Facing the Muslim Challenge
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Muslim Identities: an Introduction to Islam
Muslim Identities Tafsir Tawil Rashidun The Succession to Muhammad Ghulat Ulama Naskh Ijtihad Madhahib Kalam 3 suras verses referred to as ayas ya Idha l-ardu Wa akhrajati l-ardu Wa l-insanu ma laha Yawma’idhin tuhaddithu akhbaraha basmala bees The Koran Interpreted and The Meaning of the Glorious Koran* *The Koran Interpreted Traditional Accounts isma sahaba ummi ummi Ummi The Critical View Muhammad Is Not the Father of Any of Your Men . -
On the Qur'anic Accusation of Scriptural Falsification (Tahrîf) and Christian Anti-Jewish Polemic
On the Qur'anic Accusation of Scriptural Falsification (tahrîf) and Christian Anti-Jewish Polemic GABRIEL SAID REYNOLDS UNIVERSITY OF NOTRE DAME According to the fully articulated salvation history of Islam, Moses and Jesus (like all prophets) were Muslims. Moses received an Islamic scripture, the Torah {tawrät), as did Jesus, the Gospel (injU). Their communities, however, suppressed their religion and altered their scriptures. Accordingly, a canonical h^dlth has the Prophet Muhammad declare: O community of Muslims, how is it that you seek wisdom from the People of the Book? Your book, brought down upon His Prophet—blessings and peace of God upon him—is the latest report about God. You read a Book that has not been distorted, but the People of the Book, as God related to you, exchanged that which God wrote [for something else], changing the book with their hands. ' This hcidïth refiects the idea found frequently among Muslim scholars, usually described with the term tahrîf, that the Bible has been literally altered. The same idea lies behind Yâqût's (d. 626/1229) attribution of a quotation on Jerusalem to a Jewish convert to Islam from Banü Qurayza "who possessed a copy of the uncorrupted Torah." •^ Muslim scholars also accuse Jews and Christians of misinterpreting the Bible by hiding, ignoring, or misreading it, and on occasion they describe such misinterpretation as tahrîf as well. Accordingly, in scholarly treatments of the subject a comparison is sometimes made between tahrîf al-nass, alteration of the text of scripture, and tahrîf al-ma'anî, misinterpre- tation of scripture. Yet Muslim scholars who accuse Jews and Christians of misinterpreta- tion do not mean to imply thereby that the Bible has not been altered. -
The Qur'an and the Gospels – a Comparative Study
The Qur'an and the Gospels A Comparative Study Dr. Muhammad Abu Laylah AL-FALAH FOUNDATION For Translation, Publication & Distribution © AL-FALAH FOUNDATION FOR TRANSLATION, PUBLICATION & DISTRJBUTION. Third edition. 1426 / 2005. All rights reserved. No part of this puhlication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, me chanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise, without written permission from the publishers. Third edition prepared by: Ahmad M. Hasan Cover design by: Wesam M. Hasan Technical supervisor: Said Fares General director: Sheikh Muhammad 'Abdu Published by: AL-FALAH FOUNDATION FOR TRANSLATION, PUBLICATION & DISTRIBUTION 24 At-Tayaran st., Nasr City, Cairo, Egypt Tel. & fax: (202) 2622838 Website: www.falahonline.com E-mail: [email protected] "V / f, YV'r :tl~~1 r-tJ I.S.B. N. : 977-5813-55-X Contents - Preface .......... .... ... ........................ ..... ..... .. .... ... ... .. .... .. ................ .. ...... V - Introduction to the Third Edition ............ ... ...... .. .. ...... .. ...... .. VII CHAPTER ONE • Islam's Attitude Towards the Preceding Prophets ... .... - Jesus in the Qur'an .... ................................ .... ... .............. ...... .. 2 - Jesus' titles in the Qur'an and the Gospels .... .... ...... ...... .. ..... 5 CHAPTER TWO • Islam - Concept, Dimension and Attitude Towards Prophets and Prophecies ....... .... ... ..... ............... .. .. ...... ..... .. ... 13 - The concept of Islam and its message ... ..... ............. -
Reflections on Islam
SBJT · Vol. 20 · No. 2 · Summer 2016 2 · Summer 20 · No. · Vol. SBJT Volume 20 · Number 2 Summer 2016 Refections on Islam Re f ections on Islam ections 2825 Lexington Road Louisville, Kentucky 40280 (502) 897-4413 • 1 (800) 626-5525 www.sbts.edu ST-528-2016 Vol. 20 • Num. 2 Summer 2016 Reflections on Islam Stephen J. Wellum 5 Editorial: Proclaiming the Gospel to Islam Rodney Stark 9 Te Case for the Crusades James R. White 29 “Take Me and My Mother as Gods Apart from God”: Surat Al Maida and the Qur’an’s Understanding of the Trinity Tony Costa 41 Jesus in Islam Tony Costa 59 Does the Bible Predict the Coming of Muhammad? J. Scot Bridger 75 An Inside Look at Insider Ecclesiology: Te Jamā ‘at Al-Mu’manīn or “Assembly of the Believers” in the Tought of Mazhar Al-Mallouhi SBJT Forum 95 Book Reviews 99 Editor-in-Chief: R. Albert Mohler, Jr. • Editor: Stephen J. Wellum • Associate Editor: Brian Vickers • Book Review Editor: Jarvis J. Williams • Assistant Editor: Brent E. Parker • Editorial Board: Randy L. Stinson, Daniel S. Dumas, Gregory A. Wills, Adam W. Greenway, Timothy Paul Jones, Steve Waters • Typographer: Eric Rivier Jimenez • Editorial Ofce: SBTS Box 832, 2825 Lexington Rd., Louisville, KY 40280, (800) 626-5525, x 4413 • Editorial E-Mail: [email protected] 3 Editorial: Proclaiming the Gospel to Islam Stephen J. Wellum Stephen J. Wellum is Professor of Christian Teology at Te Southern Baptist Teo- logical Seminary and editor of Southern Baptist Journal of Teology. He received his Ph.D. -
