Claims of Contradiction

Verdict (Response)

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Before dealing with this claim, it must be pointed out that there is nothing in these verses to say that while the sleepers of the cave had been sleeping they had their eyes open.  This is, as is the habit of the author, a clear addition to the words of the Quran.

In these verses we are told about the miracle of the seven sleepers of Ephesus.  

In 1928, Franz Miltner, an Austrian archeologist discovered the tomb of the seven sleepers of Ephesus. Their history is well documented in several encyclopedias.

Ephesus is located about 200 miles south of ancient Nicene, and 30 miles south of today's Izmir in Turkey. The dwellers of the cave were young Christians who wanted to follow the teachings of Jesus, and worship God alone. They were fleeing the persecution of neo-christians who proclaimed a corrupted Christianity three centuries after Jesus, following the Nicene Conferences, when the Trinity doctrine was announced.

For more information search one of search engines for Franz Miltner, also some information is given in a translated midieval book found at the following URL ....

http://www.fordham.edu/halsall/basis/7sleepers.html

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42

There is nothing in these two verses that says that the sun moves to create shadows!  Let us read the two verses:

25:45-46

"Have you not seen how your Lord designed the shadow?  If He willed, He could have made it fixed.  We then designed the sun as its pointer (indicator).

Then We withdraw it (the shadow) unto Us a gradual withdrawal."

By reading these verses we note the following:

1-  The position of the sun in the sky acts as an indicator to the length of the shadow.

2-  No words in these verses speak of the movement of the sun to create shadows.

3-  The Arabic word 'Qabadnah' (withdraw it) in verse 46, is in the masculine form, thus it refers to the shadow and not to the sun.  The word 'Zil'  (shadow) is a masculine Arabic word.  If the reference was made to the sun (Shams), which is a feminine Arabic word, the word used would have been 'Qabadnaha' ...........

Thus the movement, spoken of in verse 46, and which the author incorrectly ascribed to the sun, is in fact the movement or change in the length of the shadow on the ground.    

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43
"Your Lord has decreed that you shall not worship except Him, and your parents shall be honored. As long as one or both of them live, you shall never say to them, "Uff" (the slightest gesture of annoyance), nor shall you shout at them; you shall treat them amicably.

And lower for them the wings of humility, and kindness, and say, "My Lord, have mercy on them, for they have raised me from infancy." 17:23-24

"Neither the prophet, nor those who believe shall ask forgiveness for the idol worshipers, even if they were their nearest of kin, once they realize that they are destined for Hell." 9:113

The claim is that the underlined words in 17:23-24 contradict the underlined words in 9:113.

Once again, there is no contradiction between the two verses.

To clarify that, we must study these two verses together.  By doing so, we can deduce the following:

1-  In 17:23-24, we read "As long as one or both of them live" and the words "you shall treat them amicably."

These words indicate that the subject of the verse is the parents who are still alive. We may ask God to show mercy for our living parents.  Once they are dead, the Quran confirms, in no uncertain manner, that all intercesssion will be useless.  Once we die, our records are sealed and the Judgement rests in God's hand alone.  

2- Furthermore the words "once they realize that they are destined for Hell" (9:113) confirm that it is prohibited to ask forgiveness for the idol worshippers, whether they are dead or still alive, even if they were ones own parents.

God does not accept a plea of forgiveness for the idol worshippers. The story of Abraham's plea for forgiveness for his father, and how it was rejected by God is a good example (9:114).

To conclude, a plea for God's mercy for our loved ones who are alive is permitted, provided they are not idol worshippers.  Moreover, no plea for God's mercy is accepted for the idol worshippers, even if they are our own parents, and whether they are alive or dead.

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44

"Say, 'To whom belongs everything in the heavens and the earth?' Say, 'To GOD.' He has decreed that

mercy is His attribute."    6:12

"If their rejection gets to be too much for you, you should know that even if you dug a tunnel through the earth, or climbed a ladder into the sky, and produced a miracle for them (they still would not believe). Had GOD willed, He could have imposed guidance on them all.  Therefore, do not behave like the ignorant ones."  6:35

What the author wants to say in reality is how can God 'decree that mercy is His attribute' , yet refrain from guiding some even though He is able to guide all?

The answer to this question, which in fairness is one of the very few sensible questions posed by the author, reference must be made to the following key words:

1-    "you should know that even if you dug a tunnel through the earth, or climbed a ladder into the sky, and produced a miracle for them (they still would not believe)" ......... these words indicate that it is not God who willed that these people go astray.  God sends the guidance for everybody, but the evil ones will never believe even if they are shown the greatest of miracles!

