Refutation → Qur'an Error: Israel’s Response to the Covenant

By: Shahid Bin Waheed شاهد بن وحيد

بسم الله الرحمن الرحيم

الحمدلله رب العالمين والصلوة والسلام على اشرف الانبياء وسيدالمرسلين نبينا محمد صل ا لله عليه وعلى آله واصحابه وازواجه اجمعين - امابعد

Thanks to be Allaah, Sustainer of the Universe, and blessing and salutation to be the most distinguish of the Messengers and foremost among the Prophets, our Prophet Muhammad, peace and blessings of Allaah be on him and on his wives, children and Companions.

In this treatise, we will inSha Allaah refute Christian missionary website “answering-islam.org” which has published an article authored by Sam Shamoun titled: Qur'an Error: Israel’s Response to the Covenant.

Shamoun opens his article stating that:

The Quran erroneously states that when God made a covenant with Israel through Moses, the people responded by saying that they disobey:

There came to you Moses with clear (Signs); yet ye worshipped the calf (Even) after that, and ye did behave wrongfully. And remember We took your covenant and We raised above you (the towering height) of Mount (Sinai): (Saying): "Hold firmly to what We have given you, and hearken (to the Law)": They said: "We hear, and WE DISOBEY:" And they had to drink into their hearts (of the taint) of the calf because of their Faithlessness. Say: "Vile indeed are the behests of your Faith if ye have any faith!" S. 2:92-93 Y. Ali

Refutation!

Before I refute the fallacious assumption of Sam Shamoun, I like to point out that Shamoun has not quoted Qur’aan above as his source. He has rather used the word of man (translation of the meaning of Glorious Qur’aan by a questionable translator). Let us examine the Glorious Qur’aan (2:92-93) using literal word of Allaah and then describe the facts while impeaching Sam Shamoun.

Surah Al-Baqarah 92

وَلَقَدْ جَاءَكُمْ مُوسَى بِالْبَيِّنَاتِ ثُمَّ اتَّخَذْتُمُ الْعِجْلَ مِنْ بَعْدِهِ وَأَنْتُمْ ظَالِمُونَ (92)

وَإِذْ أَخَذْنَا مِيثَاقَكُمْ وَرَفَعْنَا فَوْقَكُمُ الطُّورَ خُذُوا مَا آتَيْنَاكُمْ بِقُوَّةٍ وَاسْمَعُوا قَالُوا سَمِعْنَا وَعَصَيْنَا وَأُشْرِبُوا فِي قُلُوبِهِمُ الْعِجْلَ بِكُفْرِهِمْ قُلْ بِئْسَمَا يَأْمُرُكُمْ بِهِ إِيمَانُكُمْ إِنْ كُنْتُمْ مُؤْمِنِينَ (93)

And indeed Mûsâ came to you with clear proofs, yet you worshipped the calf after he left, and you were Zâlimûn (polytheists and wrongdoers). And (remember) when We took your covenant and We raised above you the Mount (saying), "Hold firmly to what We have given you and hear (Our Word)." They said, "We have heard and disobeyed." And their hearts absorbed (the worship of) the calf because of their disbelief. Say: "Worst indeed is that which your faith enjoins on you if you are believers."

First fallacy in Shamoun’s argument is that he has used the word of man (translation by man) to attack the word of Allaah.

Second fallacy in Shamoun’s argument is the he has lifted the translation of the meaning of Glorious Qur’aan off the context.

Third fallacy in Shamoun’s argument is that ,in his quote of translation of Qur’aan 2:92-93, the thought, the meaning and message is incomplete. This is an obvious indicator that Shamoun is ignorant of Qur’aan and of issue in question, he has chosen to comment upon.

Any person with knowledge of Qur’aan knows that in Ayaat آيات 2:40-121 (from 2:40 though 2:121) details are given of the story of invitation to the guidance to the Children of Israel بنی اسرايًل. The Ayaat آيات 2:92-93 are about the incident of worshipping of golden calf along with former and latter Ayaat آيات. Ayaah آيه 2:92 is about reminding Children of Israel بنی اسرايًل with mention of بِالْبَيِّنَاتِ that Musa عليه السلام came to you with clear proofs, referring to the miracles which had manifested themselves even before the Taurât توريت was given to Musa عليه السلام – for example, his staff that turned into s snake, the palm of his hand which shone brightly, the splitting of the sea to make a path etc. These miracles were meant to affirm the Oneness of Allaah and His Omnipotence, while providing an evidence for the Prophethood of Musa عليه السلام. In refutation of the Jews, the Ayaah آيه 2:92 points out that although they lay a claim of Iman ايمان (faith), yet they have been falling into the sin of Shirk شرك (polytheism/association), which involves a denial not only of Musa عليه السلام but even Allaah, Himself.

