Muhammad`s Prohethood Reality or Myth

AbdulRade Muhammad AbdulMuhsen

Muhammad has become a target for Islam’s long-established adversaries and their armies of missionaries and orientalists who have aroused suspicions and propagated allegations against the Prophet of Islam and his Message. Their objective has always been to distort the image of the Prophet of Islam in the eyes of those who do not know him and consequently drive them away from studying Islam and contemplating it in a desperate attempt to lay obstacles in the path of Islam’s mission so as to impede its vital role in guiding humanity.

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Prophet Muhammad

Prophet Muhammad  (571 A.D - 632 A.D, Arabia) is the Final Messenger sent by Allah to guide Mankind and Jinn and complete His religion. The Noble Prophet  was an orphan and became a trader by profession and was well known as Muhammad  - The Trustworthy. At the age of forty he received Prophethood through the Angel Jibraaeel (Gabriel) in Makkah (Mecca - Arabia). He was The Unlettered Prophet - He could not read nor write however Allah revealed upon him the Holy Quran. This glorious divine revelation to a human who could not even read the words 'Messenger of Allah' was a Miracle and proof of Prophethood.

At the time pagan Arabs worshipped idols, killed their infant children particularly girls, drank intoxicants excessively and gambled. They consumed the rights of orphans and grossly misappropriated inheritance to the extent that family members were considered assets and part of the inheritance estate.

Prophet Muhammad  rejected these ignorant and immoral practices and invited all to accept Islam which protected rights of the vulnerable and balanced the needs of society without overburdening individuals.

As people accepted Islam they and the Prophet  were persecuted to the extent that they were forced to emigrate to Madinah -Arabia where people were receptive to Islam and gave refuge. Over time the unique message of Islam was realised by many in number and Muslims were able to fend off attacks.

Islam prohibited racial discrimination and promoted responsibilities and high moral standards to the extent that the companions of the Prophet  and their family remained hungry whilst they fed those captured assassins who had attempted to kill them with all the food they possessed. Where previously in the days of ignorance daughters were buried alive due to their gender, now in complete contrast after accepting Islam they were giving away water to quench thirsty dying strangers whilst they themselves were also dying of thirst and in their last moments of life.

More and more people turned towards Islam and the Prophet  was able to establish a peace treaty with the kuffaar (Non-Believers). The Kuffaar however broke the treaty and again attacked so the Prophet  decided to march towards Makkah . The Merciful Prophet  conquered Makkah without bloodshed and forgave his enemies saying 'Have no fear this day, May Allah forgive you, and He is the Most Merciful of those who show mercy'. The Prophet  returned to Madinah after establishing safety in Makkah.

The Prophet 's Sunnah (actions) were the perfect living exemplification of the Quran and through the recording and practice of his Sunnah his noble companions  (Sahaabah) were able to confirm and convey the correct understanding and teachings of Islam. The Prophet  after completing his mission passed away leaving behind the Quran and Sunnah for all and he is buried in Masjid An-Nabawi (Madinah- Arabia)

Also referred to as: Rasulullah , The Messenger of Allah , The Final Nabi and Rasul , The Seal (Khatam) of Prophets  Mohammed , Muhammed  Mohamed  Mohamad  Mehmet , Huzoor, Huzur, Hozuur Nabi 

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PROPHET MUHAMMAD

PROPHET MUHAMMAD

Muhammad (pbuh) was born in Mecca ( Makkah), Arabia, on Monday, 12 Rabi' Al-Awal (2 August A.D. 570). His mother, Aminah, was the daughter of Wahb Ibn Abdu Manaf of the Zahrah family. His father, 'Abdullah, was the son of Abdul Muttalib. His genealogy has been traced to the noble house of Ishmael, the son of Prophet Abraham in about the fortieth descend. Muhammad's father died before his birth.

Before he was six years old his mother died, and the doubly orphaned Muhammad was put under the charge of his grandfather Abdul Muttalib who took the most tender care of him. But the old chief died two years afterwards. On his deathbed he confided to his son Abu Talib the charge of the little orphan.

When Muhammad was twelve years old, he accompanied his uncle Abu Talib on a mercantile journey to Syria, and they proceeded as far as Busra. The journey lasted for some months. It was at Busra that the Christian monk Bahira met Muhammad. He is related to have said to Abu Talib: 'Return with this boy and guard him against the hatred of the Jews, for a great career awaits your nephew."

After this journey, the youth of Muhammad seems to have been passed uneventfully, but all authorities agree in ascribing to him such correctness of manners and purity of morals as were rare among the people of Mecca. The fair character and the honorable bearing of the unobtrusive youth won the approbation of the citizens of Mecca, and b y common consent he received the title of "Al Ameen," The Faithful.

In his early years, Muhammad was not free from the cares of life. He had to watch the flocks of his uncle, who, like the rest of the Bani Hashim, had lost the greater part of his wealth.

From youth to manhood he led an almost solitary life. The lawlessness rife among the Meccans, the sudden outbursts of causeless and bloody quarrels among the tribes frequenting the Fair of Okadh (The Arabian Olympia), and the immorality and skepticism of the Quraish, naturally caused feelings of pity and sorrow in the heart of the sensitive youth. Such scenes of social misery and religious degradation were characteristic of a depraved age.

When Muhammad was twenty five years old, he traveled once more to Syria as a factor of a noble and rich Quraishi widow named Khadijah; and, having proved himself faithful in the commercial interests of that lady, he was soon rewarded with her hand in marriage. This marriage proved fortunate and singularly happy. Khadijah was much the senior of her husband, but in spite of the disparity of age between them, the most tender devotion on both sides existed. This marriage gave him the loving heart of a woman who was ever ready to console him in his despair and to keep alive within him the feeble, flickering flame of hope when no man believed in him and the world appeared gloomy in his eyes.

Until he reached thirty years of age, Muhammad was almost a stranger to the outside world. Since the death of his grandfather, authority in Mecca was divided among the ten senators who constituted the governing body of the Arabian Commonwealth. There was no such accord among them as to ensure the safety of individual rights and property. Though family relations afforded some degree of protection to citizens, yet strangers were frequently exposed to persecution and oppression. In many cases they were robbed, not only of their goods, but even of their wives and daughters. At the instigation of the faithful Muhammad, an old league called the Federation of Fudul, i.e., favors was revived with the object of repressing lawlessness and defending every weak individual - whether Meccan or stranger, free or slave - against any wrong or oppression to which he might be the victim within the territories of Mecca.

When Muhammad reached thirty-five years, he settled by his judgment a grave dispute, which threatened to plunge the whole of Arabia into a fresh series of her oft-recurring wars. In rebuilding the Sacred House of the Ka'ba in A.D. 605, the question arose as to who should have the honor of raising the black stone, the most holy relic of that House, into its proper place. Each tribe claimed that honor. The senior citizen advised the disputants to accept for their arbitrator the first man to enter from a certain gate. The proposal was agreed upon, and the first man who entered the gate was Muhammad "Al-Ameen." His advice satisfied all the contending parties. He ordered the stone to be placed on a piece of cloth and each tribe to share the honor of lifting it up by taking hold of a part of the cloth. The stone was thus deposited in its place, and the rebuilding of the House was completed without further interruption.

It is related that, about this time, a certain Usman, Ibn Huwairith, supported by Byzantine gold, made an attempt to convert the territory of Hijaz into a Roman dependency, but the attempt failed, chiefly through the instrumentality of Muhammad.

These are nearly all the public acts related by historians in which Muhammad took part in the first fifteen years of his marriage to Khadijah. As for his private life he is described to have been ever helpful to the needy and the helpless. His uncle Abu Talib had fallen into distress through his endeavors to maintain the old position of his family. Muhammad, being rather rich at this time by his alliance with Khadijah, tried to discharge part of the debt of gratitude and obligation which he owed to his uncle by undertaking the bringing up and education of his son 'Ali. A year later he adopted 'Akil, another of his uncle's sons.

Khadijah bore Muhammad three sons and four daughters. All the males died in childhood, but in loving 'Ali he found much consolation.

About this time, Muhammad set a good example of kindness, which created a salutary effect upon his people. His wife Khadijah had made him a present of young slave named Zaid Ibn Haritha, who had been brought as a captive to Mecca and sold to Khadijah. When Haritha heard that Muhammad possessed Zaid, he came to Mecca and offered a large sum for his ransom. Whereupon Muhammd said: "Let Zaid come here, and if he chooses to go with you, take him without ransom; but if it be his choice to stay with me, why should I not keep him?' Zaid, being brought into Muhammad's presence, declared that he would stay with his master, who treated him as if he was his only son. Muhammad no sooner heard this than he took Zaid by the hand and led him to the black stone of Ka'ba, where he publicly adopted him as his son, to which the father acquiesced and returned home well satisfied. Henceforward Zaid was called the son of Muhammad.

Muhammd was now approaching his fortieth year, and his mind was ever-engaged in profound contemplation and reflection. Before him lay his country, bleeding and torn by fratricidal wars and intolerable dissension's; his people, sunk in barbarism, addicted to the observation of rites and superstitions, were, with all their desert virtues, lawless and cruel. His two visits to Syria had opened to him a scene of unutterable moral and social desolation, rival creeds and sects tearing each other to pieces, carrying their hatred to the valleys and deserts of Hijaz, and rending the townships of Arabia with their quarrels and bitterness.

For years after his marriage, Muhammad had been accustomed to secluding himself in a cave in Mount Hira, a few miles from Mecca. To this cave he used to go for prayer and meditation, sometimes alone and sometime with his family. There, he often spent the whole nights in deep thought and profound communion with the Unseen yet All-Knowing Allah of the Universe. It was during one of those retirements and in the still hours of the night, when no human sympathy was near, that an angel came to him to tell him that he was the Messenger of Allah sent to reclaim a fallen people to the knowledge and service of their Lord.

Renowned compilers of authentic traditions of Islam agree on the following account of the first revelations received by the Prophet.

Muhammad would seclude himself in the cave of Mount Hira and worship three days and nights. He would, whenever he wished, return to his family at Mecca and then go back again, taking wihim the necessities of life. Thus he continued to return to Khadijah from time to time until one day the revelation came down to him and the Angel Gabriel (Jibreel) appeared to him and said: "Read!" But as Muhammad was illiterate, having never received any instruction in reading or writing, he said to the angel: "I am not a reader." The angel took a hold of him and squeezed him as much as he could bear, and then said again: "Read!" Then Prophet said: "I am not a reader." The Angel again seized the Prophet and squeezed him and said: "Read! In the Name of Your Lord, Who has created (all that exists), has created a man from a clot (a piece of thick coagulated blood). Read! And your Lord is the Most Generous, Who has taught (the writing) by the pen, has taught man that which he knew not." (Ch 96:1-4 Quran).

