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Rebuttal to Sam Shamoun's "Is Gabriel really an angel?" article:

The following article is a rebuttal to Sam Shamoun's article that is located at: http://www../Quran/Incoherence/gabriel.html.

He wrote:

We continue with our series regarding the incompleteness of the Quran, this time by focusing on the identity of Gabriel and specific other entities that Muslims normally believe to be angels of God.

My response:

To the reader, the section that he linked is currently being refuted at:

Rebuttals to the so-called "Incoherence" in the Noble Quran.

Rebuttals to all of the so-called "Errors" in the Noble Quran.

Rebuttals to the "Textual Variants" lies in the Noble Quran. 

Rebuttals, and exposing the lies of the Answering Islam team section.

Note:  Angel Gabriel, peace be upon him, is not the Holy Spirit according to the Glorious Quran.  See also the following discussion:

He wrote:

Muslims are taught that Allah sent the angel Gabriel (Jibril) with the revelation to Muhammad. Muslims are also taught that Allah sent specific angels to both Abraham and Lot in order to warn them about the destruction of Lot’s people due to their gross immorality.

What makes this intriguing is that none of the passages of the Quran clearly and explicitly identify Gabriel or these messengers as angels. The Muslim assumes this already and proceeds to read this back into the Quranic texts. In other words, the Muslims have been taught that Gabriel is an angel and that Allah sent angels to Abraham and Lot despite the Quran never clearly saying that they are.

My response:

The Islamic scriptures are made up of two volumes: 

1-  The Noble Quran.

2-  The authentic Sunnah (the way the Prophet lived) and Hadiths (Sayings of the Prophet) of Prophet Muhammad, peace be upon him.

What Sam Shamoun is doing is taking the Noble Quran alone despite the fact that ample Noble Verses in the Noble Quran Command the Muslims to follow not only the Noble Quran, but also the Commands of Prophet Muhammad, peace be upon him:

"O ye who believe! Obey God, and obey the Apostle, and those charged with authority among you. If ye differ in anything among yourselves, refer it to God and His Apostle, if ye do believe in God and the Last Day: That is best, and most suitable for final determination.  (The Noble Quran, 4:59)"

"God did confer a great favour on the believers when He sent among them an apostle from among themselves, rehearsing unto them the Signs of God, sanctifying them, and instructing them in Scripture and Wisdom, while, before that, they had been in manifest error.  (The Noble Quran, 3:164)"

"Obey God, and obey the Apostle, and beware (of evil): if ye do turn back, know ye that it is Our Apostle's duty to proclaim (the message) in the clearest manner.  (The Noble Quran, 5:92)"

"(We sent) clear proofs and the scriptures. Now, We have sent you this reminder (Qur’an) so that you may demonstrate the revelations to them. Perhaps they may reflect and ponder!  (The Noble Quran, 16:44)"

"When there comes to them some matter touching (Public) safety or fear, they divulge it. If they had only referred it to the Apostle, or to those charged with authority among them, the proper investigators would have Tested it from them (direct). Were it not for the Grace and Mercy of God unto you, all but a few of you would have fallen into the clutches of Satan.  (The Noble Quran, 4:83)"

"Those who follow the apostle, the unlettered Prophet, whom they find mentioned in their own (scriptures),- in the law and the Gospel;- for he commands them what is just and forbids them what is evil; he allows them as lawful what is good (and pure) and prohibits them from what is bad (and impure); He releases them from their heavy burdens and from the yokes that are upon them. So it is those who believe in him, honour him, help him, and follow the light which is sent down with him,- it is they who will prosper.  (The Noble Quran, 7:157)"

"Say: "Obey God, and obey the Apostle: but if ye turn away, he is only responsible for the duty placed on him and ye for that placed on you. If ye obey him, ye shall be on right guidance. The Apostle's duty is only to preach the clear (Message).  (The Noble Quran, 24:54)"

"So establish regular Prayer and give regular Charity; and obey the Apostle; that ye may receive mercy.  (The Noble Quran, 24:56)"

"Ye have indeed in the Apostle of God a beautiful pattern (of conduct) for any one whose hope is in God and the Final Day, and who engages much in the Praise of God.  (The Noble Quran, 33:21)"

"It is not fitting for a Believer, man or woman, when a matter has been decided by God and His Apostle to have any option about their decision: if any one disobeys God and His Apostle, he is indeed on a clearly wrong Path.  (The Noble Quran, 33:36)"

"The Day that their faces will be turned upside down in the Fire, they will say: "Woe to us! Would that we had obeyed God and obeyed the Apostle!"  (The Noble Quran, 33:66)"

"It is He Who has sent amongst the Unlettered an apostle from among themselves, to rehearse to them His Signs, to sanctify them, and to instruct them in Scripture and Wisdom,- although they had been, before, in manifest error;-  (The Noble Quran, 62:2)"

"So obey God, and obey His Apostle: but if ye turn back, the duty of Our Apostle is but to proclaim (the Message) clearly and openly.  (The Noble Quran, 64:12)"

Most of these Noble Verses were taken from Combat Kit To Use Against the "Quran Only" Muslims.

