" style="font-family: "MS Sans Serif"; font-size: 10pt; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 12pt;"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt 0.5in;"><span style="font-family: Arial;"><b>52:15 So shall he startle many nations, kings shall shut their mouths because of him; for that which had not been told them shall they see, and that which they had not heard shall they perceive.</b></span></p><p class="HTMLBody" style="font-family: "MS Sans Serif"; font-size: 10pt; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt 0.5in;"><i><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 12pt;">52:15. so will he scatter many peoples; at him kings shall be silent, and put their hands upon their mouth, because that which was not told them have they seen, and that which they had not heard they have observed.</span></i></p><p class="HTMLBody" style="font-family: "MS Sans Serif"; font-size: 10pt; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 12pt;"> </span></p><p class="HTMLBody" style="font-family: "MS Sans Serif"; font-size: 10pt; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 12pt;">The servant is the Messiah again. We see how the Messiah will be victorious in war against all enemies. This reflects what the Rambam wrote in his commentary to the Mishnah: <i>“Whoever rises up against him will be destroyed by G-d and given over into his hand.”</i></span></p><p class="HTMLBody" style="font-family: "MS Sans Serif"; font-size: 10pt; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 12pt;"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt 0.5in;"><span style="font-family: Arial;"><b>53:1 ‘Who would have believed our report? And to whom hath the arm of the LORD been revealed?</b></span></p><p class="HTMLBody" style="font-family: "MS Sans Serif"; font-size: 10pt; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt 0.5in;"><i><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 12pt;">53:1. Who hath believed this our glad tidings? and the strength of the mighty arm of HaShem, upon whom hath it been revealed?</span></i></p><p class="HTMLBody" style="font-family: "MS Sans Serif"; font-size: 10pt; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt 0.5in;"><i><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 12pt;"> </span></i></p><p class="HTMLBody" style="font-family: "MS Sans Serif"; font-size: 10pt; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 12pt;">This seems to be similar to what the Rambam stated: <i>“His great righteousness and the wonders that he will bring about will cause all peoples to make peace with him and all the lands will serve him.”</i></span></p><p class="HTMLBody" style="font-family: "MS Sans Serif"; font-size: 10pt; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 12pt;"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt 0.5in;"><span style="font-family: Arial;"><b>53:2 For he shot up right forth as a sapling, and as a root out of a dry ground; he had no form nor comeliness, that we should look upon him, nor beauty that we should delight in him.</b></span></p><p class="HTMLBody" style="font-family: "MS Sans Serif"; font-size: 10pt; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt 0.5in;"><i><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 12pt;">53:2. The righteous will grow up before him, yeah, like blooming shoots, and like a tree which sends forth its roots to streams of water; will they increase - a holy generations (lit. holy children) in the land that was in need of him; his countenance no profane countenance, and the terror at him not the terror of a simple person; his complexion shall be a holy complexion, and all who see him will look (stare) upon him.</span></i></p><p class="HTMLBody" style="font-family: "MS Sans Serif"; font-size: 10pt; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt 0.5in;"><i><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 12pt;"> </span></i></p><p class="HTMLBody" style="font-family: "MS Sans Serif"; font-size: 10pt; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 12pt;">The servant in this verse is the righteous of Israel. It appears that this verse is the source for Rashi saying that the servant is the righteous of Israel, and not just all of Israel. We see that not just the Messiah, as mentioned in 52:13, but all the righteous of Israel will be exalted in that time.</span></p><p class="HTMLBody" style="font-family: "MS Sans Serif"; font-size: 10pt; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 12pt;"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt 0.5in;"><span style="font-family: Arial;"><b>53:3 He was despised, and forsaken of men, a man of pains, and acquainted with disease, and as one from whom men hide their face: he was despised, and we esteemed him not.</b></span></p><p class="HTMLBody" style="font-family: "MS Sans Serif"; font-size: 10pt; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt 0.5in;"><i><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 12pt;">53:3. Then he will despise, and will cut off the glory of all the kingdoms; they will be weakened and mourning, like a man of pains and like one prepared for sicknesses; and as though the presence of the Shekhinah had been withdrawn, they will be despised, and esteemed not.</span></i></p><p class="HTMLBody" style="font-family: "MS Sans Serif"; font-size: 10pt; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 12pt;"> </span></p><p class="HTMLBody" style="font-family: "MS Sans Serif"; font-size: 10pt; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 12pt;">It seems that the servant here is the NATIONS, an interesting twist in his interpretation. This seems to be a continuation of 52:15 where we see that the nations who have caused the suffering to Israel will be subjugated.</span></p><p class="HTMLBody" style="font-family: "MS Sans Serif"; font-size: 10pt; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 12pt;"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt 0.5in;"><span style="font-family: Arial;"><b>53:4 Surely our diseases he did bear, and our pains he carried; whereas we did esteem him stricken, smitten of God, and afflicted.</b></span></p><p class="HTMLBody" style="font-family: "MS Sans Serif"; font-size: 10pt; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt 0.5in;"><i><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 12pt;">53:4. Then for our sins he will pray, and our iniquities will for his sake be silenced, and we were accounted stricken, smitten from before HaShem, and afflicted.</span></i></p><p class="HTMLBody" style="font-family: "MS Sans Serif"; font-size: 10pt; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt 0.5in;"><i><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 12pt;"> </span></i></p><p class="HTMLBody" style="font-family: "MS Sans Serif"; font-size: 10pt; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 12pt;">The servant’s role here is applied to BOTH the Messiah and Israel. In Mishnah Torah Kings 11:4 the Rambam says: <i>“lead all Jews back to the Torah, strengthen the observance of its laws”</i> This is what the Messiah is doing here. The Targum also discusses the suffering in exile of Israel, and what the nations said about them.</span></p><p class="HTMLBody" style="font-family: "MS Sans Serif"; font-size: 10pt; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 12pt;"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt 0.5in;"><span style="font-family: Arial;"><b>53:5 But he was wounded because of our transgressions, he was crushed because of our iniquities: the chastisement of our welfare was upon him, and with his stripes we were healed.</b></span></p><p class="HTMLBody" style="font-family: "MS Sans Serif"; font-size: 10pt; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt 0.5in;"><i><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 12pt;">53:5. But he will build up the Holy Place, which has been polluted for our sins, and delivered (to the enemy) for our iniquities; and by his instruction peace shall be increased upon us, and by devotion to his words, our sins will be forsaken<a href="http://www.judaismsanswer.com/targum.htm#_edn14" name="_ednref14" style="color: blue;" title=""><span class="MsoEndnoteReference" style="vertical-align: super;"><b>[14]</b></span></a>.</span></i></p><p class="HTMLBody" style="font-family: "MS Sans Serif"; font-size: 10pt; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt 0.5in;"><i><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 12pt;"> </span></i></p><p class="MsoBodyTextIndent2" style="font-style: italic; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial;"><span style="font-style: normal;">The servant here is the Messiah. We see described the ‘job’ of the Messiah. It is almost exactly what the Rambam has stated: Book of Kings </span>11:4. We may assume that a person is the Messiah if he fulfills the following conditions: He must be a ruler, from the house of David, immersed in Torah and its commandments like David his ancestor. He must also follow both the written and the Oral Torah, lead all Jews back to the Torah, strengthen the observance of its laws, and fight G-d’s battles. If one fulfills these conditions then we may assume he is the Messiah. If he does this successfully, and then rebuilds the Temple on its original site and gathers all the dispersed Jews, then we may be certain that he is the Messiah. He will then perfect the entire world and bring all men to serve G-d in unity.”</span></p><p class="HTMLBody" style="font-family: "MS Sans Serif"; font-size: 10pt; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 12pt;"> </span></p><p class="HTMLBody" style="font-family: "MS Sans Serif"; font-size: 10pt; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 12pt;"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt 0.5in;"><span style="font-family: Arial;"><b>53:6 All we like sheep did go astray, we turned every one to his own way; and the LORD hath made to light on him the iniquity of us all.</b></span></p><p class="HTMLBody" style="font-family: "MS Sans Serif"; font-size: 10pt; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt 0.5in;"><i><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 12pt;">53:6. All we like sheep had been scattered, we were exiled, each wandered off on his own way; but it was HaShem’s will to forsake the sins of all of us for his sake.</span></i></p><p class="HTMLBody" style="font-family: "MS Sans Serif"; font-size: 10pt; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt 0.5in;"><i><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 12pt;"> </span></i></p><p class="HTMLBody" style="font-family: "MS Sans Serif"; font-size: 10pt; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 12pt;">Here we see Israel’s position in exile and Israel’s sins being forgiven. (In the next few verses we see what the Messiah does to cause this: prayer and teaching Torah to the people.)</span></p><p class="HTMLBody" style="font-family: "MS Sans Serif"; font-size: 10pt; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 12pt;"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt 0.5in;"><span style="font-family: Arial;"><b>53:7 He was oppressed, though he humbled himself and opened not his mouth; as a lamb that is led to the slaughter, and as a sheep that before her shearers is dumb; yea, he opened not his mouth.</b></span></p><p class="HTMLBody" style="font-family: "MS Sans Serif"; font-size: 10pt; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt 0.5in;"><i><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 12pt;">53:7. He prayed, and he was answered, and ere even he had opened his mouth he was accepted; the mighty of the peoples he will deliver up like a sheep to the slaughter and like a lamb dumb before her shearers; there shall be none before him opening his mouth or saying a word</span></i></p><p class="HTMLBody" style="font-family: "MS Sans Serif"; font-size: 10pt; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 12pt;"> </span></p><p class="HTMLBody" style="font-family: "MS Sans Serif"; font-size: 10pt; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 12pt;">The servant here is again the nations. As to the role of the Messiah in this verse the Rambam says: <i>“Whoever rises up against him will be destroyed by G-d and given over into his hand.”</i></span></p><p class="HTMLBody" style="font-family: "MS Sans Serif"; font-size: 10pt; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 12pt;"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt 0.5in;"><span style="font-family: Arial;"><b>53:8 By oppression and judgment he was taken away, and with his generation who did reason? for he was cut off out of the land of the living, for the transgression of my people to whom the stroke was due.</b></span></p><p class="HTMLBody" style="font-family: "MS Sans Serif"; font-size: 10pt; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt 0.5in;"><i><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 12pt;">53:8. Out of suffering and punishment he will bring our exiles; the wondrous things done to us in his days who shall be able to tell? For he will cause the dominion of the Gentiles to pass away from the land of Israel and transfer to them the sins which my people have committed.</span></i></p><p class="HTMLBody" style="font-family: "MS Sans Serif"; font-size: 10pt; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt 0.5in;"><i><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 12pt;"> </span></i></p><p class="HTMLBody" style="font-family: "MS Sans Serif"; font-size: 10pt; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 12pt;"> </span></p><p class="MsoBodyTextIndent2" style="font-style: italic; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial;"><span style="font-style: normal;">The servant here is Israel. The suffering of Israel in the exile will be ended. As to the Messiah what it says here follows what the Rambam says in the book of Kings </span>11:1. “The Messiah will be a king who will restore the kingdom of David to its original state. He will rebuild the Temple and gather together all Jews, no matter where they were scattered.” <span style="font-style: normal;">Also in his commentary on the Mishnah</span>: “The main benefit of the Messianic Age will be that we will no longer be under the subjugation of foreign governments who prevent us from keeping all the commandments.”</span></p><p class="HTMLBody" style="font-family: "MS Sans Serif"; font-size: 10pt; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 12pt;"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt 0.5in;"><span style="font-family: Arial;"><b>53:9 And they made his grave with the wicked, and with the rich his tomb; although he had done no violence, neither was any deceit in his mouth.’</b></span></p><p class="HTMLBody" style="font-family: "MS Sans Serif"; font-size: 10pt; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt 0.5in;"><i><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 12pt;">53:9. He will deliver the wicked into Gehinnom, and those that are rich in possessions, that were forced from us, into the death of utter destruction, in order that those who commit sin may not prevail, nor speak deceits with their mouth.</span></i></p><p class="HTMLBody" style="font-family: "MS Sans Serif"; font-size: 10pt; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt 0.5in;"><i><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 12pt;"> </span></i></p><p class="HTMLBody" style="font-family: "MS Sans Serif"; font-size: 10pt; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 12pt;">The servant here is the nations. This is a continuation of the previous verse of the victory over the gentiles.</span></p><p class="HTMLBody" style="font-family: "MS Sans Serif"; font-size: 10pt; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 12pt;"> </span></p><p class="HTMLBody" style="font-family: "MS Sans Serif"; font-size: 10pt; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt 0.5in;"><b><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 12pt;">53:10 Yet it pleased the LORD to crush him by disease; to see if his soul would offer itself in restitution, that he might see his seed, prolong his days, and that the purpose of the LORD might prosper by his hand:</span></b></p><p class="HTMLBody" style="font-family: "MS Sans Serif"; font-size: 10pt; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt 0.5in;"><i><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 12pt;">53:10. But it is HaShem's will to purify and to cause suffering to the remnant of his people, so as to cleanse their souls from sin; these shall look on the Kingdom of their Messiah, their sons and their daughters shall be multiplied, they shall prolong their days, and those who perform the Law of HaShem shall prosper by His Will.</span></i></p><p class="HTMLBody" style="font-family: "MS Sans Serif"; font-size: 10pt; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt 0.5in;"><i><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 12pt;"> </span></i></p><p class="HTMLBody" style="font-family: "MS Sans Serif"; font-size: 10pt; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 12pt;"> </span></p><p class="HTMLBody" style="font-family: "MS Sans Serif"; font-size: 10pt; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 12pt;">The servant here is Israel. We see that the suffering in exile was for the good of Israel and they shall merit to have many children, and those who keep the Torah (the righteous) will prosper.</span></p><p class="HTMLBody" style="font-family: "MS Sans Serif"; font-size: 10pt; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 12pt;"> </span></p><p class="HTMLBody" style="font-family: "MS Sans Serif"; font-size: 10pt; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt 0.5in;"><b><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 12pt;">53:11 Of the travail of his soul he shall see to the full, even My servant, who by his knowledge did justify the Righteous One to the many, and their iniquities he did bear.</span></b></p><p class="HTMLBody" style="font-family: "MS Sans Serif"; font-size: 10pt; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt 0.5in;"><i><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 12pt;">53:11. From the subjection of the nations he will deliver their souls, they shall look upon the punishment of those that hate them, and be satisfied with the spoil of their kings; by his wisdom he will hold cause merit to the meritorious, in order to bring many into service to the law; and for their sins he will intercede.</span></i></p><p class="HTMLBody" style="font-family: "MS Sans Serif"; font-size: 10pt; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt 0.5in;"><i><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 12pt;"> </span></i></p><p class="HTMLBody" style="font-family: "MS Sans Serif"; font-size: 10pt; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 12pt;"> </span></p><p class="HTMLBody" style="font-family: "MS Sans Serif"; font-size: 10pt; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 12pt;">The servant here is both Israel and the Messiah. He repeats here the successful end to the enemies of Israel, and that Israel will divide the spoils from these enemies.</span></p><p class="HTMLBody" style="font-family: "MS Sans Serif"; font-size: 10pt; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 12pt;"> </span></p><p class="HTMLBody" style="font-family: "MS Sans Serif"; font-size: 10pt; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt 0.5in;"><b><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 12pt;">53:12 Therefore will I divide him a portion among the great, and he shall divide the spoil with the mighty; because he bared his soul unto death, and was numbered with the transgressors; yet he bore the sin of many, and made intercession for the transgressors.</span></b></p><p class="HTMLBody" style="font-family: "MS Sans Serif"; font-size: 10pt; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt 0.5in;"><i><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 12pt;">53:12. Then will I divide for him the spoil of many peoples, and the possessions of strong cities shall he divide as spoils, because he was willing to suffer martyrdom, and made the rebellious subject to the Law: he shall intercede for the sins of many, and the sins of the rebellious for his sake shall be forsaken</span></i></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"> </p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial;">The servant here is the Messiah. A repetition of what was said above in 53:5 and 53:11.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"> </p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial;">The best expression of the claim of the missionaries is in a recent work by Dr. Brown. Here is what Dr. Brown says:</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt 0.5in;"><i><span style="font-family: Arial;">“Interestingly, the national interpretation is not found once in the Talmuds, the Targums, or the midrashim (in other words, not once in all the classical, foundational, authoritative Jewish writings). </span><a href="http://www.judaismsanswer.com/targum.htm#_edn15" name="_ednref15" style="color: blue;" title=""><span class="MsoEndnoteReference" style="vertical-align: super;"><b><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 12pt;">[15]</span></b></span></a></i></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial;">We have seen that this is just not true. In the Targum numerous references are made to a ‘national interpretation’ of the suffering servant of Isaiah 53. Verses like 52:14, 53:4,8 and 10 all discuss the suffering of Israel in exile where the verse in the original discusses the suffering of the ‘servant’. There are even places where the suffering of the servant is applied to the punishments that will befall the nations in the end of days.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"> </p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial;">But there is a problem. As we have said, this is a Midrashic commentary. It is theology and not exegesis. We see that the theology of the Targum and that of Historical Judaism are in agreement. The question is can we discern who the Targum believes is the subject of Isaiah 53? I think that we can. I think that we have a few pieces of information that tells us that in the time of the Targum they understood the simple meaning of Isaiah 53 is that the suffering servant is referring to Israel, or the Righteous of Israel.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"> </p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial;">The first fact is based on a simple question: Why is Moshiach ben Yosef not mentioned in this passage of the Targum? In a few others places</span><a href="http://www.judaismsanswer.com/targum.htm#_edn16" name="_ednref16" style="color: blue;" title=""><span class="MsoEndnoteReference" style="vertical-align: super;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 12pt;">[16]</span></span></a><span style="font-family: Arial;"> the Targum mentions Moshiach ben Yosef. Had the Targum wanted to indicate that Isaiah 53 related to the idea of a suffering Messiah figure, then it would have been natural for him to include mention of Moshiach ben Yosef. By excluding mention of Moshiach ben Yosef in Isaiah 53 the Targum shows that he excludes the idea of a single person for the subject of the suffering servant of Isaiah 53, especially the Messiah.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"> </p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial;">Secondly, all sources, Christian and Jewish; acknowledge that the subject of Isaiah 53 is a servant who suffers. As we saw from Dr. Goldberg, and from our examination of the Targum itself, the person suffering is ISRAEL. The inclusion of discussion about what the Messiah would be like and what he would do does not change anything with regards to that fact. This is, after all, a Midrash that is trying to teach something theological about the end-times period. It tells us many things, all of which Judaism accepts and acknowledges to the present day. And one point it makes quite clearly is that Israel has suffered in the exile.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"> </p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial;">These two points give us strong proof and confidence that, just like the theology the Targum teaches with regards to Isaiah 53 is what Historical Judaism believes, so the identification of the servant as Israel or the righteous of Israel, which Historical Judaism believes, is the same as the Targum. The Targum DOES NOT teach that the suffering servant of Isaiah 53 is the Messiah. There is nothing in the Targum that even remotely is connected with the Christian theology about a Messiah who dies for the sins of the world. No person reading the Targum objectively, from beginning to end, would make such a contention.</span></p><p class="HTMLBody" style="font-family: "MS Sans Serif"; font-size: 10pt; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 12pt;"> </span></p><div><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-size: 12pt; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial;">© Moshe Shulman 2003 <a href="http://www.judaismsanswer.com/" style="color: blue;">http://www.judaismsanswer.com</a></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-size: 12pt; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial;">For more information, questions answered, or help with missionaries you can reach Moshe Shulman at <a href="mailto:outreach@judaismsanswer.com" style="color: blue;">outreach@judaismsanswer.com</a>.</span></p><hr align="left" size="1" width="33%" /><div id="edn1"><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-size: 12pt; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"><a href="http://www.judaismsanswer.com/targum.htm#_ednref1" name="_edn1" style="color: blue;" title=""><span class="MsoEndnoteReference" style="vertical-align: super;"><span style="font-size: 10pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 10pt;">[1]</span></span></span></a><span style="font-family: Arial;"><span style="font-size: 10pt;"> <a href="http://www.thebookwurm.com/isaiah53.htm" style="color: blue;">http://www.thebookwurm.com/isaiah53.htm</a>: ISAIAH FIFTY-THREE Of Whom Does The Prophet Speak?</span></span></p></div><div id="edn2"><p class="MsoEndnoteText" style="font-size: 10pt; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"><a href="http://www.judaismsanswer.com/targum.htm#_ednref2" name="_edn2" style="color: blue;" title=""><span class="MsoEndnoteReference" style="vertical-align: super;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 10pt;">[2]</span></span></a><span style="font-family: Arial;"> “Answers to Jewish Objections to Jesus”, Volume 3.</span></p></div><div id="edn3"><p class="MsoEndnoteText" style="font-size: 10pt; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"><a href="http://www.judaismsanswer.com/targum.htm#_ednref3" name="_edn3" style="color: blue;" title=""><span class="MsoEndnoteReference" style="vertical-align: super;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 10pt;">[3]</span></span></a><span style="font-family: Arial;"> Page 49</span></p></div><div id="edn4"><p class="MsoEndnoteText" style="font-size: 10pt; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"><a href="http://www.judaismsanswer.com/targum.htm#_ednref4" name="_edn4" style="color: blue;" title=""><span class="MsoEndnoteReference" style="vertical-align: super;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 10pt;">[4]</span></span></a><span style="font-family: Arial;"> Page 51</span></p></div><div id="edn5"><p class="MsoEndnoteText" style="font-size: 10pt; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"><a href="http://www.judaismsanswer.com/targum.htm#_ednref5" name="_edn5" style="color: blue;" title=""><span class="MsoEndnoteReference" style="vertical-align: super;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 10pt;">[5]</span></span></a><span style="font-family: Arial;"> “Answering Jewish Objections to Jesus”, Volume 2.</span></p></div><div id="edn6"><p class="MsoEndnoteText" style="font-size: 10pt; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"><a href="http://www.judaismsanswer.com/targum.htm#_ednref6" name="_edn6" style="color: blue;" title=""><span class="MsoEndnoteReference" style="vertical-align: super;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 10pt;">[6]</span></span></a><span style="font-family: Arial;"> Page 307 in note 390.</span></p></div><div id="edn7"><p class="MsoEndnoteText" style="font-size: 10pt; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"><a href="http://www.judaismsanswer.com/targum.htm#_ednref7" name="_edn7" style="color: blue;" title=""><span class="MsoEndnoteReference" style="vertical-align: super;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 10pt;">[7]</span></span></a><span style="font-family: Arial;"> Vol. II page 225.</span></p></div><div id="edn8"><p class="MsoEndnoteText" style="font-size: 10pt; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"><a href="http://www.judaismsanswer.com/targum.htm#_ednref8" name="_edn8" style="color: blue;" title=""><span class="MsoEndnoteReference" style="vertical-align: super;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 10pt;">[8]</span></span></a><span style="font-family: Arial;"> Page 118.</span></p></div><div id="edn9"><p class="MsoEndnoteText" style="font-size: 10pt; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"><a href="http://www.judaismsanswer.com/targum.htm#_ednref9" name="_edn9" style="color: blue;" title=""><span class="MsoEndnoteReference" style="vertical-align: super;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 10pt;">[9]</span></span></a><span style="font-family: Arial;"> Page 66.</span></p></div><div id="edn10"><p class="MsoEndnoteText" style="font-size: 10pt; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"><a href="http://www.judaismsanswer.com/targum.htm#_ednref10" name="_edn10" style="color: blue;" title=""><span class="MsoEndnoteReference" style="vertical-align: super;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 10pt;">[10]</span></span></a><span style="font-family: Arial;"> It is interesting that an admission that the Targum is Midrashic and castigating it for distorting would appear to be a contradiction. I am unable to explain away that contradiction. It seems to bring into question the ability of these people to deal with objective scholarship.</span></p></div><div id="edn11"><p class="MsoEndnoteText" style="font-size: 10pt; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"><a href="http://www.judaismsanswer.com/targum.htm#_ednref11" name="_edn11" style="color: blue;" title=""><span class="MsoEndnoteReference" style="vertical-align: super;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 10pt;">[11]</span></span></a><span style="font-family: Arial;"> This is a response to the counter missionary book by Gerald Sigel.</span></p></div><div id="edn12"><p class="MsoEndnoteText" style="font-size: 10pt; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"><a href="http://www.judaismsanswer.com/targum.htm#_ednref12" name="_edn12" style="color: blue;" title=""><span class="MsoEndnoteReference" style="vertical-align: super;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 10pt;">[12]</span></span></a><span style="font-family: Arial;"> Page 4.</span></p></div><div id="edn13"><p class="MsoEndnoteText" style="font-size: 10pt; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"><a href="http://www.judaismsanswer.com/targum.htm#_ednref13" name="_edn13" style="color: blue;" title=""><span class="MsoEndnoteReference" style="vertical-align: super;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 10pt;">[13]</span></span></a><span style="font-family: Arial;"> Page 5-6 in “The Suffering Servant of Isaiah, According to the Jewish Interpreters” by Samuel R. Driver and Adolf Neubauer Originally published in 1877 and off copyright, (reprinted 1999 Wipf and Stock Publishers)</span></p></div><div id="edn14"><p class="MsoEndnoteText" style="font-size: 10pt; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"><a href="http://www.judaismsanswer.com/targum.htm#_ednref14" name="_edn14" style="color: blue;" title=""><span class="MsoEndnoteReference" style="vertical-align: super;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 10pt;">[14]</span></span></a><span style="font-family: Arial;"> In a few places they translate this word as forgiven instead of the more correct: forsaken. In the Targum to Psalm 22:1 a form of this word is used to mean forsaken there.</span></p></div><div id="edn15"><p class="MsoEndnoteText" style="font-size: 10pt; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"><a href="http://www.judaismsanswer.com/targum.htm#_ednref15" name="_edn15" style="color: blue;" title=""><span class="MsoEndnoteReference" style="vertical-align: super;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 10pt;">[15]</span></span></a><span style="font-family: Arial;"> Volume 3 of ‘Answers to Jewish Objections to Jesus’ page 41.</span></p></div><div id="edn16"><p class="MsoEndnoteText" style="font-size: 10pt; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"><a href="http://www.judaismsanswer.com/targum.htm#_ednref16" name="_edn16" style="color: blue;" title=""><span class="MsoEndnoteReference" style="vertical-align: super;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 10pt;">[16]</span></span></a><span style="font-family: Arial;"> Exodus 40:11 and Song of Songs 4:5; 7:4.</span></p></div></div>Mustafa Ahmedhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14172750188773095424noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-558359090739969505.post-85193075324041432082024-01-04T15:01:00.000-08:002024-01-04T15:01:46.167-08:00Quran Preservation & Compilation -1 (Prophet’s lifetime)<p> </p><h2 style="background-color: white; border: 0px none; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; list-style: none; margin: 0px; outline: none; padding: 0px; position: relative;">Quran Preservation & Compilation -1 (Prophet’s lifetime)</h2><p class="post-meta" style="background-color: white; border: 0px none; color: #333333; font-family: Tahoma, arial; font-size: 0px; list-style: none; margin: 10px 0px; outline: none; padding: 0px;"><span style="border: 0px none; display: inline-block; list-style: none; margin: 0px; outline: none; padding: 0px;">نشرت بواسطة: <a href="https://www.letmeturnthetables.com/2010/08/quran-compilation-prophet-lifetime.html" style="border: 0px none; color: blue; list-style: none; margin: 0px; outline: none; padding: 0px; transition: all 0.2s ease-in-out 0s;" title="author profile"><span itemprop="name" style="border: 0px none; display: inline-block; list-style: none; margin: 0px; outline: none; padding: 0px;">Waqar Akbar Cheema</span></a></span> <span style="border: 0px none; display: inline-block; list-style: none; margin: 0px; outline: none; padding: 0px;"><a class="timestamp-link" href="https://www.letmeturnthetables.com/2010/08/quran-compilation-prophet-lifetime.html" rel="bookmark" style="border: 0px none; color: blue; list-style: none; margin: 0px; outline: none; padding: 0px; transition: all 0.2s ease-in-out 0s;" title="permanent link"><abbr class="published" itemprop="datePublished" style="border: 0px none; list-style: none; margin: 0px; outline: none; padding: 0px;" title="2010-08-25T02:20:00+05:00">2:20 AM</abbr></a></span> <span style="border: 0px none; display: inline-block; list-style: none; margin: 0px; outline: none; padding: 0px;">في <a href="https://www.letmeturnthetables.com/search/label/Abu%20Bakr" rel="tag" style="border: 0px none; color: blue; list-style: none; margin: 0px; outline: none; padding: 0px; transition: all 0.2s ease-in-out 0s;">Abu Bakr </a>, <a href="https://www.letmeturnthetables.com/search/label/islam" rel="tag" style="border: 0px none; color: blue; list-style: none; margin: 0px; outline: none; padding: 0px; transition: all 0.2s ease-in-out 0s;">islam </a>, <a href="https://www.letmeturnthetables.com/search/label/Muhammad" rel="tag" style="border: 0px none; color: blue; list-style: none; margin: 0px; outline: none; padding: 0px; transition: all 0.2s ease-in-out 0s;">Muhammad </a>, <a href="https://www.letmeturnthetables.com/search/label/prophet" rel="tag" style="border: 0px none; color: blue; list-style: none; margin: 0px; outline: none; padding: 0px; transition: all 0.2s ease-in-out 0s;">prophet </a>, <a href="https://www.letmeturnthetables.com/search/label/Qur%27an%20Preservation%20and%20Compilation" rel="tag" style="border: 0px none; color: blue; list-style: none; margin: 0px; outline: none; padding: 0px; transition: all 0.2s ease-in-out 0s;">Qur'an Preservation and Compilation </a>, <a href="https://www.letmeturnthetables.com/search/label/Quran%20compilation" rel="tag" style="border: 0px none; color: blue; list-style: none; margin: 0px; outline: none; padding: 0px; transition: all 0.2s ease-in-out 0s;">Quran compilation </a>, <a href="https://www.letmeturnthetables.com/search/label/Zaid" rel="tag" style="border: 0px none; color: blue; list-style: none; margin: 0px; outline: none; padding: 0px; transition: all 0.2s ease-in-out 0s;">Zaid</a></span> <span style="border: 0px none; display: inline-block; list-style: none; margin: 0px; outline: none; padding: 0px;"><a href="https://www.letmeturnthetables.com/2010/08/quran-compilation-prophet-lifetime.html#comment-form" style="border: 0px none; color: blue; list-style: none; margin: 0px; outline: none; padding: 0px; transition: all 0.2s ease-in-out 0s;">4 تعليقات</a></span></p><div class="post-body entry-content" id="post-body-5309927477373735370" style="background-color: white; border: 0px none; color: #333333; font-family: Tahoma, arial; font-size: 13px; list-style: none; margin: 0px; outline: none; padding: 0px; width: 618px;"><br style="border: 0px none; list-style: none; margin: 0px; outline: none; padding: 0px;" /><div style="border: 0px none; list-style: none; margin: 0px; outline: none; padding: 0px; text-align: justify;"></div><div align="right" class="MsoNormal" style="border: 0px none; line-height: normal; list-style: none; margin: 0px 0px 0in; outline: none; padding: 0px; text-align: right;"><span dir="RTL" lang="AR-SA" style="border: 0px none; color: black; font-family: "Traditional Arabic", "serif"; font-size: 16pt; list-style: none; margin: 0px; outline: none; padding: 0px;">بسم الله الرحمن الرحيم الحمد لله وحده و الصلاة و السلام على من لا نبي بعده و على آله و أصحابه أجمعين</span><span style="border: 0px none; font-family: "Times New Roman", "serif"; font-size: 12pt; list-style: none; margin: 0px; outline: none; padding: 0px;"></span></div><blockquote class="tr_bq" style="border: 0px none; font-size: 12px; font-style: italic; line-height: 22px; list-style: none; margin: 0px 0px 30px 40px; min-height: 60px; outline: none; padding: 0px 0px 0px 60px;"><div style="border: 0px none; list-style: none; margin: 0px; outline: none; padding: 0px; text-align: justify;"><i style="border: 0px none; list-style: none; margin: 0px; outline: none; padding: 0px;"><span style="border: 0px none; font-family: Calibri, "sans-serif"; list-style: none; margin: 0px; outline: none; padding: 0px;">A concise and comprehensive response to the lies and misgivings about Qur’an preservation and compilation during the lifetime of the Holy Prophet- may the peace and blessings of Allah be upon him.</span></i></div><a name="more" style="border: 0px none; color: blue; list-style: none; margin: 0px; outline: none; padding: 0px; text-decoration-line: underline; transition: all 0.2s ease-in-out 0s;"></a></blockquote><div style="border: 0px none; list-style: none; margin: 0px; outline: none; padding: 0px; text-align: justify;"></div><div style="border: 0px none; list-style: none; margin: 0px; outline: none; padding: 0px; text-align: justify;"><b style="border: 0px none; list-style: none; margin: 0px; outline: none; padding: 0px;">1. <u style="border: 0px none; list-style: none; margin: 0px; outline: none; padding: 0px;">Introduction</u></b></div><div style="border: 0px none; list-style: none; margin: 0px; outline: none; padding: 0px; text-align: justify;"><br style="border: 0px none; list-style: none; margin: 0px; outline: none; padding: 0px;" />Many Orientalists and Christian missionaries have spoken against Qur'an in their bid to create confusions about its impeccable preservation. In this series we shall study in brief the whole process of Qur'an preservation and compilation. Naturally, first to discuss is phase that covers the life of the Holy Prophet, may the peace and blessings of Allah be upon him.<br style="border: 0px none; list-style: none; margin: 0px; outline: none; padding: 0px;" /><br style="border: 0px none; list-style: none; margin: 0px; outline: none; padding: 0px;" /><b style="border: 0px none; list-style: none; margin: 0px; outline: none; padding: 0px;">2. <u style="border: 0px none; list-style: none; margin: 0px; outline: none; padding: 0px;">Memorization: The Primary Means of Qur’an Preservation</u></b><br style="border: 0px none; list-style: none; margin: 0px; outline: none; padding: 0px;" /><br style="border: 0px none; list-style: none; margin: 0px; outline: none; padding: 0px;" /></div><div style="border: 0px none; list-style: none; margin: 0px; outline: none; padding: 0px; text-align: justify;">One thing that ought to be kept in mind regarding the preservation of the Qur'an is that it was done more through memory than through writing. There was and is great wisdom in this. We see that in the case of earlier Prophets whose teachings were not committed to memory were lost. Sometimes the invaders destroyed the manuscripts and sometimes the scribes intentionally or intentionally made mistakes. So to avoid the same to happen to the Qur'an more emphasis was laid on its memorization though it was put into writing as well.</div><div style="border: 0px none; list-style: none; margin: 0px; outline: none; padding: 0px; text-align: justify;"><br style="border: 0px none; list-style: none; margin: 0px; outline: none; padding: 0px;" />Therefore we read in Sahih Muslim that Allah Almighty said to the Holy Prophet:</div><div style="border: 0px none; list-style: none; margin: 0px; outline: none; padding: 0px; text-align: justify;"><br style="border: 0px none; list-style: none; margin: 0px; outline: none; padding: 0px;" /></div><div align="right" style="border: 0px none; list-style: none; margin: 0px; outline: none; padding: 0px; text-align: right;"><span dir="RTL" lang="AR-SA" style="border: 0px none; font-family: "Traditional Arabic", "serif"; font-size: 16pt; list-style: none; margin: 0px; outline: none; padding: 0px;">وأنزلت عليك كتابا لا يغسله الماء</span><br style="border: 0px none; list-style: none; margin: 0px; outline: none; padding: 0px;" /><div style="border: 0px none; list-style: none; margin: 0px; outline: none; padding: 0px; text-align: left;"><b style="border: 0px none; list-style: none; margin: 0px; outline: none; padding: 0px;">“And I sent the Book to you which cannot be washed away by water.<span style="border: 0px none; font-family: Calibri, "sans-serif"; list-style: none; margin: 0px; outline: none; padding: 0px;">"</span></b><a href="http://www.letmeturnthetables.com/2010/08/quran-compilation-prophet-lifetime.html#_ftn1" name="_ftnref1" style="border: 0px none; color: blue; list-style: none; margin: 0px; outline: none; padding: 0px; transition: all 0.2s ease-in-out 0s;" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference" style="border: 0px none; list-style: none; margin: 0px; outline: none; padding: 0px;"><span style="border: 0px none; font-family: Calibri, "sans-serif"; list-style: none; margin: 0px; outline: none; padding: 0px;"><span style="border: 0px none; list-style: none; margin: 0px; outline: none; padding: 0px;"><span class="MsoFootnoteReference" style="border: 0px none; list-style: none; margin: 0px; outline: none; padding: 0px;"><span style="border: 0px none; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 18.4px; list-style: none; margin: 0px; outline: none; padding: 0px;">[1]</span></span></span></span></span></a><br style="border: 0px none; list-style: none; margin: 0px; outline: none; padding: 0px;" /><div style="border: 0px none; list-style: none; margin: 0px; outline: none; padding: 0px; text-align: justify;"><br style="border: 0px none; list-style: none; margin: 0px; outline: none; padding: 0px;" /></div></div></div><div style="border: 0px none; list-style: none; margin: 0px; outline: none; padding: 0px; text-align: justify;">This meant that Qur'an will not be preserved only on scrolls but through some other medium as well. So Muslims right from the beginning gave special attention to memorizing the Qur'an so not only the Holy Prophet -may the peace and blessings of Allah be upon him- himself but scores of his companions learnt the complete Qur'an by heart. They include Abu Bakr, 'Umar, 'Uthman, 'Ali, 'Abdullah bin Masud, Talha, Sa'd, Huzaifa, Ubayy bin Ka'b, Abdullah bin Abbas, Abdullah bin Zubar, 'Abdullah bin Sai'b, Zaid bin Thabit, Abu Hurairah, Abu Darda, Ma'az bin Jabal, Anas bin Malik, Abu Musa Al-'Ashari, Mu'awiyyah, Sayyidah 'Aisha, Sayyidah Umm Salmah, Sayyidah Hafsa and many more.<span style="border: 0px none; font-family: Calibri, "sans-serif"; list-style: none; margin: 0px; outline: none; padding: 0px;"><a href="http://www.letmeturnthetables.com/2010/08/quran-compilation-prophet-lifetime.html#_ftn2" name="_ftnref2" style="border: 0px none; color: blue; list-style: none; margin: 0px; outline: none; padding: 0px; transition: all 0.2s ease-in-out 0s;" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference" style="border: 0px none; list-style: none; margin: 0px; outline: none; padding: 0px;"><span style="border: 0px none; list-style: none; margin: 0px; outline: none; padding: 0px;"><span class="MsoFootnoteReference" style="border: 0px none; list-style: none; margin: 0px; outline: none; padding: 0px;"><span style="border: 0px none; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 18.4px; list-style: none; margin: 0px; outline: none; padding: 0px;">[2]</span></span></span></span></a></span></div><div style="border: 0px none; list-style: none; margin: 0px; outline: none; padding: 0px; text-align: justify;"><br style="border: 0px none; list-style: none; margin: 0px; outline: none; padding: 0px;" /></div><div style="border: 0px none; list-style: none; margin: 0px; outline: none; padding: 0px; text-align: justify;"><b style="border: 0px none; list-style: none; margin: 0px; outline: none; padding: 0px;">3- <u style="border: 0px none; list-style: none; margin: 0px; outline: none; padding: 0px;">Preservation in writing during the life of the Holy Prophet</u></b><br style="border: 0px none; list-style: none; margin: 0px; outline: none; padding: 0px;" /><br style="border: 0px none; list-style: none; margin: 0px; outline: none; padding: 0px;" />But nevertheless Qur'an was also written down and this was done right during the life time of the Holy Prophet -may the peace and blessings of Allah be upon him. And all the later masahif were based on what was dictated by the Holy Prophet himself. We shall see the details shortly.<br style="border: 0px none; list-style: none; margin: 0px; outline: none; padding: 0px;" /><br style="border: 0px none; list-style: none; margin: 0px; outline: none; padding: 0px;" />Holy Prophet -may the peace and blessings of Allah be upon him- had more than 40 companions who usually worked as scribes. The names of these companions have been mentioned in various authentic works.<span style="border: 0px none; font-family: Calibri, "sans-serif"; list-style: none; margin: 0px; outline: none; padding: 0px;"><a href="http://www.letmeturnthetables.com/2010/08/quran-compilation-prophet-lifetime.html#_ftn3" name="_ftnref3" style="border: 0px none; color: blue; list-style: none; margin: 0px; outline: none; padding: 0px; transition: all 0.2s ease-in-out 0s;" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference" style="border: 0px none; list-style: none; margin: 0px; outline: none; padding: 0px;"><span style="border: 0px none; list-style: none; margin: 0px; outline: none; padding: 0px;"><span class="MsoFootnoteReference" style="border: 0px none; list-style: none; margin: 0px; outline: none; padding: 0px;"><span style="border: 0px none; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 18.4px; list-style: none; margin: 0px; outline: none; padding: 0px;">[3]</span></span></span></span></a> </span>Holy Prophet -may the peace and blessings of Allah be upon him- made special arrangements for the Qur'an to be written. How the Qur'an was written and how it was was checked by the Prophet -may the peace and blessings of Allah be upon him- is evident from the following example:</div><div style="border: 0px none; list-style: none; margin: 0px; outline: none; padding: 0px; text-align: justify;"><br style="border: 0px none; list-style: none; margin: 0px; outline: none; padding: 0px;" /></div><div class="MsoNormal" dir="RTL" style="border: 0px none; direction: rtl; line-height: normal; list-style: none; margin: 0px 0px 0in; outline: none; padding: 0px; text-align: justify; unicode-bidi: embed;"><span lang="AR-SA" style="border: 0px none; font-family: "Traditional Arabic", "serif"; font-size: 16pt; list-style: none; margin: 0px; outline: none; padding: 0px;">عن زيد بن ثابت قال: كنت أكتب الوحي لرسول الله صلى الله عليه وسلم، وكان «إذا نزل عليه أخذته برحاء شديدة، وعرق عرقا شديدا مثل الجمان، ثم سري عنه» ، فكنت أدخل عليه بقطعة الكتف أو كسرة، فأكتب وهو يملي علي، فما أفرغ حتى تكاد رجلي تنكسر من ثقل القرآن، وحتى أقول: لا أمشي على رجلي أبدا، فإذا فرغت قال: «اقرأه» ، فأقرؤه، فإن كان فيه سقط أقامه، ثم أخرج به إلى الناس</span><span dir="LTR" style="border: 0px none; font-family: "Traditional Arabic", "serif"; font-size: 16pt; list-style: none; margin: 0px; outline: none; padding: 0px;"></span></div><div style="border: 0px none; list-style: none; margin: 0px; outline: none; padding: 0px; text-align: justify;"><br style="border: 0px none; list-style: none; margin: 0px; outline: none; padding: 0px;" /></div><div style="border: 0px none; list-style: none; margin: 0px; outline: none; padding: 0px; text-align: justify;">Zaid bin Thabit, one of the chief scribes relates: <b style="border: 0px none; list-style: none; margin: 0px; outline: none; padding: 0px;"><span style="border: 0px none; color: #0000ee; list-style: none; margin: 0px; outline: none; padding: 0px;"><span style="border: 0px none; font-family: Calibri, "sans-serif"; list-style: none; margin: 0px; outline: none; padding: 0px;">"</span></span>I used to write down the revelation for the Holy Prophet, may the peace and blessings of Allah be upon him. When the revelation came to him he felt intense heat and drops of perspiration used to roll down his body like pearls. When this state was over I used to fetch a shoulder bone or a piece of something else. He used to go on dictating and I used to write it down. When I finished writing the sheer weight of transcription gave me the feeling that my leg would break and I would not be able to walk anymore. Anyhow when I finished writing, he would say, 'Read!' and I would read it back to him. If there was an omission or error he used to correct it and then let it be brought before the people.<span style="border: 0px none; font-family: Calibri, "sans-serif"; list-style: none; margin: 0px; outline: none; padding: 0px;">"</span></b><span style="border: 0px none; font-family: Calibri, "sans-serif"; list-style: none; margin: 0px; outline: none; padding: 0px;"><a href="http://www.letmeturnthetables.com/2010/08/quran-compilation-prophet-lifetime.html#_ftn4" name="_ftnref4" style="border: 0px none; color: blue; list-style: none; margin: 0px; outline: none; padding: 0px; transition: all 0.2s ease-in-out 0s;" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference" style="border: 0px none; list-style: none; margin: 0px; outline: none; padding: 0px;"><span style="border: 0px none; list-style: none; margin: 0px; outline: none; padding: 0px;"><span class="MsoFootnoteReference" style="border: 0px none; list-style: none; margin: 0px; outline: none; padding: 0px;"><span style="border: 0px none; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 18.4px; list-style: none; margin: 0px; outline: none; padding: 0px;">[4]</span></span></span></span></a></span></div><div style="border: 0px none; list-style: none; margin: 0px; outline: none; padding: 0px; text-align: justify;"><br style="border: 0px none; list-style: none; margin: 0px; outline: none; padding: 0px;" />This is a categorical proof that Companions used to write Qur'an in the supervision of the Holy Prophet -may the peace and blessings of Allah be upon him- and got it checked from him before making it public.<br style="border: 0px none; list-style: none; margin: 0px; outline: none; padding: 0px;" /><br style="border: 0px none; list-style: none; margin: 0px; outline: none; padding: 0px;" />Also there are proofs that during the life time of the Holy Prophet -may the peace and blessings of Allah be upon him- the written manuscripts of Qur'an were there. In fact writing of the Qur'an was in practice from the early days of Islam as evident from the incident leading to conversion of one of the closest companions, ‘Umar bin al-Khattab, when he found his sister and brother-in-law with a parchment on which the verses of Surah Taha (chapter 20) were written<span style="border: 0px none; font-family: Calibri, "sans-serif"; list-style: none; margin: 0px; outline: none; padding: 0px;">.<a href="http://www.letmeturnthetables.com/2010/08/quran-compilation-prophet-lifetime.html#_ftn5" name="_ftnref5" style="border: 0px none; color: blue; list-style: none; margin: 0px; outline: none; padding: 0px; transition: all 0.2s ease-in-out 0s;" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference" style="border: 0px none; list-style: none; margin: 0px; outline: none; padding: 0px;"><span style="border: 0px none; list-style: none; margin: 0px; outline: none; padding: 0px;"><span class="MsoFootnoteReference" style="border: 0px none; list-style: none; margin: 0px; outline: none; padding: 0px;"><span style="border: 0px none; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 18.4px; list-style: none; margin: 0px; outline: none; padding: 0px;">[5]</span></span></span></span></a></span></div><br style="border: 0px none; list-style: none; margin: 0px; outline: none; padding: 0px;" />There are some other traditions which indicate that Companions had written copies of complete or incomplete Quran. For example;<br style="border: 0px none; list-style: none; margin: 0px; outline: none; padding: 0px;" /><div style="border: 0px none; list-style: none; margin: 0px; outline: none; padding: 0px; text-align: justify;"><br style="border: 0px none; list-style: none; margin: 0px; outline: none; padding: 0px;" /></div><div align="right" style="border: 0px none; list-style: none; margin: 0px; outline: none; padding: 0px; text-align: right;"><span dir="RTL" lang="AR-SA" style="border: 0px none; font-family: "Traditional Arabic", "serif"; font-size: 16pt; list-style: none; margin: 0px; outline: none; padding: 0px;">عن عبد الله بن عمر رضي الله عنهما: أن رسول الله صلى الله عليه وسلم نهى أن يسافر بالقرآن إلى أرض العدو</span><span style="border: 0px none; font-family: "Traditional Arabic", "serif"; font-size: 16pt; list-style: none; margin: 0px; outline: none; padding: 0px;"></span></div><br style="border: 0px none; list-style: none; margin: 0px; outline: none; padding: 0px;" /><div style="border: 0px none; list-style: none; margin: 0px; outline: none; padding: 0px; text-align: justify;">Narrated 'Abdullah bin 'Umar: <b style="border: 0px none; list-style: none; margin: 0px; outline: none; padding: 0px;">“Allah's Messenger forbade the people to travel to a hostile country carrying (copies of) the Quran.”</b><span style="border: 0px none; font-family: Calibri, "sans-serif"; list-style: none; margin: 0px; outline: none; padding: 0px;"><a href="http://www.letmeturnthetables.com/2010/08/quran-compilation-prophet-lifetime.html#_ftn6" name="_ftnref6" style="border: 0px none; color: blue; list-style: none; margin: 0px; outline: none; padding: 0px; transition: all 0.2s ease-in-out 0s;" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference" style="border: 0px none; list-style: none; margin: 0px; outline: none; padding: 0px;"><span style="border: 0px none; list-style: none; margin: 0px; outline: none; padding: 0px;"><span class="MsoFootnoteReference" style="border: 0px none; list-style: none; margin: 0px; outline: none; padding: 0px;"><span style="border: 0px none; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 18.4px; list-style: none; margin: 0px; outline: none; padding: 0px;">[6]</span></span></span></span></a></span></div><div style="border: 0px none; list-style: none; margin: 0px; outline: none; padding: 0px; text-align: justify;"></div><div style="border: 0px none; list-style: none; margin: 0px; outline: none; padding: 0px; text-align: justify;"><br style="border: 0px none; list-style: none; margin: 0px; outline: none; padding: 0px;" />Obviously these traditions are categorical evidence that the Companions used to have written copies of the Qur’an even during the life time of the Holy Prophet- may the peace and blessings of Allah be upon him- and that it was not something unusual.<br style="border: 0px none; list-style: none; margin: 0px; outline: none; padding: 0px;" /><br style="border: 0px none; list-style: none; margin: 0px; outline: none; padding: 0px;" />Likewise, there is evidence for the manuscripts of the Qur’an in the instruction of the Holy Prophet –peace and blessings of Allah be upon him- to Hakim bin Hizam when he sent him to Yemen as a governor. He said:</div><br style="border: 0px none; list-style: none; margin: 0px; outline: none; padding: 0px;" /><div align="right" style="border: 0px none; list-style: none; margin: 0px; outline: none; padding: 0px; text-align: right;"><span dir="RTL" lang="AR-SA" style="border: 0px none; font-family: "Traditional Arabic", "serif"; font-size: 16pt; list-style: none; margin: 0px; outline: none; padding: 0px;">لا تمس القرآن إلا وأنت طاهر</span><span dir="LTR" style="border: 0px none; list-style: none; margin: 0px; outline: none; padding: 0px;"></span><span dir="LTR" style="border: 0px none; list-style: none; margin: 0px; outline: none; padding: 0px;"></span><span lang="AR-SA" style="border: 0px none; font-family: Calibri, "sans-serif"; list-style: none; margin: 0px; outline: none; padding: 0px;"><span dir="LTR" style="border: 0px none; list-style: none; margin: 0px; outline: none; padding: 0px;"></span><span dir="LTR" style="border: 0px none; list-style: none; margin: 0px; outline: none; padding: 0px;"></span></span><span style="border: 0px none; font-family: Calibri, "sans-serif"; list-style: none; margin: 0px; outline: none; padding: 0px;"></span></div><div style="border: 0px none; list-style: none; margin: 0px; outline: none; padding: 0px; text-align: justify;"><br style="border: 0px none; list-style: none; margin: 0px; outline: none; padding: 0px;" /></div><div style="border: 0px none; list-style: none; margin: 0px; outline: none; padding: 0px; text-align: justify;"><b style="border: 0px none; list-style: none; margin: 0px; outline: none; padding: 0px;">“Do not touch the Qur’an except when you are in the state of purity.”</b><span style="border: 0px none; font-family: Calibri, "sans-serif"; list-style: none; margin: 0px; outline: none; padding: 0px;"><a href="http://www.letmeturnthetables.com/2010/08/quran-compilation-prophet-lifetime.html#_ftn7" name="_ftnref7" style="border: 0px none; color: blue; list-style: none; margin: 0px; outline: none; padding: 0px; transition: all 0.2s ease-in-out 0s;" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference" style="border: 0px none; list-style: none; margin: 0px; outline: none; padding: 0px;"><span style="border: 0px none; list-style: none; margin: 0px; outline: none; padding: 0px;"><span class="MsoFootnoteReference" style="border: 0px none; list-style: none; margin: 0px; outline: none; padding: 0px;"><span style="border: 0px none; list-style: none; margin: 0px; outline: none; padding: 0px;"><span style="border: 0px none; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 18.4px; list-style: none; margin: 0px; outline: none; padding: 0px;">[7]</span></span></span></span></span></a></span></div><div style="border: 0px none; list-style: none; margin: 0px; outline: none; padding: 0px; text-align: justify;"><br style="border: 0px none; list-style: none; margin: 0px; outline: none; padding: 0px;" /><b style="border: 0px none; list-style: none; margin: 0px; outline: none; padding: 0px;">4- <u style="border: 0px none; list-style: none; margin: 0px; outline: none; padding: 0px;">Prophet’s encouragement for writing the Qur’an</u></b><br style="border: 0px none; list-style: none; margin: 0px; outline: none; padding: 0px;" /><br style="border: 0px none; list-style: none; margin: 0px; outline: none; padding: 0px;" />The Holy Prophet –may the peace and blessings of Allah be upon him- only arranged for getting every revelation written in front of him he also encouraged the people to write the Qur’an for themselves and leave it after them for their children besides giving them instructions about the manuscripts. Mark the following narration;</div><br style="border: 0px none; list-style: none; margin: 0px; outline: none; padding: 0px;" /><div align="right" style="border: 0px none; list-style: none; margin: 0px; outline: none; padding: 0px; text-align: right;"><span dir="RTL" lang="AR-SA" style="border: 0px none; font-family: "Traditional Arabic", "serif"; font-size: 16pt; list-style: none; margin: 0px; outline: none; padding: 0px;">عن أبي هريرة، قال: قال رسول الله صلى الله عليه وسلم: «إن مما يلحق المؤمن من عمله وحسناته بعد موته علما علمه ونشره، وولدا صالحا تركه، ومصحفا ورثه، أو مسجدا بناه، أو بيتا لابن السبيل بناه، أو نهرا أجراه، أو صدقة أخرجها من ماله في صحته وحياته، يلحقه من بعد موته»</span><span style="border: 0px none; font-family: "Traditional Arabic", "serif"; font-size: 16pt; list-style: none; margin: 0px; outline: none; padding: 0px;"></span></div><div style="border: 0px none; list-style: none; margin: 0px; outline: none; padding: 0px; text-align: justify;"><br style="border: 0px none; list-style: none; margin: 0px; outline: none; padding: 0px;" /></div><div style="border: 0px none; list-style: none; margin: 0px; outline: none; padding: 0px; text-align: justify;">It was narrated that Abu Hurairah said: <b style="border: 0px none; list-style: none; margin: 0px; outline: none; padding: 0px;">“The Messenger of Allah said: ‘<i style="border: 0px none; list-style: none; margin: 0px; outline: none; padding: 0px;"><u style="border: 0px none; list-style: none; margin: 0px; outline: none; padding: 0px;">The rewards of the good deeds that will reach a believer after his death are</u></i>: Knowledge which he taught and spread; a righteous son whom he leaves behind; <i style="border: 0px none; list-style: none; margin: 0px; outline: none; padding: 0px;"><u style="border: 0px none; list-style: none; margin: 0px; outline: none; padding: 0px;">a copy of the Qur’an that he leaves as a legacy</u></i>; a mosque that he built; a house that he built for wayfarers; a canal that he dug; or charity that he gave during his lifetime when he was in good health. These deeds will reach him after his death.’”</b><a href="http://www.letmeturnthetables.com/2010/08/quran-compilation-prophet-lifetime.html#_ftn8" name="_ftnref8" style="border: 0px none; color: blue; list-style: none; margin: 0px; outline: none; padding: 0px; transition: all 0.2s ease-in-out 0s;" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference" style="border: 0px none; list-style: none; margin: 0px; outline: none; padding: 0px;"><span style="border: 0px none; list-style: none; margin: 0px; outline: none; padding: 0px;"><span class="MsoFootnoteReference" style="border: 0px none; list-style: none; margin: 0px; outline: none; padding: 0px;"><span style="border: 0px none; font-family: Calibri, "sans-serif"; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 16.8667px; list-style: none; margin: 0px; outline: none; padding: 0px;">[8]</span></span></span></span></a></div><br style="border: 0px none; list-style: none; margin: 0px; outline: none; padding: 0px;" /><div style="border: 0px none; list-style: none; margin: 0px; outline: none; padding: 0px; text-align: justify;">It is thus clear that Holy Prophet –may the peace and blessings of Allah be upon him- had the clear motive of not only having the complete Qur’an written but also to get the people make and acquire Qur’anic manuscripts and leave it behind them as heir-looms. Such an arrangement had to be made to see what is now achieved. The following needs to be considered in this backdrop;</div><br style="border: 0px none; list-style: none; margin: 0px; outline: none; padding: 0px;" /><div style="border: 0px none; list-style: none; margin: 0px; outline: none; padding: 0px; text-align: justify;">Once a number of companions were with the Holy Prophet –may the peace and blessings of Allah. One of them reports;</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="border: 0px none; list-style: none; margin: 0px; outline: none; padding: 0px; text-align: justify;"><br style="border: 0px none; list-style: none; margin: 0px; outline: none; padding: 0px;" /></div><div class="MsoNormal" dir="RTL" style="border: 0px none; direction: rtl; line-height: normal; list-style: none; margin: 0px 0px 0in; outline: none; padding: 0px; text-align: right; unicode-bidi: embed;"><span lang="AR-SA" style="border: 0px none; font-family: "Traditional Arabic", "serif"; font-size: 16pt; list-style: none; margin: 0px; outline: none; padding: 0px;">قلنا: يا رسول الله هل من أحد أعظم منا أجرا، آمنا بك واتبعناك، قال: «وما يمنعكم من ذلك ورسول الله بين أظهركم، يأتيكم بالوحي من السماء؟ بل قوم يأتون من بعدكم يأتيهم كتاب بين لوحين فيؤمنون به ويعملون بما فيه أولئك أعظم منكم أجرا»</span></div><br style="border: 0px none; list-style: none; margin: 0px; outline: none; padding: 0px;" /><div style="border: 0px none; list-style: none; margin: 0px; outline: none; padding: 0px; text-align: justify;">We said: <b style="border: 0px none; list-style: none; margin: 0px; outline: none; padding: 0px;">‘O Messenger of Allah! Is there anyone greater than us in earning reward, we believed you and followed you.’ He said: “And what is there that to stops you from it while the Messenger of Allah is amongst you and comes to you with the revelation from the heavens? In fact, <u style="border: 0px none; list-style: none; margin: 0px; outline: none; padding: 0px;"><i style="border: 0px none; list-style: none; margin: 0px; outline: none; padding: 0px;">there will come a people after you, whom the book will reach [only] in two bindings</i></u>. They will believe in it and follow whatever is in; they are greater in reward than you.”</b><a href="http://www.letmeturnthetables.com/2010/08/quran-compilation-prophet-lifetime.html#_ftn9" name="_ftnref9" style="border: 0px none; color: blue; list-style: none; margin: 0px; outline: none; padding: 0px; transition: all 0.2s ease-in-out 0s;" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference" style="border: 0px none; list-style: none; margin: 0px; outline: none; padding: 0px;"><span style="border: 0px none; list-style: none; margin: 0px; outline: none; padding: 0px;"><span class="MsoFootnoteReference" style="border: 0px none; list-style: none; margin: 0px; outline: none; padding: 0px;"><span style="border: 0px none; font-family: Calibri, "sans-serif"; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 16.8667px; list-style: none; margin: 0px; outline: none; padding: 0px;">[9]</span></span></span></span></a></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="border: 0px none; list-style: none; margin: 0px; outline: none; padding: 0px; text-align: justify;"><br style="border: 0px none; list-style: none; margin: 0px; outline: none; padding: 0px;" /></div><div style="border: 0px none; list-style: none; margin: 0px; outline: none; padding: 0px; text-align: justify;"><b style="border: 0px none; list-style: none; margin: 0px; outline: none; padding: 0px;">5- <u style="border: 0px none; list-style: none; margin: 0px; outline: none; padding: 0px;">Claim that Qur’an was not written completely during the Prophet’s time</u></b><br style="border: 0px none; list-style: none; margin: 0px; outline: none; padding: 0px;" /><br style="border: 0px none; list-style: none; margin: 0px; outline: none; padding: 0px;" />Orientalists claim that Qur’an was not written in full during the lifetime of the Holy Prophet -may the peace and blessings of Allah be upon him. This is false and the fact is that whole of the Qur’an was indeed written in the supervision of the Holy Prophet but it was not compiled into one collection. This is testified by the statement of Zaid bin Thabit, one of the chief scribes. He said:</div><div style="border: 0px none; list-style: none; margin: 0px; outline: none; padding: 0px; text-align: justify;"><br style="border: 0px none; list-style: none; margin: 0px; outline: none; padding: 0px;" /></div><div align="right" style="border: 0px none; list-style: none; margin: 0px; outline: none; padding: 0px; text-align: right;"><span dir="RTL" lang="AR-SA" style="border: 0px none; font-family: "Traditional Arabic", "serif"; font-size: 16pt; list-style: none; margin: 0px; outline: none; padding: 0px;">قبض النبي صلى الله عليه وسلم ولم يكن القرآن جمع في شيء</span><span dir="LTR" style="border: 0px none; list-style: none; margin: 0px; outline: none; padding: 0px;"></span><span dir="LTR" style="border: 0px none; list-style: none; margin: 0px; outline: none; padding: 0px;"></span><span lang="AR-SA" style="border: 0px none; font-family: "Traditional Arabic", "serif"; font-size: 16pt; list-style: none; margin: 0px; outline: none; padding: 0px;"><span dir="LTR" style="border: 0px none; list-style: none; margin: 0px; outline: none; padding: 0px;"></span><span dir="LTR" style="border: 0px none; list-style: none; margin: 0px; outline: none; padding: 0px;"></span></span><span style="border: 0px none; font-family: "Traditional Arabic", "serif"; font-size: 16pt; list-style: none; margin: 0px; outline: none; padding: 0px;"></span></div><div style="border: 0px none; list-style: none; margin: 0px; outline: none; padding: 0px; text-align: justify;"><br style="border: 0px none; list-style: none; margin: 0px; outline: none; padding: 0px;" /></div><div style="border: 0px none; list-style: none; margin: 0px; outline: none; padding: 0px; text-align: justify;"><b style="border: 0px none; list-style: none; margin: 0px; outline: none; padding: 0px;">“The Prophet passed way while the Qur’an was yet not gathered in anything.”</b><span style="border: 0px none; font-family: Calibri, "sans-serif"; list-style: none; margin: 0px; outline: none; padding: 0px;"><a href="http://www.letmeturnthetables.com/2010/08/quran-compilation-prophet-lifetime.html#_ftn10" name="_ftnref10" style="border: 0px none; color: blue; list-style: none; margin: 0px; outline: none; padding: 0px; transition: all 0.2s ease-in-out 0s;" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference" style="border: 0px none; list-style: none; margin: 0px; outline: none; padding: 0px;"><span style="border: 0px none; list-style: none; margin: 0px; outline: none; padding: 0px;"><span class="MsoFootnoteReference" style="border: 0px none; list-style: none; margin: 0px; outline: none; padding: 0px;"><span style="border: 0px none; list-style: none; margin: 0px; outline: none; padding: 0px;"><span style="border: 0px none; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 18.4px; list-style: none; margin: 0px; outline: none; padding: 0px;">[10]</span></span></span></span></span></a></span></div><br style="border: 0px none; list-style: none; margin: 0px; outline: none; padding: 0px;" /><div style="border: 0px none; list-style: none; margin: 0px; outline: none; padding: 0px; text-align: justify;">Clearly the word used here is jumia’ which means ‘gathered’ and not ‘written’. And the wisdom behind the fact that Qur’an was completely written but not compiled at one place during the life of the holy Prophet -may the peace and blessings of Allah be upon him- is explained by Al-Khattabi. He said;</div><div style="border: 0px none; list-style: none; margin: 0px; outline: none; padding: 0px; text-align: justify;"><br style="border: 0px none; list-style: none; margin: 0px; outline: none; padding: 0px;" /></div><div align="right" style="border: 0px none; list-style: none; margin: 0px; outline: none; padding: 0px; text-align: right;"><span dir="RTL" lang="AR-SA" style="border: 0px none; font-family: "Traditional Arabic", "serif"; font-size: 16pt; list-style: none; margin: 0px; outline: none; padding: 0px;">إنما لم يجمع القرآن في المصحف لما كان يترقبه من ورود ناسخ لبعض أحكامه أو تلاوته فلما انقضى نزوله بوفاته ألهم الله الخلفاء الراشدين ذلك وفاء بوعده الصادق بضمان حفظه على هذه الأمة فكان ابتداء ذلك على يد الصديق بمشورة عمر</span><span style="border: 0px none; font-family: "Traditional Arabic", "serif"; font-size: 16pt; list-style: none; margin: 0px; outline: none; padding: 0px;"></span></div><div style="border: 0px none; list-style: none; margin: 0px; outline: none; padding: 0px; text-align: justify;"><b style="border: 0px none; list-style: none; margin: 0px; outline: none; padding: 0px;"><br style="border: 0px none; list-style: none; margin: 0px; outline: none; padding: 0px;" /></b></div><div style="border: 0px none; list-style: none; margin: 0px; outline: none; padding: 0px; text-align: justify;"><b style="border: 0px none; list-style: none; margin: 0px; outline: none; padding: 0px;">“The Messenger of Allah –may the peace and blessings of Allah be upon him- did not gather the Qur’an in a mushaf because he had to wait if there was some abrogation of some commands or recitation but when he died and the revelation ceased (and thus abrogation as well); Allah, to fulfill his True Commitment of preservation (of Qur’an) for this Ummah, put this thought into the hearts of the Righteous Caliphs. Then this great task was undertaken by Abu Bakr on the advice of Umar.”</b><span style="border: 0px none; font-family: Calibri, "sans-serif"; list-style: none; margin: 0px; outline: none; padding: 0px;"><a href="http://www.letmeturnthetables.com/2010/08/quran-compilation-prophet-lifetime.html#_ftn11" name="_ftnref11" style="border: 0px none; color: blue; list-style: none; margin: 0px; outline: none; padding: 0px; transition: all 0.2s ease-in-out 0s;" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference" style="border: 0px none; list-style: none; margin: 0px; outline: none; padding: 0px;"><span style="border: 0px none; list-style: none; margin: 0px; outline: none; padding: 0px;"><span class="MsoFootnoteReference" style="border: 0px none; list-style: none; margin: 0px; outline: none; padding: 0px;"><span style="border: 0px none; list-style: none; margin: 0px; outline: none; padding: 0px;"><span style="border: 0px none; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 18.4px; list-style: none; margin: 0px; outline: none; padding: 0px;">[11]</span></span></span></span></span></a></span></div><div style="border: 0px none; list-style: none; margin: 0px; outline: none; padding: 0px; text-align: justify;"><br style="border: 0px none; list-style: none; margin: 0px; outline: none; padding: 0px;" /></div><i style="border: 0px none; list-style: none; margin: 0px; outline: none; padding: 0px;"></i><br style="border: 0px none; list-style: none; margin: 0px; outline: none; padding: 0px;" /><div style="border: 0px none; list-style: none; margin: 0px; outline: none; padding: 0px; text-align: justify;">Truly, there is not even an iota of truth in the rant of the missionaries about Qur'an preservation and compilation during the lifetime of the Holy Prophet- on him be the peace and blessings of Almighty Allah.<i style="border: 0px none; list-style: none; margin: 0px; outline: none; padding: 0px;"><span style="border: 0px none; font-family: Calibri, "sans-serif"; list-style: none; margin: 0px; outline: none; padding: 0px;"><br style="border: 0px none; list-style: none; margin: 0px; outline: none; padding: 0px;" /></span></i></div><b style="border: 0px none; list-style: none; margin: 0px; outline: none; padding: 0px;"><br style="border: 0px none; list-style: none; margin: 0px; outline: none; padding: 0px;" /></b><b style="border: 0px none; list-style: none; margin: 0px; outline: none; padding: 0px;">-- by Waqar Akbar Cheema</b><br style="border: 0px none; list-style: none; margin: 0px; outline: none; padding: 0px;" /><div style="border: 0px none; list-style: none; margin: 0px; outline: none; padding: 0px;"><br clear="all" style="border: 0px none; list-style: none; margin: 0px; outline: none; padding: 0px;" /><hr align="left" size="1" style="border: 0px none; list-style: none; margin: 0px; outline: none; padding: 0px;" width="33%" /><div id="ftn1" style="border: 0px none; list-style: none; margin: 0px; outline: none; padding: 0px;"><div class="MsoFootnoteText" style="border: 0px none; list-style: none; margin: 0px; outline: none; padding: 0px;"><a href="http://www.letmeturnthetables.com/2010/08/quran-compilation-prophet-lifetime.html#_ftnref1" name="_ftn1" style="border: 0px none; color: blue; list-style: none; margin: 0px; outline: none; padding: 0px; transition: all 0.2s ease-in-out 0s;" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference" style="border: 0px none; list-style: none; margin: 0px; outline: none; padding: 0px;"><span style="border: 0px none; list-style: none; margin: 0px; outline: none; padding: 0px;"><span class="MsoFootnoteReference" style="border: 0px none; list-style: none; margin: 0px; outline: none; padding: 0px;"><span style="border: 0px none; font-family: Calibri, "sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt; line-height: 15.3333px; list-style: none; margin: 0px; outline: none; padding: 0px;">[1]</span></span></span></span></a> Sahih Muslim, Book 40, Hadith 6853</div></div><div id="ftn2" style="border: 0px none; list-style: none; margin: 0px; outline: none; padding: 0px;"><div class="MsoFootnoteText" style="border: 0px none; list-style: none; margin: 0px; outline: none; padding: 0px;"><a href="http://www.letmeturnthetables.com/2010/08/quran-compilation-prophet-lifetime.html#_ftnref2" name="_ftn2" style="border: 0px none; color: blue; list-style: none; margin: 0px; outline: none; padding: 0px; transition: all 0.2s ease-in-out 0s;" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference" style="border: 0px none; list-style: none; margin: 0px; outline: none; padding: 0px;"><span style="border: 0px none; list-style: none; margin: 0px; outline: none; padding: 0px;"><span class="MsoFootnoteReference" style="border: 0px none; list-style: none; margin: 0px; outline: none; padding: 0px;"><span style="border: 0px none; font-family: Calibri, "sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt; line-height: 15.3333px; list-style: none; margin: 0px; outline: none; padding: 0px;">[2]</span></span></span></span></a> <span style="border: 0px none; list-style: none; margin: 0px; outline: none; padding: 0px;">Names of these and other companions who had rendered complete Qur'an to their memory can be found in <i style="border: 0px none; list-style: none; margin: 0px; outline: none; padding: 0px;">An-Nashr fil Qira'at al-'Ashr</i> of Al-Jazri and <i style="border: 0px none; list-style: none; margin: 0px; outline: none; padding: 0px;">Al-Ittiqan fi ‘Uloom al-Qur’an</i> of Jalaluddin Al-Suyuti</span></div></div><div id="ftn3" style="border: 0px none; list-style: none; margin: 0px; outline: none; padding: 0px;"><div class="MsoFootnoteText" style="border: 0px none; list-style: none; margin: 0px; outline: none; padding: 0px;"><a href="http://www.letmeturnthetables.com/2010/08/quran-compilation-prophet-lifetime.html#_ftnref3" name="_ftn3" style="border: 0px none; color: blue; list-style: none; margin: 0px; outline: none; padding: 0px; transition: all 0.2s ease-in-out 0s;" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference" style="border: 0px none; list-style: none; margin: 0px; outline: none; padding: 0px;"><span style="border: 0px none; list-style: none; margin: 0px; outline: none; padding: 0px;"><span class="MsoFootnoteReference" style="border: 0px none; list-style: none; margin: 0px; outline: none; padding: 0px;"><span style="border: 0px none; font-family: Calibri, "sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt; line-height: 15.3333px; list-style: none; margin: 0px; outline: none; padding: 0px;">[3]</span></span></span></span></a> Muhammad Mustafa Al-A’zmi’s book, <i style="border: 0px none; list-style: none; margin: 0px; outline: none; padding: 0px;">Kuttaab al-Nabi</i> is comprehensive work on the subject. In it he has given good deal of information about 48 scribes of the Holy Prophet -May the peace and blessings of Allah be upon them all.</div></div><div id="ftn4" style="border: 0px none; list-style: none; margin: 0px; outline: none; padding: 0px;"><div class="MsoFootnoteText" style="border: 0px none; list-style: none; margin: 0px; outline: none; padding: 0px;"><a href="http://www.letmeturnthetables.com/2010/08/quran-compilation-prophet-lifetime.html#_ftnref4" name="_ftn4" style="border: 0px none; color: blue; list-style: none; margin: 0px; outline: none; padding: 0px; transition: all 0.2s ease-in-out 0s;" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference" style="border: 0px none; list-style: none; margin: 0px; outline: none; padding: 0px;"><span style="border: 0px none; list-style: none; margin: 0px; outline: none; padding: 0px;"><span class="MsoFootnoteReference" style="border: 0px none; list-style: none; margin: 0px; outline: none; padding: 0px;"><span style="border: 0px none; font-family: Calibri, "sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt; line-height: 15.3333px; list-style: none; margin: 0px; outline: none; padding: 0px;">[4]</span></span></span></span></a> <span style="border: 0px none; list-style: none; margin: 0px; outline: none; padding: 0px;">Mu'jam Al-Tabarani Al-Awst, Hadith 1913. Dar al-Haramain, Cairo, 1415 AH<br style="border: 0px none; list-style: none; margin: 0px; outline: none; padding: 0px;" />Authenticated by Al-Haithmi in Majma’ Al-Zawaid 8/257, Hadith 13938</span></div></div><div id="ftn5" style="border: 0px none; list-style: none; margin: 0px; outline: none; padding: 0px;"><div class="MsoFootnoteText" style="border: 0px none; list-style: none; margin: 0px; outline: none; padding: 0px;"><a href="http://www.letmeturnthetables.com/2010/08/quran-compilation-prophet-lifetime.html#_ftnref5" name="_ftn5" style="border: 0px none; color: blue; list-style: none; margin: 0px; outline: none; padding: 0px; transition: all 0.2s ease-in-out 0s;" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference" style="border: 0px none; list-style: none; margin: 0px; outline: none; padding: 0px;"><span style="border: 0px none; list-style: none; margin: 0px; outline: none; padding: 0px;"><span class="MsoFootnoteReference" style="border: 0px none; list-style: none; margin: 0px; outline: none; padding: 0px;"><span style="border: 0px none; font-family: Calibri, "sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt; line-height: 15.3333px; list-style: none; margin: 0px; outline: none; padding: 0px;">[5]</span></span></span></span></a> Sunan al-Darqutni, Hadith 441, Al-Resalah Publications, Beirut, 2004</div><div class="MsoFootnoteText" style="border: 0px none; list-style: none; margin: 0px; outline: none; padding: 0px;">Al-Zayl’i said it is a good (<i style="border: 0px none; list-style: none; margin: 0px; outline: none; padding: 0px;">jayyid</i>) narration. See Nasab al-Raya (vol.1 p.199 Muhammad 'Awwama ed.)</div></div><div id="ftn6" style="border: 0px none; list-style: none; margin: 0px; outline: none; padding: 0px;"><div class="MsoFootnoteText" style="border: 0px none; list-style: none; margin: 0px; outline: none; padding: 0px;"><a href="http://www.letmeturnthetables.com/2010/08/quran-compilation-prophet-lifetime.html#_ftnref6" name="_ftn6" style="border: 0px none; color: blue; list-style: none; margin: 0px; outline: none; padding: 0px; transition: all 0.2s ease-in-out 0s;" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference" style="border: 0px none; list-style: none; margin: 0px; outline: none; padding: 0px;"><span style="border: 0px none; list-style: none; margin: 0px; outline: none; padding: 0px;"><span class="MsoFootnoteReference" style="border: 0px none; list-style: none; margin: 0px; outline: none; padding: 0px;"><span style="border: 0px none; font-family: Calibri, "sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt; line-height: 15.3333px; list-style: none; margin: 0px; outline: none; padding: 0px;">[6]</span></span></span></span></a> Sahih Bukhari, Book 52, Hadith 233</div></div><div id="ftn7" style="border: 0px none; list-style: none; margin: 0px; outline: none; padding: 0px;"><div class="MsoFootnoteText" style="border: 0px none; list-style: none; margin: 0px; outline: none; padding: 0px;"><a href="http://www.letmeturnthetables.com/2010/08/quran-compilation-prophet-lifetime.html#_ftnref7" name="_ftn7" style="border: 0px none; color: blue; list-style: none; margin: 0px; outline: none; padding: 0px; transition: all 0.2s ease-in-out 0s;" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference" style="border: 0px none; list-style: none; margin: 0px; outline: none; padding: 0px;"><span style="border: 0px none; list-style: none; margin: 0px; outline: none; padding: 0px;"><span class="MsoFootnoteReference" style="border: 0px none; list-style: none; margin: 0px; outline: none; padding: 0px;"><span style="border: 0px none; font-family: Calibri, "sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt; line-height: 15.3333px; list-style: none; margin: 0px; outline: none; padding: 0px;">[7]</span></span></span></span></a> Mustadrak al-Hakim, Hadith 6051, Dar al-Kotob al-Ilmiyya, Beirut, 1990</div><div class="MsoFootnoteText" style="border: 0px none; list-style: none; margin: 0px; outline: none; padding: 0px;">Al-Hakim classified it as Sahih. Al-Dhahabi agreed with him.</div></div><div id="ftn8" style="border: 0px none; list-style: none; margin: 0px; outline: none; padding: 0px;"><div class="MsoFootnoteText" style="border: 0px none; list-style: none; margin: 0px; outline: none; padding: 0px;"><a href="http://www.letmeturnthetables.com/2010/08/quran-compilation-prophet-lifetime.html#_ftnref8" name="_ftn8" style="border: 0px none; color: blue; list-style: none; margin: 0px; outline: none; padding: 0px; transition: all 0.2s ease-in-out 0s;" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference" style="border: 0px none; list-style: none; margin: 0px; outline: none; padding: 0px;"><span style="border: 0px none; list-style: none; margin: 0px; outline: none; padding: 0px;"><span class="MsoFootnoteReference" style="border: 0px none; list-style: none; margin: 0px; outline: none; padding: 0px;"><span style="border: 0px none; font-family: Calibri, "sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt; line-height: 15.3333px; list-style: none; margin: 0px; outline: none; padding: 0px;">[8]</span></span></span></span></a> Sunan Ibn Majah, Book 1, Chapter 20, Hadith 242. Classified as Hasan by Albani</div></div><div id="ftn9" style="border: 0px none; list-style: none; margin: 0px; outline: none; padding: 0px;"><div class="MsoFootnoteText" style="border: 0px none; list-style: none; margin: 0px; outline: none; padding: 0px;"><a href="http://www.letmeturnthetables.com/2010/08/quran-compilation-prophet-lifetime.html#_ftnref9" name="_ftn9" style="border: 0px none; color: blue; list-style: none; margin: 0px; outline: none; padding: 0px; transition: all 0.2s ease-in-out 0s;" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference" style="border: 0px none; list-style: none; margin: 0px; outline: none; padding: 0px;"><span style="border: 0px none; list-style: none; margin: 0px; outline: none; padding: 0px;"><span class="MsoFootnoteReference" style="border: 0px none; list-style: none; margin: 0px; outline: none; padding: 0px;"><span style="border: 0px none; font-family: Calibri, "sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt; line-height: 15.3333px; list-style: none; margin: 0px; outline: none; padding: 0px;">[9]</span></span></span></span></a> Al-Bukhari, <i style="border: 0px none; list-style: none; margin: 0px; outline: none; padding: 0px;">Khalaq Af’al al-‘Ibad</i>, Dar al-M’arif al-Saudia, Riyadh, 1398 AH vol.1 p.88</div><div class="MsoFootnoteText" style="border: 0px none; list-style: none; margin: 0px; outline: none; padding: 0px;">Classified as Sahih by Albani in Silsala Sahiha No. 3310</div></div><div id="ftn10" style="border: 0px none; list-style: none; margin: 0px; outline: none; padding: 0px;"><div class="MsoFootnoteText" style="border: 0px none; list-style: none; margin: 0px; outline: none; padding: 0px;"><a href="http://www.letmeturnthetables.com/2010/08/quran-compilation-prophet-lifetime.html#_ftnref10" name="_ftn10" style="border: 0px none; color: blue; list-style: none; margin: 0px; outline: none; padding: 0px; transition: all 0.2s ease-in-out 0s;" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference" style="border: 0px none; list-style: none; margin: 0px; outline: none; padding: 0px;"><span style="border: 0px none; list-style: none; margin: 0px; outline: none; padding: 0px;"><span class="MsoFootnoteReference" style="border: 0px none; list-style: none; margin: 0px; outline: none; padding: 0px;"><span style="border: 0px none; font-family: Calibri, "sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt; line-height: 15.3333px; list-style: none; margin: 0px; outline: none; padding: 0px;">[10]</span></span></span></span></a> Fath al-Bari, Dar al-Ma’rifah, Beirut 1379 AH vol.9 p.12</div></div><div id="ftn11" style="border: 0px none; list-style: none; margin: 0px; outline: none; padding: 0px;"><div class="MsoFootnoteText" style="border: 0px none; list-style: none; margin: 0px; outline: none; padding: 0px;"><a href="http://www.letmeturnthetables.com/2010/08/quran-compilation-prophet-lifetime.html#_ftnref11" name="_ftn11" style="border: 0px none; color: blue; list-style: none; margin: 0px; outline: none; padding: 0px; transition: all 0.2s ease-in-out 0s;" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference" style="border: 0px none; list-style: none; margin: 0px; outline: none; padding: 0px;"><span style="border: 0px none; list-style: none; margin: 0px; outline: none; padding: 0px;"><span class="MsoFootnoteReference" style="border: 0px none; list-style: none; margin: 0px; outline: none; padding: 0px;"><span style="border: 0px none; font-family: Calibri, "sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt; line-height: 15.3333px; list-style: none; margin: 0px; outline: none; padding: 0px;">[11]</span></span></span></span></a> Al-Itiqan fil Uloom al-Quran, Haeya al-Masriya al-‘Aamah lil-Kitab, Egypt 1974 vol.1 p.202</div></div></div></div>Mustafa Ahmedhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14172750188773095424noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-558359090739969505.post-77331110177631796782024-01-04T12:58:00.000-08:002024-01-04T12:58:16.759-08:00Can a False Prophet Perform Miracles?<div class="article-box w-clearfix" id="article-box" style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; color: #333333; font-family: Merriweather, "Sbl hebrew", serif; font-size: 15px;"><div class="sym-rtf w-richtext" print="true" style="box-sizing: border-box; color: black; line-height: 28px; overflow: hidden;"><h1 class="main-head space-after _960" print="true" style="box-sizing: border-box; font-family: Merriweather, serif; font-size: 40px; font-weight: 400; line-height: 70px; margin: -15px auto 30px; max-width: 830px; text-align: center;">Can a False Prophet Perform Miracles?</h1><div class="_720 left no-space" style="box-sizing: border-box; display: inline-block; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; max-width: 720px; padding-bottom: 30px; padding-top: 0px; width: 62vw;"><div class="article-box w-clearfix" id="article-box" style="box-sizing: border-box;"><div class="w-embed" style="box-sizing: border-box; color: #333333;"><currentseries current="" style="box-sizing: border-box;"></currentseries></div><div class="teaser nospace w-richtext" print="true" style="box-sizing: border-box; color: #333333; font-size: 20px; line-height: 37px; margin-bottom: 0px;"><p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-top: 0px;">According to Deuteronomy, a false prophet who has no message from God, and advocates worshiping other gods, can still successfully perform miracles and predict the future. </p></div><div class="spcace-30" style="box-sizing: border-box; color: #333333; height: 30px;"></div><div class="name-art-box" print="true" style="box-sizing: border-box; color: #333333; display: inline-block; margin-right: 10px;"><a class="w-inline-block" href="https://www.thetorah.com/author/marty-lockshin" style="background-color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0); box-sizing: border-box; display: inline-block; max-width: 100%; text-decoration-line: none;"><p class="name-big" style="box-sizing: border-box; color: var(--black); display: inline-block; font-size: 20px; line-height: 36px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-right: 6px; margin-top: 0px;">Prof. Rabbi</p><p class="name-big" style="box-sizing: border-box; color: var(--black); display: inline-block; font-size: 20px; line-height: 36px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-right: 6px; margin-top: 0px;">Marty Lockshin</p></a></div><div class="name-art-box" print="true" style="box-sizing: border-box; color: #333333; display: inline-block; margin-right: 10px;"><a class="w-inline-block" href="https://www.thetorah.com/article/can-a-false-prophet-perform-miracles#" style="background-color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0); box-sizing: border-box; display: inline-block; max-width: 100%; text-decoration-line: none;"></a></div><div class="name-art-box" print="true" style="box-sizing: border-box; color: #333333; display: inline-block; margin-right: 10px;"><a class="w-inline-block" href="https://www.thetorah.com/article/can-a-false-prophet-perform-miracles#" style="background-color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0); box-sizing: border-box; display: inline-block; max-width: 100%; text-decoration-line: none;"></a></div></div></div><p style="box-sizing: border-box; font-family: Merriweather, serif; font-size: 17px; line-height: 31px; margin-bottom: 20px; margin-top: 0px;">In Deuteronomy 13, Moses warns the people about the possibility of false prophets, who are attempting to steer the Israelites toward the worship of other gods:</p><blockquote class="hebQuote" style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; border-left: 5px none rgb(226, 226, 226); box-sizing: border-box; clear: both; direction: rtl; display: inline-block; font-size: 17px; line-height: 31px; margin: 0px 0px 20px !important; padding: 0px 11px 0px 10px; text-align: right; vertical-align: top; width: 266.391px;"><span style="box-sizing: border-box; font-size: 12.75px; line-height: 0; margin-left: 3px; margin-right: 3px; position: relative; top: -0.5em; vertical-align: baseline;">דברים יג:ב</span> כִּי יָקוּם בְּקִרְבְּךָ נָבִיא אוֹ חֹלֵם חֲלוֹם <strong style="box-sizing: border-box;">וְנָתַן אֵלֶיךָ אוֹת אוֹ מוֹפֵת</strong>. <span style="box-sizing: border-box; font-size: 12.75px; line-height: 0; margin-left: 3px; margin-right: 3px; position: relative; top: -0.5em; vertical-align: baseline;">יג:ג</span><strong style="box-sizing: border-box;">וּבָא הָאוֹת וְהַמּוֹפֵת אֲשֶׁר דִּבֶּר אֵלֶיךָ</strong> לֵאמֹר נֵלְכָה אַחֲרֵי אֱלֹהִים אֲחֵרִים אֲשֶׁר לֹא יְדַעְתָּם וְנָעָבְדֵם.<span style="box-sizing: border-box; font-size: 12.75px; line-height: 0; margin-left: 3px; margin-right: 3px; position: relative; top: -0.5em; vertical-align: baseline;"> יג:ד</span> לֹא תִשְׁמַע אֶל דִּבְרֵי הַנָּבִיא הַהוּא אוֹ אֶל חוֹלֵם הַחֲלוֹם הַהוּא <strong style="box-sizing: border-box;">כִּי מְנַסֶּה יְ-הוָה אֱלֹהֵיכֶם אֶתְכֶם</strong> לָדַעַת הֲיִשְׁכֶם אֹהֲבִים אֶת יְ-הוָה אֱלֹהֵיכֶם בְּכָל לְבַבְכֶם וּבְכָל נַפְשְׁכֶם.</blockquote> <blockquote class="enQuote" style="border-left: 5px none rgb(226, 226, 226); box-sizing: border-box; clear: none; direction: ltr; display: inline-block; line-height: 31px; margin: 0px 0px 20px !important; padding: 0px 30px 0px 11px; vertical-align: top; width: 446.391px;"><span style="box-sizing: border-box; font-size: 11.25px; line-height: 0; margin-left: 3px; margin-right: 3px; position: relative; top: -0.5em; vertical-align: baseline;">Deut 13:2 </span>If there appears among you a prophet or a dream-diviner—<strong style="box-sizing: border-box;">and he gives you a sign or a portent</strong>, <span style="box-sizing: border-box; font-size: 11.25px; line-height: 0; margin-left: 3px; margin-right: 3px; position: relative; top: -0.5em; vertical-align: baseline;">13:3</span><strong style="box-sizing: border-box;">and the sign or portent that he named to you comes true—</strong>saying, “Let us follow other gods—whom you have not known—and worship them,” <span style="box-sizing: border-box; font-size: 11.25px; line-height: 0; margin-left: 3px; margin-right: 3px; position: relative; top: -0.5em; vertical-align: baseline;">13:4 </span>do not heed the words of that prophet or that dream-diviner. <strong style="box-sizing: border-box;">For YHWH your God is testing you</strong> to see whether you really love YHWH your God with all your heart and soul.</blockquote><p style="box-sizing: border-box; font-family: Merriweather, serif; font-size: 17px; line-height: 31px; margin-bottom: 20px; margin-top: 0px;">The text suggests that a false prophet could perform a miracle or predict the future. He gives a “sign or portent” and “the sign or portent . . . comes true.”</p><p style="box-sizing: border-box; font-family: Merriweather, serif; font-size: 17px; line-height: 31px; margin-bottom: 20px; margin-top: 0px;">This implication troubled R. Akiva, as we see from his debate with R. Yossi the Galilean about this verse (<em style="box-sizing: border-box;">Sifre Devarim</em>84:3):</p><blockquote class="hebQuote" style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; border-left: 5px none rgb(226, 226, 226); box-sizing: border-box; clear: both; direction: rtl; display: inline-block; font-size: 17px; line-height: 31px; margin: 0px 0px 20px !important; padding: 0px 11px 0px 10px; text-align: right; vertical-align: top; width: 266.391px;">ובא האות והמופת, אמר רבי יוסי הגלילי ראה עד היכן הגיע הכתוב סוף עובדי עבודה זרה ינתן להם ממשלה אפילו על חמה ולבנה כוכבים ומזלות אל תשמע להם מפני מה כי מנסה ה’ אלהיכם אתכם לדעת הישכם אוהבים, אמר רבי עקיבה חס ושלום שמעמיד המקום חמה ולבנה כוכבים ומזלות לעובדי עבודה זרה הא אינו מדבר אלא במי שהיו נביאי אמת מתחילה וחזרו להיות נביאי שקר כחנניה בן עזור.</blockquote> <blockquote class="enQuote" style="border-left: 5px none rgb(226, 226, 226); box-sizing: border-box; clear: none; direction: ltr; display: inline-block; line-height: 31px; margin: 0px 0px 20px !important; padding: 0px 30px 0px 11px; vertical-align: top; width: 446.391px;">“And the sign or portent comes true” – R. Yossi the Galilean said: “See how far the verse goes: in the end the idolaters will be given power over the sun, moon, stars, and constellations, but do not listen to them since the Lord your God is testing you to see whether you really love Him.” R. Akiva said: “Heaven forfend that God would stop the sun, moon, stars, or constellations on behalf of idolaters! Rather, the verse is speaking of those who were once true prophets but then turned to become false prophets, as was the case with Hananiah ben Azzur.<span class="citation tooltipstered" data-tooltip-content="#footie1" style="box-sizing: border-box; color: firebrick; line-height: 0; margin-left: 3px; margin-right: 3px; position: relative; top: -0.5em; unicode-bidi: isolate; vertical-align: baseline;" tooltipster="citation">[1]</span></blockquote><p style="box-sizing: border-box; font-family: Merriweather, serif; font-size: 17px; line-height: 31px; margin-bottom: 20px; margin-top: 0px;">Rabbi Akiva’s problem is clear: How could someone who was not sent by God, in fact someone who is trying to undermine proper belief in God, have such super-human powers? Nevertheless, R. Akiva’s answer does not really solve the problem, since it begs the question: Why would God allow treacherous former prophets to maintain their supernatural powers?</p><p style="box-sizing: border-box; font-family: Merriweather, serif; font-size: 17px; line-height: 31px; margin-bottom: 20px; margin-top: 0px;">The medieval <em style="box-sizing: border-box;">peshat</em> commentators likewise had trouble accepting the implication of the verse at face value, and came up with a number of alternative meanings.</p><h2 style="box-sizing: border-box; clear: both; font-size: 25px; font-weight: 400; line-height: 42px; margin: 14px auto; max-width: 80%; text-align: center;">Ibn Ezra’s Three Explanations</h2><p style="box-sizing: border-box; font-family: Merriweather, serif; font-size: 17px; line-height: 31px; margin-bottom: 20px; margin-top: 0px;">Rabbi Abraham ibn Ezra (1089-1167), the Bible commentator and philosopher, offers three explanations, two from earlier commentators<span class="citation tooltipstered" data-tooltip-content="#footie2" style="box-sizing: border-box; color: firebrick; font-size: 15px; line-height: 0; margin-right: 3px; position: relative; top: -0.5em; unicode-bidi: isolate; vertical-align: baseline;" tooltipster="citation">[2]</span> and the third, his own. </p><h3 style="box-sizing: border-box; font-family: Merriweather, serif; font-size: 21px; font-weight: 400; line-height: 30px; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-top: 20px;">1. Plagiarized Prophecy</h3><p style="box-sizing: border-box; font-family: Merriweather, serif; font-size: 17px; line-height: 31px; margin-bottom: 20px; margin-top: 0px;">The first position ibn Ezra quotes is that the false prophet may have stolen the sign from a real prophet:</p><blockquote class="hebQuote" style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; border-left: 5px none rgb(226, 226, 226); box-sizing: border-box; clear: both; direction: rtl; display: inline-block; font-size: 17px; line-height: 31px; margin: 0px 0px 20px !important; padding: 0px 11px 0px 10px; text-align: right; vertical-align: top; width: 266.391px;">ויש אומרים, כי יתכן להיות הנביא ממגנבי דבר השם. ופי’ שאמר נביא האמת שיהיה אות כך להצדיקו, ושמע השומע, והגידו להיות אות לנפשו.</blockquote> <blockquote class="enQuote" style="border-left: 5px none rgb(226, 226, 226); box-sizing: border-box; clear: none; direction: ltr; display: inline-block; line-height: 31px; margin: 0px 0px 20px !important; padding: 0px 30px 0px 11px; vertical-align: top; width: 446.391px;">Some say that this [false] prophet may be stealing<span class="citation tooltipstered" data-tooltip-content="#footie3" style="box-sizing: border-box; color: firebrick; line-height: 0; margin-left: 3px; margin-right: 3px; position: relative; top: -0.5em; unicode-bidi: isolate; vertical-align: baseline;" tooltipster="citation">[3]</span> [i.e., plagiarizing] the words of God. In other words, a true prophet offers a specific prediction in order to establish his credibility. He [the false prophet] hears this prediction and then offers it himself to establish his own credibility.</blockquote><p style="box-sizing: border-box; font-family: Merriweather, serif; font-size: 17px; line-height: 31px; margin-bottom: 20px; margin-top: 0px;">According to this explanation, a false prophet could successfully predict the future only by plagiarizing from a true prophet who legitimately predicted the future. The theological problem thus disappears. The Torah is telling us that it may look as if a false prophet has been told the future by God, but this is not so.</p><h3 style="box-sizing: border-box; font-family: Merriweather, serif; font-size: 21px; font-weight: 400; line-height: 30px; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-top: 20px;">2. Unreasonable Claims</h3><p style="box-sizing: border-box; font-family: Merriweather, serif; font-size: 17px; line-height: 31px; margin-bottom: 20px; margin-top: 0px;">The second solution ibn Ezra cites is that the prophecy is rejected because it is unreasonable:</p><blockquote class="hebQuote" style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; border-left: 5px none rgb(226, 226, 226); box-sizing: border-box; clear: both; direction: rtl; display: inline-block; font-size: 17px; line-height: 31px; margin: 0px 0px 20px !important; padding: 0px 11px 0px 10px; text-align: right; vertical-align: top; width: 266.391px;">ויש אומרים, כי אפילו בא האות והמופת אין להאמין בו, כי הוא דבר הפך שקול הדעת.</blockquote> <blockquote class="enQuote" style="border-left: 5px none rgb(226, 226, 226); box-sizing: border-box; clear: none; direction: ltr; display: inline-block; line-height: 31px; margin: 0px 0px 20px !important; padding: 0px 30px 0px 11px; vertical-align: top; width: 446.391px;">Others say that even if the prediction comes true, we should not believe it, because it = [message conveyed by the false prophet] is against reason.</blockquote><p style="box-sizing: border-box; font-family: Merriweather, serif; font-size: 17px; line-height: 31px; margin-bottom: 20px; margin-top: 0px;">According to this second explanation, miracles of all sorts—those performed by the prophets of God or by false prophets—are never determinative. Reason trumps miracles. Since the message of the prophet—to worship false gods—is inherently counter to reason for ibn Ezra, no amount of proof from miracles can compel someone to worship those gods.<span class="citation tooltipstered" data-tooltip-content="#footie4" style="box-sizing: border-box; color: firebrick; font-size: 15px; line-height: 0; margin-right: 3px; position: relative; top: -0.5em; unicode-bidi: isolate; vertical-align: baseline;" tooltipster="citation">[4]</span></p><p style="box-sizing: border-box; font-family: Merriweather, serif; font-size: 17px; line-height: 31px; margin-bottom: 20px; margin-top: 0px;">In the 14<span style="box-sizing: border-box; font-size: 12.75px; line-height: 0; margin-right: 3px; position: relative; top: -0.5em; vertical-align: baseline;">th</span> century, this same point was made forcefully by another philosophically inclined Bible commentator, Rabbi Nissim of Marseilles. After discussing the same two possibilities ibn Ezra quoted above, Nissim goes on to explain why God would perform such a test and why a false prophet with powers would fail to influence true believers:</p><blockquote class="hebQuote" style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; border-left: 5px none rgb(226, 226, 226); box-sizing: border-box; clear: both; direction: rtl; display: inline-block; font-size: 17px; line-height: 31px; margin: 0px 0px 20px !important; padding: 0px 11px 0px 10px; text-align: right; vertical-align: top; width: 266.391px;">בזה תבחן תבונתכם ותקנו לכם מזה מדה חזקה להחזיק באמת מפני שהוא אמת. גם בזה ידעו כל העולם שאתם מחזיקים באמונתכם אמונה חזקה. ויהיה זה ראיה ונסיון אם ישכם אוהבים האמת בכל לבבכם ונפשכם. ר”ל אם תחזיקו באמת ותאמינו בו מפני שהוא אמת ותדעוהו ידיעה שכלית לא מפני הקבלה לבד מנהג אבותיכם בידיכם. כי מי שידע האמת . . . לא יתרשל בו ולא יסופק בו בעבור אות ומופת שיעשה כנגדו נביא שקר.</blockquote> <blockquote class="enQuote" style="border-left: 5px none rgb(226, 226, 226); box-sizing: border-box; clear: none; direction: ltr; display: inline-block; line-height: 31px; margin: 0px 0px 20px !important; padding: 0px 30px 0px 11px; vertical-align: top; width: 446.391px;">With this [test of the false prophet] your wisdom will be tested, and you can develop through it a strong character trait, namely, following truth because it is the truth.<span class="citation tooltipstered" data-tooltip-content="#footie5" style="box-sizing: border-box; color: firebrick; line-height: 0; margin-left: 3px; margin-right: 3px; position: relative; top: -0.5em; unicode-bidi: isolate; vertical-align: baseline;" tooltipster="citation">[5]</span> Furthermore, through this the whole world will know that you hold firmly to your beliefs. And this will be a proof and a test, whether you love the truth with all your hearts and all your souls, in other words, whether you hold firmly to the truth, and believe in it because it is the truth, and know it with intellectual knowledge, not merely because of tradition or because you are following the custom of your fathers. For one who knows truth . . . will not grow indolent about it and will not have doubts on account of a sign or wonder that a false prophet performs to discredit it.<span class="citation tooltipstered" data-tooltip-content="#footie6" style="box-sizing: border-box; color: firebrick; line-height: 0; margin-left: 3px; margin-right: 3px; position: relative; top: -0.5em; unicode-bidi: isolate; vertical-align: baseline;" tooltipster="citation">[6]</span></blockquote><p style="box-sizing: border-box; font-family: Merriweather, serif; font-size: 17px; line-height: 31px; margin-bottom: 20px; margin-top: 0px;">According to this, the man of reason should pay no attention to miracles. This position does not take a stand about whether a false prophet can perform a miracle, only that the question does not matter.</p><h3 style="box-sizing: border-box; font-family: Merriweather, serif; font-size: 21px; font-weight: 400; line-height: 30px; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-top: 20px;">3. “Signs and Portents” Are Symbolic Actions</h3><p style="box-sizing: border-box; font-family: Merriweather, serif; font-size: 17px; line-height: 31px; margin-bottom: 20px; margin-top: 0px;">Finally, ibn Ezra offers his own explanation:</p><blockquote class="hebQuote" style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; border-left: 5px none rgb(226, 226, 226); box-sizing: border-box; clear: both; direction: rtl; display: inline-block; font-size: 17px; line-height: 31px; margin: 0px 0px 20px !important; padding: 0px 11px 0px 10px; text-align: right; vertical-align: top; width: 266.391px;">ולפי דעתי, שיש אות גם מופת כמו סימן. והעד: דברי ישעיה, שאמר: הנה אנכי והילדים אשר נתן לי ה’ לאותות ולמופתים (ישעיה ח, יח), ואות הנביא, כאשר הלך עבדי ישעיה ערום ויחף (שם כ, ג), ואותות בניו שמותם על דבר המקרה שיהיה בימיהם והם: עמנואל (שם ז, יד), מהר שלל חש בז (שם ח, ג), ושאר ישוב (שם ז, ג), ובמכות – והיו בך לאות ולמופת (דברים כח, מו), וכן רבים.</blockquote> <blockquote class="enQuote" style="border-left: 5px none rgb(226, 226, 226); box-sizing: border-box; clear: none; direction: ltr; display: inline-block; line-height: 31px; margin: 0px 0px 20px !important; padding: 0px 30px 0px 11px; vertical-align: top; width: 446.391px;">In my opinion, the Hebrew words אות and מופת here have the sense of “sign” [and do not refer to anything supernatural]. The words of Isaiah provide evidence for this interpretation. He said “Behold, I, and the children whom God has given me, are לאותות ולמופתים—for signs and for portents” (Isaiah 8:18). Another example, the prophet’s אות—sign: “…just as my servant Isaiah walking naked and barefoot… [is an אות ומופת—a sign and a portent]” (Isaiah 20:3). Furthermore, the names of his sons are signs (אותות) about an event which would occur in his lifetime: “Immanuel”<span class="citation tooltipstered" data-tooltip-content="#footie7" style="box-sizing: border-box; color: firebrick; line-height: 0; margin-left: 3px; margin-right: 3px; position: relative; top: -0.5em; unicode-bidi: isolate; vertical-align: baseline;" tooltipster="citation">[7]</span>(Isaiah 7:14), “Maher-Shalal-Ḥash-Baz” (Isaiah 8:3), and “Shear-Yashuv” (Isaiah 7:3). Similarly, concerning the plagues [that God said He would inflict upon the sinning Israelites, Scripture says,] “They will serve you as signs and proofs” (Deut 28:46). Many similar examples exist.</blockquote><p style="box-sizing: border-box; font-family: Merriweather, serif; font-size: 17px; line-height: 31px; margin-bottom: 20px; margin-top: 0px;">According to ibn Ezra, the words אות and מופת (signs and portents) here do not refer to anything supernatural but to symbolic actions. Isaiah’s walking naked and barefoot involved no supernatural element; it was a symbolic action. Similarly, when God told Isaiah that the baby that would soon be born should be called Immanuel (“God is with us”), the naming of the baby was not a miraculous occurrence. The name was purely symbolic.</p><p style="box-sizing: border-box; font-family: Merriweather, serif; font-size: 17px; line-height: 31px; margin-bottom: 20px; margin-top: 0px;">Following this explanation, a false prophet is never able to perform a miracle or predict the future. He might perform a compelling symbolic action that could tempt you to follow him, but the Torah is telling you not to.</p><h2 style="box-sizing: border-box; clear: both; font-size: 25px; font-weight: 400; line-height: 42px; margin: 14px auto; max-width: 80%; text-align: center;">What Is the Test?</h2><p style="box-sizing: border-box; font-family: Merriweather, serif; font-size: 17px; line-height: 31px; margin-bottom: 20px; margin-top: 0px;">Ibn Ezra’s explanation has several weaknesses. First, he does not address the question of how to interpret the phrase ובא האות והמופת, which suggests that the false prophet made a prediction about the future that came true. Another weakness, which ibn Ezra recognizes, is that our passage says that false prophets constitute a test of the Israelites’ loyalty by predicting the future in order to test the Israelites. But if the false prophet simply performed a symbolic action, what is the test?</p><p style="box-sizing: border-box; font-family: Merriweather, serif; font-size: 17px; line-height: 31px; margin-bottom: 20px; margin-top: 0px;">To this ibn Ezra answers:</p><blockquote class="hebQuote" style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; border-left: 5px none rgb(226, 226, 226); box-sizing: border-box; clear: both; direction: rtl; display: inline-block; font-size: 17px; line-height: 31px; margin: 0px 0px 20px !important; padding: 0px 11px 0px 10px; text-align: right; vertical-align: top; width: 266.391px;">וטעם כי מנסה – בעבור שעזבו<span class="citation tooltipstered" data-tooltip-content="#footie8" style="box-sizing: border-box; color: firebrick; font-size: 15px; line-height: 0; margin-left: 3px; margin-right: 3px; position: relative; top: -0.5em; unicode-bidi: isolate; vertical-align: baseline;" tooltipster="citation">[8]</span>, ולא המיתו</blockquote> <blockquote class="enQuote" style="border-left: 5px none rgb(226, 226, 226); box-sizing: border-box; clear: none; direction: ltr; display: inline-block; line-height: 31px; margin: 0px 0px 20px !important; padding: 0px 30px 0px 11px; vertical-align: top; width: 446.391px;">The meaning of “test” here is that He [God] left him [the false prophet] alone and did not kill him.</blockquote><p style="box-sizing: border-box; font-family: Merriweather, serif; font-size: 17px; line-height: 31px; margin-bottom: 20px; margin-top: 0px;">God, according to ibn Ezra, tests us with false prophets by allowing them to live. God could make things easier for us by killing off the false prophets. But since He does not, we must resist the temptation of listening to them. With this unusual explanation, ibn Ezra is able to insist that false prophets have no supernatural powers and nevertheless constitute a test for the Israelites.<span class="citation tooltipstered" data-tooltip-content="#footie9" style="box-sizing: border-box; color: firebrick; font-size: 15px; line-height: 0; margin-right: 3px; position: relative; top: -0.5em; unicode-bidi: isolate; vertical-align: baseline;" tooltipster="citation">[9]</span></p><h2 style="box-sizing: border-box; clear: both; font-size: 25px; font-weight: 400; line-height: 42px; margin: 14px auto; max-width: 80%; text-align: center;">False Prophets Have Power Too: Rashbam</h2><p style="box-sizing: border-box; font-family: Merriweather, serif; font-size: 17px; line-height: 31px; margin-bottom: 20px; margin-top: 0px;">Ibn Ezra’s Northern French contemporary, Rashbam (R. Samuel ben Meir, c. 1080-c. 1165) was not bothered by the verses about false prophets, since he believed that false prophets were able to perform miracles and/or predict the future:</p><blockquote class="hebQuote" style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; border-left: 5px none rgb(226, 226, 226); box-sizing: border-box; clear: both; direction: rtl; display: inline-block; font-size: 17px; line-height: 31px; margin: 0px 0px 20px !important; padding: 0px 11px 0px 10px; text-align: right; vertical-align: top; width: 266.391px;">ובא האות והמופת – שיודעים עתידות על ידי רוח טומאה ותרפים ואוב וידעוני</blockquote> <blockquote class="enQuote" style="border-left: 5px none rgb(226, 226, 226); box-sizing: border-box; clear: none; direction: ltr; display: inline-block; line-height: 31px; margin: 0px 0px 20px !important; padding: 0px 30px 0px 11px; vertical-align: top; width: 446.391px;">[The sign of such false prophets could come true] because they know the future, since they make use of the forces of impurity or <em style="box-sizing: border-box;">teraphim,</em> or [they consult] ghosts or familiar spirits.</blockquote><p style="box-sizing: border-box; font-family: Merriweather, serif; font-size: 17px; line-height: 31px; margin-bottom: 20px; margin-top: 0px;">In Rashbam’s understanding, the world is filled with effective ways to predict the future. Some, like biblical prophecy, are legitimate, but many of the other methods are not. Sorcery is forbidden not because it does not work, but despite the fact that it does. The simple understanding of the story of Saul and the woman from En-dor who consults spirits (בעלת אוב) in 1 Samuel 28 supports this claim.</p><p style="box-sizing: border-box; font-family: Merriweather, serif; font-size: 17px; line-height: 31px; margin-bottom: 20px; margin-top: 0px;">For Rashbam, the “test” from God in these verses is explained simply:</p><blockquote class="hebQuote" style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; border-left: 5px none rgb(226, 226, 226); box-sizing: border-box; clear: both; direction: rtl; display: inline-block; font-size: 17px; line-height: 31px; margin: 0px 0px 20px !important; padding: 0px 11px 0px 10px; text-align: right; vertical-align: top; width: 266.391px;">כי מנסה י”י וגו’ – נתן כח בכשפים לדעת נולדות, לנסות ולזכות ישראל שהתרה בהם: לא ימצא בך מעונן ומנחש ומכשף וגו’ עד תמים תהיה עם י”י אלהיך (דברים י”ח:י’-י”ג). ואם לא יאמינו לאותות נביאי עבודה זרה, זו היא זכותן.</blockquote> <blockquote class="enQuote" style="border-left: 5px none rgb(226, 226, 226); box-sizing: border-box; clear: none; direction: ltr; display: inline-block; line-height: 31px; margin: 0px 0px 20px !important; padding: 0px 30px 0px 11px; vertical-align: top; width: 446.391px;">“Because YHWH is testing you” – God granted powers to the forces of sorcery to be able to predict the future in order to test the Israelites and to increase their merit. He warned them (18:10-13), “Let there not be among you … a soothsayer, a diviner, a sorcerer…. You must be wholehearted with YHWH your God.”<span class="citation tooltipstered" data-tooltip-content="#footie10" style="box-sizing: border-box; color: firebrick; line-height: 0; margin-left: 3px; margin-right: 3px; position: relative; top: -0.5em; unicode-bidi: isolate; vertical-align: baseline;" tooltipster="citation">[10]</span>If the Israelites refrain from believing in the signs of idolatrous prophets, it will be to their merit.</blockquote><p style="box-sizing: border-box; font-family: Merriweather, serif; font-size: 17px; line-height: 31px; margin-bottom: 20px; margin-top: 0px;">The fact that God created a world where sorcerers and other diviners have real powers constitutes a test for the Israelites. In this way, Rashbam has, indirectly, softened the text a little. The Torah is not suggesting that God endowed any specific false prophet with powers in order to test us, an idea that already bothered the likes of Rabbi Akiva, as discussed above. Rather, according to Rashbam, God created a world where false prophecy is possible and actually happens; accordingly, the Israelites can be tested through it.</p><h3 style="box-sizing: border-box; font-family: Merriweather, serif; font-size: 21px; font-weight: 400; line-height: 30px; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-top: 20px;">Urim and Thummim vs. Impure Divination</h3><p style="box-sizing: border-box; font-family: Merriweather, serif; font-size: 17px; line-height: 31px; margin-bottom: 20px; margin-top: 0px;">Rashbam makes his belief in magical powers and divination clear in another passage, his comment on the Urim and Thummim (Exod 28:30):</p><blockquote class="hebQuote" style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; border-left: 5px none rgb(226, 226, 226); box-sizing: border-box; clear: both; direction: rtl; display: inline-block; font-size: 17px; line-height: 31px; margin: 0px 0px 20px !important; padding: 0px 11px 0px 10px; text-align: right; vertical-align: top; width: 266.391px;">את האורים ואת התומים – כעין השבעות על שמות בדבר הק’ שהיה נותן בחשן להגיד משפטן וצורכיהם.<strong style="box-sizing: border-box;">אם האומות מגידים להם תרפים וקסמים שלהם ברוח טומאה </strong>להבדיל כמה הבדלות בין טומאה לטהרה קל וחומר לקדושה שמגדת:</blockquote> <blockquote class="enQuote" style="border-left: 5px none rgb(226, 226, 226); box-sizing: border-box; clear: none; direction: ltr; display: inline-block; line-height: 31px; margin: 0px 0px 20px !important; padding: 0px 30px 0px 11px; vertical-align: top; width: 446.391px;">“The Urim and the Tummim” – A type of conjuring using divine names to determine God’s words. They were placed inside the breastpiece and were used to provide [answers for] the decisions required by the Israelites and [information required in order to fulfil] their needs. <strong style="box-sizing: border-box;">If the other nations have <em style="box-sizing: border-box;">teraphim</em> and magic that tell them the future through the forces of impurity</strong>, how much more so may it be done through the forces of holiness; although one should hardly be comparing the forces of impurity and the forces of purity at all!</blockquote><p style="box-sizing: border-box; font-family: Merriweather, serif; font-size: 17px; line-height: 31px; margin-bottom: 20px; margin-top: 0px;">Rashbam assumes that his readers know that teraphim and magic work and he builds on this assumption to sustain his claim that the Urim and Thummim worked that way, too.<span class="citation tooltipstered" data-tooltip-content="#footie11" style="box-sizing: border-box; color: firebrick; font-size: 15px; line-height: 0; margin-right: 3px; position: relative; top: -0.5em; unicode-bidi: isolate; vertical-align: baseline;" tooltipster="citation">[11]</span></p><h2 style="box-sizing: border-box; clear: both; font-size: 25px; font-weight: 400; line-height: 42px; margin: 14px auto; max-width: 80%; text-align: center;">Is Rashbam Being Polemical?</h2><p style="box-sizing: border-box; font-family: Merriweather, serif; font-size: 17px; line-height: 31px; margin-bottom: 20px; margin-top: 0px;">Rashbam’s interpretation reflects his belief that our world contains forces of good and forces of evil, and that supernatural powers can be found in both. Nevertheless, as he lived in a Christian world, it might be tempting to connect the dots between the “false prophet with magical powers” and the stories about Jesus in the New Testament.</p><p style="box-sizing: border-box; font-family: Merriweather, serif; font-size: 17px; line-height: 31px; margin-bottom: 20px; margin-top: 0px;">Whether Rashbam had these in mind or not, Rashbam’s younger Northern French contemporary, Rabbi Joseph Bekhor Shor makes this connection explicit:</p><blockquote class="hebQuote" style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; border-left: 5px none rgb(226, 226, 226); box-sizing: border-box; clear: both; direction: rtl; display: inline-block; font-size: 17px; line-height: 31px; margin: 0px 0px 20px !important; padding: 0px 11px 0px 10px; text-align: right; vertical-align: top; width: 266.391px;">וכל שכן אם יעשה על ידי מכשפות כגון ישו שהוציא כשפים ממצרים או על ידי אחיזת עיניים או על ידי גניבה.<span class="citation tooltipstered" data-tooltip-content="#footie12" style="box-sizing: border-box; color: firebrick; font-size: 15px; line-height: 0; margin-left: 3px; margin-right: 3px; position: relative; top: -0.5em; unicode-bidi: isolate; vertical-align: baseline;" tooltipster="citation">[12]</span></blockquote> <blockquote class="enQuote" style="border-left: 5px none rgb(226, 226, 226); box-sizing: border-box; clear: none; direction: ltr; display: inline-block; line-height: 31px; margin: 0px 0px 20px !important; padding: 0px 30px 0px 11px; vertical-align: top; width: 446.391px;">How much more so [should we never listen to the words of] someone who performs [miracles by using] magic, as Jesus did, who [performed signs by using magic that he first learned in Egypt and then] brought [that] magic out from Egypt; or if the sign is performed through sleight of hand<span class="citation tooltipstered" data-tooltip-content="#footie13" style="box-sizing: border-box; color: firebrick; line-height: 0; margin-left: 3px; margin-right: 3px; position: relative; top: -0.5em; unicode-bidi: isolate; vertical-align: baseline;" tooltipster="citation">[13]</span> or through theft.<span class="citation tooltipstered" data-tooltip-content="#footie14" style="box-sizing: border-box; color: firebrick; line-height: 0; margin-left: 3px; margin-right: 3px; position: relative; top: -0.5em; unicode-bidi: isolate; vertical-align: baseline;" tooltipster="citation">[14]</span></blockquote><p style="box-sizing: border-box; font-family: Merriweather, serif; font-size: 17px; line-height: 31px; margin-bottom: 20px; margin-top: 0px;">As was his wont, Bekhor Shor is explicitly anti-Christian.<span class="citation tooltipstered" data-tooltip-content="#footie15" style="box-sizing: border-box; color: firebrick; font-size: 15px; line-height: 0; margin-right: 3px; position: relative; top: -0.5em; unicode-bidi: isolate; vertical-align: baseline;" tooltipster="citation">[15]</span> On the other hand, there is no hint in Rashbam’s words that he is alluding to Jesus.</p><p style="box-sizing: border-box; font-family: Merriweather, serif; font-size: 17px; line-height: 31px; margin-bottom: 20px; margin-top: 0px;">Much has been written about the extent to which Rashbam concerns himself with Christianity.<span class="citation tooltipstered" data-tooltip-content="#footie16" style="box-sizing: border-box; color: firebrick; font-size: 15px; line-height: 0; margin-right: 3px; position: relative; top: -0.5em; unicode-bidi: isolate; vertical-align: baseline;" tooltipster="citation">[16]</span> Rashbam makes critical comments from time to time about Christian Bible commentaries,<span class="citation tooltipstered" data-tooltip-content="#footie17" style="box-sizing: border-box; color: firebrick; font-size: 15px; line-height: 0; margin-right: 3px; position: relative; top: -0.5em; unicode-bidi: isolate; vertical-align: baseline;" tooltipster="citation">[17]</span> and he defends Judaism against Christian claims.<span class="citation tooltipstered" data-tooltip-content="#footie18" style="box-sizing: border-box; color: firebrick; font-size: 15px; line-height: 0; margin-right: 3px; position: relative; top: -0.5em; unicode-bidi: isolate; vertical-align: baseline;" tooltipster="citation">[18]</span> He refrains from the type of insulting vituperation about Jesus that characterizes Bekhor Shor here and in other passages.<span class="citation tooltipstered" data-tooltip-content="#footie19" style="box-sizing: border-box; color: firebrick; font-size: 15px; line-height: 0; margin-right: 3px; position: relative; top: -0.5em; unicode-bidi: isolate; vertical-align: baseline;" tooltipster="citation">[19]</span> Of course one cannot rule out the possibility that he was thinking about Jesus when he commented on our verse. But it seems more likely that he is simply explaining the verse.<span class="citation tooltipstered" data-tooltip-content="#footie20" style="box-sizing: border-box; color: firebrick; font-size: 15px; line-height: 0; margin-right: 3px; position: relative; top: -0.5em; unicode-bidi: isolate; vertical-align: baseline;" tooltipster="citation">[20]</span> </p><h3 style="box-sizing: border-box; font-family: Merriweather, serif; font-size: 21px; font-weight: 400; line-height: 30px; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-top: 20px;">Polemic Against ibn Ezra</h3><p style="box-sizing: border-box; font-family: Merriweather, serif; font-size: 17px; line-height: 31px; margin-bottom: 20px; margin-top: 0px;">Nevertheless, I believe it is possible Rashbam is polemicizing here, only not against Christianity, but against ibn Ezra. Itamar Kislev has argued that Rashbam’s Torah commentary reflects knowledge of ibn Ezra’s “short commentary” on the Torah,<span class="citation tooltipstered" data-tooltip-content="#footie21" style="box-sizing: border-box; color: firebrick; font-size: 15px; line-height: 0; margin-right: 3px; position: relative; top: -0.5em; unicode-bidi: isolate; vertical-align: baseline;" tooltipster="citation">[21]</span>part of which is his commentary on Deuteronomy. If so, Rashbam may be emphasizing here his belief in the powers of sorcery in order to distance himself from ibn Ezra’s philosophical approach.</p><h2 style="box-sizing: border-box; clear: both; font-size: 25px; font-weight: 400; line-height: 42px; margin: 14px auto; max-width: 80%; text-align: center;">Rashbam and ibn Ezra</h2><p style="box-sizing: border-box; font-family: Merriweather, serif; font-size: 17px; line-height: 31px; margin-bottom: 20px; margin-top: 0px;">Ibn Ezra and Rashbam were two of the greatest advocates of <em style="box-sizing: border-box;">peshat</em>, the plain or contextual interpretation of the Bible, in medieval times. Rashbam was just a few years older than ibn Ezra. At one point, they both lived in Northern France. It is tempting to imagine them meeting and talking about Bible interpretation, but most scholars doubt that that happened.<span class="citation tooltipstered" data-tooltip-content="#footie22" style="box-sizing: border-box; color: firebrick; font-size: 15px; line-height: 0; margin-right: 3px; position: relative; top: -0.5em; unicode-bidi: isolate; vertical-align: baseline;" tooltipster="citation">[22]</span> Both of them were daring Bible commentators who were often willing to buck traditional exegesis. But the differences between them are significant.<span class="citation tooltipstered" data-tooltip-content="#footie23" style="box-sizing: border-box; color: firebrick; font-size: 15px; line-height: 0; margin-right: 3px; position: relative; top: -0.5em; unicode-bidi: isolate; vertical-align: baseline;" tooltipster="citation">[23]</span> </p><p style="box-sizing: border-box; font-family: Merriweather, serif; font-size: 17px; line-height: 31px; margin-bottom: 20px; margin-top: 0px;">Rashbam was a leading Talmudist and expert in <em style="box-sizing: border-box;">halakhah</em>. Ibn Ezra is not known for any contributions to those fields. Aside from his Bible commentaries, he wrote poetry and works of grammar, philosophy, and astrology (science). He was a proud Spanish Jew, a product of the so-called Golden Age in Spain. </p><p style="box-sizing: border-box; font-family: Merriweather, serif; font-size: 17px; line-height: 31px; margin-bottom: 20px; margin-top: 0px;">Ibn Ezra spent the last decades of his life in Christian Europe and, as Uriel Simon has argued, looked down on his Ashkenazic brethren, viewing them as culturally backward.<span class="citation tooltipstered" data-tooltip-content="#footie24" style="box-sizing: border-box; color: firebrick; font-size: 15px; line-height: 0; margin-right: 3px; position: relative; top: -0.5em; unicode-bidi: isolate; vertical-align: baseline;" tooltipster="citation">[24]</span> In particular, he had disdain for their lack of knowledge of Hebrew grammar and philosophy—two areas that he felt were crucial for educated Jews.</p><h2 style="box-sizing: border-box; clear: both; font-size: 25px; font-weight: 400; line-height: 42px; margin: 14px auto; max-width: 80%; text-align: center;">Peshat or Philosophy</h2><p style="box-sizing: border-box; font-family: Merriweather, serif; font-size: 17px; line-height: 31px; margin-bottom: 20px; margin-top: 0px;">Their respective attitudes towards Greek/Arabic style rationalist philosophy undergird the difference between ibn Ezra and Rashbam’s approaches to this passage. For ibn Ezra, “finding” that the Torah is saying something philosophically valid is more important than uncovering the plain meaning, the <em style="box-sizing: border-box;">peshat </em>of the biblical text. Or, to put it differently, since the text is divine, it must be in line with philosophical truth, even if the words need to be stretched to make them fit with this truth.<span class="citation tooltipstered" data-tooltip-content="#footie25" style="box-sizing: border-box; color: firebrick; font-size: 15px; line-height: 0; margin-right: 3px; position: relative; top: -0.5em; unicode-bidi: isolate; vertical-align: baseline;" tooltipster="citation">[25]</span></p><p style="box-sizing: border-box; font-family: Merriweather, serif; font-size: 17px; line-height: 31px; margin-bottom: 20px; margin-top: 0px;">Rashbam, on the other hand, generally does not place limits on his search for <em style="box-sizing: border-box;">peshat</em>, and felt that the plain meaning of the text may contradict <em style="box-sizing: border-box;">halakhah.</em> Moreover, he believed in magic, as we saw above, and was not interested in Greek/Arabic style philosophy, as was the norm in his community.</p><p style="box-sizing: border-box; font-family: Merriweather, serif; font-size: 17px; line-height: 31px; margin-bottom: 20px; margin-top: 0px;">Nowadays, we do not believe in magic or sorcery, and thus may be inclined to prefer ibn Ezra’s understanding of the world. Nevertheless, to try to interpret the Torah to fit with 21<span style="box-sizing: border-box; font-size: 12.75px; line-height: 0; margin-right: 3px; position: relative; top: -0.5em; vertical-align: baseline;">st</span>century conceptions of reality would be forcing the text to say something it does not, just as ibn Ezra did by trying to read the Torah as a document reflecting medieval Greco-Arabic rationalism. Instead, it would seem that Rashbam’s more natural approach to the text comes closest to the modern academic way of reading it, even if some of his premises about how the world works are starkly different than ours.</p></div></div><div class="footnote-box" style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; color: #333333; font-family: Merriweather, "Sbl hebrew", serif; font-size: 15px;"><a class="link-block-13 w-inline-block w--open" href="https://www.thetorah.com/article/can-a-false-prophet-perform-miracles#" id="footnotesbtn" style="background-color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0); box-sizing: border-box; display: inline-block; max-width: 100%; padding-bottom: 20px; padding-top: 20px; text-decoration-line: none;"><div class="text-block-5" style="box-sizing: border-box; color: var(--firebrick); display: inline-block; font-size: 20px; margin-right: 10px;">View Footnotes</div><img alt="" class="aarow" height="false" src="https://assets-global.website-files.com/5ae955c619474e17d10c9e62/5b8fb536d4c0b68192bf9ad7_red_arrow.svg" style="border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; display: inline-block; height: 25px; margin-bottom: -10px; margin-top: -10px; max-height: 500px; max-width: 9%; padding-top: 6px; position: relative; top: -4px; transform: rotateZ(90deg); transition: all 0.2s ease 0s; vertical-align: middle; width: 7px;" width="false" /></a><div class="foonote-body" id="footnoteBody" style="box-sizing: border-box;"><div class="date-wrao" print="true" style="box-sizing: border-box;"><p class="small-sorce space" style="box-sizing: border-box; color: var(--grey); direction: rtl; display: inline-block; font-family: "Sbl hebrew", sans-serif; font-size: 14px; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-right: 6px; margin-top: 0px;">Published</p><p class="small-sorce space-more" style="box-sizing: border-box; color: var(--grey); direction: rtl; display: inline-block; font-family: "Sbl hebrew", sans-serif; font-size: 14px; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-right: 20px; margin-top: 0px;">August 7, 2018</p><p class="small-sorce space-both" style="box-sizing: border-box; color: var(--grey); direction: rtl; display: inline-block; font-family: "Sbl hebrew", sans-serif; font-size: 14px; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-right: 15px; margin-top: 0px;">|</p><p class="small-sorce space" style="box-sizing: border-box; color: var(--grey); direction: rtl; display: inline-block; font-family: "Sbl hebrew", sans-serif; font-size: 14px; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-right: 6px; margin-top: 0px;">Last Updated</p><p class="small-sorce space" style="box-sizing: border-box; color: var(--grey); direction: rtl; display: inline-block; font-family: "Sbl hebrew", sans-serif; font-size: 14px; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-right: 6px; margin-top: 0px;">December 22, 2023</p></div><div class="footnotes w-richtext" id="footnotes-show" print="true" style="box-sizing: border-box; line-height: 2;"><ol style="box-sizing: border-box; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-top: 0px; overflow: hidden; padding-left: 40px;"><p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-top: 0px;"></p><li class="footnote-item" style="box-sizing: border-box; clear: both; direction: ltr; list-style: firebrick; margin-bottom: 0px;"> <em style="box-sizing: border-box;">B.</em> <em style="box-sizing: border-box;">Sanhedrin</em> 90a. The story of the false prophet Hananiah ben Azur is found in Jeremiah chapter 28.<p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-top: 0px;"></p></li><p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-top: 0px;"></p><li class="footnote-item" style="box-sizing: border-box; clear: both; direction: ltr; list-style: firebrick; margin-bottom: 0px;">Ibn Ezra does not identify whose ideas he is referring to, and scholarship, to the best of my knowledge, has not identified his sources.<p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-top: 0px;"></p></li><p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-top: 0px;"></p><li class="footnote-item" style="box-sizing: border-box; clear: both; direction: ltr; list-style: firebrick; margin-bottom: 0px;">An allusion to the phrase מגנבי דברי הנביאים “the prophets who steal My [God’s] words from one another” (Jer 23:30).<p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-top: 0px;"></p></li><p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-top: 0px;"></p><li class="footnote-item" style="box-sizing: border-box; clear: both; direction: ltr; list-style: firebrick; margin-bottom: 0px;">A similar argument was later offered by Maimonides in <em style="box-sizing: border-box;">Mishneh Torah</em>, <em style="box-sizing: border-box;">Yesodei ha-Torah </em>8:1. Maimonides argues there that miracles are not a reason to believe and that even the miracles that Moses performed were not what caused him to be believed.<p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-top: 0px;"></p></li><p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-top: 0px;"></p><li class="footnote-item" style="box-sizing: border-box; clear: both; direction: ltr; list-style: firebrick; margin-bottom: 0px;">An allusion to the language of Maimonides, <em style="box-sizing: border-box;">Mishneh Torah, </em><em style="box-sizing: border-box;">Teshuvah</em> 10:3 (10:2 in some editions).<p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-top: 0px;"></p></li><p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-top: 0px;"></p><li class="footnote-item" style="box-sizing: border-box; clear: both; direction: ltr; list-style: firebrick; margin-bottom: 0px;"> <em style="box-sizing: border-box;">Ma’aseh Nissim: Commentary on the Torah</em>, ed. by Howard Kreisel (Jerusalem: Mekize Nirdamim, 2000), p. 453.<p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-top: 0px;"></p></li><p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-top: 0px;"></p><li class="footnote-item" style="box-sizing: border-box; clear: both; direction: ltr; list-style: firebrick; margin-bottom: 0px;">Which is called an אות in that same verse.<p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-top: 0px;"></p></li><p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-top: 0px;"></p><li class="footnote-item" style="box-sizing: border-box; clear: both; direction: ltr; list-style: firebrick; margin-bottom: 0px;">The impressive Mikraot Gedolot on the website alhatorah.org prefers reading here שעזרו, not שעזבו, and cites some manuscript evidence for this reading. Nevertheless, the reading שעזבו is also attested in manuscripts and is found in most standard texts and in <em style="box-sizing: border-box;">Mikraot Gedolot Ha-keter</em>, edited by Menahem Cohen. Moreover, the suggestion that God is helping the false prophet (שעזרו), does not fit well with ibn Ezra’s interpretation.