Questions Against ISLAM

Bismillah Rahman Raheem - Salam alaykum,

When anyone brings harsh questions or attacks against Islam, there is a formual we have come up with to help provide the best answers and at the same time give the opporunity for the one asking the questions to come to know real Islam and if they like it, to enter Islam.

We begin by saying to them: “Thank you for asking me about my religion”

This will take away the bad feelings usually coming with these kinds of questions or attacks.

Then we will tell them: “In Islam we have two very important things – 1. Truth and 2. Proof.

We as Muslims, are not allowed to lie about Islam under any conditions, at the risk of going to Hell if we do.

Second, we do have the absolute proof because everything related to the Quran and the teachings of Muhammad, peace be upon him, is well preserved and cannot be changed. Authentication is actually a part of studying Islam.

And while we are answering your question, if you find something that you like better than the beliefs you currently hold, are you going to be in a position to act upon what you find to be better? Can you see yourself moving to what is better and what is true?

Finally, there are some questions, like so many of similar ones, that contain false information in the question itself and we should not attempt to address these issues until they are corrected. Otherwise, the person answering might confuse the issue even more. A number of the following questions fall into this category.

The questioner wrote in bold, red letters. I will provide my answers in blue color and ask my comments and even questions for you after each answer.

I will be offering our questions at the end of each of the questions offered to us.

First, he begins with a disguised threat, saying:

Question that may destroy your faith.

* By the way, questions don't destroy the faith of believers - But the lack of truthful answers could certainly shake a person's faith.

Answer these questions please and i'll give you all my respect. Answer them with all your knowledge and truth.  Thank you.

* I will try to find the proper answer to your questions. And whether or not you decide to answer my questions, I will still give you respect. I only ask you to say what you know to be true and offer proof for your statements.

1-Muslims claim that the New Testament story of Jesus dying on the cross is a corruption of the truth and that Allah made it appear that Jesus died on the cross, as per Q4:157. My question is: How can Muslims claim that they believe any of the New Testament was originally revealed by God, since the corruption must have begun at the cross.

* Muslims do not claim to believe in your Bible in English, whether the 1511 version of William Tyndale, the 1560 Geneva Bible, the English Authorized Version of 1611, or the American version called the King James Version, or the 1899 Douay-Rheims American Edition, or the English Standar version, or the Holman Christian Standard Bible, or the Lexham English Bible, or the New American Standard Bible, or the New Century Version, the International Version of 1984, or the NEW King James Version, the New Life Version, Worldwide English (New Testament), the Wycliffe Bible (is this the 1528 version?) or any of the other many translations to any languages.

We only claim to believe in the original revelation that came from the Almighty God to His prophets like Abraham, Moses, David, Solomon, Jesus and others, peace be upon them all.

2-Muslims believe that the whole concept of blood atonement is an invention of the Christian church. My question is: What were the Jews doing since 1500 BC on the "day of atonement".

* Muslims do not worry about the mistakes of Jews or Christians in their religions. The only atonement ever accepted by Allah, was sincere repentance to Almighty God, asking to be forgiven and refraining from doing the same thing again. Salvation in Islam is all about worshiping God, Alone without partners, and praying to Him and asking Him for forgiveness.
Question: Who told you Muslims are concerned over where the idea of "blood atonement" came from?

3-If the death of Yeshua was useless, why does the Al-quran talks about killing yourself in the name of Allah to bring blessings to the soul and family?

* Could you tell us where you have anything remotely using the terms and words you have offered here? Where does it say in Quran to "kill yourself" in the Name of Allah (or anyone else for that matter)? And where is there anything about killing to bring blessings to the soul and family?

Question: Here you are saying "Yeshua"  instead of "Jesus" or as we say in Arabic, "Essa". Why did you refer to this Hebrew name, instead of the common English term?

4-The Koran says in 4:157, that God causes someone who looked like Jesus to die on the cross in his place, therefore tricking the apostles of Christ into thinking he was crucified. Apostle John wrote in1 John 1:1 concerning the crucifixion: "What we have heard, what we have seen with our eyes, what we have looked at and touched with our hands, concerning the Word of Life". My question is: Was not John accurately reporting the things he actually saw, things that Allah made appear to happen?

