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ISLAM MUHAMMAD AND THE Quran
By: Dr. Labib Mikhail

MUHAMMAD
Introduction
Chapter 1
Muhammad’s Roots and His First Marriage
Arabian Society in Muhammad’s Time
Muhammad’s First Marriage
Chapter 2
Muhammad’s Call
Analysis Of Muhammad’s Call
Was the Spirit Really the Angel Gabriel?
Muhammad’s Call Was Not Like the Call Of Moses Or Jesus
Muhammad Does Not Pass the Test Of A True Prophet
Chapter 3
Muhammad’s Wives
Muhammad Married A Six Year Old Child
Muhammad Married His Daughter-in-Law
Analysis of Muhammad’s Marriage to His Daughter-in-Law
Jesus Is the Best Example
Chapter 4
Muhammad’s Migration To Al-Madina
The Meccans Rejected Muhammad
The Migration
Chapter 5
Muhammad’s Battles
Muhammad Convinces His Followers to Fight
The Sword Of Islam Goes Forth
Chapter 6
Muhammad’s Death
Muhammad’s Death Compared To That Of Moses
THE Quran
Chapter 7
The History of The Quran
Strange Names
How The Quran Was Written
The Bible Is the Gold Standard
Contradictions Between the Bible And the Quran
Is the Bible Corrupted?
Chapter 8
Is the Quran A Miracle?
The Teacher Who Corrected the Quran
Quran’s Principles Not Consistent With the Bible
Love or retaliation and racism?
Peace or Sword?
One wife or four?
Love your wife or beat her?
The case of the divorced wife
The Islamic Veil
Chapter 9
Does the Quran Teach Polytheism?
Our Knowledge About the True And Living God?
No One Can Fully Comprehend God
The Bible Reveals A Triune God
The Bible Reveals A Supreme God
The Quran Reveals That Allah Is Lower Than His Creation
The Quran Positioned Muhammad As the Center of Praise In Heaven , And On Earth
Chapter 10
The Quran And the Crucifixion Of Christ
The Quran Denies the Crucifixion Of Christ
The Three Days Of the Quran
Eye Witnesses To the Crucifixion
Chapter 11
Testing the Truthfulness Of the Quran
True Source Of Inspiration
The Story Of Joseph In the Quran is Distorted
Muhammad Used the Quran To Solve His Own Problems And To Satisfy His Own Desires
Chapter 12
The Challenge Offered By The Quran
Chapter 13
Internal Discrepancies
Chapter 14
Providing Spiritual Needs
The Need to be loved and to love
The Need Of Total Forgiveness
Does the Quran Provide A Decent Way Of Life?
Does the Quran Provide Assurance Of Eternal Life With God In Heavenly Bliss?
Chapter 15
Fruits Of True Religion
Muhammad’s Household
The Society Muhammad Created
The Story Of Zia Nodrat
Contribution Of Islam To Mankind
Chapter 16
A Muslim’s Personal Testimony
Chapter 17
It Is Your Decision

       [TOP]
Introduction

Muhammad is one of the most controversial person in the history of mankind.  Muslims believe that he is the greatest prophet, the seal of the prophets, and that no prophet will come after him.  Christians believe that Muhammad is a false prophet.

More than eight hundred million human beings confess Islam, the religion Muhammad founded.  Therefore it is important to know Muhammad and his teachings.  It is fitting that we study Muhammad's life from his birth to his death as well as the Quran.   Thomas Carlyle, a Scottish historian who lived between 1795 and 1881, wrote concerning Muhammad:

    Can it be possible that so many creatures have lived and died for something which must be regared as a tragic fraud?
 Because of the great number of people who follow Muhammad and his religion, Islam, Carlye assumed that Muhammad was sincere and original.  Carlyle forgot what the Lord Jesus Christ said:
    Enter by the narrow gate; for wide is the gate and broad is the way that leads to destruction, and there are many who go in by it.  Because narrow is the gate and difficult is the way which leads to life, and there are few who find it (Matthew 7:13, 14, NKJ)
We cannot judge any religion by the number of its adherents.
Alighieri Dante, the Italian poet who lived between the years 1265 and 1321 A.D., wrote THE DIVINE COMEDY.  In it he describes Muhammad, with his body split from the head down to the waist, in the twenty-eight sphere of the inferno and shows him tearing apart his severed breast with his own hands, because he is the chief among the damned souls who have brought schism into religion.

To the medieval mind, Muhammad's claim to deliver a divine revelatin, superseding Judaism and Christianity, can only be regarded as an implausible fraud.  Yet, Anis Mansoor, a well known Egyptian journalist, wrote a book entitled THE DISTINGUISHED PERSONALITIES IN HISTORY ARE ONE HUNDRED, MUHAMMAD IS THE GREATEST OF THEM. How can there be such diverse and extreme opinions regarding one man such as there are about Muhammad?

Let us study this man Muhammad.  Let us also study the Quran.
This book is a documented analysis of Muhammad's life: his roots, his marriages, his call, his migration, his battles, and his death.  It is also a documented analysis of the Quran, which the Muslims spell "Qur'an."

What is the Quran?  The Quran is the Muslims's Holy Book - they call it "The Glorious Qur'an" or "Al-Mushaf Al-Shareef."  The Quran came almost 600 years after Christ.  Many of its contents contradict the Bible and it records many of the Bible stories with great distortion.  It commands the killing of Jews and Christians, permits polygamy (marring more than one woman at one time), permits the husband to beat his wife, and permits a Muslim man to marry a Christian or a Jewish woman, but forbids the Muslim woman to marry a Christian or a Jew.  Many more things are mentioned in this book.

It would be helpful for the English speaking reader to buy an English translation of the Quran and read it carefully to see the great contradictions between it and the Bible, and at the same time to discover the discrepancies in the Quran itself.

    This book compares the Quran and the Bible.  It has been written after many years of research to inform the English speaking people concerning Muhammad, the prophet of Islam, and the Quran.
     It is offered with much prayer.
       [TOP]
MUHAMMAD
FROM HIS BIRTH TO HIS DEATH
  Chapter 1
 MUHAMMAD'S ROOTS AND HIS FIRST MARRIAGE

Muhammad was born in Mecca in the Arabian Peninsula in the year 570 A.D. to a pagan family who worshipped idols and had no faith in God.  It is of great interest to note that the Quran, the holy book of Islam, does not mention Muhammad's birth, his father or his mother, or any of his ancestors.  The only ones who are mentioned in the Quran are Abu Lahab, Muhammad's uncle, and his wife.  In Surat Al-Lahab both were destined to hell fire because Abu Lahab refused to support Muhammad and ridiculed him.  (Surat Al-Lahab 111:1-5).

But we read in the Bible about Moses' father and mother and all the details of his birth (Exodus 2:1-10).  Moses was born into a family of strong faith in God as we read in the letter to the Hebrews:

    By faith Moses, when he was born, was hid three months by his parents, because they saw he was a proper child: and they were not afraid of the king's commandment (Hebrews 11:23 NKJ).
The New Testament also gives the details of Jesus' birth and how it fulfilled the prophecies concerning him (Matthew 1:18-23; Luke 1:26-38 and 2:1-13).  Jesus Christ was born of the Virgin Mary to whom the angel Gabriel was sent from God to announce his birth:
    And the angel came in unto her, and said, "Hail, thou that art highly favored, the Lord is with thee: blessed art thou among women... behold thou shalt conceive in thy womb, and bring forth a son, and shalt call His name Jesus.  He shall be great, and shall be called the Son of the Highest: and the Lord God shall give unto Him the throne of His father David and he shall reign over the house of Jacob for ever; and of His kingdom there shall be no end"  (Luke 1:28-33).
The only source of information concerning Muhammad's roots is found in the Arabic book Alsera Alnabawia (The Biography of Muhammad)  written in 758 A.D.  by Ibn Ishaq, edited in 833 A.D. by Ibn Hesham, and also by other Arab biographers.

The full name of Muhammad is Muhammad Ibn (Ibn means son) Abdullah, Ibn Abdul-Muttalib, Ibn Hashim, Ibn Admanaf, Ibn Qussai.  Ibn Hesham mentioned in his book tha Qussai, the great grandfather of Muhammad, was the governor of Mecca and the Guardian of the Kaaba where three hundred and sixty idols were worshipped by the different Arab tribes.  The Kaaba was the holy shrine of the Arabs.

Muhammad's father's name was Abdullah, which means the "slave of Allah."  We can see from that name that Allah was a deity known to the Arabs before Islam.  He is the moon god and not the God of the Bible.  The God of the Bible, whom the Jews and Christians worshipped, was not called Allah but Jehovah (Psalm 83:18).

Abdullah died before Muhammad's birth.  When he was born, his mother Aminah, daughter of Wahab, could not breast feed him, so she gave him to a woman by the name of "Halima" to nurse him with her son.

Muhammad's mother Aminah died when he was six years old and his grandfather, Abdul Muttalib, assumed responsibility for him.  After the death of his grandfather, his uncle Abu-Talib cared for him.

The only verse we read in the Quran concerning Muhammad's childhood is recorded in Surat Al-Duha 93:6:

    Did He not find thee and orphan and give thee shelter?
Muhammad's childhood was difficult.  Loneliness left its toll on his life.

Arabian Society in Muhammad's Time       [TOP]

Muhammad's uncle Abu-Talib was a merchant and he used to take Muhammad with him on trading caravans across Arabia.

Muhammad was introduced to the surrounding world and many different kinds of people during these journeys with his uncle.

H.A.R. Gibb, professor of Arabic at Oxford University, wrote in his book, MUHAMMADANISM:

    Mecca at this time was no sleepy hollow, remote from the noise and bustle of the world. A busy and wealthy commercial town, almost monopolizing the entrepot trade between the Indian Ocean and the mediterranean, it recalls Palmyra without the flasy Greek veneer.  Its citizens, while preserving a certain native Arab simplictiy in their manners and institutions, had acquired a wide knowledge of men and cities in their intercourse, commercial and diplomatic, with Arab tribesmen and Roman officials.  Amongst their leaders these experiences had stimulated intellectual faculties and moral qualities of prudence and self-restraint rare in Arabia (MUHAMMADANISM, pages 24, 25).
Arabia was largely paganistic, but we have to remember that Judaism and Christianity were both present.  Jewish tribes had lived in Arabia for hundreds of years by the time Muhammad was born.  They were established, prosperous, and were well respected.

There were also many Christian cults in Arabia:  the Ebionites who denied the deity of Christ:  the Docetic Gnostic who emphasized His diety but denied His humanity;  the Arians who attributed to Him a subordinate deity; and the Nestorians, who denied the proper union of His two natures.

In one of these caravans Muhammad met Buhaira, a Nestorian monk.  Ibn Hesham recored that Buhaira looked at Muhammd's back and saw a mole on it, which was supposed to be a sign of prophethood, and warned his uncle Abu-Talib to protect him from the Jews.

In addition to these cults there were also true Christians in Arabia.  We will read Muhammad's response to all of them in the Quran.
Muhammad's First Marriage       [TOP]

A wealthy Meccan widow, Khadija, hired Muhammad to manage her business.  After a short time she fell in love with him and sent her maid, Nafisa, to propose marriage to him on her behalf,  He was twenty-five years old, she was forty.  Muhammad accepted her proposal of marriage as her wealth was more important to him than her age.  Muhammad's marriage to Khadija assured him of prestige among his tribe, the tribe of Quraysh (THE MIND CRISIS IN ISLAM, page 89, written by Mustafa Geha).

Her cousin, Bishop Waraka Ibn Nofal, who was the Ebionite Christian Bishop of Mecca, officiated at the marriage ceremony.  So Muhammad's marriage was in a way a Christian marriage, which explains why Muhammad did not marry any other woman as long os Khadija lived (KASSON WANABI - A Bishop and a Prophet, page 37).

    This marriage indicates that before Islam there were women in the Arabian peninsula who were in control of their lives, and who could hire men to manage their businesses.  Muhammad lived with Khadija in Mecca and she provided for him a constant source of support and a comfortable lifestyle.
MUHAMMAD
FROM HIS BIRTH TO HIS DEATH
Chapter 2

MUHAMMAD'S CALL       [TOP]

After Muhammad's marriage to Khadija, Bishop Waraka Ibn Nofal befriended him and set his mind to train and disciple Muhammad to succed him as the Ebionite Bishop of Mecca.  Muhammad's prosperous union with khadija gave him time for solitude at the cave fo Mount Hira in a suburb of Mecca.  It was there that Bishop Waraka began to teach and train him.

Bishop Waraka taught Muhammad many of the Old and New Testament stories of the Bible.  These stories are mentioned in the Quran with great distortion.  He also taught Muhammad about Jesus according to the Ebionites' belief, which as we mentioned before denies the deity of Christ.

One night when Muhammad was forty years old, he was alone in the cave of Hira when a spirit appeared to him at the door of the cave.  That spirit grasped him suddenly and squeezed him until he thought he would die and commanded him, "Read."

"I cannot read," Muhammad answered, because he was illiterate.  The spirit squeezed him again so tightly he that thought he would die, and commanded him again, "Read."  "I cannot read," he answered.  The The spirit tightened his grasp and squeezed him more and said for the third time, "Read."  Afraid that he might die, Muhammad said, "What shall I read?"  The spirit said:

    Read:  in the name of thy Lord who Createth.  Createth man from a clot.  Read: and thy Lord is the Most Bounteous, Who teacheth by the pen, Teacheth man that which he knew not  (Surat Al-Alaq 96:1-5 MPT)
Then the spirti disappeared.  Muhammad returned to his wife, frightened and in great distress.  He worried that what had happened to him was an hallucination or the appearance of a jinni.  The READER'S DIGEST ILLUSTRATED ENCYCLOPEDIC DICTIONARY defines the word "Jinni" as follows:
    Jinni: (plural Jinn) in Muslim legend, a spirit capable   assuming human or animal form and exercising supernatural influence over man.
Muhammad asked Khadija to cover him for he was shivering.
Khadija covered him, suprised by his fear, his shivering, and his pale face.

Khadija took Mohammad to her cousin, Bishop Waraka Ibn Nofal, who declared his belief that Muhammad was chosen to be the prophet of his people.  Keep in mind it was an Ebionite Bishop who declared that Muhammad was a prophet!  Muhammad declared in his Quran in Surat Al-Imran 3:19:

The religion before Allah is Islam.

Again in verse 85 of the same Surat:

    If anyone desires a religion other than Islam, never will it be accepted of him; and in the hereafter he    will be in the ranks of those who have lost.
In Surat Al-Ahzab 33:40 we read:
    Muhammad is . . . the Messenger of Allah and the Seal    of the Prophets.
Analysis Of Muhammad's Call       [TOP]

At this point we have to analyze Muhammad's call to decide if he is a true or a false prophet.  We will address this issue with the following questions:

First:  Since Islam is the only religion accepted before Allah and Muhammad is the seal of the prophets as the Quran declares, why was it that the call of Muhammad came through that spirit and not by a direct call from God?
Moses, the founder of Judaism, received a direct call from God.  God spoke to him from the midst of the burning bush (Exodus  3:1-10).  The Quran declares in Surat Al-Nisa 4:164:

    And to Moses Allah spoke direct.
If Islam is superior to Judaism and Christianity, Muhammad should have received a direct call from God.  Instead, he passed through that terrible experience at the cave of Hira when the spirit squeezed him, and he thought he would die.

Second:  Who will testify concerning that call?  Muhammad was the only witness to that experience.  One witness is not acceptable in substantiating such a claim.

God said in the book of Deuteronomy 19:15:

    By the mouth of two or three witnesses the matter shall be established.
Jesus Christ said to the Jews of his days:
    If I bear witness of Myself, my witness is not true. There is another that bears witness of Me, and I know that the witness which He witnesses of Me is true.  You have sent to John, and he has borne witness to the truth.  Yet I do not receive testimony from man, but I say these things that you may be saved. . . But I have a greater witness than John's,  for the works which the Father has given me to finish - the very works that I do - bear witness of Me, that the Father has sent Me.  And the Father Himself, who sent Me, has testified of Me. . . You search the Scriptures, for in them you think you have eternal life; and these are they which testify of Me (John 5:31-39 NKJ).
Christ has four witness:
  • The testimony of John the Baptist.
  • The testimony of the miracles He performed.
  • The testimony of the Heavenly Father.
  • The testimony of the prophetic word.
Muhammad is the only witness for himself.  We cannot accept his sole testimony.

Third: God authenticated the call of Moses with miracles and He   witnessed concerning His Son, Jesus Christ, with miracles.  Why was it that Muhammad was unable to perform miracles?

Concerning Moses' miracles, the Bible says:

    Israel also came into Egypt, and Jacob dwelt in the land of Ham. . .
    He sent Moses His servant, and Aaron whom He had chosen. They performed His signs (miracles) among them, and wonders in the land of Ham.  He sent darkness, and made it dark; and they did not rebel against His word.  He turned their waters into blood, and killed their fish. Their land abounded with frogs, even in the chambers of their kings.  He spoke, and there came swarms of flies, and lice in all their territory.  He have them hail for rain, and flaming fire in their land.  He struck their vines also and their fig trees, and splintered the trees of their territory.  He spoke, and locust came, young locusts without number, and ate up all vegetation in their land, and devoured the fruit of their ground.  He also destroyed all the firstborn in their land, the first of all their strength.
    (Psalms 105:23, 26-36 NKJ).
The Quran declares:
    To Moses We did give nine Clear signs (miracles)
    (Surat Al-Isra 17:101).
The Bible recorded ten miracles, not nine.

We also read about Jesus' miracles in the New Testament.  Jesus said to His disciples:

    Believe Me that I am in the Father and the Father in Me, or else believe Me for the sake of the works themselves (John 14:11 NKJ).
In his Gospel, the apostle John recorded many miracles Jesus performed.  At the end of his Gospel he says:
    And truly Jesus did many other signs in the presence of his disciples, which are not written in this book; but these are written that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that believing you may have life in His name (John 20:30, 31 NKJ).
The Quran also declares that Jesus Christ performed many miracles.  He healed the man who was born blind, and the leper, and raised the dead (Surat Al-Imran 3:49).

But Muhammad declared that he could not perform any miracles.  The Quran does not mention a single miracle attributed to him.  The Quran declares in Surat Al-Ankabut 29:50:

    Yet they say:  "Why are not signs sent down to him from his Lord?"  Say (Muhammad):  "The signs are indeed with Allah and I am indeed a clear warner."
In Surat Al-Isra Muhammad's contemporaries asked him to perform a miracle so that they could believe in him.  Muhammad answered:
    Glory to my Lord!  Am I aught but a man, a messenger
    (Surat Al-Isra 17:93).
Muhammad's call was not authenticated by miracles.
 

Who Was The Spirit That Squeezed Muhammad At The Cave?

It is of great importance to identify the spirit who squeezed Muhammad at the cave of Hira near Mecca.

After his encounter with the spirit, Muhammad was afraid that what happened to him was from a Jinni.  Then later, Muhammad declared in the Quran that the spirit who squeezed him was the angel Gabriel.  We read in Surat Al-Baqarah 2:97:

    Say: Whoever is an enemy to Gabriel - for he brings down the (revelation) to the heart by Allah's will, a confirmation of what went before, and guidance and glad tidings for those who believe.
Was the spirit really the angel Gabriel?       [TOP]

The answer is:  Absolutely not!

First:  Had the spirit been Gabriel, he would have calmed Muhammad and relieved his fear.  But the spirit left him in extreme distress.

Gabriel appeared to many people before his alleged visit to Muhammad and each time the first thing he did was to allay that person's fear.

Gabriel appeared to the prophet Daniel.  Daniel was afraid but Gabriel touched him, he did not squeeze him, he only touched him:

    And I heard a man's voice between the banks of Ulai, which called, and said, "Gabriel, make this man to understand the vision."  So he came near where I stood: and when he came, I was afraid, and fell upon my face. . . but he touched me, and set me upright. . . (Daniel 8:16-18).
Gabriel appeared to Zacharias, the father of John the Baptist, who is called Yihia in the Quran; he identified himself and said to Zacharias:
    Do not be afraid, Zacharias...  I am Gabriel that stand in the presence of God (Luke 1:13, 19).
Gabriel appeared to Mary, the mother of Jesus.  Mary was greatly troubled but Gabriel said to her:
    Do not be afraid, Mary (Luke 1:30).
But the spirit who squeezed Muhammad left him frightened and in great distress.  Therefore the spirit could not have been the angel Gabriel.

Second:  Had the spirit been Gabriel, he would not have contradicted his former revelations.

Six hundred years before Muhammad, Gabriel said to Mary when he appeared to her:

    The Holy Ghost shall come upon thee, and the power of the Highest shall overshadow thee:  therefore also that holy thing which shall be born of thee shall be called Son of God (Luke 1:35).
But the spirit who appeared to Muhammad said to him:
    ...and the Christians say:  The Messiah is the son of  Allah.  That is their saying with their mouths.  They imitate the saying of those who disbelieved (literally those who are infidels) of old.  Allah (Himself) fighteth against them.  How perverse are they
    (Surat Al-Tawbah 9:30 MPT).
Gabriel said to Mary that Jesus would be called the Son of God.  The spirit who gave the revelations to Muhammad said that this is the saying of the infidels, and declares that Allah Himself fights against the Christians who confess that Jesus is the Son of God.

Was the spirit really the angel Gabriel?  Could Gabriel contradict himself in such an important matter?

Third:  Had the spirit been Gabriel, Khadija would have believed Muhammad's testimony and would not have tested the spirit the way she did.

We are told by Ibn Hesham, who wrote Muhammad's biography, that Khadija tested the spirit who squeezed Muhammad.  She said to Muhammad:

    "Would you please tell me when the spirit comes to you?"  When Muhammad told her of the spirit's arrival, Khadija said "Muhammad, sit on my left thigh." Muhammad sat on her left thigh.  "Do you see the spirit?"  she asked.  "Yes." "Then sit on my right thigh."  Muhammad sat on her right thigh.  "Do you see the spirit?" she asked.  "Yes," he answered.  "Then sit on my lap." Muhammad sat on her lap.  "Do you see the spirit?"  she asked.  "Yes," he answered.  Khadija uncovered a feminine part of her body while Muhammad was sitting on her lap. "Do you see the spirit?"  "No,"  he answered.  Then Khadija said, "Muhammad, that   spirit is an angel, not a devil" (Ibn Hesham, part 2, pages 74, 75).
What a strange way to test a spirit!

Fourth:  Had the spirit been Gabriel he would not have given a false scientific revelation to Muhammad.

The spirit said to Muhammad:

    Read:  in the name of thy Lord who Createth. Createth man from a clot (Surat Al-Alaq 96:1-5).
These words are scientifically wrong.  Professor Haanein Muhammad Makhloof, on page 508 of his Dictionary of the Meanings of Words of the Quran, says that the Arabic word "alaq" translated into English as "clot" means frozen blood.
Man was created from the dust of the ground, not from frozen blood.  Even the Quran states this fact:
    Behold, thy Lord said to the angels:  "I am about to create man from clay.  When I have fashioned him and breathed into him of My spirit, fall ye down in prostration unto him" (Surat Sad 38:71, 72).
Here the Quran contradicts itself.  In one instance it says that many was created from "a clot" which means "frozen blood," while in another it says that man was created from "clay."  The fact is, man was created from the dust of the ground as the Bible states.

Dr. William Campbell in his book, The Quran and The Bible, says on page 185:

    As every reader who has studied human reproduction will realize, there is no state as a clot during formation a fetus, so this a very major scientific problem.
Would the angel Gabriel make such a scientific error?

Fifth: Had the spirit been Gabriel, he would have taught Mohammad to read and write.

The Quran declares that Allah taught Jesus how to write.  In Surat Al-Imran 3:48 it is said concerning Jesus:

    And Allah will teach him the book and wisdom, the Torah and the Gospel.
Ibn Katheir in his exposition of the Quran (Vol. 1, page 344), says:
    The book mentioned here means writing.
We would expect that Muhammad, who calls himself the seal of the prophets, would be taught to read and write.  The spirit said in his revelation to Muhammad:
    Read; and thy Lord the Most Bounteous, who teaches by the pen, teacheth man that which he knew not (Surat Al-Alaq 96:3-4).
The question is, if God teaches man that which he knew not by the pen, why did He not teach Muhammad how to read and write, instead of leaving him illiterate all his life?
There came a time when Muhammad was in doubt concerning the revelations he received from the spirit.  The Quran recorded:
    If thou wert in doubt as to what we have revealed unto thee, then ask those who have been reading the Book   from before thee: The truth hath indeed come to thee from thy Lord; so be in no wise of those in doubt (Surat Yunus 10:94).
The "Book" mentioned in this verse is the Bible, and that shows very clearly that the Bible was the final authority for Muhammad even when he was in doubt.  If Muhammad had been a learned man he would have known the truth directly from the Bible.  But the spirit left him illiterate.

Muhammad had the right to be in doubt of the revelations given to him by the spirit which appeared to him at the cave of Hira, for that spirit was not the angel Gabriel.  If he was a learned man, he would have known what the New Testament says concerning Satan:

    And no Wonder!  For Satan himself transforms himself into an angel of light (2 Cor 11:14 NKJ).
It is obvious that Muhammad was totally deceived, for he was illiterate, and could not search for the truth as it is recorded in the Holy Scriptures which were available in his time.

Muhammad's Call Was Not Like the Call Of Moses Or Jesus,       [TOP]
Who Were Sent On A Special Mission

Moses' mission as expressed in the Bible was:

    Come now, therefore, and I will send you to Pharaoh, that you may bring my people, the children of Israel, out of Egypt (Exodus 3:10 NKJ).
We know that Moses fulfilled his mission to the letter.  Jesus Christ declared His own mission in these words:
    The Spirit of the Lord is upon Me, because He has anointed Me to preach the gospel to the poor; He has sent Me to heal the brokenhearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives and recovery of sight to the blind, to set at liberty those who are oppressed; to proclaim the acceptable year of the Lord (Luke 4:18, 19 NKJ).
The spirit who squeezed Muhammad did not assign to him any special mission.  He merely said to him:
    Read: In the name of thy Lord who Createth,
    Createth man from a clot (Surat Al-Alaq 96:1-5).
Muhammad Does Not Pass The Test Of A True Prophet.       [TOP]

In the final analysis, we find that Muhammad is not a true prophet, for the true prophet according to the Bible must have special qualifications.

1.  The true prophet, who is chosen by God to be the founder of a new religion must receive a direct call from God (Exodus 3:9,10).  Muhammad received his call from the spirit which squeezed him at the cave of Hira.

2.  The true prophet, chosen to declare a new religion, must be committed to holiness (2 Peter 1:21).  The main interest of Muhammad was to have as many wives as he could, and not to live a holy life.

    O Prophet!  We have made lawful to thee thy wives to whom thou hast paid their dowers;  and those whom thy right hand possesses out of the captives of war whom Allah has assigned to thee; and daughters of thy paternal uncles and aunts, and daughters of thy maternal uncles and aunts, who migrated with thee;  and    any believing woman who gives herself to the prophet. If the prophet wishes to wed her; - this only for thee,  and not for the believers (at large) (Surat Al-Ahzab 33:50).
3.  The true prophet must perform miracles to authenticate his call.  There is no mention in the Quran of a single miracle attributed to Muhammad.

4.  The true prophet must utter prophecies that must be fulfilled to the letter.  The only so-called prophetic utterance Muhammad recorded in his Quran is Surat Ar-Rum it says:

    The Romans have been defeated - in a land close by: But they (even) after (this) defeat of theirs    will soon be victorious within a few years, with Allah is the command in the past and in the future: On that day shall the believers rejoice (Surat Ar-Rum 30:2-4).
This surat cannot be considered a prophecy in any sense, for it does not mention who defeated the Romans, where they were defeated, or who shall be defeated by them.  It seems strange that the Muslims would rejoice because of the victory of the Romans who were Catholics at that time.

Why do they not rejoice today for the victories of the Christians?

If one apples this set of criteria and the required qualifications of the prophet to Muhammad, one must conclude that he is not a true prophet.