The Noble Quran's completeness is in Salvation and Guidance.  Everything you need for Salvation and Guidance is mentioned in the Noble Quran.  And as we clearly saw above, Allah Almighty in the Noble Quran clearly Commanded the Muslims to obey and follow the Commands of Prophet Muhammad, peace be upon him.

Since Prophet Muhammad, peace be upon him, did say that Angel Gabriel is an angel, then there is no question that he was indeed an angel:

"'Umar b. al-Khattab (Allah be pleased with him) reported: When Allah's Apostle (may peace be upon him) kept himself away from his wives, I entered the mosque, and found people striking the ground with pebblesand saying: Allah's Messenger (may peace be upon him) has divorced his wives, and that was before they were commanded to observe seclusion 'Umar said to himself: I must find this (actual position) today. So I went to 'A'isha (Allah be pleased with her) and said (to her): Daughter of Abu Bakr, have you gone to the extent of giving trouble to Allah's Messenger (may peace be upon him)? Thereupon she said: Son of Khattab, you have nothing to do with me, and I have nothing to do with you. You should look to your own receptacle. He ('Umar) said: I visited Hafsa daughter of 'Umar, and said to her: Hafsa, the (news) has reached me that you cause Allah's Messenger (may peace be upon him) trouble. You know that Allah's Messenger (may peace be upon him) does not love you, and had I not been (your father) he would have divorced you. (On hearing this) she wept bitterly. I said to her: Where is Allah's Messenger (may peace be upon him)? Shesaid: He is in the attic room. I went in and found Rabah, the servant of Allah's Messenger (may peace be upon him), sitting on the thresholds of the window dangling his feet on the hollow wood of the date-palm with the help of which Allah's Messenger (may peace be upon him) climbed (to the apartment) and came down. I cried: 0 Rabah, seek permission for me from Allah's Messenger (way peace be upon him). Rabah cast a glance at the apartment and then looked toward me but said nothing. I again said: Rabah, seek permission for me from Allah's Messenger (may peace be upon him). Rabah looked towards the apartment and then cast a glance at me, but said nothig. I then raised my voice and said: 0 Rabah, seek permission for me from Allah's Messenger (may peace be upon him). I think that Allah's Messenger (may peace be upon him) is under the impression that I have come for the sake of Hafsa. By Allah, if Allah's Messenger (may peace be upon him) would command me to strike her neck, I would certainly strike her neck. I raised my voice and he pointed me to climb up (and get into his apartment). I visited Allah's Messenger (may peace be upon him), and he was lying on a mat. I sat down and he drew up his lower garment over him and he had nothing (else) over him, and that the mat had left its marks on his sides. I looked with my eyes in the store room of Allah's Messenger (may peace be upon him). I found only a handful of barley equal to one sa' and an equal quantity of the leaves of Mimosa Flava placed in the nook of the cell, and a semi-tanned leather bag hanging (in one side), and I was moved to tears (on seeing this extremely austere living of the Holy Piophet), and he said: Ibn Khattab, what wakes you weep?