For that, it is they who choose to be disbelievers, in spite of the guidance that was sent to all mankind (them included).

2-    The Arabic words 'Lauw sha Allah, lagamaahum ala al hoda'  which translates Had GOD willed, He could have imposed guidance on them all  indicate that God is able to impose belief on any human, but what is the merit of belief if it is imposed?  

When Jesus came to give the guidance to the world, God was able to force the people at the time of Jesus to be believers, why did God not do that then?  The answer to this question is the same, whether at the time of Jesus, or at the time of the revelation of the Quran.  The answer will be the same till the end of time.  Man has to earn faith, and not to have it imposed on him.

It follows to say that God does not prevent anyone from becoming a believer.  God sends guidance through the messengers and the Scripture. This guidance is sent to all humanity.  However, it is the pure in heart who accept the truth of the Scripture and chose to worship God. 

Now we come to the third verse:

"We did not send any messenger except (to preach) in the tongue of his people, in order to clarify things for them. GOD then sends astray whomever He wills, and guides whomever He wills. He is the Almighty, the Most Wise."  14:4

The underlined words in this verse GOD then sends astray whomever He wills, and guides whomever He wills once again confirm that the ones who are sent astray, are only reeping the result of their wickedness.  God does not lead astray those who are good in heart, but He allows the wicked to be led astray due to their wickedness.  

It is important here to read the following verse which confirms this meaning:

"Had GOD known of any good in them (the wicked ones), He would have made them able to hear and receive (the guidance). Even if He made them hear, they still would turn away in aversion."  8:23

This verse once again confirms that God is fully aware that these wicked ones will NEVER believe no matter what guidance is given to them.  Because of that, the fact that they are led astray (with God's knowledge) is their own doing and not out of God's own preference. 

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45
"To God belongs the east and the west, so wherever you go you will always be facing God. God is Omnipresent, Omniscient" 2:115

"We assign a Qiblah (direction for prayer) that is pleasing to you. Henceforth, you shall turn your face towards the Sacred Masjid. Wherever you may, all of you shall turn your faces towards it." 2:144

The claim is that as per 2:115 God made it lawful for the believers to face anywhere in Salat (Contact Prayers), yet in 2:144 they are commanded to pray only in the dirsection of Mecca !

The obvious misunderstanding here is that while verse 144 is speaking about Qiblah (direction) for the Prayer, verse 115 is not speaking about prayer at all. Verse 115 is speaking about the fact that God is Omnipresent. God is everywhere at the same time, and thus wherever we may look or wherever we may go, we will always be facing God. The presence of the word "Omnipresent" at the end of the verse confirms that the subject of the verse is God's Presence and not the Prayer.

Therefore there is no contradiction between the two verses.

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46
"We are fully aware that they say, "A human being is teaching him!"  The tongue of the source they hint at is non-Arabic, and this is a perfect Arabic tongue."  16:103

Now let us read the complete verse 3:7, with the words the author ommitted:

"He sent down to you this scripture, containing straightforward verses which constitute the essence of the scripture-as well as multiple-meaning or allegorical verses. Those who harbor doubts in their hearts will pursue the multiple-meaning verses to create confusion, and to extricate a certain meaning. None knows the true meaning thereof except GOD and those well founded in knowledge. They say, "We believe in this-all of it comes from our Lord." Only those who possess intelligence will take heed."

The author falsely claims that 3:7 states that no one knows the interpretation of the Quran save God. However, when we read 3:7 we note that the wisdom and the understanding of the Quran is also given to those well founded in knowledge.

We are also told in the Quran that the truth and wisdom of the Quran are only given to the pure in heart, to those who worship God alone.  

The words those well founded in knowledge  are not related to any scientific or intellectual knowledge, they simply mean the knowledge and understanding of the Quranic message.  The knowledge that God should be worshipped alone and that all idolatry should be rejected.

Thus the claim that only God understands the Quran, as implied by the author, is false.

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"We revealed it in the Night of Destiny.  How awesome is the Night of Destiny!  The Night of Destiny is better than a thousand months.  The angels and the Spirit descend therein, by their Lord's leave, to carry out every command."  97:1-4

"We have sent it down in a blessed night, for we are to warn." 44:3

"We have recorded the fate of every human being; it is tied to his neck.  On the Day of Resurrection we will hand him a record that is accessible."  17:13

The night of Destiny, believed to be the 27th night of the month of Ramadan, was the night the Quran was descended unto the soul of Muhammad.  It is thus described in the Quran as a "blessed night".

