A Look of Faith at the Qur’an

This book is translated by the author from the original Arabic text. It is addressed to all those who seek to liberate themselves from the yoke of fanaticism imposed by the various tarnished religious traditions and arbitrary prejudices. It is dedicated to all men of good faith, thirsty for truth and justice, in search of a fraternity.

“Show me your proof if you speak the truth.”
(Qur’an XXVII; The Ant,64)

DEDICACE

TO MARY,
OUR MOTHER THE VIRGIN
MOTHER OF THE MESSIAH
TO FATIMA,
MOTHER OF THE BELIEVERS,

AND

TO THE INDEPENDENT BELIEVERS
OF ALL RELIGIONS, RITES AND RACES.

Two birds of the same species represent the Bible and the Qur’an

1. Introduction

Most people believe that there is a difference between the Qur’an and the Bible. Nevertheless, the divine Inspiration is one in the Bible and the Qur’an. God, who inspired the Bible, Old and New Testaments, has equally inspired the Qur’an. The latter confirms the authenticity of the Bible. The difference therefore, is not in the Inspiration, but in the interpretation. God says in the Qur’an:

“O people to whom the Book (the Bible) has been revealed, believe in what We have revealed (the Qur’an), confirming the truth of that which you already have before (the Bible) …” (Qur’an IV; The Women,47)

This book is a succinct study of the authentic concept of the divine Inspiration. It is an invitation to open oneself, with faith, to the Qur’anic Inspiration. And through this, to the Gospels and the Torah, attested by the Qur’an. (The Qur’an employs the word “Torah” for the whole collection of the Books of the Old Testament.)

It is a look of faith at the divine Inspiration in general, to assemble believers together by discovering the unity, of the Biblical-Qur’anic Inspiration. In fact, the Qur’an confirms its two predecessors, the Torah and the Gospel, and testifies that God is the only and unique Source of the Bible and Qur’an:

“Our God and yours is One God, and to Him we submit.” (Qur’an XXIX; The Spider,46)

(The word “submit” is the translation for the Arabic word “Muslim”. Islam means Submission (to God))

Yet we find that religious confessions have divided Christians and Muslims from age to age, through their inherited traditions. This division, due to the same human traditions, is not limited to the Muslim and Christian communities, but has won over the hearts of each of these two sisterly communities, separating Christians from Christians and Muslims from Muslims. It is why I advise readers to be open with objectivity to the contents of this book, raising themselves above the mentality of the rites that he or she belong to; to leave behind all narrow and confessional mentalities, as the aim of this study is to liberate oneself from the spirit of confessional clans and spiritual racism, which has unconsciously infiltrated into each one of us. We cannot free ourselves from this unhealthy spirit, except through the knowledge of what God has really revealed in the inspired Books. This knowledge only, can liberate us from the chains of tradition and prejudice, which deviate us from the teachings of the Bible and Qur’an.

These traditions and prejudices have penetrated, with time, men’s veins, and are passed down from father to son, and accepted without their authenticity or rectitude being discussed. Some “believers” hold on to them so tightly, to the point of killing any and all opposition, because they consider these vain traditions as untouchable truths, without even making sure of their truthfulness. We have all suffered from this state of affairs, not knowing that these traditions do not have any divine foundations.

It is therefore important to convince oneself of the necessity of reverting to the Bible and the Qur’an to be able to render count of the truth or the falseness of these rumors, spread by some to provoke intrigue, as the Qur’an correctly notes:

“It is He who sent down the Book (the Qur’an) upon you. In it are verses precise in meaning: these are the very heart of the Book. Others are ambiguous. Those in whose heart is waywardness pursue what is ambiguous therein, seeking discord and seeking to unravel its interpretation. But none knows its interpretation save God, while those deeply rooted in knowledge say: ‘We believe in it (the Qur’an). All is from our Lord’. Yet none remembers save those possessed of minds.” (Qur’an III; The Family of Imran,7)

Certain religious leaders have given themselves the right to monopolize the interpretation of the Divine Inspiration. And yet, the Inspiration is the monopoly of no man. According to the verse mentioned above: “none knows its interpretation save God”, and it is He, “God who guides” his chosen, as the Qur’an also says in chapter XLII; Deliberation,52.