Heaven in the Early History of Western Religions
Alison Joanne GREIG University of Wales Trinity Saint David MA in Cultural Astronomy and Astrology Module Name: Dissertation Module Code: AHAH7001 Alison Joanne Greig Student No. 27001842 31 December 2012 Heaven in the early history of Western religions Chapter 1 Approaches to concepts of heaven This dissertation examines concepts of heaven in the early history of Western religions and the extent to which themes found in other traditions are found in Christianity. Russell, in A History of Heaven, investigates the origins of the concept of heaven, which he dates at about 200 B.C.E. and observes that heaven, a concept that has shaped much of Christian thought and attitudes, has been strangely neglected by modern historians.1 Christianity has played a central role in Western civilization and instructs its believers to direct their life in this world with a view to achieving eternal life in the next, as observed by Liebeschuetz. 2 It is of the greatest historical importance that a very large number of people could for many centuries be persuaded to see life in an imperfect visible world as merely a stage in their progress to a world that was perfect but invisible; yet, it has been neglected as a subject for study. Russell notes that Heaven: A History3 by McDannell and Lang mainly offers sociological insights.4 Russell holds that the most important aspects of the concept of heaven are the beatific vision and the mystical union.5 Heaven, he says, is the state of being in 1 Jeffrey Burton Russell, A History of Heaven – The Singing Silence (Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press, 1997) xiii, xiv. -
Shamanic Induction of Altered States for Spiritual Inspiration
CHAPTER 4 SHAMANIC INDUCTION OF ALTERED STATES FOR SPIRITUAL INSPIRATION Carl A. P. Ruck Shamanism became a common term only after the psychedelic revolution of the 1960s. The word was first recorded in English at the end of the 17th cen- tury with specific reference to the religion of the Turks and Mongols. Similar magical-religious practices worldwide and specifically within the European tradition have until only recently gone unnoticed. In fact, they have been repressed from fear of contamination with contemporary irresponsible recre- ational abuse of psychoactive substances. The practices were derived mainly from ancient Egyptian, Greco-Roman, and Judaic-Christian cultures. These practices were also repressed because of the very real problems of the addic- tive potentials and the illegal trade in drugs. Anyone proposing to investigate aspects of this European tradition is likely to face professional shunning and a thwarted academic career. This is particularly ironic since the prohibition of drugs can be traced back to Plato, who recognized the true dangers of altered consciousness for those not sufficiently prepared for the experience. The recreational abuse of a sa- cred mind-altering sacrament is fully recorded in the great scandal of the Profanation of the Mysteries that occurred in the city of Athens in the year 415 BeE. Indeed, the glorious achievements of the high culture of the Classi- cal Age in Greece, including in particular the Theater of Dionysus, are them- selves a reflex of the shamanic induction of altered states of consciousness for spiritual inspiration. A similar official condemnation is apt to greet anyone investigating the psychoactive nature of the fruit of the Tree in Eden or the initiatory ritu- als of the long tradition of Western secret societies, tradesmen guilds, and 46 Seeking the Sacred with Psychoactive Substances warrior fraternities, going back to the Mithraism of the Roman Empire and continuing until this day. -
Dancing Souls in Paradiso