The author has detailed a number of concepts that have no basis in the Quran, and used them to attack the Quran and claim that it contains contradiction:

1-  The author says:  To Muslims, the "Night of Power" is a blessed night on which fates are settled and on which everything relating to life, death, etc., which occurs throughout the year is decreed.

It is said to be the night on which Allah's decrees for the year are brought down to the earthly plane. In other words, matters of creation are decreed a year at a time.

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It is true that the Quran speaks of the night of Destiny to be blessed since it was the night when the Quran was placed in the heart of Muhammad, however, there is no indication in the Quran whatsoever of the false yearly concept (where all fates ...etc are decided once a year)!  If some Muslims believe that, they must be getting their information from outside the Quran. The Quran asserts quite the opposite of that.  57:22 confirms that everything in the heavens and the earth is alrerady recorded from before creation (57:22), and not settled on yearly basis !  

The author here used a false non-Quranic concept (the yearly concept) to attack a correct Quranic truth (matters are already recorded from before creation 57:22)

2-  The author then says:  

'All of the above is contradicted by "And every man's fate We have fastened to his own neck." This says that man alone is responsible for what he does and what happens to him. [17:13]'

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What the author is addressing here is the old puzzle of (Is man master of his own fate or not?)

In other words, if everyone's fate is already recorded before hand, how can God say that we have the choice to be believers or not?

As explained in claim 21, the theory of relativity has helped clearfy this very old debate.  Relativity says that there is no such thing as absolute time, furthermore it states that time was created when the universe was created.  At the initial moment of the Big Bang, Matter, Space and Time were all created simultaneously.

What this means is that outside our physical universe there is no such thing as time.  Outside the physical universe there is no such thing as yesterday, today or tomorrow.  It follows therefore that from God's point of view, and since God is not subject to time as we know it, all matters, past, present and future are already recorded.

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48
To analyse the meaning of 7:157 we must start reading from 7:155:

7:155

"Moses then selected seventy men from among his people, to come to our appointed audience. When the quake shook them, he said, "My Lord, You could have annihilated them in the past, together with me, if You so willed.  Would You annihilate us for the deeds of those among us who are foolish? This must be the test that You have instituted for us.  With it, You condemn whomever You will, and guide whomever You will.  You are our Lord and Master, so forgive us, shower us with Your mercy; You are the best Forgiver."

7:156

"And decree for us righteousness in this world, and in the Hereafter. We have repented to You." He said, "My retribution befalls whomever I will.  But My mercy encompasses all things.  However, I will specify it for those who (1) lead a righteous life, (2) give the obligatory charity (Zakat) (3) believe in our revelations, and

7:157.

"(4) follow the messenger, the gentile prophet, whom they find written in their Torah and Gospel.  He exhorts them to be righteous, enjoins them from evil, allows for them all good food, and prohibits that which is bad, and unloads the burdens and the shackles imposed upon them.  Those who believe in him, respect him, support him, and follow the light that came with him are the successful ones."

To resolve the truth of this claim it is first necessary to determine who is refered to in 7:157 as the "the messenger, the gentile prophet".

The author claims that in this verse God is speaking to Moses.  It can be shown that this is quite impossible.  If we assume that God is speaking to Moses in this verse, then "the messenger, the gentile prophet" cannot be Moses himself, since it would make no sense for God to ask Moses to follow himself!  Equally, and if God is speaking to Moses in this verse, "the messenger, the gentile prophet" could not be Jesus nor Muhammad since it would make no sense for God to ask Moses to follow a prophet who would come after his time.

The person who is described as "the messenger, the gentile prophet", and who is Muhammad, is in fact the clue in verifying the ones  who are addressed in this verse.  

The confirmation that it is Muhammad who is refered to as "the messenger, the gentile prophet", is found in the verse that follows:

7:158

"Say, (O Muhammad) "O people, I am GOD's messenger to all of you.  To Him belongs the sovereignty of the heavens and the earth.  There is no god except He.  He controls life and death."   Therefore, you shall believe in GOD and His messenger, the gentile prophet, who believes in GOD and His words. Follow him, that you may be guided."

By reading all four verses, we can see that in 7:157 God is not speaking to Moses at all, God is speaking to all Jews, not only those at the time of Moses, but for all time.

What God is saying to all Jews is that He will specify His Mercy to those who:  

(1) lead a righteous life

(2) give the obligatory charity (Zakat)

(3) believe in Our revelations

(4) follow the messenger, the gentile prophet, whom they find written in their Torah and Gospel.

