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Lesson One
All true people of faith have been united in their belief
in Allah and His Word. Throughout history Allah has sent His
Word through various prophets. By that Word mankind has learned
much about Allah and how to obey and please Him. Allah's Word
has always been the most precious possession of people of faith.
It has directed their actions and their relationship with Allah.
Thus, faith in Allah's Word is one of the basic signs of a follower
of Allah. Yet, what does faith in Allah's Word really involve?
If I claim to have faith in Allah's Word, what should be my relationship
to that Word?
It is sometimes claimed, for example, that while we must believe
in all Scripture as given by Allah, we cannot accept or live
by them all because one or more Scripture has been changed. Others
feel earlier Scripture has been abrogated or made out of date
by more recent Scriptures.
These are extremely serious charges. If such charges are false,
then those who claim otherwise are committing a terrible offense
against Allah. They are denying and rejecting what Allah has
given them, a truly terrible act for anyone desiring to be a
servant of Allah. Thus, what faith in Allah's Word really involves
is a question that deserves our serious attention and study.
Is Allah's Word reliable, trustworthy and applicable for us today?
Let us examine what the Quran has to say about the reliability
of Scripture.
One of the most basic attributes of Allah is His omnipotence.
This means that he is all powerful, and no one - neither man,
nor angel, nor Satan - can frustrate His plans or nullify His
wishes. It is a simple result of Allah's omnipotence that, as
He gave Scripture to man, so He is able to preserve it from corruption
by man. That is the very clear teaching of the Quran. The following
verses are quite explicit in this:
Perfected is the Word of thy Lord in truth and Justice. There
is naught that can change His words. He is the Hearer, the Knower.
Sura 6:115
There is no changing the Words of Allah.
Sura 10:64
And recite that which hath been revealed unto thee of the
Scripture of Thy Lord. There is none who can change His words,
and thou wilt find no refuge beside Him.
Sura 18:27
That Allah should keep His Word uncorrupted is very necessary
if we consider His purpose in sending it. Allah sent His Word
as a light and a direction for mankind. He would certainly never
allow that light to become corrupted. To do so would be to result
in the opposite of what He intended. It would lead people away
from Allah and into sin and darkness. For Allah to send His Word
and command people to obey it but then allow it to be corrupted
and become a false guide would result in His leading astray untold
millions of sincere believers.
Similarly, to abrogate or set aside His Word without clearly
stating that fact and specifying the Scriptures abrogated would
also be to lead astray sincere followers. Certainly if Allah
had annulled His earlier Scriptures, He would have given clear
instruction of that in His Word. Yet, such is totally lacking.
It is because Allah has neither allowed His Word to be corrupted
nor annulled that the true believer is commanded to have faith
in that Word. The Quran says:
O ye who believe, Believe in Allah and His messenger and the
Scripture which He hath revealed unto His messenger, and the
Scripture which He revealed aforetime. Whoso disbelieveth in
Allah and His angels and His Scriptures and His messengers and
the Last Day, he verily hath wandered far astray.
Sura 4:136
But say, I believe in whatever Scripture Allah hath sent down.
Sura 42:15
Lo. Ye are those who love them though they love you not, and
ye believe in all the Scripture.
Sura 3:119
Yet, true faith is not just an intellectual assent. Faith
also involves a commitment to follow and to obey and to refer
to for direction when in doubt. Thus, we find verses such as
the following:
Say: O People of the Scripture. Ye have naught (of guidance)
till ye observe the Taurat and the and that which was revealed
unto you from the Lord.
Sura 5:68
And if thou art in doubt concerning that which We reveal unto
thee, then question those who read the Scripture (that was) before
thee.
Sura 10:95
Such commands would certainly not have been given had the
and been corrupted or abrogated. Further, the Quran
is explicit in describing why the believer should refer to and
obey Scriptures such as the and the . It is because
they contain light and direction for Allah's people. Thus:
How come they unto thee for judgment when they have the ,
wherein Allah hath delivered judgment? Lo, we did reveal the
, wherein is guidance and a light.
Sura 5:43,44
If the Quran taught that Allah's Word had been changed or
abrogated, obviously the above would never have been written.
Instead, we would expect the Quran to give clear teaching on
that fact and give the Scriptures that were so abrogated. Such
is, however, simply not the case and is the reason why those
who make such claims do not use verses from the Quran in support
of their claims.
In the light of such facts, some will agree that at the time
the Quran was given, the and were pure and uncorrupted.
But they go on to claim that it was at a later date, after the
Quran was written, that the hateful work was done and the Scriptures
changed. Yet, such a claim is easily dispensed with as false
by simple facts of history.
It is an undisputed fact that many copies of Allah's Word
that were made long before the giving of the Quran are presently
in existence in museums around the world. These copies of the
originals are in both the original Greek and Hebrew language
and in many different translations in other languages. Some of
the very early Scriptures go back to 800 years before the Quran.
