Video
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TEYbJxylA2sQURAN INSPIRATIONWhen it is pointed out to Mohammed's followers that he never performed a single miracle a not infrequent retort is that the Quran itself is a miracle. I certainly agree to the extent that so many, even literate folks, in this 21st century information age actually ascribe to a book that is completely unsupportable in the light of scripture, history, archaeology, geography and in and of itself.
Surprisingly some Muslims even look upon Mohammed's illiteracy as some sort of miracle, while to non-Muslims illiteracy is generally a reflection of someone's lack of education, or mental incapacity. Certainly a far cry from the quite literate prophets and witnesses that penned the Gospel six centuries earlier as well as YHWH's literate Old Testament saints. Not to mention the many very literate and multi-lingual poets and others around Mohammed, in spite of their occupying that dry, barren, barely habitable and backwards little part of the world, that time had left behind.
But the fact that Mohammed couldn't read certainly didn't mean he was blind, deaf and dumb. He traveled a lot in his first wife's business and also some with his uncle as a child, and hung around the Kaaba that his uncle oversaw, so there was no lack of exposure. Later on he was surrounded by many folks that knew about Judaism and Christianity including friends, wives, concubines and slaves.
Quoting from "Anatomy of the Quran" by G.J.O. Moshay.
As always please forgive my terrible pronunciation of Arabic words and names.
"From a number of Islamic books we gather that Mohammed was surrounded by many Christians - even if nominal. One of them was Waraqa ibn Naufal, the cousin of Khadija, Mohammed's wife. One of his wives, Umm Habbibah, was formerly the wife of a Christian, Ubaidu'llah ibn Jahsh. Another wife of Mohammed, Miriam, and her sister, Sirin, were Christian slaves given to Muhammad. Biographer Ibn Ishaq records that Abdu'llah ibn Salam (one of the best reciters of the Qur'an) was a seasoned Jewish Rabbi before he became a Muslim and personal friend of Muhammad."
But perhaps the most valuable source of Mohammed's "inspiration" was his good friend named Jabr. An ex"Christian" that converted to Islam. Indeed so often did Mohammed recite a "revelation" shortly after meeting with Jabr that the local nickname for Jabr became "holy spirit". So widespread was this perception that Mohammed had to "receive" yet another "revelation" in a plainly transparent attempt at damage control.
Sura 16.103
We know indeed that they say, "It is a man that teaches him." The tongue of him they wickedly point to is notably foreign, while this is Arabic, pure and clear.Again quoting Moshay:
"The "man that teaches him" is a young "Christian" friend of Muhammad called Jabr, whom Muhammad always visited at Marwah Quarters, not too far from his house. The allegation was that when Muhammad visited Jabr and heard the stories of the Bible, some were put on record. People believed that Muhammad usually presented these parchments and claimed he had received them hot from heaven through the angel Gabriel.
Muhammad refuted this strong allegation through another "revelation" from "Gabriel." The defense was that since Jabr was of "a foreign tongue" (he was not an Arab by birth), he could not have taught Muhammad anything. But it does not matter if Jabr was a non-Arab. Since he had stayed long in Arabia, he could have known Arabic very well and related his stories to Muhammad in good Arabic. How could Jabr be a close friend of Muhammad (if he did not understand Arabic) since Muhammad did not understand any other language? We must realize too that Muhammad's main Secretary was a Jew. According to Muslim writer Muhammad Haykall - Muhammad...
'...had chosen him (the Secretary) for his capacity to write letters in Hebrew and Syriac as well as Arabic. After the evacuation of Jews from Madinah, the Prophet no longer trusted a non-muslim to write his letters.'
That means, too, that the Jewish background of Jabr could not be a plausible reason why he couldn't have helped Muhammad in his collection of what is now called the Qur'an. If Muhammad's own Secretary was of "a foreign tongue" and yet well versed in Arabic, Syriac and his own Hebrew language, then it is not inconceivable to get Hebrew scriptures and literature interpreted and translated into Arabic by the Secretary. Since the Secretary was such a brilliant fellow and was versatile in these three languages, therefore, the alleged brilliance of the language of the Qur'an is not a necessary and sufficient proof of heavenly authorship. Rather, it can be a reflection of the brilliance of Jabr, since Muhammad is believed to have been illiterate."