If we look at the third condition (believe in Our revelations) it implies that God expects each people to believe in the revelations given to them.  At the time of Moses, the Jews who were entitled to earn God's Mercy, were those who believed in the Torah given to Moses.

At the time of Jesus, the Jews who would earn God's Mercy were those who believed in the Torah as well as the Injil (Gospel) which was given to Jesus. This means that all the Jews who disbelieved in Jesus and labelled him as a false prophet, will not earn God's Mercy.

Finally, from the time of the revelation of the Quran onwards, the Jews who believed in the Torah, the Injil (Gospel) and also the Quran would be entitled to God's mercy.   

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49
The first of the three verses refered to by the author is as follows:

38:41

Remember our servant Job: he called upon his Lord,  "The devil has afflicted me with hardship and pain."

The author uses this example of Job, to say that calamity comes from Satan.    

It is true that in this verse Job implored God saying that the devil has inflicted him with pain and hardship, however, by reading other verses in the Quran,  we realise that Job was mistaken.  The hardship and pain that Job was suffering were not inflicted on him by the devil, they were a mere test that God wished to put him through.

We are given ample evidence in the Quran that God tests all believers. God also tests the messengers and prophets.  In verse 34 of the same Sura (38) we are told of God testing Solomon:

38:34

"We thus put Solomon to the test; we blessed him with vast material wealth, but he steadfastly submitted."

Solomon and Job represent both ends of the testing spectrum.  We are put to the test through wealth, health, or lack of them, to see if we worship God alone under all circumstances.

When God was satisfied that Job was a faithful persevering believer, which is indicated in verse 44:

"We found him steadfast.  What a good servant! He was a submitter"

God thus rewarded him by doubling his family:  

"We restored his family for him; twice as many. Such is our mercy; a reminder for those who possess intelligence."  38:43

Further evidence that the hardship that was suffered by Job was not from the devil (as Job thought) is found in the following verses:

16:98-100

"When you read the Quran, you shall seek refuge in GOD from Satan the rejected.  He has no power over those who believe and trust in their Lord.  His power is limited to those who choose him as their master, those who choose him as their god."

The devil has no power over the ones who believe and trust in God.   Furthermore, the devil cannot inflict sufferring nor evil on any human being.  All that the devil is able to do is to intice man, and invite him to commit sin, then it is up to every man to reject the devil or follow his inticing.   Once again this is made evident in the following verse:    

14:22

"And the devil will say, after the judgment had been issued, "GOD has promised you the truthful promise, and I promised you, but I broke my promise. I had no power over you;  I simply invited you, and you accepted my invitation. Therefore, do not blame me, and blame only yourselves. My complaining cannot help you, nor can your complaining help me. I have rejected your idolizing of me. The transgressors have incurred a painful retribution."

The author then quotes 4:78 to say that calamity comes from God!  Well let us read 4:78

4:78

"When something good happens to them, they say, "This is from GOD," and when something bad afflicts them, they blame you. Say, "Everything comes from GOD." Why do these people misunderstand almost everything?

The words "Everything comes from GOD" mean that through God's will everything is decreed to happen, the good and the bad.  All things, good and bad, are created by God, then God showed man both routes, good and bad, and then it is up to man to choose which route to follow. This meaning is confirmed in the following verse:

91:7-8  

"The soul and Him who created it.  Then showed it what is evil and what is good."

Therefore, since God is the creator of all things, it is right to say that "Everything comes from GOD".

Now we move on to the third verse quoted by the author:

4:79

"Anything good that happens to you is from GOD, and anything bad that befalls you is from you.   We have sent you as a messenger to the people, and GOD suffices as witness."

Notice that the verse said (Anything good that happens to you) and not (anything good that you do).  This confirms that all blessings that come our way are given to us by God.  Examples of that would be good health, wealth, happy family, healthy children ......etc.

On the other hand, all sins we incur are a result of our own doing.  God does not force us to commit sin nor does He push us into sin.  On the contrary God warns us from all evil.  Therefore anything bad that we do is a result of our own free choice.  Examples of that are murder, rape, burglery, wars ......etc

To summerize:

1-  God is the creator of all things, good and bad, therefore "Everything comes from GOD" 4:78

2-  Then God shows man the good and warns him from evil  "The soul and Him who created it.  Then showed it       what is evil and what is good." 91:7-8  

3-  The devil invites man to commit evil, man has the free will to choose the good or the bad:

      The devil will say: " I had no power over you;  I simply invited you, and you accepted my invitation." 14:22

4-   All blessings that are given to us are given to us by God:

      "Anything good that happens to you is from GOD"  4:79 

5-   All sins we incur are a result of our free choice:

      "anything bad that befalls you is from you"  4:79  

       And the devil will say:

      "Therefore, do not blame me, and blame only yourselves"  14:22

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50
This is probably the only claim by the author, for which he is not to be critisized directly.  In this claim, and unlike previous claims, the author is not personally the presenter of a false claim, but in actual fact he is only echoing a concept that was originally fabricated by some ignorant Muslim scholars!

