Zawadi's main argument is that the Torah and the Gospel came beforehand, but now the Quran is the standard, and thus previous revelations are subordinate. Therefore, when you have a Surah like 5:68 which says:
"Say: "O People of the Book! ye have no ground to stand upon unless ye stand fast by the Law, the Gospel, and all the revelation that has come to you from your Lord." It is the revelation that cometh to thee from thy Lord, that increaseth in most of them their obstinate rebellion and blasphemy. But sorrow thou not over (these) people without Faith."
He takes that to mean that the Law and the Gospel are subordinate to "all the revelation that has come to you from your Lord", aka the Quran. First the phrase "all the revelation that has come to you from your Lord" isn't a reference to the Quran. In fact, given that this revelation didn't come to the People of the Book (Jews and Christians), but to Muhammad, this could not be a reference to the Quran. If this was supposed to be a reference to the Quran, why tell Israel to listen to that which has been revealed to them? Why not instead command them to listen to what has been revealed to Muhammad?
But there's an even more central problem. The aiya says to stand fast by the Law, the Gospel, AND all the revelation that has come from your Lord. In other words, it doesn't say to subordinate the Law and the Gospel to the revelation. The People of the book are to stand behind all three, not one over the other. Now, the other Surah's he cites certainly demonstrates that the author of the Quran meant for the Quran to be a revelation from Allah. It is also true that the author sees the Quran as confirming that which came before. But it's not true that the Quran judges the Law and the Gospel; according to 5:68, if we take "revelation" to be the Quran (which I dispute), then Christians are supposed to stand behind all three. Zawadi seems to see this, but he doesn't realize the problem: to stand behind all three is impossible. Why would Allah tell us to stand behind the Law and the Gospel when all that's needed to stand behind is the Quran? Why would he say to stand behind the Law, the Gospel, AND the Quran rather than just tell us to stand by the Quran, and judge the Law and the Gospel by the Quran? It seems to me much more likely that the author of the Quran thought that the Law and the Gospel as it was supported the Quran.
Really quick, I want to address his mis-inference from a hadith. He says:
"They said, "In the Torah, we find that if four men testify that they saw his male organ in her womb, similar to when the eyeliner is inserted inside the eyeliner container; in this case they are stoned." The Prophet peace be upon him said, "What made you stop stoning?" They said, "Our kingship (meaning Jewish) was taken from us and we hated killing." The Messenger of Allah asked for four witnesses and they brought four men who testified that they saw his penis in her womb like the eyeliner is inserted in the eyeliner container. The Messenger of Allah ordered that the two [adulterers] are stoned"
He says this provides indirect evidence that the Torah has been toyed with because we find no such thing in the Torah about four men or eyeliner. However, we do find something about witnesses: "“A single witness shall not suffice against a person for any crime or for any wrong in connection with any offense that he has committed. Only on the evidence of two witnesses or of three witnesses shall a charge be established." - Deuteronomy 19:15
In order for someone to be convicted of a crime, this verse set a minimum. Obviously, if one had more than two or three witnesses to a crime, it would be outlandish to think that the criminal wouldn't be punished. Hence, these men were right; if four men testified to another man's crime of adultery, this would constitute evidence. The eyeliner line is simply a crude analogy describe sexual intercourse-it's not describing what was in the law.
Moving on.
Let's take a look at Surah 5:47. Zawadi argues that this verse applies to everyone because of the second half of the verse, which is a universal condemnatory statement. So it's referring to the undistorted version of the Gospel. However, this doesn't work. Let's look at verses 46-48.And We sent, following in their footsteps, Jesus, the son of Mary, confirming that which came before him in the Torah; and We gave him the Gospel, in which was guidance and light and confirming that which preceded it of the Torah as guidance and instruction for the righteous. And let the People of the Gospel judge by what Allah has revealed therein. And whoever does not judge by what Allah has revealed - then it is those who are the defiantly disobedient.And We have revealed to you, [O Muhammad], the Book in truth, confirming that which preceded it of the Scripture and as a guardian over it. So judge between them by what Allah has revealed and do not follow their inclinations away from what has come to you of the truth. To each of you We prescribed a law and a method. Had Allah willed, He would have made you one nation [united in religion], but [He intended] to test you in what He has given you; so race to [all that is] good. To Allah is your return all together, and He will [then] inform you concerning that over which you used to differ.