Thus, the Ayaah آيه 2:92 addressing to the Jews who were contemporaries of Prophet Muhammad صلی الله عليه وسلم, and did not themselves take part in worshipping the golden calf, yet they respected such of their forefathers as had done so, while taking their side. So, for all practical purposes, they two were guilty of same sin. The Ayaah آيه 2:92 also suggests that no wonder if these Jews, whose forefathers denied Musa عليه السلام, should not be denying the Prophet Muhammad صلی الله عليه وسلم.

Ayaah آيه 2:93 is in refutation to the Jews’ claim to be authentic and true believers, while recounting an incident which is already referred in Qur’aan 2:63 about the success of Children of Israel بنی اسرايًل with the help of Allaah, in escaping from Egypt and crossing the sea. They came upon the people who used to worship idols; they found this cult so attractive that they requested Musa عليه السلام to fabricate a visible concrete god for them too. When Musa عليه السلام reprimanded them. Ayaah آيه 2:93 reports the Jews as having replied that they had heard the Command of Allaah, but they would not obey. It means that there is no real consent in their hearts for obeying the command. Having referred to such example of their (Jews) perversity and rebellion, the Glorious Qur’aan asks the Jews to have a look at themselves and also at their claim to genuine faith. Could a true faith ever inspire men to such deeds?

Readers must note that, had Shamoun known these facts by having knowledge of Islaam and Glorious Qur’aan, he would have not fooled himself by uttering absurdities.

Shamoun writes:

God’s true Word, the Holy Bible, teaches otherwise:

"When Moses went and told the people all the LORD's words and laws, they responded with one voice, ‘Everything the LORD has said we will do.’ Moses then wrote down everything the LORD had said. He got up early the next morning and built an altar at the foot of the mountain and set up twelve stone pillars representing the twelve tribes of Israel. Then he sent young Israelite men, and they offered burnt offerings and sacrificed young bulls as fellowship offerings to the LORD. Moses took half of the blood and put it in bowls, and the other half he sprinkled on the altar. Then he took the Book of the Covenant and read it to the people. They responded, ‘We will do everything the LORD has said; WE WILL OBEY.’ Moses then took the blood, sprinkled it on the people and said, ‘This is the blood of the covenant that the LORD has made with you in accordance with all these words.’" Exodus 24:3-8

This is reiterated here:

"‘Now fear the LORD and serve him with all faithfulness. Throw away the gods your forefathers worshiped beyond the River and in Egypt, and serve the LORD. But if serving the LORD seems undesirable to you, then choose for yourselves this day whom you will serve, whether the gods your forefathers served beyond the River, or the gods of the Amorites, in whose land you are living. But as for me and my household, we will serve the LORD.’ Then the people answered, ‘Far be it from us to forsake the LORD to serve other gods! It was the LORD our God himself who brought us and our fathers up out of Egypt, from that land of slavery, and performed those great signs before our eyes. He protected us on our entire journey and among all the nations through which we traveled. And the LORD drove out before us all the nations, including the Amorites, who lived in the land. We too will serve the LORD, because he is our God.’ Joshua said to the people, ‘You are not able to serve the LORD. He is a holy God; he is a jealous God. He will not forgive your rebellion and your sins. If you forsake the LORD and serve foreign gods, he will turn and bring disaster on you and make an end of you, after he has been good to you.’ But the people said to Joshua, ‘No! We will serve the LORD.’ Then Joshua said, ‘You are witnesses against yourselves that you have chosen to serve the LORD.’ ‘Yes, we are witnesses,’ they replied. ‘Now then,’ said Joshua, ‘throw away the foreign gods that are among you and yield your hearts to the LORD, the God of Israel.’ And the people said to Joshua, ‘We will serve the LORD our God AND OBEY HIM.’ On that day Joshua made a covenant for the people, and there at Shechem he drew up for them decrees and laws. And Joshua recorded these things in the Book of the Law of God. Then he took a large stone and set it up there under the oak near the holy place of the LORD. ‘See!’ he said to all the people. ‘This stone will be a witness against us. It has heard all the words the LORD has said to us. It will be a witness against you if you are untrue to your God.’" Joshua 24:14-27

Refutation!

Let me first address and/or answer the opening remarks of Shamoun i.e.→ God’s true Word, the Holy Bible, teaches otherwise: ← by asking the following questions.

Shamoun,

Why you have suppressed the evidence and only quoted incomplete beginning part i.e. Exodus 24:3-8 and why you have concealed Exodus 24:1-2 and Exodus chapter 32 about the incident of golden calf, because this will expose your forgery and/or deception?

Why Paul abrogated the alleged → God’s true Word, the Holy Bible, teaches otherwise: ← according to you? Obviously Paul didn’t think to be the case what you have asserted, is Paul above God?

Why Paul did not consider OT as the true word of God, and if he did, then why he abrogated OT and under what authority?