* No where in Quran or teachings of Muhammad, peace be upon him, is there anything making the claims you have offered here. Here is a translation of the verse you quote (or misquote?).

156. And because of their disbelief and uttering against Maryam a grave false charge (fornication). 157. And because of their saying, "We killed Al-Masih `Isa, son of Maryam, the Messenger of Allah,'' but they killed him not, nor crucified him, but it appeared as that to them, and those who differ therein are full of doubts. They have no (certain) knowledge, they follow nothing but conjecture. For surely; they killed him not. 158. But Allah raised him up unto Himself. And Allah is Ever All-Powerful, All-Wise. 159. And there is none of the People of the Scripture, but must believe in him, before his death. And on the Day of Resurrection, he will be a witness against them.

Question: Did you know the book of John was actually written very long after Jesus, peace be upon him, and even long after Paul?

5-Muslims quote George Bernard Shaw who said, "The Bible is the most dangerous book in the world, keep it lock and keyed." My question is: What value is there for you to quote an atheist like Shaw who also said: "There is not one single established religion that an intelligent, educated man can believe." (George Bernard Shaw quoted in "2000 Years of Disbelief, Famous People with the Courage to Doubt", by James A. Haught, Prometheus Books, 1996) Shaw also said: "The fact that a believer is happier than a skeptic is no more to the point than the fact that a drunken man is happier than a sober one. The happiness of credulity is a cheap and dangerous quality. (George Bernard Shaw, Androcles and the Lion, Preface, 1916).

* Muslims are not all that concerned with what George Bernard Shaw said, or whether or not he was an atheist (or more likely an agnostic), or if he was a drunk or as sober as a judge.
Question: Did you know George Bernard Shaw, famous author and non-Muslim said about Muhammad, peace be upon him:

"He must be called the Savior of Humanity. I believe that if a man like him were to assume the dictatorship of the modern world, he would succeed in solving its problems in a way that would bring it much needed peace and happiness."

[The Genuine Islam, Singapore, Vol. 1, No. 8, 1936]

http://prophetofislam.com/what_do_others_say.php

6-Muslims claim that the heading at the beginning of the four gospels "Gospel according to John", for example indicated the words came from John alone and prove the Bible to be a book of human authorship? In fact, that this text, like chapter and verse numbers, was added much later and are not part of the Bible? My question is: where did you learn that this text was part of the Bible?

* This question assumes all Muslims are concerned with the names of the Gospels. This is not true. Muslims believe in the original revelation of the books that came to the prophets themselves, not the words that came from men later on.

Questions for our Christian friend, The first three gospels are called synoptic because they follow the same synopsis. The book you mention here, does not follow that type of synopsis. Why? And exactly who was John? Is this the same John of the epistles; John 1, John 2 and John 3?

Also, did you know the gospels did not originally have names of men, but were first given letters like "J", "Q" and so on?

7-Muslims claim that Muhammad always worshipped Allah in a 100% correct way, without the need for any restoral. My question is: If this is true, then why did Muhammad pray towards Jerusalem for the first 5 years of his prophethood, and later redirected his prays towards Mecca? And did Jesus pray towards Mecca 5 times a towards Jerusalem or Mecca?

* This is really an amazing chance for Muslims to learn something very important about the history of the qibla. Actually, according to Jewish tradition Adam put his head down in repentance to Almighty God on the location where the Kabbah is in Makkah. This was the first place of worship and was the qibla for Adam. Later, it was changed to Jerusalem and finally with the last and final messenger of Allah, Muhammad, peace be upon him, it was restored back to the first Qibla.

Mistakes in the question indicate this person really didn't do any homework on this one at all. The direction (qibla) for the early Muslims was toward Jerusalem for the first 12 or so years (not 5 years) and after moving to Madina many Jews joined along with the Muslims in prayers toward the same direction. However, Allah tested them as to their loyalty to what they were claiming (to be following Muhammad, peace be upon him), by restoring the qibla back to the original way of Adam, peace be upon him.
It is recorded in Islam, that Jesus, peace be upon him, had prayed in the direction of Jerusalem while praying behind our prophet, peace be upon him, on the occasion of Isra wa Miraj (ascension)

Here is the link for the tafsir:

http://www.qtafsir.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=293&Itemid=

Question for you: Jews pray to God facing Jerusalem and Muslims pray to God facing Makkah. Question is, which way do Christians pray? And to who?