Then the Prophet repeated the words with a trembling heart. He returned to Khadijah from Mount Hira and said: "Wrap me up! Wrap me up!" She wrapped him in a garment until his fear was dispelled. He told Khadijah what had occurred and that he was becoming either a soothsayer or one smitten with madness. She replied: "Allah forbid! He will surely not let such a thing happen, for you speak the truth, you are faithful in trust, you bear the afflictions of the people, you spend in good works what you gain in trade, you are hospitable and you assist your fellow men. Have you seen anything terrible?" Muhammad replied: "Yes," and told her what he had seen. Whereupon, Khadijah said: "Rejoice, O dear husband and be cheerful. He is Whose hands stands Khadijah's life bears witness to the truth of this fact, that you will be the prophet to this people." Then she arose and went to her cousin Waraqa Ibn Naufal, who was old and blind and who knew the Scriptures of the Jews and Christians, and is stated to have translated them into Arabic. When she told him of what she had heard, he cried out: "Holy! Holy! Verily, this is the Namus (The Holy Spirit) who came to Moses. He will be the prophet of his people. Tell him this and bid him to be brave at heart." When the two men met subsequently in the street, the blind old student of the Jewish and Christian Scriptures spoke of his faith and trust: "I swear by Him in Who hand Waraqa's life is, Allah has chosen you to be the prophet of this people. They will call you a liar, they will persecute you, they will banish you, and they will fight against you. Oh, that I could live to those days. I would fight for these." And he kissed him on the forehead.

The first vision was followed by a considerable period, during which Muhammad suffered much mental depression. The angel spoke to the grieved heart of hope and trust and of the bright future when he would see the people of the earth crowding into the one true faith. His destiny was unfolded to him, when, wrapped in profound meditation, melancholy and sad, he felt himself called by a voice from heaven to arise and preach. O you (Muhammad) enveloped (in garments)! Arise and warn! And your Lord (Allah) magnify! (Ch 74:1-3 Quran) He arose and engaged himself in the work to which he was called. Khadijah was the first to accept his mission. She was to believe in the revelations, to abandon the idolatry of her people and to join him in purity of heart and in offering up prayers to Allah the Almighty.

At the beginning of his mission, Muhammad - hereinafter called the Prophet - opened his soul only to those who were attached to him and tried to free them from the gross practices of their forefathers. After Khadijah, his cousin' Ali was the next companion. The Prophet used often to go into the desert around Mecca with his wife and young cousin that they might together offer their heart felt thanks to the Lord of all nations for His manifold blessings. Once they were surprised by Abu Talib, the father of 'Ali. He said to the Prophet: "O son of my brother, what is this religion you are following?" "It is the religion of Allah of His Angels, of His Messengers and of our ancestor Abraham," answered the Prophet. "Allah has sent me to His servants, to direct them towards the truth, and you, O my uncle, are the most worthy of all. It is meet that I should thus call upon you and it is meet that you should accept the truth and help in spreading it."

Abu Talib replied: "Son of my brother, I cannot abjure the religion of my fathers; but by the Supreme Lord, while I am alive, none shall dare to injure you." Then turning towards 'Ali, the venerable chief asked what religion was his. Ali answered: "O father, I believe in Allah and His Prophet and go with him." Abu Talib replied: "Well my son, he will not call you to anything except what is good, therefore you are free to go with him."

After 'Ali, Muhammad's adopted son Zaid became a convert to the new faith. He was followed by Abu Bakr, a leading member of the Quraish tribe and an honest, wealthy merchant who enjoyed great consideration among his compatriots. He was but two years younger than the Prophet. His adoption of the new faith was of great moral effect. Soon after, five notables presented themselves before the Prophet and accepted Islam. Several converts also came from lower classes of the Arabs to adopt the new religion.

For three weary long years, the Prophet labored very quietly to deliver his people from the worship of idols. Polytheism was deeply rooted among the people. It offered attractions, which the new faith in its purity did not possess. The Quraish had personal material interests in the old worship, and their prestige was dependent upon its maintenance. The Prophet had to contend with the idolatrous worship of its followers and to oppose the ruling oligarchy, which governed its destinies.

After three years of constant but quiet struggle, only thirty followers were secured. An important change now occurred in the relations of the Prophet with the citizens of Mecca. His compatriots had begun to doubt his sanity, thinking him crazy or possessed by an evil spirit. Hitherto he preached quietly and unobtrusively. He now decided to appeal publicly to the Meccans, requesting them to abandon their idolatry. For this he arranged a gathering on a neighboring hill and there spoke to them of their folly in the sight of Allah in worshipping pieces of stone which they called their gods. He invited them to abandon their old impious worship and adopt the faith of love, truth and purity. He warned them of the fate that had overtaken past races who had not heeded the preaching of former prophets. But the gathering departed without listening to the warning given them by the Prophet.

Having thus failed to induce his fellow citizens to listen to him, he turned his attention to the strangers arriving in the city on commerce or pilgrimage. But the Quraish made attempts to frustrate his efforts. They hastened themselves to meet the strangers first on different routes, to warn them against holding any communication with the Prophet, whom they represented as a dangerous magician. When the pilgrims or traders returned to their homes, they carried with them the news of the advent of the bold preacher who was inviting the Arabs loudly - at the risk of his own life - to abandon the worship of their dear idols.

Now the Prophet and his followers became subject to some persecution and indignity. The hostile Quraish prevented the Prophet from offering his prayers at the Sacred House of the Ka'ba; they pursued him wherever he went; they covered him and his disciples with dirt and filth when engaged in their devotions; they scattered thorns in the places which he frequented for devotion and meditation. Amidst all these trials the Prophet did not waver. He was full of confidence in his mission, even when on several occasions he was put in imminent danger of losing his life.

At this time Hamza, the youngest son of Abdul Muttalib, adopted Islam. Hamza was a man of distinguished bravery, an intrepid warrior, generous and true, whose heroism earned for him the title of the "Lion of Allah." He became a devoted adherent of Islam and everlost his life in the cause.

The Prophet continued preaching to the Arabs in a most gentle and reasonable manner. He called thepeople, so accustomed to iniquity and wrong doings, to abandon their abominations. In burning words which excited the hearts of his hearers, he warned them of the punishment which Allah had inflicted upon the ancient tribes of 'Ad and Thamud who had obstinately disobeyed the teachings of Allah's messengers to them. He adjured them by the wonderful sights of nature, by the noon day brightness, by the night when it spreads its veil, by the day when it appears in glory to listen to his warning before a similar destruction befell them. He spoke to them of the Day of Reckoning, when their deeds in this world will be weighed before the Eternal Judge, when the children who had been buried alive will be asked for what crime they were put to death.

Almighty Allah said: Nay, they wonder that there has come to them a Warner (Muhammad) from among themselves. So the disbeliveers say: "This is a strange thing! When we are dead and have become dust (shall we be resurrected)? That is a far return." We know that which the earth takes of them (their dead bodies), and with Us is a Book preserved (i.e., the Book of Decrees).

Nay, but, they have denied the truth (this Qur'an) when it has come to them, so they are in a confused state (can not differentiate between right and wrong). Have they not looked at the heaven above them, how We have made it and adorned it, and there are no rifts in it? And the earth! We have spread it out, and set thereon mountains standing firm, and have produced therein every kind of lovely growth (plants).

An insight and a reminder for every slave turning to Allah (i.e., the one who believes in Allah and performs deeds of His obedience, and always begs His pardon). And We send down blessed water (rain) from the sky, then we produce therewith gardens and grain (every kind of harvests that are reaped). And tall date palms, with ranged clusters; a provision for (Allah's) slaves. And We give life therewith to a dead land. Thus will be the resurrection (of the dead). Denied before them (i.e. these pagans of Makka who denied you, O Muhammad) the people of Noah, and the dwellers of Rass, and the Thamud, and 'Ad, and Pharaoh, and the brethren of Lot, and the dwellers of the Wood, and the people of Tubba, everyone of them denied their Messengers, so My Threat took effect." (Ch 50: 2-14 Quran)

Almighty Allah also declared: All praises and thanks be to Allah Who Alone created the heavens and the earth, and originated the darkness and the light, yet those who disbelieve hold others as equal with their Lord. He it is Who has created you from clay, and then has decreed a stated term (for you to die). And there is with Him another determined term (for you to be resurrected), yet you doubt (in the Resurrection).

And He is Allah (to be worshipped Alone) in the heavens and on the earth, He knows what you conceal and what you reveal, and He knows what you earn (good or bad). And never an Ayah (sign) comes to them from the Ayat (proofs, evidences, lessons, signs, revelations, etc.) of their Lord, but that they have been turning away from it.

Indeed, they rejected the truth (The Qur'an and Muhammad) when it came to them, but there will come to them the news of that (the torment) which they used to mock at. Have they not seen how many a generation before them We have destroyed whom We had established on the earth such as We have not established you? And We poured out on them rain from the sky in abundance, and made the rivers flow under them. Yet We destroyed them for their sins, and created after them other generations." (Ch 6:1-6 Quran)

As the number of believers increased and the cause of the Prophet was strengthened by the conversions of many powerful citizens, the Prophet's preaching alarmed the Quraish. Their power and prestige were at stake. They were the custodians of the idols, which the Prophet had threatened to destroy; they were the ministers of the worship, which he denounced; in fact their existence and living wholly depended upon the maintenance of the old institutions. The Prophet taught that in the sight of his Lord all human were equal, the only distinction recognized among them being the weight of their piety.

Allah the Exalted said: O mankind! We have created you from a male and a female, and made you into nations and tribes, that you may know one another. Verily, the most honorable of you in the Sight of Allah is that believer who has At Taqwa (one of the Muttaqun, pious and righteous persons who fear Allah much, abstain from all kinds of sins and evil deeds which He has forbidden), and love Allah much (perform all kinds of good deeds which He has ordained. Verily! Allah is All-Knowing, All-Aware." (Ch 49:13 Quran).

The Quraish would have none of this leveling of distinctions, as it reflected upon their long inherited privileges. Accordingly, they organized a system of persecution in order to suppress the movement before it became firmly established. They decided that each family should take upon itself the task of stamping out the new faith on the spot. Each household tortured its own members or adherents or slaves who were supposed to have connected themselves with the new religion. With the exception of the Prophet, who was protected by Abu Talib and his kinsmen, and Abu Bakr, and a few others who were either distinguished by their rank or possessed some influence among the Quraish, all other converts were subjected to different sorts of torture. Some of them were thrown into prison, starved, and then flogged. The hill of Ramada and the place called Bata thus became scenes of cruel torture.