Why you have suppressed the glad tiding about coming of “that prophet” i.e. Prophet Muhammad صلی الله عليه وسلم, which was also given to Musa عليه السلام and Children of Israel on the same occasion?

Let us read commentary on → Exodus 24:1-8 Again they agree to keep the covenant. Moses descended Mount Sinai, read the law to Israel, put it into written form, and confirmed the covenant by building an altar and sacrificing on it. Just as they did before Moses ascended Sinai, the people again agreed to obey the law (19:8).←[Willmington's Bible Handbook by Harold Willmington]

Let us read the commentary by Matthew Henry: Exodus 24:1-8

Israel's acceptance of the laws

The first two verses record the appointment of a second session upon mount Sinai, for the making of laws, when an end was put to the first. When a communion is begun between God and us, it shall never fail on his side, if it do not first fail on ours. Moses is directed to bring Aaron and his sons, and the seventy elders of Israel, that they might be witnesses of the glory of God, and that communion with him to which Moses was admitted; and that their testimony might confirm the people's faith. In this approach,

1. They must all be very reverent: Worship you afar off, v. 1. Before they came near, they must worship. Thus we must enter into God's gates with humble and solemn adorations, draw near as those that know our distance, and admire the condescensions of God's grace in admitting us to draw near. Are great princes approached with the profound reverences of the body? And shall not the soul that draws near to God be bowed before him?

2. They must none of them come so near as Moses, v. 2. They must come up to the Lord (and those that would approach to God must ascend), but Moses alone must come near, being therein a type of Christ, who, as the high priest, entered alone into the most holy place.

In the following verses, we have the solemn covenant made between God and Israel, and the exchanging of the ratifications; and a very solemn transaction it was, typifying the covenant of grace between God and believers through Christ.

I. Moses told the people the words of the Lord, v. 3. He did not lead them blindfold into the covenant, nor teach them a devotion that was the daughter of ignorance; but laid before them all the precepts, general and particular, in the foregoing chapters; and fairly put it to them whether they were willing to submit to these laws or no.

II. The people unanimously consented to the terms proposed, without reservation or exception: All the words which the Lord hath said will we do. They had before consented in general to be under God's government (Ex 19:8); here they consent in particular to these laws now given. O that there had been such a heart in them! How well were it if people would but be always in the same good mind that sometimes they seem to be in! Many consent to the law, and yet do not live up to it; they have nothing to except against it, and yet will not persuade themselves to be ruled by it.

This is the tenour of the covenant, That, if they would observe the foregoing precepts, God would perform the foregoing promises. "Obey, and be happy." Here is the bargain made. Observe,

1. How it was engrossed in the book of the covenant: Moses wrote the words of the Lord (v. 4), that there might be no mistake; probably he had written them as God dictated them on the mount. As soon as ever God had separated to himself a peculiar people in the world, he governed them by a written word, as he has done ever since, and will do while the world stands and the church in it. Moses, having engrossed the articles of agreement concluded upon between God and Israel, read them in the audience of the people (v. 7), that they might be perfectly apprised of the thing, and might try whether their second thoughts were the same with their first, upon the whole matter. And we may suppose they were so; for their words (v. 7) are the same with what they were (v. 3), but something stronger: All that the Lord hath said (be it good, or be it evil, to flesh and blood, Jer 42:6) we will do; so they had said before, but now they add, "And will be obedient; not only we will do what has been commanded, but in every thing which shall further be ordained we will be obedient." Bravely resolved! if they had but stuck to their resolution. See here that God's covenants and commands are so incontestably equitable in themselves, and so highly advantageous to us, that the more we think of them, and the more plainly and fully they are set before us, the more reason we shall see to comply with them.

2. How it was sealed by the blood of the covenant, that Israel might receive strong consolations from the ratifying of God's promises to them, and might lie under strong obligations from the ratifying of their promises to God. Thus has Infinite Wisdom devised means that we may be confirmed both in our faith and in our obedience, may be both encouraged in our duty and engaged to it. The covenant must be made by sacrifice (Ps 50:5), because, since man has sinned, and forfeited his Creator's favour, there can be no fellowship by covenant till there be first friendship and atonement by sacrifice.

(1.) In preparation therefore for the parties interchangeably putting their seals to this covenant,

[1.] Moses builds an altar, to the honour of God, which was principally intended in all the altars that were built, and which was the first thing to be looked at in the covenant they were now to seal. No addition to the perfections of the divine nature can be made by any of God's dealings with the children of men, but in them his perfections are manifested and magnified, and his honour is shown forth; therefore he will not be represented by an altar, to signify that all he expected from them was that they should do him honour, and that, being his people, they should be to him for a name and a praise.

