                 |
|
"Ask, and it
shall be given to you; seek, and you shall find; knock, and it shall be opened to
you."
Contradictions: While I was investigating the Bible and
comparing my Islamic and Quranic knowledge with it, I began to see a contradiction after
another and in areas where there should be absolutely none. If the two books and the three
monotheist religions are truly from the same God those contradictions should not be there
at all. Here is a list of some examples of the contradictions I found:
* God: The Bible-God "Yahweh" is an emotional being and a person who regards
Himself as the Father of men (Adam/Jesus) and Husband of the believers (Israel/Church).
The Quran-God "Allah" is an emotionless being who considers men as being his
slaves only. Any person who may consider himself or someone else as Allah's son is viewed
as a blasphemer who should be put to death. I never heard or found any notion about
"God" in Islam as being the Father of Creation or the Husband of the believers.
* Trinity: According to the Bible and the Christian doctrine, God is
Triune, He is the Father, Son and Holy Spirit. Quran and Muslims accuse Christians of
worshiping three gods (Allah-Isa-Mariam) and bowing down to idols (cross and images).
* Satan and demons: The Bible states that Satan and demons are all falling angels who
have been excluded from heaven and sentenced by God to go to hell for the whole eternity.
They are spiritual beings who do not have a gender, they can't have sex and they can't
reproduce. Christianity strongly condemns any friendship or alliance between men and
demons. The Quran and Muslim tradition in the other hand teach that Satan and demons are
beings made out of fire. Some Muslims speculate that Satan has a wife and demons are their
offspring. Demons have a body and a gender, they get into marriage and they reproduce.
They are just another kind of mortal intelligent beings but 'inferior' to humans. Muslims
believe that there are demons who are Muslims (believers) and who will go to heaven. Islam
tolerates the association between humans and demons. Some Muslim scholars have gone even
father, to the point of allowing intermarriage between people and demons.
* Works of the flesh: Through many Bible stories, examples and teaching, the reader
can realize that God can't be pleased by human fleshly work, instead he hates them and
considers them as abominable offerings. The Quran and Islam order and pushes people to
perform works and rituals to please Allah. It considers them as duties that must be paid.
In other words, salvation in the Bible can only be obtained through God's grace. In the
Quran it is obtained only through the fleshly works performed to Allah.
* Music: In the Bible music is a part of the ministry of praise and worship to God.
According to Islam music is almost an evil and a sin.
* Adoption: Biblically adoption is very legitimate, in fact, a Bible believer can adopt
children, give them his name and allow them to share in his will. Even God says that He
adopted believers as His children, gives them His name and gives them an inheritance.
According to Sharia (Islamic law), it is forbidden for a Muslim to adopt a child and to
give him his name. The adopted son is not allowed to have a share with the blood-related
relatives when his adopting father dies. Furthermore, in Islam an adopted son and father
can marry each other's wives. It is well known that Muhammad married his adopted son's
wife after he divorced her.
* Fasting and Prayer: The Bible never dictated any strict rules about prayer and fasting
but left the matter up to men to do it according to their consciousness and willingness.
There is no punishment for a person, who does not perform them. Prayer is viewed in the
Bible as a way of communication with the Creator. Fasting is an statement of grief and
concern regarding a specific matter. In the Quran prayer and fasting are very strict
duties, even two of the five pillars (commandments) of Islam. If a Muslim does not
practice them he should be punished for his neglect of paying his 'debts' toward Allah. A
Muslim should start practicing the five daily prayers since he is 7 years old, and if he
neglects it, beginning from 10 he should be punished by biting.
* Imputation of hands: In the Bible there is no law or example of punishment, which
implies the imputation of hands or any other part of the body of a transgressor. Sharia
(Islamic law) instead, imposes the imputation of the thief's hand.
* Tithing: According to the Bible's recommendation, a believer is supposed to give a
minimum of 10% of his gross income as a tithe, however, he is free to do it as he wishes.
According to Islam, tithing represents the fourth pillar but requires only a 2.5% tithe
from a person's gross income.
* Marriage and divorce: Jesus and the N.T. forbid polygamy and divorce and compared them
to adultery. Muhammad and the Quran encouraged polygamy and allowed divorce and
remarriage. Even though the Quran allows a man to have only four 'legal' wives, Muhammad
violated that law and exclusively allowed himself to marry a dozen, besides concubines.
* Who is the Savior: According to the Bible, Jesus (Yahweh Saves) Christ (Anointed-One) is
the only Savior and Judge for all the human kind. Jesus never tolerated a demon; instead
he always rebuked and cast them out. The Quran accepts Jesus as the top prophet of the
Bible and even transliterates his title Messiah (Christ) to Maseeh, but denies that He is
the Savior. Instead, it emphasizes that Muhammad is the anointed one (Al-Mukhtar) and the
prophet of salvation (Rasulu-Ashafa'at). It even goes so far to the point of claiming that
Muhammad as the prophet to the worlds (Rasulu Al-Alamin) came to offers salvation and
access to heaven not only to humans, but also to other beings like demons who are willing
to accept him as savior.