8-In Koran 7:125, death by crucifixion is stated to exist at the time of Moses in 1500BC. Yet Encyclopedia Britannica, in harmony with all records of history, reports that crucifixion did not exist any earlier than 500 BC. My question is: to how do you explain this blaring historical error, and do you just disregard the history of the world merely because the Karen says otherwise?

* (notice how this person deliberately misspells the word Quran as "Karen"?) We do not doubt anything from the QURAN or from our prophet, peace be upon him. The tafsir of the Quran is clear on this issue.

Firawn was the very first one to crucify anyone:

http://www.qtafsir.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=1123&Itemid=62

If you care to do the research for yourself, you will find many variant opinions as to when and who were the first to crucify. A Google search today produced over 14,500 pages on the Internet with the words "first to crucify".

Here is what we actually learn:

• Romans recorded, crucifixion was used by ancient barbarians, Indians, Assyrians, Scythians and Celts.
• Romans did not invent crucifixion
• Persians crucified long before the Romans
• Herodotus says King Darius crucified 3,000 Babylonians
• Alexander the Great also crucified 2,000 peope of Tyre
• Romans likely learned crucifixion from the Carthaginians of ancient Greece

So, if ancient barbarians, Indians, Assyrians, Scythians and Celts were crucifying people, long before the Romans - why would we have to believe that just because it is recorded King Darius crucified the most (3,000), then is it impossible for someone to have come up with this before his time?

The Encyclopedia Britannica has been updated and revised many times with new information as it was discovered and with errors corrected when detected. The Quran on the other hand, has never been "updated" or "revised" or in anyway changed. And above all, the Quran clearly states within it, if you are in doubt about it, then bring a book like it.
So here is the next question for our Christian Arab friend - Can you produce a book like it?

9-Muslim's reject the doctrine of inherited sin of Adam but teach the Immaculate Conception of Mary. The reason the doctrine of the Immaculate Conception was invented was to remove inherited sin. My question is: since you reject the doctrine of inherited sin and believe all men are born without sin, why do Muslim's teach the doctrine of the Immaculate Conception of Mary?

* Strange claims here in this so-called "question". This is in Quran. This means it is from Allah. It is Allah who tells us clearly, Mariam gave birth to Jesus, peace be upon him, without any human intervention and it was by the Command of Allah, Who said, "BE" and so it was.

There is nothing mentioned in Quran about inherited sin, either way, because it does not exist. Babies are born innocent and not guilty.

Here is our question for this Christian: "What kind of warped thinking would allow for passing sins on to innocent children for generations in the future?"

10-Muslims claim, that a proof that the Koran was from God is that it contains scientifically accurate information about Embryology, yet in 86:6-7 the Koran says, "man was created from ejected liquid- Proceeding from between the backbone and the ribs". This echoes the scientific error of Hippocrates who believed semen originates, from the brain down the spinal chord, before passing through the kidneys and finally out of the body. (Hippocratic Writings, Penguin Classics, 1983, p. 317) My question is: do you reject modern science and believe the Koran when it says sperm originates from the mid-gut section of a man's body.

* Look how the questioner twists the meaning of the Quran to suit what he wants to believe or at least fool others into believing. The Quran (notice how he even misspells the word Quran) does not say anything about the beliefs of Hippocrates, the brain, the spinal chord or kidneys. The words in Arabic are:

* NOTE: "between the backbone and the ribs" indicates something located in between the backbone of the man and the ribcage of the woman.

This does not say "in the backbone" nor does it say anything about the brain, spinal chord or kidneys. The location for the origin of the source of the sperm is what is being referred to here and the emphasis is on the fluid itself, being ejected out as a detestable liquid.