I said: Apostle of Allah, why should I not shed tears? This mat has left its marks on your sides and I do not see in your store room (except these few things) that I have seen; Ceasar and Closroes are leading their lives in plenty whereas you are Allah's Messenger. His chosen one, and that is your store! He said: Ibn Khattab, aren't you satisfied that for us (there should be the prosperity) of the Hereafter, and for them (there should be the prosperity of) this world? I said: Yes. And as I had entered I had seen the signs of anger on his face, and I therefore, said: Messenger of Allah, what trouble do you feel from your wives, and if you have divorced them, verily Allah is with you, His angels, Gabriel, Mika'il, I and Abu Bakr and the believers are with you. And seldom I talked and (which I uttered on that day) I hoped that Allah would testify to my words that I uttered. And so the verse of option (Ayat al-Takhyir) was revealed. Maybe his Lord, if he divorce you, will give him in your place wives better than you..." (Ixv. 5). And if you back up one another against him, then surely Allah is his Patron, and Gabriel and the righteous believers, and the angels after that are the aidera (lvi. 4). And it was 'A'isha, daughter of Abu Bakr, and Hafsa who had prevailed upon all the wives of Allah's Prophet (way peace be upon him) for (pressing them for mote money). I said: Messenger of Allah, have you divorced them? He said: No. I said: Messenger of Allah, I entered the mosque and found the Muslims playing with pebbles (absorbed in thought) and saying: Allah's Messenger has divorced his wives. Should I get down and inform there that you have not divorced them? He said: Yes, if you so like. And I went on talking to him until I (found) the signs of anger disappeared on his face and (his seriousness was changed to a happy mood and as a result thereof) his face had the natural tranquillity upon it and he laughed and his teeth were the most charming (among the teeth) of all people. Then Allah's Apostle (may peace be upon him) climbed down and I also climbed down and catching hold of the wood of the palm-tree and Allah's Messenger (may peace be upon him) came down (with such ease) as if he was walking on the ground, not touching anything with his hand (to get support). I said: Messenger of Allah, you remained in your apartment for twenty-nine days. He said: (At times) the month consists of twenty-nine days. I stood at the door of the mosque and I called out at the top of my voice: The Messenger of Allah (may peace be upon him) has not divorced his wives (and it was on this occasion that this) verse was revealed:" And if any matter pertaining to peace or alarm comes within their ken, they broadcast it; whereas, if they would refer it to the Apostle and those who have been entrusted with authority amongst them, those of them who are engaged in obtaining intelligence would indeed know (what to do with) it" (iv 83). And it was I who understood this matter, and Allah revealed the verse pertaining to option (given to the Holy Prophet (may peace be upon him in regard to the retaining or divorcing of his wives).  (Translation of Sahih Muslim, Book 9: The Book of Divorce (Kitab Al-Talaq), Number 3507)"

"It has been narrated on the authority of A'isha who said: Sa'd was wounded on the day of the Battle of the Ditch. A man from the Quraish called Ibn al-Ariqah shot at him an arrow which pierced the artery in the middle of his forearm. The Messenger of Allah (may peacce be upon him) pitched a tent for him in the mosque and would inquire after him being in close proximity. When he returned from the Ditch and laid down his arms and took a bath, the angel Gabriel appeared to him and he was removing dust from his hair (as if he had just returned from the battle). The latter said: You have laid down arms. By God, we haven't (yet) laid them down. So march against them. The Messenger of Allah (may peace be upon him) asked: Where? He poirftad to Banu Quraiza. So the Messenger of Allah (may peace he upon him) fought against them. They surrendered at the command of the Messenger of Allah (may peace be upon him), but he referred the decision about them to Sa'd who said: I decide about them that those of them who can fight be killed, their women and children taken prisoners and their properties distributed (among the Muslims).  (Translation of Sahih Muslim, Book 19: The Book of Jihad and Expedition (Kitab Al-Jihad wa'l-Siyar), Number 4370)"

Narrated Abu Huraira:  "One day while the Prophet was sitting in the company of some people, (The angel) Gabriel came and asked, "What is faith?" Allah's Apostle replied, 'Faith is to believe in Allah, His angels, (the) meeting with Him, His Apostles, and to believe in Resurrection." Then he further asked, "What is Islam?" Allah's Apostle replied, "To worship Allah Alone and none else, to offer prayers perfectly to pay the compulsory charity (Zakat) and to observe fasts during the month of Ramadan." Then he further asked, "What is Ihsan (perfection)?" Allah's Apostle replied, "To worship Allah as if you see Him, and if you cannot achieve this state of devotion then you must consider that He is looking at you." Then he further asked, "When will the Hour be established?" Allah's Apostle replied, "The answerer has no better knowledge than the questioner. But I will inform you about its portents.

1. When a slave (lady) gives birth to her master.

2. When the shepherds of black camels start boasting and competing with others in the construction of higher buildings. And the Hour is one of five things which nobody knows except Allah.

The Prophet then recited: "Verily, with Allah (Alone) is the knowledge of the Hour--." (31. 34) Then that man (Gabriel) left and the Prophet asked his companions to call him back, but they could not see him. Then the Prophet said, "That was Gabriel who came to teach the people their religion." Abu 'Abdullah said: He (the Prophet) considered all that as a part of faith.  (Translation of Sahih Bukhari, Volume 1, Book 2, Number 47)"

 

He wrote:

Furthermore, despite Gabriel playing such a large and important role in later Islamic theology and tradition the Quran has only two references to him.