Yet, except for minor scribal errors, they agree perfectly with
each other and with our present Scriptures.
A striking confirmation of this was seen when in 1947 and
following many ancient copies of Scripture were discovered in
the Qumran caves around the Dead Sea in Palestine. These manuscripts
belonged to the library of a Jewish community which lived in
that area from 125 B.C. to A.D. 70. It was found that those copies,
some dating 700 years before the Quran and all at least 500 years
before it, agree totally with our present texts. Thus, it is
clear that no corruption has taken place after the Quran.
The above testimony concerning the reliability of Scripture
should satisfy any true believer in the Quran. Some, however,
do not seem to accept even such evidence. For such people we
would simply ask the following questions:
First, if it is claimed that Scripture was changed, how was
it done? Copies of both the original Scriptures and translations
were made very early and accompanied believers as they spread
throughout Africa, Asia and Europe. Not only were copies kept
in places of worship, but individual believers would often have
their own personal copy. For any one man or group of men to attempt
to track down and corrupt all Scriptures on three continents
was clearly an impossible task. Not only would it have been impossible
to track down all copies, but it would be unthinkable to imagine
that all believers would have allowed their copies to be corrupted.
As the Quran says:
And thou wilt find the nearest of them in affection to those
who believe to be those who say: Lo, we are Christians. That
is because there are among them priests and monks, and because
they are not proud.
Sura 5:82
Sincere believers such as these would never have submitted
their Scriptures to corruption.
Our second question is, Who would have done such a terrible
thing? Some claim the Jews and the Christians together. Yet,
both groups were suspicious of each other and would never have
worked together. As is recorded in the Quran:
And the Jews say the Christians follow nothing, and the Christians
say the Jews follow nothing true; yet both are readers of the
Scripture.
Sura 2:115
And while they could not have worked together, it is equally
unthinkable to suppose they could have worked independently.
Had one group ever attempted such a thing, the other would immediately
have exposed their evil plans.
A third question that needs to be answered is, Where is the
original and uncorrupted copy of Scripture? History carries no
record that such an impossible task was ever done. Thus, as evidence,
those who claim Allah's Word was changed should be able to show
the original Scripture and point out the changes. Yet, such has
never been possible.
A final and most important question that needs an answer is,
Why would anyone seek to change their Scriptures? There are,
after all, strict prohibitions in Allah's Word against any man
attempting such an ungodly work as to change that Word. Thus,
in the it is written:
I warn everyone who hears the words of the prophecy of this
book: If anyone adds anything to them, Allah will add to him
the plagues described in this book. And if anyone takes words
away from this book of prophecy, Allah will take away from him
his share in the tree of life and in the holy city, which are
described in this book.
Revelation 22:18,19
Considering such severe penalties involved, why would anyone
try to change Allah's Word?
In view of what we have just examined, we feel an honest inquirer
can reach no other conclusion but that Allah's Word is both trustworthy
and binding on all those who are His people. We would request
only that those who think otherwise provide proof for their claims.
May we each read and obey Allah's Holy Word.
QUESTIONS:
The first nine questions below are multiple choice. Simply press
the button by the statement you feel best answers the question.
Question ten asks you to put down your own ideas. Answer it truthfully
and to the best of your knowledge.
1. According to the Quran, can Allah's Word be changed?
a. Yes, quite
easily.
b. No, never.
c. Yes,
but only very infrequently and with great effort.
2. Who has Allah said would protect Holy Scripture from being
changed?
a. Angels.
b. Allah Himself.
c. The
prophets.
3. What would be the result if Allah were to allow His Word
to be changed?
a. Thousands of
faithful believers would be led astray.
b. No serious results
would follow.
c. Many
would be thereby encouraged to read and obey Allah's Word.
4. According to the Quran, who is required to believe in all
of Allah's Word?
a. All true believers.
b. Only some believers.
c. No
one.
5. According to the Quran, the contains:
a. Correct instruction
and light.
b. Some mistakes.
c. Information
irrelevant for today.
6. Copies of the and in the original languages
are in existence from:
a. Several hundred
years before the Quran.
b. The time of the
Quran.
c. Only
long after the Quran.
7. The and were originally written in:
a. Hebrew and
Greek.
b. English.
c. Arabic
and Urdu.
8. The holy :
a. Severely warns
people against attempting to change Allah's Word.
b. Encourages people
to change Allah's Word.
c. Says
nothing about changing Allah's Word.
9. The and could not have been changed after the
Quran was given because:
a. Jews and Christians
would not have cooperated in such a task.
b. Allah has promised
to keep His Word uncorrupted.
c. Both
of the above.
10. What would you say to someone who says that the ,
and have been changed and corrupted?
If you wish to answer the above questions and do the entire course,
enroll as a member of Scripture Research Institute.
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