* Source of Revelations: Despite the fact that the Bible was written by several people and
over many generations, the sincere reader can sense that all the books of it are inspired
from the same origin. The Bible gives credit to the Holy Spirit as being the inspirer of
it. There is no mention in the Quran of the Holy Spirit as being the inspirer of the
'divine' scriptures (Bible and Quran). Instead, it gave credit to an angel called Jibriel
and claim that he is the same as the Gabriel who appeared to Mary and Zachariah.
* Books: The Bible contains 66 books (actually 70, since the book of Psalms contains 5
books) written by some 40 messengers and scribes. The Bible says that only the ten
commandments were written and given by God to Moses, but the rest of scriptures were
written by men under the inspiration and leading of the Holy Spirit. The Quran claims that
all the Scriptures were handed over directly to certain prophets.
* Gospels: In the Bible there are four Gospels, two written by two
Apostles (Jesus' direct disciples) and the two others by two disciples of the Apostles.
They all were written after Jesus return to heaven, during the birth and installation of
the Christian Church. There is no mention in the Gospels that Jesus ever received any
book(s). According to Quran, there was one Gospel (Injil) and it was handed over to Jesus
('Isa) through Gabriel (Jibriel).
* Structure: The Bible is composed of two testaments and five types of books
(Historical; Laws and Instructions; Poems; Prophecies; Gospels) and written in Three
languages (Hebrew/Aramaic/Greek) and in a variety of styles depending on the writers. The
Quran is written all in Arabic and from its beginning to its end, it has a similar poetic
pattern.
* Order: The Bible is a series of books in order. It goes through all of history form
the beginning of time and describes the future, even till the very end. The Quran has it
all mixed up. There is no order in it. Many stories are mixed together. In other words,
the Bible can be illustrated as a detailed and clear picture where you can see God in the
center of it, while the Quran is an abstract dark picture where you can see only a
mysterious black hole difficult to identify.
* Rules: The Bible's rules are made for men to instruct and train them about life in
heaven. The Quran's rules are earthly rules made for living in earth only. The strange
thing about the Quran's laws is that many of them forbids things on earth but promise to
grant those same things in 'heaven' (i.e. drinking wine and having sex outside marriage).
* Scripture's preservation: The Bible clearly mentions that all the scriptures that
are in it are God breathed and are totally preserved by Him for eternity. Toward its end,
the Bible also warns believers not to accept any other books that may come later on. The
Quran claims that Allah (God according to Muslims) is God final revelation that came to
correct and to complete the Bible. Even though there is no clear mention in the Quran that
the Bible is corrupted, Muslims strongly believe so and accuse the Jews and Christians of
perverting God's scriptures and betraying Him. In its early revelations, the Quran seems
to tolerate the Bible and even urged Muhammad and his fellows to examine the Scriptures
and not to argue with 'the people of the book' (Bible). But toward the latest revelation
the Quran seems very hostile against Christians and Jews.
* Accounts: There are several contradictions between the Biblical accounts and the
Quranic ones that prove that the source of the two books can not be the same. Here are
some strong examples:
- Satan's fall from heaven: According to the Bible Satan was cast out of heaven before
the creation of man, because he rebelled against God and tried to overthrow Him and take
His place. The Quran says that Satan fall because he refused to bow down to Adam (worship
him). Furthermore, in the Bible God commanded man not to bow down to anyone else rather
than Him. In the Quran Allah urged all the created beings to bow to Adam (To break God's
second commandment). When Satan refused to break the commandment, Allah threw him out from
heaven!
- Cain's murder of Abel: In the Bible account, Cain murdered his brother Abel because
of jealousy, since God accepted Abel's sacrifice but rejected Cain's offering. The Quran
says that Cain killed his brother because of a dispute over a sister they both desired to
get as a wife.
- House of worship: In the Bible there is no mention of any stone-made house of prayer
for God before Solomon's Temple. The Quran claims that Adam built the first house of
prayer and that Abraham and Ishmael rebuilt it after the flood. That house of prayer is
the Ka'ba (cube) in Mecca (Saudi Arabia). There is no mention of such house in the Bible
and there is no evidence, which can support any of these claims, neither from the Bible
nor from secular resources.
- Covenant: In the Bible, God (Yahweh) made an eternal, irrevocable covenant with the
nation of Israel. According to Quran, Allah canceled his oat to the patriarchs, rejected
Israel and instead He made a covenant with Muhammad (Ishmael's seed) and the Muslims.