<p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-top: 0px;"></p></li><p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-top: 0px;"></p><li class="footnote-item" style="box-sizing: border-box; clear: both; direction: ltr; list-style: firebrick; margin-bottom: 0px;">Already five hundred years ago Abarbanel dismissed ibn Ezra’s understanding of the test involved in false prophets – that even though they have no special powers we can still say that they constitute a test from God since God allows such people to live – using two different trivializing terms: וכל זה איננו שוה (all of this is worthless) and הוא טענה בטלה (this explanation is null). <p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-top: 0px;"></p></li><p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-top: 0px;"></p><li class="footnote-item" style="box-sizing: border-box; clear: both; direction: ltr; list-style: firebrick; margin-bottom: 0px;">Rashbam is explaining that Deut 18:13 clarifies the idea behind the previous verses. The reason to avoid soothsayers, diviners etc… is to remain wholehearted with God.<p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-top: 0px;"></p></li><p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-top: 0px;"></p><li class="footnote-item" style="box-sizing: border-box; clear: both; direction: ltr; list-style: firebrick; margin-bottom: 0px;">Editor’s note: For more on “permissible divination” in the Torah, see Jonathan Stökl, <a href="https://thetorah.com/ancient-israelite-divination-urim-ve-tummim-ephod-and-prophecy/" rel="noopener" style="background-color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0); box-sizing: border-box; color: firebrick !important; text-decoration-line: none;" target="_blank">“Ancient Israelite Divination: Urim Ve-Tummim, Ephod, and Prophecy,”</a> <em style="box-sizing: border-box;">TheTorah.com</em> (2017); Yoel S., <a href="https://thetorah.com/the-urim-vetumim/" rel="noopener" style="background-color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0); box-sizing: border-box; color: firebrick !important; text-decoration-line: none;" target="_blank">“The Urim Ve-Tummim,”</a> <em style="box-sizing: border-box;">TheTorah.com</em> (2014).<p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-top: 0px;"></p></li><p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-top: 0px;"></p><li class="footnote-item" style="box-sizing: border-box; clear: both; direction: ltr; list-style: firebrick; margin-bottom: 0px;">This text of Bekhor Shor’s comment on Deut 13:4 is found in <em style="box-sizing: border-box;">Mikraot Gedolot Ha-keter</em>, edited by Menachem Cohen.<p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-top: 0px;"></p></li><p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-top: 0px;"></p><li class="footnote-item" style="box-sizing: border-box; clear: both; direction: ltr; list-style: firebrick; margin-bottom: 0px;">Theoretically we could read Bekhor Shor as listing the three possible ways that Jesus performed his signs: magic, sleight of hand, or plagiarism. I consider this understanding unlikely. I think Bekhor Shor is certain that Jesus’s signs were performed through magic, as claimed in the Talmud (uncensored version of b. Sanhderin 107b) and in the old Jewish parody of Jesus’ life, <em style="box-sizing: border-box;">Toledot Yeshu</em>. Here he is just listing three kinds of false prophets who must be ignored: those who use magic, as Jesus did, and those who use sleight of hand or theft.<p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-top: 0px;"></p></li><p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-top: 0px;"></p><li class="footnote-item" style="box-sizing: border-box; clear: both; direction: ltr; list-style: firebrick; margin-bottom: 0px;">As Bekhor Shor explains in the continuation of his remark, he is referring to the possibility of a false prophet plagiarizing from a true prophet, noted in ibn Ezra’s first explanation, above.<p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-top: 0px;"></p></li><p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-top: 0px;"></p><li class="footnote-item" style="box-sizing: border-box; clear: both; direction: ltr; list-style: firebrick; margin-bottom: 0px;">Similarly, see e.g. his comments on Gen 1:26 (against the belief in the Trinity) and Num 12:8 (against Christian allegorizing).<p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-top: 0px;"></p></li><p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-top: 0px;"></p><li class="footnote-item" style="box-sizing: border-box; clear: both; direction: ltr; list-style: firebrick; margin-bottom: 0px;">See e.g. Elazar Touitou, <em style="box-sizing: border-box;">Exegesis in Perpetual Motion: Studies in the Pentateuchal Commentary of Rabbi Samuel ben Meir </em>[Heb.] (Ramat-Gan: Bar Ilan Univeristy Press, 2003), esp. pp. 34-45; and the introduction to my <em style="box-sizing: border-box;">Peirush ha-Rashbam al ha-Torah </em>(Jerusalem: Chorev, 2009), esp. pp. 25-29.<p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-top: 0px;"></p></li><p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-top: 0px;"></p><li class="footnote-item" style="box-sizing: border-box; clear: both; direction: ltr; list-style: firebrick; margin-bottom: 0px;">See e.g. his comments to Gen 49:10 or to Exod 20:13.<p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-top: 0px;"></p></li><p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-top: 0px;"></p><li class="footnote-item" style="box-sizing: border-box; clear: both; direction: ltr; list-style: firebrick; margin-bottom: 0px;">See e.g. his commentary to Exod 3:22.<p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-top: 0px;"></p></li><p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-top: 0px;"></p><li class="footnote-item" style="box-sizing: border-box; clear: both; direction: ltr; list-style: firebrick; margin-bottom: 0px;">See similarly Bekhor Shor’s comment to Deut 18:13 where he directly insults Jesus’ allegedly dubious parentage.<p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-top: 0px;"></p></li><p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-top: 0px;"></p><li class="footnote-item" style="box-sizing: border-box; clear: both; direction: ltr; list-style: firebrick; margin-bottom: 0px;">For more on this subject, see Yedida Eisenstat, <a href="https://thetorah.com/does-rashis-torah-commentary-respond-to-christianity/" rel="noopener" style="background-color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0); box-sizing: border-box; color: firebrick !important; text-decoration-line: none;" target="_blank">“Does Rashi’s Torah Commentary Respond to Christianity,”</a><em style="box-sizing: border-box;">TheTorah.com</em> (2018). <p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-top: 0px;"></p></li><p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-top: 0px;"></p><li class="footnote-item" style="box-sizing: border-box; clear: both; direction: ltr; list-style: firebrick; margin-bottom: 0px;">Itamar Kislev, “‘Exegesis in Perpetual Motion’: The Short Commentary of Ibn Ezra as a Source for Rashbam in his Commentary on the Pentateuch” (Heb.), <em style="box-sizing: border-box;">Tarbiz</em> 79 (2011), 413-438. The term “short commentary” means his standard commentary on the Torah but not his longer commentary on Exodus, the one printed in most versions of Mikraot Gedolot. According to many scholars, the “short commentary” was written by ibn Ezra in Italy, before Rashbam wrote his commentary on the Torah.<p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-top: 0px;"></p></li><p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-top: 0px;"></p><li class="footnote-item" style="box-sizing: border-box; clear: both; direction: ltr; list-style: firebrick; margin-bottom: 0px;">The exception is the University of Chicago scholar Norman Golb. See his <em style="box-sizing: border-box;">The Jews in Medieval Normandy: A Social and Intellectual History</em> (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1998).<p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-top: 0px;"></p></li><p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-top: 0px;"></p><li class="footnote-item" style="box-sizing: border-box; clear: both; direction: ltr; list-style: firebrick; margin-bottom: 0px;">Thirty years ago, I wrote an article contrasting Rashbam and ibn Ezra: “Tradition or Context: Two Exegetes Struggle with Peshat,” in <em style="box-sizing: border-box;">From Ancient Judaism to Modern Israel: Intellect in Quest of Understanding: Essays in Honor of Marvin Fox, </em>vol. 3 (eds., Jacob Neusner, Ernest M. Frierichs, and Nahum Sarna; Atlanta, 1989), 173-186. I hope to revisit the topic soon in a new academic article.<p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-top: 0px;"></p></li><p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-top: 0px;"></p><li class="footnote-item" style="box-sizing: border-box; clear: both; direction: ltr; list-style: firebrick; margin-bottom: 0px;">See Uriel Simon’s epilogue to <em style="box-sizing: border-box;">Yesod mora vesod Torah: An Annotated Critical Edition</em>, by Joseph Cohen and Uriel Simon, second revised and enlarged edition (Ramat Gan: Bar-Ilan University Press, 2007), pp. 213-230.<p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-top: 0px;"></p></li><p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-top: 0px;"></p><li class="footnote-item" style="box-sizing: border-box; clear: both; direction: ltr; list-style: firebrick; margin-bottom: 0px;">In this sense, the dispute between Rashbam and ibn Ezra about false prophets has the same underlying principle as the dispute between them about how to interpret the <em style="box-sizing: border-box;">peshat </em>of biblical verses that seem to contradict <em style="box-sizing: border-box;">halakhah</em>. Despite the fact that ibn Ezra was willing to innovate in many ways in his Torah commentary, he avoided interpretations that would have the Torah saying something that <em style="box-sizing: border-box;">halakhah</em> opposes. Rashbam has no such qualms and often interprets the <em style="box-sizing: border-box;">peshat</em> in a way that contradicts <em style="box-sizing: border-box;">halakhah</em>. Compare for example their interpretations of Lev 21:2-4. While the rabbis taught that a <em style="box-sizing: border-box;">kohen</em> (priest) may attend his wife’s funeral (actually claiming that he must), Rashbam does not hesitate to say that the <em style="box-sizing: border-box;">peshat </em>of the verses is that a kohen should not. Ibn Ezra, on the other hand, writes explicitly that that could not be the <em style="box-sizing: border-box;">peshat</em> of the verses. For a list of passages that Rashbam interprets in a way that contradicts <em style="box-sizing: border-box;">halakhah</em>, see the index to my <em style="box-sizing: border-box;">Peirush ha-Rashbam al ha-Torah </em>(Jerusalem: Chorev, 2009), pp. 532-533, s.v. פשט: הסבר בצורה שסותרת את ההלכה. For an analysis of some examples, see Zev Farber, <a href="https://thetorah.com/can-torah-contradict-halacha/" style="background-color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0); box-sizing: border-box; color: firebrick !important; text-decoration-line: none;">“Can the Torah Contradict Halacha?”</a> <em style="box-sizing: border-box;">TheTorah.com</em> (2014) and the introduction to my <em style="box-sizing: border-box;">Peirush ha-Rashbam</em>, pp. 16-18.</li></ol></div></div></div>Mustafa Ahmedhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14172750188773095424noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-558359090739969505.post-7020357361518225912023-12-25T13:06:00.001-08:002023-12-25T13:06:38.315-08:00Was Pharaoh Drowned or Saved when chasing Moses and the Israelites? Saved [10:92], drowned [28:40, 17:103, 43:55].<p> <img align="BOTTOM" border="0" height="30" src="https://www.islamic-awareness.org/bismilsmall.gif" width="253" /></p><p align="CENTER"><a href="https://www.islamic-awareness.org/"><img align="BOTTOM" border="0" height="46" src="https://www.islamic-awareness.org/isa.jpg" width="327" /></a></p><p align="CENTER"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: medium;"><b>Refutation Of The Internal Contradictions In The Qur'ân</b></span></p><p align="CENTER"><span style="font-family: Helvetica;"><b>W</b></span><span style="font-family: Helvetica; font-size: xx-small;">as Pharaoh Drowned or Saved when chasing Moses and the Israelites? Saved [10:92], drowned [28:40, 17:103, 43:55].</span></p><p align="CENTER"><span style="color: #770000; font-family: Times New Roman;">Islamic Awareness</span></p><p align="CENTER"><span style="font-family: HELVETICA, ARIAL, sans-serif; font-size: xx-small;">© Islamic Awareness, All Rights Reserved.</span></p><p align="CENTER"><span style="font-family: HELVETICA, ARIAL, sans-serif; font-size: xx-small;">Last Modified: 16th October 1999</span></p><center><p></p><hr noshade="" size="1" width="80%" /><img align="BOTTOM" border="0" height="2" src="https://www.islamic-awareness.org/dummy.gif" width="10" /><p></p></center><p><span style="font-family: Times New Roman;"><i>Assalamu-alaikum wa rahamatullahi wa barakatuhu:</i></span></p><p><span style="font-family: Times New Roman;">According to the Christian missionaries:</span></p><blockquote><p><span style="color: black; font-family: Courier New;">In Sura 10:92, Allah speaks to Pharaoh who ferociously chased the Children of Israel, "But this day We save you in your body, that you may be a portent for those after you." Although this verse makes it clear that Allah saved Pharaoh from drowning, Suras 28:40, 17:103, and 43:55 contradict this, stating that Pharaoh was drowned: "Therefore We seized him and his hosts and abandoned them unto the sea ... But We drowned him and those with him, all together ... And [We] drowned them, everyone."</span></p></blockquote><p><span style="font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: medium;"><b>Rebuttal</b></span></p><p><span style="font-family: Times New Roman;">We use the traditional method of Qur'ânic exegesis involving </span><a href="https://www.islamic-awareness.org/quran/contrad/internal/contexinter.html#Context"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman;">Context & Internal Relationships</span></a><span style="font-family: Times New Roman;">, i.e., <b>al-Qur'ân yufassiru ba</b></span><span style="color: black; font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: xx-small;"><sup>c</sup></span><span style="color: black; font-family: Times New Roman;"><u><b>d</b></u></span><span style="font-family: Times New Roman;"><b>uhu ba</b></span><span style="color: black; font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: xx-small;"><sup>c</sup></span><span style="color: black; font-family: Times New Roman;"><u><b>d</b></u></span><span style="font-family: Times New Roman;"><b>an</b> (</span><span style="color: #aa0000; font-family: Times New Roman;"><b>different parts of the Qur'ân explain each other</b></span><span style="font-family: Times New Roman;">). <b>What is given in a general way in one place is discussed in detail in some other place in the Qur'ân. What is dealt with briefly at one place is expanded in some other place. Certain themes have been treated in more than one place in the Qur'ân, including, for instance, God's power and grace, the hereafter, stories of earlier prophets, etc. The conciseness or expansion in one place or another depends on muqtada'i 'l-hal, and an expanded statement in one place clarifies a concise one in another.</b></span></p><p><span style="font-family: Times New Roman;">Let us first quote the relevent verses and see what they say.</span></p><blockquote><p><span style="color: #0000dd; font-family: Times New Roman;">So We seized him and his hosts, and We flung them into the sea: Now behold what was the end of those who did wrong!</span><span style="font-family: Times New Roman;"> [Qur'ân 28:40]</span></p><p><span style="color: #0000dd; font-family: Times New Roman;">So he resolved to remove them from the face of the earth: but We did drown him and all who were with him.</span><span style="font-family: Times New Roman;"> [Qur'ân 17:103]</span></p><p><span style="color: #0000dd; font-family: Times New Roman;">When at length they provoked Us, We exacted retribution from them, and We drowned them all.</span><span style="font-family: Times New Roman;"> [Qur'ân 43:55]</span></p></blockquote><p><span style="font-family: Times New Roman;">It is clear from the above verses that the </span><a href="https://www.islamic-awareness.org/quran/contrad/External/josephdetail.html"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman;">Pharaoh</span></a><span style="font-family: Times New Roman;"> and his hosts were drowned. But it does not say what happened to the body of the </span><a href="https://www.islamic-awareness.org/quran/contrad/External/josephdetail.html"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman;">Pharaoh</span></a><span style="font-family: Times New Roman;"> <b>after</b> he was drowned. The verse below explains:</span></p><blockquote><p><span style="color: #0000dd; font-family: Times New Roman;">We took the Children of Israel across the sea: Pharaoh and his hosts followed them in insolence and spite. At length, when overwhelmed with the flood, he said: "I believe that there is no god except Him Whom the Children of Israel believe in: I am of those who submit (to Allah in Islam)." (It was said to him): "Ah now!- But a little while before, wast thou in rebellion!- and thou didst mischief (and violence)! "This day shall <b>We save thee in the body, that thou mayest be a sign to those who come after thee</b>! but verily, many among mankind are heedless of Our Signs!"</span><span style="font-family: Times New Roman;"> [Qur'ân 10:90-92]</span></p></blockquote><p><span style="font-family: Times New Roman;">that Allah saved the body of the </span><a href="https://www.islamic-awareness.org/quran/contrad/External/josephdetail.html"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman;">Pharaoh</span></a><span style="font-family: Times New Roman;"> as a sign to those who come after him. The most relevant explanation here would be that the body of the </span><a href="https://www.islamic-awareness.org/quran/contrad/External/josephdetail.html"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman;">Pharaoh</span></a><span style="font-family: Times New Roman;"> washed ashore and his folks embalmed him.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: Times New Roman;">So, there is no contradiction in the above verses. Rather they clarify fully the fate of the </span><a href="https://www.islamic-awareness.org/quran/contrad/External/josephdetail.html"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman;">Pharaoh</span></a><span style="font-family: Times New Roman;">. It is clear for any Arabic speaker that the special mention of "in the body" (i.e. <b>bibadanika</b>) means clearly that it is the <b>lifeless body</b> of </span><a href="https://www.islamic-awareness.org/quran/contrad/External/josephdetail.html"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman;">Pharaoh</span></a><span style="font-family: Times New Roman;"> that was saved and not </span><a href="https://www.islamic-awareness.org/quran/contrad/External/josephdetail.html"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman;">Pharaoh</span></a><span style="font-family: Times New Roman;"> himself. This is confirmed by the use of the verb <b>drown</b> (i.e.,<b> aghraqa</b>) in the above verses as the drowned are dead (even in English).</span></p><p><span style="font-family: Times New Roman;">Further the Christian missionaries say:</span></p><blockquote><p><span style="color: black; font-family: Courier New;">When the Qur'an says "But this day We save you in your body, ..." what exactly does this mean? Today Muslims want us believe that this means "We will preserve your body for posterity", but why doesn't then the Arabic say "We will save your body" (but not your life)? Why does it use the preposition "in" when it says "save you IN your body"? The "you" is distinguished from "your body" and what is saved is not "the body" but the "you". That is how I read the translation. I would like to know if that is the common way how one would express it in Arabic that the person will die but the body will be preserved. In order to establish that this has always been the meaning, I would like to ask that somebody please tell me what the classical commentators said about this verse up to 100 years ago. Too many verses are given "new meanings" these days. What did Jalalayn, Razi, ibn Kathir, Tabari and others say is the meaning of this verse? Is it the saving of the life of Pharaoh [you in your body, i.e. you will stay alive in this body] or is it "you will die but your body will be preserved for those after you."? This is the linguistic question.</span></p></blockquote><p><a name="lingu"></a><span style="font-family: Times New Roman;">The commentaries of the Qur'ân give valuable linguistic openings about verse 10:92</span></p><blockquote><p><span style="color: #0000dd; font-family: Times New Roman;">"This day shall <b>We save thee in the body, that thou mayest be a sign to those who come after thee</b>! but verily, many among mankind are heedless of Our Signs!"</span></p></blockquote><p><span style="color: black; font-family: Times New Roman;">In order to get a full understanding of what is said in various commentaries we need to transcribe the verse 10:92 in Arabic:</span></p><blockquote><p><span style="color: #0000dd; font-family: Times New Roman;">falyawma <b>nunajjîka bibadanika</b> litakûna liman khalfaka 'âyah [...]</span></p></blockquote><p><span style="color: black; font-family: Times New Roman;">In the commentary of Ibn Kathîr</span><span style="color: blue; font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: xx-small;"><sup>[1]</sup></span><span style="color: black; font-family: Times New Roman;">, one reads the following:</span></p><p align="CENTER"><img align="BOTTOM" alt="Excerpt from tafs�r Ibn Kath�r on verse 10:92" border="0" height="210" src="https://www.islamic-awareness.org/quran/contrad/internal/ibnkathir10-92.gif" width="530" /></p><p><span style="color: black; font-family: Times New Roman;">This is translated as</span></p><blockquote><p><span style="color: #aa0000; font-family: Courier New;">Ibn </span><span style="color: #aa0000; font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: xx-small;"><sup>c</sup></span><span style="color: #aa0000; font-family: Courier New;">Abbâs and other people from the salaf said that some people among the Children of Israel doubted about the death of </span><a href="https://www.islamic-awareness.org/quran/contrad/External/josephdetail.html"><span style="font-family: Courier New;">Pharaoh</span></a><span style="color: #aa0000; font-family: Courier New;">. So, God ordered the sea to project his untouched lifeless body bearing his well-known shield on a <u>najwah</u> - a piece of land that juts out - in order that they know for sure that Pharaoh died. This is why He, the Almighty, said </span><span style="color: #0000dd; font-family: Courier New;">"falyawma nunajjîka"</span><span style="color: black; font-family: Courier New;"> </span><span style="color: #aa0000; font-family: Courier New;">meaning "this day shall We raise you on a bulge" and </span><span style="color: #0000dd; font-family: Courier New;">"bibadanika"</span><span style="color: #aa0000; font-family: Courier New;"> means "in your body" according to Mujâhid; Al-<u>H</u>asan said "in a lifeless body" and </span><span style="color: #aa0000; font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: xx-small;"><sup>c</sup></span><span style="color: #aa0000; font-family: Courier New;">Abdullâh Ibn Shadâd said "untouched body with no torn limbs so that he could be identified" whereas Abû Sakhr explained it </span><span style="color: black; font-family: Courier New;">[i.e., </span><span style="color: #0000dd; font-family: Courier New;">bibadanika</span><span style="color: black; font-family: Courier New;">]</span><span style="color: #aa0000; font-family: Courier New;"> as "with your shield". There is no contradictions between these sayings as previously shown and God knows best.</span></p></blockquote><p><span style="color: black; font-family: Times New Roman;">So, according to the commentary of Ibn Kathîr, it is the lifeless body of </span><a href="https://www.islamic-awareness.org/quran/contrad/External/josephdetail.html"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman;">Pharaoh</span></a><span style="color: black; font-family: Times New Roman;"> wearing his shield that was projected on a bulge for everyone to check that he really died. If we stick to the linguistic alternatives highlighted by the commentary, we would translate verse 10:92 as "</span><span style="color: #0000dd; font-family: Times New Roman;">This day shall We project you with your shield on a bulge in order that you may be a sign to those who come after you</span><span style="color: black; font-family: Times New Roman;">" or "</span><span style="color: #0000dd; font-family: Times New Roman;">This day shall We project your lifeless body on a bulge in order that you may be a sign to those who come after you</span><span style="color: black; font-family: Times New Roman;">". If we adopt the common meaning of "<b>nunajjîka</b>", the verse could be rendered: "</span><span style="color: #0000dd; font-family: Times New Roman;">This day shall We save your lifeless body in order that you may be a sign to those who come after you</span><span style="color: black; font-family: Times New Roman;">". Of course, the reader will have noticed that "you" was omitted in the last translation. This is because while it is clear in Arabic that only the lifeless body of </span><a href="https://www.islamic-awareness.org/quran/contrad/External/josephdetail.html"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman;">Pharaoh</span></a><span style="color: black; font-family: Times New Roman;"> was saved, a word by word translation "</span><span style="color: #0000dd; font-family: Times New Roman;">save you in your body</span><span style="color: black; font-family: Times New Roman;">" would be somewhat redundant or misunderstood.</span></p><p><span style="color: black; font-family: Times New Roman;">Various accounts with very similar narrations are quoted in the commentaries of al-Qurtubî and at-<u>T</u>abarî.</span><span style="color: blue; font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: xx-small;"><sup>[2]</sup></span><span style="color: black; font-family: Times New Roman;"> From the latter, we quote the following:</span></p><p align="CENTER"><img align="BOTTOM" alt="Excerpt from tafs�r at-Tabar� on verse 10:92" border="0" height="150" src="https://www.islamic-awareness.org/quran/contrad/internal/tabari10-92.gif" width="490" /></p><blockquote><p><span style="color: #aa0000; font-family: Courier New;">Mu<u>h</u>ammad Ibn Sa</span><span style="color: #aa0000; font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: xx-small;"><sup>c</sup></span><span style="color: #aa0000; font-family: Courier New;">d told me: My father told me: My uncle told me that his father reported from his own father who reported that Ibn </span><span style="color: #aa0000; font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: xx-small;"><sup>c</sup></span><span style="color: #aa0000; font-family: Courier New;">Abbâs commented on </span><span style="color: #0000dd; font-family: Courier New;">"falyawma <u>nunajjîka bibadanika</u> litakûna liman khalfaka 'âyah"</span><span style="color: #aa0000; font-family: Courier New;"> that God saved Pharaoh from the sea for the sake of the Children of Israel so that they looked at him after he was drowned. If one asked why say </span><span style="color: #0000dd; font-family: Courier New;">"bibadanika" </span><span style="color: #aa0000; font-family: Courier New;">and whether it would be possible for </span><a href="https://www.islamic-awareness.org/quran/contrad/External/josephdetail.html"><span style="font-family: Courier New;">Pharaoh</span></a><span style="color: #aa0000; font-family: Courier New;"> to be saved without his body so that one needs to specify </span><span style="color: #0000dd; font-family: Courier New;">"bibadanika"</span><span style="color: black; font-family: Courier New;">. </span><span style="color: #aa0000; font-family: Courier New;">It would be said that Pharaoh could be saved as a body without life/soul meaning lifeless.</span></p></blockquote><p><span style="color: black; font-family: Times New Roman;">Of course, it is worthwhile to check the various meanings of the word </span><span style="color: #0000dd; font-family: Times New Roman;">"badan"</span><span style="color: black; font-family: Times New Roman;"> (in<b> bi-badan-ika</b>) in a good dictionary. We looked it up in </span><span style="color: #0000dd; font-family: Times New Roman;">Lisân al-</span><span style="color: #0000dd; font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: xx-small;"><sup>c</sup></span><span style="color: #0000dd; font-family: Times New Roman;">Arab</span><span style="color: blue; font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: xx-small;"><sup>[3]</sup></span><span style="color: black; font-family: Times New Roman;"> the famous Arabic lexicon and we found that it means body as well as old deer and shield. Some narrators (e.g. Tha</span><span style="color: black; font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: xx-small;"><sup>c</sup></span><span style="color: black; font-family: Times New Roman;">lab) said that it means any shield and others (e.g., Ibn Sîduh) said that it means a small shield more specifically. Typically, the </span><span style="color: #0000dd; font-family: Times New Roman;">Lisân</span><span style="color: black; font-family: Times New Roman;"> quotes a <u>h</u>adîth from Imam </span><span style="color: black; font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: xx-small;"><sup>c</sup></span><span style="color: black; font-family: Times New Roman;">Alî</span><span style="color: black; font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: xx-small;"><sup>(KW)</sup></span><span style="color: black; font-family: Times New Roman;"> that when he asked Fatimah</span><span style="color: black; font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: xx-small;"><sup>(RA)</sup></span><span style="color: black; font-family: Times New Roman;"> for marriage he was asked: "What do you possess?". He answered "<b>farasi wa badani</b>" (i.e. my horse and my shield), <b>badan</b> being a shield made of chains/stitches. Also, in the </span><span style="color: #0000dd; font-family: Times New Roman;">Lisân</span><span style="color: black; font-family: Times New Roman;">, we checked that <b>najwah</b> means a high land that is not covered by the flood so that one could think to be saved on it, synonym <b>najâh</b> and plural <b>nijâ'</b>. More interestingly, the </span><span style="color: #0000dd; font-family: Times New Roman;">Lisân</span><span style="color: black; font-family: Times New Roman;"> quotes verse 10:92 in both entries (<b>badan</b> and <b>najwah</b>) and quotes additional narratives supporting what is in the Qur'ânic commentaries.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: Times New Roman;">In a nutshell, all the commentaries agree on the fact that it is the lifeless body of </span><a href="https://www.islamic-awareness.org/quran/contrad/External/josephdetail.html"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman;">Pharaoh</span></a><span style="font-family: Times New Roman;"> that was projected ashore (this is why the verse mentions specifically "<b>bibadanika</b>") for the Children of Israel to identify beyond any doubt that he really died. They could do so thanks to his famous shield or because his lifeless body was not torn after he was drowned.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: Times New Roman;">Now that we have dealt with the issue of the 'contradiction,' let us now go into the red herrings which the missionaries have posed.</span></p><p><a name="Red_H"></a><span style="font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: medium;"><b>Red Herrings</b></span></p><p><span style="font-family: Times New Roman;">According to the Christian missionaries:</span></p><blockquote><p><span style="color: black; font-family: Courier New;">Maurice Bucaille wrote his book in the early 70ies, long before the current reconstruction of Egyptian history. If indeed this body is of Merneptah as both of the above Muslims confirm just as it is the claim of Dr. Bucaille, then it is most probably not the body of the Pharaoh of Moses time. New research during the last 5 years or so tells a different story.</span></p><p><span style="color: black; font-family: Courier New;">For details please see </span><a href="http://debate.org.uk/topics/history/rohl-1.htm"><span style="font-family: Courier New;">the review of David Rohl's new Egyptian chronology.</span></a></p><p><span style="color: black; font-family: Courier New;">By the way, David Rohl who is putting forth this research is not a Bible believer (to my knowledge). The fact that all his research dovetails very well with the Biblical account was a surprise to him.</span></p></blockquote><p><span style="font-family: Times New Roman;">At the end of the day, one has to admit that Maurice Bucaille is no Muslim either. So, what is the point? Surely, being a non-Muslim or a non-Bible believer is not supposed to indicate that they got all the facts right.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: Times New Roman;">Further, if one sees what the evangelical Christians at </span><a href="http://www.christiananswers.net/"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman;">ChristianAnswers.net</span></a><span style="font-family: Times New Roman;"> (See article </span><a href="http://www.christiananswers.net/abr/scoop.html#Pharaohs"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman;">Pharaohs and Kings Confused</span></a><span style="font-family: Times New Roman;">) say about the work of David Rohl called </span><span style="color: #0000dd; font-family: Times New Roman;">The Test Of Time</span><span style="font-family: Times New Roman;">, it is pretty clear that there Christians themselves are confused whether Rohl's revision is to be taken with correctly. Moreover it has been pointed out by Kenneth Kitchen that this "new chronology" creates more problem than it solves. There were parallel civilizations running with the Egyptian civilization and they were engaged in trade, battles etc. So, if one shifts the Egyptian chronology then it should fit with the chronologies of parallel civlizations. But unfortunately for Rohl much of his work would like to be proven as fictional, God willing.</span></p><blockquote><p><span style="color: black; font-family: Courier New;">Furthermore, a careful investigation of the text on Merneptah's Stela mentioned above is contrary to the presented claim a strong indication that Merneptah is <b>not</b> the Pharaoh of the Exodus. You will easily be able to conclude this after reading the following article on the </span><a href="http://www.christiananswers.net/q-abr/abr-a015.html"><span style="font-family: Courier New;">Menerptah stela.</span></a></p></blockquote><p><span style="font-family: Times New Roman;">Well, there a theory has been proposed that is not yet verified. So, one can either accept it or reject it.</span></p><blockquote><p><span style="color: black; font-family: Courier New;">And one last thought. Much of the old knowlegde has been lost. Maybe it was still known at the time of Muhammad that this particular pharaoh was preserved and he just used the information he had and put it into the Qur'an. This wouldn't qualify as prophecy since prophecy is about something that will be in the future, but as a fact he know and then couched in words of a prophecy spoken to the Pharaoh. Let us look at the Qur'anic text to see what we can observe there. Sura Yunus, 10:90-93 reads in Yusuf Ali's translation:</span></p></blockquote><p><span style="font-family: Times New Roman;">From a Christian missionary's viewpoint it seems Mu<u>h</u>ammad</span><span style="font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: xx-small;"><sup>(P)</sup></span><span style="font-family: Times New Roman;"> not only knew the Old Testament, New Testament and the apocrypha (not to mention the stories in Arabia!) but also the Egyptology. They make it sound as if he had the encyclopaedic knowledge. When they are asked to furnish the evidence of where Mu<u>h</u>ammad</span><span style="font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: xx-small;"><sup>(P)</sup></span><span style="font-family: Times New Roman;"> learnt all these stories and who were his teachers, they have none to offer. We have already </span><a href="https://www.islamic-awareness.org/quran/Sources/"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman;">refuted the borrowing theories of the Qur'ân</span></a><span style="font-family: Times New Roman;"> as well as mentioned some of </span><a href="https://www.islamic-awareness.org/quran/contrad/External/rosetta.html"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman;">the facts surrounding Egyptology and deciphering of hieroglyphs</span></a><span style="font-family: Times New Roman;">.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: Times New Roman;">And Allah knows best!</span></p>Mustafa Ahmedhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14172750188773095424noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-558359090739969505.post-65860464713844370292023-12-25T13:01:00.000-08:002023-12-25T13:01:53.655-08:00Pharaoh's repentance in the face of death? According to Sura 10:90-92, Pharaoh repented "in the sight of death" and was saved. But Sura 4:18 says that such a thing can't happen.<p> <img align="BOTTOM" border="0" height="30" src="https://www.islamic-awareness.org/bismilsmall.gif" width="253" /></p><p align="CENTER"><a href="https://www.islamic-awareness.org/"><img align="BOTTOM" border="0" height="46" src="https://www.islamic-awareness.org/isa.jpg" width="327" /></a></p><p align="CENTER"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: medium;"><b>Refutation Of The Internal Contradictions In The Qur'ân</b></span></p><p align="CENTER"><span style="font-family: Helvetica;"><b>P</b></span><span style="font-family: Helvetica; font-size: xx-small;">haraoh's repentance in the face of death? According to Sura 10:90-92, Pharaoh repented "in the sight of death" and was saved. But Sura 4:18 says that such a thing can't happen.</span></p><p align="CENTER"><span style="color: #770000; font-family: Times New Roman;">Islamic Awareness</span></p><p align="CENTER"><span style="font-family: HELVETICA, ARIAL, sans-serif; font-size: xx-small;">© Islamic Awareness, All Rights Reserved.</span></p><p align="CENTER"><span style="font-family: HELVETICA, ARIAL, sans-serif; font-size: xx-small;">Last Modified: 16th October 1999</span></p><center><p></p><hr noshade="" size="1" width="80%" /><img align="BOTTOM" border="0" height="2" src="https://www.islamic-awareness.org/dummy.gif" width="10" /><p></p></center><p><span style="font-family: Times New Roman;"><i>Assalamu-alaikum wa rahamatullahi wa barakatuhu:</i></span></p><p><span style="font-family: Times New Roman;">According to the Christian missionaries:</span></p><blockquote><p><span style="color: black; font-family: Courier New;">According to Sura 10:90-92, Pharaoh repented "in the sight of death" and was saved. But Sura 4:18 says that such a thing can't happen.</span></p><p><span style="color: black; font-family: Courier New;">I am actually not sure what it means when Allah said in response to his repentance and confession of faith that "This day shall We save you in your body, ..."</span></p><p><span style="color: black; font-family: Courier New;">10:100 does say that "no soul can believe, except by the Will of Allah" and verse 103 affirms that "This is it fitting on Our part that We should deliver those who believe!" And in 10:90 Pharaoh clearly confesses "I believe that there is no god except Him whom the Children of Israel believe in: I am of those who submit." So, according to 100 and 103 this was a work of Allah and he will deliver him. But 4:18 says this is impossible.</span></p><p><span style="color: black; font-family: Courier New;">But if this cannot be eternal deliverance from the judgment, then "as it seems" maybe it is deliverance from the drowining? I.e. physical deliverance? But this doesn't fit either, because Sura 17:103 makes clear that Pharaoh was indeed drowned and no repentence is indicated in this passage.</span></p></blockquote><p><span style="font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: medium;"><b>Rebuttal</b></span></p><p><span style="font-family: Times New Roman;">Now what is left unclear by the Christian missionaries rather delibrately is that what is meant by </span><a href="https://www.islamic-awareness.org/quran/contrad/External/josephdetail.html"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman;">Pharaoh</span></a><span style="font-family: Times New Roman;"> being 'saved' in the verse 10:90-92.</span><span style="font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: x-small;"> </span><span style="font-family: Times New Roman;">If we read the verse again</span></p><blockquote><p><span style="color: #0000dd; font-family: Times New Roman;">We took the Children of Israel across the sea: Pharaoh and his hosts followed them in insolence and spite. At length, when overwhelmed with the flood, he said: "I believe that there is no god except Him Whom the Children of Israel believe in: I am of those who submit (to Allah in Islam)." (It was said to him): "Ah now!- But a little while before, wast thou in rebellion!- and thou didst mischief (and violence)! "This day shall <b>We save thee in the body, that thou mayest be a sign to those who come after thee</b>! but verily, many among mankind are heedless of Our Signs!"</span><span style="font-family: Times New Roman;"> [Qur'ân 10:90-92]</span></p></blockquote><p><span style="font-family: Times New Roman;">it is clear that the </span><a href="https://www.islamic-awareness.org/quran/contrad/internal/qi025.html#lingu"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman;"><b>Pharaoh's dead body was saved</b></span></a><span style="font-family: Times New Roman;"> and that he was <b>not</b> saved from the hell fire. This is because the </span><a href="https://www.islamic-awareness.org/quran/contrad/External/josephdetail.html"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman;">Pharaoh</span></a><span style="font-family: Times New Roman;"> repented <b>only</b> when the death approached him. And repentence at the face of death is <b>not</b> accepted as Allah says:</span></p><blockquote><p><span style="color: #0000dd; font-family: Times New Roman;">Allah accept the repentance of those who do evil in ignorance and repent soon afterwards; to them will Allah turn in mercy: For Allah is full of knowledge and wisdom. <b>Of no effect is the repentance of those who continue to do evil, until death faces one of them, and he says, "Now have I repented indeed;" nor of those who die rejecting Faith: for them have We prepared a punishment most grievous.</b></span><span style="font-family: Times New Roman;"> [Qur'ân 4:17-18]</span></p></blockquote><p><span style="font-family: Times New Roman;">Further, this can be clarified by comparing verses 10:90-92, 4:17-18 with 38:42.</span></p><blockquote><p><a href="https://www.islamic-awareness.org/quran/contrad/External/josephdetail.html"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman;">Pharaoh</span></a><span style="color: #0000dd; font-family: Times New Roman;"> said: "O Chiefs! no god do I know for you but myself: therefore, O </span><a href="https://www.islamic-awareness.org/quran/contrad/External/haman.html"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman;">Haman</span></a><span style="color: #0000dd; font-family: Times New Roman;">! light me a (kiln to bake bricks) out of clay, and build me a lofty palace, that I may mount up to the god of Moses: but as far as I am concerned, I think (Moses) is a liar!" And he was arrogant and insolent in the land, beyond reason,- He and his hosts: they thought that they would not have to return to Us! <b>So We seized him and his hosts, and We flung them into the sea: Now behold what was the end of those who did wrong! And we made them (but) leaders inviting to the Fire; and on the Day of Judgment no help shall they find. In this world We made a curse to follow them and on the Day of Judgment they will be among the loathed (and despised).</b></span><span style="font-family: Times New Roman;"> [38:42]</span></p></blockquote><p><span style="font-family: Times New Roman;">So, it is pretty clear that the </span><a href="https://www.islamic-awareness.org/quran/contrad/External/josephdetail.html"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman;">Pharaoh</span></a><span style="font-family: Times New Roman;"> instead of being admitted into the paradise, would be one of the companions of the hell-fire. Therefore, he is not saved from the Hell-fire; rather </span><a href="https://www.islamic-awareness.org/quran/contrad/internal/qi025.html#lingu"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman;"><b>his lifeless body is saved</b></span></a><span style="font-family: Times New Roman;">. In other words, the verses are in perfect agreement and they clarify each other.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: Times New Roman;">It is worthwhile to point here that this method of exegesis using </span><a href="https://www.islamic-awareness.org/quran/contrad/internal/contexinter.html#Context"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman;">internal relationships</span></a><span style="font-family: Times New Roman;">, i.e., <b>al-Qur'ân yufassiru ba</b></span><span style="color: black; font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: xx-small;"><sup><b>c</b></sup></span><span style="color: black; font-family: Times New Roman;"><u><b>d</b></u></span><span style="font-family: Times New Roman;"><b>uhu ba</b></span><span style="color: black; font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: xx-small;"><sup><b>c</b></sup></span><span style="color: black; font-family: Times New Roman;"><u><b>d</b></u></span><span style="font-family: Times New Roman;"><b>an</b> (</span><span style="color: #aa0000; font-family: Times New Roman;"><b>different parts of the Qur'ân explain each other</b></span><span style="font-family: Times New Roman;">), is widely employed in the stories of the Prophets and the people of the past. <b>Certain themes have been treated in more than one place in the Qur'ân, including, for instance, God's power and grace, the hereafter, stories of earlier prophets, etc. The conciseness or expansion in one place or another depends on muqta</b></span><span style="color: black; font-family: Times New Roman;"><u><b>d</b></u></span><span style="font-family: Times New Roman;"><b>â'i 'l-</b></span><span style="color: black; font-family: Times New Roman;"><u><b>h</b></u></span><span style="font-family: Times New Roman;"><b>â</b></span><span style="color: black; font-family: Times New Roman;"><b>l</b></span><span style="font-family: Times New Roman;"><b>, and an expanded statement in one place clarifies a concise one in another.</b></span></p><p><span style="font-family: Times New Roman;">And Allah knows best!</span></p>Mustafa Ahmedhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14172750188773095424noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-558359090739969505.post-4058603820360855312023-12-14T05:06:00.000-08:002023-12-14T05:06:50.409-08:007 Proofs to Know Islam is the Truth<p> </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><p></p><p style="margin-bottom: 15.0pt; margin-left: 0cm; margin-right: 0cm; margin-top: 0cm;"><b><span style="color: #00d2f1; font-family: "Catamaran",serif; font-size: 51.0pt;">7
Proofs to Know Islam is the Truth</span></b><span style="color: #00d2f1; font-family: "Catamaran",serif; font-size: 51.0pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></p><p style="line-height: 28.0pt; margin: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: "Calibri",sans-serif; font-size: 11.0pt;"> <o:p></o:p></span></p><p style="margin: 0cm;"><br /></p><p style="margin: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: "Calibri",sans-serif; font-size: 11.0pt;"><a href="https://aboutislam.net/author/theresa-corbin/"><b><span style="font-size: 19.0pt;">Theresa Corbin</span></b></a><o:p></o:p></span></p><p style="margin: 0cm;"><br /></p><p style="line-height: 28.0pt; margin-bottom: 15.0pt; margin-left: 0cm; margin-right: 0cm; margin-top: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: "Open Sans", sans-serif; font-size: 19pt;">We all have our doubts. It is as normal as breathing. Many wonder
if their faith is baseless, if they would not be another faith if they had been
born into a different family, if they might have been from a different country
would they have a different belief system.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p style="line-height: 28.0pt; margin-bottom: 15.0pt; margin-left: 0cm; margin-right: 0cm; margin-top: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: "Open Sans", sans-serif; font-size: 19pt;">Islam does not reject these </span><span style="font-family: "Open Sans",sans-serif; font-size: 19.0pt;"><a href="https://aboutislam.net/reading-islam/my-journey-to-islam/in-islam-its-ok-to-ask-questions/">questions</a> and in fact encourages discovery and reason when
approaching faith. So it is not a negative thing to question. God consciousness
can only be built on a firm foundation of knowledge.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p style="margin: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: "Calibri",sans-serif; font-size: 11.0pt;"> <o:p></o:p></span></p><p style="line-height: 28.0pt; margin-bottom: 15.0pt; margin-left: 0cm; margin-right: 0cm; margin-top: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: "Open Sans", sans-serif; font-size: 19pt;">Allah tells us in the Quran that:<o:p></o:p></span></p><p style="line-height: 22.0pt; margin-bottom: 0cm; margin-left: 27.0pt; margin-right: 0cm; margin-top: 0cm;"><b><span style="background: #00D2F1; color: white; font-family: "Catamaran",serif; font-size: 18.0pt;">…it is only those who have knowledge among His
servants that fear Allah. (</span></b><span style="font-family: "Catamaran",serif; font-size: 18.0pt;"><a href="http://quran.com/35/28"><b><span style="background: #00D2F1;">35:28</span></b></a><b><span style="background: #00D2F1; color: white;">)</span></b><o:p></o:p></span></p><p style="line-height: 28.0pt; margin-bottom: 15.0pt; margin-left: 0cm; margin-right: 0cm; margin-top: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: "Open Sans", sans-serif; font-size: 19pt;">Here are seven ways to know that Islam is the complete and perfect
truth for all mankind.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p style="margin-bottom: 18.0pt; margin-left: 0cm; margin-right: 0cm; margin-top: 0cm;"><b><span style="font-family: Catamaran, serif; font-size: 28.5pt;">1-
Islam is the Same Message of All Prophets</span></b><span style="font-family: Catamaran, serif; font-size: 28.5pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></p><p style="margin: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: "Calibri",sans-serif; font-size: 11.0pt;"> <o:p></o:p></span></p><p style="line-height: 18.0pt; margin-bottom: 3.0pt; margin-left: 0cm; margin-right: 0cm; margin-top: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: "Calibri",sans-serif; font-size: 11.0pt;"> <o:p></o:p></span></p><p style="line-height: 28.0pt; margin-bottom: 15.0pt; margin-left: 0cm; margin-right: 0cm; margin-top: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: "Open Sans", sans-serif; font-size: 19pt;">From the first human being and Prophet </span><span style="font-family: "Open Sans",sans-serif; font-size: 19.0pt;"><a href="https://aboutislam.net/reading-islam/understanding-islam/astonishing-details-about-the-creation-of-adam/">Adam</a>, (peace be upon him), to the last prophet, Muhammad (peace
be upon him), the message to mankind has not changed. Worship God, the only
true God, and follow His prophets’ examples.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p style="line-height: 28.0pt; margin: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: "Calibri",sans-serif; font-size: 11.0pt;"><a href="https://www.muslimadnetwork.com/?pub=aboutislam%3E"><span style="font-family: "Open Sans",sans-serif; font-size: 19.0pt;">Ads by Muslim Ad
Network</span></a><o:p></o:p></span></p><p style="line-height: 28.0pt; margin-bottom: 15.0pt; margin-left: 0cm; margin-right: 0cm; margin-top: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: "Calibri",sans-serif; font-size: 11.0pt;"><a href="https://aboutislam.net/reading-islam/understanding-islam/messengers-and-prophets-what-do-muslims-believe/"><span style="font-family: "Open Sans",sans-serif; font-size: 19.0pt;">Every Prophet</span></a></span><span style="font-family: "Open Sans", sans-serif; font-size: 19pt;"> was
sent by God to mankind to deliver a simple message: That God is one. In the
Bible, Mark 12:29, Jesus (peace be upon him) said:</span><span style="font-family: "Calibri",sans-serif; font-size: 11.0pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></p><p style="line-height: 22.0pt; margin-bottom: 0cm; margin-left: 27.0pt; margin-right: 0cm; margin-top: 0cm;"><b><span style="background: #00D2F1; color: white; font-family: "Catamaran",serif; font-size: 18.0pt;">… hear, O Israel: The Lord <i>our</i> God
is one Lord.” And “God said moreover unto Moses, thus shalt thou say unto the
children of Israel, The LORD God of your fathers, the God of Abraham, the God
of Isaac, and the God of Jacob, hath sent me unto you: this is my name for
ever, and this is my memorial unto <i>all generations</i>. (Exodus 3:15)
[emphasis added]</span></b><span style="color: white; font-family: "Catamaran",serif; font-size: 18.0pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></p><p style="line-height: 28.0pt; margin-bottom: 15.0pt; margin-left: 0cm; margin-right: 0cm; margin-top: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: "Open Sans", sans-serif; font-size: 19pt;">The message of Islam remains the same, worship God alone and
follow His messengers, as it was from the first human being.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p style="margin-bottom: 18.0pt; margin-left: 0cm; margin-right: 0cm; margin-top: 0cm;"><b><span style="font-family: Catamaran, serif; font-size: 28.5pt;">2-
The Quran is the Only Holy Book that Has Never Been Changed by Man</span></b><span style="font-family: Catamaran, serif; font-size: 28.5pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></p><p style="line-height: 28.0pt; margin-bottom: 15.0pt; margin-left: 0cm; margin-right: 0cm; margin-top: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: "Open Sans", sans-serif; font-size: 19pt;">Allah promises us in the Quran that:<o:p></o:p></span></p><p style="line-height: 22.0pt; margin-bottom: 0cm; margin-left: 27.0pt; margin-right: 0cm; margin-top: 0cm;"><b><span style="background: #00D2F1; color: white; font-family: "Catamaran",serif; font-size: 18.0pt;">Indeed, it is We who sent down the Quran and
indeed, We will be its guardian. (Quran </span></b><span style="font-family: "Catamaran",serif; font-size: 18.0pt;"><a href="http://quran.com/15/9"><b><span style="background: #00D2F1;">15:9</span></b></a><b><span style="background: #00D2F1; color: white;">)</span></b><o:p></o:p></span></p><p style="line-height: 28.0pt; margin-bottom: 15.0pt; margin-left: 0cm; margin-right: 0cm; margin-top: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: "Open Sans", sans-serif; font-size: 19pt;">The </span><span style="font-family: "Open Sans",sans-serif; font-size: 19.0pt;"><a href="https://aboutislam.net/reading-islam/understanding-islam/the-story-of-the-quran/">Quran
was written</a> down during the life and times
of the Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him). Not only did that ensure its survival
after the prophet’s life, the Quran was also memorized by hundreds and
thousands of people and it was spread word for word throughout Arabia.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p style="margin: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: "Calibri",sans-serif; font-size: 11.0pt;"> <o:p></o:p></span></p><p style="line-height: 18.0pt; margin-bottom: 3.0pt; margin-left: 0cm; margin-right: 0cm; margin-top: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: "Calibri",sans-serif; font-size: 11.0pt;"> <o:p></o:p></span></p><p style="line-height: 28.0pt; margin-bottom: 15.0pt; margin-left: 0cm; margin-right: 0cm; margin-top: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: "Open Sans", sans-serif; font-size: 19pt;">According to Lost Islamic History, “those who had heard verses
from the Prophet would go and spread them to tribes far away, who would also
memorize them. In this way, the Quran achieved a literary status known among
the Arabs as <i>mutawatir. Mutawatir</i> means that it was so vastly
disseminated to so many different groups of people, who all had the same exact
wording.” (</span><span style="font-family: "Open Sans",sans-serif; font-size: 19.0pt;"><a href="http://lostislamichistory.com/how-do-we-know-the-quran-is-unchanged/">Source</a>)<o:p></o:p></span></p><p style="line-height: 28.0pt; margin-bottom: 15.0pt; margin-left: 0cm; margin-right: 0cm; margin-top: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: "Open Sans", sans-serif; font-size: 19pt;">Every word, letter and even every pause of the Quran has been
passed down and remains the same till this day, over 1400 years after its
revelation.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p style="margin-bottom: 18.0pt; margin-left: 0cm; margin-right: 0cm; margin-top: 0cm;"><b><span style="font-family: Catamaran, serif; font-size: 28.5pt;">3-
Islam Promotes the Use of Logic, Reason, and Knowledge</span></b><span style="font-family: Catamaran, serif; font-size: 28.5pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></p><p style="margin: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: "Calibri",sans-serif; font-size: 11.0pt;"> <o:p></o:p></span></p><p style="line-height: 28.0pt; margin-bottom: 15.0pt; margin-left: 0cm; margin-right: 0cm; margin-top: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: "Open Sans", sans-serif; font-size: 19pt;">Mankind was given </span><span style="font-family: "Open Sans",sans-serif; font-size: 19.0pt;"><a href="https://aboutislam.net/reading-islam/my-journey-to-islam/how-islam-captivated-my-mind-with-its-logic/">logic</a> and intellect for a reason. God would never ask us to
set it aside when it comes to faith and belief in Him. Without the use of our
intellect, faith is rendered weak.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p style="line-height: 28.0pt; margin-bottom: 15.0pt; margin-left: 0cm; margin-right: 0cm; margin-top: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: "Open Sans", sans-serif; font-size: 19pt;">God knows that man needs proof in order to have deeper faith. Even
Abraham (peace be upon him) asked God to give him a sign so his faith could be firm.
And God did so through the birds Abraham trained and called back to himself
after their death. God also provides such proof in Islam. The Quran presents
reasoning and encourages people to think about the signs of creation and the
signs of the Quran.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p style="line-height: 22.0pt; margin-bottom: 0cm; margin-left: 27.0pt; margin-right: 0cm; margin-top: 0cm;"><b><span style="background: #00D2F1; color: white; font-family: "Catamaran",serif; font-size: 18.0pt;">[This is] a blessed Book which We have revealed
to you, [O Muhammad], that they might reflect upon its verses and that those of
understanding would be reminded. (Quran </span></b><span style="font-family: "Catamaran",serif; font-size: 18.0pt;"><a href="http://quran.com/38/29"><b><span style="background: #00D2F1;">38:29</span></b></a><b><span style="background: #00D2F1; color: white;">)</span></b><o:p></o:p></span></p><p style="line-height: 28.0pt; margin-bottom: 15.0pt; margin-left: 0cm; margin-right: 0cm; margin-top: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: "Open Sans", sans-serif; font-size: 19pt;">And many of these signs come in the form of scientific miracles.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p style="margin-bottom: 18.0pt; margin-left: 0cm; margin-right: 0cm; margin-top: 0cm;"><b><span style="font-family: Catamaran, serif; font-size: 28.5pt;">4-
Scientific Proof</span></b><span style="font-family: Catamaran, serif; font-size: 28.5pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></p><p style="line-height: 28.0pt; margin-bottom: 15.0pt; margin-left: 0cm; margin-right: 0cm; margin-top: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: "Open Sans", sans-serif; font-size: 19pt;">Some of the proofs of Islam are only now being discovered as
humankind makes scientific discoveries. Some of these scientific proofs
include:<o:p></o:p></span></p><p style="line-height: 19.0pt; margin: 0cm;"><b><i><span style="font-family: "Open Sans", sans-serif; font-size: 15pt;">The Seas Don’t Mingle with One
Another</span></i></b><span style="font-family: "Open Sans", sans-serif; font-size: 15pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></p><p style="line-height: 22.0pt; margin-bottom: 0cm; margin-left: 27.0pt; margin-right: 0cm; margin-top: 0cm;"><b><span style="background: #00D2F1; color: white; font-family: "Catamaran",serif; font-size: 18.0pt;">He released the two seas, meeting [side by
side]. Between them is a barrier [so] neither of them
transgresses. (Quran </span></b><span style="font-family: "Catamaran",serif; font-size: 18.0pt;"><a href="http://quran.com/55/19-20"><b><span style="background: #00D2F1;">55:19-20</span></b></a><b><span style="background: #00D2F1; color: white;">)</span></b><o:p></o:p></span></p><p style="margin: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: "Calibri",sans-serif; font-size: 11.0pt;"> <o:p></o:p></span></p><p style="line-height: 18.0pt; margin-bottom: 3.0pt; margin-left: 0cm; margin-right: 0cm; margin-top: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: "Calibri",sans-serif; font-size: 11.0pt;"> <o:p></o:p></span></p><p style="line-height: 28.0pt; margin-bottom: 15.0pt; margin-left: 0cm; margin-right: 0cm; margin-top: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: "Open Sans", sans-serif; font-size: 19pt;">This is called the Halocline phenomenon and was discovered only in
the late 19th century at the very earliest (13 centuries after the revelation
in the Quran), until then it was believed that the seas where just one
homogeneous, free flowing body.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p style="line-height: 28.0pt; margin-bottom: 15.0pt; margin-left: 0cm; margin-right: 0cm; margin-top: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: "Open Sans", sans-serif; font-size: 19pt;">Because of the physical force called ‘surface tension,’ the waters
of neighboring seas do not mix. Caused by the difference in the density of
their waters, surface tension prevents them from mingling with one another,
just as if a thin wall were between them.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p style="line-height: 19.0pt; margin: 0cm;"><b><i><span style="font-family: "Open Sans", sans-serif; font-size: 15pt;">The Expansion of the Universe</span></i></b><span style="font-family: "Open Sans", sans-serif; font-size: 15pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></p><p style="line-height: 22.0pt; margin-bottom: 0cm; margin-left: 27.0pt; margin-right: 0cm; margin-top: 0cm;"><b><span style="background: #00D2F1; color: white; font-family: "Catamaran",serif; font-size: 18.0pt;">And the heaven We constructed with strength,
and indeed, We are [its] expander. (Quran </span></b><span style="font-family: "Catamaran",serif; font-size: 18.0pt;"><a href="http://quran.com/51/47"><b><span style="background: #00D2F1;">51:47</span></b></a><b><span style="background: #00D2F1; color: white;">)</span></b><o:p></o:p></span></p><p style="line-height: 28.0pt; margin-bottom: 15.0pt; margin-left: 0cm; margin-right: 0cm; margin-top: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: "Open Sans", sans-serif; font-size: 19pt;">At the beginning of the 20th century, the only view in the
scientific community was that the </span><span style="font-family: "Open Sans",sans-serif; font-size: 19.0pt;"><a href="https://aboutislam.net/reading-islam/understanding-islam/the-quran-on-the-expanding-universe-and-the-big-bang-theory/">universe</a> was fixed in size and infinite in existence. However,
modern research has revealed that the universe in fact had a beginning and that
it constantly “expands.”<o:p></o:p></span></p><p style="line-height: 28.0pt; margin-bottom: 15.0pt; margin-left: 0cm; margin-right: 0cm; margin-top: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: "Open Sans", sans-serif; font-size: 19pt;">A fact that was explained in the Quran in a time when telescopes
and similar technological advancements were not even close to being invented.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p style="line-height: 19.0pt; margin: 0cm;"><b><i><span style="font-family: "Open Sans", sans-serif; font-size: 15pt;">The Function of the Mountains</span></i></b><span style="font-family: "Open Sans", sans-serif; font-size: 15pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></p><p style="line-height: 22.0pt; margin-bottom: 0cm; margin-left: 27.0pt; margin-right: 0cm; margin-top: 0cm;"><b><span style="background: #00D2F1; color: white; font-family: "Catamaran",serif; font-size: 18.0pt;">And We placed within the earth firmly set
mountains, lest it should shift with them, and We made therein [mountain]
passes [as] roads that they might be guided. (Quran </span></b><span style="font-family: "Catamaran",serif; font-size: 18.0pt;"><a href="http://quran.com/21/31"><b><span style="background: #00D2F1;">21:31</span></b></a><b><span style="background: #00D2F1; color: white;">)</span></b><o:p></o:p></span></p><p style="line-height: 28.0pt; margin-bottom: 15.0pt; margin-left: 0cm; margin-right: 0cm; margin-top: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: "Open Sans", sans-serif; font-size: 19pt;">The verse states that mountains perform the function of preventing
shocks in the Earth (lest it should shift). This fact was not known by anyone
at the time the Qur’an was revealed. It was brought to light only recently as a
result of the findings of modern geological research.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p style="line-height: 28.0pt; margin-bottom: 15.0pt; margin-left: 0cm; margin-right: 0cm; margin-top: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: "Open Sans", sans-serif; font-size: 19pt;">The “Mountains play a similar role to a nail or peg firmly holding
down a tent. For example, Mount Everest, the summit of which stands
approximately 9 km above the surface of the Earth, has a root deeper than 125
km.” Andre Cailleux and J. Moody Stuart, Anatomy of the Earth (McGraw-Hill
Companies: 1968), 220.)<o:p></o:p></span></p><p style="line-height: 28.0pt; margin-bottom: 15.0pt; margin-left: 0cm; margin-right: 0cm; margin-top: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: "Open Sans", sans-serif; font-size: 19pt;">Similarly, mountains extend to the surface layer joining lines on
and below the surface, and nail these together. By fixing the Earth’s crust
they prevent any sliding over the magma layer or among the layers. Scientific
facts discovered only recently but mentioned in the Quran in the 7th century.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p style="line-height: 28.0pt; margin-bottom: 15.0pt; margin-left: 0cm; margin-right: 0cm; margin-top: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: "Open Sans", sans-serif; font-size: 19pt;">These are just a few scientific evidences in the Quran. Check out
Mission Islam for more (</span><span style="font-family: "Open Sans",sans-serif; font-size: 19.0pt;"><a href="http://www.missionislam.com/science/book.htm">missionislam</a>).<o:p></o:p></span></p><p style="margin-bottom: 18.0pt; margin-left: 0cm; margin-right: 0cm; margin-top: 0cm;"><b><span style="font-family: Catamaran, serif; font-size: 28.5pt;">5-
The Prophet is Mentioned in Previous Revelations</span></b><span style="font-family: Catamaran, serif; font-size: 28.5pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></p><p style="margin: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: "Calibri",sans-serif; font-size: 11.0pt;"> <o:p></o:p></span></p><p style="line-height: 28.0pt; margin-bottom: 15.0pt; margin-left: 0cm; margin-right: 0cm; margin-top: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: "Open Sans", sans-serif; font-size: 19pt;">The Prophet Muhammad is mentioned many times in the Old and New
Testament. In some places his name has been </span><span style="font-family: "Open Sans",sans-serif; font-size: 19.0pt;"><a href="https://aboutislam.net/reading-islam/about-muhammad/bible-prophecies-muhammad/">translated
as comforter</a>. This is what the name Muhammad has
been translated as.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p style="line-height: 28.0pt; margin-bottom: 15.0pt; margin-left: 0cm; margin-right: 0cm; margin-top: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: "Open Sans", sans-serif; font-size: 19pt;">According to Dr. Zakir Naik, “the word ‘Comforter’ is used in the
English translation for the Greek word “Paracletos” which means advocate or a
kind friend rather than a comforter. “Paracletos” is the warped reading for
“Periclytos”. Jesus (PBUH) actually prophesied Ahmed by name. Even the Greek
word “Paraclete” refers to the Prophet (PBUH) who is a mercy for all
creatures.”<o:p></o:p></span></p><p style="line-height: 28.0pt; margin-bottom: 15.0pt; margin-left: 0cm; margin-right: 0cm; margin-top: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: "Open Sans", sans-serif; font-size: 19pt;">It is also mentioned in Isaiah 29:12:<o:p></o:p></span></p><p style="line-height: 22.0pt; margin-bottom: 0cm; margin-left: 27.0pt; margin-right: 0cm; margin-top: 0cm;"><b><span style="background: #00D2F1; color: white; font-family: "Catamaran",serif; font-size: 18.0pt;">And the book is delivered to him that is not
learned, saying, Read this, I pray thee: and he saith, I am not learned.</span></b><span style="color: white; font-family: "Catamaran",serif; font-size: 18.0pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></p><p style="line-height: 28.0pt; margin-bottom: 15.0pt; margin-left: 0cm; margin-right: 0cm; margin-top: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: "Open Sans", sans-serif; font-size: 19pt;">We know the story when the Angel Gabriel came to Prophet Muhammad
(PBUH) in the Cave of Hirah that he commanded Muhammad to “Read” and Muhammad
replied that he could not read or “I am not learned”. (</span><span style="font-family: "Open Sans",sans-serif; font-size: 19.0pt;"><a href="http://www.islam101.com/religions/christianity/mBible.htm">Source</a>)<o:p></o:p></span></p><p style="margin-bottom: 18.0pt; margin-left: 0cm; margin-right: 0cm; margin-top: 0cm;"><b><span style="font-family: Catamaran, serif; font-size: 28.5pt;">6-
Proof of Muhammad’s Prophethood</span></b><span style="font-family: Catamaran, serif; font-size: 28.5pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></p><p style="line-height: 28.0pt; margin-bottom: 15.0pt; margin-left: 0cm; margin-right: 0cm; margin-top: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: "Open Sans", sans-serif; font-size: 19pt;">Every prophet came with good character and morals. The Prophet
Muhammad was no exception. He was known as <i>the</i> trustworthy
and <i>the</i> truthful even to his enemies (those who opposed the
message of Islam).<o:p></o:p></span></p><p style="line-height: 28.0pt; margin-bottom: 15.0pt; margin-left: 0cm; margin-right: 0cm; margin-top: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: "Open Sans", sans-serif; font-size: 19pt;">Every prophet came with </span><span style="font-family: "Open Sans",sans-serif; font-size: 19.0pt;"><a href="https://aboutislam.net/reading-islam/about-muhammad/miracles-of-the-prophets/">miracles</a>. The Prophet Muhammad, by God’s permission also performed
many miracles. During his Prophethood, one of his miracles was that he was
allowed by God to split the moon.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p style="line-height: 22.0pt; margin-bottom: 0cm; margin-left: 27.0pt; margin-right: 0cm; margin-top: 0cm;"><b><span style="background: #00D2F1; color: white; font-family: "Catamaran",serif; font-size: 18.0pt;">The Last Hour draws near, and the moon is split
asunder! And if they see a sign (miracle), they turn away and say, ‘Passing
magic!’- for they are bent on giving it the lie, being always want to follow
their own desires. (Quran </span></b><span style="font-family: "Catamaran",serif; font-size: 18.0pt;"><a href="http://quran.com/54/1-3"><b><span style="background: #00D2F1;">54:1-3</span></b></a><b><span style="background: #00D2F1; color: white;">)</span></b><o:p></o:p></span></p><p style="line-height: 28.0pt; margin-bottom: 15.0pt; margin-left: 0cm; margin-right: 0cm; margin-top: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: "Open Sans", sans-serif; font-size: 19pt;">Many people around the world also witnessed the splitting of the
moon and it was recorded in many parts of the world.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p style="line-height: 28.0pt; margin-bottom: 15.0pt; margin-left: 0cm; margin-right: 0cm; margin-top: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: "Open Sans", sans-serif; font-size: 19pt;">Every Prophet had the gift of being able to heal the sick. This
was also a miracle of the prophet Muhammad (PBUH). It is said in an authentic
narration that “Abdullah ibn Ateek broke his leg and Muhammad healed it by
wiping his hand over it. Abdullah said it was as if nothing had happened to
it!”. (Sahih Al-Bukhari)<o:p></o:p></span></p><p style="margin-bottom: 18.0pt; margin-left: 0cm; margin-right: 0cm; margin-top: 0cm;"><b><span style="font-family: Catamaran, serif; font-size: 28.5pt;">7-
The Truth can Only Be Singular</span></b><span style="font-family: Catamaran, serif; font-size: 28.5pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></p><p style="margin: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: "Calibri",sans-serif; font-size: 11.0pt;"> <o:p></o:p></span></p><p style="line-height: 18.0pt; margin-bottom: 3.0pt; margin-left: 0cm; margin-right: 0cm; margin-top: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: "Calibri",sans-serif; font-size: 16.0pt;"> <o:p></o:p></span></p><p style="line-height: 28.0pt; margin-bottom: 15.0pt; margin-left: 0cm; margin-right: 0cm; margin-top: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: "Open Sans", sans-serif; font-size: 19pt;">If one faith affirms that angels are gods themselves, another
affirms that angels are demons, and yet another affirms that angels are a
creation of God, all three cannot be true at the same time since they
contradict each other. This is a simple logical truth. The truth can only be
singular and all else falsehood.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p style="line-height: 28.0pt; margin-bottom: 15.0pt; margin-left: 0cm; margin-right: 0cm; margin-top: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: "Open Sans", sans-serif; font-size: 19pt;">It is true to say that we are free to believe whatever we wish to
believe it, but that does not make it truth. Truth is singular. It does not and
cannot contradict itself. God is one. His truth is singular. His prophets all
came with a singular message. The truth from their and our Lord.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p>
</p><p style="line-height: 28.0pt; margin-bottom: 15.0pt; margin-left: 0cm; margin-right: 0cm; margin-top: 0cm;"><i><span style="font-family: "Open Sans", sans-serif; font-size: 19pt;">(From Discovering Islam’s archive)</span></i><span style="font-family: "Open Sans", sans-serif; font-size: 19pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></p>Mustafa Ahmedhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14172750188773095424noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-558359090739969505.post-82165707972648797182023-12-07T10:19:00.000-08:002023-12-07T10:19:10.780-08:00Refuting Sam Shamoun's Arguments Against The Monotheism of Islam: Part 1<table border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="mainall esmTT" id="pagecontent" style="color: black; font-size: 13.3333px; width: 750px;"><tbody><tr><td style="font-family: Tahoma; font-size: 10pt; line-height: 1.5;" valign="top" width="98%"><div class="esbBlankWrap" style="font-size: 10pt; line-height: 1.5;"><table border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" style="margin-bottom: 1px; width: 100%;"><tbody><tr><td style="font-size: 10pt; line-height: 1.5;"><div align="left" class="esbSec" id="comp1542" style="clear: both; font-size: 10pt; line-height: 1.5; margin-bottom: 15px;"><div class="esbMod" style="font-size: 10pt; line-height: 1.5;"><div class="esbModtx" style="font-size: 10pt; line-height: 1.5;"><div class="t2 xtx" style="font-size: 10pt; line-height: 1.5;"><p align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-align: center;"><b><u><span style="font-size: 18pt;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman;">Refuting Sam Shamoun's Arguments Against The Monotheism of Islam: Part 1</span></span></u></b></p><h1 align="center" style="margin: auto 0in;"><span style="font-size: 12pt;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman;">Rebuttal to Sam Shamoun's Article "Quran Difficulty:</span></span></h1><p align="center" class="align-center" style="margin: auto 0in;"><b><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman;">Is Allah the only sovereign or isn't he?"</span></span></b></p><p align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-align: center;"><b><u><span style="font-size: 18pt;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman;"></span></span></u></b></p><span style="font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: small;"><p align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-align: center;">[<a href="http://www.call-to-monotheism.com/introduction"><span style="color: #3333ff;">Introduction</span></a><span style="color: #3333ff;">, </span><a href="http://www.call-to-monotheism.com/sami_zaatari_s_refutations_to_shamoun"><span style="color: #3333ff;">Sami Zaatari's Rebuttals to Shamoun</span></a>, Part 1, <a href="http://www.call-to-monotheism.com/refuting_shamoun_on_monotheism_2"><span style="color: #3333ff;">Part 2</span></a><span style="color: #3333ff;">, </span><a href="http://www.call-to-monotheism.com/refuting_shamoun_on_monotheism_3"><span style="color: #3333ff;">Part 3</span></a><span style="color: #3333ff;">, </span><a href="http://www.call-to-monotheism.com/refuting_shamoun_on_monotheism_4"><span style="color: #3333ff;">Part 4</span></a><span style="color: #3333ff;">, </span><a href="http://www.call-to-monotheism.com/refuting_shamoun_on_monotheism_5"><span style="color: #3333ff;">Part 5</span></a><span style="color: #3333ff;">, </span><a href="http://www.call-to-monotheism.com/refuting_shamoun_on_monotheism_6"><span style="color: #3333ff;">Part 6</span></a><span style="color: #3333ff;">, </span><a href="http://www.call-to-monotheism.com/refuting_shamoun_on_monotheism_7"><span style="color: #3333ff;">Part 7</span></a><span style="color: #3333ff;">, </span><a href="http://www.call-to-monotheism.com/refuting_shamoun_on_monotheism_8"><span style="color: #3333ff;">Part 8</span></a><span style="color: #3333ff;">, </span><a href="http://www.call-to-monotheism.com/refuting_shamoun_on_monotheism_9"><span style="color: #3333ff;">Part 9</span></a><span style="color: #3333ff;">, </span><a href="http://www.call-to-monotheism.com/refuting_shamoun_on_monotheism_10"><span style="color: #3333ff;">Part 10</span></a><span style="color: #3333ff;">, </span><a href="http://www.call-to-monotheism.com/refuting_shamoun_on_monotheism_11"><span style="color: #3333ff;">Part 11</span></a><span style="color: #3333ff;">, </span><a href="http://www.call-to-monotheism.com/refuting_shamoun_on_monotheism_12"><span style="color: #3333ff;">Part 12</span></a>, <a href="http://www.call-to-monotheism.com/tawassul_in_christianity"><span style="color: #3333ff; font-size: small;">Tawassul in Christianity</span></a><span style="font-size: small;">]</span></p></span><p align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: small;"></span> </p><p align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: small;"></span> </p><p align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: small;">By</span></p><p align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: small;"></span> </p><p align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: small;">Bassam Zawadi</span></p><p align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: small;"></span> </p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: small;"></span> </p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: small;">Sam Shamoun's article could be located over </span><a href="http://www.answeringislam.net/authors/shamoun/allah_ruler.html"><span style="color: #3333ff; font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: small;">here</span></a><span style="font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: small;">.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: small;"></span> </p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-align: justify;"><b><u><span style="font-size: 18pt;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman;">Sam Shamoun said:</span></span></u></b></p><p class="bodytext2" style="margin: auto 0in;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: small;">The Quran states in many passages that Allah is the sovereign king or ruler of the universe and that the kingdom or dominion belongs entirely to him: </span></p><p class="bodytext4" style="margin: auto 0in;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: small;">Knowest thou not that to Allah belongs the kingdom of the heavens and the earth, and that you have none, apart from God, neither protector nor helper? S. 2:107</span></p><p class="bodytext4" style="margin: auto 0in;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: small;">To Allah belongs the Kingdom of the heavens and of the earth; and Allah is powerful over everything. S. 3:189; cf. 5:17-18; 9:116</span></p><p class="bodytext2" style="margin: auto 0in;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: small;">Specific Islamic texts emphasize the point that Allah doesn't share his rule with anyone and therefore doesn't have any associate in his kingdom:</span></p><p class="bodytext4" style="margin: auto 0in;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: small;">And say: 'Praise belongs to Allah, who has not taken to Him a son, <i><u>and who has not any associate in the Kingdom</u></i>, nor any protector out of humbleness.' And magnify Him with all the magnificence. S. 17:111</span></p><p class="bodytext4" style="margin: auto 0in;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: small;">Say: "Allah knows best how long they stayed. With Him is (the knowledge of) the unseen of the heavens and the earth. How clearly He sees, and hears (everything)! They have no <i>Wali</i> (Helper, Disposer of affairs, Protector, etc.) other than Him, <i><u>and He makes NONE to share in His Decision and His Rule</u></i>." S. 18:26 Hilali-Khan</span></p><p class="bodytext4" style="margin: auto 0in;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: small;">Blessed be He who has sent down the Salvation upon His servant, that he may be a warner to all beings; to whom belongs the Kingdom of the heavens and the earth; and He has not taken to Him a son, <i><u>and He has no associate in the Kingdom</u></i>; and He created every thing, then He ordained it very exactly. S. 25:2</span></p><p class="bodytext2" style="margin: auto 0in;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: small;">The Muslim scripture further mentions that on the Day of Judgment or last day Allah will show that the kingdom belongs to him alone: </span></p><p class="bodytext4" style="margin: auto 0in;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: small;">It is He who created the heavens and the earth in truth; and the day He says 'Be', and it is; His saying is true, <i><u>and His is the Kingdom the day the Trumpet is blown</u></i>; He is Knower of the Unseen and the visible; He is the All-wise, the All-aware. S. 6:73</span></p><p class="bodytext4" style="margin: auto 0in;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: small;">The Kingdom upon that day shall belong to Allah, and He shall judge between them. As for those who believe, and do deeds of righteousness, they shall be in Gardens of Bliss. S. 22:56</span></p><p class="bodytext4" style="margin: auto 0in;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: small;">Upon the day that heaven is split asunder with the clouds and the angels are sent down in majesty, the Kingdom that day, the true Kingdom, shall belong to the All-merciful and it shall be a day harsh for the unbelievers. S. 25:25-26</span></p><p class="bodytext4" style="margin: auto 0in;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: small;">Exalter of ranks is He, Possessor of the Throne, casting the Spirit of His bidding upon whomever He will of His servants, that he may warn them of the Day of Encounter, the day they sally forth, and naught of theirs is hidden from Allah. <i><u>'Whose is the Kingdom today?' 'It is Allah's the One, the Irresistible!</u></i>' Today each soul shall be recompensed for that it has earned; no wrong today. Surely Allah is swift at the reckoning. S. 40:15-17</span></p><p class="bodytext2" style="margin: auto 0in;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: small;">However, there are other passages which contradict all of this since the Quran specifically mentions individuals who share in Allah's rule and dominion:</span></p><p class="bodytext4" style="margin: auto 0in;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: small;">Have you not considered the chiefs of the children of <st1:place w:st="on"><st1:country-region w:st="on">Israel</st1:country-region></st1:place> after Musa, when they said to a prophet of theirs: Raise up for us a king, (that) we may fight in the way of Allah. He said: May it not be that you would not fight if fighting is ordained for you? They said: And what reason have we that we should not fight in the way of Allah, and we have indeed been compelled to abandon our homes and our children. But when fighting was ordained for them, they turned back, except a few of them, and Allah knows the unjust. And their prophet said to them: Surely Allah has raised Talut to be a king over you. They said: How can he hold kingship over us while we have a greater right to kingship than he, and he has not been granted an abundance of wealth? He said: Surely Allah has chosen him in preference to you, and He has increased him abundantly in knowledge and physique, <i><u>and Allah grants His kingdom to whom He pleases</u></i>, and Allah is Ample giving, Knowing. And the prophet said to them: Surely the sign <i><u>of His kingdom</u></i> is, that there shall come to you the chest in which there is tranquility from your Lord and residue of the relics of what the children of Moses and the children of Aaron have left, the angels bearing it; most surely there is a sign in this for those who believe. And David slew Jalut, <i><u>and Allah gave him kingdom</u></i> and wisdom, and taught him of what He pleased. And were it not for Allah's repelling some men with others, the earth would certainly be in a state of disorder; but Allah is Gracious to the creatures. S. 2:246-248, 251</span></p><p class="bodytext4" style="margin: auto 0in;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: small;">Say: 'O Allah, Master of the Kingdom, <i><u>Thou givest the Kingdom to whom Thou wilt</u></i>, and seizest the Kingdom from whom Thou wilt, Thou exaltest whom Thou wilt, and Thou abasest whom Thou wilt; in Thy hand is the good; Thou art powerful over everything. S. 3:26</span></p><p class="bodytext4" style="margin: auto 0in;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: small;">And when Moses said to his people, 'O my people, remember Allah's blessing upon you, when He appointed among you Prophets, <i><u>and appointed you kings</u></i>, and gave you such as He had not given to any being. S. 5:20</span></p><p class="bodytext4" style="margin: auto 0in;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: small;">Certainly We tried Solomon, and We cast upon <i><u>his throne</u></i> a mere body; then he repented. He said, 'My Lord, forgive me, <i><u>and give me a kingdom such as may not befall anyone after me</u></i>; surely Thou art the All-giver.' So We subjected to him the wind, that ran at his commandment, softly, wherever he might light on, and the Satans, every builder and diver and others also, coupled in fetters: This is Our gift; bestow or withhold without reckoning.' And he had a near place in Our presence and a fair resort. S. 38:34-40</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-align: justify;"><b><u><span style="font-size: 18pt;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman;"></span></span></u></b></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-align: justify;"><b><u><span style="font-size: 18pt;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman;">My Response:</span></span></u></b></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: small;"></span> </p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: small;">It has never crossed Shamoun's mind that the first verses that he put forth mean that no one <b>ULTIMATELY </b>owns the kingdoms of the world just as Allah, however if Allah wills He may allow a human being to rule over the people and have a kingdom of his own. Notice that Surah 3:26 that Shamoun put forth for us makes it clear that it is Allah who can give the kingdom to whomever He wills, which indicates that He is the <b>ultimate </b>one in control.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: small;"></span> </p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: small;">Hence, even if Allah does allow kings to rule over their kingdoms, it doesn't change the fact that there is still only one true ruler over all the kingdoms of the world and that is Allah, since it is only by His will that kings could rule over others.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: small;"></span> </p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: small;">Also, can't we pose the same argument against Shamoun? How does Shamoun explain the fact that everything in the heavens and the earth belongs to God who rules over all kingdoms (1 Chronicles 29:11; 2 Chronicles 20:6), but others could rule as well (1 Kings 4:21)?</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: small;"></span> </p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: small;">We are used to Shamoun's double standards by now, so we don't really expect a response from him anyways.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: small;"></span> </p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: small;"></span> </p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-align: justify;"><b><u><span style="font-size: 18pt;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman;">Sam Shamoun said:</span></span></u></b></p><p class="bodytext2" style="margin: auto 0in;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: small;">To make matters worse, there are certain expositors which say that the following passage,</span></p><p class="bodytext4" style="margin: auto 0in;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: small;">And as for the night, keep vigil a part of it, as a work of supererogation for thee; it <b><i>MAY BE</i></b> that thy Lord will raise thee up to a laudable station. S. 17:79</span></p><p class="bodytext2" style="margin: auto 0in;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: small;">Refers to the last day when Allah will actually seat Muhammad on his very own throne! The renowned Muslim historian and commentator al-Tabari wrote that:</span></p><p class="bodytext4" style="margin: auto 0in;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: small;">"Even though the traditions we have mentioned on the authority of the Prophet and his Companions and the Followers indicate the correct interpretation of <i>maqaman mahmudan </i>in Qur. 17:79 (as referring to Muhammad's role as intercessor on the Day of Resurrection), <u>Mujahid's statement that God will seat Muhammad on His Throne remains one whose soundness CANNOT BE REJECTED either on the basis of traditions (<i>khabar</i>) or on the basis of speculation (<i>nazar</i>)</u>. This is so because there is no tradition from the Messenger of God or anyone of his Companions or the Followers that declares it to be impossible. <u>From what we have said, it has become clear that, it is not impossible for an adherent of Islam to say what Mujahid had said, namely, that God will seat Muhammad on His Throne</u>. If someone says: We do not disapprove of God's seating Muhammad on His Throne (in view of the following tradition transmitted by) 'Abbas b. 'Abd al-'Azim - Yahya b. Kathir - al-Jurayri - Sayf al-Sadusi - 'Abdallah b. Salam: 'On the Day of Resurrection, Muhammad will be on the Lord's footstool (<i>kursi</i>),' but we disapprove of God's seating him <i>together with Him</i>, it should be said: Is it then permissible in your opinion that He seat him on it but not together with him? If he permits this, he is led to affirming that either he is together with Him, or God seats him (on the Throne) while being Himself either separate from it or neither contiguous with nor separate from it. Whatever alternative he chooses, he thereby enters into something that he disapproves. If he says that it is not permissible, he deviates from the statements of all the groups we have reported. This means diverging from the views of all adherents of Islam, since there is no other possible statement than those three, <u>according to each of which Mujahid's statement in this sense is not impossible</u>." (<i>The History of Al-Tabari - General Introduction and From Creation to the Flood</i>, translated by Franz Rosenthal [State University of New York Press (SUNY), Albany 1989], Volume I, Appendix A. A Partial Translation of Tafsir on Qur. 17:79 (Above, pp. 75 f.), pp. 149. 151; capital and underline emphasis ours)</span></p><p class="bodytext2" style="margin: auto 0in;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: small;">See also al-Tabari's explanation of </span><a href="http://quran.al-islam.com/Tafseer/DispTafsser.asp?l=arb&taf=TABARY&nType=1&nSora=17&nAya=79" target="_blank" title="Opens external link in new window"><b><span style="color: #003399; text-decoration-line: none;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: small;">Q. 17:79</span></span></b></a><span style="font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: small;">.</span></p><p class="bodytext2" style="margin: auto 0in;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: small;">Al-Qurtubi, who is also viewed as an outstanding Muslim exegete, commented on this same Quranic reference in his <i>al-Jami' li Ahkam al-Qur'an</i>:</span></p><p class="bodytext4" style="margin: auto 0in;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: small;">The third explanation of this verse <u>is what al-Tabari reported from a party of scholars - among them Mujahid</u> - whereby "the Exalted Station <u>is the seating by Allah of the Prophet with Him on His Throne <i>(kursiyyih)</i></u>." They narrated a hadith to that effect, and al-Tabari backed up the possibility <i>(jawâz)</i> of such a thing with some extravagant statements <i>(shatatin min al-qawl)</i>. However, what he said cannot be inferred [from the verse] except with over-subtlety as to meaning <i>(al-talattuf bi al-ma'nâ)</i>, and it is far-fetched <i>(fîhi bu'd)</i>. This is not to say that there is no such narration; only that [one endowed with] knowledge interprets it figuratively <i>(al-'ilmu yata'awwaluhu)</i>. On that basis it is the same, with respect to possibility, whether Allah seats the Prophet on the Throne or on the ground. For His elevation over the Throne is not in the sense of displacement <i>(intiqâl)</i>, removal <i>(zawâl)</i>, nor change of position from standing to sitting, nor any state or condition to which the Throne itself is subject. Rather, He is elevated over the Throne in the way He has stated concerning Himself, without saying how. Nor does His seating of the Prophet on the Throne impose upon the Prophet (s) the attribute of Lordship [<i>sic</i>] or move him out of that of servanthood [<i>sic</i>]. Rather, it consists in an elevation because of his status, and an honor bestowed upon him because of his sublime character. (</span><a href="http://quran.al-islam.com/Tafseer/DispTafsser.asp?nType=1&bm=&nSeg=0&l=arb&nSora=17&nAya=79&taf=KORTOBY&tashkeel=1" target="_blank" title="Opens external link in new window"><b><span style="color: #003399; text-decoration-line: none;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: small;">Source</span></span></b></a><span style="font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: small;">; underline emphasis ours)</span></p><p class="bodytext2" style="margin: auto 0in;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: small;">Another Muslim authority named Ibn Batta stated in his book <i>al-Sharh wa al-Ibana 'ala Usul al-Sunna wa al-Diyana</i> ("Elaboration of the Principles of Sunni Doctrine"), p. 61, that:</span></p><p class="bodytext4" style="margin: auto 0in;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman;"><u>The Prophet shall be seated on the Throne with his Lord</u> <i>(yujlas ma'a rabbihi 'alâ al-'arsh)</i>, and this privilege belongs to no one else. Thus did Nafi' narrate it from Ibn 'Umar<u> </u>from the Prophet concerning the verse: "It may be that thy Lord will raise you to an Exalted Station" - <u>he said that He shall seat him with Him on the Throne</u>. Thus also did Mujahid explain it, as narrated by Muhammad ibn Fudayl, from al-Layth, from Mujahid. (Underline emphasis ours)</span></span></p><p class="bodytext2" style="margin: auto 0in;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: small;">In case the readers are wondering who this Mujahid is, he is Mujahid ibn Jabr, Abu al-Hajjaj al-Makhzumi (d. 102), one of the major commentators of the Qur'an among the <i>tabi'in</i> or followers of Muhammad's companions (<i>sahabah</i>), and viewed as holding the highest rank in reliability among hadith narrators (<i>thiqa</i>). It is related by a Muslim scholar named Ibn Sa'd, in <i>al-Tabaqat</i> <i>al-Kubra </i>(6:9), that Mujahid went over the explanation of the Islamic scripture together with Ibn 'Abbas, Muhammad's first cousin and one of the most knowledgeable Muslims that ever lived, approximately thirty times.</span></p><p class="bodytext2" style="margin: auto 0in;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: small;">And here is a modern Muslim writer who affirms this interpretation:</span></p><p class="bodytext4" style="margin: auto 0in;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: small;">Do they know any other Prophet or angel whom Allah addressed directly and by whose life He swore? "By thy life (O Muhammad)!" (15:72); "And who is better in his discourse than he who calls unto Allah and does good and says: I am one of the Muslims?" (41:33) i.e. who is better in speech than the Prophet? "Lo! those who believe and do good works are the best of created beings" (98:7) i.e. the Prophet is the best of created beings; "Lo! the noblest of you, in the sight of Allah, is the best in conduct" (49:13) i.e. the Prophet is the noblest of those to whom the Qur'an is addressed in the sight of Allah; "And lo! thou (Muhammad) art [I swear] of a tremendous nature" (68:4). The reality of this compliment - khuluqin `azim - can be fathomed only by the Speaker Himself and whoever He wills; "Of those messengers, some of whom We have caused to excel others, and of whom there are some unto whom Allah spake, while _some of them He exalted (above others) in degree_" (2:253) i.e. the Prophet. "<i>And we preferred some of the Prophets above others</i>" (17:55) then He said: "<i>It may be that thy Lord will raise thee to a praised estate</i>" (17:79), a Station which the Prophet said none but he would receive and this is the Station of Intercession <u>at the right of the Glorious Throne</u> as we described at length in the posting "The Seating of the Prophet on the Throne." (G.F. Haddad, </span><a href="http://www.livingislam.org/n/bc_e.html" target="_blank" title="Opens external link in new window"><b><i><span style="color: #003399; text-decoration-line: none;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: small;">The Prophetic Title "Best of Creation"</span></span></i></b></a><span style="font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: small;">; </span><a href="http://www.masud.co.uk/ISLAM/misc/best.htm" target="_blank" title="Opens external link in new window"><b><span style="color: #003399; text-decoration-line: none;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: small;">*</span></span></b></a><span style="font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: small;">; </span><a href="http://www.israinternational.com/library/topics/2005/may.htm" target="_blank" title="Opens external link in new window"><b><span style="color: #003399; text-decoration-line: none;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: small;">*</span></span></b></a><span style="font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: small;">; underline emphasis ours)</span></p><p class="bodytext2" style="margin: auto 0in;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: small;">For more on Muhammad occupying Allah's throne we advise consulting the following articles:</span></p><p class="bodytext2" style="margin: auto 0in;"><a href="http://www.sunnah.org/history/Scholars/Al-Tabari.htm" target="_blank"><b><span style="color: #003399; text-decoration-line: none;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: small;">http://www.sunnah.org/history/Scholars/Al-Tabari.htm</span></span></b></a><br /><a href="http://www.sunnah.org/aqida/ProphetsSeatingontheThrone.htm" target="_blank"><b><span style="color: #003399; text-decoration-line: none;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: small;">http://www.sunnah.org/aqida/ProphetsSeatingontheThrone.htm</span></span></b></a></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: small;"></span> </p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-align: justify;"><b><u><span style="font-size: 18pt;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman;">My Response:</span></span></u></b></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: small;"></span> </p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: small;">First of all, Shamoun ignorantly links to this article </span><a href="http://www.sunnah.org/aqida/ProphetsSeatingontheThrone.htm" target="_blank"><b><span style="color: #003399; text-decoration-line: none;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: small;">http://www.sunnah.org/aqida/ProphetsSeatingontheThrone.htm</span></span></b></a><span style="font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: small;">, which refutes Shamoun's case! This article ascertains that the veracity of all these narrations that speak about the Prophet (peace be upon him) sitting on the thrown with Allah cannot be verified. Notice some of the comments that the author makes:</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: small;"></span> </p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt 0.5in;"><i><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman;">The authenticity of this narration is not known and its wording departs from all the other narrations, though not its meaning.</span></span></i></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt 0.5in;"><i><span style="font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: small;"></span></i> </p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt 0.5in;"><i><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman;">The authenticity of this narration is not known and Daylami (d. 509) did not give his chain when citing the hadith</span></span></i></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: small;"></span> </p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt 0.5in;"><i><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman;">The chain of this hadith would then be weak and cut-up (da'îf munqati') as confirmed by Ma'ruf and al-Arna'ut's comments</span></span></i></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: small;"></span> </p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman;"> <i>M. Nasir al-Albani who said: "Its chain is weak and severed (maqtû')."</i></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: small;"></span> </p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman;"> <i>Ibn al-Jawzi said: "This narration is not authentic from the Prophet (s)."</i></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-align: justify;"><b><u><span style="font-size: 18pt;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman;"></span></span></u></b></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: small;"></span> </p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: small;">Isn't it amazing? Shamoun brings up an argument and then links us to an article that demonstrates that the evidence for the position is weak!</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: small;"></span> </p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: small;">Secondly, even if we do assume that the Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) sits with Allah on the Throne, this is only proof of Allah greatly honoring the Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him). Where does it say in Islamic sources that only the divine could sit on the Throne? No where does it say that. It is only Shamoun's personal subjective opinion that tells him that if someone sits on the Throne with God then that makes the person God. This is completely unfounded and baseless.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-align: justify;"><b><u><span style="font-size: 18pt;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman;"></span></span></u></b></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-align: justify;"><b><u><span style="font-size: 18pt;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman;"></span></span></u></b> </p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-align: justify;"><b><u><span style="font-size: 18pt;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman;">Sam Shamoun said:</span></span></u></b></p><p class="bodytext2" style="margin: auto 0in;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: small;">The inspired Christian Scriptures teach that the risen Christ now sits on and rules from his Father's Divine throne as the exalted and immortal Lord of all creation whom every creature shall eventually worship:</span></p><p class="bodytext4" style="margin: auto 0in;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: small;">". Again the high priest asked him, 'Are you the Christ, the Son of the Blessed One?' 'I am,' said Jesus. 'And you will see <b><i>the Son of Man sitting at the right hand of the Mighty One</i></b> and coming on the clouds of heaven.'" Mark 14:61b-62</span></p><p class="bodytext4" style="margin: auto 0in;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: small;">"and his incomparably great power for us who believe. That power is like the working of his mighty strength, which he exerted in Christ when he raised him from the dead <b><i>and seated him at his right hand in the heavenly realms, far above all rule and authority, power and dominion, and every title that can be given, not only in the present age but also in the one to come</i></b>. And God placed all things under his feet and appointed him to be head over everything for the church, which is his body, the fullness of him who fills everything in every way." Ephesians 1:19-23</span></p><p class="bodytext4" style="margin: auto 0in;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: small;">"For of this you can be sure: No immoral, impure or greedy person-such a man is an idolater-has any inheritance <b><i>in the <st1:place w:st="on"><st1:placetype w:st="on">kingdom</st1:placetype> of <st1:placename w:st="on">Christ</st1:placename></st1:place> and of God</i></b>." Ephesians 5:5</span></p><p class="bodytext4" style="margin: auto 0in;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: small;">"<b><i>Therefore God exalted him to the highest place and gave him the name that is above every name</i></b>, that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father." Philippians 2:9-11</span></p><p class="bodytext4" style="margin: auto 0in;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: small;">"To him who overcomes, I will give the right to sit with me on my throne, just as I overcame <b><i>and sat down with my Father on his throne</i></b>." Revelation 3:21</span></p><p class="bodytext4" style="margin: auto 0in;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: small;">"Then the angel showed me the river of the water of life, as clear as crystal, flowing from <b><i>the throne (singular) of God and of the Lamb</i></b> down the middle of the great street of the city. On each side of the river stood the tree of life, bearing twelve crops of fruit, yielding its fruit every month. And the leaves of the tree are for the healing of the nations. No longer will there be any curse. <b><i>The throne of God and of the Lamb</i></b> will be in the city, and his servants will serve him." Revelation 22:1-3</span></p><p class="bodytext2" style="margin: auto 0in;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: small;">Unfortunately for these Muslims, and contrary to their denials, they failed to see how this plagiarizing of Biblical truth turned Muhammad into a demigod and thereby stands in direct conflict with the express statements of the Quran that there is no other deity or potentate besides Allah.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-align: justify;"><b><u><span style="font-size: 18pt;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman;">My Response:</span></span></u></b></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: small;"></span> </p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: small;">Shamoun suffers from a severe case of Trinity fever. Whatever passage he looks at, he immediately states "These passages show that Jesus is God!"</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: small;"></span> </p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: small;">Jesus sitting at the right hand of God does not in any way imply that he is God.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: small;"></span> </p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman;">On the contrary, it serves to show that he is not God. <span style="font-family: TimesNewRomanPSMT;">"To sit at the right hand" is a Jewish idiom signifying the custom of a dignitary honoring someone. If we take the case of a king, it would be the place of uppermost honor for any of his subordinates. Therefore, Jesus' session merely signifies His exaltation to the place of highest honor in heaven, but not that He is God. The Father inviting Jesus to come and sit at His right hand illustrates His superiority over Jesus and Jesus' dependence upon Him.</span></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: TimesNewRomanPSMT;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: small;"></span></span> </p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: TimesNewRomanPSMT;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman;">We would also like to ask Shamoun how come there aren't three thrones in heaven for each of the persons in the Triune Godhead.</span></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: TimesNewRomanPSMT;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: small;"></span></span> </p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: TimesNewRomanPSMT;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman;">Richard Bauckham said:</span></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: TimesNewRomanPSMT;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: small;"></span></span> </p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt 0.5in;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman;"><span style="color: navy; font-family: TimesNewRomanPSMT;">In Second Temple Judaism, then, the throne of God in the highest heaven became a key symbol of monotheism.</span><span style="font-family: TimesNewRomanPSMT;"> </span><b>(Richard Bauckham, <i>The Throne of God and the Worship of Jesus</i>, page 53)</b><span style="font-family: TimesNewRomanPSMT;"></span></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: small;"></span> </p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-family: TimesNewRomanPSMT;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman;">Marinus de Jong said:</span></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-family: TimesNewRomanPSMT;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: small;"></span></span> </p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt 0.5in;"><span style="color: navy;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman;">God on his heavenly throne remains the center of all worship (Rev 7:11-17), and </span></span></span><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman;"><span style="color: navy;">adoration of the Lamb in no way endangers or diminishes the worship due him.</span> <b>(Marinus de Jong, <i>God's Final Envoy</i>, page 138)</b></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-family: TimesNewRomanPSMT; font-size: 10pt;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman;"></span></span> </p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: small;"></span> </p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: small;">If the Throne of God became a symbol of monotheism and that the God on the Throne receives all worship and the Trinity is true, then why isn't there a Throne for each person? If Shamoun insists that all three persons were sharing the Throne, then I challenge Shamoun to cite me one verse that says that the Holy Spirit is sitting on the Throne as well. He cannot. We sure do hope that Shamoun doesn't get desperate and states what other Christian's state, which is that the Throne of the Holy Spirit is the body of the believer. If he does, then it becomes pretty obvious that he is avoiding the argument, for the Holy Spirit should be able to occupy a Throne and still be in the believers simultaneously.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: small;"></span> </p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-align: justify;"><b><u><span style="font-size: 18pt;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman;">Sam Shamoun said:</span></span></u></b></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: small;"></span> </p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: small;">In order to help Muslims see the problem with this view it needs to be emphasized that placing Muhammad alongside Allah on the same throne basically means that he is a co-ruler with Allah. Moreover, to hold the position of Muhammad being a co-occupant of the divine throne inevitably leads to believing that a finite creature is equal with his creator. And yet how can any creature, no matter how exalted, ever be equal with the almighty in authority and rank?</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: small;"></span> </p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-align: justify;"><b><u><span style="font-size: 18pt;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman;">My Response:</span></span></u></b></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: small;"></span> </p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: small;">These are only words that Shamoun is uttering. He hasn't shown any proof for the truth of these claims.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: small;"></span> </p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-align: justify;"><b><u><span style="font-size: 18pt;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman;">Sam Shamoun said:</span></span></u></b></p><p class="bodytext2" style="margin: auto 0in;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: small;">In order to get around this problem certain Muslims may simply wish to discard these traditions, despite the many great Muslim minds that fully embraced and believed in the veracity of these reports. In fact, we even have cases where renowned scholars such as al-Tabari went out of their way to defend the authenticity and soundness of these reports.</span></p><p class="bodytext2" style="margin: auto 0in;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: small;">Be that as it may, by rejecting such traditions the Muslims only help to expose the utter chaotic and confused state in which Islamic scholarship finds itself as it seeks to cope with the intellectual and scholarly onslaught on the Muslim source material. It merely reveals that Islam is in shambles and cannot withstand the critical scrutiny and rational analysis of its primary sources by open-minded intelligent individuals. It is only a matter of time that, by the grace of the risen Lord Jesus, Islam will collapse and Muslims will be free from the shackles of the false teachings of the false prophet Muhammad and his god.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: small;"></span> </p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-align: justify;"><b><u><span style="font-size: 18pt;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman;">My Response:</span></span></u></b></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: small;"></span> </p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: small;">Shamoun never considered the reality that the science of hadeeth was set up in order to distinguish false narrations from true ones. He thinks that if somehow a difference of opinion on a certain narration occurs then that makes all of our traditions doubtful. This is just sheer ignorance and this logic can even be used more forcefully against Shamoun, for we can say that since there is a difference of opinion over the veracity of Mark 16:9-20 and other passages in the Bible that would render his entire Bible doubtful!</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: small;"></span> </p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: small;">As previously shown (from a link that Shamoun provided!) these traditions are not very reliable specifically because of weaknesses in their chains of transmission. Secondly, even if we do accept these traditions then they still don't pose a problem, as I have previously explained.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-align: justify;"><b><u><span style="font-size: 18pt;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman;"></span></span></u></b></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-align: justify;"><b><u><span style="font-size: 18pt;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman;"></span></span></u></b> </p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-align: justify;"><b><u><span style="font-size: 18pt;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman;">Sam Shamoun said:</span></span></u></b></p><p align="justify" class="bodytext2" style="margin: auto 0in;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: small;">And even if a Muslim rejects these narratives s/he must still contend with the gross contradiction within the Islamic scripture concerning the question of whether Allah shares his rule or not. A Muslim may try to get around this problem by saying that the passages which say that Allah does not share his kingdom with anyone actually mean that all authority and rule stem from him and that individuals only reign because of Allah's permission.</span></p><p align="justify" class="bodytext2" style="margin: auto 0in;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: small;">The problem with this explanation is that this is not the plain reading of the passages and that is not what the verses say. Since Muslims believe that the Quran is the standard of Arabic eloquence and grammar we would expect to find the Muslim scripture being more clear in communicating this point regarding Allah granting dominion to his creatures since the kingdom belongs to him, assuming of course that this is what the author(s) of the Quran was(were) actually saying. In other words, one can only accept this interpretation, e.g. Allah wasn't denying that there are others who reign but was really saying that all rulership stems from him, at the expense of the Quran's alleged perfect eloquence and structure. A Muslim must face the fact that the author(s) of the Quran once again failed to clearly communicate his/her/their message since s/he/they didn't write what s/he/they really wanted to say, but wrote in such a way as to convey the wrong idea which actually ended up contradicting other verses of the Quran! </span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-align: justify;"><b><u><span style="font-size: 18pt;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman;">My Response:</span></span></u></b></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: small;"></span> </p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: small;">This is the most deceptive part of Shamoun's article. He is a deceiver who doesn't give the Qur'an the same courtesy he gives to the Bible. He says that our explanation does not fit in with the 'plain reading' of the text. Over here, when Shamoun says 'plain reading' he actually means 'literal strict reading in isolation of its context'. He doesn't mean to say -clear obvious meaning in light of what we know about Islam as a whole'.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: small;"></span> </p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: small;">I have also presented an example from the Bible regarding this same issue, which clearly exposes Shamoun's double standards.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: small;"></span> </p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-align: justify;"><b><u><span style="font-size: 18pt;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman;">Sam Shamoun said:</span></span></u></b></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: small;"></span> </p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: small;">To put it another way, if the Quran is really saying that Allah is the true source and giver of rulership and dominion, and not that other rulers do not exist, then consistency in exegesis demands that we interpret Quranic statements which say that Allah is the sole divinity to mean that he is the sole source of deity. These verses do not mean that other gods do not exist. In other words, just as there are others who rule, even though Allah is the only one who has dominion, there are also other gods that exist who receive their divinity from Allah, the only so-called deity.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: small;"></span> </p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-align: justify;"><b><u><span style="font-size: 18pt;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman;">My Response:</span></span></u></b></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: small;"></span> </p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman;">Shamoun the ignorant exegete continues to utter foolish words. Can't Shamoun understand that we could interpret the passage to mean that Allah is the true and ultimate source and giver of leadership <b>because we have other passages that affirm that Allah gives people leadership, however there are no passages that state that there are other 'gods' thus making the analogy absolutely ridiculous and fallacious?</b></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-align: justify;"><b><span style="font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: small;"></span></b> </p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: small;">We ask Shamoun to be consistent and answer the following question:</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: small;"></span> </p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt 0.5in; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: small;">Since you interpret Jesus's statement 'The Father is Greater Than I' to mean greater than in authority, but not in essence does this mean that every time you see a passage, which states that God is greater than someone then that means that He is only greater than that person in authority, but equal in essence? If you argue no and that you must look at context, then why are you being so stubborn by twisting the verses of the Qur'an?</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: small;"></span> </p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: small;">Shamoun then cites a Tabari tradition about Al Uzza, however he doesn't provide the isnaad for us to analyze its authenticity.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: small;"></span> </p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: small;"></span> </p><span style="font-size: small;"><p align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-align: center;"><b><u><span style="font-size: 18pt;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman;">Appendix</span></span></u></b></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman;"></span> </p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman;">Shamoun has written a response over </span><a href="http://www.answeringislam.net/authors/shamoun/rebuttals/zawadi/muhammad_throne.html"><span style="color: #3333ff; font-family: Times New Roman;">here</span></a><span style="font-family: Times New Roman;">.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman;"></span> </p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman;">Shamoun said:</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman;"></span> </p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt 0.5in;"><i><span style="font-family: Times New Roman;">However, not only did Zawadi completely ignore my citation from al-Tabari who defends the veracity of this tradition:</span></i></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman;"></span> </p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman;">Al-Tabari is stressing on the fact that one must not reject the narrations because they are afraid of the implications that it might have. He is arguing that its meaning is acceptable. I do agree with Imam Al-Tabari that it is not impossible for the Prophet (peace be upon him) to sit on the Throne with Allah. I have no objections to that. The only reason why I don't believe it is because it has not been demonstrated through any authentic chains of transmission.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman;"></span> </p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman;">Shamoun then wastes our time talking about scholars who believed that Muhammad (peace be upon him) would be seated with Allah. I am already aware of that, but how does that answer my argument that there is no authentic chain of transmission? Shamoun emphasizes on statements saying that the chain is uninterrupted, but how does it being connected accrue to its authenticity? He cites the scholars condemning people as Jahmis and heretics if they denied that Muhammad (peace be upon him) sits on the Throne. But there is a huge difference between the Jahmis and others such as my self who would reject this belief. The reason why the Jahmis rejected this belief is because of logical and philosophical reasons. They objected to its possibility. This is worthy of condemnation. However, I would reject the belief because there is no solid evidence for it in Qur'an or authentic hadeeth. I wouldn't be condemned for that. Some Orthodox Muslims simply accepted this as one of the valid meanings for the Praised Status (<i>maqaam al mahmoud</i>), which would be given to the Prophet (peace be upon him).</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman;"></span> </p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman;">Shamoun said:</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman;"></span> </p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt 0.5in; text-align: justify;"><i><span style="font-family: Times New Roman;">Zawadi also failed to mention that even his very own idol Ibn Taymiyyah and his pupil Ibn Qayyim believed and embraced the veracity of this tradition!</span></i></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-align: justify;"><i><span style="font-family: Times New Roman;"></span></i> </p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman;">I haven't found any explicit statements from Ibn Taymiyyah or Ibnul Qayyim that they believed this, rather they only mentioned that scholars held this opinion and that it was a valid opinion that was accepted, but they never explicitly stated that they held to it. Even if they did, what would be the problem anyways?</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman;"></span> </p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman;">Shamoun said:</span></p><p class="bodytext2" style="margin: auto 0in auto 0.5in;"><i><span style="font-family: Times New Roman;">Yet since Zawadi doesn't like "weak" narrations here is one which is deemed to be reliable or sound:</span></i></p><p class="bodytext2" style="margin: auto 0in auto 0.5in;"><i><span style="font-family: Times New Roman;"><span style="font-size: 13.5pt;">8. Another Narration From 'Abd Allah ibn Salam</span></span></i></p><p class="bodytext2" style="margin: auto 0in auto 0.5in;"><i><span style="font-family: Times New Roman;">From 'Abd Allah ibn Salam, in a long hadith on the Day of Judgment: "<b><u>A seat (kursî) will be placed for the Prophet on the right of Allah</u></b>."<sup>[38]</sup></span></i></p><p class="bodytext2" style="margin: auto 0in auto 0.5in;"><i><sup><a href="http://www.sunnah.org/aqida/ProphetsSeatingontheThrone.htm#_ftn38" target="_blank" title="Opens external link in new window"><b><span style="color: #003399; text-decoration-line: none;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman;">[38]</span></span></b></a></sup><span style="font-family: Times New Roman;"> Al-Hakim narrated it in his Mustadrak (4:568-569) <b><u>and declared its chain sound (sahîh), as confirmed by al-Dhahabi</u></b>. (Bold and underline emphasis ours)</span></i></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman;">Where in this narration does it say that the Prophet (peace be upon him) is sitting on the same Throne as Allah? Rather it is speaking about a different throne. Also, Shamoun should cite GF Haddad in full since he says:</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman;"></span> </p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 13pt; margin: 0in 0in 0pt 0.5in; text-align: justify; text-indent: 28.35pt;"><span style="font-size: 11pt;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman;">Yet the hadith scholars have drawn attention to 'Abd Allahbn Salam as one of the Companions who frequently report narrations from the People of the Book <i>(isrâ'îliyyât)</i>. Because of this, they have refrained from giving his <i>mawqûf</i> reports - and those of 'Abd Allah ibn 'Amr ibn al-'As - the status of <i>marfû?</i> unless independently confirmed.</span><a name="_Ref444498216"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman;"> Similar caution applies to the Successors Ka'b al-Ahbar and Wahb ibn Munabbih.</span></a></span><a name="_Ref473522031"></a><a href="http://www.call-to-monotheism.com/refuting_shamoun_on_monotheism_1/edit/1542/#_ftn1" name="_ftnref1" title=""><sup><span style="font-size: 10pt;"><sup><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 10pt;">[1]</span></sup></span></sup></a><span style="font-family: Times New Roman;"><sup><span style="font-size: 10pt;">[39]</span></sup><span style="font-size: 11pt;"></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 13pt; margin: 0in 0in 0pt 0.5in; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: 11pt;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman;"></span></span> </p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 13pt; margin: 0in 0in 0pt 0.5in; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: 11pt;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman;"> These narrations bring to three the reported positions of the Prophet (s) in the different versions of the hadith of the seating: On the Throne, in front of the Throne, and to the right of the Throne. The first is itself divided into two versions: alone, or "with Allah." The latter is obviously the most controverted version.</span></span><a href="http://www.call-to-monotheism.com/refuting_shamoun_on_monotheism_1/edit/1542/#_ftn2" name="_ftnref2" title=""><sup><span style="font-size: 10pt;"><sup><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 10pt;">[2]</span></sup></span></sup></a><span style="font-family: Times New Roman;"><sup><span style="font-size: 10pt;">[40]</span></sup><span style="font-size: 11pt;"></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman;"></span> </p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman;">Shamoun then said:</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman;"></span> </p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt 0.5in; text-align: justify;"><i><span style="font-family: Times New Roman;">Hence, Muhammad will be given a seat right next to Allah! This means that Muhammad shares in Allah's exclusive rule over all creation and is therefore Allah's partner who is another sovereign lord besides Allah!</span></i></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman;"></span> </p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman;">Shamoun, do us a favor and keep your unwarranted Trinitarian exegesis outside of our faith. We have no clue or idea how on earth you concluded such a thing, so please either prove it or just spare us your crazy interpretations.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman;"></span> </p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman;">Shamoun then mentions narrations, which I have already addressed elsewhere in this series of refutations to Shamoun.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman;"></span> </p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman;">Shamoun said:</span></p><p class="bodytext2" style="margin: auto 0in auto 0.5in;"><i><span style="font-family: Times New Roman;">Zawadi must be suffering from amnesia since he forgot the following citation which he borrowed from "Servetus the Evangelical":</span></i></p><p class="bodytext2" style="margin: auto 0in auto 0.5in;"><i><span style="font-family: Times New Roman;">Richard Bauckham said:</span></i></p><p class="bodytext2" style="margin: auto 0in auto 0.5in;"><i><span style="font-family: Times New Roman;"><span style="color: #0066ff;">In <st1:place w:st="on"><st1:placename w:st="on">Second</st1:placename> <st1:placetype w:st="on">Temple</st1:placetype></st1:place> Judaism, then, the throne of God in the highest heaven became a key symbol of monotheism. </span><b>(Richard Bauckham, The Throne of God and the Worship of Jesus, page 53)</b></span></i></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman;">Shamoun has got to be kidding me. He thinks that just because I cite Christian scholars against him then that would mean that I agree with their beliefs! I only cited Bauckham because he is theologically authoritative <b>to the Christian. Not the Muslim. EVEN if it were true that according to the Bible to sit on the Throne with God proves one's divinity, in no way does that mean the same thing according to Islam.</b></span></p></span><div style="font-size: 10pt; line-height: 1.5;"><span style="font-size: small;"><br clear="all" /><span style="font-family: Times New Roman;"> </span></span><div id="ftn2" style="font-size: 10pt; line-height: 1.5;"><span style="font-size: small;"><p align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-align: center;"><b><u><span style="font-size: 18pt;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman;">Appendix 2</span></span></u></b></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman;"></span> </p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman;"></span> </p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman;">Shamoun added an appendix to his rebuttal.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman;"></span> </p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman;">Shamoun said:</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman;"></span> </p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt 0.5in;"><i><span style="font-family: Times New Roman;">He is arguing for the authenticity and veracity of this report, as well as for its theological soundness.</span></i></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman;"></span> </p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman;">Anyone could read the citation that Shamoun provided from Imam Al Tabari, especially the bold parts that Shamoun highlighted and clearly see that Imam Al-Tabari did not claim to adhere to this belief. Even Al-Tabari himself acknowledges what interpretation he views as correct: "Even though the traditions we have mentioned on the authority of the Prophet and his Companions and the Followers indicate the correct interpretation of <i>maqaman mahmudan</i> in Qur. 17:79 (as referring to Muhammad's role as intercessor on the Day of Resurrection)" What he was saying was that Mujahid's statement is not impossible (meaning it cannot be rejected), however he didn't say that <b>we should accept it. </b>If Al-Tabari personally accepted this belief then so what? How does that change the fact that there is no authentic chain of transmission going back to the Prophet (peace be upon him) himself?</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><b><span style="font-family: Times New Roman;"></span></b> </p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman;">Shamoun said:</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman;"></span> </p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt 0.5in; text-align: justify;"><i><span style="font-family: Times New Roman;">The scholars that I cited clearly stated that any person who denies the soundness of this narration is to be condemned, which proves that these scholars believed that this report was reliably transmitted and that it was based on authentic chains of transmission. This is the main reason why these same scholars condemned the Jahmis, not because of their appeal to logic and reason, but because of their rejection of a report that was based on a sound chain. This also refutes Zawadi's assertion that there is no authentic chain confirming the veracity of this report since the sources I quoted claimed there was.</span></i></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-align: justify;"><i><span style="font-family: Times New Roman;"></span></i> </p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman;">Clearly Shamoun is ignorant about terminologies employed by Islamic scholars and the historical context surrounding the disputes between Jahmis and orthodox Muslims. He doesn't understand what the Jahmis beliefs and arguments were all about and in what context these scholars were saying what they said. We could provide several statements from classical scholars declaring those who said that the Qur'an is created is a kaafir or those who deny that Allah is above the Throne is a kaafir, however one needs to understand the principles of Takfeer and distinguish between general Takfeer and specified individual Takfeer and based on what conditions should someone be labeled a kaafir (e.g. does he have valid scriptural reasons or just appealing to emotions?). This is not the time or place for this discussion. We simply respond by saying that Shamoun must not appeal to authority and actually prove his case from Qur'an or authentic hadeeth.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman;"></span> </p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman;">Shamoun then cites Ibnul Qayyim, but again fails to provide evidence that he adhered to the position. Scholars listing supporters of a belief doesn't necessitate that they believed in it as well. The most we know about Ibn Taymiyyah and Ibnul Qayyim is that they neither denied nor affirmed this belief.<span dir="rtl" lang="AR-SA"></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span dir="rtl" lang="AR-SA"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman;"></span></span> </p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman;">Again, I don't understand the problem. I am already aware of and concede to the valid difference of opinion regarding this issue. I have zero problems with someone taking the opinion that the Prophet (peace be upon him) would sit on a throne next to Allah that day. So Shamoun doesn't have to waste his time telling me that such and such scholars believed in it. However, I reject this opinion (i.e. I reject that we must believe in it and don't make a positive denial to its truth) because there is no solid evidence for it from Qur'an or the statements of the Prophet (peace be upon him).