One day the Quraish tried to induce the Prophet to discontinue his teachings of the new religion, which had sown discord among their people. 'Utba Ibn Rabi'a, was delegated to see the Prophet and speak to him. 'Utba said: "O son of my brother, you are distinguished by your qualities; yet you have sown discord among our people and cast dissension in our families; you denounced our gods and goddesses and you charge our ancestors with impiety. Now we are come to make a proposition to you, and I ask you to think well before you reject it." "I am listening to you, O father of Walid," said the Prophet. "O son of my brother, if by this affair you intend to acquire riches, honors, and dignity, we are willing to collect for you a fortune larger than is possessed by any one of us; we shall make you our chief and will do nothing without you. If you desire dominion, we shall make you our king; and if the demon which possesses you cannot be subdued, we will bring you doctors and give them riches until they cure you." When 'Utba had finished his discourse, the Prophet said: "Now listen to me, O father of Walid." "I listen." He replied. The Prophet, recited to him the first thirteen verses of Surah Fussilat, which maybe interpreted as follows: In the Name of Allah The Most Beneficent, The Most Merciful.

Ha Mim (These letters are one of the miracles of the Quran, and none but Allah Alone knows their meanings). A revelation from Allah the Most Beneficent, the Most Merciful. A Book whereof the Verses are explained in detail; - a Quran in Arabic for people who know. Giving glad tidings (of Paradise to the one who believes in the Oneness of Allah, Islamic Monotheism) and fears Allah much (abstains from all kinds of sins and evil deeds) and loves Allah much (performing all kinds of good deeds which He has ordained), and warning (of punishment in the Hellfire to be the one who disbelieves in the Oneness of Allah), but most of them turn away, so they listen not.

And they say: "Our hearts are under coverings (screened) from that to which you invite us, and in our ears is deafness, and between us and you is a screen, so work you (on your way); verily we are working (on our way).

Say (O Muhammad): "I am only a human being like you. It is inspired in me that your Ilah (God) is One Ilah (God - Allah), therefore take the Straight Path to Him (with true Faith - Islamic Monotheism) and obedience to Him, and seek forgiveness of Him. And woe to Al-Mushrikeen; (polytheists, pagans, idolaters, and disbeliveers in the Oneness of Allah, etc, those who worship others along with or set up rivals or partners to Allah etc.) Those who give not the Zakat and they are disbeliveers in the Hereafter. Truly, those who believe (in the Oneness of Allah and in His Messenger Muhammad - Islamic Monotheism) and do righteous good deeds for them will be an endless reward that will never stop (Paradise).

Say (O Muhammad): "Do you verily disbelieve in Him Who created the earth in two Days and you set up rivals (in worship) with Him? That is the Lord of the Alamin (mankind, jinn and all that exists).

He placed therein (the earth) firm mountains from above it, and He blessed it, and measured therein its sustenance (for its dwellers) in four Days equal (all these four days were equal in the length of time), for all those who ask (about its creation). Then He Istawa (rose over) towards the heaven when it was smoke, and said to it and to the earth: "Come both of you willingly or unwillingly." They both said: "We come, willingly." Then He completed and finished from their creation as seven heavens in two days and he made in each heaven with lamps (stars) to b e an adornment as well as to guard (from the devils by using them as missiles against the devils). Such is the Decree of Him the All Mighty, The All Knower.

But if they turn away, then say (O Muhammad): "I have warned you of a Sa'iqa (a destruction awful cry, torment, hit, a thunder bolt) like the Sa'iqa which overtook 'Ad and Thamud (people)." (Ch 41:1-13 Quran).

When the Prophet had finished his recitation, he said to 'Utba: "This is my reply to your proposition; now take what course you find best."

Persecution by the Quraish grew fiercer every day and the sufferings of the Prophet's disciples became unbearable. He had heard of the righteousness, tolerance, and hospitality of the neighboring Christian king of Abyssinia. He recommended such of his companions who were without protection to seek refuge in the kingdom of that pious king, Al Najashi (Negus). Some fifteen of the unprotected adherents of Islam promptly availed themselves of the advice and sailed to Abyssinia. Here they met with a very kind reception from the Negus. This is called the first hijrah (migration) in the history of Islam and occurred in the fifth year of the Prophet Muhammad's mission, A.D. 615. These emigrants were soon followed by many of their fellow sufferers, until the number reached eighty-three men and eighteen women.

The hostile Quraish, furious at the escape of their victims, sent deputes to the king of Abyssinia to request him to deliver up the refugees, that they might be put to death for adjuring their old religion and embracing a new one. The king summoned the poor fugitives and inquired of them what was the religion, which they had adopted in preference to their old faith. Ja'far, son of Abu Talib and brother of 'Ali, acted as spokesman for the exiles. He spoke thus: "O king, we were plunged in the depth of ignorance and barbarism, we adored idols, we lived in unchastity, and we ate dead bodies, and we spoke abomination, we disregarded every feeling of humanity and sense of duty towards our neighbors, and we knew no law but that of the strong, when Allah raised among us a man, of whose birth, truthfulness, honesty, and purity we were aware. He called us to profess the Unity of Allah and taught us to associate nothing with Him; he forbade us the worship of idols and enjoined us to speak the truth, to be faithful to our trusts, to be merciful, and to regard the rights of neighbors; he forbade us to speak evil of the worship of Allah and not to return to the worship of idols of woos and stone and to abstain from evil, to offer prayers, to give alms, to observe the fast. We have believed in him, we have accepted his teachings and his injunctions to worship Allah alone and to associate nothing with Him. Hence our people have persecuted us, trying to make us forego the worship of Allah and return to the worship of idols of wood and stone and other abominations. They have tortured us and injured us until, finding no safety among them, we have come to your kingdom trusting you will give us protection against their persecution."

After hearing the above speech, the hospitable king ordered the deputies to return to their people in safety and not to interfere with their fugitives. Thus the emigrants passed the period of exile in peace and comfort.

While the followers of the Prophet sought safety in foreign lands against the persecution of their people, he continued his warnings to the Quraish more strenuously than ever. Again they came to him with offers of riches and honor, which he firmly and utterly refused. But they mocked at him and urged him for miracles to prove his mission. He used to answer: "Allah has not sent me to work wonders; He has sent me to preach to you."

Thus disclaiming all power of wonder working, the Prophet ever rested the truth of his divine mission upon his wise teachings. He addressed himself to the inner consciousness of man, to his common sense and to his own better judgement. Say (O Muhammad): "I am only a human being like you. It is inspired in me that your Ilah (God) is One Ilah (God- Allah), therefore take the Straight Path to Him (with true Faith - Islamic Monotheism) and obedience to Him and seek forgiveness of Him. And woe to Al Mushrikeen; (polytheists, pagans, idolaters, and disbeliveers in the Oneness of Allah etc., those who worship others along with Allah or set up rivals or partners to Allah etc. (Ch 41:6 Quran)

Despite all the exhortation of the Prophet, the Quraish persisted in asking him for a sign. They insisted that unless some sign be sent down to him from his Lord, they would not believe. The disbeliveers used to ask: "Why has Muhammad not been sent with miracles like previous prophets?" T he Prophet replied: "Because miracles had proved inadequate to convince. Noah was sent with signs, and with what effect? Where was the lost tribe of Thamud? They had refused to receive the preaching of the Prophet Salih, unless he showed them a sign and caused the rock to bring forth a living camel. He did what they asked. In scorn they cut the camel's feet and then daring the prophet to fulfill his threats of judgment, were found dead in their beds the next morning, stricken by the angel of the Lord."

There are some seventeen places in the Quran, in which the Prophet Muhammad is challenged to work a sign, and he answered them all to the same or similar effect: Allah has the power of working miracles, and has not been believed; there were greater miracles in nature than any which could be wrought outside of it; and the Quran itself was a great, everlasting miracle. The Quran, the Prophet used to assert to the disbeliveers, is a book of blessings which is a warning for the whole world; it is a complete guidance and explains everything necessary; it is a reminder of what is imprinted on human nature and is free from every discrepancy and from error and falsehood. It is a book of true guidance and a light to all.

As to the sacred idols, so much honored and esteemed by the pagan Arabs, the Prophet openly recited: They are but names which you have named - you and your fathers - for which Allah has sent down no authority. (CH 53:23 Quran)

When the Prophet thus spoke reproachfully of the sacred gods of the Quraish, the latter redoubled their persecution. But the Prophet, nevertheless, continued his preaching undaunted but the hostility of his enemies or by their bitter persecution of him. And despite all opposition and increased persecution, the new faith gained ground. The national fair at Okadh near Mecca attracted many desert Bedouins and trading citizen of distant towns. These listened to the teachings of the Prophet, to his admonitions, and to his denunciations of their sacred idols and of their superstitions. They carried back all that they had heard to their distant homes, and thus the advent of the Prophet was made know to almost all parts of the peninsula.

The Meccans, however, were more than ever furious at the Prophet's increasing preaching against their religion. They asked his uncle Abu Talib to stop him, but he could not do anything. At , as the Prophet persisted in his ardent denunciations against their ungodliness and impiety, they turned him out from the Ka'ba where he used to sit and preach, and subsequently went in a body to Abu Talib. They urged the venerable chief to prevent his nephew from abusing their gods any longer or uttering any ill words against their ancestors. They warned Abu Talib that if he would not do that, he would be excluded from the communion of his people and driven to side with Muhammad; the matter would then be settled by fight until one of the two parties were exterminated.

Abu Talib neither wished to separate himself from his people, nor forsake his nephew for the idolaters to revenge themselves upon. He spoke to the Prophet very softly and begged him to abandon his affair. To this suggestion the Prophet firmly replied: "O my uncle, if they placed the sun in my right hand and the moon in my left hand to cause me to renounce my task, verily I would not desist therefrom until Allah made manifest His cause or I perished in the attempt." The Prophet, overcome by the thought that his uncle and protector was willing to desert him, turned to depart. But Abu Talib called him loudly to come back, and he came. "Say whatever you please; for by the Lord I shall not desert you ever."

The Quraish again attempted in vain to cause Abu Talib to abandon his nephew. The venerable chief declared his intention to protect his nephew against any menace or violence. He appealed to the sense of honor of the two families of the Bani Hashim and the Bani Muttalib, both families being kinsmen of the Prophet, to protect their member from falling a victim to the hatred of rival parties. All the members of the two families nobly responded to the appeal of Abu Talib except Abu Lahab, one of the Prophet's uncles, who took part with the persecutors.

During this period, 'Umar Al-Khattab adopted Islam. In him the new faith gained a valuable adherent and an important factor in the future development and propagation of Islam. Hitherto he had been a violent opposer of the Prophet and a bitter enemy of Islam. His conversion is said to have been worked by the miraculous effect on his mind of a Surah of the Quran which his sister was reading in her house, where he had gone with the intention of killing her for adopting Islam. Thus the party of the Prophet had been strengthened by the conversation by his uncle Hamza, a man of great valor and merit; and of Abu Bakr and 'Umar, both men of great energy and reputation. The Muslims now ventured to perform their devotions in public.

