Author: Abdul Hamid Gorgij
The Method of Christians in Spreading Doubts about Islam (the 3rd and final part)
Fallacies of the Christians
Christians, in order to cast doubt on reasoning, resort to fallacies. Among them is the statement of Habib Saeed in his book Religions of the World, where he says: “In the Qur’an, God speaks about Himself in the plural form, and the plural indicates trinitarianism.” He also says: “The Qur’an attributes the act of creation to Jesus Christ (peace be upon him). Therefore, Jesus is together with the God who speaks about Himself in the plural, meaning they are two, and whoever creates a living being is a deity and an object of worship.” [1]
Similar fallacies are found in the book Al-Istihalah as well. After mentioning the miracles of Jesus such as creating a bird from clay and breathing into it to become a real bird, and raising the dead—miracles mentioned in the Qur’an—it says: “Islam on one hand testifies that the only one who revives decayed bones is the One who created them the first time, and on the other hand, Islam testifies that Jesus revives the dead. So what is Jesus? Is he not the same Ever-Living God who revives and causes death, the One who created in the first place?” [2]
The fallacy of Waheeb Khalil lies in the fact that the verses explicitly state that all these acts were done “بِإِذْنِ اللَّهِ” (by the permission of Allah). Meaning the true doer of creation and giving life is Allah. Yet the cunning Christian closes his eyes to the clause “bi-idhni” (by My permission). Moreover, the miracles of Jesus are mentioned in a context that emphasizes nothing but his prophethood.
Another fallacy of Waheeb Khalil, the Christian, is his argument for trinitarianism in Islam, saying: “When a Muslim swears an oath, by what does he swear? The Muslim, when swearing, says: ‘Wallahi al-‘Azim’ three times. Why does he not suffice with saying it once? If the purpose is emphasis, then he could repeat it more times, not necessarily three. The true meaning of ‘Wallahi al-‘Azim thalathah’ is: God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit. Likewise, the number of divorces in Islam is three; why is divorce complete with three? Because marriage is made complete in the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. These are, in reality, transfers of trinitarianism into Islam with slight adjustments.” [3]
In response, it must be said: When a Muslim repeats Besmellah or any phrase three times, no thought of Christian trinity crosses his mind. It is merely a rhetorical device for emphasis. The Arabs, unlike two, four, or six, considered numbers such as three, seven, and seventy as denoting abundance. Moreover, three is the first stage of plurality that indicates multiplicity, and for this reason people often use it.
Al-Mut‘ani, in refuting this doubt, says: The Muslim says “Wallahi al-‘Azim thalathan” and not “thalathah”. Therefore, the accusative (distinguishing word) of thalath is implied, meaning “marratan” (times), i.e., “I swear three times.” He may swear once or ten times, and none of these have any relation to trinitarianism.
Ibn al-Khatib ridicules such reasoning by Christians and says: Christians could also argue for trinitarianism from the fact that the number of those who failed to participate in the Battle of Tabuk was also three, or that the waiting period of a divorced woman is three months, or that whoever performs tamattu‘ Hajj must fast three days during Hajj. Do all these truly indicate trinitarianism?!
Among the fallacies of Christians is also the claim of the priest Shorosh, who said: “There are non-Arabic names in the Qur’an, such as Ibrahim, Pharaoh, and Adam. This contradicts the Qur’an being in Arabic.” While proper nouns are not bound to the language in which they are used.
Another fallacy of Shorosh is his saying: “Why does the Qur’an call the Messiah ‘Isa, while the Gospels mention him by his Hebrew or Syriac name ‘Yasou‘ (Jesus)?” He asked: “I want Mr. Ahmed Deedat to explain from where the name ‘Isa in the Qur’an has come, while in Arabic his name is Yasou‘.” The fallacy here lies in the fact that when names and words move from one language to another, it is not necessary for them to remain exactly the same; rather, they must adapt to the linguistic structure of the receiving language. Ironically, Shorosh himself, only minutes later, committed the same act when quoting from the Gospel in Arabic: “فقال له عيسى أنا هو الصراط” (Jesus said to him: I am the path)—using the Arabic name ‘Isa. Again, when speaking of Mariyah, the wife of the Prophet, he changed the name to Maryam, the Arabic form, and said: “His eighth wife, Maryam, was a Christian from Egypt.”