The concept of Quranic abrogation (that some Quranic verses are abrogated and invalidated by other verses) has been invented by some corrupt Muslim scholars during the fourth century A.H. (late 10th century A.D.).  

In  truth, no Quranic verses have ever been abrogated.  

These scholars have corrupted the meaning of two Quranic verses [2:106, and 16:101] to imply their abrogation concept.

FIRST VERSE 2:106

"Whichever Ayah We relinquish or cause to be forgotten We replace it with its equal or with that which is greater, did you not know that God is capable of all things?" 2:106

What the interpreters claim is that this verse confirms that some Quranic verses are invalidated by others. They interpret 'Ayah' in this verse to mean a verse in the Quran.

However the word 'Ayah', has been used in the Quran in no less than four different meanings:

a- It could mean a miracle from God as in:

"And We supported Moses with nine profound Ayah's (miracles)." 17:101

b- It could also mean an example for people to take heed from as in:

"And the folk of Noah, when they disbelieved the messengers, We have

drowned them and set an Ayah (example) of them for all people." 25:37

c- The word 'Ayah' can also mean a sign as in:

"He said, 'My Lord, give me an 'Ayah' (sign).' He said, 'Your Ayah is that you will not

speak to people for three consecutive nights." 19:10

d- It could mean a verse in the Quran, as in:

"This is a book that We have sent down to you that is sacred, perhaps

they will reflect on its 'Ayat' (verses)." 38:29

Now if we study verse 106 of Sura 2, we can easily spot that the word 'Ayah' in this particular verse could not mean a verse in the Quran. It can mean any of the other meanings (miracle, example or sign) but not a verse in the Quran. This is because of the following reasons:

1- The words "cause to be forgotten" could not be applicable if the word 'Ayah' in this verse meant a verse in the Quran. How can a verse in the Quran become forgotten? For even if the verse was invalidated by another (as the interpreters falsely claim) it will still be part of the Quran and thus could never be forgotten.

2- The words "We replace it with its equal" would be meaningless if the word 'Ayah' in this verse meant a Quranic verse, simply because it would make no sense for God to invalidate one verse then replace it with one that is identical to it!

3- If the word 'Ayah' in verse 106 meant a miracle an example or a sign, then all the words of the verse would make perfect sense. The words "cause to be forgotten" can apply to all three meanings and that is what actually happens with the passing of time. The miracles of Moses and Jesus have long been forgotten. We only believe in them because they are mentioned in the Quran.

Similarly the words "We replace with its equal or with that which is greater" is in line with the miracles of God. God indeed replaces one miracle with its equal or with one that is greater than it. Consider the following verse :

"And We have sent Moses with Our Ayah's (miracles or signs) to Pharaoh and his elders proclaiming : 'I am a messenger from the Lord of the universe'. When he brought them our Ayah's they laughed at him. Every Ayah We showed them was greater than the one that preceded it." 43:46-48

SECOND VERSE 16:101

"When We substitute one Ayat (revelation) in place of another, and God is fully aware of what He reveals, they say, 'You made this up'. Indeed most of them do not know"

The substitution here is not of one verse in the Quran with another, but it is concerned with one of two things:

a- The substitution of one Scripture in place of another.

b- The substitution of one verse within a Scripture with another in a subsequent Scripture

___________________

a- The first meaning is given evidence to in the following verse:

"Then we revealed to you this scripture, truthfully, confirming previous scriptures, and superseding them." 5:48

Here, the words "superseding them" confirm that the previous scripture were substituted with the Quran.

b- The second meaning is also given evidence to in the Quran in various matters where things that were prohibited to the previous people of the book were made lawful in the Quran.

As an example, we are told in 2:187 that sexual intercourse between married couples during the nights of the fasting month was made lawful, while it was prohibited previously.

We are also told in 6:146 that God prohibited for the Jews all animals with undivided hoofs; and of the cattle and sheep the fat was prohibited. These were made lawful in the Quran.

This verse 16:101 does not mean the substitution of one verse in the Quran with another.