We post the references themselves so as to bring out these points more clearly:

Say: 'Whosoever is an enemy to Gabriel -- he it was that brought it down upon thy heart by the leave of God, confirming what was before it, and for a guidance and good tidings to the believers. Whosoever is an enemy to God and His angels and His Messengers, and Gabriel, and Michael - surely God is an enemy to the unbelievers.' S. 2:97-98

If ye twain turn unto Allah repentant, (ye have cause to do so) for your hearts desired (the ban); and if ye aid one another against him (Muhammad) then lo! Allah, even He, is his Protecting Friend, AND Gabriel AND the righteous among the believers; AND FURTHERMORE the angels are his helpers. S. 66:4 Pickthall

If you two repent to God, yet your hearts certainly inclined; but if you support one another against him, God is his Protector, AND Gabriel, AND the righteous among the believers; AND, AFTER THAT, the angels are his supporters. Arberry

My response:

That is a ridiculous statement.  The Noble Quran doesn't have to give importance to things by mentioning them them more.

Now I'd like to comment on Noble Verse 2:97-98 that you mentioned:

Say: 'Whosoever is an enemy to Gabriel -- he it was that brought it down upon thy heart by the leave of God, confirming what was before it, and for a guidance and good tidings to the believers. Whosoever is an enemy to God and His angels and His Messengers, and Gabriel, and Michael - surely God is an enemy to the unbelievers.' S. 2:97-98

Despite the fact that Gabriel and Michael, peace be upon them, are Angels according to the Hadiths of Prophet Muhammad, peace be upon him, but I believe that the reason Allah Almighty mentioned them specifically by the name was to give them special status.  They are obviously among the top of all of the thousands - if not millions or even billions - of Angels.

He wrote:

As the keen reader can see neither passage identifies Gabriel, or even Michael, as an angel. The passages seem to be distinguishing Gabriel from the angels, i.e. Allah AND Gabriel AND the angels AND the righteous believers protect Muhammad. Just like Allah, the righteous believers and angels are all different and distinct from one another, they don’t belong to the same class of being, Gabriel must also be viewed as a distinct entity from all the rest.

Surah 2:97-98 also lists several different groups giving the impression that these entities are also different from one another. The fact that angels and messengers are distinguished from each other shows that, at least in this specific context, the messengers are not angelic beings; they may be the human agents that Allah sent to mankind, i.e. Moses, Jesus etc., or even the messengers from the jinn. After all, the Quran does mention Allah sending forth messengers from both men and jinn:

"O ye assembly of JINNS and men! came there not UNTO you messengers FROM AMONGST YOU, setting forth unto you My Signs, and warning you of the meeting of this Day of yours?" They will say: "We bear witness against ourselves." It was the life of this world that deceived them. So against themselves will they bear witness that they rejected Faith. (The apostles were sent) thus, for thy Lord would not destroy for their wrong-doing men's habitations whilst their occupants were unwarned. S. 6:130-131 Y. Ali

We now turn our attention to the story of Abraham and Lot. In several places the Quran refers to certain messengers which were sent to these two servants of God:

Our messengers came to Abraham with the good tidings; they said, 'Peace!' 'Peace,' he said; and presently he brought a roasted calf. S. 11:69 Arberry

And when Our messengers came to Lot, he was troubled on their account and distressed for them, and he said, 'This is a fierce day.' S. 11:77 Arberry

They said, 'Lot, we are messengers of thy Lord. They shall not reach thee; so set forth, thou with thy family, in a watch of the night, and let not any one of you turn round, excepting thy wife; surely she shall be smitten by that which smites them. Their promised time is the morning; is the morning not nigh?' S. 11:81 Arberry

And tell them of Abraham's guests, … He said: And afterward what is your business, O ye messengers (of Allah)? … And when the messengers came unto the family of Lot, S. 15:51, 57, 61

And when Our messengers came to Abraham with the good tidings, they said, 'We shall destroy the people of this city, for its people are evildoers.' … When that Our messengers came to Lot he was troubled on their account and distressed for them; but they said, 'Fear not, neither sorrow, for surely we shall deliver thee and thy family, except thy wife; she has become of those that tarry. S. 29:31, 33 Arberry

They even asked of him his guests for an ill purpose. Then We blinded their eyes (and said): Taste now My punishment after My warnings! S. 54:37

For those interested in reading the complete story of Abraham, Lot and the destruction of Lot’s people please read the following surahs: 11:69- 83; 15:51-75; 29:28-35.