In addition, Islam did not establish commandments or principles superior to those of judaism and christianity.  All Muhammad did was to permit:

  • Polygamy instead of monogamy.
  • War and bloodshed instead of peace.
  • Revenge instead of forgiveness.
  • Salvation by good deeds, instead of salvation by the grace of God through the shed blood of Jesus Christ, and
  • A sensual paradise after death where the Muslims will have rivers of wine, women with wide lovely eyes and beautiful boys instead of a new heaven and new earth in  which righteousness dwells (II Peter 3:13). (Compare Surat Al-Tur 52:17-24 to II Peter 3:13).
More importantly, Jesus Christ was the last Messenger of God to mankind, there was no one come after him.  He is also the heir of all things.  This is clear from the words we read in the Epistle to the Hebrews.
    God, who at various times and in various ways spoke in time past to the fathers by the prophets, has in these last days spoken to us by His Son, whom he has appointed heir of all things, through whom also He made the worlds; who being the brightness of His glory and the express image of His person, and upholding all things by the word of His power, when He had by Himself   purged our sins, sat down at the right hand of the Majesty on high. . . (Hebrew 1:1-3 NKJ).
The Quran declares that Allah is the one who will inherit all things:
    It is We Who will inherit the earth, and all beings thereon: to Us will they all be returned (Surat Maryam 19:40).

    Lo! and it is We, even We, Who quicken and give death, and we are the inheritor (Surat Al-Hijr 15:23 MPT).

If we acknowledge that Christ is the inheritor of all things, we have to confess that He is also God the Son.  At the end of His earthly life, Jesus said to His disciples:
    Let not your heart be troubled:  ye believe in God, believe also in me.  In my Father's house are many  mansions: if it were not so, I would have told you.  I  go to prepare a place for you.  And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again, and receive you unto myself; that where I am, there ye may be also (John 14:1-3).
Jesus told His disciples that He would come again to take them to His Father's house.  He did not tell them that another prophet would come after him.  It is not acceptable that God will send a slave after sending His eternal Son.
       [TOP]

MUHAMMAD
FROM HIS BIRTH TO HIS DEATH
Chapter 3

Muhammad's Wives

After the death of Khadija, his wife of almost twenty years, and after proclaiming himself the Messenger of Allah, Muhammad unleashed his sexual desires and in a span of ten years he married fourteen wives in addition to his many concubines.  Not one of them was mentioned in the Quran by name, for Islam has no regard for women.  They were, however, mentioned in Muhammad's biography written by Ibn Hesham.

Before we mention the wives of Muhammad, we have to remember the words of the Quran concerning Muhammad.

    And surely thou hast sublime morals (Surat Al-Qalam 68:4).

    Ye have indeed in the Messenger of Allah an
    excellent exemplar (Surat Al-Ahzab 33:21).

So, if Muhammad married all these wives without any sense of guilt, a good Muslim can marry four women without any sense of quilt.  Muhammad is his excellent example.
A Washington Post Parade Magazine reporter printed a column entitled "Sex in Saudi Arabia."  Here is that column.
    This reporter rang up Dr. Seymour Gray in Brookline, Massachusetts, recently and asked the former Harvard Medical School professor if he really believed that the late King Ibn Saud, founder of modern-day Saudi Arabia, had married 300 women in his lifetime.  Dr. Gray, 72, worked from 1975 to 1978 as physician in charge of the medical department at the King Faisal Specialist Hospital in Riyadh. He is the author of Beyond the Veil - The Adventures of an American Doctor in Saudi Arabia, a fascinating book published earlier in the year.  "I don't know if Ibn Saud was married to precisely 300 women, " Gray replied, "but that approximate number, give or take a dozen or two, seems to be correct."
We then asked if it is true that Moslems by law and tradition are permitted to have only four wives - admittedly a far cry from 300.
    "Under Islamic law," Gray explained, "a man can have no more than four wives at any one time.  What some royal Saudis do is to divorce their oldest wives when they reach 35 or 40 and take younger ones. Divorce in Saudi Arabia is quick and simple.  All the husband has to do is to announce three times, 'I divorce you,' and that's it."
Gray contends that many Saudi men are obsessed with sex  because Islamic law segregates the sexes so strictly.  Saudi women must wear veils and avoid the society of men.  Adultery is punishable by death.  Premarital sex is so taboo that later, after a man marries, he often has a compulsion to engage in sexual relations as frequently as he can manage.  Gray writes in his book that many male Saudis consider themselves impotent if  cannot indulge in sexual intercourse more than two or three times a day.

One of Gray's must illustrious patients was Prince  Ibrahim Mugrin el-Kabir, who had fought alongside Ibn Saud early in the century.  The prince complained of "decreasing sexual prowess" and explained that he had fathered no offspring for five years.  He demanded improvement of his waning potency, but-at 90-age was against him.  He soon died, leaving an estate valued at $32 billion, which was divided among his four wives, 23   sons and 11 daughters (Washington Post Parade Magazine, November 13, 1983, page 9).

These people and many more are just following Muhammad's excellent example.

There is a story related to every wife of Muhammad but space only allows us to mention the most interesting one.

Muhammad Married A Six Year Old Child       [TOP]

Aisha, daughter of Abu-Bakr was a beautiful little girl.  Muhammad married her when he was fifty three years old and she was only six years old.  He had intercourse with her when she was nine years old. (Wives of the Prophet, pages 57-61).

This is a gross case of child abuse by the prophet of Islam.

When Muhammad married Aisha, he set an example for the Muslims.  To this day older Muslim men marry much younger girls, following Muhammad's example.

The Egyptian weekly magazine Almussawar printed a letter sent to Ameenah Al-Saaeed, one of its editors, from a woman who was a teacher of languages in Egypt.  The letter appeared in the September 6, 1991 issue.  Here is a part of that letter:

Dear mother Ameenah Al-Saaeed:

    My problem is. . . my husband came home with a friend who is about his age.  He requested that our daughter "Marwa" who is nine years old bring tea to his friend. At night he told me with great joy that his friend agreed to marry "Marwa."  His friend is fifty years old, "Marwa" is nine years old.  When I objected, he told me that he is following the prophet Muhammad's  example when he engaged Aisha when she was six years old and had sex with her when she was nine years old as is written in Sahih Al-Bukhary.
Muhammad Sobhi Alantabli, a high ranking police officer, sent a letter to the same editor, which was printed in Almussawar magazine in the December 20, 1991 issue.  Here is a part of that letter:
    The chief of a tribe invited me to attend his wedding. He was eight four years old and his bride was fourteen years old.  "Why do you marry a girl who is much much younger than you?"  I asked.  "Because my other three wives became old, and when the woman gets old she will be like a rusty car.  I mean a car covered by rust," he answered.  The young bride's father was very happy because of that marriage.
Muhammad Married His Daughter-In-Law       [TOP]

Zainab, daughter of Gahsh.

Dr. Aisha Abd-Alrahman cited in her book, Wives of the Prophets, page 130, what Al-Tabari, the great Muslim expositor, wrote concerning that marriage with Zainab:

    Muhammad asked his wife Khadija to give him one of her slaves.  He asked her to give him "Zaid."  When Zaid's father came to pay a ransom and take him back, Zaid chose Muhammad over his father and family.  Muhammad took Zaid to the chiefs of Quraysh and announced to them that he took Zaid to be his adopted son, and that Zaid was his heir, and that they were witnesses of that  adoption.  From that time on Zaid was called "Zaid son of Muhammad."
Zaid was one of the first persons who accepted Islam.  When Zaid came of age to be married, Muhammad chose for him "Zainab,"  Muhammad's cousin.  Zainab was a beautiful Hashemite woman of high rank, but Zaid was a slave freed by Muhammad.  So Zainabe rejected Muhammad's proposal to marry Zaid.  In order to achieve his purpose, and to convince Zainab to marry Zaid, a revelation was given to Muhammad from Allah.
    It is not fitting for a believer, man or woman, when a matter has been decided by Allah and his Messenger (Muhammad), to have any option about their decision: If anyone disobeys Allah and his Messenger, he is indeed in a clearly wrong path. (Surat Al-Ahzab 33:36).
Facing that so called divine revelation, Zainab submitted to Muhammad's decision and married Zaid.
One day Muhammad went to visit Zaid.  Zainab was in her room wearing her nightgown, the wind moving the drape hanging at the door.  Muhammad saw his daughter-in-law and his heart was moved by her beauty.  She asked him to come in.  He refused and went talking to himself in a loud voice saying "Praise be Allah who changes hearts."  When Zaid came home Zainab told him about Muhammad's visit and what he said.  Zaid went to Muhammad and asked him "Shall I divorce Zainab?"  "Retain her as your wife," Muhammad answered.  After that day Zainab treated her husband, Zaid, harshly and with no respect.  He could not take it any more, so he divorced her.

It was very difficult situation for Muhammad.  He had a great desire for Zainab and he wanted to marry her, but she was his daughter-in-law.

Muhammad needed help and that help must come from his Allah. At last help came in a revelation brought by the spirit who appeared to him at the cave of Hira, in the following verses recorded in the Quran.

    Behold!  Thou didst say to one who had received the grace of Allah and thy favour: "Retain thou (in wedlock) thy wife, and fear Allah."  But thou didst hide in thy heart that which Allah was about to make manifest:  Thou didst fear people, but it is more fitting that thou shoulds fear Allah.  Then when Zaid had dissolved (his marriage) with her we joined in marriage to thee:  In order that (in future) there may   be no difficulty to the believers in (the matter of) marriage with the wives of their adopted sons, when the   latter have dissolved (their marriage) (Surat Al-Ahzab 33:37).
(The whole story is written in Wives of the Prophet, pages 127- 140.)

Muslim commentators tried very hard to justify that marriage but in vain.  For Muhammad to marry his daughter-in-law was a disgrace.

Analysis of Muhammad's Marriage to His Daughter-in-Law       [TOP]

First Since that marriage was planned by Allah and Muhammad, we would rightly expect that the married couple couple would live happily ever after.  Instead, that marriage turned out to be a very miserable marriage.

Second:  Muhammad claimed that he counseled with Allah before they (he and Allah) made the decision that Zainab should marry Zaid.  But we read in the pure word of God:

    ... who has known the mind of the Lord? or who
    has become His counselor? (Romans 11:34 NKJ).
When Muhammad claimed that he counseled with Allah he made
himself equal to Allah.

Third:  When Muhammad made the decision that Zainab should marry Zaid, so he could demonstrate that in Islam there is no difference between the rich and the poor, the slave and the free, he did not care care about Zainab's happiness and satisfaction.  Muhammad's decision regarding that marriage turned into a failure.

Fourth:  When Muhammad lusted after his daughter-in-law, he opened the door for any Muslim man to lust after the wife of his friend and marry her after she is divorced.

God's command says:

    ...Thou shalt not covet thy neightbour's wife. (Exodus 20:17)
let alone, your daughter-in-law.

Fifth:  In light of Jesus' words, Muhammad is considered an adulterer, because he married a divorced woman.

Jesus Christ said:

    Whosoever shall marry her that is divorced committeth
    adultery (Matthew 5:32).
Sixth:  Muhammad mocked Allah and used his name to satisfy his sinful desire when he claimed that Allah joined him in marriage to Zainab.  God never commanded anything against His word.  No wonder that his wife Aisha said to him when she knew that he married Zainab:
    I see your Allah quickly grants you your desire.
In the name of Allah, Muhammad committed all his gross sins.
For Muhammad to claim that Allah joined him in marriage to Zainab is an insult to the word and holiness of God.
Let us record the rest of the list of Muhammad's wives:
  • Suda, daughter of Zamma.
  • Hafsa, daughter of Omar.
  • Zainab, daughter of Khuzima.
  • Om Salma, her name was Hind.
  • Gawariah, daughter of Al-Harith.
  • Safia, daughter of Huyay, a Jewess whose husband was killed with all the Jews whom Muhammad killed at Kheiber.  She was seventeen years old and very beautiful.
  • Om Habiba.
There are five other wives who are not mentioned by Ibn Hesham,
  • Sharaaf, daughter of Khalifa.
  • Al-Alia, daughter of Zabian.
  • Wasna, daughter of Al-Naaman.
  • Maria, the Egyptian Coptic Christian who was given to Muhammad by Al-Mockawkas, the ruler of the Coptics in Egypt.  She bore Muhammad's son Ibrahim who died before he was two years old.  Maria did not convert to Islam.
  • Maimona, daughter of Harith.
Added to these fourteen wives were many concubines and many women who were taken captive during his battles.

Jesus Is The Best Example       [TOP]

If Muhammad had come before Christ, we might have accepted this kind of polygamy.  For King Solomon married 700 wives, and he had 300 concubines.  Other patriarchs like Abraham and David married more than one wife.  But none of them married more than one wife by God's command.  In fact, the Bible says that king Solomon ended his life shamefully because of those wives and concubines (I Kings 11:1-10).  The Bible declares that polygamy was always a cause of misery and disaster.  But Muhammad claimed falsely that he married all those wives by Allah's command and for humanitarian and political reasons.

The fact is that Jesus Christ came six hundred years before Muhammad.  He is the gold standard and his word is the absolute standard by which we measure any kind of behavior.  This is what he said:

    Have you not read that He who made them at the beginning made them male and female, and said, "For this reason a man shall leave his father and mother and be joined to his wife, and the two shall become one flesh?"  So then, they are no longer two but   one flesh. Therefore what God has joined together, let   no man separate (Matthew 19:1-6 NKJ).
Moreover, we read in the New Testament:
    Nevertheless, to avoid fornication, let every man have his own wife, and let every woman have her own husband (I Corinthians 7:2).
One woman for one man at one time, that is what God planned when he created Eve for Adam.  That is what the Holy Bible, the infallible word of God, teaches.  And that is the gold and absolute standard.

Muhammad violated the law of God and married all those women, claiming falsely that he married them by Allah's command.  Even though he declares in his Quran that a Muslim can marry only four women at one time, he gave himself the privilege of marrying fourteen women demonstrating that he is above the law of Allah.
Moreover he says in his Quran that he can marry any woman who offers herself to him and this privilege is reserved for him only (Surat Al-Ahzab 33:50).

According to the Quran, marrying many women was a privilege for the Prophet of Islam.

What a Prophet!

MUHAMMAD
FROM HIS BIRTH TO HIS DEATH       [TOP]
Chapter 4
Muhammad's Migration To Al-Madina

Al Madina was a city located 200 kilometers from Mecca.  Its name was Yathrib.  Muhammad migrated with many of his followers to Al-Madina.  This migration, called in Arabic "Hijra,"is regarded by Muslims as the key date in the history of Islam, and the Muslim calendar begins with that year.  Today, in Muslim lands, documents, letters, and newspapers are dated from the Hijra.

The Meccans Rejected Muhammad       [TOP]

When Muhammad began calling people to Islam in Mecca, the majority of Meccans did not respond to his call.  They criticized him, and called him mad (Surat Al-Hijr 15:6, Surat Al-Qalam 68:51), a possessed poet (Surat Al-Saffat 37:36, a forger (Surat Al-Nahal 16:101) and bewitched (Surat Al-Furqan 25:7,8).  They persecuted his followers.

In the beginning of his call to Islam, Muhammad spoke highly concerning the Jews and declared that Allah assigned the Holy Land to them.  The Quran says:

    And verily we gave the children of Israel the Scripture and the command and the Prophethood, and provided them with good things and favored them above (all) peoples (Surat Al-Jathiya 45:16 MPT).

    And (remember) when Moses said unto his people: O my people!  Remember Allah's favour unto you, how he placed among you prophets, and he made you kings, and
    gave you that (which) He gave not to any (other) of (His) creatures. O my people! Go into the holy land which Allah hath ordained for you (Surat Al-Maidah 5:20, 21 MPT).

These verses in the Quran clearly show that prophethood is exclusively for Israel, not for the Arabs.  Moreover, it declares that the holy land was ordained for Israel.  The holy land was given to Israel by God's decree.  The Muslims have no right to object to Jerusalem being the capital of Israel if they believe the Quran.

Muhammad tried to win the Jews to his side.  He also tried to win the people of other religions.  He declared in the Quran:

    Lo!  Those who believe (in that which is revealed unto thee Muhammad), and those who are Jews, and Christians, and Sabaeans - whoever believeth in Allah and the Last Day and doeth right - surely their reward is with their   Lord, and there shall no fear come upon them neither shall they grieve (Surat Al-Baqarah 2:62 MPT).
In spite of all that Muhammad siad to win the people in Mecca, the Meccans rejected his call to Islam.

Muhammad's Migration To Al-Madina       [TOP]

In the year 622 A.D. Muhammad asked his followers to make their way in small numbers to Al-Madina, a journey of several weeks by camel.  Learning that the Quraysh were planning to prevent him from leaving Mecca, he and Abu-Bakr escaped from the city, hid for several days in a cave, and then took a safe route to Al-Madina.

In Al-Madina, Muhammad established a kingdom for himself.  He tried to win the Jews of Al-Madina to his side so he commanded the Muslims to pray toward the destroyed Jewish temple in Jerusalem.  But the Jewish clans rejected his claim that he was a true prophet; first, because he was an Arab, not a Jew, and also, because they saw that he lacked all the qualifications of a true prophet.  A true prophet must perform miracles, utter prophecies, and be consistent with that which was revealed in the Torah (The Old Testament).

They realized that Muhammad performed no miracles.  He uttered no prophecies.  He contradicted by his revelations the clear teachings of the Torah.  And He used the revelations which he claimed that he received from Allah to satisfy his desires and achieve his purposes.

They rejected him and rightly so.  The Quran did not convince the Meccans, the true Christians, and the Jews, so Muhammad decided to use the sword.

MUHAMMAD       [TOP]
FROM HIS BIRTH TO HIS DEATH
Chapter 5
Muhammad's Battles

In Al-Madina, Muhammad organized a Muslim army to fight the Meccans, and annihilate the Jews and the Christians who rejected Islam.  He had decided that he could achieve with the sword the results his Quran had to produce.

Using force is a sign of weakness.  When a head of state resorts to force against his own people, it shows that he is unable to solve his problems by peaceful means.  It is a clear indication of his weakness, fear of losing his authority, and a troubled mind.

Muhammad Convinced His Followers To Fight       [TOP]

To convince his followers to fight, Muhammad had to give them revelations from Allah, especially since they had to fight against their own relatives in Mecca - against their fathers, brothers, and even grandfathers.

The revelations came in the following verses in the Quran:

    O Apostle (Muhammad) incite (literal translation) the believers (Muslims) to fight (Surat Al-Anfal 8:65).
Then Muhammad distorted a story which he took from the Old Testament, to convince the Muslims who were driven out of their homes in Mecca to fight their clans.  That story is the story of the children of Israel when they asked the Prophet Samuel to appoint for them a king.  That king was king Saul.  Muhammad, did not know the name of the prophet Samuel or the name of king Saul (I Samuel 8:4,5 and 10:21-24).  So he did not mention Samuel and he called Saul, Talut.

He also mixed the biblical story where God commanded Gideon to bring to the water all the people who were gathered with him to fight so that God might test them, with the story of Saul and his fight against the Philistines, (compare Surat Al-Bqarah 2:245-249 and Judges 7:2-7).  Muhammad did just that to motivate the Muslims to fight.

    Fight in the way of Allah, and know that Allah is Hearer, Knower. . .

    Bethink thee of leaders of the Children of Israel after   Moses, how they said unto a Prophet whom they had.  Set   up for us a king and we will fight in Allah's way.  He said:  Would ye then refrain from fighting if fighting were prescribed for you?  They said:  Why should we not fight in Allah's way when we have been driven from our dwellings with our children?  Yet, when fighting was prescribed for them, they turned away, all save a few them.  Allah is aware of evil-doers. (Surat Al-Baqarah 2:224, 246 MPT).

Those who are familiar with the Bible story know that the children of Israel were not driven from their homes and families, but rather were commanded by God to leave Egypt.  But because those who migrated with Muhammad to Al-Madina were Meccans, who were driven from their homes and their children in Mecca, Muhammad distorted the Bible story to achieve his purpose.  The verses continue:
    Warfare is ordained for you, though it is hateful unto you; but it may happen that ye hate a thing which is good for you and it may happen that ye love a thing which is bad for you, Allah knoweth, ye know not (Surat Al-Baqarah 2:216 MPT).

    Lo!  Allah loveth those who battle for his cause in ranks, as if they were solid structure (Surat Al-Saff 61:4 MPT).

Move revelations were given to Muhammad to convince the Muslims to fight:
    When thy Lord inspired the angels, (saying:) I am with you.  So make those who believe stand firm. I will throw fear into the hearts of those who disbelieve Then smite the necks and smite of them each finger. That is because they opposed Allah and His messenger. Whoso opposeth Allah and His messenger, (for him) lo! Allah is severe in punishment.
    That (is the award), so taste it, and (know) that for disbelievers is the torment of the Fire. O ye who believe!  When ye meet those who disbelieve in battle, turn not your backs to them. Whoso on that day turneth his back to them, unless maneuvering for battle or intent to join a company, he truly hath incurred wrath from Allah, and his habitation will be hell, a hapless journey's end (Surat Al-Anfal 8:12-16 MPT).
This verse demonstrates the behavior of those who obey the Quran.

When the Muslims mourned because they killed their relatives in battle, a revelations came to Muhammad to comfort them:

    Ye (Muslims) slew them not, but Allah slew them.
    And thou threwest not when thou didst throw, but
    Allah threw, that He might test the believers by
    a fair test from Him.  Lo!  Allah is Hearer, Knower
    (Surat Al-Anfal 8:17 MPT).
As he began to win battles and his power increased, Muhammad's dream was to establish a united Islamic Kingdom in the Arabian Peninsula.  It would be a kingdom where the Jews and the Christians would live as second class citizens, despised, deprived of all privileges, and forced to pay high taxes, or be killed.

This is what Muhammad said to the Muslims concerning the Jews and the Christians:

    Fight against such of those who have been given the Scriptures (Jews and Christians) as believe not in Allah nor the Last Day, and forbid not that which Allah hath forbidden by His Messenger (Muhammad) and follow not the religion of truth (Islam), until they pay tribute (taxes paid by Jews and Christians who do not want to renounce their religion), being brought low (Surat Al-Tawbah 9:29 MPT).
The above mentioned verse clearly shows that Islam was promoted by the sword, and that Jews and Christians living in an Islamic country are to be treated as second class citizens and obliged to pay high taxes to retain their religion.

The following verse demonstrates the intention of Islam to build and Islamic empire:

    Say to infidels (literal translation), if (now) they desist from unbelief their past would be forgiven them: but if they persist,  the punishment of those before them is already (a matter warning for them). And fight them until there is no more sedition (literal translation) and religion (Islam) becomes Allah's in its entirety (Surat Al-Anfal 8:38,39).
The Muslims think that they are agents of Allah on earth, and that their duty is to promote Islam by force and terrorism.

To ensure that Muslims would fight even till death, Muhammad promised every Muslim who dies in battle total forgiveness of all his sins and eternal life in Paradise where he will be wedded to women of wide lovely eyes, and enjoy rivers of wine.  (Surat Al-Tur 52:17-24).  Martyrdom is the only way for a Muslim to obtain forgiveness of sins.

    And if you are slain or die, in the way of Allah, forgiveness and mercy from Allah are far better than all they could amass.  And if ye die, or are slain Lo! it is unto Allah ye are brought together (Surat Al-Imran 3:157,158).

    Allah hath purchased of the believers (Muslims) their persons and their goods; for theirs (in return) is the garden (of Paradise).  They fight in His cause, and slay and are slain a promise binding him (Surat At-Tawbah 9:111).

    Fight them, and Allah will torture (literal translation) them by your hands and disgrace them, help you to (victory) over them . . . .(Surat At-Tawbah 9, 14). The only reward of those who make war upon Allah and His messenger and strive after corruption in the land will be that they will be killed or crucified, or have their hands and feet on alternate sides cut off, or will be expelled out of the land.  Such will be their degradation in the world, and in the Hereafter theirs will be an awful doom (Surat Al-Maidah 5:33 MPT)

For the Muslims to kill, crucify or cut the hands and feet of those who do not believe in Islam was a clear sadistic behavior. These Quranic verses are still used as commandments and rules in Islamic countries.

The Sword of Islam Goes Forth       [TOP]

With this kind of ammunition, the followers of Muhammad were ready to fight till death.  Muhammad led twenty nine raids.  The reason for the raid of Badr in the first place was not to promote Islam, but to attack and loot the caravan of Abu-Sufian which was loaded with precious goods (Prophets of Allah, page 438).

Abu-Sufian knew of Muhammad's planned raid and escaped by taking another route.  Muhammad continued his raids against the Meccans.  Meanwhile he decided to exterminate the Jewish clans from Al-Madina.  He expelled the Jewish clan of Banu Qainuqa, attacked another Jewish clan, Banu Alnadir, and drove them out of Al-Madina.

Banu Quraiza, sympathizers with the Meccans during the battle of Ditch, suffered a worse fate when its women and children were enslaved and its men were slaughtered.  In 628 A.D. the Jews of Khaybar were dispossessed of their lands.  Al-Madina had no more Jews.

Muhammad decided to use force to subdue the Meccans and all those who opposed him.  He led several raids:  the raid of Uhud, the greater raid of Badr, the raid of Hunain, then the raid of Tabuk.  These raids resulted in several small Jewish and Christians clans submitting to Muhammad.

Finally, Muhammad led his conquest of Mecca.  This time the Meccans received him.  He was Quraysh and from now on his Quaraysh clan would reign over a united Arabian Peninsula.

Thus, by the sword Muhammad eliminated Judaism and Christianity from the Arabian Peninsula.  He declared that the Jews and the Christians were polytheists, and as such they were unclean and should not be allowed to approach the sacred mosque, the Kaaba in Mecca.

Muhammad declares in the Quran:

    The Jews call "Uzair a son of Allah, and the Christians call Christ the Son of Allah.  That is a saying from their mouth; (in this) they but imitate what the infidels (literal translation) of old used to say.  Allah's curse be on them:  how they are deluded away from the truth (Surat At-Tawbay 9:30).
Muhammad commanded the Muslims:
    O ye who believe!  Truly the polytheists (literal translation) are unclean, so let them not, after this year of theirs, approach the sacred mosque (Al-Kaaba in Mecca) (Surat At-Tawbah 9:28).

    O ye who believe, take not the Jews and the Christians for your friends and protectors.  They are but friends protectors to each other.  And he amongst you that turns to them (for friendship) is of them.  Verily Allah guideth not a people unjust (Surat Al-Maidah 5:51).

In view of this last verse, it is of great interest to notice that Arab Muslims in Kuwait and Saudi Arabia pleaded to Christians nations to protect them against the attack of Saddam Hussein, the Muslim president of Iraq, and force him to withdraw from Kuwait during the Gulf War in 1991.

It seems that when it comes to power, politics and money, and when heads of Muslims states feel that they are in danger, the commands of the Quran are ignored.  For the Arabs of Kuwait and Saudi Arabia to ask the Americans and Europeans, which are known as Christian countries, to protect them from Iraqi invasion is a total disobedience of the commands of the Quran.

On the other hand, what would anyone expect from the Muslims, after they read all these violent verses in the Quran inciting them to fight?  It is not surprising to see them fight until death and sacrificing their lives in suicidal attacks against the Jews and Christians, who the Quran stigmatizes as infidels.

Is is clear that the Quran condone racism, violence, terrorism, and killing of Jews and Christians, in the name of Allah.  When there is a command in the Quran, the Muslims must obey it.  In that case, all Muslims are fundamentalists.  The question then arises as to why there is such animosity from islam toward Judaism and Christianity.  Why don't we read in the Quran verses against Buddhism and Hinduism and other pagan religions which were in existence before Islam?  Is it because the Bible, the book of the Jews and Christians. expose the atrocities and brutality of Islam?

MUHAMMAD
FROM HIS BIRTH TO HIS DEATH
Chapter 6
Muhammad's Death       [TOP]

The final days of Muhammad arrived.  He had gained total control of the Arabian peninsula and made the Kaaba in Mecca the only holy shrine to be acknowledged, although there were many other Kaabas in Arabia.

In the tenth year after the Hijra, Muhammad made his farewell pilgrimage to Mecca.  Soon after his return to Al-Madina, he fell ill.  Two verses in the Quran refer to his death:

    Muhammad is no more than a Messenger: many were the messengers that passed away before him.  If he died or were slain, will ye then turn back on your heels? (Surat Al-Imran 3:144).

    Say:  I have no power over any good or harm ot myself except as Allah willeth.  If I had knowledge of the unseen, I should have multiplied all good, and no evil should have touched me:  I am but a warner.. (Surat Al-Araf 7:188).