- Haman: According to the Bible, he is an Amalekite, an enemy of the Jews and a
military officer. He lived in Persia during the 5th. Century B.C. According to
the Quran, he is an Egyptian high priest who lived during the time of Moses (15th.
Century B.C.)
- Swearing: The God of the Bible (Yahweh) never swore by anything
except by His name, because His name is greater than anything. Allah of the Quran has no
problem to swear by anything he wishes, i.e. the sun, moon, stars, meteors, days, nights,
angels (demons), places, mountains, people, animals, objects...
- Prophets: The Bible and Christianity emphasize that all men are sinners by nature
and that even prophets were not protected from committing sins. In fact, there are many
Biblical stories that expose the sins and mistakes of several prophets. The Quran and
Islam emphasize the opposite by considering that humans are not sinners from birth and
that all the prophets were faultless and protected from sin.
- Heaven: The Bible's description of heaven is more of illustrative than literal and
it talk more about spiritual matters like righteousness, love, peace, joy... In the Quran,
heaven is a kind of a resort where fleshly desires can be all met freely (sex, food,
drinking...). Furthermore, in the Bible's heaven God is the center and main focus of
everything. In the Quran's heaven there is no mention of any god or God, only men and
angels (demons) are to live there in total 'freedom'.
- Commandments: In the Bible there are ten (bottom line) commandments: Honor God; Not
to worship idols; Not to misuse God's name; Observe the Sabbath; Honor parents; Not to
murder; Not to commit adultery; Not to steal; Not to lie; Not to covet. Instead, the
Quran's (bottom line) commandments or pillars are Confession of the Islamic faith; Ritual
of prayer; Fasting; Tithing; Pilgrimage to Mecca.
- Marriage in heaven: The Bible clearly states that there will be no marriage or sex
involved in heaven. Men and women are to be equal and without gender like angels. The
Quran and Hadeeth (Muhammad' sayings) assure, at least, male Muslims that their sexual
pleasures will be fully met and that they will have thousands of heavenly virgins (hurayyat)
passionately waiting to satisfy the fleshly desires of each one of them.
- Genealogy: The Bible's Mary, Jesus' mother is a descendent of David and Judah. In
the Quran's Marriam, Isa's mother (assuming that is Jesus) is a descendent of Levi,
Judah's older brother. The Quran also calls her, 'Mirriam Bintu Imran' while there is no
presence of any 'Imran' in the whole Bible.
- Nativity: The Bible's Jesus was born in a manger in a stable in Bethlehem. The
Quran's Isa was born under a tree in a hill outside of town.
- Crucifixion and resurrection of Christ: The crucifixion and the
resurrection of Jesus are very clear facts in the Bible and they form the heart of the
whole Bible's message. Despite the fact that the literal crucifixion and death of Christ
can be proven true not only from the Bible but also from secular and extra-Biblical
sources, the Quran strongly stands against such statement and considers it a lie and a
delusion, but without giving any factual evidence. Stating that Jesus died on the cross is
considered as a blasphemy, which deserves capital punishment in Islam.
- Personalities: The Bible's Abraham, Moses, Marry, Jesus, Gabriel, Satan… seem
to be different personalities and characters than those described in the Quran: Ibrahim,
Moosa, Marriam, Isa, Jibriel, Iblis…
Confusion: After my outward conversion to Christianity, I began digging
in the Bible for clues that could bring Islam and Christianity close to each other.
However, I contrarily began to notice that the difference between them was getting deeper
and larger to the point that there was no way these two religions could be from the same
source. The Islamic idea that the Bible was falsified and perverted by the Jews could no
longer convince me. Very soon, I accumulated several remarks and doubts that confused me.
They were mainly as follows:
* If Allah is the true and personal name of God, why he didn't use
it in the Bible, but instead He used
Yahweh?
* It is obvious that the Allah of the Quran and Yahweh of the Bible can not be the
same God, who speaks in both books. Which one is the True God or even who is God?
* Where in the Bible does it mention about the coming of Muhammad and Islam?
* If the Quran and the Bible are the book of the same God, why then
do they contradict each other?
(Both the Bible and the Quran often talk in the first person of a
heavenly being speaking to men.)
* Why do Christians claim that Jesus is God and that God is Triune? What Biblical
evidence do they have?
* If God really exists and really spoke to the prophets and still speaks to theses
Christians, can't He speak to someone like me too?
At that time, I couldn't open up to anybody and share about my questions. Out of my fear,
I kept all those doubts tormenting me on the inside. I thought that if our pastor knew
that I had those doubts about Christianity, he would throw me out of the Church and take
back the job from me. At the time, I was unaware that these fears were a lie from Satan to
keep me in darkness and under his control. We can always be honest before God with any
doubt or question.
  
|