In fact, scholarly religious Jews have granted themselves the right to interpret, and they alone, the Bible, preventing believers from applying the messianic prophecies -though very clear- that they find, to Jesus.

Some religious leaders and Christian theologians equally monopolize the right to interpret the Gospels, refusing to apply explicit prophecies therein to denounce the unjust Israeli entity, the obvious target of these prophecies. This guilty attitude -which is a counter testimony to Jesus- is due to the Christian solidarity with Israel and international Zionism, although denounced by St John as the Antichrist to emerge (1 John 2,22).

Likewise, many Muslim leaders and scholars monopolize the right to interpret the Qur’an in favor of a strict tradition which suits them. They expose personal, and not divine, interpretations which allows a fanatic and separatist spirit to show. By doing so, people are prevented from understanding the Qur’anic verses independently of their narrow conceptions, so distant from the divine intention. They stop at “ambiguous” verses, and interpret them in their favor “to sow discord”.

The Qur’an imposes on believers to open up to the sacred issues, starting from knowledge of the “Luminous Books”, God having inspired them as a guide. Man should not therefore thoughtlessly follow any recommendations of the nature that cause dissension without the recourse to a “Luminous Book”, as the Qur’an commands:

“Among people is one who argues about God, without knowledge, and follows thereby every rebel demon… Among people is one who argues about God, without knowledge, without a Luminous Book.” (Qur’an XXII; The Pilgrimage,3 & 8)

This is why, in our discussion, we have recourse to two “Luminous Books”, the Bible and the Qur’an, so that our faith is not built on a quicksand of rumors that render us prey to “every rebel demon”, and fanatic. We want to build our faith on the rock of knowledge and certitude. Then, we flourish, because we would be exposed to the rays that spring from the divine source, and not be submissive to mere human fables and traditions. The latter is a type which condemns, and have no foundations whatsoever in the “Luminous Books”. It is the reason why they were a failure, by producing the bitter fruits of division between brothers. The Divine Intention, on the contrary, is to assemble believers together through a Unique Inspiration; not to separate them with traditions which God disapproves of.

“Lord, Expand my heart…” (Qur’an XX; Ta Ha,25)

However, the heart can only bloom whence liberated from the yoke of ignorant faith, the fruit of deadpan traditions. If we aspire for salvation, we must strip ourselves of this unhealthy faith, to embrace real faith, built on knowledge of the “Luminous Books”. This knowledge will be our guide in our discussions on divine matters.

To understand the genuine spiritual part of Islam, we must be aware of the enormous abyss that separates the Qur’an from the Muslim majority. This abyss has an equal too: the separation between the Bible and the vast majority of Jews and Christians. The responsible for this drift are followers of rituals and of worshiping traditions, anxious in safeguarding a religious heritage that is human, a material cult at the expense of worship “in spirit and truth”, prescribed by Jesus (John 4,24).

The Prophet Muhammad says in his “Noble Discussions”:

“The time will come for men when the only thing left of the Qur’an will be its picture and from Islam its name. They claim to belong to Islam, yet they are most far from it.”

The late Sheikh Muhammad Abdo also says of it:

“What we are currently seeing of Islam is not Islam. We have retained from the works of Islam save a semblance of prayers, fasting and pilgrimage, and a few words deviated in part of their meaning. People have arrived to the point of stagnation of which I have mentioned, because of the heresies and fables that have contaminated their religion, considering them as religion. May God protect us from these people and their calumnies on God and His religion, for all who reproach Muslims today, do not belong to Islam. It is something else which they have called Islam.” (Excerpts of his book: “Islam and Christianity”)

The Messiah, likewise, poses a question to his Apostles on faith in the last days:

“But when the Son of Man comes, will He find faith on earth?” (Luke 18,8)

He warns us that the love of God will disappear from the hearts of many, because of injustice and impiety which will prevail at the end of times (Matthew 24,12). This is why He warned believers in saying:

“It is not those who say to me, ‘Lord, Lord’, who will enter the Kingdom of Heaven, but the person who does the Will of my Father in Heaven. When the day comes many (false believers) will say to Me (in seeing my anger at them): ‘Lord, Lord did we not prophesy in your name, cast out demons in your name, work many miracles in your name?’ Then I shall tell them to their faces: I have never known you; away from Me, you evil men!” (Matthew 7,21-23)

The Apostle Paul, he too, certifies this in his letters:

“… that in the last days there are going to be some difficult times. People will be self-centered and avaricious; boastful, arrogant and rude… heartless… They will keep up the outward appearance of religion but will have rejected the inner power of it…” (2 Timothy 3,1-5)

Thus, Divine Inspiration warns us against vain and superficial practices everywhere, to which many believers are attached. This illusionary worship is fruitless in the eyes of the Divine Judge, who does not accord his mercy because of such acts which come from pagan inspirations, but is touched by the goodness, love, and effort He sees us providing, to come to know truth and practice justice.