Writing about Muhammad's death, Al-Baidawi, the great expositor of the Quran, said:
    "If he should die or be slain, will you then turn back on your heels?"  (refers to the incident in which)  Abdallah Ibn Qami'a al-Harithi threw a rock at Allah's Messenger that broke four of his front teeth and gashed his face.  Mus'ab Ibn Umair, who was the standard-bearer defended (Muhammad).  So Ibn Qami'a killed (Mus'ab), assuming that he killed the Prophet.  Then, as it is reported, he said "I killed Muhammad." Someone cried out, "Behold, Muhammad has been killed," and the people turned on their heels.  Then the Messenger cried out, "Come to me, servants of Allah," Thirty of his followers joined him and protected him until they scattered the unbelievers.  Some hypocrites said, "Had he been a prophet, he would not have been killed."  Anas Ibn Nadr, the uncle of Anas Ibn Malak, said, "O, people, if Muhammad is slain, Muhammad's Lord is alive, and dies not; what shall you do if you live after him?  So fight for what he fought for," and added "O Allah, I acquit myself of what they say and exonerate myself from it."  He then clasped his sword firmly and fought till he was killed, and the verse was revealed.

    When Khaybar was conquered, and the people felt secure, Zainab Bint al-Harith, Salam Ibn Mishkam's wife, went about asking which part of the lamb was Muhammad's favorite to eat.  People told her, "It is the front leg, for it is the best part and the farthest from harm."  So she took a lamb, slaughtered it, and cut it up.  Then she took a deadly poison that kills instantly and poisoned the lamb, putting more poison in the leg and shoulder.  When the sun set, Muhammad led the people in the evening prayer.  When he finished he wanted to go, but she was sitting at his feet.  He asked her, and she said, "O Abu al-Qasim, here is a gift I have for you."  Muhammad ordered some of his friends to take it from her, and it was put before him in the presence of his friends, among whom was Bishr Ibn al-Bara' Ibn Ma'rur.  Muhammad said, "Come near and be seated."  Muhammad took the leg and ate, too.  When Muhammad had swallowed his bite, Bishr swallowed his, and the rest of the people ate of it.  Muhammad said, "Raise your hands; this leg and this shoulder tell me they are poisoned."  Bishr said, "By the One who honored you, I found the same in my morsel, but nothing kept me from spitting it out except that I would spoil the pleasure of your food.  When you ate that which was in your mouth, I did not desire my own soul more than yours, and wished that you had not swallowed it."  (One opinion has it that) Bishr died   then and there.  A part of the lamb was thrown to a dog, and the dog died.  Another opinion says that (Bishr's) color turned black and his pain lasted two years, after which he died.  It was also said that Muhammad took a bite of the lamb, chewed it, and spit it out, whereas Bihr swallowed his morsel.  Then Muhammad sent for this Jewess and asked her, "Have you poisoned this lamb?"  She said, "You have acquired   certain powers with which you judge those who are not loyal to you.  You killed my father, my uncle and my brother. . . So I said, "If he is a king, then I would be relieving us of him, and if he is a prophet, he   will be able to perceive.'"  It was said that he pardoned her, while others say he commanded her to be put to death and crucified.  When Muhammad fell ill   just before his death, he said to Aisha, "Aisha, I   still feel the effect of the poisoned food I ate; this is the time of my demise by that poison."  When   Bishr's sister entered his room during the time of his last sickness, he said to her, "This is the time of my demise by the meal I ate with your brother in   Khaybar."  (The above quotation is from the book Is The   Quran Infallible by Abdallah Abd al-Fadi, pages 378-  381).

Finally on June 632 A.D., death came to Muhammad in the room of his wife Aisha as he rested on her lap.  He was sixty-three years old.  Aisha was only sixteen years old.

Muhammad's Death Compared to That of Moses       [TOP]

It is said that a grave was dug in that very place, and in it the prophet of Islam was buried.  Later a mosque was built and Muhammad's grave became a place of pilgrimage in Al-Madina.

Now, we realize a great difference between Muhammad's death and burial and Moses' death and burial.  Moses died when he was one hundred and twenty years old.  The Bible says:

    Moses was a hundred and twenty years old when he died, yet his eyes were not weak nor his strength gone (Deuteronomy 34:7 NIV).
Muhammad died when he was sixty-three years old with four of his front teeth broken.

Moses died according to the word of the Lord.  His funeral was and angelic funeral (Jude 9).  The Lord himself buried him in Moab and no one knows where his grave is.

    He buried him in Moab, in the valley opposite Beth Peor, but to this day no one knows where his grave is (Deuteronomy 34:5, 6 NIV).
Muhammad, poisoned by a woman whose father, uncle and brother had been killed by him, died on the lap of a woman.  His grave is for pilgrims to visit in Al-Madina.

Concerning the Tomb of Jesus Christ, we read the words of the angel to Mary Magdalene and the other Mary who came with her to see the tomb:

    He is not here; for He is risen as He said.  Come see the place where the Lord lay (Matthew 28:6).
Here is the great difference between Jesus Christ, who died to save those who believe in Him and rose again, victorious over death, and Muhammad who was poisoned and defeated by death.

The Quran records the death of Muhammad and his followers:

    Lo! thou wilt die, and lo! they will die (Surat Al-Zumar 39:30 MPT).
Jesus Christ says to His followers:
    Because I live, you will live also (John 14:19 NKJ).
Christians believe in a living Savior.
       [TOP]

THE HISTORY OF THE Quran
Chapter 7

THE HISTORY

The Quran is the Muslim’s Holy Book - they call it "The Glorious Quran" or Al-Mushaf Al-Shareef.  It contains one hundred and fourteen suras ( a surat is a chapter).  The suras are not arranged chronologically but by length. As those who arranged the Quran put the longest suras first and the shortest at the end.       [TOP]

Strange Names

Many suras in the Quran are named after animals or small creatures or other objects.  One surat is named after the jinn ( evil spirits).

Surat Al-Baqarah (Number 2) The Cow
Surat Al-An’am (Number 6) The Cattle
Surat Al-Ra’d (Number 13)  The Thunder
Surat Al-Nahl (Number 16) The Bee
Surat Al-Kahf (Number 18) The Cave
Surat Al-Naml (Number 27) The Ant
Surat Al-’Ankabut (Number 29) The Spider
Surat Al-Dukhan (Number 44)  The Smoke
Surat Al-Tur (Number 52)  The Mount
Surat Al-Najm (Number 53) The Star
Surat Al-Qamar (Number 54) The Moon
Surat Al-Hadid (Number 57) The Iron
Surat Al-Qalam (Number 68) The Pen
Surat Al-Jinn (Number 72) The Jinn
Surat Al-Buruj (Number 85) The Mansions of the Stars
Surat Al-Fajr (Number 89) The Dawn
Surat Al-Shams (Number 92) The Night
Surat Al-Layl (Number 92) The Night
Surat Al-Duha (Number 93) The Morning Hours
Surat Al-Tin ( Number 95) The Fig
Surat Al-’Alaq (Number 96) the Clot
Surat Al-Asr (Number 103) The Declining Day
Surat Al-Fil (Number 105) The Elephant
Surat Al-Falaq (Number 113) The Day Break

    These are strange names for section of a book which Muhammad claimed was the book of Allah.  It is difficult to understand why Allah would name the chapters of his book.  The Cow, The Bee, The Ant, The Spider, The Star, The Sun, The Night, the Fig, The Elephant and even the Jinn.
How the Quran Was Written       [TOP]

Sheikh Abd El-Fatah El-Kady wrote in his book Al Mushaf Al-Shareef             (The Quran - Its History and Tests), pages 14 and 55.

    The Quran was not delivered to Muhammad all at once.  It came piecemeal according to the events and occasions, as we read in the Quran. [It is] a Quran which we have divided [into parts form time to time], intervals:  We have revealed it by stages
    (Surat Al-Isra 17:106)
He continues:
    The Quran was written during Muhammad’s like, on the branches of palm trees, on thin stones, on paper, on skin, on shoulders and side bones of animals.

    All of the Quran was written during Muhammad’s life, but was not collected in one volume. Its suras were not organized.  It was scattered on the branches of palm trees, skin and in the memories or breasts of Muhammad's "close friends" (Al-Sahaba in Arabic).

Not only were the Quranic writings disorganized, but there were seven different versions of them.  The reason for these different versions of the Quran is that the Quran was revealed to Muhammad in seven different ways (Al-Mushaf Al-Shareef, page 64).
Muhammad said in the Hadith:
    The Quran has been revealed to be recited in seven different ways, so recite of it that which is easier for you (Sahih-al-Bukhari, Vol. 6, page 510).
Tabari, the great expositor of the Quran, said that the difference between, the seven versions of the Quran (Al-Ahruf Al-Sabaa) was not in the meaning but in the words.  To illustrate: A person can use the word grace, gracefulness. Or the work goods, possessions, or property. But the fact is that the difference in those seven versions were not purely of words but at times related to the basic content of the Quran's text itself.

After Muhammad’s death, at the time of caliph Abu-Bakr, ,many of those who had memorized the Quran died while fighting the apostates in the battle of " Alyamama, "Omar feared that the death of those men would result in the loss of a great portion of the Quran and suggested to Abu-Bakr that the Quran should be collected in one volume.  Abu-Bakr was reluctant to do that, because Muhammad did not collect the Quran in one volume during his life.  After much discussion Omar persuaded Abu-Bakr to order the collection of the Quran. Abu-Bark ordered Aid Bin Sabot to do the job (Al-Mush Al-Shareef, page 59,60).

    By Allah!  If they had ordered me to shift one of the mountains, it would not have been heavier for me than this ordering me to collect the Quran.  Zaid Ibn Sabit said.  Then I said to Abu-Bakr, " How will you do something which Allah's Apostle did not do?"
    Abu-Bakr said " By Allah, it is a good thins"
    (Sahih-al-Bukhari, Part 6, page 477).
It is quite clear that the collection of the Quran is something which Muhammad did not do.  It is also clear that the Quran was not completely written in one volume during Muhammad’s life.  This is why Omar and Abu-Bakr feared the loss of great portions of the Quran, If the men who memorized it should die.

Therefore Zaid Ibn Sabit agreed to collect the various pieces of the Quran.  However, when Islam became the religion of many countries, every country used the version of the Quran which was known among them:  the Syrians read AbiKaab’s version, the people of Kofa read Abdallah Ibn Massoud’s version, others read Abu Moussa Alashaby’s version and so on.
When Caliph Uthman took the caliphate, he was confronted by such confusion and sedition concerning the reading of the Quran in the different Islamic countries that he ordered it to be rewritten.

     Uthaman ordered Zaid Ibn Sabit and three other men form Quraysh, Abdullah Ibn Al-Zubeer, Saeed Ibn El-Uss, and Abdelrahman Ibn Al-Harith Ibn Hesham, to rewrite the Quran.  It was Uthman’s order to the scribes " If you disagree  with Zaid Ibn Sabit in anything of the Quran, write it in the language of Quraysh, because the Quran was revealed in the language of Quraysh."  They did
    (Al-Mushaf Al-Shareef, Pages 66,70).
After Uthman competed his Quran he forced all the Islamic countries to have one Quran - and banned all other codices.  He finished the matter by burning all other codices of the Quran.

Dr. Taha Hussein , a well known author, college professor, and minister of education in Egypt, wrote in his book Al- Fitnato Al-Korba (The Great Sedition):

    The prophet Muhammad said:  "The Quran was revealed in seven dialects all of them are right and perfect."  When Uthman banned whichever he banned from the Quran, and burned whichever he burned of it, he banned passages Allah has revealed and burned parts of the Quran which were given to the Muslims by the messenger of Allah.  He appointed a small group of the Sahaba (close friends of Muhammad) to rewrite the Quran and left out those who heard the prophet and memorized what he said.  This is why Ibn Massoud was angry, because he was one of the best men who memorized the Quran.  He said that he took from the mouth of the prophet seventy suras of the Quran while Zaid Ibn Sabit was yet a young lad.  When Ibn Massoud objected to the burning of the other codices of the Quran, Uthman took him out of the mosque with violence, and struck him to the ground, and broke one of his ribs (The Great Sedition, pages 160,161,181,182).
It is very clear that much of the orginal Quran was burned, while other parts were rewritten.  How can we reconcile these historical facts with the following words of the Quran?
     Nay, this is a Glorious Quran [ inscribed] in a Tablet preserved (Sarat Al-Buru  85:21,22).

     That this is indeed a Quran most honorable in a book well guarded ( Sarat  Al-Waqiah 56:77,78).

If the Quran was inscribed in “a tablet preserved,” and in “a book well-guarded,” why was it necessary for Utham to rewrite the Quran?  How could he burn the other codices?  Why were there other codices in the first place?  These are very serious questions regarding a book said to be God’s word.

The Bible Is The Gold Standard       [TOP]

To rightly evaluate the Quran, we have to compare it with the Bible.  The Bible is the gold standard by which we must evaluate the Quran.  Even the Quran declares that the Bible is the absolute standard.  When Mohammad doubted the revelations given to him by the spirit who appeared to him at the cave of Hira,, Allah directed him to ask those who read the Bible before him

    And if thou [Muhammad] art in doubt concerning that which we reveal unto thee,  then question those who read the scripture [that was] before thee.
     (Surat Yunus 10:94MPT).
It is clear that the scripture that was before Muhammad is the Holy Bible.  We have thousands of manuscripts of the Bible which were in existence before Muhammad.

 The late Robert Chapman of England wrote the following statemant concerning the Bible.

    This book contains the mind of God, the state of man, the way of salvation, the  doom of sinners, and the happiness of believers.  its doctrines are holy, its  precepts are binding, its histories are true,and its decisions are immutable. Read  to be wise, believe it to be safe, and practice it to be holy.  It contains light to  direct you, food to support you, and comfort to cheer you.  It is the traveler’s map,  the pilgrims’ staff, the pilot’s compsss, the soldier’s sword, and the Christian’s  charter.  Here paradise is restored, heaven is opened, and the gates of hell  disclosed.  Christ is its grand subject, our good its design, and the glory of God  its end.  It shoul fill the memory, test the heart, and  guide the feet.  Read it  slowly, frequently, prayerfully.  It is a mine of wealth, a paradise of glory and a  river of pleasure.  It is given you in life, will be opened at the judgment, and be  remembered forever.  It invloves the highest responsibility, rewards the greatest  labor, and condemns all who trifle with its sacred contents.  (The Bible Has the Answer, page 31).
Contrary to the Quran, the Bible is arranged in chronological order.  It begins with the Book of Genesis and ends with the Book of Revelation. Dr. Lehman Srauss wrote in the introduction of his book, The book of The Revelation, pages 17,18:

One careful reading of the Bible will convince anyone that this inspired volume forms a complete cycle.  Gensis is the book of commencement; Revelation is the book of consummation.  Revelatioon is an excellent finish to the devine library.
 

     Genesis - The commencement of Heaven and earth (1:1)
     Revelation - The consummation of Heave and earth (21:1)

     Genesis - The entrance of sin and the curse (3:1-19)
     Revelation - The end of sin and the curse (21:27; 22:3)

     Genesis - The dawn of Satan and his activities (3:1-7)
     Revelation - The doom of Satan and his activities (20:10)

     Genesis - The tree of life is relinquished (2:9;3:24)
     Revelation - The tree of life is regained (22:2)

     Genesis - Death makes it extrance (2:17;5:5)
     Revelation - Death makes its exit (21:4)

     Genesis - Sorrow begins (3:16)
     Revelation - Sorrow is banished (21:4)

The first book of the Bible knows no completion apart from the last book of  the Bible, and all the rest of the sixty-four books in between are dependent  upon each other.  Not one book in the Bible is an independent contribution  to be divorced from the other books.

This is not the case with the Quran. Its opening surat is a prayer which must be repeated five times a day by evey Muslin, followed by Surat Al-Baqarah which contains many verses that were abrogated in other suras, and it ends with the follwing surat:

    In the name of Allah, the Beneficent , the Merciful Say:  I seek refuge in the  Lord of mankind, the King of mankind, The God of mankind, from the evil  of the  sneaking whisperer, who whispereth in the hearts of mankind, of the  jinn of mankind. (Surat Al-Nas 114:1-6 MPT)
This is how the Quran  ends, with fear of Jinn, fear of the sneaking whisperer, and of men, while the Bible ends with the hope of the second coming of Christ and with the grace of Christ on the believers (Revelation 22:20,21).  The Quran is complety different fromt he Bible in its language, style, and seting.  The Bible reconts the stories of the fall of Adam, of the call of Abraham, the stories of Isaac, Jacob, Joseph, and Moses and other prophets and great men of God.  These stories demonstrate the truthfulness and honesty of the Bible and the precious lessons from the life of those patrarchs.  It also records how human begins got to speak different languages even thoughtthey are the decendants of one man.  Adam, and one woman, Eve.       [TOP]

Contradiction Between the Bible and the Quran

The Quran mentions many stories and commandments written in the Bible with great distortions and contradiction.  The following are a few examples:

1. Noah’s Wife And Son

The Quran declares that Noah’s entered hell, and that one of his sons was drowned by the flood:

    Allah cited an example for those who disbelieve:  The wife of Noah and the  wife of Lot, who were under two of our righteous slaves, yet betrayed them  so that they [the husbands] availed them naught against Allah and it was  said [unto them]: Enter the fire along with those who enter  (Surat Al-Tahrim 66:10 MPT).

    And it sailed [the ark] with them amid waves like mountains, and Noah cried unto his son and he was standing aloof  - O my son!  Come ride with us, and be not with the disbelievers.  He said:  I shall betake me to some mountain that will save me from the water, [Noah] said:   This day there is none that saveth from the commandment of Allah save him on whom He hath had mercy.  And the wave came in between them, so he was  among the drowned. ( Surat Hud 11:42,43 MPT).

These Quranic verses contradict the Bible which says:
    In the selfsame day entered Noah, and Shem and Ham, and Japheth, the sons of Noah, and Noah’s wife, and the three wives of his sons with them, into the ark (Genesis 7:13).
Whom should we believe, the Quran or the Bible?  The Bible tells us that the human race descended after the flood from Shem. Ham and Japheth.  Since none of them drowned, the Quran is in error.

2. Miriam and Mary

In the Arabic Bible both Miriam, the sister of Asron, and Mary, the mother of Jesus, are named “ Maryam.”  But the Quran we read that Mary, the mother of Jesus, is the daughter of Imran, and the sister of Aaron.
 

    And Mary, the daughter of Imran, who guarded her virginity (literal translation,  and we breathed into [her body] of our spirit (Surat Al-Tahrim 66:12).

    O sister of Aaron! (Surat Maryam 19:28).

 Read also verses 29-34 of the same surat.
    The fact is that Mary, the mother of Jesus, is not the daughter of Imran or the sister of Aaron.  The difference in time between the two Marys is more than 1300 years.  Besides, Mary the mother of Jesus, was from the tribe of Judah, Mary the sister of Aaron was from the tribe of Levi.
3. The Planet Earth Circle Or Flat?

Hundreds of years before Copernicus and Galieo, the prophet Isaiah declared that the planet earth is a sphere, he wrote:

     It is He who sits above the circle of the earth (Isaiah 40:22 NKJ).
Four times the Quran declares that the planet earth is flat:
    Do they not consider ... How the earth has been flattened out?  (Surat Al- Ghashiyah 88:20 T.B. Irving - The First American Version of the Quran)

     Have We not made the earth as a side expanse, and the mountains as pegs?   (Surat Al-Naban 78:6).

     And the earth and Him who spread (surat Al-Shams 91:6).
     And the earth have we spread out (Surat Al-Hijr 15:19).
This is clear evidence that the Bible was inspired by God, while the Quran was not.  If the Quran was inspired by God, the spirit who spoke to Mohammed would have told him that the planet earth is a sphere.
Moreover, the Bible declared, thousands of years before any scientific discoveries concerning the planet earth, that the planet earth is hanging on nothing:
     He hangs the earth on nothing (Job 26:7).
 This is how accurate the Bible is.

5. The Throne Of God, Is It On Water Or In Heaven?

The Quran declared that the throne of God is upon water:

    And He it is Who created the heavens and the earth in six days and his  throne was upon the water (Surat Hud 11:7 MPT).
The Bible declares that the throne of God is in heaven:
    Swear not at all, neither by heaven, for it is God's throne ( Matthew 5:34).
6.  How Are The Dead Resurrected?

In the Quran we read that Abraham asked to show him how He gives life to the dead:

    Behold! Abraham said: “My Lord! show me how that givest life to the dead.”  He said: “Dost thou not then believe?”  he said:  “Yea! but to satisfy my own heart.  “He said:  “ Take four birds, tie them {cut them into pieces], then put a portion of them: on every hill, and call to them: they will come to thee [flying] with speed.  Then know that Allah is exalted in power, wise” (Surat al-Baqarah: 2:260).
       [TOP]
 

Is The Bible Corrupted?

Because of the many contradictions between the Bible and the Quran, and because the Bible does not mention any prophecies concerning Muhammad, Muslim scholars claim that the Bible has been altered and corrupted. Such a claim is totally against several clear verses of the Quran.

The Quran states explicitly that the Old and the New Testaments are the inspired word of God. Here we have to emphasize the fact that we have at least five thousand ancient manuscripts of the entire Bible which are called codices. These codices go back to the year 350 A.D. that is almost two hundred and fifty years before the birth of Muhammad. One of these ancient codices is kept in the British Museum in London, others are kept in France and in the Vatican at pome.

Because these ancient codices were in existence before the Quran, which came more than six hundred years after Christ, what the Quran declares about the Bible must be applied to these without any dispute. This is what the Quran declares concerning the Old and the New Testament which were in the hands of the Jews and the Christians.

    We gave Moses the Book, and made it a guide to the children of Israel... (Surat Al-Isra 17:2).

    We did indeed aforetime give the Book to Moses: Be not then in doubt of its reaching [thee]:  And We made it a guide to the children of Israel (Surat Al-Sajdah 32:23).

    How can they choose you as ajudge when they have the Torah, which contains God's judgment?...We have sent down the Torah containing guidance and light (Surat Al-Maidah 5:43, 44 T.B. Irving - The First American Version of the Quran).
It is clear from these Quranic verses that it was not necessary for the Jews to go to Muhammad for judgment, because they had the Torah which came down from heaven and contained all the needed guidance and light. They had no need for Muhammad or his Quran.

It is we who revealed the Torah [to Moses]: therein was guidance and light. By its standard have been judged the Jews, by the prophets who bowed to Allah's will, by the rabbis and the doctors of law: For to them was entrusted the protection of Allah's Book, and they were witnesses thereto:

    Therefore fear not men, but fear Me, and sell not my signs for a miserable price. If any do fail to judge by what Allah hath revealed, they are unbelievers (literally infidels) (Surat Al-Maidah 5:44).
This verse declares that the Torah was revealed to Moses, that it gives guidance and light, and that the prophets, rabbis and doctors of law were entrusted the protection of Allah' s book.

The important question is: Will God entrust His word to people who would corrupt and alter it? Obviously not. Moses said to the children of Israel:

    Ye shall not add unto the word which I command you, neithershall ye diminish aughtfromit, that ye may keep the commandments of the LORD your God which I command you (Deuteronomy 4:2).
The apostle Paul declares:
    What advantage then hath the Jew? or what profit is there of circumcision?  Much every way:  Chiefly, because that unto them were committed the oracles of God (Romans 3:1, 2).
God committed His oracles to the Jewish prophets. They were kept pure throughout history.
If the Jews had altered the Old Testament, they would have taken out the story of the fall of their King David (1I Samuel 11:1-26); the hard words directed to them (Isaiah 1:21); and the terrible prophecies concerning their future (Zechariah 14:1,2).
The existence of these and other stories related to them indicate the truthfulness of the Old Testament.

Now let us examine the testimony of the Quran concerning the New Testament (Ingeel in Arabic).

    And in their footsteps we sent Jesus the son of Mary, confirming the Torah that had come before him: We sent him the Gospel: therein was guidance and light. And confirmation of the Torah that had come before him: A guidance and an admonition to those who fear Allah (Surat Al-Maidah 5:46).
According to this Quranic verse, Jesus confirmed the Torah. The New Testament also teaches that Jesus confirmed the Torah:
    Do not think that I will accuse you to the Father: there is one that accuseth you, even Moses, in whom ye trust. For had ye believed Moses, ye would have believedme: forhewroteofme. But if you believe not his writings, how shall ye believe my words? (John 5: 45-47).
The Quran declares that the Gospel was sent to Jesus. What is the Gospel? The apostle Paul defines the Gospel in the following words:
    Moreover, brethren, I declare to you the gospel which I preached to you...that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures, and that He was buried,  and that He  rose  again the third day according to the Scriptures, and that He was seen by Cephas, then by the twelve. After that He was seen by over five hundred brethren at once (ICorinthians 15:1-6 NKJ).
In this passage we see that the death of Jesus Christ was to fulfill the Scriptures, and that His burial and resurrection were also to fulfill the Scriptures.  The crucifixion, burial, and resurrection of Jesus Christ were not a man made story. It was a Biblical and historical reality, foretold in the Old Testament and fulfilled in the New Testament.

The Gospel was given in four books, Matthew, Mark, Luke and John.  The four books were in reality one gospel in different settings, but their focal point was the crucifixion, burial, and resurrection of Jesus Christ. Moreover, each book gave a special picture of Jesus Christ. TheGospel of Matthew is the Gospel of Jesus the King.  The Gospel of Mark is the Gospel of Jesus the Servant. The Gospel of Luke is the Gospel of Jesus the Perfect Man. The Gospel of John is the Gospel of Jesus the Son of God. But the four Gospels concentrated on one issue, and one event that is the crucifixion, burial, and resurrection of Jesus Christ.

It is clear from the Quranic verses which will be mentioned below that the Quran does not supersede the Torah or the gospel.  If the Quran supersedes them why does the Quran say that the people of the book (Jews and Christians)will not have any guidance until they keep the Torah and the Gospel?

    Say: O' people of the scripture! Ye have naught [of guidance] till ye observe the Torah and the Gospel and that which was revealed unto you from your Lord (Surat Al-Maidah 5:68).

    Let the People of the Gospel judge by what AUah hath revealed therein. If any do fail to judge by what Allah hath revealed, they are those who rebel (Surat Al-Maidah 5:47 MPT).

The Quran is explicit in confirming the authenticity of the Bible:
    Lo! We even we, reveal the reminder [that is the word of God] and Lo! We verily are its guardian (Surat Al Hijr 15:9 MPT).

    No change can there be in the words of Allah (Surat Yunus 10:64).

It is very clear from these verses that God promised to guard His word. There is no way to alter it.
If God is immutable and unchangeable, and most certainly He is, then this principle must be applied to all his books.  He can not guard one of his books and leave the other to be corrupted. No one would trust a God who guards a part of his word and leaves another part to be tampered with.  The conclusion is, since the Bible is the Word of God, then it was guarded and kept pure throughout history by the power of God.  We have no choice but to accept it as such without any dispute.

The claim, by some Muslims, that the Bible was cormpted, is in conflict with the Quran which confirms the Bible. At the same time it is an insult to God, who gave the Torah to Moses and the Gospel to Jesus, to say He was unable to guard these books from corruption.
In addition, the New Testament ends with these solemn words:

    For I testify unto every man that heareth the words of the prophecy of this book, if any man shall add unto these things, God shall add unto him the plagues that are written in this book: And if any man shall take away from the words of the book of this prophecy, God shall take away his part out of the book of life, and out of the holy city, and from the things which are written in this book. (Revelation 22:18, 19).
Who would dare to add or take away from the Word of God after such a warning?
We are assured that the God of the Bible is immutable, unchanging, and most certainly He, blessed be His name, guarded the Bible and kept it pure.
    For ever, O Lord, thy word is settled in heaven

    (Psalm 119:89).

So, the question is, which one is the true word of God, the Quran or the Bible? The truth is that the Bible is the original Word of God. It was in the hands of the Jews and the Christians 600 years before the Quran. The Quran must be the altered document because of the clear contradictions between it and the Bible.
The Bible is like a piece of pure gold. It holds in itself the proof of its purity.  The Bible is self-interpretive.  It can be understood by comparing its verses to interpret scripture with scripture.  When anyone receives the Lord Jesus Christ as his or her savior, the Holy tSPkn~~euminates his or her heart and mind to understand and enjoy

Concerning the Quran we read:

    No one knows its true meaning except Allah (Surat Al-Imran 3:7).
The Quran is a book the meaning of which no one can know. Would God give us a book that no one can understand?
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Chapter 8
Is the Quran A Miracle?

When a Christian asks a Muslim about the Quran, the Muslim's answer is that "the Quran is the miracle of miracles." Is the Quran really the miracle of miracles?

