Allah Almighty also promised in several Divine Prophecies that He will show the Glorious Quran's Miracles to mankind:
1- The root letters for "message" and all of its derivatives occur
513times throughout the Glorious Quran. Yet, all Praise and Glory are due to Allah Almighty Alone, the Prophets' and Messengers' actual names (Muhammad, Moses, Noah, Abraham, Lot etc....) were also all mentioned 513 times in the Glorious Quran. The detailed breakdown of all of this is thoroughly listed here. This Miracle is covered in 100s (hundreds) of Noble Verses.
2- Allah Almighty said that Prophet Noah lived for
950 years. Yet, all Praise and Glory are due to Allah Almighty Alone, the entire Noble Surah (chapter Noah) is exactly written in 950 Letters. You can thoroughly see the accurate count in the scanned images.
It
is very unprofessional of Ali Sina to keep an article on his website that has already been
refuted. I am not going to provide anything new. This article has already been refuted, I
am just going to simply provide the answers.
Ali Sina said:
Muslims are absolutely certain that Allah revealed Quran through his angle Gabriel to
Muhammad and nothing of that is changed.
Let us put this claim to the test. There is a hadith that
reports Muhammad one night, riode on a winged horse that drove him from
Masjidu’lHaram to Msjidu’l Aqsa (in Jerusalem) and from there to the seventh
heaven where he was shown the hell and the paradise and then taken to the presence of
Allah. This story that is commonly accepted by All the Muslims and is known as Mi’raj
is also confirmed in Quran
Glory to (Allah)
Who did take His Servant for a journey by night,
From the Sacred Mosque to the Farthest Mosque.
-- Quran 17:1
Here we are not going to question the absurdity of such trip.
Considering that it would take the light (fastest thing in the universe) 8 years to make a
round trip to the closest solar system, and 30 billion years to the outskirts of the known
universe, and considering that wings don’t serve beyond the atmosphere of the Earth,
such trip performed on the back of a horse with wings in one night is just stuff of the
fables. If Muhammad could travel from Medina to the presence of Allah, riding on a winged
pony, and come back in one night, then Allah’s palace must be not much far from
Medina. I wonder how come no one has found it yet? We are not also going to ask
whether the gate of the heaven is in Jerusalem? Why Muhammad had to go to Masjidul’
Aqsa in order to go to heaven?
My Response:
Ali
Sina is an anti super naturalist, therefore does not believe in the supernatural. That is
why he calls this story absurd. Well he first has to prove that the supernatural does not
exist in order to make such an assertion. His subjective opinions carry no weight and is
discarded as any evidence against this story.
We
do not know how fast the "winged horse" took the Prophet to God. It might have
been faster than the speed of light. We do not know, this is an issue of faith. But no one
especially Ali Sina has the right to say that it is false or absurd just because he does
not personally accept it.
Ali Sina said:
The biggest problem with this story is that the Masjid’ul
Aqsa “Farthest Mosque” was built after the death of Muhammad.
When Omar conquered Jerusalem he performed a prayer in the
site where Temple of Solomon used to stand. The Romans in 70 A.D destroyed that
temple. Since then no temple, church or mosque stood on that spot. It was Calif
‘Abd al-Malik ibn Marwan who built the Dome of the Rock around 691 A.D. i.e 72 years
after Hijrah. And Masjidu’l Aqsa was built on the Temple Mount by the end of the 7th
century. This is reported in The Concise Encyclopedia of Islam, Harper & Row, 1989, p.
46 and 102.
Muhammad’s alleged Mi’raj took place around the year
622. At that time Jerusalem was in the hands of the Christians. There were no Muslims
living there and certainly there was no Mosque in Jerusalem. 53 years after the death of
Muhammad, Muslims built the Dome of the Rock and the Al Aqsa on the site where Solomon had
his temple
This makes one wonder that perhaps, just like the Bible, also
Quran was written, manipulated and “enriched” years after its author passed
away, permitting the fables that were constructed around Muhammad after his death to crepe
into his book. Whoever has been the author of the verse 17:1, was not aware that Masjid ul
Aqsa did not exist during the time of Muhammad and he could not have made his trip to
heaven from a place that did not exist.
The Arabic word "Masjid", which means Mosque or Temple,
is derived from the root word "Sujood", which means Prostration. A Masjid
does not have to be a building decorated with arts and standing on strong pillars.
It can be an area of worship where it is surrounded by boundaries; whether it is small
walls or stones gathered by men. So it is quite possible that since the area where
the modern "Al-Masjid Al-Aqsa" is located in is believed to be the place where
the Temple of Solomon was built in, that the Jews used to gather together and do their
Prayers and Prostrations to GOD Almighty there. That area can be technically called
a Temple or Mosque; a place of Prostration.