In the Evangelical Inspiration, the criteria of faith at the end of times is the apparition of a “Beast” announced by the Apostle John in the Book of Revelation. This “Beast”, the Antichrist, is the incarnation of the evil forces and injustice in the world. It appears in Palestine; up to the heart of Jerusalem (Revelation 11,2 & 20,7-9), where it assembles its army and its subjects “to make war”, not peace. The criterion of faith resides in the degree of enthusiasm set in fighting this Beast. The stronger the faith, the more does spiritual discernment grow in recognizing the identity of this monster, and intensifies one’s commitment to fight to the death. On the contrary, an unsteady or absent faith leads man to submit themselves to the Beast by saying, before its apparent power: “Who can compare with the Beast? Who can fight against it?” (Revelation 13,4). The Evangelical Inspiration announces the Good News to believers of their victory over the Beast, the Antichrist.

I have revealed and demonstrated in my book: “The Revelation unmasks the Antichrist”, that the Israeli entity is this “Beast”, which has amassed its Zionist troops from the four quarters of the earth… for war… in Palestine. The State of Israel, this “substitute”, created from many bits and pieces, built on crime and blood, symbolizes injustice and evil. It is on the road to ruin.

Today, real believers are those who discern the identity of the “Beast” of Revelation and understand that it is the incarnate of “absolute evil”, according to the expression of Imam Moussa Sadr, who adds: “To collaborate with Israel is a sin”. Nowadays, a believer is one who rises against God’s enemy, the Zionist post in Palestine, which occupies all its territory and spreads its injustice up to the South of Lebanon.

This Apocalyptic “Beast” is the redoubtable measure through which God probes the hearts of believers. It condemns those who collaborate with it, and forever bless the noble and courageous hearts who fight against it with faith. Thus, the unity among all believers today involves their unity against Israel, the enemy of God and Jesus, His Messiah. The fight against the State of Israel is equivalent to a new baptism.

The Qur’anic Inspiration has equivalently announced the apparition of a Beast at the end of times:

“When the Decree falls upon them (the unbelievers), We shall bring up a Beast from the earth who will speak to them. But mankind is not convinced by Our signs.” (Qur’an XXVII; The Ants,82)

It is also the “Beast” of Revelation (chapters 13 & 17). Muhammad announced in his “Noble Discussions” of the apparition of the Antichrist and his like in Palestine, “pouring in from everywhere”, as is the case with the Jews. The Prophet continues in saying that they would cross the Lake of Tiberius, and that these “charlatans” will mislead many believers. The true believers will fight them and will triumph. I demonstrate in my book “The Antichrist in Islam”, the relationship between this “Charlatan Messiah” and the Israeli entity, backing my arguments by the “Noble Discussions”, collected from the works of Sheikh Sobhi Saleh, “Manhal el Waridin”.

Many false doctrines have infiltrated amidst the ranks of believers, implanting themselves as indisputable and unquestionable traditions. Among those are:

1. the claim -to which a large number of Christians believe- that the Qur’an contradicts the Gospel
2. the claim -to which a large number of Muslims believe- that the Gospel is falsified and that there is contradiction between the four Gospels.

Some Muslims do not lend their faith to the Gospel under the pretext that it was written after the Messiah’s Ascension. They ignore that the Power of God’s Inspiration stops neither at the physical presence of the Messiah in the world, nor in a specific time or place. All these ideas demonstrate the ignorance and infantilism of people capable of believing in such nonsense.

We wanted, in this study, to enter the world of Inspiration through the door of the Qur’an. Through it, we reach the Bible. It is so, that we discover the unity of the Biblical-Qur’anic Inspiration. It is the reason why we do not understand why those who believe in one of the two Books, fight those who believe in the other. It is illogical to accept one without the other.