I was debating somehitng in the chritianity forum, and i have a question, Did Muhammad have access to the bible while writing the Qur'an?, i don't think He did, I read He didn't but thay still claim he did...
I read that Mohammed did have access to the Bible and did study it to some extent. He was quite impressed and inspired so he decided to start a new religion. But Mohammed did not really write the Qu'ran. What happened was many known criminals sought refuge and became his disciples. He made some of the most notorious bandits at that time his trusted advisors. He would get really stoned and tell his advisors of his visions and they would "record" everything in the book. they would really only record their own opinions and ideas. so all Muslims are actually practicing a religion that was written by notorious criminals and not Mohammed. just pick up a copy of "The Satanic Verses" by Salman Rushdie
Dont you just love it when someone thinks that they can judge a whole faith community which has spanned centuries after reading some 'an idiots guide to religion - by Mr right wing Christian evangelist) Come on man, wise up and realise that attitudes and theories like those just dont wash anymore... Here was me thinking I could come on here to find some reasoned debate... obviously not...
the prophet muhammed (phuh) was certainly aware of the sacred scriptures of the jews and of the christians... there were jewish and christian communities in arabia for sure... and he had undoubtedly had read to him some excerpts of jewish & christian holy writ... muhammed was upset by the polytheistic practices of the majority of his fellows (having heard of the one-ness of the god of "the people of the book"...) he prayed to be opened to the will of god (allah = god in arabic) & the angel gabriel took him up & gave him instructions to recite his experiences... and his visions and prophecies eventually gave the people of arabia (and far beyond, eventually) a vision of the one-ness of god & their own "book", so that his people might also become a "people of the book"... a salaam aleikuum...
The prophet(peace and blessing be upon him) was surrounded b both jews and christians who lived in the area of Mekka and Medina, this doesn´t mean that he took from their scriptures, Allah(may he be exalted) says in the Quran(interpretation of the meaning): 44. And if he had forged a false saying concerning Us, 45. We surely would have seized him by his right hand, 46. And then We certainly would have cut off Al-Watin(artery of the heart) from him, 47. And none of you could have prevented it from him. Why would he need to take anything from jews and christians who have both changed their message and their books, if his prophecy was so fake explain to me why he claimed to be prophet? I mean, what are the different reasons one could claim prophethood for; money, power, women and kingdom while he indeed was a simple man till the day he died. An envoy of the pagan leaders, Otba, came to him saying, “...If you want money, we will collect enough money for you so that you will be the richest one of us. If you want leadership, we will take you as our leader and never decide on any matter without your approval. If you want a kingdom, we will crown you king over us...” Only one concession was required from Muhammad in return for that, to give up calling people to Islam and worshipping God alone without any partner. Wouldn’t this offer be tempting to one pursuing worldly benefit? Was Muhammad hesitant when the offer was made? Did he turn it down as a bargaining strategy leaving the door open for a better offer? The following was his answer: {In the Name of God, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful} And he recited to Otba the verses of the Quran 41:1-38 The Following are some of these verses(interpretation of the meaning): 1. Ha Mim. 2. A revelation from the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful.) 3. A Book whereof the Ayat are explained in detail -- a Qur'an in Arabic for people who know. 4. Giving glad tidings and warning, but most of them turn away, so they hear not.. (Quran, 41:1-4) On another occasion and in response to his uncle’s plea to stop calling people to Islam, Muhammad’s answer was as decisive and sincere: {I swear by the name of God, O Uncle!, that if they place the sun in my right-hand and the moon in my left-hand in return for giving up this matter (calling people to Islam), I will never desist until either God makes it triumph or I perish defending it.} He did not preach to people that he was a god or any of the like but what he preached was nothing different from what all the other prophets had preached. And We did not send any Messenger before you but We revealed to him (saying): "There is no God but I, so worship Me.'')[quran 21.25] He is the one mentioned in the bible, both the old testimony and the new. It started with his preaching and few started to follow him then it grew to a larger mass until they were hughe enough to migrate awa from mekka were they had been faced to live under strong conditions to Medina. Even when they were attacked by the pagans and the jews who where in great number than them selves our prophet(peace and blessing of Allah be upon) did not leave his faith nor did the believers, but the hypocrites found it very hard that they were promised victories in greater lands far away from mekka while they in the current situation hardly had anthing to eat. Islam spread in a few years what took christianity hundreds of years to attain, people were suffering in Europe while Asia was blooming- this was the result of the guidance sent to Muhammed(peace and blessing of Allah be upon him) Say: "O people of the Scripture: Come to a word that is just between us and you, that we worship none but Allah the same, and that we associate no partners with Him, and that none of us shall take others as lords besides Allah.'' Then, if they turn away, say: "Bear witness that we are Muslims. 3.64