</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-align: justify;"><br /><span style="font-family: Times New Roman;">Shamoun said:</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman;"></span> </p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt 0.5in; text-align: justify;"><i><span style="font-family: Times New Roman;">According to these reports there will actually be two seats or thrones in heaven, not just one, one for Allah and the other for Muhammad.</span></i></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman;"></span> </p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman;">Where did thrones in heaven come from?</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman;"></span> </p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman;">Shamoun said:</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman;"></span> </p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt 0.5in; text-align: justify;"><i><span style="font-family: Times New Roman;">By sitting on another kursi or throne alongside Allah's Muhammad inevitably ends up sharing in Allah's unique rule over creation as sovereign lord. Muhammad therefore becomes a partner with Allah in his sovereignty, which means that Muslims actually have two Lords, not just one!</span></i></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman;"></span> </p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman;"></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman;"></span> </p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman;">First of all, it is not the Throne that is sovereign, but the one on the Throne.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman;"></span> </p><p><span style="font-family: Times New Roman;"></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman;">Secondly, who said that the Prophet's (peace be upon him) throne (assuming he will sit on a throne) is of the same glory and magnitude as that of Allah? Does the disciples sitting on thrones and judging the twelve tribes of <st1:country-region w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Israel</st1:place></st1:country-region> <b>when the Son of Man would also sit on his glorious throne </b>on the Day of Judgment (Matthew 19:28) also make them divine? We feel Shamoun is going to come up with some kind of explanation, which could also work for the Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him). However, if Shamoun just simply wants to fallaciously argue that since God has a Throne and someone else also does then that would also mean he is divine, then we would surely have a field day with the Bible!</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman;"></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman;"></span> </p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman;">Shamoun said:</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman;"></span> </p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt 0.75in; text-align: justify; text-indent: -0.25in;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman;"><i>1.<span style="font-size: 7pt; font-stretch: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal;"><span style="font-size: small;"> </span></span></i><span dir="ltr"><i>According to the Quran Allah's throne symbolizes his sovereignty over all creation.</i></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt 0.75in; text-align: justify; text-indent: -0.25in;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman;"><i>2.<span style="font-size: 7pt; font-stretch: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal;"><span style="font-size: small;"> </span></span></i><span dir="ltr"><i>The Quran further attests that Allah does not allow anyone to share in his unique rule over his creation.</i></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt 0.75in; text-align: justify; text-indent: -0.25in;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman;"><i>3.<span style="font-size: 7pt; font-stretch: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal;"><span style="font-size: small;"> </span></span></i><span dir="ltr"><i>Certain reports claim that Muhammad will be seated on Allah's own throne, whereas other narratives state that he will actually be seated on his very own throne next to Allah's.</i></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt 0.75in; text-align: justify; text-indent: -0.25in;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman;"><i>4.<span style="font-size: 7pt; font-stretch: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal;"><span style="font-size: small;"> </span></span></i><span dir="ltr"><i>In either case, this means that Muhammad shares in Allah exclusive sovereign rule over the entire creation.</i></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt 0.75in; text-align: justify; text-indent: -0.25in;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman;"><i>5.<span style="font-size: 7pt; font-stretch: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal;"><span style="font-size: small;"> </span></span></i><span dir="ltr"><i>As such, this makes Muhammad into another lord and deity besides Allah.</i></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt 0.75in; text-align: justify; text-indent: -0.25in;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman;">6.<span style="font-size: 7pt; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal;"><span style="font-size: small;"> </span></span><span dir="ltr"><i>This in turn violates one of the essential components of Islamic monotheism, namely Tauhid al-Rububiya.</i></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman;"></span> </p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman;">If only Shamoun could clearly show the connection from point 3 to point 4, we would be more than willing to agree with him. But as usual he cannot prove his case.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman;"></span> </p></span></div></div></div></div></div></div></td></tr></tbody></table></div></td></tr></tbody></table>Mustafa Ahmedhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14172750188773095424noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-558359090739969505.post-58421122586149848032023-12-07T10:16:00.000-08:002023-12-07T10:16:02.200-08:00The Prophet’s (s) Seating on the Throne<p> </p><h1 class="entry-title" style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Verdana; font-size: 20px; font-weight: normal; margin: 0px; padding: 0px 0px 5px;">The Prophet’s (s) Seating on the Throne</h1><h2 style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Verdana; font-size: 12px; font-weight: normal; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"><a href="https://sunnah.org/author/shaykh-gibril-fouad-haddad/" style="color: #333333; text-decoration-line: none;">Shaykh Gibril Fouad Haddad</a></h2><div class="entry-content" style="background-color: white; color: #333333; counter-reset: footnotes 0; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Verdana; font-size: 12px;"><h3 style="font-size: 16px; font-weight: normal; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: center;"><strong><em>(IQ‘ÂD AL-NABÎ</em></strong> (S)<strong><em> `AL AL-`ARSH)</em></strong></h3><p style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px 0px 10px;">“Muhammad the Messenger of Allah (s) will be seated</p><p style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px 0px 10px;">by His Lord on the Throne next to Him.”</p><p style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px 0px 10px;">– Ibn Taymiyya.[1]</p><p style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px 0px 10px;">“Whoever imagines that our Lord sits on the Throne and leaves space at His side for His Prophet to sit, has followed the Christians who hold that `Isa was raised to heaven and sat next to his Father – Allah (swt) is clear of the partnership they ascribe to Him!”</p><p style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px 0px 10px;">– Al-Kawthari.[2]</p><p style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px 0px 10px;">Allah Most High said, as rendered in the translations of His meanings in the Qur’an (17:79):</p><p style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px 0px 10px;"><strong>And some part of the night awake for it, a largess for thee.</strong></p><p style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px 0px 10px;"><strong>It may be that thy Lord will raise thee to a praised estate.</strong> [Pickthall]</p><p style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px 0px 10px;"> </p><p style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px 0px 10px;"><strong>And pray in the small watches of the morning: (it would be) an additional prayer (or spiritual profit) for thee : soon will thy Lord raise thee to a station of praise and Glory.</strong> [Yusuf Ali]</p><p style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px 0px 10px;">It is known that the meaning of the Exalted Station <em>(al-maqâm al-mahmûd)</em> mentioned in the above verse is the granting of the Major Intercession <em>(al-shafâ‘a al-kubrâ)</em> to the Prophet (s) on the Day of Judgment, at which time “people shall surge like the waves of the sea,” each community begging its Prophet for intercession but only the Prophet (s) shall accept to undertake it,[3] as expressed in al-Busiri’s poetry:</p><p style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px 0px 10px 30px;"><em>yâ akrama al-khalqi mâ lî man alûdhu bihi</em></p><p style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px 0px 10px 30px;"><em>siwâka `inda hulûli al-hâdithi al-‘amami</em></p><p style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px 0px 10px 30px;">O noblest of creatures! I have none with whom to seek refuge</p><p style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px 0px 10px 30px;">other than you when the Universal Event befalls.[4]</p><p style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px 0px 10px;">Furthermore, Ibn `Abbas explained that the formula of likelihood <em>‘asâ</em> – “It may be” – when attributed to Allah (swt), denotes certainty, as related by al-Bayhaqi and reiterated by the commentators.[5]</p><p style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px 0px 10px;">However, several narrations are also adduced whereby the Exalted Station is the seating of the Prophet (s) by Allah (swt) on the Throne. The school of Imam Ahmad gave precedence to the latter view as the definitive explanation of the verse, despite the overall weakness of the narrations supporting it.</p><table border="1" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" style="height: 53px; width: 613px;"><tbody><tr><td valign="top" width="472">“the scholars of hadith agree that none of the narrations that mention the groaning is authentic.”</td></tr></tbody></table><h2 style="font-size: 12px; font-weight: normal; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">1. The “Groaning of the Throne”</h2><p style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px 0px 10px;">Ibn Mas‘ud (r) related that the Prophet (s) said: “Verily I shall occupy the Exalted Station.” It was asked: “What is the Exalted Station?” He said: “It is on the day you will be brought barefoot, naked, and uncircumcised; the first to be given a garment will be Ibrahim, when Allah says: ‘Cover my Close Friend.’ He will be presented with two soft, fine garments which he shall wear, and he will be seated opposite the Throne. Then I will be given a garment which I shall wear, after which I shall stand at the right of the Throne. Mine will be a station which no one else will share. It will be the ardent desire of the first and the last to share it with me. Then a river will be caused to flow from the Kawthar to my Pond.”</p><p style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px 0px 10px;">It is narrated with weak chains by Ahmad in his <em>Musnad</em>, al-Tabari in his <em>Tafsir</em>, al-Hakim in <em>al-Mustadrak</em>, al-Darimi in his <em>Sunan</em> (book of <em>Riqaq</em>), Abu al-Shaykh in <em>al-‘Azama</em>, and Ibn al-Mundhir. Ahmad and al-Hakim’s narrations begin with the words: <em>Ummukuma fi al-nar</em> – “Your mother [speaking to two brothers] is in the Fire” – while al-Darimi’s narration begins with the words: <em>Dhâka yawmun yanzilu Allâhu ta‘âlâ ‘alâ kursiyyihi ya’itu kama ya’itu al-rahlu al-jadîdu min tadâyuqihi bih</em> – “On that day, <span style="text-decoration-line: underline;">Allah shall descend on His Throne which shall groan the way a new saddle does, due to the pressure it will feel from Him</span>.”[6]</p><p style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px 0px 10px;">Al-Darimi’s narration is highly questionable from another perspective, namely the anthropomorphism of the explicit attribution of the Throne’s groaning to the pressure of Allah (swt) on it. It is known that all the narrations that mention this “groaning of the Throne” are also weak. They are narrated from five Companions:</p><p style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px 0px 10px;">– Abu Umama;[7]</p><p style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px 0px 10px;">– Abu Musa al-Ash‘ari;[8]</p><p style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px 0px 10px;">– ‘Umar ibn al-Khattab;[9]</p><p style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px 0px 10px;">– Ibn Mas‘ud, as narrated by the hadith masters already mentioned;</p><p style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px 0px 10px;">– Jubayr ibn Mut‘am from his father from his grandfather.[10]</p><p style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px 0px 10px;">All the above are narrated with weak or highly problematic chains as shown by Ibn al-Jawzi,[11] al-Dhahabi, and the editors of al-Bayhaqi’s and Ibn Abi ‘Asim’s books although Ibn Taymiyya typically tries to defend the authenticity of the narration of ‘Umar which contains an explicit ascription of sitting to the Creator (swt).[12] The hadith master Ibn ‘Asakir wrote an entire monograph entitled <em>Bayan al-Wahm wa al-Takhlit fi Hadith al-Atit</em> (“The Exposition of Error and Confusion in the Narration of the [Throne’s] Groaning”) as indicated by Ibn Kathir.[13]</p><p style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px 0px 10px;">The narration of Abu Umama states that the Prophet (s) said: “Ask Allah for al-Firdaws for it is the center of Paradise, and in it is heard the groaning of the Throne <em>(atît al-‘arsh)</em>.” Al-Hakim did not claim that it was sound <em>(sahîh)</em>and al-Dhahabi further stated that one of its sub-narrators, Ja‘far ibn al-Zubayr, was “destroyed” <em>(hâlik)</em> as a narrator; al-Tabarani’s chain also contains him as stated by al-Haythami in <em>Majma‘ al-Zawa’id</em>, who called him “fatally weak”<em>(matrûk)</em>.</p><p style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px 0px 10px;">The narration of Abu Musa al-Ash‘ari states: “The <em>kursî</em> is the footstool and it groans like a new saddle.”[14] Its chain is weak <em>(da‘îf)</em> as stated by the editor of al-Bayhaqi’s <em>al-Asma’ wa al-Sifat</em>. Even if it were sound, is not traced back to the Prophet (s) but would be a <em>mawqûf</em> narration halted at Abu Musa (r) furthermore it is cut up <em>(munqati‘)</em>, as the <em>Tâbi‘î</em> who relates it, ‘Umara ibn ‘Umayr, did not meet Abu Musa al-Ash‘ari. Finally, the scholars of hadith agree that none of the narrations that mention the groaning is authentic.</p><p style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px 0px 10px;">The narration of ‘Umar states that a woman came to the Prophet (s) and said: “Supplicate Allah so that He cause me to enter Paradise.” The Prophet (s) then glorified Allah and said: “Verily, His Seat of Authority<em> (kursî) </em>encompasses the heavens and the earth, and <span style="text-decoration-line: underline;">it groans like the sound of the new saddle when one mounts it, due to the weight pressing down on it</span>.” Al-Haythami’s claim that its sub-narrators are all trustworthy is incorrect, as the sub-narrator ‘Abd Allah ibn Khalifa is merely “acceptable” <em>(maqbûl)</em> according to Ibn Hajar, and Ma‘ruf and al-Arna’ut consider him <em>majhûl al-hâl</em>, which further weakens the narration.[15] This means that his narration is not retained except for the purpose of confirming an identical narration with a stronger chain. Furthermore, Ibn Kathir stated there is doubt whether he actually narrated from ‘Umar and the hadith would then be narrated with a “cut-up” <em>(munqati‘)</em> chain.[16]</p><p style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px 0px 10px;">As for the text of the hadith itself <em>(matn)</em>, it is considered by Ibn Kathir in his <em>Tafsir</em> (1:31, 2:14) as a “strange” or one-chained <em>(gharîb)</em> narration. Ibn Kathir also states that Abu Dawud’s narration from Jabir ibn Mut‘am is “stranger yet.”</p><p style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px 0px 10px;">The narration of Abu Dawud from Jubayr ibn Mut‘am, from his father, from his grandfather, states:</p><p style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px 0px 10px 30px;">An Arab came to the Messenger of Allah (s) and said: “O Messenger of Allah, people are in distress, the children are hungry, the crops are withered, and the animals are perishing, so Ask Allah to grant us rain, for we seek you as our intercessor with Allah, and Allah as our intercessor with you.” The Prophet (s) said: “Woe to you! Do you know what you are saying?” Then the Prophet (s) glorified Allah and he went on until the effect of his speech showed on the faces of his Companions. He then said: “Woe to you! Allah is not to be sought as intercessor with anyone. His state is greater than that. Woe to you![17] Do you know the greatness of Allah? Truly, His Throne <em>(‘arsh)</em> is on His Heavens like this” – and he formed with his fingers something like a dome over him – “and it groans on account of Him like a saddle groans because of its rider.” Ibn Bashshar added in his version: “Allah (swt) is above His Throne, and His Throne is above His Heavens.”[18]</p><p style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px 0px 10px;">The hadith is graded weak by the author of <em>‘Awn al-Ma‘bud</em>. Al-Dhahabi terms it an “extremely strange” one-chained narration <em>(gharîb jiddan)</em> and says: “Allah knows best if the Prophet (s) ever said such a thing or not; Allah –(<strong>there is nothing whatsoever like unto Him</strong>) (42:11)!”[19] We have already mentioned Ibn Kathir’s similar opinion of the hadith. As for its chain of narration, it is declared weak by the editors of Ibn Abi ‘Asim’s <em>al-Sunna</em> and al-Ajurri’s al-<em>Shari‘a</em>. This is due to the concealment <em>(tadlîs)</em> of the mode of transmission through <em>‘an‘ana</em> or undecisive transmission terminology by one of its narrators, Muhammad ibn Ishaq ibn Yasar al-Muttalibi while another narrator, Jubayr ibn Muhammad ibn Jubayr ibn Mut‘am, is merely “acceptable” <em>(maqbûl)</em>,[20] which makes him unreliable in a narration that is not independently verifiable. There are other problems with the chain and the text, which Ibn ‘Asakir addresses in <em>Bayan al-Wahm</em>. Ibn al-Qayyim alone claimed that the least grading of this narration was <em>hasan</em>.</p><table border="1" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" style="height: 69px; width: 616px;"><tbody><tr><td valign="top" width="472">“The import of the hadith ‘and it groans… like a saddle’ …consists in a metaphor to give an idea of the Greatness of Allah and make understandable to the questioner…”Abu Sulayman al-Khattabi</td></tr></tbody></table><p style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px 0px 10px;">The hadith master Abu Sulayman al-Khattabi (d. 386) states in his commentary on Abu Dawud:</p><p style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px 0px 10px 30px;">If this discourse is taken in its outward sense, then it suggests modality <em>(kayfiyya)</em>, which does not apply to Allah and His Attributes. It is therefore understood that the import of the hadith is not to attribute modality to Him or suggest boundaries to Him in this manner. Rather, it consists in a metaphor <em>(kalâm taqrîb)</em> to give an idea of the Greatness of Allah and make understandable to the questioner what is beyond his level of understanding, for he was an uneducated Bedouin unversed in the minutiae of language and the sutbleties of speech which elude the mind. In this discourse, we find ellipsis and allusiveness. Thus the meaning of his saying: “Do you know what Allah is?” means: Do you know the greatness of Allah? and his saying: “It groans under him” means that it is unable to carry His Majesty and Greatness. Thus it groans under him for it is known that the reason a camel saddle groans under the rider is because of the weight of what is on it and its inability to carry it. By drawing this kind of similitude he illustrates the meaning of the Greatness and Might of Allah and the height of His Throne in order for it to be known that the holder of lofty rank, mighty status, and exalted name, is not to be made an intercessor with one who is lesser in position and below Him in degree.[21]</p><table border="1" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" style="height: 47px; width: 620px;"><tbody><tr><td valign="top" width="472">“The meaning of the groaning of the <em>kursî</em> is its impotence before the majesty and greatness of Allah” Ibn Jawzi</td></tr></tbody></table><p style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px 0px 10px 30px;">A similar mode of interpretation was adopted by later scholars. Ibn al-Athir (d. 630) in his <em>Nihaya fi Gharîb al-Hadith</em> under the entry “<em>a-t-t</em>” said: There is no actual groaning, it is only a metaphorical expression in order to confirm Divine magnificence” <em>(wa in lam yakun thamma atît wa innamâ huwa kalâmu taqrîb urîda bihi taqrîru ‘azamat Allâh ta‘âlâ)</em>.</p><p style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px 0px 10px;">Ibn al-Jawzi (d. 597) stated something identical in his <em>Daf‘ Shubah al-Tashbih</em>:</p><p style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px 0px 10px 30px;">The meaning of the groaning of the <em>kursî</em> is its impotence before the majesty and greatness of Allah, as it is known that the groaning of the camel saddle under its rider is a indication of the power of what sits on top of it, or its impotence to bear it. The Prophet (s) drew this kind of simile for Divine greatness and majesty in order to teach the Arab who had sought the intercession of Allah (swt) with the Prophet (s) that the One whose greatness is overwhelming is not to be sought as an intercessor with those under His station. As for al-Qadi Abu Ya‘la’s words: “The groaning is because of the pressure of the Essence of Allah on it” – this is overt anthropomorphism.[22]</p><p style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px 0px 10px;">Al-Dhahabi eludes the issue by stating that the groaning of the Throne is unrelated to the Divine Names and Attributes but would be similar to the shaking of the Throne at the death of Sa‘d ibn Mu‘adh (as narrated by al-Bukhari and Muslim) and the cleaving of the heaven on the Day of Resurrection.[23]</p><p style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px 0px 10px;">Al-Suyuti mentioned Abu Musa al-Ash‘ari’s narration in <em>al-Durr al-Manthur</em> and said: “This is a metaphor <em>(hâdha ‘alâ sabîl al-isti‘âra)</em>. This [metaphorical] meaning is made clear by Ibn Jarir’s narration from al-Dahhak whereby ‘The <em>Kursî</em> is placed below the Throne and is where the angels stand.’”</p><p style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px 0px 10px;">Al-Suyuti’s elucidation is confirmed by what al-Qurtubi quoted from Ibn ‘Atiyya in his <em>Tafsir</em> of the Verse of the Throne whereby the meaning was that the <em>kursî</em> was placed in front of the <em>‘arsh</em> “just like” the footstool is placed in front of a high chair, indicating that it did not necessitate reference to an actual footstool but referred, for example, to a seat or station. Al-Bayhaqi states the same.[24]</p><table border="1" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" style="height: 71px; width: 608px;"><tbody><tr><td valign="top" width="472">“As for al-Qadi Abu Ya‘la’s words: ‘The groaning is because of the pressure of the Essence of Allah on it’ – this is overt anthropomorphism” Ibn Jawzi</td></tr></tbody></table><p style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px 0px 10px;">It is evident that the authorities considered the narrations of the groaning of the Throne as weak and their texts as “strange” and one-chained in their transmission. They held that even if such narrations were to be accepted, nevertheless their meaning would be understood as metaphorical in order to preclude anthropomorphism. The meaning of the Throne’s groaning would then be its impotence before Divine Majesty and Greatness or its submission to its Creator.</p><p style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px 0px 10px;">A further problem of some of these narrations, such as those cited in <em>al-‘Ilal al-Mutanahiya</em> by Ibn al-Jawzi from his shaykh Ibn al-Zaghuni, is their mention that Allah (swt) “sits on the <em>kursî</em> so that only four spans of it remain vacant” <em>(ma yafdalu minhu illâ qadaru arba‘i asâbi‘)</em>. This is a commonplace of anthropomorphism.[25] The earliest compiler of Ahmad ibn Hanbal’s jurisprudence, al-Khallal, in his book <em>al-Sunna</em>, after stating that Allah (swt) sits on the <em>Kursî</em> and there remains only four spans vacant, goes on to narrate over a hundred pages of weak and forged reports to that effect, finally claiming that whoever denies Mujahid’s report is a follower of Jahm ibn Safwan! This is an extremely grave charge in view of the status of Jahmis as apostates in the eyes of Imam Ahmad and his school.[26]</p><h2 style="font-size: 12px; font-weight: normal; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">2. An Unverified Narration From Ibn ‘Umar</h2><p style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px 0px 10px;">Ibn ‘Umar related that the Prophet (s) recited: “It may be that your Lord shall raise you to an Exalted Station” and that [it meant] Allah would seat him on the dais <em>(yujlisuhu ‘alâ al-sarîr)</em>.[27]</p><p style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px 0px 10px;">It is narrated by Ibn Marduyah in his <em>Tafsir</em> as stated by al-Suyuti in his commentary on the verse in <em>al-Durr al-Manthur</em>. The authenticity of this narration is not known and its wording departs from all the other narrations, though not its meaning.</p><h2 style="font-size: 12px; font-weight: normal; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">3. Another Unverified Narration From Ibn ‘Umar</h2><p style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px 0px 10px;">The same as above is also narrated from Ibn ‘Umar, but with the wording: “Allah shall seat me with Him on the Throne <em>(al-sarîr)</em>.”</p><p style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px 0px 10px;">Al-Suyuti cited it in <em>al-Durr al-Manthur</em> and said: “Narrated by al-Daylami.” The authenticity of this narration is not known, and Daylami (d. 509) did not give his chain when citing the hadith.[28] In such cases the rule is to consider the narration weak, as stated by al-Suyuti in his introduction to <em>Jam‘ al-Jawami‘</em>, also known as <em>al-Jami‘ al-Kabir</em>, as quoted by Muttaqi al-Hindi at the opening of <em>Kanz al-‘Ummal</em>:</p><p style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px 0px 10px;">Everything that I reference to these four [al-‘Uqayli in <em>al-Du‘afa’</em>, Ibn ‘Adi in <em>al-Kamil fi al-Du‘afa’</em>, al-Khatib al-Baghdadi, and Ibn ‘Asakir], or to al-Hakim al-Tirmidhi in <em>Nawadir al-Usul</em>, or to al-Hakim in his <em>Tarikh</em>, or to al-Daylami in <em>Musnad al-Firdaws</em>: all that is weak <em>(fa huwa da‘îf)</em>, and it is therefore unnecessary, when referencing a narration back to one of them, to state explicitly that that narration is weak.</p><h2 style="font-size: 12px; font-weight: normal; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">4. A Narration From Ibn ‘Abbas</h2><p style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px 0px 10px;">From Ibn ‘Abbas: “[The meaning of] the verse [of the Exalted Station] is that Allah shall seat the Prophet (s) between Him and Gibrîl (as), and he will intercede for his Community. That is the Praiseworthy Station.”</p><p style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px 0px 10px;">Al-Suyuti cited it in <em>al-Durr al-Manthur</em> and said: “Narrated by al-Tabarani.” Al-Haythami said in <em>Majma‘ al-Zawa’id</em> (book of <em>Tafsir</em> on Surat al-Isra’): “Al-Tabarani narrated it with a chain containing Ibn Lahi‘a who is weak if no-one else narrated the same hadith at his level of the chain <em>(idhâ lam yutâba‘)</em>. As for [one of its sub-narrators, the <em>Tâbi‘î</em>] ‘Ata’ ibn Dinar (d. 126), it is said he did not actually hear narrations from [the next link in the chain, the <em>Tâbi‘î</em>] Sa‘id ibn Jubayr (d. 94).” Ibn Hajar specifies that ‘Ata’s narrations from Sa‘id are from reading rather than hearing.[29] The chain of this hadith would then be weak and cut-up <em>(da‘îf munqati‘)</em> as confirmed by Ma‘ruf and al-Arna’ut’s comments.[30]</p><table border="1" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" style="height: 60px; width: 598px;"><tbody><tr><td valign="top" width="472">“One of the most reprehensible matters that came from Mujahid . . . [is]: ‘He will seat the Prophet (s) with Him on the Throne’” Al-Dhahabi</td></tr></tbody></table><h2 style="font-size: 12px; font-weight: normal; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">5. Mujahid’s Controverted Narration</h2><p style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px 0px 10px;">From Mujahid:[31] “The saying of Allah: [<strong>It may be that your Lord will raise you to an Exalted Station</strong>] (17:79) means: He will seat the Prophet (s) with Him on His Throne <em>(yujlisuhu ma‘ahu ‘alâ ‘arshihi)</em>.”</p><p style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px 0px 10px;">Al-Dhahabi cited the above in his notice on Mujahid with dismay: “One of the most reprehensible matters that came from Mujahid in his commentary of the Qur’an is what he said concerning the verse [<strong>It may be that thy Lord will raise you to an Exalted Station</strong>] – he said: ‘He will seat the Prophet (s) with Him on the Throne’ <em>(wa min ankari mâ jâ’a ‘an mujâhidin fî al-tafsîri fî qawlihi ‘asâ an yab‘athaka rabbuka maqâman mahmûdan</em> – <em>qâla: yujlisuhu ma‘ahu ‘alâ al-‘arsh!).</em>”[32]</p><p style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px 0px 10px;">Ibn Abi ‘Asim (d. 287) narrated Mujahid’s hadith in his book <em>al-Sunna</em>, edited by M. Nasir al-Albani who said: “Its chain is weak and severed <em>(maqtû‘)</em>.”[33] This chain is as follows: Ibn Abi ‘Asim said: < Abu Bakr ibn Abi Shayba narrated to us: < Ibn Fudayl narrated to us, < From Layth, < From Mujahid.</p><p style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px 0px 10px;">Al-Suyuti also cited Mujahid’s report in <em>al-Durr al-Manthur</em> and said that it was narrated by Ibn Jarir al-Tabari. We cite al-Tabari’s narration and his commentary further below.</p><table border="1" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" style="height: 26px; width: 643px;"><tbody><tr><td valign="top" width="472">“This [groaning of the Throne] is a metaphor” Al-Suyuti</td></tr></tbody></table><h2 style="font-size: 12px; font-weight: normal; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">6. A Narration From ‘A’isha</h2><p style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px 0px 10px;">Ibn al-Jawzi in the thirty-ninth hadith of his <em>Daf‘ Shubah al-Tashbih</em> mentions that ‘A’isha asked the Prophet (s) about the Exalted Station and he replied: “My Lord promised to seat me on the Throne.” Ibn al-Jawzi said: “This narration is not authentic from the Prophet (s).”</p><h2 style="font-size: 12px; font-weight: normal; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">7. A Narration From ‘Abd Allahbn Salam</h2><p style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px 0px 10px;">Ibn Abi ‘Asim said:[34]</p><p style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px 0px 10px;">Muhammad ibn Abi Safwan al-Thaqafi narrated to us:</p><p style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px 0px 10px;">Yahya ibn Kathir Abu Ghassan al-‘Anbari narrated to us:</p><p style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px 0px 10px;">Salm ibn Ja‘far narrated to us:</p><p style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px 0px 10px;">From [Abu Mas‘ud] Sa‘id al-Jariri who said:</p><p style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px 0px 10px;">Sayf al-Sadusi[35] narrated to us:</p><p style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px 0px 10px;">From ‘Abd Allah ibn Salam who said: “On the Day of Resurrection your Prophet shall be brought and he shall be made to sit in front of Allah the Almighty, on His Throne” <em>(yuq‘adu bayna yaday Allâhi ‘alâ kursiyyihi)</em>. One of the sub-narrators, Salm ibn Ja‘far, said to the one previous to him in the chain of transmission, Abu Mas‘ud al-Jariri: “If he is on His <em>kursî</em>, then, surely, he is with Him [rather than in front of Him]?” <em>(idhâ kâna ‘alâ kursiyyihi fa huwa ma‘ahu?)</em>. Abu Mas‘ud replied: “Woe to you all! This is the dearest of all hadiths in my sight.”[36]</p><p style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px 0px 10px;">The narration reports Salm ibn Ja‘far’s distinction between the terms “in front of Allah” and “on His Throne” which seems to presuppose that Allah (swt) is on the Throne in the anthropomorphist sense. To Salm, the Prophet (s) is either “in front of Allah” or “on His Throne,” but he cannot be both at the same time. Abu Mas‘ud’s curt reply shows that Salm was not alone in observing this. However, there is no discrepancy, as the Prophet (s) can be both on the Throne of Allah (swt) and in front of Him at one and the same time; Salm ibn Ja‘far’s premise is far from necessary, hence Abu Mas‘ud’s displeasure. The apparent confusion is lifted even further if one remembers that <em>Kursî</em> in the narrations either means the Throne, or another throne next to it, or the Footstool or Station which is in front of the Throne. An example of the first meaning is al-Darimi’s narration mentioned in Section 1; an example of the second, al-Hakim’s authentic narration in Section 7; an example of the third, the narration of Ibn ‘Abbas: “The <em>Kursî</em> is the footstool.”[37]</p><h2 style="font-size: 12px; font-weight: normal; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">8. Another Narration From ‘Abd Allah ibn Salam</h2><p style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px 0px 10px;">From ‘Abd Allah bin Salam, in a long hadith on the Day of Judgment: “A seat <em>(kursî)</em> will be placed for the Prophet (s) on the right of Allah (swt).”[38] This narration from the same Companion as the previous one is therefore clearer with respect to meaning and more reliable with respect to transmission. Both this and the previous narration, although stopped at a Companion <em>(mawqûf)</em>, would normally have the status of narrations traced back to the Prophet (s) <em>(marfû‘) </em>since they give depictions of the unseen which are not subject to a Companion’s opinion but necessarily come from him as a transmitted report. Yet the hadith scholars have drawn attention to ‘Abd Allah bin Salam as one of the Companions who frequently report narrations from the People of the Book <em>(isrâ’îliyyât)</em>. Because of this, they have refrained from giving his <em>mawqûf</em> reports – and those of ‘Abd Allah ibn ‘Amr ibn al-‘As – the status of <em>marfû‘</em> unless independently confirmed. Similar caution applies to the Successors Ka‘b al-Ahbar and Wahb ibn Munabbih.[39]</p><p style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px 0px 10px;">These narrations bring to three the reported positions of the Prophet (s) in the different versions of the hadith of the seating: On the Throne, in front of the Throne, and to the right of the Throne. The first is itself divided into two versions: alone, or “with Allah.” The latter is obviously the most controverted version.[40]</p><h2 style="font-size: 12px; font-weight: normal; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">9. Al-Tabari’s Defense of Mujahid’s Narration</h2><p style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px 0px 10px;">Imam al-Tabari said in his <em>Tafsir</em>:</p><p style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px 0px 10px;">Others said [concerning the verse of the Exalted Station]: “Rather [than meaning Intercession], that Praiseworthy Station to which Allah has promised to raise His Prophet is the fact that He shall seat him with Him on His Throne!”</p><p style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px 0px 10px;">Following is the mention of those who said this:</p><p style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px 0px 10px;">‘Abbad ibn Ya‘qub al-Asadi[41] said to us:</p><p style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px 0px 10px;">Ibn Fudayl[42] said to us:</p><p style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px 0px 10px;">From Layth:[43]</p><p style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px 0px 10px;">From Mujahid:</p><p style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px 0px 10px;">“Concerning the saying of Allah: [<strong>It may be that you Lord will raise you to an Exalted Station</strong>] – He shall make him sit with Him on His Throne <em>(yujlisuhu ma‘ahu ‘alâ ‘arshihi).</em>”</p><p style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px 0px 10px;">But of the two explanations concerning this question the likelier to be correct is that supported by the authentic report from the Prophet (s) such as the following from Abu Hurayra:</p><p style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px 0px 10px;">Abu Kurayb[44] said to us:</p><p style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px 0px 10px;">Waki‘[45] said to us:</p><p style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px 0px 10px;">From Dawud ibn Yazid:[46]</p><p style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px 0px 10px;">From his father [Yazid ibn ‘Abd al-Rahman]:[47]</p><p style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px 0px 10px;">From Abu Hurayra:</p><p style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px 0px 10px;">The Prophet (s) was asked about the verse: “It may be that thy Lord will raise you to an Exalted Station” and he said: “That is intercession” <em>(hiya al-shafâ‘a)</em>.[48]</p><p style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px 0px 10px;">Al-Tabari then goes on to mention nine more narrations supporting the latter interpretation of the verse. However, far from rejecting Mujahid’s narration, he returns to discuss it and defends its authenticity:</p><p style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px 0px 10px;">Even if [the meaning of Intercession] is the sound position <em>(al-sahîh min al-qawl)</em> in the interpretation [of the Exalted Station] due to what we mentioned from the Prophet (s), the Companions, and the Successors – nevertheless, what Mujahid said to the effect that Allah shall seat Muhammad (s) on His Throne is a position that is by no means unsound whether from the perspective of narration or from that of reason. For there is no report from the Prophet (s) nor from any of the Companions nor Successors precluding it. As for the perspective of reason, those who profess <em>(yantahil)</em> Islam differ on its meaning in only three ways:</p><ul style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px; padding: 0px 0px 15px;"><li style="list-style-type: square; margin: 0px 0px 0px 20px; padding: 0px;">One group said: “Allah (swt) is separate <em>(bâ’in)</em> from His creation. He was before He created things; then He created them without entering into contact with them; and He is exactly as He ever was. However, with regard to the things He created, since He is not in contact <em>(mumâss)</em> with them, it is obligatory that He be separate from them. For there is no effecter <em>(fa‘âl)</em> upon things but he is either in contact with them or separate from them.”[49]</li></ul><p style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px 0px 10px;">According to that group, since Allah (swt) is the effecter of things, and since they say that it is impermissible to describe Him as being in contact with them, it is therefore incumbent – so they claim – that He be separate from them. According to their school, it follows that it is the same whether He seats Muhammad (s) on His Throne or on the ground. For it results from their position that His “separateness” <em>(baynûna)</em> from His Throne and “separateness” from the ground are one and the same in meaning: He is equally separate from both, equally in contact with neither.</p><ul style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px; padding: 0px 0px 15px;"><li style="list-style-type: square; margin: 0px 0px 0px 20px; padding: 0px;">Another group said: “Allah Almighty was, before He created things, in contact with nothing and separate from nothing. Then He created things and brought them into existence through His power, remaining exactly as He ever was before He created things, in contact with nothing, separate <em>(bâ’in)</em> from nothing.”[50]</li></ul><p style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px 0px 10px;">According to that group’s position also, it is equally the same whether He seats Muhammad (s) on His Throne or on His ground.[51] For, according to them, it is the same regarding His Throne or His ground in that He is in contact with neither, and He is separate from neither <em>(la mumâss wa la mubâyin)</em>.</p><ul style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px; padding: 0px 0px 15px;"><li style="list-style-type: square; margin: 0px 0px 0px 20px; padding: 0px;">A third group[52] said: “Allah Almighty was, before He created things, in contact with nothing and separate from nothing. Then He brought things into being and created them. At that time He created for Himself a Throne over which He established Himself by sitting <em>(istawâ ‘alayhi jâlisan)</em>, and He entered into contact with it <em>(sâra lahu mumâssan)</em>. This is just as, before He created things, there was nothing to which He granted sustenance and nothing of which He deprived it; then He created things and gave this one sustenance and deprived that one of it, giving to this one and withholding from that one. Similarly He was, before creating things, in contact with nothing and separate from nothing, then He created things and became in contact with the Throne by sitting on it as opposed to the remainder of creation.[53] Therefore, He is in contact with whatever He wishes from His creation, and He is separate from whatever He wishes from His creation.”</li></ul><p style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px 0px 10px;">According to the school of that group also, it is the same whether He seats Muhammad (s) on His Throne or on a pulpit of light, for they also say that “the Lord’s sitting on the Throne does not occupy the entirety of the Throne;”[54] and [they say], similarly, that the seating of Muhammad (s) does not necessitate for him the attribute of lordship, nor does it bring him out of that of servanthood; just as the separateness of Muhammad (s) from whatever is separate from him, neither necessitates lordship for him nor brings him out of servanthood on the sole grounds that he is separate from it.[55] According to that line of thinking, just as Allah (swt) is described as separate from things, similarly, the Prophet (s) is described as separate from the Throne. They arrive at the conclusion that since the meaning of “being separate” does not necessarily preclude from the Prophet (s) the attribute of servanthood nor impose lordship upon him, similarly, his seating on the Throne of the Merciful does not necessitate either of the above for him.</p><p style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px 0px 10px;">In conclusion, it is clear that, as we said before, what Mujahid said is not impossible, according to all those who profess Islam, namely: that Allah (swt) shall seat the Prophet (s) on His Throne.</p><p style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px 0px 10px;">Now if someone should say: “We do not deny the seating of the Prophet (s) by Allah (swt) on His Throne [since it is related]… from ‘Abd Allah ibn Salam: ‘Verily, on the Day of Resurrection, Muhammad (s) shall be on the Lord’s Throne <em>(kursî al-Rabb)</em>, in front of the Lord <em>(bayna yaday al-Rabb)</em>.’[56] All that we deny is that He seat him <em>with Him</em>.” We can reply to him: “Do you allow that He seats him on it but not with Him?” If he allows that, then he also concurs that either he is with Him [on the Throne], or that He seats him while being separate from [the Throne], or not in contact with it, or neither in contact nor separate. Whichever of these alternatives he concedes he will have accepted part of what he previously denied.[57] But if he disallows it then he will be diverging from all the different groups whose positions we mentioned, and that is a divergence from all those that profess Islam; for there is no other position than the three we have cited[58] – none of them considering what Mujahid said to be impossible.[59]</p><p style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px 0px 10px;">Al-Tabari’s view that both interpretations stand is confirmed by Mujahid himself, from whom is also reported the exegesis narrated by Abu Hurayra, as found in <em>Tafsir Mujahid</em>:</p><p style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px 0px 10px;">‘Abd al-Rahman [ibn al-Hasan al-Hamadhani][60] told us:</p><p style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px 0px 10px;">Ibrahim [ibn al-Husayn al-Hamadhani][61] narrated to us:</p><p style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px 0px 10px;">Adam [ibn Abi Iyas][62] narrated to us:</p><p style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px 0px 10px;">Warqa’ [ibn ‘Umar][63] narrated to us,</p><p style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px 0px 10px;">From [‘Abd Allah] Ibn Abi Najih,</p><p style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px 0px 10px;">From Mujahid:</p><p style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px 0px 10px;">[Concerning the verse] “<em>It may be that your Lord shall raise you to an Exalted Station”</em> Mujahid said: “The Exalted Station is the intercession of Muhammad (s).”[64]</p><p style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px 0px 10px;">9a. Another Position Related from al-Tabari</p><p style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px 0px 10px;">An incident was related to have taken place between al-Tabari and some Hanbalis in Baghdad over the explanation of the verse of the Exalted Station whereby al-Tabari reportedly recited:</p><p style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px 0px 10px 30px;"><em>subhana man laysa lahu anisun</em></p><p style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px 0px 10px 30px;"><em>wa ma lahu fi ‘arshihi jalisu</em></p><p style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px 0px 10px 30px;">Glory to Him Who has no comrade</p><p style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px 0px 10px 30px;">nor companion sitting with Him on His Throne!</p><p style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px 0px 10px;">Hearing this, the account goes, the irate Hanbalis pelted al-Tabari with their inkwells and he sought shelter in his house.[65] The report seems dubious in light of the above-cited defense by al-Tabari, in his <em>Tafsir</em>, of Mujahid’s narration Furthermore, al-Suyuti’s report is not found anywhere else. What is well-established is that the Hanbalis persecuted al-Tabari for failing to mention Imam Ahmad in his book <em>Ikhtilaf al-Fuqaha’</em>. Another reason mentioned by al-Dhahabi, was the antagonism between al-Tabari and the Hanbali Abu Bakr ibn Abi Dawud, who falsely accused him of being a <em>Râfidî</em>.[66]</p><h2 style="font-size: 12px; font-weight: normal; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">10. Al-Qurtubi’s Commentary</h2><table border="1" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" style="height: 226px; width: 620px;"><tbody><tr><td valign="top" width="472">‘As for the term “with Him” used in Mujahid’s [first] report,[67] it is in the same category as the saying of Allah:(<strong>Verily, those that are with your Lord</strong>) (7:206), or: (<strong>O my Lord! Build for me with You a house in Paradise</strong>) (66:11) and similar statements. All of these signify rank, status, pre-eminence, and an exalted station – not a location’<p style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px 0px 10px;"></p><h3 style="color: #333333; font-size: 16px; font-weight: normal; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">Imam al-Qurtubi</h3></td></tr></tbody></table><p style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px 0px 10px;">Imam al-Qurtubi commented thus on the verse of the Exalted Station in his <em>Tafsir</em>:</p><p style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px 0px 10px;">The third explanation of this verse is what al-Tabari reported from a party of scholars – among them Mujahid – whereby “the Exalted Station is the seating by Allah (swt) of the Prophet (s) with Him on His Throne <em>(kursiyyih)</em>.” They narrated a hadith to that effect, and al-Tabari backed up the possibility <em>(jawâz)</em> of such a thing with some extravagant statements <em>(shatatin min al-qawl)</em>. However, what he said cannot be inferred [from the verse] except with over-subtlety as to meaning <em>(al-talattuf bi al-ma‘nâ)</em>, and it is far-fetched <em>(fîhi bu‘d)</em>. This is not to say that there is no such narration; only that [one endowed with] knowledge interprets it figuratively <em>(al-‘ilmu yata’awwaluhu)</em>.</p><p style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px 0px 10px;">Abu Sa‘id al-Naqqash[68] mentioned from Abu Dawud al-Sijistani:[69] “Whoever denies this hadith, we strongly condemn him. The scholars of knowledge never stopped narrating this hadith. Who among them ever denied its possibility, even as he interpreted it?”</p><p style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px 0px 10px;">Abu ‘Umar [Ibn ‘Abd al-Barr] said: “Concerning Mujahid – although he is one of the major scholars, nevertheless he interprets away the Qur’an. There are two sayings of his which the people of knowledge have strongly rejected: one of them is this saying; the other is his interpretation of the verses<strong>: </strong>(<strong>On that day will faces be resplendent, looking towards their Lord</strong>) (75:22-23) as meaning: waiting for their reward, not actually looking.”[70] He [Abu ‘Umar] mentioned that in his chapter on Ibn Shihab in the discussion of the hadith of “descent” <em>(nuzûl)</em>.[71]</p><p style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px 0px 10px;">Also narrated from Mujahid in explanation of the verse [of the Exalted Station] is his saying: “Allah will seat him on the Throne” <em>(yujlisuhu ‘alâ al-‘arsh)</em>. This is not an impossible interpretation.[72] For Allah (swt) existed and was Self-Sufficient <em>(qâ’im bi dhâtihi)</em> before He created any object, including the Throne. Then He created objects, not out of need for them, but to show His power and wisdom, and in order that His existence be known as well as His Oneness, absolute might, and all-encompassing knowledge in all the acts He decrees. [Among these objects] He created for Himself a Throne over which He elevated Himself in the way that He wished, without contact with the Throne <em>(min ghayri an sâra lahu mumâssan)</em> and without the Throne becoming a place <em>(makân)</em> for Him. In this respect it is also said: “He is now exactly as He was before He created place and time.”[73]</p><p style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px 0px 10px;">On that basis it is the same, with respect to possibility, whether Allah seats the Prophet (s) on the Throne or on the ground.[74] For His elevation over the Throne is not in the sense of displacement <em>(intiqâl)</em>, removal <em>(zawâl)</em>, nor change of position from standing to sitting, nor any state or condition to which the Throne itself is subject. Rather, He is elevated over the Throne in the way He has stated concerning Himself, without saying how. Nor does His seating of the Prophet (s) on the Throne impose upon the Prophet (s) the attribute of Lordship or move him out of that of servanthood. Rather, it consists in an elevation because of his status, and an honor bestowed upon him because of his sublime character.</p><p style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px 0px 10px;">As for the term “with Him” used in Mujahid’s [first] report,[75] it is in the same category as the saying of Allah: (<strong>Verily, those that are with your Lord</strong>) (7:206), or: (<strong>O my Lord! Build for me with You a house in Paradise</strong>) (66:11) and similar statements. All of these signify rank, status, pre-eminence, and an exalted station – not a location.[76]</p><h2 style="font-size: 12px; font-weight: normal; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">11. Al-Ash‘ari’s Dismissal</h2><p style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px 0px 10px;">Imam Al-Ash‘ari stated the following in the chapter on anthropomorphists <em>(al-Mujassima)</em> in his book <em>Maqalat al-Islamiyyin</em>: “Some of those who profess <em>(yantahil)</em> the science of hadith said: ‘The Throne is not filled by Allah, because He makes His Prophet sit with him on the Throne.’”[77]</p><p style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px 0px 10px;">The word “profess” constitutes a tacit dismissal of those who used Mujahid’s narration to support the concept of the physical togetherness <em>(ma‘iyya)</em> of the Prophet (s) with Allah (swt) on the Throne, particularly those in the Hanbali school, where some scholars have turned this position into a lithmus-test of belief, as shown by al-Khallal’s <em>al-Sunna</em> and in the following sections.</p><h2 style="font-size: 12px; font-weight: normal; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">12. Ibn al-Qayyim’s List of Supporters</h2><p style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px 0px 10px;">Ibn Qayyim al-Jawziyya[78] said in his <em>Bada’i‘ al-Fawa’id</em>:</p><p style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px 0px 10px;">Al-Qadi [Ibn Abi Ya‘la][79] said: “Al-Marwazi[80] compiled a book on the superlative merits of the Prophet (s) in which he mentioned his seating <em>(iq‘âduhu)</em> on the Throne <em>(al-‘arsh)</em>.”</p><p style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px 0px 10px;">Al-Qadi further said: “This is the position of Abu Dawud, Ahmad ibn Asram,[81] Yahya ibn Abi Talib,[82] Abu Bakr ibn Hammad,[83] Abu Ja‘far al-Dimashqi,[84] ‘Abbas al-Duri,[85] Ishaq ibn Rahuyah (or Rahawayh),[86] ‘Abd al-Wahhab al-Warraq,[87] Ibrahim al-Asbahani,[88] Ibrahim al-Harbi,[89] Harun ibn Ma‘ruf,[90] Muhammad ibn Isma‘il al-Sulami,[91] Muhammad ibn Mus‘ab al-‘Abid,[92] Abu Bakr ibn Sadaqa,[93] Muhammad ibn Bishr ibn Sharik,[94] Abu Qilaba,[95] ‘Ali ibn Sahl,[96] Abu ‘Abd Allahbn ‘Abd al-Nur,[97] Abu ‘Ubayd,[98] al-Husayn ibn Fadl,[99] Harun ibn al-‘Abbas al-Hashimi,[100] Isma‘il ibn Ibrahim al-Hashimi,[101] Muhammad ibn ‘Imran al-Farisi al-Zahid,[102] Muhammad ibn Yunus al-Basri,[103] ‘Abd Allahbn Ahmad ibn Hanbal,[104] al-Marwazi, and Bishr al-Hafi.”[105]</p><p style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px 0px 10px;">I say: It is also the position of Ibn Jarir al-Tabari,[106] and the leader of all the above in this is Mujahid, the imam of Qur’anic commentary. It is also Abu al-Hasan al-Daraqutni’s[107] who said:</p><p style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px 0px 10px 30px;"><em>The hadith of Intercession narrated by Ahmad</em></p><p style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px 0px 10px 30px;"><em>Is traced back to the Elect, Ahmad.</em></p><p style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px 0px 10px 30px;"><em>Also known to us is the hadith of his seating</em></p><p style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px 0px 10px 30px;"><em>On the Throne, therefore do not deny it.</em></p><p style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px 0px 10px 30px;"><em>Let the hadith pass exactly as narrated,</em></p><p style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px 0px 10px 30px;"><em>And do not enter into false notions.</em></p><p style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px 0px 10px 30px;"><em>Neither deny that the Prophet sits on the Throne,</em></p><p style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px 0px 10px 30px;"><em>Nor deny that Allah makes him sit there!</em>[108]</p><p style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px 0px 10px;">The book of al-Marwazi mentioned by Ibn Abi Ya‘la gave rise to serious confrontations in Baghdad around the question of the Prophet’s (s) seating on the Throne. Ibn al-Athir relates:</p><p style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px 0px 10px;">That year, a terrible dissension took place in Baghdad between the followers of the Hanbali Abu Bakr al-Marwazi and others of the common folk, and the police had to intervene in large numbers. The reason was that al-Marwazi’s followers said, in explanation of the verse: “It may be that thy Lord will raise you to an Exalted Station,” that it meant Allah would seat the Prophet (s) with Him on the Throne. The other group said that it only meant the Intercession. Dissension ensued and they fell upon one another, and there were many dead.[109]</p><p style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px 0px 10px;">Ibn al-Qayyim’s report that this was the position of al-Tabari suggests that he and al-Qurtubi’s were looking at a common source and that al-Tabari held two opinions on the question, one in support of Mujahid’s narration, as mentioned by Qurtubi, Ibn al-Qayyim, and Ibn Taymiyya, the other opposing it, as mentioned by al-Birzali and al-Suyuti.</p><p style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px 0px 10px;">It is evident that Ibn al-Qayyim collects as many Hanbali authorities as he can find in support of the narration of the seating. Yet he omits to mention Abu Muhammad al-Barbahari,[110] Abu Bakr al-Najjad,[111] Ibn Batta[112] – although Ibn Abi Ya‘la mentions all three supported it in his <em>Tabaqat</em> – and his own teacher Ibn Taymiyya.[113]</p><p style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px 0px 10px;">Ibn al-Qayyim also avoids the distinction between Mujahid’s version mentioning “sitting with Allah” and other versions mentioning simply “sitting.” He merely wishes to show that all these authorities supported the latter, and cautiously sidesteps the thorny issue raised by al-Qurtubi in his discussion of the verse of the Exalted Station.</p><h2 style="font-size: 12px; font-weight: normal; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">13. Al-Barbahari’s <em>Idée Fixe</em></h2><p style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px 0px 10px;">Ibn Abi Ya‘la relates in his <em>Tabaqat</em> that the Hanbali shaykh Abu Muhammad al-Barbahari never sat to teach except he mentioned that the Prophet (s) sits next to Allah on the Throne.[114]</p><h2 style="font-size: 12px; font-weight: normal; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">14. Al-Najjad’s Attack on “Anyone That Contradicts Us”</h2><p style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px 0px 10px;">Ibn Abi Ya‘la wrote the following in his chapter on Abu Bakr al-Najjad in <em>Tabaqat al-Hanabila</em>:</p><p style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px 0px 10px;">‘Ali[115] narrated to me from Ibn Batta:</p><p style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px 0px 10px;">Abu Bakr al-Najjad told us:</p><p style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px 0px 10px;"><strong>(1)</strong> Harun ibn al-‘Abbas[116] told us:</p><p style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px 0px 10px;">Muhammad ibn Bishr[117] told us:</p><p style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px 0px 10px;">‘Abd al-Rahman ibn Sharik[118] told us:</p><p style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px 0px 10px;">My father[119] told me:</p><p style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px 0px 10px;">Abu Yahya al-Qattat[120] told us,</p><p style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px 0px 10px;">From Mujahid:</p><p style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px 0px 10px;">– Also –</p><p style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px 0px 10px;"><strong>(2)</strong> Mu‘adh ibn al-Muthanna[121] told us:</p><p style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px 0px 10px;">Khallad ibn Aslam[122] said:</p><p style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px 0px 10px;">Muhammad ibn Fadl[123] told us,</p><p style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px 0px 10px;">From Layth,</p><p style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px 0px 10px;">From Mujahid:</p><p style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px 0px 10px;">Concerning the verse: “It may be that thy Lord will raise you to an Exalted Station”: “He will seat him with Him on the Throne” <em>(yujlisuhu ma‘ahu ‘alâ al-‘arsh)</em>.[124]</p><p style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px 0px 10px;">Al-Najjad said: “I also asked [about it] Abu Yahya al-Naqid,[125] Ya‘qub al-Mutawwa‘i,[126] ‘Abd Allah ibn Ahmad ibn Hanbal, and a group of our shaykhs, and they narrated to me the hadith of Muhammad ibn Fudayl from Layth from Mujahid.</p><p style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px 0px 10px;">“I also asked Abu al-Hasan al-‘Attar[127] about it, and he narrated to me the hadith of Mujahid. Then he said: ‘I heard Muhammad ibn Mus‘ab al-‘Abid say: “[The Prophet’s (s) seating on the Throne will take place] in order for all creation to see his station before his Lord, and his Lord’s generosity towards him. Then the Prophet (s) shall retire to his apartments and gardens and wives, and alone shall remain Allah in His Lordship <em>(yanfaridu ‘azza wa jalla bi rubûbiyyatihi)</em>.”’</p><p style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px 0px 10px;">“I also looked into the book of Ahmad ibn al-Hajjaj al-Marwazi, who is our imam and guide and proof in this. In that book I found what he mentioned concerning the rejection of the hadiths of ‘Abd Allah ibn Salam[128] and Mujahid, and he listed the names of the shaykhs who criticized those who rejected these hadiths or objected to them.</p><p style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px 0px 10px;">“Therefore, what we declare and believe before Allah Almighty is what we have just described and made clear concerning the meanings of the hadiths quoted from the Prophet (s) with an uninterrupted chain <em>(al-ahadith al-musnada ‘an rasul Allah)</em>,[129] and what was said by ‘Abd Allah ibn ‘Abbas[130] and the scholars after him, which was handed down from elder to elder and from age to age until our shaykhs’ time concerning the saying of Allah:[<strong>It may be that your Lord will raise you to an Exalted Station</strong>]: <span style="text-decoration-line: underline;">the Exalted Station consists in the seating of the Prophet (s) with his Lord on the Throne</span><strong>.</strong> Whoever denies this or contradicts it is only attempting to promote the sayings of the Jahmis. He should be avoided, exposed, and warned against.[131]</p><p style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px 0px 10px;">“Similarly, I was told by Abu Bakr the writer,[132] from Abu Dawud al-Sijistani, that the latter said: ‘Whoever rejects the hadith of Mujahid is a Jahmi.’[133]</p><p style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px 0px 10px;">“Furthermore, Muhammad ibn Suhayb[134] and a group of our shaykhs narrated to us from Muhammad ibn ‘Abd al-Malik al-Daqiqi[135] that he said: ‘I first heard this hadith fifty years ago, and I never heard anyone deny it. Only Jahmi heretics reject it.’</p><p style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px 0px 10px;">“Abu Isma‘il al-Sulami[136] mentioned to us the case of al-Tirmidhi who rejected the pre-eminence of the Prophet (s) and belittled him.[137] Of such a man he said: ‘He does not believe in the Day of Judgment.’ I have seen our shaykhs among the friends of Ahmad ibn Muhammad ibn Hanbal give the same verdict. They condemned whoever rejected such pre-eminence. Allah has made this condemnation clear in the words of the scholars as far back as one can see. The people have all met this with approval, and no-one denies this nor disputes it.</p><p style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px 0px 10px;">“Such is also my position. And should one swear a triple divorce by the seating by Allah (swt) of the Prophet (s) on the Throne with Him, then consult me on the validity of his oath, I would say: Your words are true, your oath binding, and the divorce stands.</p><p style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px 0px 10px;">“That is our doctrine, our religion, our belief upon which we were raised and upon which we shall die if Allah wills. We categorically condemn whoever rejects this pre-eminence to which the scholars referred and which they met with acceptance. Whoever rejects it is from the sects that are bound for destruction.”[138]</p><h2 style="font-size: 12px; font-weight: normal; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">15. Ibn Batta’s Doctrine</h2><p style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px 0px 10px;">Ibn Batta stated in his book <em>al-Sharh wa al-Ibana ‘ala Usul al-Sunna wa al-Diyana</em> (“Elaboration of the Principles of Sunni Doctrine”):</p><p style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px 0px 10px;">The Prophet (s) shall be seated on the Throne with his Lord <em>(yujlas ma‘a rabbihi ‘alâ al-‘arsh)</em>, and this privilege belongs to no-one else. Thus did Nafi‘ narrate it from Ibn ‘Umar[139] from the Prophet (s) concerning the verse: “It may be that thy Lord will raise you to an Exalted Station” – he said that He shall seat him with Him on the Throne. Thus also did Mujahid explain it, as narrated by Muhammad ibn Fudayl, from al-Layth, from Mujahid.[140]</p><h2 style="font-size: 12px; font-weight: normal; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">16. Ibn Taymiyya’s Inheritance</h2><p style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px 0px 10px;">Ibn Taymiyya wrote:</p><p style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px 0px 10px;">The scholars recognized by Allah and His accepted Friends have narrated that Muhammad the Messenger of Allah (s) will be seated by His Lord on the Throne next to Him.</p><p style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px 0px 10px;">Muhammad ibn Fudayl narrated this from Layth from Mujahid in the commentary of the verse: “It may be that your Lord will raise you to an Exalted Station.” This was also mentioned through other chains, some traced back to the Prophet (s) and some not.</p><p style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px 0px 10px;">Ibn Jarir [al-Tabari] said: “This does not contradict the nearly-mass-narrated narrations <em>(ma istafâdat bihi al-ahâdith)</em> whereby the Exalted Station is the Intercession as agreed upon by the Imams of all Muslims.” He does not say that the Prophet’s (s) seating on the Throne is denounced as false; only some Jahmis held it so. Nor is it objectionable to mention it in the context of a commentary on the verse.[141]</p><p style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px 0px 10px;">As we have mentioned before, Ibn Taymiyya’s student al-Dhahabi dismissed the report as “condemned” <em>(munkar)</em>. It is also remarkable that Ibn Taymiyya, like his Hanbali predecessors, refuses to acknowledge the inauthenticity of the chains of the narrations he refers to, especially those he says are traced back to the Prophet (s).</p><p style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px 0px 10px;">Hajji Khalifa said: “Ibn Taymiyya authored a book entitled <em>al-‘Arsh</em> in which he stated that Allah sits on the <em>kursî</em> and leaves some space vacant for the Prophet (s) to sit next to him. Abu Hayyan al-Andalusi mentioned it in [his Qur’anic commentary entitled] <em>al-Nahr</em> and said that he read it in Ibn Taymiyya’s own handwriting.”[142]</p><p style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px 0px 10px;">And Allah Most High knows best.</p><hr /><p style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px 0px 10px;">NOTES<br /><small><br />[1]Ibn Taymiyya, Majmu‘ al-Fatawa (Mufassal al-I‘tiqad – “Specifics of Belief” – 4:374).<br />[2]Al-Kawthari, Maqalat (p. 358).<br />[3]Hadith of the Prophet (s) narrated from Anas by al-Bukhari, Sahih, book of Tawhîd: “On the Day of Resurrection the people will surge one group after another like waves, and they will come to Adam and say: ‘Please intercede for us with your Lord!’ He will say: ‘I am not fit for this. You should go to Ibrahim as he is the Intimate Friend (khalîl) of the Beneficent.’ They will go to Ibrahim and he will say: ‘I am not fit for this, but you should go to Musa as he is the one to whom Allah I spoke directly.’ So they will go to Musa and he will say: ‘I am not fit for this, but you should go to ‘Isa as he is a soul created [directly] by Allah, and His Word [Be!].’ They will go to ‘Isa and he will say: ‘I am not fit for this, but you should go to Muhammad.’ They will come to me and I will say: ‘I shall do it!’ Then I will ask for my Lord’s permission and it shall be given…”<br />[4]Al-Busiri, line 155 of Qasidat al-Burda.<br />[5]Suyuti said in al-Durr al-Manthur for verse 2:216: “Narrated from Ibn ‘Abbas by Ibn al-Mundhir and al-Bayhaqi in his Sunan.” Cf. Qurtubi’s Tafsir for verse 7:129: “‘Asâ min Allâhi: wâjib.” Cf. Ibn Kathir in al-Bidaya wa al-Nihaya (5:33) and al-Suyuti in al-Durr al-Manthur, both on verse 9:102: “‘Asâ min Allâhi: wâjib.” Qurtubi also said for verse 4:84: “Al-itmâ‘u min Allâhi: wâjib.” Notable exceptions to this rule are verses 2:216, 17:8, and 67:5, which, as al-Suyuti showed, do not denote certainty.<br />[6]The chains of this hadith are all weak (da‘if) as they contain ‘Uthman ibn ‘Umayr who was variously declared as weak (da‘if) or condemned as a narrator (munkar al-hadith). See the comments of Shaykh Ahmad Shakir in his edition of the Musnad (4:31-32 #3787), al-Haythami (10:361-362), and al-Dhahabi’s rejection of al-Hakim’s grading of authentic in the marginalia on the Mustadrak (2:365). This is not to say that the hadith itself is not authentic in its parts through other chains, such as what is narrated from ‘Abd Allah ibn ‘Amr ibn al-‘As by Muslim, al-Tirmidhi, and Ahmad whereby the Prophet (s) said: “Ask Allah for the Means to Him (al-wasila) for me, it is a station in Paradise for one of His servants alone, and I hope to be that one.”<br />[7]Narrated by al-Tabarani in al-Kabir, Ibn Marduyah in his Tafsir, and al-Hakim (2:371).<br />[8]Narrated by Ibn al-Mundhir with a sound chain according to Ibn Hajar in Fath al-Bari (1959 ed. 8:199 but this appears to be a slip, see below, p. 5), al-Tabari in his Tafsir (3:9), Abu al-Shaykh in al-‘Azama (2:627-628), ‘Abd Allah ibn Ahmad in al-Sunna (#588), Ibn Abi Shayba in Kitab al-‘Arsh (1:78 #60), and al-Bayhaqi in al-Asma’ wa al-Sifat (ASH 2:296-297 #859).<br />[9]Narrated by Ibn Abi ‘Asim in al-Sunna (p. 252 #574), al-Tabari in his Tafsir (3:10-11), and Ibn al-Jawzi in al-‘Ilal al-Mutanahya (1:20 #2-3). Al-Tabari’s version has the following “condemned” (munkar) wording: “The Prophet (s) glorified Allah and said: ‘Verily, His Seat of Authority (kursî) encompasses the heavens and the earth, and verily He sits on it (innahu layaq‘adu ‘alayh) and there does not remain of it [but] a space of four fingers.’ Then he signalled with his fingers, holding them together. ‘And verily it groans like the sound of the new saddle when one mounts it, due to His weight pressing down on it.’”<br />[10]Narrated by Abu Dawud’s Sunan, Kitab al-Sunna, ch. 19 (4:232 #4726), Abu Ya‘la, Tabarani in al-Kabir (2:132-133), al-Bazzar in his Musnad (1:29 #39), ‘Abd ibn Humayd in his Musnad, Ibn Abi ‘Asim in al-Sunna (#575-576), Ibn Abi Shayba in Kitab al-‘Arsh (#11), al-Ajurri in al-Shari‘a (p. 293), Ibn Abi Hatim in his Tafsir of Surat al-Baqara (#224), al-Daraqutni in al-Sifat (#38-39), al-Lalika’i in his Sunna (#656), al-Baghawi in Sharh al-Sunna (1:175), Abu al-Shaykh in al-‘Azama (2:554-555), al-Diya’ al-Maqdisi, and Ibn Khuzayma in al-Tawhid (1:239). In addition, there is a statement by Ka‘b al-Ahbar – not a Prophetic report – narrated by Abu al-Shaykh in al-‘Azama (p. 91 #236) and al-Dhahabi in al-‘Uluw (p. 366-367 #281), the latter declaring its chain “neat” but condemning its wording (“a groaning like the groaning of the saddles when first ridden, due to the weight of the Almighty on top of them”!).<br />[11]In al-‘Ilal al-Mutanahiya (1:20-21 #2-3).<br />[12]In his commentary on Surat al-‘Alaq, cf. Ibn Taymiyya, Majmu‘a Rasa’il (16:435): “A group of the masters of hadith have rejected it [as inauthentic] due to its confusion [in its chains and wordings], but most of Ahl al-Sunna accept it”! This is an example of his unreliability in hadith authentication in any matter related to his doctrine.<br />[13]In al-Bidaya wa al-Nihaya (Turath ed. 1:11-12).<br />[14]On this tafsîr see n. 37 below. The preferred explanation of the kursî according to many of the Salaf is Ibn ‘Abbas’s report: “It means His knowledge.” Narrated marfû‘ from the Prophet (s) by Sufyan al-Thawri with a sound chain according to Ibn Hajar in Fath al-Bari (1959 ed. 8:199) and al-Tabarani in al-Sunna; and mawqûf from Ibn ‘Abbas by al-Tabari with three sound chains in his Tafsir (3:9-11), al-Mawardi in his Tafsir (1:908), al-Suyuti in al-Durr al-Manthur (1:327), al-Shawkani in Fath al-Qadir (1:245), and others. Al-Tabari chooses it as the most correct explanation: “The external wording of the Qur’an indicates the correctness of the report from Ibn ‘Abbas that it [the kursî] is His ‘ilm… and the original sense of al-kursî is al-‘ilm.” Also narrated in “suspended” form (mu‘allaq) by al-Bukhari in his Sahih from Sa‘id ibn Jubayr (Book of Tafsir, chapter on the saying of Allah (swt): [And if you go in fear, then (pray) standing or on horseback] (2:239). Its chains are documented by Ibn Hajar in Taghliq al-Ta‘liq (2/4:185-186) where he shows that Sufyan al-Thawri, ‘Abd al-Rahman ibn Mahdi, and Waki‘ narrated it marfû‘ from the Prophet (s), although in the Fath he declares the mawqûf version from Ibn ‘Abbas more likely.<br />An example of anthropomorphism is in the footnote to the verse of the Throne for the word kursiyyuhu, translated as “His Throne”: “Throne: seat” in the work entitled The Holy Qur-an: English Translation of the Meanings and Commentary, Revised and Edited by The Presidency of Islamic Researches, Ifta, Call and Guidance (Madinah: King Fahd Holy Qur-an Printing Complex, 1410 [1990]). Sura 2:255, footnote #298. In the 1997 edition (p. 57 n. 1) the word is left untranslated, giving “His Kursî,” with a footnote stating: “Kursî: literally a footstool or chair, and sometimes wrongly translated as Throne. Ibn Taimiyah said: a) To believe in the Kursî. b) To believe in the ‘Arsh (Throne) [sic]. It is narrated from Muhammad bin ‘Abdullâh and from other religious scholars that the Kursî is in front of the ‘Arsh (Throne) and it is at the level of the Feet. (Fatawa Ibn Taimiyah, Vol. 5, Pages 54, 55).” None of these explanations is authentic as related from the Prophet (s) (cf. n. 37), nor is the translation of kursî as “Throne” wrong when called for in certain cases (cf. p. 355f.), especially since some among the Salaf, among them al-Hasan al-Basri, said that the kursî is the ‘arsh (al-Tabari, Tafsir 3:10). Furthermore, it is authentically related from Ibn ‘Abbas that he said: “His kursî is His knowledge (kursiyyuhu ‘ilmuhu),” and this is the explanation preferred by Sufyan al-Thawri, al-Bukhari, al-Tabari, and others. Cf. n. 14. As for Imam al-Qushayri, he said in Lata’if al-Isharat (1:209) in his commentary on [His kursî encompasses the heaven and the earth] (2:255): “He is addressing them according to the capacity of their minds. Otherwise, what part can the created universes possibly have before His Attributes? Exalted and glorified is His Might from deriving any gain from a throne or a seat, or from beautifying Itself with a jinn or a human being.”<br />[15]In Taqrib al-Tahdhib (p. 301 #3294) and Tahrir Taqrib al-Tahdhib (2:205 #3294) respectively. See also al-Haythami (10:159).<br />[16]Cf. Ibn Kathir, Tafsir (2:14). Ibn Hajar in Zawa’id al-Bazzar (p. 16) further specifies that Sufyan al-Thawri stopped the chain of this hadith at ‘Umar, thus making it mawqûf munqati‘ or mursal munqati‘ as stated by Ibn Khuzayma in al-Tawhid (p. 71). Hence Albani in his edition of Ibn Abi ‘Asim (p. 252) declared the chain weak.<br />[17]At this point al-Ajurri’s version adds: “Verily, He is above His heavens, and He is over His Throne!”<br />[18]Narrated by Abu Dawud, Sunan, Kitab al-Sunna, ch. 19 (4:232 #4726), al-Bazzar, Musnad (1:29 #39), al-Tabari in his Tafsir (3:10), Abu Ya‘la in his Musnad, as mentioned by al-Haythami (10:159), Ibn Abi ‘Asim in al-Sunna (p. 252-253 #575-576), al-Ajurri in al-Shari‘a (p. 298 #678), and Ibn Khuzayma in al-Tawhid (p. 69).<br />[19]In al-‘Uluw (p. 37-39). Al-Dhahabi also says: “There is not a single established text [i.e. sound] that has the word “groaning” (atît) in it.” Mukhtasar al-‘Uluw (p. 124). Al-Albani reiterates this statement in his Silsila Da‘ifa (2:307 #906).<br />[20]As stated by Ibn Hajar in his Taqrib (p. 138 #902) and confirmed by Ma‘ruf and al-Arna’ut in Tahrir Taqrib al-Tahdhib (1:210 #902).<br />[21]Al-Khattabi, Ma‘alim al-sunan (4:302).<br />[22]Ibn al-Jawzi, Daf‘ Shubah al-Tashbih (p. 268).<br />[23]Al-Dhahabi, al-‘Uluw (p. 84).<br />[24]In al-Asma’ wa al-Sifat (2:197, 2:297).<br />[25]Cf. n. 9 above.<br />[26] See Introduction, section on the Jahmiyya.<br />[27]Ibn Taymiyya said in his Radd ‘Ala Asas al-Taqdis (1:101): “Al-‘arsh lexically means al-sarir – elevated seat or couch – with respect to what is on top of it.”<br />[28]In his book Firdaws al-Akhbar (3:85 #3978).<br />[29]In Taqrib al-Tahdhib (p. 391 #4589).<br />[30]In Tahrir Taqrib al-Tahdhib (3:13 #4589).<br />[31]Mujahid ibn Jabr, Abu al-Hajjaj al-Makhzumi (d. 102), one of the major commentators of the Qur’an among the Tâbi‘în and of the highest rank in reliability among hadith narrators (thiqa). It is related by Ibn Sa‘d in the Tabaqat (6:9) and elsewhere that he went over the explanation of the Holy Qur’an together with Ibn ‘Abbas thirty times. Al-A‘mash said: “Mujahid was like someone who carried a treasure: whenever he spoke, pearls came out of his mouth.” After praising him in similar terms al-Dhahabi said: “Mujahid has certain strange sayings pertaining to knowledge and commentary of Qur’an which are rejected and condemned. A report has reached us whereby he went to Babel and asked its governor to show him [the angels] Harut and Marut. Mujahid said: ‘The governor sent a Jew to go with me until we arrived at a grotto under the earth and he showed them to me. They were suspended upside down. I said: “I believe in the One Who created the two of you.” At that time they shuddered, and both I and the Jew fainted. We came to after a while, and the Jew said to me: You nearly caused our death!” Al-Dhahabi also quotes al-A‘mash’s judgment of Mujahid’s Tafsir whereby Mujahid was among those who narrate from the books of Ahl al-Kitab. Al-Dhahabi then proceeds to mention Mujahid’s commentary on the verse of the Exalted Station as one of the most objectionable statements he made: “The saying of Allah: [It may be that your Lord will raise you to an Exalted Station] (17:79) means: He will seat the Prophet (s) with Him on His Throne (yujlisuhu ma‘ahu ‘alâ ‘arshihi).” Among Mujahid’s famous sayings: “There is no creature of Allah (swt) except you can take or leave what they said except the Prophet (s).” Narrated from Mujahid and also from al-Hakam ibn ‘Utayba by Ibn Hazm in al-Ihkam fi Usul al-Ahkam (6:291, 6:293) and Ibn ‘Abd al-Barr in al-Jami‘ fi Bayan al-‘Ilm (2:925-926 #1761-1765). Of Abu Ayyub al-Ansari, Mujahid relates: “People would uncover the space above his grave and it would rain.” Sources: Abu Nu‘aym, Hilya al-Awliya’ (3:280); al-Dhahabi, Mizan (3:439 #7072) and Siyar (5:379-381 #542); Ibn al-Jawzi, Sifa al-Safwa (1:243).<br />[32]Al-Dhahabi, Mizan al-I‘tidal (3:439 #7072).<br />[33]Ibn Abi ‘Asim, al-Sunna (p. 305 #695).<br />[34]In al-Sunna (p. 351 #786).<br />[35]This is Sayf al-Sa‘di, whose reliability is unknown. There is no Sayf al-Sadusi. Al-Tabari also narrates it (8:100) with a chain containing “Sayf al-Sadusi.” The rest of the sub-narrators are all trustworthy (thiqât).<br />[36]This may mean: “I know it well enough to be certain of its wording.”<br />[37]A mawqûf statement of Ibn ‘Abbas narrated with a sound chain by al-Tabarani in al-Kabir (12:39 #12404) as stated by al-Haythami (6:323), al-Bayhaqi in al-Asma’ wa al-Sifat (2:196 #758), Ibn Khuzayma in al-Tawhid (p. 108), al-Hakim (2:282), who declared it sahîh while al-Dhahabi concurred, al-Khatib in Tarikh Baghdad (9:251), Ibn Abi Shayba in al-‘Arsh (p. 79 #61), Abu al-Shaykh in al-‘Azama (2:552-553 #196, 2:582 #216); and marfû‘ – erroneously – by al-Daraqutni in al-Sifat (p. 49-50 #36) and Ibn Mandah in al-Radd ‘ala al-Jahmiyya (p. 44-45). Ibn al-Jawzi in al-‘Ilal (1:22) declared that it should not be considered a marfû‘ Prophetic report. This verdict is confirmed by al-Dhahabi in his Mizan (2:265), Ibn Kathir in his Tafsir (1:317), and Ibn Hajar in al-Tahdhib (4:274), cf. al-Ahdab, Zawa’id (7:37-39 #1383). Al-Bayhaqi said: “He did not attribute the feet [to Allah], nor did Abu Musa al-Ash‘ari in his own identical statement [al-Asma’ (2:296-297 #859) with a weak chain], and this [non-attributive form] seems the soundest version. Its interpretation among the authorities is that the kursî in relation to the Throne is as the footstool is in relation to the couch under which a footstool is placed for the person reclining on it… At any rate this is a halted report which is not narrated from the Prophet (s). As for our early companions they did not explain such cases nor did they preoccupy themselves with interpreting them believing, at the same time, that Allah I is One without parts nor limbs.” Al-Qurtubi in his Tafsir (3:278) cites a similar explanation from Ibn ‘Atiyya. Elsewhere (2:272) al-Bayhaqi, like al-Bukhari and al-Tabari before him, gives precedence to Ibn ‘Abbas’s authentic explanation of the kursî as “His ‘ilm” (see n. 14) while Ibn Kathir states his preference for the narration of the footstool in the introduction of his history entitled al-Bidaya wa al-Nihaya.<br />[38]Al-Hakim narrated it in his Mustadrak (4:568-569) and declared its chain sound (sahîh), as confirmed by al-Dhahabi.<br />[39]Cf. Ibn Hajar, al-Nukat ‘ala Kitab Ibn al-Salah (2:532); Ibn Kathir (on Ka‘b al-Ahbar and Wahb ibn Munabbih) in his Tafsir (3:379 on 27:41-44); al-Qari’s commentary on Ibn Hajar’s Sharh al-Nukhba entitled Sharh Sharh Nukhba al-Fikar fi Mustalahat Ahl al-Athar (“Commentary on Ibn Hajar’s Commentary on his own book ‘Chosen Thoughts on the Terminology of Hadith Scholars’” p. 548-549); al-Sakhawi’s Fath al-Mughith, ed. ‘Ali Husayn ‘Ali (Beirut: Dar al-Imam al-Tabari, 1992 1:150-151); Nur al-Din ‘Itr, Manhaj al-Naqd fi ‘Ulum al-Hadith (p. 328).<br />[40]Of note also is the interchange of names for the Throne in the different narrations: kursî in most, then ‘arsh, then sarîr.<br />[41]‘Abbad ibn Ya‘qub, Abu Sa‘id al-Asadi al-Rawajini al-Kufi (d. 250). “One of the ‘extremists’ (ghulât) of the Shi‘a and one of the heads of innovation – however, he is truthful (sâdiq) in hadith” according to al-Dhahabi while Ibn Hajar describes him as sadûq Râfidî. Ibn Hibban said of him: “He deserves to be abandoned [as a narrator].” Al-Dhahabi, Mizan (2:379 #4149); Ibn Hajar, Taqrib (p. 291 #3153).<br />[42]Muhammad ibn Fudayl ibn Ghazwan ibn Jarir al-Dibbi (d. 295). A trustworthy (thiqa) Shi‘i narrator retained as an authority by al-Bukhari and Muslim in their Sahihs. His narration from Layth from Mujahid from Ibn ‘Abbas was retained by Imam Ahmad in his Musnad for the hadith: “The Prophet (s) used to prostrate in [Sura] Sâd” [i.e. for 38:24]. Ma‘ruf, Tahrir al-Taqrib (3:306-307 #6227).<br />[43]Al-Layth ibn Abi Sulaym ibn Zunaym al-Qurashi (d. 148). Ibn Hajar said that he was abandoned as a hadith narrator due to the excessiveness of his mistakes. He is declared weak (da‘îf) and a concealer of his sources (mudallis) by al-Haythami in Majma‘ al-Zawa’id. Al-Bukhari and Muslim did narrate three hadiths from him, but only as corroborations (mutâba‘ât) of established chains. Ibn Hajar, Taqrib (p. 464 #5685); al-Dhahabi, Mizan (3:422 #6997).<br />[44]Muhammad ibn al-‘Ala’ ibn Kurayb, Abu Kurayb al-Hamdani (d. 248). A hadith master considered trustworthy (thiqa) by the scholars.<br />[45]Waki‘ ibn al-Jarrah, Abu Sufyan al-Ru’asi (d. 196). One of the major, trustworthy hadith masters.<br />[46]Dawud ibn Yazid, Abu Yazid al-A‘raj al-Awdi al-Za‘afiri al-Kufi (d. 151). Declared weak (da‘îf) by Ahmad, Ibn Ma‘in, Ibn al-Madini, and Abu Dawud, although al-Bukhari narrated from him in his Adab al-Mufrad as well as al-Tirmidhi (five hadiths in the Sunan), Ibn Majah (also five hadiths), Ahmad (eighteen hadiths in the Musnad), and al-Darimi (one hadith in the Sunan). Ibn Hajar, Taqrib (p. 200 #1818); al-Dhahabi, Mizan (2:21-22 #2655).<br />[47]Yazid ibn ‘Abd al-Rahman, Abu Dawud al-Za‘afiri al-Awdi (d. ?). One of the narrators of the Tâbi‘în who is acceptable for corroborating narrations (maqbûl) according to Ibn Hajar in Taqrib al-Tahdhib (p. 603 #7746), but al-Arna’ut and Ma‘ruf said in Tahrir al-Taqrib (4:114 #7746): “Rather, he is truthful and of fair narrations (sadûq hasanu al-hadîth).”<br />[48]Al-Tabari, Jami‘ al-Bayan fi Tafsir al-Qur’an (Beirut: Dar al-Ma‘arif, 1980, 8:98). The hadith of Abu Hurayra is narrated by Ahmad and al-Tirmidhi with the same chain, and the latter declared it fair (hasan). The chain is weak because of Dawud ibn Yazid but the hadith itself is sound (sahîh). This is stated by Hamza Ahmad al-Zayn in his edition of Ahmad’s Musnad (9:296 #9696, 9:415 #10152(m)) and by Nasir al-Albani in his edition of Ibn Abi ‘Asim’s al-Sunna (p. 350 #784). The narration is confirmed by the hadith of Ibn ‘Umar in al-Bukhari’s Sahih (book of Tafsir) whereby “Intercession shall be given over to the Prophet (s), and that is the day when Allah shall raise him to the Exalted Station.” Another confirmation is in the long hadith of the Prophet’s e intercession from Abu Sa‘id al-Khudri in the last book of al-Bukhari’s Sahih. There is also the hadith from Ka‘b ibn Malik whereby the Prophet (s) said: “People will be raised on the Day of Resurrection and I shall be, I and my Community, on top of a hill; there, my Lord shall dress me with a green garment and grant me His permission, whereupon I shall say whatever it pleases Allah that I say: that is the Exalted Station.” Narrated by Ahmad with a sound chain as stated by the editor of the Musnad (12:309-310 #15723) as well as by al-Tabarani in his Kabir (19:72 #142) with a sound chain as indicated by al-Haythami (7:51, 10:377), and by Ibn Hibban (14:399 #6479).<br />[49]Cf. Sulayman ibn ‘Abd Allah ibn Muhammad ibn ‘Abd al-Wahhab’s words in his al-Tawdih ‘an Tawhid al-Khallaq fi Jawab Ahl al-‘Iraq (1319/1901, p. 34, and new ed. al-Riyad: Dar Tibah, 1984): “It is obligatory to declare that Allah is separate (bâ’in) from creation, established over His Throne without modality or likeness or exemplariness. Allah was and there was no place, then He created place and He is exalted as He was before He created place.” See also our posting titled “Allah is Now as He Ever Was.”<br />[50]Abu Nu‘aym narrates with his chain from ‘Ali in Hilya al-Awliya’ (1997 ed. 1:114 #227) in the chapter on ‘Ali ibn Abi Talib the latter’s saying to the forty Jews who asked Him about Allah’s nature and description: “How can even the most eloquent tongues describe Him Who did not exist among things so that He could be said to be ‘separate from them’ (bâ’in)? Rather, He is described without modality, and He is (nearer to [man] than his jugular vein) (50:16).” The report is also found in Kanz al-‘Ummal. See, on the meaning of bâ’in, the explanation of “The Far” (al-Ba‘îd) in Ibn ‘Arabi’s ‘Aqida §163 (full text was posted on MSA-EC and SRI).<br />[51]An inappropriate phrasing to say the least, and who claims that the Lord of Glory and Munificence would seat His Most Beloved on the ground? The wording should have been, “it is equally the same whether He seats him e on His Throne or anywhere else.” And Allah knows best.<br />[52]These are the Hashwiyya or gross anthropomorphists, as indicated by their statements.<br />[53]This analogy is of course false both in its premises and its conclusions.<br />[54]See the discussion of this belief in Section 1 (“The Groaning of the Throne”).<br />[55]The argument is based on the presupposition that there is nothing created above the Throne, as Ibn Hazm stated in his al-Fisal fi al-Milal wa al-Ahwa’ wa al-Nihal (2:125) when he defined istiwâ’ as “an act pertaining to the Throne, and that is the termination of His creation at the Throne, for there is nothing beyond it.” According to this axiom, the Throne is the separator between Creator and created, or Lordship and servanthood.<br />[56]This is similar to Ibn Abi ‘Asim’s narration quoted in Section 6.<br />[57]The weakness of this reasoning is readily apparent to the reader.<br />[58]Once again a false premise and conclusion. Al-Tabari throughout does not address the fundamental error that consists in attributing location and other contingent attributes of the created to the Creator.<br />[59]Al-Tabari, Tafsir (8:97-100).<br />[60]‘Abd al-Rahman ibn al-Hasan ibn ‘Ubayd, al-Qadi, Abu al-Qasim al-Asadi al-Hamadhani (d. 352). A weak narrator. His narration from Ibn Dizil was declared inauthentic by Salih ibn Ahmad al-Hamadhani, and he was accused of lying by al-Qasim ibn Abi Salih, but al-Daraqutni narrated from him, as did al-Hakim, Ibn Mandah, Ibn Marduyah, and Abu ‘Ali ibn Shadhan. Al-Dhahabi, Mizan (2:556-557 #4852); al-Dhahabi, Siyar (12:194-195 #3201); Ibn Hijar, Lisan (3:411-412).<br />[61]Ibrahim ibn al-Husayn ibn ‘Ali al-Hamadhani al-Kisa’i, known as Ibn Dizil or Dayzil (d. 281), a trustworthy hadith master.<br />[62]Adam ibn Abi Iyas, Abu al-Hasan al-‘Asqalani al-Khurasani (d. 220), a trustworthy hadith master and one of al-Bukhari’s narrators.<br />[63]Warqa’ ibn ‘Umar, Abu Bishr al-Yashkari (d. ?), one of al-Bukhari’s narrators.<br />[64]Mujahid, Tafsir, ed. ‘Abd al-Rahman al-Tahir ibn Muhammad al-Suwarti (Doha, Qatar: s.n., 1976), p. 369. Al-Bayhaqi in al-Asma’ wa al-Sifat (2:209 #772) narrates from his shaykh al-Hakim with the same chain from Mujahid the explanation of the verse (Lest any soul should say: Alas for that I squandered of Allah’s flank!) (39:56) as: “What I wasted of His commands.” Al-Bayhaqi in al-Asma’ wa al-Sifat (2:209 #772) narrates from Mujahid the explanation of this verse as: “What I wasted of His commands.” Al-Bukhari cited this explanation in his Sahih in the book of Jana’iz, chapter on the merit of following a funeral. It is also the explanation given for janb (“flank” or “side”) by al-Raghib al-Asfahani in his Mufradat Alfaz al-Qur’an. Al-Dhahabi in the Siyar (13:368-369 #3988) criticized the anthropomorphic understanding of the Maliki Abu ‘Umar al-Talamanki (d. 429), who mentioned the verse in a chapter named “The Side of Allah” in his book on doctrine: “I saw a book of his on the Sunna in two volumes, most of which is good, but in some of which chapters is found what none would ever agree with, for example: ‘Chapter on the Side of Allah’ in which he mentioned: (Alas, my grief that I was unmindful of the side of Allah). This is a scholar’s slip.” The latter phrase alludes to a hadith narrated from Abu al-Darda’ whereby the Prophet (s) said: “I fear three things for my Community most of all: the slip of the scholar, the disputation of a hypocrite about the Qur’an, and those who deny Allah’s Foreordained Destiny.” Al-Haythami said in Majma‘ al-Zawa’id: “Al-Tabarani narrates it in al-Kabir but its chain contains Mu‘awiya ibn Yahya al-Sadafi, who is weak.” There are several other weak narrations for this hadith.<br />[65]Related by al-Suyuti in Tahdhir al-Khawass min Akadhib al-Qussas. Frederik Kern cites this account in his introduction to his edition of al-Tabari’s Ikhtilaf al-Fuqaha’ (Cairo, 1902).<br />[66]Cf. al-Dhahabi, Siyar A‘lam al-Nubala’ (11:291-301 #2696).<br />[67]Here al-Qurtubi proceeds to interpret as he had alluded that it should be done when he said: “This is not to say that there is no such narration; only that knowledge demands that it be interpreted figuratively.”<br />[68]Muhammad ibn ‘Ali ibn ‘Amr ibn Mahdi, Abu Sa‘id al-Asbahani al-Hanbali al-Naqqash (d. 414). One of the major, trustworthy hadith masters of the Hanbali school, he authored a book entitled Tabaqat al-Sufiyya (“Biographical Layers of the Sufis”). Siyar (13:193-194 #3801).<br />[69]Sulayman ibn al-Ash‘ath, Abu Dawud al-Sijistani (d. 275). One of the major Imams of hadith, the author of the Sunan and a student of Imam Ahmad.<br />[70]This verse is the first proof cited by Imam al-Ash‘ari in his Ibana for the vision of Allah in the hereafter. Al-Bukhari devoted a chapter to the verse in the book of doctrine (tawhid) at the end of his Sahih in which he narrates from Jabr ibn ‘Abd Allah the hadith whereby the Prophet (s) said: “You shall see Allah with your very eyes” (innakum satarawna rabbakum ‘iyânan). It is a tenet of the doctrine of Ahl al-Sunna around which there is agreement, as stated by Ibn Hajar in his commentary on the chapter (#24) on the vision of Allah in the Hereafter in Fath al-Bari. Hence Imam Ahmad’s statement: “Whoever denies the vision of Allah in the hereafter is a disbeliever,” narrated respectively from Abu Bakr al-Marwazi, Abu Dawud, and Abu Muhammad al-Barbahari by Ibn Abi Ya‘la in Tabaqat al-Hanabila (1:59, 1:161, 2:27). Mujahid’s interpretation of the verse of the Vision is also cited by al-Suyuti in his Durr al-Manthur.<br />[71]Ibn ‘Abd al-Barr, al-Tamhid (7:157-158).<br />[72]Al-Qurtubi thus only sees impossibility in the addition of the terms “with Him” to the phrase “Allah will seat him on the Throne,” because such an addition presupposes two aberrations: (1) that Allah I sits on the Throne; (2) that Allah I has a sitting-partner. Imam al-Ash‘ari said in the first words of his chapter on istiwâ’ in his Ibana (Sabbagh 1994 ed. p. 89; cf. ‘Uyun 1996 ed. p. 97): “Allah is elevated over His Throne with an elevation that befits Him, without indwelling (hulûl) nor settlement (istiqrâr)” and again in the same chapter (Sabbagh p. 95; ‘Uyun p. 102): “He is elevated over His Throne without modality (kayfiyya) nor settlement (istiqrâr).”<br />[73]See our posting, “Allah is now as He ever was.”<br />[74]See above, n. 51.<br />[75]Here al-Qurtubi proceeds to interpret as he had alluded that it should be done when he said: “This is not to say that there is no such narration; only that knowledge demands that it be interpreted figuratively.”<br />[76]Al-Qurtubi, al-Jami‘ li Ahkam al-Qur’an (verse 17:79).<br />[77]Al-Ash‘ari, Maqalat al-Islamiyyin (1:284=p. 211).<br />[78]Muhammad ibn Abi Bakr ibn Sa‘d, Shams al-Din Abu ‘Abd Allah al-Zur‘i al-Dimashqi al-Hanbali, known as Ibn Qayyim al-Jawziyya (d. 751). A specialist in Qur’anic commentary, hadith, fiqh and its principles, Arabic philology and grammar, and the foremost disciple of Ibn Taymiyya whose anthropomorphic and anti-madhhab teachings he helped perpetuate. Ibn al-Qayyim’s “Book of the Soul” (Kitab al-Ruh) ranks among the best books on the subject of the Islamic understanding of life after death according to the Qur’an, the Sunna, and the doctrine of the Salaf and the Four Imams, establishing without doubt that the dead hear the living and know of them. Mumblings are sometimes heard about the authenticity of his authorship of the book among the “Salafis.” However, the book is undoubtedly by Ibn al-Qayyim and is attributed to him by over two dozen scholars both in his time and after, such as al-Dhahabi, al-Safadi, Ibn Kathir, Ibn Rajab, Ibn Nasir al-Din, Ibn Hajar, al-Biqa‘i etc. It also contains internal proofs of his authorship, such as his mention of his own book – now lost – entitled Ma‘rifa al-Ruh wa al-Nafs and his identifying two of his direct teachers as Abu al-Hajjaj (al-Mizzi), and Ibn Taymiyya. Another internal proof is Ibn al-Qayyim’s lapsing into excessive criticism of Ash‘aris and misattributions of spurious positions to them as is typical of his school. Ibn al-Qayyim violently attacked imitation (taqlîd) of the four schools of Law among traditional Sunni Muslims and voiced his anti-madhhab stance in a two-volume work on the principles of the Law entitled I‘lam al-Muwaqqi‘in. The Indian jurist and hadith scholar Habib Ahmad al-Kiranawi blasted his theses in a 100-page epistle entitled al-Din al-Qayyim, included in full in his Fawa’id fi ‘Ulum al-Fiqh in the second volume of the general introduction to al-Tahanawi’s I‘la’ al-Sunan (2:1-99). (This epistle is probably the most comprehensive rebuttal of “Salafi” anti-madhhabism). Ibn al-Qayyim also wrote extensively on tasawwuf with which he evidently felt strong affinities. He wrote an extensive commentary on al-Harawi al-Ansari’s slim Sufi manual entitled Manazil al-Sa’irin ila al-Haqq which he named Madarij al-Salikin and in which he says (2:307): “Religion is all moral character (khuluq), and whoever bests you in moral character, bests you in Religion. It is the same with tasawwuf. …. Tasawwuf is one of the cornerstones (zawâyâ) of true wayfaring (al-sulûk al-haqîqî) and the purification and disciplining of the self (tazkiya al-nafs wa tahdhîbuhâ) so that it may prepare itself for its journey to the company of the Highest Assembly and for being together with its beloved.” His complete biographical notice was posted on SRI and MSA-EC.<br />[79]This is Muhammad ibn al-Qadi Muhammad Abi Ya‘la ibn al-Husayn, Al-Qadi Abu al-Husayn al-Farra’, known as Ibn Abi Ya‘la (d. 526), the author of Tabaqat al-Hanabila (“Biographical Layers of the Hanbalis”). Al-Dhahabi said of him: “He exaggerated concerning the Sunna and harped upon the Attributes…. Al-Silafi said: ‘He showed fanaticism for his school and criticized Ash‘aris a lot without fearing any reproach; he composed books pertaining to his school; he was devout, trustworthy, and well-established as a narrator and we took hadith from him.’” Ibn Abi Ya‘la’s father, al-Qadi Abu Ya‘la ibn al-Farra’ – Muhammad ibn al-Husayn ibn Muhammad ibn Khalaf – (d. 458) was one of the major jurisprudent scholars of the Hanbali school and also the author of attacks on Ash‘aris such as his book Ibtal al-Ta’wil (“The Invalidation of Figurative Interpretation”) in which, al-Dhahabi in Mukhtasar al-‘Uluw (p. 271) says, “he spoke at length citing worthless narrations which are inappropriate for use to assert any divine Attribute whatsoever.” Abu Ya‘la is himself dismissed as an anthropomorphist (mujassim) by the Maliki scholar Abu Bakr ibn al-‘Arabi in al-Qawasim wa al-‘Awasim (2:283), the Shafi‘i Ibn al-Athir, and his own Hanbali colleagues such as Abu Muhammad al-Tamimi (d. 488) and Ibn al-Jawzi, throughout the latter’s book Radd Shubah al-Tashbih. Main sources: Siyar 14:481 #4749; Ibn al-Athir, al-Kamil fi al-Tarikh 10:52 [year 458].<br />[80]Ahmad ibn Muhammad ibn al-Hallaj, Abu Bakr al-Marrudhi or Marruzi or Marwazi (d. 275). A trustworthy hadith master and the closest companion of Imam Ahmad whom he washed and laid in his grave. He was celebrated for his piety. Ibn Abi Ya‘la relates that al-Marwazi said: “I asked Ahmad ibn Hanbal about the hadiths which the Jahmis reject concerning the Attributes, the vision of Allah [in the hereafter], the Prophet’s e ascension [body and soul], and the story of the Throne; he declared them sound and said: ‘The Community accepted them, and these reports are taken exactly as they come’ [i.e. without one seeking to explain them].” This all-too-vague reference to “the story of the Throne” is the nearest thing to a reported position on Imam Ahmad’s part concerning the Prophet’s e seating next to Allah I on the Throne. Ibn Abi Ya‘la, Tabaqat al-Hanabila (1:56).<br />[81]Ahmad ibn Asram al-Muzani (d. 285). He took hadith from Imam Ahmad and others of the same biographical layer and is unanimously described as trustworthy. He should not be confused with the great mujtahid imam and student of al-Shafi‘i, Yahya ibn Isma‘il al-Muzani (d. 264).<br />[82]Yahya ibn Abi Talib Ja‘far ibn al-Zabarqan al-Baghdadi (d. 275). Al-Dhahabi related that al-Daraqutni declared him trustworthy (thiqa), although Musa ibn Harun declared him a liar and Abu Dawud crossed out his narrations. Al-Dhahabi, Mizan al-I‘tidal (4:387) and al-Mughni fi al-Du‘afa’ (3:732).<br />[83]Abu Bakr ibn Hammad is unidentified. This may be the trustworthy hadith master Abu Bakr al-Naysaburi, Muhammad ibn Hamdun ibn Khalid (d. 320). One of Ibn Khuzayma’s shaykhs, he took hadith from the Hanbali scholars Abu Zur‘a, ‘Abbas al-Duri, Muhammad ibn Yahya al-Dhuhli, and their layer. Al-Dhahabi, Siyar A‘lam al-Nubala’ (11:525 #2876).<br />[84]Abu Ja‘far al-Dimashqi is unidentified. This may be Abu Ja‘far al-Wasiti, Ahmad ibn Sinan ibn Asad (d. 259?), author of the Musnad, from whom narrated al-Bukhari, Muslim, Abu Dawud, Ibn Majah, Ibn Kuzayma, and others. Among his sayings: “There is not in the world a person of innovation except they hate the people of the hadith; and if a man innovates, the sweetness of the hadith is removed from his heart.” Al-Dhahabi, Siyar A‘lam al-Nubala’ (10:185 #2053).<br />[85]‘Abbas ibn Muhammad ibn Hatim al-Duri (d. 271), one of the hadith masters, he transmitted narrations to “the Four” – al-Tirmidhi, al-Nasa’i, Abu Dawud, and Ibn Majah. The hadith master al-Sakhawi, in the introduction to his biography of his teacher Ibn Hajar entitled al-Jawahir wa al-Durar, narrates that Imam Ahmad wrote a letter of recommendation for al-Duri in which he refused to call him a scholar of hadith, but called him a student of hadith instead. Al-Dhahabi avers that this took place in his youth, at the beginning of his career. Siyar (10:358 #2164).<br />[86]Ishaq ibn Ibrahim ibn Makhlad, known as Ishaq ibn Rahuyah or Rahawayh, Abu Ya‘qub al-Tamimi al-Marwazi al-Hanzali (d. 238), one of the major hadith masters. Abu Qudama considered him greater than Imam Ahmad in memorization of hadith, a remarkable assessment considering Ahmad’s knowledge of 700,000 to a million narrations according to his son ‘Abd Allah’s and Abu Zur‘a al-Razi’s estimations. He once said of himself: “I never wrote anything except I memorized it, and I can now see before me more than 70,000 hadiths in my book”; “I know the place of 100,000 hadiths as if I were looking at them, and I memorize 70,000 of them by heart – all sound (sahîha) – and 4,000 falsified ones.” [Narrated by al-Khatib in al-Jami‘ li Akhlaq al-Rawi (2:380-381 #1832-1833).] He did not reach the same stature in fiqh. Al-Bayhaqi and others narrate that he unsuccessfully debated al-Shafi‘i on a legal question, as a result of which the latter disapproved of his title as the “jurisprudent of Khurasan.” To a Jahmi scholar who said: “I disbelieve in a Lord that descends from one heaven to another heaven,” Ibn Rahuyah replied: “I believe in a Lord that does what He wishes.” [Narrated by al-Dhahabi who identifies the scholar as Ibrahim ibn (Hisham) Abi Salih in Mukhtasar al-‘Uluw (p. 191 #234).] Al-Bayhaqi comments: “Ishaq ibn Ibrahim al-Hanzali made it clear, in this report, that he considers the Descent (al-nuzûl) one of the Attributes of Action (min sifât al-fi‘l). Secondly, he spoke of a descent without ‘how’. This proves he did not hold displacement (al-intiqâl) and movement from one place to another (al-zawâl) concerning it.” [See our posting, “The ‘Descent’ of Allah I.”] Sources: Ibn Abi Ya‘la, Tabaqat al-Hanabila (1:6, 1:184); al-Bayhaqi, Manaqib al-Shafi‘i (1:213) and al-Asma’ wa al-Sifat (2:375-376 #951); al-Dhahabi, Siyar (9:558 #1877); Ibn al-Subki, Tabaqat al-Shafi‘iyya al-Kubra (2:89-90, 9:81).<br />[87]‘Abd al-Wahhab ibn ‘Abd al-Hakam al-Warraq (d. 251), a devoted follower of Imam Ahmad who considered him his successor. Abu Bakr al-Marwazi narrated in his book al-Wara‘ [(p. 10) published under the name of Imam Ahmad] that Ahmad was asked on his deathbed who would succeed him as the imam of the school. He said: “Put all your questions to ‘Abd al-Wahhab.” One of the students present, Fath ibn Abi al-Fath, said: “But he does not have much learning!” Ahmad replied: “He is a saintly man (rajul sâlih): one such as him is granted success in speaking the truth.” [This is also narrated by Ibn Abi Ya‘la in his chapter on al-Warraq in Tabaqat al-Hanabila (1:210-212).] Among the statements reported from al-Warraq by Ibn Abi Ya‘la: “Abu ‘Abd Allah [Imam Ahmad] is our Imam. He is one of (those who are firmly grounded in knowledge) (3:7, 4:162). If I were to stand tomorrow before Allah and He asked me: ‘Who did you follow?’ I would say: ‘Ahmad ibn Hanbal.’” “When the Prophet (s) said: ‘Defer the question [about the Qur’an] to the one who has knowledge of it’, we deferred it to Ahmad ibn Hanbal.” This is a reference to the hadith: “The Qur’an was revealed in seven dialects, and speculative wrangling (al-mira’) about it is disbelief” – he said it three times – “therefore whatever you understand of it, put it into practice, and whatever you do not understand, defer it to the one who has knowledge of it.” Narrated from Abu Hurayra by Imam Ahmad in his Musnad with a sound chain, as stated by al-Haythami (7:151) and by Ahmad Shakir in the Musnad (8:107 #7976).<br />[88]Ibrahim ibn Awrama al-Asbahani (d. 266), a contemporary of ‘Abbas al-Duri and Abu Dawud. Al-Dhahabi said: “His narrations are not widespread because he died before the age in which one narrates. He lived fifty-five years.” By the words “the age in which one narrates” al-Dhahabi means “the age in which one achieves renown as a narrator.” Ibn Hajar in Sharh al-Nukhba (p. 143) sets at fifty years the age at which one normally begins to narrate, and forty as the minimum Note that Imam Malik was an exception, since he started his narrating career at age twenty. Siyar (10:525 #2295).<br />[89]Ibrahim ibn Ishaq al-Harbi (d. 285), a prominent companion and student of Imam Ahmad. He autored a Gharîb al-Hadith among other books. Al-Hakim relates that he was pre-eminent in Baghdad for four traits: his superlative manners, his knowledge of the Law, his knowledge of hadith, and his asceticism (zuhd). Al-Daraqutni said that in all these respects he compared to Imam Ahmad himself. Among his sayings: “Not every separation is estrangement, nor is every reunion love; only the nearness of the hearts is love.” “The stranger is the one who once lived among saintly people who helped him when he ordered good and forbade evil, and supplied him when he had some worldly need, then they died and left him alone.” “I never wasted anything, nor ate twice in the same day.” He disapproved of ‘Ali ibn al-Madini because he once saw him going to pray behind the Jahmi judge and grand inquisitor of Ahl al-Sunna, Ahmad ibn Abi Du’ad (d. 240). The latter was principally responsible for the 28-month-long jailing and flogging of Imam Ahmad who had declared him a disbeliever (kâfir) for holding that the Qur’an was created. This is related by al-Khatib in Tarikh Baghdad (4:142-153 #1825), al-Dhahabi in the chapter on Imam Ahmad in the Siyar, Ibn al-Subki in Tabaqat al-Shafi‘iyya al-Kubra (2:37-51), and others. Al-Dhahabi relates that al-Harbi’s grave in Baghdad is a place one visits for its blessings. Ibn al-Jawzi included himself in the number of those who performed this visitation and relates that al-Harbi himself used to say: “Ma‘ruf al-Karkhi’s grave is proven medicine.” This is also related by al-Dhahabi who comments: “The supplication of those in need is answered at every blessed site.” Ibn al-Jawzi, Sifa al-Safwa (2:410, 2:214); Al-Dhahabi, Siyar A‘lam al-Nubala’ (10:668-674 #2391 and 8:219 #1425).<br />[90]Harun ibn Ma‘ruf al-Marwazi al-Baghdadi al-Khazzaz (d. 231), one of the shaykhs of Imam Ahmad, Muslim, Abu Dawud, Abu Hatim al-Razi, Abu Zur‘a, al-Dhuhli, and others. He took narrations from Hushaym next to whose house he lived, al-Darawardi, Ibn al-Mubarak, Ibn ‘Uyayna, Ibn Wahb, and others. He is related to have said: “Whoever claims that the Qur’an is created, it is as if he worships al-Lat and al-‘Uzza. And whoever claims that Allah does not speak, he is an idol-worshipper.” Siyar (9:400 #1844).<br />[91]Muhammad ibn Isma‘il ibn Yusuf Abu Isma‘il al-Sulami al-Tirmidhi (d. 280), a student of Imam Ahmad and trustworthy narrator of hadith, which he took from Abu Nu‘aym among others, and from him narrated al-Tirmidhi, al-Nasa’i, Ibn Abi al-Dunya, and al-Najjad. Al-Dhahabi called him al-imâm, al-hâfiz, al-thiqa while al-Khatib relates that he was famous for his defense of the belief of Ahl al-Sunna. Tarikh Baghdad (2:42); Siyar (10:592 #2341).<br />[92]Muhammad ibn Mus‘ab, Abu Ja‘far al-Da‘‘a’ (d. 228), a student of Ibn al-Mubarak, he is reported to have visited Imam Ahmad who said of him: “He was a saintly man (rajulan sâlihan), and he used to tell stories (yaqussu) and supplicate Allah (swt) standing up in the mosque… Among his supplications he said: ‘O Allah, hide me under Your Throne!’” Al-Daraqutni mentioned that he was trustworthy. Abu Bakr al-Marrudhi narrated that he recited the verse (It may be that thy Lord will raise thee to a praised estate) (17:79) and said: “Indeed, He shall seat him with Him on the Throne!” Al-Dhahabi mentions this report then says: “There is no authentic text to that effect other than a discarded narration” meaning Mujahid’s report. Al-Da‘‘a’ should not be confused with Muhammad ibn Mus‘ab al-Qarqasani (d. 208), a companion of Imam al-Awza‘i whose narrations he is said to have reported mostly with mistakes, as a result of which he was declared weak by al-Nasa’i and others. There is also Muhammad ibn Mansur Abu Ja‘far al-‘Abid al-Tusi (d. 254), a student of Sufyan ibn ‘Uyayna and Imam Ahmad and a companion of Ma‘ruf al-Karkhi, who gave him food after he found him fasting uninterruptedly on the fourth consecutive day. He could see the pilgrims on ‘Arafa through kashf. Sources: Ibn Abi Ya‘la, Tabaqat al-Hanabila (1:320-321 #449), al-Dhahabi, Mukhtasar al-‘Uluw (p. 183) [al-Da‘‘a’]; Tabaqat al-Hanabila (1:318 #448) [al-‘Abid]; al-Dhahabi, Mizan al-I‘tidal (4:42 #8180) [al-Qarqasani].<br />[93]Abu Bakr ibn Sadaqa is unidentified other than as one of al-Tabarani’s narrators and a contemporary of Abu Zur‘a al-Razi (d. 264 or 268), Ibrahim ibn Awrama (d. 266) and Abu Dawud (d. 275). He is mentioned in Abu Dawud’s chapter in al-Dhahabi’s Siyar. Al-Qari in al-Asrar al-Marfu‘a (p. 209-210) and al-‘Ajluni in Kashf al-Khafa under the hadith ra’aytu rabbî yawma al-nafr mention the forged narration: “I saw my Lord in the image of a long-haired / beardless young man” and then cite Ibn Sadaqa’s narration of Abu Zur‘a’s statement whereby the latter said: “None but a Mu‘tazili denies this sound (sahîh) hadith.” However, al-Suyuti in al-La’ali’ al-Masnu‘a (1:27-31) showed that Abu Zur‘a’s statement actually referred to the hadith of Ibn ‘Abbas whereby the Prophet (s) said: “I saw my Lord,” which most scholars agreed is sound (sahîh). On this hadith see our posting, “The Vision of Allah.”<br />[94]Muhammad ibn Bishr ibn Sharik al-Nakha‘i al-Kufi, “One of the shaykhs of Ibn ‘Uqda (d. 332). He is unreliable.” Al-Dhahabi, Mizan (3:491 #7273).<br />[95]Abu Qilaba is ‘Abd al-Malik ibn Muhammad al-Raqashi al-Basri (d. 276), one of the shaykhs of Ibn Majah. He used to pray four hundred rak‘a in every twenty-four hours. He could narrate 60,000 hadiths from memory as a result of which he committed many mistakes according to al-Daraqutni. However, others praised him for his utmost reliability, such as al-Tabari, Abu Dawud, Ibn Hibban, and others. He narrated from Ahmad the hadith whereby the Prophet (s) said: “The worst two tribes among the Arabs are Najran and Banu Taghlib.” Ahmad and al-Tabarani narrate it with sound chains as indicated by al-Haythami in Majma‘ al-Zawa’id. Ibn al-Athir in al-Nihaya fi Gharîb al-Hadith said: “Najran is a well-known place between the Hijaz, al-Shâm, and Yemen.” Sources: Ibn Abi Ya‘la, Tabaqat al-Hanabila (1:216 #283); al-Dhahabi, Siyar (10:549 #2322). The practice of narrating solely from memory was not current except as a test of someone’s memorization. Hadith scholars narrated only from their written records, as demonstrated by M.M. Azami and others. ‘Abd Allah ibn Ahmad ibn Hanbal said: “I never saw my father narrate except from a book, save less than a hundred hadiths.” In the Siyar (9:457). The best sources on the proof-texts for writing among the Companions and early generations are Ibn ‘Abd al-Barr’s chapter Dhikr al-Rukhsa fi Kitab al-‘Ilm in his Jami‘ Bayan al-‘Ilm (1:298-338) and especially al-Khatib al-Baghdadi’s book Taqyid al-‘Ilm (“The Fettering of Knowledge”). This title is taken from Anas’s saying: “Fetter knowledge with writing” (qayyidû al-‘ilma bi al-kitâb). Anas also said: “We would not consider as knowledge the knowledge of those who did not write down their knowledge.” Taqyid (p. 96-97). This is similar to the Tâbi‘î Mu‘awiya ibn Qurra’s statement: “Whoever does not write down the Science, do not consider him knowledgeable.” Narrated by al-Darimi in his Sunan, al-Khatib in his Taqyid (p. 109), al-Ramahurmuzi in al-Muhaddith al-Fasil (p. 372), and Ibn ‘Abd al-Barr in Jami‘ Bayan al-‘Ilm (1:321-322). See also al-Hakim al-Tirmidhi’s chapter entitled “Writing is the means to fetter knowledge and preserve it from oblivion” in his Nawadir al-Usul (p. 39-41). When all is said there remains al-Khalil ibn Ahmad’s injunction: “Faithfulness to what is in your breast takes priority over memorization of what is in your books.” Narrated by al-Khatib in al-Jami‘ li Akhlaq al-Rawi (1:670 #1048).<br />[96]‘Ali ibn Sahl ibn al-Mughira, Abu al-Hasan al-Nasa’i al-Baghdadi al-Bazzaz (d. 270), a student of Ahmad ibn Hanbal. He is truthful (sadûq) according to Ibn Abi Hatim in al-Jarh wa al-Ta‘dil (6:189). Tabaqat al-Hanabila (1:225 #313).<br />[97]Unidentified.<br />[98]Al-Qasim ibn Sallam ibn ‘Abd Allah, Abu ‘Ubayd al-Harawi (d. 224), one of the great early hadith masters and philologists, author of Gharîb al-Hadith, Fada’il al-Qur’an, and many other works. A student of al-Shafi‘i, Hushaym, Ibn ‘Uyayna, Ghundar, Ibn al-Mubarak, Waki‘, Ibn Mahdi, and others. He was one of ‘Abbas al-Duri’s shaykhs. Ishaq ibn Rahuyah said: “As Allah loves the truth, Abu ‘Ubayd is better versed and more knowledgeable in the Law than I.” Ibrahim al-Harbi said: “Abu ‘Ubayd was like a mountain into which the Spirit was breathed. He excelled in everything, except that the hadith was the specialty of Ahmad [ibn Hanbal] and Yahya [ibn Ma‘in].” ‘Abbas al-Duri said: “I heard Abu ‘Ubayd al-Qasim ibn Sallam mention the vision of Allah [in the hereafter], the kursî where the two Feet are placed, our Lord’s laughter, and where He was [before creation], then he said: ‘All these are sound (sahîh) narrations transmitted by the scholars of hadith and fiqh one from another; we consider them the truth and do not doubt them. But if it were asked: How does He laugh? or: How does He place His Foot? We reply: We do not explain this; nor did we ever hear anyone explain it.’” Among his sayings: “He who follows the Sunna is like one who is grasping a hot coal. Such a day is, to me, preferable to striking sword-blows in the way of Allah Almighty.” “I am puzzled by those who leave the principles and study the branches.” Narrated by al-Khatib in al-Jami‘ li Akhlaq al-Rawi (2:270 #1612). Shaykh Muhammad ‘Ajaj al-Khatib said: “He meant by ‘principles’ the foundational books (al-kutub al-ummahât).” Abu ‘Ubayd must not be confused with his contemporary and philologist namesake Abu ‘Ubayda who is Ma‘mar ibn al-Muthanna al-Taymi (d. ~210). He authored Majaz al-Qur’an [Published in Cairo in two volumes edited by Fuad Sezgin (1955 and 1962)] and the lost Gharib al-Hadith as well as historical and lexicographical works. He is cited heavily in Qur’anic commentaries and al-Baghawi reports in his commentary Ma‘alim al-Tanzil (al-Manar ed. 3:488) that he explained istawâ as “He mounted” (sa‘ida) in the verse (Then He established Himself over the Throne) (32:4). Pickthall followed that sense in his translation of the verse as “Then He mounted the Throne.” Sources: Ibn Abi Ya‘la, Tabaqat al-Hanabila (1:259-262 #369); Al-Dhahabi, Siyar (9:183-191 #1702, 8:287-289 #1482); Ibn ‘Abd al-Barr, al-Intiqa’ (p. 167).<br />[99]Al-Husayn ibn al-Fadl, Abu ‘Ali al-Bajali (d. 282), a commentator of the Qur’an described by al-Hakim as the Imam of his time in tafsir. Al-Hakim narrated from Ibrahim ibn Mudarib: “I heard my father say: ‘Al-Husayn ibn al-Fadl’s knowledge of the meanings of the Qur’an was inspiration from Allah, for he had gone beyond the limits of learning.’” Siyar (10:707 #2420).<br />[100]Harun ibn al-‘Abbas al-Hashimi is unidentified. This is possibly Harun ibn ‘Abd Allah ibn Marwan, Abu Musa al-Bazzaz al-Baghdadi, known as Harun al-Hammal (d. 243), from whom Muslim, Abu Dawud, al-Nasa’i and others narrated hadiths, and who took hadith from Muhammad ibn Bishr. He is unanimously trustworthy (thiqa). If he is the same as the “Harun al-Hashimi” mentioned in Tabaqat al-Hanabila, then it is established that Abu Bakr al-Najjad narrated from him. Tabaqat al-Hanabila (2:7); Siyar (8:169).<br />[101]Unidentified.<br />[102]Muhammad ibn ‘Imran al-Marzubani (d. 384), one of the rare Mu‘tazili scholars from whom hadith scholars took narrations and whom they considered trustworthy in his transmission, though not unanimously. His mention by Ibn Abi Ya‘la and Ibn al-Qayyim among those who support their view of the seating of the Prophet (s) on the Throne shows that they tried to collect as exhaustive a list of authorities as they could. Cf. Al-Dhahabi, Mizan (3:672).<br />[103]Muhammad ibn Yunus al-Basri al-Kudaymi (d. 286): a hadith master accused of forgery. Al-Dhahabi, Mizan (4:74).<br />[104]‘Abd Allah ibn Ahmad (ibn Muhammad) ibn Hanbal (d. 290). A hadith master who compiled and transmitted the Musnad of his father Imam Ahmad who praised his knowledge of hadith. Ibn Abi Ya‘la narrates from ‘Abd Allah that Imam Ahmad said: “Musa remained for forty nights such that no-one could look at him without falling dead due to the light from the Lord of the worlds.” Al-Suyuti cites it in al-Durr al-Manthur and says it is narrated by Abu al-Shaykh, Ibn al-Mundhir, Ibn Abi Hatim, and al-Hakim, while al-Dhahabi declared its chain “soft” (layyin). A foundational book of the Wahhabi creed entitled Kitab al-Sunna is attributed to ‘Abd Allah ibn Ahmad. Its first edition was sponsored by King ‘Abd al-‘Aziz ibn Sa‘ud and a Jedda businessman named Muhammad Nasif, who also financed the attack on Imam al-Kawthari and the Hanafi School by ‘Abd al-Rahman al-Mu‘allimi al-Yamani (d. 1386) entitled al-Tankil li Ma Warada fi Ta’nib al-Kawthari min al-Abatil, in which al-Mu‘allimi declared: “Allah has a body unlike bodies.” Kitab al-Sunna was published in Cairo in 1349/1930 by al-Matba‘a al-Salafiyya and received two recent editions: by Muhammad Basyuni Zaghlul who based his work on the 1930 edition; and by Muhammad al-Qahtani, an Umm al-Qura University graduate and author of al-Wala’ wa al-Bara’, a book which counts relying on the Prophet’s e intercession between oneself and Allah I among the “ten actions that negate Islam.” Al-Kawthari lambasted Kitab al-Sunna as a collection of anthropomorphist forgeries in his Maqalat (p. 355) and renamed it Kitab al-Zaygh (“The Book of Deviation”). This book actually attributes to Imam Ahmad the statement: “Allah spoke to Musa from His mouth (min fîhi), and He handed him the Torah from His hand to his hand.” Al-Dhahabi categorically rejects the authenticity of this narration in the Siyar (9:503, 9:512) and exclaims: “By Allah! The Imam never said these things. May Allah destroy the one who forged them…. Look at the ignorance of the hadith scholars, who narrate such nonsense without a comment.” See also the comments of Shaykh Nuh Keller cited in his biographical notice in the Reliance and at the website http://ds.dial.pipex.com/masud/ISLAM/nuh/masudq5.htm. Sources: Ibn Abi Ya‘la, Tabaqat al-Hanabila (1:29, 1:184-186); al-Dhahabi, Siyar A‘lam al-Nubala’ (9:512).<br />[105]Bishr ibn al-Harith, Abu Nasr al-Khurasani al-Marwazi al-Baghdadi known as Bishr al-Hafi (151-227), a disciple of Fudayl ibn ‘Iyad (d. 187) and teacher of Sari al-Saqati whose grandfather was Zoroastrian, he took hadith from Imam Malik, Ibn al-Mubarak, Hammad ibn Zayd, Sharik, Hushaym, and others. Al-Daraqutni called him: zâhid jabal thiqa – “an ascetic who is a mountain of knowledge and trustworthiness.” Among his sayings: “I do not know anything better than the pursuit of hadith science for whoever fears Allah and keeps a good intention in this activity; as for myself, I ask forgiveness from Allah from having ever pursued it, and from every single step I took in it.” Imam al-Sha‘rani in al-Tabaqat al-Kubra (1:57) explained that the reason Bishr abandoned the study of hadith is because he considered it a conjectural science in comparison with the certitude in belief imparted by frequenting Fudayl ibn ‘Iyad. Sufyan al-Thawri similarly said: “Would that all my knowledge were erased from my breast! How can I face being asked, tomorrow, about each single hadith I ever narrated: ‘What was your purpose in narrating it?’” He also said: “Would that my hand had been cut off and I never sought after a single hadith!” Both reports cited by al-Dhahabi in the Siyar (al-Arna’ut ed. 7:255, 7:274). Bishr also said: “If talking pleases you, keep silent; and if silence pleases you, then speak.” “O Allah! You know, above Your Throne, that lowliness is more beloved to me than nobility. O Allah! You know, above Your Throne, that poverty is more beloved to me than wealth. O Allah! You know, above Your Throne, that I do not put anything before Your love.” Also related from Bishr al-Hafi is the statement: “No-one criticizes Abu Hanifa except an envier or an ignoramus.” Sources: al-Dhahabi, Tarikh al-Islam (6:142), Manaqib Abi Hanifa (p. 32), and Siyar A‘lam al-Nubala’ (9:170-172 #1691).<br />[106]See our biographical notice on al-Tabari at https://sunnah.org/history/Default.htm.<br />[107]‘Ali ibn ‘Umar ibn Ahmad ibn Mahdi, Abu al-Hasan al-Daraqutni al-Baghdadi al-Muqri’ al-Shafi‘i (306-385), Amîr al-Mu’minîn in hadith – the highest level of a hadith master – a major, trustworthy hadith master named “the Imam, superexcellent hadith master, Shaykh al-Islam, emblem of the giants of knowledge, one of the oceans of the Science and the Imams of the world” by al-Dhahabi. He narrated and transmitted hadith from and to countless major scholars of the science. He excelled in the knowledge of the defects of narrators and hadith narrations, the canonical readings of the Qur’an, fiqh and the differences of opinion among the jurists, the Arabic language, and the historical disciplines. Raja’ ibn Muhammad al-Mu‘addil said to him: “Have you ever met anyone of your level?” He replied: (Therefore justify not yourselves) (53:32). I insisted, whereupon he said: “I never saw anyone who gathered together what I have gathered.” Abu al-Fath ibn Abi al-Fawaris asked him one day about a certain hadith and he answered him. Then he said to him: “O Abu al-Fath, there is not, between the East and the West, anyone who knows this other than myself.” Al-Hakim said: “I bear witness that he left no successor.” He considered recommended the visitation to the graves of Prophets and the Friends of Allah for the sake of obtaining blessing and intercession. Ibn al-Jawzi relates that al-Daraqutni said: “We used to seek blessings from Abu al-Fath al-Qawasi’s grave.” He narrated in his Sunan the Prophet’s e hadith: “Whoever visits my grave, my intercession will be guaranteed for him.” (a hasan narration = “fair”) Sources: al-Dhahabi, Siyar (12:483-492 #3530); Ibn al-Jawzi, Sifa al-Safwa (2:471).<br />[108]Ibn Qayyim al-Jawziyya, Bada’i‘ al-Fawa’id (1900 ed. 4:39-40, 1994 ed. 2:328-329).<br />[109]Ibn al-Athir, al-Kamil fi al-Tarikh (8:213), year 317.<br />[110]Al-Hasan ibn ‘Ali ibn Khalaf, Abu Muhammad al-Barbahari (d. 329), a hadith master. He accompanied Ahmad’s foremost companion Abu Bakr al-Marwazi, as well as the Sufi master of his time, Sahl ibn ‘Abd Allah al-Tustari. Ibn Abi Ya‘la reports that al-Barbahari composed a Sharh Kitab al-Sunna in which he said: “Whoever takes up arms against one of the Imams of the Muslims [i.e. one of the Caliphs] is a Khâriji who has split the unity [lit. ‘split the staff’] of Muslims and contravened the Prophetic reports, and his death is a death in Jahiliyya.” He also said: “Know that the Religion is nothing other than imitation (i‘lam anna al-dîna innamâ huwa al-taqlîd), and I mean imitation of the Companions of the Prophet (s) (wa al-taqlîdu li ashâbi rasûlillah sallallâhu ‘alayhi wa sallam).” This book was published in Madina at Maktaba al-Ghuraba’ al-Athariyya (1993) and is popular among “Salafis.” Concerning the Jahmis, al-Barbahari declared: “Whoever says that his pronunciation of the Qur’an is created is a Jahmi, and whoever keeps uncommitted, saying that it is neither created nor uncreated, is a Jahmi. This is what Ahmad ibn Hanbal said.” Note that al-Bukhari considered the pronunciation of the Qur’an created and was expelled from Bukhara by the Hanbalis for it, as related in the Appendix entitled “The Controversy Over the Pronunciation of the Qur’an” in our translation of Ibn ‘Abd al-Salam’s Belief of the People of Truth. The group of Hanbalis led by Barbahari in Baghdad considered themselves reformers and often took to the streets to “correct” what they considered unacceptable contraventions of the Religion, injuring or killing those they considered Jahmis, destroying taverns and musical instruments, striking women singers, and so forth. In the year 320 in Baghdad Barbahari was declared wanted by the authorities and the houses of his followers were ransacked. He fled and remained in hiding until his death nine years later. The worst controversy attached to al-Barbahari and his group, however, was their anthropomorphist teaching on the bases of weak narrations attributing limbs to Allah. Ibn al-Athir relates the Caliph al-Radi’s edict against the Hanbalis in the year 323, in which he said: “You mention the ‘hand’ and the ‘fingers’ and the ‘two feet’ and the ‘two gilded sandals’ and the ‘short and curly hair’ and the ‘climbing’ to heaven and the ‘descending’ to the world – Exalted is Allah far above what the oppressors and rejecters say of Him! The Emir of the Believers swears an oath before Allah by which he binds himself, that unless you put an end to your vile belief and crooked way, to destroy you to the last man by sword and by fire inside your very houses.” Sources: Ibn Abi Ya‘la, Tabaqat al-Hanabila (2:18-29 #588); Ibn al-Athir, al-Kamil fi al-Tarikh (8:307-309, 8:378); al-Dhahabi, Siyar (11:543-45 #2899).<br />[111]Ahmad ibn Salman ibn al-Hasan, Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi al-Hanbali al-Najjad (d. 348), eulogized by al-Dhahabi as “the imam, the hadith scholar, the hadith master, the jurisprudent, the mufti, the shaykh of Iraq.” The shaykh of al-Daraqutni, al-Hakim, al-Khattabi, Ibn Mandah, al-Khiraqi, and others, he narrated from ‘Abd Allah ibn Ahmad ibn Hanbal and was the last to narrate from Abu Dawud. He was reported to relate narrations which were not consigned in his own records, perhaps due to the loss of his sight.He used to fast every day of the year, and he would break his fast every night with a loaf of bread of which he left aside one mouthful. On the night of Jum‘a he would give away his loaf as charity and eat the mouthfuls he had put aside. Ibn Abi Ya‘la, Tabaqat al-Hanabila (2:7-8); al-Dhahabi, Siyar (12:137 #3132) and Mizan (1:101).<br />[112]‘Ubayd Allah ibn Muhammad, Abu ‘Abd Allah al-‘Ukbari, known as Ibn Batta (d. 387), a student of al-Najjad and one of the main authorities in doctrine and law in the Hanbali school, he was a pious scholar who never left his house in forty years and fasted permanently, except on the two ‘Îds. Al-Dhahabi declares him “an imam in the Sunna and an imam in fiqh,” although he cites Abu al-Qasim al-Azhari’s verdict that “Ibn Batta is extremely weak” (da‘îf da‘îf) while al-Khatib declares him a forger and narrates from Abu Dharr al-Harawi and others that al-Daraqutni questioned his truthfulness. Ibn Hajar states: “I discovered something in connection with Ibn Batta which I found scandalous and hideous.” He then shows that Ibn Batta may have added words to a hadith in order to give it an anthropomorphic slant. The hadith in question is Ibn Mas‘ud’s hadith of the Burning Tree narrated by al-Tirmidhi with a weak chain, whereby the Prophet (s) said: “When Allah spoke to Musa, the latter was wearing a robe of wool, a wool cloak, and a pair of sandals made of untanned ox leather.” The addition cited by Ibn Hajar and apparently forged by Ibn Batta reads: “He [Musa] said: ‘Who is that Hebrew (al-‘ibrânî) who is speaking from the tree?’ And Allah said: ‘I am Allah.’” The position of Ahl al-Sunna is that Musa u heard Allah without direction, as narrated from Ibrahim al-Nakha‘i in al-Tha‘alibi’s Tafsir (4:117). al-Khatib, Tarikh Baghdad (10:371-374, 13:167); al-Dhahabi, Mizan al-I‘tidal (3:15 #5394); Ibn Hajar, Lisan al-Mizan (4:113-114 #231).<br />[113]On Ibn Taymiyya see https://sunnah.org/history/Default.htm.<br />[114]Ibn Abi Ya‘la, Tabaqat al-Hanabila (2:43).<br />[115]An unidentified narrator. Possibly Abu al-Hasan ‘Ali ibn ‘Amr al-Harrani (d. 488), the companion of Ibn Abi Ya‘la’s father. Between him and Ibn Batta there is a narrator whose name is omitted. Cf. Ibn Rajab, Dhayl Tabaqat al-Hanabila (1:86 #34).<br />Or: The hadith master Ibn al-Banna’, Abu ‘Ali al-Hasan ibn Ahmad ibn ‘Abd Allah al-Baghdadi (d. 471) from whom it is established that Ibn Abi Ya‘la narrated. He lived eighty years and was known for his fanatic defense of the Hanbali school. Al-Qifti reported in his Inbah al-Ruwat (1:276) that he once said: “Would that al-Khatib had mentioned me in Tarikh Baghdad, even among the liars.” Al-Qifti comments: “He [Ibn al-Banna’] was a reference in the canonical readings (al-qirâ’ât), philology (al-lugha), and hadith, except that he was Hanbali in his belief (Hanbaliyyu al-mu‘taqad).” Al-Dhahabi cites it in the Siyar (13:653-654 #4258) and comments: “He is truthful in himself (sadûq fi nafsih), and it is not a blemish to be Hanbali, by Allah! However, the Mandah family and others did say of him: ‘except that he was inclined to deprecate others’ (fîhi tamash‘ur).” Al-Dhahabi seems to have missed al-Qifti’s point that Ibn al-Banna’ was Hanbali in his doctrine, not merely his school of law. There is some irony in this as al-Dhahabi himself is Shafi‘i in his legal school and “Hanbali” in his school of doctrine, meaning anti-Ash‘ari.<br />Or: Ibn al-Busri, Abu al-Qasim ‘Ali ibn Ahmad ibn Muhammad al-Baghdadi al-Bundar (d. 474), a trustworthy hadith master who received a permission to narrate from Ibn Batta as stated by al-Dhahabi in the Siyar (13:668 #4273).<br />[116]Abu al-‘Abbas Harun ibn al-‘Abbas ibn ‘Isa al-Hashimi (d. 275), a trustworthy (thiqa) narrator according to al-Khatib in Tarikh Baghdad (14:27).<br />[117]Muhammad ibn Bishr ibn al-Farafisa, Abu ‘Abd Allah al-‘Abdi al-Kufi (d. 203), an established hadith master and one of al-Bukhari and Muslim’s narrators.<br />[118]‘Abd al-Rahman ibn Sharik ibn ‘Abd Allah al-Nakha‘i al-Kufi (d. 227), graded by Ibn Hajar in al-Taqrib (p. 342 #3893) as “a truthful but sometimes mistaken narrator” (sadûq yukhti’) but al-Arna’ut and Ma‘ruf in Tahrir al-Taqrib (2:325 #3893) said: “Rather, he is weak (da‘îf).” Abu Hatim al-Razi classed him “flimsy in his narrations” (wâhi al-hadith) but al-Bukhari narrated from him in al-Adab al-Mufrad. Cf. also al-Dhahabi, Mizan (2:569 #4887).<br />[119]This is Sharik ibn ‘Abd Allah ibn Abi Sharik al-Nakh‘i (d. 177), a truthful narrator (sadûq) whose narrations are accepted in the Four books of Sunan but Muslim used him only for narrations unrelated to legal rulings (ahkâm). Al-Daraqutni said: “Sharik is not strong in the narrations which he alone reports.” Al-Dhahabi, Mizan (2:271 #3697); Ibn Hajar, Taqrib (p. 266 #2787); Ma‘ruf, Tahrir (2:113-114 #2787).<br />[120]Abu Yahya al-Qattat al-Kinani al-Kufi (d. ~130), known as Zadhan, declared weak by Sharik ibn ‘Abd Allah according to Ahmad ibn Hanbal. However, his narrations from Mujahid are found in al-Tirmidhi, Abu Dawud, Ibn Majah, and Ahmad as indicated by al-Mizzi in Tahdhib al-Kamal (34:402), al-Dhahabi in al-Kashif (2:471) and Ibn Hajar in al-Taqrib (p. 684) and Tahdhib al-Tahdhib (12:303). The latter graded Zadhan “soft” (layyin), as confirmed by al-Arna’ut and Ma‘ruf in al-Tahrir (4:295 #8444). Muslim said in al-Kuna wa al-Asma’ (1:905), under Abu Yahya Muslim al-Qattat: “Al-A‘mash, al-Thawri, and Isra’il narrated from him.”[120] Ibn Ma‘in did say of Zadhan that he was thiqa according to ‘Uthman ibn Sa‘id al-Darimi, but according to ‘Abbas al-Duri he also said: “There is some weakness in his narration” (fî hadîthihi du‘f). Zadhan was also declared weak by al-Nasa’i, Ahmad, Ibn Sa‘d, Ibn Hibban, and others. Shaykh Ahmad Shakir declares him trustworthy (thiqa) on the basis of Ibn Ma‘in’s declaration to that effect and al-Bukhari’s silence in his notice on Zadhan in al-Tarikh al-Kabir (2:1 #400=3:438 Nadwi ed.). Cf. Ahmad’s Musnad (3:133-134 #2493). He should not be confused with Abu ‘Umar al-Kindi al-Bazzaz, who is trustworthy (thiqa) and one of Muslim’s narrators in the latter’s Sahih. Al-Dhahabi, Mizan (4:586 #10729); Ibn Hajar, Taqrib (p. 684 #8444).<br />[121]Mu‘adh ibn al-Muthanna (d. 288), declared trustworthy by al-Dhahabi. He was one of Imam Ahmad’s companions and related from him that he said: “Whoever abandons the witr prayer deliberately is an evil-doer who is abandoning a Sunna of the Prophet (s), and he is no longer considered an upright person (sâqitu al-‘adâla).” Tabaqat al-Hanabila (1:339 #489); Siyar (11:69 #2477). Cf. al-Shafi‘i: “Whoever leaves either the Sunna of fajr or Salat al-Witr, is in a worse state than if he had left all the supererogatory prayers.” Narrated from al-Rabi‘ in al-Umm (1:142).<br />[122]Khallad ibn Aslam, Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi (d. 249), one of al-Tirmidhi’s and al-Nasa’i’s shaykhs, unanimously considered trustworthy as a narrator.<br />[123]This is actually Muhammad ibn Fudayl.<br />[124]This is the same as al-Tabari’s and Ibn Abi ‘Asim’s narrations of Mujahid’s hadith through their chains in Section 5 above. Both Ibn Abi Ya‘la’s chains cited here are weak due to Ibn Batta, in addition to the possibility of a missing link between ‘Ali and Ibn Batta. The second chain is weak due to Layth ibn Abi Sulaym. Both chains contain undecisive transmission terminology (‘an‘ana), which makes them weaker, especially if al-Haythami’s grading of Layth as a “concealer” (mudallis) is correct (see his note). Finally, even if these chains were considered good until Mujahid, the chain remains severed at his level (maqtu‘), and the hadith itself remains “condemned” (munkar) as stated by al-Dhahabi.<br />[125]Abu Yahya al-Naqid is unidentified, possibly Ahmad ibn ‘Isam ibn ‘Abd al-Majid Abu Yahya al-Ansari (d. 272), who narrated hadith from Abu Dawud al-Tayalisi and from whom narrated Ibn Abi Dawud al-Sijistani. His rank as a narrator is trustworthy (thiqa) according to Ibn Hayyan in Tabaqat al-Muhaddithin fi Asbahan (3:43) and “truthful” (sâdiq) according to al-Dhahabi in the Siyar (10:452 #2243).<br />[126]Ya‘qub ibn Yusuf ibn Ayyub, Abu Bakr al-Mutawwa‘i al-Baghdadi (d. 287), one of Imam Ahmad’s students. Ja‘far al-Khaldi said: “I heard Abu Bakr al-Mutawwa‘i say: ‘My daily devotion (wird) in my youth consisted in reading Qul Huwa Allahu Ahad 31,000 or 41,000 times – Ja‘far was unsure – in every twenty-four hours.’” Al-Daraqutni said he is trustworthy. Ibn Abi Ya‘la, Tabaqat al-Hanabila (1:417 #545).<br />[127]Abu al-Hasan al-‘Attar is unidentified.<br />[128]See Sections 6-7 above.<br />[129]In fact, there is not a single narration actually traced back up to the Prophet (s) himself mentioning his seating next to Allah on the Throne, whether with an interrupted or uninterrupted chain. Al-Najjad’s claim seems based on his assumption that Mujahid’s and ‘Abd Allah ibn Salam’s reports have the status of marfû‘, which was never established.<br />[130]See Section 4 for the hadith of Ibn ‘Abbas. Other than that, what al-Najjad attributes to Ibn ‘Abbas was apparently never reported from him.<br />[131]Here al-Najjad moves from an apologetic and descriptive stance concerned primarily with the evidence at hand to an aggressive stance aiming at the persons of those who question it. Towards the end of the passage he once more modifies his attack so as to represent any disputation of Mujahid’s narration as an attack on the Prophet (s) himself.<br />[132]This could be either Ibn Abi al-Dunya – ‘Abd Allah ibn Muhammad ibn ‘Ubayd, Abu Bakr al-Qurashi al-Baghdadi (d. 281), or Abu Bakr al-Khallal. Both of them were prolific writers and narrated from Abu Dawud. It is, moreover, established that al-Najjad narrated from Ibn Abi al-Dunya but not that he narrated from al-Khallal. However, it is more likely that the latter is meant since in his book al-Sunna he insisted heavily on the statement that Allah literally sits on the Throne and that Jahmis alone deny it, whereas no such extremism is known from Ibn Abi al-Dunya. Furthermore, the accusation of Jahmism is typical of al-Khallal and of Hanbalis of his period to that of Ibn Abi Ya‘la in general.<br />[133]Note that al-Qurtubi relates a different wording from Abu Dawud. Cf. Section 8.<br />[134]Unidentified.<br />[135]Muhammad ibn ‘Abd al-Malik ibn Marwan, Abu Ja‘far al-Daqiqi (d. 266), a truthful narrator (sadûq) from whom Ibn Majah and Abu Dawud took three hadiths in all. The latter said of him that “he had little insight”. Al-Dhahabi, Mizan (3:632 #7893).<br />[136]This is Muhammad ibn Isma‘il al-Sulami.<br />[137]Here al-Najjad again rephrases his argument to read like a condemnation of those who deny the pre-eminence of the Prophet (s). His rhetoric is much enhanced by the fact that such a denial unanimously amounts to disbelief. However, al-Tirmidhi only rejected the authenticity of Mujahid’s report! Cf. al-Khallal’s Sunna (p. 232).<br />[138]Abu Bakr al-Najjad in Ibn Abi Ya‘la’s Tabaqat al-Hanabila (2:9-12).<br />[139]See Sections 2 and 3 for the narrations of Ibn ‘Umar.<br />[140]Ibn Batta, al-Sharh wa al-Ibana (p. 61).<br />[141]Ibn Taymiyya, Majmu‘ al-Fatawa (Mufassal al-I‘tiqad – “Specifics of Belief” – 4:374).<br />[142]Hajji Khalifa, Kashf al-Zunun (2:1438). This has been removed from the printed edition of both Abu Hayyan’s commentaries al-Bahr al-Muhit and al-Nahr al-Madd min al-Bahr [passage on ayat al-Kursi] by their Cairo publisher as the latter acknowledged it himself. See al-Kawthari’s note in his commentary on Ibn al-Subki’s al-Sayf al-Saqil (p. 96-97) and al-Ghumari’s Bida‘ al-Tafasir (p. 156).