Regarding Mohammed's claim of "pure Arabic" there are over 100 non-Arabic words in Persian, Syriac, Hebrew, old Egyptian, Assyrian and Greek. So even Mohammed's claim of "pure" Arabic would seem unfounded, since even the word for "Gospel" - Injil - is a Syriac word.
From Ibn Ishaq - According to my information the apostle used often to sit at al-Marwa at the booth of a young Christian called Jabr, a slave of B. al-Hadrami and they used to say "The one who teaches Muhammad most of what he brings is Jabr the Christian, slave of the B. al-Hadrami." Then God revealed in reference to their words "We well know that they say, 'Only a mortal teaches him'." The tongue of him at whom they hint is foreign, and this is a clear Arabic tongue. - Ibn Ishaq page 180 (From WikiIslam)
When one asks the difficult questions regarding peace VS violence and the large volume of contradiction necessitating abrogation, rather than answers one is often greeted with a declaration that one needs to read the Quran in Arabic to understand. However according to Gerd Puin (Google the name), the world's leading specialist in Arabic calligraphy and Qur'anic paleography, regarding his study of the oldest manuscripts...
"The Qur'an claims for itself that it is 'mubeen,' or clear, but if you just look at it, you will see that every fifth sentence or so simply doesn't make sense. Many Muslims will tell you otherwise, but the fact is that a fifth of the Qur'an is just incomprehensible. This is what has caused the traditional anxiety regarding translation. If the Qur'an is not comprehensible, if it can't even be understood in Arabic, then it's not translatable into any language. That is why Muslims are afraid."
Islam also fails epically in the light of scripture, history, archaeology and geography as discussed in some of the other videos on this channel. It's important for Muslims to understand that their "traditions" that masquerade as thousands of years of history of Mecca, were all penned in the 7th and 8th century AD without reference to any actual historical or archaeological record that preceded the 4th century.
Again quoting from Anatomy of the Quran by G.J.O. Moshay
On Plagiarism
"The influences noted above are not just in hearing stories and having them jotted down as revelations. There are hints of outright plagiarism identified by scholars. But, interestingly, we have a serious challenge concerning the sacredness and originality of the Qur'an:
'And if you are in doubt as to which We (Allah) have revealed to Our servant (Muhammad), then produce a chapter like it, and call on your helper, besides Allah, if you are truthful.'
Most Arabs were illiterate at that time. Moreover, many of the original works from which Arabs could have discovered the sources of the Qur'an material were in foreign languages. Informed scholars now laugh at such a challenge since clear evidence now exists to establish outright plagiarism in the Qur'an. We will now cite a few of these.
It has been established that verses 1, 29, 31 and 46 of Sura 54 (Surat al-Qamar) were lifted from a poem of a pre-Islamic Arabic poet, Imraul Qais. Even at the time of Muhammad, some sneered at the challenge to 'produce a chapter like it.' For example the poet Imraul Qais' daughter was still alive when Muhammad started his religion. One day this lady was listening to Muhammad reciting the 'revelations' he had just received hot from heaven from his Angel Jubril. She recognized the verses from her father's poems, and stood aghast and amused, wondering how these could be a revelation written by Allah and preserved in the 'Preserved Tablet' in heaven from before the creation of the world!
Another time, this lady met Fatima, Muhammad's daughter, reciting the first verse of Surat Qamar. Qais' daughter said:
'Oh that is what your father has taken from my father's poems ('Mollaqat') and calls it something that has come down to him from heaven!'
If the original works of a secular Arab poet could be seen in the Qur'an, then it is scarcely of any use to maintain the claim that the Qur'an is so wonderful that the most learned Arab or even a spirit could not produce it's kind."
Try a search like -
Sura 16 103 "jabr" for more.