yes most of the people he converted were Hindus. There is much evidence that the ancient Hindu religion ( the oldest religion in the world by thousands of years) had spread all over Asia including the Middle East. The Hindus were a peace loving people so it was easy to convert them through the use of force. I dont really think the great Mohammed did this but I'm quite sure his predecesors said to many- "convert or die". Islam was spread with the use of the sword. It's really a shame
well, many people in iran (persia) & some nearby countries were followers of the teachings of zoroaster (zarathustra) & were most certainly not hindu... after many were killed or being forcibly converted to islam, a contingent did manage to flee to india, where to this day they are know as "parsis" ("persians")... but "hindus" in mecca? in arabia? i sorta doubt it... hinduism & buddhism were certainly known as far west as egypt before the time of jesus, but there were quite alot of ummm "homegrown" religions across asia & europe that may have had things in common with some of hinduism (possible influences, ok...) but even at the interface of old persia & old india, there were conflicts ("devas" in india became "devils" in persia --- opposite sides in a cosmic/theological struggle, maybe?) & when islam exploded out of arabia - north into russia, west into europe, south into africa, east into asia - well, yes, the mughal empire in northern india was a muslim kingdom, and much forcible conversion of hindus took place... & afghanistan was predominantly buddhist (buddhism within india proper was eliminated &/or re-absorbed into hinduism, pretty much) ---> the last buddhist statues there were recently destroyed by the taliban; the last remnants of zoroastrianism were liquidated in iran by the ayatollah (ex: head of zoroastrian household executed by government thugs & the new widow sent a bill for the cost of the bullets!); forced conversions or executions of jews & christians over 1000+ years... but the muslims didn't invent this stuff - christians had been doing it for centuries, & jews a thousand years earlier... & there were many other forces that raged through the area over the previous millenia, mmmkay? ymmv...
Its seems fairly obvious that Mohammed was familiar with Judaism and certainly he had some knowledge of Christianity. Im told his wife was a Christian? The most revealing example is where Mohammed is partially aware of Chistianity's 'Trinitarian' view of God .. however, Mohammed doesnt fully understand it and mistakenly assumes its a form of Polytheism. After the Koran was written people began to discover that Christians are not Polytheistic and The 'Trinity' refers to one God only. In a dilema to explain away Mohammeds mistake - they now say that Christians must have believed in Polytheism during Mohammeds time (since Allah cant be wrong) and then LATER became Monotheistic.
It is Polytheism, Christians just have convenient ways of explaining this fact away. "Oh well they are the same God..." with different names, properties, and manifestations. Yes, Mohammed most likely had a wide range of Christian knowledge. He was born around 570 so the bible was in it's (more or less) completed form and Christianity had spread through much of the Roman world. I do also beleive he had a Christian wife, but I am not sure on that.
Islam and Quran is not a step by step instruction book on how to live. it has 5 or 6 basics which exist in almost all religions: Dont lie, dont kill, help the poor and the weak Be just Dont sleep full if your neighbor is hungry. Be merciful And the rest in ALL religious books is "believe in our religious miracles" "no, no, believe in our religion's miracles, otherwise you'll be flamed" rhetoric. There isnt any part in Quran that says, throw stones at women, beat them and etc. Any book with such lines in it, is forged. In Quran, even the beating of animals is forbidden, let alone suggesting the beating humans. But one thing holds true for all "holy books": They have been forged by the institutions that were designated to interpret them. I "believe" Christianity and Islam are both abused religions that were originally advising peace,love and tolerance. Alas, in reality we hardly ever needed them unless we were the subjects. I'll have to exclude judaism since it is said to have restricted itself with that certain "chosen" race (no, not the Aryans).
Nice Try PopThree.. Christians most certainly do have a convenient way of explaining it away .. that is the very point and contrary to your claim itself. There is only one God. Period. In the New Testament He reveals himself in three 'Persons'. Where you get confused (and Mohammed too) is that you dont realise we are not using the word 'Persons' in the earthly sense. (and honestly that confuses most new Christians too) We all agree that its difficult to 'Comprehend' how One God can reveal himself in three distinct 'Persons' however its certainly 'Apprehendable'. Oh.. the convenient notion that explains Polytheism away..... All three 'identities' of God are all 100% the same essense. If you have reason to believe this is not the teaching and belief of Christianity from its Scriptures - then please explain why?
Why did u go to that idiot Christian forum. Christians are idiot. They just say anything they want. Hazrat Muhammad (PBUH) didn't accessed the Bible while writing the Holy Quran. Just to inform u dear friend that, Hazrat Muhammad (PBUH) didn't wrote the Quran instead he took the help of one of his friends.
I thought http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Matthew_Arnold http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Higher_Criticism was a good read bit over my head...but anyway still a good read for a non believer like myself