</small></p><p style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px 0px 10px; text-align: center;">Peace and Blessings upon the Prophet, his Family, and his Companions</p></div>Mustafa Ahmedhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14172750188773095424noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-558359090739969505.post-74204262065977566472023-11-30T16:11:00.000-08:002023-11-30T16:14:49.671-08:00Hadith of angels cursing the wife explained<p> </p><header class="entry-header" style="background-color: white; color: #404040; font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; overflow-wrap: break-word;"><h1 class="entry-title" style="border: 0px; clear: both; font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 44px; font-style: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: 54px; margin: 0px 0px 20px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">Hadith of angels cursing the wife explained</h1><div class="entry-meta" style="border: 0px; color: #aaaaaa; font-family: inherit; font-size: 12px; font-style: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: 15px; margin: 15px 0px 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><a class="author" href="https://qurananswers.me/author/invitationtotruth/" rel="author" style="border: 0px; color: #3a3a3a; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-weight: 600; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration-line: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Abu Rahma</a> /</div></header><div class="entry-content" style="background-color: white; border: 0px; color: #404040; counter-reset: footnotes 0; font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; margin: 1.5em 0px 0px; outline: 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><p style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-weight: inherit; margin: 0px 0px 1.5em; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: justify; vertical-align: baseline;">The following Hadiths are found problematic by some:</p><blockquote style="background: rgb(247, 247, 247); border: 0px; display: inline-block; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-weight: inherit; margin: 20px 1.5em 20px -40px; outline: 0px; padding: 20px 20px 1px 80px; position: relative; quotes: "" ""; vertical-align: baseline;"><p style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-weight: inherit; margin: 0px 0px 1.5em; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: right; vertical-align: baseline;">إِذَا دَعَا الرَّجُلُ امْرَأَتَهُ إِلَى فِرَاشِهِ فَأَبَتْ، فَبَاتَ غَضْبَانَ عَلَيْهَا، لَعَنَتْهَا الْمَلاَئِكَةُ حَتَّى تُصْبِحَ</p><p style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-weight: inherit; margin: 0px 0px 1.5em; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: justify; vertical-align: baseline;">If a husband calls his wife to his bed and she refuses and causes him to sleep in anger, the angels will curse her till morning. [Sahih al-Bukhari, Book 59, Hadith 48]</p><p style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-weight: inherit; margin: 0px 0px 1.5em; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: right; vertical-align: baseline;">وَالَّذِي نَفْسُ مُحَمَّدٍ بِيَدِهِ لاَ تُؤَدِّي الْمَرْأَةُ حَقَّ رَبِّهَا حَتَّى تُؤَدِّيَ حَقَّ زَوْجِهَا وَلَوْ سَأَلَهَا نَفْسَهَا وَهِيَ عَلَى قَتَبٍ لَمْ تَمْنَعْهُ</p><p style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-weight: inherit; margin: 0px 0px 1.5em; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: justify; vertical-align: baseline;">By the One in Whose Hand is the soul of Muhammad! No woman can fulfill her duty towards Allah until she fulfills her duty towards her husband. If he asks her (for intimacy) even if she is on her camel saddle, she should not refuse. [Sunan Ibn Majah, Vol. 3, Book 9, Hadith 1853]</p><p style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-weight: inherit; margin: 0px 0px 1.5em; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: right; vertical-align: baseline;">إِذَا الرَّجُلُ دَعَا زَوْجَتَهُ لِحَاجَتِهِ فَلْتَأْتِهِ وَإِنْ كَانَتْ عَلَى التَّنُّورِ</p><p style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-weight: inherit; margin: 0px 0px 1.5em; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: justify; vertical-align: baseline;">When a man calls his wife for his need, then let her come, even if she is at the oven. [Jami` at-Tirmidhi, Book 12, Hadith 15]</p></blockquote><p style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-weight: inherit; margin: 0px 0px 1.5em; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: justify; vertical-align: baseline;">Looking in isolation, these Hadiths tend to give the impression that a man can force his wife into intimacy. However, the bottom line behind this impression is <em style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-weight: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">isolation</em>. The correct meaning of the Hadiths is that <span style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-weight: 700; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">physical intimacy should not be used by women as a pressure tactic, blackmailing device, and forced negotiation</span> among other negatives, i.e. it should not be used as a weapon against him. Is that the only meaning of these Hadiths? No. The act of intimacy should not be denied without a valid excuse (more on valid reasons below).</p><p style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-weight: inherit; margin: 0px 0px 1.5em; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: justify; vertical-align: baseline;"><u>Is this a fat-fetched interpretation? What are the proofs for this?</u></p><p style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-weight: inherit; margin: 0px 0px 1.5em; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: justify; vertical-align: baseline;">There is another authentic Hadith that has slight variation of words:</p><blockquote style="background: rgb(247, 247, 247); border: 0px; display: inline-block; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-weight: inherit; margin: 20px 1.5em 20px -40px; outline: 0px; padding: 20px 20px 1px 80px; position: relative; quotes: "" ""; vertical-align: baseline;"><p style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-weight: inherit; margin: 0px 0px 1.5em; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: right; vertical-align: baseline;">إِذَا بَاتَتِ الْمَرْأَةُ مُهَاجِرَةً فِرَاشَ زَوْجِهَا لَعَنَتْهَا الْمَلاَئِكَةُ حَتَّى تَرْجِعَ</p><p style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-weight: inherit; margin: 0px 0px 1.5em; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: justify; vertical-align: baseline;">If a woman spends the night deserting her husband’s bed (does not sleep with him), then the angels send their curses on her <u>till she comes back</u> (to her husband). [Sahih al-Bukhari, Book 67, Hadith 128]</p></blockquote><p style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-weight: inherit; margin: 0px 0px 1.5em; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: justify; vertical-align: baseline;">The word تَرْجِعَ translated above as <em style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-weight: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">till she comes back</em> has more meanings; it is also used in the sense that <em style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-weight: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">till she returns</em> or <em style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-weight: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">till she repents</em>. Repents from what? The scholars of Islam unanimously state that having a valid reason is regarded as something acceptable. If the wife has a valid reason to not engage in intimacy, then she does nothing wrong. Now why would she refuse without a valid reason? The answer is stated above which is that <span style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-weight: 700; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">physical intimacy should not be used by women as a pressure tactic, blackmailing device, and forced negotiation</span> among other negatives, i.e. it should not be used as a weapon against him.<a href="https://qurananswers.me/2017/01/14/hadith-of-angels-cursing-the-wife-explained/#_ftn1" name="_ftnref1" style="border: 0px; color: #117bb8; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-weight: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">[1]</a></p><div class="wordads-ad-wrapper" style="border: 0px; clear: both; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; letter-spacing: 1px; line-height: normal; margin: 25px auto; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; width: 700px;"><div class="wordads-ad wordads-ad-responsive" style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-weight: inherit; margin: 0px auto; max-width: 580px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; width: 580px;"><div class="wordads-ad-title" style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-weight: inherit; margin: 0px auto 5px; max-width: 550px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><br /></div><div class="wordads-ad-content wordads-ad-inline" id="wordads-ad-366099" style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-weight: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><br /></div></div></div><p style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-weight: inherit; margin: 0px 0px 1.5em; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: justify; vertical-align: baseline;">What if she’s simply not in the mood or too lazy or doesn’t want to take a shower because she needs to wake up early the next day? Would these be valid excuses? These may be a valid excuses (and Allah (ﷻ) knows best) and to counter that, the man will have to send the good word as stated by Ibn al-Qayyim (رحمه الله) (see footnote 4) i.e. be romantic, bring her in the mood to change her decision, followed by foreplay, and then engage in physical intimacy. If she still doesn’t come in the mood, it may be natural biology, psychology, or nature and <em style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-weight: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">may</em> fall under the subjective valid excuse definition. Allah (ﷻ) knows best.</p><p style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-weight: inherit; margin: 0px 0px 1.5em; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: justify; vertical-align: baseline;">The second of the two Hadiths presented above state that a woman should not refuse <em style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-weight: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">even if she is on her camel saddle</em>. Below is what a camel saddle looks like and in such a situation, acts of physical intimacy are not something that are easy to perform.<a href="https://qurananswers.me/2017/01/14/hadith-of-angels-cursing-the-wife-explained/#_ftn2" name="_ftnref2" style="border: 0px; color: #117bb8; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-weight: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">[2]</a></p><p style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-weight: inherit; margin: 0px 0px 1.5em; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: justify; vertical-align: baseline;"><a href="https://quranmisconceptions.files.wordpress.com/2017/01/saddle.jpg" style="border: 0px; color: #117bb8; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-weight: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><img alt="saddle" class="alignnone wp-image-704" data-attachment-id="704" data-comments-opened="1" data-image-caption="" data-image-description="" data-image-meta="{"aperture":"0","credit":"","camera":"","caption":"","created_timestamp":"0","copyright":"","focal_length":"0","iso":"0","shutter_speed":"0","title":"","orientation":"0"}" data-image-title="saddle" data-large-file="https://quranmisconceptions.files.wordpress.com/2017/01/saddle.jpg?w=700" data-medium-file="https://quranmisconceptions.files.wordpress.com/2017/01/saddle.jpg?w=300" data-orig-file="https://quranmisconceptions.files.wordpress.com/2017/01/saddle.jpg" data-orig-size="850,567" data-permalink="https://qurananswers.me/2017/01/14/hadith-of-angels-cursing-the-wife-explained/saddle/" height="215" sizes="(max-width: 323px) 100vw, 323px" src="https://quranmisconceptions.files.wordpress.com/2017/01/saddle.jpg?w=323&h=215" srcset="https://quranmisconceptions.files.wordpress.com/2017/01/saddle.jpg?w=300 300w, https://quranmisconceptions.files.wordpress.com/2017/01/saddle.jpg?w=323 323w, https://quranmisconceptions.files.wordpress.com/2017/01/saddle.jpg?w=646 646w, https://quranmisconceptions.files.wordpress.com/2017/01/saddle.jpg?w=150 150w" style="border: 0px; clear: both; display: block; height: auto; margin: 20px 0px; max-width: 100%;" width="323" /></a></p><p style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-weight: inherit; margin: 0px 0px 1.5em; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: justify; vertical-align: baseline;">[<a href="http://camelphotos.com/camel_saddles.html" style="border: 0px; color: #117bb8; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-weight: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">Source</a>]</p><p style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-weight: inherit; margin: 0px 0px 1.5em; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: justify; vertical-align: baseline;">Not only is physical intimacy on a camel saddle a close to an impossible task, an attempt at doing so would result in a very public display of intercourse which is something that Islam prohibits and the Prophet (ﷺ) said:</p><blockquote style="background: rgb(247, 247, 247); border: 0px; display: inline-block; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-weight: inherit; margin: 20px 1.5em 20px -40px; outline: 0px; padding: 20px 20px 1px 80px; position: relative; quotes: "" ""; vertical-align: baseline;"><p style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-weight: inherit; margin: 0px 0px 1.5em; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: right; vertical-align: baseline;">إِنَّ مِمَّا أَدْرَكَ النَّاسُ مِنْ كَلاَمِ النُّبُوَّةِ الأُولَى إِذَا لَمْ تَسْتَحِ فَافْعَلْ مَا شِئْتَ</p><p style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-weight: inherit; margin: 0px 0px 1.5em; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: justify; vertical-align: baseline;">One of the things people have learnt from the words of the earliest prophecy is: If you have no shame, do what you like. [Sunan Abi Da’ood, Book 43, Hadith 25. For commentary on the Hadith, refer <a href="https://abuhatim.wordpress.com/2008/11/04/if-you-feel-no-shame-then-do-as-you-wish/" style="border: 0px; color: #117bb8; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-weight: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">here</a>]</p></blockquote><p style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-weight: inherit; margin: 0px 0px 1.5em; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: justify; vertical-align: baseline;">There are plenty of Hadiths that forbid lewdness, nakedness, and other acts of shamelessness. In fact, the Qur’an orders women to be <a href="https://islamqa.info/en/13998" style="border: 0px; color: #117bb8; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-weight: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">covered up</a> and an act of physical intimacy on a camel saddle (if taken literally) violates this order. The point behind stating this and what we learn from this is that <span style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-weight: 700; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">the Prophet (</span><span style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-weight: 700; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">ﷺ</span><span style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-weight: 700; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">) used figure of speech here</span>.</p><p style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-weight: inherit; margin: 0px 0px 1.5em; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: justify; vertical-align: baseline;"><u>What is meant by the cursing of angels?</u></p><p style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-weight: inherit; margin: 0px 0px 1.5em; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: justify; vertical-align: baseline;">The first Hadith above ends with these words – لَعَنَتْهَا الْمَلاَئِكَةُ حَتَّى تُصْبِحَ i.e. the angels will curse her till morning. The Hadith does not state that she earns the curse of Allah (ﷻ). What does the curse of Allah (ﷻ) mean? Refer <a href="http://the-finalrevelation.blogspot.ae/2012/12/those-who-deserve-the-curse-of-Allah.html" style="border: 0px; color: #117bb8; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-weight: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">here</a>. What does this cursing of angels exactly mean? Let’s look at the following Hadith:</p><blockquote style="background: rgb(247, 247, 247); border: 0px; display: inline-block; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-weight: inherit; margin: 20px 1.5em 20px -40px; outline: 0px; padding: 20px 20px 1px 80px; position: relative; quotes: "" ""; vertical-align: baseline;"><p style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-weight: inherit; margin: 0px 0px 1.5em; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: right; vertical-align: baseline;">عَنْ أَبِي هُرَيْرَة أَنَّ رَجُلًا شَتَمَ أَبَا بَكْرٍ وَالنَّبِيُّ صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ جَالِسٌ فَجَعَلَ النَّبِيُّ صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ يَعْجَبُ وَيَتَبَسَّمُ فَلَمَّا أَكْثَرَ رَدَّ عَلَيْهِ بَعْضَ قَوْلِهِ فَغَضِبَ النَّبِيُّ صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ وَقَامَ فَلَحِقَهُ أَبُو بَكْرٍ فَقَالَ يَا رَسُولَ اللَّهِ كَانَ يَشْتُمُنِي وَأَنْتَ جَالِسٌ فَلَمَّا رَدَدْتُ عَلَيْهِ بَعْضَ قَوْلِهِ غَضِبْتَ وَقُمْتَ قَالَ إِنَّهُ كَانَ مَعَكَ مَلَكٌ يَرُدُّ عَنْكَ فَلَمَّا رَدَدْتَ عَلَيْهِ بَعْضَ قَوْلِهِ وَقَعَ الشَّيْطَانُ</p><p style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-weight: inherit; margin: 0px 0px 1.5em; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: justify; vertical-align: baseline;">Abu Huraira reported: A man reviled Abu Bakr while the Prophet (ﷺ) was sitting down. That made the Prophet impressed by Abu Bakr and he smiled. Then, Abu Bakr reviled the man with the same words as him and the Prophet became angry and he stood to leave. Abu Bakr went to the Prophet and he said, “O Messenger of Allah, the man reviled me and you were sitting, but when I responded you became angry and stood up.” The Prophet said, “Verily, there was an <u>angel with you responding on your behalf</u>, but Satan appeared when you responded with the same words as him and I will not sit in the presence of Satan.” [Musnad Aḥmad 9411]</p></blockquote><p style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-weight: inherit; margin: 0px 0px 1.5em; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: justify; vertical-align: baseline;">The man reviled Abu Bakr (رضي الله عنه) and the angels responded to that man. The words of the angels were not vile. Hence, we learn that when the Angels <em style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-weight: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">curse</em> the woman till the morning, it is not a vile curse and is more of a condemnation of this act.</p><div class="wordads-ad-wrapper" style="border: 0px; clear: both; display: inherit; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; letter-spacing: 1px; line-height: normal; margin: 25px auto; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; width: 700px;"><div data-adtags-width="700" id="atatags-26942-903965" style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-weight: inherit; height: 272px; margin: 0px auto; outline: 0px; overflow: hidden; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; width: 300px;"><div style="border: 0px; font-family: "Open Sans", Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 10px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; height: 12px; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">Advertisements</div><div class="ata-slot-container-wrapper" style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-weight: inherit; height: 250px; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; width: 300px;"><div class="ata-slot-container" style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-weight: inherit; height: 250px; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; width: 300px;"><div class="ata-frame-wrapper" id="sf-atatags-26942-903965" style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-weight: inherit; height: 250px; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; overflow: hidden; padding: 0px; position: relative; vertical-align: baseline; visibility: inherit; width: 300px; z-index: 0;"><iframe allowtranparency="true" frameborder="no" hidefocus="true" id="safeframe-sf-atatags-26942-903965" marginheight="0" marginwidth="0" referrerpolicy="unsafe-url" scrolling="no" src="https://c0.pubmine.com/sf/0.0.7/html/safeframe.html" style="border-style: none; border-width: initial; display: block; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-weight: inherit; height: 250px; left: 0px; margin: 0px; max-width: 100%; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; position: absolute; top: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; visibility: inherit; width: 300px; z-index: 0;" tabindex="-1"></iframe></div></div></div><div class="ata-controls" id="atatags-26942-903965__controls" style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-weight: inherit; height: 10px; line-height: 10px; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: right; vertical-align: baseline; width: 300px;"><span class="ata-controls__complain-btn" face="Verdana, sans-serif" id="atatags-26942-903965__complain-btn" style="border: 0px; color: #c8c7cc; cursor: pointer; float: right; font-size: 6px; font-style: inherit; font-weight: inherit; letter-spacing: 0.3px; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; text-transform: uppercase; vertical-align: middle;">REPORT THIS AD</span><span class="ata-controls__privacy-btn" face="Verdana, sans-serif" id="atatags-26942-903965__privacy-btn" style="border: 0px; color: #c8c7cc; cursor: pointer; float: left; font-size: 6px; font-style: inherit; font-weight: inherit; letter-spacing: 0.3px; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; text-transform: uppercase; vertical-align: middle;">PRIVACY</span></div></div></div><p style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-weight: inherit; margin: 0px 0px 1.5em; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: justify; vertical-align: baseline;"><u>Why do such misconceptions arise from such Hadiths?</u></p><p style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-weight: inherit; margin: 0px 0px 1.5em; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: justify; vertical-align: baseline;">Such misconceptions are not new and they will not stop unless people realise the overall Hadiths’ structure and have at least a basic grasp of Hadith sciences. Hadiths are not like story books and their context is also not like an ordinary book where a few lines are read before and a few after. Hadiths are scattered and the entire corpus is the context; different Hadith collections have organized the subject matter differently and identifying the grand context of all these is not an easy task for a person without knowledge even with all the search engines and software around.</p><p style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-weight: inherit; margin: 0px 0px 1.5em; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: justify; vertical-align: baseline;">Another problem that arises out of this limited context view is that the readers ordinarily see one side of the picture while ignoring or overlooking the other completely. If a collection of Hadiths state the man’s responsibility towards his wife and family, it may appear that Islam is too demanding from the man and does not give him his due rights. It has even happened that some fathers have read so much about the rights of mothers that they ask whether Islam even grants them any status! Considering the above, such misconceptions are very likely to occur. Therefore, let us look at some, out of many, further sayings of the Prophet (ﷺ) that give us a better picture instead of the partial one some people have developed:</p><blockquote style="background: rgb(247, 247, 247); border: 0px; display: inline-block; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-weight: inherit; margin: 20px 1.5em 20px -40px; outline: 0px; padding: 20px 20px 1px 80px; position: relative; quotes: "" ""; vertical-align: baseline;"><p style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-weight: inherit; margin: 0px 0px 1.5em; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: right; vertical-align: baseline;">خَيْرُكُمْ خَيْرُكُمْ لأَهْلِهِ وَأَنَا خَيْرُكُمْ لأَهْلِي</p><p style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-weight: inherit; margin: 0px 0px 1.5em; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: justify; vertical-align: baseline;">The best of you is the best to his wives, and I am the best of you to my wives. [Jami` at-Tirmidhi, Vol. 1, Book 46, Hadith 3895 – Sunan Ibn Majah, Vol. 3, Book 9, Hadith 1977]</p></blockquote><p style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-weight: inherit; margin: 0px 0px 1.5em; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: justify; vertical-align: baseline;">The message اسْتَوْصُوا بِالنِّسَاءِ act kindly towards women has been repeated a number of times in Sahih al-Bukhari and Sahih al-Muslim.</p><blockquote style="background: rgb(247, 247, 247); border: 0px; display: inline-block; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-weight: inherit; margin: 20px 1.5em 20px -40px; outline: 0px; padding: 20px 20px 1px 80px; position: relative; quotes: "" ""; vertical-align: baseline;"><p style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-weight: inherit; margin: 0px 0px 1.5em; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: right; vertical-align: baseline;">لاَ تَضْرِبْ ظَعِينَتَكَ كَضَرْبِكَ أَمَتَكَ</p><p style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-weight: inherit; margin: 0px 0px 1.5em; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: justify; vertical-align: baseline;">Do not beat your wife as you would beat your slavegirl. [Al-Adab Al-Mufrad, Book 9, Hadith 166]<a href="https://qurananswers.me/2017/01/14/hadith-of-angels-cursing-the-wife-explained/#_ftn3" name="_ftnref3" style="border: 0px; color: #117bb8; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-weight: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">[3]</a></p></blockquote><p style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-weight: inherit; margin: 0px 0px 1.5em; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: justify; vertical-align: baseline;">Moreover, Islamic defines some etiquettes for physical intimacy:</p><blockquote style="background: rgb(247, 247, 247); border: 0px; display: inline-block; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-weight: inherit; margin: 20px 1.5em 20px -40px; outline: 0px; padding: 20px 20px 1px 80px; position: relative; quotes: "" ""; vertical-align: baseline;"><p style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-weight: inherit; margin: 0px 0px 1.5em; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: right; vertical-align: baseline;">لا ترتموا على نسائكم كالبهائم ، بل اجعلوا بينكم و بينهم رسولاً ” فقيل: و ما هو الرسول يا رسول الله؟ فاجاب: القبلة</p><p style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-weight: inherit; margin: 0px 0px 1.5em; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: justify; vertical-align: baseline;">None of you should fall upon his wife like an animal; but let there first be a messenger between you. The Companions exclaimed, What is that messenger? The Prophet (ﷺ) replied, Kisses and (romantic) words! [Reported by Al-Daylami]<a href="https://qurananswers.me/2017/01/14/hadith-of-angels-cursing-the-wife-explained/#_ftn4" name="_ftnref4" style="border: 0px; color: #117bb8; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-weight: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">[4]</a></p></blockquote><p style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-weight: inherit; margin: 0px 0px 1.5em; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: justify; vertical-align: baseline;">Importantly, there is another side of the coin here as well as Allah (ﷻ) has stated in the Qur’an 4:129 [فتذروها كالمعلقة] i.e. Allah (ﷻ) tells the man not to leave her hanging. We also have explicit words from the Prophet (ﷺ) in Sahih al-Bukhari, Book 67, Hadith 133, among several others, [وَإِنَّ لِزَوْجِكَ عَلَيْكَ حَقًّا] i.e. your wife has a right over you (referring to physical intimacy). Imam Qurtubi in his commentary on Q.2:178 says s<em style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-weight: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">he has over him the same right of sexual cohabitation he has over her</em>. We therefore see that Islam is not biased or one-sided and we have explicit statements from our Creator (ﷻ), the Prophet (ﷺ), and the scholars in this regard.</p><div class="wordads-ad-wrapper" style="border: 0px; clear: both; display: inherit; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; letter-spacing: 1px; line-height: normal; margin: 25px auto; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; width: 700px;"><div data-adtags-width="700" id="atatags-26942-986173" style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-weight: inherit; height: 272px; margin: 0px auto; outline: 0px; overflow: hidden; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; width: 300px;"><div style="border: 0px; font-family: "Open Sans", Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 10px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; height: 12px; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">Advertisements</div><div class="ata-slot-container-wrapper" style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-weight: inherit; height: 250px; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; width: 300px;"><div class="ata-slot-container" style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-weight: inherit; height: 250px; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; width: 300px;"><div class="ata-frame-wrapper" id="sf-atatags-26942-986173" style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-weight: inherit; height: 250px; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; overflow: hidden; padding: 0px; position: relative; vertical-align: baseline; visibility: inherit; width: 300px; z-index: 0;"><iframe allowtranparency="true" frameborder="no" hidefocus="true" id="safeframe-sf-atatags-26942-986173" marginheight="0" marginwidth="0" referrerpolicy="unsafe-url" scrolling="no" src="https://c0.pubmine.com/sf/0.0.7/html/safeframe.html" style="border-style: none; border-width: initial; display: block; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-weight: inherit; height: 250px; left: 0px; margin: 0px; max-width: 100%; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; position: absolute; top: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; visibility: inherit; width: 300px; z-index: 0;" tabindex="-1"></iframe></div></div></div><div class="ata-controls" id="atatags-26942-986173__controls" style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-weight: inherit; height: 10px; line-height: 10px; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: right; vertical-align: baseline; width: 300px;"><span class="ata-controls__complain-btn" face="Verdana, sans-serif" id="atatags-26942-986173__complain-btn" style="border: 0px; color: #c8c7cc; cursor: pointer; float: right; font-size: 6px; font-style: inherit; font-weight: inherit; letter-spacing: 0.3px; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; text-transform: uppercase; vertical-align: middle;">REPORT THIS AD</span><span class="ata-controls__privacy-btn" face="Verdana, sans-serif" id="atatags-26942-986173__privacy-btn" style="border: 0px; color: #c8c7cc; cursor: pointer; float: left; font-size: 6px; font-style: inherit; font-weight: inherit; letter-spacing: 0.3px; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; text-transform: uppercase; vertical-align: middle;">PRIVACY</span></div></div></div><p style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-weight: inherit; margin: 0px 0px 1.5em; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: justify; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-weight: 700; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">Conclusion</span></p><p style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-weight: inherit; margin: 0px 0px 1.5em; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: justify; vertical-align: baseline;">In Islam, men have rights over women and women have rights over men. There are etiquettes of physical intimacy and men and women are both entitled to it. Using this act or withholding it without a valid reason is disliked in Islam and physical intimacy should not be used as a pressure tactic, blackmailing device, and forced negotiation among other negatives, i.e. it should not be used as a weapon against him.</p><p style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-weight: inherit; margin: 0px 0px 1.5em; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: justify; vertical-align: baseline;">Allah (ﷻ) says in Qur’an 2:168: ولاتتبعوا خطوات الشيطان انه لكم عدو مبين “<em style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-weight: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">…do not follow the footsteps of Satan. Indeed, he is to you a clear enemy</em>.” Everything that eventually leads to shaytaan, or his ways, are {the footsteps of Satan}. Islam forbids us from treading on the path that eventually leads to shaytaan even though the area being treaded may not have shaytaan there. For example, if a person has a habit of spitting on the road and says that the sun would burn it up or it would evaporate and cause no harm to anyone, would it be taken as a valid justification for his action? Would the law find it legal and would the people find it ethical? Even though his justification may be valid, this is step one towards pollution, and other ills, even though one small spit may not directly cause it itself. The small footstep eventually leads to much greater harm and hence such footsteps of the devil are prohibited in Islam to be followed. Using the act of physical intimacy for other than what it is, leads to the path of shaytaan. Marriage is a partnership of love between the man and the woman and introducing such sketchy, mischievous, and distortionary acts and behaviour only results in harm. The Prophet (ﷺ) is reported to have said لَا ضَرَرَ وَلَا ضِرَارَ <em style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-weight: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">let there be no harm (giving and receiving)</em>.</p><p style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-weight: inherit; margin: 0px 0px 1.5em; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: justify; vertical-align: baseline;">Much of the confusion arises from reading and listening to one side of the story. The Prophet (ﷺ) is reported to have said:</p><blockquote style="background: rgb(247, 247, 247); border: 0px; display: inline-block; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-weight: inherit; margin: 20px 1.5em 20px -40px; outline: 0px; padding: 20px 20px 1px 80px; position: relative; quotes: "" ""; vertical-align: baseline;"><p style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-weight: inherit; margin: 0px 0px 1.5em; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: right; vertical-align: baseline;">إِذَا جَلَسَ بَيْنَ يَدَيْكَ الْخَصْمَانِ فَلاَ تَقْضِيَنَّ حَتَّى تَسْمَعَ مِنَ الآخَرِ كَمَا سَمِعْتَ مِنَ الأَوَّلِ فَإِنَّهُ أَحْرَى أَنْ يَتَبَيَّنَ لَكَ الْقَضَاءُ</p><p style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-weight: inherit; margin: 0px 0px 1.5em; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: justify; vertical-align: baseline;">When two litigants sit in front of you, do not decide <u>till you hear what the other has to say</u> as you heard what the first had to say; for it is best that you should have a clear idea of the best decision. [Sunan Abi Dawud, Book 24, Hadith 3575]</p></blockquote><p style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-weight: inherit; margin: 0px 0px 1.5em; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: justify; vertical-align: baseline;">Justice is dependent on hearing both the sides of the story and a one sided decision is not made.</p><p style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-weight: inherit; margin: 0px 0px 1.5em; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: justify; vertical-align: baseline;">Islam is the truth and it is for all. It neither overburdens and harms men nor women.</p><p style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-weight: inherit; margin: 0px 0px 1.5em; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: justify; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-weight: 700; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><em style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-weight: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">Indeed, Allah (ﷻ) knows best</em></span>.</p><p style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-weight: inherit; margin: 0px 0px 1.5em; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: justify; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-weight: 700; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">References and footnotes</span>:</p><p style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-weight: inherit; margin: 0px 0px 1.5em; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: justify; vertical-align: baseline;"><a href="https://qurananswers.me/2017/01/14/hadith-of-angels-cursing-the-wife-explained/#_ftnref1" name="_ftn1" style="border: 0px; color: #117bb8; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-weight: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">[1]</a> Further reading [<a href="https://islamqa.info/en/2006" style="border: 0px; color: #117bb8; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-weight: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">1</a>][<a href="http://islamqa.org/hanafi/daruliftaa/7638" style="border: 0px; color: #117bb8; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-weight: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">2</a>]</p><p style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-weight: inherit; margin: 0px 0px 1.5em; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: justify; vertical-align: baseline;"><a href="https://qurananswers.me/2017/01/14/hadith-of-angels-cursing-the-wife-explained/#_ftnref2" name="_ftn2" style="border: 0px; color: #117bb8; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-weight: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">[2]</a> Some scholars have taken being on camel saddle on face value i.e. even if she is travelling on the camel back while some state that the words “even if she is on the camel saddle” is that <u>even if she is in the process of delivering a baby</u>. The expression used refers to this because it is related that Arab women used to sit on the camel backs in this situation as it was easy this say. This expression further proves that the words are figurative and not literal.</p><p style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-weight: inherit; margin: 0px 0px 1.5em; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: justify; vertical-align: baseline;"><a href="https://qurananswers.me/2017/01/14/hadith-of-angels-cursing-the-wife-explained/#_ftnref3" name="_ftn3" style="border: 0px; color: #117bb8; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-weight: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">[3]</a> Al-Khattabi states in Ma’alim al-Sunan:</p><blockquote style="background: rgb(247, 247, 247); border: 0px; display: inline-block; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-weight: inherit; margin: 20px 1.5em 20px -40px; outline: 0px; padding: 20px 20px 1px 80px; position: relative; quotes: "" ""; vertical-align: baseline;"><p style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-weight: inherit; margin: 0px 0px 1.5em; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: right; vertical-align: baseline;"> وإنما فيه النهي عن تبريح الضرب كما يضرب المماليك في عادات من يستجيز ضربهم، ويستعمل سوء الملكة فيهم. وتمثله بضرب المماليك لا يوجب إباحة ضربهم، وإنما جرى ذكره في هذا على طريق الذم لأفعالهم ونهاه عن الاقتداء بها وقد نهى صلى الله عليه وسلم عن ضرب المماليك إلاّ في الحدود وأمرنا بالإحسان إليهم.</p><p style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-weight: inherit; margin: 0px 0px 1.5em; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: justify; vertical-align: baseline;">It forbids severe beating like the beating of the slaves by the one who beats them and makes wrong use of his authority with regards to them. And the similitude of beating the slaves does not mean permissibility of beating them. The mention of it is made by the way of condemnation of their deeds and it prohibit imitating the same. Verily the Prophet (ﷺ) has prohibited the beating of the slaves except by the way of prescribed punishments (hudood) and he has ordered to be kind towards them.</p></blockquote><p style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-weight: inherit; margin: 0px 0px 1.5em; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: justify; vertical-align: baseline;">Likewise as-Sindi states:</p><blockquote style="background: rgb(247, 247, 247); border: 0px; display: inline-block; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-weight: inherit; margin: 20px 1.5em 20px -40px; outline: 0px; padding: 20px 20px 1px 80px; position: relative; quotes: "" ""; vertical-align: baseline;"><p style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-weight: inherit; margin: 0px 0px 1.5em; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: right; vertical-align: baseline;">، والتشبيه ليس لإباحة ضرب المماليك، بل لأنه مما جرى به عادتهم</p><p style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-weight: inherit; margin: 0px 0px 1.5em; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: justify; vertical-align: baseline;">And the similitude is not provided in order to denote the permissibility of beating the slaves rather it was utilized because it was general practice (i.e. in seventh century Arabia) for slaved to be beaten.</p></blockquote><p style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-weight: inherit; margin: 0px 0px 1.5em; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: justify; vertical-align: baseline;">The statement was spoken as a similitude and the beating of slave was mentioned as an example. If one were to say that so-and-so treats his friends like animals, this would mean that he treats them poorly and would not indicate as to how he treats animals. Perhaps this person is very nice towards animals; the statement is a figure of speech. Similarly, not treating ones wife as a slave-girl is to be understood in like manner.</p><p style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-weight: inherit; margin: 0px 0px 1.5em; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: justify; vertical-align: baseline;">Moreover, this can be confirmed by the fact that the narrator Laqit Ibn Sabirah had come to the Prophet (ﷺ) as a part of a delegation from Iraq from the tribe of Banu al-Muntafiq. For <em style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-weight: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">as you beat your slave-girl</em> to be literal, the Prophet (ﷺ) would have to know Laqit Ibn Sabirah quite well from well before and would have to know how he treats his slave-girls and would even have to know if he had any slave girls or not.</p><p style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-weight: inherit; margin: 0px 0px 1.5em; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: justify; vertical-align: baseline;">Moreover, the Prophet (ﷺ) has explicitly stated as to how to treat the slaves [<a href="https://www.sunnah.com/muslim/27/56" style="border: 0px; color: #117bb8; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-weight: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">1</a>][<a href="https://www.sunnah.com/muslim/27/47" style="border: 0px; color: #117bb8; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-weight: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">2</a>][<a href="https://www.sunnah.com/bukhari/2/23" style="border: 0px; color: #117bb8; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-weight: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">3</a>][<a href="https://www.sunnah.com/muslim/27/65" style="border: 0px; color: #117bb8; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-weight: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">4</a>].</p><p style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-weight: inherit; margin: 0px 0px 1.5em; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: justify; vertical-align: baseline;"><a href="https://qurananswers.me/2017/01/14/hadith-of-angels-cursing-the-wife-explained/#_ftnref4" name="_ftn4" style="border: 0px; color: #117bb8; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-weight: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">[4]</a> Imam Ibn al-Qayyim (رحمه الله) reports in “Tibb al-Nabawi” that the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) forbade from engaging in sexual intercourse before foreplay. [Al-Tibb al-Nabawi, pg. 183]</p></div>Mustafa Ahmedhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14172750188773095424noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-558359090739969505.post-49245164557976159872023-11-24T13:44:00.000-08:002023-11-24T13:44:21.855-08:00Did Al-Hajjaj Change The Qur'an?<p> <a href="https://www.islamic-awareness.org/" style="font-size: 16px; word-spacing: 0.72px;"><img align="BOTTOM" border="0" height="46" src="https://www.islamic-awareness.org/isa.jpg" width="327" /></a></p><div align="center" class="title" style="font-size: 14pt; font-weight: bold; letter-spacing: 0.24px; line-height: 17pt; word-spacing: 0.72px;"><b>Did Al-<u>H</u>ajjaj Change The Qur'an?</b></div><p align="CENTER" class="articlename" style="color: #770000; font-size: 16px; letter-spacing: 0.24px; line-height: 16pt; word-spacing: 0.72px;">Islamic Awareness</p><p align="CENTER" style="font-size: 16px; word-spacing: 0.72px;"><span class="logocopyblack" style="font-family: helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 8pt; letter-spacing: 0.24px; line-height: 14pt; word-spacing: 0.72px;">© Islamic Awareness, All Rights Reserved.</span></p><p align="CENTER" style="font-size: 16px; word-spacing: 0.72px;"><span class="logocopyblack" style="font-family: helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 8pt; letter-spacing: 0.24px; line-height: 14pt; word-spacing: 0.72px;">First Composed: 1st September 1997</span></p><p align="CENTER" style="font-size: 16px; word-spacing: 0.72px;"><span class="logocopyblack" style="font-family: helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 8pt; letter-spacing: 0.24px; line-height: 14pt; word-spacing: 0.72px;">Last Modified: 27th August 2003</span></p><center style="font-size: 16px; word-spacing: 0.72px;"><p></p><hr noshade="" size="1" width="80%" /><p></p></center><p style="font-size: 16px; word-spacing: 0.72px;"><i>Assalamu-`alaykum wa rahamtullahi wa barakatuhu:</i></p><b style="font-size: 16px; word-spacing: 0.72px;"><span class="title" style="font-size: 14pt; letter-spacing: 0.24px; line-height: 17pt; word-spacing: 0.72px;"><a name="1">1</a>. Introduction</span></b><span style="background-color: white; font-size: 16px; word-spacing: 0.72px;"></span><p style="font-size: 16px; word-spacing: 0.72px;">It had been claimed by Orientalists and Christian missionaries that al-<u>H</u>ajjaj was responsible for changing the some contents of the Qur'an. The scandal surrounding al-<u>H</u>ajjaj is apparently based on two different traditions, one Muslim and the other Christian. The Islamic source is <span class="reference" style="color: blue; font-size: 12pt; font-style: italic; letter-spacing: 0.24px; line-height: 16pt; word-spacing: 0.72px;">Kitab al-Ma<u>s</u>a<u>h</u>if</span> of Ibn Abi Dawud where a report mentions that al-<u>H</u>ajjaj made eleven changes in `Uthman's <i>mu<u>sh</u>af</i>. As for the Christian source, the prominent one is of exchange of letters between Ummayad Caliph `Umar II and the Byzantine Emperor Leo III. A less prominent writing is that of an apology attributed to `Abd al-Ma<u>s</u>ih al-Kindi.</p><p style="font-size: 16px; word-spacing: 0.72px;">We would begin by examining the report in <span class="reference" style="color: blue; font-size: 12pt; font-style: italic; letter-spacing: 0.24px; line-height: 16pt; word-spacing: 0.72px;">Kitab al-Ma<u>s</u>a<u>h</u>if</span> of Ibn Abi Dawud, the problems with the interpretation of Orientalists and Christian missionaries, the authenticity of the report and the implication of the alleged changes made by al-<u>H</u>ajjaj. Followed by this would be the analysis of Christian polemical sources and their authenticity.</p><p style="font-size: 16px; word-spacing: 0.72px;">The document is divided into following sub-headings:</p><blockquote style="font-size: 16px; word-spacing: 0.72px;"><h4><a href="https://www.islamic-awareness.org/quran/text/hajjaj#2">The Report In Kitab al-Ma<u>s</u>a<u>h</u>if Of Ibn Abi Dawud</a></h4><h4><u><a href="https://www.islamic-awareness.org/quran/text/hajjaj#3">H</a></u><a href="https://www.islamic-awareness.org/quran/text/hajjaj#3">adith Criticism Of The Report: The Study of Isnad</a></h4><h4><u><a href="https://www.islamic-awareness.org/quran/text/hajjaj#4">H</a></u><a href="https://www.islamic-awareness.org/quran/text/hajjaj#4">adith Criticism Of The Report: The Study of Matn</a></h4><h4><a href="https://www.islamic-awareness.org/quran/text/hajjaj#5">The Christian Polemical Sources: Letter Of Leo III & `Abd al-Masih al-Kindi</a></h4><h4><a href="https://www.islamic-awareness.org/quran/text/hajjaj#6">Conclusions</a></h4></blockquote><b style="font-size: 16px; word-spacing: 0.72px;"><span class="title" style="font-size: 14pt; letter-spacing: 0.24px; line-height: 17pt; word-spacing: 0.72px;"><a name="2"></a>2. The Report In Kitab al-Ma<u>s</u>a<u>h</u>if Of Ibn Abi Dawud</span></b><span style="background-color: white; font-size: 16px; word-spacing: 0.72px;"></span><p style="font-size: 16px; word-spacing: 0.72px;">The report in <span class="reference" style="color: blue; font-size: 12pt; font-style: italic; letter-spacing: 0.24px; line-height: 16pt; word-spacing: 0.72px;">Kitab al-Ma<u>s</u>a<u>h</u>if</span> of Ibn Abi Dawud says:</p><p style="font-size: 16px; word-spacing: 0.72px;"></p><center style="font-size: 16px; word-spacing: 0.72px;"><p><img align="BOTTOM" border="0" height="600" src="https://www.islamic-awareness.org/quran/text/hajjaj.gif" width="436" /> <img align="BOTTOM" border="0" height="2" src="https://www.islamic-awareness.org/dummy.gif" width="10" /></p><p></p></center><p style="font-size: 16px; word-spacing: 0.72px;">The translation of the report is as follows:</p><p align="CENTER" style="font-size: 16px; word-spacing: 0.72px;"><b><span class="bookquoteCN" style="color: #aa0000; font-family: Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 8pt; letter-spacing: 0.24px; line-height: 13pt; word-spacing: 0.72px;">Section: What al-<u>H</u>ajjaj Had Changed in `Uthman's Mu<u>sh</u>af?</span></b></p><blockquote style="font-size: 16px; word-spacing: 0.72px;"><p><span class="bookquoteCN" style="color: #aa0000; font-family: Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 8pt; letter-spacing: 0.24px; line-height: 13pt; word-spacing: 0.72px;">Abu Bakr said that it was there in the book of my father that a man told; I asked my father, "Who was that man?". He said, "Abbad ibn <u>S</u>uhayb told us from Awf ibn Abi Jamila that al-<u>H</u>ajjaj bin Yusuf changed in `Uthman's mu<u>sh</u>af 11 letters". He said in</span></p><p><span class="bookquoteCN" style="color: #aa0000; font-family: Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 8pt; letter-spacing: 0.24px; line-height: 13pt; word-spacing: 0.72px;">al-Baqarah (2:259) <b>lam <u>yatasanna</u> wanzur</b> without <i>ha</i> to <b>lam <u>yatasannah</u></b> with <i>ha</i>.</span></p><p><span class="bookquoteCN" style="color: #aa0000; font-family: Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 8pt; letter-spacing: 0.24px; line-height: 13pt; word-spacing: 0.72px;">and in al-Ma'idah (5:48) <b><u>shari`atan</u> wa minhajan</b> was changed to <b><u>shir`atan</u> wa minhajan</b></span></p><p><span class="bookquoteCN" style="color: #aa0000; font-family: Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 8pt; letter-spacing: 0.24px; line-height: 13pt; word-spacing: 0.72px;">and in Yunus (10:22) <b>huwal-ladhi <u>yunash-shirukum</u></b> was changed to <b><u>yusay-yirukum</u></b></span></p><p><span class="bookquoteCN" style="color: #aa0000; font-family: Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 8pt; letter-spacing: 0.24px; line-height: 13pt; word-spacing: 0.72px;">and in Yusuf (12:45) <b><u>ana-atikum</u> bita'wilihi</b> was changed to <b><u>ana onabbio'kum</u> bita'wilihi</b></span></p><p><span class="bookquoteCN" style="color: #aa0000; font-family: Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 8pt; letter-spacing: 0.24px; line-height: 13pt; word-spacing: 0.72px;">and in Mu'minun (23:85-89) <b>sayaquluna lillah....<u>lillah....lillah</u></b> he made the two last occurrences <b><u>allah....allah</u></b></span></p><p><span class="bookquoteCN" style="color: #aa0000; font-family: Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 8pt; letter-spacing: 0.24px; line-height: 13pt; word-spacing: 0.72px;">and in al-Shu`ara in the story of Nuh (26:116) it was <b>minal mukhrajina</b> and in the story of Lut (26:167) it was <b>minal marjumina</b>. It was changed in the story of Nuh to <b>minal marjumina</b> and in the story of Lut to <b>minal mukhrajina</b></span></p><p><span class="bookquoteCN" style="color: #aa0000; font-family: Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 8pt; letter-spacing: 0.24px; line-height: 13pt; word-spacing: 0.72px;">and in al-Zukhruf (43:32) it was <b>na<u>h</u>nu qasamna baynahum <u>ma`</u></b><u><b> ishahum</b></u> and he changed it to <b><u>ma`</u></b><u><b>ishatahum</b></u></span></p><p><span class="bookquoteCN" style="color: #aa0000; font-family: Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 8pt; letter-spacing: 0.24px; line-height: 13pt; word-spacing: 0.72px;">and in al-ladhina kafaru (47:15) <b>min ma`inn ghayri <u>yasin</u></b> was changed to <b>min ma`inn ghayri <u>asin</u></b></span></p><p><span class="bookquoteCN" style="color: #aa0000; font-family: Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 8pt; letter-spacing: 0.24px; line-height: 13pt; word-spacing: 0.72px;">and in al-<u>H</u>adid (57:7) he changed <b>fal-ladhina amanu minkum <u>wat-taqaw lahum </u>ajrun kabir</b> to <b>minkum <u>wa anfaqu</u>.</b></span></p><p><span class="bookquoteCN" style="color: #aa0000; font-family: Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 8pt; letter-spacing: 0.24px; line-height: 13pt; word-spacing: 0.72px;">and in "When the Sun is folded up" (81:24) <b>wa ma huwa `ala-l-ghaybi <u>bidhanin</u></b> to <b><u>bidanin</u></b></span><sup class="referencenumb" style="color: blue; font-size: 8pt; letter-spacing: 0.24px; line-height: 10pt; word-spacing: 0.72px;">[1]</sup></p></blockquote><p style="font-size: 16px; word-spacing: 0.72px;">In other words, the report says that al-<u>H</u>ajjaj made eleven changes in `Uthman's <i>mu<u>sh</u>af</i> and these changes are documented.</p><p style="font-size: 16px; word-spacing: 0.72px;">Instead of reading carefully what has been mentioned in the report, the Orientalists and missionaries have involved themselves in myth-making and taking it to almost delirious levels. Based on this report al-<u>H</u>ajjaj has been accused of "undertaking a completely new recension" or a "minor recension" or even changing the `Uthmanic recension of the Qur'an. Let us list them one by one.</p><p style="font-size: 16px; word-spacing: 0.72px;">According to Arthur Jeffery, the action of al-<u>H</u>ajjaj resulted in an "entirely new recension of the Qur'an" and that al-<u>H</u>ajjaj ordered the "new copies of his text sent to the great metropolitan centres."</p><blockquote style="font-size: 16px; word-spacing: 0.72px;"><p><span class="bookquoteCN" style="color: #aa0000; font-family: Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 8pt; letter-spacing: 0.24px; line-height: 13pt; word-spacing: 0.72px;">When we come to examine the accounts of the activity of al-<u>H</u>ajjaj in this matter, however, we discover to our own surprise that the evidence points strongly to the fact that his work was not confined to fixing more precisely the text of the Qur'an by a set of points showing how it was to be read, but </span><span class="highlightbookqCN" style="background-color: #ffe957; color: #aa0000; font-family: Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 8pt; letter-spacing: 0.24px; line-height: 13pt; word-spacing: 0.72px;">he seems to have made an entirely new recension of the Qur'an</span><span class="bookquoteCN" style="color: #aa0000; font-family: Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 8pt; letter-spacing: 0.24px; line-height: 13pt; word-spacing: 0.72px;">, having copies of his new text sent to the great metropolitan centres and ordering the destruction of earlier copies in existence there, much as `Uthman had done earlier. Moreover, this new text promulgated by al-<u>H</u>ajjaj seems to have undergone more or less extensive alterations.</span><sup class="referencenumb" style="color: blue; font-size: 8pt; letter-spacing: 0.24px; line-height: 10pt; word-spacing: 0.72px;">[2]</sup></p></blockquote><p style="font-size: 16px; word-spacing: 0.72px;">Obviously the report in <span class="reference" style="color: blue; font-size: 12pt; font-style: italic; letter-spacing: 0.24px; line-height: 16pt; word-spacing: 0.72px;">Kitab al-Ma<u>s</u>a<u>h</u>if</span> does not say any such thing as what has been claimed by Jeffery. Taking a clue from Arthur Jeffery, a Christian apologist called Chad VanDixhoorn <a href="http://www.rim.org/muslim/texts.htm">states</a>:</p><blockquote style="font-size: 16px; word-spacing: 0.72px;"><p class="bookquote" style="font-family: Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 8pt; letter-spacing: 0.24px; line-height: 13pt; word-spacing: 0.72px;">Others yet hold that the final form was not finally settled until the recension of al-Hajjaj b. Yusuf.</p></blockquote><p style="font-size: 16px; word-spacing: 0.72px;">The author of the article "The Qur'an" in the book <span class="reference" style="color: blue; font-size: 12pt; font-style: italic; letter-spacing: 0.24px; line-height: 16pt; word-spacing: 0.72px;">Arabic Literature To The End Of The Ummayad Period</span> prefers "a minor recension" instead of an "entirely new recension of the Qur'an". He conjectures:</p><blockquote style="font-size: 16px; word-spacing: 0.72px;"><p><span class="bookquoteCN" style="color: #aa0000; font-family: Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 8pt; letter-spacing: 0.24px; line-height: 13pt; word-spacing: 0.72px;">On the other hand we have the tradition in Ibn Abi-Da'ud that al-<u>H</u>ajjaj was responsible for eleven changes in the consonantal text. If this is so, he is responsible for a minor recension at least.</span><sup class="referencenumb" style="color: blue; font-size: 8pt; letter-spacing: 0.24px; line-height: 10pt; word-spacing: 0.72px;">[3]</sup></p></blockquote><p style="font-size: 16px; word-spacing: 0.72px;">According to the <a href="http://answering-islam.org/Gilchrist/Jam/chap5.html">claim</a> of missionary John Gilchrist</p><blockquote style="font-size: 16px; word-spacing: 0.72px;"><p class="bookquote" style="font-family: Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 8pt; letter-spacing: 0.24px; line-height: 13pt; word-spacing: 0.72px;">During the caliphate of Abd al-Malik in the first century of Islam the governor of Iraq, al-Hajjaj ibn Yusuf, took steps to correct Uthman's text. He is said to have made eleven direct changes to the Qur'an text as it stood in its consonantal form, all of which are reflected in the Qur'an as it stands today.... The whole section continues to name each one of the amendments made by al-Hajjaj so that the Qur'an text as we have it today is not only the Uthmanic text but also a subsequent minor recension of it by the Iraqi governor.</p></blockquote><p style="font-size: 16px; word-spacing: 0.72px;">Gilchrist claims that the alleged changes made by al-<u>H</u>ajjaj, as seen in <span class="reference" style="color: blue; font-size: 12pt; font-style: italic; letter-spacing: 0.24px; line-height: 16pt; word-spacing: 0.72px;">Kitab al-Ma<u>s</u>a<u>h</u>if</span>, were made to the "`Uthmanic text" and that it was a "minor recension". The Qur'an that we have today is a combination of "`Uthmanic text" and the"minor recension".</p><p style="font-size: 16px; word-spacing: 0.72px;">That the "Qur'an of Uthman" has been altered is also <a href="http://answering-islam.org.uk/PQ/ch14-index.htm">championed</a> by "Brother Mark". He says:</p><blockquote style="font-size: 16px; word-spacing: 0.72px;"><p class="bookquote" style="font-family: Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 8pt; letter-spacing: 0.24px; line-height: 13pt; word-spacing: 0.72px;">The insistence that this was 'merely' altering the Qur'an of Uthman from one set of 'accepted readings'to another is little comfort to people who have been taught that NO CHANGES have ever occurred to the Qur'anic text.</p></blockquote><p style="font-size: 16px; word-spacing: 0.72px;"></p><p style="font-size: 16px; word-spacing: 0.72px;">Similarly, the missionary Jochen Katz has <a href="http://www.answering-islam.org/quran/text/hajjaj">fantasized</a> the following about the changes that al-<u>H</u>ajjaj made to "Uthman's Koran":</p><blockquote style="font-size: 16px; word-spacing: 0.72px;"><p class="bookquote" style="font-family: Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 8pt; letter-spacing: 0.24px; line-height: 13pt; word-spacing: 0.72px;">he gave himself the liberty to change several words of Caliph Uthman's Koran, which is an indication that he did not believe that the Koran was verbally inspired or was inscribed in a "tablet preserved".</p></blockquote><p style="font-size: 16px; word-spacing: 0.72px;">The next in the category are those missionaries whose statements can be called demented. According to Steven Masood, al-<u>H</u>ajjaj was "accused" of making eleven changes in the text (sorry, who accused whom!):</p><blockquote style="font-size: 16px; word-spacing: 0.72px;"><p><span class="bookquoteCN" style="color: #aa0000; font-family: Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 8pt; letter-spacing: 0.24px; line-height: 13pt; word-spacing: 0.72px;">Al-Hajjaj Ibn Yusaf (694-714), the viceroy of Iraq, is said to have directed the work. He was also accused of making changes in the text. Ibn Abi Dawood lists these amendments in considerable detail in the chapter <i>Ma Ghaira al-Hajjaj fi Mushaf Usman</i> - 'What was altered by al-Hajjaj in the Uthmanic text'.</span><sup class="referencenumb" style="color: blue; font-size: 8pt; letter-spacing: 0.24px; line-height: 10pt; word-spacing: 0.72px;">[4]</sup></p></blockquote><p style="font-size: 16px; word-spacing: 0.72px;">Another missionary in this category is Joseph Smith. He <a href="http://debate.org.uk/topics/history/quran.htm">claims</a> that the eleven "distinct" amendments that al-<u>H</u>ajjaj made were reduced to "seven readings"!</p><blockquote style="font-size: 16px; word-spacing: 0.72px;"><p class="bookquote" style="font-family: Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 8pt; letter-spacing: 0.24px; line-height: 13pt; word-spacing: 0.72px;">We also know from Muslim tradition that the Uthmanic Qur'an had to be reviewed and amended to meet the Caliph's standard for a single approved text even after Uthman's death. This was carried out by al-Hajjaj, the governor of Kufa, who made eleven distinct amendments and corrections to the text, which were later reduced to seven readings.</p></blockquote><p style="font-size: 16px; word-spacing: 0.72px;">Summarizing, the report says that al-<u>H</u>ajjaj made eleven changes in `Uthman's <i>mu<u>sh</u>af. </i>This has been mysteriously and mythically transformed as if al-<u>H</u>ajjaj "undertook a completely new recension" or a made "minor recension" or even completely changed the `Uthmanic recension of the Qur'an! Apart from such absurdities, neither the Orientalists nor the missionaries checked the authenticity of the report; a method frequently employed to supress the information and to attack the Qur'an. Let us now check the authenticity of this report mentioned in Ibn Abi Dawud's <span class="reference" style="color: blue; font-size: 12pt; font-style: italic; letter-spacing: 0.24px; line-height: 16pt; word-spacing: 0.72px;">Kitab al-Ma<u>s</u>a<u>h</u>if</span>.</p><b style="font-size: 16px; word-spacing: 0.72px;"><span class="title" style="font-size: 14pt; letter-spacing: 0.24px; line-height: 17pt; word-spacing: 0.72px;"><a name="3"></a>3. <u>H</u>adith Criticism Of The Report: The Study of Isnad</span></b><span style="background-color: white; font-size: 16px; word-spacing: 0.72px;"></span><p style="font-size: 16px; word-spacing: 0.72px;"><u><i>H</i></u><i>adith</i> critics at first look at the <i>isnad</i> and if it is defective, they call the <u><i>h</i></u><i>adith</i> defective, without scrutinizing the subject matter; because a <u><i>h</i></u><i>adith</i>, according to their criteria, cannot be authnetic unless both its parts are correct.<sup class="referencenumb" style="color: blue; font-size: 8pt; letter-spacing: 0.24px; line-height: 10pt; word-spacing: 0.72px;">[5]</sup> Using this criteria let us first study the <i>isnad</i>.</p><p style="font-size: 16px; word-spacing: 0.72px;">The <i>isnad</i> of this report is Awf bin Abi Jamila <img align="BOTTOM" border="0" height="10" src="https://www.islamic-awareness.org/arrow.gif" width="19" /> `Abbad Ibn <u>S</u>uhayb <img align="BOTTOM" border="0" height="10" src="https://www.islamic-awareness.org/arrow.gif" width="19" /> Abu Bakr <img align="BOTTOM" border="0" height="10" src="https://www.islamic-awareness.org/arrow.gif" width="19" /> Father of Abu Bakr. Study of reliability of narrators in this <i>isnad</i> shows that `Abbad Ibn <u>S</u>uhayb is the one who had been declared weak and his <u><i>h</i></u><i>adith</i> is rejected.</p><p style="font-size: 16px; word-spacing: 0.72px;">Al-Bukhari very tersely says in his <span class="reference" style="color: blue; font-size: 12pt; font-style: italic; letter-spacing: 0.24px; line-height: 16pt; word-spacing: 0.72px;">Du`afa al-Saghir</span>:</p><p align="center" style="font-size: 16px; word-spacing: 0.72px;"><img align="BOTTOM" border="0" height="36" src="https://www.islamic-awareness.org/quran/text/duafabukh.gif" width="299" /></p><blockquote style="font-size: 16px; word-spacing: 0.72px;"><p><span class="bookquoteCN" style="color: #aa0000; font-family: Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 8pt; letter-spacing: 0.24px; line-height: 13pt; word-spacing: 0.72px;">228 - `Abbad Ibn <u>S</u>uhayb al-Ba<u>s</u>ri: Abandoned.</span><sup class="referencenumb" style="color: blue; font-size: 8pt; letter-spacing: 0.24px; line-height: 10pt; word-spacing: 0.72px;">[6]</sup></p></blockquote><p style="font-size: 16px; word-spacing: 0.72px;">Similarly al-Nasa'i says in his <span class="reference" style="color: blue; font-size: 12pt; font-style: italic; letter-spacing: 0.24px; line-height: 16pt; word-spacing: 0.72px;">Du`afa wa-l-Matrukin</span>:</p><p align="center" style="font-size: 16px; word-spacing: 0.72px;"><img align="BOTTOM" border="0" height="41" src="https://www.islamic-awareness.org/quran/text/duafa.gif" width="404" /></p><blockquote style="font-size: 16px; word-spacing: 0.72px;"><p><span class="bookquoteCN" style="color: #aa0000; font-family: Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 8pt; letter-spacing: 0.24px; line-height: 13pt; word-spacing: 0.72px;">(411) `Abbad Ibn <u>S</u>uhayb al-Ba<u>s</u>ri: His <i><u>h</u>adith</i> is rejected (<i>matruk al-<u>h</u>adith</i>).</span><sup class="referencenumb" style="color: blue; font-size: 8pt; letter-spacing: 0.24px; line-height: 10pt; word-spacing: 0.72px;">[7]</sup></p></blockquote><p style="font-size: 16px; word-spacing: 0.72px;">Ibn Abi Hatim comments in his <span class="reference" style="color: blue; font-size: 12pt; font-style: italic; letter-spacing: 0.24px; line-height: 16pt; word-spacing: 0.72px;">Kitab al-Jarh wa-l-Ta`dil</span>:</p><p align="center" style="font-size: 16px; word-spacing: 0.72px;"><img align="BOTTOM" border="0" height="445" src="https://www.islamic-awareness.org/quran/text/hatim.gif" width="586" /></p><blockquote style="font-size: 16px; word-spacing: 0.72px;"><p><span class="bookquoteCN" style="color: #aa0000; font-family: Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 8pt; letter-spacing: 0.24px; line-height: 13pt; word-spacing: 0.72px;">417 - `Abbad Ibn <u>S</u>uhayb al-Ba<u>s</u>ri narrated from Isma`il Ibn Abi Khalid and Hisham Ibn `Urwah and the two Hijazis. Narrated from him people who did not understand the science. `Abd al-Ra<u>h</u>man told us that `Abdullah Ibn A<u>h</u>mad Ibn Mu<u>h</u>ammad Ibn <u>H</u>anbal wrote to us: "I asked my father about `Abbad Ibn <u>S</u>uhayb." He said: "I saw him in Ba<u>s</u>ra several times. The <i>qadariyyah</i> used to claim him." It was read to al-`Abbas Ibn Mu<u>h</u>ammad al-Duri from Ya<u>h</u>ya Ibn Ma`in that he mentioned `Abbad Ibn <u>S</u>uhayb and said that it was narrated from Abu Bakr Ibn Nafi` - and Abu Bakr Ibn Nafi` is a senior from whom Malik Ibn Anas narrated - that `Abd al-Ra<u>h</u>man told us: My father told me: "`Ali Ibn al-Madini said: 'The <i><u>h</u>adith</i> of `Abbad Ibn <u>S</u>uhayb is gone.'" `Abd al-Ra<u>h</u>man told us, Hab Ibn Isma`il [al-Kirmani] wrote to me: "I heard Abu Bakr Ibn Abi Shaybah say: 'We forsook the <i><u>h</u>adith</i> of `Abbad Ibn <u>S</u>uhayb twenty years before he demised.'" `Abd al-Ra<u>h</u>man told us: "I asked my father about `Abbad Ibn <u>S</u>uhayb. He said: 'His <i><u>h</u>adith</i> is weak (<i>da`if</i>). His <i><u>h</u>adith</i> is disavowed (<i>munkar</i>). His <i><u>h</u>adith</i> is forsaken.'"</span><sup class="referencenumb" style="color: blue; font-size: 8pt; letter-spacing: 0.24px; line-height: 10pt; word-spacing: 0.72px;">[8]</sup></p></blockquote><p style="font-size: 16px; word-spacing: 0.72px;">Similarly Ibn <u>H</u>ibban says in <span class="reference" style="color: blue; font-size: 12pt; font-style: italic; letter-spacing: 0.24px; line-height: 16pt; word-spacing: 0.72px;">Kitab al-Majruhin min al-Muhaddithin wa-l-Du`afa wa-l-Matrukin</span>:</p><p align="center" style="font-size: 16px; word-spacing: 0.72px;"><img align="BOTTOM" border="0" height="658" src="https://www.islamic-awareness.org/quran/text/hibban.gif" width="518" /></p><blockquote style="font-size: 16px; word-spacing: 0.72px;"><p><span class="bookquoteCN" style="color: #aa0000; font-family: Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 8pt; letter-spacing: 0.24px; line-height: 13pt; word-spacing: 0.72px;">`Abbad Ibn <u>S</u>uhayb: From Ba<u>s</u>ra. He narrated from Hisham Ibn `Urwah and al-A`mash. The Iraqis narrated from him. He belonged to the <i>qadariyyah</i> and called to it. On the top of that, he narrated disavowed narrations from famous people, such narrations, if heard by a beginner in this field, he would deem them forged.<br /><br />It was narrated from Hisham Ibn `Urwah from his father from `A'ishah that the Prophet - peace be upon him - said: "Blue eyes are a blessing." Ibn `Ar`arah informed me of this narration in Na<u>s</u>ibin saying: "Mu<u>h</u>ammad ibn Musa said on the authority of `Abbad Ibn <u>S</u>uhayb."<br /><br />It was narrated from <u>H</u>umayd al-Tawil that Anas said: "I entered at the Messenger of Allah - peace be upon him. There was a recipient full of water before him. He told me: 'Anas, come close to me so that I teach you how to perform <i>wudu'</i>.' I went close to him - peace be upon him. When he washed his hands, he said: 'In the name of Allah, praise to Allah, there is no power nor strength except in Allah'. Then when he performed the<i> istinja'</i>, he said: 'O Allah, preserve my chastity and ease my affairs.' When he washed his mouth and nose, he said: 'O Allah, teach me my argument and do not deprive me from the scent of Paradise.' When he washed his face, he said: 'O Allah, make my face white on the day when the faces become white.' When he washed his arms, he said: 'O Allah, give me my book in the right hand.' When he wiped his head, he said: 'O Allah, overwhelm us with Your mercy and protect us from your punishment.' When he washed his feet, he said: 'O Allah, make my feet unshakable upon the day when the feet falter.' Then, the Prophet - peace be upon him - said: 'By the One Who sent me with the truth, Anas, whoever says the same in his <i>wudu'</i>, from each drop that falls from his fingers, Allah creates an angel that praises him in seventy tongues, the reward of which lasts until the day of resurrection.'" This was narrated to us by Ya`qub Ibn Ishaq al-Qadi on the authority of A<u>h</u>mad Ibn Hisham al-Khawarizmi, from him.</span><sup class="referencenumb" style="color: blue; font-size: 8pt; letter-spacing: 0.24px; line-height: 10pt; word-spacing: 0.72px;">[9]</sup></p></blockquote><p style="font-size: 16px; word-spacing: 0.72px;">Al-Dhahabi says in his <span class="reference" style="color: blue; font-size: 12pt; font-style: italic; letter-spacing: 0.24px; line-height: 16pt; word-spacing: 0.72px;">Mizan al-I`tidal fi Naqd al-Rijal</span>:</p><p align="center" style="font-size: 16px; word-spacing: 0.72px;"><img align="BOTTOM" border="0" height="759" src="https://www.islamic-awareness.org/quran/text/mizaan.gif" width="564" /></p><blockquote style="font-size: 16px; word-spacing: 0.72px;"><p><span class="bookquoteCN" style="color: #aa0000; font-family: Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 8pt; letter-spacing: 0.24px; line-height: 13pt; word-spacing: 0.72px;">4122 - `Abbad Ibn <u>S</u>uhayb, one of the abandoned. He narrated from Hisham Ibn `Urwah and al-A`mash. Ibn al-Madini said: "His <i><u>h</u>adith</i> is gone." Al-Bukhari, al-Nasa'i and others said: "Abandoned." Ibn <u>H</u>ibban said: "He belonged to <i>qadariyyah</i> and called to it. On the top of that, he narrated disavowed narrations from famous people, such narrations, if heard by a beginner in this field, he would deem them forged."</span></p><p><span class="bookquoteCN" style="color: #aa0000; font-family: Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 8pt; letter-spacing: 0.24px; line-height: 13pt; word-spacing: 0.72px;">Mu<u>h</u>ammad Ibn Musa said, `Abbad Ibn <u>S</u>uhayb informed us on the authority of Hisham from his father from `A'ishah that the Prophet - peace be upon him - said: "Blue eyes are a blessing."</span></p><p><span class="bookquoteCN" style="color: #aa0000; font-family: Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 8pt; letter-spacing: 0.24px; line-height: 13pt; word-spacing: 0.72px;">A lengthy but fabricated hadith was narrated from <u>H</u>umayd on the authority of Anas concerning the <i>wudu' </i>from which we quote: "When he washed his face, he said: 'O Allah, make my face white...'" until he said: "'Anas, whoever says the same in his <i>wudu'</i>, from each drop that falls from his fingers, Allah creates an angel that praises him in seventy tongues, the reward of which lasts until the day of resurrection.'" Narrated by Ibn <u>H</u>ibban on the authority of Ya`qub Ibn Ishaq [3/30] al-Qadi, from A<u>h</u>mad Ibn Hisham al-Khawarizmi, from him.</span></p><p><span class="bookquoteCN" style="color: #aa0000; font-family: Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 8pt; letter-spacing: 0.24px; line-height: 13pt; word-spacing: 0.72px;">Al-Bukhari said in <i>Kitab al-Du`afa' al-Kabir</i>: `Abbad Ibn <u>S</u>uhayb died after year 200. He was forsaken, his <i><u>h</u>adith</i> is abundant.<br /><br />Abu Dawud said: "He is truthful (<i>saduq</i>) and <i>qadari</i>". A<u>h</u>mad said: "He was not a liar and had plenty of <i><u>h</u>adith</i>. He heard from al-A`mash." Al-Kudaymi said: "I heard `Ali say: 'I forsook 100 thousand <i><u>h</u>adiths</i> of mine, half of which come from `Abbad Ibn <u>S</u>uhayb'."<br /><br />A<u>h</u>mad Ibn Raw<u>h</u> narrated from `Abbad 100,000 <i><u>h</u>adiths</i>. Ibn `Adiyy said: "`Abbad Ibn <u>S</u>uhayb has many writings, and although he is weak, his <i><u>h</u>adith</i> is written by Ibn Abi Dawud."<br /><br />Ya<u>h</u>ya Ibn `Abd al-Ra<u>h</u>man told us: "I heard Ya<u>h</u>ya Ibn Ma`in say: '`Abbad Ibn <u>S</u>uhayb is more reliable than Abu `Asim al-Nabil.'" Abu Is<u>h</u>aq al-Sa`di said: "`Abbad Ibn <u>S</u>uhayb exaggerated in his innovation and disputed for his falsehoods."<sup></sup></span><sup class="referencenumb" style="color: blue; font-size: 8pt; letter-spacing: 0.24px; line-height: 10pt; word-spacing: 0.72px;">[10]</sup></p></blockquote><p style="font-size: 16px; word-spacing: 0.72px;">Similar statements are made by Ibn Hajar in his <span class="reference" style="color: blue; font-size: 12pt; font-style: italic; letter-spacing: 0.24px; line-height: 16pt; word-spacing: 0.72px;">Lisan al-Mizan</span>.<sup class="referencenumb" style="color: blue; font-size: 8pt; letter-spacing: 0.24px; line-height: 10pt; word-spacing: 0.72px;">[11]</sup> The bottomline here is that `Abbad Ibn <u>S</u>uhayb has been abandoned and his reports are rejected. The terms used to describe `Abbad Ibn <u>S</u>uhayb are the most severe possible [<i>matruk al-<u>h</u>adith</i>]. It is not correct to describe his narrations as 'weak', which is an understatement. Rather, his narrations are fabricated, pure and simple. He has reached the lowest levels of <i>Jarh</i> in the sciences dealing with <i>al-Jarh wa 'l-Ta`dil</i> ("The disparaging and declaring trustworthy") of the narrators.</p><p style="font-size: 16px; word-spacing: 0.72px;">It is also clear that Ibn Abi Dawud wrote the <u><i>h</i></u><i>adith</i> from `Abbad Ibn <u>S</u>uhayb even though the <u><i>h</i></u><i>adith</i> scholars before and after Ibn Abi Dawud have considered the <u><i>h</i></u><i>adith</i> from `Abbad Ibn <u>S</u>uhayb to be rejected. It is not that the Orientalists and the missionaries are unaware of this fact. Jeffery, whose book <span class="reference" style="color: blue; font-size: 12pt; font-style: italic; letter-spacing: 0.24px; line-height: 16pt; word-spacing: 0.72px;">Materials For The History Of The Text Of The Qur'an: The Old Codices</span> is often used by the Christian missionaries for polemical purposes to attack the Qur'an, clearly says:</p><blockquote style="font-size: 16px; word-spacing: 0.72px;"><p><span class="bookquoteCN" style="color: #aa0000; font-family: Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 8pt; letter-spacing: 0.24px; line-height: 13pt; word-spacing: 0.72px;">Much of the material given by Ibn Abi Dawud regarding the history of the text of the Qur'an, though extremely unorthodox, yet agrees so closely with the conclusions one had reached from quite other directions that one feels confident in making use of it, however weak orthodoxy may consider its isnads to be.</span><span class="referencenumb" style="color: blue; font-size: 8pt; letter-spacing: 0.24px; line-height: 10pt; word-spacing: 0.72px;"><sup>[12]</sup></span></p></blockquote><p style="font-size: 16px; word-spacing: 0.72px;">Jeffery gives no reasons for is new found confidence. Commenting on Jeffery's attainment of "confidence" from "quite other directions" Yasir Qadhi says:</p><blockquote style="font-size: 16px; word-spacing: 0.72px;"><p><span class="bookquoteCN" style="color: #aa0000; font-family: Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 8pt; letter-spacing: 0.24px; line-height: 13pt; word-spacing: 0.72px;">This clear double standard on Jeffery's part is not suprising; whenever an Orientalist finds some information that he feels can be used to discredit Islam and cast doubts on it, no matter what the context, authenticity or actual implications of the text may be.... Therefore the reason that these narrations are authentic, according to Jeffery, is because they agree with preconceived conclusions that were arrived from 'quite other directions'; unnamed and unknown directions, it should be pointed out!</span><sup class="referencenumb" style="color: blue; font-size: 8pt; letter-spacing: 0.24px; line-height: 10pt; word-spacing: 0.72px;">[13]</sup></p></blockquote><p style="font-size: 16px; word-spacing: 0.72px;">In the absence of Jeffery's unknown and unnamed directions for his confidence in the material of Ibn Abi Dawud, we go for something that is known, that is, the rejection of the <u><i>h</i></u><i>adith</i> from `Abbad Ibn <u>S</u>uhayb. The case on the issue of the changes made by al-<u>H</u>ajjaj in `Uthman's <i>mu<u>sh</u>af </i>can be considered null and void. It is worth reminding that there exists no parallel reports similar to the one discussed in order to authenticate the <i>isnad</i> and <i>matn</i>.</p><b style="font-size: 16px; word-spacing: 0.72px;"><span class="title" style="font-size: 14pt; letter-spacing: 0.24px; line-height: 17pt; word-spacing: 0.72px;"><a name="4"></a>4. <u>H</u>adith Criticism Of The Report: The Study of Matn</span></b><span style="background-color: white; font-size: 16px; word-spacing: 0.72px;"></span><p style="font-size: 16px; word-spacing: 0.72px;">This report does not provide any clue of the nature of alleged changes that were made by al-<u>H</u>ajjaj in `Uthman's <i>mu<u>sh</u>af</i>. An in-depth study shows that they are the differences in the <i><a href="https://www.islamic-awareness.org/quran/text/Qiraat/">Qira'at</a></i>. Dr. `Umar Ibn Ibrahim Radwan did research on the issue alleged changes that al-<u>H</u>ajjaj made for his Ph.D thesis at the University of Imam Mu<u>h</u>ammad Ibn Saud. His thesis was published as a book from Riyadh in two volumes. The book is called <span class="reference" style="color: blue; font-size: 12pt; font-style: italic; letter-spacing: 0.24px; line-height: 16pt; word-spacing: 0.72px;">Aara' al-Mustashriqin Hawl al-Qur'an al-Karim wa Tafsir: Dirasah Wa Naqd</span> ("<span class="articlename" style="color: #770000; font-size: 12pt; letter-spacing: 0.24px; line-height: 16pt; word-spacing: 0.72px;">The Views Of The Orientalists About The Holy Qur'an & Its Interpretation: Study and Criticism</span>").</p><p style="font-size: 16px; word-spacing: 0.72px;">After quoting the report of Ibn Abi Dawud, Dr. Radwan mentions in the footnotes about the <i>Qiraa'aat</i> which the changes are associated with.</p><blockquote style="font-size: 16px; word-spacing: 0.72px;"><p><span class="bookquoteCN" style="color: #aa0000; font-family: Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 8pt; letter-spacing: 0.24px; line-height: 13pt; word-spacing: 0.72px;">al-Baqarah (2:259) <b>lam <u>yatasanna</u> wanzur</b> without ha to <b>lam <u>yatasannah</u></b> with <i>ha</i>.</span><span class="referencenumb" style="color: blue; font-size: 8pt; letter-spacing: 0.24px; line-height: 10pt; word-spacing: 0.72px;"><sup>[14]</sup></span></p><p><span class="bookquoteCN" style="color: #aa0000; font-family: Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 8pt; letter-spacing: 0.24px; line-height: 13pt; word-spacing: 0.72px;">Comments: Both readings are among The Seven as it is mentioned by Ibn Zanjalah in <i>Hujjat al-Qira'at</i>, page 142/143, where he says that Hamzah and al-Kisa'i read <b>lam yatasanna</b> without the letter <i>ha</i> in <i>wasl</i> </span><span class="bookquote" style="font-family: Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 8pt; letter-spacing: 0.24px; line-height: 13pt; word-spacing: 0.72px;">[i.e., in case they didn't stop at the word <b>yatasanna</b> while reading]</span><span class="bookquoteCN" style="color: #aa0000; font-family: Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 8pt; letter-spacing: 0.24px; line-height: 13pt; word-spacing: 0.72px;"> and the five other readings read <b>yatasannah</b> keeping the <i>ha</i> even when they didn't stop.</span><sup class="referencenumb" style="color: blue; font-size: 8pt; letter-spacing: 0.24px; line-height: 10pt; word-spacing: 0.72px;">[15]</sup></p><p></p><hr width="50%" /><p></p><p><span class="bookquoteCN" style="color: #aa0000; font-family: Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 8pt; letter-spacing: 0.24px; line-height: 13pt; word-spacing: 0.72px;">and in al-Ma'idah (5:48) <b><u>shari`atan</u> wa minhajan</b> was changed to <b><u>shir`atan</u> wa minhajan.</b></span><sup class="referencenumb" style="color: blue; font-size: 8pt; letter-spacing: 0.24px; line-height: 10pt; word-spacing: 0.72px;">[16]</sup></p><p><span class="bookquoteCN" style="color: #aa0000; font-family: Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 8pt; letter-spacing: 0.24px; line-height: 13pt; word-spacing: 0.72px;">Comments: al-Nakh'i and Ibn Waththab read with a <i>fathah</i> on the letter <i>shin</i> </span><span class="bookquote" style="font-family: Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 8pt; letter-spacing: 0.24px; line-height: 13pt; word-spacing: 0.72px;">[i.e <b>shar`atan</b>]</span><span class="bookquoteCN" style="color: #aa0000; font-family: Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 8pt; letter-spacing: 0.24px; line-height: 13pt; word-spacing: 0.72px;"> and the whole community of readers read <b>shir`atan</b> and I found nobody mentioning <b>shari`atan</b>.</span><sup class="referencenumb" style="color: blue; font-size: 8pt; letter-spacing: 0.24px; line-height: 10pt; word-spacing: 0.72px;">[17]</sup></p><p></p><hr width="50%" /><p></p><p><span class="bookquoteCN" style="color: #aa0000; font-family: Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 8pt; letter-spacing: 0.24px; line-height: 13pt; word-spacing: 0.72px;">and in Yunus (10:22) <b>huwal-ladhi <u>yunash-shirukum</u></b> was changed to <b><u>yusay-yirukum</u></b></span><sup class="referencenumb" style="color: blue; font-size: 8pt; letter-spacing: 0.24px; line-height: 10pt; word-spacing: 0.72px;">[18]</sup></p><p><span class="bookquoteCN" style="color: #aa0000; font-family: Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 8pt; letter-spacing: 0.24px; line-height: 13pt; word-spacing: 0.72px;">Comments: Both readings are among The Seven. They were mentioned by Ibn Zanjalah in his book <i>Hujjat al-Qira'at</i>, page 329, where he says that Ibn `Amir read <b>yunash-shirukum</b> and the other readers read <b>yusay-yirukum</b>.</span><sup class="referencenumb" style="color: blue; font-size: 8pt; letter-spacing: 0.24px; line-height: 10pt; word-spacing: 0.72px;">[19]</sup></p><p></p><hr width="50%" /><p></p><p><span class="bookquoteCN" style="color: #aa0000; font-family: Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 8pt; letter-spacing: 0.24px; line-height: 13pt; word-spacing: 0.72px;">and in Yusuf (12:45) <b><u>ana-atikum</u> bita'wilihi</b> was changed to <b><u>ana onabbio'kum</u> bita'wilihi</b></span><sup class="referencenumb" style="color: blue; font-size: 8pt; letter-spacing: 0.24px; line-height: 10pt; word-spacing: 0.72px;">[20]</sup></p><p><span class="bookquoteCN" style="color: #aa0000; font-family: Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 8pt; letter-spacing: 0.24px; line-height: 13pt; word-spacing: 0.72px;">Comments: al-Hasan read <b>ana-atikum</b> with a long <i>hamzah</i> having a <i>fathah</i> followed by the letter <i>ta</i> having a <i>kasrah</i> and a silent <i>ya</i>. And in <i>wasl</i> </span><span class="bookquote" style="font-family: Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 8pt; letter-spacing: 0.24px; line-height: 13pt; word-spacing: 0.72px;">[i.e., when not stopping on the word]</span><span class="bookquoteCN" style="color: #aa0000; font-family: Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 8pt; letter-spacing: 0.24px; line-height: 13pt; word-spacing: 0.72px;">, Nafi` and Abu Ja`far read <b>ana onabbio'kum</b> as it is mentioned by A<u>h</u>mad `Abdul Ghani al-Dumyati in his book <i>Ith</i>a<i>fu Fudal</i>a<i>' ilbashar Fil Qiraa'aat Ilarba'a 'Ashar</i>, page 265.</span><sup class="referencenumb" style="color: blue; font-size: 8pt; letter-spacing: 0.24px; line-height: 10pt; word-spacing: 0.72px;">[21]</sup></p><p></p><hr width="50%" /><p></p><p><span class="bookquoteCN" style="color: #aa0000; font-family: Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 8pt; letter-spacing: 0.24px; line-height: 13pt; word-spacing: 0.72px;">and in Mu'minun (23:85-89) <b>sayaquluna lillah....<u>lillah....lillah</u></b> he made the two last occurrances <b><u>allah....allah</u></b></span><sup class="referencenumb" style="color: blue; font-size: 8pt; letter-spacing: 0.24px; line-height: 10pt; word-spacing: 0.72px;">[22]</sup></p><p><span class="bookquoteCN" style="color: #aa0000; font-family: Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 8pt; letter-spacing: 0.24px; line-height: 13pt; word-spacing: 0.72px;">Comments: All these readings are among The Seven as mentioned by Ibn Zanjalah in <i>Hujjat al-Qira'at</i>, page 490, where he says that Abu 'Amir read <b>allah...allah</b> with an <i>alif</i> and the others read <b>lillah...lillah</b> and all readings agreed on the first occurrence </span><span class="bookquote" style="font-family: Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 8pt; letter-spacing: 0.24px; line-height: 13pt; word-spacing: 0.72px;">[i.e., <b>lillah</b>]</span><span class="bookquoteCN" style="color: #aa0000; font-family: Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 8pt; letter-spacing: 0.24px; line-height: 13pt; word-spacing: 0.72px;">.</span><sup class="referencenumb" style="color: blue; font-size: 8pt; letter-spacing: 0.24px; line-height: 10pt; word-spacing: 0.72px;">[23]</sup></p><p></p><hr width="50%" /><p></p><p><span class="bookquoteCN" style="color: #aa0000; font-family: Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 8pt; letter-spacing: 0.24px; line-height: 13pt; word-spacing: 0.72px;">and in as-Shu`ara in the story of Nuh (26:116) it was <b>minal mukhrajina</b> and in the story of Lut (26:167) it was <b>minal marjumina</b>. It was changed in the story of Nuh to <b>minal marjumina</b> and in the story of Lut to <b>minal mukhrajina</b></span><sup class="referencenumb" style="color: blue; font-size: 8pt; letter-spacing: 0.24px; line-height: 10pt; word-spacing: 0.72px;">[24]</sup></p><p><span class="bookquoteCN" style="color: #aa0000; font-family: Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 8pt; letter-spacing: 0.24px; line-height: 13pt; word-spacing: 0.72px;">Comment: I didn't find anybody who mentioned what the author has said.<sup></sup></span><sup class="referencenumb" style="color: blue; font-size: 8pt; letter-spacing: 0.24px; line-height: 10pt; word-spacing: 0.72px;">[25]</sup></p><p></p><hr width="50%" /><p></p><p><span class="bookquoteCN" style="color: #aa0000; font-family: Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 8pt; letter-spacing: 0.24px; line-height: 13pt; word-spacing: 0.72px;">and in az-Zukhruf (43:32) it was <b>na<u>h</u>nu qasamna baynahum <u>ma`</u></b><u><b> ishahum</b></u> and he changed it to <b><u>ma`</u></b><u><b>ishatahum</b></u>.</span><sup class="referencenumb" style="color: blue; font-size: 8pt; letter-spacing: 0.24px; line-height: 10pt; word-spacing: 0.72px;">[26]</sup></p><p><span class="bookquoteCN" style="color: #aa0000; font-family: Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 8pt; letter-spacing: 0.24px; line-height: 13pt; word-spacing: 0.72px;">Comments: The reading of the community </span><span class="bookquote" style="font-family: Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 8pt; letter-spacing: 0.24px; line-height: 13pt; word-spacing: 0.72px;">[jumhoor]</span><span class="bookquoteCN" style="color: #aa0000; font-family: Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 8pt; letter-spacing: 0.24px; line-height: 13pt; word-spacing: 0.72px;"> of readers is <b>ma`ishatahum</b> in singular. Al-'Amash and `Abdullah and Ibn `Abbas and Sufyan read <b>ma`ishahum</b> in plural as mentioned by Abu Hayyan in <i>Al-Ba<u>h</u>r al-Muhit</i>, VIII - page 13.</span><sup class="referencenumb" style="color: blue; font-size: 8pt; letter-spacing: 0.24px; line-height: 10pt; word-spacing: 0.72px;">[27]</sup></p><p></p><hr width="50%" /><p></p><p><span class="bookquoteCN" style="color: #aa0000; font-family: Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 8pt; letter-spacing: 0.24px; line-height: 13pt; word-spacing: 0.72px;">and in al-ladhina kafaru (47:15) <b>min ma`inn ghayri <u>yasin</u></b> was changed to <b>min ma`inn ghayri <u>asin</u></b>.</span><sup class="referencenumb" style="color: blue; font-size: 8pt; letter-spacing: 0.24px; line-height: 10pt; word-spacing: 0.72px;">[28]</sup></p><p><span class="bookquoteCN" style="color: #aa0000; font-family: Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 8pt; letter-spacing: 0.24px; line-height: 13pt; word-spacing: 0.72px;">Comments: The Seven except Ibn Kathir read <b>ghayri asin</b> with a <i>madd</i> </span><span class="bookquote" style="font-family: Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 8pt; letter-spacing: 0.24px; line-height: 13pt; word-spacing: 0.72px;">[a long vowel]</span><span class="bookquoteCN" style="color: #aa0000; font-family: Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 8pt; letter-spacing: 0.24px; line-height: 13pt; word-spacing: 0.72px;">, as for the reading <b>yasinin</b> it is <i>shadhdh</i> and was mentioned by Abu Hayyan who reported it using the words it was said that .... Refer to <i>Hujjat al-Qira'at</i> in page 667 by Ibn Zanjalah and the interpretation of <i>Al-Ba<u>h</u>r al-Muhit</i>, VIII - page 79.</span><span class="referencenumb" style="color: blue; font-size: 8pt; letter-spacing: 0.24px; line-height: 10pt; word-spacing: 0.72px;"><sup>[29]</sup></span></p><p></p><hr width="50%" /><p></p><p><span class="bookquoteCN" style="color: #aa0000; font-family: Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 8pt; letter-spacing: 0.24px; line-height: 13pt; word-spacing: 0.72px;">and in al-<u>H</u>adid (57:7) he changed <b>fal-ladhina amanu minkum <u>wat-taqaw lahum </u>'ajrun kabir</b> to <b>minkum <u>wa anfaqu</u>.</b></span><sup class="referencenumb" style="color: blue; font-size: 8pt; letter-spacing: 0.24px; line-height: 10pt; word-spacing: 0.72px;">[30]</sup></p><p><span class="bookquoteCN" style="color: #aa0000; font-family: Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 8pt; letter-spacing: 0.24px; line-height: 13pt; word-spacing: 0.72px;">Comment: I could not find the one who mentioned this reading.</span><sup class="referencenumb" style="color: blue; font-size: 8pt; letter-spacing: 0.24px; line-height: 10pt; word-spacing: 0.72px;">[31]</sup></p><p></p><hr width="50%" /><p></p><p><span class="bookquoteCN" style="color: #aa0000; font-family: Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 8pt; letter-spacing: 0.24px; line-height: 13pt; word-spacing: 0.72px;">and in "When the Sun is folded up" (81:24) <b>wa ma huwa `alal-ghaybi <u>bidhanin</u></b> to <b><u>bidanin</u></b>.</span><sup class="referencenumb" style="color: blue; font-size: 8pt; letter-spacing: 0.24px; line-height: 10pt; word-spacing: 0.72px;">[32]</sup></p><p><span class="bookquoteCN" style="color: #aa0000; font-family: Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 8pt; letter-spacing: 0.24px; line-height: 13pt; word-spacing: 0.72px;">Comment: Ibn Kathir and Abu `Amr and al-Kisa'i and Rees and Ibn Mahran from Rawh read with the letter <i>dha</i> and the others read with the letter <i>dad</i>, and so it is in all the Codices (the books). Refer to <i>Al-Nashr fil Qira'at il'ashr</i>, II - page 398/399.</span><sup class="referencenumb" style="color: blue; font-size: 8pt; letter-spacing: 0.24px; line-height: 10pt; word-spacing: 0.72px;">[33]</sup></p><p></p><hr width="50%" /></blockquote><p style="font-size: 16px; word-spacing: 0.72px;">Dr. Radwan went on to say:</p><blockquote style="font-size: 16px; word-spacing: 0.72px;"><p><span class="bookquoteCN" style="color: #aa0000; font-family: Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 8pt; letter-spacing: 0.24px; line-height: 13pt; word-spacing: 0.72px;">These readings as I have just highlighted are among the correct (<a href="https://www.islamic-awareness.org/Hadith/Ulum/asb7.html">Sa<u>h</u>i<u>h</u></a>), <a href="https://www.islamic-awareness.org/Hadith/Ulum/asb3.html">Mutawatir</a> and well established that we can read in any form it has been drawn into and among them are ones I could not verify </span><span class="highlightbookqCN" style="background-color: #ffe957; color: #aa0000; font-family: Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 8pt; letter-spacing: 0.24px; line-height: 13pt; word-spacing: 0.72px;">which make us doubt about their being attributed to al-<u>H</u>ajjaj, especially because he was not isolated from the Ummah</span><span class="bookquoteCN" style="color: #aa0000; font-family: Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 8pt; letter-spacing: 0.24px; line-height: 13pt; word-spacing: 0.72px;">. Much more, in his time, no Muslim would let him change or replace anything traced back to the Prophet<sup>(P)</sup> whether it concerned Qur'an or <u>h</u>adith.</span></p><p><span class="bookquoteCN" style="color: #aa0000; font-family: Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 8pt; letter-spacing: 0.24px; line-height: 13pt; word-spacing: 0.72px;">All these arguments rebut the claims of the Orientalists. And the following points confirm the validity of my opinion:</span></p><ul><li><span class="bookquoteCN" style="color: #aa0000; font-family: Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 8pt; letter-spacing: 0.24px; line-height: 13pt; word-spacing: 0.72px;">Al-<u>H</u>ajjaj being loyal to `Uthman [or from his court] and since he wouldn't forgive those who let `Uthman down on the day of al-Dar [or the house], how could he question `Uthman and his codex and make changes in it.</span><p></p></li><li><span class="bookquoteCN" style="color: #aa0000; font-family: Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 8pt; letter-spacing: 0.24px; line-height: 13pt; word-spacing: 0.72px;">The codex of `Uthman was spread everywhere and its copies in the time of `Uthman were countless. How about their number in the Umayyads time? Undoubtedly, their number has increased. Moreover, al-<u>H</u>ajjaj was the mere governor of one county of the huge Islamic land. Supposing that he was able to change the copies of his county how could he reach the ones in the other districts while there were thousands of copies! Much more, history did not mention contradictions between the Codices of Iraq and the other Codices. It is well known that the Great Book is saved in the chests of Muslims as much as it is saved in written form. If al-<u>H</u>ajjaj managed to change the lines how could he reach what is inside the chests of thousands of Muslims?</span><p></p></li><li><span class="bookquoteCN" style="color: #aa0000; font-family: Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 8pt; letter-spacing: 0.24px; line-height: 13pt; word-spacing: 0.72px;">It is known as well that the Abbassid dynasty was established on the ruins of the Umayyads and that they changed many of the policies of Bani Umayyah in the administration of the lands. They didn't spare any effort in showing the negative aspects of Bani Umayyah and in getting close to the people by spreading justice and defending it. If the Abbassids had found any changes in the Holy Book, it would have been the greatest opportunity for them to show how misleading Bani Umayyah were and, thus, give their own rule some additional legitimacy.</span><sup class="referencenumb" style="color: blue; font-size: 8pt; letter-spacing: 0.24px; line-height: 10pt; word-spacing: 0.72px;">[34]</sup></li></ul></blockquote><p style="font-size: 16px; word-spacing: 0.72px;">These observation speak of themselves. Even if we assume that this incident is authentic, the question that arises is: so what? Al-<u>H</u>ajjaj supposedly made changes in 11 places, and even these places are documented to the last detail. Orientalists and missionaries, as usual, take some trivial piece of information (forgetting the fact that it is fabricated!) and make, not just a mountain, but an entire planet, out of an anthole.</p><p style="font-size: 16px; word-spacing: 0.72px;">Let us now move to the Christian polemical sources such the letter of Byzantine Emperor Leo III to `Umar II and the apology of `Abd al-Ma<u>s</u>ih al-Kindi on the claim that al-<u>H</u>ajjaj was responsible for present day Qur'anic text.</p><b style="font-size: 16px; word-spacing: 0.72px;"><span class="title" style="font-size: 14pt; letter-spacing: 0.24px; line-height: 17pt; word-spacing: 0.72px;"><a name="5"></a>5. The Christian Polemical Sources: Letter Of Leo III & `Abd al-Masih al-Kindi</span></b><span style="background-color: white; font-size: 16px; word-spacing: 0.72px;"></span><p style="font-size: 16px; word-spacing: 0.72px;">There is a persistent tradition in the eastern Christian churches, often referred to by oriental Christians even in the present day, to the effect that early during the 8th century, there had been an exchange of letters on the question of the respective merits of Christianity and Islam, between the Ummayad Caliph `Umar II and the Byzantine Emperor Leo III. In the letter to `Umar II, the Byzantine Emperor Leo III writes:</p><blockquote style="font-size: 16px; word-spacing: 0.72px;"><p><span class="bookquoteCN" style="color: #aa0000; font-family: Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 8pt; letter-spacing: 0.24px; line-height: 13pt; word-spacing: 0.72px;">In brief you admit that we say that it </span><span class="bookquote" style="font-family: Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 8pt; letter-spacing: 0.24px; line-height: 13pt; word-spacing: 0.72px;">[i.e., the Qur'an]</span><span class="bookquoteCN" style="color: #aa0000; font-family: Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 8pt; letter-spacing: 0.24px; line-height: 13pt; word-spacing: 0.72px;"> was written by God, and brought down from the heavens, as you pretend for your <i>furqan</i>, although we know that it was `Umar, Abu Turab and Salman the Persian, who composed that, even though the rumour has got around among you that God sent it down from the heavens.</span><sup class="referencenumb" style="color: blue; font-size: 8pt; letter-spacing: 0.24px; line-height: 10pt; word-spacing: 0.72px;">[35]</sup></p></blockquote><p style="font-size: 16px; word-spacing: 0.72px;">This is a rather peculiar statement from Leo III, as Jeffery comments in the footnotes. By Abu Turab, Leo III meant `Ali, son-in-law of the Prophet<sup class="superscript" style="font-size: 8pt; letter-spacing: 0.24px; line-height: 10pt; word-spacing: 0.72px;">(P)</sup>. Continuing the letter to `Umar II, Leo III writes:</p><blockquote style="font-size: 16px; word-spacing: 0.72px;"><p><span class="bookquoteCN" style="color: #aa0000; font-family: Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 8pt; letter-spacing: 0.24px; line-height: 13pt; word-spacing: 0.72px;">As for your (book), you have already given us examples of such falsifications, and one knows, among others, of a certain <u>H</u>ajjaj, named by you as the governer of Persia, who had men gathered up your ancient books, which he replaced by others composed by himself, according to his taste, and which he propagated everywhere in your nation, because it was easier by far to undertake such a task among the people speaking a single language. from this destruction, nevertheless, there escaped a few works of Abu Turab, for <u>H</u>ajjaj could not make them disappear completely.</span><sup class="referencenumb" style="color: blue; font-size: 8pt; letter-spacing: 0.24px; line-height: 10pt; word-spacing: 0.72px;">[36]</sup></p></blockquote><p style="font-size: 16px; word-spacing: 0.72px;">Commenting on the issue, Jeffery states:</p><blockquote style="font-size: 16px; word-spacing: 0.72px;"><p><span class="bookquoteCN" style="color: #aa0000; font-family: Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 8pt; letter-spacing: 0.24px; line-height: 13pt; word-spacing: 0.72px;">It would thus seem that some revision of the text, as well as clarification by division and pointing, was undertaken by al-<u>H</u>ajjaj, and that this was known to the Christians of that day, and naturally exagerrated by them for polemical purposes.</span><sup class="referencenumb" style="color: blue; font-size: 8pt; letter-spacing: 0.24px; line-height: 10pt; word-spacing: 0.72px;">[37]</sup></p></blockquote><p style="font-size: 16px; word-spacing: 0.72px;">It becomes quite obvious as to whether the document between `Umar II and Leo III is authentic. Jeffery says:</p><blockquote style="font-size: 16px; word-spacing: 0.72px;"><p><span class="bookquoteCN" style="color: #aa0000; font-family: Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 8pt; letter-spacing: 0.24px; line-height: 13pt; word-spacing: 0.72px;">The question remains as to the genuineness of this correspondence, and that is a matter for the historians to argue on the basis of the material itself.<sup></sup></span><sup class="referencenumb" style="color: blue; font-size: 8pt; letter-spacing: 0.24px; line-height: 10pt; word-spacing: 0.72px;">[38]</sup></p></blockquote><p style="font-size: 16px; word-spacing: 0.72px;">Now that the authenticity of this document has fallen on the grounds of suspicion, we would like to push the question even further and consider the ramifications. Patricia Crone and Michael Cook in their book, <span class="reference" style="color: blue; font-size: 12pt; font-style: italic; letter-spacing: 0.24px; line-height: 16pt; word-spacing: 0.72px;">Hagarism: The Making Of The Islamic World</span>, used the aforementioned Christian polemic to reconstruct Islamic history before even verifying the facts.</p><blockquote style="font-size: 16px; word-spacing: 0.72px;"><p><span class="bookquoteCN" style="color: #aa0000; font-family: Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 8pt; letter-spacing: 0.24px; line-height: 13pt; word-spacing: 0.72px;">Now both Christian and Muslim sources attribute some kind of role to <u>H</u>ajjaj in the history of Muslim scripture. In the account attributed to Leo by Levond, <u>H</u>ajjaj is said to have collected and destroyed the old Hagarene writings and replaced them with others composed according to his own tastes.</span><sup class="referencenumb" style="color: blue; font-size: 8pt; letter-spacing: 0.24px; line-height: 10pt; word-spacing: 0.72px;">[39]</sup></p></blockquote><p style="font-size: 16px; word-spacing: 0.72px;">John Wansbrough, reviewing <span class="reference" style="color: blue; font-size: 12pt; font-style: italic; letter-spacing: 0.24px; line-height: 16pt; word-spacing: 0.72px;">Hagarism: The Making Of The Islamic World</span>, makes a mockery of the poor scholarship of Crone and Cook and says:</p><blockquote style="font-size: 16px; word-spacing: 0.72px;"><p><span class="bookquoteCN" style="color: #aa0000; font-family: Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 8pt; letter-spacing: 0.24px; line-height: 13pt; word-spacing: 0.72px;">The material is upon occasion misleadingly presented, e.g., Ephrem certainly did not prophesy an exodus of Hagarenes from the desert, </span><span class="highlightbookqCN" style="background-color: #ffe957; color: #aa0000; font-family: Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 8pt; letter-spacing: 0.24px; line-height: 13pt; word-spacing: 0.72px;">nor did Levond report Leo's description of <u>H</u>ajjaj destroying old Hagarene writings</span><span class="bookquoteCN" style="color: #aa0000; font-family: Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 8pt; letter-spacing: 0.24px; line-height: 13pt; word-spacing: 0.72px;"><b>.</b></span><sup class="referencenumb" style="color: blue; font-size: 8pt; letter-spacing: 0.24px; line-height: 10pt; word-spacing: 0.72px;">[40]</sup></p></blockquote><p style="font-size: 16px; word-spacing: 0.72px;">In other words, the account attributed to Leo by Levond (or Ghevond) is a forgery that was constructed to scandalize the question of al-<u>H</u>ajjaj by some later Christian writer. This possibility was also echoed by Neal Robinson in his book, <span class="reference" style="color: blue; font-size: 12pt; font-style: italic; letter-spacing: 0.24px; line-height: 16pt; word-spacing: 0.72px;">Discovering The Qur'an: A Contemporary Approach To a Veiled Text</span>, where he states:</p><blockquote style="font-size: 16px; word-spacing: 0.72px;"><p><span class="bookquoteCN" style="color: #aa0000; font-family: Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 8pt; letter-spacing: 0.24px; line-height: 13pt; word-spacing: 0.72px;">The letter ascribed to Pope Leo may simply be a convenient literary device used by a Christian polemicist living at a later date. Even if it is authentic, and the allegations which it contains have some substance, the activity of <u>H</u>ajjaj may have been limited to destroying the sectarian writings, and early codices of the Qur'an which preserved the surahs in a different order.</span><sup class="referencenumb" style="color: blue; font-size: 8pt; letter-spacing: 0.24px; line-height: 10pt; word-spacing: 0.72px;">[41]</sup></p></blockquote><p style="font-size: 16px; word-spacing: 0.72px;">Now that the issue of Leo has been closed, let us now move over to the other Christian polemic associated with al-<u>H</u>ajjaj; the apology attributed to `Abd al-Ma<u>s</u>ih al-Kindi. The composition of the apology has seen some serious disagreement among the Western scholars. The <span class="reference" style="color: blue; font-size: 12pt; font-style: italic; letter-spacing: 0.24px; line-height: 16pt; word-spacing: 0.72px;">Encyclopaedia Of Islam</span> says:</p><blockquote style="font-size: 16px; word-spacing: 0.72px;"><p><span class="bookquoteCN" style="color: #aa0000; font-family: Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 8pt; letter-spacing: 0.24px; line-height: 13pt; word-spacing: 0.72px;">Taking as evidence the historical data supplied by the text, mention of caliph al-Ma'mun (198-218/813-33), of the sack of Mecca by Abu 'l-Saraya (199/815) and the revolt of Babak al-Khurrami (204/819), W. Muir believes that the date of the composition of the letter can be fixed at 215/830. But L. Massignon believes the composition to be later than the year 300/912, seeing that the author borrowed from al-Tabari (d. 310/923) his criticism of an opinion of the Hanbali al-Barbahari (d. 329/940). Similarly, observing a parallelism between certain criticisms contained in the letter and in the work of a Muslim heretic Ibn al-Rawandi (d. 298/910), P. Kraus concludes that the Christian author borrowed these criticisms from the latter and therefore the letter can only have been composed at the beginning of the 4th/10th century.</span><sup class="referencenumb" style="color: blue; font-size: 8pt; letter-spacing: 0.24px; line-height: 10pt; word-spacing: 0.72px;">[42]</sup></p></blockquote><p style="font-size: 16px; word-spacing: 0.72px;">It appears that the most authentic view is that the letter was composed in the beginning of the 4th/10th century. The letter of al-Kindi played a very important role in the East as well as in the West in the polemic between Christians and Muslims. It was translated in Latin in 1141 by Peter of Toledo and revised by Peter of Poitiers. Its English translation was done by William Muir.<sup class="referencenumb" style="color: blue; font-size: 8pt; letter-spacing: 0.24px; line-height: 10pt; word-spacing: 0.72px;">[43]</sup> The claim of al-Kindi is that al-<u>H</u>ajjaj gathered together every copy that he could lay hold of and caused to omit from the text a great many passages. Among these were the verses revealed concerning the Bani Umayyah with names of certain persons and concerning the Bani `Abbas also with certain names. Al-<u>H</u>ajjaj then sent six copies of his version of the Qur'an to Egypt, Syria, Makkah, Madinah, Kufah and Ba<u>s</u>ra. After that he called in and destroyed all the preceding copies, just as `Uthman had done before. Al-Kindi then says that he has drawn this account from the Muslim authorities.<sup class="referencenumb" style="color: blue; font-size: 8pt; letter-spacing: 0.24px; line-height: 10pt; word-spacing: 0.72px;">[44]</sup></p><p style="font-size: 16px; word-spacing: 0.72px;">To begin with, no such Muslim authorities mention what has been claimed by al-Kindi. Hence is it nothing but a polemical exagerration. Jeffery says:</p><blockquote style="font-size: 16px; word-spacing: 0.72px;"><p><span class="bookquoteCN" style="color: #aa0000; font-family: Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 8pt; letter-spacing: 0.24px; line-height: 13pt; word-spacing: 0.72px;">The Christian writer al-Kindi in his polemical work known as the <i>Apology of al-Kindi</i>, makes a controversial point out of the alterations he claimed that al-<u>H</u>ajjaj, as everyone knew, had made in the text of Qur'an, but this was regarded by scholars as just a polemical exagerration such as one might expect in a controversial writing.<sup></sup></span><sup class="referencenumb" style="color: blue; font-size: 8pt; letter-spacing: 0.24px; line-height: 10pt; word-spacing: 0.72px;">[45]</sup></p></blockquote><p style="font-size: 16px; word-spacing: 0.72px;">Similarly, polemical nature of al-Kindi's apology rather than its factual basis is also echoed by Beesten <i>et al</i>.</p><blockquote style="font-size: 16px; word-spacing: 0.72px;"><p><span class="bookquoteCN" style="color: #aa0000; font-family: Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 8pt; letter-spacing: 0.24px; line-height: 13pt; word-spacing: 0.72px;">It is difficult to assess the role of al-<u>H</u>ajjaj. We may ignore the arguments of the Christian `Abd al-Ma<u>s</u>ih al-Kindi that al-<u>H</u>ajjaj was very much responsible for our text, as these have a polemical rather than factual basis. The account most widely found has him ordering Na<u>s</u>r bin `A<u>s</u>im to introduce the markings to safeguard the protection of the text. This is a plausible reason for the innovation, and the story is unchallenged, despite strong hostility of the sources towards al-<u>H</u>ajjaj.</span><sup class="referencenumb" style="color: blue; font-size: 8pt; letter-spacing: 0.24px; line-height: 10pt; word-spacing: 0.72px;">[46]</sup></p></blockquote><p style="font-size: 16px; word-spacing: 0.72px;">From a historical point of view, al-Kindi's claim is based upon conjecture rather than "Muslim authorities" and smacks of delirium. For al-<u>H</u>ajjaj was merely one of the generals in the Ummayad regime, with little influence and almost no ability to do the Qur'an any harm. In fact, he was utterly incapable of effecting any change in the most elementary laws of Islam, not to speak of the Qur'an, which is the foundation of Islamic faith, and pillar of Islamic laws. One wonders how he could influence any change in the Qur'an after it had gained currency in the vast Muslim empire. Not a single historian or commentator has chronicled this change, the importance of which should not have escaped their notice. No contemporary Muslim ever objected to this, and even after his rule, the Muslims seem to have condoned this abominable fact. Moreover, if it is all believed that he managed to withdraw all the copies of the Qur'an, and replacing it with his new codex, how could he eradicate it from the hearts of great numbers of Muslims who had committed it to memory? Had there been anything in the Qur'an which was uncomplimentary to the Ummayads, Mu'awiyah would have been the first to see it omitted because, compared to al-<u>H</u>ajjaj, he was more influential and powerful. Of course, if Mu'awiyah had done this, the companions of `Ali would have argued with him, the way they did on many occasions, as recorded in the books of history, <u><i>h</i></u><i>adith</i> and theology. An example would be of the battle of Siffin (AH 37), 27 years after the death of the Prophet<sup class="superscript" style="font-size: 8pt; letter-spacing: 0.24px; line-height: 10pt; word-spacing: 0.72px;">(P)</sup>, and five years after `Uthman's copies were distributed.</p><blockquote style="font-size: 16px; word-spacing: 0.72px;"><p><span class="bookquoteCN" style="color: #aa0000; font-family: Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 8pt; letter-spacing: 0.24px; line-height: 13pt; word-spacing: 0.72px;">Mu'awiyah's troops fixed sheets from the Qur'an on their spears to interrupt the battle. However, nobody accused anyone else of using a 'partisan' version of the text, which would have made a splendid accusation against the enemy.</span><sup class="referencenumb" style="color: blue; font-size: 8pt; letter-spacing: 0.24px; line-height: 10pt; word-spacing: 0.72px;">[47]</sup></p></blockquote><p style="font-size: 16px; word-spacing: 0.72px;">The pretence that the Qur'an has been tampered with has no substance whatsoever.</p><p style="font-size: 16px; word-spacing: 0.72px;">Al-<u>H</u>ajjaj was one of the most, if not the most, notorious figures in Islamic history and is well-known for his brutality against Ibn al-Zubayr as well as restive population of Iraq. It, therefore, comes as no surprise that lots of spurious accounts are found regarding him, in both Islamic and Christian literature, which try to show him as being even more evil than he was. The report in <span class="reference" style="color: blue; font-size: 12pt; font-style: italic; letter-spacing: 0.24px; line-height: 16pt; word-spacing: 0.72px;">Kitab al-Ma<u>s</u>a<u>h</u>if</span> of Ibn Abi Dawud and polemics of Leo III and al-Kindi are obvious over-exagerrations and spurious.</p><b style="font-size: 16px; word-spacing: 0.72px;"><span class="title" style="font-size: 14pt; letter-spacing: 0.24px; line-height: 17pt; word-spacing: 0.72px;"><a name="6"></a>6. Conclusions</span></b><span style="background-color: white; font-size: 16px; word-spacing: 0.72px;"></span><p style="font-size: 16px; word-spacing: 0.72px;">To conclude the issue of al-<u>H</u>ajjaj and the changes he made in the Qur'an, it has been shown that the report in <span class="reference" style="color: blue; font-size: 12pt; font-style: italic; letter-spacing: 0.24px; line-height: 16pt; word-spacing: 0.72px;">Kitab al-Ma<u>s</u>a<u>h</u>if</span> of Ibn Abi Dawud is false. This is because the reporter `Abbad Ibn <u>S</u>uhayb is the <i>isnad</i> has been declared abandoned in <u><i>h</i></u><i>adith</i> and all his <u><i>h</i></u><i>adith</i> are rejected. Analysis of <i>matn</i> of the <u><i>h</i></u><i>adith</i> shows that the alleged changes that were made related to the <i><a href="https://www.islamic-awareness.org/quran/text/Qiraat/">Qira'at</a></i> that are <a href="https://www.islamic-awareness.org/hadith/ulum/asb3">mutawatir</a>. Muslims have accepted various <i><a href="https://www.islamic-awareness.org/quran/text/Qiraat/">Qira'at</a></i> as authentic provided they satisfy certain conditions. Furthermore, the <u><i>h</i></u><i>adith</i> in <span class="reference" style="color: blue; font-size: 12pt; font-style: italic; letter-spacing: 0.24px; line-height: 16pt; word-spacing: 0.72px;">Kitab al-Ma<u>s</u>a<u>h</u>if</span><i> </i>is only known to us through one chain. There exists no parallel chains to authenticate the <i>matn</i> or text of the report.</p><p style="font-size: 16px; word-spacing: 0.72px;">It is clear that there was no new recension after `Uthman united Muslims on the basis of single text. Muslims have a complete agreement over it. Al-<u>H</u>ajjaj's role is rather well documented in the literature dealing with Sciences of the Qur'an.</p><p style="font-size: 16px; word-spacing: 0.72px;">Summarizing the Christian sources: We see that the Christian sources of Leo III and `Abd al-Ma<u>s</u>ih al-Kindi have a purely polemical purpose and exaggerate the events that took place during al-<u>H</u>ajjaj's time. The sources lack factual basis and their historicity itself is doubtful. This view is solidified by modern scholarship. As pointed out earlier, how could al-<u>H</u>ajjaj, who was governor of Iraq, a small part of Muslim land, able to change the Qur'anic text completely. The complete change of Qur'an is not documented in the Islamic history at all. And above all how could he change what was commited in the memory of Muslims in the vast Islamic empire.</p><p style="font-size: 16px; word-spacing: 0.72px;">And Allah knows best!</p><p style="font-size: 16px; word-spacing: 0.72px;"></p><p style="font-size: 16px; word-spacing: 0.72px;"></p><p style="font-size: 16px; word-spacing: 0.72px;"></p><hr align="LEFT" style="font-size: 16px; word-spacing: 0.72px;" /><p class="title" style="font-size: 14pt; font-weight: bold; letter-spacing: 0.24px; line-height: 17pt; word-spacing: 0.72px;"><b>References</b></p><p style="font-size: 16px; word-spacing: 0.72px;">[1] For <span class="reference" style="color: blue; font-size: 12pt; font-style: italic; letter-spacing: 0.24px; line-height: 16pt; word-spacing: 0.72px;">Kitab al-Ma<u>s</u>a<u>h</u>if</span> see Arthur Jeffery's, <span class="reference" style="color: blue; font-size: 12pt; font-style: italic; letter-spacing: 0.24px; line-height: 16pt; word-spacing: 0.72px;">Materials For The History Of The Text Of The Qur'an: The Old Codices</span>, 1937, E. J. Brill, Leiden, pp. 117-118.</p><p style="font-size: 16px; word-spacing: 0.72px;">[2] A. Jeffery, <span class="reference" style="color: blue; font-size: 12pt; font-style: italic; letter-spacing: 0.24px; line-height: 16pt; word-spacing: 0.72px;">The Qur'an As Scripture</span>, 1952, Russell F. Moore Company Inc., New York, p. 99.</p><p style="font-size: 16px; word-spacing: 0.72px;">[3] A. F. L. Beeston, T. M. Johnstone, R. B. Serjeant and G. R. Smith (Ed.), <span class="reference" style="color: blue; font-size: 12pt; font-style: italic; letter-spacing: 0.24px; line-height: 16pt; word-spacing: 0.72px;">Arabic Literature To The End Of The Ummayad Period</span>, 1983, Cambridge University Press, p. 243.</p><p style="font-size: 16px; word-spacing: 0.72px;">[4] S. Masood, <span class="reference" style="color: blue; font-size: 12pt; font-style: italic; letter-spacing: 0.24px; line-height: 16pt; word-spacing: 0.72px;">The Bible And The Qur'an: A Question Of Integrity</span>, 2001, OM Publishing: Carlisle, p. 36.</p><p style="font-size: 16px; word-spacing: 0.72px;">[5] M. M. Azami, <span class="reference" style="color: blue; font-size: 12pt; font-style: italic; letter-spacing: 0.24px; line-height: 16pt; word-spacing: 0.72px;">Studies In Early Hadith Literature</span>, 1992, American Trust Publications: Indianapolis, p. 305; Also J. Robson, "<span class="articlename" style="color: #770000; font-size: 12pt; letter-spacing: 0.24px; line-height: 16pt; word-spacing: 0.72px;">Tradition: Investigation And Classification</span>", <span class="reference" style="color: blue; font-size: 12pt; font-style: italic; letter-spacing: 0.24px; line-height: 16pt; word-spacing: 0.72px;">Muslim World</span>, 1951, Volume XLI, pp. 102-104; See also "<span class="articlename" style="color: #770000; font-size: 12pt; letter-spacing: 0.24px; line-height: 16pt; word-spacing: 0.72px;">Al-<u>Dj</u>arh Wa'l Ta`dil</span>", <span class="reference" style="color: blue; font-size: 12pt; font-style: italic; letter-spacing: 0.24px; line-height: 16pt; word-spacing: 0.72px;">Encyclopaedia Of Islam</span>, New Edition, 1965, Volume II, p. 462 for judging the reliability of a narrator.</p><p style="font-size: 16px; word-spacing: 0.72px;">[6] Abi `Abdullah Mu<u>h</u>ammad Ibn Isma`il al-Bukhari, <span class="reference" style="color: blue; font-size: 12pt; font-style: italic; letter-spacing: 0.24px; line-height: 16pt; word-spacing: 0.72px;">Kitab Du`afa al-Saghir</span>, 1976 [1396 AH], Dar al-Wa`y: Halab, p. 76.</p><p style="font-size: 16px; word-spacing: 0.72px;">[7] Abi `Abd al-Rahman A<u>h</u>med Ibn Shu`ayb al-Nasa'i, <span class="reference" style="color: blue; font-size: 12pt; font-style: italic; letter-spacing: 0.24px; line-height: 16pt; word-spacing: 0.72px;">Kitab al-Du`afa wa-l-Matrukin</span>, 1976 [1396 AH], Dar al-Wa`y: Halab, p. 75.</p><p style="font-size: 16px; word-spacing: 0.72px;">[8] Abi Mu<u>h</u>ammad `Abd al-Ra<u>h</u>man Ibn Abi Hatim Mu<u>h</u>ammad Ibn Idris Ibn al-Mundhir al-Tamimi al-Hanzali al-Razi, <span class="reference" style="color: blue; font-size: 12pt; font-style: italic; letter-spacing: 0.24px; line-height: 16pt; word-spacing: 0.72px;">Kitab al-Jarh wa-l-Ta`dil</span>, 1941-53, Volume III, Matba`at Majlis Da'irat al-Ma`arif al-`Uthmaniyah: Hyderabad al-Dakkan, p. 81-82</p><p style="font-size: 16px; word-spacing: 0.72px;">[9] Mu<u>h</u>ammad Ibn <u>H</u>ibban Ibn A<u>h</u>mad Abi Hatim al-Tamimi al-Busti, <span class="reference" style="color: blue; font-size: 12pt; font-style: italic; letter-spacing: 0.24px; line-height: 16pt; word-spacing: 0.72px;">Kitab al-Majruhin Min al-Muhaddithin wa-l-Du`afa' wa-l-Matrukin</span>, 1975 [1395], Volume II, Dar al-Wa`y: Halab, pp. 164-165.</p><p style="font-size: 16px; word-spacing: 0.72px;">[10] Abi `Abdallah Mu<u>h</u>ammad b. A<u>h</u>mad b. `Uthman al-Dhahabi (<i>d</i>. 748 AH), <span class="reference" style="color: blue; font-size: 12pt; font-style: italic; letter-spacing: 0.24px; line-height: 16pt; word-spacing: 0.72px;">Mizan al-I`tidal fi Naqd al-Rijal</span>, 1963, Volume II, Isa al-Babi al-Halabi: Cairo, p. 367.</p><p style="font-size: 16px; word-spacing: 0.72px;">[11] Shihab al-Din Abi al-Fadl A<u>h</u>mad Ibn `Ali ibn Hajar al-`Asqalani, <span class="reference" style="color: blue; font-size: 12pt; font-style: italic; letter-spacing: 0.24px; line-height: 16pt; word-spacing: 0.72px;">Kitab Lisan al-Mizan</span>, 1911-13 [1329-31], Volume III, Matba`at Majlis Da'irat al-Ma`arif: Hyderabad al-Dakkan, pp. 230-23.</p><p style="font-size: 16px; word-spacing: 0.72px;">[12] A. Jeffery, <span class="reference" style="color: blue; font-size: 12pt; font-style: italic; letter-spacing: 0.24px; line-height: 16pt; word-spacing: 0.72px;">Materials For The History Of The Text Of The Qur'an: The Old Codices</span>, <i>Op Cit.</i>, p. viii.</p><p style="font-size: 16px; word-spacing: 0.72px;">[13] Abu Ammar Yasir Qadhi, <span class="reference" style="color: blue; font-size: 12pt; font-style: italic; letter-spacing: 0.24px; line-height: 16pt; word-spacing: 0.72px;">An Introduction To The Sciences Of The Qur'aan</span>, 1999, Al-Hidaayah Publishing And Distribution: Birmingham (UK), pp. 386-387.</p><p style="font-size: 16px; word-spacing: 0.72px;">[14] A. Jeffery, <span class="reference" style="color: blue; font-size: 12pt; font-style: italic; letter-spacing: 0.24px; line-height: 16pt; word-spacing: 0.72px;">Materials For The History Of The Text Of The Qur'an: The Old Codices</span>, <i>Op Cit.,</i> p. 117.</p><p style="font-size: 16px; word-spacing: 0.72px;">[15] Dr. `Umar Ibn Ibrahim Radwan, <span class="reference" style="color: blue; font-size: 12pt; font-style: italic; letter-spacing: 0.24px; line-height: 16pt; word-spacing: 0.72px;">Aara' al-Mustashriqin Hawl al-Qur'an al-Karim wa Tafsir: Dirasah Wa Naqd</span>, Volume I, 1992, Dar al-Tibah: Riyadh, p. 430.</p><p style="font-size: 16px; word-spacing: 0.72px;">[16] A. Jeffery, <span class="reference" style="color: blue; font-size: 12pt; font-style: italic; letter-spacing: 0.24px; line-height: 16pt; word-spacing: 0.72px;">Materials For The History Of The Text Of The Qur'an: The Old Codices</span>, <i>Op. Cit.,</i> p. 117.</p><p style="font-size: 16px; word-spacing: 0.72px;">[17] `Umar Ibn Ibrahim Radwan, <span class="reference" style="color: blue; font-size: 12pt; font-style: italic; letter-spacing: 0.24px; line-height: 16pt; word-spacing: 0.72px;">Aara' al-Mustashriqin Hawl al-Qur'an al-Karim wa Tafsir: Dirasah Wa Naqd</span>, <i>Op. Cit.,</i> p. 430.</p><p style="font-size: 16px; word-spacing: 0.72px;">[18] A. Jeffery, <span class="reference" style="color: blue; font-size: 12pt; font-style: italic; letter-spacing: 0.24px; line-height: 16pt; word-spacing: 0.72px;">Materials For The History Of The Text Of The Qur'an: The Old Codices</span>, <i>Op. Cit.,</i> p. 117.</p><p style="font-size: 16px; word-spacing: 0.72px;">[19] `Umar Ibn Ibrahim Radwan, <span class="reference" style="color: blue; font-size: 12pt; font-style: italic; letter-spacing: 0.24px; line-height: 16pt; word-spacing: 0.72px;">Aara' al-Mustashriqin Hawl al-Qur'an al-Karim wa Tafsir: Dirasah Wa Naqd</span>, <i>Op. Cit.,</i> p. 430.</p><p style="font-size: 16px; word-spacing: 0.72px;">[20] A. Jeffery, <span class="reference" style="color: blue; font-size: 12pt; font-style: italic; letter-spacing: 0.24px; line-height: 16pt; word-spacing: 0.72px;">Materials For The History Of The Text Of The Qur'an: The Old Codices</span>, <i>Op. Cit.,</i> p. 117.</p><p style="font-size: 16px; word-spacing: 0.72px;">[21] `Umar Ibn Ibrahim Radwan, <span class="reference" style="color: blue; font-size: 12pt; font-style: italic; letter-spacing: 0.24px; line-height: 16pt; word-spacing: 0.72px;">Aara' al-Mustashriqin Hawl al-Qur'an al-Karim wa Tafsir: Dirasah Wa Naqd</span>, <i>Op. Cit.,</i> p. 431.</p><p style="font-size: 16px; word-spacing: 0.72px;">[22] A. Jeffery, <span class="reference" style="color: blue; font-size: 12pt; font-style: italic; letter-spacing: 0.24px; line-height: 16pt; word-spacing: 0.72px;">Materials For The History Of The Text Of The Qur'an: The Old Codices</span>, <i>Op. Cit.,</i> p. 118.</p><p style="font-size: 16px; word-spacing: 0.72px;">[23] `Umar Ibn Ibrahim Radwan, <span class="reference" style="color: blue; font-size: 12pt; font-style: italic; letter-spacing: 0.24px; line-height: 16pt; word-spacing: 0.72px;">Aara' al-Mustashriqin Hawl al-Qur'an al-Karim wa Tafsir: Dirasah Wa Naqd</span>, <i>Op. Cit.,</i> p. 431.</p><p style="font-size: 16px; word-spacing: 0.72px;">[24] A. Jeffery, <span class="reference" style="color: blue; font-size: 12pt; font-style: italic; letter-spacing: 0.24px; line-height: 16pt; word-spacing: 0.72px;">Materials For The History Of The Text Of The Qur'an: The Old Codices</span>, <i>Op. Cit.,</i> p. 118.</p><p style="font-size: 16px; word-spacing: 0.72px;">[25] `Umar Ibn Ibrahim Radwan, <span class="reference" style="color: blue; font-size: 12pt; font-style: italic; letter-spacing: 0.24px; line-height: 16pt; word-spacing: 0.72px;">Aara' al-Mustashriqin Hawl al-Qur'an al-Karim wa Tafsir: Dirasah Wa Naqd</span>, <i>Op. Cit.,</i> p. 431.</p><p style="font-size: 16px; word-spacing: 0.72px;">[26] A. Jeffery, <span class="reference" style="color: blue; font-size: 12pt; font-style: italic; letter-spacing: 0.24px; line-height: 16pt; word-spacing: 0.72px;">Materials For The History Of The Text Of The Qur'an: The Old Codices</span>, <i>Op. Cit.,</i> p. 118.</p><p style="font-size: 16px; word-spacing: 0.72px;">[27] `Umar Ibn Ibrahim Radwan, <span class="reference" style="color: blue; font-size: 12pt; font-style: italic; letter-spacing: 0.24px; line-height: 16pt; word-spacing: 0.72px;">Aara' al-Mustashriqin Hawl al-Qur'an al-Karim wa Tafsir: Dirasah Wa Naqd</span>, <i>Op. Cit.,</i> p. 431.</p><p style="font-size: 16px; word-spacing: 0.72px;">[28] A. Jeffery, <span class="reference" style="color: blue; font-size: 12pt; font-style: italic; letter-spacing: 0.24px; line-height: 16pt; word-spacing: 0.72px;">Materials For The History Of The Text Of The Qur'an: The Old Codices</span>, <i>Op. Cit.,</i> p. 118.</p><p style="font-size: 16px; word-spacing: 0.72px;">[29] `Umar Ibn Ibrahim Radwan, <span class="reference" style="color: blue; font-size: 12pt; font-style: italic; letter-spacing: 0.24px; line-height: 16pt; word-spacing: 0.72px;">Aara' al-Mustashriqin Hawl al-Qur'an al-Karim wa Tafsir: Dirasah Wa Naqd</span>, <i>Op. Cit.,</i> p. 431.</p><p style="font-size: 16px; word-spacing: 0.72px;">[30] A. Jeffery, <span class="reference" style="color: blue; font-size: 12pt; font-style: italic; letter-spacing: 0.24px; line-height: 16pt; word-spacing: 0.72px;">Materials For The History Of The Text Of The Qur'an: The Old Codices</span>, <i>Op. Cit.,</i> p. 118.</p><p style="font-size: 16px; word-spacing: 0.72px;">[31] `Umar Ibn Ibrahim Radwan, <span class="reference" style="color: blue; font-size: 12pt; font-style: italic; letter-spacing: 0.24px; line-height: 16pt; word-spacing: 0.72px;">Aara' al-Mustashriqin Hawl al-Qur'an al-Karim wa Tafsir: Dirasah Wa Naqd</span>, <i>Op. Cit.,</i> p. 431.</p><p style="font-size: 16px; word-spacing: 0.72px;">[32] A. Jeffery, <span class="reference" style="color: blue; font-size: 12pt; font-style: italic; letter-spacing: 0.24px; line-height: 16pt; word-spacing: 0.72px;">Materials For The History Of The Text Of The Qur'an: The Old Codices</span>, <i>Op. Cit.,</i> p. 118.</p><p style="font-size: 16px; word-spacing: 0.72px;">[33] `Umar Ibn Ibrahim Radwan, <span class="reference" style="color: blue; font-size: 12pt; font-style: italic; letter-spacing: 0.24px; line-height: 16pt; word-spacing: 0.72px;">Aara' al-Mustashriqin Hawl al-Qur'an al-Karim wa Tafsir: Dirasah Wa Naqd</span>, <i>Op. Cit.,</i> p. 431.</p><p style="font-size: 16px; word-spacing: 0.72px;">[34] <i>Ibid.,</i> pp. 430-431.</p><p style="font-size: 16px; word-spacing: 0.72px;">[35] A. Jeffery, "<span class="articlename" style="color: #770000; font-size: 12pt; letter-spacing: 0.24px; line-height: 16pt; word-spacing: 0.72px;">Ghevond's Text Of The Correspondence Between `Umar II and Leo III</span>", 1944, <span class="reference" style="color: blue; font-size: 12pt; font-style: italic; letter-spacing: 0.24px; line-height: 16pt; word-spacing: 0.72px;">Harvard Theological Review</span>, p. 292.</p><p style="font-size: 16px; word-spacing: 0.72px;">[36] <i>Ibid.,</i> p. 298.</p><p style="font-size: 16px; word-spacing: 0.72px;">[37] <i>Ibid.</i></p><p style="font-size: 16px; word-spacing: 0.72px;">[38] <i>Ibid.,</i> pp. 330-331.</p><p style="font-size: 16px; word-spacing: 0.72px;">[39] P. Crone & M. Cook, <span class="reference" style="color: blue; font-size: 12pt; font-style: italic; letter-spacing: 0.24px; line-height: 16pt; word-spacing: 0.72px;">Hagarism: The Making Of The Islamic World</span>, 1977, Cambridge University Press, p. 18.</p><p style="font-size: 16px; word-spacing: 0.72px;">[40] J. Wansbrough, "<span class="articlename" style="color: #770000; font-size: 12pt; letter-spacing: 0.24px; line-height: 16pt; word-spacing: 0.72px;">Review of <i>Hagarism: The Making Of The Islamic World</i></span>", <span class="reference" style="color: blue; font-size: 12pt; font-style: italic; letter-spacing: 0.24px; line-height: 16pt; word-spacing: 0.72px;">Bulletin Of The School Of Oriental And African Studies</span>, 1978, Volume 41, p. 156.</p><p style="font-size: 16px; word-spacing: 0.72px;">[41] N. Robinson, <span class="reference" style="color: blue; font-size: 12pt; font-style: italic; letter-spacing: 0.24px; line-height: 16pt; word-spacing: 0.72px;">Discovering The Qur'an: A Contemporary Approach To a Veiled Text</span>, 1996, SCM Press Ltd, p. 56.</p><p style="font-size: 16px; word-spacing: 0.72px;">[42] "<span class="articlename" style="color: #770000; font-size: 12pt; letter-spacing: 0.24px; line-height: 16pt; word-spacing: 0.72px;">Al-Kindi, `Abd al-Masih</span>", <span class="reference" style="color: blue; font-size: 12pt; font-style: italic; letter-spacing: 0.24px; line-height: 16pt; word-spacing: 0.72px;">Encyclopaedia Of Islam</span>, New Edition, 1986, Volume V, p. 120.</p><p style="font-size: 16px; word-spacing: 0.72px;">[43] W. Muir, <span class="reference" style="color: blue; font-size: 12pt; font-style: italic; letter-spacing: 0.24px; line-height: 16pt; word-spacing: 0.72px;">The Apology Of Al-Kindy</span>, 1882, London. Also published in Egypt in the "Nile Mission Press" whose chairman was Dr. S. M. Zwemer.</p><p style="font-size: 16px; word-spacing: 0.72px;">[44] Also see Alphonse Mingana's discussion on the apology of al-Kindi in "<span class="articlename" style="color: #770000; font-size: 12pt; letter-spacing: 0.24px; line-height: 16pt; word-spacing: 0.72px;">The Transmission Of The Qur'an</span>", <span class="reference" style="color: blue; font-size: 12pt; font-style: italic; letter-spacing: 0.24px; line-height: 16pt; word-spacing: 0.72px;">Journal of The Manchester Egyptian and Oriental Society</span>, 1916, pp. 41-42.</p><p style="font-size: 16px; word-spacing: 0.72px;">[45] A. Jeffery, <span class="reference" style="color: blue; font-size: 12pt; font-style: italic; letter-spacing: 0.24px; line-height: 16pt; word-spacing: 0.72px;">The Qur'an As Scripture</span>, <i>Op. Cit</i>, p. 99.</p><p style="font-size: 16px; word-spacing: 0.72px;">[46] A. F. L. Beeston, T. M. Johnstone, R. B. Serjeant and G. R. Smith (Ed.), <span class="reference" style="color: blue; font-size: 12pt; font-style: italic; letter-spacing: 0.24px; line-height: 16pt; word-spacing: 0.72px;">Arabic Literature To The End Of The Ummayad Period</span>, <i>Op. Cit</i>, p. 243.</p><p style="font-size: 16px; word-spacing: 0.72px;">[47] Ahmad von Denffer, <span class="reference" style="color: blue; font-size: 12pt; font-style: italic; letter-spacing: 0.24px; line-height: 16pt; word-spacing: 0.72px;">`Ulum al-Qur'an</span>, 1994, The Islamic Foundation, p. 56.</p>Mustafa Ahmedhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14172750188773095424noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-558359090739969505.post-78075041465965544132023-11-02T15:03:00.007-07:002023-11-02T15:04:29.491-07:00“I saw my lord in the form of a young Beardless man with long curly hair And he was in a green garden” is this true?<p><span face="Calibri, sans-serif">Talbis
Al jahmiyyah volume 7 page 294 The Prophet </span><span face="Arial, sans-serif">ﷺ</span><span face="Calibri, sans-serif"> Said “ I saw my lord in the form of a young
Beardless man with long curly hair And he was in a green garden” is this true?</span></p>
<p style="margin: 0cm;"><span face=""Calibri",sans-serif" style="color: #282829;"> </span></p>
<p style="margin: 0cm;"><span face=""-apple-system",serif" style="background: white; color: #282829;">bn Al-Jawzi (RH) has mentioned it in his Daf’
Shubah al-Tashbih and said that this Hadith is a lie. Hafidh Al-Dhahabi (RH)
also mentioned it and criticized the narrators mentioned in it.</span><span face=""-apple-system",serif" style="color: #282829;"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p style="margin: 0cm;"><span face=""-apple-system",serif" style="background: white; color: #282829;">Here’s what Ibn Al-Jawzi (RH) wrote about it:</span><span face=""-apple-system",serif" style="color: #282829; font-size: 11.5pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p style="margin: 0cm;"><span face=""Calibri",sans-serif" style="color: #282829; font-size: 11pt;"> <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p style="margin: 0cm;"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEg7uDzcUKbY7CC5IFW3ThsyeHrBnwBTVCb8uV56yb4B76hfcDQ4D_udD3o_TqWsCq9lbYmfa3yQcHdPng-CkilvIDwIDSretjt3zWphAw3Klqvf3kKXZuj2f-q1z7vSy6V5y5f0zuKKvtSf1u05bSF9dnH2RnIAqvBuz8cvbnt38V8mUKiVvsFvgR5SGGYd" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="135" data-original-width="466" height="144" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEg7uDzcUKbY7CC5IFW3ThsyeHrBnwBTVCb8uV56yb4B76hfcDQ4D_udD3o_TqWsCq9lbYmfa3yQcHdPng-CkilvIDwIDSretjt3zWphAw3Klqvf3kKXZuj2f-q1z7vSy6V5y5f0zuKKvtSf1u05bSF9dnH2RnIAqvBuz8cvbnt38V8mUKiVvsFvgR5SGGYd=w495-h144" width="495" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEi2uSVmpRKJ7pzO2n1DDwwBhe4uFhy-gPr0l-tG3Kxymfl_5c7ovrgBcNFJdtiKqKPfpJ81ctDfwCwDGRgLULIQloe_Z5fqvVbc5OykP3KXn5yEFTl2pfzZZrlLUNLf_DCAGF4gtZ_OOsWz79V6C736rrdQxpD-AO4XHi5zaKl6jxlO5qSrptZEJ0JkGN0I" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="135" data-original-width="466" height="157" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEi2uSVmpRKJ7pzO2n1DDwwBhe4uFhy-gPr0l-tG3Kxymfl_5c7ovrgBcNFJdtiKqKPfpJ81ctDfwCwDGRgLULIQloe_Z5fqvVbc5OykP3KXn5yEFTl2pfzZZrlLUNLf_DCAGF4gtZ_OOsWz79V6C736rrdQxpD-AO4XHi5zaKl6jxlO5qSrptZEJ0JkGN0I=w540-h157" width="540" /></a></div><br /><br /><p></p>
<p style="margin: 0cm;"><span face=""Calibri",sans-serif" style="font-size: 11pt;"> <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p style="margin: 0cm;"><br /></p>
<p style="margin: 0cm;"><span face=""-apple-system",serif" style="background: white; color: #636466;">Umm Tufayl, the wife of 'Ubayy, related that
she heard the Messenger of Allah</span><span style="background: white; color: #636466;">ﷺ</span><span face=""-apple-system",serif" style="background: white; color: #636466;"> mention
that, "He saw his Lord, Mighty and Majestic, in a dream in the most
beautiful form as a glowing young man in green. On his feet were sandals of
gold, and over his face was a blanket of gold."</span><span face=""-apple-system",serif" style="color: #636466;"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p style="margin: 0cm;"><span face=""Calibri",sans-serif" style="color: #636466;"> <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p style="margin: 0cm;"><span face=""-apple-system",serif" style="background: white; color: #636466;">This hadith, is related by Na'im ibn Hamad. Ibn
'Adi said, "He used to fabricate hadiths." Imam Ahmad was asked
[about him], and he turned his face away from him (the asker). He said,
"His hadīth is rejected and unknown."</span><span face=""-apple-system",serif" style="color: #636466;"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p style="margin: 0cm;"><span face=""-apple-system",serif" style="background: white; color: #636466;">And on the authority of Ibn ‘Abbas (RA) from
the Prophet</span><span style="background: white; color: #636466;">ﷺ</span><span face=""-apple-system",serif" style="background: white; color: #636466;"> that he said, "I saw my Lord as a curly-haired
beardless boy wearing a green vestment." This is related by way of Hamad
ibn Salama, and Ibn Abi al-'Awjaa, the zindeeq (heretic), [who] was the stepson