We have the proof for everything about the Quran. This is the only book of its kind in the world. About that, there can be no doubt for anyone who is willing to tell the truth and to accept very clear evidences and facts.

Quran is explained first and foremost by the Quran itself.  After that, the hadeeths of the prophet, peace be upon him, telling us what the meanings are. We are not left to our own imagination to come up with whatever meanings we might like to give to the Recitation of Allah, as the Christians are with their many Bibles in so many languages.

Here is the link for more on this topic:

http://www.qtafsir.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=1202&Itemid=142#1

Allah says,

﴿فَلْيَنظُرِ الإِنسَـنُ مِمَّ خُلِقَ ﴾

FalyanTHurAl-'Insānu Mimma Khuliqa
(So, let man see from what he is created!) This is alerting man to the weakness of his origin from which he was created. The intent of it is to guide man to accept (the reality of) the Hereafter, because whoever is able to begin the creation then he is also able to repeat it in the same way. This is as Allah says,

﴿وَهُوَ الَّذِى يَبْدَأُ الْخَلْقَ ثُمَّ يُعِيدُهُ وَهُوَ أَهْوَنُ عَلَيْهِ﴾

Khuliqa Min Mā'in Dāfiqq

(And He it is Who originates the creation, then He will repeat it; and this is easier for Him.) (30:27) Then Allah says,

﴿خُلِقَ مِن مَّآءٍ دَافِقٍ ﴾

Yakhruju Min Bayni As-Sulbi Wa At-Tara'ibi
(He is created from a water gushing forth.) meaning, the sexual fluid that comes out bursting forth from the man and the woman. Thus, the child is produced from both of them by the permission of Allah. Due to this Allah says,

﴿يَخْرُجُ مِن بَيْنِ الصُّلْبِ وَالتَّرَآئِبِ ﴾

'Innahu `Alá Raj`ihi Laqādirun

(Proceeding from between the backbone and the ribs.) meaning, the backbone (or loins) of the man and the ribs of the woman, which is referring to her chest. Shabib bin Bishr reported from `Ikrimah who narrated from Ibn `Abbas that he said,

﴿يَخْرُجُ مِن بَيْنِ الصُّلْبِ وَالتَّرَآئِبِ ﴾

(Proceeding from between the backbone and the ribs.)

"The backbone of the man and the ribs of the woman. It (the fluid) is yellow and fine in texture. The child will not be born except from both of them (i.e., their sexual fluids).''

Question is, what does the Bible say about the origin of the semen? Where does it come from according to Matthew, Mark, Luke, John, Joshuah, Ruth, Ezra or any other person who wrote in the Bible?

11-The text of the Koran in 37:103 reads "they had both submitted their wills (became Muslims)" while the Arabic text of the Tashkent MSS gives the exact opposite meaning, "they did not submitted their wills" (they did NOT become Muslims.) My question is: have you actually read the Tashkent MSS for yourself in this passage and how do you explain this textual variation given your comments on the miracle of the perfect Koran?

* Interesting that someone who claims to be seeking peace and truth would offer such a direct challenge, almost as though they were some kind of experts in classical Arabic and scholars of Quran itself. You would have to ask yourself, how does this person all of a sudden know so much about Arabic manuscripts that were written before there were even tashkil markings in the Arabic language. The dots and diacritical markings were not yet developed on this particular manuscript and as such would be almost impossible for modern day Arab Muslims to read, unless they were to put an existing Arabic Quran alongside it and then study it letter for letter. Even then they would not be absolutely positive of the words unless they had memorized it from someone who had heard if from the prophet, peace be upon him, or one of his companions or one of those who had heard it from them.

This is exactly what had happened at the time of the writing of the eight copies made during the time of 'Uthman.

I have actual copies on my hard drive of these ancient writings and there is no way a casual seeker of knowledge could even begin to read and understand without previously memorizing Quran.

The particular manuscript referred to here was actually stolen from the museum in Tashkent, Uzbekistan back in the early part of 2000. I know, because I was visiting Topekopi museum in Istanbul, Turkey at the time and they moved the only full remaining copy of the ancient Quran from Uthman's time to a place of high security in Ankara, the capitol.