As the above texts show there is nothing within the context which rules out the view that these messengers were human beings. A careful reading of the passages provides absolutely no evidence that Allah sent angels to assist Lot and to bring destruction upon the evildoers.

Keeping the foregoing in mind we proceed to ask our questions and post our challenges to the Muslim reader:

1. Since the Quran claims to be fully detailed, completely exhaustive, can you please tell us who Gabriel is by using the Quran alone?
2. Was Gabriel a human being whom Allah sent to assist Muhammad? Was he an angel or was he a jinn? One may even ask if he is in a category different from all these.
3. Was Michael an angel, a jinn or a human messenger? Please answer this by using the Quran alone.
4. Were the messengers whom Allah sent to destroy Lot’s people human beings, or were they angels? Perhaps they were actually from the jinn? How do you know?

My response:

1.  Since the Quran claims to be fully detailed, completely exhaustive, can you please tell us who Gabriel is by using the Quran alone?

The Noble Quran's completeness is in Salvation and Guidance.  Everything you need for Salvation and Guidance is mentioned in the Noble Quran.  And as we clearly saw above, Allah Almighty in the Noble Quran clearly Commanded the Muslims to obey and follow the Commands of Prophet Muhammad, peace be upon him.

2.  Was Gabriel a human being whom Allah sent to assist Muhammad? Was he an angel or was he a jinn? One may even ask if he is in a category different from all these.

Angel Gariel, peace be upon him, was an Angel as clearly mentioned in the Hadiths.

3.  Was Michael an angel, a jinn or a human messenger? Please answer this by using the Quran alone.

I don't need to explain from the Noble Quran alone because that is an absurd request.  Angel Michael was an angel as clearly proven above.

4.  Were the messengers whom Allah sent to destroy Lot’s people human beings, or were they angels? Perhaps they were actually from the jinn? How do you know?

They were Angels as the Noble Verses that you presented clearly say.

He wrote:

Knowing that Muslims will try to answer our allegations we will try to be of assistance and show them how not to answer our points.

For instance, some Muslims may argue that the above verses about Lot and his people, when read in context, show that the messengers must be angels. After all, specific passages say that these messengers were sent to destroy the people of Lot and their dwelling places. No mere human could perform such a feat.

There are basically three responses to these assertions. First, the Quran says in other places that it was Allah who destroyed these towns:

And Lot, when he said to his people, 'What, do you commit such indecency as never any being in all the world committed before you? See, you approach men lustfully instead of women; no, you are a people that do exceed.' And the only answer of his people was that they said, 'Expel them from your city; surely they are folk that keep themselves clean!' So We delivered him and his family, except his wife; she was one of those that tarried. And We rained down upon them a rain; so behold thou, how was the end of the sinners! S. 7:80-84; cf. 26:160-174; 27:54-58; 54:33-39

My response:

Allah Almighty is the Ultimate.  Everything that a Believer (whether he is a human, jinn or angel) does gets credited in the End to Allah Almighty.  Allah Almighty is the decission-maker and the Believers are only tools.  Allah Almighty also uses non-believers as tools as well.  Everything works under His Command.  All Praise and Glory are due to Him!

He wrote:

The above reference implies that it wasn’t necessarily the envoys that wrought the destruction; rather it was Allah who did so, much like he was the one who performed the miracles through other human agents such as Moses, Jesus etc. Yet we know of no Muslim who would argue that Moses was not a human envoy, or that he was an angel solely because he was able to do wonders and signs. To therefore argue that these messengers were angels since they had the power to destroy the people of Lot is unfounded.

My response:

The Angels were sent by Allah Almighty and they appeared in human-form:

[011:075]  For Abraham was, without doubt, forbearing (of faults), compassionate, and given to look to God.

[011:077]  When Our messengers came to Lut, he was grieved on their account and felt himself powerless (to protect) them. He said: "This is a distressful day."

[011:079]  They said: "Well dost thou know we have no need of thy daughters: indeed thou knowest quite well what we want!"