Definition of a Miracle

 The definition of the word miracle according to the Reader's Digest Illustrated Encyclopedic Dictionary (page 1083) is:

(1) An event that appears unexplainable by the laws of nature and so is held to be supernatural in origin or an act of God.
(2) Broadly, any event that seems exceptionally fortunate:  It was a miracle she escaped unhurt.
(3) A person, thing, or event that excites admiring awe.

 Is the Quran a miracle by any of these definitions?

Testimony of Mohammad's Contemporaries
 

    Muhammad's contemporaries did not believe that the Quran was a miracle, rather they called Muhammad a poet possessed (Surat AsSaffat 37:36). they called the Quran tales of the ancients dictated to Muhammad (Surat Al-Furqan 25:5) and they called it magic derived from old and nothing but a word of a mortal (Surat Al-Mudathir 74:24, 25).


What the Caliphs Said

Caliph Alwaleed Ibn Yazid, who ruled the Muslims in the year 743 A.D., said about Muhammad and his Quran these arabic words Talaaba be-inoboati Hashimeon bela wahion attaho wala kitabo which means in English that Muhammad the Hashemite manipulated people by his claim that he was a prophet, without true inspiration or an inspired book. Abd-Allah Ibn Al-Zaabari also denied the prophethood of Muhammad (The Islamic Ca[iphare, page 59).

It is said about Caliph Abd-Almalik Ibn Marawan who was a Muslim cleric and a scholar of the Quran that the Quran was on his lap when he was appointed Caliph.  After he became a Caliph he folded the Quran and said "this is the last time I will ever use you (Islamic Ca[iphare, page 173).
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The Teacher Who Corrected the Quran

 Al-Hagaag Ibn Yousof Al-Thakafi, who lived in the years 660-714 A.D., was a teacher of Arabic language in the city of Taif. Then he joined the military and became the most powerful person during the reign of Caliph Abd-Elmalik Ibn Marawan and after him his son AlWaleed Ibn Abd-Elmalik. Because Al-Haagag taught Arabic, he gave himself the liberty to change several words of Caliph Uthman's Quran, which is an indication that he did not believe that the Quran was verbally inspired or was inscribed in a "tablet preserved." We will mention but a few of the words Al-Haagag Ibn Yousof AlThakafi changed:

(1) In Surat Yunus 10:22, he changed the word yanshorakom, which means "spread you," to yousayerokom , which means "makes you to go on."
(2) In Surat Ash-Shuara 26:116,  he changed the word A[Mukhrageen, which means "the cast out," to AI-Margoomeen which means "those who are to be stoned [to death]."
(3) In Surat Ash-Shuara 26:167, he changed the word Min AIMargoomeen,which means "those who are to be stoned to death," to Al-Mukhrageen ,which means "those who will assuredly be cast out."
(4) In Surat Muhammad 47:15, he changed the word yasen, which is poor Arabic to Asen, which means "unpolluted."
(5) In Surat Al-Hadid 57:7, he changed the word wataqu, which means "feared Allah," to Wa-anfaqu, which means "spend in charity."
 With all the changes Al-Haggag made, there are still grammatical errors in the Quran. Here are a few examples:
 In Surat Ta Ha 20:63, the Arabic word "Hazani Lasaherani" should be "Hazaini Lasahirieni."  In Surat Al-Maidah 5:69, the Arabic word "Alsabeoun" should be "Alsabieen."  In Surat Al-Maidah 5:38, the Arabic word "Aidyahoma" should be "Yadihoma." In Surat Al-Nisa 4:162, the Arabic word "Almukemeen" should be "Almukemoon." In Surat Al-Munafiqun 63:10, the Arabic word "Akon" should be "Akoon."
 Muhammad claimed that the Quran was given to him in pure Arabic (Surat Al-Nahl 16:103), but with all these grammatical errors, how could it be pure Arabic? It is not appropriate to call any book a miracle.
 If we think that any book could be a miracle then The Eliad, and The Odyssey written by the Creek poet Homer in the 8th century B.C., and the plays of William Shakespeare, the greatest English writer who lived in the 16th century A.D., are also miracles.
 Can the Quran, which is full of scientific, historical, and grammatical errors, be considered a miracle? When the Quran is translated into any other language, it totally loses its poetic rhyme and becomes almost incomprehensible.       [TOP]

Qu'ran's Principles Not Consistent With The Bible

 If the Quran is the true inspired book of the latest major religion revealed to mankind, then it must be completely consistent with the Bible and its principles, because God would not contradict Himself. In addition, should'nt its principles and morality be superior to JudaismandChristianity? Butthat is not thecase. The fact is, the Quran is in total contradiction to the Bible. Let us consider a few examples:
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I.   Love or retaliation and racism?

 Jesus Christ commanded Christians:

    Love your enemies, bless them that curse you, do good to them that hate you, and pray for them which despitefully use you, and persecute you; that ye may be the children of your Father which is in heaven. .. (Matthew 5:44, 45).
The Quran says:
    There is the law of equality.  If then any one transgresses the prohibition against you, transgress ye likewise against him (Surat Al-Baqarah 2:194).
    O ye who believe!  Take not the Jews and the Christians for your friends and protectors: They are but friends and protectors to each other.  And he amongst you that turns to them [for friendshipl is of them. Verily Allah guideth not a people unjust (Surat Al-Maidah 5:5).
 Could any Muslim honestly and sincerely befriend any Jew or Christian if he or she obeys the Quran?
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2.  Peace or sword?

Jesus said to Peter, His disciple:
 

    Put up again thy sword into his place: for all they that take the sword shall perish with the sword (Matthew 26:52).
The Quran says:
 
    O Prophet! rouse the believers to fight (Surat Al-Anfal 8:65).
It is recorded in Al-Tabari's history that Muhammad said:
 
    I was sent by the sword, the good is with the sword, the good is in the sword, the good is by the sword. My followers will be always good as long as they carry the sword (Islamic Ca[iphate , page 144).
 In the first part of this book we mentioned many verses in the Quran commanding Muslims to fight.  Here, we have to realize that when Jesus said:

Think not that I am come to send peace on earth: I come not to send peace, but a sword (Matthew 10:34), that sword was not the sword to kill but the sword of division. This is clear from His words:
 

    Do you suppose that I came to give peace on earth? I tell you, not at all, but rather division. For from now on five in one house will be divided: three against two, and two against three.  Father will be divided against son and son against father, mother against daughter ~d daughter against mother, mother-in-law against her daughter-in-law  and  daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law (Luke 12:51-53 NKJ).
This often happens when one member of the family becomes a Christian, the rest of the family will be against him or her.  The sword Christ mentioned is not the sword to kill, but a sword of division between those who believe in Him and those who do not.

The Quran, on the other hand, upholds the use of the sword for killing and for sheddingthe blood of anyone who does not believe in Muhammad and his Quran.
 One example of brutality in Islam is seen in the beheading of Sadeq Abdul Kareem Malallah in Saudi Arabia.  The Washington Post recorded that beheading in an article by Carlyle Murphy on Thursday, October 1, 1992:

KUWAIT CITY, Sept. 30  Saudi Arabian authorities, in a case that has drawn protests from human rights groups and questions from other Muslims, have beheaded a 23-year-old Saudi man convicted of insulting the prophet Muhammad and Islam' s holy book, the Quran.

Sadeq Abdul Kareem Malallah was publicly executed in a marketplace in the town of Qatif on Sept. 3, according to a statement the next day by the Interior Ministry.
The statement said Malallah, a member of Saudi Arabia's minonty  Shiite Muslim sect who was convicted in  1988  and  imprisoned since,  had "insulted God, the holy Quran and Muhammad the prophet." His conviction, upheld by two Islamic law appeal courts, was confirmed by King Fahd in August, it added.

Malallah called Muhammad "a liar and swindler" and accused him of using "witchcraft" and "help from devils," the government said.  He allegedly termed the Quran, which Muslims believe is a revelation from God, "a product of the prophet," and said Islam is "a fabricated religion."

"This is not mere apostasy," the government said. "Indeed, it is a crime calling for death, but even death will not pardon Sadeq in front of Muhammad and the Quran."

A London-based human rights group supported by Saudi dissidents quoted a witness to the execution as saying that those gathered at the scene experienced a "massive shock" at the sentence, and that just before his death Malallah was shouting: "I am innocent. You are oppressive."

The case highlights the importance of religious orthodoxy in Saudi society, whose Sunni Muslim leaders base much of their political legitimacy on the claim to be custodians of the original intent of Muhammad's teachings as well as of Islam's holy places.

But the secretive proceedings against Malallah, allegations of mistreatment in prison and the fact that he belonged to the Shiite minority  have raised questions about his execution.

"I've never heard of such a case in Saudi Arabia because it's very rare for a Saudi to say [such things] in Saudi society," said Fahmy Howeidy, an Egyptian journalist specializing in Islamic affairs.

'The question is not what the Quran says about apostasy and its punishment," he added. 'The point is, is it true that he said such a thing? And was he given a legal trial and given justice, and a lawyer to defend him? We cannot discuss the [matter] from an official Saudi statement only." Amnesty International has protested to the Saudi government over the execution of a "possible prisoner of conscience."

The organization said it has asked the Riyadh government to release details of the charges and legal proceedings against Malallah, citing reports that he was held in solitary confinement for long periods and beaten in prison.

Aziz Abu Hamad, a human rights investigator with the New York based Middle East Watch, cited Malallah's execution in recent testimony he gave to the U.S. Congress on Saudi Arabia's human rights record.

"This is the first time in Saudi history where a man was killed for such a crime," Hamad said in a telephone interview.   "My reading is that the government wants to seize the moral high ground from the [Islamic] fundamentalists."

The London-based International Committee for the Defense of Human Rights in the Gulf and the Arabian Peninsula, which is supported by exiled Saudi dissidents, including Shiites, also protested the execution.

Based on interviews with his relatives and former inmates of Mababeth prison in Dammam, Saudi Arabia, where Malallah was held for a time, the committee said he was arrested in April 1988 for allegedly "throwing stones at a police car."

Later, a judge in Qatif "accused him of smuggling a Bible into the country" and asked him to convert to Wahhabi Islam, the puritanic sect prevailing in Saudi Arabia, which harbors deep suspicions about Shiite Muslims, the committee alleged.  When Malallah refused,  he  reportedly  was  placed  in  solitary confinement and physically abused, the committee said.

 To criticize Muhammad, the prophet of Islam, or to say that the Quran is "a product of the prophet," or that Islam is a "fabricated religion," or to smuggle a Bible into a country ruled by the Quran, is a crime punishable by beheading. It should be noted also that Islam is a prison with no exit.  Once you enter that prison, you can not come out of it alive. Once a Muslim, always a Muslim.
 According to Islamic law, the Muslim who converts to Christianity from Islam is an apostate and must be killed.

 The International Christian Concern, in its press release of October 2,  1996,  wrote  under  the  title,    "Apostate"  Christian  Pastor Murdered in Iran::

News of another murder of an Iranian Christian pastor reached the West seven days after his body was found on September 25 hanging from a tree in a secluded forest. Rev. Mohammed Ravanbaksh was killed shortly after he had reportedly been detained and questioned by the Iranian police.  He is the fourth Christian leader to have been murdered in less than three years.
Since the 35 year old pastor had converted from Islam to Christianity 11 years ago, he has been labeled by the Iranian authorities and Muslim leaders as an "apostate" who was deserving of death. He was ordained by the Assemblies of God Church under the leadership of the late Bishop Haik Hovespian-Mehr, who was brutally murdered after being abducted inJanuary 1994. Rev. Ravanbaksh has been pastoring an underground church since 1988, after the Iranian authorities forcibly closed down the three churches he had been pastoring. Another martyred pastor and former Muslim, Mehdi Dibaj, served as mentor to Rev. Ravanbaksh. Mehdi Dibaj was murdered in 1994 shortly after serving more than nine years in prison on charges of apostasy.  Rev. Mehr was outspoken on behalf of Mehdi Dibaj during his imprisonment, which led to an international campaign that resulted in Mehdi Dibaj's release in late 1993. Since the time of Pastor Dibaj's death, Rev. Ravanbaksh has been caring for Dibaj's young children.   In addition to Dibaj's children, Rev. Ravanbaksh's wife, Akhtar, is left to care for two small children of their own who are now without a father.

Rev. Ravanbaksh is said to have been willing to follow in the footsteps of Mehdi Dibaj who wrote these words a short time before his death: "I have always envied those Christians who were martyred for Christ Jesus our Lord. What a privilege to live for our Lord and to die for Him as well... I am ready to give my life for the sake of Jesus Christ." A  protest  campaign  has  been  launched  by International Christian  Concern  (ICC)  for  the purpose of drawing international attention to the intense persecution against evangelical Christians in Iran and to condemn the Iranian government's continued detention, imprisonment, torture, and murder of Christian leaders. Numerous pastors have received death threats.   Christians who dare to openly  practice  their  faith  fear  government harassment and even death.

 America as well as many European Christian nations went to war, shed the blood of their soldiers and billions of dollars to rescue Muslims in Kuwait, Bosnia, Somalia. Yet, Islamic fanaticism is spreading all over the world. An Islamic invasion is taking place in America with hundreds of thousands of Muslims given visas and green cards to migrate to America.  Their hidden agenda is to ultimately convert this country to Islam.
In the West, as well as in Islamic States, Muslim clerics have the right to convert Christians to Islam without any threat or danger to them.  But once a Muslim is converted to Christianity he is threatened, persecuted, tortured, and ultimately executed.
 If Islam is Allah's religion, as the Quran claims, the Muslims should leave to Allah the protection of his religion, and if He is in need of human help, then this Allah is not the true and living God.
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3. One wife or four?

The Bible commands one woman for one man with no permission for divorce except for fornication:

    Have ye not read, that he which made them at the beginning made them male and female, and said, for this cause shall a man leave father and mother, and shall cleave to his wife: and they shall be one flesh?  Wherefore they are no more twain, but one flesh.  What therefore God hath joined together, let not man put asunder. They say unto him, "Why did Moses  then command to give a writing of divorcement and to put her away?"  He saith unto them, "Moses because of the hardness of your hearts suffered you to put away your wives: but from beginning it was not so.  And I say unto you, whosoever shall put away his wife, except it be for fornication, and shall marry  another, commmitteth adultery: and whoso marrieth her which is put away doth commit adultery" (Matthew 19:4-9).

    Nevertheless, to avoid fornication, let every man have his own wife, and let every  woman have her own husband (1 Corinthians 7:2).

    The Quran says:
     to deal justly [with them] then only one, or that which your right hands possess. . . (Surat Al-Nisa 4:3).

This verse in the Quran gives the right to the Muslim to marry two or three or four women, especial if the Muslim follow the example of Muhammad who married fourteen wives.  Muhammad is the excellent example for every Muslim.  No Muslim will fear that he will be unjust.  Here we have to mention the double standard of Islam.  The Quran permits the Muslim man to marry a Christian or a Jewish woman, but forbids the Muslim woman to marry a Christian or a Jew.
The above mentioned verse also permits the Muslim to have sex with his slave girls, which the Quran call "that which your right hand possess."  Polygamy - one man marrying more than one woman - demonstrates inequality and female subservience.  It invites exploitation of the wives and degrading competition among them.
Dr. Moody Adams recorded the following true story in his book, The Religion that is Raping America, (pages 77, 78 & 79):
    A friend of mine was brought face to face with the Muslim sexual practices which are so attractive to men and so deplorable to women.  She told me that thirty years ago in England she had a very beautiful female cousin, whose name was Sylvia.  She said: "Sylvia was ten years older than me;  I always admired her and wanted to be like her, she had beautiful blonde hair, blue eyes and a peach complexion.  She was always full of life and had an unquenchable thirst for adventure.  When she was eighteen she went on a vacation to the Middle East.  On this vacation she met a handsome Lebanese sheik and fell in love.  She told her parents that she was going to marry him, but they were very afraid for her; they said they had heard stories that Muslim men had many wives and harems full of concubines.  They had heard that the wives were kept as virtual prisoners with very few rights.  They also had heard that Middle Eastern men coveted the blonde hair and blue eyes of a European woman; it was like a trophy.

    Sylvia told them not to be afraid; her future husband was a very modern Muslim and did not think and behave like that.   She also told them that he had said he would never take another wife, as with Sylvia he only needed the one.  Sylvia was married in a small civil ceremony in London with her parents in attendance and then taken by her husband back to Lebanon, where she converted to Islam and was married in an Islamic ceremony.

    She seemed to be happy for a few years and had two handsome sons.  Then without any warning, her parents did not hear from her for quite a few months; they began to worry.  Her parents tried to call her in Lebanon, but her husband took the phone calls and told them she was ill and could not talk; but that they were not to worry as she had good doctors attending her and would be fine.
    Three more months passed and they still had not heard from her.  No-one would take their phone calls; then finally Sylvia’s husband called to say she had died suddenly.  Her parents felt there was more to this story than an illness.  They were poor and could not go to Lebanon themselves; but they got in touch with their local politician.  This man was a very caring individual who had known Sylvia as a child.  He assured her parents that he would make discreet inquiries.

    After about a month they received the most heartbreaking news.  Sylvia’s life in Lebanon in this strict Muslim home was bondage; she had been one of four wives and, indeed, her husband did have concubines.  Her parents worst predictions had been correct.

    Her parents learned Sylvia had tried to escape from her husband with her two sons.  She was caught by her husband’s "guards" and returned to him.  A few weeks later she had taken one of her husband’s cars and tried to escape again.  Her husband had anticipated this and set a trap by tampering with the brakes.  Sylvia lost control of the car and went over a cliff to her death.  The crash decapitated her.

    Sylvia’s sons remained in Lebanon; her parents never had a chance to see them and they were told that they would not be able to bring her husband to justice; he was only subject to Islamic law and under the law he had done nothing ‘wrong’"
    (Printed by permission).

We must not forget that a Muslim can divorce his four wives and marry another four and another four with no end.  A Muslim can therefore marry a large number of women during his lifetime.
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4. Love your wife or beat her?

The Bible commands the husbands to be kind to their wives, to honor them and to love them.

    Husbands, love your wives, and be not bitter against them (Colossians 3:19).
    Likewise, ye husbands, dwell with them according to knowledge, giving honor  unto the wife, as unto the weaker vessel, and as being heirs together of the grace of life; that your prayers be not hindered (I Peter 3:7).

    Husbands, love, your wives, even as Christ also loved the church, and gave himself  for it . . . (Ephesians 5:25).

    The Quran says:
    As to those women on whose part ye fear disloyalty and ill-conduct, admonish  them, refuse to share their beds, and beat them (Surat Al-Nisa 4:34).

Just a suspicion of disloyalty on the part of a wife is justification for the husband to beat her.
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5. The Case Of The Divorced Wife

The Bible states that remarriage of the divorced wife to the same husband, after marrying another man, is an ABOMINATION in the sight of God.  The Quran however, sanctions remarriage of the divorced wife to her husband upon the condition that the woman must first marry another man.  Without actually marrying another man, she cannot marry the same husband.
What the God of the Bible calls ABOMINATION, the Quran calls the limits ordained by Allah.  In the book of Deuteronomy we read:

    When a man takes a wife and marries her, and it happens that she finds no favor in  his eyes because he has found some uncleanness in her, and he writes her a certificate of divorce, puts it in her hand, and sends her out of his house, when she has departed from his house, and goes and becomes another man’s wife, if the  latter husband detests her and writes her a certificate of divorce, puts it in her hand, and sends her out of his house, or if the latter husband dies who took her to be his wife, then her former husband who divorced her must not take her back to  be his wife after she has been defiled; for that is an abomination before the Lord,  and you shall not bring sin on the land which the Lord your God is giving you as an inheritance (Deuteronomy 24:1-4 NKJ).
This is a very clear commandment of God.
Now, read what the Quran says:
     If a husband divorces his wife [irrevocably], he cannot, after that, remarry her until after she has married another husband and he has divorced her.  In that case there is no blame on either of them if they re-unite, provided they feel that they can keep the limits ordained by Allah.  Such are the limits ordained by Allah, which He makes plain to those who know (Surat Al-Baqarah 2:230).
There is a clear contrast here between the Bible and the Quran.  These two conflicting commandments could not be from the same source.
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6. The Islamic Veil

The Old Testament recorded many women’s names:  Eve, Adah, Zillah, Sarai, Asenath, Miriam, Deborah, Ruth, Hannah, Abigail, Esther, and many more.  The New Testament also recorded many women’s names, Mary the mother of Jesus, Mary Magdalene, Martha, Elizabeth, Priscilla, Pheobe, Dorcas, Lydia, and many more.
The Bible says:

    There is neither... male nor female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus (Galatians 3:28).
In the Quran, the only woman mentioned by name is Maryam, the mother of Jesus. Even Muhammad’s wives were not mentioned in the Quran for women have no value in Islam. This is why men can marry four women at one time, and this is why the Quran commanded the Muslim women to wear a veil which they call the "Hejab." One Saudi princess wrote about her sister when she was ordered by her father to wear the veil:
    Sara had been veiling since her menses.  The veil stamped her as a nonperson (Italics mine), and she soon ceased to speak of her childhood dreams of great accomplishment.  She became distant from me, her younger sister, who was as yet unconcerned with the institution of veiling.  The sharpening of Sara’s distance left me longing for the remembered happiness of our shared childhood.  It suddenly became apparent to me that happiness is realized only in the face of unhappiness, for I never knew we were so happy until Sara’s unhappiness stared me in the face (Princess, page 27).
What we read in the Quran is retaliation, racism, life by the sword, polygamy, wife beating and veiling.  This is clearly opposite to the glorious teachings and practices of Judaism and Christianity.
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Chapter 9

DOES THE Quran TEACH POLYTHEISM?

 Polytheism is the belief in, or worship of, more than one god. Muslims accuse Christians of being polytheistic, because they believe in a Triune God: the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. They ignore the fact that Christians believe in one true God, who is triune.  On the contrary, our study of the Quran will clearly show that it teaches polytheism. Before we mention the Quranic verses which teach polytheism, an important question should be asked and answered, and that question is:
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From Where Did We Get Our Knowledge About the True and Living God?

The answer is, from one of two sources.

 First, we can imagine God with our foolish hearts and darkened minds, which is what the pagans did. This is what the Apostle Paul said concerning the pagans:

    Because that, when they knew God, they glorified Him not as God, neither were thankful; but became vain in their imaginations, and their foolish heart was darkened. Professing themselves to be wise, they became fools, and  changed the glory of the incorruptible God into an image made like corruptible man, and to birds, and four-footed beasts, and creeping things... who changed the truth of God into a lie, and worshipped and served the creature more than the Creator, who is blessed forever, Amen (Romans 1:21-25).
Secondly, we can know the true God by a special revelation from Him, which Christians have received in the Bible. We take God at His word and believe His revelation of Himself. God is everlasting, having no beginning; therefore He must be self-sufficient.

 No one can fully comprehend God. The finite human mind cannot contain the infinite God. If we could contain God in our minds, he would no longer be God.

 The great and true God is eternal, infinite, and everlasting. His attributes also must be eternal and everlasting.  He should not lose any of His attributes nor acquire new ones.  God is immutable in wisdom, in power, in holiness, in justice, in goodness, in truth.
 According to the Bible, God is called Father (Malachi 2:10, John 8:41). Eternal fatherhood demands eternal sonship.  God is love (1 John 4:16) and love demands someone to be loved. God talks, hears, and sees.
 Here we have many important questions concerning God that need an answer. Before God created angels and men, with whom was he talking?   Whom did He hear?   Whom did He see?   Most importantly, whom did He love?  These questions cannot be answered unless we believe in a triune God.
 The only logical and perfect God must be a triune God to exercise His attributes with no need of His creation. This is the confession of every true Christian, which was expressed in the Wesmminster Confession ofl;aith, chapter 2, in the following words.

There is but one living and true God, who is infinite in being and perfection... God hath all life, glory, goodness, blessedness, in and of himself; and is alone in and unto himself all-sufficient, not standing in need of any creatures which he hath made... In the unity of the Godhead there be three persons, of one substance, power, and eternity:  God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Ghost.
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No one can fully comprehend God.
The finite human mind cannot contain the infinite God. If we could contain God in our minds, he would no longer be God.

 The great and true God is eternal, infinite, and everlasting. His attributes also must be eternal and everlasting.  He should not lose any of His attributes nor acquire new ones.  God is immutable in wisdom, in power, in holiness, in justice, in goodness, in truth.
 According to the Bible, God is called Father (Malachi 2:10, John 8:41). Eternal fatherhood demands eternal sonship.  God is love (1 John 4:16) and love demands someone to be loved. God talks, hears, and sees.
 Here we have many important questions concerning God that need an answer. Before God created angels and men, with whom was he talking?   Whom did He hear?   Whom did He see?   Most importantly, whom did He love?  These questions cannot be answered unless we believe in a triune God.
 The only logical and perfect God must be a triune God to exercise His attributes with no need of His creation. This is the confession of every true Christian, which was expressed in the Wesmminster Confession ofl;aith, chapter 2, in the following words.

There is but one living and true God, who is infinite in being and perfection... God hath all life, glory, goodness, blessedness, in and of himself; and is alone in and unto himself all-sufficient, not standing in need of any creatures which he hath made... In the unity of the Godhead there be three persons, of one substance, power, and eternity:  God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Ghost.
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The Bible Reveals A Triune God

The Old Testament uses the plural name of Deity:

    And God said, let us make man in our image, after our likeness... so God created man  in His own image (Genesis 1:26,27).

    And the Lord God said behold, the man is become as one of us (Genesis 3:22).

    Also I heard the voice of the Lord, saying, whom shall I send, and who will go for us?  (Isaiah 6:8).
Here we have to notice the two words, “I” and “us.”  For the One who says “I” says also “us.”  That indicates the oneness of the Triune God.

It is of great importance to notice that God never used the word “we” or “us” to magnify himself in the Bible.  It was not the custom of the kings of the great empires to use the word “we” to magnify themselves.
King Nebuchadnezzar, the Emperor of the great Babylonian empire, issued a decree saying, “Therefore I make a decree...” (Daniel 3:29).  King Darius issued a decree saying, “I make a decree...”  (Daniel 6:26).  So when God uses the words “we” or “us,” it is not to magnify Himself but indicate that He is a Triune God.
 In the book of Numbers, there is a clear demonstration of the Triune God.  The prophet Balaam came to King Balak upon the request of the King to curse Israel.  In that story we read three verses which clearly show the Triune God.

    The first verse:  And God met Balaam
    The second verse:  And the LORD met Balaam
    The third verse:... and the Spirit of God came upon him (Numbers 23:4, 16 and 24:2).
Here, we see God the Father, the Lord Jesus Christ, and God the Holy Spirit in clear manifestation.
Then we read in Psalm 110:1:
    The LORD said unto my Lord, sit thou at my right hand, until I make thine enemies thy footstool.
Jesus asked the Pharisees concerning this passage saying:
    What think ye of Christ?  Whose son is He?  They say unto him, the son of David.  He saith unto them, how then doth David in spirit call him Lord, saying, “the LORD said unto my Lord, sit thou on my right hand, till I make thine enemies thy footstool” (Matthew 22:42-44).
The only right answer for this passage is the belief in the triune God.  For in this passage we see “The LORD” is God the Father and “my Lord” is God the Son.  David, by the Spirit, called Him Lord and that Spirit is the “Holy Spirit.”
 Again, we read in the book of Proverbs:
    Who has ascended into heaven or descended?  Who has gathered the wind in his fists?  Who has bound the waters in a garment?  Who has established all the ends of the earth?  What is his name, and what is His son’s name, if you know (Proverbs 30:4 NKJ).
 Dr. Charles Bridges says in his commentary on Proverbs (pages 591, 592):
    . . . and no one knows the Son except the Father.  Nor does anyone know the Father except the Son. . . (Matthew 11:27 NKJ).  Yet there is a Son in the Eternal Godhead; a Son not begotten in time, but from eternity (Proverbs 8:22-30); his name therefore, not as some would have it, a component part of his humiliation, but the manifestation of his Godhead:  co-existent with his Father in the same ineffable nature, yet personally distinct.  What is his name?  and what is his Son’s name?  Sovereignty-Omnipresence-Omnipotence are His.  He too controls the winds and water, and establishes the earth...”
 We have to realize that these passages are taken from the Old Testament, the book of the Jewish people who believe in monotheism.  Clearly, the plurality of God’s being was still consistent with the Jewish monotheistic doctrines.
 We come now to the New Testament.
 On the occasion of the baptism of Jesus by John the Baptist, we see clearly the Triune God.
    When He had been baptized, Jesus came up immediately from the water; and behold, the heavens were opened to hi, and he saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove and alighting upon him.  And suddenly a voice came from heaven saying, “This is my beloved son, in whom I am well pleased” (Matthew 3:16, 17 NKJ).
In this scene we have:
 
    - The Father speaking from heaven, calling Jesus “My beloved Son.”