chapter 5 Dancing Souls in Paradiso If prayer is a tension toward the divine and an expressed desire to be closer to God or even to become like God, what is the sense of its presence in heaven? In Dante’s Paradiso, prayer loses its basic quality of being an attempt to re- establish lost contact with God, of being a more or less successful “dialogue with divinity,” which were some of its fundamental qualities on earth and in purgatory. Since heavenly souls enjoy full communion with God, they no lon- ger need prayer to increase their closeness to him, and theologically prayer has no reason to exist. The blessed souls of heaven have accomplished what they were striving to achieve with prayer in their lives; in a way, they have become the object of their prayer. In Dante’s Paradiso, prayer becomes a purely poetic device that serves the purpose of describing in human words the beauty and harmony of eternal life in full communion with divinity. It also creates a rhe- torical continuum with Purgatorio, since for the purging souls and certainly for the pilgrim, heaven represents the goal of their purgatorial journey, which they have achieved in part also through prayer. The poet transforms the previ- ous types of prayer into a thankful song of joy for being in paradise, and a gen- eral glorification of God’s love, beauty, and goodness. In the fictional economy of Paradiso, prayer is solely utilized for the sake of Dante the pilgrim but, as Sandra Carapezza points out, the only five prayerful requests are formulated by the poet, not the pilgrim.1 When requesting help to accomplish such a hard endeavor as to narrate his ascent to heaven, the topos of invocation to God or the gods needs the additional effort of other “voices” following him and he calls prayers “little sparks” and “flames”: “Poca favilla gran fiamma seconda:/ forse di retro a me con miglior voci/ si pregherà perché Cirra risponda,” “Great fire can follow a small spark: there may/ be better voices after me to pray/ to Cyrrha’s god for aid—that he may answer” (Par. -
The Right Angle by Geoffrey Farthing the Right Angle H.P
The Right Angle by Geoffrey Farthing The Right Angle H.P. Blavatsky on Masonry in her Theosophical Writings by Geoffrey Farthing Published in The Theosophist, August 1999 Geoffrey Farthing has authorized us to reproduce this document for purely non-commercial purposes only. CONTENTS PREFACE I BACKGROUND INFORMATION II ANCIENT ORIGINS III MODERN ORIGINS IV THE KABALA V HIRAM, SOLOMON AND HIS TEMPLE VI KNIGHTS TEMPLAR VII GENERAL INFORMATION VIII SYMBOLS AND ORDERS IX SECRETS X OPPOSITION, ENEMIES, JESUITS XI H.P.B. AND MASONRY XII SUMMARY Page 1 The Right Angle by Geoffrey Farthing PREFACE These extracts from H.P. Blavatsky’s (H.P.B.’s) voluminous works are intended to give some information about Masonry and the flavour of her thinking on the subject as she dealt with it over the period of her writing from 1875 to 1891. H.P.B. was exposed to Masonry via relatives and friends in her formative years, and later many of her associates were Masons. Among them were some, including Col. Olcott who helped in the founding of the Theosophical Society and became its first President,. At the time of the founding of the Society, however, there had been no public exposition of Theosophy. Later there were intimations of it in Isis Unveiled and in many of H.P.B.’s early writings. The great comprehensive teaching only came out in The Secret Doctrine published in 1888. The significance of this in the matter of Masonry vis-à-vis Theosophy is that with the publication of the Theosophical teachings some hitherto closely guarded occult secrets were made public for the first time. -
“Point at Infinity Hape of the World
“Point at Infinity hape of the World Last week, we began a series of posts dedicated to thinking about immortality. If we want to even pretend to think precisely about immortality, we will have to consider some fundamental questions. What does it mean to be immortal? What does it mean to live forever? Are these the same thing? And since immortality is inextricably tied up in one’s relationship with time, we must think about the nature of time itself. Is there a difference between external time and personal time? What is the shape of time? Is time linear? Circular? Finite? Infinite? Of course, we exist not just across time but across space as well, so the same questions become relevant when asked about space. What is the shape of space? Is it finite? Infinite? It is not hard to see how this question would have a significant bearing on our thinking about immortality. In a finite universe (or, more precisely, a universe in which only finitely many different configurations of maer are possible), an immortal being would encounter the same situations over and over again, would think the same thoughts over and over again, would have the same conversations over and over again. Would such a life be desirable? (It is not clear that this repetition would be avoidable even in an infinite universe, but more on that later.) Today, we are going to take a lile historical detour to look at the shape of the universe, a trip that will take us from Ptolemy to Dante to Einstein, a trip that will uncover a remarkable confluence of poetry and physics. -
Can We Trust the Bible?