The evidence to that is given within the same verse (16:101):

The key to the meaning of the verse lies in the words:

"........they say, 'You made this up"

Here we ask, who is likely to tell the messenger "You made this up" ? and why?

For sure it cannot be his followers, his followers are not likely to tell him "You have made it up"................it has to be those who do not believe in him, which focuses on the followers of previous scripture that feared that their scripture was then being "substituted" with the Quran............like the Jews and the Christians of that time.........

The Jews and Christians do not care if one verse in the Quran is substituted for another, they do not believe in the whole book............. they will not complain that one verse in the Quran is being substituted with another! However, and if their Scripture is being substituted by the Quran, they will immediately accuse the messenger that the Scripture he brings (Quran) is not from God but that he "made it up" himself.  In actual fact, this is what they say up until today.

These glorious words "you have made it up" indeed stand as a true indicator from God Almighty that the substitution in the this verse is not related to one within the Quran, but indeed a substitution between two scripture.

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For full details of the lie of abrogation please go to:

http://www.submission.org/abrogation.html

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51
52:23

"They will enjoy drinks that are never polluted, and never sinful to drink."

This verse which speaks about Heaven, confirms that all drinks therein are pure and not polluted in any way (they do not harm the body). And since all drinks and wine in heaven are pure from pollution, they are thus not prohibited.   

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52
The concept of God the Omnipresent who is everywhere at the same time means that He is as close as the jugular vein (50:16) and also beyond the furthest boundaries of the universe, at the highest height:

"GOD; Possessor of the highest Height."  70:3

It is very clear here that the author is making up any old nonsense to attack the Quran, for it can be demonstrated that the idea of the Omnipresent God, who is present everywhere at the same time, is also to be found in the Bible.  Why is he attacking a Quranic concept that is also confirmed in the Bible?

Furthermore, it is necessary to confirm that verses [32:5, 70:4] do not say what the author claims.  These verses do not say that it takes between 1,000 and 50,000 years to reach God !  This claim is merely a work of the author's imagination.  The words of these verses are as follows:

"All matters are controlled by Him from the heaven to the earth.  To Him, the day is equivalent to one thousand of your years."  32:5

"The angels, with their reports, climb to Him in a day that equals fifty thousand years."  70:4  

As mentioned in claim 21, these verses speak of a scientific theory called 'Time Dilation'.   They do not speak of the time taken to reach God !

For more details please check Claim 21.  

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53
"As for the one who receives his record behind his back"  84:10

"As for him who is given his record in his left hand, he will say, "Oh, I wish I never received my record."  69:25

On Judgement Day, the wicked ones will hold their record behind their backs (in shame) with their left hands.

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54
"It (the Quran) has been prophecied in the books of the earlier generations." 26:196

The meaning of verse 196 has been completely misinterpreted by the author.  By reading 26:196 we can clearly see that it does not say that the Quran was written in the earlier Scripture, but that it was foretold in the earlier Scripture.

In every divine Scripture we are told of prophecies of the prophets and Scripture to follow.  The Old Testament contained many prophecies about the coming of Jesus Christ.  Similarly the Bible contained prophecies about the coming of a prophet after Jesus who brings a Scripture from God (see John 14:15-16, 14:26,  15:26-27,  16:13)

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55
"Finally, when they regretted their action, and realized that they had gone astray, they said, "Unless our Lord redeems us with His mercy, and forgives us, we will be losers."  7:149

By reading 7:149 (which is the verse the author quotes) we see that it does not say that the Israelites repented before Moses came back! .   In verse 148 we are told that they worshipped the calf, then in verse 149 we are told "finally" ( in the end ) they repented.  

Here the author is making the assuption that the order of the verses (verse 149 which speaks of their repentence, and verse 150 which details the anger of Moses) is the order of the story/account. It is a well know way of telling accounts/stories to tell of things that happen out of sequence, for various reasons. Here is such a case. At no point are we told that the people repented before Moses came back, only that the people repented "finally".

By reading this verse together with 20:91, it becomes clear that the word "finally" refers to the time after the return of Moses:

"They said, "We will continue to worship it, until Moses comes back."  20:91

Once again, the assumed contradiction is non-existent.

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Before reading the verses refered to by the author, let us read some key verses that verify the whole matter:

Sura 20

Verse 86  "Moses returned to his people, angry and disappointed, saying, "O my people, did your Lord not promise you a good promise? Could you not wait? Did you want to incur wrath from your Lord?  Is this why you broke your agreement with me?"

Verse 87  "They said, "We did not break our agreement with you on purpose.  But we were loaded down with jewelry, and decided to throw our loads in.  This is what the Samarian suggested."

