Majed S. Al-Rassi
Language: English | Format: PDF | Pages: 39 | Size: 1 MB
Many books have been glorified and
respected by people throughout the ages and centuries. They were
preserved because of their importance so that people may benefit from
them; moreover, a culture can be inherited from them in order to
maintain the personality of a specific nation, whether the book is good
or bad or a mix of good and bad.
When it comes to the scriptures which
Allah (Subhânahu wa Ta‘âlâ – Glorified and Exalted is He) has revealed
to the people, human beings attempted to preserve them. However, the
result was that there are now different versions of the same referred
book, which indicates a failure of the preservation attempt.
No one can argue that Allah has revealed
the Torah and the Gospel to prophets Jesus (‘Alayhi as-salâm – peace be
upon him) and Moses respectively. However, can any one of their
followers put their finger on a specific version of the Old Testament or
the New Testament and say: this is the word of God which He revealed to
prophet Jesus or Moses? I leave the answer to the respected reader.
However, when it comes to the Qur’an, the
whole Muslim community [more than one billion Muslims] testifies the
preservation of the Qur’an across the centuries.
In this little booklet, light is shed on
various proofs that the Bible, which was revealed to Jesus was widely
altered; whereas, the Qur’an is wholly preserved, and hence it is the
only reliable source of divine teachings in the hands of people today
that can described as ‘the word of Allah’.
Before we start reading the book, I would
like to thank Dr. Bilal Philips, and Brother Muhammad bin Abdullah
Caraballo who gave me the opportunity to learn and quote from their
books.
With this short preface, I leave you to peruse the book.
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About the word ‘Lord’
The word lord in English has several
related meanings. The original meaning is ‘master’ or ‘ruler’ and in
this sense it is often used to refer to human beings: ‘the lord of the
mansion’ or ‘Lord So-and-So’ (in the United Kingdom, for example). The
word Lord with a capital L is used in the lexicon of Islam to refer to
the One and Only God – Allah. In Islam, there is no ambiguity about the
meaning of this word. While it is true that one may occasionally use the
word lord (whether capitalized or not) to refer to a human being, in
Islamic discourse the reference of this term is always clear from the
context. Whereas for Christians, Hindus and other polytheists, the word
Lord with a capital L may refer to Allah, to Jesus or to some imagined
deity, for Muslims, there can be no plurality of meaning. Allah alone is
the Lord, and the Lord is Allah – not Jesus, not Rama, not any other
being.
About the word ‘Allah’
Although the English word ‘God’ has often
been used interchangeably in this book with the word Allah, there is a
difference. ‘Allah’ is the word in Arabic that is translated as ‘God’.
However, ‘Allah’ has a much more precise meaning than ‘God’. ‘Allah’ is
not merely an Arabic term for the word ‘god’. Instead, the root word of
the word ‘Allah’ is ilâh, which means ‘a god’. There are countless
numbers of made-up ‘gods’, but only One True God whose name is Allah.
The word ‘Allah’ literally means ‘the worshipped’. Allah is, thus, the
proper name for the only Being that is worthy of worship, the True
Creator of the universe. By saying ‘Allah’, Muslims are, in essence,
negating every other entity which people wrongfully worship. The name
‘Allah’ is how God Almighty has referred to Himself in the Qur’an1, and
how Prophet Muhammad (blessings and peace be upon him) also referred to
Him. Therefore, in this work, the term ‘Allah’ will often be used in
reference to this One and Only God, who is worthy of worship.
1 The Qur’an is the sacred book or scripture revealed to Prophet Muhammad (blessings and peace be upon him).
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Contents:
About the word ‘Lord’ ……………………………………………………….. 4
About the word ‘Allah’ ………………………………………………………. 5
Introduction …………………………………………………………………….. 6
Is the Bible the Word of God? ……………………………………………. 8
Features of Islamic Teachings ………………………………………….. 21
A Whisper ……………………………………………………………………… 26
Bibliography ………………………………………………………………….. 30
Appendix …………………………………………………………………… 32
Glossary …………………………………………………………………… 36
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