    - The Son, Jesus Christ, coming up from the water.

    - The Holy Spirit like a dove descending from heaven and alighting upon the son.

    - The Quran also testifies to the existence of the Holy Spirit as a separate manifestation of the godhead.

     We gave Jesus the Son of Mary evidence, clear [signs] and strengthened him with the Holy Spirit (Surat Al-Baqarah 2:87).
    To Jesus the Son of Mary We gave clear [signs], and strengthened him with the Holy Spirit (Surat Al-Baqarah 2:253).
 Ibn Katheir cited Ibn Abbas who said, “The Holy Spirit is the Greatest Name with which Jesus was able to raise the dead.”  Ibn Katheir cited also Al Zamakhshari who said, “The Holy Spirit here means the Spirit of Jesus Himself” (Ibn Katheir, Volume 1, pages 117, 118).
The triune God is the God revealed in the Bible.
This profound mystery of the Godhead is summed up in the word of Dr. Boardman, the great theologian.

The Father is all the fullness of the Godhead invisible.
 

    No one has seen God at any time.  (John 1:18 NKJ)
The son is all the fullness of the Godhead manifested.
    No one has seen God at any time.  The only begotten son, who is in the bosom of the father, He has declared Him (John 1:18; NKJ).

    In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God...and the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we beheld His glory as of the only begotten of the Father, full of grace and truth (John 1:1-14; NKJ).

 The Holy Spirit is all the fullness of the Godhead acting immediately upon the creature.
    But as it is written: “eye has not seen, nor ear heard, nor have entered into the heart of man the things which God has prepared for those who love him.  But God has revealed them to us through His Spirit.  For the Spirit searches all things, yea the deep things of God (I Corinthians 2:9, 10).
 The Quran declares that God is visible and invisible, and seated Him on a throne.
    He is the first and the last, and the outward (literally the visible) and the inward (literally the invisible); and he is the knower of all things.  he it is who created the heavens and the earth in six days; then he mounted the throne (Surat Al-Hadid: 57:3, 4 MPT).
God is invisible.  The apostle Paul says that He is:
    . . .dwelling in the light which no man can approach unto; whom no man hath seen, nor can see:  To whom be honor and power everlasting.  Amen (I Timothy 6:16).
 But God became visible in the person of Jesus Christ.  The apostle Paul says:
    “And without controversy great is the mystery of godliness.  God was manifest in the flesh, justified in the Spirit, seen angels, preached unto the Gentiles, believed on in the world, received up into glory” (I Timothy 3:16).
Why is it difficult for Muslims to believe that Jesus Christ is the incarnated Son of God when the Quran has incarnated God in many of its verses?

1. The Quran gave God a face

     Every one upon it will disappear while your Lord’s face will remain full of majesty and  splendor (Surat Al-Rahman 55:26, 27 T.B. Irving, The First American Version of the  Quran).
2. The Quran gave God a hand
    Lo!  those who swear allegiance unto thee [Muhammad}, swear allegiance only unto  Allah.  The Hand of Allah is above their hand (Surat Al-Fath 48/:10 MPT)
3. The Quran gave God an eye

When the Quran mentions Moses’ mother, it says:

    Behold!  We sent to thy mother, by inspiration, the message:  “Throw [the child]  into the chest, and throw [the chest] into the river.  The river will cast him up on  the bank, and he will be taken up by one who is an enemy to Me and an enemy to  him”:  But I endued thee with love from Me.  And [this] in order that thou mayest  be reared under Mine eye  (Surat Ta Ha: 20:38-39).
4. The Quran seated God on the throne
    He it is who created the heavens and the earth in six days: then he mounted the throne  (Surat Al-Hadid 57:4 MPT).
The Quran gave Allah a face, a hand, and an eye, and seated Him on the throne.  This is incarnation, however, Muslims may say this is allegorical.
Such expressions in the Quran, where it is said that God has a face, a hand, and an eye are to be understood only in the sense that those human expressions are used in order to bring the infinite within the comprehension of the finite.  The conclusion is that incarnation is necessary for human beings to comprehend at least a glimpse of the Divine.
Christians accept the Biblical revelation concerning the nature of God and the incarnation of Jesus, the eternal Son of God.  It is the only source for knowing the true God - the Triune God.
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The Bible Reveals A Supreme God

God is the supreme Being, no one is above Him.  No one associated with Him  In the Book of Hebrews we read:

    For when God made a promise to Abraham, because He could swear by no one  greater, He swore by Himself (Hebrews 6:13 NKJ).

    For men indeed swear by the greater, and an oath for confirmation is for them an end of  all dispute (Hebrews 6:16 NKJ).

Every time God swears in the Bible, He swears by Himself because no one is greater than Him.  In the Book of Genesis, He said to Abraham:
    By Myself I have sworn, say the Lord... in your seed all the nations of the earth shall be  blessed (Genesis 22:16-18 NKJ).
In the book of Isaiah, He said:
    I have sworn by Myself; the word has gone out of My mouth in righteousness, and shall  not return, that to Me every knee shall bow. . .(Isaiah 45:23 NKJ).
In the Book of Jeremiah, He said:
    I swear by Myself, says the Lord (Jeremiah 22:5 NKJ).
The true and supreme God could not swear by someone else, let alone anything else.  So He swore by Himself.  Christians are not polytheists by the Muslims are.  The Quran puts Allah in a lesser position than His creation since He swore by many things other than Himself.  This is polytheism which the Muslims call “shirk” in Arabic.
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The Quran Reveals That Allah Is Lower Than His Creation

Allah swore in the Quran twenty-four times, by the Quran, the angels, the winds, the mount, the star, the pen, the moon, the night, the dawn, the day of resurrection, the sky, the day of judgment, the men and odd numbers, the sun, the earth, the soul, the creation of male and female, the fig, the olive, the city of Makkah.  Are these things greater than Allah that He would swear by them?  What is the value of the pen, the sun, the moon, the fig or the olive compared to Allah?
Suppose that you are called as a witness in court, and instead putting your hand on the Bible or the Quran and saying that you will tell the truth and nothing but the truth, you say, “Your honor, I swear by the fig, the olive, the pen, and the star to tell the truth.”  Will the judge accept your testimony?
 For the Quran to declare that Allah swore by things He had created is to teach heresy and clear polytheism.

1. Allah swore by the Quran five times
 

    By the Quran full of wisdom (Surat Ya Sin 36:2)

    By the Quran, full of admonition (Surat Sad 38:1).

    By the Book that makes things clear, we have made it a Quran in Arabic, that ye may  be able to understand (Surat Al-Zukhruf 43:2).

    By the Book that makes things clear (Surat Al-Dukhan 44:2).  By the Glorious Quran  (Surat Qaf 50:1).

2.  Allah swore by different ranks of angels or probably men
 
    By those who arrange themselves in ranks.  Those who so are strong in repelling [evil].   Those who thus proclaim the message of Allah  (Surat Al-Saffat 37:1-3).

    By the [angels] who tear out [the souls of the wicked with violence] by those who gently  draw out [the souls of the blessed] and by those who glide along [on errands of mercy],  and then press forward as in race, then arrange to do [the commands of their Lord]  (Surat Al-Naziat 79:1-4).

3. Allah swore by the winds
    By the [winds] that scatter broadcast, and those that lift and bear away heavy weights,  and those that flow with ease and gentleness, and those that distribute the affair (Surat  Al-Zhariyat 51:1-4).

    By the [winds] sent forth one after another (Surat Al-Mursalat 77:1).

4. Allah swore by the mount, the inscribed book the kaaba, and the ocean
    By the mount, by the book inscribed in a parchment unfolded, by the much-frequented  house [Kaaba} by the canopy raised high and by the ocean filled with swell (Surat al- Tur 52:1-6).

    It is of great importance to notice in this verse that Allah swore by the Kaaba, while it was the shrine of three hundred and sixty idols.

5. Allah swore by the star
    By the star when it goes down (Surat Al-Najm 53:1).
6. Allah swore by the pen
    By the pen and by the record which [men] write (Surat Al-] 68:1).
7. Allah swore by the moon, the night, and the dawn
    Nay, verily:   By the moon, and by the night as it retreateth, and by the dawn as it shineth forth (Surat Al-Muddathir 74:32-34).
8. Allah swore by the Resurrection Day and the self-reproaching soul
    I do swear by the Resurrection Day.  And I do swear by the self-reproaching soul.   Surat Al-Qiyamah 75:1, 2).
9. Allah swore by the sky, the Day of ;Judgment, and by the one that witnesses
    By the sky, with its constellations, by the promised day [of judgment].  By one that  witnesses and the subject of witness (Surat Al-Buruj 85:1-3).
10. Allah swore again by the sky
    By the sky and the night-visitant (Surat Al-Tariq 86:1).
11. Allah swore by the dawn, the ten nights, by the even and odd, and by the night
    By the dawn, by the ten nights; by the even and odd [contrasted].  And by the night  when it passeth away (Surat Al-Fajr 89: 1-4).
12. Allah swore by the city (Makkah)
    Nay, I do swear by this city (Surat Al-Balad 90:1).
13. Allah swore by the sun, the moon, the day, the night, the firmament, the earth, and the soul.
    By the sun, and his [glorious] splendour:  by the moon as she follow him; by the day as  it shows up [the sun’s] glory; by the night as it conceals it; by the firmament and its  expanse; by the soul, and the proportion and order given to it; and its inspiration as to  its wrong and its right (Surat Al-Shams 91:1-8).
14. Allah swore by the night, the day, and the creation of male and female
    By the night as it conceals [the light]; by the day as it appears in glory; by the creation of  male and female (Surat Al-Layl 92:1-3).
15. Allah swore by the morning light, and by the night
    By the glorious morning light, and by the night when it is still, thy Guardian-Lord hath  not forsaken thee, nor is He displeased (Surat Ad-Duha 93:1-3).
Ahmad Abdelwahab city Muhammad’s biographers wrote in his book, Prophecy and Prophets, the following:
    Revelations ceased from coming to Muhammad for a long time (some say two years);  some of Muhammad’s friends may have said to him “It seems that you Allah has  forsaken you.”  The prophet passed through a terrible spiritual crisis.  The biographers  of Muhammad say:  “During that time Muhammad though to commit suicide by throwing  himself from the top of Mount Hira, or Mount Abi-Qubees, because he felt desperate  and lonely” (Prophecy and Prophets, pages 177, 178).
 Could you imagine the Prophet Muhammad thinking of committing suicide?  At that time Allah swore to Muhammad “by the glorious morning light, and by the night that He had not forsaken him, nor was He displeased with him.”

Who is this Allah, who swore by the glorious morning light, and by the night?  How could anyone believe in a promise based on this oath?

16. Allah swore by the fig, the olive, Mount Sinai, and the city of Makkah
 

    By the fig and the olive, and Mount Sinai, and this City of Security [Makkah] (Surat Al-Tin 95:1-3).
17. Allah swore by the steed, which, according to the commentators of the Quran, might be camels, war-horses, or spiritual forces
    By the [Steeds] that run, with panting [breath] and strike sparks of fire, and push home the charge in the morning, and raise the dust in clouds the while, and penetrate forthwith into the midst [of the foe] (Surat Al-Adiyat 100:1-5).
18. Allah swore by time through the ages
    By the time, verily man is in loss (Surat Al-Asr 103:1,2).
Doesn’t the association of Allah, the almighty and supreme God, with these objects and creatures represent polytheism?

Muhammad positioned himself as a counselor with Allah, when he forced Zainab, daughter of Gahsh, to marry Zaid, Muhammad’s adopted son.  When Zainab refused Muhammad’s proposal, the Quran declares that this proposal was the decision of Allah and Muhammad.

    It is not fitting for a believer, man or woman, when a matter has been decided by Allah and His Messenger, to have any option about their decision.  If anyone disobeys Allah and His Messenger, he is indeed on a clearly wrong path  (Surat Al-Ahzab 33:36).
The Bible declares that God does not accept any human counseling:
    Oh, the depth of the riches both of the wisdom and knowledge of God!  How unsearchable are His judgments, and His ways past finding out!  For who hath known the mind of the Lord?  Or who has been His counselor?  (Romans 11:33, 34 NKJ).
For Muhammad to associate himself as a counselor with Allah is clearly polytheism.
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The Quran Positioned Mohammed As The Center Of Praise In Heaven, And On Earth

    Lo!  Allah and His angels shower blessings on the prophet.  O ye who believe?  Ask blessings on him and salute him with a worth salutation  (Surat Al-Ahzab 33:56 MPT)
The literal translation of this verse is:
    Allah and His angels pray on the prophet.  O ye who believe pray on him and salute him with a worthy salutation.
If Allah in heaven is praying on the prophet, the question is, to whom is Allah praying?  Why do Muslims doubt the deity of Jesus Christ because He prayed when He was on the cross:
    My God, my God, why have You forsaken Me?  (Matthew 27:46 NKJ)
If the Muslim accepts the Biblical revelation of God, and believes that God is a Triune God, if he understands that the one who was incarnated in the person of Jesus Christ is God the Son, and that Jesus took the form of a servant, came in the likeness of men, and being found in appearance as a man, He humbled Himself and became obedient to the point of death, even the death of the cross.  (Philippians 2:7,8 NKJ), then he would know that Jesus, as a servant, cried out to God.  ”My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?”

Charles Haddon Spurgeon commented on that verse saying:

    In order that the sacrifice of Christ might be complete, it pleased the Father to  forsake his well-beloved Son.  sin was laid on Christ, so God must turn away his  face from the Sin-Bearer.  To be deserted of his God was the climax of Christ's grief, the quintessence of his sorrow.  See here the distinction between the martyrs and their Lord;  in their dying agonies they have been divinely sustained; but Jesus, suffering as the Substitute for sinners, was forsaken of God.  Those saints who have known what it is to have their Father's face hidden from them even for a brief space, can scarcely imagine the suffering that wrung from our Savior the agonizing cry, “My God, my God,  why has thou forsake me?”  (Matthew:  The King has Come, page 406).
Nevertheless, the first word Christ uttered while on the cross was:
    Father forgive them, for they do not know what they do )Luke 23:34 NKJ)
Then he committed his human spirit to the Father, saying:
    Father, into your hands I commit My spirit (Luke 23:45 NAS).
He was always the Son calling His Father.  In addition, He offered that prayer, “My God, My God, why have You forsaken me?” to demonstrate that He was the one whom the prophet David spoke about in Psalm 22.  All the prophecies in that Psalm were fulfilled to the letter when Christ died.

We have to see in Christ's prayer Jesus as the Son of man, praying to God the Father, and in that hour of darkness, God is still the God Christ reveals.

But in the Quran Allah, who is absolute, prays to himself on the prophet.  The Muslims accept that.  They should not question Christ's deity because of his prayer on the cross.  More importantly, if Allah and his angels in heaven are praying on the prophet, and on earth Muslims are praying on the prophet, then Mohammed is the center of worship in heaven and on earth.  This is also the conclusion arrived at by some intellectual Muslims.

The daily Egyptian Newspaper, Alwafd,  (September 9, 1992), recorded the following question sent to Sheik Hassan Mamoun, one of the prominent clerics in Egypt:

What is your judgment concerning prayer on Mohammed, the messenger of Allah, doesn't that mean worshipping him?

Muslims never mention the name of Mohammed without saying peace be upon him or in Arabic Salla Allaho Alihe Wasalaam or Alihe Alsalaato Wasalaam which means “Allah's prayer and salutation on him.”

Look at any Islamic inscribed sign, and you will read the name “Allah” at the same level of the name “Mohammed.”

Muhmoud Al-Saadani, the well known Egyptian journalist, wrote a critical article in the August 9, 1996 issue of Almussawar, Egyptian weekly magazine, in which he said:

On the memorial birthday of the Messenger [Mohammed] I listened to the Friday  message on an Arabic television.  The speaker was a young man.. he said while  shedding tears over the decline of Muslims in this age...  the only cause for the  Muslims’ demise in this age is that they do not glorify the master of creatures,  Mohammed Ibn Abdullah, as they should glorify this glorious Messenger, who is  the beginning and the  last of all creation...  the early Muslims used to glorify the  Prophet to the point of drinking his urine...

Some Christians think that the God of Islam is the same God revealed to Jews and Christians in the Bible.  When they talk about Judaism, Christianity, and Islam, they call the three major religions the monotheistic religions.  The Quran declares to the Jews and the Christians:

    Our God and your God is one (Surat Al-Ankabut 29:46).
In fact, the Allah of Islam is not the same God as the God of the Christians and the Jews revealed in the Bible.

Clearly, the Quran and Islamic traditions fall short of monotheism and in fact teach polytheism by their representation of Allah swearing by lesser creatures and objects, and by raising the level of created things to that of Allah as well as associating the praise and superiority of Mohammed with that of Allah.
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Chapter 10

THE Quran AND THE CRUCIFIXION OF CHRIST

 The irreconcilable difference between the Bible and the Quran, and between Christianity and Islam, is in the issue of the crucifixion of Jesus Christ.
 Charles Haddon Spurgeon said, "Leave out the cross and you have killed the religion of Jesus.  Atonement by the blood of Jesus is not an arm of Christian truth; it is the heart of it."
 Christianity is the final religion in the plan of God for mankind.  No other true religion can come after it.  God sent Moses and the Jewish prophets to set the foundation for Christianity.  The Old Testament, by its offerings, prophecies, types, symbols, and characters was the foundation on which Christianity was built.
 Jesus Christ and His crucifixion are the grand subject of the Old Testament.  When Christ came and was crucified, the plan of God for the redemption of mankind was completed.  This is what Christ proclaimed when he said "it is finished" (John 19:30).  The great building of the plan of God was perfected magnificently.  Judaism is the foundation, Christianity is the building built upon that foundation.
 How can it be accepted that, after this royal building was erected and perfectly completed, a man who came six hundred years later could challenge this grand design, claiming that his religion is the only religion accepted by Allah?  On what foundation was his religion built?  There are no prophecies, types, symbols, or characters to point to Islam in the whole Bible.  But concerning Christianity, we read a massive number of prophecies pointing to Jesus Christ and his crucifixion in the Old Testament.
 One chapter of the book of the prophet Isaiah portrays the sufferings of the crucified Christ and how that He would be buried in a rich man's tomb.  That chapter was written seven hundred years before the birth of Jesus Christ.  The four gospels confirm that the prophecies written in that chapter were fulfilled to the letter.

 David, who was a king as well as a prophet, prophesied Christ's crucifixion.  This is what David wrote:

     For dogs have compassed me: the assembly of the wicked have enclosed me: they pierced my hands and my feet (Psalm 22:16).
 David died an honorable death in his palace, but his son according to the flesh, Jesus Christ, died by crucifixion - the only death in which the hands and the feet are pierced.
 All the offerings mentioned in the book of Leviticus were a type of Jesus Christ who was to be crucified.  The crucified Christ was the burnt offering, the meat offering, the trespass offering, the peace offering, and the sin offering.  God was preparing His people through these offerings, prophecies, symbols, and types for the crucifixion of His son Jesus Christ.
 The fiery serpent made of brass and lifted up on a pole in the wilderness was a symbol of Christ on the cross.  It gave life to those who were bitten by fiery serpents if they looked at it in faith.  Jesus referred to that symbol when He said:
     And as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, even so must the Son of man be lifted up.  That whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have eternal life (John 3:14, 15).
We have to remember that the brazen serpent was in the shape of the fiery serpent, but with no poison in it.  Jesus came in the form of man, yet was born without sin, and lived a sinless life.
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 The Quran Denies the Crucifixion of Christ

 With all these solid proofs, which confirm the crucifixion of Jesus Christ, Muhammad, who came six hundred years later, a man who never lived in the land of Israel, who was illiterate, unable to read the prophecies of the true prophets concerning the birth, the life, the death, the burial, the resurrection, the ascension, and the second coming of Jesus Christ, denied in his Quran the crucifixion of Christ.

 Here are the words of the Quran:

      That they said [in boast], "We killed Christ Jesus the son of Mary, the Messenger of  Allah," but they killed him not, nor crucified him.  Only a likeness of that was shown to  them.  And those who differ therein are full of doubts, with no [certain] knowledge.  But  only conjecture to follow, for of a surety they killed him not (Surat Al-Nisa 4:157).
 This verse in the Quran which says that someone other than Jesus was crucified is in total contrast with the Bible.  The four Gospels, Matthew, Mark, Luke and John are centered around the crucifixion of Christ.  If Christ was not crucified, then the New Testament, indeed Christianity as a whole, is null and void.
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The three days of the Quran

 We have to realize that the Quran mentions three days in the life of Jesus Christ:

    The day of His birth

    The day of His death

    The day of His resurrection

 In Surat Maryam, the Quran records that Jesus said:
     Peace on me the day I was born, and the day I die, and the day I shall be raised alive (Surat Maryam 19:33 MPT).
 It is clear that every day come chronologically one after the other.

 The Day of Jesus’ Birth
 Christ was born in Bethlehem; that is the day when He took the form of a servant, and became a man.  Here I should say that it is impossible for the finite to be infinite, but it is quite possible for the infinite to become finite and remain infinite.  The king can become a soldier and remain a king.

 The Day of Jesus’ Death
 Christ was crucified on the cross for the sin of mankind; that is the day He died.  The Muslim clerics have many different interpretations concerning Christ’s death, but they deny his crucifixion.

 The Day of Jesus’ Resurrection
 Christ was raised from the dead by His own power.  he said to the Jews:

    Destroy this temple, and in three days I will raise it up...  He was speaking of the temple of his body (John 2:19-21 NKJ)

     This is the day of His resurrection.

 By His triumphant resurrection He was declared to be the everlasting Son of God.  The apostle Paul says concerning this fact:
     Christ our Lord who was born of the seed of David according to the flesh, and declared to be the Son of God with power, according to the Spirit of Holiness, by the resurrection from the dead (Romans 1:3 NKJ)
The death of Jesus on the cross of Calvary was a necessity to glorify God and redeem mankind.
The apostle Paul summed up the central theme of Christianity in the following words:

 Redemption that is in Christ Jesus;... to demonstrate his righteousness... that He might be just and the justifier of the one who has faith in Jesus (Romans 3:23-26 NKJ).

 Christianity does not proclaim a God who is a despotic dictator who forgives whom He wills and punishes whom He wills without any basis of justice, but a God who is a just God, and who is also the justifier.

 The only logical solution for the problem of sin is the death of Jesus Christ on the cross.  The sinless and perfect Savior died to redeem sinful and wretched men.
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Eye Witnesses tot he Crucifixion

 The apostle Peter declared tot he Jews who lived at the time of the crucifixion of Christ:

     Ye men of Israel, hear these words; Jesus of Nazareth, a man approved of God among you by miracles and wonders and signs, which God did by him in the midst of you, as ye yourselves also know:  Him being delivered by the determinate counsel and foreknowledge of God, ye have taken, and by wicked hands have crucified and slain:  Whom God hath raised up, having loosed the pains of death:  because it was not possible that he should be holden of it (Acts 2:22-24).
 The apostle John, who was an eye witness of the crucifixion of Christ recorded:
     Then came the soldiers, and brake the legs of the first, and of the other which was crucified with him.. But when they came to Jesus, and saw that he was dead already, they brake not his legs:  But one of the soldiers with a spear pierced his side, and forthwith came there out blood and water.  And he that saw it bare record, and his record is true:  and he knoweth that he saith true, that ye might believe.  For these things were done, that the scripture should be fulfilled, A bone of him shall not be broken.  And again another scripture saith, They shall look on him whom they pierced (John 19:32-37).
 Thomas, one of the disciples, put his finger in the pierced hands of the risen Christ, and cried out:
     My Lord and my God (John 20:28).
 These words were not an exclamation but a confession.

 More than five hundred people saw the risen Christ (I Corinthians 15:6).
 All of the events of the crucifixion and resurrection of Jesus Christ were "according to the scriptures" and fulfilled Old Testament prophecies tot he letter (I Corinthians 15:1-4).  All of the witnesses of these events - many of whom were martyred because of their testimonies - are more than sufficient to confirm the truth about the crucifixion of Christ.
 More importantly, the crucifixion of Christ was foreordained before the foundation of the world:

     . . . knowing that you were not redeemed with corruptible things, like silver and gold, from your aimless conduct received by tradition from your fathers, but with the precious blood of Christ, as a lamb without blemish and without spot.  He indeed was foreordained before the foundation of the world, but was manifest in these last times for you (I Peter 1:18-20 NKJ).
 If Muhammad and his Quran deny the crucifixion of Christ, then we have to apply to Muhammad the words of the apostle Peter:
     But there were false prophets also among the people, even as there shall be false teachers among you, who privily shall bring in damnable heresies, even denying the Lord that bought them, and bring upon themselves swift destruction.  And many shall follow their pernicious ways; by reason of whom the way of truth shall be evil spoken of (2 Peter:1, 2).
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Chapter 11
TESTING THE TRUTHFULNESS OF THE Quran

The First Test Is The Test Of True Source Of Inspiration

The Bible is the absolute standard in this area.  When God called Moses to be the founder of Judaism he spoke to him directly:

    And to Moses Allah spoke direct
    (Surat Al-Nisa 4:164).
There are many instances mentioned in the Torah where it is said, "The Lord spoke to Moses." Thirty-five times we read in the book of Leviticus "And the Lord spoke to Moses." The line of communication never stopped between God and Moses, since he was called to be a prophet, and in every move Moses followed God's directions.
God confirmed His call to Moses with miracles.  When Moses erected the tabernacle of meeting, and Aaron offered the sin offering, the burnt offering, and the peace offering, we read how God demonstrated His glory to authenticate Moses' prophethood:
    And Moses and Aaron went into the tabernacle of meeting, and came out and blessed the people.  Then the glory of the Lord appeared to all the people, and fire came out from before the Lord and consumed the burnt offering and the fat on the altar.  When all the people saw it, they shouted and fell on their faces (Leviticus 9:23, 24 NKJ).
Now we come to Muhammad.  His call came by the spirit who met him at the cave of Mount Hira, squeezed him so tightly that he thought he would die, and left him in great distress of mind.  Then the spirit left him with no revelations for a period of time.
Muhammad suffered greatly every time he received a revelation from that spirit.

Al-Imam (cleric) Al-Bukhary quoted Aisha, Muhammad's wife, when she said:

    Harith Ibn Hesham asked the messenger of Allah:  "Messenger of Allah, how do you receive the revelation?' "Sometimes it comes to me like a ringing bell, and this is the hardest.  When he leaves me I remember what he said" Muhammad answered.  Then he continued, "Sometimes the angel appears to me as a man, he speaks to me and I remember what he said." Aisha said, "I saw him when revelation comes down to him, sweat covers his forehead in the very cold day."
Imam Ahmad cited Abdallah Ibn Omar, who asked Muhammad, "Do you feel the revelation?" "I hear ringing, then I stay silent.  Every time the spirit came with revelation I thought I would die," Muhammad answered.
Ibn Saad quoted Aisha when she said:
    When revelation comes down to Muhammad, he submerged his head in water, his face turns pale, he feels that he is very cold and he sweats with large drops of sweating (Al-Helal Magazine, December 1970, page 73).
Allah did not speak to Muhammad directly, only the spirit of unknown origin did.
Moreover, when Muhammad entered Makkah victoriously, and cast out all of the idols from the Kaaba, God did not reveal His glory there as he revealed it in the Tabernacle of Meeting.  No sign of God's presence was felt in the Kaaba.
Ibn Hesham recorded that the prophet stood there to display the Muslims' armies with all their banners.  Abu-Sufian the Amowite and Al-Abaas, the prophet's uncle, stood to watch the parade.
    "The Kingdom of your nephew Muhammad became so great today" Abu-Sufian said to Al-Abaas.  "It is the prophethood, not the Kingship, Abu-Sufian," Al-Abaas "As to prophethood, I still have my reservations concerning it," Abu-Sufian answered (Islamic Caliphate, page 103).
There were great doubts in the hearts of many in Arabia concerning Muhammad's prophethood.  Some of the contents of the Quran declare that it was not inspired by God.  Read the following verse:
    Also mention in the book Idris:  He was a man of truth [and sincerity], and a prophet.  And we raised him to lofty station (Surat Maryam 19:56, 57).
Ahmad Bahgat recorded on page 164 of his book, The Prophets of Allah:
    Legends say that Idris is Osiris the hero of the ancient Egyptian legend.
Idris is the Arabic pronunciation of Osiris.  The Reader's Digest Illustrated Encyclopedic Dictionary defines "Osiris" on page 1203:
    The ancient Egyptian god of the underworld.  In Egyptian mythology the god who was ruler and judge in the underworld and the brother and consort of Isis.  He is identified with the Nile, and his annual death and resurrection symbolized the self-renewing vitality and fertility of nature.
The Quran declares that Idris, or Osiris, who was the ancient Egyptian god of the underworld, is:
    ... a man of truth [and sincerity], and a prophet.  And We [Allah] raised him to lofty station (Surat Maryam 19:56, 57).
Amazing!!