of Hamad. He used to interpolate these hadiths in his [stepfather's] books that
have neither been confirmed nor are they good for being used to make an argument.</span><span face=""-apple-system",serif" style="color: #636466;"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p style="margin: 0cm;"><span face=""Calibri",sans-serif" style="color: #636466;"> <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p style="margin: 0cm;"><span face=""-apple-system",serif" style="background: white; color: #636466;">Al-Qadhi [Abu Ya'la] actually affirmed these
[ascriptions of curly hair, being beardless, and having a green vestment] as
attributes for God, Exalted be He. He said, "They have been established as
names, but we don't comprehend their meanings." Who [on Earth] establishes
[the attributes] through dreams while the transmissions of them are not soundly
established? We know the meanings of the <i>shabb </i>(young man) and
the <i>amrad </i>(beardless young boy), but he says, "It is not
as we understand." This is like someone saying, "<i>Fulan</i> stood
up, but he is not standing," or, "He sat down, but he isn't
sitting."</span><span face=""-apple-system",serif" style="color: #636466;"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p style="margin: 0cm;"><span face=""Calibri",sans-serif" style="color: #636466;"> <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p style="margin: 0cm;"><span face=""-apple-system",serif" style="background: white; color: #636466;">Imam Ibn 'Aqil said, "We are certain this
hadith is a lie. The reliability of the narrators does not help when the text
is impossible to affirm." This is similar to the example if a group of
trustworthy narrators informed us that the camel of the cloth merchant has
entered the eye of the tailor's needle. The trustworthy status of the narrators
has no affect while their report is actually impossible to affirm.</span><span face=""-apple-system",serif" style="color: #636466;"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p style="margin: 0cm;"><span face=""Calibri",sans-serif"> <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p style="margin: 0cm;"><span face=""Calibri",sans-serif"> <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p style="margin: 0cm;"><span face=""Calibri",sans-serif">The
hadeeth that you referred to in the question was cited by <span style="color: maroon;">Al-Bayhaqi</span> on the authority of <span style="color: maroon;">Ibn ‘Abbaas</span>, and the scholars ruled that it is an objectionable
hadeeth (Munkar) and that it is not authentic.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p style="margin: 0cm;"><span face=""Calibri",sans-serif"> <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p style="margin: 0cm;"><span face=""Calibri",sans-serif" style="color: maroon;">Al-Albaani</span><span face=""Calibri",sans-serif"> said
in <i>As-Silsilah Adh-Dha'eefah</i>, “As for the <i>Marfoo’</i> (directly
attributed to the Prophet, sallallaahu ‘alayhi wasallam) hadeeth by
Hammaad ibn Salamah, from Qataadah, from ‘Ikrimah, from Ibn ‘Abbaas, with the
wording “I saw my Lord, curly-haired and beardless, wearing a green robe”; then
it is an objectionable report, as stated by Ath-Thahabi in <i>As-Siyar</i>.”<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p style="margin: 0cm;"><span face=""Calibri",sans-serif"> <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p style="margin: 0cm;"><span face=""Calibri",sans-serif" style="color: maroon;">Ibn Al-Jawzi</span><span face=""Calibri",sans-serif"> said in <i>Al-‘Ilal Al-Mutanaahiyah</i>, “This
hadeeth is not proven, and all its narrations are from Hammaad ibn Salamah. Ibn
‘Adiyy said, ‘It was said that Ibn Abu Al-Awjaa’ was the stepson of Hammaad,
and he used to insert these ahaadeeth into his books.”<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p style="margin: 0cm;"><span face=""Calibri",sans-serif"> <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p style="margin: 0cm;"><span face=""Calibri",sans-serif">This
hadeeth was also narrated by <span style="color: maroon;">Umm At-Tufayl</span> with
the wording, “I saw my Lord in a dream in the best form; an honorable young
man, His feet are in green, wearing gold shoes, lying on a gold bed (or while
moths of gold are falling around him).”<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p style="margin: 0cm;"><span face=""Calibri",sans-serif"> <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p style="margin: 0cm;"><span face=""Calibri",sans-serif" style="color: maroon;">Ash-Shawkaani</span><span face=""Calibri",sans-serif"> said in <i>Al-Fawaa’id Al-Majmoo‘ah fee
Al-Ahaadeeth Al-Mawdhoo‘ah</i>, “It was narrated by Al-Khateeb from Umm
At-Tufayl, the wife of Abu Ka‘b, and it is a fabricated hadeeth, and its chain
of narrators includes a fabricator, a liar, and an unknown reporter.”<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p style="margin: 0cm;"><span face=""Calibri",sans-serif"> <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p style="margin: 0cm;"><span face=""Calibri",sans-serif">Allah
knows best.<o:p style="font-size: 11pt;"></o:p></span></p><p></p>Mustafa Ahmedhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14172750188773095424noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-558359090739969505.post-46280944110806062162023-10-25T12:44:00.006-07:002023-10-25T12:47:18.324-07:00Does an Intentional Sinner Attain Atonement?<p> </p><h1 class="main-head space-after _960" print="true" style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; color: #333333; font-family: Merriweather, serif; font-size: 40px; font-weight: 400; line-height: 70px; margin: -15px auto 30px; max-width: 830px; text-align: center;">Does an Intentional Sinner Attain Atonement?</h1><div class="_720 left no-space" style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; color: #333333; display: inline-block; font-family: Merriweather, "Sbl hebrew", serif; font-size: 15px; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; max-width: 720px; padding-bottom: 30px; padding-top: 0px; width: 62vw;"><div class="article-box w-clearfix" id="article-box" style="box-sizing: border-box;"><div class="w-embed" style="box-sizing: border-box;"><currentseries current="" style="box-sizing: border-box;"></currentseries></div><div class="teaser nospace w-richtext" print="true" style="box-sizing: border-box; font-size: 20px; line-height: 37px; margin-bottom: 0px;"><p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-top: 0px;">Leviticus 16 describes how the scapegoat ritual on Yom Kippur attains atonement for all of Israel’s sins, even acts of rebellion. Numbers 15, however, states that a person who sins unintentionally can bring an offering and be forgiven, but the person who sins intentionally is cut off from the people.</p></div><div class="spcace-30" style="box-sizing: border-box; height: 30px;"></div><div class="name-art-box" print="true" style="box-sizing: border-box; display: inline-block; margin-right: 10px;"><a class="w-inline-block" href="https://www.thetorah.com/author/david-frankel" style="background-color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0); box-sizing: border-box; display: inline-block; max-width: 100%; text-decoration-line: none;"><p class="name-big" style="box-sizing: border-box; color: var(--black); display: inline-block; font-size: 20px; line-height: 36px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-right: 6px; margin-top: 0px;">Prof. Rabbi</p><p class="name-big" style="box-sizing: border-box; color: var(--black); display: inline-block; font-size: 20px; line-height: 36px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-right: 6px; margin-top: 0px;">David Frankel</p></a></div><div class="name-art-box" print="true" style="box-sizing: border-box; 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margin: 0px 0px 10px; text-align: center;"><img alt="Does an Intentional Sinner Attain Atonement?" height="183" sizes="(max-width: 991px) 90vw, 62vw" src="https://assets-global.website-files.com/5b8fd783bee52c8fb59b1fac/633c2a25f4b3f859fe4061ea_Yom%2520Kippur-Atonement.jpeg" srcset="https://assets-global.website-files.com/5b8fd783bee52c8fb59b1fac/633c2a25f4b3f859fe4061ea_Yom%2520Kippur-Atonement-p-500.jpeg 500w, https://assets-global.website-files.com/5b8fd783bee52c8fb59b1fac/633c2a25f4b3f859fe4061ea_Yom%2520Kippur-Atonement-p-800.jpeg 800w, https://assets-global.website-files.com/5b8fd783bee52c8fb59b1fac/633c2a25f4b3f859fe4061ea_Yom%2520Kippur-Atonement.jpeg 1000w" style="border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; display: inline-block; max-height: 500px; max-width: 100%; vertical-align: middle;" width="244" /><div class="imagecaption w-richtext" style="box-sizing: border-box; font-size: 13px; line-height: 28px; margin-bottom: 10px;"><p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-top: 0px;">Aaron casting lots. Leviticus 16:8, Detail of East Window, Lincoln Cathedral. Flicker/Jules & Jenny cc 2.0</p></div></figure><div class="sym-rtf w-richtext" print="true" style="box-sizing: border-box; color: black; line-height: 28px; overflow: hidden;"><h2 style="box-sizing: border-box; clear: both; font-size: 25px; font-weight: 400; line-height: 42px; margin: 14px auto; max-width: 80%; text-align: center;">The Scapegoat Ritual Atones for All Sins: Leviticus 16</h2><p style="box-sizing: border-box; font-family: Merriweather, serif; font-size: 17px; line-height: 31px; margin-bottom: 20px; margin-top: 0px;">Leviticus ends its description of the yearly purification of the Tabernacle on Yom Kippur by explaining that the day’s ritual cleanses and atones for all sins of any kind:</p><blockquote class="hebQuote" style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; border-left: 5px none rgb(226, 226, 226); box-sizing: border-box; clear: both; direction: rtl; display: inline-block; font-size: 17px; line-height: 31px; margin: 0px 0px 20px; padding: 0px 11px 0px 10px; text-align: right; vertical-align: top; width: 266.391px;"><span style="box-sizing: border-box; font-size: 12.75px; line-height: 0; margin-left: 3px; margin-right: 3px; position: relative; top: -0.5em; vertical-align: baseline;">ויקרא טז:ל</span> כִּי בַיּוֹם הַזֶּה יְכַפֵּר עֲלֵיכֶם לְטַהֵר אֶתְכֶם<strong style="box-sizing: border-box;"> מִכֹּל חַטֹּאתֵיכֶם</strong> לִפְנֵי יְ־הוָה תִּטְהָרוּ.</blockquote> <blockquote class="enQuote" style="border-left: 5px none rgb(226, 226, 226); box-sizing: border-box; clear: none; direction: ltr; display: inline-block; line-height: 31px; margin: 0px 0px 20px; padding: 0px 30px 0px 11px; vertical-align: top; width: 446.391px;"><span style="box-sizing: border-box; font-size: 11.25px; line-height: 0; margin-left: 3px; margin-right: 3px; position: relative; top: -0.5em; vertical-align: baseline;">Lev 16:30</span> For on this day atonement shall be made for you to cleanse you<strong style="box-sizing: border-box;"> of all your sins</strong>; you will be cleansed before YHWH.</blockquote><p style="box-sizing: border-box; font-family: Merriweather, serif; font-size: 17px; line-height: 31px; margin-bottom: 20px; margin-top: 0px;">No distinction is made here between types of sins or types of sinners. This is also clear from the priest’s confession over the scapegoat, which also uses the word כֹּל, “all”:</p><blockquote class="hebQuote" style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; border-left: 5px none rgb(226, 226, 226); box-sizing: border-box; clear: both; direction: rtl; display: inline-block; font-size: 17px; line-height: 31px; margin: 0px 0px 20px; padding: 0px 11px 0px 10px; text-align: right; vertical-align: top; width: 266.391px;"><span style="box-sizing: border-box; font-size: 12.75px; line-height: 0; margin-left: 3px; margin-right: 3px; position: relative; top: -0.5em; vertical-align: baseline;">ויקרא טז:כא</span> וְסָמַךְ אַהֲרֹן אֶת שְׁתֵּי (ידו) [יָדָיו] עַל רֹאשׁ הַשָּׂעִיר הַחַי וְהִתְוַדָּה עָלָיו <strong style="box-sizing: border-box;">אֶת כָּל עֲוֹנֹת בְּנֵי יִשְׂרָאֵל וְאֶת כָּל פִּשְׁעֵיהֶם לְכָל חַטֹּאתָם</strong>...</blockquote> <blockquote class="enQuote" style="border-left: 5px none rgb(226, 226, 226); box-sizing: border-box; clear: none; direction: ltr; display: inline-block; line-height: 31px; margin: 0px 0px 20px; padding: 0px 30px 0px 11px; vertical-align: top; width: 446.391px;"><span style="box-sizing: border-box; font-size: 11.25px; line-height: 0; margin-left: 3px; margin-right: 3px; position: relative; top: -0.5em; vertical-align: baseline;">Lev 16:21</span> Aaron shall lay both his hands upon the head of the live goat and confess over it <strong style="box-sizing: border-box;">all the iniquities </strong>of the Israelites, and their transgressions all their sins…</blockquote><p style="box-sizing: border-box; font-family: Merriweather, serif; font-size: 17px; line-height: 31px; margin-bottom: 20px; margin-top: 0px;">The inclusion of פשע (<em style="box-sizing: border-box;">pesha</em>), a term that almost always refers to purposeful acts of rebellion, particularly against YHWH, makes the point extra clear. The verb פשע is used ubiquitously to indicate an act of revolt or rebellion, not an inadvertent or minor misdeed. See, for example, the parallel drawn by YHWH in Ezekiel between rebellion and <em style="box-sizing: border-box;">pesha</em>:</p><blockquote class="hebQuote" style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; border-left: 5px none rgb(226, 226, 226); box-sizing: border-box; clear: both; direction: rtl; display: inline-block; font-size: 17px; line-height: 31px; margin: 0px 0px 20px; padding: 0px 11px 0px 10px; text-align: right; vertical-align: top; width: 266.391px;"><span style="box-sizing: border-box; font-size: 12.75px; line-height: 0; margin-left: 3px; margin-right: 3px; position: relative; top: -0.5em; vertical-align: baseline;">יחזקאל ב:ג</span> וַיֹּאמֶר אֵלַי בֶּן אָדָם שׁוֹלֵחַ אֲנִי אוֹתְךָ אֶל בְּנֵי יִשְׂרָאֵל אֶל גּוֹיִם <strong style="box-sizing: border-box;">הַמּוֹרְדִים אֲשֶׁר מָרְדוּ בִי</strong> הֵמָּה וַאֲבוֹתָם <strong style="box-sizing: border-box;">פָּשְׁעוּ בִי</strong> עַד עֶצֶם הַיּוֹם הַזֶּה.</blockquote> <blockquote class="enQuote" style="border-left: 5px none rgb(226, 226, 226); box-sizing: border-box; clear: none; direction: ltr; display: inline-block; line-height: 31px; margin: 0px 0px 20px; padding: 0px 30px 0px 11px; vertical-align: top; width: 446.391px;"><span style="box-sizing: border-box; font-size: 11.25px; line-height: 0; margin-left: 3px; margin-right: 3px; position: relative; top: -0.5em; vertical-align: baseline;">Ezek 2:3</span> He said to me, “O mortal, I am sending you to the people of Israel, <strong style="box-sizing: border-box;">that nation of rebels, who have rebelled against Me</strong>.—They as well as their fathers have <strong style="box-sizing: border-box;">defied Me</strong> to this very day…”<span class="citation tooltipstered" data-tooltip-content="#footie1" style="box-sizing: border-box; color: firebrick; line-height: 0; margin-left: 3px; margin-right: 3px; position: relative; top: -0.5em; unicode-bidi: isolate; vertical-align: baseline;" tooltipster="citation">[1]</span></blockquote><p style="box-sizing: border-box; font-family: Merriweather, serif; font-size: 17px; line-height: 31px; margin-bottom: 20px; margin-top: 0px;">The intentional and volitional character of the offense applies overwhelmingly for the noun as well.<span class="citation tooltipstered" data-tooltip-content="#footie2" style="box-sizing: border-box; color: firebrick; font-size: 15px; line-height: 0; margin-right: 3px; position: relative; top: -0.5em; unicode-bidi: isolate; vertical-align: baseline;" tooltipster="citation">[2]</span> Thus, the Talmud states: פשעים אילו המרדים “<em style="box-sizing: border-box;">pesha’im</em>—these are rebellions” (b. Yoma 36b). Thus, God warns the Israelites of the wilderness period against rebelling against his angel or messenger with the words:</p><blockquote class="hebQuote" style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; border-left: 5px none rgb(226, 226, 226); box-sizing: border-box; clear: both; direction: rtl; display: inline-block; font-size: 17px; line-height: 31px; margin: 0px 0px 20px; padding: 0px 11px 0px 10px; text-align: right; vertical-align: top; width: 266.391px;"><span style="box-sizing: border-box; font-size: 12.75px; line-height: 0; margin-left: 3px; margin-right: 3px; position: relative; top: -0.5em; vertical-align: baseline;">שמות כג:כא</span> הִשָּׁמֶר מִפָּנָיו וּשְׁמַע בְּקֹלוֹ <strong style="box-sizing: border-box;">אַל תַּמֵּר בּוֹ כִּי לֹא יִשָּׂא</strong><strong style="box-sizing: border-box;"> </strong><strong style="box-sizing: border-box;">לְפִשְׁעֲכֶם</strong> כִּי שְׁמִי בְּקִרְבּוֹ.</blockquote> <blockquote class="enQuote" style="border-left: 5px none rgb(226, 226, 226); box-sizing: border-box; clear: none; direction: ltr; display: inline-block; line-height: 31px; margin: 0px 0px 20px; padding: 0px 30px 0px 11px; vertical-align: top; width: 446.391px;"><span style="box-sizing: border-box; font-size: 11.25px; line-height: 0; margin-left: 3px; margin-right: 3px; position: relative; top: -0.5em; vertical-align: baseline;">Exod 23:21</span> Beware of him and obey him, <strong style="box-sizing: border-box;">do not rebel against him for he shall not forgive your rebellions</strong>, for my name is in him.</blockquote><p style="box-sizing: border-box; font-family: Merriweather, serif; font-size: 17px; line-height: 31px; margin-bottom: 20px; margin-top: 0px;">The cleansing of the people’s sins is automatic: If the ritual is done properly on the proper day, then their sins are simply erased. The people are not even active participants in the process. The priest is the one who pronounces the confession; the people say and do nothing at all.<span class="citation tooltipstered" data-tooltip-content="#footie3" style="box-sizing: border-box; color: firebrick; font-size: 15px; line-height: 0; margin-right: 3px; position: relative; top: -0.5em; unicode-bidi: isolate; vertical-align: baseline;" tooltipster="citation">[3]</span></p><h2 style="box-sizing: border-box; clear: both; font-size: 25px; font-weight: 400; line-height: 42px; margin: 14px auto; max-width: 80%; text-align: center;">Intentional Sins Are Not Forgiven: Numbers 15</h2><p style="box-sizing: border-box; font-family: Merriweather, serif; font-size: 17px; line-height: 31px; margin-bottom: 20px; margin-top: 0px;">Numbers 15, contains a very different description of how to attain forgiveness for sin. The passage begins by introducing unintentional sin:</p><blockquote class="hebQuote" style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; border-left: 5px none rgb(226, 226, 226); box-sizing: border-box; clear: both; direction: rtl; display: inline-block; font-size: 17px; line-height: 31px; margin: 0px 0px 20px; padding: 0px 11px 0px 10px; text-align: right; vertical-align: top; width: 266.391px;"><span style="box-sizing: border-box; font-size: 12.75px; line-height: 0; margin-left: 3px; margin-right: 3px; position: relative; top: -0.5em; vertical-align: baseline;">במדבר טו:כב</span> וְכִי תִשְׁגּוּ וְלֹא תַעֲשׂוּ אֵת כָּל הַמִּצְוֹת הָאֵלֶּה אֲשֶׁר דִּבֶּר יְ־הוָה אֶל מֹשֶׁה. <span style="box-sizing: border-box; font-size: 12.75px; line-height: 0; margin-left: 3px; margin-right: 3px; position: relative; top: -0.5em; vertical-align: baseline;">טו:כג</span> אֵת כָּל אֲשֶׁר צִוָּה יְ־הוָה אֲלֵיכֶם בְּיַד מֹשֶׁה מִן הַיּוֹם אֲשֶׁר צִוָּה יְ־הוָה וָהָלְאָה לְדֹרֹתֵיכֶם.</blockquote> <blockquote class="enQuote" style="border-left: 5px none rgb(226, 226, 226); box-sizing: border-box; clear: none; direction: ltr; display: inline-block; line-height: 31px; margin: 0px 0px 20px; padding: 0px 30px 0px 11px; vertical-align: top; width: 446.391px;"><span style="box-sizing: border-box; font-size: 11.25px; line-height: 0; margin-left: 3px; margin-right: 3px; position: relative; top: -0.5em; vertical-align: baseline;">Num 15:22</span> If you unwittingly fail to observe any one of the commandments that YHWH has declared to Moses—<span style="box-sizing: border-box; font-size: 11.25px; line-height: 0; margin-left: 3px; margin-right: 3px; position: relative; top: -0.5em; vertical-align: baseline;">15:23</span> anything that YHWH has enjoined upon you through Moses—from the day that YHWH gave the commandment and on through the ages.</blockquote><p style="box-sizing: border-box; font-family: Merriweather, serif; font-size: 17px; line-height: 31px; margin-bottom: 20px; margin-top: 0px;">The text then subdivides the offense into two categories. The first is a sin that involves the entire community (vv. 24–26)<span class="citation tooltipstered" data-tooltip-content="#footie4" style="box-sizing: border-box; color: firebrick; font-size: 15px; line-height: 0; margin-right: 3px; position: relative; top: -0.5em; unicode-bidi: isolate; vertical-align: baseline;" tooltipster="citation">[4]</span> and the second is an individual sin:</p><blockquote class="hebQuote" style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; border-left: 5px none rgb(226, 226, 226); box-sizing: border-box; clear: both; direction: rtl; display: inline-block; font-size: 17px; line-height: 31px; margin: 0px 0px 20px; padding: 0px 11px 0px 10px; text-align: right; vertical-align: top; width: 266.391px;"><span style="box-sizing: border-box; font-size: 12.75px; line-height: 0; margin-left: 3px; margin-right: 3px; position: relative; top: -0.5em; vertical-align: baseline;">במדבר טו:כז</span> וְאִם נֶפֶשׁ אַחַת תֶּחֱטָא בִשְׁגָגָה וְהִקְרִיבָה עֵז בַּת שְׁנָתָהּ לְחַטָּאת. <span style="box-sizing: border-box; font-size: 12.75px; line-height: 0; margin-left: 3px; margin-right: 3px; position: relative; top: -0.5em; vertical-align: baseline;">טו:כח</span> וְכִפֶּר הַכֹּהֵן עַל הַנֶּפֶשׁ הַשֹּׁגֶגֶת בְּחֶטְאָה בִשְׁגָגָה לִפְנֵי יְ־הוָה לְכַפֵּר עָלָיו וְנִסְלַח לוֹ.</blockquote> <blockquote class="enQuote" style="border-left: 5px none rgb(226, 226, 226); box-sizing: border-box; clear: none; direction: ltr; display: inline-block; line-height: 31px; margin: 0px 0px 20px; padding: 0px 30px 0px 11px; vertical-align: top; width: 446.391px;"><span style="box-sizing: border-box; font-size: 11.25px; line-height: 0; margin-left: 3px; margin-right: 3px; position: relative; top: -0.5em; vertical-align: baseline;">Num 15:27</span> In case it is an individual who has sinned unwittingly, he shall offer a she-goat in its first year as a sin offering. <span style="box-sizing: border-box; font-size: 11.25px; line-height: 0; margin-left: 3px; margin-right: 3px; position: relative; top: -0.5em; vertical-align: baseline;">15:28</span> The priest shall make expiation before YHWH on behalf of the person who erred, for he sinned unwittingly, making such expiation for him that he may be forgiven.</blockquote><p style="box-sizing: border-box; font-family: Merriweather, serif; font-size: 17px; line-height: 31px; margin-bottom: 20px; margin-top: 0px;">Both rituals include a set of sacrifices. In each case, the text specifies that this ritual is only for people who have sinned unwittingly, emphasizing that this rule applies to Israelites and sojourners alike (v. 29).</p><p style="box-sizing: border-box; font-family: Merriweather, serif; font-size: 17px; line-height: 31px; margin-bottom: 20px; margin-top: 0px;">The text next turns to purposeful sins, and clarifies that these are not forgiven:</p><blockquote class="hebQuote" style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; border-left: 5px none rgb(226, 226, 226); box-sizing: border-box; clear: both; direction: rtl; display: inline-block; font-size: 17px; line-height: 31px; margin: 0px 0px 20px; padding: 0px 11px 0px 10px; text-align: right; vertical-align: top; width: 266.391px;"><span style="box-sizing: border-box; font-size: 12.75px; line-height: 0; margin-left: 3px; margin-right: 3px; position: relative; top: -0.5em; vertical-align: baseline;">במדבר טו:ל</span> וְהַנֶּפֶשׁ אֲשֶׁר תַּעֲשֶׂה בְּיָד רָמָה מִן הָאֶזְרָח וּמִן הַגֵּר אֶת יְ־הוָה הוּא מְגַדֵּף וְנִכְרְתָה הַנֶּפֶשׁ הַהִוא מִקֶּרֶב עַמָּהּ. <span style="box-sizing: border-box; font-size: 12.75px; line-height: 0; margin-left: 3px; margin-right: 3px; position: relative; top: -0.5em; vertical-align: baseline;">טו:לא</span> כִּי דְבַר יְ־הוָה בָּזָה וְאֶת מִצְוָתוֹ הֵפַר הִכָּרֵת תִּכָּרֵת הַנֶּפֶשׁ הַהִוא עֲוֹנָה בָהּ.</blockquote> <blockquote class="enQuote" style="border-left: 5px none rgb(226, 226, 226); box-sizing: border-box; clear: none; direction: ltr; display: inline-block; line-height: 31px; margin: 0px 0px 20px; padding: 0px 30px 0px 11px; vertical-align: top; width: 446.391px;"><span style="box-sizing: border-box; font-size: 11.25px; line-height: 0; margin-left: 3px; margin-right: 3px; position: relative; top: -0.5em; vertical-align: baseline;">Num 15:30</span> But the person, be he citizen or stranger, who acts defiantly reviles YHWH; that person shall be cut off from among his people. <span style="box-sizing: border-box; font-size: 11.25px; line-height: 0; margin-left: 3px; margin-right: 3px; position: relative; top: -0.5em; vertical-align: baseline;">15:31</span> Because he has spurned the word of YHWH and violated His commandment, that person shall surely be cut off—he bears his guilt.</blockquote><p style="box-sizing: border-box; font-family: Merriweather, serif; font-size: 17px; line-height: 31px; margin-bottom: 20px; margin-top: 0px;">A person who purposefully sins has reviled YHWH and is punished with excision or “cutting off”—a punishment whose meaning is debated (see below)—with no option for offering a sacrifice and receiving forgiveness.<span class="citation tooltipstered" data-tooltip-content="#footie5" style="box-sizing: border-box; color: firebrick; font-size: 15px; line-height: 0; margin-right: 3px; position: relative; top: -0.5em; unicode-bidi: isolate; vertical-align: baseline;" tooltipster="citation">[5]</span> Thus, this text is in tension with Leviticus 16 and its description of how the rituals of the Day of Atonement atone for all sins. Should these two conceptions be reconciled?</p><h2 style="box-sizing: border-box; clear: both; font-size: 25px; font-weight: 400; line-height: 42px; margin: 14px auto; max-width: 80%; text-align: center;">Blocking the Offender Until Yom Kippur: Jacob Milgrom</h2><p style="box-sizing: border-box; font-family: Merriweather, serif; font-size: 17px; line-height: 31px; margin-bottom: 20px; margin-top: 0px;">Jacob Milgrom (1923–2010) thinks so. He tries to solve this contradiction by arguing that Numbers 15 requires the Israelites to bar premeditated offenders from the Temple, so that he will not be able to offer a sacrifice of atonement. This leaves the sinner exposed and susceptible to being “cut off,” i.e., death and extirpation of the family line at the hands of God (in Milgrom’s understanding).<span class="citation tooltipstered" data-tooltip-content="#footie6" style="box-sizing: border-box; color: firebrick; font-size: 15px; line-height: 0; margin-right: 3px; position: relative; top: -0.5em; unicode-bidi: isolate; vertical-align: baseline;" tooltipster="citation">[6]</span></p><p style="box-sizing: border-box; font-family: Merriweather, serif; font-size: 17px; line-height: 31px; margin-bottom: 20px; margin-top: 0px;">Hope for this individual, however, is not lost. If Yom Kippur arrives before YHWH inflicts the sinner with <em style="box-sizing: border-box;">karet</em>, when the <em style="box-sizing: border-box;">high priest</em> performs rituals of atonement on everyone’s behalf, it will atone for the purposeful sinner as well.<span class="citation tooltipstered" data-tooltip-content="#footie7" style="box-sizing: border-box; color: firebrick; font-size: 15px; line-height: 0; margin-right: 3px; position: relative; top: -0.5em; unicode-bidi: isolate; vertical-align: baseline;" tooltipster="citation">[7]</span></p><h3 style="box-sizing: border-box; font-family: Merriweather, serif; font-size: 21px; font-weight: 400; line-height: 30px; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-top: 20px;">A Forced Reading</h3><p style="box-sizing: border-box; font-family: Merriweather, serif; font-size: 17px; line-height: 31px; margin-bottom: 20px; margin-top: 0px;">Milgrom’s reading of Numbers 15 is forced. The passage says nothing about barring a person from offering a sacrifice. Moreover, the singular and emphatic phrase הִכָּרֵת תִּכָּרֵת הַנֶּפֶשׁ הַהִוא, “that person shall surely be cut off” sounds like a command, i.e., something the Israelites are required to do to the person, not something YHWH is threatening to do himself (and with sufficient leisure that he might not get around to it by Yom Kippur).</p><p style="box-sizing: border-box; font-family: Merriweather, serif; font-size: 17px; line-height: 31px; margin-bottom: 20px; margin-top: 0px;">It is more likely that the clause refers to an obligation on the part of the community to excommunicate the offender, as the Qumran community indeed understood.<span class="citation tooltipstered" data-tooltip-content="#footie8" style="box-sizing: border-box; color: firebrick; font-size: 15px; line-height: 0; margin-right: 3px; position: relative; top: -0.5em; unicode-bidi: isolate; vertical-align: baseline;" tooltipster="citation">[8]</span> As noted by <a href="https://www.thetorah.com/author/baruch-a-levine" style="background-color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0); box-sizing: border-box; color: firebrick; text-decoration-line: none;">Baruch Levine</a> (1930–2021), this is the basic meaning of the phrase: “The penalty originally meant banishment from one’s clan or territory.”<span class="citation tooltipstered" data-tooltip-content="#footie9" style="box-sizing: border-box; color: firebrick; font-size: 15px; line-height: 0; margin-right: 3px; position: relative; top: -0.5em; unicode-bidi: isolate; vertical-align: baseline;" tooltipster="citation">[9]</span> Banishment from membership in the Temple community is a muted form of the death penalty.<span class="citation tooltipstered" data-tooltip-content="#footie10" style="box-sizing: border-box; color: firebrick; font-size: 15px; line-height: 0; margin-right: 3px; position: relative; top: -0.5em; unicode-bidi: isolate; vertical-align: baseline;" tooltipster="citation">[10]</span></p><p style="box-sizing: border-box; font-family: Merriweather, serif; font-size: 17px; line-height: 31px; margin-bottom: 20px; margin-top: 0px;">Lastly, Numbers 15 seems completely oblivious to Yom Kippur’s existence. It fails to consider the possibility of allowing the sinner, or disallowing him, to wait for Yom Kippur and obtain atonement then.</p><p style="box-sizing: border-box; font-family: Merriweather, serif; font-size: 17px; line-height: 31px; margin-bottom: 20px; margin-top: 0px;">Numbers 15:22–31 likely precedes the establishment of Yom Kippur as it now appears in Leviticus 16. Furthermore, the revision of the text of Leviticus 16, making the sporadic purification of the Tabernacle into the yearly atonement ritual of Yom Kippur, might even be taken as a considered rejection of Numbers 15:22–31 and its approach to sin and atonement.<span class="citation tooltipstered" data-tooltip-content="#footie11" style="box-sizing: border-box; color: firebrick; font-size: 15px; line-height: 0; margin-right: 3px; position: relative; top: -0.5em; unicode-bidi: isolate; vertical-align: baseline;" tooltipster="citation">[11]</span></p><p style="box-sizing: border-box; font-family: Merriweather, serif; font-size: 17px; line-height: 31px; margin-bottom: 20px; margin-top: 0px;">In any event, the two texts clearly stand at opposite poles of the theological spectrum on the issue of sin and atonement. According to Numbers 15, all sins committed knowingly are tantamount to flagrant rebellion and are thoroughly unpardonable, while the text in Leviticus 16 offers yearly atonement for every violation. This difference stems from contrasting views of the nature of sin and whether the priestly ritual is meant to achieve סליחה “forgiveness” (Num 15) or כפרה, “atonement” (Lev 16). Let us explain.</p><h2 style="box-sizing: border-box; clear: both; font-size: 25px; font-weight: 400; line-height: 42px; margin: 14px auto; max-width: 80%; text-align: center;">Intentional Sin Is Unacceptable and Unforgivable: Numbers 15</h2><p style="box-sizing: border-box; font-family: Merriweather, serif; font-size: 17px; line-height: 31px; margin-bottom: 20px; margin-top: 0px;">Numbers 15 views “sin” as a personal offense against YHWH,<span class="citation tooltipstered" data-tooltip-content="#footie12" style="box-sizing: border-box; color: firebrick; font-size: 15px; line-height: 0; margin-right: 3px; position: relative; top: -0.5em; unicode-bidi: isolate; vertical-align: baseline;" tooltipster="citation">[12]</span> which is why the text speaks of the need to receive סליחה, “forgiveness” from YHWH (see verses 25–26, 28). Its view is that forgiveness is attainable only if the offense was inadvertent. Individuals who knowingly rebel against any of God’s laws immediately lose their right to life; any intentional sin is thoroughly unacceptable and punished with <em style="box-sizing: border-box;">karet</em>.<span class="citation tooltipstered" data-tooltip-content="#footie13" style="box-sizing: border-box; color: firebrick; font-size: 15px; line-height: 0; margin-right: 3px; position: relative; top: -0.5em; unicode-bidi: isolate; vertical-align: baseline;" tooltipster="citation">[13]</span> This is considerably more severe than the approach found elsewhere in the Torah, where <em style="box-sizing: border-box;">karet</em> is assigned to specific violations that constitute symbols of the covenant as a whole: the failure to perform circumcision (Gen 17:14), observe the Sabbath (Exod 31:14b) or perform the Passover sacrifice at the proper time (Num 9:13).<span class="citation tooltipstered" data-tooltip-content="#footie14" style="box-sizing: border-box; color: firebrick; font-size: 15px; line-height: 0; margin-right: 3px; position: relative; top: -0.5em; unicode-bidi: isolate; vertical-align: baseline;" tooltipster="citation">[14]</span></p><p style="box-sizing: border-box; font-family: Merriweather, serif; font-size: 17px; line-height: 31px; margin-bottom: 20px; margin-top: 0px;">Numbers 15:22–31, however, posits that there can be no hierarchy amongst the commandments since they all derive equally from the divine lawgiver. Numbers 15:22—31 represents an elevation of every single commandment to the level of a symbolic embodiment of the covenant as a whole.</p><p style="box-sizing: border-box; font-family: Merriweather, serif; font-size: 17px; line-height: 31px; margin-bottom: 20px; margin-top: 0px;">This contrasts sharply, however, with the depiction of circumcision in Genesis 17, where the person who refuses to perform circumcision is “cut off” because of breaking God’s covenant:</p><blockquote class="hebQuote" style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; border-left: 5px none rgb(226, 226, 226); box-sizing: border-box; clear: both; direction: rtl; display: inline-block; font-size: 17px; line-height: 31px; margin: 0px 0px 20px; padding: 0px 11px 0px 10px; text-align: right; vertical-align: top; width: 266.391px;"><span style="box-sizing: border-box; font-size: 12.75px; line-height: 0; margin-left: 3px; margin-right: 3px; position: relative; top: -0.5em; vertical-align: baseline;">בראשית יז:יד</span> וְעָרֵל זָכָר אֲשֶׁר לֹא יִמּוֹל אֶת בְּשַׂר עָרְלָתוֹ וְנִכְרְתָה הַנֶּפֶשׁ הַהִוא מֵעַמֶּיהָ אֶת בְּרִיתִי הֵפַר.</blockquote> <blockquote class="enQuote" style="border-left: 5px none rgb(226, 226, 226); box-sizing: border-box; clear: none; direction: ltr; display: inline-block; line-height: 31px; margin: 0px 0px 20px; padding: 0px 30px 0px 11px; vertical-align: top; width: 446.391px;"><span style="box-sizing: border-box; font-size: 11.25px; line-height: 0; margin-left: 3px; margin-right: 3px; position: relative; top: -0.5em; vertical-align: baseline;">Gen 17:14</span> And if any male who is uncircumcised fails to circumcise the flesh of his foreskin, that person shall be cut off from his kin; he has broken My covenant.</blockquote><p style="box-sizing: border-box; font-family: Merriweather, serif; font-size: 17px; line-height: 31px; margin-bottom: 20px; margin-top: 0px;">According to Num 15:31, however, the person who knowingly disobeys <em style="box-sizing: border-box;">any commandment</em> is cut off because, דְבַר יְ־הוָה בָּזָה וְאֶת מִצְוָתוֹ הֵפַר, “he despised my word and broke my commandment.”</p><h3 style="box-sizing: border-box; font-family: Merriweather, serif; font-size: 21px; font-weight: 400; line-height: 30px; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-top: 20px;">Maintaining the Community’s Standing with YHWH</h3><p style="box-sizing: border-box; font-family: Merriweather, serif; font-size: 17px; line-height: 31px; margin-bottom: 20px; margin-top: 0px;">The second part of the formulation וְנִכְרְתָה הַנֶּפֶשׁ הַהִוא מִקֶּרֶב עַמָּהּ, “that person shall be cut off from his people” (v. 30) is crucial: It shows a concern with the wholeness of the community. The sinner must be removed <em style="box-sizing: border-box;">from the society in which he lives</em>. This reflects not only a concern with the implementation of justice, but also with maintaining the purity and well-being of the community.</p><p style="box-sizing: border-box; font-family: Merriweather, serif; font-size: 17px; line-height: 31px; margin-bottom: 20px; margin-top: 0px;">To maintain its good standing with God, and protect itself from misfortune, the community must root out the sinful individuals from its midst. This leaves a limited role to rituals meant to obtain divine forgiveness, which are only available to the inadvertent sinners.<span class="citation tooltipstered" data-tooltip-content="#footie15" style="box-sizing: border-box; color: firebrick; font-size: 15px; line-height: 0; margin-right: 3px; position: relative; top: -0.5em; unicode-bidi: isolate; vertical-align: baseline;" tooltipster="citation">[15]</span></p><h2 style="box-sizing: border-box; clear: both; font-size: 25px; font-weight: 400; line-height: 42px; margin: 14px auto; max-width: 80%; text-align: center;">Intentional Sin Is Inevitable but Must Be Atoned For: Leviticus 16</h2><p style="box-sizing: border-box; font-family: Merriweather, serif; font-size: 17px; line-height: 31px; margin-bottom: 20px; margin-top: 0px;">The theology of Leviticus 16 stands in marked contrast to this. Its view of sin is closer to that expressed in Ecclesiastes:</p><blockquote class="hebQuote" style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; border-left: 5px none rgb(226, 226, 226); box-sizing: border-box; clear: both; direction: rtl; display: inline-block; font-size: 17px; line-height: 31px; margin: 0px 0px 20px; padding: 0px 11px 0px 10px; text-align: right; vertical-align: top; width: 266.391px;"><span style="box-sizing: border-box; font-size: 12.75px; line-height: 0; margin-left: 3px; margin-right: 3px; position: relative; top: -0.5em; vertical-align: baseline;">קהלת ז:כ</span> כִּי אָדָם אֵין צַדִּיק בָּאָרֶץ אֲשֶׁר יַעֲשֶׂה טּוֹב וְלֹא יֶחֱטָא.</blockquote> <blockquote class="enQuote" style="border-left: 5px none rgb(226, 226, 226); box-sizing: border-box; clear: none; direction: ltr; display: inline-block; line-height: 31px; margin: 0px 0px 20px; padding: 0px 30px 0px 11px; vertical-align: top; width: 446.391px;"><span style="box-sizing: border-box; font-size: 11.25px; line-height: 0; margin-left: 3px; margin-right: 3px; position: relative; top: -0.5em; vertical-align: baseline;">Eccl 7:20</span> Surely there is no one on earth so righteous as to do good without ever sinning.</blockquote><p style="box-sizing: border-box; font-family: Merriweather, serif; font-size: 17px; line-height: 31px; margin-bottom: 20px; margin-top: 0px;">Everyone sins at least once in a while, and not merely unwittingly!<span class="citation tooltipstered" data-tooltip-content="#footie16" style="box-sizing: border-box; color: firebrick; font-size: 15px; line-height: 0; margin-right: 3px; position: relative; top: -0.5em; unicode-bidi: isolate; vertical-align: baseline;" tooltipster="citation">[16]</span> Even the high priest must obtain atonement for himself and his household before he can provide atonement for others (cf. vv. 6, 11, 17). And what is true of each individual is also true of Israel as a collective unit.</p><h3 style="box-sizing: border-box; font-family: Merriweather, serif; font-size: 21px; font-weight: 400; line-height: 30px; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-top: 20px;">Sin and Impurity</h3><p style="box-sizing: border-box; font-family: Merriweather, serif; font-size: 17px; line-height: 31px; margin-bottom: 20px; margin-top: 0px;">Leviticus 16 views rebellious sin as inevitable. This is indicated by its presentation side-by-side of sinful disobedience with physical impurities:</p><blockquote class="hebQuote" style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; border-left: 5px none rgb(226, 226, 226); box-sizing: border-box; clear: both; direction: rtl; display: inline-block; font-size: 17px; line-height: 31px; margin: 0px 0px 20px; padding: 0px 11px 0px 10px; text-align: right; vertical-align: top; width: 266.391px;"><span style="box-sizing: border-box; font-size: 12.75px; line-height: 0; margin-left: 3px; margin-right: 3px; position: relative; top: -0.5em; vertical-align: baseline;">ויקרא טז:יז</span> וְכִפֶּר עַל הַקֹּדֶשׁ מִטֻּמְאֹת בְּנֵי יִשְׂרָאֵל וּמִפִּשְׁעֵיהֶם לְכָל חַטֹּאתָם וְכֵן יַעֲשֶׂה לְאֹהֶל מוֹעֵד הַשֹּׁכֵן אִתָּם בְּתוֹךְ טֻמְאֹתָם.</blockquote> <blockquote class="enQuote" style="border-left: 5px none rgb(226, 226, 226); box-sizing: border-box; clear: none; direction: ltr; display: inline-block; line-height: 31px; margin: 0px 0px 20px; padding: 0px 30px 0px 11px; vertical-align: top; width: 446.391px;"><span style="box-sizing: border-box; font-size: 11.25px; line-height: 0; margin-left: 3px; margin-right: 3px; position: relative; top: -0.5em; vertical-align: baseline;">Lev 16:16</span> In this way he will make atonement for the Most Holy Place because of the uncleanness and rebellion of the Israelites, whatever their sins have been. He is to do the same for the tent of meeting, which is among them in the midst of their uncleanness.</blockquote><p style="box-sizing: border-box; font-family: Merriweather, serif; font-size: 17px; line-height: 31px; margin-bottom: 20px; margin-top: 0px;">Most impurities, such as those that come from contact with the dead, childbirth, genital emissions, etc. are impossible to avoid. They are part and parcel of the cycle of life. The implication of verse 16 is that the same is true of intentional sin—it is part and parcel of the yearly cycle of life.</p><h3 style="box-sizing: border-box; font-family: Merriweather, serif; font-size: 21px; font-weight: 400; line-height: 30px; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-top: 20px;">Not a Matter of Repentance or Remorse</h3><p style="box-sizing: border-box; font-family: Merriweather, serif; font-size: 17px; line-height: 31px; margin-bottom: 20px; margin-top: 0px;">The understanding of sin that underlies Leviticus 16 explains why the biblical Yom Kippur includes no <em style="box-sizing: border-box;">teshuvah</em> “repentance” pronouncement of the kind formulated by Moses Maimonides: :ולעולם איני חוזר לדבר זה “I will never do it again.”<span class="citation tooltipstered" data-tooltip-content="#footie17" style="box-sizing: border-box; color: firebrick; font-size: 15px; line-height: 0; margin-right: 3px; position: relative; top: -0.5em; unicode-bidi: isolate; vertical-align: baseline;" tooltipster="citation">[17]</span> The implicit assumption of Leviticus 16 is that sinners will repeat their sins. That is why Yom Kippur will return the following year to remove the sins one more time!</p><p style="box-sizing: border-box; font-family: Merriweather, serif; font-size: 17px; line-height: 31px; margin-bottom: 20px; margin-top: 0px;">For this reason, furthermore, Leviticus 16 says nothing about either sorrowful remorse or divine forgiveness. It is difficult to be deeply remorseful over sinful behavior, or overly offended by others who rebel, when sinful behavior is understood as natural and inevitable. This, in turn, implies something fundamental about humanity. Leviticus 16 would concur with the verdict of Jeremiah</p><blockquote class="hebQuote" style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; border-left: 5px none rgb(226, 226, 226); box-sizing: border-box; clear: both; direction: rtl; display: inline-block; font-size: 17px; line-height: 31px; margin: 0px 0px 20px; padding: 0px 11px 0px 10px; text-align: right; vertical-align: top; width: 266.391px;"><span style="box-sizing: border-box; font-size: 12.75px; line-height: 0; margin-left: 3px; margin-right: 3px; position: relative; top: -0.5em; vertical-align: baseline;">ירמיה יז:ט</span> עָקֹב הַלֵּב מִכֹּל וְאָנֻשׁ הוּא מִי יֵדָעֶנּוּ.</blockquote> <blockquote class="enQuote" style="border-left: 5px none rgb(226, 226, 226); box-sizing: border-box; clear: none; direction: ltr; display: inline-block; line-height: 31px; margin: 0px 0px 20px; padding: 0px 30px 0px 11px; vertical-align: top; width: 446.391px;"><span style="box-sizing: border-box; font-size: 11.25px; line-height: 0; margin-left: 3px; margin-right: 3px; position: relative; top: -0.5em; vertical-align: baseline;">Jer 17:9</span> The heart is deceitful above all things and beyond cure. Who can understand it?<span class="citation tooltipstered" data-tooltip-content="#footie18" style="box-sizing: border-box; color: firebrick; line-height: 0; margin-left: 3px; margin-right: 3px; position: relative; top: -0.5em; unicode-bidi: isolate; vertical-align: baseline;" tooltipster="citation">[18]</span></blockquote><p style="box-sizing: border-box; font-family: Merriweather, serif; font-size: 17px; line-height: 31px; margin-bottom: 20px; margin-top: 0px;">Since individuals will sin repeatedly, endangering their own lives and the well-being of the community, a system is needed that will deal with the problem on a recurring basis and <em style="box-sizing: border-box;">for all time</em> (v. 31: חוקת עולם). This is the basis of the legislation for Yom Kippur in Leviticus 16: sins are expelled instead of sinners, and the entire community gets a clean slate.</p><p style="box-sizing: border-box; font-family: Merriweather, serif; font-size: 17px; line-height: 31px; margin-bottom: 20px; margin-top: 0px;">From the perspective of Leviticus 16, Numbers 15 is overly exacting, utopian, and impossible to live by. The demand to continuously remove each and every intentional sinner from the collective (alongside the demand that each inadvertent sinner make atonement for each and every inadvertent sin) in order to maintain a pristine and secure community of the Godly ignores the realities of human nature and threatens to degenerate into an oppressive and divisive society.</p><h3 style="box-sizing: border-box; font-family: Merriweather, serif; font-size: 21px; font-weight: 400; line-height: 30px; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-top: 20px;">Atonement not Forgiveness</h3><p style="box-sizing: border-box; font-family: Merriweather, serif; font-size: 17px; line-height: 31px; margin-bottom: 20px; margin-top: 0px;">This is why Leviticus 16 says nothing about סליחה, “personal forgiveness” and speaks only about כפרה, “atonement.”<span class="citation tooltipstered" data-tooltip-content="#footie19" style="box-sizing: border-box; color: firebrick; font-size: 15px; line-height: 0; margin-right: 3px; position: relative; top: -0.5em; unicode-bidi: isolate; vertical-align: baseline;" tooltipster="citation">[19]</span> The text appears less concerned with achieving a reconciliation between God and Israel on the interpersonal level than with cleansing YHWH’s earthly abode and its surrounding human environment.<span class="citation tooltipstered" data-tooltip-content="#footie20" style="box-sizing: border-box; color: firebrick; font-size: 15px; line-height: 0; margin-right: 3px; position: relative; top: -0.5em; unicode-bidi: isolate; vertical-align: baseline;" tooltipster="citation">[20]</span></p><p style="box-sizing: border-box; font-family: Merriweather, serif; font-size: 17px; line-height: 31px; margin-bottom: 20px; margin-top: 0px;">In Leviticus 16, the priest recites the sins of the people while placing his hands on the head of the scapegoat, thereby loading the sins onto the scapegoat. The goat is then forever sent away from YHWH and the people (vv. 21–22).<span class="citation tooltipstered" data-tooltip-content="#footie21" style="box-sizing: border-box; color: firebrick; font-size: 15px; line-height: 0; margin-right: 3px; position: relative; top: -0.5em; unicode-bidi: isolate; vertical-align: baseline;" tooltipster="citation">[21]</span></p><p style="box-sizing: border-box; font-family: Merriweather, serif; font-size: 17px; line-height: 31px; margin-bottom: 20px; margin-top: 0px;">Underlying this ritual is an understanding that sinful acts create a kind of toxic waste that clings to the sinners as well as to the sanctuary and its vessels, the place where God’s presence abides.<span class="citation tooltipstered" data-tooltip-content="#footie22" style="box-sizing: border-box; color: firebrick; font-size: 15px; line-height: 0; margin-right: 3px; position: relative; top: -0.5em; unicode-bidi: isolate; vertical-align: baseline;" tooltipster="citation">[22]</span> The accumulation of sin, like that of physical impurity, could potentially elicit divine wrath, ending either in God’s complete abandonment of his earthly abode, or in a lethal strike against the source of the noxious toxicity—the people living in YHWH’s domain, where YHWH’s sanctuary is found.</p><p style="box-sizing: border-box; font-family: Merriweather, serif; font-size: 17px; line-height: 31px; margin-bottom: 20px; margin-top: 0px;">The biblical God can often hold an entire community accountable for the offenses of lone individuals.<span class="citation tooltipstered" data-tooltip-content="#footie23" style="box-sizing: border-box; color: firebrick; font-size: 15px; line-height: 0; margin-right: 3px; position: relative; top: -0.5em; unicode-bidi: isolate; vertical-align: baseline;" tooltipster="citation">[23]</span> Yom Kippur’s “atonement” thus preempts the unleashing of divine retribution on the community by removing the sins and impurities from the sanctuary, and from the people at large, once a year. It makes little sense to exclude severe sins from this atonement/sin-removal, since these are the sins that pose the greatest threat to the community!</p><p style="box-sizing: border-box; font-family: Merriweather, serif; font-size: 17px; line-height: 31px; margin-bottom: 20px; margin-top: 0px;">The lack of interest in the rehabilitation of the personal bond of trust between God and the people in Leviticus 16 accords with the failure to require of the people dramatic displays or verbal expressions of serious remorse—the main features of the rabbinic Yom Kippur. Overt expressions of remorse are appropriate when attempting to pacify or woo an offended party. They are largely irrelevant to the mechanics of atonement, whose positive effects are assured from the outset.<span class="citation tooltipstered" data-tooltip-content="#footie24" style="box-sizing: border-box; color: firebrick; font-size: 15px; line-height: 0; margin-right: 3px; position: relative; top: -0.5em; unicode-bidi: isolate; vertical-align: baseline;" tooltipster="citation">[24]</span></p><h2 style="box-sizing: border-box; clear: both; font-size: 25px; font-weight: 400; line-height: 42px; margin: 14px auto; max-width: 80%; text-align: center;">Two Communities in the Persian Period</h2><p style="box-sizing: border-box; font-family: Merriweather, serif; font-size: 17px; line-height: 31px; margin-bottom: 20px; margin-top: 0px;">Scholars have noted that the Persian period gave rise to two antithetical approaches to peoplehood within the restoration community. One approach was open and strongly inclusive while the other was closed and highly exclusivist.<span class="citation tooltipstered" data-tooltip-content="#footie25" style="box-sizing: border-box; color: firebrick; font-size: 15px; line-height: 0; margin-right: 3px; position: relative; top: -0.5em; unicode-bidi: isolate; vertical-align: baseline;" tooltipster="citation">[25]</span> I would suggest that the tension between Numbers 15 and Leviticus 16 broadly fits this framework.</p><p style="box-sizing: border-box; font-family: Merriweather, serif; font-size: 17px; line-height: 31px; margin-bottom: 20px; margin-top: 0px;">Numbers 15 represents an elitist approach which, in its attempt to maintain constant purity, is isolationist, exclusionary, perhaps even proto-sectarian. Yom Kippur as reflected in Leviticus 16, in contrast, represents a moderate, tolerant and inclusive approach. No one is excluded from the community of Israel. Since absolute purity cannot be maintained on a constant basis, it is achieved once a year, every year, allowing the broader community as a whole to carry on.</p><h5 style="align-items: center; border-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); border-width: 1px; box-sizing: border-box; display: flex; font-size: 15px; justify-content: center; line-height: 37px; margin: 45px auto 10px; max-width: 80%; text-align: center;">Postscript</h5><h2 style="box-sizing: border-box; clear: both; font-size: 25px; font-weight: 400; line-height: 42px; margin: 14px auto; max-width: 80%; text-align: center;">The Development of Yom Kippur: Mediating Between the Two Approaches</h2><p style="box-sizing: border-box; font-family: Merriweather, serif; font-size: 17px; line-height: 31px; margin-bottom: 20px; margin-top: 0px;">It is important to note that the Yom Kippur that developed in the late Second Temple and rabbinic periods does not reflect the extremely liberal approach of Leviticus 16. Rather, various early interpreters insisted that the Yom Kippur atonement was restricted or limited in significant ways.</p><p style="box-sizing: border-box; font-family: Merriweather, serif; font-size: 17px; line-height: 31px; margin-bottom: 20px; margin-top: 0px;">According to the book of Jubilees, Yom Kippur would not atone for those who sinned with full knowledge and intent:</p><p style="box-sizing: border-box; font-family: Merriweather, serif; font-size: 17px; line-height: 31px; margin-bottom: 20px; margin-top: 0px; padding-left: 40px;"><span style="box-sizing: border-box; font-size: 12.75px; line-height: 0; margin-right: 3px; position: relative; top: -0.5em; vertical-align: baseline;">Jub 5:18</span> It has been written and ordained that he will have mercy on all who turn from all their errors once each year.</p><p style="box-sizing: border-box; font-family: Merriweather, serif; font-size: 17px; line-height: 31px; margin-bottom: 20px; margin-top: 0px; padding-left: 40px;"><span style="box-sizing: border-box; font-size: 12.75px; line-height: 0; margin-right: 3px; position: relative; top: -0.5em; vertical-align: baseline;">Jub 34:19</span> This day has been ordained so that they may be saddened on it for their sins, all their transgressions, and all their errors; so that they may purify themselves on this day once a year.<span class="citation tooltipstered" data-tooltip-content="#footie26" style="box-sizing: border-box; color: firebrick; font-size: 15px; line-height: 0; margin-right: 3px; position: relative; top: -0.5em; unicode-bidi: isolate; vertical-align: baseline;" tooltipster="citation">[26]</span></p><p style="box-sizing: border-box; font-family: Merriweather, serif; font-size: 17px; line-height: 31px; margin-bottom: 20px; margin-top: 0px;">Similarly, the rabbis emphasize the importance of repentance. Thus, they state that Yom Kippur cannot atone for sins committed against another person, unless that person has granted forgiveness:</p><blockquote class="hebQuote" style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; border-left: 5px none rgb(226, 226, 226); box-sizing: border-box; clear: both; direction: rtl; display: inline-block; font-size: 17px; line-height: 31px; margin: 0px 0px 20px; padding: 0px 11px 0px 10px; text-align: right; vertical-align: top; width: 266.391px;"><span style="box-sizing: border-box; font-size: 12.75px; line-height: 0; margin-left: 3px; margin-right: 3px; position: relative; top: -0.5em; vertical-align: baseline;">משנה יומא ח:ט</span> עֲבֵירוֹת שֶׁבֵּין אָדָם לַמָּקוֹם, יוֹם הַכִּיפּוּרִים מְכַפֵּר, וְשֶׁבֵּין אָדָם לַחֲבֵירוֹ, אֵין יוֹם הַכִּיפּוּרִים מְכַפֵּר, עַד שֶׁיְּרַצֶּה אֶת חֲבֵירוֹ.</blockquote> <blockquote class="enQuote" style="border-left: 5px none rgb(226, 226, 226); box-sizing: border-box; clear: none; direction: ltr; display: inline-block; line-height: 31px; margin: 0px 0px 20px; padding: 0px 30px 0px 11px; vertical-align: top; width: 446.391px;"><span style="box-sizing: border-box; font-size: 11.25px; line-height: 0; margin-left: 3px; margin-right: 3px; position: relative; top: -0.5em; vertical-align: baseline;">m. Yoma 8:9</span> Since between a man and God, Yom Kippur can atone for. Interpersonal sins, Yom Kippur cannot atone for, until the offended party has been pacified.</blockquote><p style="box-sizing: border-box; font-family: Merriweather, serif; font-size: 17px; line-height: 31px; margin-bottom: 20px; margin-top: 0px;">Notably, Rabbi Elazar ben Azariah goes on to prove this midrashically from Leviticus 16:30 that states that they are cleansed of their sins לִפְנֵי יְיָ “before God,” showing how extensively the rabbis reread this text. Moreover, the rabbis state that the Yom Kippur cannot atone for people who do not repent in earnest:</p><blockquote class="hebQuote" style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; border-left: 5px none rgb(226, 226, 226); box-sizing: border-box; clear: both; direction: rtl; display: inline-block; font-size: 17px; line-height: 31px; margin: 0px 0px 20px; padding: 0px 11px 0px 10px; text-align: right; vertical-align: top; width: 266.391px;"><span style="box-sizing: border-box; font-size: 12.75px; line-height: 0; margin-left: 3px; margin-right: 3px; position: relative; top: -0.5em; vertical-align: baseline;">תוספתא יומא ד:ט</span> חטאת ואשם ומיתה ויום הכפורים כולן אין מכפרין אלא עם התשובה, שנ׳ אך בעשור וגו׳, אם שב מתכפר לו, ואם לאו, אין מתכפר לו,</blockquote> <blockquote class="enQuote" style="border-left: 5px none rgb(226, 226, 226); box-sizing: border-box; clear: none; direction: ltr; display: inline-block; line-height: 31px; margin: 0px 0px 20px; padding: 0px 30px 0px 11px; vertical-align: top; width: 446.391px;"><span style="box-sizing: border-box; font-size: 11.25px; line-height: 0; margin-left: 3px; margin-right: 3px; position: relative; top: -0.5em; vertical-align: baseline;">t.Yoma 4:9</span> The sin offering, the guilt offering, death, and Yom Kippur—all of them only atone if a person has repented, as it says (Lev 23:27): “But on the tenth…”—if he repents, it atones for him, if not, it does not atone for him.</blockquote> <blockquote class="hebQuote" style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; border-left: 5px none rgb(226, 226, 226); box-sizing: border-box; clear: both; direction: rtl; display: inline-block; font-size: 17px; line-height: 31px; margin: 0px 0px 20px; padding: 0px 11px 0px 10px; text-align: right; vertical-align: top; width: 266.391px;">ור׳ לעזר אומ[ר] ונקה, מנקה הוא לשבים, ואין מנקה לשאין שבים.</blockquote> <blockquote class="enQuote" style="border-left: 5px none rgb(226, 226, 226); box-sizing: border-box; clear: none; direction: ltr; display: inline-block; line-height: 31px; margin: 0px 0px 20px; padding: 0px 30px 0px 11px; vertical-align: top; width: 446.391px;">Rabbi Lazar says: “‘And he wipes clean’ (Exod 34:7)<span class="citation tooltipstered" data-tooltip-content="#footie27" style="box-sizing: border-box; color: firebrick; line-height: 0; margin-left: 3px; margin-right: 3px; position: relative; top: -0.5em; unicode-bidi: isolate; vertical-align: baseline;" tooltipster="citation">[27]</span>—[God] wipes clean the slate for those who repent, but he does not wipe the slate clean for those who do not repent.</blockquote><p style="box-sizing: border-box; font-family: Merriweather, serif; font-size: 17px; line-height: 31px; margin-bottom: 20px; margin-top: 0px;">The medieval sage Moses Maimonides (1138–1204) ruled that Yom Kippur did not fully atone for sins that were particularly severe: those subject to the <em style="box-sizing: border-box;">karet</em> penalty (“death from heaven” in rabbinic interpretation), death by the courts, or those that involved the desecration of the name of heaven.<span class="citation tooltipstered" data-tooltip-content="#footie28" style="box-sizing: border-box; color: firebrick; font-size: 15px; line-height: 0; margin-right: 3px; position: relative; top: -0.5em; unicode-bidi: isolate; vertical-align: baseline;" tooltipster="citation">[28]</span></p><h2 style="box-sizing: border-box; clear: both; font-size: 25px; font-weight: 400; line-height: 42px; margin: 14px auto; max-width: 80%; text-align: center;">Numbers 15 and Leviticus 16: Mutually Corrective</h2><p style="box-sizing: border-box; font-family: Merriweather, serif; font-size: 17px; line-height: 31px; margin-bottom: 20px; margin-top: 0px;">What we see in the development of Yom Kippur in the Jewish tradition is how the contradictory viewpoints of Numbers 15 and Leviticus 16 serve as correctives to each other.</p><p style="box-sizing: border-box; font-family: Merriweather, serif; font-size: 17px; line-height: 31px; margin-bottom: 20px; margin-top: 0px;">Leviticus 16’s near-automatic, yearly, cancellation of individual and national sins threatens to undermine any real and painful confrontation with serious failures that demand attention of the most serious kind. As a corrective to this, Numbers 15 reminds us that intentional sin is unacceptable, and that even unintentional sins must be dealt with carefully, on a one-by-one basis.</p><p style="box-sizing: border-box; font-family: Merriweather, serif; font-size: 17px; line-height: 31px; margin-bottom: 20px; margin-top: 0px;">On the other hand, Numbers 15’s severity threatens to lead to dangerously negative sentiments, such as despair or self-hatred on both the personal and national levels. And it also threatens to develop into communal intolerance and heated fragmentation.</p><p style="box-sizing: border-box; font-family: Merriweather, serif; font-size: 17px; line-height: 31px; margin-bottom: 20px; margin-top: 0px;">As a corrective to this, Leviticus 16 reminds us that as unacceptable as sins and wrongdoings truly are, we are flawed and wanting like everyone else, for iniquity is part of the human condition. This should not be taken as a free pass, but it should help us to temper unrealistic expectations of ourselves, our people, and the other individuals and groups within and around us.</p><p style="box-sizing: border-box; font-family: Merriweather, serif; font-size: 17px; line-height: 31px; margin-bottom: 20px; margin-top: 0px;">May we succeed this Yom Kippur in striking this balance.</p></div></div><div class="footnote-box" style="box-sizing: border-box;"><a class="link-block-13 w-inline-block w--open" href="https://www.thetorah.com/article/does-an-intentional-sinner-attain-atonement#" id="footnotesbtn" style="background-color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0); box-sizing: border-box; display: inline-block; max-width: 100%; padding-bottom: 20px; padding-top: 20px; text-decoration-line: none;"><div class="text-block-5" style="box-sizing: border-box; color: var(--firebrick); display: inline-block; font-size: 20px; margin-right: 10px;">View Footnotes</div><img alt="" class="aarow" height="false" src="https://assets-global.website-files.com/5ae955c619474e17d10c9e62/5b8fb536d4c0b68192bf9ad7_red_arrow.svg" style="border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; display: inline-block; height: 25px; margin-bottom: -10px; margin-top: -10px; max-height: 500px; max-width: 9%; padding-top: 6px; position: relative; top: -4px; transform: rotateZ(90deg); transition: all 0.2s ease 0s; vertical-align: middle; width: 7px;" width="false" /></a><div class="foonote-body" id="footnoteBody" style="box-sizing: border-box;"><div class="date-wrao" print="true" style="box-sizing: border-box;"><p class="small-sorce space" style="box-sizing: border-box; color: var(--grey); direction: rtl; display: inline-block; font-family: "Sbl hebrew", sans-serif; font-size: 14px; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-right: 6px; margin-top: 0px;">Published</p><p class="small-sorce space-more" style="box-sizing: border-box; color: var(--grey); direction: rtl; display: inline-block; font-family: "Sbl hebrew", sans-serif; font-size: 14px; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-right: 20px; margin-top: 0px;">October 4, 2022</p><p class="small-sorce space-both" style="box-sizing: border-box; color: var(--grey); direction: rtl; display: inline-block; font-family: "Sbl hebrew", sans-serif; font-size: 14px; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-right: 15px; margin-top: 0px;">|</p><p class="small-sorce space" style="box-sizing: border-box; color: var(--grey); direction: rtl; display: inline-block; font-family: "Sbl hebrew", sans-serif; font-size: 14px; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-right: 6px; margin-top: 0px;">Last Updated</p><p class="small-sorce space" style="box-sizing: border-box; color: var(--grey); direction: rtl; display: inline-block; font-family: "Sbl hebrew", sans-serif; font-size: 14px; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-right: 6px; margin-top: 0px;">October 24, 2023</p></div><div class="footnotes w-richtext" id="footnotes-show" print="true" style="box-sizing: border-box; line-height: 2;"><ol style="box-sizing: border-box; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-top: 0px; overflow: hidden; padding-left: 40px;"><p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-top: 0px;"></p><li class="footnote-item" style="box-sizing: border-box; clear: both; direction: ltr; list-style: firebrick; margin-bottom: 0px;">The verb <em style="box-sizing: border-box;">pasha</em> is used as synonymous with political rebellion, i.e., a people rebelling against a king or violating their loyalty oath to said king in 1 Kings 12:19 (Israel’s rebellion against Rehoboam); 2 Kings 1:1 (King Mesha of Moab’s rebellion against Joram), and 2 Kings 8:20 (Edom’s rebellion against Joram).<p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-top: 0px;"></p></li><p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-top: 0px;"></p><li class="footnote-item" style="box-sizing: border-box; clear: both; direction: ltr; list-style: firebrick; margin-bottom: 0px;">Thus, according to Ps 51:5, the sinner is aware of his specific <em style="box-sizing: border-box;">pesha</em>, and, in Ps 32:5, he spells it out to God. In Micah 6:7 the Israelites consider the possibility of offering their firstborns in sacrifice to atone for their <em style="box-sizing: border-box;">peshaim</em>, which could hardly refer to misdemeanors.<p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-top: 0px;"></p></li><p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-top: 0px;"></p><li class="footnote-item" style="box-sizing: border-box; clear: both; direction: ltr; list-style: firebrick; margin-bottom: 0px;">To be sure, the people are required on Yom Kippur to refrain from work and “afflict themselves.” But the import of this should not be overstated. What is required of the people is not, as Maimonides claimed with regard to repentance (<em style="box-sizing: border-box;">Mishneh Torah</em>, <em style="box-sizing: border-box;">Book of</em> <em style="box-sizing: border-box;">Mada</em>, “Laws of Repentance” 2:2), an expression of remorse over specific violations and a pledge to desist from them now and in the future, but only a general gesture of silent submission to God; see David A. Lambert, <em style="box-sizing: border-box;">How Repentance Became Biblical: Judaism, Christianity, and the Interpretation of Scripture</em> (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2015), 28–30. Nor does the text lay down further prerequisites for atonement beyond this very basic and vague expectation.<p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-top: 0px;"></p></li><p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-top: 0px;"></p><li class="footnote-item" style="box-sizing: border-box; clear: both; direction: ltr; list-style: firebrick; margin-bottom: 0px;">The text reads:<p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-top: 0px;"></p></li><blockquote class="hebQuote" style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; border-left: 5px none rgb(226, 226, 226); box-sizing: border-box; clear: both; direction: rtl; display: inline-block; font-size: 17px; line-height: 29px; margin: 0px 0px 20px; padding: 10px 11px 0px 10px; text-align: right; vertical-align: top; width: 251.594px;"><span style="box-sizing: border-box; font-size: 12.75px; line-height: 0; margin-left: 3px; position: relative; top: -0.5em; vertical-align: baseline;">במדבר טו:כד</span> וְהָיָה אִם מֵעֵינֵי הָעֵדָה נֶעֶשְׂתָה לִשְׁגָגָה וְעָשׂוּ כָל הָעֵדָה פַּר בֶּן בָּקָר אֶחָד לְעֹלָה לְרֵיחַ נִיחֹחַ לַיהוָה וּמִנְחָתוֹ וְנִסְכּוֹ כַּמִּשְׁפָּט וּשְׂעִיר עִזִּים אֶחָד לְחַטָּת.</blockquote> <blockquote class="enQuote" style="border-left: 5px none rgb(226, 226, 226); box-sizing: border-box; clear: none; direction: ltr; display: inline-block; line-height: 29px; margin: 0px 0px 20px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px !important; padding-right: 30px; padding-top: 10px; padding: 10px 30px 0px 0px; vertical-align: top; width: 421.594px;"><span style="box-sizing: border-box; font-size: 11.25px; line-height: 0; margin-left: 3px; position: relative; top: -0.5em; vertical-align: baseline;">Num 15:24</span> If this was done unwittingly, through the inadvertence of the community, the whole community shall present one bull of the herd as a burnt offering of pleasing odor to YHWH, with its proper meal offering and libation, and one he-goat as a sin offering.</blockquote> <blockquote class="hebQuote" style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; border-left: 5px none rgb(226, 226, 226); box-sizing: border-box; clear: both; direction: rtl; display: inline-block; font-size: 17px; line-height: 29px; margin: 0px 0px 20px; padding: 10px 11px 0px 10px; text-align: right; vertical-align: top; width: 251.594px;"><span style="box-sizing: border-box; font-size: 12.75px; line-height: 0; margin-left: 3px; position: relative; top: -0.5em; vertical-align: baseline;">במדבר טו:כה</span> וְכִפֶּר הַכֹּהֵן עַל כָּל עֲדַת בְּנֵי יִשְׂרָאֵל וְנִסְלַח לָהֶם כִּי שְׁגָגָה הִוא וְהֵם הֵבִיאוּ אֶת קָרְבָּנָם אִשֶּׁה לַי־הוָה וְחַטָּאתָם לִפְנֵי יְ־הוָה עַל שִׁגְגָתָם. <span style="box-sizing: border-box; font-size: 12.75px; line-height: 0; margin-left: 3px; position: relative; top: -0.5em; vertical-align: baseline;">טו:כו</span> וְנִסְלַח לְכָל עֲדַת בְּנֵי יִשְׂרָאֵל וְלַגֵּר הַגָּר בְּתוֹכָם כִּי לְכָל הָעָם בִּשְׁגָגָה.</blockquote> <blockquote class="enQuote" style="border-left: 5px none rgb(226, 226, 226); box-sizing: border-box; clear: none; direction: ltr; display: inline-block; line-height: 29px; margin: 0px 0px 20px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px !important; padding-right: 30px; padding-top: 10px; padding: 10px 30px 0px 0px; vertical-align: top; width: 421.594px;"><span style="box-sizing: border-box; font-size: 11.25px; line-height: 0; margin-left: 3px; position: relative; top: -0.5em; vertical-align: baseline;">Num 15:25</span> The priest shall make expiation for the whole Israelite community and they shall be forgiven; for it was an error, and for their error they have brought their offering, a gift offering to YHWH and their sin offering before YHWH. <span style="box-sizing: border-box; font-size: 11.25px; line-height: 0; margin-left: 3px; position: relative; top: -0.5em; vertical-align: baseline;">15:26</span> The whole Israelite community and the stranger residing among them shall be forgiven, for it happened to the entire people through error.</blockquote><p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-top: 0px;"></p><li class="footnote-item" style="box-sizing: border-box; clear: both; direction: ltr; list-style: firebrick; margin-bottom: 0px;">This view of exculpatory sacrifices appears in Leviticus 4–5 as well, where the <em style="box-sizing: border-box;">chatat</em> (sin offering) and <em style="box-sizing: border-box;">asham</em> (guilt offering) are described as being for unintentional sins. Editor’s note: For more on these sacrifices, see James W. Watts, <a href="https://www.thetorah.com/article/leviticus-rhetorical-presentation-of-the-sin-and-guilt-offerings" style="background-color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0); box-sizing: border-box; color: firebrick; text-decoration-line: none;">“Leviticus’ Rhetorical Presentation of the Sin and Guilt Offerings,”</a> <em style="box-sizing: border-box;">TheTorah</em> (2019).<p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-top: 0px;"></p></li><p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-top: 0px;"></p><li class="footnote-item" style="box-sizing: border-box; clear: both; direction: ltr; list-style: firebrick; margin-bottom: 0px;">For Milgrom’s understanding of <em style="box-sizing: border-box;">karet</em> see Jacob Milgrom, <em style="box-sizing: border-box;">Numbers</em>, The JPS Torah Commentary (Philadelphia: JPS, 2004), 405–408.<p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-top: 0px;"></p></li><p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-top: 0px;"></p><li class="footnote-item" style="box-sizing: border-box; clear: both; direction: ltr; list-style: firebrick; margin-bottom: 0px;">For his attempt to synthesize various Priestly texts on atonement within a single, coherent system see Jacob Milgrom, “The Priestly Doctrine of Repentance,” <em style="box-sizing: border-box;">RB</em> 82 (1975): 186–205. Milgrom suggests that the <em style="box-sizing: border-box;">karet</em> of Numbers 15:30–31 refers only to intentional sins <em style="box-sizing: border-box;">committed in public,</em> as a brazen and provocative display of rebellion and maintains that the case of Leviticus 5:20–26 supports this analysis. This text concerns a person who misappropriates another person’s property and lies about it in court under oath. Such a person, the text tells us, may step forward at any time, confess his act of theft, compensate the offended neighbor, and offer an <em style="box-sizing: border-box;">asham</em> sacrifice to God for his sin of perjury. Though his perjury is premediated, he is not barred from the sanctuary and subject to <em style="box-sizing: border-box;">karet</em> as ostensibly required by Numbers 15:30-31, because swearing falsely is not visibly sinful at the time that it is done. The perjurer’s decision to come clean and confess his intentional sin (cf. Numbers 5:5–8) converts it into an unintentional one, which can then be rectified through the presentation of a personal <em style="box-sizing: border-box;">asham </em>before the arrival of Yom Kippur. But the Numbers text makes no reference to a distinction between intentional sins done in public and intentional sins done in private, and this distinction should not be superimposed on it. Furthermore, the idea that confession transmutes an intentional sin into an inadvertent one is never expressed in any biblical text.; Milgrom has invented it to harmonize these two texts.<p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-top: 0px;"></p></li><p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-top: 0px;"></p><li class="footnote-item" style="box-sizing: border-box; clear: both; direction: ltr; list-style: firebrick; margin-bottom: 0px;">For Qumran practice see Gary A. Anderson, “Intentional and Unintentional Sin in the Dead Sea Scrolls,” in David P. Wright et al eds., <em style="box-sizing: border-box;">Pomegranates and Golden Bells: Studies in Biblical, Jewish, and Near Eastern Ritual, Law, and Literature in Honor of Jacob Milgrom</em> (Winona Lake, Indiana: Eisenbrauns, 1995), 49—64. For <em style="box-sizing: border-box;">karet</em> as banishment see Tom Hobson, “Punitive Expulsion in the Ancient Near East,” <em style="box-sizing: border-box;">ZAR</em> 17 (2011), 1—18; G. Thomas Hobson, “KARATH as Punitive Expulsion,” in L. R. Lanzillotta and I. M. Gallarte, eds., <em style="box-sizing: border-box;">Greeks, Jews, and Christians: Historical, Religious, and Philological Studies in Honor of Jesus Pelaez del Rosal</em> (EFN 10; Cordoba: Ediciones El Almendro, n.d.), 67—90.<p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-top: 0px;"></p></li><p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-top: 0px;"></p><li class="footnote-item" style="box-sizing: border-box; clear: both; direction: ltr; list-style: firebrick; margin-bottom: 0px;">See Baruch A. Levine, <em style="box-sizing: border-box;">Numbers 1-20,</em> Anchor Yale Bible (New York: Doubleday, 1993), 466.<p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-top: 0px;"></p></li><p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-top: 0px;"></p><li class="footnote-item" style="box-sizing: border-box; clear: both; direction: ltr; list-style: firebrick; margin-bottom: 0px;">For close connection between banishment from sacred space and death, see Gen 3:23, where access to the “tree of life” is prevented, and Gen 4:14, where Cain’s removal from the protective presence of the deity into no man’s land makes his murder seem inevitable. See also 1 Samuel 26:19—20. The fact that David has been banished from YHWH’s domain and forced to take on the patronage of other gods apparently makes it possible for Saul to execute him.<p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-top: 0px;"></p></li><p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-top: 0px;"></p><li class="footnote-item" style="box-sizing: border-box; clear: both; direction: ltr; list-style: firebrick; margin-bottom: 0px;">Elsewhere, I have argued that the rituals described in Leviticus 16 were not originally tied to a specific day, and that the connection to Yom Kippur (the tenth day of the seventh month) was a later addition. See, David Frankel, <a href="https://www.thetorah.com/article/recasting-the-temple-purification-ritual-as-the-yom-kippur-service" style="background-color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0); box-sizing: border-box; color: firebrick; text-decoration-line: none;">“Recasting the Temple Purification Ritual as the Yom Kippur Service,”</a> <em style="box-sizing: border-box;">TheTorah</em> (2014). For the alternative view, that the chapter is all of a piece, see Baruch J. Schwartz, <a href="https://www.thetorah.com/article/yom-ha-kippurim-the-biblical-significance" style="background-color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0); box-sizing: border-box; color: firebrick; text-decoration-line: none;">“Yom Ha-kippurim: The Biblical Significance,”</a> <em style="box-sizing: border-box;">TheTorah</em> (2014).<p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-top: 0px;"></p></li><p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-top: 0px;"></p><li class="footnote-item" style="box-sizing: border-box; clear: both; direction: ltr; list-style: firebrick; margin-bottom: 0px;">Note the connection between סליחה and the restoration of the divine-human relationship in Psalm 130:4: כי עמך הסליחה למען תורא, “Forgiveness is yours so that you will be worshipped.” The idea seems to be that it is in God’s interest to forgive his worshippers because that allows for the continuation of God being worshipped. See also 1 Kings 8:46–51.<p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-top: 0px;"></p></li><p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-top: 0px;"></p><li class="footnote-item" style="box-sizing: border-box; clear: both; direction: ltr; list-style: firebrick; margin-bottom: 0px;">This is akin to God’s initial position in the story of the Garden of Eden with regard to the punishment for eating of the prohibited tree of knowledge. The punishment is presented as immediate death regardless of the inherent severity or triviality of the specific violation (which is not, after all, murder or idolatry).<p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-top: 0px;"></p></li><p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-top: 0px;"></p><li class="footnote-item" style="box-sizing: border-box; clear: both; direction: ltr; list-style: firebrick; margin-bottom: 0px;">Other biblical texts similarly highlight certain commandments or covenant stipulations that are particularly important (e.g., Deut 27:15–26; Ezek 18; Ps 15), showing that hierarchy of sin is an accepted concept in many biblical texts. Numbers 15 is unusual in this regard. See my discussion in, David Frankel, <a href="https://www.thetorah.com/article/mitzvah-piety-and-the-need-for-individual-atonement" style="background-color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0); box-sizing: border-box; color: firebrick; text-decoration-line: none;">“Mitzvah Piety and the Need for Individual Atonement,”</a> <em style="box-sizing: border-box;">TheTorah</em> (2017).<p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-top: 0px;"></p></li><p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-top: 0px;"></p><li class="footnote-item" style="box-sizing: border-box; clear: both; direction: ltr; list-style: firebrick; margin-bottom: 0px;">Ezekiel’s ideal vision is in keeping with this model. In one speech, the book claims that people can rid themselves of their sins without ritual mediation and can even radically transform themselves:<p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-top: 0px;"></p></li><blockquote class="hebQuote" style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; border-left: 5px none rgb(226, 226, 226); box-sizing: border-box; clear: both; direction: rtl; display: inline-block; font-size: 17px; line-height: 29px; margin: 0px 0px 20px; padding: 10px 11px 0px 10px; text-align: right; vertical-align: top; width: 251.594px;"><span style="box-sizing: border-box; font-size: 12.75px; line-height: 0; margin-left: 3px; position: relative; top: -0.5em; vertical-align: baseline;">יחזקאל יח:לא</span> הַשְׁלִיכוּ מֵעֲלֵיכֶם אֶת כָּל פִּשְׁעֵיכֶם אֲשֶׁר פְּשַׁעְתֶּם בָּם וַעֲשׂוּ לָכֶם לֵב חָדָשׁ וְרוּחַ חֲדָשָׁה.</blockquote> <blockquote class="enQuote" style="border-left: 5px none rgb(226, 226, 226); box-sizing: border-box; clear: none; direction: ltr; display: inline-block; line-height: 29px; margin: 0px 0px 20px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px !important; padding-right: 30px; padding-top: 10px; padding: 10px 30px 0px 0px; vertical-align: top; width: 421.594px;"><span style="box-sizing: border-box; font-size: 11.25px; line-height: 0; margin-left: 3px; position: relative; top: -0.5em; vertical-align: baseline;">Ezek 18:31</span> Throw away all your acts of rebellion and fashion for yourselves a new heart and a new spirit!</blockquote><p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-top: 0px;">Elsewhere, Ezekiel speaks of how God will personally purify Israel at some time in the future so that sin and rebellion will forever become a thing of the past (Ezek 36:25–27). What both texts have in common is the irrelevance of priestly ritual for dealing with intentional sin.</p><p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-top: 0px;"></p><li class="footnote-item" style="box-sizing: border-box; clear: both; direction: ltr; list-style: firebrick; margin-bottom: 0px;">Other passages that give expression to the inevitability of human sin include Gen 8:21; 1 Kings 8:46; Psalm 130:3; Job 15:14–16.<p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-top: 0px;"></p></li><p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-top: 0px;"></p><li class="footnote-item" style="box-sizing: border-box; clear: both; direction: ltr; list-style: firebrick; margin-bottom: 0px;"><em style="box-sizing: border-box;">Mishneh Torah</em>, <em style="box-sizing: border-box;">Book of Mada</em>, “Laws of Teshuva,” 1:1.<p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-top: 0px;"></p></li><p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-top: 0px;"></p><li class="footnote-item" style="box-sizing: border-box; clear: both; direction: ltr; list-style: firebrick; margin-bottom: 0px;">For a similar view see Gen 6:5; 8:21. Interestingly, while the first text expresses the idea that the proper response to humanity’s evil is destruction, the second expresses the idea that destruction is inappropriate.<p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-top: 0px;"></p></li><p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-top: 0px;"></p><li class="footnote-item" style="box-sizing: border-box; clear: both; direction: ltr; list-style: firebrick; margin-bottom: 0px;">For the rootedness of כפרה in the conception of sin as a concrete reality that must be physically removed from the environs of the deity see the classic study of Jacob Milgrom, “Israel’s Sanctuary: The Priestly Picture of Dorian Gray,” <em style="box-sizing: border-box;">RB</em> 83 (1976): 390–399.<p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-top: 0px;"></p></li><p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-top: 0px;"></p><li class="footnote-item" style="box-sizing: border-box; clear: both; direction: ltr; list-style: firebrick; margin-bottom: 0px;">Hence, sojourners are included among the participants.<p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-top: 0px;"></p></li><p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-top: 0px;"></p><li class="footnote-item" style="box-sizing: border-box; clear: both; direction: ltr; list-style: firebrick; margin-bottom: 0px;">Editor’s note: For more on how this ritual works, see Noga Ayali-Darshan, <a href="https://www.thetorah.com/article/the-scapegoat-ritual-and-its-ancient-near-eastern-parallels" style="background-color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0); box-sizing: border-box; color: firebrick; text-decoration-line: none;">“The Scapegoat Ritual and Its Ancient Near Eastern Parallels,”</a> <em style="box-sizing: border-box;">TheTorah</em> (2020).<p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-top: 0px;"></p></li><p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-top: 0px;"></p><li class="footnote-item" style="box-sizing: border-box; clear: both; direction: ltr; list-style: firebrick; margin-bottom: 0px;">For an analysis of this rite see Jacob Milgrom, <em style="box-sizing: border-box;">Leviticus 1-16</em> (AB 3; New York: Doubleday, 1991), 1041–1045.<p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-top: 0px;"></p></li><p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-top: 0px;"></p><li class="footnote-item" style="box-sizing: border-box; clear: both; direction: ltr; list-style: firebrick; margin-bottom: 0px;">See, for example, Leviticus 20:4-5, where failure of the community to execute the Molech worshipper results in divine punishment upon his entire clan.<p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-top: 0px;"></p></li><p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-top: 0px;"></p><li class="footnote-item" style="box-sizing: border-box; clear: both; direction: ltr; list-style: firebrick; margin-bottom: 0px;">This point is further indicated by the fact that the text fails to present God as the one bestowing atonement to the people. Contrast Rabbi Akiva, who declared:<p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-top: 0px;"></p></li><blockquote class="hebQuote" style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; border-left: 5px none rgb(226, 226, 226); box-sizing: border-box; clear: both; direction: rtl; display: inline-block; font-size: 17px; line-height: 29px; margin: 0px 0px 20px; padding: 10px 11px 0px 10px; text-align: right; vertical-align: top; width: 251.594px;"><span style="box-sizing: border-box; font-size: 12.75px; line-height: 0; margin-left: 3px; position: relative; top: -0.5em; vertical-align: baseline;">משנה יומא ח:ט</span> אשריכם ישראל, לפני מי אתם מטהרין, ומי מטהר אתכם, אביכם שבשמים.</blockquote> <blockquote class="enQuote" style="border-left: 5px none rgb(226, 226, 226); box-sizing: border-box; clear: none; direction: ltr; display: inline-block; line-height: 29px; margin: 0px 0px 20px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px !important; padding-right: 30px; padding-top: 10px; padding: 10px 30px 0px 0px; vertical-align: top; width: 421.594px;"><span style="box-sizing: border-box; font-size: 11.25px; line-height: 0; margin-left: 3px; position: relative; top: -0.5em; vertical-align: baseline;">m. Yoma 8:9</span> Happy are you, O Israel! Before whom are you purified? Who purifies you? Your heavenly father!”</blockquote><p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-top: 0px;">The biblical verse, however, contains no subject to the pivotal verb יְכַפֵּר, “atonement shall be made for you”:</p><p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-top: 0px;"><span style="box-sizing: border-box; font-size: 11.25px; line-height: 0; position: relative; top: -0.5em; vertical-align: baseline;">ויקרא טז:ל</span> כִּי בַיּוֹם הַזֶּה <strong style="box-sizing: border-box;">יְכַפֵּר עֲלֵיכֶם</strong> לְטַהֵר אֶתְכֶם<strong style="box-sizing: border-box;"> </strong>מִכֹּל חַטֹּאתֵיכֶם לִפְנֵי יְ־הוָה תִּטְהָרוּ.</p><p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-top: 0px;"><span style="box-sizing: border-box; font-size: 11.25px; line-height: 0; position: relative; top: -0.5em; vertical-align: baseline;">Lev 16:30</span> For on this day <strong style="box-sizing: border-box;">atonement shall be made for you</strong> to cleanse you<strong style="box-sizing: border-box;"> </strong>of all your sins; you will be cleansed before YHWH.</p><p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-top: 0px;">The verb is in the passive, hinting that not God but the priest effects atonement. Similarly, the “purification” takes place לִפְנֵי יְ־הוָה, “before God,” but not <em style="box-sizing: border-box;">by</em> God.</p><p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-top: 0px;"></p><li class="footnote-item" style="box-sizing: border-box; clear: both; direction: ltr; list-style: firebrick; margin-bottom: 0px;">See the classic study of Moshe Weinfeld, “המגמה האוניברסליסטית והמגמה הבדלנית ובשיבת ציון” [Universalism and Particularism in the Period of Exile and Restoration], <em style="box-sizing: border-box;">Tarbiz</em> 33 (1964), 228–242, and more recently, Joseph Blenkinsopp, <em style="box-sizing: border-box;">Judaism, the First Phase: The Place of Ezra and Nehemiah in the Origins of Judaism</em> (Grand Rapids, MI: Eerdmans, 2009). Editor’s note: For some specific discussions on differences between communities in this period, see Sara Japhet, <a href="https://www.thetorah.com/article/survival-and-revival-megillat-esther-and-ezra-nehemiah" style="background-color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0); box-sizing: border-box; color: firebrick; text-decoration-line: none;">“Survival and Revival: Megillat Esther and Ezra-Nehemiah,”</a> <em style="box-sizing: border-box;">TheTorah</em> (2015); Isaac S.D. Sassoon, <a href="https://www.thetorah.com/article/the-tabernacle-a-post-exilic-polemic-against-rebuilding-the-temple" style="background-color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0); box-sizing: border-box; color: firebrick; text-decoration-line: none;">“The Tabernacle: A Post-Exilic Polemic Against Rebuilding the Temple,”</a> <em style="box-sizing: border-box;">TheTorah</em> (2018); Attila Marossy, <a href="https://www.thetorah.com/article/between-holy-and-mundane-the-development-of-the-term-havdalah" style="background-color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0); box-sizing: border-box; color: firebrick; text-decoration-line: none;">“Between Holy and Mundane: The Development of the Term Havdalah,”</a> <em style="box-sizing: border-box;">TheTorah</em> (2022).<p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-top: 0px;"></p></li><p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-top: 0px;"></p><li class="footnote-item" style="box-sizing: border-box; clear: both; direction: ltr; list-style: firebrick; margin-bottom: 0px;">Translation from James C. Vanderkam, <em style="box-sizing: border-box;">The Book of Jubilees</em>, Corpus Scriptorum Christianorum Orientalium 511 / Scriptores Aethiopici 88 (Leuven: Peeters, 1989), 34.<p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-top: 0px;"></p></li><p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-top: 0px;"></p><li class="footnote-item" style="box-sizing: border-box; clear: both; direction: ltr; list-style: firebrick; margin-bottom: 0px;">The rabbinic understanding of this verse is the opposite of its simple meaning. See discussion in Zev Farber, <a href="https://www.thetorah.com/article/does-yhwh-remit-punishment" style="background-color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0); box-sizing: border-box; color: firebrick; text-decoration-line: none;">“Does YHWH Remit Punishment?”</a> <em style="box-sizing: border-box;">TheTorah</em> (2018).<p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-top: 0px;"></p></li><p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-top: 0px;"></p><li class="footnote-item" style="box-sizing: border-box; clear: both; direction: ltr; list-style: firebrick; margin-bottom: 0px;"><em style="box-sizing: border-box;">Mishneh Torah</em>, <em style="box-sizing: border-box;">Book of Mada</em>, “Laws of Teshuvah,” ch. 1</li></ol></div></div></div></div>Mustafa Ahmedhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14172750188773095424noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-558359090739969505.post-1999352712292352522023-10-25T07:34:00.004-07:002023-10-25T07:40:40.119-07:00 Rebuttal to Samuel Green's Article "MUHAMMAD'S PERFECT MEMORY?"<p> <b style="background-color: white; text-align: center;"><u><span style="font-size: 24pt;">Rebuttal to Samuel Green's Article "MUHAMMAD'S PERFECT MEMORY?"</span></u></b></p><p align="center" style="background-color: white; font-family: Tahoma; font-size: 13.3333px; text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: 10pt;"><span style="font-size: 10pt;"><span style="line-height: 1.5;"><span style="font-size: 10pt;"><span style="font-size: 10pt;"><span style="line-height: 1.5;"><span style="clear: both;"><span style="font-size: 10pt;"><span style="line-height: 1.5;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman;">by </span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></p><p align="center" style="background-color: white; font-family: Tahoma; font-size: 13.3333px; text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: 10pt;"><span style="font-size: 10pt;"><span style="line-height: 1.5;"><span style="font-size: 10pt;"><span style="font-size: 10pt;"><span style="line-height: 1.5;"><span style="clear: both;"><span style="font-size: 10pt;"><span style="line-height: 1.5;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman;"><span style="font-size: small;">Bassam Zawadi</span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-size: 10pt;"><span style="font-size: 10pt;"><span style="line-height: 1.5;"> </span></span></span></p><p align="center" style="background-color: white; font-family: Tahoma; font-size: 13.3333px; text-align: center;"></p><p style="background-color: white; font-family: Tahoma; font-size: 13.3333px;"><span style="font-size: 10pt;"><span style="font-size: 10pt;"><span style="line-height: 1.5;"><span style="font-size: 10pt;"><span style="font-size: 10pt;"><span style="line-height: 1.5;"><span style="clear: both;"><span style="font-size: 10pt;"><span style="line-height: 1.5;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman;"><span style="font-size: small;">This article is in response to </span></span><a href="http://www.answeringislam.org/Green/forgot.htm"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman;"><span style="font-size: small;">http://www.answeringislam.org/Green/forgot.htm</span></span></a><span style="font-family: Times New Roman;"><span style="font-size: small;"> </span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></p><p style="background-color: white; font-family: Tahoma; font-size: 13.3333px;"><span style="font-size: 10pt;"><span style="font-size: 10pt;"><span style="line-height: 1.5;"><span style="font-size: 10pt;"><span style="font-size: 10pt;"><span style="line-height: 1.5;"><span style="clear: both;"><span style="font-size: 10pt;"><span style="line-height: 1.5;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman;"> </span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></p><p style="background-color: white; font-family: Tahoma; font-size: 13.3333px;"><span style="font-size: 10pt;"><span style="font-size: 10pt;"><span style="line-height: 1.5;"><span style="font-size: 10pt;"><span style="font-size: 10pt;"><span style="line-height: 1.5;"><span style="clear: both;"><span style="font-size: 10pt;"><span style="line-height: 1.5;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman;"><b><u><span style="font-size: 18pt;">Samuel Green said:</span></u></b></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></p><p style="background-color: white; font-family: Tahoma; font-size: 13.3333px;"><span style="font-size: 10pt;"><span style="font-size: 10pt;"><span style="line-height: 1.5;"><span style="font-size: 10pt;"><span style="font-size: 10pt;"><span style="line-height: 1.5;"><span style="clear: both;"><span style="font-size: 10pt;"><span style="line-height: 1.5;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman;">One of the reasons that Muslims give for the perfection of the Qur'an is that Muhammad had a perfect memory. It is said that God gave Muhammed not just the words to speak but also the ability to remember these words perfectly. This claim is seen in the following Islamic scholar:</span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></p><p style="background-color: white; font-family: Tahoma; font-size: 13.3333px; margin-left: 0.5in; margin-right: 0.5in;"><span style="font-size: 10pt;"><span style="font-size: 10pt;"><span style="line-height: 1.5;"><span style="font-size: 10pt;"><span style="font-size: 10pt;"><span style="line-height: 1.5;"><span style="clear: both;"><span style="font-size: 10pt;"><span style="line-height: 1.5;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman;">Still further, and perhaps most significantly, so long as the Prophet lived, the Community had in him an infallible guide as to the correct recitation of the Koran. The Prophet was <b>granted special protection against forgetfulness</b>, as the Koran itself indicates: <i>By degrees shall we teach thee to declare (the message), so thou shalt not forget, except as God wills</i> (Sura 87:6-7). (Labib as-Said, <i>The Recited Koran - A History of the First Recorded Version</i>. Princeton, New Jersey: The Darwin Press, 1975. p. 20. Bold added)</span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></p><p style="background-color: white; font-family: Tahoma; font-size: 13.3333px;"><span style="font-size: 10pt;"><span style="font-size: 10pt;"><span style="line-height: 1.5;"><span style="font-size: 10pt;"><span style="font-size: 10pt;"><span style="line-height: 1.5;"><span style="clear: both;"><span style="font-size: 10pt;"><span style="line-height: 1.5;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman;">Is this claim true or is it an exaggeration? In this article we will consider what the Qur'an and Hadith say about Muhammad's memory and that of his Companions.</span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></p><p style="background-color: white; font-family: Tahoma; font-size: 13.3333px;"><span style="font-size: 10pt;"><span style="font-size: 10pt;"><span style="line-height: 1.5;"><span style="font-size: 10pt;"><span style="font-size: 10pt;"><span style="line-height: 1.5;"><span style="clear: both;"><span style="font-size: 10pt;"><span style="line-height: 1.5;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman;"><b>WHAT DOES THE QUR'AN SAY ABOUT MUHAMMAD'S MEMORY?</b></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></p><p style="background-color: white; font-family: Tahoma; font-size: 13.3333px;"><span style="font-size: 10pt;"><span style="font-size: 10pt;"><span style="line-height: 1.5;"><span style="font-size: 10pt;"><span style="font-size: 10pt;"><span style="line-height: 1.5;"><span style="clear: both;"><span style="font-size: 10pt;"><span style="line-height: 1.5;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman;">The verse referred to by Labib as-Said is an interesting verse because it actually says the exact opposite of what Labib as-Said is claiming. Labib as-Said says that the verse shows that Muhammad, <i>"was granted special protection against forgetfulness</i>". However he has missed one very important word in this verse, the word <i>"except"</i>. Let us have another look at this verse:</span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></p><p style="background-color: white; font-family: Tahoma; font-size: 13.3333px; margin-left: 0.5in; margin-right: 0.5in;"><span style="font-size: 10pt;"><span style="font-size: 10pt;"><span style="line-height: 1.5;"><span style="font-size: 10pt;"><span style="font-size: 10pt;"><span style="line-height: 1.5;"><span style="clear: both;"><span style="font-size: 10pt;"><span style="line-height: 1.5;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman;">By degrees shall we teach thee (Muhammad) to declare (the message), so thou shalt not forget, <b>except</b> as God wills (Sura 87:6-7).</span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></p><p style="background-color: white; font-family: Tahoma; font-size: 13.3333px;"><span style="font-size: 10pt;"><span style="font-size: 10pt;"><span style="line-height: 1.5;"><span style="font-size: 10pt;"><span style="font-size: 10pt;"><span style="line-height: 1.5;"><span style="clear: both;"><span style="font-size: 10pt;"><span style="line-height: 1.5;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman;">This verse is not saying that Muhammad will never forget any of the Qur'an. It is saying that he will only forget what God wills. So the verse is actually saying that Muhammad did forget some of the Qur'an. This interpretation is also the interpretation found in the Hadith. Consider the following.</span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></p><p style="background-color: white; font-family: Tahoma; font-size: 13.3333px;"><span style="font-size: 10pt;"><span style="font-size: 10pt;"><span style="line-height: 1.5;"><span style="font-size: 10pt;"><span style="font-size: 10pt;"><span style="line-height: 1.5;"><span style="clear: both;"><span style="font-size: 10pt;"><span style="line-height: 1.5;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman;"><b>WHAT DOES THE HADITH SAY ABOUT MUHAMMAD'S MEMORY?</b></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></p><p style="background-color: white; font-family: Tahoma; font-size: 13.3333px;"><span style="font-size: 10pt;"><span style="font-size: 10pt;"><span style="line-height: 1.5;"><span style="font-size: 10pt;"><span style="font-size: 10pt;"><span style="line-height: 1.5;"><span style="clear: both;"><span style="font-size: 10pt;"><span style="line-height: 1.5;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman;"><b>Sahih al-Bukhari: book 61, volume 6</b></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></p><p style="background-color: white; font-family: Tahoma; font-size: 13.3333px; margin-left: 0.5in; margin-right: 0.5in;"><span style="font-size: 10pt;"><span style="font-size: 10pt;"><span style="line-height: 1.5;"><span style="font-size: 10pt;"><span style="font-size: 10pt;"><span style="line-height: 1.5;"><span style="clear: both;"><span style="font-size: 10pt;"><span style="line-height: 1.5;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman;">556. Narrated Aisha: The Prophet heard a man reciting the Qur'an in the mosque and said, "May Allah bestow His Mercy on him, as he has reminded me of such-and-such Verses of such a Surah."</span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></p><p style="background-color: white; font-family: Tahoma; font-size: 13.3333px; margin-left: 0.5in; margin-right: 0.5in;"><span style="font-size: 10pt;"><span style="font-size: 10pt;"><span style="line-height: 1.5;"><span style="font-size: 10pt;"><span style="font-size: 10pt;"><span style="line-height: 1.5;"><span style="clear: both;"><span style="font-size: 10pt;"><span style="line-height: 1.5;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman;">557. Narrated Hisham: (The same Hadith, adding): which I missed (modifying the Verses).</span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></p><p style="background-color: white; font-family: Tahoma; font-size: 13.3333px; margin-left: 0.5in; margin-right: 0.5in;"><span style="font-size: 10pt;"><span style="font-size: 10pt;"><span style="line-height: 1.5;"><span style="font-size: 10pt;"><span style="font-size: 10pt;"><span style="line-height: 1.5;"><span style="clear: both;"><span style="font-size: 10pt;"><span style="line-height: 1.5;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman;">558. Narrated Aisha: Allah's Apostle heard a man reciting the Qur'an at night, and said, "May Allah bestow His Mercy on him, as he has reminded me of such-and-such Verses of such-and-such Suras, which I was caused to forget."</span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></p><p style="background-color: white; font-family: Tahoma; font-size: 13.3333px; margin-left: 0.5in; margin-right: 0.5in;"><span style="font-size: 10pt;"><span style="font-size: 10pt;"><span style="line-height: 1.5;"><span style="font-size: 10pt;"><span style="font-size: 10pt;"><span style="line-height: 1.5;"><span style="clear: both;"><span style="font-size: 10pt;"><span style="line-height: 1.5;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman;">559. Narrated Abdullah: The Prophet said, "Why does anyone of the people say, 'I have forgotten such-and-such Verses (of the Qur'an)?' He, in fact, is caused (by Allah) to forget."</span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></p><p style="background-color: white; font-family: Tahoma; font-size: 13.3333px; margin-left: 0.5in; margin-right: 0.5in;"><span style="font-size: 10pt;"><span style="font-size: 10pt;"><span style="line-height: 1.5;"><span style="font-size: 10pt;"><span style="font-size: 10pt;"><span style="line-height: 1.5;"><span style="clear: both;"><span style="font-size: 10pt;"><span style="line-height: 1.5;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman;">562. Narrated 'Aisha: The Prophet heard a reciter reciting, the Qur'an in the mosque at night. The Prophet said, "May Allah bestow His Mercy on him, as he has reminded me of such-and-such Verses of such and-such Suras, which I missed!"</span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></p><p style="background-color: white; font-family: Tahoma; font-size: 13.3333px;"><span style="font-size: 10pt;"><span style="font-size: 10pt;"><span style="line-height: 1.5;"><span style="font-size: 10pt;"><span style="font-size: 10pt;"><span style="line-height: 1.5;"><span style="clear: both;"><span style="font-size: 10pt;"><span style="line-height: 1.5;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman;"><b>Sahih Muslim: book 4, volume 1</b></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></p><p style="background-color: white; font-family: Tahoma; font-size: 13.3333px; margin-left: 0.5in; margin-right: 0.5in;"><span style="font-size: 10pt;"><span style="font-size: 10pt;"><span style="line-height: 1.5;"><span style="font-size: 10pt;"><span style="font-size: 10pt;"><span style="line-height: 1.5;"><span style="clear: both;"><span style="font-size: 10pt;"><span style="line-height: 1.5;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman;">(1720) 'Aisha reported that the Apostle of Allah (may peace be upon him) heard a person reciting the Qur'an at night. Upon this he said, "May Allah show mercy to him; he has reminded me of such and such a verse which I had missed in such and such a surah.</span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></p><p style="background-color: white; font-family: Tahoma; font-size: 13.3333px; margin-left: 0.5in; margin-right: 0.5in;"><span style="font-size: 10pt;"><span style="font-size: 10pt;"><span style="line-height: 1.5;"><span style="font-size: 10pt;"><span style="font-size: 10pt;"><span style="line-height: 1.5;"><span style="clear: both;"><span style="font-size: 10pt;"><span style="line-height: 1.5;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman;">(1721) 'Aisha reported that the Apostle of Allah (may peace be upon him) listened to the recitation of the Qur'an by a man in the mosque. Thereupon he said: May Allah have mercy upon him; he reminded me of the verse which I had been made to forget.</span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></p><p style="background-color: white; font-family: Tahoma; font-size: 13.3333px; margin-left: 0.5in; margin-right: 0.5in;"><span style="font-size: 10pt;"><span style="font-size: 10pt;"><span style="line-height: 1.5;"><span style="font-size: 10pt;"><span style="font-size: 10pt;"><span style="line-height: 1.5;"><span style="clear: both;"><span style="font-size: 10pt;"><span style="line-height: 1.5;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman;">(1724)'Abdullah reported Allah's Messenger (may peace be upon him) as saying: What a wretched person is he amongst them who says: I have forgotten such and such a verse. (He should instead of using this expression say): I have been made to forget it. Try to remember the Qur'an for it is more apt to escape from men's minds than a hobbled camel.</span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></p><p style="background-color: white; font-family: Tahoma; font-size: 13.3333px; margin-left: 0.5in; margin-right: 0.5in;"><span style="font-size: 10pt;"><span style="font-size: 10pt;"><span style="line-height: 1.5;"><span style="font-size: 10pt;"><span style="font-size: 10pt;"><span style="line-height: 1.5;"><span style="clear: both;"><span style="font-size: 10pt;"><span style="line-height: 1.5;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman;">(1726) Ibn Mas'ud reported Allah's Messenger (may peace be upon him) as saying: Wretched is the man who says: I forgot such and such a sura, or I forget such and such a verse, but he has been made to forget.</span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></p><p style="background-color: white; font-family: Tahoma; font-size: 13.3333px;"><span style="font-size: 10pt;"><span style="font-size: 10pt;"><span style="line-height: 1.5;"><span style="font-size: 10pt;"><span style="font-size: 10pt;"><span style="line-height: 1.5;"><span style="clear: both;"><span style="font-size: 10pt;"><span style="line-height: 1.5;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman;"><b>Sunan Abu Dawud: book 3, number 1015; volume I</b> (Also Sahih al-Bukhari, vol.1, hadith 394)</span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></p><p style="background-color: white; font-family: Tahoma; font-size: 13.3333px; margin-left: 0.5in; margin-right: 0.5in;"><span style="font-size: 10pt;"><span style="font-size: 10pt;"><span style="line-height: 1.5;"><span style="font-size: 10pt;"><span style="font-size: 10pt;"><span style="line-height: 1.5;"><span style="clear: both;"><span style="font-size: 10pt;"><span style="line-height: 1.5;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman;">Narrated Abdullah ibn Mas'ud: The Apostle of Allah (peace_be_upon_him) offered prayer. The version of the narrator Ibrahim goes: I do not know whether he increased or decreased (the rak'ahs of prayer).</span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></p><p style="background-color: white; font-family: Tahoma; font-size: 13.3333px; margin-left: 0.5in; margin-right: 0.5in;"><span style="font-size: 10pt;"><span style="font-size: 10pt;"><span style="line-height: 1.5;"><span style="font-size: 10pt;"><span style="font-size: 10pt;"><span style="line-height: 1.5;"><span style="clear: both;"><span style="font-size: 10pt;"><span style="line-height: 1.5;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman;">When he gave the salutation, he was asked: Has something new happened in the prayer, Apostle of Allah? He said: What is it? They said: You prayed so many and so many (rak'ahs). He then relented his foot and faced the Qiblah and made two prostrations. He then gave the salutation. When he turned away (finished the prayer), he turned his face to us and said: Had anything new happened in prayer, I would have informed you. <b>I am only a human being and I forget just as you do; so when I forget, remind me</b>, and when any of you is in doubt about his prayer he should aim at what is correct, and complete his prayer in that respect, then give the salutation and afterwards made two prostrations.</span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></p><p style="background-color: white; font-family: Tahoma; font-size: 13.3333px;"><span style="font-size: 10pt;"><span style="font-size: 10pt;"><span style="line-height: 1.5;"><span style="font-size: 10pt;"><span style="font-size: 10pt;"><span style="line-height: 1.5;"><span style="clear: both;"><span style="font-size: 10pt;"><span style="line-height: 1.5;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman;">Thus from the above hadiths that there were occasions when Muhammad forgot parts of the Qur'an.</span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></p><p style="background-color: white; font-family: Tahoma; font-size: 13.3333px;"><span style="font-size: 10pt;"><span style="font-size: 10pt;"><span style="line-height: 1.5;"><span style="font-size: 10pt;"><span style="font-size: 10pt;"><span style="line-height: 1.5;"><span style="clear: both;"><span style="font-size: 10pt;"><span style="line-height: 1.5;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman;"><b><u><span style="font-size: 18pt;">My Response:</span></u></b></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></p><p style="background-color: white; font-family: Tahoma; font-size: 13.3333px;"><span style="font-size: 10pt;"><span style="font-size: 10pt;"><span style="line-height: 1.5;"><span style="font-size: 10pt;"><span style="font-size: 10pt;"><span style="line-height: 1.5;"><span style="clear: both;"><span style="font-size: 10pt;"><span style="line-height: 1.5;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman;">Al-Tabari says in his commentary... </span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></p><p align="right" style="background-color: white; font-family: Tahoma; font-size: 13.3333px;"><span style="font-size: 10pt;"><span style="font-size: 10pt;"><span style="line-height: 1.5;"><span style="font-size: 10pt;"><span style="font-size: 10pt;"><span style="line-height: 1.5;"><span style="clear: both;"><span style="font-size: 10pt;"><span style="line-height: 1.5;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman;"><span dir="rtl" lang="AR-SA" style="font-size: 12pt;"><span style="font-size: medium;">وَمَعْنَى الْكَلَام : فَلَا تَنْسَى , إِلَّا مَا شَاءَ اللَّه أَنْ تَنْسَاهُ , وَلَا تَذْكُرهُ , قَالُوا : ذَلِكَ هُوَ مَا نَسَخَهُ اللَّه مِنْ الْقُرْآن , فَرَفَعَ حُكْمه وَتِلَاوَته . ذِكْر مَنْ قَالَ ذَلِكَ : 28645 - حَدَّثَنَا بِشْر , قَالَ : ثَنَا يَزِيد , قَالَ : ثَنَا سَعِيد , عَنْ قَتَادَة { سَنُقْرِئُك فَلَا تَنْسَى } كَانَ صَلَّى اللَّه عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ لَا يَنْسَى شَيْئًا { إِلَّا مَا شَاءَ اللَّه } . وَقَالَ آخَرُونَ : مَعْنَى النِّسْيَان فِي هَذَا الْمَوْضِع : التَّرْك ; وَقَالُوا : مَعْنَى الْكَلَام : سَنُقْرِئُك يَا مُحَمَّد فَلَا تَتْرُك الْعَمَل بِشَيْءٍ مِنْهُ , إِلَّا مَا شَاءَ اللَّه أَنْ تَتْرُك الْعَمَل بِهِ , مِمَّا نَنْسَخهُ . وَكَانَ بَعْض أَهْل الْعَرَبِيَّة يَقُول فِي ذَلِكَ : لَمْ يَشَأْ اللَّه أَنْ تَنْسَى شَيْئًا , وَهُوَ كَقَوْلِهِ : { خَالِدِينَ فِيهَا مَا دَامَتْ السَّمَاوَات وَالْأَرْض إِلَّا مَا شَاءَ رَبّك } 11 107 وَلَا يَشَاء</span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></p><p style="background-color: white; font-family: Tahoma; font-size: 13.3333px; margin-left: 0.5in; margin-right: 0.5in;"><span style="font-size: 10pt;"><span style="font-size: 10pt;"><span style="line-height: 1.5;"><span style="font-size: 10pt;"><span style="font-size: 10pt;"><span style="line-height: 1.5;"><span style="clear: both;"><span style="font-size: 10pt;"><span style="line-height: 1.5;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman;"><span style="color: red;">And the meaning of this statement: 'Thou shalt not forget', except as God wills what you should forget and don't remember it, They said: That is what Allah has abrogated from the Quran, so he lifted its wisdom and recitation. It is reported by Bashar on the authority of Yazid on the authority of Sa'eed, that Qutada said that Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) never forgot anything (except as God willed). And others reported: The meaning of forgetfulness in this context means 'abandonment' and they said: The meaning of the statement 'We shall make thee read', oh Muhammad so don't stop practicing any part of it except that which Allah commands you to stop practicing because it got abrogated. <b>And those of the Arabic speaking language said regarding this: God did not will that the Prophet forget anything. And it is like Allah's similar statement 'Abiding therein, so long as the heavens and the earth endure, except as thy Lord may will. Surely, thy Lord does what HE pleases.' Surah 11: 107 and He does not will it. </b></span><b>(Ibn Jarir al-Tabari, <i>Jami' al-bayan fi ta'wil al-Qur'an</i>, Commentary on Surah 87:7, <a href="http://quran.al-islam.com/Tafseer/DispTafsser.asp?nType=1&bm=&nSeg=0&l=arb&nSora=87&nAya=7&taf=TABARY&tashkeel=0">Source</a>)</b></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-size: 10pt;"><span style="font-size: 10pt;"><span style="line-height: 1.5;"><span style="font-size: 10pt;"><span style="font-size: 10pt;"><span style="line-height: 1.5;"><span style="clear: both;"><span style="font-size: 10pt;"><span style="line-height: 1.5;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman;"> </span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></p><p style="background-color: white; font-family: Tahoma; font-size: 13.3333px;"><span style="font-size: 10pt;"><span style="font-size: 10pt;"><span style="line-height: 1.5;"><span style="font-size: 10pt;"><span style="font-size: 10pt;"><span style="line-height: 1.5;"><span style="clear: both;"><span style="font-size: 10pt;"><span style="line-height: 1.5;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman;"><span style="font-size: small;">Ibn Kathir states in his commentary...</span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></p><blockquote style="background-color: white; font-family: Tahoma; font-size: 13.3333px;"><p><span style="font-size: 10pt;"><span style="font-size: 10pt;"><span style="line-height: 1.5;"><span style="font-size: 10pt;"><span style="font-size: 10pt;"><span style="line-height: 1.5;"><span style="clear: both;"><span style="font-size: 10pt;"><span style="line-height: 1.5;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman;"><span style="color: red;">Qatadah said, "The Prophet did not forget anything except what Allah willed.'' It has been said that the meaning of Allah's statement,</span> <span style="color: red;">(so you shall not forget,) is, "do not forget'' and that which would be abrogated, is merely an exception to this. </span><b>(Tafsir Ibn Kathir, <a href="http://www.tafsir.com/default.asp?sid=87&tid=57947"><span style="color: #3333ff;">Source</span></a>)</b></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></p></blockquote><p style="background-color: white; font-family: Tahoma; font-size: 13.3333px;"><span style="font-size: 10pt;"><span style="font-size: 10pt;"><span style="line-height: 1.5;"><span style="font-size: 10pt;"><span style="font-size: 10pt;"><span style="line-height: 1.5;"><span style="clear: both;"><span style="font-size: 10pt;"><span style="line-height: 1.5;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman;">So we clearly see that the Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) did not forget any portions of the Quran that he was never meant to forget. As we see, one explanation for this verse is that God intended for the Prophet to forget the abrogated verses of the Qur'an. To understand more about abrogation, visit my section <a href="http://www.call-to-monotheism.com/qur_anic_variants"><span style="color: #3333ff;">http://www.call-to-monotheism.com/qur_anic_variants</span></a><span style="color: #3333ff;"> </span>and especially read this article <a href="http://www.call-to-monotheism.com/introduction_to_quranic_variants">http://www.call-to-monotheism.com/introduction_to_quranic_variants</a>. </span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></p><p style="background-color: white; font-family: Tahoma; font-size: 13.3333px;"><span style="font-size: 10pt;"><span style="font-size: 10pt;"><span style="line-height: 1.5;"><span style="font-size: 10pt;"><span style="font-size: 10pt;"><span style="line-height: 1.5;"><span style="clear: both;"><span style="font-size: 10pt;"><span style="line-height: 1.5;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman;">Another possible explanation is that God just simply never willed the Prophet to ever forget any verse from the Quran. When God says that something happens if He wills it, it is intended to show His power and majesty because He has control over all things.</span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></p><p style="background-color: white; font-family: Tahoma; font-size: 13.3333px;"><span style="font-size: 10pt;"><span style="font-size: 10pt;"><span style="line-height: 1.5;"><span style="font-size: 10pt;"><span style="font-size: 10pt;"><span style="line-height: 1.5;"><span style="clear: both;"><span style="font-size: 10pt;"><span style="line-height: 1.5;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman;">Another possible interpretation is that when God said, "thou shalt not forget" it means that you should not abandon. For in the Arabic language, the word "tunsa" could mean to forget or abandon (refer to the well known Arabic dictionary Lisaanul Arab of Ibn Manzoor). For example...</span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></p><p style="background-color: white; font-family: Tahoma; font-size: 13.3333px; margin-left: 0.5in; margin-right: 0.5in;"><span style="font-size: 10pt;"><span style="font-size: 10pt;"><span style="line-height: 1.5;"><span style="font-size: 10pt;"><span style="font-size: 10pt;"><span style="line-height: 1.5;"><span style="clear: both;"><span style="font-size: 10pt;"><span style="line-height: 1.5;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman;"><b><u><span style="color: navy;">Surah 7:51</span></u></b></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></p><p style="background-color: white; font-family: Tahoma; font-size: 13.3333px; margin-left: 0.5in; margin-right: 0.5in;"><span style="font-size: 10pt;"><span style="font-size: 10pt;"><span style="line-height: 1.5;"><span style="font-size: 10pt;"><span style="font-size: 10pt;"><span style="line-height: 1.5;"><span style="clear: both;"><span style="font-size: 10pt;"><span style="line-height: 1.5;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman;">Who took their religion for a sport and pastime, and whom the life of the world beguiled. So this day We have forgotten <i>(nansaahum)</i> them even as they forgot the meeting of this their Day and as they used to deny Our tokens.</span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></p><p style="background-color: white; font-family: Tahoma; font-size: 13.3333px;"><span style="font-size: 10pt;"><span style="font-size: 10pt;"><span style="line-height: 1.5;"><span style="font-size: 10pt;"><span style="font-size: 10pt;"><span style="line-height: 1.5;"><span style="clear: both;"><span style="font-size: 10pt;"><span style="line-height: 1.5;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman;">Ibn Kathir has it in his commentary...</span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></p><p style="background-color: white; font-family: Tahoma; font-size: 13.3333px; margin-left: 0.5in; margin-right: 0.5in;"><span style="font-size: 10pt;"><span style="font-size: 10pt;"><span style="line-height: 1.5;"><span style="font-size: 10pt;"><span style="font-size: 10pt;"><span style="line-height: 1.5;"><span style="clear: both;"><span style="font-size: 10pt;"><span style="line-height: 1.5;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman;"><span style="color: red;">Ali bin Abi Talhah reported that Ibn `Abbas said, "We shall forsake them as they have forsaken the meeting of this Day of theirs.'' </span><b>(Tafsir ibn Kathir, <a href="http://www.tafsir.com/default.asp?sid=7&tid=17928"><span style="color: #3333ff;">Source</span></a>)</b></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></p><p style="background-color: white; font-family: Tahoma; font-size: 13.3333px;"><span style="font-size: 10pt;"><span style="font-size: 10pt;"><span style="line-height: 1.5;"><span style="font-size: 10pt;"><span style="font-size: 10pt;"><span style="line-height: 1.5;"><span style="clear: both;"><span style="font-size: 10pt;"><span style="line-height: 1.5;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman;">Imam Tabari has it in his commentary...</span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></p><p style="background-color: white; font-family: Tahoma; font-size: 13.3333px; text-align: right;"><span style="font-size: 10pt;"><span style="font-size: 10pt;"><span style="line-height: 1.5;"><span style="font-size: 10pt;"><span style="font-size: 10pt;"><span style="line-height: 1.5;"><span style="clear: both;"><span style="font-size: 10pt;"><span style="line-height: 1.5;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman;"> </span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span>نَتْرُكهُمْ فِي الْعَذَاب الْمُبِين جِيَاعًا عِطَاشًا بِغَيْرِ طَعَام وَلَا شَرَاب , كَمَا تَرَكُوا الْعَمَل لِلِقَاءِ يَوْمهمْ هَذَا وَرَفَضُوا الِاسْتِعْدَاد لَهُ بِإِتْعَابِ أَبْدَانهمْ فِي طَاعَة اللَّه. وَقَدْ بَيَّنَّا مَعْنَى قَوْله نَنْسَاهُمْ بِشَوَاهِدِهِ فِيمَا مَضَى بِمَا أَغْنَى عَنْ إِعَادَته</p><p style="background-color: white; font-family: Tahoma; font-size: 13.3333px; margin-left: 0.5in; margin-right: 0.5in;"><span style="font-size: 10pt;"><span style="font-size: 10pt;"><span style="line-height: 1.5;"><span style="font-size: 10pt;"><span style="font-size: 10pt;"><span style="line-height: 1.5;"><span style="clear: both;"><span style="font-size: 10pt;"><span style="line-height: 1.5;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman;"><span style="color: red;">We will abandon them in the punishment which cuts them off, leaving them hungry and thirsty without any food or drink, just as they abandoned action for hte meeting on this Day, and they rejected preparation for it by wearying their bodies in obedience to Allah, and we have explained clearly the meaning of His saing "nansaahum" previously along with its witnesses, so there is no need to repeat it. </span><b>(Ibn Jarir al-Tabari, <i>Jami' al-bayan fi ta'wil al-Qur'an</i>, Commentary on Surah 7:54, <a href="http://quran.al-islam.com/Tafseer/DispTafsser.asp?nType=1&bm=&nSeg=0&l=arb&nSora=7&nAya=51&taf=TABARY&tashkeel=0">Source</a>)</b></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></p><p style="background-color: white; font-family: Tahoma; font-size: 13.3333px;"><span style="font-size: 10pt;"><span style="font-size: 10pt;"><span style="line-height: 1.5;"><span style="font-size: 10pt;"><span style="font-size: 10pt;"><span style="line-height: 1.5;"><span style="clear: both;"><span style="font-size: 10pt;"><span style="line-height: 1.5;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman;"><span style="font-size: small;">Even according to the hadith posted by Samuel Green (Sunan Abu Dawud: book 3, number 1015; volume I) goes to show that the Prophet (peace be upon him) was just a normal human being just like us and helps the Muslims not make the same mistake as the Christians did with Jesus Christ... </span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></p><p style="background-color: white; font-family: Tahoma; font-size: 13.3333px; margin-left: 0.5in; margin-right: 0.5in;"><span style="font-size: 10pt;"><span style="font-size: 10pt;"><span style="line-height: 1.5;"><span style="font-size: 10pt;"><span style="font-size: 10pt;"><span style="line-height: 1.5;"><span style="clear: both;"><span style="font-size: 10pt;"><span style="line-height: 1.5;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman;"><b><u><span style="font-size: 18pt;"><span style="color: navy;">Saheeh Bukhari</span></span></u></b></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></p><p style="background-color: white; font-family: Tahoma; font-size: 13.3333px; margin-left: 0.5in; margin-right: 0.5in;"><span style="font-size: 10pt;"><span style="font-size: 10pt;"><span style="line-height: 1.5;"><span style="font-size: 10pt;"><span style="font-size: 10pt;"><span style="line-height: 1.5;"><span style="clear: both;"><span style="font-size: 10pt;"><span style="line-height: 1.5;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman;">Volume 004, Book 055, Hadith Number 654.<br />-----------------------------------------<br />Narated By 'Umar : I heard the Prophet saying, "Do not exaggerate in praising me as the Christians praised the son of Mary, for I am only a Slave. So, call me the Slave of Allah and His Apostle."</span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></p><p style="background-color: white; font-family: Tahoma; font-size: 13.3333px;"><span style="font-size: 10pt;"><span style="font-size: 10pt;"><span style="line-height: 1.5;"><span style="font-size: 10pt;"><span style="font-size: 10pt;"><span style="line-height: 1.5;"><span style="clear: both;"><span style="font-size: 10pt;"><span style="line-height: 1.5;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman;">Even if Islamic critics want to be stubborn and persist that the Prophet (peace be upon him) forgot needed verses from the Quran, this could be refuted by the fact that the Prophet (peace be upon him) always used to rehearse the Quran to angel Gabriel and angel Gabriel would have corrected the Prophet (peace be upon him) where he went wrong. Furthermore, angel Gabriel recited the Quran TWICE to the Prophet in the year he died...</span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></p><p style="background-color: white; font-family: Tahoma; font-size: 13.3333px; margin-left: 0.5in; margin-right: 0.5in;"><span style="font-size: 10pt;"><span style="font-size: 10pt;"><span style="line-height: 1.5;"><span style="font-size: 10pt;"><span style="font-size: 10pt;"><span style="line-height: 1.5;"><span style="clear: both;"><span style="font-size: 10pt;"><span style="line-height: 1.5;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman;"><b><u><span style="font-size: 18pt;"><span style="color: navy;">Saheeh Bukhari</span></span></u></b></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></p><p style="background-color: white; font-family: Tahoma; font-size: 13.3333px; margin-left: 0.5in; margin-right: 0.5in;"><span style="font-size: 10pt;"><span style="font-size: 10pt;"><span style="line-height: 1.5;"><span style="font-size: 10pt;"><span style="font-size: 10pt;"><span style="line-height: 1.5;"><span style="clear: both;"><span style="font-size: 10pt;"><span style="line-height: 1.5;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman;">Volume 006, Book 061, Hadith Number 519.</span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></p><p style="background-color: white; font-family: Tahoma; font-size: 13.3333px; margin-left: 0.5in; margin-right: 0.5in;"><span style="font-size: 10pt;"><span style="font-size: 10pt;"><span style="line-height: 1.5;"><span style="font-size: 10pt;"><span style="font-size: 10pt;"><span style="line-height: 1.5;"><span style="clear: both;"><span style="font-size: 10pt;"><span style="line-height: 1.5;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman;"><span style="font-size: small;">Narated By Ibn 'Abbas : The Prophet was the most generous person, and he used to become more so (generous) particularly in the month of Ramadan because Gabriel used to meet him every night of the month of Ramadan till it elapsed. Allah's Apostle used to recite the Qur'an for him. When Gabriel met him, he used to become more generous than the fast wind in doing good.</span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></p><p style="background-color: white; font-family: Tahoma; font-size: 13.3333px; margin-left: 0.5in; margin-right: 0.5in;"><span style="font-size: 10pt;"><span style="font-size: 10pt;"><span style="line-height: 1.5;"><span style="font-size: 10pt;"><span style="font-size: 10pt;"><span style="line-height: 1.5;"><span style="clear: both;"><span style="font-size: 10pt;"><span style="line-height: 1.5;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman;">Volume 6, Book 61, Number 520:</span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></p><p style="background-color: white; font-family: Tahoma; font-size: 13.3333px; margin-left: 0.5in; margin-right: 0.5in;"><span style="font-size: 10pt;"><span style="font-size: 10pt;"><span style="line-height: 1.5;"><span style="font-size: 10pt;"><span style="font-size: 10pt;"><span style="line-height: 1.5;"><span style="clear: both;"><span style="font-size: 10pt;"><span style="line-height: 1.5;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman;">Narrated Abu-Huraira: Gabriel used to repeat the recitation of the Qur'an with the Prophet once a year, but he repeated it twice with him in the year he died. The Prophet used to stay in I'tikaf for ten days every year (in the month of Ramadan), but in the year of his death, he stayed in I'tikaf for twenty days. </span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></p><p style="background-color: white; font-family: Tahoma; font-size: 13.3333px;"><span style="font-size: 10pt;"><span style="font-size: 10pt;"><span style="line-height: 1.5;"><span style="font-size: 10pt;"><span style="font-size: 10pt;"><span style="line-height: 1.5;"><span style="clear: both;"><span style="font-size: 10pt;"><span style="line-height: 1.5;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman;">Furthermore, the Prophet (peace be upon him) would order his scribes to write down the Quran as soon as the revelations came to him... </span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></p><p style="background-color: white; font-family: Tahoma; font-size: 13.3333px;"><span style="font-size: 10pt;"><span style="font-size: 10pt;"><span style="line-height: 1.5;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman;"><span style="font-size: small;">Taken from </span></span><a href="http://www.answering-christianity.com/quran/quran_textual-reply.html#1"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman;"><span style="font-size: small;">http://www.answering-christianity.com/quran/quran_textual-reply.html#1</span></span></a>...</span></span></span></p><h2 style="background-color: white; font-family: Tahoma; margin-left: 0.5in; margin-right: 0.5in;"><span style="font-size: 10pt;"><span style="font-size: 10pt;"><span style="line-height: 1.5;"><span style="font-size: 10pt;"><span style="font-size: 10pt;"><span style="line-height: 1.5;"><span style="clear: both;"><span style="font-size: 10pt;"><span style="line-height: 1.5;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman;"><strong><span style="font-size: 13.5pt;">The Written Qur'an in the Times of The Prophet Muhammad (pbuh)</span></strong></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></h2><p style="background-color: white; font-family: Tahoma; font-size: 13.3333px; margin-left: 0.5in; margin-right: 0.5in;"><span style="font-size: 10pt;"><span style="font-size: 10pt;"><span style="line-height: 1.5;"><span style="font-size: 10pt;"><span style="font-size: 10pt;"><span style="line-height: 1.5;"><span style="clear: both;"><span style="font-size: 10pt;"><span style="line-height: 1.5;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman;"><span style="font-size: 13.5pt;">A large number</span> of missionaries and the self-styled "critics" have been quoting Islamic traditions, or reports (Hadith), which support their claim, that the Qur'an was not written at the time of its Revelation. Are all these claims true? They are not, if we re-examine them.</span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></p><p style="background-color: white; font-family: Tahoma; font-size: 13.3333px; margin-left: 0.5in; margin-right: 0.5in;"><span style="font-size: 10pt;"><span style="font-size: 10pt;"><span style="line-height: 1.5;"><span style="font-size: 10pt;"><span style="font-size: 10pt;"><span style="line-height: 1.5;"><span style="clear: both;"><span style="font-size: 10pt;"><span style="line-height: 1.5;"><a href="http://www.answering-christianity.com/quran/quran_textual-reply.html#Top"><b><span style="font-family: Times New Roman;"><span style="font-size: small;">Back to Top.</span></span></b></a></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></p><h3 style="background-color: white; font-family: Tahoma; margin-left: 0.5in; margin-right: 0.5in;"><span style="font-size: 10pt;"><span style="font-size: 10pt;"><span style="line-height: 1.5;"><span style="font-size: 10pt;"><span style="font-size: 10pt;"><span style="line-height: 1.5;"><span style="clear: both;"><span style="font-size: 10pt;"><span style="line-height: 1.5;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman;"><span style="color: navy;">Evidence from the Qur'an</span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></h3><p style="background-color: white; font-family: Tahoma; font-size: 13.3333px; margin-left: 0.5in; margin-right: 0.5in;"><span style="font-size: 10pt;"><span style="font-size: 10pt;"><span style="line-height: 1.5;"><span style="font-size: 10pt;"><span style="font-size: 10pt;"><span style="line-height: 1.5;"><span style="clear: both;"><span style="font-size: 10pt;"><span style="line-height: 1.5;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman;"><span style="font-size: 13.5pt;">The Qur'an itself</span> contains many passages which refer to its written form. There appear to be four chapters (Sura's) of the Qur'an which refer to the Qur'an's written form explicitly. I'll quote them:</span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></p><p style="background-color: white; font-family: Tahoma; font-size: 13.3333px; margin-left: 0.5in; margin-right: 0.5in;"><span style="font-size: 10pt;"><span style="font-size: 10pt;"><span style="line-height: 1.5;"><span style="font-size: 10pt;"><span style="font-size: 10pt;"><span style="line-height: 1.5;"><span style="clear: both;"><span style="font-size: 10pt;"><span style="line-height: 1.5;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman;"><span style="color: red;">"By no means! Indeed it is a message of Instruction<br />Therefore, whoever wills, should remember<br />On leaves held in honour<br />Exalted, purified<br />In the hands of scribes<br />Noble and pious"</span><br /><span style="color: blue;">Sura' 80: 11-16</span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></p><p style="background-color: white; font-family: Tahoma; font-size: 13.3333px; margin-left: 0.5in; margin-right: 0.5in;"><span style="font-size: 10pt;"><span style="font-size: 10pt;"><span style="line-height: 1.5;"><span style="font-size: 10pt;"><span style="font-size: 10pt;"><span style="line-height: 1.5;"><span style="clear: both;"><span style="font-size: 10pt;"><span style="line-height: 1.5;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman;"><span style="font-size: 13.5pt;">Here we have</span> a reference to those scribes who wrote the Qur'an, on leaves. Minister Abdullah Yusuf Ali, in his commentary wrote that at the time of the Revelation of this Surah, forty-two or forty-five others (Surahs) had been written and were kept by Muslims in Makkah (out of the total 114 Surahs).</span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></p><p style="background-color: white; font-family: Tahoma; font-size: 13.3333px; margin-left: 0.5in; margin-right: 0.5in;"><span style="font-size: 10pt;"><span style="font-size: 10pt;"><span style="line-height: 1.5;"><span style="font-size: 10pt;"><span style="font-size: 10pt;"><span style="line-height: 1.5;"><span style="clear: both;"><span style="font-size: 10pt;"><span style="line-height: 1.5;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman;"><span style="color: red;">"Nay, this is the glorious Qur'an, on a Tablet preserved"</span><br /><span style="color: blue;">Sura' 85: 21-22</span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></p><p style="background-color: white; font-family: Tahoma; font-size: 13.3333px; margin-left: 0.5in; margin-right: 0.5in;"><span style="font-size: 10pt;"><span style="font-size: 10pt;"><span style="line-height: 1.5;"><span style="font-size: 10pt;"><span style="font-size: 10pt;"><span style="line-height: 1.5;"><span style="clear: both;"><span style="font-size: 10pt;"><span style="line-height: 1.5;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman;"><span style="font-size: 13.5pt;">The above verse</span> is the ultimate proof on the written preservation of the Qur'an even before the migration of Prophet Muhammad (pbuh).