Verse 88   "He produced for them a sculpted calf, complete with a calf's sound.  They said, "This is your god, and the god of Moses."   Thus, he forgot."

Verse 89  "Could they not see that it neither responded to them, nor possessed any power to harm them, or benefit them?"

Verse 90   "And Aaron had told them, "O my people, this is a test for you.  Your only Lord is the Most Gracious, so follow me, and obey my commands."

Verse 91   "They said, "We will continue to worship it, until Moses comes back."

Verse 92   "(Moses) said, "O Aaron, what is it that prevented you, when you saw them go astray,"

Verse 93   "from following my orders?  Have you rebelled against me?"

From these verses we are told the following:

1-  Upon the return of Moses he found them worshipping the golden calf which was made by the Samarian:

"This is what the Samarian suggested.  He produced for them a sculpted calf, complete with a calf's sound.  They said, "This is your god, and the god of Moses."

2-  Aaron tried to talk them into rejecting this idolatry and worshipping God the Most Gracious:

"And Aaron had told them, "O my people, this is a test for you.  Your only Lord is the Most Gracious, so follow me, and obey my commands."

3-  Upon the return of Moses, he was angry with Aaron, in the belief that Aaron did not stop the Israelites from worshipping the calf:

"(Moses) said, "O Aaron, what is it that prevented you, when you saw them go astray, from following my orders?  Have you rebelled against me?"

However, and contrary to what Moses thought, the truth about whether Aaron is to share in the guilt regarding the act of idolatry committed by the Israelites is given in the following verse:

7:150

"When Moses returned to his people, angry and disappointed, he said,  "What a terrible thing you have done in my absence!  Could you not wait for the commandments of your Lord?"  He threw down the tablets, and took hold of his brother's head, pulling him towards himself. (Aaron) said,  "Son of my mother, the people took advantage of my weakness, and almost killed me. Let not my enemies rejoice, and do not count me with the transgressing people."

Here we are told how Moses thought that Aaron was to blame for the act of idolatry of the Israelites and dragged Aaron by the hair, but the words of Aaron "the people took advantage of my weakness, and almost killed me ........." confirm that Aaron in fact had tried to stop the Israelites from worshipping the calf but that they overpowered him, and they almost killed him........

For that, it becomes clear that Aaron is not to blame for the idolatry of the Israelites.  He had tried his best but was overpowered and even in danger of being killed.

Thus Aaron had every justification in telling his brother Moses:

" ...... do not count me with the transgressing people."

No where in the Quran are we told that Aaron was to share in the guilt, and therefore the claim of contradiction is false.

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To demonstarte the error in this claim it is necessary to differentiate between two Quranic concepts.

1-  Prayers for believers.

2-  Intercession

________________

1-  Prayers for believers.

It is perfectly alright to offer prayers for our loved ones as long as they are not idol worshippers.  Many verses in the Quran speaks of prayers that are offered for the believers.

In 42:5 we are told how the angels ask forgiveness for those on earth:

"The heavens above them almost shatter, out of reverence for Him, and the angels praise and glorify their Lord, and they ask forgiveness for those on earth. Absolutely, GOD is the Forgiver, Most Merciful."

In 24:62 the messenger is encouraged to ask forgiveness for the believers:

" .................. If they ask your permission, in order to tend to some of their affairs, you may grant permission to whomever you wish, and ask GOD to forgive them. GOD is Forgiver, Most Merciful."

and in 17:24 we are encouraged to ask for God's mercy for our parents:

And lower for them (parents) the wings of humility, and kindness, and say, "My Lord, have mercy on them, for they have raised me from infancy."

All these are encouraged by God.

2-  Intercession

The concept of intercession, which is strictly prohibited in the Quran, is the act of interceding on behalf of another person to have his/her sins forgiven on Judgement Day.

The verses quoted by the author (74:48; 63:5; 34:23), plus many other verses confirm that there will be no intercession on Judgement Day.

Once we depart this world, our records are sealed, nothing can increase or decrease our credit.  Our fate is determined by God Alone on Judgement Day.  No one can intercede on our behalf.

"The intercession of the intercessors will never help them."  74:48

"All intercession belongs to God" 39:44

There will be "no intercession on the Day of Judgment" (2:254).

The myth of intercession is one of Satan's most effective tricks to dupe millions of people into idol worship. Millions of Christians believe that Jesus will intercede for them with God, and millions of Muslims believe that Muhammad will not only intercede on their behalf, but will actually take them out of hell! 