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Other Prophesies

6.14: Other Prophesies

There are many other points which could be brought up in this comparison, however. Such prophesies include Daniel 2 which history has shown us to have been fulfilled only by the Islamic nation. For those readers who would like to read more on these matters, I recommend the books: "Prophet Muhammad the Last Messenger in the Bible" by Kais Al-Kalbi. "Mohammed A Prophecy Fulfilled," by H. Abdul Al-Dahir "Muhammad in the Bible", by Professor `Abdul-Ahad Dawud. "Muhammad's Prophethood: An Analytical View," By Dr. Jamal Badawi "Muhammad in the Bible," Dr. Jamal Badawi "The Sources of the Qur'an: A Critical Review of the Authorship Theories," by Hamza Mustafa Njozi. I shall leave it up to the interested reader to study Islam, Muhammad, and the Qur'an, and arrive at their own conclusion with regard to Muhammad (pbuh) having fulfilled all of the requirements of the coming "Second Messiah"/"Paraclete"/Prophet.  It is not at all uncommon in the West for people to be known by two names. For examples, a man called William would be called "Bill" by his friends, Robert would be called "Bob"...etc. In a similar manner, Muhammad (pbuh) was known by two names: "Muhammad" and "Ahmed." I mention this to clarify the following verse: "And when Jesus son of Mary said: O Children of Israel! verily! I am the messenger of Allah unto you, confirming that which was (revealed) before me in the Torah, and bringing good tidings of a messenger who cometh after me, whose name is Ahmed(the praised one). But when he came to them with clear proofs, they said: This is clearly magic" The noble Qur'an, Al-Saf(61):6 It is one thing for someone to make a clever play on words and twist their meaning to suite his fancied desire so that they would refer to Muhammad (pbuh). It would be much harder to do so with more than ten. These verses lend themselves so easily to Muhammad (pbuh) without having to resort to abstraction and applying them to the Holy Ghost or other supernatural meanings, or to combining three prophesies into only two. "Then We sent our messengers in succession. Whenever there came to a nation their messenger they called him a liar; so We caused them to follow one another (in destruction) and We made them tales (told to others). So away with a people who will not believe!" The noble Qur'an, Al-Muminoon(23):44. "Alas for (My) servants! There comes not a messenger unto them but they ridicule him." The noble Qur'an, Ya-seen(36):30.

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The rejected stone

6.13: The rejected stone

From the promise in Genesis 21:13-18, Jesus (pbuh) spoke of the kingdom of God being taken away from the Jews and given to the rejected stone of  "Hear another parable: There was a certain householder, which planted a vineyard, and hedged it round about, and digged a winepress in it, and built a tower, and let it out to husbandmen, and went into a far country: And when the time of the fruit drew near, he sent his servants to the husbandmen, that they might receive the fruits of it. And the husbandmen took his servants, and beat one, and killed another, and stoned another. Again, he sent other servants more than the first: and they did unto them likewise. But last of all he sent unto them his son, saying, They will reverence my son. But when the husbandmen saw the son, they said among themselves, This is the heir; come, let us kill him, and let us seize on his inheritance. And they caught him, and cast [him] out of the vineyard, and slew [him]. When the lord therefore of the vineyard cometh, what will he do unto those husbandmen? They say unto him, He will miserably destroy those wicked men, and will let out [his] vineyard unto other husbandmen, which shall render him the fruits in their seasons. Jesus saith unto them, Did ye never read in the scriptures, The stone which the builders rejected, the same is become the head of the corner: this is the Lord's doing, and it is marvelous in our eyes? Therefore say I unto you, The kingdom of God shall be taken from you, and given to a nation bringing forth the fruits thereof. And whosoever shall fall on this stone shall be broken: but on whomsoever it shall fall, it will grind him to powder. And when the chief priests and Pharisees had heard his parables, they perceived that he spake of them. But when they sought to lay hands on him, they feared the multitude, because they took him for a prophet." Matthew 21:33-46 Indeed, prophethood was transferred from the nation of the Jews to the Jews' rejected stone, the nation of the Arabs (Ishmael's nation, the nation of Muhammad pbuh). Some have misunderstood this verse to refer to Jesus (pbuh) as the rejected stone. This can be seen to be a misinterpretation by simply reading the above verse carefully. Jesus (pbuh), in this parable is obviously drawing a parallel between the actions of the Jews and their killing and stoning of previous prophets, or "servants" in this verse. "Wherefore ye be witnesses unto yourselves, that ye are the children of them which killed the prophets. Fill ye up then the measure of your fathers" Matthew 23:31-32  In other words, Jesus (pbuh) is speaking to the Jews as a racial entity. The men standing before him did not kill, beat, and stone the previous prophets, rather their forefathers did. But as a nation, they are all responsible. They are following in their forefathers footsteps. What is Jesus (pbuh) telling the Jews? He is telling them that they, as a nation, have abused their position, and therefore, God Almighty will take His kingdom from the Jews and give it to a different "NATION."  How will we know which nation God's prophethood will be transferred to? The verse states that it will be given to the nation of the "rejected stone." Jesus (pbuh) was indeed rejected by the Jews, but he is not the one intended. Why? Because Jesus was a Jew. His disciples were also Jews. Jesus (pbuh) himself even said quite clearly: "But he answered and said, I am not sent but unto the lost sheep of the house of Israel" Matthew 15:24 We also read  "Then saith the woman of Samaria unto him, How is it that thou (Jesus), being a Jew, askest drink of me, which am a woman of Samaria?" John 4:9  He even told his own twelve apostles: "Go not into the way of the Gentiles (non-Jews), and into any city of the Samaritans enter ye not: But go rather to the lost sheep of the house of Israel. And as ye go, preach, saying, The kingdom of heaven is at hand" Matthew 10:5-7 To further emphasize this Jesus (pbuh) is quoted as saying:  "But he (Jesus) answered and said, It is not meet to take the children's (Jews) bread, and to cast [it] to dogs (Gentiles)." Matthew 15:26 Is the kingdom of God going to be taken from the Jews and given to the Jews? It is important to notice that the verses wherein Jesus (pbuh) is alleged to have commanded his followers to preach to the whole world (such as Mark 16:15) are either now considered later "insertions" because they are nowhere to be found in the most ancient manuscripts available today (those of the fourth century) such as the Sinaitic Manuscript, the Vatican #1209, and the Armenian version, or refer only to preaching to "all nations" (such as Luke 24:47) which, in order to not conflict with the above verses must be understood to refer to the twelve nations of Israel. This is exactly what the Qur'an says. An example of a reference to the tribes of Isaac as "nations" can be seen in Genesis 17:16. There are other examples, such as the referral to the twelve tribes of Ishmael as twelve "nations" in Genesis 25:16, the referral to the tribes of Ham in Genesis 10:20, the tribes of Shem in Genesis 10:31, the tribes of Noah in Genesis 10:32, and the tribes of Abraham in Genesis 17:5 ......etc. Well, what do Christian scholars have to say about the word "all" in "all nations"? If we go back to one of their foremost references, Strong's concordance, and look up this word and it's meaning we will find that the original Greek word is "pas" {pas}. The following description is given for this word:  ".....'The whole world has gone after him' Did the whole world go after Christ? 'Then went all Judea, and were baptized of him in the Jordan'. Was all Judea or all Jerusalem baptized in the Jordan? 'ye are of God little children', 'and the whole world lieth in the wicked one', Does the whole world there mean everybody? The words 'world' and 'all' are used in some seven or eight senses in the Scripture, and it is very rarely the 'all' means all persons, taken individually...." Strong's Concordance, C.H. Spurgeon from a sermon on Particular Redemption.  Mr. Tom Harpur, says: "Most of Jesus' ministry took place in the Northern district of Israel, the Galilee, and it is clear he thought of his mission as directed to the Jews, not to the world at large" For Christ's Sake, Tom Harpur, p. 35. In the tenth year1 of Muhammad's (pbuh) prophethood, Allah Almighty sent Gabriel with a beast called Al-Buraq in order to take prophet Muhammad (pbuh) from the "Inviolable Mosque" in Makkah to the "Furthest Mosque" in Palestine (currently known as Israel). He was then taken up into the heavens where he saw many of the signs of the Almighty and then he returned to Makkah. All of this happened in one night which was later named the night of "Israa and Miraj" (Travel by night and ascension)*. After this deed was accomplished, Allah revealed to Muhammad (pbuh) the first verses of the chapter of Al-Israa(17). Scholars of the Qur'an from long ago noticed that while the first verse speaks about this occurrence explicitly, the following verses suddenly begin to speak about the children of Israel, the scripture that was sent to them by Allah, and how they shall bring corruption into the earth. These scholars concluded that the verses were revealed in order to confirm the transfer of Allah's covenant from the children of Israel to the Islamic nation and to reveal the reason for this decree. Please read in this regard the parting words of prophet Moses in the Old Testament when he spoke to the children of Israel on his deathbed: "And it came to pass, when moses had made an end of writing the words of this law in a book, until they were finished, That Moses commanded the Levites(Jews), which bare the ark of the covenant of the LORD, saying, Take this book of the law, and put it in the side of the ark of the covenant of the LORD your God, that it may be there for a witness against thee. For I know thy rebellion, and thy stiff neck: behold, while I am yet alive with you this day, ye have been rebellious against the LORD; and how much more after my death? Gather unto me all the elders of your tribes, and your officers, that I may speak these words in their ears, and call heaven and earth to record against them. For I know that after my death ye will utterly corrupt [yourselves], and turn aside from the way which I have commanded you; and evil will befall you in the latter days; because ye will do evil in the sight of the LORD, to provoke him to anger through the work of your hands." Deuteronomy 31:25-29 On pages 24-25 of "The five Gospels," written over six years by 24 Christian scholars from a number of Western universities, we read  "Christian conviction eventually overwhelms Jesus: He is made to confess what Christians had come to believe...The charge to announce the good news to the whole world (Mark 13:10 and Matthew 28:18-20) was developed by Paul, Mark and others in the early days of the new movement."  This book has already demonstrated in chapter one how "Saint Paul" was the one primarily responsible for the corruption of the message of Jesus (pbuh). Logic too verifies the Christian recognition that "the great commission" of the above verses was a later insertion of the church and not the words of Jesus (pbuh). This claim can be demonstrated to be supported by logic by observing that had Jesus (pbuh) indeed commissioned his apostles to preach to the whole world, as claimed in the above verses, then obviously they would not differ on this matter later on. However, the Bible tells us that long after this alleged commission, "St. Paul" decided to preach to the Gentiles (non-Jews). We are told in Galatians 2:13-15 that this resulted in a fierce debate and a great difference of opinion between the apostles and Paul (the apostles Peter the Rock, James the son of thunder, and Barnabas on one side, and Paul on the other). This would not have been the case if Jesus (pbuh) had explicitly commanded his apostles to preach to the gentiles and this verse was not a later insertion.  We also notice that Paul only refers to his own philosophy and opinion in his charge of "hypocrisy" against the apostles, never does he quote the alleged command of Jesus (pbuh) wherein he is claimed to have publicly commanded the twelve disciples to preach to the Gentiles. If this verse was not a later insertion, then St. Paul could have very simply defended his point of view by simply quoting Jesus (pbuh). There would be no need for him to say anything more. Thus, these verses are recognized by Christian theologians as later insertions of the Church and not the words of Jesus (pbuh). Since this topic would take up too much time and space to get into here I will suffice with this sampling for now (see section 1.2.2.1 for more on this topic). However, there is another problem which prevents Jesus (pbuh) from being the one intended. If Jesus (pbuh) was indeed the one intended by this verse then we must apply the rest of it to him also. We read.... "Jesus saith unto them, Did ye never read in the scriptures, The stone which the builders rejected, the same is become the head of the corner: this is the Lord's doing, and it is marvelous in our eyes?.. And whosoever shall fall on this stone shall be broken: but on whomsoever it shall fall, it will grind him to powder" Matthew 21:42 This rejected stone of the Jews, the nation of Ishmael, would indeed come to be victorious against all comers. The Islamic nation, through the guidance of Allah, and which fought in His name, grew till it stretched from China to Spain and was victorious against all pagan superpowers (including the Persians and the Romans) of it's time. It then went on to raise science to new heights. There was not a single nation that was able to stand in the way of the Muslims who fought in the name of God and died in His cause. Both the Jews and the Christians were either subjugated by the Roman pagans or took them as allies. Jesus (pbuh), could not be this "rejected stone" because he did not fall on the Jews or the Romans and "grind them to powder," nor did they fall on him and become "broken." Quite the contrary, the Bible alleges that Jesus (pbuh) was arrested, beaten, spat on, whipped, kicked, mocked, cut, laughed at, crucified, and then sent to hell for three days. In the mean time, the Romans and Jews went back to business as usual. There is a distinct difference between saying that Jesus (pbuh) died for someone's sin and between saying he fell on nations and ground them to powder, and nations fell on him and were broken. This is the profile of a military leader and not a meek sacrificial lamb of God who tells his followers:  "Ye have heard that it hath been said, An eye for an eye, and a tooth for a tooth: But I say unto you, That ye resist not evil: but whosoever shall smite thee on thy right cheek, turn to him the other also. And if any man will sue thee at the law, and take away thy coat, let him have [thy] cloak also. And whosoever shall compel thee to go a mile, go with him twain" Matthew 5:38-41 and also "Then saith he (Jesus) unto them, Render therefore unto Caesar the things which are Caesar's; and unto God the things that are God's." Matthew 22:21 Whilem on the other hand, the Qur'an taught Muhammad (pbuh) and his followers:  "And fight against them until persecution is no more and religion is for God alone. But if they desist then let there be no hostility except against wrongdoers" Al-Bakarah(2):194. Many Christians will object "No, Jesus (pbuh) was the one intended." They will explain that the verse is not meant to be taken literally but in an abstract sense. Jesus was prophesying himself. Thus, Jesus did indeed fall on the sinners and grind them to powder and they did fall on him and become broken. In other words, matters of FAITH and not WAR are intended. This is a valid theory, so let us test it:  Those who make these claims will themselves readily acknowledge that the "son of the householder" is Jesus (pbuh) but then they go on to tell you that "the rejected stone" is also Jesus (pbuh). So: If Jesus (pbuh) is both the "son of the householder" and also "the rejected stone," then one would expect there to be some sort of hint in the text associating one with the other. For example, the text could have combined the two terms into "the rejected son." We notice that this is not the case. If the "rejected stone" is an alias for a character previously mentioned in the text, and not a completely new character, then what arguments from the Biblical text can we present that can not just as easily be applied to the other servants (prophets) who were chased away or killed, or even the "householder" (God) himself? In other words, any arguments which are presented from the text will be equally valid for any of the many other prophets who were beaten, stoned, and killed by this nation. In this parable, the first servant (prophet) was beaten and was taken out of the picture. The second was killed and was also taken out of the picture. The third was then stoned and taken out of the picture. Then the son was killed and taken out of the picture. Where does the text indicate that the "son of the householder" has come back to life while the other "servants" remain dead or chased away? Where does the text state the "son" shall come back to life but the other dead servants shall not? The goal of a parable is always to describe a matter in "real-life" terms which can be seen in our every day lives so that we can better understand the point being made. IN REAL LIFE, would we expect a dead son of a householder to come back to life and "miserably destroy" all the husbandmen who killed him, or would we expect the householder to send an army to wipe out the husbandmen who killed his son and servants? The "Householder" in this parable refers to a non-abstract God. The "servants" refer to physical prophets. The "Son of the Householder" refers to a physical Jesus (pbuh), the beating, killing, and stoning of the servants refer to a physical beating, killing, and stoning of the prophets, even the vineyard refers to a physical kingdom of God. But now, in order to make this rejected stone refer to Jesus (pbuh) we must claim that the "grinding and breaking" refer to an ABSTRACT grinding and breaking, thus Jesus (pbuh) is the one intended. Notice how the verse is made to conform to our preconceived concepts and not the other way around? If the "grinding and breaking" referred only to an other-worldly reward for all who do not believe and not an earthly defeat (followed by one in the hereafter), then why did Jesus (pbuh) use the words: "whosoever shall FALL on this stone" and not "whosoever shall REJECT this stone." This would more accurately describe acts of BELIEF and not WAR. Also, if acts of BELIEF were meant and not acts of WAR then there would be no need for "on whomever it shall FALL" otherwise it would be implied that Jesus was forcing people to disbelieve. For example, if a Jew did not believe in Moses (pbuh), would it be more accurate to say: "He REJECTED Moses" or to say "He FELL upon Moses"? If Pharaoh sent an army to kill Moses (pbuh) and the Jews, would it be more accurate to say "Pharaoh FELL upon Moses" or "Pharaoh REJECTED Moses"? These verbs were carefully chosen for a reason. Indeed, if we were to go back to the Bible itself, we would find that the term "fall on" is in fact used to convey the general meaning of "fight", or "to wage war". For example, in Judges we read: "And they said unto him, We are come down to bind thee, that we may deliver thee into the hand of the Philistines. And Samson said unto them, Swear unto me, that ye will not fall upon me yourselves." Judges 15:12 And "And the men were afraid, because they were brought into Joseph's house; and they said, Because of the money that was returned in our sacks at the first time are we brought in; that he may seek occasion against us, and fall upon us, and take us for bondmen, and our asses." Genesis 43:18 And "And they said, The God of the Hebrews hath met with us: let us go, we pray thee, three days' journey into the desert, and sacrifice unto the LORD our God; lest he fall upon us with pestilence, or with the sword." Exodus 5:3 And "Then Zebah and Zalmunna said, Rise thou, and fall upon us: for as the man is, so is his strength. And Gideon arose, and slew Zebah and Zalmunna, and took away the ornaments that were on their camels' necks." Judges 8:21 There are countless other examples, however, these should suffice. Thus, we see that the prophesy is for one who will wage war against those who killed and persecuted the prophets of God. This war against the "killers of the prophets" by this messenger of God would result in "miserably destroying" these transgressors. This prophesy was fulfilled by Muhammad (pbuh) who began by signing pacts and treaties with the Jews. However, after they reneged on their pacts and broke their promises, he fought against them, utterly destroyed them, and finally expelled them from Arabia for all time (see chapter 10).