</span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></p><p style="background-color: white; font-family: Tahoma; font-size: 13.3333px; margin-left: 0.5in; margin-right: 0.5in;"><span style="font-size: 10pt;"><span style="font-size: 10pt;"><span style="line-height: 1.5;"><span style="font-size: 10pt;"><span style="font-size: 10pt;"><span style="line-height: 1.5;"><span style="clear: both;"><span style="font-size: 10pt;"><span style="line-height: 1.5;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman;"><span style="color: red;">"This is a glorious Reading, In a book well-kept,<br />Which none but the purified teach<br />This is a Revelation from the Lord of the Worlds"</span><br /><span style="color: blue;">Sura' 56: 77-80</span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></p><p style="background-color: white; font-family: Tahoma; font-size: 13.3333px; margin-left: 0.5in; margin-right: 0.5in;"><span style="font-size: 10pt;"><span style="font-size: 10pt;"><span style="line-height: 1.5;"><span style="font-size: 10pt;"><span style="font-size: 10pt;"><span style="line-height: 1.5;"><span style="clear: both;"><span style="font-size: 10pt;"><span style="line-height: 1.5;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman;"><span style="font-size: 13.5pt;">The above verse</span> refers to a "book well-kept," which can be no other than the Qur'an.</span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></p><p style="background-color: white; font-family: Tahoma; font-size: 13.3333px; margin-left: 0.5in; margin-right: 0.5in;"><span style="font-size: 10pt;"><span style="font-size: 10pt;"><span style="line-height: 1.5;"><span style="font-size: 10pt;"><span style="font-size: 10pt;"><span style="line-height: 1.5;"><span style="clear: both;"><span style="font-size: 10pt;"><span style="line-height: 1.5;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman;"><span style="color: red;">"They said: Tales of the ancients which he had caused to be written and they are dictated to him morning and evening"</span><br /><span style="color: blue;">25: 5</span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></p><p style="background-color: white; font-family: Tahoma; font-size: 13.3333px; margin-left: 0.5in; margin-right: 0.5in;"><span style="font-size: 10pt;"><span style="font-size: 10pt;"><span style="line-height: 1.5;"><span style="font-size: 10pt;"><span style="font-size: 10pt;"><span style="line-height: 1.5;"><span style="clear: both;"><span style="font-size: 10pt;"><span style="line-height: 1.5;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman;"><span style="font-size: 13.5pt;">A reference to</span> the enemies of the Prophet Muhammad (pbuh) when they accused him of plagiarising and retelling stories from the past. Still, we see words referring to the Qur'an in its written form.</span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></p><p style="background-color: white; font-family: Tahoma; font-size: 13.3333px; margin-left: 0.5in; margin-right: 0.5in;"><span style="font-size: 10pt;"><span style="font-size: 10pt;"><span style="line-height: 1.5;"><span style="font-size: 10pt;"><span style="font-size: 10pt;"><span style="line-height: 1.5;"><span style="clear: both;"><span style="font-size: 10pt;"><span style="line-height: 1.5;"><a href="http://www.answering-christianity.com/quran/quran_textual-reply.html#Top"><b><span style="font-family: Times New Roman;"><span style="font-size: small;">Back to Top.</span></span></b></a></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></p><h3 style="background-color: white; font-family: Tahoma; margin-left: 0.5in; margin-right: 0.5in;"><span style="font-size: 10pt;"><span style="font-size: 10pt;"><span style="line-height: 1.5;"><span style="font-size: 10pt;"><span style="font-size: 10pt;"><span style="line-height: 1.5;"><span style="clear: both;"><span style="font-size: 10pt;"><span style="line-height: 1.5;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman;"><span style="color: navy;">Evidence from Hadith</span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></h3><p style="background-color: white; font-family: Tahoma; font-size: 13.3333px; margin-left: 0.5in; margin-right: 0.5in;"><span style="font-size: 10pt;"><span style="font-size: 10pt;"><span style="line-height: 1.5;"><span style="font-size: 10pt;"><span style="font-size: 10pt;"><span style="line-height: 1.5;"><span style="clear: both;"><span style="font-size: 10pt;"><span style="line-height: 1.5;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman;"><span style="font-size: 13.5pt;">Besides the above</span> verses which refer to the Qur'an's written form, there are also a number of Hadith which agree with the above verses:</span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></p><p style="background-color: white; font-family: Tahoma; font-size: 13.3333px; margin-left: 0.5in; margin-right: 0.5in;"><span style="font-size: 10pt;"><span style="font-size: 10pt;"><span style="line-height: 1.5;"><span style="font-size: 10pt;"><span style="font-size: 10pt;"><span style="line-height: 1.5;"><span style="clear: both;"><span style="font-size: 10pt;"><span style="line-height: 1.5;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman;"><span style="font-size: 13.5pt;">Zayd(ra) is</span> reported to have said: </span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></p><p style="background-color: white; font-family: Tahoma; font-size: 13.3333px; margin-left: 0.5in; margin-right: 0.5in;"><span style="font-size: 10pt;"><span style="font-size: 10pt;"><span style="line-height: 1.5;"><span style="font-size: 10pt;"><span style="font-size: 10pt;"><span style="line-height: 1.5;"><span style="clear: both;"><span style="font-size: 10pt;"><span style="line-height: 1.5;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman;"><span style="color: green;"><span style="font-family: Courier;">We used to compile the <i>Qur'an </i>from small scraps in the presence of the Messenger.</span></span> <span style="color: blue;">(Hakim, Mustadrak)</span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></p><p style="background-color: white; font-family: Tahoma; font-size: 13.3333px; margin-left: 0.5in; margin-right: 0.5in;"><span style="font-size: 10pt;"><span style="font-size: 10pt;"><span style="line-height: 1.5;"><span style="font-size: 10pt;"><span style="font-size: 10pt;"><span style="line-height: 1.5;"><span style="clear: both;"><span style="font-size: 10pt;"><span style="line-height: 1.5;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman;"><span style="font-size: 13.5pt;">The above Hadith</span> also tells us that the Prophet Muhammad (pbuh) was not unaware of the condition of the Qur'an with his companions and that he used to guide them while compiling it. Also, it tells us that the Qur'an also used to be compiled <i>for </i>Prophet Muhammad (pbuh), meaning that he had a personal copy.</span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></p><p style="background-color: white; font-family: Tahoma; font-size: 13.3333px; margin-left: 0.5in; margin-right: 0.5in;"><span style="font-size: 10pt;"><span style="font-size: 10pt;"><span style="line-height: 1.5;"><span style="font-size: 10pt;"><span style="font-size: 10pt;"><span style="line-height: 1.5;"><span style="clear: both;"><span style="font-size: 10pt;"><span style="line-height: 1.5;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman;"><span style="color: green;"><span style="font-family: Courier;">Malik said that no one should carry the Mushaf by its strap, nor on a pillow, unless he is clean.</span></span> <span style="color: blue;">(Mu'atta, Kitab Al-Nida' Li'l-Salah)</span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></p><p style="background-color: white; font-family: Tahoma; font-size: 13.3333px; margin-left: 0.5in; margin-right: 0.5in;"><span style="font-size: 10pt;"><span style="font-size: 10pt;"><span style="line-height: 1.5;"><span style="font-size: 10pt;"><span style="font-size: 10pt;"><span style="line-height: 1.5;"><span style="clear: both;"><span style="font-size: 10pt;"><span style="line-height: 1.5;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman;"><span style="font-size: 13.5pt;">It is clear</span> that the Qur'an was available in a book form at the time of the Prophet Muhammad (pbuh).</span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></p><p style="background-color: white; font-family: Tahoma; font-size: 13.3333px; margin-left: 0.5in; margin-right: 0.5in;"><span style="font-size: 10pt;"><span style="font-size: 10pt;"><span style="line-height: 1.5;"><span style="font-size: 10pt;"><span style="font-size: 10pt;"><span style="line-height: 1.5;"><span style="clear: both;"><span style="font-size: 10pt;"><span style="line-height: 1.5;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman;"><span style="color: green;"><span style="font-family: Courier;">Narrated Qatadah: I asked Anas Ibn Malik: 'Who collected the Qur'an at the time of Prophet?' He replied: 'Four, all of whom were from the Ansar: Ubay Ibn Ka'ab, Mu'adh Ibn Jabal, Zayd Ibn Thabit and Abu Zayd.' </span></span><span style="color: blue;">(Bukhari, Kitab Fada'ilu'l-Qur'an)</span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></p><p style="background-color: white; font-family: Tahoma; font-size: 13.3333px; margin-left: 0.5in; margin-right: 0.5in;"><span style="font-size: 10pt;"><span style="font-size: 10pt;"><span style="line-height: 1.5;"><span style="font-size: 10pt;"><span style="font-size: 10pt;"><span style="line-height: 1.5;"><span style="clear: both;"><span style="font-size: 10pt;"><span style="line-height: 1.5;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman;"><span style="font-size: 13.5pt;">It is very</span> clear that the <b>complete </b>Qur'an was available in the form of a book even at the time of the Prophet Muhammad (pbuh). This proof is inescapable, and any Hadith which contradicts the facts presented here is a fabrication.</span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></p><p style="background-color: white; font-family: Tahoma; font-size: 13.3333px; margin-left: 0.5in; margin-right: 0.5in;"><span style="font-size: 10pt;"><span style="font-size: 10pt;"><span style="line-height: 1.5;"><span style="font-size: 10pt;"><span style="font-size: 10pt;"><span style="line-height: 1.5;"><span style="clear: both;"><span style="font-size: 10pt;"><span style="line-height: 1.5;"><a href="http://www.answering-christianity.com/quran/quran_textual-reply.html#Top"><b><span style="font-family: Times New Roman;"><span style="font-size: small;">Back to Top.</span></span></b></a></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></p><h2 style="background-color: white; font-family: Tahoma; margin-left: 0.5in; margin-right: 0.5in;"><span style="font-size: 10pt;"><span style="font-size: 10pt;"><span style="line-height: 1.5;"><span style="font-size: 10pt;"><span style="font-size: 10pt;"><span style="line-height: 1.5;"><span style="clear: both;"><span style="font-size: 10pt;"><span style="line-height: 1.5;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman;"><strong><span style="font-size: 13.5pt;">The Oral Transmission of the Qur'an</span></strong></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></h2><p style="background-color: white; font-family: Tahoma; font-size: 13.3333px; margin-left: 0.5in; margin-right: 0.5in;"><span style="font-size: 10pt;"><span style="font-size: 10pt;"><span style="line-height: 1.5;"><span style="font-size: 10pt;"><span style="font-size: 10pt;"><span style="line-height: 1.5;"><span style="clear: both;"><span style="font-size: 10pt;"><span style="line-height: 1.5;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman;">Even until today, manypeople have completely memorized the Qur'an. These people are known as Hafizun, which means that they are the protectors of the Qur'an. The real protector is Allah, the Lord of all Being, but Hafizun are called protectors because if the Qur'an was ever lost, the Hafizun can easily restore it. People have not started becoming Hafizun recently, but many of them were also present at the time of the Prophet Muhammad (pbuh). The Prophet Muhammad (pbuh) himself was a person who had memorized the whole Qur'an, word by word.</span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></p><p style="background-color: white; font-family: Tahoma; font-size: 13.3333px; margin-left: 0.5in; margin-right: 0.5in;"><span style="font-size: 10pt;"><span style="font-size: 10pt;"><span style="line-height: 1.5;"><span style="font-size: 10pt;"><span style="font-size: 10pt;"><span style="line-height: 1.5;"><span style="clear: both;"><span style="font-size: 10pt;"><span style="line-height: 1.5;"><a href="http://www.answering-christianity.com/quran/quran_textual-reply.html#Top"><b><span style="font-family: Times New Roman;"><span style="font-size: small;">Back to Top.</span></span></b></a></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></p><h3 style="background-color: white; font-family: Tahoma; margin-left: 0.5in; margin-right: 0.5in;"><span style="font-size: 10pt;"><span style="font-size: 10pt;"><span style="line-height: 1.5;"><span style="font-size: 10pt;"><span style="font-size: 10pt;"><span style="line-height: 1.5;"><span style="clear: both;"><span style="font-size: 10pt;"><span style="line-height: 1.5;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman;"><span style="color: navy;">The First Hafiz</span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></h3><p style="background-color: white; font-family: Tahoma; font-size: 13.3333px; margin-left: 0.5in; margin-right: 0.5in;"><span style="font-size: 10pt;"><span style="font-size: 10pt;"><span style="line-height: 1.5;"><span style="font-size: 10pt;"><span style="font-size: 10pt;"><span style="line-height: 1.5;"><span style="clear: both;"><span style="font-size: 10pt;"><span style="line-height: 1.5;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman;"><span style="font-size: 13.5pt;">The first one</span> to memorize the complete Qur'an, was, the Prophet Muhammad (pbuh) himself. After a Revelation came to the Prophet (pbuh), he memorized it:</span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></p><p style="background-color: white; font-family: Tahoma; font-size: 13.3333px; margin-left: 0.5in; margin-right: 0.5in;"><span style="font-size: 10pt;"><span style="font-size: 10pt;"><span style="line-height: 1.5;"><span style="font-size: 10pt;"><span style="font-size: 10pt;"><span style="line-height: 1.5;"><span style="clear: both;"><span style="font-size: 10pt;"><span style="line-height: 1.5;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman;"><span style="color: red;">'Move not thy tongue concerning the (Qur'an) to make<br />haste therewith. It is for Us to collect it and promulgate<br />it; but when We have promulgated it, follow thou its<br />recital' </span><span style="color: blue;">(75: 16-19)</span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></p><p style="background-color: white; font-family: Tahoma; font-size: 13.3333px; margin-left: 0.5in; margin-right: 0.5in;"><span style="font-size: 10pt;"><span style="font-size: 10pt;"><span style="line-height: 1.5;"><span style="font-size: 10pt;"><span style="font-size: 10pt;"><span style="line-height: 1.5;"><span style="clear: both;"><span style="font-size: 10pt;"><span style="line-height: 1.5;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman;"><span style="font-size: 13.5pt;">Instead of the</span> above verse, they are so many Hadith which say that the Prophet Muhammad (pbuh) had memorized the Qur'an, they quoting them is not needed. Any one with even the knowledge of an atom concerning Islam may be knowing this.</span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></p><p style="background-color: white; font-family: Tahoma; font-size: 13.3333px; margin-left: 0.5in; margin-right: 0.5in;"><span style="font-size: 10pt;"><span style="font-size: 10pt;"><span style="line-height: 1.5;"><span style="font-size: 10pt;"><span style="font-size: 10pt;"><span style="line-height: 1.5;"><span style="clear: both;"><span style="font-size: 10pt;"><span style="line-height: 1.5;"><a href="http://www.answering-christianity.com/quran/quran_textual-reply.html#Top"><b><span style="font-family: Times New Roman;"><span style="font-size: small;">Back to Top.</span></span></b></a></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></p><h3 style="background-color: white; font-family: Tahoma; margin-left: 0.5in; margin-right: 0.5in;"><span style="font-size: 10pt;"><span style="font-size: 10pt;"><span style="line-height: 1.5;"><span style="font-size: 10pt;"><span style="font-size: 10pt;"><span style="line-height: 1.5;"><span style="clear: both;"><span style="font-size: 10pt;"><span style="line-height: 1.5;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman;"><span style="color: navy;">Hafizun Among the Companions</span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></h3><p style="background-color: white; font-family: Tahoma; font-size: 13.3333px; margin-left: 0.5in; margin-right: 0.5in;"><span style="font-size: 10pt;"><span style="font-size: 10pt;"><span style="line-height: 1.5;"><span style="font-size: 10pt;"><span style="font-size: 10pt;"><span style="line-height: 1.5;"><span style="clear: both;"><span style="font-size: 10pt;"><span style="line-height: 1.5;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman;"><span style="font-size: 13.5pt;">The Prophet (pbuh) had</span> thousands of companions, and it is for sure that hundreds of them too had memorized the whole Qur'an, word by word, just as the Prophet Muhammad (pbuh) himself did.</span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></p><p style="background-color: white; font-family: Tahoma; font-size: 13.3333px; margin-left: 0.5in; margin-right: 0.5in;"><span style="font-size: 10pt;"><span style="font-size: 10pt;"><span style="line-height: 1.5;"><span style="font-size: 10pt;"><span style="font-size: 10pt;"><span style="line-height: 1.5;"><span style="clear: both;"><span style="font-size: 10pt;"><span style="line-height: 1.5;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman;"><span style="color: red;"><span style="font-family: Courier;">"... the first man to speak the Qur'an loudly in Makka after the apostle was 'Abdullah bin Mas'ud. The Prophet's Companions came together and mentioned that the Quraish had never heard the Qur'an distinctly read to them ... When (Ibn Mas'ud) arrived at the maqAm, he read "In the name of God the Compassionate the Merciful", raising his voice as he did so. "The Compassionate who taught the Qur'an ..." (55:1) ... They got up and began to hit him in the face; but he continued to read so far as God willed that he should read ..." </span></span><span style="color: blue;">Guillaume, E.: The Life of Muhammad (abbr. as Ibn Hisham), London, 55, pp. 141-2; Ibn Hisham: Sira al-nabi, Cairo, n.d., 1, p.206.</span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></p><p style="background-color: white; font-family: Tahoma; font-size: 13.3333px; margin-left: 0.5in; margin-right: 0.5in;"><span style="font-size: 10pt;"><span style="font-size: 10pt;"><span style="line-height: 1.5;"><span style="font-size: 10pt;"><span style="font-size: 10pt;"><span style="line-height: 1.5;"><span style="clear: both;"><span style="font-size: 10pt;"><span style="line-height: 1.5;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman;"><span style="font-size: 13.5pt;">The above report</span> clearly shows that even in the earlier days of Islam, people memorized the Qur'an. It is also reported that Abu Bakr (ra) recited the Qur'an publicly in front of his house <span style="color: blue;">(Sira Ibn Hisham)</span>.</span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></p><p style="background-color: white; font-family: Tahoma; font-size: 13.3333px; margin-left: 0.5in; margin-right: 0.5in;"><span style="font-size: 10pt;"><span style="font-size: 10pt;"><span style="line-height: 1.5;"><span style="font-size: 10pt;"><span style="font-size: 10pt;"><span style="line-height: 1.5;"><span style="clear: both;"><span style="font-size: 10pt;"><span style="line-height: 1.5;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman;"><span style="font-size: 13.5pt;">In addition to</span> this, it is compulsory to recite the Qur'an in prayers. So the companions, at least, had memorized some of the Qur'an if not the whole as others did.</span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></p><p style="background-color: white; font-family: Tahoma; font-size: 13.3333px; margin-left: 0.5in; margin-right: 0.5in;"><span style="font-size: 10pt;"><span style="font-size: 10pt;"><span style="line-height: 1.5;"><span style="font-size: 10pt;"><span style="font-size: 10pt;"><span style="line-height: 1.5;"><span style="clear: both;"><span style="font-size: 10pt;"><span style="line-height: 1.5;"><a href="http://www.answering-christianity.com/quran/quran_textual-reply.html#Top"><b><span style="font-family: Times New Roman;"><span style="font-size: small;">Back to Top.</span></span></b></a></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></p><h3 style="background-color: white; font-family: Tahoma; margin-left: 0.5in; margin-right: 0.5in;"><span style="font-size: 10pt;"><span style="font-size: 10pt;"><span style="line-height: 1.5;"><span style="font-size: 10pt;"><span style="font-size: 10pt;"><span style="line-height: 1.5;"><span style="clear: both;"><span style="font-size: 10pt;"><span style="line-height: 1.5;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman;"><span style="color: navy;">Prophet Muhammad (pbuh) Encouraged Memorization</span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></h3><p style="background-color: white; font-family: Tahoma; font-size: 13.3333px; margin-left: 0.5in; margin-right: 0.5in;"><span style="font-size: 10pt;"><span style="font-size: 10pt;"><span style="line-height: 1.5;"><span style="font-size: 10pt;"><span style="font-size: 10pt;"><span style="line-height: 1.5;"><span style="clear: both;"><span style="font-size: 10pt;"><span style="line-height: 1.5;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman;"><span style="font-size: 13.5pt;">The best thing</span> we could do here was to quote a passage from the second chapter of Ahmad von Denffer's book, <span style="color: blue;">Ulum al Qur'an</span>:</span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></p><p style="background-color: white; font-family: Tahoma; font-size: 13.3333px; margin-left: 0.5in; margin-right: 0.5in;"><span style="font-size: 10pt;"><span style="font-size: 10pt;"><span style="line-height: 1.5;"><span style="font-size: 10pt;"><span style="font-size: 10pt;"><span style="line-height: 1.5;"><span style="clear: both;"><span style="font-size: 10pt;"><span style="line-height: 1.5;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman;"><span style="color: green;">There are numerous ahadith, giving account of various efforts made and measures taken by the Prophet to ensure that the revelation was preserved in the memory of his Companions. The following is perhaps the most clear:<br />'Narrated 'Uthman bin 'Affan: The Prophet said: "The most superior among you (Muslims) are those who learn the Qur'an and teach it".' </span><span style="color: blue;">Bukhari, VI, No. 546.</span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></p><p style="background-color: white; font-family: Tahoma; font-size: 13.3333px; margin-left: 0.5in; margin-right: 0.5in;"><span style="font-size: 10pt;"><span style="font-size: 10pt;"><span style="line-height: 1.5;"><span style="font-size: 10pt;"><span style="font-size: 10pt;"><span style="line-height: 1.5;"><span style="clear: both;"><span style="font-size: 10pt;"><span style="line-height: 1.5;"><a href="http://www.answering-christianity.com/quran/quran_textual-reply.html#Top"><b><span style="font-family: Times New Roman;"><span style="font-size: small;">Back to Top.</span></span></b></a></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></p><h3 style="background-color: white; font-family: Tahoma; margin-left: 0.5in; margin-right: 0.5in;"><span style="font-size: 10pt;"><span style="font-size: 10pt;"><span style="line-height: 1.5;"><span style="font-size: 10pt;"><span style="font-size: 10pt;"><span style="line-height: 1.5;"><span style="clear: both;"><span style="font-size: 10pt;"><span style="line-height: 1.5;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman;"><span style="color: navy;">Listening to Others by the Prophet Muhammad (pbuh)</span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></h3><p style="background-color: white; font-family: Tahoma; font-size: 13.3333px; margin-left: 0.5in; margin-right: 0.5in;"><span style="font-size: 10pt;"><span style="font-size: 10pt;"><span style="line-height: 1.5;"><span style="font-size: 10pt;"><span style="font-size: 10pt;"><span style="line-height: 1.5;"><span style="clear: both;"><span style="font-size: 10pt;"><span style="line-height: 1.5;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman;"><span style="font-size: 13.5pt;">The Prophet Muhammad (pbuh), also</span> listened to the recital of others. Here is a Hadith showing this:</span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></p><p style="background-color: white; font-family: Tahoma; font-size: 13.3333px; margin-left: 0.5in; margin-right: 0.5in;"><span style="font-size: 10pt;"><span style="font-size: 10pt;"><span style="line-height: 1.5;"><span style="font-size: 10pt;"><span style="font-size: 10pt;"><span style="line-height: 1.5;"><span style="clear: both;"><span style="font-size: 10pt;"><span style="line-height: 1.5;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman;"><span style="color: green;"><span style="font-family: Courier;">"Narrated 'Abdullah (Ibn Mas'ud): 'Allah's Apostle said to me: "Recite (of the Qur'an) for me". I said: "Shall I recite it to you although it had been revealed to you?!" He said: "I like to hear (the Qur'an) from others". So I recited Surat-an-Nisa' till I reached: "How (will it be) then when We bring from each nation a witness and We bring you (O Muhammad) as a witness against these people?" ' (4: 41). 'Then he said: "Stop!" Behold, his eyes were shedding tears then."</span></span> <span style="color: blue;">Bukhari, VI, No. 106.</span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></p><p style="background-color: white; font-family: Tahoma; font-size: 13.3333px; margin-left: 0.5in; margin-right: 0.5in;"><span style="font-size: 10pt;"><span style="font-size: 10pt;"><span style="line-height: 1.5;"><span style="font-size: 10pt;"><span style="font-size: 10pt;"><span style="line-height: 1.5;"><span style="clear: both;"><span style="font-size: 10pt;"><span style="line-height: 1.5;"><a href="http://www.answering-christianity.com/quran/quran_textual-reply.html#Top"><b><span style="font-family: Times New Roman;"><span style="font-size: small;">Back to Top.</span></span></b></a></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></p><h3 style="background-color: white; font-family: Tahoma; margin-left: 0.5in; margin-right: 0.5in;"><span style="font-size: 10pt;"><span style="font-size: 10pt;"><span style="line-height: 1.5;"><span style="font-size: 10pt;"><span style="font-size: 10pt;"><span style="line-height: 1.5;"><span style="clear: both;"><span style="font-size: 10pt;"><span style="line-height: 1.5;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman;"><span style="color: navy;">Conclusion</span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></h3><p style="background-color: white; font-family: Tahoma; font-size: 13.3333px; margin-left: 0.5in; margin-right: 0.5in;"><span style="font-size: 10pt;"><span style="font-size: 10pt;"><span style="line-height: 1.5;"><span style="font-size: 10pt;"><span style="font-size: 10pt;"><span style="line-height: 1.5;"><span style="clear: both;"><span style="font-size: 10pt;"><span style="line-height: 1.5;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman;"><span style="font-size: 13.5pt;">In addition to</span> writing, the whole Qur'an was also memorized by hundreds of Muslims and even those who had met the Prophet Muhammad (pbuh) himself. Just as the whole Qur'an was preserved by writing, the whole Qur'an was also preserved by memorization too.</span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></p><p style="background-color: white; font-family: Tahoma; font-size: 13.3333px; margin-left: 0.5in; margin-right: 0.5in;"><span style="font-size: 10pt;"><span style="font-size: 10pt;"><span style="line-height: 1.5;"><span style="font-size: 10pt;"><span style="font-size: 10pt;"><span style="line-height: 1.5;"><span style="clear: both;"><span style="font-size: 10pt;"><span style="line-height: 1.5;"><a href="http://www.answering-christianity.com/quran/quran_textual-reply.html#Top"><b><span style="font-family: Times New Roman;"><span style="font-size: small;">Back to Top.</span></span></b></a></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></p><p style="background-color: white; font-family: Tahoma; font-size: 13.3333px;"><span style="font-size: 10pt;"><span style="font-size: 10pt;"><span style="line-height: 1.5;"><span style="font-size: 10pt;"><span style="font-size: 10pt;"><span style="line-height: 1.5;"><span style="clear: both;"><span style="font-size: 10pt;"><span style="line-height: 1.5;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman;">As a matter of fact, all this is actually is supportive evidence that the Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) did not author the Qur'an. If he was the author of this book and the source of its information then why would he ever worry about forgetting it?</span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></p><p style="background-color: white; font-family: Tahoma; font-size: 13.3333px;"><span style="font-size: 10pt;"><span style="font-size: 10pt;"><span style="line-height: 1.5;"><span style="font-size: 10pt;"><span style="font-size: 10pt;"><span style="line-height: 1.5;"><span style="clear: both;"><span style="font-size: 10pt;"><span style="line-height: 1.5;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman;"><b><u><span style="font-size: 18pt;">Samuel Green said:</span></u></b></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></p><p style="background-color: white; font-family: Tahoma; font-size: 13.3333px;"><span style="font-size: 10pt;"><span style="font-size: 10pt;"><span style="line-height: 1.5;"><span style="font-size: 10pt;"><span style="font-size: 10pt;"><span style="line-height: 1.5;"><span style="clear: both;"><span style="font-size: 10pt;"><span style="line-height: 1.5;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman;"><b>HAT DOES THE HADITH SAY ABOUT THE MEMORY OF THE COMPANIONS?</b></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></p><p style="background-color: white; font-family: Tahoma; font-size: 13.3333px; margin-left: 0.5in; margin-right: 0.5in;"><span style="font-size: 10pt;"><span style="font-size: 10pt;"><span style="line-height: 1.5;"><span style="font-size: 10pt;"><span style="font-size: 10pt;"><span style="line-height: 1.5;"><span style="clear: both;"><span style="font-size: 10pt;"><span style="line-height: 1.5;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman;"><b>Sahih Muslim: book 5, volume 2</b></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></p><p style="background-color: white; font-family: Tahoma; font-size: 13.3333px; margin-left: 0.5in; margin-right: 0.5in;"><span style="font-size: 10pt;"><span style="font-size: 10pt;"><span style="line-height: 1.5;"><span style="font-size: 10pt;"><span style="font-size: 10pt;"><span style="line-height: 1.5;"><span style="clear: both;"><span style="font-size: 10pt;"><span style="line-height: 1.5;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman;">(2286) Abu Harb b. Abu al-Aswad reported on the authority of his father that Abu Musa al-Ash'ari sent for the reciters of Basra. They came to him and they were three hundred in number. They recited the Qur'an and he said: You are the best among the inhabitants of Basra, for you are the reciters among them. So continue to recite it. (But bear in mind) that your reciting for a long time may not harden your hearts as were hardened the hearts of those before you. We used to recite a surah which resembled in length and severity to (Surah) Bar'at. I have forgotten it with the exception of this which I remember out of it: "If there were two valleys full of riches, for the son of Adam, he would long for a third valley, and nothing would fill the stomach of the son of Adam but dust." And we used so recite a surah which resembled one of the surahs of Musabbihat, and I have forgetten it, but remember (this much) out of it: "O people who believe, why do you say that which you do not practise: (lxi 2.) and "that is recorded in your necks as a witness (against you) and you would be asked about it on the Day of Resurrection" (xvii. 13)</span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></p><p style="background-color: white; font-family: Tahoma; font-size: 13.3333px;"><span style="font-size: 10pt;"><span style="font-size: 10pt;"><span style="line-height: 1.5;"><span style="font-size: 10pt;"><span style="font-size: 10pt;"><span style="line-height: 1.5;"><span style="clear: both;"><span style="font-size: 10pt;"><span style="line-height: 1.5;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman;">Here we see one of the Companions testifying the existence of part of a surah that is no longer in the Qur'an because it had been forgotten by them.</span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></p><p style="background-color: white; font-family: Tahoma; font-size: 13.3333px;"><span style="font-size: 10pt;"><span style="font-size: 10pt;"><span style="line-height: 1.5;"><span style="font-size: 10pt;"><span style="font-size: 10pt;"><span style="line-height: 1.5;"><span style="clear: both;"><span style="font-size: 10pt;"><span style="line-height: 1.5;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman;"><b><u>CONCLUSION</u></b></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></p><p style="background-color: white; font-family: Tahoma; font-size: 13.3333px;"><span style="font-size: 10pt;"><span style="font-size: 10pt;"><span style="line-height: 1.5;"><span style="font-size: 10pt;"><span style="font-size: 10pt;"><span style="line-height: 1.5;"><span style="clear: both;"><span style="font-size: 10pt;"><span style="line-height: 1.5;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman;">The evidence from the Qur'an and Hadith clearly teaches that Muhammad and his Companions had normal memories and did forget parts of the Qur'an. Rather than make exaggerated claims about Muhammad's memory Muslims should listen to what Muhammad said about himself: <i>I am only a human being and I forget just as you do</i>. (Sahih al-Bukhari, Sunan Abu Dawud)</span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></p><p style="background-color: white; font-family: Tahoma; font-size: 13.3333px;"><span style="font-size: 10pt;"><span style="font-size: 10pt;"><span style="line-height: 1.5;"><span style="font-size: 10pt;"><span style="font-size: 10pt;"><span style="line-height: 1.5;"><span style="clear: both;"><span style="font-size: 10pt;"><span style="line-height: 1.5;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman;"><b><u><span style="font-size: 18pt;">My Response:</span></u></b></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></p><p style="background-color: white; font-family: Tahoma; font-size: 13.3333px;"><span style="font-size: 10pt;"><span style="font-size: 10pt;"><span style="line-height: 1.5;"><span style="font-size: 10pt;"><span style="font-size: 10pt;"><span style="line-height: 1.5;"><span style="clear: both;"><span style="font-size: 10pt;"><span style="line-height: 1.5;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman;">Some of the companions of the Prophet (peace be upon him) initially believed that the statement "<i>If there were two valleys full of riches, for the son of Adam, he would long for a third valley, and nothing would fill the stomach of the son of Adam but dust</i>." was part of the Qur'an. </span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></p><p style="background-color: white; font-family: Tahoma; font-size: 13.3333px;"><span style="font-size: 10pt;"><span style="font-size: 10pt;"><span style="line-height: 1.5;"><span style="font-size: 10pt;"><span style="font-size: 10pt;"><span style="line-height: 1.5;"><span style="clear: both;"><span style="font-size: 10pt;"><span style="line-height: 1.5;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman;">However, it is turns out that the statement was nothing more than a hadith. Here are some hadith to show this... </span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></p><p style="background-color: white; font-family: Tahoma; font-size: 13.3333px; margin-left: 0.5in; margin-right: 0.5in;"><span style="font-size: 10pt;"><span style="font-size: 10pt;"><span style="line-height: 1.5;"><span style="font-size: 10pt;"><span style="font-size: 10pt;"><span style="line-height: 1.5;"><span style="clear: both;"><span style="font-size: 10pt;"><span style="line-height: 1.5;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman;"><b><u><span style="font-size: 18pt;"><span style="color: navy;">Saheeh Bukhari</span></span></u></b></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></p><p style="background-color: white; font-family: Tahoma; font-size: 13.3333px; margin-left: 0.5in; margin-right: 0.5in;"><span style="font-size: 10pt;"><span style="font-size: 10pt;"><span style="line-height: 1.5;"><span style="font-size: 10pt;"><span style="font-size: 10pt;"><span style="line-height: 1.5;"><span style="clear: both;"><span style="font-size: 10pt;"><span style="line-height: 1.5;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman;">Volume 8, Book 76, Number 444:</span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></p><p style="background-color: white; font-family: Tahoma; font-size: 13.3333px; margin-left: 0.5in; margin-right: 0.5in;"><span style="font-size: 10pt;"><span style="font-size: 10pt;"><span style="line-height: 1.5;"><span style="font-size: 10pt;"><span style="font-size: 10pt;"><span style="line-height: 1.5;"><span style="clear: both;"><span style="font-size: 10pt;"><span style="line-height: 1.5;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman;">Narrated Ibn 'Abbas:</span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></p><p style="background-color: white; font-family: Tahoma; font-size: 13.3333px; margin-left: 0.5in; margin-right: 0.5in;"><span style="font-size: 10pt;"><span style="font-size: 10pt;"><span style="line-height: 1.5;"><span style="font-size: 10pt;"><span style="font-size: 10pt;"><span style="line-height: 1.5;"><span style="clear: both;"><span style="font-size: 10pt;"><span style="line-height: 1.5;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman;">I heard the Prophet saying, "If the son of Adam (the human being) had two valley of money, he would wish for a third, for nothing can fill the belly of Adam's son except dust, and Allah forgives him who repents to Him."</span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></p><p style="background-color: white; font-family: Tahoma; font-size: 13.3333px; margin-left: 0.5in; margin-right: 0.5in;"><span style="font-size: 10pt;"><span style="font-size: 10pt;"><span style="line-height: 1.5;"><span style="font-size: 10pt;"><span style="font-size: 10pt;"><span style="line-height: 1.5;"><span style="clear: both;"><span style="font-size: 10pt;"><span style="line-height: 1.5;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman;">Volume 8, Book 76, Number 445:</span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></p><p style="background-color: white; font-family: Tahoma; font-size: 13.3333px; margin-left: 0.5in; margin-right: 0.5in;"><span style="font-size: 10pt;"><span style="font-size: 10pt;"><span style="line-height: 1.5;"><span style="font-size: 10pt;"><span style="font-size: 10pt;"><span style="line-height: 1.5;"><span style="clear: both;"><span style="font-size: 10pt;"><span style="line-height: 1.5;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman;">Narrated Ibn 'Abbas:</span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></p><p style="background-color: white; font-family: Tahoma; font-size: 13.3333px; margin-left: 0.5in; margin-right: 0.5in;"><span style="font-size: 10pt;"><span style="font-size: 10pt;"><span style="line-height: 1.5;"><span style="font-size: 10pt;"><span style="font-size: 10pt;"><span style="line-height: 1.5;"><span style="clear: both;"><span style="font-size: 10pt;"><span style="line-height: 1.5;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman;">I heard Allah's Apostle saying, "If the son of Adam had money equal to a valley, then he will wish for another similar to it, for nothing can satisfy the eye of Adam's son except dust. And Allah forgives him who repents to Him." Ibn 'Abbas said: I do not know whether this saying was quoted from the Qur'an or not. 'Ata' said, "I heard Ibn AzZubair saying this narration while he was on the pulpit."</span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></p><p style="background-color: white; font-family: Tahoma; font-size: 13.3333px; margin-left: 0.5in; margin-right: 0.5in;"><span style="font-size: 10pt;"><span style="font-size: 10pt;"><span style="line-height: 1.5;"><span style="font-size: 10pt;"><span style="font-size: 10pt;"><span style="line-height: 1.5;"><span style="clear: both;"><span style="font-size: 10pt;"><span style="line-height: 1.5;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman;">Volume 8, Book 76, Number 446:</span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></p><p style="background-color: white; font-family: Tahoma; font-size: 13.3333px; margin-left: 0.5in; margin-right: 0.5in;"><span style="font-size: 10pt;"><span style="font-size: 10pt;"><span style="line-height: 1.5;"><span style="font-size: 10pt;"><span style="font-size: 10pt;"><span style="line-height: 1.5;"><span style="clear: both;"><span style="font-size: 10pt;"><span style="line-height: 1.5;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman;">Narrated Sahl bin Sa'd:</span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></p><p style="background-color: white; font-family: Tahoma; font-size: 13.3333px; margin-left: 0.5in; margin-right: 0.5in;"><span style="font-size: 10pt;"><span style="font-size: 10pt;"><span style="line-height: 1.5;"><span style="font-size: 10pt;"><span style="font-size: 10pt;"><span style="line-height: 1.5;"><span style="clear: both;"><span style="font-size: 10pt;"><span style="line-height: 1.5;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman;">I heard Ibn Az-Zubair who was on the pulpit at Mecca, delivering a sermon, saying, "O men! The Prophet used to say, "If the son of Adam were given a valley full of gold, he would love to have a second one; and if he were given the second one, he would love to have a third, for nothing fills the belly of Adam's son except dust. And Allah forgives he who repents to Him." Ubai said, "We considered this as a saying from the Qur'an till the Sura (beginning with) 'The mutual rivalry for piling up of worldly things diverts you..' (102.1) was revealed."</span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></p><p style="background-color: white; font-family: Tahoma; font-size: 13.3333px; margin-left: 0.5in; margin-right: 0.5in;"><span style="font-size: 10pt;"><span style="font-size: 10pt;"><span style="line-height: 1.5;"><span style="font-size: 10pt;"><span style="font-size: 10pt;"><span style="line-height: 1.5;"><span style="clear: both;"><span style="font-size: 10pt;"><span style="line-height: 1.5;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman;">Volume 8, Book 76, Number 447:</span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></p><p style="background-color: white; font-family: Tahoma; font-size: 13.3333px; margin-left: 0.5in; margin-right: 0.5in;"><span style="font-size: 10pt;"><span style="font-size: 10pt;"><span style="line-height: 1.5;"><span style="font-size: 10pt;"><span style="font-size: 10pt;"><span style="line-height: 1.5;"><span style="clear: both;"><span style="font-size: 10pt;"><span style="line-height: 1.5;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman;">Narrated Anas bin Malik:</span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></p><p style="background-color: white; font-family: Tahoma; font-size: 13.3333px; margin-left: 0.5in; margin-right: 0.5in;"><span style="font-size: 10pt;"><span style="font-size: 10pt;"><span style="line-height: 1.5;"><span style="font-size: 10pt;"><span style="font-size: 10pt;"><span style="line-height: 1.5;"><span style="clear: both;"><span style="font-size: 10pt;"><span style="line-height: 1.5;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman;">Allah's Apostle said, "If Adam's son had a valley full of gold, he would like to have two valleys, for nothing fills his mouth except dust. And Allah forgives him who repents to Him."</span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></p><p style="background-color: white; font-family: Tahoma; font-size: 13.3333px;"><span style="font-size: 10pt;"><span style="font-size: 10pt;"><span style="line-height: 1.5;"><span style="font-size: 10pt;"><span style="font-size: 10pt;"><span style="line-height: 1.5;"><span style="clear: both;"><span style="font-size: 10pt;"><span style="line-height: 1.5;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman;">Imam Ibn Hajar Al Asqalani says in Fathul Bari...</span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></p><p align="right" style="background-color: white; font-family: Tahoma; font-size: 13.3333px;"><span style="font-size: 10pt;"><span style="font-size: 10pt;"><span style="line-height: 1.5;"><span style="font-size: 10pt;"><span style="font-size: 10pt;"><span style="line-height: 1.5;"><span style="clear: both;"><span style="font-size: 10pt;"><span style="line-height: 1.5;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman;"><span dir="rtl" lang="AR-SA" style="font-size: 12pt;"><span style="font-size: medium;">ومنه ما وقع عند أحمد وأبي عبيد في " فضائل القرآن " من حديث أبي واقد الليثي قال " كنا نأتي النبي صلى الله عليه وسلم إذا نزل عليه فيحدثنا , فقال لنا ذات يوم : إن الله قال إنما أنزلنا المال لإقام الصلاة وإيتاء الزكاة , ولو كان لابن آدم واد لأحب أن يكون له ثان " الحديث بتمامه , وهذا يحتمل أن يكون النبي صلى الله عليه وسلم أخبر به عن الله تعالى على أنه من القرآن , ويحتمل أن يكون من الأحاديث القدسية , والله أعلم وعلى الأول فهو مما نسخت تلاوته جزما وإن كان حكمه مستمرا</span><span style="font-size: medium;"> </span> </span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></p><p style="background-color: white; font-family: Tahoma; font-size: 13.3333px; margin-left: 0.5in; margin-right: 0.5in;"><span style="font-size: 10pt;"><span style="font-size: 10pt;"><span style="line-height: 1.5;"><span style="font-size: 10pt;"><span style="font-size: 10pt;"><span style="line-height: 1.5;"><span style="clear: both;"><span style="font-size: 10pt;"><span style="line-height: 1.5;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman;"><span style="color: red;">When this Surah was revealed and expressed the same meaning as it (the Adam statement) they knew that the first statement (the Adam statement) was from the statements of Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him). Some of them explained it to be part of the Quran and then its recitation was abrogated when 'The mutual rivalry for piling up of worldly things diverts you..' (102.1) was revealed." so its recitation persisted so it abrogated the recitation of that (the Adam statement). But it's wisdom and ruling was not abrogated if its recitation was abrogated. </span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></p><p align="right" style="background-color: white; font-family: Tahoma; font-size: 13.3333px;"><span style="font-size: 10pt;"><span style="font-size: 10pt;"><span style="line-height: 1.5;"><span style="font-size: 10pt;"><span style="font-size: 10pt;"><span style="line-height: 1.5;"><span style="clear: both;"><span style="font-size: 10pt;"><span style="line-height: 1.5;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman;"><span dir="rtl" lang="AR-SA" style="font-size: 12pt;"><span style="font-size: medium;">ومنه ما وقع عند أحمد وأبي عبيد في " فضائل القرآن " من حديث أبي واقد الليثي قال " كنا نأتي النبي صلى الله عليه وسلم إذا نزل عليه فيحدثنا, فقال لنا ذات يوم : إن الله قال إنما أنزلنا المال لإقام الصلاة وإيتاء الزكاة, ولو كان لابن آدم واد لأحب أن يكون له ثان " الحديث بتمامه , وهذا يحتمل أن يكون النبي صلى الله عليه وسلم أخبر به عن الله تعالى على أنه من القرآن, ويحتمل أن يكون من الأحاديث القدسية , والله أعلم وعلى الأول فهو مما نسخت تلاوته جزما وإن كان حكمه مستمرا </span><span style="font-size: medium;"> </span> </span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></p><p style="background-color: white; font-family: Tahoma; font-size: 13.3333px; margin-left: 0.5in; margin-right: 0.5in;"><span style="font-size: 10pt;"><span style="font-size: 10pt;"><span style="line-height: 1.5;"><span style="font-size: 10pt;"><span style="font-size: 10pt;"><span style="line-height: 1.5;"><span style="clear: both;"><span style="font-size: 10pt;"><span style="line-height: 1.5;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman;"><span style="color: red;">And it also occurred at Ahmad and Abi Ubayd in "Virtues of the Quran" from hadith Abi Waqid Al Labani who said "We used to go to the Prophet (peace be upon him) if something was revealed to him so he would tell us, so he told us that day: Allah says "We have sent down money for the establishment of prayer and payment of Zakat, and if the son of Adam had a valley full of gold, he would like to have two valleys." that is the very hadith, and it is possible that the Prophet (peace be upon him) informed that this is a verse from the Quran, and it is also possible that it is from the Qudsi Hadith, and God knows if it is the first (meaning first explanation which states that it was part of the Quran) then it is what was abrogated from recitation even though its wisdom and rulings are still implemented. </span><b>(Ibn Hajar Al Asqalani,<em> Fathul Bari, </em>Kitab: Al Rataaq, Bab: Maa Yataqee min Fitnatil Maal, Commentary on Hadith no. 5959, <a href="http://hadith.al-islam.com/Display/Display.asp?Doc=0&Rec=9633">Source</a>)</b></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></p><p style="background-color: white; font-family: Tahoma; font-size: 13.3333px;"><span style="font-size: 10pt;"><span style="font-size: 10pt;"><span style="line-height: 1.5;"><span style="font-size: 10pt;"><span style="font-size: 10pt;"><span style="line-height: 1.5;"><span style="clear: both;"><span style="font-size: 10pt;"><span style="line-height: 1.5;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman;"><span style="font-size: small;">Again this just takes us to the whole issue of abrogation. Refer to my section here </span></span><a href="http://www.call-to-monotheism.com/qur_anic_variants"><span style="color: #3333ff;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman;"><span style="font-size: small;">http://www.call-to-monotheism.com/qur_anic_variants</span></span></span></a><span style="font-family: Times New Roman;"><span style="font-size: small;">. Or as the commentary says, it could be a Qudsi Hadith. What is a Qudsi Hadith? See this definition......</span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></p><p style="background-color: white; font-family: Tahoma; font-size: 13.3333px; margin-left: 0.5in; margin-right: 0.5in;"><span style="font-size: 10pt;"><span style="font-size: 10pt;"><span style="line-height: 1.5;"><span style="font-size: 10pt;"><span style="font-size: 10pt;"><span style="line-height: 1.5;"><span style="clear: both;"><span style="font-size: 10pt;"><span style="line-height: 1.5;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman;"><span style="color: red;">Hadith Qudsi are the sayings of the Prophet Muhammad (Peace and Blessings of Allah be upon him) as revealed to him by the Almighty Allah. Hadith Qudsi (or Sacred Hadith) are so named because, unlike the majority of Hadith which are Prophetic Hadith, their authority (Sanad) is traced back not to the Prophet but to the Almighty.</span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></p><p style="background-color: white; font-family: Tahoma; font-size: 13.3333px; margin-left: 0.5in; margin-right: 0.5in;"><span style="font-size: 10pt;"><span style="font-size: 10pt;"><span style="line-height: 1.5;"><span style="font-size: 10pt;"><span style="font-size: 10pt;"><span style="line-height: 1.5;"><span style="clear: both;"><span style="font-size: 10pt;"><span style="line-height: 1.5;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman;"><span style="color: red;">Among the many definitions given by the early scholars to Sacred Hadith is that of as-Sayyid ash-Sharif al-Jurjani (died in 816 A.H.) in his lexicon At-Tarifat where he says: "A Sacred Hadith is, as to the meaning, from Allah the Almighty; as to the wording, it is from the messenger of Allah (peace be upon him). It is that which Allah the Almighty has communicated to His Prophet through revelation or in dream, and he, peace be upon him, has communicated it in his own words. Thus Qur'an is superior to it because, besides being revealed, it is His wording." </span><b>(<a href="http://www.usc.edu/dept/MSA/fundamentals/hadithsunnah/hadithqudsi.html%EF%BF%BD">Source</a>)</b></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-size: 10pt;"><span style="font-size: 10pt;"><span style="line-height: 1.5;"> </span></span></span></p><p style="background-color: white; font-family: Tahoma; font-size: 13.3333px; margin: 0in 0in 0pt 0.5in;"><span style="font-size: 10pt;"><span style="font-size: 10pt;"><span style="line-height: 1.5;"><span style="font-size: 10pt;"><span style="font-size: 10pt;"><span style="line-height: 1.5;"><span style="clear: both;"><span style="font-size: 10pt;"><span style="line-height: 1.5;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman;"><span style="color: red;">By quoting this narration Margoliouth intends to deduce that if the Prophet (Saw) can forget one verse at any time, it may possibly happen with other verses as well. Probably he also wants to indicate that the Quran did not exist in writing otherwise the Prophet (Saw) would not have forgotten that verse. But this objection is so absurd and baseless that even a man with ordinary intelligence will not accept it. Sometimes it does happen that man does remember something yet due to a prolonged dissociation with it, he does not have it fresh in his memory but as soon as someone mentions it, it becomes fresh in memory again. Actually this is not forgetfulness, but only a temporary dissociation of though. The same happened with the Holy Prophet (Saw). Terming it forgetfulness on the basis of such an incident is the height of travesty which is nothing but sheer bigotry. On the contrary, had Mr. Margoliouth viewed it with insight and justice he would have realised that this incident actually proves that Allah has safeguarded the Quran in such an extraordinary manner that no possibility exists for any part of it to become lost. The incident simply proves the reality that every single verse of the Quran was made to be memorised by so many people, that if a verse did not remain fresh in the memory of the Prophet (Saw) for the time being, there was no possibility of it getting lost.<br /><br />The objection that this incident denotes that the Quran, at that time, did not exist in written form is even more unfounded and ridiculous: We have already pointed out that the only thing this incident says is that a verse was revived in the memory of the Holy Prophet (Saw) by its recitation by a Companion. It does not prove that the Quran was not found in written form. Does Mr. Margoliouth think that a thing once written can never become obscure from a persons mind for a short while? Further, the whole world knows that the Holy Prophet (Saw) did not know reading or writing. So, there was no connection between his remembrance of the Quran and its transcription, hence inference that the Quran did not exist in written form can be drawn from this incident only by a person who has closed the doors of justice and wisdom on himself.</span> </span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></p><p style="background-color: white; font-family: Tahoma; font-size: 13.3333px;"><span style="font-size: 10pt;"><span style="font-size: 10pt;"><span style="line-height: 1.5;"><span style="font-size: 10pt;"><span style="font-size: 10pt;"><span style="line-height: 1.5;"><span style="clear: both;"><span style="font-size: 10pt;"><span style="line-height: 1.5;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman;"> </span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></p><p align="center" style="background-color: white; font-family: Tahoma; font-size: 13.3333px; text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: 10pt;"><span style="font-size: 10pt;"><span style="line-height: 1.5;"><span style="font-size: 10pt;"><span style="font-size: 10pt;"><span style="line-height: 1.5;"><span style="clear: both;"><span style="font-size: 10pt;"><span style="line-height: 1.5;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman;"> <b><u><span style="font-size: 24pt;">Conclusion</span></u></b></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></p><p style="background-color: white; font-family: Tahoma; font-size: 13.3333px;"><span style="font-size: 10pt;"><span style="font-size: 10pt;"><span style="line-height: 1.5;"><span style="font-size: 10pt;"><span style="font-size: 10pt;"><span style="line-height: 1.5;"><span style="clear: both;"><span style="font-size: 10pt;"><span style="line-height: 1.5;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman;">The Quran is preserved the way God had intended it to. When Muslims argue that the Quran has been passed down by memory of the early Muslims we are not talking about some kind of divine memory because they were human beings just like us. Some would forget. However, NOT ALL THE MUSLIMS WOULD FORGET the Quran. That's why every year in the month of Ramadan the Muslims recite the whole Quran in their Taraweeh prayers. Sometimes the Imam would make a mistake and then the people praying behind him would correct him. So if people ever forgot there were others to correct. This is how God Almighty kept the Quran preserved. </span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></p><p style="background-color: white; font-family: Tahoma; font-size: 13.3333px;"><span style="font-size: 10pt;"><span style="font-size: 10pt;"><span style="line-height: 1.5;"><span style="font-size: 10pt;"><span style="font-size: 10pt;"><span style="line-height: 1.5;"><span style="clear: both;"><span style="font-size: 10pt;"><span style="line-height: 1.5;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman;">Now as for this statement of the valley of riches. It is clear that it really was a hadith. A Qudsi hadith that is. A Qudsi hadith is still a revelation from God but in the wording of Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him). So it is possible that when the Prophet (peace be upon him) told them that Allah told him this statement they mistakenly believed that it was a Quranic revelation. Even if it was a Quranic revelation then its recitation became abrogated, its wisdom is still maintained.</span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></p><p style="background-color: white; font-family: Tahoma; font-size: 13.3333px;"><span style="font-size: 10pt;"><span style="font-size: 10pt;"><span style="line-height: 1.5;"><span style="font-size: 10pt;"><span style="font-size: 10pt;"><span style="line-height: 1.5;"><span style="clear: both;"><span style="font-size: 10pt;"><span style="line-height: 1.5;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman;"> </span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></p><p style="background-color: white; font-family: Tahoma; font-size: 13.3333px;"><span style="font-size: 10pt;"><span style="font-size: 10pt;"><span style="line-height: 1.5;"><span style="font-size: 10pt;"><span style="font-size: 10pt;"><span style="line-height: 1.5;"><span style="clear: both;"><span style="font-size: 10pt;"><span style="line-height: 1.5;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman;"><b><u><span style="color: green;">Recommended Reading</span></u></b></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></p><p style="background-color: white; font-family: Tahoma; font-size: 13.3333px;"><span style="font-size: 10pt;"><span style="font-size: 10pt;"><span style="line-height: 1.5;"><span style="font-size: 10pt;"><span style="font-size: 10pt;"><span style="line-height: 1.5;"><span style="clear: both;"><span style="font-size: 10pt;"><span style="line-height: 1.5;"><a href="http://www.load-islam.com/C/rebuttals/The_Problem_of_Abrogation_in_the_Quran/"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman;"><span style="font-size: small;">http://www.load-islam.com/C/rebuttals/The_Problem_of_Abrogation_in_the_Quran/</span></span></a><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman;"> </span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></p><p style="background-color: white; font-family: Tahoma; font-size: 13.3333px;"><span style="font-size: 10pt;"><span style="font-size: 10pt;"><span style="line-height: 1.5;"><span style="font-size: 10pt;"><span style="font-size: 10pt;"><span style="line-height: 1.5;"><span style="clear: both;"><span style="font-size: 10pt;"><span style="line-height: 1.5;"><a href="http://www.islamic-paths.org/Home/English/Quran/History/Uloom_alQuran/Transmission.htm"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman;"><span style="font-size: small;">http://www.islamic-paths.org/Home/English/Quran/History/Uloom_alQuran/Transmission.htm</span></span></a></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></p><p style="background-color: white; font-family: Tahoma; font-size: 13.3333px;"><span style="font-size: 10pt;"><span style="font-size: 10pt;"><span style="line-height: 1.5;"><span style="font-size: 10pt;"><span style="font-size: 10pt;"><span style="line-height: 1.5;"><span style="clear: both;"><span style="font-size: 10pt;"><span style="line-height: 1.5;"><a href="http://muslim-canada.org/ch2hamid.pdf"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman;"><span style="font-size: small;">http://muslim-canada.org/ch2hamid.pdf</span></span></a></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></p><p style="background-color: white; font-family: Tahoma; font-size: 13.3333px;"><span style="font-size: 10pt;"><span style="font-size: 10pt;"><span style="line-height: 1.5;"><span style="font-size: 10pt;"><span style="font-size: 10pt;"><span style="line-height: 1.5;"><span style="clear: both;"><span style="font-size: 10pt;"><br /></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></p><p style="background-color: white; font-family: Tahoma; font-size: 13.3333px;"><span style="font-size: 10pt;"><span style="font-size: 10pt;"><span style="line-height: 1.5;"><span style="font-size: 10pt;"><span style="font-size: 10pt;"><span style="line-height: 1.5;"><span style="clear: both;"><span style="font-size: 10pt;">----------------------------------------------</span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></p><p style="background-color: white; font-family: Tahoma; font-size: 13.3333px;"><span style="font-size: 10pt;"><span style="font-size: 10pt;"><span style="line-height: 1.5;"><span style="font-size: 10pt;"><span style="font-size: 10pt;"><span style="line-height: 1.5;"><span style="clear: both;"><span style="font-size: 10pt;"><br /></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></p><p style="background-color: white; box-sizing: inherit; color: #303030; font-family: "Noto Sans", sans-serif; font-size: 16.002px; font-weight: 700; margin: 0px 0px 1em; padding: 0px;">Praise be to Allah.</p><p style="background-color: white; box-sizing: inherit; color: #303030; font-family: "Noto Sans", sans-serif; font-size: 16.002px; font-weight: 700; margin: 0px 0px 1em; padding: 0px;">Firstly:</p><p style="background-color: white; box-sizing: inherit; color: #303030; font-family: "Noto Sans", sans-serif; font-size: 16.002px; font-weight: 700; margin: 0px 0px 1em; padding: 0px;">Allah, may He be exalted, says (interpretation of the meaning):</p><p style="background-color: white; box-sizing: inherit; color: #303030; font-family: "Noto Sans", sans-serif; font-size: 16.002px; font-weight: 700; margin: 0px 0px 1em; padding: 0px;">“We shall make you to recite (the Qur’an), so you (O Muhammad (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him)) shall not forget (it),</p><p style="background-color: white; box-sizing: inherit; color: #303030; font-family: "Noto Sans", sans-serif; font-size: 16.002px; font-weight: 700; margin: 0px 0px 1em; padding: 0px;">Except what Allah may will, He knows what is apparent and what is hidden”</p><p style="background-color: white; box-sizing: inherit; color: #303030; font-family: "Noto Sans", sans-serif; font-size: 16.002px; font-weight: 700; margin: 0px 0px 1em; padding: 0px;">[al-A‘la 87:6-7].</p><p style="background-color: white; box-sizing: inherit; color: #303030; font-family: "Noto Sans", sans-serif; font-size: 16.002px; font-weight: 700; margin: 0px 0px 1em; padding: 0px;">Here Allah, may He be exalted, says to His Prophet (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him) that He will teach him this Qur’an and cause him to memorise it so that he will not forget anything of it, except what Allah causes to be taken away and abrogated.</p><p style="background-color: white; box-sizing: inherit; color: #303030; font-family: "Noto Sans", sans-serif; font-size: 16.002px; font-weight: 700; margin: 0px 0px 1em; padding: 0px;">Ibn Jaziy (may Allah have mercy on him) said:</p><p style="background-color: white; box-sizing: inherit; color: #303030; font-family: "Noto Sans", sans-serif; font-size: 16.002px; font-weight: 700; margin: 0px 0px 1em; padding: 0px;">This is addressed to the Prophet (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him); Allah promised him that He would make him recite the Qur’an so that he would not forget it. This is a miracle that was bestowed upon him (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him), as he was unlettered and could not write, yet despite that he did not forget what Jibreel (peace be upon him) recited to him of the Qur’an. It was also said that the meaning of the verse is similar to the verse in which Allah says (interpretation of the meaning): “Move not your tongue concerning (the Qu’ran, O Muhammad (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him)) to make haste therewith” [al-Qiyaamah 75:16]. The Prophet (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him) used to move his tongue as Jibreel recited it, for fear of forgetting it, so Allah guaranteed to him that he would not forget it. It was also said that the words “so you will not forget it” was a an command not to forget it, for Allah knew that not forgetting is not possible for human beings, and what was meant was a command to him to pay attention to it that he would not forget it – but this is far-fetched.</p><p style="background-color: white; box-sizing: inherit; color: #303030; font-family: "Noto Sans", sans-serif; font-size: 16.002px; font-weight: 700; margin: 0px 0px 1em; padding: 0px;">End quote from at-Tas-heel (p. 2597)</p><p style="background-color: white; box-sizing: inherit; color: #303030; font-family: "Noto Sans", sans-serif; font-size: 16.002px; font-weight: 700; margin: 0px 0px 1em; padding: 0px;">As-Sa‘di (may Allah have mercy on him) said:</p><p style="background-color: white; box-sizing: inherit; color: #303030; font-family: "Noto Sans", sans-serif; font-size: 16.002px; font-weight: 700; margin: 0px 0px 1em; padding: 0px;">That is, We will preserve what We have revealed to you of the Book, and We will instil it in your heart, so that you will forget nothing of it.</p><p style="background-color: white; box-sizing: inherit; color: #303030; font-family: "Noto Sans", sans-serif; font-size: 16.002px; font-weight: 700; margin: 0px 0px 1em; padding: 0px;">This was great glad tidings from Allah to His slave and Messenger Muhammad (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him), that Allah would teach him knowledge that he would not forget, “Except what Allah may will”, of what His wisdom may dictate that He should cause you to forget for a significant reason.</p><p style="background-color: white; box-sizing: inherit; color: #303030; font-family: "Noto Sans", sans-serif; font-size: 16.002px; font-weight: 700; margin: 0px 0px 1em; padding: 0px;">End quote from Tafseer as-Sa‘di (p. 920)</p><p style="background-color: white; box-sizing: inherit; color: #303030; font-family: "Noto Sans", sans-serif; font-size: 16.002px; font-weight: 700; margin: 0px 0px 1em; padding: 0px;">This is the forgetting from which the Prophet (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him) was protected, which is forgetting what he had been commanded to convey. This is what he would remember and not forget, until the religion was completed and the blessing was perfected.</p><p style="background-color: white; box-sizing: inherit; color: #303030; font-family: "Noto Sans", sans-serif; font-size: 16.002px; font-weight: 700; margin: 0px 0px 1em; padding: 0px;">Secondly:</p><p style="background-color: white; box-sizing: inherit; color: #303030; font-family: "Noto Sans", sans-serif; font-size: 16.002px; font-weight: 700; margin: 0px 0px 1em; padding: 0px;">with regard to the report narrated by al-Bukhaari (5038) and Muslim (788) from ‘Aa’ishah, who said: The Messenger of Allah (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him) heard a man reciting at night and he said: “May Allah have mercy on him, for he has reminded me of such and such, a verse that I had been caused to forget in soorah such and such”,</p><p style="background-color: white; box-sizing: inherit; color: #303030; font-family: "Noto Sans", sans-serif; font-size: 16.002px; font-weight: 700; margin: 0px 0px 1em; padding: 0px;">This refers to the normal, natural kind of forgetting with which Adam (peace be upon him) and his offspring were created. That happened to the Prophet (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him) sometimes, and it is not what is referred to in the verse (interpretation of the meaning): “We shall make you to recite (the Qur’an), so you (O Muhammad (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him)) shall not forget (it)” [al-A‘la 87:6].</p><p style="background-color: white; box-sizing: inherit; color: #303030; font-family: "Noto Sans", sans-serif; font-size: 16.002px; font-weight: 700; margin: 0px 0px 1em; padding: 0px;">An-Nawawi (may Allah have mercy on him) said: This indicates that it was possible for the Prophet (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him) to forget some of that which he had already conveyed to the ummah. End quote.</p><p style="background-color: white; box-sizing: inherit; color: #303030; font-family: "Noto Sans", sans-serif; font-size: 16.002px; font-weight: 700; margin: 0px 0px 1em; padding: 0px;">Al-Haafiz Ibn Hajar (may Allah have mercy on him) said:</p><p style="background-color: white; box-sizing: inherit; color: #303030; font-family: "Noto Sans", sans-serif; font-size: 16.002px; font-weight: 700; margin: 0px 0px 1em; padding: 0px;">Al-Ismaa‘eeli said: With regard to the Prophet (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him) forgetting some part of the Qur’an, that is of two types:</p><p style="background-color: white; box-sizing: inherit; color: #303030; font-family: "Noto Sans", sans-serif; font-size: 16.002px; font-weight: 700; margin: 0px 0px 1em; padding: 0px;">The first is what he might forget and then quickly remember. This is part of human nature, and is referred to in the words of the Prophet (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him) in the hadith of Ibn Mas‘ood about forgetting: “I am only human like you; I forget as you forget.”</p><p style="background-color: white; box-sizing: inherit; color: #303030; font-family: "Noto Sans", sans-serif; font-size: 16.002px; font-weight: 700; margin: 0px 0px 1em; padding: 0px;">The second type is when Allah removed from his heart that which He wanted to abrogate from the Qur’an. This is referred to as the exception in the verse in which Allah, may He be exalted, says (interpretation of the meaning):</p><p style="background-color: white; box-sizing: inherit; color: #303030; font-family: "Noto Sans", sans-serif; font-size: 16.002px; font-weight: 700; margin: 0px 0px 1em; padding: 0px;">“We shall make you to recite (the Qur’an), so you (O Muhammad (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him)) shall not forget (it),</p><p style="background-color: white; box-sizing: inherit; color: #303030; font-family: "Noto Sans", sans-serif; font-size: 16.002px; font-weight: 700; margin: 0px 0px 1em; padding: 0px;">Except what Allah may will”</p><p style="background-color: white; box-sizing: inherit; color: #303030; font-family: "Noto Sans", sans-serif; font-size: 16.002px; font-weight: 700; margin: 0px 0px 1em; padding: 0px;">[al-A‘la 87:6-7].</p><p style="background-color: white; box-sizing: inherit; color: #303030; font-family: "Noto Sans", sans-serif; font-size: 16.002px; font-weight: 700; margin: 0px 0px 1em; padding: 0px;">With regard to the first type, it is something temporary and is soon remembered, based on the apparent meaning of the verse in which Allah, may He be exalted, says (interpretation of the meaning): “Verily We: It is We Who have sent down the Dhikr (i.e. the Quran) and surely, We will guard it (from corruption)” [al-Hijr 15:9].</p><p style="background-color: white; box-sizing: inherit; color: #303030; font-family: "Noto Sans", sans-serif; font-size: 16.002px; font-weight: 700; margin: 0px 0px 1em; padding: 0px;">With regard to the second type, it is included in the words of Allah, may He be exalted (interpretation of the meaning): “Whatever a Verse (revelation) do We abrogate or cause to be forgotten” [al-Baqarah 2:106].</p><p style="background-color: white; box-sizing: inherit; color: #303030; font-family: "Noto Sans", sans-serif; font-size: 16.002px; font-weight: 700; margin: 0px 0px 1em; padding: 0px;">End quote.</p><p style="background-color: white; box-sizing: inherit; color: #303030; font-family: "Noto Sans", sans-serif; font-size: 16.002px; font-weight: 700; margin: 0px 0px 1em; padding: 0px;">Ibn Baaz (may Allah have mercy on him) said:</p><p style="background-color: white; box-sizing: inherit; color: #303030; font-family: "Noto Sans", sans-serif; font-size: 16.002px; font-weight: 700; margin: 0px 0px 1em; padding: 0px;">The ummah is agreed that the Messengers were infallible in their conveying of the message, so they did not forget anything of that which Allah revealed to them, except something that was abrogated, and Allah, may He be glorified and exalted, guaranteed to His Messenger (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him) that He would make him recite it so that he would not forget it, except something that Allah wanted to cause him to forget. He also guaranteed him that He would cause him to memorise the entire Qur’an. Allah, may He be exalted, says (interpretation of the meaning):</p><p style="background-color: white; box-sizing: inherit; color: #303030; font-family: "Noto Sans", sans-serif; font-size: 16.002px; font-weight: 700; margin: 0px 0px 1em; padding: 0px;">“We shall make you to recite (the Qur’an), so you (O Muhammad (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him)) shall not forget (it),</p><p style="background-color: white; box-sizing: inherit; color: #303030; font-family: "Noto Sans", sans-serif; font-size: 16.002px; font-weight: 700; margin: 0px 0px 1em; padding: 0px;">Except what Allah may will, He knows what is apparent and what is hidden”</p><p style="background-color: white; box-sizing: inherit; color: #303030; font-family: "Noto Sans", sans-serif; font-size: 16.002px; font-weight: 700; margin: 0px 0px 1em; padding: 0px;">[al-A‘la 87:6-7]</p><p style="background-color: white; box-sizing: inherit; color: #303030; font-family: "Noto Sans", sans-serif; font-size: 16.002px; font-weight: 700; margin: 0px 0px 1em; padding: 0px;">“It is for Us to collect it and to give you (O Muhammad (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him)) the ability to recite it (the Quran),</p><p style="background-color: white; box-sizing: inherit; color: #303030; font-family: "Noto Sans", sans-serif; font-size: 16.002px; font-weight: 700; margin: 0px 0px 1em; padding: 0px;">And when We have recited it to you (O Muhammad (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him) through Jibrael (Gabriel)), then follow you its (the Qurans) recital.”</p><p style="background-color: white; box-sizing: inherit; color: #303030; font-family: "Noto Sans", sans-serif; font-size: 16.002px; font-weight: 700; margin: 0px 0px 1em; padding: 0px;">[al-Qiyaamah 75:16-17].</p><p style="background-color: white; box-sizing: inherit; color: #303030; font-family: "Noto Sans", sans-serif; font-size: 16.002px; font-weight: 700; margin: 0px 0px 1em; padding: 0px;">End quote from Majmoo‘ Fataawa Ibn Baaz (6/371)</p><p style="background-color: white; box-sizing: inherit; color: #303030; font-family: "Noto Sans", sans-serif; font-size: 16.002px; font-weight: 700; margin: 0px 0px 1em; padding: 0px;">The point is that forgetting is of two types: forgetting in the sense of removal, abrogation and loss of the forgotten material altogether, which is what the Prophet (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him) was protected from, so that he did not forget anything of the Qur’an except what Allah willed that He should cause him to forget, of that which He wanted to remove and abrogate, which is what is referred to in the words(interpretation of the meaning):</p><p style="background-color: white; box-sizing: inherit; color: #303030; font-family: "Noto Sans", sans-serif; font-size: 16.002px; font-weight: 700; margin: 0px 0px 1em; padding: 0px;">“We shall make you to recite (the Qur’an), so you (O Muhammad (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him)) shall not forget (it),</p><p style="background-color: white; box-sizing: inherit; color: #303030; font-family: "Noto Sans", sans-serif; font-size: 16.002px; font-weight: 700; margin: 0px 0px 1em; padding: 0px;">Except what Allah may will”</p><p style="background-color: white; box-sizing: inherit; color: #303030; font-family: "Noto Sans", sans-serif; font-size: 16.002px; font-weight: 700; margin: 0px 0px 1em; padding: 0px;">[al-A‘la 87:6-7].</p><p style="background-color: white; box-sizing: inherit; color: #303030; font-family: "Noto Sans", sans-serif; font-size: 16.002px; font-weight: 700; margin: 0px 0px 1em; padding: 0px;">This is what Ahl as-Sunnah are unanimously agreed did not happen to the Prophet (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him).</p><p style="background-color: white; box-sizing: inherit; color: #303030; font-family: "Noto Sans", sans-serif; font-size: 16.002px; font-weight: 700; margin: 0px 0px 1em; padding: 0px;">The second type is the kind of forgetting that is part of human nature. This did happen to the Prophet (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him) on occasion, and this is what he referred to when he said: “I am only human like you; I forget as you forget. If I forget, then remind me.” Narrated by al-Bukhaari (386) and Muslim (889). And he also said: “May Allah have mercy on him, for he has reminded me of such and such, a verse that I had been caused to forget in soorah such and such.” There is nothing problematic in this, because it did not affect the obligation to convey the message, so long as the verse or the thing that had been forgotten was preserved, and the Prophet (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him) would remember it soon after that. Hence he (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him) remembered it himself, as we see in the hadith mentioned, that he forgot something whilst he was praying and no one reminded him of it.</p><p style="background-color: white; box-sizing: inherit; color: #303030; font-family: "Noto Sans", sans-serif; font-size: 16.002px; font-weight: 700; margin: 0px 0px 1em; padding: 0px;">Please see also the answer is to questions no. <a class="LinkFatwa" href="https://islamqa.info/en/answers/42216" style="box-sizing: inherit; color: #688a43; cursor: pointer; font-family: inherit; position: relative; text-decoration-line: none;">42216</a> and <a class="LinkFatwa" href="https://islamqa.info/ar/answers/" style="box-sizing: inherit; color: #688a43; cursor: pointer; font-family: inherit; position: relative; text-decoration-line: none;">127485</a></p><p style="background-color: white; font-family: Tahoma; font-size: 13.3333px;"><span style="font-size: 10pt;"><span style="font-size: 10pt;"><span style="line-height: 1.5;"><span style="font-size: 10pt;"><span style="font-size: 10pt;"><span style="line-height: 1.5;"><span style="clear: both;"><span style="font-size: 10pt;"></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></p><p style="background-color: white; box-sizing: inherit; color: #303030; font-family: "Noto Sans", sans-serif; font-size: 16.002px; font-weight: 700; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">And Allah knows best.</p>Mustafa Ahmedhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14172750188773095424noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-558359090739969505.post-22652629962121561862023-10-19T06:24:00.003-07:002023-10-19T06:53:36.248-07:00Explanation of the Apostasy punishment in Islam.<p> </p><header class="entry-header" style="background-color: white; color: #7c7c7c; font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 18px; overflow-wrap: break-word;"><h1 class="entry-title" style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; color: #333332; font-family: -apple-system, BlinkMacSystemFont, "Segoe UI", Roboto, Oxygen-Sans, Ubuntu, Cantarell, "Helvetica Neue", sans-serif; font-size: 47px; line-height: 1.3; margin: 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word;">Explanation of the Apostasy punishment in Islam.</h1></header><div class="entry-meta" style="background-color: white; color: #b3b3b1; font-family: -apple-system, BlinkMacSystemFont, "Segoe UI", Roboto, Oxygen-Sans, Ubuntu, Cantarell, "Helvetica Neue", sans-serif; font-size: 14px; margin: 0.4375em 0px 3.5em; overflow-wrap: break-word;"><span class="byline" style="display: inline-block; margin-right: 1.3125em; margin-top: 0px; top: 3px; vertical-align: middle;"> <a href="https://muslimallegationhunters.home.blog/author/muslimallegationhunters/" rel="author" style="background-color: transparent; color: #b3b3b1; line-height: inherit; text-decoration-line: none; transition: color 0.14s ease-in-out 0s;" title="Posts by MuslimAllegationHunters">MuslimAllegationHunters</a></span> <span class="cat-links" style="display: inline-block; margin-right: 1.3125em; top: 3px; vertical-align: middle;"> </span></div><div class="entry-content" style="background-color: white; color: #7c7c7c; counter-reset: footnotes 0; font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 19px; margin: 0px 0px 0.875em; overflow-wrap: break-word;"><p style="margin-bottom: 0.875em; margin-top: 0px;"></p><p style="margin-bottom: 0.875em;">The Apostasy Punishment in Islam is one of the most misunderstood things about Islam today. Not only is there is no Apostasy punishment in Islam but also Islam permits freedom of religion.</p><p style="margin-bottom: 0.875em;">This assumption of the Apostasy punishment is based of the following Hadith</p><blockquote class="wp-block-quote" style="border-bottom-color: rgb(0, 135, 190); border-image: initial; border-left-color: initial; border-right-color: rgb(0, 135, 190); border-style: solid; border-top-color: rgb(0, 135, 190); border-width: 0px 0px 0px 0.25em; box-sizing: border-box; font-style: italic; margin: 0px 0px 1.75em; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 0px 0px 0px 1em;"><p style="margin-bottom: 0.875em; margin-top: 0px;">Ibn ‘Abbas said:</p><p style="margin-bottom: 0.875em;">“The Messenger of Allah [SAW] said: ‘Whoever changes his religion, kill him.”</p><cite style="color: currentcolor; display: block; font-size: 0.8125em; font-style: normal; font-weight: 700; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-top: 0.875em; position: relative;">[1] Sunan an-Nasa’i 4059</cite></blockquote><p style="margin-bottom: 0.875em;">Right of the back people might also start making the assumption that this is a indication that Islam commands to kill Apostates.</p><p style="margin-bottom: 0.875em;">However thats not the case at all. One needs to understand the historical context and meanings of this Hadith before jumping into conclusions.</p><p style="margin-bottom: 0.875em;">The punishment for apostasy originated due to the dangerous phenomena of hypocrisy (<em>nifaq</em>) that threatened the community in Medina. Hypocrisy in this sense is not simply failing to live up to one’s stated moral standards, but rather this form of hypocrisy was the deliberate attempt by the enemies of Islam to pretend to be Muslims in order to infiltrate and harm the community.</p><blockquote class="wp-block-quote" style="border-bottom-color: rgb(0, 135, 190); border-image: initial; border-left-color: initial; border-right-color: rgb(0, 135, 190); border-style: solid; border-top-color: rgb(0, 135, 190); border-width: 0px 0px 0px 0.25em; box-sizing: border-box; font-style: italic; margin: 0px 0px 1.75em; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 0px 0px 0px 1em;"><p style="margin-bottom: 0.875em; margin-top: 0px;">A faction of the People of the Book say to each other: Believe in that which was revealed to the believers at the beginning of the day and reject it at its end that perhaps they will abandon their religion.</p><cite style="color: currentcolor; display: block; font-size: 0.8125em; font-style: normal; font-weight: 700; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-top: 0.875em; position: relative;">[2] Quran 3:72</cite></blockquote><p style="margin-bottom: 0.875em;">Some of the Jews of Medina pretended to be Muslims outwardly with the intention of later publicizing their rejection of Islam in an attempt to shake the faith of newly converted Muslims. This was at a time when Medina was threatened with a war of extermination by the Quraish aristocracy.</p><p style="margin-bottom: 0.875em;">Ibn Kathir writes:</p><blockquote class="wp-block-quote" style="border-bottom-color: rgb(0, 135, 190); border-image: initial; border-left-color: initial; border-right-color: rgb(0, 135, 190); border-style: solid; border-top-color: rgb(0, 135, 190); border-width: 0px 0px 0px 0.25em; box-sizing: border-box; font-style: italic; margin: 0px 0px 1.75em; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 0px 0px 0px 1em;"><p style="margin-bottom: 0.875em; margin-top: 0px;">Mujahid said this verse is regarding Jews who prayed the dawn prayer with the Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him, and they disbelieved at the end of the day as a plot to turn people away, such that it appeared as if they saw misguidance after entering the religion.</p><cite style="color: currentcolor; display: block; font-size: 0.8125em; font-style: normal; font-weight: 700; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-top: 0.875em; position: relative;">[3] Tafseer Ibn Kathir 3:72<br /></cite></blockquote><p style="margin-bottom: 0.875em;">Likewise, other hypocrites in Medina were spreading lies and rumors among the Muslims at a time when their unity was most needed. Such acts constituted a serious threat to the security of the community.</p><blockquote class="wp-block-quote" style="border-bottom-color: rgb(0, 135, 190); border-image: initial; border-left-color: initial; border-right-color: rgb(0, 135, 190); border-style: solid; border-top-color: rgb(0, 135, 190); border-width: 0px 0px 0px 0.25em; box-sizing: border-box; font-style: italic; margin: 0px 0px 1.75em; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 0px 0px 0px 1em;"><p style="margin-bottom: 0.875em; margin-top: 0px;">If the hypocrites and those in whose hearts is disease and those who spread rumors in Medina do not cease, We will surely let you overpower them. Then they will not remain your neighbors therein except for a little while.</p><cite style="color: currentcolor; display: block; font-size: 0.8125em; font-style: normal; font-weight: 700; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-top: 0.875em; position: relative;">[4] Quran 33:60</cite></blockquote><p style="margin-bottom: 0.875em;">Therefore, the punishment for apostasy was prescribed in this specific context. It was not prescribed in order to punish the act of unbelief itself, as this is for Allah alone, but rather to protect the Muslims from the conspiracies of their enemies.</p><p style="margin-bottom: 0.875em;">Apostasy is divided into two types: major and minor. Muslim scholars, using the Prophet’s traditions as their guide, have divided unbelief, idolatry, hypocrisy, and sin into major and minor categories. Likewise, there is a distinction between an apostate who intends to physically harm the community and an apostate who only spiritually harms himself.</p><p style="margin-bottom: 0.875em;">Minor apostasy is when a person embraces Islam while knowing its virtues and later rejects it. There is no legal punishment for the minor apostate as long as they do not try to physically harm the Muslim community. Major apostasy is when a person embraces Islam while knowing its virtues and later rejects it and adds to this a call for violent rebellion against the Muslim authorities. Such a crime is equivalent to high treason and in its most severe case can carry the death penalty as an act of self-defense for the community.</p><p style="margin-bottom: 0.875em;">Allah says in the Quran</p><blockquote class="wp-block-quote" style="border-bottom-color: rgb(0, 135, 190); border-image: initial; border-left-color: initial; border-right-color: rgb(0, 135, 190); border-style: solid; border-top-color: rgb(0, 135, 190); border-width: 0px 0px 0px 0.25em; box-sizing: border-box; font-style: italic; margin: 0px 0px 1.75em; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 0px 0px 0px 1em;"><p style="margin-bottom: 0.875em; margin-top: 0px;">Verily, those who believed and then disbelieved, then believed and then disbelieved and increased in disbelief, never will Allah forgive them nor will He guide them to a right way.</p><cite style="color: currentcolor; display: block; font-size: 0.8125em; font-style: normal; font-weight: 700; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-top: 0.875em; position: relative;">[5] Quran 4:137</cite></blockquote><p style="margin-bottom: 0.875em;">In this verse, Allah describes a person who apostates from Islam twice and He does not prescribe legal punishment for him, but rather He only warns the apostate about severe punishment in the Hereafter. This demonstrates that the general rule is an apostate should be left alone.</p><blockquote class="wp-block-quote" style="border-bottom-color: rgb(0, 135, 190); border-image: initial; border-left-color: initial; border-right-color: rgb(0, 135, 190); border-style: solid; border-top-color: rgb(0, 135, 190); border-width: 0px 0px 0px 0.25em; box-sizing: border-box; font-style: italic; margin: 0px 0px 1.75em; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 0px 0px 0px 1em;"><p style="margin-bottom: 0.875em; margin-top: 0px;">Say: The truth is from your Lord. So whoever wills let him believe, and whoever wills let him disbelieve.</p><cite style="color: currentcolor; display: block; font-size: 0.8125em; font-style: normal; font-weight: 700; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-top: 0.875em; position: relative;">[6] Quran 18:29</cite></blockquote><p style="margin-bottom: 0.875em;">Apostasy which punishment is required for is when a person embraces Islam and later leaves the religion while combining this with the political crime of treason. Legal punishment against such persons can only be carried out by a lawful authority according to due process, and it is not permissible for individual Muslims to carry out this punishment on their own.</p><p style="margin-bottom: 0.875em;">The presence of political treason as a condition for punishment is made clear in an authentic tradition.</p><blockquote class="wp-block-quote" style="border-bottom-color: rgb(0, 135, 190); border-image: initial; border-left-color: initial; border-right-color: rgb(0, 135, 190); border-style: solid; border-top-color: rgb(0, 135, 190); border-width: 0px 0px 0px 0.25em; box-sizing: border-box; font-style: italic; margin: 0px 0px 1.75em; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 0px 0px 0px 1em;"><p style="margin-bottom: 0.875em; margin-top: 0px;">Abdullah ibn Mas’ud reported: The Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings be upon him, applied legal punishment in the following case:</p><p style="margin-bottom: 0.875em;">The one who leaves his religion and separates from the community.</p><cite style="color: currentcolor; display: block; font-size: 0.8125em; font-style: normal; font-weight: 700; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-top: 0.875em; position: relative;">[7] Sahih Muslim 1676, Grade: Sahih</cite></blockquote><p style="margin-bottom: 0.875em;">The mention of one who “separates from the community” (<em>al-mufariq lil-jama’ah</em>) indicates that a person is not legally punished simply for leaving Islam, but rather for high treason against the Muslim community. This phrase is associated in other traditions with rejecting loyalty to the Muslim authority.</p><blockquote class="wp-block-quote" style="border-bottom-color: rgb(0, 135, 190); border-image: initial; border-left-color: initial; border-right-color: rgb(0, 135, 190); border-style: solid; border-top-color: rgb(0, 135, 190); border-width: 0px 0px 0px 0.25em; box-sizing: border-box; font-style: italic; margin: 0px 0px 1.75em; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 0px 0px 0px 1em;"><p style="margin-bottom: 0.875em; margin-top: 0px;">Ibn Umar reported: The Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings be upon him, said:</p><p style="margin-bottom: 0.875em;">One who withdraws his obedience will meet Allah on the Day of Resurrection without an argument for him, and whoever dies without swearing allegiance will have died in ignorance.</p><cite style="color: currentcolor; display: block; font-size: 0.8125em; font-style: normal; font-weight: 700; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-top: 0.875em; position: relative;">[8] Sahih Muslim 1851, Grade: <em>Sahih</em></cite></blockquote><p style="margin-bottom: 0.875em;">In another version of this narration, the Prophet said:</p><blockquote class="wp-block-quote" style="border-bottom-color: rgb(0, 135, 190); border-image: initial; border-left-color: initial; border-right-color: rgb(0, 135, 190); border-style: solid; border-top-color: rgb(0, 135, 190); border-width: 0px 0px 0px 0.25em; box-sizing: border-box; font-style: italic; margin: 0px 0px 1.75em; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 0px 0px 0px 1em;"><p style="margin-bottom: 0.875em; margin-top: 0px;">Whoever dies while he has separated from the community (<em>al-mufariq lil-jama’ah</em>), then he has died in ignorance.</p><cite style="color: currentcolor; display: block; font-size: 0.8125em; font-style: normal; font-weight: 700; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-top: 0.875em; position: relative;">[9] Musnad Ahmad 5526, Grade: <em>Sahih</em></cite></blockquote><p style="margin-bottom: 0.875em;">Indeed, some of the companions interpreted the phrase this way and described an apostate as:</p><blockquote class="wp-block-quote" style="border-bottom-color: rgb(0, 135, 190); border-image: initial; border-left-color: initial; border-right-color: rgb(0, 135, 190); border-style: solid; border-top-color: rgb(0, 135, 190); border-width: 0px 0px 0px 0.25em; box-sizing: border-box; font-style: italic; margin: 0px 0px 1.75em; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 0px 0px 0px 1em;"><p style="margin-bottom: 0.875em; margin-top: 0px;">One who wages war against Allah and His Messenger.</p><cite style="color: currentcolor; display: block; font-size: 0.8125em; font-style: normal; font-weight: 700; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-top: 0.875em; position: relative;">[10] Ṣaḥīḥ al-Bukhārī 4334, Grade: <em>Sahih</em></cite></blockquote><p style="margin-bottom: 0.875em;">From these Hadiths we can infer that one who “separates from the community” refers to one who “withdraws his obedience,” a treasonous action, not simply leaving the community as the bedouin of Medina had done.</p><p style="margin-bottom: 0.875em;">The connection between apostasy and treason is made even clearer in a tradition in which the Prophet describes the apostate which punishment is required as:</p><blockquote class="wp-block-quote" style="border-bottom-color: rgb(0, 135, 190); border-image: initial; border-left-color: initial; border-right-color: rgb(0, 135, 190); border-style: solid; border-top-color: rgb(0, 135, 190); border-width: 0px 0px 0px 0.25em; box-sizing: border-box; font-style: italic; margin: 0px 0px 1.75em; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 0px 0px 0px 1em;"><p style="margin-bottom: 0.875em; margin-top: 0px;">A man who rejects Islam and wages war against Allah the Exalted and His Messenger.</p><cite style="color: currentcolor; display: block; font-size: 0.8125em; font-style: normal; font-weight: 700; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-top: 0.875em; position: relative;">[11] Sunan An-Nasa’i 4048</cite></blockquote><p style="margin-bottom: 0.875em;">The companions understood this type of apostasy to involve war and sedition against the community.</p><blockquote class="wp-block-quote" style="border-bottom-color: rgb(0, 135, 190); border-image: initial; border-left-color: initial; border-right-color: rgb(0, 135, 190); border-style: solid; border-top-color: rgb(0, 135, 190); border-width: 0px 0px 0px 0.25em; box-sizing: border-box; font-style: italic; margin: 0px 0px 1.75em; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 0px 0px 0px 1em;"><p style="margin-bottom: 0.875em; margin-top: 0px;">Ibn Abbas said:</p><p style="margin-bottom: 0.875em;">Whoever kills others, spreads corruption in the land, wages war against Allah and His Messenger, and joins the unbelievers before he is subdued, then there is nothing to prevent the legal punishment from being applied to him because of what he did.</p><cite style="color: currentcolor; display: block; font-size: 0.8125em; font-style: normal; font-weight: 700; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-top: 0.875em; position: relative;">[12] Sunan An-Nasa’i 4046, Grade: <em>Sahih</em></cite></blockquote><p style="margin-bottom: 0.875em;">Therefore, the death penalty was justified against such rebels who rejected lawful authority and committed treason against the community. This seemed to be implicitly understood by the early scholars, such as Imam Muslim who entitled a chapter of his Sahih:</p><blockquote class="wp-block-quote" style="border-bottom-color: rgb(0, 135, 190); border-image: initial; border-left-color: initial; border-right-color: rgb(0, 135, 190); border-style: solid; border-top-color: rgb(0, 135, 190); border-width: 0px 0px 0px 0.25em; box-sizing: border-box; font-style: italic; margin: 0px 0px 1.75em; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 0px 0px 0px 1em;"><p style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-top: 0px;">“The ruling of those who wage war and commit apostasy.”</p></blockquote><p style="margin-bottom: 0.875em;">Likewise, Ibn Al-Qayyim associates apostasy with “aggression” and “assault” against religion, for which the death penalty was justified to protect lives.</p><p style="margin-bottom: 0.875em;">Ibn Al-Qayyim writes:</p><blockquote class="wp-block-quote" style="border-bottom-color: rgb(0, 135, 190); border-image: initial; border-left-color: initial; border-right-color: rgb(0, 135, 190); border-style: solid; border-top-color: rgb(0, 135, 190); border-width: 0px 0px 0px 0.25em; box-sizing: border-box; font-style: italic; margin: 0px 0px 1.75em; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 0px 0px 0px 1em;"><p style="margin-bottom: 0.875em; margin-top: 0px;">As for the punishment of execution, it is reserved for the greatest offenses such as those against life, so that its punishment is of similar kind, such as the offense against the religion by assaulting it and apostatizing from it. This offense is the first to be punished by execution in order to restrain the aggression of the criminal by every punishment.</p><cite style="color: currentcolor; display: block; font-size: 0.8125em; font-style: normal; font-weight: 700; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-top: 0.875em; position: relative;">[13] I’lam Al-Muwaqi’een Volume 2 pg 74</cite></blockquote><p style="margin-bottom: 0.875em;">Nevertheless, the death penalty was not uniformly applied by the Prophet and his companions. There were some cases when the ruling involved a lesser punishment or even a full pardon.</p><blockquote class="wp-block-quote" style="border-bottom-color: rgb(0, 135, 190); border-image: initial; border-left-color: initial; border-right-color: rgb(0, 135, 190); border-style: solid; border-top-color: rgb(0, 135, 190); border-width: 0px 0px 0px 0.25em; box-sizing: border-box; font-style: italic; margin: 0px 0px 1.75em; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 0px 0px 0px 1em;"><p style="margin-bottom: 0.875em; margin-top: 0px;">Ibn Abbas reported:</p><p style="margin-bottom: 0.875em;">Abdullah ibn Sa’d ibn Abu Sarh would write to the Messenger of Allah but the devil deceived him and he joined the unbelievers. The Messenger of Allah ordered that he should be killed on the day of liberation, but Uthman ibn Affan sought protection for him, so the Messenger of Allah granted him protection.</p><cite style="color: currentcolor; display: block; font-size: 0.8125em; font-style: normal; font-weight: 700; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-top: 0.875em; position: relative;"> <em>[14] Sunan Abu Dawud 4358, Grade: Sahih</em></cite></blockquote><p style="margin-bottom: 0.875em;">In this example, the Prophet pardoned the apostasy of Abdullah ibn Sarh after Uthman sought protection for him. This indicates that the punishment for apostasy is not a firm legal punishment (<em>hadd</em>) for which there can be no intercession, but rather it is a discretionary punishment (<em>ta’zeer</em>) to be applied by a qualified judge.</p><p style="margin-bottom: 0.875em;">Abdullah ibn Sarh eventually returned to Islam, demonstrating the Prophet’s wisdom in showing mercy and forbearance. The great jurists of early Islam recognized such cases.</p><p style="margin-bottom: 0.875em;">Al-Bayhaqi reported:</p><blockquote class="wp-block-quote" style="border-bottom-color: rgb(0, 135, 190); border-image: initial; border-left-color: initial; border-right-color: rgb(0, 135, 190); border-style: solid; border-top-color: rgb(0, 135, 190); border-width: 0px 0px 0px 0.25em; box-sizing: border-box; font-style: italic; margin: 0px 0px 1.75em; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 0px 0px 0px 1em;"><p style="margin-bottom: 0.875em; margin-top: 0px;">Ash-Shafi’ee said: Some people believed and then committed apostasy and then displayed faith again and the Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings be upon him, did not kill them. Ahmad said: We have narrated this regarding Abdullah ibn Abi Sarh when Satan caused him to stumble and he joined the unbelievers, then he returned to Islam. We have also narrated this regarding another man from the Ansar.</p><cite style="color: currentcolor; display: block; font-size: 0.8125em; font-style: normal; font-weight: 700; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-top: 0.875em; position: relative;">[15] Ma’rifat As-Sunan wal Athar</cite></blockquote><p style="margin-bottom: 0.875em;">Moreover some Muslim scholars did not prefer death penalty when it comes to apostates related to treason.</p><p style="margin-bottom: 0.875em;">Sufyan Ath-Thawri reported:</p><blockquote class="wp-block-quote" style="border-bottom-color: rgb(0, 135, 190); border-image: initial; border-left-color: initial; border-right-color: rgb(0, 135, 190); border-style: solid; border-top-color: rgb(0, 135, 190); border-width: 0px 0px 0px 0.25em; box-sizing: border-box; font-style: italic; margin: 0px 0px 1.75em; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 0px 0px 0px 1em;"><p style="margin-bottom: 0.875em; margin-top: 0px;">Amr ibn Qais and Ibrahim Al-Nakha’i said: Regarding the apostate, he should be imprisoned indefinitely.</p><p style="margin-bottom: 0.875em;">Sufyan said: This is what we adhere to.</p><cite style="color: currentcolor; display: block; font-size: 0.8125em; font-style: normal; font-weight: 700; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-top: 0.875em; position: relative;">[16] Musnaf Abdur Razzaq 18084</cite></blockquote><p style="margin-bottom: 0.875em;">Moreover death penalty is NOT ascribed to female Apostates(who have performed treason)</p><blockquote class="wp-block-quote" style="border-bottom-color: rgb(0, 135, 190); border-image: initial; border-left-color: initial; border-right-color: rgb(0, 135, 190); border-style: solid; border-top-color: rgb(0, 135, 190); border-width: 0px 0px 0px 0.25em; box-sizing: border-box; font-style: italic; margin: 0px 0px 1.75em; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 0px 0px 0px 1em;"><p style="margin-bottom: 0.875em; margin-top: 0px;">Ibn Abi Shayba reported: Ata’ said regarding the female apostate:</p><p style="margin-bottom: 0.875em;">She is not to be killed.</p><p style="margin-bottom: 0.875em;">Hasan Al-Basri said: She is not to be killed.</p><cite style="color: currentcolor; display: block; font-size: 0.8125em; font-style: normal; font-weight: 700; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-top: 0.875em; position: relative;">[17] Musnaf Ibn Abi Shayba 32083</cite></blockquote><p style="margin-bottom: 0.875em;">At-Tirmidhi records:</p><blockquote class="wp-block-quote" style="border-bottom-color: rgb(0, 135, 190); border-image: initial; border-left-color: initial; border-right-color: rgb(0, 135, 190); border-style: solid; border-top-color: rgb(0, 135, 190); border-width: 0px 0px 0px 0.25em; box-sizing: border-box; font-style: italic; margin: 0px 0px 1.75em; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 0px 0px 0px 1em;"><p style="margin-bottom: 0.875em; margin-top: 0px;">A group of scholars said the female apostate should be imprisoned and not killed. This is the opinion of Sufyan Ath-Thawri and others among the people of Kufa.</p><p style="margin-bottom: 0.875em;"></p><cite style="color: currentcolor; display: block; font-size: 0.8125em; font-style: normal; font-weight: 700; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-top: 0.875em; position: relative;">[18] Sunan At-Tirmidhi 1458</cite></blockquote><p style="margin-bottom: 0.875em;">Some the early jurists, such as As-Sarakhsi Al-Hanafi, highlighted the distinction between an apostate’s sin against Allah and his sin against the community, particularly as he argued that women apostates should not be killed because they do not post a threat against the community.</p><p style="margin-bottom: 0.875em;">As-Sarakhsi writes:</p><blockquote class="wp-block-quote" style="border-bottom-color: rgb(0, 135, 190); border-image: initial; border-left-color: initial; border-right-color: rgb(0, 135, 190); border-style: solid; border-top-color: rgb(0, 135, 190); border-width: 0px 0px 0px 0.25em; box-sizing: border-box; font-style: italic; margin: 0px 0px 1.75em; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 0px 0px 0px 1em;"><p style="margin-bottom: 0.875em; margin-top: 0px;">The act of unbelief is among the greatest offences, but it is between the servant and his Lord. The recompense for it is delayed until the he reaches the abode of recompense. As for what occurs in this world, they are legislated policies for the welfare of people, such as legal retaliation for murder in order to protect life.</p><cite style="color: currentcolor; display: block; font-size: 0.8125em; font-style: normal; font-weight: 700; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-top: 0.875em; position: relative;">[19] Al-Mabsut Volume 10 pg 110</cite></blockquote><p style="margin-bottom: 0.875em;">That is, the punishment for apostasy is not to punish unbelief in itself, but rather to protect the community from insurrection. Sheikh Mahmud Shaltut, the late Grand Sheikh of Al-Azhar University, also mentions this distinction and he adds that the solitary (<em>ahad</em>) narrations used to justify the death penalty in every case cannot overrule the far more numerous verses of the Quran.</p><p style="margin-bottom: 0.875em;">Sheikh Mahmud Shaltut writes:</p><blockquote class="wp-block-quote" style="border-bottom-color: rgb(0, 135, 190); border-image: initial; border-left-color: initial; border-right-color: rgb(0, 135, 190); border-style: solid; border-top-color: rgb(0, 135, 190); border-width: 0px 0px 0px 0.25em; box-sizing: border-box; font-style: italic; margin: 0px 0px 1.75em; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 0px 0px 0px 1em;"><p style="margin-bottom: 0.875em; margin-top: 0px;">These narrations evoked various responses from the scholars, many of whom are in agreement that firm legal punishments (<em>hudud</em>) cannot be established by solitary narrations and that unbelief in itself does not warrant the death penalty. Indeed, the factor which determines the application of this punishment is aggression and hostility against the believers and the need to prevent possible sedition against religion. The obvious meaning in numerous verses of the Quran prohibit compulsion in religion.</p><cite style="color: currentcolor; display: block; font-size: 0.8125em; font-style: normal; font-weight: 700; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-top: 0.875em; position: relative;">[20] Al-Islam Aqidah wa Sharia 281</cite></blockquote><p style="margin-bottom: 0.875em;">To summarize this</p><p style="margin-bottom: 0.875em;">Ibn Humam writes:</p><blockquote class="wp-block-quote" style="border-bottom-color: rgb(0, 135, 190); border-image: initial; border-left-color: initial; border-right-color: rgb(0, 135, 190); border-style: solid; border-top-color: rgb(0, 135, 190); border-width: 0px 0px 0px 0.25em; box-sizing: border-box; font-style: italic; margin: 0px 0px 1.75em; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 0px 0px 0px 1em;"><p style="margin-bottom: 0.875em; margin-top: 0px;">It is necessary to punish apostasy with death in order to avert the evil of war, not as punishment for the act of unbelief, because the greatest punishment for that is with Allah. This punishment is specifically for those who wage war and this is for the man. For this reason, the Prophet prohibited killing women because they do not fight.</p><cite style="color: currentcolor; display: block; font-size: 0.8125em; font-style: normal; font-weight: 700; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-top: 0.875em; position: relative;">[21] Fath ul-Qadeer volume 6 pg 72</cite></blockquote><p style="margin-bottom: 0.875em;">The jurists understood that legal punishments are not an end in themselves, but rather a means to achieve justice, welfare, and security. If it is possible to achieve these objectives without inflicting the maximum punishment, then it is highly recommended to do so.<br /></p><p style="margin-bottom: 0.875em;">Ibrahim Al-Nakha’i justified his preference for imprisonment over the death penalty, saying:</p><blockquote class="wp-block-quote" style="border-bottom-color: rgb(0, 135, 190); border-image: initial; border-left-color: initial; border-right-color: rgb(0, 135, 190); border-style: solid; border-top-color: rgb(0, 135, 190); border-width: 0px 0px 0px 0.25em; box-sizing: border-box; font-style: italic; margin: 0px 0px 1.75em; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 0px 0px 0px 1em;"><p style="margin-bottom: 0.875em; margin-top: 0px;">Avoid legal punishments upon the Muslims as much as you are able. If you find a way out for a Muslim, then leave it to him. Verily, for the judge to make a mistake pardoning the Muslims is better than to make a mistake punishing them.</p><cite style="color: currentcolor; display: block; font-size: 0.8125em; font-style: normal; font-weight: 700; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-top: 0.875em; position: relative;">[22] Musnaf Abdur Razzaq 18085</cite></blockquote><p style="margin-bottom: 0.875em;">This sentiment is consistent with the Prophetic teaching that it is better for a judge to err in forgiveness than in punishment.</p><blockquote class="wp-block-quote" style="border-bottom-color: rgb(0, 135, 190); border-image: initial; border-left-color: initial; border-right-color: rgb(0, 135, 190); border-style: solid; border-top-color: rgb(0, 135, 190); border-width: 0px 0px 0px 0.25em; box-sizing: border-box; font-style: italic; margin: 0px 0px 1.75em; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 0px 0px 0px 1em;"><p style="margin-bottom: 0.875em; margin-top: 0px;">Aisha reported: The Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings be upon him, said:</p><p style="margin-bottom: 0.875em;">Avoid legal punishments upon the Muslims as much as you are able. If the criminal has a way out, then leave him to his way. Verily, it is better for the leader to make a mistake pardoning the criminal than it is for him to make a mistake punishing the innocent.</p><cite style="color: currentcolor; display: block; font-size: 0.8125em; font-style: normal; font-weight: 700; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-top: 0.875em; position: relative;">[23] Sunan At-Tirmidhi 1424, Grade: Sahih</cite></blockquote><p style="margin-bottom: 0.875em;">Indeed, the Prophet described the true believers as the most restrained of people when it comes to taking life. The believers understand that life should only be taken when it is absolutely necessary.</p><blockquote class="wp-block-quote" style="border-bottom-color: rgb(0, 135, 190); border-image: initial; border-left-color: initial; border-right-color: rgb(0, 135, 190); border-style: solid; border-top-color: rgb(0, 135, 190); border-width: 0px 0px 0px 0.25em; box-sizing: border-box; font-style: italic; margin: 0px 0px 1.75em; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 0px 0px 0px 1em;"><p style="margin-bottom: 0.875em; margin-top: 0px;">Abdullah ibn Mas’ud reported: The Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings be upon him, said:</p><p style="margin-bottom: 0.875em;">The most restrained of the people regarding killing are the people of faith.</p><cite style="color: currentcolor; display: block; font-size: 0.8125em; font-style: normal; font-weight: 700; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-top: 0.875em; position: relative;">[24] Musnad Ahmad 3720, Grade: Sahih</cite></blockquote><p style="margin-bottom: 0.875em;">From all of this, we understand that the death penalty for apostasy should only be applied to extreme cases of treason and sedition in which such punishment is necessary for the safety of the community. The death penalty is the maximum punishment but lesser punishments or even a full pardon may be warranted by different circumstances.</p><p style="margin-bottom: 0.875em;">Moreover Islam does not have any penalty for Apostasy if someone wishes change his faith just because he wills to join a new religion.</p><p style="margin-bottom: 0.875em;">The Quran is pretty clear and explicit on this fact.</p><blockquote class="wp-block-quote" style="border-bottom-color: rgb(0, 135, 190); border-image: initial; border-left-color: initial; border-right-color: rgb(0, 135, 190); border-style: solid; border-top-color: rgb(0, 135, 190); border-width: 0px 0px 0px 0.25em; box-sizing: border-box; font-style: italic; margin: 0px 0px 1.75em; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 0px 0px 0px 1em;"><p style="margin-bottom: 0.875em; margin-top: 0px;">There is no compulsion in religion. The truth is distinct from error.</p><cite style="color: currentcolor; display: block; font-size: 0.8125em; font-style: normal; font-weight: 700; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-top: 0.875em; position: relative;">[25] Quran 2:256</cite></blockquote><p style="margin-bottom: 0.875em;">Muhammad Rashid Rida writes:</p><blockquote class="wp-block-quote" style="border-bottom-color: rgb(0, 135, 190); border-image: initial; border-left-color: initial; border-right-color: rgb(0, 135, 190); border-style: solid; border-top-color: rgb(0, 135, 190); border-width: 0px 0px 0px 0.25em; box-sizing: border-box; font-style: italic; margin: 0px 0px 1.75em; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 0px 0px 0px 1em;"><p style="margin-bottom: 0.875em; margin-top: 0px;">This is a major rule among the principles of the religion of Islam and a great pillar among the pillars of administration. It is not permissible to force anyone to enter the religion and it is not allowed to expel anyone among his people from his religion.</p><cite style="color: currentcolor; display: block; font-size: 0.8125em; font-style: normal; font-weight: 700; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-top: 0.875em; position: relative;">[26] Tafseer Al-Manar 2:256</cite></blockquote><p style="margin-bottom: 0.875em;">This verse is also not abrogated as many falsely claim as we can see.</p><p style="margin-bottom: 0.875em;">Moreover the Prophet also never forced anyone to convert to Islam.</p><blockquote class="wp-block-quote" style="border-bottom-color: rgb(0, 135, 190); border-image: initial; border-left-color: initial; border-right-color: rgb(0, 135, 190); border-style: solid; border-top-color: rgb(0, 135, 190); border-width: 0px 0px 0px 0.25em; box-sizing: border-box; font-style: italic; margin: 0px 0px 1.75em; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 0px 0px 0px 1em;"><p style="margin-bottom: 0.875em; margin-top: 0px;">Anas ibn Malik reported: The Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings be upon him, said to a man<br />Embrace Islam. The man said, “I find that I dislike it.” The Prophet said: Even if you dislike it.</p><cite style="color: currentcolor; display: block; font-size: 0.8125em; font-style: normal; font-weight: 700; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-top: 0.875em; position: relative;">[27] Musnad Ahmad 11650, Grade: <em>Sahih</em></cite></blockquote><p style="margin-bottom: 0.875em;">In this tradition, the Prophet did not call the man to Islam using threats or intimidation, but rather by telling him that Islam is good for him even if he disliked it.</p><p style="margin-bottom: 0.875em;">Ibn Al Qayyim writes:</p><blockquote class="wp-block-quote" style="border-bottom-color: rgb(0, 135, 190); border-image: initial; border-left-color: initial; border-right-color: rgb(0, 135, 190); border-style: solid; border-top-color: rgb(0, 135, 190); border-width: 0px 0px 0px 0.25em; box-sizing: border-box; font-style: italic; margin: 0px 0px 1.75em; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 0px 0px 0px 1em;"><p style="margin-bottom: 0.875em; margin-top: 0px;">The Prophet never forced the religion upon anyone, but rather he only fought those who waged war against him and fought him first. As for those who made peace with him or conducted a truce, then he never fought them and he never compelled them to enter his religion.</p><cite style="color: currentcolor; display: block; font-size: 0.8125em; font-style: normal; font-weight: 700; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-top: 0.875em; position: relative;">[28] Hidayat Al-Hayara 237</cite></blockquote><p style="margin-bottom: 0.875em;">There is another instance where some one apostatized and the Prophet allowed.</p><blockquote class="wp-block-quote" style="border-bottom-color: rgb(0, 135, 190); border-image: initial; border-left-color: initial; border-right-color: rgb(0, 135, 190); border-style: solid; border-top-color: rgb(0, 135, 190); border-width: 0px 0px 0px 0.25em; box-sizing: border-box; font-style: italic; margin: 0px 0px 1.75em; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 0px 0px 0px 1em;"><p style="margin-bottom: 0.875em; margin-top: 0px;">Jabir reported: A bedouin came to the Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him, and gave the pledge of allegiance for embracing Islam. The next day he came with a fever and said, “Please cancel my pledge.” The Prophet refused three times and he said: Medina is like a furnace. It expels its impurities and collects what is pure.</p><cite style="color: currentcolor; display: block; font-size: 0.8125em; font-style: normal; font-weight: 700; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-top: 0.875em; position: relative;">[29] Sahih Bukhari 1784, Grade: Sahih<br /></cite></blockquote><p style="margin-bottom: 0.875em;">In this example, a man rejected Islam after embracing it but the Prophet did not apply legal punishment to him. Rather he gave us a impression that even if that leaves Islam more will join it.</p><p style="margin-bottom: 0.875em;">Furthermore, cases of major apostasy do not necessitate the death penalty if a single Muslim seeks protection for the apostate.</p><p style="margin-bottom: 0.875em;">Ibn Abbas reported:</p><blockquote class="wp-block-quote" style="border-bottom-color: rgb(0, 135, 190); border-image: initial; border-left-color: initial; border-right-color: rgb(0, 135, 190); border-style: solid; border-top-color: rgb(0, 135, 190); border-width: 0px 0px 0px 0.25em; box-sizing: border-box; font-style: italic; margin: 0px 0px 1.75em; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 0px 0px 0px 1em;"><p style="margin-bottom: 0.875em; margin-top: 0px;">Abdullah ibn Sa’d ibn Abi Sarh would write to the Messenger of Allah but the devil deceived him and he joined the unbelievers. The Messenger of Allah ordered that he should be killed on the day of liberation, but Uthman ibn Affan sought protection for him, so the Messenger of Allah granted him protection.</p><cite style="color: currentcolor; display: block; font-size: 0.8125em; font-style: normal; font-weight: 700; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-top: 0.875em; position: relative;">[30] Sunan Abu Dawud 4358, Grade:<em><a href="http://dailyhadith.abuaminaelias.com/2012/11/15/hadith-on-pardon-the-prophet-pardons-a-man-due-to-the-intercession-of-uthman-ibn-affan/" style="background-color: transparent; color: #0087be; text-decoration-line: none;"> </a></em>Sahih</cite></blockquote><p style="margin-bottom: 0.875em;"><span style="font-weight: 700;"><em>Note: This apostate was an Apostate who committed high treason(which is the Apostasy punishable by death) but despite that Uthman gave him protection</em></span></p><p style="margin-bottom: 0.875em;">Moreover we see other Muslim rulers not giving any penalty for people commit apostasy.</p><p style="margin-bottom: 0.875em;">Umar Ibn Al Khattab:</p><blockquote class="wp-block-quote" style="border-bottom-color: rgb(0, 135, 190); border-image: initial; border-left-color: initial; border-right-color: rgb(0, 135, 190); border-style: solid; border-top-color: rgb(0, 135, 190); border-width: 0px 0px 0px 0.25em; box-sizing: border-box; font-style: italic; margin: 0px 0px 1.75em; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 0px 0px 0px 1em;"><p style="margin-bottom: 0.875em; margin-top: 0px;">Anas ibn Malik reported: I said, “O commander of the faithful, some people have turned renegade against Islam and joined the idolaters. What is to be done to them other than killing?” Umar ibn al-Khattab, may Allah be pleased with him, said, “<span style="font-weight: 700;">That I take hold of them on peaceful terms is more beloved to me than everything over which the sun rises, from the horizon to the zenith.</span>” I said, “O commander of the faithful, what would you do if you took hold of them?” Umar said, “I would offer them the door through which they exited, that they would enter it again. If they did so, I would accept it from them; otherwise I would keep them in prison.”</p><cite style="color: currentcolor; display: block; font-size: 0.8125em; font-style: normal; font-weight: 700; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-top: 0.875em; position: relative;">[31] Muṣannaf ‘Abd al-Razzāq 18696<br />Grade: <em>Sahih</em> (authentic) according to Ibn Kathir</cite></blockquote><p style="margin-bottom: 0.875em;">So here we can see that Umar Ibn Al Khattab. The 2nd Rashidum Caliph handled apostasy peacefully.</p><p style="margin-bottom: 0.875em;">There was a also a another instance where this happened when someone killed apostates even Umar Ibn Al Khattab did not command to.</p><blockquote class="wp-block-quote" style="border-bottom-color: rgb(0, 135, 190); border-image: initial; border-left-color: initial; border-right-color: rgb(0, 135, 190); border-style: solid; border-top-color: rgb(0, 135, 190); border-width: 0px 0px 0px 0.25em; box-sizing: border-box; font-style: italic; margin: 0px 0px 1.75em; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 0px 0px 0px 1em;"><p style="margin-bottom: 0.875em; margin-top: 0px;">Muhammad ibn al-Qari reported: A man came to Umar ibn al-Khattab, may Allah be pleased with him, from Abu Musa al-Ashari. Umar asked him about the people and he informed him. Then, Umar said, “Do you have any recent news?” Abu Musa said, “Yes, a man turned back to unbelief after his Islam.” Umar said, “What have you done with him?” Abu Musa said, “We let him approach and we struck his neck.” Umar said, “Did you not imprison him for three days and feed him each day with bread and call him to repent and return to the command of Allah?” Then, Umar said, “O Allah, I was not present and I did not command it and I was not pleased when I heard it!”</p><cite style="color: currentcolor; display: block; font-size: 0.8125em; font-style: normal; font-weight: 700; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-top: 0.875em; position: relative;">[32] al-Muwaṭṭa’ 1397 by Imam Malik Grade: <em>Hasan</em> (fair) according to Al-Albani</cite></blockquote><p style="margin-bottom: 0.875em;">Umar Abdul Aziz(Umar II)</p><blockquote class="wp-block-quote" style="border-bottom-color: rgb(0, 135, 190); border-image: initial; border-left-color: initial; border-right-color: rgb(0, 135, 190); border-style: solid; border-top-color: rgb(0, 135, 190); border-width: 0px 0px 0px 0.25em; box-sizing: border-box; font-style: italic; margin: 0px 0px 1.75em; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 0px 0px 0px 1em;"><p style="margin-bottom: 0.875em; margin-top: 0px;">Ma’mar reported: Some residents of the peninsula told me that some people had embraced Islam, but it was not long until they became apostates. Maymun ibn Mihran wrote to Umar Ibn Abdul Aziz, may Allah have mercy on him, regarding them and Umar wrote back saying, “<span style="font-weight: 700;">Let them return to paying tribute and leave them alone.”</span></p><cite style="color: currentcolor; display: block; font-size: 0.8125em; font-style: normal; font-weight: 700; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-top: 0.875em; position: relative;">[33] Muṣannaf ‘Abd al-Razzāq 18102</cite></blockquote><p style="margin-bottom: 0.875em;">So we can clearly him leaving them alone. Which obviously proves Islam never had any religious apostasy penalty except for high treason which was political purposes.</p><p style="margin-bottom: 0.875em;">In conclusion, the death penalty for apostasy is restricted by the Prophet’s other statements and actions which make clear that this punishment applies only to those who commit high treason against the Muslim community.</p><p style="margin-bottom: 0.875em;"><span style="font-weight: 700;">Source:</span></p><p style="margin-bottom: 0.875em;">[1] <em>Sunan an-Nasa’i 4059</em></p><p style="margin-bottom: 0.875em;">[2] <em>Quran 3:72</em></p><p style="margin-bottom: 0.875em;">[3] <em>Tafseer Ibn Kathir 3:72</em></p><p style="margin-bottom: 0.875em;">[4] <em>Quran 33:60</em></p><p style="margin-bottom: 0.875em;">[5] <em>Quran 4:137</em></p><p style="margin-bottom: 0.875em;">[6] <em>Quran 18:29</em></p><p style="margin-bottom: 0.875em;">[7] <em>Sahih Muslim 1676</em></p><p style="margin-bottom: 0.875em;">[8] <em>Sahih Muslim 1851</em></p><p style="margin-bottom: 0.875em;">[9] <em>Musnad Ahmad 5526</em></p><p style="margin-bottom: 0.875em;">[10] <em>Ṣaḥīḥ al-Bukhārī 4334</em></p><p style="margin-bottom: 0.875em;">[11] <span style="font-weight: 700;"><em></em></span><em>Sunan An-Nasa’i 4048</em></p><p style="margin-bottom: 0.875em;">[12] <span style="font-weight: 700;"><em></em></span><em>Sunan An-Nasa’i 4046</em></p><p style="margin-bottom: 0.875em;">[13] <em>I’lam Al-Muwaqi’een Volume 2 pg 74</em></p><p style="margin-bottom: 0.875em;">[14] <em>Sunan Abu Dawud 4358</em></p><p style="margin-bottom: 0.875em;">[15] <em>Ma’rifat As-Sunan wal Athar</em></p><p style="margin-bottom: 0.875em;">[16] <em>Musnaf Abdur Razzaq 18084</em></p><p style="margin-bottom: 0.875em;">[17] <em>Musnaf Ibn Abi Shayba 32083</em></p><p style="margin-bottom: 0.875em;">[18] <em> Sunan At-Tirmidhi 1458</em></p><p style="margin-bottom: 0.875em;">[19] <em>Al-Mabsut Volume 10 pg 110</em></p><p style="margin-bottom: 0.875em;">[20] <em>Al-Islam Aqidah wa Sharia 281</em></p><p style="margin-bottom: 0.875em;">[21] <span style="font-weight: 700;"><em></em></span><em>Fath ul-Qadeer 6 volume 6 pg 72</em></p><p style="margin-bottom: 0.875em;">[22] <em>Musnaf Abdur Razzaq 18085</em></p><p style="margin-bottom: 0.875em;">[23] <em>Sunan At-Tirmidhi 1424</em></p><p style="margin-bottom: 0.875em;">[24] <em>Musnad Ahmad 3720</em></p><p style="margin-bottom: 0.875em;">[25] <em>Quran 2:256</em></p><p style="margin-bottom: 0.875em;">[26] <em>Tafseer Al-Manar 2:256</em></p><p style="margin-bottom: 0.875em;">[27] <em>Musnad Ahmad 11650</em></p><p style="margin-bottom: 0.875em;">[28] <em>Hidayat Al-Hayara 237</em></p><p style="margin-bottom: 0.875em;">[29] <span style="font-weight: 700;"><em></em></span><em>Sahih Bukhari 1784</em></p><p style="margin-bottom: 0.875em;">[30] <em>Sunan Abu Dawud 4358</em></p><p style="margin-bottom: 0.875em;">[31] <em>Muṣannaf ‘Abd al-Razzāq 18696</em></p><p style="margin-bottom: 0.875em;">[32] <em>al-Muwaṭṭa’ 1397 by Imam Malik</em></p><p style="margin-bottom: 0.875em;">[33] <em>Muṣannaf ‘Abd al-Razzāq 18102</em></p><p style="margin-bottom: 0.875em;"><em><br /></em></p><p style="margin-bottom: 0.875em;"><em></em></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><em><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEgJ_QhNd4tL37BYmYsCkzOoPFeOaa3px6igIIdeLi48tisTaphgwBBCmclsa1ILo4vJx3_XE9ZRd-Rfu5E5-WYvFnMvQ4CMXquG2K6900O9GATguOPuXTw082LW7Yql3d51WmqXTh0oI6gPJFZ6P248So-Fm2P-UH4-PxZLRyELlTrlFt3DnRDY-8Vchnup" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="196" data-original-width="593" height="222" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEgJ_QhNd4tL37BYmYsCkzOoPFeOaa3px6igIIdeLi48tisTaphgwBBCmclsa1ILo4vJx3_XE9ZRd-Rfu5E5-WYvFnMvQ4CMXquG2K6900O9GATguOPuXTw082LW7Yql3d51WmqXTh0oI6gPJFZ6P248So-Fm2P-UH4-PxZLRyELlTrlFt3DnRDY-8Vchnup=w671-h222" width="671" /></a></em></div><em><br /><br /></em><p></p></div>Mustafa Ahmedhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14172750188773095424noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-558359090739969505.post-50884395076298298982023-10-03T11:22:00.002-07:002023-10-03T11:22:27.417-07:00Bewitchment of the Prophet (Sallallaahu ‘alaihi wa Sallam)<p> </p><header class="entry-header th-stack--base th-links-inherit" style="--tw-ring-color: rgba(59, 130, 246, 0.5); 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border-color: currentcolor; border-style: solid; border-width: 0px; box-sizing: border-box;">September 1, 2014</time></span></div></header><div class="entry-content th-content" style="--tw-ring-color: rgba(59, 130, 246, 0.5); --tw-ring-inset: var(--tw-empty, ); --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-shadow: 0 0 #0000; background-color: white; border-color: currentcolor; border-style: solid; border-width: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; color: #464646; counter-reset: footnotes 0; font-family: "Noto Sans", sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 2rem 0px 0px;"><p style="--tw-ring-color: rgba(59, 130, 246, 0.5); --tw-ring-inset: var(--tw-empty, ); --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-shadow: 0 0 #0000; border-color: currentcolor; border-style: solid; border-width: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 2rem; text-align: justify;">In the Book of Medicine of his Sahih, <span style="--tw-ring-color: rgba(59, 130, 246, 0.5); --tw-ring-inset: var(--tw-empty, ); --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-shadow: 0 0 #0000; border-color: currentcolor; border-style: solid; border-width: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; font-weight: 700;">Al-Bukhari</span> recorded that `A’ishah said, “The Messenger of Allah was bewitched until he thought that he had relations with his wives, but he had not had relations with them.”</p><p style="--tw-ring-color: rgba(59, 130, 246, 0.5); --tw-ring-inset: var(--tw-empty, ); --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-shadow: 0 0 #0000; border-color: currentcolor; border-style: solid; border-width: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 2rem; text-align: justify;">Sufyan said, “This is the worst form of magic when it reaches this stage.”</p><p style="--tw-ring-color: rgba(59, 130, 246, 0.5); --tw-ring-inset: var(--tw-empty, ); --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-shadow: 0 0 #0000; border-color: currentcolor; border-style: solid; border-width: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 2rem; text-align: justify;">So the Prophet said,</p><p style="--tw-ring-color: rgba(59, 130, 246, 0.5); --tw-ring-inset: var(--tw-empty, ); --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-shadow: 0 0 #0000; border-color: currentcolor; border-style: solid; border-width: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 2rem; text-align: justify;">O `A’ishah! Do you know that Allah has answered me concerning that which I asked Him.</p><p style="--tw-ring-color: rgba(59, 130, 246, 0.5); --tw-ring-inset: var(--tw-empty, ); --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-shadow: 0 0 #0000; border-color: currentcolor; border-style: solid; border-width: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 2rem; text-align: justify;">Two men came to me and one of them sat by my head while the other sat by my feet.</p><p style="--tw-ring-color: rgba(59, 130, 246, 0.5); --tw-ring-inset: var(--tw-empty, ); --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-shadow: 0 0 #0000; border-color: currentcolor; border-style: solid; border-width: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 2rem; text-align: justify;">The one who was sitting by my head said to the other one, `What is wrong with this man’</p><p style="--tw-ring-color: rgba(59, 130, 246, 0.5); --tw-ring-inset: var(--tw-empty, ); --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-shadow: 0 0 #0000; border-color: currentcolor; border-style: solid; border-width: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 2rem; text-align: justify;">The other replied, `He is bewitched.’</p><p style="--tw-ring-color: rgba(59, 130, 246, 0.5); --tw-ring-inset: var(--tw-empty, ); --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-shadow: 0 0 #0000; border-color: currentcolor; border-style: solid; border-width: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 2rem; text-align: justify;">The first one said, `Who bewitched him’</p><p style="--tw-ring-color: rgba(59, 130, 246, 0.5); --tw-ring-inset: var(--tw-empty, ); --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-shadow: 0 0 #0000; border-color: currentcolor; border-style: solid; border-width: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 2rem; text-align: justify;">The other replied, `Labid bin A`sam. He is a man from the tribe of Banu Zurayq who is an ally of the Jews, and a hypocrite.’</p><p style="--tw-ring-color: rgba(59, 130, 246, 0.5); --tw-ring-inset: var(--tw-empty, ); --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-shadow: 0 0 #0000; border-color: currentcolor; border-style: solid; border-width: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 2rem; text-align: justify;">The first one asked, `With what (did he bewitch him)’</p><p style="--tw-ring-color: rgba(59, 130, 246, 0.5); --tw-ring-inset: var(--tw-empty, ); --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-shadow: 0 0 #0000; border-color: currentcolor; border-style: solid; border-width: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 2rem; text-align: justify;">The other replied, `With a comb and hair from the comb.’</p><p style="--tw-ring-color: rgba(59, 130, 246, 0.5); --tw-ring-inset: var(--tw-empty, ); --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-shadow: 0 0 #0000; border-color: currentcolor; border-style: solid; border-width: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 2rem; text-align: justify;">The first one asked, `Where (is the comb)’</p><p style="--tw-ring-color: rgba(59, 130, 246, 0.5); --tw-ring-inset: var(--tw-empty, ); --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-shadow: 0 0 #0000; border-color: currentcolor; border-style: solid; border-width: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 2rem; text-align: justify;">The other answered, `In the dried bark of a male date palm under a rock in a well called Dharwan.’</p><p style="--tw-ring-color: rgba(59, 130, 246, 0.5); --tw-ring-inset: var(--tw-empty, ); --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-shadow: 0 0 #0000; border-color: currentcolor; border-style: solid; border-width: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 2rem; text-align: justify;">`A’ishah said, “So he went to the well to remove it (the comb with the hair).</p><p style="--tw-ring-color: rgba(59, 130, 246, 0.5); --tw-ring-inset: var(--tw-empty, ); --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-shadow: 0 0 #0000; border-color: currentcolor; border-style: solid; border-width: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 2rem; text-align: justify;">Then he said,</p><p style="--tw-ring-color: rgba(59, 130, 246, 0.5); --tw-ring-inset: var(--tw-empty, ); --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-shadow: 0 0 #0000; border-color: currentcolor; border-style: solid; border-width: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 2rem; text-align: justify;">This is the well that I saw. It was as if its water had henna soaked in it and its palm trees were like the heads of devils.</p><p style="--tw-ring-color: rgba(59, 130, 246, 0.5); --tw-ring-inset: var(--tw-empty, ); --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-shadow: 0 0 #0000; border-color: currentcolor; border-style: solid; border-width: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 2rem; text-align: justify;">So he removed it (of the well). Then I (`A’ishah) said, `Will you not make this public’</p><p style="--tw-ring-color: rgba(59, 130, 246, 0.5); --tw-ring-inset: var(--tw-empty, ); --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-shadow: 0 0 #0000; border-color: currentcolor; border-style: solid; border-width: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 2rem; text-align: justify;">He replied, (Allah has cured me and I hate to spread (the news of) wickedness to any of the people.)”