Consequently, these people have made Jesus and Muhammad their Saviours and as a result have idolized them!  

God the All Knower, knows that the idol worshippers will make such a claim, and for that, we find a Quranic verse that makes a mockery of the belief of some idol worshippers that Muhammad will be their Saviour on Judgement Day.  They have been duped by the devil to believe that through Muhammad's intercession, he will be able to take them out of hell :

As mentioned before, this is categorically denied by the Quran:

"With regard to those who have deserved the retribution, can you (O Muhammad) really save those who are already in Hell?"  39:19

We learn from the Quran that Abraham, God's beloved servant, could not intercede on behalf of his father (9:114). Noah could not intercede on behalf of his son (11:46). Muhammad could not intercede on behalf of his uncle (111:1-3) or relatives (9:80). What makes anyone think that a prophet or a saint will intercede on behalf of a perfect stranger ?!

Intercession is also prohibited in these verses (2:48, 123; 6:51, 70, 94; 7:53; 10:3; 19:87; 26:100; 30:13; 32:4; 36:23; 39:44; 40:18; 43:86; 53:26 & 74:48.)

To conclude, the author has confused two concepts here, and as explained, prayers for believers are different from the Quranic concept of intercession. 

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As explained in claim 21, the theory of relativity has helped clarify this very old debate.  With better understanding of the relativity of time, we are assured that there is no contradiction between our freedom of choice, and the fact that our fate is already recorded by Almighty God.

Relativity has shown that there is no such thing as absolute time, furthermore it states that time was created when the universe was created.  

What this means is that outside our physical universe there is no such thing as time.  Outside the physical universe there is no such thing as yesterday, today or tomorrow.  It follows therefore that from God's point of view, and since God is not subject to the physical limitations of time, all matters, past, present and future are already recorded.

With better understanding of the physical attributes of time, it becomes clear that the words in 57:22 do not deprive man from deciding his own fate, even though his fate is already recorded by God:

"No evil befalls on the earth, nor on your own souls but it is in a book before We bring into existence."  57:22 In a physical universe, where time exists (the fourth dimension), and where there is a past, present and a future, we are given a freedom of choice.  The element of future is what permits us to have the choice.  

We have the choice to eat after one hour, we have the choice to go to the movies tomorrow, and we have the choice to play tennis next week.  However, we have no choice in wearing different clothes yesterday, buying a different car last year, or going to a different school when we were young !   

However, outside the physical universe, and since God is not subject to the limitations of time, the concepts of yesterday, today and tomorrow simply do not exist.  In that sense all matters are already recorded.  

To conclude, there is no contradiction between 57:22 and 42:30, which states:

"Whatever of misfortune striketh you, it is what your right hands have earned."

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The Quran refers to every messenger as the first believer among his people.  This is quite logical since the messenger is the first to receive the message.  Muhammad is spoken of as the first Muslim/Believer among his people, since the revelation came to him before all others.

When we read the story of Moses in Sura 7, we read how he refered to himself as the first of the believers. Obviously Moses did not mean that he is the first believer of all time, but what he meant is that he was the first to believe from among his own people:  

"When Moses came at our appointed time, and his Lord spoke with him, he said, "My Lord, let me look and see You." He said, "You cannot see Me. Look at that mountain; if it stays in its place, then you can see Me." Then, his Lord manifested Himself to the mountain, and this caused it to crumble. Moses fell unconscious. When he came to, he said, "Be You glorified.   I repent to You, and I am the first of the believers."  7:143

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To demonstrate the errors in this claim, let us first read the verse refered to:

"God will say, "O Jesus, son of Mary, did you say to the people, `Make me and my mother gods beside God?' "He will say, "Be You glorified. I could not utter what was not right. Had I said it, You already would have known it. You know my thoughts, and I do not know Your thoughts.  You know all the secrets."  5:116

First, the verse does not mention the word trinity,  the verse says that God asked Jesus whether he enjoined people to take him and his mother as gods besides God.

Second, the Quran is not fabricating accusations by saying that Jesus and Mary have been regarded as gods by Christians.  All Christians believe that Jesus is God in the flesh, thus it is not very inaccurate to say that Christians have made Jesus a god.

Secondly, all Catholics call Mary 'mother of God' ....... if Mary was truly mother of God she would have to be a god herself, for how can a god be conceived except by another god?

All Catholics pray directly to Mary, and that again implies that they have given her divine status.

To conclude the Quran has not really misunderstood anything, what is stated in this verse is what Christians do and believe today.

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PRAISE ALMIGHTY GOD