Is Osiris the god of the underworld, or a prophet?  With such an error, could the Quran be the inspired word of the true God?
Another person was mentioned in the Quran and commentators have no idea who he was.  His name is Zul-Kifl and he is mentioned in Surat Al-Anbiyaa 21:85, 86:

    And remember Ismail, Idris, and Zul-Kifl, all [men] of constancy and patience.
Who is Zul-Kifl?  Nobody knows!  That is contrary to what is written in the Bible:
    For whatever things were written before were written for our learning, that we through the patience and comfort of the Scriptures might have hope (Romans 15:4 NKJ).
But the Quran recorded things with no benefit for its readers.
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The Story of Joseph in the Quran is Distorted

We have to remember that Christianity is the extension of Judaism and is founded on the Old Testament.  The stories of the Old Testament are referred to but are not repeated in the New Testament because together they are one book "The Bible."  The New Testament is a continuation of the Old Testament.
The Quran, however, is not the extension of the Bible and is not consistent with the Bible.  Therefore, Islam cannot not be accepted as God's final religion for mankind.  The Quran repeats the biblical stories of Abraham, Moses, Joseph, Jesus and others and it does so with significant distortion.  We see this clearly from the conflicting story of Joseph in the Bible and the Quran.
In the Bible we read how Potiphar's wife tried to seduce Joseph to lie with her, and how Joseph refused to commit such a gross sin.  The biblical story describes a young man who felt the presence of God with him who, by the grace of God, refused to lie with his master's wife.  The two conflicting stories are recorded on these pages for the reader to discern which one is true inspiration.
The Bible story:

    Now it came to pass after these things that his master's wife cast longing eyes on Joseph and she said, "Lie with me." But he refused and said to his master's wife, "Look, my master does not know what is with me in the house, and he has committed all that he has to my hand.  There is no one greater in this house than I, nor has he kept back anything from me but you, because you are his wife.  How then can I do this great wickedness, and sin against God?"
    So it was, as she spoke to Joseph day by day, that he did not heed her, to lie with her or to be with her.  But it happened about this time, when Joseph went into the house to do his work, and none of the men of the house was inside, that she caught him by his garment, saying, "Lie with me." But he left his garment in her hand, and fled and ran outside, and so it was, when she saw that he had left his garment in her hand and fled outside, that she called to the men of her house and spoke to them, saying, "See, he has brought in to us a Hebrew to mock us.  He came in to me to lie with me, and I cried out with a loud voice.  And it happened, when he heard that I lifted my voice and cried out, that he left his garment with me, and fled and went outside."
    So she kept his garment with her until his master came home.  Then she spoke to him with words like these, saying, "The Hebrew servant whom you brought to us came in to me to mock me; so it happened, as I lifted my voice and cried out, that he left his garment with me and fled outside."
    So it was, when his master heard the words which his wife spoke to him, saying, "Your servant did to me after this manner," that his anger was aroused.
    Then Joseph's master took him and put him into the prison, a place where the king's prisoners were confined.  And he was there in the prison
    (Genesis 39:7-20 NKJ).
Now, the distorted story in the Quran:
    Ladies, said in the city:  "The wife of the [great] Aziz is seeking to seduce her slave.  Truly hath he inspired her with violent love:  we see she is evidently going astray.
    When she heard of their malicious talk, she sent for them and prepared a banquet for them:  she gave each of them a knife:  and she said [to Joseph], "Come out before them." When they saw him, they did extol him, and [in their amazement] cut their hands:  they said, "Allah preserve us!  no mortal is this!  This is none other than a noble angel!"
    She said:  "There before you is the man about whom ye did blame me!  I did seek to seduce him from His [true] self but he did firmly save himself guiltless!...  And now, if he doth not my bidding, he shall certainly be cast into prison, and [what is more] be of the company of the vilest!" (Surat Yusuf 12:30-32).
Another distortion concerns life in the eternal state.  Jesus said:
    For in the resurrection they neither marry, nor are given in marriage, but are as the angels of God in heaven (Matthew 22:30)
The Quran declares:
    As to the Righteous, they will be in gardens, and in happiness.  They will recline [with ease] upon couches arranged in ranks, and We shall wed them to maidens with beautiful big and lustrous eyes (Surat Al-Tur 52:17, 20).
Other examples of the distorted biblical stories written in the Quran are the story of Noah (Surat Al-Ankabut 29:14, Surat Al-Tahrim 66:10); and the story of Abraham where the Quran says that he was ordered to sacrifice Ishmael, not Isaac (Surat Al-Saffat 37:100-107).
These distorted stories and teachings are far from being God's inspired word.
Any discerning reader has the right to question the source of the Quran's revelations.
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Muhammad Used the Quran to Solve his Own Problems and to Satisfy His Own Desires

It is clear from the following examples that Muhammad used the revelations of the Quran to solve his own problems and satisfy his carnal desires.
1.  Muhammad lusted after Zainab, his daughter-in-law, and desired to marry her, so a revelation came to him from his Allah saying:

    Then when Zaid [Muhammad's adopted son] had dissolved [his marriage] with her [with Zainab, his daughter-in-law] We joined her in marriage to thee (Surat Al-Ahzab 33:37).
2.  Aisha, the youngest of Muhammad's wives, conspired with his other wives against him because he had sex with Mary, the Coptic slave, in the bed of his wife Hafsa, daughter of Omar.  Muhammad refused to share their beds for one month.  Then the following revelation came to threaten them:
    When the Prophet disclosed a matter in confidence to one of his consorts, and she then divulged it [to another], and Allah made it known to him, he confirmed part thereof and passed over a part.  Then when he told her thereof, she said, "Who told thee this?" He said, "He told me Who is the Knower, the Aware."
    If ye two turn in repentance to Allah, your hearts are indeed so inclined; but if ye back up each other against him, truly Allah is his Protector, and Gabriel, and [every] Righteous one among those who believe and furthermore, the angels will back [him] up.
    It may be, if he divorced you [all], that Allah will give him in exchange consorts better than you - who submit [their wills], who believe, who are devout; who turn to Allah in repentance, who worship [in humility], who fast - previously married or virgins (Surat Al-Tahrim 66:3-5).
Muhammad's wives were scared.  They repented.  The revelation did what Muhammad wanted and he came back to them.  (The full story is in the book, The Wives of the Prophet, pages 100-104.)

3.  Muhammad's wives asked his permission to adorn themselves, and wanted him to raise their allowance, so the following revelation came to threaten them:

    O Prophet!  say to thy consorts:  "If it be that ye desire the life of this world, and its glitter - then come!  I will provide for your enjoyment and set you free in a handsome manner (Surat Al-Ahzab 33:28).
This meant that he would give them money and divorce them.  The sword of divorce was always ready to threaten Muhammad's wives and subdue them in the name of Allah.

4.  Muhammad was afraid that his wives would be seduced by other men, so a revelation came to him to order his wives as well as other Muslim women to wear a veil:

    O Prophet!  Tell thy wives and daughters, and the believing women, that they should cast their outer garments over their persons [when out of doors]:  That is most convenient, that they should be known [as such] and not molested.  And Allah is Oft-Forgiving, Most Merciful (Surat Al-Ahzab 33:59).
Another verse was given to Muhammad's wives:
    O ye wives of the Prophet!  Ye are not like any other women.  If ye keep your duty [to Allah], then be not soft of speech, lest he in whose heart is a disease aspire [to you], but utter customary speech (Surat Al-Ahzab 33:32).
5.  Muhammad was afraid that his wives might commit lewdness hind his back, especially since some of them were much younger than him, so the following revelation came to threaten them and instill terror in their hearts:
    O ye, wives of the Prophet!  Whosoever of you committeth manifest lewdness, the punishment for her will be doubled, and that is easy for Allah (Surat Al-Ahzab 33:30).
The question is:  if Muhammad's godly example and the teachings the Quran had an influence on the wives of Muhammad, to keep them honest and pure, why would such a threat be needed?

6.  Muhammad was annoyed by those who used to enter his houses without permission, and was afraid that they might seduce his wives, so the following revelation came to him:

    O ye who believe!  Enter not the Prophet's houses, until leave is given you, for a meal, [and then] not [so early as] to wait for its preparation:  but when ye are invited, enter; and when ye have taken your meal, disperse, without seeking familiar talk.  Such [behavior] annoys the Prophet he is shy to dismiss you, but Allah is not shy [to tell you] the truth.
    And when ye ask [his ladies] for anything ye want, ask them from before a screen:  that makes for greater purity for your hearts and for theirs.  Nor is it right for you that ye should annoy Allah's Messenger, or that ye should marry his widows after him at any time.  Truly such a thing is in Allah's sight an enormity (Surat Al-Ahzab 33:53).
7.  Muhammad was annoyed by those who called him from behind his apartments, so he needed a revelation to stop them from doing it.
    Those who shout out to thee from without the inner apartments - most of them lack understanding.  If only they had patience until thou couldst come out to them, it would be best for them:  but Allah is Oft-Forgiving, Most Merciful (Surat Al-Hujurat 49:4, 5).
8.  To motivate his followers to pay alms to him, that he would pray for them or meet them in private for counsel, Muhammad needed a revelation.  The revelation came in the following words:
    Of their wealth take alms, that so thou mightest purify and sanctify them; and pray on their behalf.  Verily thy prayers are a source of security for them:  And Allah is One Who heareth and knoweth (Surat At-Tawbah 9:103).
Incidentally, the reader may ask how Muhammad, who is himself a sinner, can purify and sanctify his followers, something only God can do.
    O ye who believe!  When ye hold conference with the messenger, offer an alms before your conference.  That is better and purer for you.  But if ye cannot find [the wherewithal] then lo!  Allah is Forgiving.  Merciful (Surat Al-Mujadilah 58:12 MPT).
Muhammad's prayers and counsel cost Muslims their money.

9.  When Muhammad went to Al-Madina, he commanded the Muslims to pray toward Jerusalem, toward the destroyed Jewish temple which is now "Al Aksa Mosque." He thought that by this act the Jews would accept him as a true prophet.  However, the Jews rejected him, so he wanted to change the direction from Jerusalem to the Kaaba in Makkah.  It was a political move to please the Arabs.  But he needed a revelation to do it:

    The fools among the people will say "What hath turned them from the Qiblah [the direction to which the Muslims must turn when they pray] to which they were used?" Say:  To Allah belong both East and West:  He guideth whom He will to a way that is straight.
    We see the turning of thy face [for guidance] to the heavens:  now shall we turn thee to a Qibla that shall please thee.  Turn then thy face in the direction of the Sacred Mosque:  Wherever ye are, turn your faces in that direction (Surat Al-Baqarah 2:142, 144).
We must not forget that the sacred mosque, the Kaaba, was full of idols at that time.

10.  When Abu-Bakr suggested to Muhammad to take ransom from the prisoners of war at the battle of Badr and free them, Omar suggested that the prisoners of that war should all be killed.  Now Muhammad needed a revelation to justify Omar's suggestion since it was against any code of war.  The revelation came as follows:

    It is not for any Prophet to have captives until he hath made slaughter in the land.  Ye desire the lure of this world and Allah desireth [for you] the Hereafter, and Allah is Mighty Wise. . (Surat Al-Anal 8:67 MPT).
11.  According to Muhammad, Allah had commanded that a man could marry up to four women at any one time:
    Marry women of your choice, two, or three, or four (Surat Al-Nisa 4:3).
Four women were not enough for Muhammad, so he needed special permission from Allah to marry any number of women he wished.  The revelation came as follows:
    O Prophet!  We have made lawful to thee thy wives to whom thou has paid their dowers; and those whom thy right hand possesses out of the captives of war whom Allah has assigned to thee; and daughters of thy paternal uncles and aunts, and daughters of thy maternal uncles and aunts, who migrated with thee; and any believing woman who gives herself to the Prophet if the Prophet wishes to wed her - this only for thee, and not for the believers [at large]; we know what we have appointed for them as to their wives and the captives whom their right hands possess - in order that there should be no difficulty for thee.  And Allah is Oft Forgiving, Most Merciful (Surat Al-Ahzab 33:50).
12.  To instill terror in the hearts of his enemies, revelations came to say:
    The punishment of those who wage war against Allah and His Messenger, and strive with might and main for mischief through the land is:  execution, or crucifixion, or the cutting off of hands and feet from opposite sides, or exile from the land:  that is their disgrace in this world and heavy punishment is theirs in the hereafter (Surat Al-Maidah 5:33).
    Remember thy Lord inspired the angels [with the message] "I am with you:  give firmness to the Believers:  I will instill terror into the hearts of the infidels [literal translation] smite them above their necks and smite all their finger-tips off them"
    (Surat Al-Anfal 8:12).
All the verses we mentioned, indicate how in the name of Allah, Muhammad got everything he wanted.  Many of the suras are concerning Muhammad and directed to him.  It has no meaning to the 20th century person; no application to his life.
Moreover, we sense in these verses a sadistic behavior toward those who oppose Muhammad.
Many verses of the Quran were revealed to solve Muhammad's problems and satisfy his desires.
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Chapter 12
TESTING THE TRUTHFULNESS OF THE Quran

2. THE CHALLENGE OFFERED BY THE Quran

The Second Test if the Challenge Given by the Quran in Mankind and Jinn to Produce the Like of the Quran

This test is set by the Quran itself in the following verse:

    Say:  " If the whole of mankind and Jinn were to gather together to produce the like of his Quran they could not produce the like thereof, even if they backed up each other with help and support" (Surat Al-Isra 17:88).
This challenge was met.  In the age of Jhailia before Muhammad there were men who produced the like of the Quran.

Before he became a prophet, Muhammad heard Qus Ibn Saedah Al-Ayadi, who died in the year 600 A.D., speaking in the Okas Market and admired him very much.  Abu-Bakr who memorized what Qus Ibn Saedh said, used to repeat his speeches to Muhammad.  his Arabic speech was similar to the Quran and many of his words were mentioned in the Quran.
The poet Omaia Ibn Abi Alsalat, who died in the year 624 A.D., mentioned in his poetry Gabriel and Michael, whom Muhammad mentioned in his Quran.  The poet Al-Haseen Iban Hamam, who died in the year 611 A.D., mentioned in his poetry the scales by which the deeds of men will be weighted in the day of judgment.  The same wording was mentioned in the Quran in Surat Al-Araf 28.9.

The poets Antara Al-Abasi (who died in 610 A.D.), Waraka Ibn Nafal (who died in 592 A.D.) and Lubaid ( who died in  671 A.D.) all wrote poetry similar to the Quran.  The poet Roba Ibn Al-Ajaj wrote somethign every similar to Surat Al-Fil (Islamic Caliphate, pages 60-71).
Now ho about the jinn?  Were they able to produce the like of the Quran?  The answer is: certainly.
 The Quran includes Surat Al-Jinn.  It is surat number r72.  In the surat, a company of Jinn listened to the Quran:

    They said:  "We have really heard a wonderful recital!  It gives guidance to the right and we have believed therein: we shall not join [in worship] any [gods] with our Lord (Surat Al-Jinn 72:1, 2).
The rest of Surat Al-Jinn recorded the words of the jinn as if they were the words of Allah.  The style of the jinn is very similar to the style of the Quran. The Quran declares that the jinn are evil creatures associated with satan:
    Iblis [satan] he was one of the jinn, and he broke the command of his lord (Surat Al-Kahf 18:50).
The jinn were able to produce the like of the Quran and in fact, they produced one whole chapter of the Quran and this is why it is called "Surat Al-Jinn."  In that surat the jinn told Muhammad, "Amongst us are some who are Muslims (literal translation)  (Surat Al-Jinn 72:14).
Ahmad Bahgat in his book Prophets of Allah, page 386, quoted Abdallah Ibn Massoud who said:
    The Messenger of Allah said to his followers, "Everyone of you is escorted by a jinni and  an angel."  "Even you, messenger of Allah?"  they asked.  "Even me, Muhammad answered, but Allah helped me and he was converted to Islam, since that time he does not order me to do good.
here we have to ask, since Muhammad was escorted by a jinni, what kind of suggestions did the jinni give to Muhammad before the jinni became a Muslim?
The challenge of the Quran was met by poets and jinn to assure us that the Quran is not the word of God.
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Chapter 13
TESTING THE TRUTHFULNESS OF THE Quran

3. INTERNAL DISCREPANCIES

The Third Test is the Test of Internal Consistency

If a book is truly inspired by the true God, it should not contradict itself.  WE see an example of this in the four Gospels in the New Testament as we mentioned before.

In contrast to the Bible, the Quran is full of discrepancies and many Muslim scholars firmly believe that is has also been altered.  There is no doubt that Calipah Uthman tampered with it.  Aisha, Muhammed’s wife said:

    Surat Al-Ahzab was 200 verses during the prophet’s life; when uthman wrote the Quran it became what is now (72 verses) (Alostora Wa-Altorath- The Legend and the Heritage, page 274).
The Bible was written over a period of 1500 years, by almost forty writers, among them a shepherd like Amos, a fisherman like Peter, a King like Solomon, a priest like Ezra, a statesman like Daniel, and a tax collector like Matthew.  But the unity of sixty-six books of the Bible is amazing.  We cannot interpret the book of Hebrews without reading the book of Leviticus; we cannot explain the book of Revelation without reading the book of Genesis.  This proves that the Holy Spirit is the inspirer of all the books as the apostle Peter says:
    Knowing this first, that no prophecy of Scripture is of any private interpretation.  For the prophecy came not in old time by the will of man, but holymen of God spoke as they were moved by the Holy Spirit (II Peter 1:20, 21 NKJ)
More importantly, we noticed that every book of the Bible has a special message, Genesis is the book of beginnings, exodus is the book of redemption, Proverbs is the book of practical daily life, Eccelsiastes shows that all the things under the sun are vanity of vanities and Psalms is the book of experience of joy and sadness of desperation and trust.

on the other hand, we find that the Quran, which was given to one man Muhammad in a period of less than twenty-three years, is full of contradictions and inconsistencies.
The Quran declares that Allah caused some of his revelations to be abrogated, and some to be forgotten and in that case Allah gave Muhammad better or similar revelations.  here are the words of the Quran:

    None of Our revelations do we abrogate or cause to be forgotten, but we substitute something better or similar: knowest thou not that Allah hat power over all things? (Surat Al-Baqarah 2:106)
That verse shows that Allah is not immutable, it shows that he is competing with himself.  he abrogates a verse to give a better or similar one.  The questions here is: If  Allah will give a similar verse why does he cancel the first verse?

Abdallah Abd Al-Fadi said:

    Abrogation in God’s words goes against His wisdom, truthfulness and foreknowledge.  It is the short-sighted man that issues laws and replaces them according to situations and circumstances.  The omniscient God, however, knows about all things before they come to pass.  How then could it possibly be said about God that He changes, exchanges, abrogates and blots out? (Is the Quran Infallible?, page 331).
The Quran also declares that satan caused Muhammad to say words contrary to Allah’s words, and made suggestions to him that wee contrary to Allah’s plans.  That happened when Muhammad praised the pagan deities Lat, Uzza, and Manat.  he said to a gathering of Quaraysh that Lat, Uzza, and Manat could intercede with Allah.  When Muhammad was rebuked by some of his friends, the following revelation came to him.
    Never did we send a messenger or a prophet before thee, but, when he framed a desire, satan threw some [vanity] into his desire, but Allah will cancel anything [vain] that satan throws in, and Allah will confirm [and establish] his signs: for Allah is full of knowledge and wisdom (Surat Al-hajj 22:52).
The fact is it never happened to any true prophet that satan inspired him with false revelations.  Furthermore, if satan could throw in the prophet’s mind words opposite to Allah’s words, how could we know which words that prophet are from Allah, and which are from satan?

The Quran suggests a test for itself in he following verse:

    Do they not ponder the Quran? had it been from other than Allah, they would surely have found therein much discrepancy (Surat Al-Nisa 4:82).
The fact is there are many discrepancies in the Quran.  The following are some of the many clear contradictions in the Quran.
     
    The Verses
    Their Contradictions
    Those who believe [in the Quran] and those who follow the Jewish [Scriptures] and the Christians and the Sabians, any who believe in Allah and the last days, and work righteousness, shall have their reward with their Lord, on them shall be no fear, nor shall they grieve. 
    (Surat Al-Baqarah 2:62) 
    The Jews call Uzair a son of Allah and the Christians call Christ the Son of Allah.  That is a saying from their mouth; [in this] they but imitate what the infidels (literal translation) of  old used to say.  Allah’s curse be on them: how they are deluded away from the truth. 
    (Surat Al-TawBah 9:30).
    Let there be no compulsion in religion: Truth stands out clear from error. (Surat Al-Baqarah 2:56). 

    Unto you your religion and unto me my  religion (Surat Al-Kafirun 109:6). 

    Fight those who believe not in Allah nor the last day, nor hold that which hath been forbidden by Allah and His Messenger [Muhammad], nor acknowledge the religion of truth [Islam], from among the people of the book [Jews and Christians] until they paid the Jezia [special taxes paid by the Jews and Christians who do not want to denounce their religion] with willing submission, and feel themselves subdued (Surat Al-Tawbah 9:29). 

    And fight them on until there is no more sedition (literal translation) and religion [Islam] becomes Allah’s in its entirety (Surat Al-Anfal 8:39).

    To Allah belong the East and the West: whithersoever ye turn, there is Allah’s face,  for Allah is all-Embracing, All Knowing (Surat Al-Baqarah 2:115).  So from whencesoever thou startest forth, turn thy 
    face in the direction of the sacred mosque [the Kaaba]; and wheresoever ye are, turn thy facethither 
          (Surat Al-Baqarah 2:150).
    O Prophet rouse the Believers [Muslim] to fight, if there are twenty amongst you, patient and persevering, they will vanquish two hundred: if a hundred, they will vanquish a thousand of the unbelievers: for these are a people without under-understanding. (Surat Al-Anal 8:65). Now hath Allah lightened your burden, for He knoweth that there is weakness in you.  So if there be of you a steadfast hundred they shall overcome two hundred, and if there be of you a thousand they shall overcome two thousand by permission of Allah.  Allah is with the steadfast (Surat Al-Anfal 8:66). 
    Thy duty is to make [the message] reach them.  It is our part to call them to account  (Surat Al-Rad 13:40). 
    If it had been Allah’s will, they would not have taken false gods but We made thee not one to watch over their doings, nor art thou set over them to dispose of their affairs. 
    (Surat Al-Anam 6:107).
    ..I will instill terror into the hearts of the unbelievers: smite ye above their necks and smite all of their finger-tips of them this because they contended against Allah and His Messenger: If any contend against Allah and His Messenger.  Allah is strict in punishment (Surat Al-Anfal 8:12).
    O Prophet! We have made lawful to thee thy wives to whom thou has paid their  dowers; and those whom they right hand possesses out of the captives of war whom Allah has assigned to thee; and daughters of thy paternal uncles and aunts, who migrated with thee; and any believing woman who gives herself to the prophet if the Prophet wishes to wed to her-this only for thee, and not for the believers [at large]; We know what We have appointed for them as to their wives and the captives whom their rights hands posses-in order that there be no difficulty for thee.  And Allah is Oft Forgiving, Most Merciful (Surat Al-Ahzab 33:50). It is not lawful for thee [to marry more] women after this, nor to change them for [other] wives even though their beauty attract thee, except any thy right hand should possess [as handmaidens]: and Allah doth watch over all (Surat Al-Ahzab 33:52)
    And nearest among them in love to the believers [the Muslims] wilt thou find those who say "we are Christians because amongst these are men devoted to learning and men who have renounced the world, and they are not arrogant"  (Surat Al-Maidah 5:82)
    We sent after them Jesus the son of Mary, and 
    bestowed on him the Gospel; and we ordained 
    in the hearts of those who followed him 
    compassion and mercy 
    (Surat Al-hadid 57:27).
    We did aforetime grant to the children of 
    Israel the Book, the power of command, and 
    prophethood; We gave them, for sustenance, 
    things good and pure; and We favoured them 
    above all nations 
    (Surat Al-Jathiyah 45:16)
    O ye who believe! Take not the Jews and the Christians for your friends and protectors: they are but friends and protectors to each other. And he amongst you that turns to them [for friendship] is of them.  Verify Allah guideth not a people unjust       (Surat Al-Maidah 5:51). 
    To Moses We did give Nine Clear Signs: Ask the Children of Israel: When he came to them, Pharaoh said to him: "O Moses! I consider thee, indeed, to have been worked upon by sorcery."  Moses said, "Thou knowest well that these things have been sent down by none but the Lord of the heavens and the earth as eye opening evidence: and I consider thee indeed, O Pharaoh, to be one doomed to destruction!"  Soon he resolved to remove them from the face of the earth: but We did drown him and all who were with him (Surat Al-Isra 17:101-103 MPT) 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 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 We save thee in thy body, that thou mayest be a sign to those, who come after thee! But verily, many among mankind are heedless of Our signs!" (Surat yunus 10:90-92). 

Adam and Jesus

     
    The similitude of Jesus before Allah is as that of Adam; He created him from dust, then said to him: "Be": and he was 
    (Surat Al-Imran 3:59). 
    Adam was not created by the word "Be" but by the breath of Allah

    Behold, thy Lord said to the angels: "I am about to create man from clay: when I have fashioned him and breathed into him of My Spirit, fall ye down in prostration unto him" (Surat Sad 38:70,71) 

    Jesus was not conceived by the word "Be"

    And Mary [mother of  Jesus] the daughter of Imran, who guarded her virginity (literal translation); and we breathed into [her body] of our spirit; and she testified to the truth of the words of her Lord and of his revelations, and was one of the devout [servants] (Surat Al-Tahrim 66:12).

    Say: O disbelievers! I worship not that which ye worship; nor worship ye that which I worship. And I shall not worship that which ye worship. Unto you your religion, and unto me my religion. 
    (Surat Al-Kafirun 109:1-6 MPT).
    Say: "If The Most Gracious Had a son, I would be the first to worship."(Surat Al-Zukhruf 43:81). 
    We have made it a Quran in Arabic, that ye may be able to understand  (Surat Az-Zukhruf 43:3). 

    This verse indicates that the Quran is exclusively for 
    the Arabic speaking people. It could not be a miracle, because people of other tongues cannot even read it. 