[2.] He erects twelve pillars, according to the number of the tribes. These were to represent the people, the other party to the covenant; and we may suppose that they were set up against the altar, and that Moses, as mediator, passed to and fro between them. Probably each tribe set up and knew its own pillar, and their elders stood by it.

[3.] He appointed sacrifices to be offered upon the altar (v. 5), burnt-offerings and peace-offerings, which yet were designed to be expiatory. We are not concerned to enquire who these young men were that were employed in offering these sacrifices; for Moses was himself the priest, and what they did was purely as his servants, by his order and appointment. No doubt they were men who by their bodily strength were qualified for the service, and by their station among the people were fittest for the honour.

(2.) Preparation being thus made, the ratifications were very solemnly exchanged.

[1.] The blood of the sacrifice which the people offered was (part of it) sprinkled upon the altar (v. 6), which signifies the people's dedicating themselves, their lives, and beings, to God, and to his honour. In the blood (which is the life) of the dead sacrifices all the Israelites were presented unto God as living sacrifices, Rom 12:1.

[2.] The blood of the sacrifice which God had owned and accepted was (the remainder of it) sprinkled either upon the people themselves (v. 8) or upon the pillars that represented them, which signified God's graciously conferring his favour upon them and all the fruits of that favour, and his giving them all the gifts they could expect or desire from a God reconciled to them and in covenant with them by sacrifice. This part of the ceremony was thus explained: "Behold the blood of the covenant; see here how God has sealed to you to be a people; his promises to you, and yours to him, are both yea and amen." Thus our Lord Jesus, the Mediator of the new covenant (of whom Moses was a type), having offered up himself a sacrifice upon the cross, that his blood might be indeed the blood of the covenant, sprinkled it upon the altar in his intercession (Heb 9:12), and sprinkles it upon his church by his word and ordinances and the influences and operations of the Spirit of promise, by whom we are sealed. He himself seemed to allude to this solemnity when, in the institution of the Lord's supper, he said, This cup is the New Testament (or covenant) in my blood. Compare with this, Heb 9:19. 20.

(from Matthew Henry's Commentary on the Whole Bible: New Modern Edition)

Why did Shamoun suppress what happened next (Exodus chapter 32) and about which Glorious Qur’aan is talking about in Ayaat 2:92-93; quoted by Shamoun? Let us read from Christian sources (readers are advised to see chapter 32 of book of Exodus). Readers, can now see that Glorious Qur’aan is PERFECTLY clear and CORRECT in mentioning the event in Ayaat آيات 2:92-93 which is found in book of Exodus of Old Testament’s chapters 24 to 32. Needless to point out that Sam Shamoun has not been honest as usual by suppressing the factual evidence that proves Glorious Qur’aan to be perfectly right on the subject matter. The evidence presented above from the Christian sources also proves that it was not the first covenant of Children of Israel as the word/term “again” has been used multiple times. By the way, if the Bible is the true word of God as erroneously asserted by Shamoun, than why there are at least EIGHTEEN books missing from the Bible?

Let us look all references cited above side by side in the table below for better understanding and scrutiny.

Surah Al-Baqarah 92

And indeed Mûsâ came to you with clear proofs, yet you worshipped the calf after he left, and you were Zâlimûn (polytheists and wrongdoers).

Exodus 24:1-8

24:1 And he said unto Moses, Come up unto the LORD, thou, and Aaron, Nadab, and Abihu, and seventy of the elders of Israel; and worship ye afar off.

24:2 And Moses alone shall come near the LORD: but they shall not come nigh; neither shall the people go up with him.

24:3 And Moses came and told the people all the words of the LORD, and all the judgments: and all the people answered with one voice, and said, All the words which the LORD hath said will we do.

24:4 And Moses wrote all the words of the LORD, and rose up early in the morning, and builded an altar under the hill, and twelve pillars, according to the twelve tribes of Israel.

24:5 And he sent young men of the children of Israel, which offered burnt offerings, and sacrificed peace offerings of oxen unto the LORD.

24:6 And Moses took half of the blood, and put it in basins; and half of the blood he sprinkled on the altar.

24:7 And he took the book of the covenant, and read in the audience of the people: and they said, All that the LORD hath said will we do, and be obedient.

24:8 And Moses took the blood, and sprinkled it on the people, and said, Behold the blood of the covenant, which the LORD hath made with you concerning all these words.

Exodus 32:1-8

32:1 And when the people saw that Moses delayed to come down out of the mount, the people gathered themselves together unto Aaron, and said unto him, Up, make us gods, which shall go before us; for as for this Moses, the man that brought us up out of the land of Egypt, we wot not what is become of him.

32:2 And Aaron said unto them, Break off the golden earrings, which are in the ears of your wives, of your sons, and of your daughters, and bring them unto me.

32:3 And all the people brake off the golden earrings which were in their ears, and brought them unto Aaron.