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God did not kill Muhammad (pbuh) for speaking in His name

6.11: God did not kill Muhammad (pbuh) for speaking in His name

In Deuteronomy 18:20 we read "But the prophet, which shall presume to speak a word in my name, which I have not commanded him to speak, or that shall speak in the name of other gods, even that prophet shall die." Muhammad (pbuh) spoke not just a single word, but dictated a whole book in God's name. For twenty three years he spoke exclusively in the name of God Almighty. He was given one hundred and fourteen chapters, all of which were, and are to this day, recited day after day in God's name. Chapters in the Qur'an begin with the words "In the name of God, the Gracious, the Merciful." Yet he did not die, but lived to fulfill his message completely. He himself even narrated in the name of God a similar verse in the Qur'an: "And if he (Muhammad) had invented false sayings in Our (God's) name, We would have taken him by the right, then We would have severed from him his aorta, and there is none among you who could have held Us off from him" The noble Qur'an, al-Haaqah(69):46 (Remember that the plural form of this verse is the Arabic plural of respect, not the Christian plural of "Trinity," as seen in chapter 14). If the claims of some are true: That Muhammad (pbuh) was an impostor, then did God go to sleep for twenty three years? Of course not! He knew full well what Muhammad (pbuh) was claiming. If he was not telling the truth, why did God not kill him? Why did he allow him to perpetrate a lie that would span fourteen centuries, and eventually come to cover the globe?