    He it is Who has sent down to thee the book [the Quran]...no one knows its true meaning except Allah (Surat Al-Imran 3:7).
According to the Quran, Jesus Christ is a word from Allah:
    Behold: the angels said: "O Mary! Allah giveth thee glad tidings of a Word from Him: his name will be Christ Jesus, the son of Mary, held in honour in this world, and the hereafter and of [the company of] those nearest to Allah (Surat Al-Imran 3:45).
It is of great importance to deal with two verses of the Quran at the close of this selection.  The first verse is:
    Those who follow the Messenger, the unlettered Prophet, whom they find mentioned in their own [scriptures].  In the Torah and the Gospel for he commands them what is just and forbids them what is evil...(Surat Al-Araf 7:157).
The second verse is:
    And remember, Jesus, the son of Mary, said: "O children of Israel: I am the messenger of Allah [sent] to you confirming the Torah[ which came] before me, and giving glad tidings of a messenger to come after me, whose name shall be Ahmad...
     (Surat Al-Saff 61:6).
We are confident that there is no mention of Muhammad and no prophecy concerning him in the Torah and the Gospel.  Muhammad is not the prophet like Moses, as Muslim scholars claim.  he is not the comforter, for the comforter is the Holy Spirit.  Muhammad is not a spirit.  he is not the servant mentioned in Isaiah 42:1, and he is not the stone cut out without hands mentioned in Daniel 2:34.
All these prophecies were fulfilled to the letter in Jesus Christ and in the Holy Spirit who descended from heaven in the Day of Pentecost.  Jesus is the prophet like Moses (Deuteronomy 18:15-19 and Acts 3:19-23), He is the servant chosen by God (Isaiah 42:1-4 and Matthew 12:17-21), He is the stone cut out without human hands (I Peter 2:6-8 and His kingdom will fill the earth at His second coming (revelation 11:15).
In short there are no prophecies concerning Muhammad in the sixty-six books of the Bible.  When the Quran says that Muhammad was mentioned in the Torah and the Gospel, and was mentioned by Jesus, the Quran is in error.
One more verse should be dealth with:
    Allah hath purchases of the Believers their persons and their goods; for theirs [in return] is the garden [of paradise]: they fight in his cause, and slay and are slain: a promise binding on Him, in truth throughout the Torah, the Gospel, and the Quran.  And who is more faithful to his covenant than Allah?  Then rejoice in the bargain which ye have concluded: that is the achievement supreme (Surat Al-Tawbah 9:111).
Contrary to what the Quran said here, the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob did not command the children of Israel to fight so that Judaism would be the only religion.  But Allah of Islam commanded them to force people to be Muslims.  More importantly, we find no command in the Gospel for Christians to fight.  We read that God purchases of the Christians their persons by the blood of Jesus (Revelation 5:9).  God does not exchange eternal life in paradise with fighting in his cause, or with goods works, or any human merits.

In fact, in the New Testament God commanded his people:

    Beloved, do not avenge yourselves, but rather give place to wrath; for it is written "Vengeance is mine, I will repay," says the Lord.  "Therefore if your enemy is hungry, feed him; if he is thirsty, give him a drink; for in so doing you will heap coals of fire on his head.  Do not be overcome by evil, but over come evil with good (Romans 12:19-21 NKJ)
We repeat, God does not command Christians to fight for His cause.  The questions is: if the Muslims believe that Islam is Allah’s religion, why do they leave Allah to protect and defend his religion?

When God called Gideon to save Israel from the hand of the Midianties, he ordered him to tear down the altar of Baal which his father had, and to cut down the wooden image that was beside it.  When the people discovered what Gideon did, they said to his father, "bring out your son that he may die, because he has torn down the altar of Baal."  Joash, Gideon’s father, answered them:

    Would you plead for Baal?  If he is a god, let him plead for himself, because his altar has been torn down...(Judges 6:31 NKJ)
Certainly, the True and Almighty God does not need anyone to fight for Him.
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Chapter 14

    TESTING THE TRUTHFULNESS OF THE Quran
4. PROVIDING SPIRITUAL NEEDS

The Fourth Test is the Test of Providing for the Basic Spiritual Needs of Mankind

If the Quran is the true word of God, it must give satisfactory answers to the basic spiritual needs of mankind.  If it fails to give these needed answers, then it is not the true word of God.  There are four basic spiritual needs of the human heart.

  • The need to be loved and to love.
  • Assurance of total forgiveness of sin, so that the believer would not feel the sense of guilt, but  rather experience joy and peace.
  • A way of life designed by God, the supreme authority, to show the believer how to please his creator and to deal with his fellow men.
  • Assurance of eternal life with God in heavenly bliss.
Are there any satisfactory answers in the Quran for these basic needs?
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The Need to be Loved and to Love.

The New Testament declares that:

    God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we are still sinners, Christ died for us (Romans 5:8 NKJ).  Beloved let us love one another, for love is of God; and everyone who loves is born of God and knows God.  he who does not love does not know God, for God is love.  In this the love of God was manifested toward us, that God has sent His only begotten Son into the world that we might live through him. In this is love, not that we loved God, but that He loved us and sent His son to be the propitiation for our sins.  Beloved if God so loved us, we also ought to love one another...if someone says "I love God,"  and hates his brother, he is a liar; for he who does not love is brother whom he has seen, how can he love God whom he has not seen (I John 4:7-11, 2 NKJ)
We see the magnificent example of forgiveness and love in Jesus Christ.  While Jesus was hanging on the cross in great agony, he prayed for his enemies:
    Father, forgive them; for they know not what they do (Luke 23:34)
Concerning the love of Christ for his own, we read:
    ...having loved His own which were in the world, he loved them unto the end (John 13:1).
The Muslims do not believe that "God is love."  That name is not mentioned in the Quran among the ninety-nine excellent names of Allah.  You will not find even one verse in the Quran that says Allah loves sinners.
The Quran does not satisfy the need to be loved and to love.
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The Need of Total Forgiveness

Sin is a heavy burden.  It disturbs man's conscience and robs him of joy and peace.  The prophet David cried out:

    For mine iniquities are gone over mine head: as an heavy burden they are too heavy for me
     (Psalm 38:4).
Mohammed felt the burden of sin. It was too heavy for him and made him bend under its weight.
    Have We not expounded thee thy breast?  And removed from thee thy burden (literally "iniquity").  The which did gall thy back (Surat Al-Inshirah 94:1-3).
The Bible declares that man is a sinner by nature and actions.  The Prophet David said:
    Behold, I was shaped in iniquity, and in sin did my mother conceive me (Psalm 51:5).
The apostle Paul said:
    For we know that the law is spiritual, but I am carnal, sold under sin.  For what I am doing, I do not understand. For what I will to do, that I do not practice; but what I hate, that I do. If, then, I do what I will not to do, I agree with the law that it is good.  But now, it is no longer I who do it, but sin that dwells in me.  For I know that in me (that is in my flesh) nothing good dwells; for to will is present with me, but how to perform what is good I do not find.  For the good that I will to do, I do not do; but the evil I will not to do, that I practice.  now if I do what I will not to do, it is no longer I who do it, but sin that dwells in me (Romans 7:14-20 NKJ).
The doctrine of original sin or inherited sin has no room in the teaching of Islam.  man, according too the Quran and to Mohammed, is born in a natural state of purity or fitrah.  Whatever becomes of man after birth is the result of external influences.  This Quranic teaching is false, because there was any external influence Cain, the firs son of Adam and Eve, hated his brother Abel and killed him The act was motivated by his inherited sinful nature.

Jesus said:

    For from within, out of the hear t of men, processed evil thoughts, adulteries, fornication's, murders, thefts, covetousness, wickedness, deceit, lasciviousness, an evil eye, blasphemy, pride, foolishness: all these evil things come from within, and defile the man (Mark 7:21-23).
Psychology confirms what the Bible says.  There is the "id," the dark side of the human psyche.  The Bible declares that sin is the transgression of the law of God (I John 3:4). It is negligence of doing what is good (James 4:17).  it was whatever is not of faith (Romans 14:23).  It is an evil or foolish thought (Proverbs 24:9).  In the light of the Biblical definition of sin, we can say with the apostle Paul:
    ...All have sinned, and come short of the glory of God (Romans 3:23).
To deny that all men are sinners, is to deceive ourselves (I John 1:8).  The Quran does not offer assurance of forgiveness.  Mohammed said to the Muslims:
    Do good things, give alms, but know that none of your will escape judgment by his work.  "Even you Messenger of Allah?"  his followers asked,  "Even me, unless Allah bestow his mercy on me"  (The Doctrines of Islam, page 75).
There are give Islamic rituals which are called pillars of Islam.  Every true Muslim  fulfill them.
  • The Shahada or testimony.  Every Muslim should testify that there is no god but Allah and that  Mohammed is the Messenger of Allah.
  • Prayer.  Every Muslim should pray five times a day.  Before offering the prayer one must wash  parts of his body-the Muslim call that ablution. If, after washing, the man touches a woman, then  he has to repeat his ablution; touching a woman defiles the Muslim (Surat Al-Nisa 4:43).
  • Fasting the month of Ramadan each year.  The fast starts before the break of the dawn and ends  at sunset.
  • Giving alms, which is called Zakaht.  That means the Muslim with means must distribute  Zakaht, money or material possessions, among the rightful beneficiaries.
  • The Pilgrimage (Hajj).  It is a mandatory performance for every Muslim who is able to visit the  Kaaba in Mecca, at least once in his or her lifetime.
With the performance of all these obligations, a Muslim cannot be assured that his sins are forgiven.  The Quran declares salvation by works:
    For those things that are good remove those that are evil (Surat Hud 11:114).
But at the Day of Judgment scales will be set to weigh the good and evil deeds.
    The balance that day will be true:  Those whose scales [of good] will be heavy, will prosper: Those whose scale will be light will find their souls in perdition (Surat Al-Araf 7:8,9).
A Muslim is terrified of the Day of Judgment.  he is not sure of the result of weighing his good and evil deeds in the balance.

On April 3, 1991, the Egyptian magazine, Akher Saa, recorded a heated debate between four female journalists and Sheik Doctor Abdu-Almonim Al-Nimr who holds a high position at Al-Azher Islamic University.  One of the journalists asked him :”Is the Hejab [veil] Obligatory for women in Islam?  If I do not wear the hejab shall I go to hell in spite of my other good deeds.  I am talking about the decent woman who does not wear the Hejab?”
“The ordinances in Islam are many, my daughter, Allah made us accountable to each.  It means if you do that ordinance you earn a point.  If you neglect one you lose a point.  If you pray, you earn a point, if you do not fast you lose a point and so on,” Dr. Al-Nimr answered.  Then he continued, "I did not invent a new theory .. for every man there is a book in which all his good and evil deeds are recorded .. even how do we treat our children."

The journalist said:  "That means, if I do not wear the Hejab I will not enter the hell fire without taking into account the rest of my good deeds."
"My daughter, no one knows who will enter the hell fire .. I might be the first one to enter it" Caliph Abu-Bakr Al-Sadik said:  "I have no trust concerning Allah's schemes, even if one of my feet is inside of paradise who can determine which deed is acceptable and which is not.  You do all what you can do, and the accountability is with Allah.  You ask him for acceptance."

The Bible clearly shows that sin is rebellion against the Holy God.  No one may be granted forgiveness by good deeds.  The only way for forgiveness is through faith in the finished work of Jesus Christ on the cross.

    For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God, not of works, lest anyone should boast (Ephesians 2:8, 9 NKJ).

    If you confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus and believe in your heart that God has raised Him from the dead, you will be saved (Romans 10:9).

The Quran offers no assurance of forgiveness, and that is in stark contrast with what is said in the Bible.  The apostle Paul says:
    In Him we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of sins, according to the riches of His grace (Ephesians 1:7).
The apostle John says:
    If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness (I John 1:9 NKJ).
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Does the Quran Provide a Decent Way of Life?

Could we find a decent way of life, a life that pleases God and helps us to deal fairly with our fellow men in the Quran?  In his book, Knowing God, J.I.  Packer wrote on pages 14 and 16:
Knowing about God is crucially important for the living of our lives...  Godliness means responding to God's revelation in trust and obedience, faith and worship, prayer and praise, submission and service.  Life must be seen and lived in the light of God's Word.  This, and nothing, else is true religion.
Man cannot live beyond the attributes of the god he believes in.  If his god is cruel he will be cruel.  If his god is kind, he will be kind.  If his god is holy, he will be holy.  The apostle Peter wrote to the Christians:
 

    But as he which hath called you is holy, so be ye holy in all manner of conversation; because it is written, be ye holy, for I am holy (I Peter 1:15, 16).
The apostle Paul says:
    Be ye therefore followers of God, as dear children; and walk in love, as Christ also hath loved us, and hath given himself for us an offering and a sacrifice to God for a sweet-smelling savor (Ephesians 5:1, 2).

    For to this you were called, because Christ also suffered for us, leaving us an example, that you should follow His steps.  "Who committed no sin, nor was deceit found in His mouth" (I Peter 2:21, 22 NKJ).
     

God is the supreme example of true Christians.  Now, who is this Allah in the Quran, that the Muslim should imitate?  In the Quran:

Allah is the best plotter:

    And when those who disbelieve plot against thee [O Mohammed] to wound thee fatally, or to kill thee or to drive thee forth; they plot, but Allah [also] plotteth; and Allah is the best of plotters (Surat Al-Anfal 8:30 MPT).
Allah is a deceiver:
    The Hypocrites - they seek to deceive Allah but it is Allah who deceives them.  When they stand up to prayer, they stand without earnestness, to be seen of men, but little do they hold Allah in remembrance (Surat Al-Nisa 4:142).
Allah is a murderer:
    Ye [Muslims] slew them not, but Allah slew them.  And thou [Mohammed] threwest not when thou didst throw, but Allah threw, that He might test the believers by a fair test from Him.  Lo!  Allah is Hearer, Knower (Surat Al-Anfal 8:17 MPT).
Allah is a torturer:
    Fight them and Allah will torture (literal translation) them by your hands, and disgrace them, help you [to victory] over them, heal the breasts of believers (Surat Al-Tawbah 9;14).
Allah is unjust and unfair:
    And when we would destroy a township we send commandment to its folk who live at ease, and afterward they commit abomination therein, and so the Word [of doom] hath effect for it, and We annihilate it with complete annihilation (Surat Al-Isra 17:16 MPT).
Allah commands those who live at ease to disobey and commit abomination, and when they obey and commit abomination according to his command he annihilates them.  That is unjust and unfair.

Now, if a Muslim follows the pattern of Allah who is presented in the Quran, he would plot, deceive, murder, torture non-Muslims, be unjust and unfair without any sense of guilt.  This is the way of life the Quran presents to the Muslims, and this is why when any Muslim believes that Jesus Christ is his Savior and Lord, Muslims persecute, torture and eventually kill him or her in the name of Allah.
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Does the Quran Provide Assurance of Eternal Life with God in Heavenly Bliss?

The only way by which a Muslim might enter paradise is to die a martyr's death fighting non-Muslims for the cause of Allah.  The Prophet Mohammed himself was terrified from expecting to be tortured after death.

Sahih Al-Bukhari recorded the following event:
 

    A Jewess entered Aisha's room and mentioned the torture of the dead in the grave and said to her "may Allah save you from the torture of the grave."  Aisha [Mohammed's wife] asked him about the torture of the grave, "yes, there is torture in the grave," he answered.  Aisha said:  "I never saw the Messenger of Allah praying after that, but asking for refuge from torture of the grave" (Sahih Al-Bukhari , Vol. l, 2, page 584).
Sahih AI-Bukhari stated also:
 
    Abu-Huraira said "The Messenger of Allah, was always calling Allah, and saying 'I take refuge in you from the torture of the grave, and hell fire, and from the sedition of life and death and from the sedition of the false messiah'"(Sahih Al-Bukhari, Vol.  1, 2 page 585).
The Quran decrees that every Muslim will enter Hell:
 
    Man says:  "What!  When I am dead, shall I then be raised up alive?" But does not man call to mind that We created him before out of nothing?  So, by thy Lord, without doubt, We shall gather them together, and [also] Satan's [with them], then shall We bring them forth on their knees round about Hell; then shall We certainly drag out from every sect all those who were worst in obstinate rebellion against [Allah] Most Gracious.  And certainly We know best those who are most worthy of being burned therein.  Not one of you but will enter it (literal translation); this is, with thy Lord, a decree which must be accomplished (Surat Maryam 19:66-71).
It is said in the Quran, that hell has seven gates (Surat Al-Hijr 15:43, 44).  Every Muslim shall enter hell.
Ibn Katheir the great expositor of the Quran interprets the words "Everyone of you will enter it" by the following stories.

The first story:

    Abd-Elrazak cited Ibn Ayeena, who cited Ibn Abi Khalid, who cited Qyse Ibn Abi Hazim, who said that Abdullah Ibn Rowaha was putting his head on his wife's lap, he wept, his wife wept, he asked her:  Why do you weep?  "I saw you weeping so I wept" she answered.  He said I remembered what Allah said "Not one of you but will enter it." I do not know if I will escape from it or not.
The second story:
    Ibn Qurair cited Abu-Kareeb, who cited Ibn Yaman, who cited Malik Ibn Magul, who cited Abu-Ishacc, who said:  Abu Mysarah used to say every night before he goes to bed, I wish that my mother had not given birth of me, then weep.  Someone asked him "Why do you weep Abu Mysarah?" "The Quran told us that we shall enter Hell, but we were not told that we will get out of it."
The third story:
    Abdu-Allah Ibn Al-Mubarak cited Al-Hasan Al-Basari:  A man said to his brother:  do you know that you will enter Hell fire?  "yes" his brother answered.  "Do you know if you will get out of it?" he asked.  "No" his brother answered.  "Why do you laugh then?" From that time on he was never seen laughing till he died (Ibn Katheir on Surat Maryam Vol. 3, page 129).
This is in stark contrast with what Christ said in the Bible:
 
    Most assuredly, I say to you, he who hears My word and believes in Him who sent Me has everlasting life, and shall not come into judgment, but has passed from death into life (John 5:24 NKJ).
There is no hope for the Muslim to escape Hell fire
The real Christian is completely assured that he or she will never enter hell fire:
 
    There is therefore now no condemnation to them which are in Christ Jesus, who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit (Romans 8:1).

    These things have I written unto you that believe on the name of the Son of God; that ye may know that ye have eternal life (I John 5:13).

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Chapter 15
TESTING THE TRUTHFULNESS OF THE Quran

5.  FRUITS OF TRUE RELIGION
The Fifth Test is the Test of Fruits
Jesus Christ instituted this test when he instructed us to test prophets by their fruits:
Beware of false prophets, who come to you in sheep's clothing, but inwardly they are ravenous wolves.  You will know them by their fruits.  Do men gather grapes from thornbushes or figs from thistles?  Even so, every good tree bears good fruit, but a bad tree bears bad fruit.  A good tree cannot bear bad fruit, nor can a bad tree bear good fruit.  Every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire.  Therefore by their fruits you will know them (Matthew 7:15-20 NKJ).
What are the fruits of the Quran, in Muhammad's own home, in the society he created, and in the cultural, intellectual, and scientific environment of Islam'?
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Muhammad's Household
Good examples of plotting and deception are found in Muhammad's own household.  Dr. Aisha Abd-Alrahman, known as "Bint Al-Shati," in her book, Wives of the Prophet, portrays a vivid picture of life in Muhammad's home.  Aisha, the youngest and the most beautiful of his wives was accused of committing adultery with Safwan Ibn Almouatal Alsalmi.  When rumors spread concerning that accusation, Muhammad became disturbed and treated Aisha harshly.  The crisis between them continued until Muhammad received a revelation that Aisha was innocent.
Another event took place in Muhammad's home when he married Asma, daughter of Al-Namam, who was a very attractive woman.  Aisha conspired with Hafsa and one of Muhammad's other wives to abort their marriage.  They went to Asma and advised her to say to Muhammad when he came in to her "I seek refuge in Allah from you," if she wanted to please him.  The naive bride believed them.  When Muhammad came into her room, she said "I seek refuge in Allah from you."  Hearing that, Muhammad sent her back to her parents.  The conspiracy of his wives was successful (Wives of the Prophet, page 77, 78).
Once, all of his wives conspired against him, so he threatened to divorce all of them (Surat Al-Tahrim 66:5).  More concerning the troubles and conspiracies in Muhammad's home are recorded in the book, Wives of the Prophet.  This is the fruit of the Quran in Muhammad's household.
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The Society Muhammad Created

If one examines the impact of Islam on the society Muhammad created by the dictates of his Quran, one discovers a society full of corruption, bloodshed, lack of individual freedom, and brutality.

1.  Corruption and bloodshed
Caliph Omar Ibn-Alkhataab acquitted Al-Mugherah Ibn Shuba who committed adultery with a woman named Omm Jameel.  He hinted to Zyad Ibn Samila, one of four witnesses, to testify in support of Al-Mugherah.  Zyad testified against three other eye witnesses Abi-Bakra, Nafi Ibn Alharith, and Shibl Ibn Maabad who testified that they saw Al-Mugherah in the act.  Caliph Omar accepted the witness of Zyad and acquitted Al-Mugherah and ordered him to beat the three eye witnesses who testified against him (Al Ostorah Waltorath, The Legend and Heritage, page 266).
Caliph Alwathic, the last Caliph of Abaseieen was homosexual.  His partner was "Muhag," an attractive young man.  It is said:  If Muhag gets angry with Alwathic and refuses to have sex with him, the Caliph would suspend all the government activities until Muhag resumes his relationship with him (The Hidden Truth, pages 124 - 126).

A good example of the bloodshed under Islam is found in the succession of Caliphs who came after Muhammad.  Caliph Omar was assassinated and Caliph Ali Ibn Abu Talib was assassinated.  Caliph Uthman Ibn Affan, who ordered the writing of the new Quran, was also assassinated.  The Muslims refused to bury him in the Muslim cemetery and after his death two Muslims jumped on his dead body and broke one of his ribs (The Hidden Truth, pages 25, 26).
Caliph Alwaleed Ibn Yazeed used to shoot the Quran with arrows until holes covered it.  Then he wrote a poem in which he spoke to the Quran saying:

    In the day of judgment, when Allah asked you:  Who made all these holes in you?  say:  Alwaleed did that (The Hidden Truth, pages 86, 87).
Many of the Muslim governors during the Caliphate period robbed the countries they governed and became very rich.  When they died they left an enormous amount of wealth.
That was the society Muhammad created with his Quran.  Muslims killed Muslims.  The Islamic history of the first century after Muhammad is stained with blood and characterized with brutality.  What about the modern Islamic societies?

2.  Lack of individual freedom
Muslims who leave their own countries to seek a better way of life enjoy total freedom in the Christian nations of Europe, Australia, and North America, and take advantage of that freedom to promote Islam by means of television, radio, books, tracts, and financial aid to those who embrace Islam.  They are also building mosques with oil dollars coming from Libya, Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, and the United Arab Emirates.  Yet, they do not permit the preaching of the gospel in their countries.  In some Islamic states there is not even one church building.  It is a crime to smuggle a Bible into these countries.  If a Muslim accepts Jesus Christ as his savior and Lord, he is considered apostate and should be executed.  A Muslim can not express his opinions freely if they are critical of Islam.
On August 9th, 1996, Al-Ahram, the semi-official daily newspaper in Egypt, reported:

    The High Court of personal affairs announced its verdict in the case of Dr. Nasr Hamid Abu Zaid professor at Cairo University, and demanded that he divorce his wife, Ibtihal Yunus, because, as the court stated, Dr. Abu Zaid was an apostate and that was clear from what he wrote in his books mocking Muhammad and the Quran, and saying that the Sharia (Quran's laws) is the reason for the demise of the Muslim countries.
Mrs. Abu Zaid did not wish to divorce her husband.  Abu Zaid and his wife fled from Egypt.
The New York Times on August 6, 1996, quoted a human rights advocate who said "The ruling is a slap in the face of civil society."
The situation in Afghanistan, under the Taliban Islamic movement, is another example.  Newsweek Magazine (October 14, 1996) printed a report by Rod Nordland and Tony Clifton under the title The Islamic Nightmare.  Here is a part of what they wrote:
    The Mullahs who took over that week in Kabul, the conquered capital of Afghanistan, made Iran's ayatollahs look like Western playboys.  The fundamentalist Taliban movement issued decree after decree through its six-member ruling council, the Shura.  Television stations and movie theaters were shut down, and music was banned from the radio.  Kabul's one million people were ordered to pray five times a day - including two visits to the local mosque, where attendance would be taken.  Criminals were threatened with beatings, mutilation and death.  Men were given 45 days to grow proper Muslim beards - which are left untrimmed - and were told to shed their Western clothes in favor of traditional Afghan dress.
    Women were chastised even more severely.  They were sent home from their schools and jobs and were instructed to veil themselves from head to toe, preferably in the suffocating burqa, in which even the opening for the eyes is screened with mesh.  Violators of the female dress code were beaten on the streets by Taliban fighters.  In a sermon last Friday, the Muslim Sabbath, Syed Ghiasuddin, the acting education minister in the new theocracy, explained that a woman is like "a rose - you water it and keep it at home for yourself to look at and smell.  It is not supposed to be taken out of the house to be smelled."  The establishment of a severely fundamentalist regime in Kabul set off alarm bells all over the region.  Amnesty International accused the Taliban of conducting "a reign of terror."
3.  Blind hatred
The Washington Post Magazine in its issue of August 25, 1996, wrote the story of David Belfield, a Baptist young man from a small town on Long Island, who came to Washington to study at Howard University.  Under the influence of an Iranian Muslim, David embraced Islam, changed his name to Daoud Salahuddin and became increasingly devout.  His Iranian handler had little trouble persuading him to kill a man he had never met.  Daoud saw the act as an Islamic duty.  The late Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini ordered the assassination of Ali Akbar Tabatabi who lived in Bethesda, Maryland, and was the chief spokesman in the United States for the counter-revolutionary forces against the Khomeini government.  Daoud Salahuddin assassinated Tabatabai, fled to Canada and then to Tehran.  The Iranian government had agreed to send him to China to study medicine but never did.  Here is what the Post Magazine wrote on page 22:
    The community Salahuddin had chosen to enter was international in scope but driven by sectarian and political feuds, despite heady talk of Arab and Muslim world unity.  In the early "70s, Shiite Iran and Sunni Iraq were supporting Kurdish rebellions in each other's countries; radical Palestinians and royalist tribes, all Sunni Muslims, were fighting for control of Jordan; the Muslims of Pakistan were splitting into two separate nations, and the Arab countries - under competing Muslim monarchist, socialist and nationalist rulers -were plotting constantly against one another.
This is a true picture of what Islam has done for Islamic countries.  And this is how they turn some of those who are converted to Islam into assassins in the name of Allah.