32:4 And he received them at their hand, and fashioned it with a graving tool, after he had made it a molten calf: and they said, These be thy gods, O Israel, which brought thee up out of the land of Egypt.

32:5 And when Aaron saw it, he built an altar before it; and Aaron made proclamation, and said, To morrow is a feast to the LORD.

32:6 And they rose up early on the morrow, and offered burnt offerings, and brought peace offerings; and the people sat down to eat and to drink, and rose up to play.

32:7 And the LORD said unto Moses, Go, get thee down; for thy people, which thou broughtest out of the land of Egypt, have corrupted themselves:

32:8 They have turned aside quickly out of the way which I commanded them: they have made them a molten calf, and have worshipped it, and have sacrificed thereunto, and said, These be thy gods, O Israel, which have brought thee up out of the land of Egypt…

Surah Al-Baqarah 93

وَإِذْ أَخَذْنَا مِيثَاقَكُمْ وَرَفَعْنَا فَوْقَكُمُ الطُّورَ خُذُوا مَا آتَيْنَاكُمْ بِقُوَّةٍ وَاسْمَعُوا قَالُوا سَمِعْنَا وَعَصَيْنَا وَأُشْرِبُوا فِي قُلُوبِهِمُ الْعِجْلَ بِكُفْرِهِمْ قُلْ بِئْسَمَا يَأْمُرُكُمْ بِهِ إِيمَانُكُمْ إِنْ كُنْتُمْ مُؤْمِنِينَ (93)

And (remember) when We took your covenant and We raised above you the Mount (saying), "Hold firmly to what We have given you and hear (Our Word)." They said, "We have heard and disobeyed." And their hearts absorbed (the worship of) the calf because of their disbelief. Say: "Worst indeed is that which your faith enjoins on you if you are believers."

Ex 24:1-8

24:1-8 Again they agree to keep the covenant. Moses descended Mount Sinai, read the law to Israel, put it into written form, and confirmed the covenant by building an altar and sacrificing on it. Just as they did before Moses ascended Sinai, the people again agreed to obey the law (19:8).

Willmington's Bible Handbook by Harold Willmington

Exodus 32:1-6

The golden calf

While Moses was in the mount, receiving the law from God, the people had time to meditate upon what had been delivered, and prepare themselves for what was further to be revealed, and forty days was little enough for that work; but, instead of that, there were those among them that were contriving how to break the laws they had already received, and to anticipate those which they were in expectation of. On the thirty-ninth day of the forty, the plot broke out of rebellion against the Lord. Here is,

I. A tumultuous address which the people made to Aaron, who was entrusted with the government in the absence of Moses: Up, make us gods, which shall go before us, v. 1.

1. See the ill effect of Moses's absence from them; if he had not had God's call both to go and stay, he would not have been altogether free from blame. Those that have the charge of others, as magistrates, ministers, and masters of families, ought not, without just cause, to absent themselves from their charge, lest Satan get advantage thereby.

2. See the fury and violence of a multitude when they are influenced and corrupted by such as lie in wait to deceive. Some few, it is likely, were at first possessed with this humour, while many, who would never have thought of it if they had not put it into their hearts, were brought to follow their pernicious ways; and presently such a multitude were carried down the stream that the few who abhorred the proposal durst not so much as enter their protestation against it. Behold how great a matter a little fire kindles! Now what was the matter with this giddy multitude?…

Willmington's Bible Handbook by Harold Willmington

Surah Al-Baqarah 63

وَإِذْ أَخَذْنَا مِيثَاقَكُمْ وَرَفَعْنَا فَوْقَكُمُ الطُّورَ خُذُوا مَا آتَيْنَاكُمْ بِقُوَّةٍ وَاذْكُرُوا مَا فِيهِ لَعَلَّكُمْ تَتَّقُونَ (63)

And (O Children of Israel, remember) when We took your covenant and We raised above you the Mount (saying): "Hold fast to that which We have given you, and remember that which is therein so that you may become Al-Muttaqûn (the pious - See V.2:2).

Shamoun writes:

Regardless whether one holds to or rejects the inspiration of the Holy Bible, there is one fact which even liberal critical scholarship wouldn’t contest or disagree with; the Pentateuch and the book of Joshua were written much closer in time to the events of the Exodus and the conquest of Canaan. These documents are therefore more reliable than the Quran, which comes roughly two thousand and one hundred (2100) years after the time of Israel’s Exodus.

The Pentateuch and Joshua are also the official historical documents that the Jews have always turned to in regards to their origin and sacred history, not the Quran. And who would be better qualified to know the history of Israel than the Israelites themselves? Even the Quran itself exhorts Muslims to turn to the Jews when seeking information regarding Israel’s sacred history:

And verily We gave unto Moses nine tokens, clear proofs (of Allah's Sovereignty). Do but ask the Children of Israel how he came unto them, then Pharaoh said unto him: Lo! I deem thee one bewitched, O Moses. S. 17:101 Pickthall

Thus, when the Quran disagrees with the Pentateuch in regards to Israel’s history, the Quran is in error, a point which cannot be debated on historical or logical grounds.