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Reference to moses, Jesus, and Muhammad (pbut) in that order

6.10: Reference to moses, Jesus, and Muhammad (pbut) in that order

"And this [is] the blessing, wherewith moses the man of God blessed the children of Israel before his death. And he said, The LORD came from Sinai, and rose up from Seir unto them; he shined forth from mount Paran, and he came with ten thousands of saints: from his right hand [went] a fiery law for them." Deuteronomy 33:1 Fig. 8 The succession of the prophets of God, like the rising sun. This is a chronological succession of prophets which is narrated through reference to location (see Fig. 8). This prophesy is reported at the end of Deuteronomy in association with the story of the death of prophet Moses (pbuh). It was a blessing and glad tidings bestowed by prophet Moses upon his followers just prior to his death. It was designed to give his followers hope upon the occasion of the passing of their prophet that God is not abandoning them, rather, the best is yet to come, and He shall continue to bless mankind with His guidance and His light. Sinai is a reference to Moses (pbuh). It is an obvious reference to mount Sinai where Moses (pbuh) received his revelation (Exodus 19:20).  Seir is a reference to Jesus (pbuh). It is usually associated with the chain of mountains West and South of the Dead Sea extending through Jerusalem, and Bethlehem, the birthplace of Jesus (pbuh). It was later extended to include the mountains on the East side as well (Dictionary of the Bible, John L. McKenzie, S.J., p. 783). However, Seir is also identified with the Northern border of the tribal territory of Judah and usually with Saris near Kesla (Chesalon), barely nine miles West of these two cities (The Eerdmans Bible Dictionary, by Allen C. Myers, pp. 921-922, and The Interpreter's Dictionary of the Bible, V4, p. 262) Prophet Moses (pbuh) never in his lifetime entered Palestine, and thus, this could not be a reference to him. As we have already seen in section 6.4, Paran is a reference to the city of Makkah in the Arabian Peninsula. The wilderness of Paran is where Abraham's wife Hagar and his eldest son Ishmael settled (Genesis 21:21) in the Arabian desert, specifically, Makkah. Makkah is, of course, the capital of Islam in Arabia and the birthplace of Mohammed (pbuh). Mount Paran is the chain of mountains in that same region which the Arabs call the "Sarawat mountains". Muhammad (pbuh) received his first revelation in the cave of "Hira'a" located in these mountains (see Fig. 9). Jesus never in his life traveled to Paran. Mohammed, however, was born there. He became the prophet of Islam there. And it was the capital of the Islamic religion in that day and this. No prophet of the Bible ever came from the Arabian city of Paran (Makkah). Prophet Muhammad (pbuh) is the only prophet of God who has ever fulfilled this prophesy.  We also read in verse 33:2 that a fiery law shall issue forth from the right hand of the prophet from Paran. Muhammad (pbuh) did indeed come with a new law called the Shari'ah. The reference to "right" hand is a reference to strength, justice, and guidance. In Islam, all clean and desirable actions are performed with the "right" hand (eating, shaking hands, etc.), while all other actions are done with the left hand (washing one's private parts, picking up garbage, etc.). In the Qur'an, the good are described on the Day of Judgment as receiving their book of deeds in their "right" hands, while the wicked receive theirs in their "left" hand. This can be seen for example in Al-Haqah(69):13-37. This general attitude is also conveyed in the Bible. We read: "Biblical phrases referring to the right hand reflect a widespread human cultural attitude, namely the recognition that for most people the right hand is both stronger and more adept than the left, and is the hand with which many tasks are instinctively undertaken ... Eccl. 10:2 links 'a wise man's heart' with his right hand, and 'a fool's heart' with his left. When the Son of Man separates the sheep from the goats at the Last Judgment, it is to the damned 'on the left hand' that he says, 'Depart from me, ye cursed, into everlasting fire' (Matt. 25:41) ...The right hand is often mentioned as a symbol of strength, both for human beings and anthropomophically for God (e.g. Job 40:14; Isa. 48:13)" A Dictionary of Biblical Tradition In English Literature, David Lyle Jeffrey, p. 442. This fiery law that shall issue from the right hand of the prophet from Paran will be a new law for the children of Israel and not the same one they had been practicing in the time of Moses (pbuh) and later. This is held out by simple logic; if I already own something, then I can not say that my neighbor shall bring "for me" this same "something" which I already own. In such a case, he would have "brought" nothing and it would have been more logical to say he would "confirm" the preexistent law. No prophet of the Bible ever in his lifetime either came from Paran or preached the replacement of the law of Moses (pbuh). Even Jesus (pbuh) came to confirm and reinforce the law of Moses (Matthew 5:17-19), as explained in detail in chapter one. Muhammad (pbuh) is the only prophet of God who fulfilled both of these requirements. However, if we look closely, we will find that the prophesy contains one more requirement. It tells us that this prophet from Paran who will bring a fiery new law shall come with 10,000 saints. Once again, two years before the death of prophet Muhammad (pbuh), in the year 630 AD, he lead 10,000 of his followers to their final and decisive victory against the pagans of Makkah (see chapter 10). This was one of the most bloodless victories of all history. The Muslims took control of Makkah, the capital of paganistic Arabia, virtually without a single casualty. Upon entering Makkah victorious, Muhammad did not take it's inhabitants as prisoners. Even though these people had been torturing himself and his companions, and killing many of them over many years, still, Muhammad commanded that they not be tortured, nor should retribution be sought against them. Rather, he pardoned them all and set them free. Most of them entered into Islam. Once again, we find that prophet Moses (pbuh) was appointed seventy very close and devout followers (Exodus 24:1-9, Numbers 11:16-25). Jesus (pbuh) was appointed eleven very close and devout followers (if we were to exclude Judas), as seen in Matthew 10:1-5, Mark 3:14-19, etc. Prophet Muhammad, once again, was the only one to fulfill this requirement. Mr. Kais Al-Kalbi asks the question:  "When this verse Deut 33:2 was translated from Hebrew to English, the phrase '10,000 saints10,000 saints' was kept the same. But when this verse was translated from Hebrew to Arabic, the phrase '10,000 saints' was intentionally changed to 'holy valley', why?" Prophet Muhammad the last messenger in the Bible, third edition, Kais Al-Kalbi, pp. 231-232. The wording also bears out this chronological succession of prophets. Came: daybreak and the arrival of the sun in the morning. Rose up: like the light of dawn. Shined forth: Mid-day sun which lights up the Earth from East to West. Islam has indeed come to shine all over the earth as the mid-day sun. It is estimated to have 1.2 billion adherents throughout the globe, and according to Western sources, it is said to be the fastest growing religion in the world today.  "This day have I (God) perfected your religion for you, completed My favor upon you, and have chosen for you Islam as your religion." The noble Qur'an, Al-Maidah(5):3

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Legitimacy of Hagar and Ishmael p2