Sura 52.33
Or do they say, "He fabricated the (Message)"? Nay, they have no faith! 34 Let them then produce a recital like unto it,- If (it be) they speak the truth!How about something from six centuries earlier? 1 John 4.7
Beloved, let us love one another: for love is of God; and every one that loveth is born of God, and knoweth God. 8 He that loveth not knoweth not God; for God is love. 9 In this was manifested the love of God toward us, because that God sent his only begotten Son into the world, that we might live through him. 10 Herein is love, not that we loved God, but that he loved us, and sent his Son [to be] the propitiation for our sins. 11 Beloved, if God so loved us, we ought also to love one another. 12 No man hath seen God at any time. If we love one another, God dwelleth in us, and his love is perfected in us. 13 Hereby know we that we dwell in him, and he in us, because he hath given us of his Spirit. 14 And we have seen and do testify that the Father sent the Son [to be] the Saviour of the world. 15 Whosoever shall confess that Jesus is the Son of God, God dwelleth in him, and he in God. 16 And we have known and believed the love that God hath to us. God is love; and he that dwelleth in love dwelleth in God, and God in him.Part 2 of this video continues to explore the "inspiration" and outright plagiarism in the Quran. Please click the annotation on the screen to continue on to part 2.
QURAN INSPIRATION (part 2)In part 1 we began to explore the "inspiration" and outright plagiarism that scholars well understand is contained in the Quran. Continuing on....
Quran 25:4
But the misbelievers say: "Naught is this but a lie which he has forged, and others 5 And they say: "Tales of the ancients, which he has caused to be written: and they are dictated before him morning and evening."So why might folks have accused that?
Let's look at Jesus in the Quran
Sura 19:28
"O sister of Aaron! Thy father was not a man of evil, nor thy mother a woman unchaste!" 29 But she pointed to the babe. They said: "How can we talk to one who is a child in the cradle?" 30 He said: "I am indeed a servant of Allah: He hath given me revelation and made me a prophet;Jesus speaking as an infant from the cradle was lifted from an Egyptian apocryphal fable from Egypt titled "First Gospel of the Infancy of Jesus Christ" - quoting:
"...
Jesus spake even when he was in the cradle, and said: 'Mary, I am Jesus the son of God. That word which thou didst bring forth according to the declaration of the angel..."
Quoting Dr. Rafat Amari
"Abu Karb Asa'd, also called Tubb'a, occupied the cities of central western Arabia at the beginning of the 5th century A.D. Among those cities were Mecca and Yatrib, also called al-Medina."
"The inhabitants of Mecca had emigrated from two Yemeni tribes, Oas and Khazraj. They too, emigrated to Yathrib after the dam in Yemen was damaged around 150 A.D. These tribes were living with two Jewish tribes, Beni Kharithah and Beni Nathir, which were already established. Abu Karb Asa'd was of Yemeni origin. He built the kaabeh at Mecca to reinforce his rule over the city, and to show favor to the citizens of Mecca who were without a temple of worship. They, like him, shared the same pagan beliefs."
"Tubb'a also tried to build bridges with the Jewish community in Yathrib. He learned their religious thoughts and rites. He learned the Jewish myths, such as the legend of the hoopoe bird that announced the kingdom of Saba to Solomon. This myth came from the Jewish mythological book called the Second Targum of Esther. Mohammed incorporated the same myth into the Qur'an."
"Because the inhabitants [of Mecca] were recent emigrants from Yemen, Asa'd Abu Karb built them a modest temple in the Yemeni style. He did this to connect the people with himself. He also wrote a poem in which he described the sun setting in a spring of black mud, something Mohammed included in the Qur'an."
Toss in stuff from Islamic sites like
"One day when Nabi Sulaiman (alayhis salaam) and his army reached a valley on their way to fight their enemy
he heard a tiny ant cry out, “O you ants, hurry seek shelter, hide, the soldiers are coming this way. Quickly take cover or they will trample you to death (27:18).†When he heard these cries of warning from the tiny ant he stopped his army and asked his men to be very careful not to kill the tiny ants.