Refutation!

I must remind Shamoun that the issue in hand is religious scriptures i.e. Bible and Glorious Qur’aan, which have been used by Shamoun with disinformation and/or distortion. Therefore, let us make it perfectly clear that the issue here is not history of any nation, faith and people. We Muslims have the original scripture and I have used that in this refutation supported by reliable English translation of its meaning. None of the Bible 66 bible books were in English and we know for fact that English was not the language of Biblical prophets. We also know that Hebrew was not the language of the Bible from Judeo-Christian sources. Therefore, if Shamoun want to debate on the historicity of Biblical accounts and/or as a matter of principle, he should present the Bible it the original language along with English translation of its meaning for the readers. Until then, we cannot entertain any of Shamoun’s rhetoric and/or highflying claims about Bible. In fact, we cannot even accept the very English translation of Bible Shamoun has used here, because we have no way to verify its accuracy (of translation), let alone authenticity of the scripture. Having said that, let me state that the above statement is Shamoun’s another fallacy, not to mention distorting the English translation of Ayaah آيه 17:101. In fact he has crunched the evidence to fit his theory. Glorious Qur’aan does not exhort Muslims to turn to anyone other than Allaah, let alone Jews. This is a usual boldface lie by Shamoun. Let us read the Glorious Qur’aan آيه 17:101:

Surah Al-Israa 101

وَلَقَدْ آتَيْنَا مُوسَى تِسْعَ آيَاتٍ بَيِّنَاتٍ فَاسْأَلْ بَنِي إِسْرَائِيلَ إِذْ جَاءَهُمْ فَقَالَ لَهُ فِرْعَوْنُ إِنِّي لَأَظُنُّكَ يَا مُوسَى مَسْحُورًا

And indeed We gave Mûsâ nine clear signs. Ask then the Children of Israel, when he came to them, then Fir‘aun (Pharaoh) said to him: "O Mûsâ! I think you are indeed bewitched."

Let us look at the Word for Word translation of Ayaah آيه 17:101 in the following table:

بَيِّنَاتٍ

clear

آيَاتٍ

signs

تِسْعَ

nine

مُوسَى

Musa

آتَيْنَا

We have given

وَلَقَدْ

and indeed

فَقَالَ

then said

جَاءَهُمْ

he came to them

إِذْ

when

إِسْرَائِيلَ

(of) Israel

بَنِي

the Children (sons)

فَاسْأَلْ

then ask

مَسْحُورًا

bewitched

يَا مُوسَى

O’ Musa

لَأَظُنُّكَ

Think you (are) indeed

إِنِّي

verily I

فِرْعَوْنُ

Fir’oun

لَهُ

to him

Before, I proceed further to elaborate the above Ayaah, I must ask readers to take a note that the Ayaah آيه 17:101 does not carry and/or contain an independent complete thought, therefore, for the meaning and message we must read it with former and latter Ayaat آيات i.e. 17:101-109. Nevertheless, the phrase reads,

فَاسْأَلْ بَنِي إِسْرَائِيلَ إِذْ جَاءَهُمْ = Ask then the Children of Israel, when he came to them,

Points to be noted:

To clearly understand the meaning and message one must read the Ayaat آيات 17:101-109.
The phrase فَاسْأَلْ بَنِي إِسْرَائِيلَ إِذْ جَاءَهُمْ = Ask then the Children of Israel, when he came to them (Egyptians), is directed to Egyptians.

Therefore, the erroneous assertions by Shamoun, stating that I quote: → Even the Quran itself exhorts Muslims to turn to the Jews when seeking information regarding Israel’s sacred history ← in no more than Shamoun’s wishful thinking. At this point readers must notice that Shamoun always uses different English translations of different Ayaat in the same paper, based on the theory which one is close to his agenda or easier to distort.

Shamoun writes:

There is an additional error within the Quran relating to this subject. It seems that Muhammad was receiving information from the Jews who were actually twisting and distorting their sacred history without him realizing it until it was too late. Note again the wording of surah 2:93:

And when We made a covenant with you and raised the mountain over you: Take hold of what We have given you with firmness and be obedient. They said: We hear and disobey (samiAAna waAAasayna). And they were made to imbibe (the love of) the calf into their hearts on account of their unbelief Say: Evil is that which your belief bids you if you are believers. Shakir

And now compare this with the following verse:

Of the Jews there are those who displace words from their (right) places, and say: "We hear and we disobey (samiAAna waAAasayna)"; and "Hear what is not Heard"; and "Ra'ina"; with a twist of their tongues and a slander to Faith. If only they had said: "What hear and we obey"; and "Do hear"; and "Do look at us"; it would have been better for them, and more proper; but God hath cursed them for their Unbelief; and but few of them will believe. S. 4:46 Pickthall

Refutation!