That is why "Qubbat Al-Sakhra", which is the building
with the golden dome top, was built. It is strongly believed that Prophet Muhammad
peace be upon him had set his foot on that land before he was taken up to Heaven and sent
back. It was an open land. So to preserve that holy site, the Muslims
decided to build Qubbat Al-Sakhra near the Al-Masjid Al-Aqsa. This should prove my
theory that the area where the Temple of Solomon was believed to be built in was really an
open area that was dedicated for worship. That area was called Al-Masjid Al-Aqsa,
which means the Farthest Mosque.
So technically, there is no error in the Noble Quran's claims
regarding this matter.
Ali Sina said:
This, is an obvious blunder of those who compiled Quran so
much so that many Islamic scholars, including Yusuf Ali are of the opinion that by
Masjid’u’ Aqsa, it is intended the SITE of the building and not the actual
building.
This apologetic line could have been a way out of the dilemma
if it was not for the following Hadith, which unequivocally asserts that Masjid’ul
Aqsa was an actual building which existed in the time of Muhammad.
I said, "O Allah's Apostle! Which mosque was built
first?" He replied, "Al-Masjid-ul-Haram." I asked, "Which (was built)
next?" He replied, "Al-Masjid-ul-Aqs-a (i.e. Jerusalem)." I asked,
"What was the period in between them?" He replied, "Forty (years)." He
then added, "Wherever the time for the prayer comes upon you, perform the prayer, for
all the earth is a place of worshipping for you."
Muslims could bring the excuse that “Masjid’ means
any place of worship (sojda), that is why the prophet refers to the temple of Solomon as
Masjid. In that case, all churches, synagogues and the Zoroastrian Ateshkadehs are
Masjids. During the time of Muhammad there were many such “Masjids” built in
cities much farther than Jerusalem. (i.e farthest from Mecca or Medina) and the
Masjid’ul Aqsa actually was not the farthest mosque.
This hadith presents yet another problem. Masjid’ul Haram
(Ka’ba) was allegedly built by Abraham. He lived about 2000 BC and the Temple of
Solomon (the site of the Msjid ul’Aqsa) was built about 958-951 BC. There is a
gap of about over 1040 years between the dates of the construction of the two buildings.
His holiness Muhammad’s mistake was a mere one thousand years
My Response:
It
seems like Ali Sina already has a response to the Muslim defensive claim and yet presents
that hadith in order to further his argument. Well unfortunately for Ali Sina, that
argument is also taken care of.
I said, "O Allah's Apostle! Which mosque was built
first?" He replied, "Al-Masjid-ul-Haram." I asked, "Which (was built)
next?" He replied, "Al-Masjid-ul-Aqs-a (i.e. Jerusalem)." I asked,
"What was the period in between them?" He replied, "Forty (years)." He
then added, "Wherever the time for the prayer comes upon you, perform the prayer, for
all the earth is a place of worshipping for you."
This hadith actually introduces yet another problem. Abraham
supposedly (re)built the Kaaba, (and Abraham lived about 2000 BC) and the Temple was built
by Solomon in about 958-951 BC, then Muhammad gave another historically false information
based on a major confusion about the time when these people lived.
Firstly, we have already shown that the word masjid
does not necessarily refer to a building but rather to a location, i.e., the place
of prostration. Secondly, the missionaries try to deceive the readers in the above
paragraphs. Indeed, they admit the Islamic opinion that Abraham(P)
rebuilt the Ka`bah (it was Adam who built it originally according to the Islamic
tradition), but for unjustified reason they overlook the Islamic traditions addressing the
construction of the farthest mosque, presumably to generate a
"contradiction".
They identify the Farthest Mosque with the Temple of Solomon without further
justification, and point out an error that they had invented themselves. Let us for
example see what Imam Ibn Hajar says about this hadith in Fath al-Bari:
His saying (40 years)
Ibn al-Jawzi said: It raises a problem since Abraham built the Ka`bah and Solomon built
Bayt al-Maqdis [another name of al-Masjid al-Aqsa cf.
Hebrew Bet ha-Miqdash] and there are 1,000 years
between them. His evidence for saying that it is Solomon - peace be upon him - who built
the Farthest Mosque is the narration of al-Nasa'i from the hadith of `Abd Allah Ibn
`Amr Ibn al-`As attributed to the Prophet with an authentic isnad that "When Solomon
built Bayt al-Maqdis he asked God the Most High for three things etc." and in al-Tabarani
from the hadith of Rafi` Ibn `Umayrah that "David - peace be upon him -
started building Bayt al-Maqdis but God inspired him: I shall accomplish its building with
Solomon" and the hadith has a story. He [Ibn
al-Jawzi] said: "The answer to that is that the
mention concerns the first construction and the foundation of the mosque and it is not
Abraham who built the Ka`bah for the first time nor is it Solomon who built Bayt al-Maqdis
for the first time. Indeed, we have narrated that the first one who built the Ka`bah is
Adam. Then his progeny spread out on earth. Therefore, it is possible that one of them
built Bayt al-Maqdis. Later, Abraham (re)built the Ka`bah according to the Qur'an."