</p><p style="--tw-ring-color: rgba(59, 130, 246, 0.5); --tw-ring-inset: var(--tw-empty, ); --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-shadow: 0 0 #0000; border-color: currentcolor; border-style: solid; border-width: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 2rem;"><em style="--tw-ring-color: rgba(59, 130, 246, 0.5); --tw-ring-inset: var(--tw-empty, ); --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-shadow: 0 0 #0000; border-color: currentcolor; border-style: solid; border-width: 0px; box-sizing: border-box;">Source : Tafseer Ibn Kathir , Soorah An-Naas – Dar-us-Salam Publications</em></p><p style="--tw-ring-color: rgba(59, 130, 246, 0.5); --tw-ring-inset: var(--tw-empty, ); --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-shadow: 0 0 #0000; border-color: currentcolor; border-style: solid; border-width: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 2rem; text-align: center;">***</p><p style="--tw-ring-color: rgba(59, 130, 246, 0.5); --tw-ring-inset: var(--tw-empty, ); --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-shadow: 0 0 #0000; border-color: currentcolor; border-style: solid; border-width: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 2rem;"><span style="--tw-ring-color: rgba(59, 130, 246, 0.5); --tw-ring-inset: var(--tw-empty, ); --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-shadow: 0 0 #0000; border-color: currentcolor; border-style: solid; border-width: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; font-weight: 700;">How come that the Messenger of Allah was bewitched? </span></p><p style="--tw-ring-color: rgba(59, 130, 246, 0.5); --tw-ring-inset: var(--tw-empty, ); --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-shadow: 0 0 #0000; border-color: currentcolor; border-style: solid; border-width: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 2rem; text-align: justify;">Q 6: <span style="--tw-ring-color: rgba(59, 130, 246, 0.5); --tw-ring-inset: var(--tw-empty, ); --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-shadow: 0 0 #0000; border-color: currentcolor; border-style: solid; border-width: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; color: #993300;">How come that the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) was bewitched when Allah addresses him saying: <span style="--tw-ring-color: rgba(59, 130, 246, 0.5); --tw-ring-inset: var(--tw-empty, ); --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-shadow: 0 0 #0000; border-color: currentcolor; border-style: solid; border-width: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; color: green;">Allâh will protect you from mankind</span>. How could he suffer the influence of magic at the time when he was responsible for conveying the Divine Revelation to the Muslims? Kindly explain the statement of the Mushriks (one who associates others with Allah in His Divinity or worship) in the Qur’an: <span style="--tw-ring-color: rgba(59, 130, 246, 0.5); --tw-ring-inset: var(--tw-empty, ); --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-shadow: 0 0 #0000; border-color: currentcolor; border-style: solid; border-width: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; color: green;">You follow none but a bewitched man</span>. Please, clarify and answer the misconceptions! </span></p><p style="--tw-ring-color: rgba(59, 130, 246, 0.5); --tw-ring-inset: var(--tw-empty, ); --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-shadow: 0 0 #0000; border-color: currentcolor; border-style: solid; border-width: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 2rem; text-align: justify;">A 6: According to an authentic Hadith, this incident of bewitching took place in Al-Madinah. When the Prophet (peace be upon him) started to receive Divine Revelation regularly, proofs of the truthfulness of his prophethood were established and Allah’s victory was granted to him over the disbelievers who felt disgraced. At that time, a man from the Jews called Labid ibn Al-A`sam bewitched him by sticking one of the Prophet’s hairs to a comb. The Prophet (peace be upon him) started imagining that he had done a thing, which in fact he had not done. Despite being affected by magic, the Prophet (peace be upon him) was conscious of every single word he spoke to people. He would speak the words inspired to him by Allah (Exalted be He). However, the spell that was cast on him affected his intimate relation with his wives. `Aishah (may Allah be please with her) said: <span style="--tw-ring-color: rgba(59, 130, 246, 0.5); --tw-ring-inset: var(--tw-empty, ); --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-shadow: 0 0 #0000; border-color: currentcolor; border-style: solid; border-width: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; color: green;">Once the Prophet was bewitched so that he began to imagine that he had done a thing which in fact he had not done</span></p><p style="--tw-ring-color: rgba(59, 130, 246, 0.5); --tw-ring-inset: var(--tw-empty, ); --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-shadow: 0 0 #0000; border-color: currentcolor; border-style: solid; border-width: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 2rem; text-align: justify;">It was only when Jibril (Gabriel) (peace be upon him) told him about what had happened to him that the Prophet (peace be upon him) sent someone to bring the spell out from a well belonging to one of the Al-Ansar (the Helpers, inhabitants of Madinah who supported the Prophet). When he was rid of it, the spell was broken by Allah’s grace. <span style="--tw-ring-color: rgba(59, 130, 246, 0.5); --tw-ring-inset: var(--tw-empty, ); --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-shadow: 0 0 #0000; border-color: currentcolor; border-style: solid; border-width: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; font-weight: 700;">It was then that Allah (Exalted be He) revealed the two Surahs, which came to be known as Al-Mu`awwidhatayn (Surahs Al-Falaq and Al-Nas)</span>. When the Prophet (peace be upon him) recited them, he was cured. Praising these two Surahs, the Prophet (peace be upon him) said:<span style="--tw-ring-color: rgba(59, 130, 246, 0.5); --tw-ring-inset: var(--tw-empty, ); --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-shadow: 0 0 #0000; border-color: currentcolor; border-style: solid; border-width: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; font-weight: 700;"> <span style="--tw-ring-color: rgba(59, 130, 246, 0.5); --tw-ring-inset: var(--tw-empty, ); --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-shadow: 0 0 #0000; border-color: currentcolor; border-style: solid; border-width: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; color: green;">No one can use anything that is equal to these two Surahs in seeking refuge in Allah</span></span>. The fact that the Prophet (peace be upon him) was bewitched did not affect his conveying of the Islamic Message nor were the people around him affected by that. Allah (Glorified and Exalted be He) protected him from failing to convey the Message of Islam to people.</p><p style="--tw-ring-color: rgba(59, 130, 246, 0.5); --tw-ring-inset: var(--tw-empty, ); --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-shadow: 0 0 #0000; border-color: currentcolor; border-style: solid; border-width: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 2rem; text-align: justify;">Like all other prophets, Muhammad (peace be upon him) suffered several types of physical pain. For example, in the battle of Uhud, his face was wounded by the rings of his helmet that pierced his temples, his lower lip bled, and one of his teeth was broken. He also fell into a pit. The disbelievers also tightened a net around him in Makkah. He suffered pain like all the prophets who preceded him. Allah (Exalted be He) raised him to greater ranks and doubled his reward for his patient endurance of suffering and oppression at the hands of the disbelievers. Regarding the Ayah which reads: (<span style="--tw-ring-color: rgba(59, 130, 246, 0.5); --tw-ring-inset: var(--tw-empty, ); --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-shadow: 0 0 #0000; border-color: currentcolor; border-style: solid; border-width: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; font-weight: 700;">Allâh will protect you from mankind…</span>), it means that Allah (Exalted be He) will protect the Prophet (peace be upon him) from the disbelievers’ conspiracy to kill him and from their attempt to prevent him from conveying the Message of Islam.</p><p style="--tw-ring-color: rgba(59, 130, 246, 0.5); --tw-ring-inset: var(--tw-empty, ); --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-shadow: 0 0 #0000; border-color: currentcolor; border-style: solid; border-width: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 2rem;"><span style="--tw-ring-color: rgba(59, 130, 246, 0.5); --tw-ring-inset: var(--tw-empty, ); --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-shadow: 0 0 #0000; border-color: currentcolor; border-style: solid; border-width: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; font-weight: 700;">Source</span>: Fatwas of <span style="--tw-ring-color: rgba(59, 130, 246, 0.5); --tw-ring-inset: var(--tw-empty, ); --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-shadow: 0 0 #0000; border-color: currentcolor; border-style: solid; border-width: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; font-weight: 700;">Ibn Baaz</span> – <a href="http://www.alifta.net/Fatawa/FatawaChapters.aspx?languagename=en&View=Page&PageID=1009&PageNo=1&BookID=14" rel="noopener" style="--tw-ring-color: rgba(59, 130, 246, 0.5); --tw-ring-inset: var(--tw-empty, ); --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-shadow: 0 0 #0000; border-color: currentcolor; border-style: solid; border-width: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; transition: all 0.25s ease-in-out 0s;" target="_blank">http://www.alifta.net/Fatawa/FatawaChapters.aspx?languagename=en&View=Page&PageID=1009&PageNo=1&BookID=14</a></p><p style="--tw-ring-color: rgba(59, 130, 246, 0.5); --tw-ring-inset: var(--tw-empty, ); --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-shadow: 0 0 #0000; border-color: currentcolor; border-style: solid; border-width: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 2rem;"><span style="--tw-ring-color: rgba(59, 130, 246, 0.5); --tw-ring-inset: var(--tw-empty, ); --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-shadow: 0 0 #0000; border-color: currentcolor; border-style: solid; border-width: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; color: #993300;"><span style="--tw-ring-color: rgba(59, 130, 246, 0.5); --tw-ring-inset: var(--tw-empty, ); --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-shadow: 0 0 #0000; border-color: currentcolor; border-style: solid; border-width: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; font-weight: 700;">Related Link:</span></span></p><p style="--tw-ring-color: rgba(59, 130, 246, 0.5); --tw-ring-inset: var(--tw-empty, ); --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-shadow: 0 0 #0000; border-color: currentcolor; border-style: solid; border-width: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 2rem;"><a href="https://abdurrahman.org/2015/05/24/was-the-prophet-bewitched-shaykh-ibn-utahymeen/" rel="bookmark" style="--tw-ring-color: rgba(59, 130, 246, 0.5); --tw-ring-inset: var(--tw-empty, ); --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-shadow: 0 0 #0000; border-color: currentcolor; border-style: solid; border-width: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; transition: all 0.25s ease-in-out 0s;">Was the Prophet (صلى الله عليه و سلم) Bewitched?</a> – Shaykh Ibn Utahymeen</p><p style="--tw-ring-color: rgba(59, 130, 246, 0.5); --tw-ring-inset: var(--tw-empty, ); --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-shadow: 0 0 #0000; border-color: currentcolor; border-style: solid; border-width: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 2rem;"><br /></p><p style="--tw-ring-color: rgba(59, 130, 246, 0.5); --tw-ring-inset: var(--tw-empty, ); --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-shadow: 0 0 #0000; border-color: currentcolor; border-style: solid; border-width: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 2rem;">-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------</p><p style="--tw-ring-color: rgba(59, 130, 246, 0.5); --tw-ring-inset: var(--tw-empty, ); --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-shadow: 0 0 #0000; border-color: currentcolor; border-style: solid; border-width: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 2rem; text-align: justify;"><span style="--tw-ring-color: rgba(59, 130, 246, 0.5); --tw-ring-inset: var(--tw-empty, ); --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-shadow: 0 0 #0000; border-color: currentcolor; border-style: solid; border-width: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; font-weight: 700;">Question 43:</span> It was reported from the Prophet (صلى الله عليه و سلم) that he was bewitched. So we would like you to talk about the means by which he (صلى الله عليه و سلم) was bewitched. Furthermore, is it contradictory to the status of Prophethood that bewitchment of the Prophet (صلى الله عليه و سلم) took place?</p><p style="--tw-ring-color: rgba(59, 130, 246, 0.5); --tw-ring-inset: var(--tw-empty, ); --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-shadow: 0 0 #0000; border-color: currentcolor; border-style: solid; border-width: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 2rem; text-align: justify;"><span style="--tw-ring-color: rgba(59, 130, 246, 0.5); --tw-ring-inset: var(--tw-empty, ); --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-shadow: 0 0 #0000; border-color: currentcolor; border-style: solid; border-width: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; font-weight: 700;">The Answer:</span> It has been confirmed in the Saheehayn (al- Bukhaaree and Muslim collections of Ahaadeeth) and in other traditions that the Prophet (صلى الله عليه و سلم) was enchanted. <span style="--tw-ring-color: rgba(59, 130, 246, 0.5); --tw-ring-inset: var(--tw-empty, ); --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-shadow: 0 0 #0000; border-color: currentcolor; border-style: solid; border-width: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; color: #993300;"><span style="--tw-ring-color: rgba(59, 130, 246, 0.5); --tw-ring-inset: var(--tw-empty, ); --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-shadow: 0 0 #0000; border-color: currentcolor; border-style: solid; border-width: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; font-weight: 700;">His bewitchment, however, did not affect him from the aspect of Legislation or Revelation</span></span>. The utmost thing in this respect is that he (صلى الله عليه و سلم) reached a stage whereby he began to fancy that he was doing a thing which he was not actually doing. The magic material intended for the Prophet (صلى الله عليه و سلم) was the cast of a Jew known by the name Labeed ibn al-A’sam. Allaah, The One free of all imperfection and The Most High, protected the Prophet (صلى الله عليه و سلم) from it, until he was informed of what occurred to him by way of inspiration. He used to seek refuge in Allaah against evil by the recitation of al-Mu’awwithatayn, soorat al- Falaq and soorat An-Naas.</p><p style="--tw-ring-color: rgba(59, 130, 246, 0.5); --tw-ring-inset: var(--tw-empty, ); --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-shadow: 0 0 #0000; border-color: currentcolor; border-style: solid; border-width: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 2rem; text-align: justify;"><span style="--tw-ring-color: rgba(59, 130, 246, 0.5); --tw-ring-inset: var(--tw-empty, ); --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-shadow: 0 0 #0000; border-color: currentcolor; border-style: solid; border-width: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; color: #993300;"><span style="--tw-ring-color: rgba(59, 130, 246, 0.5); --tw-ring-inset: var(--tw-empty, ); --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-shadow: 0 0 #0000; border-color: currentcolor; border-style: solid; border-width: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; font-weight: 700;">And this kind of magic does not influence the state of Prophethood, since it did not affect the behavior of the Prophet (صلى الله عليه و سلم) regarding the Revelation and acts of worship</span></span>, as we have mentioned earlier. Some people have denied that the Prophet (صلى الله عليه و سلم) was bewitched under the pretext that such saying necessitates believing the unbelievers, and even the wrongdoers who said:</p><p style="--tw-ring-color: rgba(59, 130, 246, 0.5); --tw-ring-inset: var(--tw-empty, ); --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-shadow: 0 0 #0000; border-color: currentcolor; border-style: solid; border-width: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 2rem; text-align: justify;"><span style="--tw-ring-color: rgba(59, 130, 246, 0.5); --tw-ring-inset: var(--tw-empty, ); --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-shadow: 0 0 #0000; border-color: currentcolor; border-style: solid; border-width: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; color: green;">You follow none but a witched man.</span> [Qur’aan, soorat al-Israa’ (17): 47].</p><p style="--tw-ring-color: rgba(59, 130, 246, 0.5); --tw-ring-inset: var(--tw-empty, ); --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-shadow: 0 0 #0000; border-color: currentcolor; border-style: solid; border-width: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 2rem; text-align: justify;">There is no doubt, however, that such saying does not obligate approving those unbelievers and wrongdoers in what they have attributed to the Prophet (صلى الله عليه و سلم). Since they claim that the Messenger (صلى الله عليه و سلم) is bewitched in what he utters from Revelation, and what he has brought is mere hallucination, like the hallucination of the bewitched. However, the bewitching that occurred to the Prophet (صلى الله عليه و سلم) did not affect him in anything of the Revelation whatsoever, or in anything of the acts of worship. And it is forbidden that we deny his enchantment based upon our misunderstanding of the texts.</p><p style="--tw-ring-color: rgba(59, 130, 246, 0.5); --tw-ring-inset: var(--tw-empty, ); --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-shadow: 0 0 #0000; border-color: currentcolor; border-style: solid; border-width: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 2rem; text-align: justify;"><span style="--tw-ring-color: rgba(59, 130, 246, 0.5); --tw-ring-inset: var(--tw-empty, ); --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-shadow: 0 0 #0000; border-color: currentcolor; border-style: solid; border-width: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; font-weight: 700;">Posted from eBook</span> : <a href="https://abdurrahman.org/2014/12/05/understanding-worship-fiqhul-ibaadaat-qa-format-ibn-uthaymeen-dr-saleh-as-saleh/" style="--tw-ring-color: rgba(59, 130, 246, 0.5); --tw-ring-inset: var(--tw-empty, ); --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-shadow: 0 0 #0000; border-color: currentcolor; border-style: solid; border-width: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; transition: all 0.25s ease-in-out 0s;" title="Understanding Worship – Fiqh ul-‘Ibadah – QA Format – Ibn Uthaymeen – Dr Saleh as Saleh"><span style="--tw-ring-color: rgba(59, 130, 246, 0.5); --tw-ring-inset: var(--tw-empty, ); --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-shadow: 0 0 #0000; border-color: currentcolor; border-style: solid; border-width: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; font-weight: 700;">Understanding Worship – Fiqh ul-‘Ibadah – QA Format – Ibn Uthaymeen</span></a> – Dr Saleh as Saleh</p></div>Mustafa Ahmedhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14172750188773095424noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-558359090739969505.post-61083565933045177632023-09-29T14:43:00.003-07:002023-09-29T14:43:40.158-07:00Dated And Datable Texts Mentioning Prophet Muḥammad ﷺ From 1-100 AH / 622-719 CE HISTORY / HISTORIAN <p> <img align="BOTTOM" border="0" height="30" src="https://www.islamic-awareness.org/bismilsmall.gif" style="font-size: 16px; word-spacing: 0.72px;" width="253" /></p><p align="CENTER" style="font-size: 16px; word-spacing: 0.72px;"><a href="https://www.islamic-awareness.org/"><img align="BOTTOM" border="0" height="46" src="https://www.islamic-awareness.org/isa.jpg" width="327" /></a></p><p align="CENTER" style="font-size: 16px; word-spacing: 0.72px;"><b><span class="title" style="font-size: 14pt; letter-spacing: 0.24px; line-height: 17pt; word-spacing: 0.72px;">Dated And Datable Texts Mentioning Prophet Muḥammad ﷺ From 1-100 AH / 622-719 CE</span></b></p><p align="CENTER" class="articlename" style="color: #770000; font-size: 16px; letter-spacing: 0.24px; line-height: 16pt; word-spacing: 0.72px;">Islamic Awareness</p><p align="CENTER" style="font-size: 16px; word-spacing: 0.72px;"><span class="logocopyblack" style="font-family: helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 8pt; letter-spacing: 0.24px; line-height: 14pt; word-spacing: 0.72px;">© Islamic Awareness, All Rights Reserved.</span></p><p align="CENTER" style="font-size: 16px; word-spacing: 0.72px;"><span class="logocopyblack" style="font-family: helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 8pt; letter-spacing: 0.24px; line-height: 14pt; word-spacing: 0.72px;">First Composed: 26th January 2008</span></p><p align="CENTER" style="font-size: 16px; word-spacing: 0.72px;"><span class="logocopyblack" style="font-family: helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 8pt; letter-spacing: 0.24px; line-height: 14pt; word-spacing: 0.72px;">Last Modified: 28th April 2020</span></p><center style="font-size: 16px; word-spacing: 0.72px;"><table border="0" style="width: 60%;"><tbody><tr><td height="21" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica; font-size: 8pt; text-align: center;" width="97"><div class="fb-share-button fb_iframe_widget" data-href="http://www.islamic-awareness.org/History/Islam/Inscriptions/earlysaw.html" data-layout="button_count" data-mobile-iframe="true" fb-iframe-plugin-query="app_id=&container_width=131&href=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.islamic-awareness.org%2FHistory%2FIslam%2FInscriptions%2Fearlysaw.html&layout=button_count&locale=en_GB&mobile_iframe=true&sdk=joey" fb-xfbml-state="rendered" style="display: inline-block; 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border-radius: 2px; box-shadow: rgb(136, 136, 136) 0px 0px 1px inset; box-sizing: border-box; color: rgb(255, 255, 255) !important; cursor: pointer; display: inline-block; font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 11px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-weight: bold; height: 20px; line-height: 20px; padding: 0px 4px 0px 0px; position: relative; text-indent: 20px; vertical-align: baseline; width: auto;">Save</span></td></tr></tbody></table></center><hr noshade="" size="1" style="font-size: 16px; word-spacing: 0.72px;" width="80%" /><p style="font-size: 16px; word-spacing: 0.72px;"><i>Assalamu ‘alaykum wa rahamatullahi wa barakatuhu:</i></p><p class="title" style="font-size: 14pt; font-weight: bold; letter-spacing: 0.24px; line-height: 17pt; word-spacing: 0.72px;"><a id="1" name="1"></a>1. Introduction</p><p style="font-size: 16px; word-spacing: 0.72px;">The history of the quest for the historical Muhammad in the modern Western literature has its origins from the time (<em>c</em>. 1850 CE) of Sir William Muir<sup class="referencenumb" style="color: blue; font-size: 8pt; letter-spacing: 0.24px; line-height: 10pt; word-spacing: 0.72px;">[1]</sup> and Alois Sprenger.<sup class="referencenumb" style="color: blue; font-size: 8pt; letter-spacing: 0.24px; line-height: 10pt; word-spacing: 0.72px;">[2]</sup> Both of them suspected that much of the Islamic traditions on Muhammad, which were accepted by Muslims as authentic, were in fact forged. Their views were given a further impetus by Ignaz Goldziher who became convinced that the tradition literature had grown up after the Arab conquests, i.e., the <em>aḥādīth</em> did not reflect the life of Prophet Muhammad; rather they reflect the beliefs, conflicts and controversies of the first generation of Muslims.<sup class="referencenumb" style="color: blue; font-size: 8pt; letter-spacing: 0.24px; line-height: 10pt; word-spacing: 0.72px;">[3]</sup> In other words, the <em>aḥādīth</em> reflect reality, but not the reality of seventh century Arabia but of Umayyad and early Abbasid empires. About half a century after Goldziher, Joseph Schacht applied the former's methodology and came up with what is called the backward growth of <em>isnāds</em>. <em>Isnāds</em>, he argued, tended to grow backward with time. In other words, traditions with worse <em>isnāds</em> are likely to be earlier and the ones with perfect <em>isnāds</em> betray their late development. Therefore, the legal rules formulated during later times were enshrined in <em>ḥadīth</em> and projected back to the life of the Prophet in order to give them an Islamic justification.<sup class="referencenumb" style="color: blue; font-size: 8pt; letter-spacing: 0.24px; line-height: 10pt; word-spacing: 0.72px;">[4]</sup></p><p style="font-size: 16px; word-spacing: 0.72px;">Following the earlier scepticism, albeit charting a new direction, John Wansbrough argued that <em>ḥadīth</em> literature is exegetical in origin, i.e., the bulk of the tradition literature is closely tied to the interpretation of the Qur'an, which he believed did not take its final form/canonised until the late eighth / early ninth century. <em>Ḥadīth</em> literature is not rooted in history but it originated due to the propensity of the early Muslims to tell stories related to the Qur'an.<sup class="referencenumb" style="color: blue; font-size: 8pt; letter-spacing: 0.24px; line-height: 10pt; word-spacing: 0.72px;">[5]</sup> A variation of Wansbrough's position was put forth by John Burton who suggested that the origins of <em>ḥadīth</em> had nothing to do with real life and everything to do with the problem of interpreting the Qur'an.<sup class="referencenumb" style="color: blue; font-size: 8pt; letter-spacing: 0.24px; line-height: 10pt; word-spacing: 0.72px;">[6]</sup></p><p style="font-size: 16px; word-spacing: 0.72px;">Following the footsteps of Wansbrough, a different approach was taken by Judith Koren and Yehuda Nevo to study Islamic history. They contend that any Muslim source must be checked against a non-Muslim source (preferably material, e.g., archaeology, epigraphy, numismatics), and if the two sources conflict, the non-Muslim source is to be preferred.<sup class="referencenumb" style="color: blue; font-size: 8pt; letter-spacing: 0.24px; line-height: 10pt; word-spacing: 0.72px;">[7]</sup> Concerning Muhammad, they claim:</p><blockquote style="font-size: 16px; word-spacing: 0.72px;"><p class="bookquoteCN" style="color: #aa0000; font-family: Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 8pt; letter-spacing: 0.24px; line-height: 13pt; word-spacing: 0.72px;"><span class="bookquote" style="color: black; font-size: 8pt; letter-spacing: 0.24px; line-height: 13pt; word-spacing: 0.72px;">[Brock] </span>points out that there are no details of Muhammad's early career in any Byzantine or Syriac sources which predate the Muslim literature on the subject.<sup class="referencenumb" style="color: blue; font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 8pt; letter-spacing: 0.24px; line-height: 10pt; word-spacing: 0.72px;">[8]</sup></p></blockquote><p style="font-size: 16px; word-spacing: 0.72px;">While commenting on the Islamic sources, Nevo claims that "neither the Prophet himself nor any Muhammadan formulae appear in any inscription dated before the year 71 / 691" and that the earliest occurrence of the phrase <em>Muhammad rasūl Allāh</em> is on an Arab-Sassanian coin of Khālid bin ʿAbdullāh from the year 71 AH / 691 CE.<sup class="referencenumb" style="color: blue; font-size: 8pt; letter-spacing: 0.24px; line-height: 10pt; word-spacing: 0.72px;">[9]</sup> It will be seen later that Nevo and Koren were wrong on both accounts, not in keeping with their most surprising claim that it is the revisionists and not the "traditionalists" who pay close attention to the findings of archaeology, epigraphy and numismatics.<sup class="referencenumb" style="color: blue; font-size: 8pt; letter-spacing: 0.24px; line-height: 10pt; word-spacing: 0.72px;">[10]</sup> Perhaps the situation can be summed up no better than the recent analysis by Jeremy Johns. He said,</p><blockquote style="font-size: 16px; word-spacing: 0.72px;"><p class="bookquoteCN" style="color: #aa0000; font-family: Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 8pt; letter-spacing: 0.24px; line-height: 13pt; word-spacing: 0.72px;">The polemical style permitted historians to dismiss this article as not worth an answer, while Nevo's unorthodox interpretation of material evidence embarrassed archaeologists into silence (Fig. 1). What, it was widely asked, could have persuaded <em>Der Islam</em> to waste space in this manner?<sup class="referencenumb" style="color: blue; font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 8pt; letter-spacing: 0.24px; line-height: 10pt; word-spacing: 0.72px;">[11]</sup></p></blockquote><p style="font-size: 16px; word-spacing: 0.72px;">The implications here are quite startling. If the sceptics are right then the life of Muhammad as seen in the Islamic literature is not historical. The tradition literature may have grown out of the political and theological debates of the first generation Muslims, as Goldziher argued, or out of the legal debates, as Schacht suggested, or simply out of the need to interpret the Qur'an, as Burton claimed, but it cannot be confidently traced to any real events of the Prophet's lifetime. Therefore, Ibn Ishaq's <em>Sīra</em> along with the corpus of <em>ḥadīth</em> literature may be of limited use for discovering what Muhammad himself said, did or believed.<sup class="referencenumb" style="color: blue; font-size: 8pt; letter-spacing: 0.24px; line-height: 10pt; word-spacing: 0.72px;">[12]</sup> However, such extreme views have been somewhat alleviated by, firstly, the availability of new sources that are "pre-canonical" such as the <span class="reference" style="color: blue; font-size: 12pt; font-style: italic; letter-spacing: 0.24px; line-height: 16pt; word-spacing: 0.72px;">Muṣannafs</span> of ʿAbd al-Razzāq al-Ṣanʿānī and Ibn Abī Shayba or ʿUmar bin Shabba's <span class="reference" style="color: blue; font-size: 12pt; font-style: italic; letter-spacing: 0.24px; line-height: 16pt; word-spacing: 0.72px;">Tārīkh al-Madīnah</span> (Schacht had no access to earlier sources); and secondly, the development of <em>isnād</em> and <em>matn</em> analysis of the <em>aḥādīth</em> that resulted in the investigation of textual variants of the <em>aḥādīth</em>. Using this technique, <em>aḥādīth</em> have been shown to have very early origins going back to the first century of <em>hijra</em>.<sup class="referencenumb" style="color: blue; font-size: 8pt; letter-spacing: 0.24px; line-height: 10pt; word-spacing: 0.72px;">[13]</sup> Availability of new Muslim sources and a careful analysis of non-Muslim accounts have re-invigorated the Western quest for the historical Muhammad.<sup class="referencenumb" style="color: blue; font-size: 8pt; letter-spacing: 0.24px; line-height: 10pt; word-spacing: 0.72px;">[14]</sup></p><p style="font-size: 16px; word-spacing: 0.72px;">The most comprehensive work in recent times dealing with the Muslim and non-Muslim accounts relating to the rise of Islam and Muhammad is by Robert Hoyland, the first person to systematically collect all the non-Muslim evidence bearing on the rise of Islam. His methodical approach in dealing with Muslim and non-Muslim texts has established that they "furnish us with an enriched and expanded version of the Middle East in the early Islamic times".<sup class="referencenumb" style="color: blue; font-size: 8pt; letter-spacing: 0.24px; line-height: 10pt; word-spacing: 0.72px;">[15]</sup> This is also true even for Muhammad, as to how he was perceived among the Muslims as well as non-Muslims.</p><p style="font-size: 16px; word-spacing: 0.72px;">The aim of this essay is modest. We want to present dated and datable <em>non-scriptural</em> Muslim and non-Muslim texts<sup class="referencenumb" style="color: blue; font-size: 8pt; letter-spacing: 0.24px; line-height: 10pt; word-spacing: 0.72px;">[16]</sup> mentioning Prophet Muhammad from the first century of <em>hijra</em> and see how they perceive him. Do the non-Muslim texts provide some form of corroboration for the Muslim accounts? If yes, then to what extent? How should these texts be utilised in light of authentic early Muslim testimony?</p><p style="font-size: 16px; word-spacing: 0.72px;"><span class="title" style="font-size: 14pt; font-weight: bold; letter-spacing: 0.24px; line-height: 17pt; word-spacing: 0.72px;"><a id="2" name="2"></a>2. Dated And Datable Texts <b>Mentioning Prophet Muḥammad From 1-100 AH / 622-719 CE</b></span></p><p style="font-size: 16px; word-spacing: 0.72px;">Below is a listing of dated and datable Muslim and non-Muslim sources mentioning Prophet Muhammad. To put Muslim and non-Muslim accounts in a chronological perspective, the death of the Prophet happened in <em>Rabī al-Awwal</em>, 11 AH / June, 632 CE. Excluding multiples of certain objects such as milestones, coins and papyrological corpora, in total there are forty separate texts. Twelve of these are Christian literary texts, eight were written in Syriac, two in Coptic, one in Greek and one in Armenian. The remaining twenty eight items are dated documentary Muslim texts, twenty five are written in Arabic, two in Middle Persian and one in Arabic-Greek. With regard to the presentation of the texts, they are ordered chronologically irrespective of type, language or genre.<sup class="referencenumb" style="color: blue; font-size: 8pt; letter-spacing: 0.24px; line-height: 10pt; word-spacing: 0.72px;">[17]</sup></p><p align="center" class="title" style="font-size: 14pt; font-weight: bold; letter-spacing: 0.24px; line-height: 17pt; word-spacing: 0.72px;">List Of Dated And Datable Texts <b>Mentioning Prophet Muḥammad From 1-100 AH / 622-719 CE</b></p><hr noshade="" size="1" style="font-size: 16px; word-spacing: 0.72px;" width="80%" /><p style="font-size: 16px; word-spacing: 0.72px;"><img align="BOTTOM" alt="" border="0" height="10" src="https://www.islamic-awareness.org/sarrow.gif" width="8" /> <strong>Doctrina Iacobi Nuper Baptizati, 13–20 AH / 634–640 CE</strong>.</p><p style="font-size: 16px; word-spacing: 0.72px;">Written by a Christian apologist, this anti-Jewish tract illuminates the story of the forced conversion of a Palestinian Jewish merchant named Jacob to Christianity. After reading the scriptures, instead of resenting his forced baptism, he recognises the truth of his newly found faith and is eager to share his experience with other Jews. Though it is quite clear this is a fictitious account designed for apologetic purposes, the historical details of contemporary events accurately recounted by the anonymous author reveals some quite startling information - the appearance of a new Prophet among the Saracens.</p><blockquote style="font-size: 16px; word-spacing: 0.72px;"><p class="bookquoteCN" style="color: #aa0000; font-family: Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 8pt; letter-spacing: 0.24px; line-height: 13pt; word-spacing: 0.72px;">When the candidatus was killed by the Saracens, I was at Caesarea and I set off by boat to Sykamina. People were saying "the candidatus has been killed," and we Jews were overjoyed. And they were saying that the prophet had appeared, coming with the Saracens, and that he was proclaiming the advent of the anointed one, the Christ who was to come. I, having arrived at Sykamina, stopped by a certain old man well-versed in scriptures, and I said to him: "<span class="highlightbookqCN" style="background-color: #ffe957; font-size: 8pt; letter-spacing: 0.24px; line-height: 13pt; word-spacing: 0.72px;">What can you tell me about the prophet who has appeared with the Saracens?</span>" He replied, groaning deeply: "He is false, for the prophets do not come armed with a sword. Truly they are works of anarchy being committed today and I fear that the first Christ to come, whom the Christians worship, was the one sent by God and we instead are preparing to receive the Antichrist. Indeed, Isaiah said that the Jews would retain a perverted and hardened heart until all the earth should be devastated. But you go, master Abraham, and find out about the prophet who has appeared." So I, Abraham, inquired and heard from those who had met him that there was no truth to be found in the so-called prophet, only the shedding of men's blood. He says also that he has the keys of paradise, which is incredible.<sup class="referencenumb" style="color: blue; font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 8pt; letter-spacing: 0.24px; line-height: 10pt; word-spacing: 0.72px;">[18]</sup></p></blockquote><p style="font-size: 16px; word-spacing: 0.72px;">This source vies with the following two texts detailed below, <em>viz</em>., <em>A Record Of The Arab Conquest Of Syria, 637 CE</em> and <em>Thomas The Presbyter, c. 640 CE</em>, as being amongst the very earliest non-Islamic sources to mention Prophet Muḥammad. Furthermore, this is the earliest text to ascribe to his teachings an explicit religious motivation.<sup class="referencenumb" style="color: blue; font-size: 8pt; letter-spacing: 0.24px; line-height: 10pt; word-spacing: 0.72px;">[19]</sup></p><p style="font-size: 16px; word-spacing: 0.72px;"><img align="BOTTOM" border="0" height="10" src="https://www.islamic-awareness.org/sarrow.gif" width="8" /> <strong>A Record Of The Arab Conquest Of Syria, 15-16 AH / 637 CE</strong>.</p><p style="font-size: 16px; word-spacing: 0.72px;">This much faded note is preserved on folio 1 of <em>BL Add. 14,461</em>, a codex containing the Gospel according to Matthew and the Gospel according to Mark. This note appears to have been penned soon after the battle of Gabitha (636 CE) at which the Arabs inflicted a crushing defeat of the Byzantines. Wright was first to draw attention to the fragment and suggested that "it seems to be a nearly contemporary notice",<sup class="referencenumb" style="color: blue; font-size: 8pt; letter-spacing: 0.24px; line-height: 10pt; word-spacing: 0.72px;">[20]</sup> a view which was also endorsed by Nöldeke.<sup class="referencenumb" style="color: blue; font-size: 8pt; letter-spacing: 0.24px; line-height: 10pt; word-spacing: 0.72px;">[21]</sup> The purpose of jotting this note in the codex appears to be commemorative as the author appears to have realized how momentous the events of his time were. The words "we saw" are positive evidence that the author was a contemporary. The author also talks about olive oil, cattle, ruined villages, suggesting that he belonged to peasant stock, i.e., parish priest or a monk who could read and write. It is worthwhile cautioning that the condition of the text is fragmentary and many of the readings unclear or disputable. The lacunae are supplied in square brackets.</p><blockquote style="font-size: 16px; word-spacing: 0.72px;"><p class="bookquoteCN" style="color: #aa0000; font-family: Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 8pt; letter-spacing: 0.24px; line-height: 13pt; word-spacing: 0.72px;">... and in January, they took the word for their lives (did) [the sons of] Emesa <span class="bookquote" style="color: black; font-size: 8pt; letter-spacing: 0.24px; line-height: 13pt; word-spacing: 0.72px;">[i.e., Ḥimṣ)]</span>, and many villages were ruined with killing by <span class="highlightbookqCN" style="background-color: #ffe957; font-size: 8pt; letter-spacing: 0.24px; line-height: 13pt; word-spacing: 0.72px;">[the Arabs of] Muḥammad</span> and a great number of people were killed and captives [were taken] from Galilee as far as Bēth [...] and those Arabs pitched camp beside [Damascus?] [...] and we saw everywhe[re...] and o[l]ive oil which they brought and them. And on the t[wenty six]th of May went S[ac[ella]rius]... cattle [...] [...] from the vicinity of Emesa and the Romans chased them [...] and on the tenth [of August] the Romans fled from the vicinity of Damascus [...] many [people] some 10,000. And at the turn [of the ye]ar the Romans came; and on the twentieth of August in the year n[ine hundred and forty-]seven there gathered in Gabitha [...] the Romans and great many people were ki[lled of] [the R]omans, [s]ome fifty thousand [...]<sup class="super" style="color: blue; font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 8pt; letter-spacing: 0.24px; line-height: 10pt; word-spacing: 0.72px;">[22]</sup></p></blockquote><p style="font-size: 16px; word-spacing: 0.72px;">There are certain observations to be made here. The phrase "turn of the year" signifies that the beginning of the note refers to the year 634-5 CE. The people of Emesa "took the word for their lives", an expression for surrendering on terms of tolerance, confirmed by oaths. Then there was a battle in Palestine with the "Arabs of Muhammad" in which many villages were ruined and people from the region of Galilee and Beth Sacharya(?), south west of Jerusalem were taken captive. Then the Arabs laid siege to Damascus (as read by Nöldeke).<sup class="referencenumb" style="color: blue; font-size: 8pt; letter-spacing: 0.24px; line-height: 10pt; word-spacing: 0.72px;">[23]</sup> In May, 635 CE, a Byzantine general of the rank of <em>sakellarious</em> was in the region of Emesa. His name according to the Byzantine sources was Theodor.<sup class="referencenumb" style="color: blue; font-size: 8pt; letter-spacing: 0.24px; line-height: 10pt; word-spacing: 0.72px;">[24]</sup> Apparently, he was unable to lift the siege. The next battle took place in Gabitha, a town to the north of the river Yarmuk in the Golan massif. The date of the battle is 20th August AG 947 = 636 CE / <em>Rajab</em> 15 AH, which agrees with the best Arab date for the battle of Yarmuk.<sup class="referencenumb" style="color: blue; font-size: 8pt; letter-spacing: 0.24px; line-height: 10pt; word-spacing: 0.72px;">[25]</sup> As mentioned earlier, the fragmentary nature of this note has resulted in scholars advising caution.<sup class="referencenumb" style="color: blue; font-size: 8pt; letter-spacing: 0.24px; line-height: 10pt; word-spacing: 0.72px;">[26]</sup></p><p style="font-size: 16px; word-spacing: 0.72px;"><img align="BOTTOM" border="0" height="10" src="https://www.islamic-awareness.org/sarrow.gif" width="8" /> <strong>Thomas The Presbyter, 19 AH / 640 CE</strong>.</p><p style="font-size: 16px; word-spacing: 0.72px;">The 8th century <em>BL Add. 14,643</em> was published by Wright who first brought to attention the mention of an early date of 947 AG (635-6 CE).<sup class="referencenumb" style="color: blue; font-size: 8pt; letter-spacing: 0.24px; line-height: 10pt; word-spacing: 0.72px;">[27]</sup> The contents of this manuscript have puzzled many scholars for apparent lack of coherence as it contains an assembly of texts with diverse nature.<sup class="referencenumb" style="color: blue; font-size: 8pt; letter-spacing: 0.24px; line-height: 10pt; word-spacing: 0.72px;">[28]</sup> In relation to Islam and Muslims, there are two important dates mentioned in this manuscript.</p><blockquote style="font-size: 16px; word-spacing: 0.72px;"><p class="bookquoteCN" style="color: #aa0000; font-family: Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 8pt; letter-spacing: 0.24px; line-height: 13pt; word-spacing: 0.72px;">AG 945, indiction VII: On Friday, 4 February, <span class="bookquote" style="color: black; font-size: 8pt; letter-spacing: 0.24px; line-height: 13pt; word-spacing: 0.72px;">[i.e., 634 CE / <em>Dhul Qa‘dah</em> 12 AH]</span> at the ninth hour, there was a battle between the Romans and the <span class="highlightbookqCN" style="background-color: #ffe957; font-size: 8pt; letter-spacing: 0.24px; line-height: 13pt; word-spacing: 0.72px;">Arabs of Muḥammad</span> <span class="bookquote" style="color: black; font-size: 8pt; letter-spacing: 0.24px; line-height: 13pt; word-spacing: 0.72px;">[Syr. <em>tayyāyē d-Mḥmt</em>]</span> in Palestine twelve miles east of Gaza. The Romans fled, leaving behind the patrician <em>YRDN</em> (Syr. <em>BRYRDN</em>), whom the Arabs killed. Some 4000 poor villagers of Palestine were killed there, Christians, Jews and Samaritans. The Arabs ravaged the whole region.</p><p class="bookquoteCN" style="color: #aa0000; font-family: Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 8pt; letter-spacing: 0.24px; line-height: 13pt; word-spacing: 0.72px;">AG 947, indiction IX: The Arabs invaded the whole of Syria and went down to Persia and conquered it; the Arabs climbed mountain of Mardin and killed many monks there in [the monasteries of] Kedar and Benōthō. There died the blessed man Simon, doorkeeper of Qedar, brother of Thomas the priest.<sup class="referencenumb" style="color: blue; font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 8pt; letter-spacing: 0.24px; line-height: 10pt; word-spacing: 0.72px;">[29]</sup></p></blockquote><p style="font-size: 16px; word-spacing: 0.72px;">It is the first date above which is of great importance as it provides the first explicit reference to Muhammad in a non-Muslim source. The account is usually identified with the battle of Dathin.<sup class="referencenumb" style="color: blue; font-size: 8pt; letter-spacing: 0.24px; line-height: 10pt; word-spacing: 0.72px;">[30]</sup> According to Hoyland, "its precise dating inspires confidence that it ultimately derives from first-hand knowledge".<sup class="referencenumb" style="color: blue; font-size: 8pt; letter-spacing: 0.24px; line-height: 10pt; word-spacing: 0.72px;">[31]</sup> <span class="highlightpara" style="background-color: #ffe957; font-size: 12pt; letter-spacing: 0.24px; line-height: 16pt; word-spacing: 0.72px;">This means that the time period between the death of Muhammad (June, 632 CE) and the earliest mention of him (4th February, 634 CE) is slightly over a year and half!</span></p><p style="font-size: 16px; word-spacing: 0.72px;"><img align="BOTTOM" border="0" height="10" src="https://www.islamic-awareness.org/sarrow.gif" width="8" /> <b><a href="https://www.islamic-awareness.org/history/islam/inscriptions/jerus32">Jerusalem 32 - An Inscription Mentioning Witnessing By Three Disciples Of Prophet Muḥammad, 32 AH / 652 CE</a></b>.</p><blockquote style="font-size: 16px; word-spacing: 0.72px;"><p>... <em>dhimmat Allāh wa ḍamān rasūlih</em>.</p><p>... the protection of God and guarantee of His Messenger.</p></blockquote><p style="font-size: 16px; word-spacing: 0.72px;"><img align="BOTTOM" border="0" height="10" src="https://www.islamic-awareness.org/sarrow.gif" width="8" /> <strong>Sebeos, Bishop Of The Bagratunis, 40’s AH / 660’s CE</strong>.</p><p style="font-size: 16px; word-spacing: 0.72px;">One of the most interesting accounts of the early seventh century comes from Sebeos who was a bishop of the House of Bagratunis. From this chronicle, there are indications that he lived through many of the events he relates. He maintains that the account of Arab conquests derives from the fugitives who had been eyewitnesses thereof. He concludes with Mu‘awiya's ascendancy in the Arab civil war (656-61 CE), which suggests that he was writing soon after this date. Sebeos is the first non-Muslim author to present us with a theory for the rise of Islam that pays attention to what the Muslims themselves thought they were doing.<sup class="referencenumb" style="color: blue; font-size: 8pt; letter-spacing: 0.24px; line-height: 10pt; word-spacing: 0.72px;">[32]</sup> As for Muhammad, he has the following to say:</p><blockquote style="font-size: 16px; word-spacing: 0.72px;"><p class="bookquoteCN" style="color: #aa0000; font-family: Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 8pt; letter-spacing: 0.24px; line-height: 13pt; word-spacing: 0.72px;">At that time a certain man from along those same sons of Ismael, <span class="highlightbookqCN" style="background-color: #ffe957; font-size: 8pt; letter-spacing: 0.24px; line-height: 13pt; word-spacing: 0.72px;">whose name was Mahmet</span> <span class="bookquote" style="color: black; font-size: 8pt; letter-spacing: 0.24px; line-height: 13pt; word-spacing: 0.72px;">[i.e., Muḥammad]</span>, a merchant, as if by God's command appeared to them as a preacher [and] the path of truth. He taught them to recognize the God of Abraham, especially because he was learnt and informed in the history of Moses. Now because the command was from on high, at a single order they all came together in unity of religion. Abandoning their vain cults, they turned to the living God who had appeared to their father Abraham. So, Mahmet legislated for them: not to eat carrion, not to drink wine, not to speak falsely, and not to engage in fornication. He said: 'With an oath God promised this land to Abraham and his seed after him for ever. And he brought about as he promised during that time while he loved Ismael. But now you are the sons of Abraham and God is accomplishing his promise to Abraham and his seed for you. Love sincerely only the God of Abraham, and go and seize the land which God gave to your father Abraham. No one will be able to resist you in battle, because God is with you.<sup class="referencenumb" style="color: blue; font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 8pt; letter-spacing: 0.24px; line-height: 10pt; word-spacing: 0.72px;">[33]</sup></p></blockquote><p style="font-size: 16px; word-spacing: 0.72px;">Sebeos was writing the chronicle at a time when memories of sudden eruption of the Arabs was fresh. He knows Muhammad's name and that he was a merchant by profession. He hints that his life was suddenly changed by a divinely inspired revelation.<sup class="referencenumb" style="color: blue; font-size: 8pt; letter-spacing: 0.24px; line-height: 10pt; word-spacing: 0.72px;">[34]</sup> He presents a good summary of Muhammad's preaching, i.e., belief in one God, Abraham as a common ancestor of Jews and Arabs. He picks out some of the rules of behaviour imposed on the <em>umma</em>; the four prohibitions which are mentioned in the Qur'an. Much of what he says about the origins of Islam conforms to the Muslim tradition.</p><p style="font-size: 16px; word-spacing: 0.72px;"><img align="BOTTOM" border="0" height="10" src="https://www.islamic-awareness.org/sarrow.gif" width="8" /> <strong>A Chronicler Of Khuzistan, 40’s AH / 660’s CE</strong>.</p><p style="font-size: 16px; word-spacing: 0.72px;">This is an anonymous and short Nestorian chronicle that aims to convey church as well as secular histories from the death of Hormizd son of Khusrau to the end of the Persian kingdom. Because of its anonymity, it is known to scholars as the Khuzistan Chronicle, after its plausible geographical location or Anonymous Guidi, after the name of its first editor. Amid his entry on the reign of Yazdgird, the chronicler gives a brief account of the Muslim invasions:</p><blockquote style="font-size: 16px; word-spacing: 0.72px;"><p class="bookquoteCN" style="color: #aa0000; font-family: Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 8pt; letter-spacing: 0.24px; line-height: 13pt; word-spacing: 0.72px;">Then God raised up against them the sons of Ishmael, [numerous] as the sand on the sea shore, <span class="highlightbookqCN" style="background-color: #ffe957; font-size: 8pt; letter-spacing: 0.24px; line-height: 13pt; word-spacing: 0.72px;">whose leader (<em>mdabbrānā</em>) was Muḥammad (<em>mḥmd</em>)</span>. Neither walls nor gates, armour or shield, withstood them, and they gained control over the entire land of the Persians. Yazdgird sent against them countless troops, but the Arabs routed them all and even killed Rustam. Yazdgird shut himself up in the walls of Mahoze and finally escaped by flight. He reached the country of the Huzaye and Mrwnaye, where he ended his life. The Arabs gained countrol of Mahoze and all the territory. They also came to Byzantine territory, plundering and ravaging the entire region of Syria. Heraclius, the Byzantine king, sent armies against them, but the Arabs killed more than 100,000 of them.<sup class="referencenumb" style="color: blue; font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 8pt; letter-spacing: 0.24px; line-height: 10pt; word-spacing: 0.72px;">[35]</sup></p></blockquote><p style="font-size: 16px; word-spacing: 0.72px;">In summary, concerning Muhammad, the chronicler says that he was the leader of the sons of Ishmael, whom God raised against the Persians.</p><p style="font-size: 16px; word-spacing: 0.72px;"><img align="BOTTOM" alt="" border="0" height="10" src="https://www.islamic-awareness.org/sarrow.gif" width="8" /><strong> The Maronite Chronicle, After 44 AH / 665 CE</strong>.</p><p style="font-size: 16px; word-spacing: 0.72px;">The anonymous author of this chronicle self-identifies himself as a Maronite and probably belonged to the Maronite community. It covers historical events from Alexander the Great down to the 660’s CE.</p><blockquote style="font-size: 16px; word-spacing: 0.72px;"><p class="bookquoteCN" style="color: #aa0000; font-family: Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 8pt; letter-spacing: 0.24px; line-height: 13pt; word-spacing: 0.72px;">AG 971 <span class="bookquote" style="color: black; font-size: 8pt; letter-spacing: 0.24px; line-height: 13pt; word-spacing: 0.72px;">(=660 CE)</span>: "Many Arabs gathered at Jerusalem and made Muʻāwiya king and he went up and sat down on Golgotha and prayed there. He went to Gethsemane and went down to the tomb of the blessed Mary and prayed in it. In those days when the Arabs were gathered there with Muʻāwiya, there was an earthquake;" much of Jericho fell, as well as many nearby churches and monasteries.</p><p class="bookquoteCN" style="color: #aa0000; font-family: Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 8pt; letter-spacing: 0.24px; line-height: 13pt; word-spacing: 0.72px;">"In July of the same year the emirs and many Arabs gathered and gave their allegiance to Muʻāwiya. Then an order went out that he should be proclaimed king in all the villages and cities of his dominion and that they should make acclamations and invocations to him. He also minted gold and silver, but it was not accepted because it had no cross on it. <span class="highlightbookqCN" style="background-color: #ffe957; font-size: 8pt; letter-spacing: 0.24px; line-height: 13pt; word-spacing: 0.72px;">Furthermore, Muʻāwiya did not wear a crown like other kings in the world. He placed his throne in Damascus and refused to go to the seat of Muḥammad</span>."<sup class="referencenumb" style="color: blue; font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 8pt; letter-spacing: 0.24px; line-height: 10pt; word-spacing: 0.72px;">[36]</sup></p></blockquote><p style="font-size: 16px; word-spacing: 0.72px;">In the notice for the year AG 971, whilst describing intra-Muslim conflict, of which he seems very well acquainted, the author mentions Muḥammad by name.</p><p style="font-size: 16px; word-spacing: 0.72px;"><img align="BOTTOM" alt="" border="0" height="10" src="https://www.islamic-awareness.org/sarrow.gif" width="8" /><strong> <a href="https://www.islamic-awareness.org/history/islam/papyri/pness77">P. Nessana 77 - Earliest Papyrus Mentioning <em>Dhimma</em>, 60s AH / 680s CE</a></strong>.</p><blockquote style="font-size: 16px; word-spacing: 0.72px;"><p><em>... li-ahli Nessana dhimmat Allāhi wa dhimmat rasūlihi</em>.</p><p class="bookquoteCN" style="color: #aa0000; font-family: Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 8pt; letter-spacing: 0.24px; line-height: 13pt; word-spacing: 0.72px;">...[ ] due to him payment, and the people of Nessana have the protection of God and the <span class="highlightbookqCN" style="background-color: #ffe957; font-size: 8pt; letter-spacing: 0.24px; line-height: 13pt; word-spacing: 0.72px;">protection of His mess[eng]er</span>.</p></blockquote><p style="font-size: 16px; word-spacing: 0.72px;">Along with a drachm of ʿAbd al-Malik ibn ʿAbd Allāh, Zubayrid Governor of Bīshāpūr, 66 AH / 685-686 CE, this piece of evidence is amongst the earliest datable documentary texts to mention Muhammad indirectly.</p><p style="font-size: 16px; word-spacing: 0.72px;"><img align="BOTTOM" border="0" height="10" src="https://www.islamic-awareness.org/sarrow.gif" width="8" /> <strong><a href="https://www.islamic-awareness.org/history/islam/inscriptions/seal2">A Lead Seal In The Name Of Caliph ʿAbd Al-Malik Ibn Marwān, 65-86 AH / 685-705 CE</a></strong>.</p><blockquote style="font-size: 16px; word-spacing: 0.72px;"><p><em>Lā ilāha illa-Allāh waḥdahu la sharīka lahu Muḥammad rasūl Allāh ...</em></p><p>There is no god but God alone without partner and Muhammad is the Messenger of God ...</p></blockquote><p style="font-size: 16px; word-spacing: 0.72px;"><img align="BOTTOM" alt="" border="0" height="10" src="https://www.islamic-awareness.org/sarrow.gif" width="8" /> <a href="https://www.islamic-awareness.org/history/islam/coins/weight7"><strong>A Half Syrian <em>Raṭl</em> In The Name Of Caliph ʿAbd Al-Malik Ibn Marwān, 65-86 AH / 685-705 CE</strong></a>.</p><blockquote style="font-size: 16px; word-spacing: 0.72px;"><p><em>Bism Allāh Lā ilāha illa-Allāh waḥdahu Muḥammad rasūl Allāh ...</em></p><p>In the name of God. There is not but God He is one, Muḥammad is the Messenger of God ...</p></blockquote><p style="font-size: 16px; word-spacing: 0.72px;"><img align="BOTTOM" border="0" height="10" src="https://www.islamic-awareness.org/sarrow.gif" width="8" /> <strong>Seven milestones on the Damascus-Jerusalem road from the reign of ʿAbd al-Malik ibn Marwan, 65-86 AH / 685-705 CE</strong>. Some of them can be seen <a href="https://www.islamic-awareness.org/history/islam/Inscriptions/#3">here</a>. They start with the typical formula of</p><blockquote style="font-size: 16px; word-spacing: 0.72px;"><p><em>Bism Allāh al-raḥmān al-raḥīm</em> <em>lā ilāha illa-Allāh waḥdahu la sharīka lahu Muḥammad rasūl Allāh ...</em></p><p>In the name of God the Compassionate the Merciful. There is no god but God alone without partner and Muhammad is the Messenger of God ...</p></blockquote><p style="font-size: 16px; word-spacing: 0.72px;"><img align="BOTTOM" border="0" height="10" src="https://www.islamic-awareness.org/sarrow.gif" width="8" /> <a href="https://www.islamic-awareness.org/history/islam/coins/drachm1"><strong>Drachm Of ʿAbd al-Malik Ibn ʿAbd Allāh, Zubayrid Governor Of Bīshāpūr, 66 AH / 685-686 CE</strong></a>.</p><blockquote style="font-size: 16px; word-spacing: 0.72px;"><p><span class="articlename" style="color: #770000; font-size: 12pt; letter-spacing: 0.24px; line-height: 16pt; word-spacing: 0.72px;">Obverse margin</span>: <em>bism Allāh / Muḥammad rasūl / Allāh</em> ("In the name of God, Muhammad is the Messenger of God").</p></blockquote><p style="font-size: 16px; word-spacing: 0.72px;"><img align="BOTTOM" border="0" height="10" src="https://www.islamic-awareness.org/sarrow.gif" width="8" /> <strong>John bar Penkaye, 67-68 AH / 687 CE</strong>.</p><p style="font-size: 16px; word-spacing: 0.72px;">Little is known about John bar Penkaye. He was a native of Fenek in north-western Mesopotamia and a resident of the monastery of John Kamul. It was in this monastery he wrote <em>Ktābā d-rī<em>š</em> mellē</em> ("Book of the Salient Points") and dedicated it to a person called Sabrisho‘, the abbott of this convent.<sup class="referencenumb" style="color: blue; font-size: 8pt; letter-spacing: 0.24px; line-height: 10pt; word-spacing: 0.72px;">[37]</sup> In his book John bar Penkaye wrote the chronicle of the world from Creation to his present day which he calls as the "severe chastisement of today".<sup class="referencenumb" style="color: blue; font-size: 8pt; letter-spacing: 0.24px; line-height: 10pt; word-spacing: 0.72px;">[38]</sup> His work seeks to treat the salient points of history in a brief fashion. For the issue which concerns us here, it is discussed in the fifteenth and the last chapter, where the Arab conquests and the devastating famine and plague of 67 AH / 686-67 CE are mentioned.<sup class="referencenumb" style="color: blue; font-size: 8pt; letter-spacing: 0.24px; line-height: 10pt; word-spacing: 0.72px;">[39]</sup> Concerning Muhammad, John bar Penkaye says that:</p><blockquote style="font-size: 16px; word-spacing: 0.72px;"><p><span class="bookquoteCN" style="color: #aa0000; font-family: Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 8pt; letter-spacing: 0.24px; line-height: 13pt; word-spacing: 0.72px;">Having let their dispute run its course, after much fighting had taken place between them, the Westerners, whom they call the sons of ’Ammāyē, gained the victory, and one of their number, a man called M‘awyā <span class="bookquote" style="color: black; font-size: 8pt; letter-spacing: 0.24px; line-height: 13pt; word-spacing: 0.72px;">[i.e., Mu‘awiya]</span>, became king controlling the two kingdoms, of the Persians and of the Byzantines. Justice flourished in his time, and there was great peace in the regions under his control; he allowed everyone to live as they wanted. For they held, as I have said above, an ordinance, stemming from the man who was their guide (<em>mhaddyānā</em>), concerning the people of the Christians and concerning the monastic station. Also as a result of this man's guidance (<em>mhaddyānūtā</em>) they held to the worship of One God, in accordance with the customs of ancient law. At the beginnings they kept to <span class="highlightbookqCN" style="background-color: #ffe957; font-size: 8pt; letter-spacing: 0.24px; line-height: 13pt; word-spacing: 0.72px;">the traditions (<em>mašlmānūtā</em>) of Muḥammad</span>, who was their instructor (<em>tā’rā</em>), to such an extent that they inflicted the death penalty on anyone who was seen to act brazenly against his laws.<sup class="referencenumb" style="color: blue; font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 8pt; letter-spacing: 0.24px; line-height: 10pt; word-spacing: 0.72px;">[40]</sup></span></p></blockquote><p style="font-size: 16px; word-spacing: 0.72px;">John bar Penkaye presented Muhammad as the "guide" and "instructor" whose "traditions" and "laws" the Arabs fiercely upheld. The term "tradition" (Syr. <em>mašlmānūtā</em>) implies that something is handed down, which suggests that the Muslims adhered to and enforced the example of Prophet Muhammad.<sup class="referencenumb" style="color: blue; font-size: 8pt; letter-spacing: 0.24px; line-height: 10pt; word-spacing: 0.72px;">[41]</sup> Concerning the term <em>mhaddyānūtā</em>, Brock points out that:</p><blockquote style="font-size: 16px; word-spacing: 0.72px;"><p class="bookquoteCN" style="color: #aa0000; font-family: Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 8pt; letter-spacing: 0.24px; line-height: 13pt; word-spacing: 0.72px;">There is, however, one interesting term used for Mụhammad that terms up in both Monophysite and Nestorian sources, namely <em>mhaddyana</em>, "guide", a term that has no obvious ancestry, although the related <em>haddaya</em> is a Christological title in early Syriac literature.<sup class="referencenumb" style="color: blue; font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 8pt; letter-spacing: 0.24px; line-height: 10pt; word-spacing: 0.72px;">[42]</sup></p></blockquote><p style="font-size: 16px; word-spacing: 0.72px;"><img align="BOTTOM" border="0" height="10" src="https://www.islamic-awareness.org/sarrow.gif" width="8" /> <strong><a href="https://www.islamic-awareness.org/history/islam/coins/drachm31">Anonymous Arab-Sassanian Coin From Kirmān, 70 AH / 689 CE</a></strong>.</p><blockquote style="font-size: 16px; word-spacing: 0.72px;"><p><i><span class="articlename" style="color: #770000; font-size: 12pt; letter-spacing: 0.24px; line-height: 16pt; word-spacing: 0.72px;">Obverse field</span></i>: Typical late Arab-Sassanian bust without the name of governor. Instead it is occupied by Middle Persian legend <em>MHMT PGTAMI Y DAT</em> ("Muhammad is the Messenger of God").</p></blockquote><p style="font-size: 16px; word-spacing: 0.72px;"><img align="BOTTOM" border="0" height="10" src="https://www.islamic-awareness.org/sarrow.gif" width="8" /> <a href="https://www.islamic-awareness.org/history/islam/inscriptions/drachm1.html"><strong></strong></a><strong>An Arab-Sassanian coin of the Umayyad governer of Basra Khālid ibn ʿAbd Allāh, Bīshāpūr, 71 AH / 690-91 CE</strong>.</p><blockquote style="font-size: 16px; word-spacing: 0.72px;"><p>The legend reads <em>bism Allāh Muḥammad rasūl Allāh</em> ("In the name of God, Muhammad is the Messenger of God").</p></blockquote><p style="font-size: 16px; word-spacing: 0.72px;"><img align="BOTTOM" border="0" height="10" src="https://www.islamic-awareness.org/sarrow.gif" width="8" /> <a href="https://www.islamic-awareness.org/history/islam/inscriptions/drachm1.html"><strong></strong></a><a href="https://www.islamic-awareness.org/history/islam/inscriptions/abasa"><b>Tombstone Of </b>ʿ<b>Abāssa Bint Juraij, 71 AH / 691 CE</b></a>.<sup class="referencenumb" style="color: blue; font-size: 8pt; letter-spacing: 0.24px; line-height: 10pt; word-spacing: 0.72px;">[43]</sup></p><blockquote style="font-size: 16px; word-spacing: 0.72px;"><p><em><em>... ahl al-Islām </em>muṣībatahum bi al-nabī Muḥammad ṣallā-Allāhu alayhi wa-sallam... wa tashhadu lā ilāha illā-allāh waḥdahu lā sharīka lahu wa anna Muḥammadan ‘abduhu wa rasūlahu, ṣallā-Allāhu alayhi wa-sallam</em>.</p><p>The greatest calamity of the people of Islām is that which has fallen them on the death of Prophet Muhammad, may God grant him peace.... [she died] confessing that there is no god but God alone without partner and that Muhammad is His servant and His apostle, may God grant him peace.</p></blockquote><p style="font-size: 16px; word-spacing: 0.72px;"><img align="BOTTOM" border="0" height="10" src="https://www.islamic-awareness.org/sarrow.gif" width="8" /> <a href="https://www.islamic-awareness.org/history/islam/inscriptions/drachm1.html"><strong></strong></a><strong><a href="https://www.islamic-awareness.org/history/islam/coins/drachm32">Transitional Arab-Sassanian Coin Of Governor ʿAbd al-ʿAzīz Ibn ʿAbd Allāh Ibn Āmir, 72 AH / 691-92 CE</a></strong>.</p><blockquote style="font-size: 16px; word-spacing: 0.72px;"><p><i><span class="articlename" style="color: #770000; font-size: 12pt; letter-spacing: 0.24px; line-height: 16pt; word-spacing: 0.72px;">Reverse field</span></i>: The legend in Middle Persian reads - <em>YZDT’ -I BR’ ‘LH</em> <em>’HRN YZDT’ L‘YT’</em><em> MḤMT’ PTGMBI Y YZDT’</em> ("One God, but He, another god does not exist. Muhammad is the Messenger of God").</p></blockquote><p style="font-size: 16px; word-spacing: 0.72px;"><img align="BOTTOM" border="0" height="10" src="https://www.islamic-awareness.org/sarrow.gif" width="8" /> <a href="https://www.islamic-awareness.org/history/islam/inscriptions/drachm1.html"><strong></strong></a><a href="https://www.islamic-awareness.org/history/islam/coins/drachm13"><strong>Anonymous Arab-Sassanian Coinage Of Syrian Origin Under ʿAbd al-Malik, 72 AH / 691 CE</strong></a>.</p><blockquote style="font-size: 16px; word-spacing: 0.72px;"><p><span class="articlename" style="color: #770000; font-size: 12pt; letter-spacing: 0.24px; line-height: 16pt; word-spacing: 0.72px;">Obverse field</span>: Written in Arabic to downwards to the right of the bust: <em>Muḥammad rasūl Allāh</em> ("Muhammad is the Messenger of God").</p></blockquote><p style="font-size: 16px; word-spacing: 0.72px;"><img align="BOTTOM" border="0" height="10" src="https://www.islamic-awareness.org/sarrow.gif" width="8" /> <a href="https://www.islamic-awareness.org/history/islam/inscriptions/dotr"><b>The Arabic Islamic Inscriptions On The Dome Of The Rock In Jerusalem, 72 AH / 692 CE</b></a>.</p><p class="articlename" style="color: #770000; font-size: 16px; letter-spacing: 0.24px; line-height: 16pt; word-spacing: 0.72px;"><strong>Outer Octagonal Arcade</strong></p><blockquote style="font-size: 16px; word-spacing: 0.72px;"><p><em>Muḥammad rasūl Allāh ṣallā-Allāhu ʿalayhi wa-sallam... Muhammad rasūl Allāh inna allāha wa malā'ikatahu yusallūna ʿala al-nabīyi yā ayyuhā al-ladhīna āmanū ṣallū ʿalayhi wa sallimū taslīman... Muḥammad rasūl Allāh ṣallā-Allāhu ʿalayhi wa malā'ikatahu wa rusulu wa al-taslīman ʿalayhi wa raḥmat Allāh... Muḥammad rasūl Allāh ṣallā-Allāhu ʿalayhi wa taqabbal shafāʿatahu yawm al-qiyamah... Muḥammad rasūl Allāh ṣallā-Allāhu ʿalayhi.</em></p><p>Muhammad is the Messenger of God, may God grant him peace... Muhammad is the Messenger of God. Verily God and His Angels bless the Prophet; O you who believe, bless him and salute him with a salutation!... Muhammad is the Messenger of God, the blessing of God be on him and the angels and His prophets, and peace be on him, and may God have mercy... Muhammad is the Messenger of God, the blessing of God be on him. May He accept his intercession on the Day of Judgment [on behalf of his people]... Muhammad is the Messenger of God, the blessing of God be on him.</p></blockquote><p class="articlename" style="color: #770000; font-size: 16px; letter-spacing: 0.24px; line-height: 16pt; word-spacing: 0.72px;"><strong>Inner Octagonal Arcade</strong></p><blockquote style="font-size: 16px; word-spacing: 0.72px;"><p><em>Muḥammad ʿabd-Allāhi wa rasūluhu inna allāha wa malā'ikatahu yusallūna ʿala al-nabīyi yā ayyuhā al-ladhīna āmanū ṣallū ‘alayhi wa sallimū taslīman ṣallā-Allāhu ʿalayhi wa-sallam ʿalayhi wa raḥmat Allāh.</em></p><p>Muhammad is the servant of God and His Messenger. Verily God and His Angels bless the Prophet; O you who believe, bless him and salute him with a salutation! The blessing of God be on him and peace be on him, and may God have mercy.</p></blockquote><p style="font-size: 16px; word-spacing: 0.72px;"><img align="BOTTOM" border="0" height="10" src="https://www.islamic-awareness.org/sarrow.gif" width="8" /> <a href="https://www.islamic-awareness.org/history/islam/inscriptions/dotr"><b></b></a><a href="https://www.islamic-awareness.org/history/islam/inscriptions/dotr"><b></b></a><b><a href="https://www.islamic-awareness.org/history/islam/inscriptions/copper">The Copper Plaque Inscriptions At The Dome Of The Rock In Jerusalem, 72 AH / 692 CE</a></b>.</p><p class="articlename" style="color: #770000; font-size: 16px; letter-spacing: 0.24px; line-height: 16pt; word-spacing: 0.72px;"><strong>Northern Portal</strong></p><blockquote style="font-size: 16px; word-spacing: 0.72px;"><p><em>Muḥammad ʿabd-Allāhi wa rasūluhu arsalahu bi-l-huda wa dīn al-ḥaqq liyudhhiru ʿala al-dini kullahi wa-law karih-al-mushrikūn. Āmannā billāhi wa mā unzila ila Muḥammad wa mā ūtiya al-nabīyūna min rabbihim lā nufarriqu bayna aḥadin minhum wa naḥnu lahu muslimūn. ṣallū ʿalayhi Muḥammad ʿabduhu wa nabīyahu wa al-salām ʿalayhi wa raḥmat Allāhi wa barakātuhu wa magfiratuhu wa riḍawānahu.</em></p><p>Muhammad is the servant of God and His Messenger whom He sent with guidance and the religion of truth that He might make it prevail over all religions even if the associators are averse. We believe in God and that which was revealed unto Muhammad and that which the Prophets received from their Lord. We make no distinction between any of them, and unto Him we have surrendered. The blessing of God be upon Muhammad, His servant and His prophet, and peace be upon him and the mercy of God and His blessing and His forgiveness and His acceptance.</p></blockquote><p class="articlename" style="color: #770000; font-size: 16px; letter-spacing: 0.24px; line-height: 16pt; word-spacing: 0.72px;"><strong>Eastern Entrance</strong></p><blockquote style="font-size: 16px; word-spacing: 0.72px;"><p><em>... an ta-ṣallī ʿala Muḥammad ʿabdika wa nabīyika wa tataqabbala shafā'atahu fī ummati ṣallū ʿalayhi wa al-salām ʿalayhi wa raḥmat Allāhi wa...</em></p><p>... that You bless Muhammad Your servant, Your prophet, and that You accept his intercession for his people, the blessing of God be upon him and peace be upon him and the mercy of God and...</p></blockquote><p style="font-size: 16px; word-spacing: 0.72px;"><img align="BOTTOM" alt="" border="0" height="10" src="https://www.islamic-awareness.org/sarrow.gif" width="8" /> <strong><a href="https://www.islamic-awareness.org/history/islam/coins/dinar4">The Arab-Byzantine “Three Standing Imperial Figures” Dīnār From The Time Of Umayyad Caliph ʿAbd al-Malik, 72-74 AH / 692-694 CE</a></strong>.</p><blockquote style="font-size: 16px; word-spacing: 0.72px;"><p><em>bism Allāh lā-ilaha il-Allāh waḥdahu Muḥammad rasūl Allāh</em>.</p><p>In the name of God. There is no god but God alone. Muḥammad is the Messenger of God.</p></blockquote><p style="font-size: 16px; word-spacing: 0.72px;"><img align="BOTTOM" border="0" height="10" src="https://www.islamic-awareness.org/sarrow.gif" width="8" /> <strong>Fragments Of The Chart Of Jacob (= James) Of Edessa, 73 AH / 692 CE</strong>.</p><p style="font-size: 16px; word-spacing: 0.72px;">Jacob (also called James) of Edessa (19-90 AH / 640-708 CE) was a bishop of Edessa. He composed a set of chronological charts intended to continue those of Eusebius. Only fragments from 10th or 11th century remain, covering the 7th century only down to 631 CE.<sup class="referencenumb" style="color: blue; font-size: 8pt; letter-spacing: 0.24px; line-height: 10pt; word-spacing: 0.72px;">[44]</sup> Elias of Nisbis (975-1050 CE) informs us that Jacob of Edessa composed his chronicle in 1003 AG / 692 CE and this is confirmed by Michael the Syrian (12th century) who cites Theodosius of Edessa.<sup class="referencenumb" style="color: blue; font-size: 8pt; letter-spacing: 0.24px; line-height: 10pt; word-spacing: 0.72px;">[45]</sup> Brooks has convincingly demonstrated that this chronicle was a work of Jacob's but with a qualification that it "is not the full work of Jacob but only a series of extracts from it".<sup class="referencenumb" style="color: blue; font-size: 8pt; letter-spacing: 0.24px; line-height: 10pt; word-spacing: 0.72px;">[46]</sup></p><p style="font-size: 16px; word-spacing: 0.72px;">The manuscript is arranged in three columns. A central column counts off the years since Constantine and the regnal years of the Byzantine and Persians emperors; historical notices are placed on either side.</p><p style="font-size: 16px; word-spacing: 0.72px;">In the central column, giving the dates of the rulers, there are entries for the following years:</p><blockquote style="font-size: 16px; word-spacing: 0.72px;"><p class="bookquoteCN" style="color: #aa0000; font-family: Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 8pt; letter-spacing: 0.24px; line-height: 13pt; word-spacing: 0.72px;"><span class="bookquote" style="color: black; font-size: 8pt; letter-spacing: 0.24px; line-height: 13pt; word-spacing: 0.72px;">[296 = 932 AG / 622 CE] </span><span class="highlightbookqCN" style="background-color: #ffe957; font-size: 8pt; letter-spacing: 0.24px; line-height: 13pt; word-spacing: 0.72px;">Muhammad, the first king of the Arabs</span>, began to reign, 7 years.</p><p class="bookquoteCN" style="color: #aa0000; font-family: Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 8pt; letter-spacing: 0.24px; line-height: 13pt; word-spacing: 0.72px;">....</p><p class="bookquoteCN" style="color: #aa0000; font-family: Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 8pt; letter-spacing: 0.24px; line-height: 13pt; word-spacing: 0.72px;"><span class="bookquote" style="color: black; font-size: 8pt; letter-spacing: 0.24px; line-height: 13pt; word-spacing: 0.72px;">[303 = 939 AG / 629 CE] </span>No. 2 of the Arabs, Abu Bakr, 2 years, 7 months.<sup class="referencenumb" style="color: blue; font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 8pt; letter-spacing: 0.24px; line-height: 10pt; word-spacing: 0.72px;">[47]</sup></p></blockquote><p style="font-size: 16px; word-spacing: 0.72px;">On the left hand side of the column are the following notices:</p><blockquote style="font-size: 16px; word-spacing: 0.72px;"><p class="bookquoteCN" style="color: #aa0000; font-family: Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 8pt; letter-spacing: 0.24px; line-height: 13pt; word-spacing: 0.72px;"><span class="bookquote" style="color: black; font-size: 8pt; letter-spacing: 0.24px; line-height: 13pt; word-spacing: 0.72px;">[Beside years 293 and 294] </span>and <span class="highlightbookqCN" style="background-color: #ffe957; font-size: 8pt; letter-spacing: 0.24px; line-height: 13pt; word-spacing: 0.72px;">Muhammad</span> goes down on commercial businesses to the lands of Palestine and of the Arabias and of Phoenicia of the Tyrians.</p><p class="bookquoteCN" style="color: #aa0000; font-family: Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 8pt; letter-spacing: 0.24px; line-height: 13pt; word-spacing: 0.72px;">There was a solar eclipse.</p><p class="bookquoteCN" style="color: #aa0000; font-family: Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 8pt; letter-spacing: 0.24px; line-height: 13pt; word-spacing: 0.72px;">....</p><p class="bookquoteCN" style="color: #aa0000; font-family: Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 8pt; letter-spacing: 0.24px; line-height: 13pt; word-spacing: 0.72px;">Beginning of the kingdom of the Arabs whom we call <em>Tayyōyē</em>, while Heraclius, king of the Romans, was having his eleventh year and while Chosroes, king of the Persians, was having his thirty first year <span class="bookquote" style="color: black; font-size: 8pt; letter-spacing: 0.24px; line-height: 13pt; word-spacing: 0.72px;">[i.e., 620-21 CE]</span>.</p><p class="bookquoteCN" style="color: #aa0000; font-family: Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 8pt; letter-spacing: 0.24px; line-height: 13pt; word-spacing: 0.72px;"><span class="bookquote" style="color: black; font-size: 8pt; letter-spacing: 0.24px; line-height: 13pt; word-spacing: 0.72px;">[Beside years 301 and 302] </span>The Arabs began to carry out raids in the land of Palestine.<sup class="referencenumb" style="color: blue; font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 8pt; letter-spacing: 0.24px; line-height: 10pt; word-spacing: 0.72px;">[48]</sup></p></blockquote><p style="font-size: 16px; word-spacing: 0.72px;">Muhammad's trading is placed beside years 293 and 294 = 929 AG / 617-18 CE and 930 AG / 618-19 CE, but before the mention of the solar eclipse. The start of the "kingdom of Arabs" is tied to the rulership of kings of Byzantine and Persians empires and is placed in 620-21 CE. The Arabs' raids are placed beside the year 301 and 302 = 937 AG / 625-26 CE and 938 AG / 626-27 CE.</p><p style="font-size: 16px; word-spacing: 0.72px;">It is interesting to note that Jacob of Edessa gives an accurate date for the start of the Arab era. He seems to have assumed that the Arab era like the ones during his time such as Byzantine and Persian eras must have been reckoned from the first year of the rule of a king, presumably their first king. Since the Arabs reckoned from 622 CE, i.e., the start of <em>hijra</em> calender, Jacob might have assumed that their first king, i.e., Muhammad, must have started to rule that year.</p><p style="font-size: 16px; word-spacing: 0.72px;"><img align="BOTTOM" border="0" height="10" src="https://www.islamic-awareness.org/sarrow.gif" width="8" /> <a href="https://www.islamic-awareness.org/history/islam/inscriptions/dotr"><b></b></a><a href="https://www.islamic-awareness.org/history/islam/coins/drachm6"><strong></strong></a><b><a href="https://www.islamic-awareness.org/history/islam/inscriptions/malik5">The <i>ʿAqabah</i> Inscription From The Time Of ʿAbd al-Malik, 73 AH / 692-693 CE</a></b>.</p><blockquote style="font-size: 16px; word-spacing: 0.72px;"><p><em>Bism Allāh al-raḥmān al-raḥīm</em> <em>lā ilāha il-l-allāh waḥdahu la sharīka lahu Muḥammad rasūl Allāh ...</em></p><p>In the name of God the Compassionate the Merciful. There is no god but God alone without partner and Muhammad is the Messenger of God ...</p></blockquote><p style="font-size: 16px; word-spacing: 0.72px;"><img align="BOTTOM" border="0" height="10" src="https://www.islamic-awareness.org/sarrow.gif" width="8" /> <a href="https://www.islamic-awareness.org/history/islam/inscriptions/dotr"><b></b></a><a href="https://www.islamic-awareness.org/history/islam/coins/drachm6"><strong>Aniconic Silver Coins ("Reformed Coinage"), Minted By The Umayyad Caliph ʿAbd al-Malik, From 77 AH / 696 CE</strong></a>.</p><blockquote style="font-size: 16px; word-spacing: 0.72px;"><p><span class="articlename" style="color: #770000; font-size: 12pt; letter-spacing: 0.24px; line-height: 16pt; word-spacing: 0.72px;">Reverse margin</span>: <em>Muḥammad rasūl Allāh arsalahu bi-l-huda wa dīn al-ḥaqq liyudhhiru ʿala al-dini kullahi wa-law karih-al-mushrikūn</em></p><p>Muhammad is the Messenger of God whom He sent with guidance and the religion of truth that He might make it prevail over all religions even if the associators are averse.</p></blockquote><p style="font-size: 16px; word-spacing: 0.72px;"><img align="BOTTOM" alt="" border="0" height="10" src="https://www.islamic-awareness.org/sarrow.gif" width="8" /> <a href="https://www.islamic-awareness.org/history/islam/inscriptions/dotr"><b></b></a><a href="https://www.islamic-awareness.org/history/islam/coins/drachm35"><strong>Experimental Aniconic Silver Coins Minted By The Umayyad Caliph ʿAbd al-Malik, 78 AH / 697-698 CE</strong></a>.</p><blockquote style="font-size: 16px; word-spacing: 0.72px;"><p><span class="articlename" style="color: #770000; font-size: 12pt; letter-spacing: 0.24px; line-height: 16pt; word-spacing: 0.72px;">Obverse margin</span>: <em>Muḥammad rasūl Allāh arsalahu bi-l-huda wa dīn al-ḥaqq liyudhhiru ʿala al-dini kullahi wa-law karih-al-mushrikūn</em></p><p>Muhammad is the Messenger of God whom He sent with guidance and the religion of truth that He might make it prevail over all religions even if the associators are averse.</p></blockquote><p style="font-size: 16px; word-spacing: 0.72px;"><img align="BOTTOM" alt="" border="0" height="10" src="https://www.islamic-awareness.org/sarrow.gif" width="8" /> <b><a href="https://www.islamic-awareness.org/history/islam/inscriptions/haram1">An Inscription Mentioning The Rebuilding Of Al-Masjid Al-Ḥarām, 78 AH / 697-698 CE</a></b>.</p><blockquote style="font-size: 16px; word-spacing: 0.72px;"><p><em>Shahida al-Rayyān bin ʿAbd Allāh innahu lā ilāha il-l-allāh wa shahida anna Muḥammadan rasūl Allāh</em>...</p><p>Al-Rayyān b. ʿAbdullāh testifies that there is no god but God and he testifies that Muḥammad is the Messenger of God...</p></blockquote><p style="font-size: 16px; word-spacing: 0.72px;"><img align="BOTTOM" alt="" border="0" height="10" src="https://www.islamic-awareness.org/sarrow.gif" width="8" /> <strong>The Gospel Of The Twelve Apostles, 72 - 87 AH / 692 - 705 CE</strong>.</p><p style="font-size: 16px; word-spacing: 0.72px;">Though attributed to the apostle John, this is a pseudonymous apocalyptic work containing four distinct sections the last of which deals with Islamic rule, covering the conquests and the beginnings of the Umayyad dynasty.</p><blockquote style="font-size: 16px; word-spacing: 0.72px;"><p class="bookquoteCN" style="color: #aa0000; font-family: Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 8pt; letter-spacing: 0.24px; line-height: 13pt; word-spacing: 0.72px;">God shall send forth a mighty wind, the southern one, and there shall come forth from it a people of deformed aspect and their appearance and manners like those of women. And there shall rise up from among them a warrior and one whom they call a prophet, and they shall be brought into his hands....And the South shall prosper, and by the hooves of the horses of its armies it shall trample down and subdue Persia and devastate Rome.<sup class="referencenumb" style="color: blue; font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 8pt; letter-spacing: 0.24px; line-height: 10pt; word-spacing: 0.72px;">[49]</sup></p></blockquote><p style="font-size: 16px; word-spacing: 0.72px;">In keeping with several other Christian texts of this period, Muhammad is described as a warrior whom his followers call a prophet.</p><p style="font-size: 16px; word-spacing: 0.72px;"><img align="BOTTOM" alt="" border="0" height="10" src="https://www.islamic-awareness.org/sarrow.gif" width="8" /> <b><a href="https://www.islamic-awareness.org/history/islam/inscriptions/hisma7">An Inscription Mentioning Supplication For Intercession Of Prophet Muḥammad, 80 AH / 699-700 CE</a></b>.</p><blockquote style="font-size: 16px; word-spacing: 0.72px;"><p><em>Allāhumma </em><em>ṣallī ʿala Muḥammad al-nabī wa taqabbala shafāʿatahu fī ummati...</em></p><p>O Lord, bless Muḥammad, the Prophet, and accept his intercession on behalf of his community...</p></blockquote><p style="font-size: 16px; word-spacing: 0.72px;"><img align="BOTTOM" alt="" border="0" height="10" src="https://www.islamic-awareness.org/sarrow.gif" width="8" /> <strong>Chronicle Of John Of Nikiou, <em>c.</em> 80-81 AH / <em>c.</em> 700 CE</strong>.<span class="bookquoteCN" style="color: #aa0000; font-family: Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 8pt; letter-spacing: 0.24px; line-height: 13pt; word-spacing: 0.72px;"><sup class="referencenumb" style="color: blue; font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 8pt; letter-spacing: 0.24px; line-height: 10pt; word-spacing: 0.72px;">[50]</sup></span></p><p style="font-size: 16px; word-spacing: 0.72px;">This chronicle apparently written by John, bishop of Nikiou, relates the events from Creation until the conclusion of the Arab conquest of Egypt. Presented with a strong Christian view, the chronicle is considered one of the main independent and reliable sources of information regarding the conquest of Egypt and its aftermath.</p><blockquote style="font-size: 16px; word-spacing: 0.72px;"><p class="bookquoteCN" style="color: #aa0000; font-family: Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 8pt; letter-spacing: 0.24px; line-height: 13pt; word-spacing: 0.72px;">Many of the Egyptians who had been false Christians denied the holy orthodox faith and life-giving baptism, and embraced the religion of the Muslims, the enemies of God, and accepted the detestable doctrine of the beast, this is, Muḥammad.<sup class="referencenumb" style="color: blue; font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 8pt; letter-spacing: 0.24px; line-height: 10pt; word-spacing: 0.72px;">[51]</sup></p></blockquote><p style="font-size: 16px; word-spacing: 0.72px;">Despite describing Muhammad in unflattering terms, the author notes he possessed a distinct doctrine.</p><p style="font-size: 16px; word-spacing: 0.72px;"><img align="BOTTOM" border="0" height="10" src="https://www.islamic-awareness.org/sarrow.gif" width="8" /> <strong><a href="https://www.islamic-awareness.org/history/islam/coins/fals3">Arab-Sassanian <em>Fals</em> From Veh-az-Āmid-Kavād (Arrajān), 83 AH / 702-703 CE</a></strong>.</p><blockquote style="font-size: 16px; word-spacing: 0.72px;"><p><i><span class="articlename" style="color: #770000; font-size: 12pt; letter-spacing: 0.24px; line-height: 16pt; word-spacing: 0.72px;">Obverse margin</span></i>: <em>Muḥammadun rasūlu’llāhi wa’lladhīna yatlūna ma<i>ʿ</i>ahu ashiddāʾu <i>ʿ</i>alā’l-kuffāri ruḥamāʾu baynahum</em></p><p>Muḥammad is the Messenger of God, those who recite with him are severe [in their dealings] with the unbelievers, compassionate among themselves.</p></blockquote><p style="font-size: 16px; word-spacing: 0.72px;"><img align="BOTTOM" border="0" height="10" src="https://www.islamic-awareness.org/sarrow.gif" width="8" /> <strong>Arabic-Greek / Greek-Arabic and Arabic protocols, mostly from the time of al-Walid I (85-97 AH / 705-15 CE) to Yazid II (101-106 AH / 720-24 CE)</strong>.</p><p style="font-size: 16px; word-spacing: 0.72px;">Examples from the time of <a href="https://www.islamic-awareness.org/history/islam/papyri/enlp11">al-Walīd</a> and <a href="https://www.islamic-awareness.org/history/islam/papyri/perinv3976">Sulaymān b. ʿAbd al-Malik</a> are available. They all begin typically with the example given below for Arabic. Bilingual texts contain the translation in Greek of Arabic text and conclude with the name of the caliph / governor and the date.</p><blockquote style="font-size: 16px; word-spacing: 0.72px;"><p><span class="articlename" style="color: #770000; font-size: 12pt; letter-spacing: 0.24px; line-height: 16pt; word-spacing: 0.72px;">Arabic</span>: <em>Bism Allāh al-raḥmān al-raḥīm</em> <em>lā ilāha il-l-allāh waḥdahu la sharīka lahu lam yalid wa-lam yulad wa-lam yakun lahu kufūwan aḥad </em><em>Muḥammad rasūl Allāh arsalahu bi-l-huda wa dīn al-ḥaqq ...</em></p><p>In the name of God the Compassionate the Merciful. There is no god but God alone without partner. He did not beget and was not begotten. And there is none like unto Him. Muhammad is the Messenger of God whom He sent with guidance and the religion of truth ...</p><p><span class="articlename" style="color: #770000; font-size: 12pt; letter-spacing: 0.24px; line-height: 16pt; word-spacing: 0.72px;">Greek</span>: <em>... maamet apostolos theou ...</em></p><p>... Muhammad is the Messenger of God ...</p></blockquote><p style="font-size: 16px; word-spacing: 0.72px;"><img align="BOTTOM" border="0" height="10" src="https://www.islamic-awareness.org/sarrow.gif" width="8" /> <a href="https://www.islamic-awareness.org/history/islam/inscriptions/dotr"><b></b></a><a href="https://www.islamic-awareness.org/history/islam/coins/drachm6"><strong></strong></a><strong><a href="https://www.islamic-awareness.org/history/islam/inscriptions/walid">Inscription In A Mosque In Damascus, Built By Caliph Walīd, 86-87 AH / 705-706 CE</a></strong>.</p><blockquote style="font-size: 16px; word-spacing: 0.72px;"><p><em>... rabbuna-Allāhu waḥdahu wa dīnunā al-islām wa nabīyyunā Muḥammad ṣallā-allāhu alayhi wa sallam.</em></p><p>... Our Lord is God alone, and our religion is Islam and our prophet is Muhammad, may God grant him peace.</p></blockquote><p style="font-size: 16px; word-spacing: 0.72px;"><img align="BOTTOM" alt="" border="0" height="10" src="https://www.islamic-awareness.org/sarrow.gif" width="8" /> <strong><a href="https://www.islamic-awareness.org/history/islam/coins/dinar6">Aniconic Gold Coins (“Reformed Coinage”), From The ‘Mine Of The Commander Of The Faithful’, 89 AH / 708 CE</a></strong>.</p><p style="font-size: 16px; word-spacing: 0.72px;">This unique historic coin is of the highest rarity and the earliest known <em>dīnār</em> to bear the legend ‘Mine of the Commander of the Faithful’. The reverse margin bears the same legend as what is seen on the aniconic <a href="https://www.islamic-awareness.org/history/islam/coins/drachm6">silver</a> and <a href="https://www.islamic-awareness.org/history/islam/coins/dinar2">gold</a> coins issued by Umayyad caliph ʿAbd al-Malik.</p><blockquote style="font-size: 16px; word-spacing: 0.72px;"><p><span class="articlename" style="color: #770000; font-size: 12pt; letter-spacing: 0.24px; line-height: 16pt; word-spacing: 0.72px;">Reverse margin</span>: <em>Muḥammad rasūl Allāh arsalahu bi-l-huda wa dīn al-ḥaqq liyudhhiru ʿala al-dini kullahi wa-law karih-al-mushrikūn</em>.</p><p>Muhammad is the Messenger of God whom He sent with guidance and the religion of truth that He might make it prevail over all religions even if the associators are averse.</p></blockquote><p style="font-size: 16px; word-spacing: 0.72px;"><img align="BOTTOM" alt="" border="0" height="10" src="https://www.islamic-awareness.org/sarrow.gif" width="8" /> <strong><a href="https://www.islamic-awareness.org/history/islam/coins/weight6">A Byzantine Weight Validated by Al-Walīd, <em>c.</em> 90 AH / 708-709 CE</a></strong>.</p><blockquote style="font-size: 16px; word-spacing: 0.72px;"><p><em><span class="articlename" style="color: #770000; font-size: 12pt; letter-spacing: 0.24px; line-height: 16pt; word-spacing: 0.72px;">Reverse Margin / Centre</span></em>: <em>Bism Allāh</em> <em>Muḥammad rasūl Allāh al-Wafā' lillāh....</em></p><p>In the name of God. Muḥammad is the Messenger of God. Equity is God's...</p></blockquote><p style="font-size: 16px; word-spacing: 0.72px;"><img align="BOTTOM" border="0" height="10" src="https://www.islamic-awareness.org/sarrow.gif" width="8" /> <strong>Ad Annum 705, 86-96 AH / 705-15 CE</strong>.</p><p style="font-size: 16px; word-spacing: 0.72px;">It is list of Arab rulers found in a late 9th century manuscript with an unknown provenance and presumably incomplete since the promised statistics regarding Muslim occupied lands do not appear. The dating of this manuscript is done using the accession date of Walid mentioned in the chronology, who reigned from 705-15 CE. The relevant text states:</p><blockquote style="font-size: 16px; word-spacing: 0.72px;"><p class="bookquoteCN" style="color: #aa0000; font-family: Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 8pt; letter-spacing: 0.24px; line-height: 13pt; word-spacing: 0.72px;">Again a report giving the information about the kingdom of Arabs and how many kings they produced and how much land each of them held after his predecessor previous to his death.</p><p class="bookquoteCN" style="color: #aa0000; font-family: Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 8pt; letter-spacing: 0.24px; line-height: 13pt; word-spacing: 0.72px;">Muhammad came upon the earth in 932 of Alexander, son of Philip the Macedonian <span class="bookquote" style="color: black; font-size: 8pt; letter-spacing: 0.24px; line-height: 13pt; word-spacing: 0.72px;">[i.e., 620-21 CE]</span>; he reigned for seven years.</p><p class="bookquoteCN" style="color: #aa0000; font-family: Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 8pt; letter-spacing: 0.24px; line-height: 13pt; word-spacing: 0.72px;">After him Abu Bakr reigned for 2 years...<sup class="referencenumb" style="color: blue; font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 8pt; letter-spacing: 0.24px; line-height: 10pt; word-spacing: 0.72px;">[52]</sup></p></blockquote><p style="font-size: 16px; word-spacing: 0.72px;">This chronicle also provides similar dates just as what we have seen in the case of the chart of Jacob of Edessa.</p><p style="font-size: 16px; word-spacing: 0.72px;"><img align="BOTTOM" alt="" border="0" height="10" src="https://www.islamic-awareness.org/sarrow.gif" width="8" /> <b></b><b><a href="https://www.islamic-awareness.org/history/islam/inscriptions/madinah2">An Inscription Containing The <em>Shahadah</em>, 96 AH / 715 CE</a></b>.</p><blockquote style="font-size: 16px; word-spacing: 0.72px;"><p><em>...lā ilāha il-l-allāh waḥdahu la sharīka lahu wa anna Muḥammad ʿabduhu wa rasūluhu...</em></p><p>...there is no deity but God and He is One with no partner and Muḥammad is His slave and messenger.</p></blockquote><p style="font-size: 16px; word-spacing: 0.72px;"><img align="BOTTOM" alt="" border="0" height="10" src="https://www.islamic-awareness.org/sarrow.gif" width="8" /> <strong>The History Of The Patriarchs Of Alexandria, <em>c</em>. 96 - 97 AH / <em>c</em>. 715 CE.</strong></p><p style="font-size: 16px; word-spacing: 0.72px;">This collection was written by George the Archdeacon and contains a wealth of information regarding Muslim-Christian relations in Egypt in the decades after the conquests.</p><blockquote style="font-size: 16px; word-spacing: 0.72px;"><p class="bookquoteCN" style="color: #aa0000; font-family: Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 8pt; letter-spacing: 0.24px; line-height: 13pt; word-spacing: 0.72px;">And in those days Heraclius saw a dream in which it was said to him : «Verily there shall come against thee a circumcised nation, and they shall vanquish thee and take possession of the land». So Heraclius thought that they would be the Jews, and accordingly gave orders that all the Jews and Samaritans should be baptized in all the provinces which were under his dominion. <span class="highlightbookqCN" style="background-color: #ffe957; font-size: 8pt; letter-spacing: 0.24px; line-height: 13pt; word-spacing: 0.72px;">But after a few days there appeared a man of the Arabs, from the southern districts, that is to say, from Mecca or its neighbourhood, whose name was Muhammad; and he brought back the worshippers of idols to the knowledge of the One God, and bade them declare that Muhammad was his apostle</span>; and his nation were circumcised in the flesh, not by the law, and prayed towards the South, turning towards a place which they called the Kaabah. And he took possession of Damascus and Syria, and crossed the Jordan, and dammed it up. And the Lord abandoned the army of the Romans before him, as a punishment for their corrupt faith, and because of the anathemas uttered against them, on account of the council of Chalcedon, by the ancient fathers.</p><p class="bookquoteCN" style="color: #aa0000; font-family: Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 8pt; letter-spacing: 0.24px; line-height: 13pt; word-spacing: 0.72px;">…</p><p class="bookquoteCN" style="color: #aa0000; font-family: Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 8pt; letter-spacing: 0.24px; line-height: 13pt; word-spacing: 0.72px;">After fighting three battles with the Romans, the Muslims conquered them. So when the chief men of the city saw these things, they went to Amr, and received a certificate of security for the city, that it might not be plundered. <span class="highlightbookqCN" style="background-color: #ffe957; font-size: 8pt; letter-spacing: 0.24px; line-height: 13pt; word-spacing: 0.72px;">This kind of treaty which Muhammad, the chief of the Arabs, taught them, they called the Law</span>; and he says with regard to it : «As for the province of Egypt and any city that agrees with its inhabitants to pay the land-tax to you, and to submit to your authority, make a treaty with them, and do them no injury. But plunder and take as prisoners those that will not consent to this and resist you». For this reason the Muslims kept their hands off the province and its inhabitants, but destroyed the nation of the Romans, and their general who was named Marianus. And those of the Romans who escaped fled to Alexandria, and shut its gates upon the Arabs, and fortified themselves within the city.<sup class="super" style="color: blue; font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 8pt; letter-spacing: 0.24px; line-height: 10pt; word-spacing: 0.72px;">[53]</sup></p></blockquote><p style="font-size: 16px; word-spacing: 0.72px;">The author notes Muhammad originated from Mecca or its environs, that he told his followers he was a prophet and invited them to worship one God and cast aside their idolatrous practices. They were circumcised in the flesh and prayed in the direction towards the Kaʿaba. Muhammad was the chief of the Arabs and initiated a form of legislation for them to practice.</p><p style="font-size: 16px; word-spacing: 0.72px;"><img align="BOTTOM" border="0" height="10" src="https://www.islamic-awareness.org/sarrow.gif" width="8" /> <strong><a href="https://www.islamic-awareness.org/history/islam/coins/latin2">Arab-Latin Coinage - Bilingual Gold Solidus From Africa, 98 AH / 716-717 CE</a></strong>.</p><blockquote style="font-size: 16px; word-spacing: 0.72px;"><p><i><span class="articlename" style="color: #770000; font-size: 12pt; letter-spacing: 0.24px; line-height: 16pt; word-spacing: 0.72px;">Reverse field</span></i>: <em>Muḥammad rasūl Allāh</em></p><p>Muḥammad is the Messenger of God.</p></blockquote><p style="font-size: 16px; word-spacing: 0.72px;"><img align="BOTTOM" border="0" height="10" src="https://www.islamic-awareness.org/sarrow.gif" width="8" /> <strong><a href="https://www.islamic-awareness.org/history/islam/coins/latin7">Arab-Latin Coinage - Bilingual Gold Solidus From Spain, 98 AH / 716-717 CE</a></strong>.</p><blockquote style="font-size: 16px; word-spacing: 0.72px;"><p><i><span class="articlename" style="color: #770000; font-size: 12pt; letter-spacing: 0.24px; line-height: 16pt; word-spacing: 0.72px;">Reverse field</span></i>: <em>Muḥammad rasūl Allāh</em></p><p>Muḥammad is the Messenger of God.</p></blockquote><p style="font-size: 16px; word-spacing: 0.72px;"><img align="BOTTOM" border="0" height="10" src="https://www.islamic-awareness.org/sarrow.gif" width="8" /> <a href="https://www.islamic-awareness.org/history/islam/inscriptions/drachm1.html"><strong></strong></a><a href="https://www.islamic-awareness.org/history/islam/inscriptions/nitil"><b>An Arabic Inscription From Khirbat Nitil, 100 AH / 718-719 CE</b></a>.<sup class="referencenumb" style="color: blue; font-size: 8pt; letter-spacing: 0.24px; line-height: 10pt; word-spacing: 0.72px;">[54]</sup></p><blockquote style="font-size: 16px; word-spacing: 0.72px;"><p><em>... wā qimhu ʿala ḥawḍi Muḥammad ...</em></p><p>... and s[et him on] the pool of Muhammad ...</p></blockquote><p class="title" style="font-size: 14pt; font-weight: bold; letter-spacing: 0.24px; line-height: 17pt; word-spacing: 0.72px;"><a name="3"></a>3. Prophet Muḥammad In The Dated And Datable Muslim And Non-Muslim Sources From The First Century AH: An Appraisal</p><p align="center" style="font-size: 16px; word-spacing: 0.72px;"><b class="articlename" style="color: #770000; font-size: 12pt; letter-spacing: 0.24px; line-height: 16pt; word-spacing: 0.72px;"><a id="3a" name="3a"></a>SOME HOUSEKEEPING MATTERS</b></p><p style="font-size: 16px; word-spacing: 0.72px;">What can we know about Muhammad and Islam in the first century AH? With respect to the historical sources the answer will always be – never enough. Historians of this period will always be frustrated by the apparent lack of texts, the disjointed nature of the texts we do have and the slow pace of mostly unremarkable archaeological discoveries.<sup class="referencenumb" style="color: blue; font-size: 8pt; letter-spacing: 0.24px; line-height: 10pt; word-spacing: 0.72px;">[55]</sup> What we do have is not unimportant, especially when utilised in a careful and considerate fashion. In what direction should we travel? One approach is to deny that we can learn anything useful. Stephen Shoemaker says,</p><blockquote style="font-size: 16px; word-spacing: 0.72px;"><p class="bookquoteCN" style="color: #aa0000; font-family: Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 8pt; letter-spacing: 0.24px; line-height: 13pt; word-spacing: 0.72px;">Despite frequent assertions to the contrary, our historical knowledge concerning Muhammad and 1st-century Islam is far more limited and uncertain than is the case with respect to Jesus and 1st-century Christianity.<sup class="referencenumb" style="color: blue; font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 8pt; letter-spacing: 0.24px; line-height: 10pt; word-spacing: 0.72px;">[56]</sup></p></blockquote><p style="font-size: 16px; word-spacing: 0.72px;">Being a specialist in early Christianity, Shoemaker is of course intimately acquainted with the sources. But we would like to address the negative generalisations and remove some of the spin contained in this overarching assessment. What makes this situation particularly bizarre is that Western scholars have access to what can be called a treasure-trove of documentary evidence when compared with other major world religions. Judaeo-Christian scholars studying the earliest Christian artefacts are presently unable to call forward a single item of documentary evidence from the first one hundred years of Christianity and beyond.<sup class="referencenumb" style="color: blue; font-size: 8pt; letter-spacing: 0.24px; line-height: 10pt; word-spacing: 0.72px;">[57]</sup> In contrast, the number of dated documentary texts concerning Muhammad and/or earliest Islam in its first century number more than one hundred and fifty individual items.<sup class="referencenumb" style="color: blue; font-size: 8pt; letter-spacing: 0.24px; line-height: 10pt; word-spacing: 0.72px;">[58]</sup> From the foregoing data it is clear Shoemaker cannot be talking about dated documentary texts. What about external references to Muhammad/Islam and Jesus/Christianity in their respective first centuries? With regard to just Syriac texts alone, Penn informs us,</p><blockquote style="font-size: 16px; word-spacing: 0.72px;"><p class="bookquoteCN" style="color: #aa0000; font-family: Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 8pt; letter-spacing: 0.24px; line-height: 13pt; word-spacing: 0.72px;">Scholars of early Christianity face a somewhat similar dilemma to that of early Islam scholars. There is only a small corpus of surviving first- and early second-century Christian writings, primarily found in what later became the canonical New Testament. Most surviving early Christian texts were not written until the mid-second and early third centuries. Scholarship thus often turns to early non-Christian sources.</p><p class="bookquoteCN" style="color: #aa0000; font-family: Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 8pt; letter-spacing: 0.24px; line-height: 13pt; word-spacing: 0.72px;">For example, there is hardly an undergraduate class offered on early Christianity whose syllabus does not include the two pages that the early second-century pagan author Pliny the Younger wrote about Christians. Virtually every New Testament textbook includes a discussion of the one paragraph referring to Jesus found in the late first-century Antiquities of the Jews. New Testament scholars continue to vigorously debate whether these few sentences were actually written by the Jewish historian Josephus or were a later Christian interpolation. So too the handful of sentences by the Roman historian Tacitus that speak of Christianity remains central to all scholarship on Roman persecution of Christians.</p><p class="bookquoteCN" style="color: #aa0000; font-family: Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 8pt; letter-spacing: 0.24px; line-height: 13pt; word-spacing: 0.72px;"><span class="highlightbookqCN" style="background-color: #ffe957; font-size: 8pt; letter-spacing: 0.24px; line-height: 13pt; word-spacing: 0.72px;">The sum total of these early, outsider references to Christians is less than five pages. In contrast, there are almost two hundred pages’ worth of very early Syriac references to Islam. Historians and students of early Islam must use such passages with great care</span>. Outsider literature is no less biased than insider literature. Syriac authors had their own agendas and vary substantially in their historical reliability. Nevertheless, one can only imagine the impact a similar quantity of material would have on the study of early Christianity.<sup class="referencenumb" style="color: blue; font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 8pt; letter-spacing: 0.24px; line-height: 10pt; word-spacing: 0.72px;">[59]</sup></p></blockquote><p style="font-size: 16px; word-spacing: 0.72px;">Again, it is clear that Shoemaker cannot be talking about external references to Muhammad and/or Islam. We are now left with scriptural texts and other literary texts written by their respective followers. Even on these grounds, from a strictly historico-critical standpoint, it is difficult to justify Shoemaker's level of skepticism. Advanced western methods of <em>ḥadīth</em> criticism (<em>isnād-cum-matn</em> analysis) applied to different genres of written Muslim literature have produced fruitful results,<sup class="referencenumb" style="color: blue; font-size: 8pt; letter-spacing: 0.24px; line-height: 10pt; word-spacing: 0.72px;">[60]</sup> not to mention the actual text of the Qur’an itself which undoubtedly dates to the first century <em>hijra</em>, based on an increasingly abundant level of manuscript evidence.<sup class="referencenumb" style="color: blue; font-size: 8pt; letter-spacing: 0.24px; line-height: 10pt; word-spacing: 0.72px;">[61]</sup></p><p style="font-size: 16px; word-spacing: 0.72px;">So just what are Shoemaker's terms of reference? One gains the sense he is aggrieved by the apparent lack of historical criticism applied to the early Islamic sources - perhaps even double standards - when compared to early Christian sources, and it is on this comparative basis he feels what we do know is limited and uncertain.<sup class="referencenumb" style="color: blue; font-size: 8pt; letter-spacing: 0.24px; line-height: 10pt; word-spacing: 0.72px;">[62]</sup> Even if he believes that to be the case, one is not excused from identifying and using the primary sources.<sup class="referencenumb" style="color: blue; font-size: 8pt; letter-spacing: 0.24px; line-height: 10pt; word-spacing: 0.72px;">[63]</sup> As scholars are already well acquainted with Prophet Muhammad's depiction according to early Islamic religious sources we wish to adopt a different approach. In what follows we have purposefully excluded any texts from scriptural Muslim sources encompassing the following genres of early Arabic literature, <em>sīra</em> / <em>maghāzī</em>, <em>ḥadīth</em> / <em>athar</em>, <em>taʾrīkh</em> / <em>akhbār</em> and <em>tafsīr</em>. With this approach it will be seen there is still much that can be learnt and that the kind of unwarranted pessimism that furthers the self-fulfilling prophecy that we can never know anything useful about Muhammad and first century Islam is damaging and ultimately self-defeating.</p><p align="center" style="font-size: 16px; word-spacing: 0.72px;"><b class="articlename" style="color: #770000; font-size: 12pt; letter-spacing: 0.24px; line-height: 16pt; word-spacing: 0.72px;"><a id="3a2" name="3b"></a>WHAT CAN WE KNOW, WHAT CAN'T WE KNOW</b></p><p style="font-size: 16px; word-spacing: 0.72px;">From the listings of the dated and datable texts, it is clear that the name of Prophet Muhammad appears very early in the non-Muslim texts. The time period between the death of Muhammad (June, 632 CE) and the earliest mention of him (4th February, 634 CE) in the writings of Thomas the Presbyter (writing <em>c</em>. 640 CE / 19 AH), is slightly over a year and half! Interestingly enough, one of the earliest indications of stirrings in Arabia comes from the <em>Doctrina Iacobi</em> ("Teachings of Jacob"), a Greek anti-Jewish apologetic work which was presumably composed in Africa in July 634 during the Heraclean persecution. Although Muhammad is not mentioned by name in this tract, he is called a (false) Prophet, who has appeared among the Saracens [i.e., the Arabs] and has the keys of Paradise.</p><p style="font-size: 16px; word-spacing: 0.72px;">Non-Muslim writers (read Christian) of the first century <em>hijra</em> depict Muhammad variously as a Prophet/Preacher with a spiritual motivation (<em>Doctrina Iacobi Nuper Baptizati</em>, <em>Sebeos Bishop of the Bagratunis</em>, <em>The Gospel of the Twelve Apostles</em>, <em>The History of the Patriarchs of Alexandria</em>), a King/Leader (<em>A Chronicler Of Khuzistan</em>; <em>Fragments Of The Chart Of Jacob (= James) Of Edessa</em>; <em>Ad Annum 705</em>), a warrior (<em>The Gospel of the Twelve Apostles</em>), a Guide/Instructor (<em>John bar Penkaye</em>), a trader/merchant (<em>Fragments Of The Chart Of Jacob (= James) Of Edessa</em>; <em>Ad Annum 705</em>), whom the Arabs derived their authority from (<em>Maronite Chronicle</em>), especially when battling their opponents (<em>A Record of the Arab Conquest of Syria</em>; <em>Thomas, the Presbyter</em>) or negotiating treaties (<em>The History of the Patriarchs of Alexandria</em>). He originated from Mecca or its environs and was an instructor who instituted a definite kind of legislation and tradition which his followers were to adhere to, including prayer in direction towards the Ka’ba (<em>The History of the Patriarchs of Alexandria</em>). The early Arabs were the followers of Muhammad (<em>Thomas the Presbyter</em>; <em>Sebeos, Bishop of the Bagratunis</em>; <em>Chronicler of Khuzistan</em>), who was their ‘guide’ and ‘instructor’ (<em>John bar Penkaye</em>) whose ‘traditions’ and ‘laws’ they fiercely upheld <em>(John bar Penkaye</em>; <em>The History of the Patriarchs of Alexandria</em>) and who prescribed for them abstinence from carrion, wine, falsehood and fornication (<em>Sebeos, Bishop of the Bagratunis</em>). Furthermore, the non-Muslim sources of the first century <em>hijra</em> also attest that the religion of the followers of Muhammad was strictly monotheistic (<em>Sebeos, Bishop of the Bagratunis</em>; <em>John bar Penkaye</em>; <em>The History Of The Patriarchs Of Alexandria</em>) and of Abrahamic associations (<em>Chronicler of Khuzistan</em>).<sup class="referencenumb" style="color: blue; font-size: 8pt; letter-spacing: 0.24px; line-height: 10pt; word-spacing: 0.72px;">[64]</sup> Sebeos, Bishop of the Bagratunis points out that Muhammad legislated the law proscribing carrion (Qur'an 5:3), wine (Qur'an 2:219, 5:90), falsehood (Qur'an 39:3, 16:116, 33:24) and fornication (Qur'an 17:32, 24:2). More importantly, it shows that early Muslims adhered to a religion that had definite practices and beliefs and was clearly distinct from other currently existing faiths. The Syriac sources from the middle until the end of the first/seventh century constitute the majority of the literary texts and emphasize Muhammad's centrality for the Muslims, just like the Muslim sources from the same period.</p><p style="font-size: 16px; word-spacing: 0.72px;">The earliest dated documentary Muslim source to mention Prophet Muhammad is a <em>drachm</em> minted by ʿAbd al-Malik ibn ʿAbd Allāh, Zubayrid governor of Bīshāpūr, in 66 AH / 685-86 CE. The legend on the coin reads <em>Muḥammad rasūl Allāh</em> ("Muhammad is the Messenger of God"), which would become a common phrase in many of the dated texts in the rest of the first century AH. The Muslim sources from this period describe Muhammad as a ‘messenger’, ‘prophet’, ‘servant of God’, ‘sent with guidance and the religion of truth’ and an ‘intercessor on the Day of Judgment’ for his people. Supplications are made to God to send His ‘peace’ and ‘mercy’ upon Muhammad. His death is depicted as the ‘greatest calamity’ to fall on Muslims. Also mentioned is the ‘pool’ of Muhammad in Paradise from which the believers would drink on the Day of Judgment. Muhammad's earliest followers derived authority from him and were able to grant protective covenants to non believers in his name. The dated Muslim texts also depict the deity which Muhammad and Muslims after him worshipped as monotheistic.</p><p style="font-size: 16px; word-spacing: 0.72px;">Recently, Christoph Luxenberg suggested that the Dome of the Rock was a Christian Church built as a memorial to Jesus containing Christian inscriptions which record, amongst other things, the theological disputes between the camps of the Hellenised and Syrian Christians regarding the divinity of Jesus. The phrase <em>muḥammadun ʿabdullāhi wa rasūluhū</em> <a href="https://www.islamic-awareness.org/history/islam/inscriptions/dotr">on the Dome of the Rock</a> does not mean ‘Muhammad is the slave of God and his Messenger’, rather it means ‘Praised be the slave of God and His Messenger’ which Luxenberg considers as a plain unambiguous reference to Jesus.<sup class="super" style="color: blue; font-size: 8pt; letter-spacing: 0.24px; line-height: 10pt; word-spacing: 0.72px;">[65]</sup> Contradicting the claims of Luxenberg, numerous first century <em>hijra</em> Arabic-Greek bilingual papyri from the time of Umayyad caliph ‘Abd al-Malik ibn Marwan<sup class="super" style="color: blue; font-size: 8pt; letter-spacing: 0.24px; line-height: 10pt; word-spacing: 0.72px;">[66]</sup> (65-86 AH / 685-705 CE) as well as later ones such as <a href="https://www.islamic-awareness.org/history/islam/papyri/enlp11">Egyptian National Library Inv. No. 67</a> (90-91 AH / 709-710 CE), <a href="https://www.islamic-awareness.org/history/islam/papyri/perinv3976">PER Inv. Ar. Pap. 3976</a> (98-99 AH / 716-717 CE) among others<sup class="super" style="color: blue; font-size: 8pt; letter-spacing: 0.24px; line-height: 10pt; word-spacing: 0.72px;">[67]</sup> clearly translate the Arabic phrase <em>muḥammad rasūl Allāh </em>in Greek as ‘<em>maamet apostolos theou</em>’ i.e., ‘Muhammad is the Messenger of God’, thus confirming that ‘Muhammad’ was considered as a proper name and not ‘praised’ or ‘praiseworthy’. There is also an anonymous <a href="https://www.islamic-awareness.org/history/islam/coins/drachm31">Arab-Sassanian coin from 70 AH / 689 CE</a> that contains the Middle Persian legend <em>MHMT PGTAMI Y DAT</em>, “Muhammad is the Messenger of God”, again confirming that ‘Muhammad’ was considered as a proper name and not ‘praised’ or ‘praiseworthy’. One might also add that ‘Muhammad’ is mentioned as a <em>nasab</em> (patronym) on a coin dated 80 AH containing the Arabic name legend of the Umayyad general ʿAbd al-Raḥmān ibn Muḥammad in Middle Persian <em>APDARMAN Y MHMTAN</em>. Both he and his father Muḥammad (<em>d</em>. 41 AH / 661 CE) were prominent historical figures and well known from Islamic sources.<sup class="super" style="color: blue; font-size: 8pt; letter-spacing: 0.24px; line-height: 10pt; word-spacing: 0.72px;">[68]</sup> Furthermore, as we have seen, the non-Muslim sources from the middle until the end of the first/seventh century emphasize Muhammad's centrality for the Muslims and depict the early Muslims as the followers of a living person named Muhammad, certainly not some other ‘Muhammad’ born around six hundred years earlier in a different land who is no longer on earth.</p><p style="font-size: 16px; word-spacing: 0.72px;">Now we are left with the issue of the relative value of the ‘insider’ versus ‘outsider’ accounts of Muhammad. In the various reviews of Crone and Cook's <span class="reference" style="color: blue; font-size: 12pt; font-style: italic; letter-spacing: 0.24px; line-height: 16pt; word-spacing: 0.72px;">Hagarism</span> one criticism recurs often: could the ‘outsiders’, i.e., the external observers have known better than the ‘insiders’, i.e., the Muslims? In the words of Josef van Ess:</p><blockquote style="font-size: 16px; word-spacing: 0.72px;"><p class="bookquoteCN" style="color: #aa0000; font-family: Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 8pt; letter-spacing: 0.24px; line-height: 13pt; word-spacing: 0.72px;">... we cannot demand that an observer from outside, who could even less evaluate the radical novelty of the event, should have had a clearer concept of what was really happening. We should rather expect the he tried to describe the phenomenon with his own categories.<sup class="super" style="color: blue; font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 8pt; letter-spacing: 0.24px; line-height: 10pt; word-spacing: 0.72px;">[69]</sup></p></blockquote><p style="font-size: 16px; word-spacing: 0.72px;">The answer to be the above question is clearly no. It is undeniable that Christians presented their information regarding Muhammad, Islam and Muslims in their own terms, which inevitably had some amount of distortion. However, it is important to note that this information is either based on personal observation or ultimately derived from the Muslims themselves.<sup class="super" style="color: blue; font-size: 8pt; letter-spacing: 0.24px; line-height: 10pt; word-spacing: 0.72px;">[70]</sup> As for the value of Christian accounts, it is two-fold. Firstly, they are often precisely dateable which can't be said of early Muslim writings and secondly, the Christian sources often preserve information which Muslims passed over.<sup class="super" style="color: blue; font-size: 8pt; letter-spacing: 0.24px; line-height: 10pt; word-spacing: 0.72px;">[71]</sup> Nevertheless, there should be no axiomatic principle of preferring the external source simply because they are observers out with the realm of the group being represented. With regards to Muhammad, Christian writings from the first century of <em>hijra</em> divulge nothing new about his biography when compared with the Islamic sources, but they do reinforce the Islamic accounts about him, albeit with polemic overtones. The situation is best summed by Wansbrough, who notes with regard to the earliest Christian apocalyptic texts and supposedly neutral chronicles bearing on the rise of Islam,</p><blockquote style="font-size: 16px; word-spacing: 0.72px;"><p class="bookquoteCN" style="color: #aa0000; font-family: Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 8pt; letter-spacing: 0.24px; line-height: 13pt; word-spacing: 0.72px;">Material of this sort might be described as the property of a ‘minority historiography’: the sum of stereotyped literary reactions to political change, to the presence of a new and alien authority.<sup class="super" style="color: blue; font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 8pt; letter-spacing: 0.24px; line-height: 10pt; word-spacing: 0.72px;">[72]</sup></p></blockquote><p style="font-size: 16px; word-spacing: 0.72px;">He then goes on to say,</p><blockquote style="font-size: 16px; word-spacing: 0.72px;"><p class="bookquoteCN" style="color: #aa0000; font-family: Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 8pt; letter-spacing: 0.24px; line-height: 13pt; word-spacing: 0.72px;">What they do not, and cannot, provide is an account of the ‘Islamic’ community during the 150 years or so between the first Arab conquests and the appearance, with the sīra-maghāzī narratives, of the earliest Islamic literature.<sup class="super" style="color: blue; font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 8pt; letter-spacing: 0.24px; line-height: 10pt; word-spacing: 0.72px;">[73]</sup></p></blockquote><p style="font-size: 16px; word-spacing: 0.72px;">Agreeing with Wansbrough's viewpoint, Hoyland neatly encapsulates what is now considered the standard rigorous approach when writing about early Islamic history. He says,</p><blockquote style="font-size: 16px; word-spacing: 0.72px;"><p class="bookquoteCN" style="color: #aa0000; font-family: Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 8pt; letter-spacing: 0.24px; line-height: 13pt; word-spacing: 0.72px;">I would certainly agree that non-Muslim sources cannot provide a complete and coherent account of the history of Early Islam, even less can they support an alternative version of its development. But what I hope to have achieved in this book is to demonstrate that the testimony of Christian, Jewish and Zoroastrian writers can be used alongside that of Muslim authors to furnish us with an enriched and expanded vision of the history of the Middle East in Early Islamic times, to offer us new perspectives on its character and to suggest to us new directions for its study.<sup class="super" style="color: blue; font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 8pt; letter-spacing: 0.24px; line-height: 10pt; word-spacing: 0.72px;">[74]</sup></p></blockquote><p style="font-size: 16px; word-spacing: 0.72px;">In fact, when properly considered this procedure is relatively straightforward in as much as it is devoid of any novelty. Looking sideways at historical Jesus scholarship, after devoting a considerable amount of research into weighing the evidence of Jesus in non-Christian sources, Craig Evans reduced non-Christian sources which mention Jesus into three categories: ‘dubious’, ‘minimal’ and ‘important’, dependant on the source's independence from Christian tradition and the closeness to the events being described.<sup class="super" style="color: blue; font-size: 8pt; letter-spacing: 0.24px; line-height: 10pt; word-spacing: 0.72px;">[75]</sup> In the category of ‘important’ sources, he mentions the <span class="reference" style="color: blue; font-size: 12pt; font-style: italic; letter-spacing: 0.24px; line-height: 16pt; word-spacing: 0.72px;">Annals</span> of Cornelius Tacitus (<em>c</em>. 56 - <em>c</em>. 118 CE) and the <span class="reference" style="color: blue; font-size: 12pt; font-style: italic; letter-spacing: 0.24px; line-height: 16pt; word-spacing: 0.72px;">Jewish Antiquities</span> of Flavius Josephus (37 - sometime after 100 CE).<sup class="super" style="color: blue; font-size: 8pt; letter-spacing: 0.24px; line-height: 10pt; word-spacing: 0.72px;">[76]</sup> Apart from the reasons given above, Evans emphasises the primary importance of these sources is due to their corroboration of certain New Testament accounts.<sup class="super" style="color: blue; font-size: 8pt; letter-spacing: 0.24px; line-height: 10pt; word-spacing: 0.72px;">[77]</sup> In any case Evans considers the Christian sources to possess enough information in and of themselves as to negate the need for excessive attempts at modelling Jesus based on non-Christian sources.<sup class="super" style="color: blue; font-size: 8pt; letter-spacing: 0.24px; line-height: 10pt; word-spacing: 0.72px;">[78]</sup> Likewise similar conclusions can be drawn regarding Prophet Muhammad. Should one seek to enforce an exclusively Christian reading of Muhammad and early Islam? The testimonies of non-Muslim accounts should not be automatically preferred over those Muslim accounts which provide more accurate and detailed information, necessitated by the circumstances of their recording. That is not to say one must ignore what is said about the earliest Muslims by others, merely that the application of common sense take place in order to reach logical and balanced conclusions.</p><p style="font-size: 16px; word-spacing: 0.72px;"><span class="title" style="font-size: 14pt; font-weight: bold; letter-spacing: 0.24px; line-height: 17pt; word-spacing: 0.72px;"><a id="4" name="4"></a>4. What Can A Rock Tell Us About The Biography Of Muhammad?</span></p><p style="font-size: 16px; word-spacing: 0.72px;">Some may hasten to interpret certain epigraphic trends in isolation from other historical information, in a kind of vacuum so to speak, but is this the best way to proceed and will it provide the most fruitful results? It seems the question of the non-appearance of the name ‘Muhammad’ in an Arabic inscription during Islam's first 50 years or so has vexed a number of modern scholars. Of course, any kind of inscription from this period is exceedingly rare, though comparatively, with let’s say Christianity, one could say there are an abundance of epigraphic texts! Should we infer the non-existence of a person because someone did not engrave their name into a rock as early as we think it should have been? The exclusive application of this principle could lead one to conclude the overwhelming majority of people from ancient times never actually existed.</p><p style="font-size: 16px; word-spacing: 0.72px;">At present there is not a single mention of Jesus in an inscription from the first 200 years of Christianity.<sup class="super" style="color: blue; font-size: 8pt; letter-spacing: 0.24px; line-height: 10pt; word-spacing: 0.72px;">[79]</sup> In fact, with perhaps one or two exceptions, there are no Christian inscriptions at all in this period.<sup class="super" style="color: blue; font-size: 8pt; letter-spacing: 0.24px; line-height: 10pt; word-spacing: 0.72px;">[80]</sup> Nevertheless, no New Testament scholar we are aware of would consider the non-existence of Jesus solely on this basis. To be sure there are very vocal mythicists but they are not taken seriously. These are of course separate issues with different historical circumstances, but certain methodological principles can be similarly applied in both cases.</p><p style="font-size: 16px; word-spacing: 0.72px;">It is important to examine the underlying assumptions of those who insist there must be an almost contemporaneous inscription containing the name ‘Muhammad’. Why must it be so and why is it so important to them? Of the more than 77,000 words in the Qur'an, four of them mention Muhammad by name. The Qur'an has many key themes and concepts that one may presume its earliest followers paid attention to. One of the contributing factors may be the majority of western scholars primary exposure is in Judaeo-Christian religion, history and culture and resultantly certain assumptions are imported by some regarding how an individual traversing a desert 1400 years ago should have interacted with a rock. Forgiveness and mercy are key concerns registered in these very early inscriptions, also key central themes in the Qur'an. By their very nature these are short pietistic invocations mentioning God and are not intended to be complete manuals of faith and doctrine. Later on as the Islamic state gained a new dynamic under ʿAbd al-Malik, propaganda efforts intensified and one finds the increasing mention of ‘Muhammad’, including in polemical contexts, starts to establish itself.<sup class="super" style="color: blue; font-size: 8pt; letter-spacing: 0.24px; line-height: 10pt; word-spacing: 0.72px;">[81]</sup></p><p class="title" style="font-size: 14pt; font-weight: bold; letter-spacing: 0.24px; line-height: 17pt; word-spacing: 0.72px;"><a id="5" name="5"></a>5. Conclusions</p><p style="font-size: 16px; word-spacing: 0.72px;">The time period between the death of Muhammad (June, 632 CE) and the earliest mention of him (4th February, 634 CE) in a non-scriptural source is slightly over a year and half. Indeed, Muhammad is the only founder of a world religion to be mentioned in external sources that are nearly contemporaneous with his life. When all of the aforementioned texts are considered as a whole, in their language of original composition, Muhammad is mentioned in no fewer than six different languages: Arabic, Syriac, Coptic, Greek, Armenian and Middle Persian. The geographic distribution is no less impressive covering Arabia, Palestine, Iraq, Iran, Syria, Armenia, Egypt, North Africa (Tunisia) and Spain. The literary texts of this period are exclusively Christian in their theological perspective and although revealing nothing new in terms of the biography of Muhammad, what the non-Muslim sources of the first century of <em>hijra</em> do divulge is not unimportant. Often precisely datable, something which can't be said of early Muslim literary sources, the information contained in these accounts generally corroborates the Muslim accounts, albeit coloured with polemical overtones as the conquests were still fresh in their minds. These sources are clearly aware of a person called Muhammad whom the Muslims followed, upholding his traditions and holding fast to the belief and worship in one God casting aside their previous idolatrous practices.</p><p style="font-size: 16px; word-spacing: 0.72px;">The Qur'an does not portray a belief system whose religious formulae and expression are centred on the deification and glorification of a man. To put it another way, Muslims are not "Muhammadans" and Islam is not the worship of Muhammad. This can help to explain why our earliest epigraphic records are not awash with references to Muhammad, instead containing simple pietistic invocations mentioning God. Western scholars whose customary point of reference is Judeo-Christian religion, history and culture often fail to appreciate this crucial nuance. What these records do emphasise is the worship of one God alone without any partner, his attributes such as mercy and forgiveness are often supplicated for and are found in our earliest inscriptions. By their very nature, these inscriptions are short and are not intended to be complete manuals of faith and doctrine. Once the Islamic state started to change in the time of ʿAbd al-Malik (<em>r</em>. 685-705 CE) following a number of battles and wars both internal and external, propaganda efforts were intensified, perhaps no more vividly than in the construction of the Dome of the Rock, whose <a href="https://www.islamic-awareness.org/history/islam/inscriptions/copper">Qur'an-inspired inscriptions boldly proclaim</a> the fundamental aspects of the religion, challenging the Christian belief of Jesus as God and proclaiming God's promise that the final victory will be for Islam, “Muhammad is the servant of God and His Messenger whom He sent with guidance and the religion of truth that He might make it prevail over all religions even if the associators are averse”. There could be no more explicit declaration to the residents of the city of Jerusalem and the wider Christian and Jewish communities that Islam had been established.</p><p class="title" style="font-size: 14pt; font-weight: bold; letter-spacing: 0.24px; line-height: 17pt; word-spacing: 0.72px;"><strong>Appendix: The Rise Of The Mythicists</strong></p><p style="font-size: 16px; word-spacing: 0.72px;">In the mid-18th century, some disciples of the famous English deist Henry Saint-John Bolingbroke began to spread the idea Jesus never actually existed. They were followed in the late 18th century by certain philosophical scholars from the period of the French Revolution who began to assert the idea that Jesus of Nazareth did not in fact exist. Several decades later, the idea was systematically developed in Germany where it received its theoretical foundation from Bruno Bauer, whose threefold basis for denying the historicity of Jesus is essentially the same methodology used by the deniers of Jesus existence until today. Bauer held to the following: 1. The New Testament has little to no historical value, 2. The lack of any non-Christian references to Jesus dating to the first century, and 3. Christianity has pagan or mythical roots.<sup class="super" style="color: blue; font-size: 8pt; letter-spacing: 0.24px; line-height: 10pt; word-spacing: 0.72px;">[82]</sup> Though impactful, Bauer's writings had no lasting following or any real influence on subsequent biblical scholarship. Judaeo-Christian scholars seldom waste their time engaging such theories, usually not even bothering to mention them in their books, deeming them unworthy of a response. In a recent book confronting the mythicists, it was noted by one leading scholar that, to his knowledge, no mythicist taught a religious studies program at any university in North America or Europe.<sup class="super" style="color: blue; font-size: 8pt; letter-spacing: 0.24px; line-height: 10pt; word-spacing: 0.72px;">[83]</sup> This short summary serves as a useful introduction to the mythicists operating in Islamic Studies - though having no direct dependance on Bauer - whose objections ultimately rest on the same threefold foundation, namely: 1. The Qur'an has little to no historical value, 2. The lack of any non-Muslim references to Muhammad dating to the first century, and 3. Islam has pagan or Christian roots.</p><p style="font-size: 16px; word-spacing: 0.72px;">Under the auspices of the American Committee for Lectures on the History of Relgions, Snouck Hurgronje was chosen as the lecturer for 1914. In one of the lectures he delivered titled ‘<span class="articlename" style="color: #770000; font-size: 12pt; letter-spacing: 0.24px; line-height: 16pt; word-spacing: 0.72px;">Some Points Concerning The Origin Of Islâm</span>’, he anticipated that it would not at all be surprising to hear someone say that Muhammad did not exist - in a period of increased religious scepticism - though he himself dismissed such a notion out of hand.<sup class="super" style="color: blue; font-size: 8pt; letter-spacing: 0.24px; line-height: 10pt; word-spacing: 0.72px;">[84]</sup> Perhaps surprisingly, it is to 1920s and early 1930s Marxist anti-Islamic discourse in the USSR one must turn to discover the origins of these rumblings. One of the leading voices was Liutsian Klimovich who in 1930 gave a lecture at the Communist Academy titled ‘<span class="articlename" style="color: #770000; font-size: 12pt; letter-spacing: 0.24px; line-height: 16pt; word-spacing: 0.72px;">Did Muhammad Exist?</span>’. He rejected Muhammad and the Qur'an as inventions of later times, though he was widely criticised during the open scholarly debate that followed in the auditorium, ranging from outright rejection to questioning his handling of the ancient sources.<sup class="super" style="color: blue; font-size: 8pt; letter-spacing: 0.24px; line-height: 10pt; word-spacing: 0.72px;">[85]</sup> Klimovich's writings and those of his peers were documented in their native Russian, consequently their impact on wider western scholarship has been limited.</p><p style="font-size: 16px; word-spacing: 0.72px;">In the late 1970s Islamic History was reinterpreted by some radical skeptics. <span class="reference" style="color: blue; font-size: 12pt; font-style: italic; letter-spacing: 0.24px; line-height: 16pt; word-spacing: 0.72px;">Hagarism</span>, co-authored by Patricia Crone and Michael Cook, undoubtedly stands as the broad academic methodology that underpins the work of the mythicists today. Crone and Cook of course were no mythicists and Crone held a positive view of what could be learned of Muhammad's life and was optimistic that future research would uncover even more details.<sup class="super" style="color: blue; font-size: 8pt; letter-spacing: 0.24px; line-height: 10pt; word-spacing: 0.72px;">[86]</sup> Notwithstanding, the underlying methodology of <span class="reference" style="color: blue; font-size: 12pt; font-style: italic; letter-spacing: 0.24px; line-height: 16pt; word-spacing: 0.72px;">Hagarism</span> can be expressed in one sentence – when contemplating early Islamic History, Muslim sources are worthless, Christian and Jewish sources are priceless. Islam started as a heretical Jewish Messianic sect which subsequently fabricated its own history as time progressed. One constant rings throughout the whole book, Muslim sources cannot be trusted, except under the most exceptional circumstances. The climax of this type of approach led to its logical conclusion. If Islamic history retold in Muslim sources is fabricated, untrustworthy and entirely unhistorical, then the person at the centre of this history is likewise unhistorical and, in fact, never existed. The first scholars to systematically underwrite this view academically were Yehuda Nevo and Judith Koren. To them Muhammad was not a historical figure.<sup class="super" style="color: blue; font-size: 8pt; letter-spacing: 0.24px; line-height: 10pt; word-spacing: 0.72px;">[87]</sup> Following the establishment in 2007 of the <em>Istitut zur Erforschung der frühen Islamgeschichte und des Koran</em> (Inârah) based in Saarbrücken, Germany, a series of landmark publications have appeared where several mythicists converged to radically alter the early beginnings of Islam, principally Christoph Luxenberg, Karl-Heinz Ohlig and Volker Popp.<sup class="super" style="color: blue; font-size: 8pt; letter-spacing: 0.24px; line-height: 10pt; word-spacing: 0.72px;">[88]</sup> Though their approaches are not identical and mutually exclusive in many places, they all agreed one critical point: During Islam's first 130 years or so any mention of Muhammad was simply as an epithet for Jesus; the personage of Muhammad never existed and was the product of the need to create an Arabian identity for the Abassid empire.<sup class="super" style="color: blue; font-size: 8pt; letter-spacing: 0.24px; line-height: 10pt; word-spacing: 0.72px;">[89]</sup> Though headline grabbing and impactful, mainstream scholarship has firmly rejected these fantastical claims and their congruent arguments, accompanied with penetrating descriptors such as ‘excess’, ‘fanciful’, ‘outlandish’, ‘wild speculations’, ‘conspiracy’, ‘polemical’, ‘politically motivated’ and ‘dislike and distrust of Islam and Muslims’.<sup class="super" style="color: blue; font-size: 8pt; letter-spacing: 0.24px; line-height: 10pt; word-spacing: 0.72px;">[90]</sup> Historical Jesus scholarship has successfully navigated past the small cadre of scholars who believe Jesus never existed, though not without the occasional hiccup and disruption. Although Islamic studies now finds itself in the midst of a localised disturbance with 19th century roots, so far the response has been similar. It is perhaps not by accident the group have self-styled themselves with the appellation ‘Inârah’ that means ‘enlightenment’ in Arabic. While criticising Wansbrough's hypothesis for the late compilation of the Qur'an, Noseda noted the extant material evidence contradicted his claims and said, “… history will decide which nickname to apply, choosing between LUSITANIA and TITANIC. But let us not anticipate.”<sup class="super" style="color: blue; font-size: 8pt; letter-spacing: 0.24px; line-height: 10pt; word-spacing: 0.72px;">[91]</sup></p><p style="font-size: 16px; word-spacing: 0.72px;"><a href="http://www.addthis.com/bookmark.php?v=20"><img alt="Bookmark and Share" height="16" src="http://s7.addthis.com/static/btn/lg-share-en.gif" style="border: 0px;" width="125" /></a></p><hr style="font-size: 16px; word-spacing: 0.72px;" /><p class="title" style="font-size: 14pt; font-weight: bold; letter-spacing: 0.24px; line-height: 17pt; word-spacing: 0.72px;">References</p><p style="font-size: 16px; word-spacing: 0.72px;">[1] A good idea of the views of Muir can be obtained from his polemical writings. Sir W. Muir, <span class="reference" style="color: blue; font-size: 12pt; font-style: italic; letter-spacing: 0.24px; line-height: 16pt; word-spacing: 0.72px;">The Mohammedan Controversy, Biographies Of Mohammed, Sprenger On Tradition, Indian Liturgy And The Psalter</span>, 1897, T. & T. Clark: Edinburgh.</p><p style="font-size: 16px; word-spacing: 0.72px;">[2] A. Sprenger, <span class="reference" style="color: blue; font-size: 12pt; font-style: italic; letter-spacing: 0.24px; line-height: 16pt; word-spacing: 0.72px;">The Life Of Mohammad, From Original Sources</span>, 1851, Presbyterian Mission Press: Allahabad; <em>idem</em>., <span class="reference" style="color: blue; font-size: 12pt; font-style: italic; letter-spacing: 0.24px; line-height: 16pt; word-spacing: 0.72px;">Das Leben Und Die Lehre Des Mohammad Nach Bisher Grösstentheils Unbenutzten Quellen Bearbeitet</span>, 1861-1865, Three Volumes, Nicolai'sche Verlagsbuchh.: Berlin. For a review summarizing the contents of these two books, especially on the skepticism of life of Muhammad as mentioned in the Islamic literature see Sir W. Muir, <span class="reference" style="color: blue; font-size: 12pt; font-style: italic; letter-spacing: 0.24px; line-height: 16pt; word-spacing: 0.72px;">The Mohammedan Controversy, Biographies Of Mohammed, Sprenger On Tradition, Indian Liturgy And The Psalter</span>, 1897, <em>op. cit.</em>, pp. 106-118.</p><p style="font-size: 16px; word-spacing: 0.72px;">[3] I. Goldziher (<em>Ed</em>. S. M. Stern), <span class="reference" style="color: blue; font-size: 12pt; font-style: italic; letter-spacing: 0.24px; line-height: 16pt; word-spacing: 0.72px;">Muslim Studies (Muhammedanische Studien)</span>, 1971, Volume II, Atherton: New York and Aldine: Chicago, p. 11. Good interaction with the various theories of Goldziher in respect of the early <em>ḥadīth</em> literature can be found in T. A. H. Maloush's <span class="reference" style="color: blue; font-size: 12pt; font-style: italic; letter-spacing: 0.24px; line-height: 16pt; word-spacing: 0.72px;">Early Hadith Literature And The Theory Of Ignaz Goldziher</span>, 2001, Ph. D. thesis (unpublished), University of Edinburgh.</p><p style="font-size: 16px; word-spacing: 0.72px;">[4] J. Schacht, <span class="reference" style="color: blue; font-size: 12pt; font-style: italic; letter-spacing: 0.24px; line-height: 16pt; word-spacing: 0.72px;">The Origins Of Muhammadan Jurisprudence</span>, 1950, Oxford At Clarendon Press, p. 165.