In the beginning of his fallacious article Shamoun has quoted the English translation of Qur’aan 2:92-93 (by Abdullah Yusuf Ali), above here, he has used Shakir’s translation, nevertheless, the response to his quote of Qur’aan 2:93 is same as cited above.

Let us read Qur’aan 4:46!

Surah An-Nisaa 46

مِنَ الَّذِينَ هَادُوا يُحَرِّفُونَ الْكَلِمَ عَنْ مَوَاضِعِهِ وَيَقُولُونَ سَمِعْنَا وَعَصَيْنَا وَاسْمَعْ غَيْرَ مُسْمَعٍ وَرَاعِنَا لَيًّا بِأَلْسِنَتِهِمْ وَطَعْنًا فِي الدِّينِ وَلَوْ أَنَّهُمْ قَالُوا سَمِعْنَا وَأَطَعْنَا وَاسْمَعْ وَانْظُرْنَا لَكَانَ خَيْرًا لَهُمْ وَأَقْوَمَ وَلَكِنْ لَعَنَهُمُ اللَّهُ بِكُفْرِهِمْ فَلَا يُؤْمِنُونَ إِلَّا قَلِيلًا

Among those who are Jews, there are some who displace words from (their) right places and say: "We hear your word (O Muhammad صلى الله عليه وسلم and disobey," and "Hear and let you (O Muhammad صلى الله عليه وسلم) hear nothing." And Râ‘ina ^{1}with a twist of their tongues and as a mockery of the religion (Islâm). And if only they had said: "We hear and obey", and "Do make us understand," it would have been better for them, and more proper; but Allâh has cursed them for their disbelief, so they believe not except a few.

{1} (V.4: 46) Râ‘inâ means in Arabic "Be careful, listen to us, and we listen to you", whereas in Hebrew, it means an insult.

Shamoun has again as usual lifted the Ayaah آيه 4:46 off the context which is to be found in Ayaat آيات 4:44-46, which is about the matters of dealings with enemies of Islaam then. These Ayaat آيات 4:44-46 brings into sharp focus the wicked tricks, in words and deeds, as practiced by the Jews, and then gives a view of what is true and correct. This last aspect is in a way an exhortation to Muslims that they should be careful in choosing their words to express themselves, for mincing words is not their style. I am not sure why Shamoun has ask to compare the Ayaah آيه 2:93 with Ayaah آيه 4:46, without presenting any evidence. Both Ayaat آيات carry different meanings and message and different reasons of revelation اسباب النزول. Shamoun’s fallacy and/or hypocrisy becomes more obvious when we find him distorting the facts while attacking Islaam and suppressing the factual evidence that Justin martyr of early Christian era of early 2^nd century has also charged Jews ‘with immorality and with having obliterated from their bibles much that was favorable to Christianity. These charges were repeated by the succeeding Christian polemists [See, Jewish Encyclopedia]

Shamoun writes:

The statement in the latter passage, i.e. who displace words from their (right) places, and say ..., implies that Muhammad became aware that the Jews had lied to him regarding what was actually written in the Bible regarding Israel’s acceptance of the covenant. Yet, it was too late for Muhammad to do anything about it since he had already uttered the words of surah 2:93 to the Jews, claiming that these were revelation from Allah. He could not, therefore, recant his position without causing further embarrassment. As noted Christian Apologist John Gilchrist writes:

Whereas the Meccans had simply ridiculed his message and generally resorted to sheer abuse of their kinsman, the Jews were able to trace many of these teachings to their own folklore and produce more damaging evidence against him. As Muhammad could not read their scriptures they were able to constantly provoke him with their knowledge and often frustrated him with subtle twists of phrases which he could not immediately detect but which entertained the Jewish bystanders. For example, Exodus 24.7 states that the Jews at Sinai answered Moses "All that the Lord has spoken we will do, and we will be obedient", but in the Qur'an we discover that the Jews, when commanded to hearken to God's Law on the Mount, allegedly answered "We hear and we disobey" (Surah 2.93). Muhammad later discovered that his informants had subtly misled him on this point and the Qur'an duly censures them for this particular deception:

Of the Jews there are those who displace words from their (right) place and say: "We hear and we disobey". Surah 4.46

It was too late, however, to rectify the unfortunate error that they had succeeded in introducing into the text of the Qur'an. As Muir continues, "Mahomet evidently smarted at this period under the attacks of the Jews" (The Life of Mahomet, p. 179). Other authors comment in a similar vein:

It was not that the Jews refused to recognise Muhammad as a prophet, nor even that they engaged in political intrigue against him, serious as such attitudes and actions were. Much more serious was the Jewish attack on the ideational basis of Muhammad's preaching. It had been claimed that the Qur'an was a message from God and thus inerrant; and it had also been claimed that there was a large measure of identity between the Qur'anic message and what was to be found in the previous scriptures. If the Jews, then, maintained that there were errors and false statements in the Qur'an (because it disagreed with their Bible) and that therefore it could not be a message from God, they were threatening to destroy the foundations of Muhammad's whole religious movement. (Watt, What is Islam? p. 102).