He smiled at the wisdom of this ant and thanked (27:15) his Creator for this special favour that has been bestowed on him (27:19). He did not proceed any further. He turned around and headed home to save lives as well as save the weakest of creatures."
And from the around the "year of the elephant" when Islamic history actually began to be "recorded" ....
"The holy sanctuary (Haram) has remained unconquerable. Abraha al-Ashram, the Abbysinian viceroy of Yemen, tried to demolish it in 570 CE with a strong army and hordes of elephants but was prevented from entering the city (Holy precinct). The people of Makkah had decided not to defend the Ka'bah, fled the city and took refuge in nearby hills overlooking Ka'bah. By Allah's Command,
the 'Abaabeel' (flying creatures, birds) pelted stones at Abraha's army and decimated it, leaving them like green crops devoured by cattle. This incident is described in the Surah (chapter) 105 of the Qur'an. The year 570 CE is popularly known by the Arabs as 'The year of the Elephant,' and Prophet Muhammad was born in that year."
Birds decimating an army by dropping stones on it. But then Mohammed even claimed to have ridden a flying animal one night described between a donkey and mule, from Mecca, to Jerusalem, with a leg up to "paradise" to visit Adam, Moses, Jesus and others, and then back to Mecca by morning. No surprise that there were no witnesses of this epic ride, or this flying steed, besides of course the witness of Mohammed himself.
Interestingly the fabled prophet of the Zoroastrians was supposed to have ridden on a baraq to visit the place where his immortal ancestors were supposed to have dwelled. Many that heard this tale left Mohammed's religion at the time. What's with his followers in this 21st century information age?
Please see the "Mohammed's Night Journey" video for more.
Is it a surprise then that Ibn Ishak, apparently realizing the untenable distance between where Abraham lived and Mecca - 1200 kilometers away - figured he too could get away with invoking the flying steed to explain how Abraham commuted back and forth between his home near Jerusalem, and Mecca? (Ibn Ishak in Tarikh al-Tabari, I, page 165)
No wonder Mohammed discouraged questions:
Surah 5:101
O ye who believe! Ask not questions about things which, if made plain to you, may cause you trouble.So Muslims are instructed to avoid asking questions which confirms Islam's 1400 year fear of truth. That's why Mohammed had poets killed and prohibited Muslims from making friends of non-Muslims, declaring that if they do they will be OF the non-Muslims. The same reason that Bibles and Christian materials are banned in Islamic States, and those Muslims that come to know the love of the one true God through Jesus Christ, are killed as apostates for sharing the "Good News" with other Muslims.
The one true God is very much different than Mohammed's alter-ego "Allah". We're instructed to...
1Thessalonians 5:21
Prove all things; hold fast that which is good.The reason Mohammed discouraged questions is made clear in the very next surah from that quoted previously:
Sura 5.102
Some people before you did ask such questions, and on that account lost their faith.But those that loose their faith in Mohammed and his stand-alone 7th century religion can gain faith in the one true God - the God of love - through ALL of His prophets and witnesses as revealed in His 1600 year record, that His people have followed through two covenants, for 3500 years.
Why not try reading a little of the Gospel from the link provided in the drop-down menu?
Hebrews 4:12
For the word of God [is] quick, and powerful, and sharper than any twoedged sword, piercing even to the dividing asunder of soul and spirit, and of the joints and marrow, and [is] a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart.Narrated Ash-sha'bi: ...
So Al-Mughira wrote: I heard the Prophet saying, "Allah has hated for you three things: ... 3. And asking too many questions (in disputed religious matters) .... Sahih Al-Bukhari, Vol. 2, #555)
Dr. Mark A. Gabriel was tortured and nearly killed for "asking too many questions" even while he was still a devout, highly learned and professing Muslim. The punishment for leaving Mohammed's religion like all other dangerous cults is death.
Surah 4:89
They but wish that ye should reject Faith, as they do, and thus be on the same footing (as they): But take not friends from their ranks until they flee in the way of Allah (From what is forbidden). But if they turn renegades, seize them and slay them wherever ye find them; and (in any case) take no friends or helpers from their ranks;-No matter who they are. Quoting Dr. Gabriel
"Even dictators must live within the confines of Islamic law. For example, Libya's leader Muammar Qaddafi once declared that he no longer believed in anything besides the Quran and that he had abandoned all of the prophet Mudammad's teachings (hadith).