Likewise, al-Qurtubi said: The hadith does not indicate that Abraham and
Solomon were the first ones to build the two mosques. It was only a renovation of what had
been founded by others.[16]
After quoting other opinions, Ibn Hajar insists :
But the possibility mentioned by Ibn al-Jawzi is more
pertinent. And I found evidence supporting those who say that it is Adam who founded both
mosques. For instance, Ibn Hisham mentioned in "Kitab al-Tijan" that when
Adam built the Ka`bah, God ordered him to walk to Bayt al-Maqdis and build it and so he
did and offered worship in it. And the construction of the House [Arabic: al-Bayt, i.e., the Ka`bah] is
famous and we have mentioned earlier the hadith of `Abd Allah Ibn `Amr that the
House was elevated in the time of the flood until God showed Abraham its location. Ibn Abi
Hatim narrated from the way of Ma`mar from Qatadah: God founded the House with Adam
when he descended. But Adam missed the voices of the Angels and their prayers. Therefore,
God told him: I sent down a House around which [people] will revolve like it is revolved around my Throne, so set out to it.
Adam set out to Makkah - He had descended in India, and his steps were enlarged until he
reached the House and revolved around it. It was also said that when he had prayed at the
Ka`bah, he was ordered to set out to Jerusalem where he built a masjid [mosque] and prayed therein so that it
became a qiblah to a part of his progeny.[17]
In summary, the verse 17:1 refers to the holy locations in Jerusalem and Makkah because
they are blessed regardless of the presence or absence of a building at the time of the
heavenly trip of Prophet Muhammad(P). From an
Islamic point of view, evidence has been given by eminent Muslim scholars like Ibn Hajar
and Ibn al-Jawzi showing that it was Adam(P) who built both
mosques for the first time and that the job of Abraham and Solomon(P)
was only a renovation/reconstruction of these sanctuaries.
5. Conclusions
The word masjid from a linguistic point of view refers to a place of prostration
without any religious distinction. From a legal point of view the word masjid in shari`ah
constitutes every place on earth that is fit for prostration, whether or not it is a
building.
The verse 17:1 may very well refer to the holy locations in Jerusalem and Makkah
because they are blessed regardless of the presence or absence of a building at the time
of the heavenly trip of Prophet Muhammad(P) from
Makkah to Jerusalem to the Heavens. From an Islamic point of view, evidence has been given
by eminent Muslim scholars like Ibn Hajar and Ibn al-Jawzi who have discussed the
issue. They have shown that it was Adam(P) who built both
mosques for the first time and that the duty of Abraham and Solomon(P) was only a renovation/reconstruction of these sanctuaries.
And Allah knows best!
Conclusion
Ali Sina's argument has failed and he
has no ground to stand on and has failed to prove anything false regarding the Glorious
Quran or anything about the one, true and beautiful religion and that is Islam.
Did
Isaiah 53 really prophesies about the crucifixion of Jesus? It supports Islam's
claims about Jesus peace be upon him never died on the cross. I also addressed John
19:36-37 from the Bible and proved that Jesus never got crucified, since GOD Almighty
promised that he will protect Jesus' body and not let even a single bone be broken.
My question to all Christians is: How in the world is it possible
for the feet to get nailed on the cross without any penetration to the bones by the nails,
hence breaking part of the feet's bones?! I also added
refutations to Exodus 12:46, Numbers 9:12, Zechariah 12:10
and Psalm 34:20, which supposedly prove the Christians' belief about Jesus
crucifixion. I proved that this dogma has no truth what so ever and exposed the
wrong Trinitarian English translation of Zechariah 12:10.
Allah Almighty also promised in several Divine Prophecies that He will show the Glorious Quran's Miracles to mankind:
1- The root letters for "message" and all of its derivatives occur
513times throughout the Glorious Quran. Yet, all Praise and Glory are due to Allah Almighty Alone, the Prophets' and Messengers' actual names (Muhammad, Moses, Noah, Abraham, Lot etc....) were also all mentioned 513 times in the Glorious Quran. The detailed breakdown of all of this is thoroughly listed here. This Miracle is covered in 100s (hundreds) of Noble Verses.
2- Allah Almighty said that Prophet Noah lived for
950 years. Yet, all Praise and Glory are due to Allah Almighty Alone, the entire Noble Surah (chapter Noah) is exactly written in 950 Letters. You can thoroughly see the accurate count in the scanned images.