6.8: Legitimacy of Hagar and Ishmael p2

Abraham was eighty six years old when Ishmael was born (Genesis 16:16). When Abraham reached ninety-nine years of age, Ishmael was thirteen years old and remained the only son of Abraham. Now, God promises to establish his covenant with all of Abraham's "seed" without exception:  "And I will establish my covenant between me and thee and thy seed after thee in their generations for an everlasting covenant, to be a God unto thee, and to thy seed after thee. And I will give unto thee, and to thy seed after thee, the land wherein thou art a stranger, all the land of Canaan, for an everlasting possession; and I will be their God.." Genesis 17:7-8.  God now informs Abraham that his covenant shall be given through circumcision, so Abraham immediately circumcises himself and Ishmael, the father of the Arabs (Genesis 17:23), thus establishing God's covenant with Ishmael. The significance of circumcision was also noted by Biblical scholars as being not merely an external act:  "This was His own sign and seal that Israel was a chosen people. Through it a man's life was linked with great fellowship whose dignity was it's high consciousness that it must fulfill the purpose of God" Interpreter's Bible, p. 613 To this day, all Muslims practice circumcision. The "sign and seal" (Romans 4:11) of the Abrahamic covenant.  We notice that God's covenant was promised to be with Abraham's "seed." But if we read Genesis 21:13 we will find that Ishmael is Abraham's "seed":  "And also of the son of the bondwoman......he is thy seed." The same arguments can be made for God's covenant with Abraham  "the Lord made a covenant with Abram, saying, Unto thy seed have I given this land, from the river of Egypt unto the great river, the river Euphrates." Genesis 15:18 As we can see, this covenant was intended to be of the same generality as God's covenants with Noah (Genesis 9:8-17), and David (2 Samuel 7; 23:5). God's covenant was intended to be a covenant with those who are obedient to Him and follow his command, not a covenant that makes a certain group of people genetically superior and closer to God even from before their birth, such that they are his "chosen children," and God's prophethood and message can only come from their lineage.  When Abraham reached one hundred years of age, God blessed him with a second son, Isaac (Genesis 21:5). Isaac was born to him through his first wife, Sarah. The Bible tells us that because of Sarah's jealousy that Ishmael may inherit with her own son Isaac (Genesis 21:10), she had Abraham cast out Hagar and Ishmael and send them to the wilderness of "Paran" (genesis 21:21). We are told that she was particularly angry with what she considered to be a mockery on the part of Ishmael towards her own son Isaac. This incident is alleged to have occurred after Isaac was weaned (remember this) as narrated in Genesis 21:8. Sarah now allegedly ordered Abraham to cast Hagar and Ishmael out, (apparently, in Abraham's tribe, children who mock their brothers and sisters are to be thrown out in the nearest desert along with their mothers) Abraham obeyed Sarah and cast the "bondwoman" and her son in the desert and was blessed by God who told him to "hearken unto her voice." Abraham gave Hagar provisions and water and put her child "Ishmael" upon her shoulder and left them in the wilderness of Beer Sheba in Southern Palestine. When they ran out of water, an angel appeared and conveyed to her the words of God: "Arise, lift up the lad, and hold him in thine hand; for I will make him a great nation." God then showed her a well of water and they drank. Ishmael dwelt in the wilderness of "Paran" and begat twelve sons one of whom was called "Kedar." As mentioned in 6.4, the Arabic form of the word Paran is Faran or Pharan. It means "two who migrated." It appears that the place took it's name from Hagar and Ishmael who came there as two refugees. We, as Muslims, have a very similar narration of the same sequence of events in the Qur'an. However, in the Qur'an, the details differ from the narration of the Old Testament. Muslims respect Abraham, Sarah, Hagar, Isaac, and Ishmael (pbut) as very decent, moral and pious people. Muslims believe that the prophet Abraham (pbuh) received a revelation from God to take Hagar and her BABY, Ishmael, to a barren desert in Northern Arabia (Paran), more specifically to the future location of Makkah, and to leave them there. When Abraham began to leave, Hagar called out to him "where are you leaving us?" After repeating the question three times she asked him "Did God command you to do this?" Abraham answered "yes." So Hagar said: "Then He will not forsake us." When Hagar and her baby ran out of water she began to fear for her baby's life and took to running back and forth between the two hills of "Al-Safa" and "Al-Marwa" in search of water. Meanwhile, God sent an angel who caused water to gush out of the earth for them. This became the water of the well of "Zamzam" which the pilgrims of Makkah drink from today. Once water was found in this place the Bedouins began to settle there and it became the city of Makkah. Centuries later, Muhammad (pbuh), the prophet of Islam, was born to the descendants of Ishmael. The rites of hastening between the two hills of "Al-Safa" and "Al-Marwa" have been preserved in the Muslim's yearly pilgrimage to Makkah even to this day. The major differences in the Biblical and the Qur'anic narrations are that the OT claim that Hagar was (originally) left in Beer Sheba and not Paran as stated by the Muslims, and that this occurred when Ishmael was not a baby, but a fully grown teenager. This Old Testament narration can be found to contain obvious modifications from the following analysis: According to the Bible, Abraham was eighty six years old when Ishmael was born (Genesis 16:16). He was one hundred years old when Isaac was born (Genesis 21:5). This makes Ishmael fourteen years older than Isaac. The above expulsion of Ishmael and his mother is alleged to have occurred after Isaac was weaned (Genesis 21:8). Muslims wean their children after two years. Biblical scholars tell us that babies were weaned about the age of three. This makes Ishmael at least seventeen years old at the time of the alleged mockery and expulsion. The profile of Ishmael in Genesis 21:14-19 however, is one of a small baby and not that of a full grown teenager of seventeen years. Let us study it. 1) According to the New Revised Standard Version of the Bible which was compiled from manuscripts more ancient than those of the King James Version of the Bible, the verse of Genesis 21:14 reads "..putting [it] on her shoulder, along with the child." Did Abraham put a seventeen year old boy on Hagar's shoulder? It would be more logical for him to put Hagar on Ishmael's shoulder if he were, as claimed, seventeen years old at the time. So Ishmael must have been a baby at the time. 2) In Genesis 21:15 we read "and she cast the child under one of the shrubs." Did Hagar "cast" a seventeen year old teenager under a shrub? This too is consistent with a baby and not a full-grown teenager.  3) We read in Genesis 21:16 that Hagar sat far away from Ishmael so as not to see him die before her own eyes. Is this the profile of a full-grown teenager who should, more appropriately be worried about his mother or of a helpless baby? 4) In Genesis 21:17 we read the angel's command to Hagar: "Arise, lift up the lad, and hold him in thine hand;" Who would be more capable of lifting the other up, Hagar or her seventeen year old teenage son? This too is the profile of a little baby. 5) Throughout this story we are drawn a picture of Hagar doing this, and Hagar doing that, and Hagar worrying, and Hagar weeping, and so on while Ishmael sits where he was "cast," under the shrub. Would a full grown teenager of seventeen sit under a shrub and wait for his mother and himself to die while his mother looked for water for him, or would he have her sit in the shade while he went in search of water? 6) Even the angel did not address both of them but only Hagar, the only one who would understand. Once again the profile of a baby and not a seventeen year old teenager.  7) Ishmael is always referred to as "the child" and "the lad" in the story. Do people usually refer to seventeen year old teenagers as "child" and "lad"? 8) In Genesis 21:20 we read that after this incident, "God was with the lad; and he grew, and dwelt in the wilderness, and became an archer."Is this a profile of a fully developed teenager or a child who is growing up, learning, and developing? The above analysis clearly exhibits evidence of human modification to the text of this story. The claim that Ishmael mocked Isaac and that this had anything to do with Hagar's journey is an obvious fabrication since Isaac was not even born yet when this story occurred (Ishmael was still a baby). The reason for Hagar's journey was not Sarah's jealousy, Ishmael's mockery, or the racial superiority of Sarah. It was only the command of God, pure and simple. In an effort to keep all prophets of God Israelites, even God himself is alleged to have submitted to, and even blessed the alleged jealous whims of Sarah. Further, if such elaborate additions to the story could be inserted into the text, then how much simpler to change the original journey to Paran to take a detour into Beer Sheba. The Interpreter's Bible compares the texts of Genesis 21:14-19 with Genesis 16:1-16 and draws the following conclusion:  "The inclusion in Genesis of both stories so nearly alike and yet sufficiently different to be inconsistent, is one of the many instances of the reluctance of the compilers to sacrifice any of the traditions which has become established in Israel."  As damaging and conclusive as this proof of the modification of the Old Testament is, still, it pales to insignificance before the much more devastating proof of this same fact to be found in section 2.3. Someone may now object: well then, the verses stating Abraham's age must be the ones which have been (unintentionally) modified. This is a valid theory, however, the problem with this theory is that first of all, these numbers were spelled out in letters and not written using numerals. Second, the transmitters of the Old Testament (the Jews) claim that every word and every letter was faithfully counted and preserved and thus, they can confidently claim that it would be impossible for unintentional errors to creep in, even by accident.  We also notice that even in the New Revised Standard version of the Bible, Genesis 16:16 and 21:5 state the same ages mentioned above. Is this not proof of the Qur'an's claim that the previous books of God were tampered with by the hands of the unscrupulous few? It now becomes evident that sometime after God sent down the Old Testament, someone decided that they did not want the Arab descendants of Ishmael to be included in God's covenant with Abraham. They wanted it exclusive to the Jewish branch of his descendants. Therefore, the Old Testament was "corrected" in order to show that God's intent was that His covenant be with the Jews only. Now that we see that the original covenant of God was with all of the children of Abraham (pbuh) without exception, then we are left with another question: The Bible describes in great detail the fulfillment of God's promise to Abraham through Isaac which was fulfilled in Jacob, Joseph, Moses, David, Solomon, and Jesus (pbut). But what of his promise to Abraham through Ishmael? God does not renege on his promises, so how was it fulfilled? The Bible is, for the most part, silent about the promise to the Ishmaelites. Why? Because just as Jesus (pbuh), during the time of the Old Testament had not yet come and there were only prophesies of his coming containing unmistakable signs but no detailed stories of his life, in the same manner, both the Old and New Testament contain unmistakable prophesies of Muhammad (pbuh) but no in-depth analyses and stories. The Interpreter's Bible admits that the Ishmaelites and other descendants of Abraham were "somehow participating in the Abrahamic covenant" (page 616). The coming of Muhammad (pbuh), the descendant of Ishmael, is the fulfillment of this promise. Some people will claim that even though Ishmael was Abraham's "seed," still, "seed" is a lesser designation than "son," and only Isaac was Abraham's "son." However, the Bible also bears witness to the fact that Ishmael was Abraham's "son":  "And Abraham took Ishmael his son." Genesis 17:23 Not only that, but the Bible tells us that Ishmael remained the legitimate son of Abraham until even after his death,  "Then Abraham gave up the ghost, and died in a good old age, an old man, and full [of years]; and was gathered to his people. And his sonsIsaac and Ishmael buried him in the cave of Machpelah" Genesis 25:8-9 So was Ishmael a lesser "son" than Isaac because Isaac's mother was Abraham's wife while Hagar was not? Once again, let us read the Bible:  "And Sarai Abram's wife took Hagar her maid....and gave her to her husband Abram to be his wife.." Genesis 16:3 So the Bible also bears witness that Hagar was Abraham's legitimate wife. In fact, if this were not the case then we would be labeling prophet Abraham an adulterer. A serious accusation indeed. Once the legitimacy of Hagar as Abraham's wife and Ishmael as his son has been established, now the objection of many becomes that Isaacwas a better and truer son of Abraham because he was the son of the free woman not the bondwoman. However, this claim is not supported by the law of the Old Testament. According to this law, the first born son was to have double portions of honor, and even inheritance, and this right could not be affected by the status of his mother.  "If a man have two wives, one beloved, and another hated, and they have born him children, [both] the beloved and the hated; and [if] the firstborn son be hers that was hated: Then it shall be, when he maketh his sons to inherit [that] which he hath, [that] he may not make the son of the beloved firstborn before the son of the hated, [which is indeed] the firstborn: But he shall acknowledge the son of the hated [for] the firstborn, by giving him a double portion of all that he hath: for he [is] the beginning of his strength; the right of the firstborn [is] his." Deuteronomy 21:15-17 In the same Interpreter's Bible we read the following comment on the above verses: "However, the law of the first-born had ancient sanction, and so long as it was accepted justice demanded that mere favoritism not be allowed to deprive the eldest son of his rights."  