The Islamic world was shocked. Islamic scholars at Al-Azhar University in Egypt and other Islamic authorities in Saudi Arabia were disturbed greatly. The world of Islam formed a committee of scholars to go and meet with Libya's leader so they could discuss the matter with him personally.
Sheikh Mohammed Al-Gazoly, a scholar from Al-Azhar University, led the committee to Libya. The committee warned the Libyan leader about the result of his decision. They told him that if he did not repent and take back his statement, he would fall under the law of renegades and infidels. They said that according to Al-Qaeda Al-Faquhia he was denying many of the Islamic truths, which would force true Muslims to kill him. In light of this information, the leader of Libya repented and took back his statement. The committee went back from Libya to Cairo and announced Qaddafi's decision to repent to the whole Islamic world."
Preceding from "Islam and Terrorism" - by Mark A. Gabriel PHD.
Dr. Gabriel is a former Muslim that graduated #2 out of a class of 6,000 at the same Al-Azhar University in Egypt discussed above - the most prestigious Islamic University in the world.
An excellent and exhaustive article on the subject of apostasy is available from our friends
at Answering-Islam.
Apostates speak out
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A7pXlKohMDgThere was no shortage of doubters regarding Mohammed's "revelations" being divinely inspired, not only because of the fables that were recognized, but no doubt in large part because even Mohammed tacitly admitted to contradicting himself.
2:106 (Asad)
Any message which, We annul or consign to oblivion We replace with a better or a similar one. Dost thou not know that God has the power to will anything?Making the excuse that....
Surah 16:101
When We substitute one revelation for another, and Allah knows best what He reveals (in stages), they say, "Thou art but a forger": but most of them understand not.As a result a whopping 71 out of only 114 suras are subject to abrogation. Most notably the peaceful verses of his early Mecca days are abrogated by a boatload of suras from his post Medina days that suggest violence against non-Muslims. This abrogation issue is far more important than the history of the early burnings of all of the various versions of the Quran.
Please see the video on abrogation in the Quran for more.
That a single self-proclaimed "prophet", couldn't keep his own story straight over the short span of just 23 years, indicates not divine inspiration but the changing whims of the self-serving author of the Quran. Even "receiving" special "revelations" that allowed Mohammed all the wives he wanted - but only for him, and another that allowed him to take his step-son's only wife, and another to sexually violate and enslave female prisoners, and even one that allowed him 1/5 of all the property stolen from others through imperialistic conquest, just like a Mafia Don.
Sunan Ibn Majah, Book of Nikah, Hadith # 1934
Narrated Aisha 'The verse of stoning and of suckling an adult ten times were revealed, and they were (written) on a paper and kept under my bed. When the Messenger of Allah (SAWW.) expired and we were preoccupied with his death, a goat entered and ate away the paper."Does anyone really believe that this is the way that God would preserve His Word?
I also agree that the Quran was a "miracle" to the extent that the Koine Greek word "semeion" is poorly translated in the KJV in the following verse as "miracles" since it can be, and is, translated as "signs", and since Strong's defines it as "that by which a person is distinguished from others and is known". Who could deny that Mohammed is distinguished from others, and is known, for his Quran!
Now consider that definition of "semeion" in relation to the following verses. I am not adding to verses, but simply inserting AN exegesis of the verse, within the verse, for video expediency.
Revelation 19:20
And the beast {Islamic empire}
was taken, and with him {Daniel assigns the masculine gender to the term "beast" that he defines as a kingdom}
the false prophet {Mohammed}
that wrought miracles {the Quran}
before him, {that is "in the presence of" the beast}
with which he deceived them {Mohammed's followers}
that had received the mark {see the 666 video for more}
of the beast, and them {Mohammed's followers}
that worshipped his image. {today's Islamic empire and Second Islamic Jihad in the image of the First Islamic Jihad. Jihad is the pinnacle of worship in Islam.}
These both were cast alive into a lake of fire burning with brimstone.Please see the "Beast of Revelation 13" and "666, Quran & Muhammad" videos available through the drop-down menu and in the annotation links that will appear on the screen later.
