Monthly Archive for September, 2008

Ahmadis using the Bible?

Published
by
Farhan
on September 8, 2008
in Uncategorized
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بسم الله و الحمد لله و صلاة و سلام على النبي

I have the great blessing of attending a masjid that is large, diverse, famous and most importantly, has a great staff of highly knowledgeable teachers.  This also makes us the target of Christian evangelism.

This past Jumu’a, several Christians were passing out literature right outside of our masjid.  I received one of the packets containing The Book of Romans, The Book of John, and a CD on the life of “Jesus”, (all in Arabic).  I noticed that one of the booklets said we could send away for a free copy of the “Holy Injeel”.  I lightly chuckled to myself upon reading that.  Since when is the New Testament the same as Injeel?

One can make a reasonable argument that the Torah, particularly the first five books (Tanakh) were once True Books of Allah, revealed to Musa عليه السلام for the guidance of Bani Isra’eel.  That’s why you’ll see verses of the Torah which resemble fundamental Islamic beliefs. (ie, Deuteronomy 6:4 the Sheema resembling Surah Ikhlaas)  But, over time, these books were altered, corrupted and changed to their present form.
How about the Injeel?  What happened to it?  Is the New Testament the corrupted version of the Injeel? This is a misconception a lot of South Asian Muslims have about the New Testament, of which Mirza Ghulam Ahmad was no exception.  They assume it is the same book revealed to ‘Esa bin Maryam عليه السلام.  The reality is, the latter books of the Bible, from the Gospel of Matthew to Revelations were never books revealed by Allah.  They are not even a corrupted version of it.  Rather, they are the confused, ambiguous, sometimes cryptic writings of…actually there’s disagreement who even wrote them.  But, one thing is certain, they were not revealed to ‘Esa bin Maryam عليه السلام, nor even written during his lifetime.
There’s nothing wrong with not knowing this fact.  There’s tons of things about the Bible, and even the Qur’an, that I don’t know.  But, the problem comes in when Mirza Ghulam Ahmad started to use the Bible to prove the validity of Ahmadiyya.
For example, look at Chapter 1 of Jesus in India.  Mirza “proved” that ‘Esa bin Maryam عليه السلام did not die on the cross.  What are his sources?  Most are the Gospels of Matthew, Mark, Luke and John. (Look towards the bottom of the page.)
Other times, I’ve heard Ahmadis defend the absurd belief that Mirza was the second coming of ‘Esa bin Maryam عليه السلام just as ‘Esa bin Maryam عليه السلام was the second coming of Elijah عليه السلام.  I ask where they get this concept of his second coming and they quote me Bible verses.  For example, scroll down to “Fortunate Is He Who Takes Lessons From The Plight Of Others (Hadithun Nabi)” in The Advent of the Messiah and Mahdi and look for “Malachi 4:5”.
How about the numerous Bible references about the alleged Tomb of Jesus that was “recently discovered” in Kashmir?  Are you being serious?  I’m supposed to believe in Ahmadiyya because of Bible verses?  I mean…The Bible?  Since when has the Bible been a source of guidance for the Muslims?
The Prophet صلي الله عليه و سلم said, “As long as you hold fast to two things which I have left among you, you will never go astray: Allah’s Book [the Qur'an] and my Sunnah.”  Did he tell us to refer to any third source.  No!  (that includes the writings of Mirza)  So, then why do Ahmadis insist on citing the Bible as an evidence for their religion?
Now, one could make the argument “Yes, but there is some Truth still in the Bible.”  Point taken.  But, which parts?  How do you know what is true and what is false?  What is the criteria?  Is it based on what agrees with Ahmadiyya?  That’s a bit biased, no?  The reality is, we do not have any objective criteria to determine what is true and what is false in the Bible, other than that which agrees with the Qur’an.  But, even if some parts are true, and they were essential for our guidance, Allah would have revealed it in the Qur’an.  In other words, they are not even essential for our guidance and could possibly be false. The safest bet is to disregard it completely and refer only to the Qur’an and authentic Prophetic traditions. Nevertheless, the Ahmadis still insist on using the Bible.  Well, lets read what the Bible say of the Prophets عليهم السلام:
  • Genesis 9:20 – Noah عليه السلام drank alcohol, then laid in his house naked.  His youngest son accidentally saw him in that state and was cursed for having done so.
  • Genesis 12:14 – Ibrahim عليه السلام traded his wife Sarah as a slave to Pharaoh to acquire livestock and slaves.
  • Genesis 19:30 - While Lut عليه السلام was drunk, his two daughters had sex with him and became pregnant to preserve their family line.
  • 2 Samuel 11 – Dawood عليه السلام saw a beautiful woman bathing on a roof top, had sex with her and then had her husband killed in battle so he could marry her.
  • 1 Kings 11:1 - The wives of Sulayman عليه السلام convinced him to commit shirk by worshiping other gods.
  • John 2:3 – ‘Esa bin Maryam عليه السلام spoke disrespectfully to his own mother.
The very book they are quoting from and using as a source of “historical information” about the Prophets عليهم السلام says such terrible things about them.  Why then do Mirza and the Ahmadis use the Bible to prove their religion?   My theory is, in the absence of any evidence from the Qur’an and Prophetic traditions, they need some kind of text that adds credibility to their claims.  That’s where the Bible comes in.
Rather, we Muslims should reject such sources and refer back to the Qur’an and Prophetic traditions.  Any argument stemming exclusively from the Bible (or the Bhagavad Gita, Guru Granth Sahib or whatever) is subject to rejection.
We ask Allah, in this blessed month of Ramadhan, to save us from such clear misguidance and to guide the Ahmadis away from the false teachings of Mirza Ghulam Ahmad to the True teachings of the Prophet Muhammad صلى الله عليه و سلم.  To the Muslims, make Du’a for the guidance of our Ahmadi friends to Islam this Ramadhan.
و صلي الله على سيدنا محمد و على الى و سلم

Ramadan Mubarak!

Published
by
Shahid
on September 1, 2008
in Uncategorized
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Ramadan didn’t used to mean much to me as a Qadiani, but since I have been a Muslim, it has been an uplifting experience. I feel connected to every Muslim on the planet, of every race and background. (Qadianis are connected only to a Punjabi subgroup, because despite their best efforts and the support of Western media and governments, Islam and even other groups are highly resistant to this heretic creed).

Of course, Qadianis do fast, and I do pray that those who love the part of Qadianism that takes its core from Islam, will be guided to truth and revert to Islam when they realise just how divergent Islam and Qadianism are.

Islam is vibrant today, because despite rampant Islamophobia, more and more people are drawn to Islam and indeed, are becoming Muslims by the day. The dark(!) picture painted of Muslims in the Western media doesn’t very often tally with the reality. For starters, Islam is way too diverse and confusing for most people to grasp. Sure, modern-day Orientalists, some of whom are faux-left-wing bloggers thrown up to media-stardom level by a system that clearly hasn’t a clue, have tried to pin this label and that on us, completely missing the point - that despite many differences, Muslim people have more in common with each other than their rulers and dividers would like to portray.

In this holy month, Muslims will be fasting and doing their best to be as “good” as they can. We will be reciting Al Qur’an, we will be praying taraweeh, we will make dhikr, we will attempt to minimise our bad habits and increase our good ones. We will be kinder to neighbours, we will be more loving to our parents and our children. We will call for peace and denounce oppression and tyranny.

What is it about this Islam that Qadianis still find threatening?

I invite all Qadianis to come to our mosques and experience the true spirit of Ramadan insha’Allah. They will be most welcome.