In context, what was revealed therein is was the Gospel. And Muhammad-not the Jews-is supposed to judge between them by the Book in truth (i.e the Quran). Again, the question still stands: why, if the Gospel the Christians possessed at the time was corrupted, would Allah tell them to judge by it? The verse isn't saying to judge the Gospel by the Quran-it's saying to do it the other way around. I want to press this point further. Surah 4:136:
"O you who have believed, believe in Allah and His Messenger and the Book that He sent down upon His Messenger and the Scripture which He sent down before. And whoever disbelieves in Allah , His angels, His books, His messengers, and the Last Day has certainly gone far astray."
Now, could one argue that this verse is saying to use the Book to judge the Scripture He sent down before? No, because the verse is saying to believe the book that He sent down AND the Scripture which He sent before. Why would Allah distinguish between the two, and then tell Muslims to believe both if the Scriptures were corrupt? Why not just tell Muslims to believe in the Book and to judge that which came before? If the author of the Quran really believed that the Scriptures were corrupt, why would he have told Muslims to believe both?
Moving on.
Let's take a look at Surah 5:47. Zawadi argues that this verse applies to everyone because of the second half of the verse, which is a universal condemnatory statement. So it's referring to the undistorted version of the Gospel. However, this doesn't work. Let's look at verses 46-48.And We sent, following in their footsteps, Jesus, the son of Mary, confirming that which came before him in the Torah; and We gave him the Gospel, in which was guidance and light and confirming that which preceded it of the Torah as guidance and instruction for the righteous. And let the People of the Gospel judge by what Allah has revealed therein. And whoever does not judge by what Allah has revealed - then it is those who are the defiantly disobedient.And We have revealed to you, [O Muhammad], the Book in truth, confirming that which preceded it of the Scripture and as a guardian over it. So judge between them by what Allah has revealed and do not follow their inclinations away from what has come to you of the truth. To each of you We prescribed a law and a method. Had Allah willed, He would have made you one nation [united in religion], but [He intended] to test you in what He has given you; so race to [all that is] good. To Allah is your return all together, and He will [then] inform you concerning that over which you used to differ.
In context, what was revealed therein is was the Gospel. And Muhammad-not the Jews-is supposed to judge between them by the Book in truth (i.e the Quran). Again, the question still stands: why, if the Gospel the Christians possessed at the time was corrupted, would Allah tell them to judge by it? The verse isn't saying to judge the Gospel by the Quran-it's saying to do it the other way around. I want to press this point further. Surah 4:136:
"O you who have believed, believe in Allah and His Messenger and the Book that He sent down upon His Messenger and the Scripture which He sent down before. And whoever disbelieves in Allah , His angels, His books, His messengers, and the Last Day has certainly gone far astray."
Now, could one argue that this verse is saying to use the Book to judge the Scripture He sent down before? No, because the verse is saying to believe the book that He sent down AND the Scripture which He sent before. Why would Allah distinguish between the two, and then tell Muslims to believe both if the Scriptures were corrupt? Why not just tell Muslims to believe in the Book and to judge that which came before? If the author of the Quran really believed that the Scriptures were corrupt, why would he have told Muslims to believe both?
And of course, if Christian Scriptures weren't corrupt, that presents a problem since we know what they said. Allah would be telling people to believe contradictory messages. Moreover, Allah says that we find Muhammad mentioned in our own Scriptures. Of course, we don't though. http://www.answering-islam.org/Authors/Wood/muhammad_in_bible.htm
Now, let us suppose that Zawadi is right in interpreting the verse to mean that Christians should judge by the Quran. In that case, Surah 5:68 (and the 47 I think), which tell us to judge by the Gospel, are really telling us to judge the Quran...by the Quran. But in that case, why tell us to judge by the Gospel at all? Why tell Christians to judge by the Gospel if Allah really meant by that to judge by the Quran? That doesn't work.
So it seems that the argument still stands.
Now, let us suppose that Zawadi is right in interpreting the verse to mean that Christians should judge by the Quran. In that case, Surah 5:68 (and the 47 I think), which tell us to judge by the Gospel, are really telling us to judge the Quran...by the Quran. But in that case, why tell us to judge by the Gospel at all? Why tell Christians to judge by the Gospel if Allah really meant by that to judge by the Quran? That doesn't work.
So it seems that the argument still stands.
No comments:
Post a Comment