Islam & the Gospel: Can We Trust the Bible? Think About It— Why do you trust the Bible? Talk About It— Tahrif—the Islamic doctrine that the original revelation of the Jewish and Christian scriptures (the Old and New Testaments) have been corrupted. Tabdil/Taghyr—A change to the text of the Bible resulting in a corrupted manuscript tradition. Tawrat—Jewish Torah (first five books of the Old Testament). Zabur—The original psalms of David. Injil—The original Gospels, as revealed to and recorded by Jesus. The Islamic Charge Against the Christian Scriptures 1. The Bible has been changed at the level of the text’s meaning (tahrif al-mana). These changes occur by intentional misrepresentation of the text’s meaning, but might also occur through the addition of additional material, such as that of non- inspired books (White, 175). There is among them a section who distort the Book with their tongues: (as they read) you would think it is a part of the Book, but it is no part of the Book; and they say ‘That is from God,’ but it is not from God . (3.78) 2. The Bible has been changed at the level of the actual text (tahrif al-nass). Can ye (O ye men of faith) entertain the hope that they will believe in you?—seeing that a party of them heard the word of God, and perverted it knowingly after they understood it (2.75; also, 5.13; 41). 3. The textual variants in the New Testament reveal intentional corruptions so profound that the original text is impossible to discern. -
Ia Q. 66 A. 3 Whether the Empyrean Heaven Was Created at the Same
Whether the empyrean heaven was created at the same time as formless matter? Ia q. 66 a. 3 Objection 1. It would seem that the empyrean first work, as the Manicheans falsely assert, when they heaven was not created at the same time as formless call the God of the Old Testament the God of darkness. matter. For the empyrean, if it is anything at all, must These reasons, however, are not very cogent. For the be a sensible body. But all sensible bodies are mov- question of the firmament, said to have been made on able, and the empyrean heaven is not movable. For if the second day, is solved in one way by Augustine, and it were so, its movement would be ascertained by the in another by other holy writers. But the question of movement of some visible body, which is not the case. the darkness is explained according to Augustine†, by The empyrean heaven, then, was not created contempo- supposing that formlessness, signified by darkness, pre- raneously with formless matter. ceded form not by duration, but by origin. According to Objection 2. Further, Augustine says (De Trin. iii, others, however, since darkness is no creature, but a pri- 4) that “the lower bodies are governed by the higher in vation of light, it is a proof of Divine wisdom, that the a certain order.” If, therefore, the empyrean heaven is things it created from nothing it produced first of all in the highest of bodies, it must necessarily exercise some an imperfect state, and afterwards brought them to per- influence on bodies below it. -
Enshrining, Adapting and Contesting the Latin Apology of Al-Kindi: Readers' Interactions with an Authoritative Polemic Against Islam
University of Tennessee, Knoxville TRACE: Tennessee Research and Creative Exchange Masters Theses Graduate School 12-2008 Enshrining, Adapting and Contesting the Latin Apology of al-Kindi: Readers' Interactions with an Authoritative Polemic against Islam Leah Jenkins Giamalva University of Tennessee - Knoxville Follow this and additional works at: https://trace.tennessee.edu/utk_gradthes Part of the History Commons Recommended Citation Giamalva, Leah Jenkins, "Enshrining, Adapting and Contesting the Latin Apology of al-Kindi: Readers' Interactions with an Authoritative Polemic against Islam. " Master's Thesis, University of Tennessee, 2008. https://trace.tennessee.edu/utk_gradthes/385 This Thesis is brought to you for free and open access by the Graduate School at TRACE: Tennessee Research and Creative Exchange. It has been accepted for inclusion in Masters Theses by an authorized administrator of TRACE: Tennessee Research and Creative Exchange. For more information, please contact [email protected]. To the Graduate Council: I am submitting herewith a thesis written by Leah Jenkins Giamalva entitled "Enshrining, Adapting and Contesting the Latin Apology of al-Kindi: Readers' Interactions with an Authoritative Polemic against Islam." I have examined the final electronic copy of this thesis for form and content and recommend that it be accepted in partial fulfillment of the equirr ements for the degree of Master of Arts, with a major in History. Thomas Burman, Major Professor We have read this thesis and recommend its acceptance: Maura Lafferty, Jay Rubenstein Accepted for the Council: Carolyn R. Hodges Vice Provost and Dean of the Graduate School (Original signatures are on file with official studentecor r ds.) To the Graduate Council: I am submitting herewith a thesis written by Leah Jenkins Giamalva entitled “Enshrining, Adapting and Contesting the Latin Apology of al-Kindi: Readers' Interactions with an Authoritative Polemic against Islam”.