</p><p style="font-size: 16px; word-spacing: 0.72px;">[5] J. Wansbrough, <span class="reference" style="color: blue; font-size: 12pt; font-style: italic; letter-spacing: 0.24px; line-height: 16pt; word-spacing: 0.72px;">Qur'anic Studies: Sources & Methods Of Scriptural Interpretation</span>, 1977, London Oriental Series Volume 31, Oxford University Press, p. 49-52. Given our current knowledge of early Qur'anic manuscripts Wansbrough's theory can now be safely discarded. Based solely on first century <em>hijazi</em> manuscripts almost the entire text of the Qur'an can be reproduced, with some 17% of the total text unrepresented in this time period. For a more comprehensive collection, see <a href="https://www.islamic-awareness.org/quran/text/mss/hijazi"><strong>Concise List Of Arabic Manuscripts Of The Qur'ān Attributable To The First Century Hijra</strong></a>. Noseda's calculation excludes first century <em>hijra</em> Kufic manuscripts, all Qur'anic inscriptions and all <em>hijazi</em> manuscripts found at Ṣanʿāʾ. See F. Déroche and S. N. Noseda (<em>Eds</em>.), <span class="reference" style="color: blue; font-size: 12pt; font-style: italic; letter-spacing: 0.24px; line-height: 16pt; word-spacing: 0.72px;">Sources de la transmission manuscrite du texte coranique. I. Les manuscrits de style hijazi. Volume 2. Tome I. Le manuscrit Or. 2165 (f. 1 à 61) de la British Library</span>, 2001, Fondazione Ferni Noja Noseda, Leda, and British Library: London, p. xxvii. Benefitting from a sombre tone in a memorial volume dedicated to Wansbrough, Herbert Berg comments thus, “… his [Wansbrough] claim that the ne varietur text only occurred “towards the end of the second century” needs to be modified.” See H. Berg, "<span class="articlename" style="color: #770000; font-size: 12pt; letter-spacing: 0.24px; line-height: 16pt; word-spacing: 0.72px;">The Needle In The Haystack: Islamic Origins And The Nature Of The Early Sources</span>", in C. A. Segovia & B. Lourié (<em>Eds</em>.), <span class="reference" style="color: blue; font-size: 12pt; font-style: italic; letter-spacing: 0.24px; line-height: 16pt; word-spacing: 0.72px;">The Coming Of The Comforter: When, Where, And To Whom? Studies On The Rise Of Islam And Various Other Topics In Memory Of John Wansbrough</span>, 2012, Gorgias Press: New Jersey (USA), p. 272.</p><p style="font-size: 16px; word-spacing: 0.72px;">[6] J. Burton, <span class="reference" style="color: blue; font-size: 12pt; font-style: italic; letter-spacing: 0.24px; line-height: 16pt; word-spacing: 0.72px;">An Introduction To Hadith</span>, 1994, Edinburgh University Press: Edinburgh, p. xxiii and p. xv.</p><p style="font-size: 16px; word-spacing: 0.72px;">[7] J. Koren & Y. Nevo, "<span class="articlename" style="color: #770000; font-size: 12pt; letter-spacing: 0.24px; line-height: 16pt; word-spacing: 0.72px;">Methodological Approaches To Islamic Studies</span>", <span class="reference" style="color: blue; font-size: 12pt; font-style: italic; letter-spacing: 0.24px; line-height: 16pt; word-spacing: 0.72px;">Der Islam</span>, 1991, Band 68, pp. 92-93.</p><p style="font-size: 16px; word-spacing: 0.72px;">[8] <em>ibid</em>., pp. 99-100.</p><p style="font-size: 16px; word-spacing: 0.72px;">[9] Y. D. Nevo, "<span class="articlename" style="color: #770000; font-size: 12pt; letter-spacing: 0.24px; line-height: 16pt; word-spacing: 0.72px;">Towards A Prehistory Of Islam</span>", <span class="reference" style="color: blue; font-size: 12pt; font-style: italic; letter-spacing: 0.24px; line-height: 16pt; word-spacing: 0.72px;">Jerusalem Studies In Arabic And Islam</span>, 1994, Volume 17, pp. 109-110; Also see Y. Nevo & J. Koren, <span class="reference" style="color: blue; font-size: 12pt; font-style: italic; letter-spacing: 0.24px; line-height: 16pt; word-spacing: 0.72px;">Crossroads To Islam: The Origins Of The Arab Religion And The Arab State</span>, 2003, Prometheus Books: New York, p. 247.</p><p style="font-size: 16px; word-spacing: 0.72px;">[10] J. Koren & Y. Nevo, "<span class="articlename" style="color: #770000; font-size: 12pt; letter-spacing: 0.24px; line-height: 16pt; word-spacing: 0.72px;">Methodological Approaches To Islamic Studies</span>", <span class="reference" style="color: blue; font-size: 12pt; font-style: italic; letter-spacing: 0.24px; line-height: 16pt; word-spacing: 0.72px;">Der Islam</span>, 1991, <em>op. cit.</em>, p. 87. To give another example, Nevo and Koren are quick to point out what they believe are the negative consequences stemming from the absence of a classical Arabic inscription in the Hijaz before the reign of Muʿawiya. [p. 104]. Elsewhere they write that no contemporary account in the non Arab literature mentions any caliph before Muʿawiya [p. 100], implying the events preceding this point as recorded in Islamic history including those personalities and their stories are ahistorical and untrustworthy. Both these assertions were sunk by the discovery of a single <a href="https://www.islamic-awareness.org/history/islam/inscriptions/kuficsaud">inscription from the Hijaz mentioning the death of the caliph ʿUmar written in classical Arabic in 24 AH</a>, conforming with the date of his death as given in the Muslim literary sources. There are also two inscriptions (<a href="https://www.islamic-awareness.org/history/islam/inscriptions/umar1">1</a>, <a href="https://www.islamic-awareness.org/history/islam/inscriptions/fareesh">2</a>) from the first century <em>hijra</em>, written by a direct descendant of ʿUmar who is explicitly named. Unless we think this person fabricated the personage of his great grandfather in anticipation of Western scepticism 1400 years later, it is safe to assume his great grandfather, i.e., ʿUmar, really existed. This example only serves to highlight the need to display caution and a steady head so that one may avoid making rash conclusions based on fragmentary documentary evidence.</p><p style="font-size: 16px; word-spacing: 0.72px;">[11] J. Johns, "<span class="articlename" style="color: #770000; font-size: 12pt; letter-spacing: 0.24px; line-height: 16pt; word-spacing: 0.72px;">Archaeology And The History Of Early Islam: The First Seventy Years</span>", <span class="reference" style="color: blue; font-size: 12pt; font-style: italic; letter-spacing: 0.24px; line-height: 16pt; word-spacing: 0.72px;">Journal Of The Economic And Social History Of The Orient</span>, 2003, Volume 46, No. 4, p. 412. John's contribution can be further appreciated by examining those articles which deal directly with some of the issues he addresses. See C. Foss, "<span class="articlename" style="color: #770000; font-size: 12pt; letter-spacing: 0.24px; line-height: 16pt; word-spacing: 0.72px;">A Syrian Coinage Of Mu‘awiya?</span>", <span class="reference" style="color: blue; font-size: 12pt; font-style: italic; letter-spacing: 0.24px; line-height: 16pt; word-spacing: 0.72px;">Revue Numismatique</span>, 2002, Volume 158, pp. 353-365; R. Hoyland, "<span class="articlename" style="color: #770000; font-size: 12pt; letter-spacing: 0.24px; line-height: 16pt; word-spacing: 0.72px;">New Documentary Texts And The Early Islamic State</span>", <span class="reference" style="color: blue; font-size: 12pt; font-style: italic; letter-spacing: 0.24px; line-height: 16pt; word-spacing: 0.72px;">Bulletin Of The School Of Oriental And African Studies</span>, 2006, Volume 69, No. 3, pp. 395-416.</p><p style="font-size: 16px; word-spacing: 0.72px;">For some apt observations regarding the use of archaeological and literary sources and the relevance of their contribution, see C. Hillenbrand, "<span class="articlename" style="color: #770000; font-size: 12pt; letter-spacing: 0.24px; line-height: 16pt; word-spacing: 0.72px;">Muhammad And The Rise Of Islam</span>", in P. Fouracre (<em>Ed</em>.), <span class="reference" style="color: blue; font-size: 12pt; font-style: italic; letter-spacing: 0.24px; line-height: 16pt; word-spacing: 0.72px;">The New Cambridge Medieval History c. 500 – c. 700</span>, 2005, Volume I, Cambridge University Press, pp. 325-331.</p><p style="font-size: 16px; word-spacing: 0.72px;">[12] The views of the Western scholars was neatly summarized by Peters. See F. E. Peters, "<span class="articlename" style="color: #770000; font-size: 12pt; letter-spacing: 0.24px; line-height: 16pt; word-spacing: 0.72px;">The Quest Of The Historical Muhammad</span>", <span class="reference" style="color: blue; font-size: 12pt; font-style: italic; letter-spacing: 0.24px; line-height: 16pt; word-spacing: 0.72px;">International Journal Of Middle Eastern Studies</span>, 1991, Volume 23, pp. 291-315. Reprinted in F. E. Peters, "<span class="articlename" style="color: #770000; font-size: 12pt; letter-spacing: 0.24px; line-height: 16pt; word-spacing: 0.72px;">The Quest Of The Historical Muhammad</span>" in Ibn Warraq (<em>Ed</em>.), <span class="reference" style="color: blue; font-size: 12pt; font-style: italic; letter-spacing: 0.24px; line-height: 16pt; word-spacing: 0.72px;">The Quest For The Historical Muhammad</span>, 2000, Prometheus Books: Amherst, pp. 444-475. For an early review on the same subject see A. Jeffery, "<span class="articlename" style="color: #770000; font-size: 12pt; letter-spacing: 0.24px; line-height: 16pt; word-spacing: 0.72px;">The Quest Of The Historical Mohammed</span>", <span class="reference" style="color: blue; font-size: 12pt; font-style: italic; letter-spacing: 0.24px; line-height: 16pt; word-spacing: 0.72px;">Moslem World</span>, 1926, Volume XVI, No. 4, pp. 327-348.</p><p style="font-size: 16px; word-spacing: 0.72px;">[13] Perhaps the best example of such an analysis is by Harald Motzki on the collection of the Qur'an. H. Motzki, "<span class="articlename" style="color: #770000; font-size: 12pt; letter-spacing: 0.24px; line-height: 16pt; word-spacing: 0.72px;">The Collection Of The Qur'an: A Reconsideration Of The Western Views In Light Of Recent Methodological Developments</span>", <span class="reference" style="color: blue; font-size: 12pt; font-style: italic; letter-spacing: 0.24px; line-height: 16pt; word-spacing: 0.72px;">Der Islam</span>, 2001, Volume 78, pp. 1-34. The Western views on the collection of the Qur'an that Motzki discusses are the works of Wansbrough (<span class="reference" style="color: blue; font-size: 12pt; font-style: italic; letter-spacing: 0.24px; line-height: 16pt; word-spacing: 0.72px;">Qur'anic Studies: Sources & Methods Of Scriptural Interpretation</span>, 1977, Oxford University Press), Watt (<span class="reference" style="color: blue; font-size: 12pt; font-style: italic; letter-spacing: 0.24px; line-height: 16pt; word-spacing: 0.72px;">Muhammad's Mecca</span>, 1988, Edinburgh), Nöldeke and Schwally (<span class="reference" style="color: blue; font-size: 12pt; font-style: italic; letter-spacing: 0.24px; line-height: 16pt; word-spacing: 0.72px;">Geschichte des Qorans</span>, 1938, Leipzig), Casanova (<span class="reference" style="color: blue; font-size: 12pt; font-style: italic; letter-spacing: 0.24px; line-height: 16pt; word-spacing: 0.72px;">Mohammad et la fin du Monde</span>, 1911, Paris), Mingana ("<span class="articlename" style="color: #770000; font-size: 12pt; letter-spacing: 0.24px; line-height: 16pt; word-spacing: 0.72px;">The Transmission Of The Qur'an</span>", 1916, <span class="reference" style="color: blue; font-size: 12pt; font-style: italic; letter-spacing: 0.24px; line-height: 16pt; word-spacing: 0.72px;">Journal of The Manchester Egyptian and Oriental Society</span>) and Burton (<span class="reference" style="color: blue; font-size: 12pt; font-style: italic; letter-spacing: 0.24px; line-height: 16pt; word-spacing: 0.72px;">The Collection Of The Qur'an</span>, 1979, Cambridge University Press). Refuting the claims of Western scholarship concerning the collection of the Qur'an Motzki states that [p. 31]:</p><blockquote style="font-size: 16px; word-spacing: 0.72px;"><p class="bookquoteCN" style="color: #aa0000; font-family: Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 8pt; letter-spacing: 0.24px; line-height: 13pt; word-spacing: 0.72px;">Muslims account are much earlier and thus much nearer to the time of the events than hitherto assumed in Western scholarship. Admittedly, these accounts contain some details which seem to be implausible or, to put it more cautiously, await explanation, <span class="highlightbookqCN" style="background-color: #ffe957; font-size: 8pt; letter-spacing: 0.24px; line-height: 13pt; word-spacing: 0.72px;">but the Western views which claim to replace them by more plausible and historically more reliable accounts are obviously far away from what they make themselves out to be</span>.</p></blockquote><p style="font-size: 16px; word-spacing: 0.72px;">Also see H. Motzki, "<span class="articlename" style="color: #770000; font-size: 12pt; letter-spacing: 0.24px; line-height: 16pt; word-spacing: 0.72px;">The Musannaf Of ʿAbd al-Razzāq Al-Ṣanʿānī As A Source of Authentic Aḥādīth of The First Century A.H.</span>", <span class="reference" style="color: blue; font-size: 12pt; font-style: italic; letter-spacing: 0.24px; line-height: 16pt; word-spacing: 0.72px;">Journal Of Near Eastern Studies</span>, 1991, Volume 50, pp. 1-21; <em>idem</em>., "<span class="articlename" style="color: #770000; font-size: 12pt; letter-spacing: 0.24px; line-height: 16pt; word-spacing: 0.72px;">The Prophet And The Cat: On Dating Mālik's <em>Muwaṭṭa</em> And Legal Traditions</span>", <span class="reference" style="color: blue; font-size: 12pt; font-style: italic; letter-spacing: 0.24px; line-height: 16pt; word-spacing: 0.72px;">Jerusalem Studies In Arabic And Islam</span>, 1998, Volume 22, pp. 18-83; <em>idem</em>., "<span class="articlename" style="color: #770000; font-size: 12pt; letter-spacing: 0.24px; line-height: 16pt; word-spacing: 0.72px;">The Murder Of Ibn Abī l-Ḥuqayq: On The Origin And Reliability Of Some <em>Maghāzī</em> Reports</span>", in H. Motzki (<em>Ed</em>.), <span class="reference" style="color: blue; font-size: 12pt; font-style: italic; letter-spacing: 0.24px; line-height: 16pt; word-spacing: 0.72px;">The Biography Of Muhammad: The Issue Of Sources</span>, 2000, Islamic History And Civilization: Studies And Texts, Volume 32, Brill: Leiden, Boston, Köln, pp. 170-239; U. Mitter, "<span class="articlename" style="color: #770000; font-size: 12pt; letter-spacing: 0.24px; line-height: 16pt; word-spacing: 0.72px;">Unconditional Manumission Of Slaves In Early Islamic Law: A <em>Ḥadīth</em> Analysis</span>", <span class="reference" style="color: blue; font-size: 12pt; font-style: italic; letter-spacing: 0.24px; line-height: 16pt; word-spacing: 0.72px;">Der Islam</span>, 2001, Volume 78, pp. 35-72. For a meticulous study of the <em>ḥadīth</em> that has drawn the most attention in Western literature, proving the applicability of the traditional transmission based analysis, see I. Zaman, <span class="reference" style="color: blue; font-size: 12pt; font-style: italic; letter-spacing: 0.24px; line-height: 16pt; word-spacing: 0.72px;">The Evolution Of A Hadith: Transmission, Growth, And The Science Of Rijal In A Hadith Of Sa‘d b. Abi Waqqas</span>, 1991, Ph. D. Thesis (unpublished), University of Chicago; <em>idem</em>. "<span class="articlename" style="color: #770000; font-size: 12pt; letter-spacing: 0.24px; line-height: 16pt; word-spacing: 0.72px;">The Science Of Rijāl As A Method In The Study Of Hadiths</span>" <span class="reference" style="color: blue; font-size: 12pt; font-style: italic; letter-spacing: 0.24px; line-height: 16pt; word-spacing: 0.72px;">Journal Of Islamic Studies</span>, 1994, Volume 5, Number 1, pp. 1-34.</p><p style="font-size: 16px; word-spacing: 0.72px;">For a recent overview of dating Muslim traditions see H. Motzki, "<span class="articlename" style="color: #770000; font-size: 12pt; letter-spacing: 0.24px; line-height: 16pt; word-spacing: 0.72px;">Dating Muslim Traditions: A Survey</span>", <span class="reference" style="color: blue; font-size: 12pt; font-style: italic; letter-spacing: 0.24px; line-height: 16pt; word-spacing: 0.72px;">Arabica</span>, 2005, Volume 52, No. 2, pp. 204-253.</p><p style="font-size: 16px; word-spacing: 0.72px;">[14] H. Motzki (<em>Ed</em>.), <span class="reference" style="color: blue; font-size: 12pt; font-style: italic; letter-spacing: 0.24px; line-height: 16pt; word-spacing: 0.72px;">The Biography Of Muhammad: The Issue Of Sources</span>, 2000, Islamic History And Civilization: Studies And Texts, Volume 32, Brill: Leiden, Boston, Köln. Also see J. Horovitz (Ed. L. I. Conrad), <span class="reference" style="color: blue; font-size: 12pt; font-style: italic; letter-spacing: 0.24px; line-height: 16pt; word-spacing: 0.72px;">The Earliest Biographies Of The Prophet And Their Authors</span>, 2002, Studies In Late Antiquity And Early Islam - 11, The Darwin Press, Inc.: Princeton (NJ).</p><p style="font-size: 16px; word-spacing: 0.72px;">[15] R. G. Hoyland, <span class="reference" style="color: blue; font-size: 12pt; font-style: italic; letter-spacing: 0.24px; line-height: 16pt; word-spacing: 0.72px;">Seeing Islam As Others Saw It: A Survey And Evaluation Of Christian, Jewish And Zoroastrian Writings On Early Islam</span>, 1997, Studies in Late Antiquity and Early Islam - 13, The Darwin Press, Inc.: Princeton (NJ), p. 598. Also see R. G. Hoyland, "<span class="articlename" style="color: #770000; font-size: 12pt; letter-spacing: 0.24px; line-height: 16pt; word-spacing: 0.72px;">The Earliest Christian Writings On Muhammad: An Appraisal</span>", in H. Motzki (<em>Ed</em>.), <span class="reference" style="color: blue; font-size: 12pt; font-style: italic; letter-spacing: 0.24px; line-height: 16pt; word-spacing: 0.72px;">The Biography Of Muhammad: The Issue Of Sources</span>, 2001, <em>op. cit.</em>, pp. 276-297.</p><p style="font-size: 16px; word-spacing: 0.72px;">[16] Wansbrough was surely exaggerating when he says we have "neither artifact nor archive" to study the Islamic origins. See J. Wansbrough, <span class="reference" style="color: blue; font-size: 12pt; font-style: italic; letter-spacing: 0.24px; line-height: 16pt; word-spacing: 0.72px;">Res Ipsa Loquitur: History And Mimesis</span>, 1987, The Israel Academy of Sciences and Humanities: Jerusalem, p. 10. This was reprinted in J. Wansbrough, "<span class="articlename" style="color: #770000; font-size: 12pt; letter-spacing: 0.24px; line-height: 16pt; word-spacing: 0.72px;">Res Ipsa Loquitur: History And Mimesis</span>" in H. Berg (<em>Ed</em>.), <span class="reference" style="color: blue; font-size: 12pt; font-style: italic; letter-spacing: 0.24px; line-height: 16pt; word-spacing: 0.72px;">Method And Study In The Study Of Islamic Origins</span>, 2003, Islamic History And Civilization: Studies And Texts - Volume 49, Brill: Leiden & Boston, p. 7.</p><p style="font-size: 16px; word-spacing: 0.72px;">[17] For the purposes of consistency, the chronological ordering of the literary texts follows those dates given in D. Thomas & B. Roggema (<em>Eds</em>.), <span class="reference" style="color: blue; font-size: 12pt; font-style: italic; letter-spacing: 0.24px; line-height: 16pt; word-spacing: 0.72px;">Christian-Muslim Relations. A Bibliographical History</span>, 2009, Volume 1 (600-900), Koninklijke Brill NV, Leiden, The Netherlands; R. G. Hoyland, <span class="reference" style="color: blue; font-size: 12pt; font-style: italic; letter-spacing: 0.24px; line-height: 16pt; word-spacing: 0.72px;">Seeing Islam As Others Saw It: A Survey And Evaluation Of Christian, Jewish And Zoroastrian Writings On Early Islam</span>, 1997, <em>op. cit.</em>; M. P. Penn, <span class="reference" style="color: blue; font-size: 12pt; font-style: italic; letter-spacing: 0.24px; line-height: 16pt; word-spacing: 0.72px;">When Christians First Met Muslims - A Sourcebook Of The Earliest Syriac Writings On Islam</span>, 2015, University of California Press: USA.</p><p style="font-size: 16px; word-spacing: 0.72px;">[18] R. G. Hoyland, <span class="reference" style="color: blue; font-size: 12pt; font-style: italic; letter-spacing: 0.24px; line-height: 16pt; word-spacing: 0.72px;">Seeing Islam As Others Saw It: A Survey And Evaluation Of Christian, Jewish And Zoroastrian Writings On Early Islam</span>, 1997, <em>op. cit.</em>, p. 57.</p><p style="font-size: 16px; word-spacing: 0.72px;">[19] S. W. Anthony, "<span class="articlename" style="color: #770000; font-size: 12pt; letter-spacing: 0.24px; line-height: 16pt; word-spacing: 0.72px;">Muḥammad, The Keys To Paradise, And The Doctrina Iacobi: A Late Antique Puzzl</span>e",<span class="reference" style="color: blue; font-size: 12pt; font-style: italic; letter-spacing: 0.24px; line-height: 16pt; word-spacing: 0.72px;"> Der Islam</span>, 2014, Volume 91, Number 2, p. 244.</p><p style="font-size: 16px; word-spacing: 0.72px;">[20] W. Wright, <span class="reference" style="color: blue; font-size: 12pt; font-style: italic; letter-spacing: 0.24px; line-height: 16pt; word-spacing: 0.72px;">Catalogue Of Syriac Manuscripts In The British Museum Acquired Since The Year 1838</span>, 1870, Part I, Printed by order of the Trustees: London, No. XCIV, pp. 65-66. This book has been recently republished in 2002 by Gorgias Press.</p><p style="font-size: 16px; word-spacing: 0.72px;">[21] Th. Nöldeke, "<span class="articlename" style="color: #770000; font-size: 12pt; letter-spacing: 0.24px; line-height: 16pt; word-spacing: 0.72px;">Zur Geschichte Der Araber Im 1, Jahrh. d.H. Aus Syrischen Quellen</span>", <span class="reference" style="color: blue; font-size: 12pt; font-style: italic; letter-spacing: 0.24px; line-height: 16pt; word-spacing: 0.72px;">Zeitschrift Der Deutschen Morgenländischen Gesellschaft</span>, 1876, Volume 29, p. 76.</p><p style="font-size: 16px; word-spacing: 0.72px;">[22] A. Palmer (with contributions from S. P. Brock and R. G. Hoyland), <span class="reference" style="color: blue; font-size: 12pt; font-style: italic; letter-spacing: 0.24px; line-height: 16pt; word-spacing: 0.72px;">The Seventh Century In The West-Syrian Chronicles Including Two Seventh-Century Syriac Apocalyptic Texts</span>, 1993, Liverpool University Press: Liverpool (UK), pp. 2-3; Also see R. G. Hoyland, <span class="reference" style="color: blue; font-size: 12pt; font-style: italic; letter-spacing: 0.24px; line-height: 16pt; word-spacing: 0.72px;">Seeing Islam As Others Saw It: A Survey And Evaluation Of Christian, Jewish And Zoroastrian Writings On Early Islam</span>, 1997, <em>op. cit.</em>, pp. 116-117.</p><p style="font-size: 16px; word-spacing: 0.72px;">[23] Th. Nöldeke, "<span class="articlename" style="color: #770000; font-size: 12pt; letter-spacing: 0.24px; line-height: 16pt; word-spacing: 0.72px;">Zur Geschichte Der Araber Im 1, Jahrh. d.H. Aus Syrischen Quellen</span>", <span class="reference" style="color: blue; font-size: 12pt; font-style: italic; letter-spacing: 0.24px; line-height: 16pt; word-spacing: 0.72px;">Zeitschrift Der Deutschen Morgenländischen Gesellschaft</span>, 1876, <em>op. cit.</em>, p. 78, note 10.</p><p style="font-size: 16px; word-spacing: 0.72px;">[24] A. Palmer (with contributions from S. P. Brock and R. G. Hoyland), <span class="reference" style="color: blue; font-size: 12pt; font-style: italic; letter-spacing: 0.24px; line-height: 16pt; word-spacing: 0.72px;">The Seventh Century In The West-Syrian Chronicles Including Two Seventh-Century Syriac Apocalyptic Texts</span>, 1993, <em>op. cit.</em>, p. 4; Also see R. G. Hoyland, <span class="reference" style="color: blue; font-size: 12pt; font-style: italic; letter-spacing: 0.24px; line-height: 16pt; word-spacing: 0.72px;">Seeing Islam As Others Saw It: A Survey And Evaluation Of Christian, Jewish And Zoroastrian Writings On Early Islam</span>, 1997, <em>op. cit.</em>, p. 117.</p><p style="font-size: 16px; word-spacing: 0.72px;">[25] Th. Nöldeke, "<span class="articlename" style="color: #770000; font-size: 12pt; letter-spacing: 0.24px; line-height: 16pt; word-spacing: 0.72px;">Zur Geschichte Der Araber Im 1, Jahrh. d.H. Aus Syrischen Quellen</span>", <span class="reference" style="color: blue; font-size: 12pt; font-style: italic; letter-spacing: 0.24px; line-height: 16pt; word-spacing: 0.72px;">Zeitschrift Der Deutschen Morgenländischen Gesellschaft</span>, 1876, <em>op. cit.</em>, pp. 79-82.</p><p style="font-size: 16px; word-spacing: 0.72px;">[26] F. M. Donner, <span class="reference" style="color: blue; font-size: 12pt; font-style: italic; letter-spacing: 0.24px; line-height: 16pt; word-spacing: 0.72px;">The Early Islamic Conquests</span>, 1981, Princeton University Press: Princeton (NJ), p. 144; R. G. Hoyland, <span class="reference" style="color: blue; font-size: 12pt; font-style: italic; letter-spacing: 0.24px; line-height: 16pt; word-spacing: 0.72px;">Seeing Islam As Others Saw It: A Survey And Evaluation Of Christian, Jewish And Zoroastrian Writings On Early Islam</span>, 1997, <em>op. cit.</em>, p. 117.</p><p style="font-size: 16px; word-spacing: 0.72px;">[27] W. Wright, <span class="reference" style="color: blue; font-size: 12pt; font-style: italic; letter-spacing: 0.24px; line-height: 16pt; word-spacing: 0.72px;">Catalogue Of Syriac Manuscripts In The British Museum Acquired Since The Year 1838</span>, 1872, Part III, Printed by order of the Trustees: London, No. DCCCCXIII, pp. 1040-1041.</p><p style="font-size: 16px; word-spacing: 0.72px;">[28] A. Palmer (with contributions from S. P. Brock and R. G. Hoyland), <span class="reference" style="color: blue; font-size: 12pt; font-style: italic; letter-spacing: 0.24px; line-height: 16pt; word-spacing: 0.72px;">The Seventh Century In The West-Syrian Chronicles Including Two Seventh-Century Syriac Apocalyptic Texts</span>, 1993, <em>op. cit.</em>, pp. 5-6; R. G. Hoyland, <span class="reference" style="color: blue; font-size: 12pt; font-style: italic; letter-spacing: 0.24px; line-height: 16pt; word-spacing: 0.72px;">Seeing Islam As Others Saw It: A Survey And Evaluation Of Christian, Jewish And Zoroastrian Writings On Early Islam</span>, 1997, <em>op. cit</em>., pp. 118-119.</p><p style="font-size: 16px; word-spacing: 0.72px;">[29] A. Palmer (with contributions from S. Brock and R. G. Hoyland), <span class="reference" style="color: blue; font-size: 12pt; font-style: italic; letter-spacing: 0.24px; line-height: 16pt; word-spacing: 0.72px;">The Seventh Century In The West-Syrian Chronicles Including Two Seventh-Century Syriac Apocalyptic Texts</span>, 1993, <em>op. cit.</em>, pp. 18-19; Also see R. G. Hoyland, <span class="reference" style="color: blue; font-size: 12pt; font-style: italic; letter-spacing: 0.24px; line-height: 16pt; word-spacing: 0.72px;">Seeing Islam As Others Saw It: A Survey And Evaluation Of Christian, Jewish And Zoroastrian Writings On Early Islam</span>, 1997, <em>op. cit.</em>, p. 119 and p. 120.</p><p style="font-size: 16px; word-spacing: 0.72px;">[30] A. Palmer (with contributions from S. P. Brock and R. G. Hoyland), <span class="reference" style="color: blue; font-size: 12pt; font-style: italic; letter-spacing: 0.24px; line-height: 16pt; word-spacing: 0.72px;">The Seventh Century In The West-Syrian Chronicles Including Two Seventh-Century Syriac Apocalyptic Texts</span>, 1993, <em>op. cit.</em>, p. 19, note 119; Also see R. G. Hoyland, <span class="reference" style="color: blue; font-size: 12pt; font-style: italic; letter-spacing: 0.24px; line-height: 16pt; word-spacing: 0.72px;">Seeing Islam As Others Saw It: A Survey And Evaluation Of Christian, Jewish And Zoroastrian Writings On Early Islam</span>, 1997, <em>op. cit.</em>, p. 120, note 14.</p><p style="font-size: 16px; word-spacing: 0.72px;">[31] R. G. Hoyland, <span class="reference" style="color: blue; font-size: 12pt; font-style: italic; letter-spacing: 0.24px; line-height: 16pt; word-spacing: 0.72px;">Seeing Islam As Others Saw It: A Survey And Evaluation Of Christian, Jewish And Zoroastrian Writings On Early Islam</span>, 1997, <em>op. cit.</em>, p. 120.</p><p style="font-size: 16px; word-spacing: 0.72px;">[32] R. G. Hoyland, <span class="reference" style="color: blue; font-size: 12pt; font-style: italic; letter-spacing: 0.24px; line-height: 16pt; word-spacing: 0.72px;">Seeing Islam As Others Saw It: A Survey And Evaluation Of Christian, Jewish And Zoroastrian Writings On Early Islam</span>, 1997, <em>op. cit.</em>, p. 128.</p><p style="font-size: 16px; word-spacing: 0.72px;">[33] R. W. Thomson (with contributions from J. Howard-Johnson & T. Greenwood), <span class="reference" style="color: blue; font-size: 12pt; font-style: italic; letter-spacing: 0.24px; line-height: 16pt; word-spacing: 0.72px;">The Armenian History Attributed To Sebeos Part - I: Translation and Notes</span>, 1999, Translated Texts For Historians - Volume 31, Liverpool University Press, pp. 95-96. Other translations can also be seen in P. Crone & M. Cook, <span class="reference" style="color: blue; font-size: 12pt; font-style: italic; letter-spacing: 0.24px; line-height: 16pt; word-spacing: 0.72px;">Hagarism: The Making Of The Islamic World</span>, 1977, Cambridge University Press: Cambridge, pp. 6-7; R. G. Hoyland, <span class="reference" style="color: blue; font-size: 12pt; font-style: italic; letter-spacing: 0.24px; line-height: 16pt; word-spacing: 0.72px;">Seeing Islam As Others Saw It: A Survey And Evaluation Of Christian, Jewish And Zoroastrian Writings On Early Islam</span>, 1997, <em>op. cit.</em>, p. 129; <em>idem</em>., "<span class="articlename" style="color: #770000; font-size: 12pt; letter-spacing: 0.24px; line-height: 16pt; word-spacing: 0.72px;">Sebeos, The Jews And The Rise Of Islam</span>" in R. L. Nettler (Ed.), <span class="reference" style="color: blue; font-size: 12pt; font-style: italic; letter-spacing: 0.24px; line-height: 16pt; word-spacing: 0.72px;">Medieval And Modern Perspectives On Muslim-Jewish Relations</span>, 1995, Harwood Academic Publishers GmbH in cooperation with the Oxford Centre for Postgraduate Hebrew Studies, p. 89.</p><p style="font-size: 16px; word-spacing: 0.72px;">[34] R. W. Thomson (with contributions from J. Howard-Johnson & T. Greenwood), <span class="reference" style="color: blue; font-size: 12pt; font-style: italic; letter-spacing: 0.24px; line-height: 16pt; word-spacing: 0.72px;">The Armenian History Attributed To Sebeos Part - II: Historical Commentary</span>, 1999, Translated Texts For Historians - Volume 31, Liverpool University Press, p. 238.</p><p style="font-size: 16px; word-spacing: 0.72px;">[35] R. G. Hoyland, <span class="reference" style="color: blue; font-size: 12pt; font-style: italic; letter-spacing: 0.24px; line-height: 16pt; word-spacing: 0.72px;">Seeing Islam As Others Saw It: A Survey And Evaluation Of Christian, Jewish And Zoroastrian Writings On Early Islam</span>, 1997, <em>op. cit.</em>, p. 186. A brief translation of this text is also present in J. W. Watt, "<span class="articlename" style="color: #770000; font-size: 12pt; letter-spacing: 0.24px; line-height: 16pt; word-spacing: 0.72px;">The Portrayal Of Heraclius In Syriac Historical Sources</span>", in G. J. Reinink & B. H. Stolte (<em>Eds</em>.), <span class="reference" style="color: blue; font-size: 12pt; font-style: italic; letter-spacing: 0.24px; line-height: 16pt; word-spacing: 0.72px;">The Reign Of Heraclius (610-641): Crisis And Confrontation</span>, 2002, Groningen Studies in Cultural Change, Peeters Publishers, p. 71.</p><p style="font-size: 16px; word-spacing: 0.72px;">[36] R. G. Hoyland, <span class="reference" style="color: blue; font-size: 12pt; font-style: italic; letter-spacing: 0.24px; line-height: 16pt; word-spacing: 0.72px;">Seeing Islam As Others Saw It: A Survey And Evaluation Of Christian, Jewish And Zoroastrian Writings On Early Islam</span>, 1997, <em>op. cit.</em>, p. 136. Also see, A. Palmer (with contributions from S. P. Brock and R. G. Hoyland), <span class="reference" style="color: blue; font-size: 12pt; font-style: italic; letter-spacing: 0.24px; line-height: 16pt; word-spacing: 0.72px;">The Seventh Century In The West-Syrian Chronicles Including Two Seventh-Century Syriac Apocalyptic Texts</span>, 1993, <em>op. cit.</em>, p. 32; M. P. Penn, <span class="reference" style="color: blue; font-size: 12pt; font-style: italic; letter-spacing: 0.24px; line-height: 16pt; word-spacing: 0.72px;">When Christians First Met Muslims - A Sourcebook Of The Earliest Syriac Writings On Islam</span>, 2015, <em>op. cit.</em>, p. 58.</p><p style="font-size: 16px; word-spacing: 0.72px;">[37] A good introduction about the theme of the book is by G. J. Reinink, "<span class="articlename" style="color: #770000; font-size: 12pt; letter-spacing: 0.24px; line-height: 16pt; word-spacing: 0.72px;">East Syrian Historiography In Response To The Rise Of Islam: A Case Of John Bar Penkaye's Ktābā D-Rīsh Mellē</span>" in J. J. Van Ginkel, H. L. Murre-Van Den Berg, T. M. Van Lint (<em>Eds</em>.), <span class="reference" style="color: blue; font-size: 12pt; font-style: italic; letter-spacing: 0.24px; line-height: 16pt; word-spacing: 0.72px;">Redefining Christian Identity: Cultural Interaction In The Middle East Since The Rise Of Islam</span>, 2006, Orientalia Lovaniensia Analecta - 134, Peeters Publishers, pp. 77-89; <em>idem</em>., "<span class="articlename" style="color: #770000; font-size: 12pt; letter-spacing: 0.24px; line-height: 16pt; word-spacing: 0.72px;">Paideia: God's Design In World History According To The East Syrian Monk John Bar Penkaye</span>" in E. Kooper (<em>Ed</em>.), <span class="reference" style="color: blue; font-size: 12pt; font-style: italic; letter-spacing: 0.24px; line-height: 16pt; word-spacing: 0.72px;">The Medieval Chronicle II: Proceedings Of The 2nd International Conference On The Medieval Chronicle Driebergen / Utrecht 16-21 July 1999</span>, 2002, Costerus New Series 144, Editions Rodopi B.V., pp. 190-198.</p><p style="font-size: 16px; word-spacing: 0.72px;">[38] R. G. Hoyland, <span class="reference" style="color: blue; font-size: 12pt; font-style: italic; letter-spacing: 0.24px; line-height: 16pt; word-spacing: 0.72px;">Seeing Islam As Others Saw It: A Survey And Evaluation Of Christian, Jewish And Zoroastrian Writings On Early Islam</span>, 1997, <em>op. cit.</em>, p. 195.</p><p style="font-size: 16px; word-spacing: 0.72px;">[39] This chapter is translated in English by Professor Sebastian Brock. For the translation see S. P. Brock, "<span class="articlename" style="color: #770000; font-size: 12pt; letter-spacing: 0.24px; line-height: 16pt; word-spacing: 0.72px;">North Mesopotamia In The Late Seventh Century Book XV Of John Bar Penkāyē's <em>Riš Millē</em></span>", <span class="reference" style="color: blue; font-size: 12pt; font-style: italic; letter-spacing: 0.24px; line-height: 16pt; word-spacing: 0.72px;">Jerusalem Studies In Arabic And Islam</span>, 1987, Volume 9, pp. 51-75.</p><p style="font-size: 16px; word-spacing: 0.72px;">[40] S. P. Brock, "<span class="articlename" style="color: #770000; font-size: 12pt; letter-spacing: 0.24px; line-height: 16pt; word-spacing: 0.72px;">North Mesopotamia In The Late Seventh Century Book XV Of John Bar Penkāyē's <em>Riš Millē</em></span>", <span class="reference" style="color: blue; font-size: 12pt; font-style: italic; letter-spacing: 0.24px; line-height: 16pt; word-spacing: 0.72px;">Jerusalem Studies In Arabic And Islam</span>, 1987, <em>op. cit.</em>, p. 61.</p><p style="font-size: 16px; word-spacing: 0.72px;">[41] W. B. Hallaq, <span class="reference" style="color: blue; font-size: 12pt; font-style: italic; letter-spacing: 0.24px; line-height: 16pt; word-spacing: 0.72px;">The Origins And Evolution Of Islamic Law</span>, 2005, Themes In Islam Law - I, Cambridge University Press, p. 50. Also see R. G. Hoyland, <span class="reference" style="color: blue; font-size: 12pt; font-style: italic; letter-spacing: 0.24px; line-height: 16pt; word-spacing: 0.72px;">Seeing Islam As Others Saw It: A Survey And Evaluation Of Christian, Jewish And Zoroastrian Writings On Early Islam</span>, 1997, <em>op. cit.</em>, p. 197.</p><p style="font-size: 16px; word-spacing: 0.72px;">[42] S. P. Brock, "<span class="articlename" style="color: #770000; font-size: 12pt; letter-spacing: 0.24px; line-height: 16pt; word-spacing: 0.72px;">Syriac Views Of Emergent Islam</span>" in G. H. A. Juynboll (<em>Ed</em>.), <span class="reference" style="color: blue; font-size: 12pt; font-style: italic; letter-spacing: 0.24px; line-height: 16pt; word-spacing: 0.72px;">Studies On The First Century Of Islamic Society</span>, 1982, Papers on Islamic History - Volume 5, Southern Illinois University Press: Carbondale & Edwardsville, p. 14.</p><p style="font-size: 16px; word-spacing: 0.72px;">[43] The date 71 AH is clear on the inscription. Some scholars have suggested the 100 may have been dropped (i.e., 171 AH) and that aspects of the script do not appear to match the early date. See R. Hoyland, <span class="reference" style="color: blue; font-size: 12pt; font-style: italic; letter-spacing: 0.24px; line-height: 16pt; word-spacing: 0.72px;">Seeing Islam As Others Saw It: A Survey And Evaluation Of Christian, Jewish And Zoroastrian Writings On Early Islam</span>, 1997, <em>op. cit.</em>, p. 695, footnote 29; M. Groß, "<span class="articlename" style="color: #770000; font-size: 12pt; letter-spacing: 0.24px; line-height: 16pt; word-spacing: 0.72px;">Zum Grabstein Von Assuan Und Der Entstehung Des Muḥammad-Mythos</span>", in M. Groß & K-H. Ohlig (<em>Eds</em>.), <span class="reference" style="color: blue; font-size: 12pt; font-style: italic; letter-spacing: 0.24px; line-height: 16pt; word-spacing: 0.72px;">Die Entstehung Einer Weltreligion III: Die Heilige Stadt Mekka - Eine Literarische Fiktion</span>, 2014, Verlag Hans Schiler: Berlin/Tübingen, pp. 683-698.</p><p style="font-size: 16px; word-spacing: 0.72px;">[44] W. Wright, <span class="reference" style="color: blue; font-size: 12pt; font-style: italic; letter-spacing: 0.24px; line-height: 16pt; word-spacing: 0.72px;">Catalogue Of Syriac Manuscripts In The British Museum Acquired Since The Year 1838</span>, 1872, Part III, <em>op. cit.</em>, No. DCCCCXXI, BL Add. 14,685, pp. 1062-1064.</p><p style="font-size: 16px; word-spacing: 0.72px;">[45] R. G. Hoyland, <span class="reference" style="color: blue; font-size: 12pt; font-style: italic; letter-spacing: 0.24px; line-height: 16pt; word-spacing: 0.72px;">Seeing Islam As Others Saw It: A Survey And Evaluation Of Christian, Jewish And Zoroastrian Writings On Early Islam</span>, 1997, <em>op. cit.</em>, p. 164.</p><p style="font-size: 16px; word-spacing: 0.72px;">[46] E. W. Brooks, "<span class="articlename" style="color: #770000; font-size: 12pt; letter-spacing: 0.24px; line-height: 16pt; word-spacing: 0.72px;">The Chronological Canon Of James Of Edessa</span>", <span class="reference" style="color: blue; font-size: 12pt; font-style: italic; letter-spacing: 0.24px; line-height: 16pt; word-spacing: 0.72px;">Zeitschrift Der Deutschen Morgenländischen Gesellschaft</span>, 1899, Volume 53, pp. 261-64.</p><p style="font-size: 16px; word-spacing: 0.72px;">[47] A. Palmer (with contributions from S. P. Brock and R. G. Hoyland), <span class="reference" style="color: blue; font-size: 12pt; font-style: italic; letter-spacing: 0.24px; line-height: 16pt; word-spacing: 0.72px;">The Seventh Century In The West-Syrian Chronicles Including Two Seventh-Century Syriac Apocalyptic Texts</span>, 1993, <em>op. cit.</em>, p. 37 and p. 38.</p><p style="font-size: 16px; word-spacing: 0.72px;">[48] <em>ibid</em>., p. 39, also see pp. 37-40.</p><p style="font-size: 16px; word-spacing: 0.72px;">[49] R. G. Hoyland, <span class="reference" style="color: blue; font-size: 12pt; font-style: italic; letter-spacing: 0.24px; line-height: 16pt; word-spacing: 0.72px;">Seeing Islam As Others Saw It: A Survey And Evaluation Of Christian, Jewish And Zoroastrian Writings On Early Islam</span>, 1997, <em>op. cit.</em>, p. 269.</p><p style="font-size: 16px; word-spacing: 0.72px;">[50] Some scholars suspect the singe mention of Muhammad is a later gloss, see R. G. Hoyland, <span class="reference" style="color: blue; font-size: 12pt; font-style: italic; letter-spacing: 0.24px; line-height: 16pt; word-spacing: 0.72px;">Seeing Islam As Others Saw It: A Survey And Evaluation Of Christian, Jewish And Zoroastrian Writings On Early Islam</span>, 1997, <em>op. cit.</em>, p. 156.</p><p style="font-size: 16px; word-spacing: 0.72px;">[51] <em>ibid</em>., p. 156, footnote 141.</p><p style="font-size: 16px; word-spacing: 0.72px;">[52] W. Wright, <span class="reference" style="color: blue; font-size: 12pt; font-style: italic; letter-spacing: 0.24px; line-height: 16pt; word-spacing: 0.72px;">Catalogue Of Syriac Manuscripts In The British Museum Acquired Since The Year 1838</span>, 1872, Part III, <em>op. cit.</em>, No. DCCCCXXI, BL Add. 14,685, pp. 1062-1064.</p><p style="font-size: 16px; word-spacing: 0.72px;">[53] B. Evetts (<em>Trans</em> & <em>Ed</em>.), "<span class="articlename" style="color: #770000; font-size: 12pt; letter-spacing: 0.24px; line-height: 16pt; word-spacing: 0.72px;">History Of The Patriarchs Of The Coptic Church Of Alexandria - Peter I To Benjamin I (661)</span>", in R. Graffin & F. Nau (<em>Eds</em>.), <span class="reference" style="color: blue; font-size: 12pt; font-style: italic; letter-spacing: 0.24px; line-height: 16pt; word-spacing: 0.72px;">Patrologia Orientalis</span>, 1904, Volume 1, Librarie de Paris, pp. 492-494.</p><p style="font-size: 16px; word-spacing: 0.72px;">[54] This inscription was originally published by Alois Musil who dated it to the first half of the 8th century (A. Musil, "<span class="articlename" style="color: #770000; font-size: 12pt; letter-spacing: 0.24px; line-height: 16pt; word-spacing: 0.72px;">Zwei Arabische Inschriften Aus Arabia Petraea</span>", <span class="reference" style="color: blue; font-size: 12pt; font-style: italic; letter-spacing: 0.24px; line-height: 16pt; word-spacing: 0.72px;">Wiener Zeitschrift Für Die Kunde Des Morgenlandes</span>, 1908, Volume 22, p. 83) - there is no visible date in the inscription itself. Confusingly, whilst briefly discussing this inscription, El-Hawary dated it 100 AH (H. M. El-Hawary, "<span class="articlename" style="color: #770000; font-size: 12pt; letter-spacing: 0.24px; line-height: 16pt; word-spacing: 0.72px;">The Most Ancient Islamic Monument Known Dated AH 31 (AD 652) From The Time Of The Third Calif ‘Uthman</span>", <span class="reference" style="color: blue; font-size: 12pt; font-style: italic; letter-spacing: 0.24px; line-height: 16pt; word-spacing: 0.72px;">Journal Of The Royal Asiatic Society</span>, 1930, Volume 64, Issue 2, p. 324) but just a few pages later it is undated (plate V)! Adolf Grohmann appears to have assumed the date 100 AH citing El-Hawary (A. Grohmann, <span class="reference" style="color: blue; font-size: 12pt; font-style: italic; letter-spacing: 0.24px; line-height: 16pt; word-spacing: 0.72px;">Arabische Paläographie II: Das Schriftwesen. Die Lapidarschrift</span>, 1971, Österreichische Akademie der Wissenschaften Philosophisch - Historische Klasse: Denkschriften 94/2. Hermann Böhlaus Nachf.: Wein, p. 86]. Beatrice Gruendler likewise dated the inscription 100 AH following Grohmann and El-Hawary (B. Gruendler, <span class="reference" style="color: blue; font-size: 12pt; font-style: italic; letter-spacing: 0.24px; line-height: 16pt; word-spacing: 0.72px;">The Development Of The Arabic Scripts: From The Nabatean Era To The First Islamic Century According To The Dated Texts</span>, 1993, Harvard Semitic Series No. 43, Scholars Press: Atlanta (GA), p. 21).</p><p style="font-size: 16px; word-spacing: 0.72px;">[55] J. Johns, "<span class="articlename" style="color: #770000; font-size: 12pt; letter-spacing: 0.24px; line-height: 16pt; word-spacing: 0.72px;">Archaeology And The History Of Early Islam: The First Seventy Year</span>s", <span class="reference" style="color: blue; font-size: 12pt; font-style: italic; letter-spacing: 0.24px; line-height: 16pt; word-spacing: 0.72px;">Journal Of The Economic And Social History Of The Orient</span>, 2003, Volume 46, No. 4, pp. 411-436.</p><p style="font-size: 16px; word-spacing: 0.72px;">[56] S. J. Shoemaker, <span class="reference" style="color: blue; font-size: 12pt; font-style: italic; letter-spacing: 0.24px; line-height: 16pt; word-spacing: 0.72px;">The Death Of A Prophet: The End Of Muhammad’s Life And The Beginnings Of Islam</span>, 2012, University of Pennsylvania Press, pp. 273. Quoted by G-R Puin, "<span class="articlename" style="color: #770000; font-size: 12pt; letter-spacing: 0.24px; line-height: 16pt; word-spacing: 0.72px;">Abermals: Hieß Mohammed ,,Muḥammad‘‘?"</span>, in M. Groß & K-H. Ohlig (<em>Eds</em>.), <span class="reference" style="color: blue; font-size: 12pt; font-style: italic; letter-spacing: 0.24px; line-height: 16pt; word-spacing: 0.72px;">Die Entstehung Einer Weltreligion III: Die Heilige Stadt Mekka - Eine Literarische Fiktion</span>, 2014, Verlag Hans Schiler: Berlin/Tübingen, p. 699.</p><p style="font-size: 16px; word-spacing: 0.72px;">[57] L. W. Hurtado, <span class="reference" style="color: blue; font-size: 12pt; font-style: italic; letter-spacing: 0.24px; line-height: 16pt; word-spacing: 0.72px;">The Earliest Christian Artifacts: Manuscripts And Christian Origins</span>, 2006, Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Co.: Grand Rapids (MI), pp. 2-4. The earliest extant Christian inscriptions are from the third century CE. The earliest extant example of a Christian Church is from the third century CE. Hurtado says [p. 3]:</p><blockquote style="font-size: 16px; word-spacing: 0.72px;"><p class="bookquoteCN" style="color: #aa0000; font-family: Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 8pt; letter-spacing: 0.24px; line-height: 13pt; word-spacing: 0.72px;">… Among these pre-Constantinian manuscripts, a small but growing number are dated as early as the second century, and these second-century manuscripts now constitute the earliest extant artifacts of Christianity.</p></blockquote><p style="font-size: 16px; word-spacing: 0.72px;">For a comprehensive overview of the archeological evidence of earliest Christianity see, G. F. Snyder, <span class="reference" style="color: blue; font-size: 12pt; font-style: italic; letter-spacing: 0.24px; line-height: 16pt; word-spacing: 0.72px;">Ante-Pacem: Archaeological Evidence Of Church Life Before Constantine</span>, 2003, Revised Edition, Mercer University Press: Georgia (USA).</p><p style="font-size: 16px; word-spacing: 0.72px;">[58] There are at least 94 dated (166 undated) published written documents and at least 57 dated (16 undated) published inscriptions. N.B. This is a back of the envelope calculation and is neither comprehensive (coins and some other objects not included) nor definitive in providing an answer to this question. For the numbers used in the above estimate see, K. M. Younes & J. Bruning, "<span class="articlename" style="color: #770000; font-size: 12pt; letter-spacing: 0.24px; line-height: 16pt; word-spacing: 0.72px;">Arabic Documents From The First Two Islamic Centuries</span>", Version 13.4.2015, Formation of Islam - The View From Below - University Of Leiden, accessible <a href="http://media.leidenuniv.nl/legacy/younes-%26-bruning---arabic-documents-from-the-first-two-islamic-centuries.pdf">online</a>, January 2017) and <a href="https://www.islamic-awareness.org/History/Islam/Inscriptions/"><strong>The Arabic And Islamic Inscriptions: Examples Of Arabic Epigraphy</strong></a>.</p><p style="font-size: 16px; word-spacing: 0.72px;">A good starting point for anyone wishing to avail themselves of the earliest documentary texts are R. G. Hoyland, <span class="reference" style="color: blue; font-size: 12pt; font-style: italic; letter-spacing: 0.24px; line-height: 16pt; word-spacing: 0.72px;">Seeing Islam As Others Saw It: A Survey And Evaluation Of Christian, Jewish And Zoroastrian Writings On Early Islam</span>, 1997, <em>op. cit.</em>, pp. 688-695; R. G. Hoyland, "<span class="articlename" style="color: #770000; font-size: 12pt; letter-spacing: 0.24px; line-height: 16pt; word-spacing: 0.72px;">New Documentary Texts And The Early Islamic State</span>", <span class="reference" style="color: blue; font-size: 12pt; font-style: italic; letter-spacing: 0.24px; line-height: 16pt; word-spacing: 0.72px;">Bulletin Of The School Of Oriental And African Studies</span>, 2006, Volume 69, No. 3, pp. 411-416; F. Imbert, "<span class="articlename" style="color: #770000; font-size: 12pt; letter-spacing: 0.24px; line-height: 16pt; word-spacing: 0.72px;">L’Islam Des Pierres : L’Expression De La Foi Dans Les Graffiti Arabes Des Premiers Siècles</span>", <span class="reference" style="color: blue; font-size: 12pt; font-style: italic; letter-spacing: 0.24px; line-height: 16pt; word-spacing: 0.72px;">Revue Des Mondes Musulmans Et De La Méditerranée</span>, 2011, Volume 129, pp. 57-78; Y. Ragheb, "<span class="articlename" style="color: #770000; font-size: 12pt; letter-spacing: 0.24px; line-height: 16pt; word-spacing: 0.72px;">Les Premiers Documents Arabes De L'Ère Musulmane</span>", <span class="reference" style="color: blue; font-size: 12pt; font-style: italic; letter-spacing: 0.24px; line-height: 16pt; word-spacing: 0.72px;">Travaux Et Mémoires</span>, 2013, Volume 17, pp. 679-726; Muḥammad b.ʿAbd al-Raḥmān Rāshad al-Thenyian, <span class="reference" style="color: blue; font-size: 12pt; font-style: italic; letter-spacing: 0.24px; line-height: 16pt; word-spacing: 0.72px;">Nuqūsh Al-Qarn Al-Hijrī Al-Awwal Al-Muʾrakhat Fī Al-Mamlakah Al-ʿArabiyyah Al-Saudia</span>, 2015, Riyaḍ, (Saudi Arabia).</p><p style="font-size: 16px; word-spacing: 0.72px;">[59] M. P. Penn, <span class="reference" style="color: blue; font-size: 12pt; font-style: italic; letter-spacing: 0.24px; line-height: 16pt; word-spacing: 0.72px;">When Christian First Met Muslims: A Sourcebook Of The Earliest Syriac Writings On Islam</span>, 2015, <em>op. cit.</em>, p. 8. Penn's tome is best enjoyed in conjunction with its companion volume M. P. Penn, <span class="reference" style="color: blue; font-size: 12pt; font-style: italic; letter-spacing: 0.24px; line-height: 16pt; word-spacing: 0.72px;">Envisioning Islam: Syriac Christians And The Early Muslim World</span>, 2015, University of Pennsylvania Press (USA). For a comprehensive study that examines virtually every known source bearing on the rise of Islam, see R. G. Hoyland, <span class="reference" style="color: blue; font-size: 12pt; font-style: italic; letter-spacing: 0.24px; line-height: 16pt; word-spacing: 0.72px;">Seeing Islam As Others Saw It: A Survey And Evaluation Of Christian, Jewish And Zoroastrian Writings On Early Islam</span>, 1997, op. cit.</p><p style="font-size: 16px; word-spacing: 0.72px;">[60] Shoemaker would object to this point, see S. J. Shoemaker, "<span class="articlename" style="color: #770000; font-size: 12pt; letter-spacing: 0.24px; line-height: 16pt; word-spacing: 0.72px;">In Search Of ʿUrwa’s Sīra: Some Methodological Issues In The Quest For "Authenticity" In The Life Of Muḥammad</span>", <span class="reference" style="color: blue; font-size: 12pt; font-style: italic; letter-spacing: 0.24px; line-height: 16pt; word-spacing: 0.72px;">Der Islam</span>, 2011, Volume 85, Issue 2, pp. 257-344. For a response see, A. Görke, H. Motzki & G. Schoeler, "<span class="articlename" style="color: #770000; font-size: 12pt; letter-spacing: 0.24px; line-height: 16pt; word-spacing: 0.72px;">First Century Sources For The Life Of Muḥammad? A Debate</span>", <span class="reference" style="color: blue; font-size: 12pt; font-style: italic; letter-spacing: 0.24px; line-height: 16pt; word-spacing: 0.72px;">Der Islam</span>, 2012, Volume 89, Issues 1-2, pp. 2-59.</p><p style="font-size: 16px; word-spacing: 0.72px;">[61] <a href="https://www.islamic-awareness.org/quran/text/mss/hijazi"><strong>Concise List Of Arabic Manuscripts Of The Qur'ān Attributable To The First Century Hijra</strong></a>; <a href="https://www.islamic-awareness.org/history/islam/inscriptions/earlyquran"><strong>Dated Texts Containing The Qur’an From 1-100 AH / 622-719 CE</strong></a>; <a href="https://www.islamic-awareness.org/quran/text/mss/radio"><strong>Radiocarbon (Carbon-14) Dating Of Manuscripts Of The Qur'ān</strong></a>.</p><p style="font-size: 16px; word-spacing: 0.72px;">[62] S. J. Shoemaker, <span class="reference" style="color: blue; font-size: 12pt; font-style: italic; letter-spacing: 0.24px; line-height: 16pt; word-spacing: 0.72px;">The Death Of A Prophet: The End Of Muhammad’s Life And The Beginnings Of Islam</span>, 2012, <em>op. cit.</em>, p. 277.</p><p style="font-size: 16px; word-spacing: 0.72px;">[63] M. G. Morony, "<span class="articlename" style="color: #770000; font-size: 12pt; letter-spacing: 0.24px; line-height: 16pt; word-spacing: 0.72px;">Sources For The First Century Of Islam</span>", <span class="reference" style="color: blue; font-size: 12pt; font-style: italic; letter-spacing: 0.24px; line-height: 16pt; word-spacing: 0.72px;">Middle East Studies Association Bulletin</span>, 1978, Volume 12, Number 3, p. 20. Nearly forty years ago Michael Morony wrote this very instructful article regarding the first century sources of Islam, today seldom referenced. Those who rush forth with eagerness to rewrite wholesale early Islam should pause and take stock of this salient point. He said, “The rehabilitation of literary sources does not excuse us from identifying and using primary sources.”</p><p style="font-size: 16px; word-spacing: 0.72px;">[64] The text in the <em>Chronicler of Khuzistan</em> reads:</p><blockquote style="font-size: 16px; word-spacing: 0.72px;"><p class="bookquoteCN" style="color: #aa0000; font-family: Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 8pt; letter-spacing: 0.24px; line-height: 13pt; word-spacing: 0.72px;">Regarding the dome of Abraham, we have been unable to discover what it is except that, because the blessed Abraham grew rich in property and wanted to get away from the envy of Canaanites, he chose to live in the distant and spacious parts of the desert. Since he lived in tents, he built that place for the worship of God and for the offering of sacrifices. It took its present name from what it had been, since the memory of the place was preserved with the generations of their race. Indeed, it was no new thing for the Arabs to worship there, but goes back to antiquity, to their early days, in that <span class="highlightbookqCN" style="background-color: #ffe957; font-size: 8pt; letter-spacing: 0.24px; line-height: 13pt; word-spacing: 0.72px;">they show honour to the father of the head of their people</span>.</p></blockquote><p style="font-size: 16px; word-spacing: 0.72px;">R. G. Hoyland, <span class="reference" style="color: blue; font-size: 12pt; font-style: italic; letter-spacing: 0.24px; line-height: 16pt; word-spacing: 0.72px;">Seeing Islam As Others Saw It: A Survey And Evaluation Of Christian, Jewish And Zoroastrian Writings On Early Islam</span>, 1997, <em>op. cit.</em>, p. 187.</p><p style="font-size: 16px; word-spacing: 0.72px;">[65] C. Luxenberg, “<span class="articlename" style="color: #770000; font-size: 12pt; letter-spacing: 0.24px; line-height: 16pt; word-spacing: 0.72px;">Neudeutung Der Arabischen Inschrift Im Felsendom Zu Jerusalem</span>”, in K-H. Ohlig & G-R. Puin (<em>Eds</em>.), <span class="reference" style="color: blue; font-size: 12pt; font-style: italic; letter-spacing: 0.24px; line-height: 16pt; word-spacing: 0.72px;">Die Dunklen Anfänge: Neue Forschungen Zur Entstehung Und Frühen Geschichte Des Islam</span>, 2006, 2nd Auflage, Verlag Hans Schiler: Berlin (Germany), p. 126 with discussion on pp. 129-131. The German text for the phrase <em>muḥammadun ‘abdullāhi wa rasūluhū</em> is rendered as:</p><blockquote style="font-size: 16px; word-spacing: 0.72px;"><p class="bookquoteCN" style="color: #aa0000; font-family: Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 8pt; letter-spacing: 0.24px; line-height: 13pt; word-spacing: 0.72px;">Zu loben ist (gelobt sei) der Knecht Gottes und sein Gesandter.</p></blockquote><p style="font-size: 16px; word-spacing: 0.72px;">Unsurprisingly, of the thirty-two references cited in Luxenberg's article, not a single reference deals with the dated documentary texts, <a href="https://www.islamic-awareness.org/history/islam/inscriptions/earlyislam">found in relative abundance</a> before, during and after the construction of the Dome of the Rock. This questionable methodological approach likewise penetrates the author's endeavour at a “historical reconstruction”; no attempt has been made to provide a critical analysis of the early Christian reactions to the building of the Dome of the Rock in Jerusalem. For the early Christian reactions see G. J. Reinink, "<span class="articlename" style="color: #770000; font-size: 12pt; letter-spacing: 0.24px; line-height: 16pt; word-spacing: 0.72px;">Early Christian Reactions To The Building Of The Dome Of The Rock In Jerusalem</span>", <span class="reference" style="color: blue; font-size: 12pt; font-style: italic; letter-spacing: 0.24px; line-height: 16pt; word-spacing: 0.72px;">Xristianskij Vostok</span>, 2001, Volume 2, Number 8, p. 241.</p><p style="font-size: 16px; word-spacing: 0.72px;">[66] J. Karabacek, J. Krall and K. Wessely (<em>Eds</em>.), <span class="reference" style="color: blue; font-size: 12pt; font-style: italic; letter-spacing: 0.24px; line-height: 16pt; word-spacing: 0.72px;">Papyrus Erzherzog Rainer: Führer Durch Die Ausstellung</span>, 1894, Alfred Hölder: Wein, No. 79 (Inv. Pap. Nr. 4002), p. 19.</p><p style="font-size: 16px; word-spacing: 0.72px;">[67] For example see, A. Grohmann, <span class="reference" style="color: blue; font-size: 12pt; font-style: italic; letter-spacing: 0.24px; line-height: 16pt; word-spacing: 0.72px;">Corpus Papyrorum Raineri Archiducis Austriae III, Series Arabica I, Part 2: Protokolle</span>, 1924, Burguerlag Ferdinand Zöllner: Wein, No. 34, 35, 37, 38, 62, 66. These Arabic-Greek bilingual papyri from the first century <em>hijra</em> translates the Arabic phrase <em>muḥammad rasūl Allāh </em>in Greek as ‘<em>maamet apostolos theos</em>’.</p><p style="font-size: 16px; word-spacing: 0.72px;">[68] S. Album & T. Goodwin, <span class="reference" style="color: blue; font-size: 12pt; font-style: italic; letter-spacing: 0.24px; line-height: 16pt; word-spacing: 0.72px;">Sylloge Of Islamic Coins In The Ashmolean - The Pre-Reform Coinage Of The Early Islamic Period</span>, 2002, Volume I, Ashmolean Museum: Oxford (UK), p. 29-30 & Plate 26 (No. 371). This apt observation was taken from G. Schoeler (<em>Trans</em>. U. Vagelpoh & <em>Ed</em>. J. E. Montgomery), <span class="reference" style="color: blue; font-size: 12pt; font-style: italic; letter-spacing: 0.24px; line-height: 16pt; word-spacing: 0.72px;">The Biography Of Muḥammad: Nature And Authenticity</span>, 2011, Routledge: Oxford (UK) & New York (USA), p. 14. He goes on to say, “This fact refutes Ohlig’s ludicrous claim that in first century AH sources, especially the inscriptions on the Dome of the Rock, the word Muḥammad (written MḤMD) is not a personal name but an epithet of Jesus (without any reference to the Islamic Prophet) and should be translated as ‘the praiseworthy one’ or ‘the blessed one’”.</p><p style="font-size: 16px; word-spacing: 0.72px;">[69] J. van Ess, "<span class="articlename" style="color: #770000; font-size: 12pt; letter-spacing: 0.24px; line-height: 16pt; word-spacing: 0.72px;">The Making Of Islam</span>", <span class="reference" style="color: blue; font-size: 12pt; font-style: italic; letter-spacing: 0.24px; line-height: 16pt; word-spacing: 0.72px;">The Times Literary Supplement</span>, 1976, September 8th, p. 998. Similar statements are also to be seen in various reviews of Crone and Cook's <span class="reference" style="color: blue; font-size: 12pt; font-style: italic; letter-spacing: 0.24px; line-height: 16pt; word-spacing: 0.72px;">Hagarism</span>. N. Daniel writes (<span class="reference" style="color: blue; font-size: 12pt; font-style: italic; letter-spacing: 0.24px; line-height: 16pt; word-spacing: 0.72px;">Journal Of Semitic Studies</span>, 1979, Volume 24, p. 298):</p><blockquote style="font-size: 16px; word-spacing: 0.72px;"><p class="bookquoteCN" style="color: #aa0000; font-family: Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 8pt; letter-spacing: 0.24px; line-height: 13pt; word-spacing: 0.72px;">It is easier to believe that Muslims are better witnesses to Islam than Christians or Jewish writers who may more naturally be supposed to have known very little about it.</p></blockquote><p style="font-size: 16px; word-spacing: 0.72px;">R. B. Serjeant says (<span class="reference" style="color: blue; font-size: 12pt; font-style: italic; letter-spacing: 0.24px; line-height: 16pt; word-spacing: 0.72px;">Journal Of The Royal Asiatic Society</span>, 1978, No. 1, p. 78):</p><blockquote style="font-size: 16px; word-spacing: 0.72px;"><p class="bookquoteCN" style="color: #aa0000; font-family: Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 8pt; letter-spacing: 0.24px; line-height: 13pt; word-spacing: 0.72px;">Why should the Syriac sources, not new of course to the Islamic historians, with their hostility to Islam, be considered more trustworthy than the Arabic historians?</p></blockquote><p style="font-size: 16px; word-spacing: 0.72px;">J. Wansbrough, in his review, states (<span class="reference" style="color: blue; font-size: 12pt; font-style: italic; letter-spacing: 0.24px; line-height: 16pt; word-spacing: 0.72px;">Bulletin Of The School Of Oriental And African Studies</span>, 1978, Volume 41, p. 156):</p><blockquote style="font-size: 16px; word-spacing: 0.72px;"><p class="bookquoteCN" style="color: #aa0000; font-family: Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 8pt; letter-spacing: 0.24px; line-height: 13pt; word-spacing: 0.72px;">My reservations here, and elsewhere in this first part of the book, turn upon what I take to be authors' methodological assumptions, of which the principal must be that the vocabulary of motives can be freely extrapolated from a discrete collection of literary stereotypes composed by aliens and mostly hostile observers...</p></blockquote><p style="font-size: 16px; word-spacing: 0.72px;">[70] R. G. Hoyland, "<span class="articlename" style="color: #770000; font-size: 12pt; letter-spacing: 0.24px; line-height: 16pt; word-spacing: 0.72px;">The Earliest Christian Writings On Muhammad: An Appraisal</span>", in H. Motzki (<em>Ed</em>.), <span class="reference" style="color: blue; font-size: 12pt; font-style: italic; letter-spacing: 0.24px; line-height: 16pt; word-spacing: 0.72px;">The Biography Of Muhammad: The Issue Of Sources</span>, 2001, <em>op. cit.</em>, pp. 289-290.</p><p style="font-size: 16px; word-spacing: 0.72px;">[71] <em>ibid</em>., pp. 291-292.</p><p style="font-size: 16px; word-spacing: 0.72px;">[72] J. Wansbrough, <span class="reference" style="color: blue; font-size: 12pt; font-style: italic; letter-spacing: 0.24px; line-height: 16pt; word-spacing: 0.72px;">The Sectarian Milieu: Content And Composition Of Islamic Salvation History</span>, 1978, Oxford University Press, p. 117.</p><p style="font-size: 16px; word-spacing: 0.72px;">[73] <em>ibid</em>., p. 119.</p><p style="font-size: 16px; word-spacing: 0.72px;">[74] R. G. Hoyland, <span class="reference" style="color: blue; font-size: 12pt; font-style: italic; letter-spacing: 0.24px; line-height: 16pt; word-spacing: 0.72px;">Seeing Islam As Others Saw It: A Survey And Evaluation Of Christian, Jewish And Zoroastrian Writings On Early Islam</span>, 1997, <em>op. cit.</em>, p. 598.</p><p style="font-size: 16px; word-spacing: 0.72px;">[75] C. A. Evans, "<span class="articlename" style="color: #770000; font-size: 12pt; letter-spacing: 0.24px; line-height: 16pt; word-spacing: 0.72px;">Jesus In Non-Christian Sources</span>" in B. Chilton & C. A. Evans (<em>Eds</em>.), <span class="reference" style="color: blue; font-size: 12pt; font-style: italic; letter-spacing: 0.24px; line-height: 16pt; word-spacing: 0.72px;">Studying The Historical Jesus: Evaluations Of The State Of The Current Research</span>, 1994, New Testament Tools And Studies: Volume XIX, E. J. Brill: Leiden, p. 443.</p><p style="font-size: 16px; word-spacing: 0.72px;">[76] <em>ibid</em>., pp. 464-477.</p><p style="font-size: 16px; word-spacing: 0.72px;">[77] <em>ibid</em>., pp. 477-478.</p><p style="font-size: 16px; word-spacing: 0.72px;">[78] For instance see <em>ibid</em>., p. 459, p. 462, p. 464 and pp. 477-478 (conclusions). This is undoubtedly the impression Evans wants to convey, although he does not state it in so many words.</p><p style="font-size: 16px; word-spacing: 0.72px;">[79] The earliest undated inscriptional attestations of Jesus are to be found in the Church at Megiddo in Palestine and the Church at Dura-Europos in Syria, both from the third century CE. See E. Adams, "<span class="articlename" style="color: #770000; font-size: 12pt; letter-spacing: 0.24px; line-height: 16pt; word-spacing: 0.72px;">The Ancient Church At Megiddo: The Discovery And An Assessment Of Its Significance</span>", <span class="reference" style="color: blue; font-size: 12pt; font-style: italic; letter-spacing: 0.24px; line-height: 16pt; word-spacing: 0.72px;">The Expository Time</span>s, 2008, Volume 120, Number 2, pp. 62-69. In Palestine, the earliest ‘dated’ inscription mentioning Jesus is found in a mosaic pavement of the Lower Church at Shiloh. The pavement bears no era date but it contains the name of a bishop who was present at the synod of Lydda in 415 CE, and the church itself is mentioned in St. Jerome's Epistle 46, dated between 386 CE and 392 CE (Personal Communication, Professor Leah Di Segni, August 2013). See, L. Di Segni, "<span class="articlename" style="color: #770000; font-size: 12pt; letter-spacing: 0.24px; line-height: 16pt; word-spacing: 0.72px;">Greek Inscriptions From The Early Northern Church At Shiloh And The Baptistery</span>", in N. Carmin (<em>Ed</em>.), <span class="reference" style="color: blue; font-size: 12pt; font-style: italic; letter-spacing: 0.24px; line-height: 16pt; word-spacing: 0.72px;">Christians And Christianity III: Churches And Monasteries In Samaria And Northern Judea</span>, 2012, Judea and Samaria Publications 15: Jerusalem, pp. 209–218.</p><p style="font-size: 16px; word-spacing: 0.72px;">[80] H. G. Snyder, "<span class="articlename" style="color: #770000; font-size: 12pt; letter-spacing: 0.24px; line-height: 16pt; word-spacing: 0.72px;">A Second-Century Christian Inscription From The Via Latina</span>", <span class="reference" style="color: blue; font-size: 12pt; font-style: italic; letter-spacing: 0.24px; line-height: 16pt; word-spacing: 0.72px;">Journal Of Early Christian Studies</span>, 2011, Volume 19, Number 2, pp. 157-195; <em>idem</em>., "<span class="articlename" style="color: #770000; font-size: 12pt; letter-spacing: 0.24px; line-height: 16pt; word-spacing: 0.72px;">Bed, Bath, and Burial: NCE 156 Revisited</span>", <span class="reference" style="color: blue; font-size: 12pt; font-style: italic; letter-spacing: 0.24px; line-height: 16pt; word-spacing: 0.72px;">Journal Of Early Christian Studies</span>, 2015, Volume 23, Number 2, pp. 305-316; <em>idem</em>., "<span class="articlename" style="color: #770000; font-size: 12pt; letter-spacing: 0.24px; line-height: 16pt; word-spacing: 0.72px;">The Discovery And Interpretation Of The Flavia Sophe Inscription: New Results</span>", <span class="reference" style="color: blue; font-size: 12pt; font-style: italic; letter-spacing: 0.24px; line-height: 16pt; word-spacing: 0.72px;">Vigiliae Christianae</span>, 2014, Volume 68, Issue 1, pp. 1-59.</p><p style="font-size: 16px; word-spacing: 0.72px;">The earliest Christian inscription upon which most Judeo-Christian scholars agree is the Aberkios Epitaph written <em>c</em>. 200 CE. It is also the earliest inscription which attempts to register Christian belief. See L. W. Hurtado, <span class="reference" style="color: blue; font-size: 12pt; font-style: italic; letter-spacing: 0.24px; line-height: 16pt; word-spacing: 0.72px;">The Earliest Christian Artifacts: Manuscripts And Christian Origins</span>, 2006,<em> op. cit.</em>, p. 2; Also see R. A. Kearsley, "<span class="articlename" style="color: #770000; font-size: 12pt; letter-spacing: 0.24px; line-height: 16pt; word-spacing: 0.72px;">The Epitaph Of Aberkios: The Earliest Christian Inscription?</span>", in S. R. Llewelyn (<em>Ed</em>.), <span class="reference" style="color: blue; font-size: 12pt; font-style: italic; letter-spacing: 0.24px; line-height: 16pt; word-spacing: 0.72px;">New Documents Illustrating Early Christianity: A Review Of The Greek Inscriptions And Papyri Published In 1980-81</span>, 1992, The Ancient History Documentary Research Centre: Macquarie University (Australia), pp. 177-181; B. H. McLean, <span class="reference" style="color: blue; font-size: 12pt; font-style: italic; letter-spacing: 0.24px; line-height: 16pt; word-spacing: 0.72px;">An Introduction To Greek Epigraphy Of The Hellenistic And Roman Periods From Alexander The Great Down To The Reign Of Constantine (323 B.C.–A.D. 337)</span>, 2002, University Of Michigan Press, p. 280.</p><p style="font-size: 16px; word-spacing: 0.72px;">[81] Slightly adapted from a comment made by one of the authors <a href="http://iqsaweb.wordpress.com/2013/08/05/imbert/">here</a>.</p><p style="font-size: 16px; word-spacing: 0.72px;">[82] R. E. Van Voorst, <span class="reference" style="color: blue; font-size: 12pt; font-style: italic; letter-spacing: 0.24px; line-height: 16pt; word-spacing: 0.72px;">Jesus Outside The New Testament: An Introduction To The Ancient Evidence</span>, 2000, William B. Eerdmans Publishing Company, Michigan (USA) / Cambridge (UK), pp. 6-10.</p><p style="font-size: 16px; word-spacing: 0.72px;">[83] B. D. Ehrman, <span class="reference" style="color: blue; font-size: 12pt; font-style: italic; letter-spacing: 0.24px; line-height: 16pt; word-spacing: 0.72px;">Did Jesus Exist? The Historical Argument For Jesus of Nazareth</span>, 2012, Harper Collins (USA), p. 2.</p><p style="font-size: 16px; word-spacing: 0.72px;">[84] C. S. Hurgronje, <span class="reference" style="color: blue; font-size: 12pt; font-style: italic; letter-spacing: 0.24px; line-height: 16pt; word-spacing: 0.72px;">Mohammedanism: Lectures On Its Origin, Its Religious And Political Growth, And Its Present State</span>, 1916, G. P. Putnam’s Sons: New York, pp. 26-27.</p><p style="font-size: 16px; word-spacing: 0.72px;">[85] M. Kemper, "<span class="articlename" style="color: #770000; font-size: 12pt; letter-spacing: 0.24px; line-height: 16pt; word-spacing: 0.72px;">The Soviet Discourse On The Origin And Class Character Of Islam, 1923-1933</span>", <span class="reference" style="color: blue; font-size: 12pt; font-style: italic; letter-spacing: 0.24px; line-height: 16pt; word-spacing: 0.72px;">Die Welt des Islams</span>, 2009, Volume 49, Issue 1, pp. 30-34. This description of the historical period in question is fascinating.</p><p style="font-size: 16px; word-spacing: 0.72px;">[86] P. Crone, "<span class="articlename" style="color: #770000; font-size: 12pt; letter-spacing: 0.24px; line-height: 16pt; word-spacing: 0.72px;">What Do We Actually Know About Mohammed?</span>", available <a href="https://www.opendemocracy.net/faith-europe_islam/mohammed_3866.jsp">online</a>.</p><p style="font-size: 16px; word-spacing: 0.72px;">[87] Y. Nevo & J. Koren, <span class="reference" style="color: blue; font-size: 12pt; font-style: italic; letter-spacing: 0.24px; line-height: 16pt; word-spacing: 0.72px;">Crossroads To Islam: The Origins Of The Arab Religion And The Arab State</span>, 2003, Prometheus Books: New York, p. 11.</p><p style="font-size: 16px; word-spacing: 0.72px;">[88] It should be noted Inârah’s publications also contain contributions from well-known and respected scholars who do not necessarily share such views. See A. Rippin, "<span class="articlename" style="color: #770000; font-size: 12pt; letter-spacing: 0.24px; line-height: 16pt; word-spacing: 0.72px;">Review - The Qur'ān In Context: Historical And Literary Investigations Into The Qur'ānic Milieu. Edited by Angelika Neuwirth, Nicolai Sinai, and Michael Marx. Texts and Studies On The Qur’ān, vol. 6. Leiden: Brill, 2010</span>", 2011, <span class="reference" style="color: blue; font-size: 12pt; font-style: italic; letter-spacing: 0.24px; line-height: 16pt; word-spacing: 0.72px;">Journal Of The American Oriental Society</span>, Volume 131, Number 3, p. 470.</p><p style="font-size: 16px; word-spacing: 0.72px;">[89] Their overall position is neatly summarised by K-H. Ohlig, "<span class="articlename" style="color: #770000; font-size: 12pt; letter-spacing: 0.24px; line-height: 16pt; word-spacing: 0.72px;">Foreword: Islam’s “Hidden” Origins</span>", in K-H. Ohlig & G-R. Puin (<em>Eds</em>.), <span class="reference" style="color: blue; font-size: 12pt; font-style: italic; letter-spacing: 0.24px; line-height: 16pt; word-spacing: 0.72px;">The Hidden Origins Of Islam: New Research Into Its Early History</span>, 2010, Prometheus Books: New York, pp. 7-14.</p><p style="font-size: 16px; word-spacing: 0.72px;">[90] A. Rippin, "<span class="articlename" style="color: #770000; font-size: 12pt; letter-spacing: 0.24px; line-height: 16pt; word-spacing: 0.72px;">Review - The Qur'ān In Context: Historical And Literary Investigations Into The Qur'ānic Milieu. Edited by Angelika Neuwirth, Nicolai Sinai, and Michael Marx. Texts and Studies On The Qur’ān, vol. 6. Leiden: Brill, 2010</span>", 2011, <span class="reference" style="color: blue; font-size: 12pt; font-style: italic; letter-spacing: 0.24px; line-height: 16pt; word-spacing: 0.72px;">Journal Of The American Oriental Society</span>, <em>op. cit.</em>, pp. 470-473. In a memorial volume dedicated to Wansbrough, Van Reeth comments thus,</p><blockquote style="font-size: 16px; word-spacing: 0.72px;"><p class="bookquoteCN" style="color: #aa0000; font-family: Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 8pt; letter-spacing: 0.24px; line-height: 13pt; word-spacing: 0.72px;">There is no doubt in my mind, indeed, that he <span class="bookquote" style="color: black; font-size: 8pt; letter-spacing: 0.24px; line-height: 13pt; word-spacing: 0.72px;">[Muhammad]</span> has been an actual living, historical person. All the elaborations in that sense, such as those of Ohlig, K.-H. “Vom muhammad Jesus zum Propheten der Araber. Die Historisierung eines christologischen Prädikats.” In <em>idem</em>, <em>ed</em>. Der frühe Islam. Eine historisch-kritische Rekonstruktion anhand zeitgenössischer Quellen, 327–76. Berlin, 2007, are to be totally rejected: they are not a “historisch-kritische Rekonstruktion”, but unfortunately only a mere construction of historical phantasy. It is to be deplored that Luxenberg has been led astray by all this.</p></blockquote><p style="font-size: 16px; word-spacing: 0.72px;">J. M. F. Van Reeth, "<span class="articlename" style="color: #770000; font-size: 12pt; letter-spacing: 0.24px; line-height: 16pt; word-spacing: 0.72px;">Who Is The ‘Other’ Paraclete</span>", in C. A. Segovia & B. Lourié (<em>Eds</em>.),<span class="reference" style="color: blue; font-size: 12pt; font-style: italic; letter-spacing: 0.24px; line-height: 16pt; word-spacing: 0.72px;"> The Coming Of The Comforter: When, Where, And To Whom? Studies On The Rise Of Islam And Various Other Topics In Memory Of John Wansbrough</span>, 2012, <em>op. cit.</em>, p. 452, footnote 148.</p><p style="font-size: 16px; word-spacing: 0.72px;">[91] S. N. Noseda, "<span class="articlename" style="color: #770000; font-size: 12pt; letter-spacing: 0.24px; line-height: 16pt; word-spacing: 0.72px;">Parerga To The Volumes Of «Sources De La Transmission Manuscrite Du Texte Coranique» Thus Far Published And In Course Of Publication</span>" in M. S. Kropp (<em>Ed</em>.), <span class="reference" style="color: blue; font-size: 12pt; font-style: italic; letter-spacing: 0.24px; line-height: 16pt; word-spacing: 0.72px;">Results Of Contemporary Research On The Qur'ān: The Question Of A Historio-Critical Text Of The Qur'ā</span>n, 2007, Beiruter Texte Und Studien - Band 100, Orient-Institut: Beirut, p. 172.</p>Mustafa Ahmedhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14172750188773095424noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-558359090739969505.post-25459432997827643702023-09-09T10:11:00.006-07:002023-09-09T10:12:35.641-07:00Refutation: How Did Abu Hurayra (ra) Narrate Many Hadith<p> </p><h1 id="posttitle" style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; color: #0a0a0a; font-family: Bitter, Georgia, serif; font-weight: 400; line-height: 29.92px; margin: 0px 0px 0.5em; padding: 0px;">Refutation: How Did Abu Hurayra (ra) Narrate Many Hadith?</h1><section class="postmetadata" style="background-color: white; border-bottom-color: rgb(216, 216, 216); border-style: solid; border-top-color: rgb(183, 183, 183); border-width: 1px 0px; box-sizing: border-box; color: #111111; font-family: Bitter, Georgia, serif; font-size: 0.8em; letter-spacing: 0.1em; margin: 0px 0px 10px; padding: 9px 0px; text-transform: uppercase;"><em style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-transform: lowercase;">by</em> <a href="https://discover-the-truth.com/author/discoverthetruth2013/" rel="author" style="box-sizing: border-box; color: #3e9dd0; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration-line: none;" title="Posts by Discover The Truth">DISCOVER THE TRUTH</a> • MAY 12, 2013</section><article class="entry clearfloat" style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; color: #111111; font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13.6px; margin: 0px; overflow: hidden; padding: 0px;"><div id="widget-single-right" style="border-color: rgb(234, 234, 234); border-style: solid; border-width: 0px 0px 0px 1px; box-sizing: border-box; float: right; font-size: 0.85em; margin: 5px 0px 15px 18px; padding: 0px 0px 0px 14px; width: 226.5px;"><div class="widget widget_media_image clearfloat" id="media_image-2" style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 25px; overflow: hidden; padding: 0px;"><h3 class="widgettitle" style="border: none; box-sizing: border-box; color: #0a0a0a; font-family: Bitter, Georgia, serif; font-size: 1.3em; font-weight: 400; line-height: 17.2822px; margin: 13px 0px 0px; padding: 0px 0px 4px;"><br /></h3><br /></div></div><p style="box-sizing: border-box; font-size: 1.1em; line-height: 21.692px; margin: 15px 0px; padding: 0px;">The respectable Sahaba (companion) Abu Hurayra, is the target of many attacks by the Quranists (Hadith-rejecters) and Shias. They say, “how can Abu Hurayra narrate so many hadiths when he was with the Prophet (p) three years only and yet all the senior companions were with him a lot longer but yet didn’t narrate this much Hadith?” These misconceptions will all be answered in this article thoroughly, God willing. Professor Jonathan Brown writes,</p><blockquote style="background: rgb(242, 242, 242); border-bottom: 1px solid rgb(221, 221, 221); border-right: 1px solid rgb(221, 221, 221); box-sizing: border-box; color: #76767a; font-size: 1em; margin: 18px 20px; overflow: hidden; padding: 6px 20px;"><p style="box-sizing: border-box; font-size: 1.1em; line-height: 21.692px; margin: 15px 0px; padding: 0px;"><span style="box-sizing: border-box; color: black; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">From the beginning of Islam, Muhammed’s words and deeds were of the utmost interest to his followers. He was the unquestioned exemplar of faith and piety in Islam and the bridge between God and temporal world…. Those companions who knew how to write tried to record the memorable statements or actions of their prophet. As paper was unknown in the Middle East at the time (it was introduced from China in the late 700s), the small notebooks they compiled , called Sahifas, would of consisted of papyrus, parchment (tanned animal skins), both were very expensive, or cruder substances such as palm fronds. Although there is some evidence that the prophet ordered the collections of his rulings on taxation, these Sahifas were not public documents; they were private notes of individual companions. Some of the companions recorded as having a Saihfa were jabir Jabir B. Abdullah, Ali B. Abi Talib, Abu Huraira and Abdullah B. Amr. B al-As .</span></p><p style="box-sizing: border-box; font-size: 1.1em; line-height: 21.692px; margin: 15px 0px; padding: 0px;"><span style="box-sizing: border-box; color: black; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">Certain companions were more active in amassing, memorizing, and writing down hadiths than others. <span style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration-line: underline;"> We often find that it is often the most junior Companions of the prophet who became the most prolific collectors of Hadiths.</span> Abu Hurayra (Died.58/678), who knew the prophet for only three years, is the largest single source for Hadiths, with approximately 5300 narrations in the later Hadiths collections.<strong style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"> Although he did not write Hadiths down in his early career, by his death Abu Hurayra had boxes full of Sahifas he had compiled. </strong>Abdullah B. Umar the son of Umar Ibn Khattab, was 23 years old when the prophet died and is the second largest source for hadiths , with approximately 2600 narrations recorded in later collections.</span><br style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;" /><span style="box-sizing: border-box; color: black; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">Ibn Abbas (D.68/686), who was only 14 old (or 9 according to some sources) when the prophet died is the fifth largest source with around 1700 Hadiths. <strong style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">Since companions like Ibn Abbas and Abu Hurayra only knew the prophet for a short time, they apparently, amassed their number of Hadiths by seeking them out from senior Companions. </strong> Abu Hurayra is thus rarely recorded as saying “I heard the prophet of God say…” – <strong style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">more often he simply states indirectly that “the prophet said….” Just as today we regularly quote people whom we did not hear directly, this would of been normal for the companions.</strong> The obsession with specifying direct oral transmission with no intermediary, which characterized later Hadiths Scholars, did not exist during the first generations of Islam. <strong style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">[1] </strong></span></p></blockquote><p style="box-sizing: border-box; font-size: 1.1em; line-height: 21.692px; margin: 15px 0px; padding: 0px;">Now let’s see what Abu Hurayra says about himself:</p><blockquote style="background: rgb(242, 242, 242); border-bottom: 1px solid rgb(221, 221, 221); border-right: 1px solid rgb(221, 221, 221); box-sizing: border-box; color: #76767a; font-size: 1em; margin: 18px 20px; overflow: hidden; padding: 6px 20px;"><p style="box-sizing: border-box; font-size: 1.1em; line-height: 21.692px; margin: 15px 0px; padding: 0px;"><span style="box-sizing: border-box; color: black; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">Narrated Abu Huraira: <span style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration-line: underline;">People say that I have narrated many Hadiths </span>(The Prophet’s narrations). Had it not been for two verses in the Qur’an, I would not have narrated a single Hadith, and the verses are: “Verily those who conceal the clear sign and the guidance which We have sent down . . . (up to) Most Merciful.” (2:159-160). And no doubt our Muhajir (emigrant) brothers used to be busy in the market with their business and our Ansari brothers used to be busy with their property (agriculture). But I (Abu Huraira) used to stick to Allah’s Apostle contented with what will fill my stomach and I used to attend that which they used not to attend and I used to memorize that which they used not to memorize. (<em style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"><span style="box-sizing: border-box; color: blue; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">Sahih Bukhari Volume 1, Book 3, Number 118</span></em>) </span></p></blockquote><p style="box-sizing: border-box; font-size: 1.1em; line-height: 21.692px; margin: 15px 0px; padding: 0px;">And</p><blockquote style="background: rgb(242, 242, 242); border-bottom: 1px solid rgb(221, 221, 221); border-right: 1px solid rgb(221, 221, 221); box-sizing: border-box; color: #76767a; font-size: 1em; margin: 18px 20px; overflow: hidden; padding: 6px 20px;"><p style="box-sizing: border-box; font-size: 1.1em; line-height: 21.692px; margin: 15px 0px; padding: 0px;"><span style="box-sizing: border-box; color: black; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">Narrated Abu Huraira: People say that I narrate too many narrations of the Prophet; once I met a man (during the life-time of the Prophet) <strong style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">and asked him, Apostle’s recite yesterday in the ‘Isha’ prayer?” He said, “I do not know.” I said, “Did you not attend the prayer?” He said, “Yes, (I did).” I said, “I know. He recited such and such Sura.”</strong> (<em style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"><span style="box-sizing: border-box; color: blue; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">Sahih Bukhari Book 2 ,Volume 2, Number 314</span></em>)</span></p></blockquote><p style="box-sizing: border-box; font-size: 1.1em; line-height: 21.692px; margin: 15px 0px; padding: 0px;">And</p><blockquote style="background: rgb(242, 242, 242); border-bottom: 1px solid rgb(221, 221, 221); border-right: 1px solid rgb(221, 221, 221); box-sizing: border-box; color: #76767a; font-size: 1em; margin: 18px 20px; overflow: hidden; padding: 6px 20px;"><p style="box-sizing: border-box; font-size: 1.1em; line-height: 21.692px; margin: 15px 0px; padding: 0px;"><span style="box-sizing: border-box; color: black; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">Narrated Abu Huraira: You <b style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">people say that</b> Abu Huraira tells many narrations from Allah’s Apostle and you also wonder why the emigrants and Ansar do not narrate from Allah’s Apostle as Abu Huraira does. My emigrant brothers were busy in the market while I used to stick to Allah’s Apostle content with what fills my stomach; so I used to be present when they were absent and I used to remember when they used to forget, and my Ansari brothers used to be busy with their properties and I was one of the poor men of Suffa. I used to remember the narrations when they used to forget. No doubt, Allah’s Apostle once said, “Whoever spreads his garment till I have finished my present speech and then gathers it to himself, will remember whatever I will say.” So, I spread my colored garment which I was wearing till Allah’s Apostle had finished his saying, and then I gathered it to my chest. So, I did not forget any of that narrations. (<em style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"><span style="box-sizing: border-box; color: blue; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">Sahih Bukhari Volume 3, Book 34, Number 263</span></em>)<strong style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"> </strong></span></p></blockquote><p style="box-sizing: border-box; font-size: 1.1em; line-height: 21.692px; margin: 15px 0px; padding: 0px;">And</p><blockquote style="background: rgb(242, 242, 242); border-bottom: 1px solid rgb(221, 221, 221); border-right: 1px solid rgb(221, 221, 221); box-sizing: border-box; color: #76767a; font-size: 1em; margin: 18px 20px; overflow: hidden; padding: 6px 20px;"><p style="box-sizing: border-box; font-size: 1.1em; line-height: 21.692px; margin: 15px 0px; padding: 0px;"><span style="box-sizing: border-box; color: black; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">Ibn Shihab transmitted on the authority of Ibn Musayyib that Abu Huraira said: <b style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">People say that</b> Abu Huraira transmits so many ahadith, whereas Allah is the Reckoner, and they say: How is it with Muhajirs and the Ansar that they do not narrate ahadith like him (like Abu Huraira)? Abu Huraira said: I tell you that my brothers from Ansar remained busy with their lands and my brothers Muhajirs were busy in transactions in the bazars, but I always kept myself attached to Allah’s Messenger (may peace be upon him) with bare subsistence. I remained present (in the company of the Holy Prophet), whereas they had been absent. I retained in my mind (what the Holy Prophet said), whereas they forgot it. One day Allah’s Messenger (may peace be upon him) said: He who amongst you spreads the cloth and listens to my talk and would then press it against his chest would never forget anything heard from me. So I spread my mantle and when he had concluded his talk I then pressed it against my chest and so I never forgot after that day anything that he (the Holy Prophet) said. And if these two verses would not have been revealed in the Book I would have never transmitted anything (to anybody):” Those who conceal the clear evidence and the guidance that We revealed” (ii. 159) tip to the last verse. (<em style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"><span style="box-sizing: border-box; color: blue; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">Sahih Muslim Book 45, Number 6555</span></em>)</span></p></blockquote><p style="box-sizing: border-box; font-size: 1.1em; line-height: 21.692px; margin: 15px 0px; padding: 0px;">And</p><blockquote style="background: rgb(242, 242, 242); border-bottom: 1px solid rgb(221, 221, 221); border-right: 1px solid rgb(221, 221, 221); box-sizing: border-box; color: #76767a; font-size: 1em; margin: 18px 20px; overflow: hidden; padding: 6px 20px;"><p style="box-sizing: border-box; font-size: 1.1em; line-height: 21.692px; margin: 15px 0px; padding: 0px;"><span style="box-sizing: border-box; color: black; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">Narrated Abu Huraira: <span style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration-line: underline;">The people used to say, “Abu Huraira narrates too many narrations.” In fact I used to keep close to Allah’s Apostle </span>and was satisfied with what filled my stomach. I ate no leavened bread and dressed no decorated striped clothes, and never did a man or a woman serve me, and I often used to press my belly against gravel because of hunger, and I used to ask a man to recite a Quranic Verse to me although I knew it, so that he would take me to his home and feed me. And the most generous of all the people to the poor was Ja’far bin Abi Talib. He used to take us to his home and offer us what was available therein. He would even offer us an empty folded leather container (of butter) which we would split and lick whatever was in it. (<em style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"><span style="box-sizing: border-box; color: blue; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">Sahih Bukhari Volume 5, Book 57, Number 57</span></em>)</span></p></blockquote><p style="box-sizing: border-box; font-size: 1.1em; line-height: 21.692px; margin: 15px 0px; padding: 0px;">Another question that is posed is, “how come none of the Sahabah (companions), the senior ones never narrated as many Hadiths as Abu Hurayra did?” Professor Jonathan Brown says the following on this,</p><blockquote style="background: rgb(242, 242, 242); border-bottom: 1px solid rgb(221, 221, 221); border-right: 1px solid rgb(221, 221, 221); box-sizing: border-box; color: #76767a; font-size: 1em; margin: 18px 20px; overflow: hidden; padding: 6px 20px;"><p style="box-sizing: border-box; font-size: 1.1em; line-height: 21.692px; margin: 15px 0px; padding: 0px;"><span style="box-sizing: border-box; color: black; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">“Interestingly, those companions who spent the most time with the prophet during his public life rank among the least prolific Hadiths transmitters. The prophet’s close friend and successor , Abu Bakr, his cousin/son-in-law, Ali B. Abi Talib and close advisor Umar Ibn Khattab are the sources for only 142, 536, and 537 Hadiths respectively. These prominent early Muslims, who were looked to as leaders responsible for decisions and religious rulings after the prophets death, <span style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration-line: underline;">seem to have preserved the spirit of Muhammed’s teachings in their actions and methods of reasoning</span><span style="box-sizing: border-box; line-height: 1.5; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"> rather than by citing his hadiths directly.”</span><strong style="box-sizing: border-box; line-height: 1.5; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">[2]</strong></span></p></blockquote><p style="box-sizing: border-box; font-size: 1.1em; line-height: 21.692px; margin: 15px 0px; padding: 0px;">As we have read from all of the above reports, most of the Sahabas (companions) were too busy with their lives, while Abu Hurayra was constantly with Prophet Muhammed (p) throughout the last 3 years of his life. Another thing to note from Jonathan Brown, Abu Hurayra never got all the Hadiths directly from the Prophet (p), most of it was reported through other companions that were with the prophet Muhammed (p) a lot longer</p><p style="box-sizing: border-box; font-size: 1.1em; line-height: 21.692px; margin: 15px 0px; padding: 0px;">Related article:</p><p style="box-sizing: border-box; font-size: 1.1em; line-height: 21.692px; margin: 15px 0px; padding: 0px;">(1) – “<span style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration-line: underline;"><span style="box-sizing: border-box; color: blue; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"><a href="https://ahadithnotes.com/2016/12/15/abu-hurayrah-and-his-detractors-vindicating-the-most-prolific-hadith-transmitter/" style="box-sizing: border-box; color: blue; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;" target="_blank">Abū Hurayrah and His Detractors: Vindicating the Most Prolific Hadith Transmitter</a></span></span>”</p><p style="box-sizing: border-box; font-size: 1.1em; line-height: 21.692px; margin: 15px 0px; padding: 0px;"><strong style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">References:</strong></p><p style="box-sizing: border-box; font-size: 1.1em; line-height: 21.692px; margin: 15px 0px; padding: 0px;"><strong style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">[1]</strong> Jonathan Brown “Hadith Muhammed’s Legacy in the Medieval world” page 18-19<br style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;" /><strong style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">[2]</strong> Ibid page 20</p><p style="box-sizing: border-box; font-size: 1.1em; line-height: 21.692px; margin: 15px 0px; padding: 0px;"><br /></p><p style="box-sizing: border-box; font-size: 1.1em; line-height: 21.692px; margin: 15px 0px; padding: 0px;">-----------------------------------------------------------------</p><p style="box-sizing: border-box; font-size: 1.1em; line-height: 21.692px; margin: 15px 0px; padding: 0px;"><br /></p><p align="center" class="MsoTitle" style="color: black; font-family: Tahoma; font-size: 13.3333px;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman;"><b><u><span style="font-size: x-large;">Refuting The Argument Regarding Abu Hurayra Narrating Too Many Hadith</span></u></b></span></p><p align="center" class="MsoTitle" style="color: black; font-family: Tahoma; font-size: 13.3333px;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: small;">by</span></p><p align="center" class="MsoTitle" style="color: black; font-family: Tahoma; font-size: 13.3333px;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: small;">Bassam Zawadi</span></p><p align="left" class="MsoTitle"><span style="color: black; font-size: small;">Some have posed arguments that Abu Hurayra narrated too many hadith even though he knew the Prophet (peace be upon him) for such a short period of time. They have assumed that it was not possible for Abu Hurayra to have done this and therefore he is a liar. Interestingly, the question as to why Abu Hurayra narrated so many hadith was even asked during his life time. Abu Hurayra says the reason why and how it was possible for him to do so...</span></p><p align="left" class="MsoTitle"> </p><p align="left" class="MsoTitle"> </p><blockquote><p align="left" class="MsoTitle"><u><b><span style="color: navy; font-size: large;">Saheeh Bukhari</span></b></u></p><h1><span style="color: black; font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-size: small;">Volume 001, Book 003, Hadith Number 118.</span></span></h1><h1><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="color: black; font-weight: normal;">Narated By Abu Huraira :</span><span style="color: black;"><b><u> People say that I have narrated many Hadiths (The Prophet's narrations). Had it not been for two verses in the Qur'an, I would not have narrated a single Hadith, and the verses are:</u></b></span><span style="color: black; font-weight: normal;"></span></span><span style="color: black; font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-size: small;"></span></span></h1><h1><span style="color: black; font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-size: small;">"Verily those who conceal the clear sign and the guidance which We have sent down . . . (up to) Most Merciful." (2:159-160). And no doubt our Muhajir (emigrant) brothers used to be busy in the market with their business (bargains) and our Ansari brothers used to be busy with their property (agriculture). But I (Abu Huraira) used to stick to Allah's Apostle contented with what will fill my stomach and I used to attend that which they used not to attend and I used to memorize that which they used not to memorize.</span></span></h1><p class="MsoNormal"> </p><p class="MsoNormal">Volume 003, Book 034, Hadith Number 263.</p><p class="MsoNormal">Narated By Abu Huraira : <b><u>You people say that Abu Huraira tells many narrations from Allah's Apostle and you also wonder why the emigrants and Ansar do not narrate from Allah's Apostle as Abu Huraira does. My emigrant brothers were busy in the market while I used to stick to Allah's Apostle content with what fills my stomach; so I used to be present when they were absent and I used to remember when they used to forget, and my Ansari brothers used to be busy with their properties and I was one of the poor men of Suffa. I used to remember the narrations when they used to forget.</u></b> No doubt, Allah's Apostle once said, "Whoever spreads his garment till I have finished my present speech and then gathers it to himself, will remember whatever I will say." So, I spread my coloured garment which I was wearing till Allah's Apostle had finished his saying, and then I gathered it to my chest. So, I did not forget any of that narrations.</p><p class="MsoNormal"> </p><p class="MsoNormal">Volume 004, Book 056, Hadith Number 789.</p><p class="MsoNormal">Narated By Abu Huraira : I enjoyed the company of Allah's Apostle for three years, and during the other years of my life, <b><u>never was I so anxious to understand the (Prophet's) traditions as I was during those three years. I heard him saying, beckoning with his hand in this way, </u></b>"Before the Hour you will fight with people who will have hairy shoes and live in Al-Bariz." (Sufyan, the sub-narrator once said, "And they are the people of Al-Bazir.")</p><p class="MsoNormal"> </p><p class="MsoNormal">Volume 004, Book 056, Hadith Number 841.</p><p class="MsoNormal">Narated By Abu Huraira : <b><u>I said, "O Allah's Apostle! I hear many narrations from you but I forget them."</u></b> He said, "Spread your covering sheet." I spread my sheet and he moved both his hands as if scooping something and emptied them in the sheet and said, "Wrap it." I wrapped it round my body, <b><u>and since then I have never forgotten a single Hadith.</u></b></p><p class="MsoNormal"> </p><p class="MsoNormal">Volume 005, Book 057, Hadith Number 057.</p><p class="MsoNormal">Narated By Abu Huraira : The people used to say, "Abu Huraira narrates too many narrations."<b><u> In fact I used to keep close to Allah's Apostle </u></b>and was satisfied with what filled my stomach. I ate no leavened bread and dressed no decorated striped clothes, and never did a man or a woman serve me, and I often used to press my belly against gravel because of hunger, and I used to ask a man to recite a Qur'anic Verse to me although I knew it, so that he would take me to his home and feed me. And the most generous of all the people to the poor was Ja'far bin Abi Talib. He used to take us to his home and offer us what was available therein. He would even offer us an empty folded leather container (of butter) which we would split and lick whatever was in it.</p><p class="MsoNormal"> </p></blockquote><p class="MsoNormal" style="color: black; font-family: Tahoma; font-size: 13.3333px;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: small;">So we see that Abu Hurayra basically dedicated those full three years to sticking to the Prophet (peace be upon) him while the others were busy either attending to their families or businesses. So basically his learning from the Prophet (peace be upon him) was a full time job for him. So it comes as no surprise that he narrated so many hadith.</span></p><p style="box-sizing: border-box; font-size: 1.1em; line-height: 21.692px; margin: 15px 0px; padding: 0px;"><span style="color: black; font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: small;"></span><span style="color: black; font-family: Tahoma; font-size: 13.3333px;"></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="color: black; font-family: Tahoma; font-size: 13.3333px;"> </p></article>Mustafa Ahmedhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14172750188773095424noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-558359090739969505.post-1117684238054247212023-09-07T17:03:00.003-07:002023-09-07T17:07:58.495-07:00 What Is the Authentic Ancient Hebrew Alphabet?<p> </p><div class="master-content-wrapper g960" style="background-color: white; box-sizing: inherit; display: inline; float: left; font-family: Arial; margin-left: 15px; width: 945px;"><header class="article-header cf" style="box-sizing: inherit; margin-bottom: 20px;"><h1 class="article-header__title js-article-title js-page-title" style="box-sizing: inherit; color: #105689; font-family: "Open Sans", Arial, sans-serif; margin: 0px 0px 5px; position: relative;"><span style="font-size: small;">What Is the Authentic Ancient Hebrew Alphabet?</span></h1><div class="set-direction-to-content" style="box-sizing: inherit;"><h2 class="article-header__subtitle" style="box-sizing: inherit; color: #105689; display: inline-block; font-family: "Open Sans", Arial, sans-serif; font-weight: 400; margin: 0px; vertical-align: middle;"><span style="font-size: small;">Ketav Ivri vs. Ketav Ashurit</span></h2></div><div style="box-sizing: inherit;"><span class="article-header__byline" data-author-bio="Shurpin, Yehuda" data-kid="15169" style="box-sizing: inherit; color: #666666; display: inline-block; margin: 5px 0px;">By <a href="https://www.chabad.org/search/keyword_cdo/kid/15169/jewish/Shurpin-Yehuda.htm" style="background-color: transparent; box-sizing: inherit; text-decoration-line: none;" title="Browse more articles by Shurpin, Yehuda">Yehuda Shurpin</a></span></div></header></div><div class="body_wrapper clearfix co_body" style="background-color: white; box-sizing: inherit; font-family: Arial;"><div class="g700" id="co_body_container" style="box-sizing: inherit; display: inline; float: left; margin-left: 15px; width: 685px;"><div id="ContentBody" style="box-sizing: inherit;"><div class="content-area-parent no_margin" style="box-sizing: inherit;"><div class="content" style="box-sizing: inherit;"><article class="content js-content" itemscope="" itemtype="http://schema.org/Article" style="box-sizing: inherit;"><span itemprop="publisher" itemscope="" itemtype="http://schema.org/Organization" style="box-sizing: inherit;"><span itemprop="logo" itemscope="" itemtype="http://schema.org/ImageObject" style="box-sizing: inherit;"></span></span><div align="center" class="imagetable w96 margin05 widen img500" style="box-sizing: inherit; display: flex; flex-direction: column; gap: 8px; height: auto; margin: 0px auto 24px; width: 685px;" width="500"></div><div itemprop="articleBody" style="box-sizing: inherit;"><co:body style="box-sizing: inherit;" xmlns:co="www1.chabadonline.com/alpha1" xmlns:msxsl="urn:schemas-microsoft-com:xslt" xmlns:user="urn:my-scripts"><div class="co_body article-body cf" style="box-sizing: inherit;"><span><section style="box-sizing: inherit;"><h2 style="box-sizing: inherit; color: #105689; font-family: arial; font-weight: 400; margin-bottom: 1rem; margin-top: 35px;">Question</h2><p style="box-sizing: inherit; line-height: 30.6px; margin: 0px 0px 1em;">I recently read about some ancient writings that were in a script called Proto-Hebrew, which the Jews supposedly used to write in before the current Hebrew script. What’s up with that? Which is the authentic ancient Hebrew alphabet, and in what script was the original <span class="glossary_item" glossary_item="36567" style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: 50% 100%; background-repeat: repeat-x; background-size: initial; background: url("/images/1/global/glossary_underline.gif") center bottom repeat-x; box-sizing: inherit; cursor: pointer;">Torah</span> written?</p></section><section style="box-sizing: inherit;"><h2 style="box-sizing: inherit; color: #105689; font-family: arial; font-weight: 400; margin-bottom: 1rem; margin-top: 35px;">Reply</h2><p style="box-sizing: inherit; line-height: 30.6px; margin: 0px 0px 1em;">Indeed, there are two scripts. One is <i style="box-sizing: inherit;">ketav Ivri</i> (“Hebrew script”), also called Phoenician or Proto/Paleo-Hebrew. This is the “alternative” form of the ancient Hebrew alphabet you have discovered. This script was still widely in use during the age of the <span class="glossary_item" glossary_item="34983" style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: 50% 100%; background-repeat: repeat-x; background-size: initial; background: url("/images/1/global/glossary_underline.gif") center bottom repeat-x; box-sizing: inherit; cursor: pointer;">Mishnah</span>, and was well known to the sages. The other script, <i style="box-sizing: inherit;">ketav Ashurit</i> (“Assyrian script”), is the one we know today as the Hebrew alphabet.</p><div align="center" class="imagetable w96 margin05 widen img500" style="box-sizing: inherit; display: flex; flex-direction: column; gap: 8px; height: auto; margin: 0px auto 24px; width: 685px;" width="500"><img loading="lazy" sizes="(min-width: 768px) 685px, 100vw" src="https://w2.chabad.org/media/images/1000/imkR10002789.jpg?_i=_n32DD4A5CE5B405756B86D11830CBE5B1" srcset="https://w2.chabad.org/media/images/1000/imkR10002789.jpg?_i=_n32DD4A5CE5B405756B86D11830CBE5B1 500w, https://w2.chabad.org/media/images/1000/imkR10002789.jpg?_i=_n76B3E6A404D908E662A1538A4A879637 480w" style="align-self: center; border: 0px; box-sizing: inherit; height: auto; vertical-align: text-bottom; width: 685px;" /></div><p style="box-sizing: inherit; line-height: 30.6px; margin: 0px 0px 1em;">While this may be a fascinating revelation for some, your question regarding the script the <a href="https://www.chabad.org/library/article_cdo/aid/1426382/jewish/Torah.htm" style="background-color: transparent; box-sizing: inherit;" title="What Is Torah?">Torah</a> was written in is not a new one. In fact, the <span class="glossary_item" glossary_item="35935" style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: 50% 100%; background-repeat: repeat-x; background-size: initial; background: url("/images/1/global/glossary_underline.gif") center bottom repeat-x; box-sizing: inherit; cursor: pointer;">Talmud</span> itself discusses this very question, and gives three opinions:<a class="footnote_ref" name="footnoteRef1a3582435" style="background-color: transparent; box-sizing: inherit; color: inherit; line-height: 0; vertical-align: super;">1</a></p><blockquote style="box-sizing: inherit;"><p style="box-sizing: inherit; line-height: 30.6px; margin: 0px 0px 1em;">a) Mar Zutra (some say Mar Ukva) said: “Originally, the Torah was given to <span class="glossary_item" glossary_item="35833" style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: 50% 100%; background-repeat: repeat-x; background-size: initial; background: url("/images/1/global/glossary_underline.gif") center bottom repeat-x; box-sizing: inherit; cursor: pointer;">Israel</span> in Ivri letters and in the sacred (Hebrew) language. Later, in the times of <span class="glossary_item" glossary_item="37188" style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: 50% 100%; background-repeat: repeat-x; background-size: initial; background: url("/images/1/global/glossary_underline.gif") center bottom repeat-x; box-sizing: inherit; cursor: pointer;">Ezra</span>, the Torah was given in Ashurit script and the Aramaic language. Finally, they selected for Israel the Ashurit script and the Hebrew language, leaving the Ivri characters and the Aramaic language for the commoners.” Who are the “commoners”? <span class="glossary_item" glossary_item="38103" style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: 50% 100%; background-repeat: repeat-x; background-size: initial; background: url("/images/1/global/glossary_underline.gif") center bottom repeat-x; box-sizing: inherit; cursor: pointer;">Rav</span> Chisda said, “The Cuthites (Samaritans).” What is <i style="box-sizing: inherit;">ketav Ivri</i>? <span class="glossary_item" glossary_item="38154" style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: 50% 100%; background-repeat: repeat-x; background-size: initial; background: url("/images/1/global/glossary_underline.gif") center bottom repeat-x; box-sizing: inherit; cursor: pointer;">Rav</span> Chisda said, “Libonaah<a class="footnote_ref" name="footnoteRef2a3582435" style="background-color: transparent; box-sizing: inherit; color: inherit; line-height: 0; vertical-align: super;">2</a> script [i.e., the ancient Hebrew].”</p></blockquote><blockquote style="box-sizing: inherit;"><p style="box-sizing: inherit; line-height: 30.6px; margin: 0px 0px 1em;">b) It was taught: Rebbi said: “Torah was originally given to Israel in Ashurit script. When they sinned, it was changed to <i style="box-sizing: inherit;">roetz</i> (Ivri script). When they repented, Ashurit script was reintroduced . . .”</p></blockquote><blockquote style="box-sizing: inherit;"><p style="box-sizing: inherit; line-height: 30.6px; margin: 0px 0px 1em;">c) R' <span class="glossary_item" glossary_item="35211" style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: 50% 100%; background-repeat: repeat-x; background-size: initial; background: url("/images/1/global/glossary_underline.gif") center bottom repeat-x; box-sizing: inherit; cursor: pointer;">Shimon</span> <span class="glossary_item" glossary_item="37980" style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: 50% 100%; background-repeat: repeat-x; background-size: initial; background: url("/images/1/global/glossary_underline.gif") center bottom repeat-x; box-sizing: inherit; cursor: pointer;">ben</span> <span class="glossary_item" glossary_item="35452" style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: 50% 100%; background-repeat: repeat-x; background-size: initial; background: url("/images/1/global/glossary_underline.gif") center bottom repeat-x; box-sizing: inherit; cursor: pointer;">Elazar</span> said in the name of R' <span class="glossary_item" glossary_item="34248" style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: 50% 100%; background-repeat: repeat-x; background-size: initial; background: url("/images/1/global/glossary_underline.gif") center bottom repeat-x; box-sizing: inherit; cursor: pointer;">Eliezer</span> ben Parta, who said in the name of R' Elazar Hamoda’i: “This writing was never changed [i.e., it was always in Ashurit script].”</p></blockquote><div align="center" class="imagetable w96 margin05 widen img500" style="box-sizing: inherit; display: flex; flex-direction: column; gap: 8px; height: auto; margin: 0px auto 24px; width: 685px;" width="500"><div class="imagecell" style="box-sizing: inherit;"><img alt="This is a page of the scripture of the Samaritans, who still use Ivri writing." loading="lazy" sizes="(min-width: 768px) 685px, 100vw" src="https://w2.chabad.org/media/images/1000/ePsr10005710.jpg?_i=_n32DD4A5CE5B405756B86D11830CBE5B1" srcset="https://w2.chabad.org/media/images/1000/ePsr10005710.jpg?_i=_n32DD4A5CE5B405756B86D11830CBE5B1 500w, https://w2.chabad.org/media/images/1000/ePsr10005710.jpg?_i=_n76B3E6A404D908E662A1538A4A879637 480w" style="align-self: center; border: 0px; box-sizing: inherit; height: auto; vertical-align: text-bottom; width: 685px;" title="This is a page of the scripture of the Samaritans, who still use Ivri writing." /></div><div class="captioncell" style="box-sizing: inherit; color: #0c151c; display: flex; font-family: "Nunito Sans", sans-serif; font-weight: 600; letter-spacing: 0.03em; line-height: normal; text-align: left;"><div style="box-sizing: inherit; flex-grow: 1; width: 0px;">This is a page of the scripture of the Samaritans, who still use Ivri writing.</div></div></div><p style="box-sizing: inherit; line-height: 30.6px; margin: 0px 0px 1em;">So seemingly, opinions (b) and (c)hold that the Torah was originally written in Ashurit, and opinion (a) holds that it was in Ivri. But it’s not so simple, as we shall see when examining the Tablets.</p></section><section style="box-sizing: inherit;"><h2 style="box-sizing: inherit; color: #105689; font-family: arial; font-weight: 400; margin-bottom: 1rem; margin-top: 35px;">Miraculous Letters</h2><p style="box-sizing: inherit; line-height: 30.6px; margin: 0px 0px 1em;">The <a href="https://www.chabad.org/library/article_cdo/aid/2537389/jewish/Talmud.htm" style="background-color: transparent; box-sizing: inherit;" title="Talmud">Talmud</a> describes the miraculous script of the Tablets:</p><blockquote style="box-sizing: inherit;"><p style="box-sizing: inherit; line-height: 30.6px; margin: 0px 0px 1em;">Rav Chisda said, “The letters <i style="box-sizing: inherit;"><span class="glossary_item" glossary_item="37974" style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: 50% 100%; background-repeat: repeat-x; background-size: initial; background: url("/images/1/global/glossary_underline.gif") center bottom repeat-x; box-sizing: inherit; cursor: pointer;">mem</span></i> and <i style="box-sizing: inherit;"><span class="glossary_item" glossary_item="35391" style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: 50% 100%; background-repeat: repeat-x; background-size: initial; background: url("/images/1/global/glossary_underline.gif") center bottom repeat-x; box-sizing: inherit; cursor: pointer;">samech</span></i> of the Tablets stood in place only by a miracle.”<a class="footnote_ref" name="footnoteRef3a3582435" style="background-color: transparent; box-sizing: inherit; color: inherit; line-height: 0; vertical-align: super;">3</a></p></blockquote><p style="box-sizing: inherit; line-height: 30.6px; margin: 0px 0px 1em;">The Talmud explains that the letters were engraved all the way through the stone to the opposite side. Now, since the letters <i style="box-sizing: inherit;"><a href="https://www.chabad.org/library/article_cdo/aid/137087/jewish/Samech.htm" style="background-color: transparent; box-sizing: inherit;" title="Samech">samech</a></i> and (final) <i style="box-sizing: inherit;"><a href="https://www.chabad.org/multimedia/video_cdo/aid/817136/jewish/Mystery-of-Mem.htm" style="background-color: transparent; box-sizing: inherit;" title="The Miraculous Mystery of Mem">mem</a></i> are completely closed, the section of stone in their centers was unattached to the body of the Tablets, and could have remained in place only through a miracle. This, however, is true only with regard to <i style="box-sizing: inherit;">ketav Ashurit</i>. In <i style="box-sizing: inherit;">ketav Ivri</i>, neither the <i style="box-sizing: inherit;">mem</i> nor the <i style="box-sizing: inherit;">samech</i> are completely closed.</p><p style="box-sizing: inherit; line-height: 30.6px; margin: 0px 0px 1em;">What is especially difficult with this passage is that its author, Rav Chisda—who is effectively saying that the Tablets were given in <i style="box-sizing: inherit;">ketav Ashurit</i>—is the very same rabbi who agrees with and elaborates upon the first opinion above, that the Torah was given in <i style="box-sizing: inherit;">ketav Ivri</i>!</p><p style="box-sizing: inherit; line-height: 30.6px; margin: 0px 0px 1em;">What complicates things even further is that there is an opinion in the <span class="glossary_item" glossary_item="22467" style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: 50% 100%; background-repeat: repeat-x; background-size: initial; background: url("/images/1/global/glossary_underline.gif") center bottom repeat-x; box-sizing: inherit; cursor: pointer;">Jerusalem Talmud</span> that it was the letter <i style="box-sizing: inherit;"><span class="glossary_item" glossary_item="37329" style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: 50% 100%; background-repeat: repeat-x; background-size: initial; background: url("/images/1/global/glossary_underline.gif") center bottom repeat-x; box-sizing: inherit; cursor: pointer;">ayin</span></i> that was held in place miraculously. This would imply that it was written in <i style="box-sizing: inherit;">ketav Ivri</i> and not Ashurit, since the letter <i style="box-sizing: inherit;"><span class="glossary_item" glossary_item="37600" style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: 50% 100%; background-repeat: repeat-x; background-size: initial; background: url("/images/1/global/glossary_underline.gif") center bottom repeat-x; box-sizing: inherit; cursor: pointer;">ayin</span></i> in Ivri—as opposed to Ashurit—is indeed a closed letter.</p><p style="box-sizing: inherit; line-height: 30.6px; margin: 0px 0px 1em;">See below how the <i style="box-sizing: inherit;">samech</i> and <i style="box-sizing: inherit;">mem</i> are closed letters in <i style="box-sizing: inherit;">Ashurit</i>, and the <i style="box-sizing: inherit;"><a href="https://www.chabad.org/library/article_cdo/aid/1074094/jewish/Something-About-Nothing.htm" style="background-color: transparent; box-sizing: inherit;" title="Something About Nothing">ayin</a></i> is closed in <i style="box-sizing: inherit;">Ivri</i>:</p><div align="Right" class="imagetable right" style="box-sizing: inherit; display: flex; flex-direction: column; float: right; gap: 8px; margin: 0px 0px 24px 15px; text-align: right; width: min-content;" width="222"><img loading="lazy" sizes="222px" src="https://w2.chabad.org/media/images/1000/BLvJ10002795.jpg?_i=_n231B5BC010CCCED98DECC3CE0A7762CF" srcset="https://w2.chabad.org/media/images/1000/BLvJ10002795.jpg?_i=_n231B5BC010CCCED98DECC3CE0A7762CF 222w" style="align-self: center; border: 0px; box-sizing: inherit; vertical-align: text-bottom;" /></div></section><section style="box-sizing: inherit;"><h2 style="box-sizing: inherit; color: #105689; font-family: arial; font-weight: 400; margin-bottom: 1rem; margin-top: 35px;">Special Script vs. Common Script</h2><p style="box-sizing: inherit; line-height: 30.6px; margin: 0px 0px 1em;">To resolve this, Rabbi <span class="glossary_item" glossary_item="34780" style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: 50% 100%; background-repeat: repeat-x; background-size: initial; background: url("/images/1/global/glossary_underline.gif") center bottom repeat-x; box-sizing: inherit; cursor: pointer;">Yom Tov</span> al-Ishbili, known as <span class="glossary_item" glossary_item="36617" style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: 50% 100%; background-repeat: repeat-x; background-size: initial; background: url("/images/1/global/glossary_underline.gif") center bottom repeat-x; box-sizing: inherit; cursor: pointer;">Ritva</span> (approx. 1250–1330), explains that the Tablets and the Torah scroll that was kept in the Holy Ark were written in <i style="box-sizing: inherit;">ketav Ashurit</i>. This was considered a sacred script. However, neither <span class="glossary_item" glossary_item="36853" style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: 50% 100%; background-repeat: repeat-x; background-size: initial; background: url("/images/1/global/glossary_underline.gif") center bottom repeat-x; box-sizing: inherit; cursor: pointer;">Moses</span> or the <span class="glossary_item" glossary_item="31043" style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: 50% 100%; background-repeat: repeat-x; background-size: initial; background: url("/images/1/global/glossary_underline.gif") center bottom repeat-x; box-sizing: inherit; cursor: pointer;">Israelites</span> wished to use this holy script for mundane purposes. This reverence extended even to the Torah scrolls that were written for purposes of study by the masses, so they were written in <i style="box-sizing: inherit;">ketav Ivri</i>.<a class="footnote_ref" name="footnoteRef4a3582435" style="background-color: transparent; box-sizing: inherit; color: inherit; line-height: 0; vertical-align: super;">4</a></p><p style="box-sizing: inherit; line-height: 30.6px; margin: 0px 0px 1em;">Or as Rabbi <span class="glossary_item" glossary_item="34209" style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: 50% 100%; background-repeat: repeat-x; background-size: initial; background: url("/images/1/global/glossary_underline.gif") center bottom repeat-x; box-sizing: inherit; cursor: pointer;">Yehudah</span> Loewe, known as Maharal of Prague (d. 1609), puts it, while the Tablets and the original Torah scroll were written in the beautiful Ashurit script (<i style="box-sizing: inherit;">ashurit</i> can be translated to mean “beautiful”), it is only logical that the Torah for the masses would be given to them in the script the people were familiar with.<a class="footnote_ref" name="footnoteRef5a3582435" style="background-color: transparent; box-sizing: inherit; color: inherit; line-height: 0; vertical-align: super;">5</a></p><p style="box-sizing: inherit; line-height: 30.6px; margin: 0px 0px 1em;">Rabbi <span class="glossary_item" glossary_item="36580" style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: 50% 100%; background-repeat: repeat-x; background-size: initial; background: url("/images/1/global/glossary_underline.gif") center bottom repeat-x; box-sizing: inherit; cursor: pointer;">David</span> ibn Zimra, known as Radbaz (c. 1479–c. 1573), explains that when we say that the Tablets were written in Ashurit script, this is only the first Tablets, the ones about which the verse states, “Now the Tablets were <span class="glossary_item" glossary_item="38241" style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: 50% 100%; background-repeat: repeat-x; background-size: initial; background: url("/images/1/global/glossary_underline.gif") center bottom repeat-x; box-sizing: inherit; cursor: pointer;">G‑d</span>'s work, and the inscription was <a href="https://www.chabad.org/library/article_cdo/aid/433240/jewish/God.htm" style="background-color: transparent; box-sizing: inherit;" title="What Is G‑d?">G‑d</a>'s inscription, engraved on the Tablets.”<a class="footnote_ref" name="footnoteRef6a3582435" style="background-color: transparent; box-sizing: inherit; color: inherit; line-height: 0; vertical-align: super;">6</a> The second set of Tablets, however, the ones about which G‑d tells Moses, “Inscribe these words for yourself,”<a class="footnote_ref" name="footnoteRef7a3582435" style="background-color: transparent; box-sizing: inherit; color: inherit; line-height: 0; vertical-align: super;">7</a> were written in the script of the masses, i.e., <i style="box-sizing: inherit;">ketav Ivri</i>. Thus, the Babylonian Talmud is referring to the first set of Tablets, while the tradition in the <a href="https://www.chabad.org/library/article_cdo/aid/718279/jewish/The-Two-Talmuds.htm" style="background-color: transparent; box-sizing: inherit;" title="The Two Talmuds">Jerusalem Talmud</a> is referring to the second set.<a class="footnote_ref" name="footnoteRef8a3582435" style="background-color: transparent; box-sizing: inherit; color: inherit; line-height: 0; vertical-align: super;">8</a> However, the debate in the Talmud about the script of the Torah concerns which letters the Jews themselves used.</p><p style="box-sizing: inherit; line-height: 30.6px; margin: 0px 0px 1em;">Radbaz further points out that until the Babylonian exile the Jews were referred to as Hebrews (Ivri’im), and their script may well have been the Hebrew (Ivri) script. However, after the Babylonian exile they were no longer called Hebrews, perhaps because at this time the beautiful <i style="box-sizing: inherit;">ktav Ashurit</i> script was taught by the prophets.<a class="footnote_ref" name="footnoteRef9a3582435" style="background-color: transparent; box-sizing: inherit; color: inherit; line-height: 0; vertical-align: super;">9</a></p><div align="center" class="imagetable w96 margin05 widen img500" style="box-sizing: inherit; display: flex; flex-direction: column; gap: 8px; height: auto; margin: 0px auto 24px; width: 685px;" width="500"><div class="imagecell" style="box-sizing: inherit;"><img alt="These coins, with Ivri writing, were minted during the Mishnaic era in the years following the destruction of the Second Temple." loading="lazy" sizes="(min-width: 768px) 685px, 100vw" src="https://w2.chabad.org/media/images/1000/lMGN10005707.jpg?_i=_n32DD4A5CE5B405756B86D11830CBE5B1" srcset="https://w2.chabad.org/media/images/1000/lMGN10005707.jpg?_i=_n32DD4A5CE5B405756B86D11830CBE5B1 500w, https://w2.chabad.org/media/images/1000/lMGN10005707.jpg?_i=_n76B3E6A404D908E662A1538A4A879637 480w" style="align-self: center; border: 0px; box-sizing: inherit; height: auto; vertical-align: text-bottom; width: 685px;" title="These coins, with Ivri writing, were minted during the Mishnaic era in the years following the destruction of the Second Temple." /></div><div class="captioncell" style="box-sizing: inherit; color: #0c151c; display: flex; font-family: "Nunito Sans", sans-serif; font-weight: 600; letter-spacing: 0.03em; line-height: normal; text-align: left;"><div style="box-sizing: inherit; flex-grow: 1; width: 0px;">These coins, with Ivri writing, were minted during the Mishnaic era in the years following the destruction of the Second <span class="glossary_item" glossary_item="35347" style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: 50% 100%; background-repeat: repeat-x; background-size: initial; background: url("/images/1/global/glossary_underline.gif") center bottom repeat-x; box-sizing: inherit; cursor: pointer;">Temple</span>.</div></div></div></section><section style="box-sizing: inherit;"><h2 style="box-sizing: inherit; color: #105689; font-family: arial; font-weight: 400; margin-bottom: 1rem; margin-top: 35px;">Belshazzar and the Writing on the Wall</h2><p style="box-sizing: inherit; line-height: 30.6px; margin: 0px 0px 1em;">Some commentators posit that this is why, when the writing appeared on the wall during Belshazzar’s feast,<a class="footnote_ref" name="footnoteRef10a3582435" style="background-color: transparent; box-sizing: inherit; color: inherit; line-height: 0; vertical-align: super;">10</a> none of the Jews present were able to interpret it. Most Jews were only familiar with <i style="box-sizing: inherit;">ketav Ivri</i>; only <span class="glossary_item" glossary_item="35837" style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: 50% 100%; background-repeat: repeat-x; background-size: initial; background: url("/images/1/global/glossary_underline.gif") center bottom repeat-x; box-sizing: inherit; cursor: pointer;">Daniel</span>, a leader and the wisest Jew at the time, was familiar with <i style="box-sizing: inherit;">ketav Ashurit</i>. After this incident, the script became somewhat better known.<a class="footnote_ref" name="footnoteRef11a3582435" style="background-color: transparent; box-sizing: inherit; color: inherit; line-height: 0; vertical-align: super;">11</a></p></section><section style="box-sizing: inherit;"><h2 style="box-sizing: inherit; color: #105689; font-family: arial; font-weight: 400; margin-bottom: 1rem; margin-top: 35px;">King <span class="glossary_item" glossary_item="35646" style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: 50% 100%; background-repeat: repeat-x; background-size: initial; background: url("/images/1/global/glossary_underline.gif") center bottom repeat-x; box-sizing: inherit; cursor: pointer;">Josiah</span> and Moses’ Torah Scroll</h2><p style="box-sizing: inherit; line-height: 30.6px; margin: 0px 0px 1em;">The above explanation also sheds light on another historical incident. In the course of the repairs to the Holy Temple in King Josiah’s reign, the <span class="glossary_item" glossary_item="30859" style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: 50% 100%; background-repeat: repeat-x; background-size: initial; background: url("/images/1/global/glossary_underline.gif") center bottom repeat-x; box-sizing: inherit; cursor: pointer;">high priest</span> Hilkiah found a Torah scroll, and the Jews turned to a scribe to have it read. In the verses, Hilkiah describes finding not “a” but <b style="box-sizing: inherit;">“</b><b style="box-sizing: inherit;">the”</b> Torah scroll, i.e., the Torah scroll written by Moses himself.<a class="footnote_ref" name="footnoteRef12a3582435" style="background-color: transparent; box-sizing: inherit; color: inherit; line-height: 0; vertical-align: super;">12</a> The reason many couldn’t read it was because it was written in <i style="box-sizing: inherit;">ketav Ashurit</i>.<a class="footnote_ref" name="footnoteRef13a3582435" style="background-color: transparent; box-sizing: inherit; color: inherit; line-height: 0; vertical-align: super;">13</a></p></section><section style="box-sizing: inherit;"><h2 style="box-sizing: inherit; color: #105689; font-family: arial; font-weight: 400; margin-bottom: 1rem; margin-top: 35px;">Script But Not Language</h2><p style="box-sizing: inherit; line-height: 30.6px; margin: 0px 0px 1em;">Although there are differing opinions as to the type of script the ancient Jews used, it is important to keep in mind that there is no disagreement regarding the language itself—all agree that the language of the Torah was Hebrew, the holy tongue, the language of creation.<a class="footnote_ref" name="footnoteRef14a3582435" style="background-color: transparent; box-sizing: inherit; color: inherit; line-height: 0; vertical-align: super;">14</a></p></section></span></div></co:body></div><div class="break_floats" style="box-sizing: inherit; clear: both; height: 0px; width: 685px;"></div><div class="break_floats" style="box-sizing: inherit; clear: both; height: 0px; width: 685px;"></div><co:footnotetable style="box-sizing: inherit;" xmlns:co="www1.chabadonline.com/alpha1" xmlns:msxsl="urn:schemas-microsoft-com:xslt" xmlns:user="urn:my-scripts"><div cellspacing="0" data-lang="en" id="FootnoteContainer" style="box-sizing: inherit; line-height: 17.4px; margin-bottom: 7px;"><span><div class="heading" style="box-sizing: inherit; color: #0c4472; font-weight: 700; margin: 10px 0px; padding: 10px 0px; text-transform: uppercase;">FOOTNOTES</div><div class="group" data-name="" style="box-sizing: inherit; column-gap: 25px; columns: 295px auto;"><div class="footnote" group="" id="footnoteTR1a3582435" style="box-sizing: inherit; break-inside: avoid; padding: 2px 2px 3px; text-align: justify;"><a class="footnoteLink" href="https://www.chabad.org/library/article_cdo/aid/3582435/jewish/What-Is-the-Authentic-Ancient-Hebrew-Alphabet.htm#footnoteRef1a3582435" name="footnote1a3582435" style="background-color: transparent; box-sizing: inherit; display: table-cell; outline: 0px; text-decoration-line: none; width: 2rem;">1.</a><div class="footnoteBody" style="box-sizing: inherit; display: table-cell;"><p style="box-sizing: inherit; line-height: 21.6px; margin: 0px;">Talmud, Sanhedrin 21b.</p></div></div><div class="footnote" group="" id="footnoteTR2a3582435" style="box-sizing: inherit; break-inside: avoid; padding: 2px 2px 3px; text-align: justify;"><a class="footnoteLink" href="https://www.chabad.org/library/article_cdo/aid/3582435/jewish/What-Is-the-Authentic-Ancient-Hebrew-Alphabet.htm#footnoteRef2a3582435" name="footnote2a3582435" style="background-color: transparent; box-sizing: inherit; display: table-cell; outline: 0px; text-decoration-line: none; width: 2rem;">2.</a><div class="footnoteBody" style="box-sizing: inherit; display: table-cell;"><p style="box-sizing: inherit; line-height: 21.6px; margin: 0px;">According to Rashi, this means “large characters, such as are employed in amulets.” According to Tosafot, it is the name of a certain locale.</p></div></div><div class="footnote" group="" id="footnoteTR3a3582435" style="box-sizing: inherit; break-inside: avoid; padding: 2px 2px 3px; text-align: justify;"><a class="footnoteLink" href="https://www.chabad.org/library/article_cdo/aid/3582435/jewish/What-Is-the-Authentic-Ancient-Hebrew-Alphabet.htm#footnoteRef3a3582435" name="footnote3a3582435" style="background-color: transparent; box-sizing: inherit; display: table-cell; outline: 0px; text-decoration-line: none; width: 2rem;">3.</a><div class="footnoteBody" style="box-sizing: inherit; display: table-cell;"><p style="box-sizing: inherit; line-height: 21.6px; margin: 0px;">Talmud, Shabbat 104a.</p></div></div><div class="footnote" group="" id="footnoteTR4a3582435" style="box-sizing: inherit; break-inside: avoid; padding: 2px 2px 3px; text-align: justify;"><a class="footnoteLink" href="https://www.chabad.org/library/article_cdo/aid/3582435/jewish/What-Is-the-Authentic-Ancient-Hebrew-Alphabet.htm#footnoteRef4a3582435" name="footnote4a3582435" style="background-color: transparent; box-sizing: inherit; display: table-cell; outline: 0px; text-decoration-line: none; width: 2rem;">4.</a><div class="footnoteBody" style="box-sizing: inherit; display: table-cell;"><p style="box-sizing: inherit; line-height: 21.6px; margin: 0px;">See Ritva and Rashba to Talmud, Megillah 2b.</p></div></div><div class="footnote" group="" id="footnoteTR5a3582435" style="box-sizing: inherit; break-inside: avoid; padding: 2px 2px 3px; text-align: justify;"><a class="footnoteLink" href="https://www.chabad.org/library/article_cdo/aid/3582435/jewish/What-Is-the-Authentic-Ancient-Hebrew-Alphabet.htm#footnoteRef5a3582435" name="footnote5a3582435" style="background-color: transparent; box-sizing: inherit; display: table-cell; outline: 0px; text-decoration-line: none; width: 2rem;">5.</a><div class="footnoteBody" style="box-sizing: inherit; display: table-cell;"><p style="box-sizing: inherit; line-height: 21.6px; margin: 0px;">See Rabbi Yehudah Loewe, Tiferet Yisrael 64.</p></div></div><div class="footnote" group="" id="footnoteTR6a3582435" style="box-sizing: inherit; break-inside: avoid; padding: 2px 2px 3px; text-align: justify;"><a class="footnoteLink" href="https://www.chabad.org/library/article_cdo/aid/3582435/jewish/What-Is-the-Authentic-Ancient-Hebrew-Alphabet.htm#footnoteRef6a3582435" name="footnote6a3582435" style="background-color: transparent; box-sizing: inherit; display: table-cell; outline: 0px; text-decoration-line: none; width: 2rem;">6.</a><div class="footnoteBody" style="box-sizing: inherit; display: table-cell;"><p style="box-sizing: inherit; line-height: 21.6px; margin: 0px;"><a href="https://www.chabad.org/9893#v16" style="background-color: transparent; box-sizing: inherit;">Exodus 32:16</a>.</p></div></div><div class="footnote" group="" id="footnoteTR7a3582435" style="box-sizing: inherit; break-inside: avoid; padding: 2px 2px 3px; text-align: justify;"><a class="footnoteLink" href="https://www.chabad.org/library/article_cdo/aid/3582435/jewish/What-Is-the-Authentic-Ancient-Hebrew-Alphabet.htm#footnoteRef7a3582435" name="footnote7a3582435" style="background-color: transparent; box-sizing: inherit; display: table-cell; outline: 0px; text-decoration-line: none; width: 2rem;">7.</a><div class="footnoteBody" style="box-sizing: inherit; display: table-cell;"><p style="box-sizing: inherit; line-height: 21.6px; margin: 0px;"><a href="https://www.chabad.org/9895#v27" style="background-color: transparent; box-sizing: inherit;">Exodus 34:27</a>.</p></div></div><div class="footnote" group="" id="footnoteTR8a3582435" style="box-sizing: inherit; break-inside: avoid; padding: 2px 2px 3px; text-align: justify;"><a class="footnoteLink" href="https://www.chabad.org/library/article_cdo/aid/3582435/jewish/What-Is-the-Authentic-Ancient-Hebrew-Alphabet.htm#footnoteRef8a3582435" name="footnote8a3582435" style="background-color: transparent; box-sizing: inherit; display: table-cell; outline: 0px; text-decoration-line: none; width: 2rem;">8.</a><div class="footnoteBody" style="box-sizing: inherit; display: table-cell;"><p style="box-sizing: inherit; line-height: 21.6px; margin: 0px;">Responsa of Radbaz 3:883 (442).</p></div></div><div class="footnote" group="" id="footnoteTR9a3582435" style="box-sizing: inherit; break-inside: avoid; padding: 2px 2px 3px; text-align: justify;"><a class="footnoteLink" href="https://www.chabad.org/library/article_cdo/aid/3582435/jewish/What-Is-the-Authentic-Ancient-Hebrew-Alphabet.htm#footnoteRef9a3582435" name="footnote9a3582435" style="background-color: transparent; box-sizing: inherit; display: table-cell; outline: 0px; text-decoration-line: none; width: 2rem;">9.</a><div class="footnoteBody" style="box-sizing: inherit; display: table-cell;"><p style="box-sizing: inherit; line-height: 21.6px; margin: 0px;">Responsa of Radbaz ibid.; see also Rabbi Yehuda Loewe, Tiferet Yisrael 64.</p></div></div><div class="footnote" group="" id="footnoteTR10a3582435" style="box-sizing: inherit; break-inside: avoid; padding: 2px 2px 3px; text-align: justify;"><a class="footnoteLink" href="https://www.chabad.org/library/article_cdo/aid/3582435/jewish/What-Is-the-Authentic-Ancient-Hebrew-Alphabet.htm#footnoteRef10a3582435" name="footnote10a3582435" style="background-color: transparent; box-sizing: inherit; display: table-cell; outline: 0px; text-decoration-line: none; width: 2rem;">10.</a><div class="footnoteBody" style="box-sizing: inherit; display: table-cell;"><p style="box-sizing: inherit; line-height: 21.6px; margin: 0px;">Daniel, ch. 5.</p></div></div><div class="footnote" group="" id="footnoteTR11a3582435" style="box-sizing: inherit; break-inside: avoid; padding: 2px 2px 3px; text-align: justify;"><a class="footnoteLink" href="https://www.chabad.org/library/article_cdo/aid/3582435/jewish/What-Is-the-Authentic-Ancient-Hebrew-Alphabet.htm#footnoteRef11a3582435" name="footnote11a3582435" style="background-color: transparent; box-sizing: inherit; display: table-cell; outline: 0px; text-decoration-line: none; width: 2rem;">11.</a><div class="footnoteBody" style="box-sizing: inherit; display: table-cell;"><p style="box-sizing: inherit; line-height: 21.6px; margin: 0px;">Responsa of Radbaz ibid.; see also Rabbi Reuven Margoliot, Hamikra Vehamesorah, “Ketav Ashuri.”</p></div></div><div class="footnote" group="" id="footnoteTR12a3582435" style="box-sizing: inherit; break-inside: avoid; padding: 2px 2px 3px; text-align: justify;"><a class="footnoteLink" href="https://www.chabad.org/library/article_cdo/aid/3582435/jewish/What-Is-the-Authentic-Ancient-Hebrew-Alphabet.htm#footnoteRef12a3582435" name="footnote12a3582435" style="background-color: transparent; box-sizing: inherit; display: table-cell; outline: 0px; text-decoration-line: none; width: 2rem;">12.</a><div class="footnoteBody" style="box-sizing: inherit; display: table-cell;"><p style="box-sizing: inherit; line-height: 21.6px; margin: 0px;"><a href="https://www.chabad.org/15928#v8" style="background-color: transparent; box-sizing: inherit;">II Kings 22:8</a>; <a href="https://www.chabad.org/16583#v14" style="background-color: transparent; box-sizing: inherit;">II Chronicles 34:14</a>.</p></div></div><div class="footnote" group="" id="footnoteTR13a3582435" style="box-sizing: inherit; break-inside: avoid; padding: 2px 2px 3px; text-align: justify;"><a class="footnoteLink" href="https://www.chabad.org/library/article_cdo/aid/3582435/jewish/What-Is-the-Authentic-Ancient-Hebrew-Alphabet.htm#footnoteRef13a3582435" name="footnote13a3582435" style="background-color: transparent; box-sizing: inherit; display: table-cell; outline: 0px; text-decoration-line: none; width: 2rem;">13.</a><div class="footnoteBody" style="box-sizing: inherit; display: table-cell;"><p style="box-sizing: inherit; line-height: 21.6px; margin: 0px;">See Rabbi Reuven Margoliot, Hamikra VehaMesorah ibid.</p></div></div><div class="footnote" group="" id="footnoteTR14a3582435" style="box-sizing: inherit; break-inside: avoid; padding: 2px 2px 3px; text-align: justify;"><a class="footnoteLink" href="https://www.chabad.org/library/article_cdo/aid/3582435/jewish/What-Is-the-Authentic-Ancient-Hebrew-Alphabet.htm#footnoteRef14a3582435" name="footnote14a3582435" style="background-color: transparent; box-sizing: inherit; display: table-cell; outline: 0px; text-decoration-line: none; width: 2rem;">14.</a><div class="footnoteBody" style="box-sizing: inherit; display: table-cell;"><p style="box-sizing: inherit; line-height: 21.6px; margin: 0px;">For more on this, see <a href="https://www.chabad.org/library/article_cdo/aid/3354288/jewish/Why-Is-Hebrew-Called-the-Holy-Tongue-Lashon-Hakodesh.htm" style="background-color: transparent; box-sizing: inherit;">Why Is Hebrew Called the Holy Tongue (Lashon Hakodesh)?</a></p></div></div></div></span></div></co:footnotetable><div class="content-footer" style="box-sizing: inherit;"><div class="article_credits_wrapper cf vertical_margin" style="box-sizing: inherit; margin-bottom: 15px; margin-top: 15px;"><div class="cf" style="box-sizing: inherit;"><div class="small_header small_header_border horizontal_padding" style="border-bottom: 1px solid rgb(216, 220, 224); box-sizing: inherit; color: #1e73be; font-family: arial; font-weight: 700; margin-bottom: 15px; padding: 10px 15px;"><a href="https://www.chabad.org/search/keyword_cdo/kid/15169/jewish/Yehuda-Shurpin.htm" style="background-color: transparent; box-sizing: inherit; color: #1e73be; text-decoration-line: none;"><span>By Yehuda Shurpin</span></a></div></div></div></div></article></div></div></div></div></div>Mustafa Ahmedhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14172750188773095424noreply@blogger.com0