This video could go on for days on this subject without running out of material. Why why not research it yourself? How is it that there is no historical or archaeological evidence that suggests that Mecca ever existed, before Yemeni immigrants settled it around the 4th century AD, since it is supposed to have been the epicenter of Mohammed's religion allegedly since Adam?
Craig Winn does a excellent job of marrying the Quran and the Hadith in his free online book "Prophet of Doom". To help our Christian brethren understand the role of Islam in bible prophecy, "The False Prophet" by Ellis Skolfield, is also available free online. Both with links provided on the drop-down menu of this video.
I believe that any Muslim that dares to read Moshay's book will be able to overcome Mohammed's religion pretty handily. Any Muslim that reads Dr. Rafat Amari's book "Islam in Light of History", or even just his free online materials that spring from his 20 year full-time study of Arabia and Islam - including from original source material - will not walk but run out of Mohammed's stand-alone 7th century religion like a scalded dog.
John 14:6
Jesus saith unto him, I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me.To our Muslim friends..... 1John 1:3
That which we have seen and heard declare we unto you, that ye also may have fellowship with us: and truly our fellowship [is] with the Father, and with his Son Jesus Christ.Please join us in the Islam-Christian Forum in the first link below this video for discussion.
Regarding the history of Mecca the second link.
An introduction to the Gospel at the third link.
A verse by verse exegesis of Revelation 13 at the 4th link.
The drop-down menu for more videos and information.
For much more, please visit
BrotherPete.com
I'll begin with a brief mention regarding the textual integrity of the Quran from "Islam Reviewed" by M. Ali (available free online)
"Almost every Muslim is taught from infancy to cling to the notion that the Bible has been corrupted and changed, while the Koran is free from corruption, perfectly preserved since the time of Muhammad. But a thorough study of the textual history of the Koran will show that it is not the Bible, but the Koran that has been changed. That is what Islamic historians themselves bequeathed to us.
After the famous battle of Aqraba in 632 AD, during the Caliphate of Abu Bakr, many Muslims who knew the Koran by heart were killed. As a result, Umar B. Al-Khattab advised Abu Bakr of the need to compile the Koran into a standardized text. Abu Bakr ordered the compilation to be made by Zaid Ibn Thabit from inscriptions on palm leaves, stones and from the remaining reciters.
When the compilation was done, it was kept by Abu Bakr until his death. His successor, Umar, then took custody of it. Afterward, it came into the possession of Hafsa, one of Muhammad's widows (a daughter of Umar).1 The companions of the prophet also did their own compilations and produced other manuscripts for use in various provinces. There were four rival provinces, each using a different text of the Koran.2
During the reign of Khalif Uthman (the third Khalifah), reports reached him that in various parts of Syria, Armenia and Iraq, Muslims were reciting the Koran differently from the way it was being recited by Arabian Muslims. Uthman immediately sent for the manuscript in Hafsa's possession and ordered Zaid Ibn Thabit and three others, Abdullah Ibn Zubair, Said Ibn Al-As and Abdullah Al-Rahman Ibn Harith B. Hisham to make copies of the text and make corrections where necessary. When these were completed, we read that Uthman took violent action regarding other existing Koranic manuscripts:
"Uthman sent to every Muslim province one copy of what they
had copied and ordered that all the other koranic materials,
whether written in fragmentary manuscripts, or whole copies, to
be burnt." (Sahih al-Bukhari Vol. 6 Page 479).
Sura 68.15 When to him are rehearsed Our Signs, "Tales of the ancients", he cries!
PICKTHAL: That, when Our revelations are recited unto him, he saith: Mere fables of the men of old.
Qur'an 68:15 When Our verses are recited to him, he says: 'They are but fairytales of the ancients!' (Qaribullah & Darwish)