Another fallacy is that of the author of Al-Haqq, who said: “Isaiah, about seven hundred years before Christ, said: ‘Sitting upon the circle of the earth.’ Yet scientists only agreed on the earth being spherical in 1543 AD. Meanwhile, the Qur’an says: وَالْأَرْضَ مَدَدْنَاهَا” [4]” Translation: “And We have spread out the earth.”
And also: وَاللهُ جَعَلَ لَكُمُ الْأَرْضَ بِسَاطًا” [5]” Translation: “And Allah has made the earth for you as a carpet.”
And: وَهُوَ الَّذِي مَدَّ الْأَرْضَ” [6]” Translation: “And He is the One who spread out the earth.”
From these verses, this Christian concludes that the Qur’an denies the sphericity of the earth.
Ibn al-Khatib explains the meaning of these verses, saying: They refer to the earth being spread, leveled, and made suitable for human walking as we perceive it, i.e., the land surface. However, when the Qur’an speaks of the earth as a celestial body, its wording is more accurate than the Torah or the claims of this Christian.
Allah says: وَالْأَرْضَ بَعْدَ ذَلِكَ دَحَاهَا” [7]” Translation: “And after that, He spread out the earth.”
Meaning He shaped the earth like a dahiyah (egg), and the egg shape matches the earth’s form. This expression is scientifically more precise than merely saying the earth is spherical, since scientists have proven the earth is slightly flattened at the poles.
Christians, in order to create doubts, judge the Qur’an based on their own baseless and unreliable books, presenting them as if they were historically authentic and undisputed. They deny the Qur’an’s naming of Abraham’s father as Azar because in the Torah he is called Terah. [8]
They also deny that Ishmael was the one offered in sacrifice, claiming instead that it was Isaac as in the Torah. [9]
They deny that Pharaoh’s wife cared for Moses, saying it was Pharaoh’s daughter according to the Torah. [10]
They deny that the cow of the Israelites was yellowish and bright, saying instead that it was red as stated in the Torah. [11]
Christians also quote strange and rejected statements from Muslim books as if they were accepted Islamic reports. For example, priest Shorosh, when defending the exaggerations of the Torah, rejecting claims that they are exaggerated—such as the story of Samson killing a thousand Philistines with the jawbone of a donkey—[12]
Shorosh, seeking to plant doubts, tells his listeners that such exaggerations are not unique, but are also found in Islamic history books. He says: Al-Mas‘udi in his book Muruj al-Dhahab reports that Ali (may Allah be pleased with him), in one day, killed 525 men with his bare hands, without any weapon, stick, or donkey’s jawbone. The priest asks: “Which is more believable: this story or the killing of a thousand Philistines by Samson with the jawbone of a donkey?”
The answer to this is: Muslims do not regard al-Mas‘udi’s book as authoritative, and such reports and their narrators are criticized, let alone being used as proof against Muslims. Moreover, what the priest attributes to al-Mas‘udi is not free of distortion, for al-Mas‘udi, when mentioning the large number of casualties in the Battle of Siffin, said that Ali killed 523 in a single day. His intent was not that Ali killed them all with bare hands, but that a large number were slain at his hands. [13]
Continues…
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References:
[1] – World Religions, Habib Saeed, p. 87.
[2] – The Impossibility of Tahrif al-Kitab al-Maqdis, Wahib Khalil, p. 304.
[3] – Ibid., p. 879.
[4] – Surah Al-Hijr, verse: 7.
[5] – Surah Nuh, verse: 19.
[6] – Surah Ra’d, verse: 3.
[7] – Surah Al-Naz’at, verse: 30.
[8] – Genesis, vol. 11, p. 27.
[9] – Genesis, vol. 22, pp. 9-12.
[10] – Exodus, vol. 2, pp. 5-7.
[11] – Numbers, vol. 19, pp. 1-4.
[12] – Judgment, vol. 15, p. 15.
[13] – Doubts of Christians about Islam, p. 21.