Refutation!

This gobbledegook is as absurd as the entire article, but also a redundant, beside that Shamoun’s non-Islaamic sources cannot be accepted, since a religion is judged by its scripture. Shamoun as usual failed to obscure and obfuscate the truth of Islaam, which he tried very passionately. Fact of the matter is that this was also the occasion when Musa عليه السلام and/or Children of Israel were given the glad tiding about coming of “that prophet” i.e. Prophet Muhammad صلی الله عليه وسلم.

Shamoun writes:

If a Muslim rejects the connection between surahs 2:93 and 4:46, he is still left with this problem: the Quran is wrong about the response of the Israelites to God regarding obeying the covenant. That they failed to live up to the covenant stipulations is a given, but this is different from claiming that they vocally disavowed to obey the covenant of God.

Refutation!

First of all Shamoun hopelessly failed to prove a connection between Glorious Qur’aan Ayaat آيات 2:93 and 4:46, though his did his best to distort the facts, but he failed to submit the factual evidence showing a connection. Therefore, a Muslim doesn’t even have to reject anything. Beside that I have proved above that Shamoun has suppressed the truth as usual and concealed the facts by not quoting the golden calf incident from the Bible, while trying to make an issue out of a fraudulent pretext. However, Shamoun has presented the truth of Qur’aan as he got caught pulling wool over our eyes, Shamoun failed to realize that the very Book (Qur’aan) he is condemning and/or attacking is being proven by his own words to be perfect and infallible.

In conclusion, readers can notice that Glorious Qur’aan has perfectly described the events in Ayaat آيات 2:92-93, which are harmonized by Bible without a shadow of doubt and there is no error, neither any proven by Shamoun. However, we know for fact that Shamoun’s antitheses backfired being fallacious and Shamoun proved Qur’aan to be perfect, in his zeal to discredit Qur’aan. While suppressing the truth and/or evidence about golden calf incident further exposed Shamoun’s intellectual dishonesty.

Another point worth noting is that how the Bible can be word of God and how it can be infallible, when Jews tossed the Torah in the trash and began worshipping golden calf, while Moses was still alive and with the Jews. Moses was gone for forty days only, which questions the validity of Shamoun’s claim of Bible to be true word of God. Jews didn’t wait few days before they abandoned the Torah, how can we be sure that Jews might have kept it unadulterated for several thousand years? Are we supposed to believe that the same Jews kept the Torah unadulterated? Than one might ask these questions that why Jesus came to Children of Israel with new book and what was the purpose of his arrival? And why New Testament is needed, in the presence of alleged true word of God, according to Shamoun? Biblical Prophet came one after another because the previous message was lost or corrupted and/or book[s] were distorted, not to mention Jews rebelled many times and went astray.

In the foregoing treatise we have successfully established without a shadow of a doubt by testing the facts and/or evidence that:

· Facts presented by Sam Shamoun are not consistent in themselves.

· Facts presented by Sam Shamoun, are not consistent with other known facts. They do appear highly unusual, and are “picked” evidence.

· Sam Shamoun failed to introduce enough facts to support the conclusions derived from them.

· Facts presented by Sam Shamoun are not accurate.

· Facts presented by Sam Shamoun have not been verified with good supporting documentation.

· Sam Shamoun sources (un-Islaamic) are not qualified to know and report the facts.

· Sam Shamoun is not a qualified source himself for offering opinion.

· Sam Shamoun’s unqualified and unIslaamic sources are not expert in the subject matter under consideration.

· Sam Shamoun’s unqualified and unIslaamic sources are prejudiced.

· Sam Shamoun’s unqualified and unIslaamic sources are not usually and/or consistently accurate.

· The quotations cited by Sam Shamoun do not give a fair indication of his opinion. Shamoun rather lifted the quotations from the context and/or otherwise distorted.

· Sam Shamoun’s opinion is not consistent with other assertions he has made.

· Sam Shamoun failed to demonstrate that what was the reason for his unqualified and unIslaamic sources’ opinion?

· Opinions are based on reasoning and are subject to the same tests of reasoning that apply elsewhere. However, Sam Shamoun and his unqualified and unIslaamic sources flunked the test in the foregoing treatise.

Wednesday, October 20, 2004