4.  Brutality
In 1995 the Sudanese Islamic government tried to assassinate President Hosny Mubarak of Egypt in Ethiopia.
There has also been a great deal of turmoil in recent times in Egypt, Algeria, Afghanistan, Yemen, Israel, Uganda, and Iran.  The source of trouble is the militant Muslims who obey the Quran to the letter.  The Washington Times said in an article printed on August 25, 1996:

    The Sudanese government proceeded to escalate the war.  They even redefined the war.  It was no longer a civil war between the state and a group of dissenting citizens but a Jihad by Muslims against "Infidels."  Every non-Muslim and non-Arab became an enemy of the state....  It is in this context that the massive aerial and ground bombardments of innocent civilians have been and are being conducted...  to them war is heaven.  Their warriors are taught that if they kill an "infidel" they get a place in heaven.  If they are killed by an "infidel" they are wedded to one of Allah's pretty virgins in heaven.  A rosy portrait indeed.  The slave market is as thriving as never before.  Thousands of women and children captured in slave raids remain in captivity.
Add to that the many Sudanese Christians who were tortured and crucified and the boys and girls who were captured and forced to be Muslims and trained to fight Christians.  In addition, many Coptic Christians were killed in Egypt, and many girls were kidnapped and raped, and forced to marry Muslims.  This is the society that the Quran created.
Dr. Christian Goforth wrote the following story which portrays how Christians are suffering and are martyred under Islamic regimes.
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The Story of Zia Nodrat

    In Kabul, Afghanistan, during 1964, a fourteen year old boy, Zia Nodrat enrolled in the NOOR Institute for the Blind.  He already knew the whole Quran by heart.  In Western terms that would be like an English speaker memorizing the complete New Testament in Greek, since Arabic was not Zia's mother tongue.  He completed the six primary grades of the Institute in three years.
    While attending his classes in Braille in the Institute for the Blind, Zia also mastered English.  He did this by listening and repeating what he heard on a transistor radio.  With the help of a small ear plug, he heard programs coming into Afghanistan from other countries.  He eventually started asking questions about what he had heard, such as, "What do you mean by the substitutionary atonement?"  He had heard such theological concepts during Christian radio broadcasts like the Voice of the Gospel coming from Addis Ababa in Ethiopia, Africa.
    Finally, he shared with a few persons that he had received Jesus the Messiah as his personal Savior.  They asked him if he realized that he could be killed for this, since the Islamic Law of Apostasy for anyone leaving Islam is death.  He answered, "I have counted the cost and am willing to die for the Messiah, since He has already died on the cross for me."
    Zia then became the spiritual leader of the few Afghan Christians.  In the Institute for the Blind in Kabul, the students elected him as the president of their association.  But the next year after it was known that he had become a Christian, he lost the election for this position.  One of his Christian teachers told him how sorry she was that he lost.  He replied, quoting the prophet John the Baptist who said of Jesus, "He must become greater, I must become less" (John 3:30).  His goal in life was not to seek prominence for himself, but to be a humble servant of his Lord.  Zia's father said that before he had entered the Institute for the Blind, he had been like a cold and unlit piece of charcoal.  After his experience there, he had become like a red hot, brightly burning coal.
    Once he borrowed an English Braille copy of the Gospel of John.  He opened it and read with his fingers.  He then returned it and said that his question had been answered.  When asked what his question was, he replied that in John 13:34 Jesus said, "A new commandment I give you that you love one another."  He wondered why the Lord Jesus called it "new," since the commandment "love your neighbor as yourself' had already been given to Moses, as recorded in the Old Testament Book of Leviticus 19:18.  But now he understood.  He explained that until the incarnation of the Messiah the world had never before seen love personified.  He went on to state that the Bible reveals that God is love, and that Jesus as God in human flesh is love incarnate.  This was what made the command new.  Jesus said, "A new commandment I give you that you love one another as I have loved you."  In his perfect life Jesus has now given us a new model to follow.
    Zia was the first blind student to attend regular sighted schools in Afghanistan.  There he had a small recorder with which he taped everything his teachers said, so that he could go over it and learn it thoroughly.  He thus became the number one student out of hundreds at his grade level.  Those who failed in their classes were given a second chance to take examinations after the three month vacation.  He studied the next year during this break and passed the tests.  In this way he completed high school, finishing two grades each year.
    Zia wanted to study Islamic Law so that he could defend Christians who might be persecuted for their faith.  He therefore entered the University of Kabul, from which he graduated with his law degree.  He also studied Calvin's Institutes on the side since he wanted to grasp the concepts of this Reformation leader.
    The Christoffel Blind Mission in Germany gave the Institute for the Blind in Afghanistan an extensive library of Braille books in German.  Since Zia wanted to read these, along with his other classes, he went to the Goethe Institute in Kabul and learned German.  As the top student there too, he won a scholarship to go to Germany to study advanced German.  When the Germans found out that he was blind, they withdrew the fellowship since they did not have the arrangements or accommodations for a blind person.  He asked them what he would have to do.  They replied that he would have to travel alone and take care of himself.  When he agreed to do that, they finally accepted him.  While studying there with top students from Goethe Institutes around the world, he was number one in this advanced course as well.
    Zia also translated the New Testament from Iranian Persian into his own Afghan Dari dialect.  This was published by the Pakistan Bible Society in Lahore.  Its third edition was published by the Cambridge University Press in England in 1989.  He also traveled to Saudi Arabia where he won a memory contest on the Quran.  The Muslim judges were so amazed and chagrined that a non-Arabic speaker had taken first place, that they also awarded another prize for the best Arab in the competition.
    Because earlier blind students like Zia had become Christians, the Muslim government in Afghanistan sent a written order closing the two Institutes for the Blind in March 1973, one of which was in Kabul and the other seven hundred miles to the west in Herat.  All the expatriate teachers of the blind along with their families were ordered to leave Afghanistan within one week.  As these dedicated teachers left, God gave them a promise from Isaiah 42:16, "I will lead the blind by ways they have not known, along unfamiliar paths I will guide them; I will turn the darkness into light before them and make the rough places smooth.  These are the things I will do:  I will not forsake them.  "
    The Muslim Government then destroyed the Christian Church building in Kabul, after previously having given permission to build it.  President Eisenhower had requested permission for construction of this building from King Zahir Shah on his visit to Afghanistan in 1959, since a mosque had been built in Washington, DC, for the Muslim diplomats there, and Christian diplomats and other Christians needed a place to worship on a reciprocal basis in Kabul.  Christians from nations all around the world contributed toward its construction.  At its dedication, the cornerstone carved in beautiful Afghan alabaster marble read:  "To the glory of God 'Who loves us and has freed us from our sins by the blood of Jesus' this building is dedicated as a 'house of prayer for all nations' in the reign of H. M. Zahir Shah, May 17, 1970 A.D., 'Jesus Christ Himself being the Chief Cornerstone.'"
    When troops arrived and started knocking down the wall between the street and the Church property preparatory to destroying it, a German Christian businessman went to the mayor of Kabul, who had given the order, and said, "If your Government touches that House of God, God will overthrow your Government."  This proved to be a prophecy.  The mayor then sent a letter to the congregation ordering them to give the Church for destruction, since that would mean that the government would not have to pay compensation.  They replied that they could not give it to anyone since it did not belong to them.  It had been dedicated to God.  They also added that if the Government took it and destroyed it, they would be answerable to God.
    Police, workmen and bulldozers were sent to destroy the Church.  The congregation, instead of opposing, offered them tea and cookies.  Christians all around the world prayed and many of them wrote letters to Afghan embassies in various nations.  Billy Graham and other world Christian leaders signed a statement of concern and sent it to the King.
    On July 17, 1973 the destruction of the Church building was completed.  That very night the Afghan government responsible for the destruction was overthrown in a coup.  Afghans who are quick to see omens in events say that Jesus the Messiah came down from heaven and overthrew the government because the government had overthrown His Church.  It had been a monarchy for 227 years.  That night it became a Republic under President Daoud.  In 1978 this government was toppled by a Communist coup, followed by the Russian invasion just after Christmas in 1979.  Millions of Afghans had to flee their country as refugees.  One of them was heard to say, "Ever since our government destroyed that Christian Church, God has been judging our country."
    Under the Communists, the Institute for the Blind in Kabul was reopened and Zia was put in charge.  He did a fine job of reorganizing it.  Then pressure was brought on him to join the Communist party.  He refused.  One official told him that if he did not join, he might be killed.  He replied that he was not afraid to be killed because he was sure he was going to heaven.  He asked the Communist if he knew where he would go when he died.
    Finally Zia was arrested on false charges and put in the Puli Charkhi political prison outside of Kabul, where thousands were executed.  There was no heat in the jail to protect the prisoners from the cold winter weather.  He had to sleep on the freezing mud floor in his overcoat.  A prisoner next to him was trembling with cold since he did not even have a jacket.  Zia knew John the Baptist had said, "The man who has two coats should share with him who has none" (Luke 3:11).  He took off his only coat and gave it to the neighbor.  From then on, the Lord miraculously kept him warm every night.  He slept as if he had a comforter over him.
    In prison the Communists gave Zia shock treatments to try to brainwash him.  The electric burns left scars on his head.  But he did not give in.  When he was offered the opportunity to study Russian in prison, he mastered this language also.  The Communists finally freed him in December 1985.
    Following his release from prison Zia read Genesis 12:1-3 in his Braille Bible, "The Lord said to Abram, 'Leave your country, your people and your father's household and go to the land I will show you.  I...  will bless you...  and you will be a blessing.  I will bless those who bless you, and whoever curses you I will curse; and all peoples on earth will be blessed through you.'"  Zia felt God was calling him to leave Afghanistan to go as a missionary to Pakistan.  He therefore got in touch with a friend, a blind beggar.  He then dressed himself in rags.  On their way out of the country, he let his friend do all the talking, thereby concealing his identity or detection from the soldiers.  They thus were able to get through the Soviet check points along the main highway from Kabul.  It took them twelve days to travel the 150 miles to the Khyber Pass and then on into Pakistan.
    After Zia arrived in Pakistan, he was offered an opportunity to travel to the United States to study Hebrew since he was also working on a translation of the Old Testament into his Dari language.  He declined, saying he had so much to do among the Afghan refugees that he could not leave.  He started an Institute for the Blind for them.  He learned the main language of Pakistan, Urdu, preaching in this language in Christian churches.  He furthermore completed a book of New Testament stories in Dari for children.
    On March 23, 1988, Zia was kidnapped by a fanatical Muslim group, Hisbe Islami, ("The Party of Islam") and was accused of being a CIA agent because he knew English, a KGB or Khad spy because he knew Russian, and an apostate from Islam because he was a Christian.  He was beaten for hours with rods.  A sighted person can brace and flinch when the blow comes.  But a blind person cannot see the club coming and thus gets the full force, even like the torture the Lord Jesus Christ experienced when he was blindfolded and then struck (Luke 22:64).  His wife and three daughters had been able to get out of Afghanistan and were with him in Pakistan at the time he was kidnapped.
    Soon after his wife gave birth to a beautiful boy who looks much like his father.  No one knows whether Zia ever heard that he had a son.
    The latest word, though not absolutely definite, is that Hisbe Islami murdered Zia.  Before he was kidnapped, he had told a friend that if this party ever captured him they would kill him.  This same party caught two Pakistani Christians taking relief items to needy Afghans and tortured them.  Before releasing them, one of the captors stated, "We are not going to kill you the way we killed Zia Nodrat." In addition, an Afghan news reporter on the Northwest Frontier of Pakistan claims to have evidence that Hisbe Islami murdered Zia in a cruel way.
    The United Nations Universal Declaration of Human Rights in article 13 states, "Everyone shall have the right to freedom of thought, conscience and religion; freedom to manifest one's religion or belief."  The story of Zia is a story of infringement of human rights.  Zia has been denied his freedom and has probably been martyred for his faith.  Before his capture, he asked a Christian friend that if anything happened to him, his friend would take care of his family.  The friend answered in the affirmative, not realizing that a short time later Zia would be kidnapped.  He was able to arrange for Zia's wife and two of his children to be brought to North America.
    God does not force a belief system upon people.  He has given them liberty to choose.  Therefore what right does an earthly regime or group have to impose a certain belief system?  (Printed by permission)
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Contribution of Islam to Mankind

What about Muslims' achievements and inventions?  Philosophers in Islam such as Ibn Al-Haytham and Ibn Sina, who practiced primitive medicine, and one who formulated algebra are recognized, but where is the modern contribution of Islam today?  What kind of life would the Muslim countries be living if they had not discovered oil in their lands and used foreign technology?
All the comforts Muslims enjoy today are the products of Christian minds.  There is a sharp contrast between the social and economic conditions of the many countries in Europe and North America where societies were founded on the basis of Christianity and the teachings of the Bible, and the social and economic conditions in many Islamic countries.

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Chapter 16
A MUSLIM'S PERSONAL TESTIMONY

In the next few pages we record the testimony of a man whom God had led to study the Bible and compare it with the Quran in desperate search for the truth.  At the end of his long search he came to the conclusion that the Bible is the infallible word of God.  He believed in his heart that Jesus Christ is the Son of God, and received Him as his Lord and Savior.
I was born in Bethlehem, Israel.  My birthday was one of the holiest days of Islam - the birthday of the Muslim prophet Muhammad (Al-Mauled Al-Nabawi).  My father considered this an honor, and for that reason he named me Walid which relates to the Arabic word Mauled (in English "The Birth"), to always remember the birthday of the Muslim prophet.

My father was a Palestinian Muslim who taught English and Islamic studies in the Holy Land, and my mother was an American who married my father during his studies in the United States in 1956.

My parents feared the American way of life.  So, with two children and my mother pregnant with me, my parents left in 1960 to live in Bethlehem which was in Jordan at that time.  I was born shortly after they arrived in Bethlehem.  As my father changed jobs, we moved to Saudi Arabia, then back to the Holy Land, this time to the lowest place on earth, Jericho.

As I grew up in the Holy Land I lived through several battles between the Arabs and the Jews.  The first battle (while we lived in Jericho) was the Six Day War when the Jews captured old Jerusalem and the rest of Palestine.  This was a great disappointment to Arabs and Muslims worldwide.

The American Consul in Jerusalem came to us just before the war to evacuate us, along with all the Americans in the area, since my mother was an American.  But my father refused to leave because he loved his country.

The war was called the Six Day War because it was won in six days.  On the seventh day a Rabbi by the name of "Goren" blew the ram's horn on the wailing wall in Jerusalem declaring the victory.  Many Jews claim that this was a parallel to Joshua when he went around the walls of Jericho six times, then on the seventh day seven times, and on that day the priests blew the trumpets and everyone shouted with one voice and took the city.  For my father in Jericho it seemed that the walls crumbled on him.

Later on we moved back to Bethlehem and my father enrolled us in an Anglican-Lutheran school as they had a better English course.  My brother, sister, and myself were the only Muslims in the school, and the teachers would beat us and students would laugh at us.
When the Bible class started I would leave the class and remain outside waiting.  One day I walked into the Bible class and the class "bully" stood up to fight.  He shouted "we don't want this half American and Muslim to be here!"  I refused to get out and the lady who was teaching the class asked me to sit down.  Since that incident the school's policy was changed and for the first time the school allowed a Muslim to study the Bible.  For the next three years I studied it despite all the mocking.

Later my father transferred me to a government school where I grew in the faith of Islam.  There I was fed the idea that one day a fulfillment of an ancient prophecy by the Muslim prophet Muhammad would come to pass.  This prophecy foretold a battle in which the Holy Land would be recaptured and the elimination of the Jews would take place in a massive slaughter.
This prophecy in fact is documented in the Hadith, Muhammad's Book of Traditions, which states the following:
"The day of judgment shall not come to pass until a tribe of Muslims defeat a tribe of Jews."  When Muhammad was asked where will that take place he said: "In Jerusalem and the surrounding nations."
During my youth like my father I was always tuned to Islam and what our Muslim teachers taught.  Believing in Muhammad's prophecy I offered my life to "Jihad" or "Holy War" as the only means to obtain either victory or martyrdom.  In Islam, martyrdom is the only way you can ensure salvation and entry into paradise especially since Allah and his prophet Muhammad promised it, as the Quran states:

    Think not of those who are slain in the way of Allah, [in a Holy War] as dead, nay, they are living.  With their Lord they have provision (Surat Al-Imran 3:169 MPT).
During school riots against what we called the Israeli occupation I would prepare speeches, slogans, and write anti-Israel graffiti in an effort to provoke students to throw rocks at the armed Israeli soldiers.  We shouted "No peace or negotiations with the enemy," "our blood and our souls we sacrifice to Arafat," "our blood and our souls we sacrifice to Palestine," "death to the Zionists"....

Nothing could change my heart, I could only die or a miracle needed to happen.  The simplest way to describe myself is that I was one of those whom one would view on CNN throwing rocks and molotov cocktails in the days of the Intifada or "The Uprising."  I was one of those whom the Jews would call a terrorist.

The interesting thing is that I was not only terrorizing but I was terrorized by my beliefs.  I had to gain enough merit and do enough good deeds to go to heaven but never was sure if my good deeds would out weigh my bad deeds in the scale when I was judged by God.  Of course, to die fighting the Jews would ease Allah's anger towards my sin and I would be secure in a good spot in paradise with beautiful wide eyed women to fulfill my most intimate desires.  Either way I would win, and terror was the only way.
I remember students used to ask the teacher during our Islamic studies in Bethlehem High School if it was permitted for Muslims to rape the Jewish women after we defeated them.  His response was "The women captured in battle have no choice in this matter, they are concubines and they need to obey their masters.  Having sex with slave captives is not a matter of choice for slaves."  This in fact was written in the Quran for it says:

    And all married women [are forbidden] unto you save those [captives] whom your right hands possess.  It is a decree of Allah for you (Surat Al-Nisa 4:24).
Another verse of the Quran says:
    O Prophet! Lo we have made lawful unto thee...  those whom thy right hand possesseth of those whom Allah hath given thee as spoils of war (Surat Al-Ahzab 33:50).
We had no problem with Muhammad taking advantage of this privilege as he married fourteen wives for himself and several slave girls from the booty he collected as a result of his victorious battles.  We really never knew how many wives he had and that question was always a debatable issue to us.  One of these wives was taken from his own adopted son "Zaid" as Allah declared that she was given to the prophet.  Others were Jewish captives forced into slavery after Muhammad beheaded their husbands and families.

In an attempt to change the hearts of Palestinians the Israeli television station would show Holocaust documentaries.  I would sit and watch, cheering the Germans while I chewed on food.  It was impossible for me to change my mind or heart concerning the Jews.  Only a heart transplant would do that job.

On the other hand, my mother tried to teach me what she called God's plan.  She taught me Bible prophecy.  She said that the return of the Jews to Palestine was preplanned by God and was fulfilled prophecy.  This to her was God's miracle in our generation, for the world to see that "His will shall be done."

She also told me about many future events to be fulfilled in our generation which are surfacing every day now.  She told me that false messiahs and counterfeits who would arise.  But all that had little effect, for my heart was set on fighting against the Jews.

Many times my mother would take me on trips to several museums in Israel, and I fell in love with archeology.  I was fascinated with it.  In many arguments with her I would bluntly tell her that the Jews and Christians corrupted the Bible.  She responded by taking me to the scroll museum in Jerusalem and showed me the scroll of the prophet Isaiah, still intact.  But there was no one taking pictures of this scroll to prove any Bible errors or any corruption and I could not respond to my mother.

I remember the times when I was tormenting my mother by calling her an "infidel" and a "damned American imperialist."  I would show her the pictures in the newspaper of all the teenagers supposedly martyred as a result of violence, demanding answers from her.  I hated her and always asked my father to divorce her and remarry a good Muslim woman.

I lived in Israel during the Six Day War, the PLO resistance, the Jordanian black September civil war, the bloody wars in Lebanon, and the war of Yom Kippur.  I thought about all the attempts to exterminate the Jewish people throughout history.  Haman tried to annihilate them during the reign of King Ahasuerus, instead he was crucified.  In modern days, Hitler tried to annihilate them, instead Germany was defeated and Hitler committed suicide.  Gamal Abd-EI Nasser of Egypt tried to destroy them.  Egypt's army was defeated in the Six Day War and Nasser died at an early age.  I dreamed of one victory to destroy Israel.

I was fascinated with Islamic history as I learned that the prophet Muhammad exterminated a Jewish tribe from the Arabian peninsula and ordered the beheading of all the men from another tribe and the women were taken as concubines.  I used to believe as Islam taught, that only a Caliph (Islamic ruler) can test the world.  Islam is not a religion for one's personal and moral life, but a system of law and government for the whole world.  If not achieved through peaceful means, Muslims would have to wage war against those who do not submit to Islam.  And with one billion Muslims living today I believed that it could happen.
I will be honest, all my life I was terrified every time I read the Quran, as many of its verses declare the threat of hell fire for this sin or that.  All I wanted was to receive Allah's forgiveness.  But the Quran says:

    And establish regular prayers at the two ends of the day and at the approaches of the night.  For those things that are good remove those that are evil.  That is a reminder for the mindful (Surat Hud 11:114).
I failed to keep count of all my sins and my good deeds, and I was sure that at the end, my sins would outweigh my good deeds.  So I lived my sinful life with no assurance of forgiveness.  I always wondered about my destiny.  Lost in my fears and doubts, I really hated the idea of killing Jews or Christians that I might be saved.

Sometime in 1992 I was fascinated when I read a book titled Armageddon, Appointment with Destiny, by Grant Jeffrey.

Some of the things explained in this book had many detailed prophecies about Jesus:  his birth, life, death, and resurrection; and the re-creation of the state of Israel.  Many of these prophecies came to pass as God told us in the Bible!

What also amazed me was to find out that the chance for a man to predict hundreds of historic events written hundreds and thousands of years before their occurrences is one in zillions....  What is more fascinating is that the margin of error had to be zero, especially when the fulfillment of many of these prophecies are happening in my generation.  This kind of evidence had to come from a divine origin.  That origin had to be God Almighty.

The struggle began.  I was confused.  How could the Bible be corrupted by the Jews and Christians while the very land I grew up in spoke and cried out, as thousands of pieces of archeological evidence surfaced from its antiquities, confirming the Bible.  A scroll of the book of Isaiah was discovered in the Qumran caves by a Muslim named Muhammad Deib who was from a town near Bethlehem.  He was looking for a lost sheep when he discovered that scroll.  From that discovery they found the rest of the Old Testament confirming the Bible in our hands today with hundreds of verses predicting the restoration of Israel and the coming of Jesus Christ.
I decided to read the Bible to find out for myself who Jesus really was.  God finally led me to the bottom line and I read what Jesus said:

    I am the Alpha and the Omega, the beginning and the ending, saith the Lord, which is, and which was, and which is to come, the Almighty (Revelation 1:8)
Christ also said to the Jews:
    Most assuredly, I say to you, before Abraham was, I AM (John 8:58 NKJ).
Vowing to make a decision for The Truth, I stayed up late many nights comparing many details between the Quran and the Bible.  At some point during my study I prayed saying "God, you are the creator of heaven and earth, the God of Abraham, Moses, and Jacob, you are the beginning and the end, you are The Truth the only Truth the maker of the true Scripture, the one and only word of God.  I suffer to find your truth, I want to do your will in my life, I long for your love and in the name of The Truth I ask, AMEN!!!"
I wanted real gold and would not settle for an imitation.  I started to scratch very hard to look beyond the surface of the world's plastic religions.
I discovered many serious historical errors in the Quran, one of them concerning a person named Zul-Qarnain.  Commentators of the Quran say that he might be Alexander the Great, or an ancient Persian King, or a prehistoric Himyarite king.  The Quran gives us no material on which we can base a positive
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answer concerning this person.  All what the Quran says about him is:
When he reached the setting place of the sun, he found it setting in a muddy spring (Surat Al-Kahf 18:86 MPT).
Who would accept that the sun sets in a muddy spring?
With many of these discoveries the claim that the Quran is a miracle was in question.  The foundation I was standing on tumbled down as sinking sand.  I found out that the Bible prophecies, which were written hundreds and thousands of years before, were all true.  It is of great importance to notice that many of the nations mentioned by the Prophet Ezekiel in Chapter 38 which will gather against Israel in the last days and will be totally destroyed, are Muslim nations growing towards Islamic fundamentalism today.  Among them are Iran, Libya, Sudan and Turkey.
I was also amazed at the great number of Bible prophecies concerning Jesus Christ from his birth to his crucifixion, to his resurrection and ascension.  All these prophecies were fulfilled to the letter.  No one has ever presented such detailed prophecies concerning future events without having more errors than truth.  I realized that the Quran lacks that prophetic element.  There are no real prophecies in the Quran.  The only one who knows the end from the beginning is God, who said:
I am God, and there is none like Me, declaring the end from the beginning, and from ancient times the things that are not yet done, saying, "My counsel shall stand, and I will do all my pleasure" (Isaiah 46:9, 10).
God did not only foretell future events, but brought them to pass, unlike the Quran which simply used
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terror tactics to force Muslims to believe.  Since I dismissed the belief that the Bible was corrupted, I spent many days searching it to find a prophecy concerning Muhammad, for he claimed in the Quran that the Bible wrote about him, but my search was in vain.
I was blind, but with the Bible I began to see, I mean really SEE!!!  I began to see that sin is the source of all man's problems, and that the Devil is man's worst enemy.  I was led to view the world and the meaning of life, and I felt my need for salvation.
I continued reading the Bible diligently.  I found out that the Jewish prophets were chosen by God to write God's Word, and God's plan for salvation through Jesus the Messiah and the Redeemer of man.  I also learned that Jesus was Jewish.  He was born in "Beth-Lechem" which means "House of Bread" as he said:
I am the Bread of Life, he who comes to me shall never hunger, and he who believes in me shall never thirst" (John 6:35 NKJ).
Beth-Lechem was given its name before Jesus came to this world.  The prophet Micah prophesied that the Messiah would be born there (Micah 5:2).
I saw Jesus Christ, The Truth, and The Life and received him in my heart by faith.  This changed my way of thinking from believing in Muhammad to believing in Christ, from believing lies to knowing the truth, from being spiritually dead to being spiritually alive, from living in darkness to seeing the light, from being damned to being saved, from doubt to faith, from hate to love, and from evil works to God's grace through Christ.
This transformation taught me that, without the (true) Word of God, things could look good on the surface but in the core lays deception.  I accepted Jesus the Messiah, as my Lord and Savior, who died for all of my sins, I submitted to Him.
Testing the Quran in the light of true inspiration proves that it is not inspired by God.
Will you be another Walid?  Will you believe in Jesus Christ as your Savior and Lord?  Listen to Jesus' final words to his disciples:
Let not your heart be troubled: ye believe in God, believe also in me.  In my Father's house are many mansions:  if it were not so, I would have told you.  I go to prepare a place for you.  And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again, and receive you unto myself; that where I am, there ye may be also (John 14:1-3).
Jesus is coming again.  He is coming soon.  The Quran says:
And [Jesus] shall be a sign [for the coming of] the hour [of judgment]:  therefore have no doubt about the [hour] (Surat Al-Zukhruf 43:61).
Are you ready for the second coming of Christ?  Is Christ your Savior and Lord?  Then rejoice in Him and wait for His return.
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Chapter 17
IT IS YOUR DECISION

Your eternal destiny depends upon your decision.  This is why this concluding section is written as an extended invitation to you to believe in the Lord Jesus Christ, not only as a great teacher and prophet, but as the eternal Son of God, the only Savior of mankind, the final message of God to man.
A desperate man asked the apostle Paul and his fellow worker Silas "Sirs, what must I do to be saved?" (Acts 16:30).  That man felt the heavy burden of sin, the agony of guilt, and the fear of the coming day of judgment.  He wanted to be saved from all of these.
"Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and you will be saved" (Acts 16:31 NKJ) was the answer of Paul and  Silas.  The desperate man believed and was saved and his heart was filled with joy.
You can do as he did.  Think about Jesus Christ, His sinless life, His love for His enemies, His love for sinners, and His forgiveness.  Think about His death on the cross for you, to pay the penalty for your sins -even before you were born.  He knew everything about you even before your birth.  The prophet David said:

    My frame was not hidden from You, when I was made in secret, and skillfully wrought in the lowest parts of the earth.  Your eyes saw my substance, being yet unformed.  And in Your book they all were written, the days fashioned for me, when as yet there were none of them (Psalm 139: 15, 16 NKJ).
You can be saved if you confess your sins to God and put your trust in Jesus Christ and His finished work on the cross.  He said:
    I am the Way, the Truth, and the Life.  No one comes to the Father except through me (John 14:6 NKJ).
Jesus Christ is not a way, but He is the only Way.  He does not just tell the truth, He is the Truth incarnated.  He does not point us to life, He is the Life.  The apostle John says:
    If we receive the witness of men, the witness of God is greater; for this is the witness of God which He has testified of His Son.  He who believes in the Son of God has the witness in himself; he who does not believe God has made Him a liar, because he has not believed the testimony that God has given of His Son.  And this is the testimony that God has given us eternal life, and this life is in His Son.  He who has the Son has life; he who does not have the Son of God does not have life (I John 5:9-12 NKJ).
The apostle Peter says:
    Nor is there salvation in any other, for there is no other name under heaven given among men by which we must be saved (Acts 4:12 NKJ).
In the Gospel of John we read:
    He who believes in the Son has everlasting life, and he who does not believe the Son shall not see life, but the wrath of God abides on Him (John 3:36).
When you believe in Jesus Christ as your Savior and Lord, it means that your name is written in the book of life.  It means you will be with God in heaven on the Day of Resurrection.  You will never enter Hell or pass over it.  On the other hand, you have to expect that while you are on earth you will be persecuted, afflicted, imprisoned, and possibly even executed for the sake of Christ.
    For unto you it is given in the behalf of Christ, not only to believe on Him, but also to suffer for His sake (Philippians 1:29).
    Yea, and all that will live godly in Christ Jesus shall suffer persecution (2 Timothy 3:12).
Jesus said to His disciples:
    These things I have spoken to you, that you should not be made to stumble...  Yes, the time is coming that whoever kills you will think that he offers God service.  And these things they will do to you because they have not known the Father nor Me (John 16:1-3 NKJ).
That is the price of your faith in Jesus Christ, but in all your afflictions for His sake you will never be left alone, you will always feel his presence, for He promised:
    Lo, I am with you always, even unto the end of the world (Matthew 28:20).
In addition, you will be rewarded with great reward:
    For I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory which shall be revealed in us (Romans 8:18 NKJ).

    And I saw a new heaven and a new earth:  for the first heaven and the first earth were passed away; and there was no more sea.  And I heard a great voice out of heaven saying, Behold, the tabernacle of God is with men, and he will dwell with them, and they shall be his people, and God himself shall be with them, and be their God.  And God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes; and there shall be no more death, neither sorrow, nor crying, neither shall there be any more pain:  for the former things are passed away.  And he that sat upon the throne said, Behold, I make all things new.  And he said unto me, Write:  for these words are true and faithful.  And he said unto me, It is done.  I am Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the end.  I will give unto him that is athirst of the fountain of the water of life freely (Revelation 21: 1, 3-6).

    And there shall be no more curse:  but the throne of God and of the Lamb shall be in it; and his servants shall serve him: And they shall see his face; and his name shall be in their foreheads.  And there shall be no night there (Revelation 22:3, 4).

This is the destiny of those who believe in the Lord Jesus Christ.

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