Question is, can you show us a picture of yourself at the museum in Tashkent? Or a picture of you even looking at a copy of the ancient Quran you refer to? Or how about if we gave you a picture of any page of the ancient Quran (I do have several), could you tell us what it says in Arabic, and what it means in English?

12-Qur'an 18:9, makes into real history, the second century myth of 7 Christian youths who were persecuted for their faith and went to sleep in a cave for 300 years and then woke up with no ill effects. In the original myth the hero is a Christian, but in the Koran the hero is a Muslim. My question is: in the absence of any copyright laws when the Koran was written, are you at least prepared to pay compensation to the living relatives of the author of this myth? If not, would you be in favor of going starting up a charity fund to compensate for damages of copyright infringement?

* Once again, the corruption here is coming from the person who is asking the question. This incident recorded in surah Al Kahf (chapter 18, verse 9) is very clearly speaking of those who believed in the One God (Allah) mentioned in the Bible, and followers of Jesus, peace be upon him. The actions and beliefs of such people in the Arabic language are referred to as "aslama" (submission to Allah) and they would be "Muslim" (those who submit to Allah in peace). The meaning is clear. The twisting is coming from a most insincere person who is likely very familiar with Arabic and is attempting to play with those who are not conversant in classical Arabic.

Question, how did you come up with the term "2nd century myth"? How did you even know the story? Why did you think it was a myth? Where did you get the date? How did you know it was from Christianity? Do you deny the early Christians were heavily persecuted by the Romans, even unto death?

Did you forget Paul said he used to persecute the early Christians - "even unto death"? Drug out into the desert? Raped? Burned? Thrown into the arena with wild animals and heavily armed gladiators? (reference: Acts of the Apostles, chapter 9, verses 1 and 2):

¹ Then Saul, still breathing threats and murder against the disciples of the Lord, went to the high priest ² and asked letters from him to the synagogues of Damascus, so that if he found any who were of the Way, whether men or women, he might bring them bound to Jerusalem.

Question, did you know the words "People of the Way" was the name of the group of people who followed the "Way of Jesus"? And they were never called "Christians" anytime during the life of Jesus, peace be upon him. And it wasn't until some preachers went to Antioch, they were first called "Christians"?

Read Acts 11:26 - they were "first called Christians in Antioch"

13-Koran 5:116, represents Christians as worshipping Mary which is a historical error. Given the fact that the pagan Arabs did worship Mary's idol in the Kaba, and that history records no group of Christians had ever worshiped Mary at this time, my question is would you please name the sect of Christians who worshiped Mary at the time of Muhammad?

* Interestingly enough, Catholics still worship Mary today. That is a very clear fact. Anyone can visit the Catholic Church and find pamphlets and books showing the way to worship Mary. What does the phrase, "Hail Mary, full of grace" mean to the Catholics who are seeking forgiveness from the priest in their confessions?
As far as those Protestants who will claim they have no connection to the Catholic Church practice of these actions, we would like to remind them, at the time of our prophet Muhammad, peace be upon him, there were no protestants. It was not until about 1,000 years after Muhammad, peace be upon him, that the followers of Martin Luther broke protested against the teachings of the Catholic Church and thus became the "Protestants".

Question: Did Mary pray? To who? (certainly not to her own son?).  And What about Jesus? Did he teach his disciples to pray? Did Jesus pray? To who?

Please be polite when answering these questions, we're not animals.
May God all mighty bless you and all those around you.

*We might like to remind our Christian friends to be polite and try to tell the truth and be responsible for their words. We also would remind them - just as they are attempting to remind us - "We Muslims are not animals either".

In fact, we are more entitled to claim Jesus, peace be upon him, as our prophet. This is because we do not lie, we do not exaggerate about our religion or beliefs and we do not set ourselves up as being the automatically "saved" just because of our beliefs (or lack of them).

In keeping with the spirit of the one asking these questions, may we also ask for a few simple answers regarding what this person might believe about our prophet, Jesus, peace be upon him?

Here is a link to "The Jesus Test" –

http://islamnewsroom.com/news-we-need/1349-who-really-follows-jesus