The Dictionary of the Bible says: "However deeply rooted [polygany] was before the exile may be seen from the parable of Ezk. 23, which represents Yahweh as the husband of two wives. The law of Dt 21:15-17 which is parallel to several Mesopotamian laws, protects the 'hated' wife and her children especially if she has borne the firstborn son (hated here means less loved)..." The Dictionary of the Bible, John McKenzie, S. J., Collier books, p. 549 Abraham was eighty six years old (Genesis 16:16) when Ishmael was born and was one hundred years old (Genesis 21:5), when he was blessed with a second son, Isaac (pbuh). So Isaac was fourteen years younger than his older brother Ishmael, the first-born son of Abraham. It should further be noted here that a similar occurrence is narrated in the Old Testament regarding a slave girl named Ruth and a landowner named Boaz (Ruth, chapters 3 and 4). Ruth, a widowed slave girl, was married to Boaz and gave him a son named Obed. Obed went on to become the founder of the royal line of Jews who, according to the Old and New Testament, were the ancestors of both King David and Jesus Christ peace be upon them both (for example Matthew 1:5-16). Not only that, but according to the same Old Testament, Ruth was a Moabitess (Ruth 2:2). Moabite women, according to the Old Testament, were women used to lure Israelite men into immorality and the worship of the pagan god Baal (for a related story, please read section 5.2). So, if a slave woman of a nation of such ill repute among the Jews as the Moabites is given legitimacy among the Jews and can even go on to become the ancestor and mother of their greatest prophets and leaders and indeed Jesus Christ (pbuh) himself, then why is a whole branch of prophet Abraham's children cast off simply because their mother too was a slave girl? Further, it is well known that fully six of the tribes of Israel trace their ancestry through the second wife of Jacob (Israel), Rachel, and two of his concubines, Bilhah, and Zilpah. Nowhere in the Bible is it mentioned that these six tribes are disqualified from God's covenant simply because their mother was the "second" wife of Jacob or one of his concubines. Jacob M. Myers, a professor at the Lutheran Theological Seminary and a contributor to Interpreter's Dictionary of the Bible, is a well recognized leading expert on the Old Testament. In his book Invitation to The Old Testament (pp. 26) he states the following regarding the Nuzi laws of marriage of Abraham's (pbuh) time: "Archaeological discoveries help us to fill in the details of the biblical narrative and to explain many of the otherwise obscure references and strange customs that were commonplace in Abraham's world and time...... A Nuzi marriage contract provides that a childless wife may take a woman of the country and marry her to her husband to obtain progeny But she may not drive out the offspring even if she later has children of her own. The child born of the handmaid has the same status as the one born to the wife. That is why, when Sarah wanted to drive out Hagarand Ishmael, it was quite objectionable to Abraham -because of the legal custom of the religion from which he came, he was reluctant to do so. It required a special divine dispensation to act contrary to that custom." We have already seen how the "special divine dispensation" was a forgery.  Further, while Ishmael was the first begotten son of Abraham, we notice that Obed was the tenth grandson of Abraham (The Old and New Testament genealogies differ in the actual names). So, if Obed is given such legitimacy in the Old Testament as being a legitimate father in their most royal line, even though he is the son of a bondwoman, then Ishamel's claim to this legitimacy is much older and more pronounced. Once Ishmael has been proven to be a legitimate son of Abraham and not only equal to Isaac, but according to the law of the Jews, deserving of double the portion of honor and inheritance allotted to Isaac, then the final objection becomes that Isaac was specifically chosen to be the child of promise. In A Dictionary of Biblical tradition in English literature, we read:  "St. Augustine, in De civitate Dei (15.2), equates Ishmael "born in the course of nature," with the flesh and Isaac, "born in fulfillment of a promise" with the spirit. For Augustine, Ishmael exists outside the realm of God's grace; for this reason, and because of their enforced wanderings in the desert, he associates Ishmael and Hagar with Cain." As we have already seen, God's covenant was with the "seed" of Abraham (pbuh), among whom was Ishmael. Secondly, there are many verses which specifically single out Ishmael for God's blessing. After the birth of Ishmael and before the birth of Isaac, God repeats his promise to Abraham to bless all the earth through his progeny.  "As for me, behold, my covenant [is] with thee, and thou shalt be a father of many nations." Genesis 17:4 Also, "And also of the son of the bondwoman (Hagar) will I make a nation, because he [is] thy seed. ......... I will make him a great nation." Genesis 21:13 So, not only is Ishmael a legitimate son of Abraham, but God Almighty promised to bless Ishmael's descendants just as he would in the future promise to bless Isaac's descendants. Further, God's covenant of circumcision with Abraham was fulfilled in Ishmael long before the birth of Isaac. As has already been demonstrated in chapters one and two, the Bible has been modified extensively over the ages to the point that even conservative scholars now admit that it's ancient copies contain many thousands of "variant readings" between one-another. Many examples have been presented. As seen in chapter two, thirty two conservative Biblical scholars backed by fifty cooperating denominations bore witness to the "many" and "serious" errors contained in the current King James Bible. Even the original ancient manuscripts themselves contain many differences and conflictions. Whole passages show up in some "ancient manuscripts" while being completely missing from older ones. Even geographical locations are changed from one ancient copy to the next. All Bibles in existence today are the result of very extensive cutting and pasting from these various manuscripts with no single ancient copy being the definitive reference. Even at that, all Bibles in existence today still contain countless examples of very serious contradictions of founding Christian doctrine (see chapter two, and also chapter one). In the Interpreter's Bible we read:  "Many Israelites did not want a God who would be equally the God of all nations on the Earth. They did not want one who would be impartial Holiness. They wanted a God who would be partial to them. So we read in Deuteronomy of the demands for a complete extermination of all non-Israelite people of Palestine (Deuteronomy 7:2) and as to the carrying out of that injunction read the harsh sentences of Deuteronomy 20:10-17." Is it possible, in light of the overwhelming evidence beginning to come to light of the modification of the Old Testament, that the transmitters of this book (Genesis) made certain modifications to favor their own people? We have already seen the evidence.  Such verses as Genesis 17:21 and Genesis 21:21 do not exclude Ishmael from God's covenant as some claim. The example of this is one who says: "I love my parents" and then a few days later says "I love my mother." Does this mean that he does not love his father? Since God had already consecrated his covenant between Abraham and his son Ishmael years before the birth of Isaac, and Abraham had already circumcised Ishmael so that he might receive God's covenant, therefore, it was necessary to reaffirm that Isaac was not left out of this covenant even though it was established after the birth of Ishmael but before his own birth. Many people point to the verse of Genesis 22:2 as proof that Isaac was the only legitimate son of Abraham. We read:  "And he (God) said, Take now thy son, thine only [son] Isaac, whom thou lovest, and get thee into the land of Moriah; and offer him there for a burnt offering upon one of the mountains which I will tell thee of." Genesis 22:2 What is going on here? On the one hand we have verses such as Genesis 16:15, Genesis 17:23, Genesis 17:25, Genesis 17:26, and Genesis 25:9...etc. which clearly confirm the fact that not only was Ishmael the first born son of Abraham and a legitimate son, but he remained so until the day Abraham died and was buried. On the other hand we have Genesis 22:2 which claims that Isaac, Abraham's second son is the only son of Abraham. To understand this we need to go back to the Qur'anic version of this story. In the Qur'an we are told that Abraham (pbuh) was deprived children until his old age whereupon he was given Ishmael, his first born son. Up until this point the Qur'an and the Old Testament are in agreement. It stands to reason that after having been deprived an heir for so long Abraham would become extremely attached to his only begotten son Ishmael. For all he knew then he very likely might not be blessed with any more children before his death. We are now told in the Qur'an that Allah (God) Almighty decided to test Abraham's faith. He therefore decided to set up a test for Abraham in the one thing which he held most dear to his heart in all of this world: His only son. When Ishmael reached the age of striving, God Almighty showed Abraham a vision wherein he was to sacrifice his only son Ishmael to God. Abraham went to Ishmael and asked his opinion on this matter. This was not an attempt by Abraham to escape the command of God, but only an attempt to better prepare his son. Ishmael replied to his father: "O my father, Do as you are commanded. You shall, by Allah's will, find me to be among the patient." We are told that the devil then came to Abraham, Hagar, and Ishmael in turn trying to convince each one to disobey the command of Allah. Each one in turn did not respond to him and cast stones at him till they drove him away. This act is also preserved to this day in the Muslim pilgrimage to Makkah in the symbolic act of stoning the three pillars called the "jamarat."  Abraham took his son Ishmael and placed him on the ground facing down so that he would not have to look at him. Just when he was about to sacrifice Ishmael God sent an angel to Abraham to stop him and to provide him with a ram as an alternate sacrifice in place of his son as a reward for his sincere intentions. He then further rewarded Abraham with Isaac, a great and pious prophet as a second son. This story can be found in the Qur'an. Abraham prayed: "My Lord! grant me (a son) of the righteous. So We gave him tidings of a gentle son(Ishmael). And when he was old enough to strive with him, he said: O my dear son, I have seen in a dream that I must sacrifice you. So look, what do you think? He said: O my father! Do that which you are commanded. Allah willing, you shall find me of the steadfast. Then, when they had both surrendered (to Allah), and he had placed him upon his forehead, We called unto him: O Abraham: You have (already) fulfilled the vision. Lo! thus do We reward the good. Lo! that verily was a clear test. Then We ransomed him with a tremendous victim. And We left for him among the later folk (the salutation):'Peace be unto Abraham!' Thus do We reward the good. Lo! he is one of Our believing slaves. And We gave him tidings of the birth of Isaac, a Prophet of the righteous. And We blessed him and Isaac. And of their seed are some who do good, and some who plainly wrong themselves. And We verily gave grace unto moses and Aaron, And saved them and their people from the great distress, And helped them so that they became the victors. And We gave them the clear Scripture And showed them the right path. And We left for them, among the later folk (the salutation): 'Peace be unto Moses and Aaron!' Lo! thus do We reward the good. Lo! they are two of our believing slaves." The noble Qur'an in Al-Safat(37): 100-113 We notice that the major difference in the Qur'anic and Biblical versions is that the Qur'an affirms that it was Ishmael (The father of the Arabs) who was to be sacrificed, while the Old Testament claims that Isaac (The father of the Jews) was the one to be sacrificed. However, if we study the verse of Genesis 22:2 we will find the words "thy son, thine only [son]." Isaac was never Abraham's only son. As we have seen, Ishmael was born before Isaac and remained (according to the testimony of the Bible) the legitimate son of Abraham until AFTER his death. As we have already proven, the story of God's command to cast out Ishmael and his mother due to Ishmael's alleged mockery is a fabrication. The only son of Abraham who was ever Abraham's "only" son was Ishmael. This was during the fourteen year period after the birth of Ishmael but before the birth of Isaac. Notice how by changing this one word from "Ishmael" to "Isaac" an entire branch of Abraham's descendants (the Arabs) are conveniently excluded from God's covenant and it becomes exclusive to the Jews? Once Ishmael is reinstated as the one mentioned in Genesis 22:2 then the stories in the Bible begin to make sense once again.  In Encyclopedia Judica Jerusalem, volume 9, under the heading "Ishmael," we read:  "It is related that a renowned traditionalist of Jewish origin, from Qurayza tribe and another Jewish scholar who converted to Islam, told Caliph Omar ibn 'Abd al-'Aziz (717-20) that the Jews were well informed that Ismail (Ishmael) was the one who was bound, but they concealed this out of jealousy."  "Verily, those who conceal that which Allah has sent down of the Book and purchase a small gain therewith, they eat into their bellies nothing but fire. Allah will not speak to them on the Day of Resurrection, nor will He purify them, and theirs will be a painful torment." The noble Qur'an, Al-Baqarah(2):174 "And (remember) when Abraham and Ishmael were raising the foundations of the House (the Ka'aba in Makkah), (praying): Our Lord! Accept from us (this service). Verily! You, only You, are the Hearer, the Knower. Our Lord! And make us submissive unto You and of our offspring a nation submissive unto You, and show us our ways of worship, and relent toward us. Verily! You, only You, are the Relenting, the Merciful. Our Lord! And send among them a messenger from among them who shall recite unto them Your verses, and shall instruct them in the Book and in wisdom and shall purify them. Verily! You, only You, are the Mighty, the Wise. And who desires other than the path of Abraham except he who befools himself? Truly, We chose him in this world, and Verily! In the Hereafter he shall be among the righteous. When his Lord said unto him: Surrender! (literally: Be a 'Muslim') he said: I have surrendered (Literally: I have become a 'Muslim') to the Lord of creation. The same did Abraham enjoin upon his sons, and also Jacob, (saying): O my sons! Verily! Allah hath chosen for you the (true) religion; therefore die not save as men who have surrendered (Literally: Have become 'Muslims'). Or were you witnesses when death came to Jacob? When he said unto his sons: What will you worship after me? They said: We shall worship your God and the God of your fathers, Abraham and Ishmael and Isaac, One God, and unto Him we have surrendered. That was a nation which has passed away. They shall receive the reward of that which they earned, and you of what you earned. And you will not be asked of what they used to do. And they say: Be Jews or Christians, then you will be rightly guided. Say: Nay, rather the religion of Abraham, the upright, and he did not associate partners (with Allah). Say: We believe in Allah and that which was revealed unto us and that which was revealed unto Abraham, and Ishmael, and Isaac, and Jacob, and the twelve sons of Jacob, and that which was given to Moses and Jesus, and that which the Prophets received from their Lord. We make no distinction between any of them, and unto Him we have surrendered. And if they believe in the like of that which you believe, then they are rightly guided. But if they turn away, then they are in discord, and Allah will suffice you against them. He is the Hearer, the Knower. The religion of Allah!, and which religion can be better than Allah's? and we are His worshippers. Say (unto the People of the Scripture): Do you dispute with us concerning Allah when He is our Lord and your Lord? Ours are our works and yours your works. And we are sincere in worship to Him(alone). Or do you say that Abraham, and Ishmael, and Isaac, and Jacob, and the sons of Jacob were Jews or Christians? Say: Do you know best, or does Allah? And who is more unjust than he who hides the testimony which he has from Allah? And Allah is not unaware of what you do. That was a nation which has passed away. They shall receive the reward of that which they earned, and you of what you earned. And you will not be asked of what they used to do." The noble Qur'an, Al-Baqarah(2):127-141

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