He wrote:

Second, Lot is also said to be Allah’s messenger, one of the very apostles sent to his people in order to warn them. Compare the following:

The people of Lut gave the lie to the apostles. S. 26:160 Shakir

And Lut was most surely of the apostles. When We delivered him and his followers, all -- Except an old woman (who was) amongst those who tarried. Then We destroyed the others. And most surely you pass by them in the morning, And at night; do you not then understand? S. 37:133-138 Shakir

"and Thamood, and the people of Lot, and the men of the Thicket - those were the parties; not one, that cried not lies to the Messengers, so My retribution was just." S. 38:13-14

The very fact that Lot is said to be a messenger who was sent to warn his people, and yet Lot was nothing more than a human being, demonstrates that there is nothing contextually to prove that those other envoys were angels from Allah.

My response:

Again, the Noble Quran is not the only source for the Muslims according to the Noble Quran Itself.  The Hadiths give the elaborations that are irrelevant to Salvation.

He wrote:

This leads us to our third point. There are references in the Quran which specifically say that Allah sent only human messengers to people:

"Before thee, also, the messengers We sent were BUT MEN, to whom We granted inspiration: If ye know this not, ask of those who possess the Message. Nor did We give them bodies that ate no food, nor were they immortals." S. 21:7-8

Thus, if the Quran is correct then this definitely establishes the case that these envoys could not have been angels; they must have been human beings sent alongside of Lot to assist him.

My response:

Allah Almighty was the one who destroyed Sodom and Gomorah, not the Angels.  Allah Almighty could cause for anything to damn something.  So whether the Messengers were humans or angels that is irrelevant.  What's relevant is that Allah Almighty's Will is done how and whenever He Pleases, because Allah Almighty Said:

[016:040]  For to anything which We have willed, We but say the word, "Be", and it is.

[036:082]  Verily, when He intends a thing, His Command is, "be", and it is!

He wrote:

If a Muslim tries to appeal to the Holy Bible he/she will run into a whole host of additional problems. First, to go outside of the Quran in order understand it falsifies its repeated claim that it is complete and exhaustive, lacking nothing essential.

Second, according to the Bible one of the persons who came to warn Abraham about the fate of Sodom was Yahweh God. We are told in Genesis that Yahweh appeared as a man and spoke directly with Abraham:

"And the LORD appeared to him by the oaks of Mamre, as he sat at the door of his tent in the heat of the day. He lifted up his eyes and looked, and behold, three men were standing in front of him. When he saw them, he ran from the tent door to meet them and bowed himself to the earth and said, ‘O Lord, if I have found favor in your sight, do not pass by your servant. Let a little water be brought, and wash your feet, and rest yourselves under the tree, while I bring a morsel of bread, that you may refresh yourselves, and after that you may pass on--since you have come to your servant.’ So they said, ‘Do as you have said.’ And Abraham went quickly into the tent to Sarah and said, ‘Quick! Three seahs of fine flour! Knead it, and make cakes.’ And Abraham ran to the herd and took a calf, tender and good, and gave it to a young man, who prepared it quickly. Then he took curds and milk and the calf that he had prepared, and set it before them. And he stood by them under the tree while THEY ATE. They said to him, ‘Where is Sarah your wife?’ And he said, ‘She is in the tent.’ The LORD said, ‘I will surely return to you about this time next year, and Sarah your wife shall have a son.’ And Sarah was listening at the tent door behind him. Now Abraham and Sarah were old, advanced in years. The way of women had ceased to be with Sarah. So Sarah laughed to herself, saying, ‘After I am worn out, and my lord is old, shall I have pleasure?’ The LORD said to Abraham, ‘Why did Sarah laugh and say, "Shall I indeed bear a child, now that I am old?" Is anything too hard for the LORD? At the appointed time I will return to you about this time next year, and Sarah shall have a son.’ But Sarah denied it, saying, ‘I did not laugh,’ for she was afraid. He said, ‘No, but you did laugh.’ Then the men set out from there, and they looked down toward Sodom. And Abraham went with them to set them on their way. The LORD said, ‘Shall I hide from Abraham what I am about to do, seeing that Abraham shall surely become a great and mighty nation, and all the nations of the earth shall be blessed in him? For I have chosen him, that he may command his children and his household after him to keep the way of the LORD by doing righteousness and justice, so that the LORD may bring to Abraham what he has promised him.’ Then the LORD said, ‘Because the outcry against Sodom and Gomorrah is great and their sin is very grave, I will go down to see whether they have done altogether according to the outcry that has come to me. And if not, I will know.’ So the men turned from there and went toward Sodom, but Abraham still stood before the LORD. Then Abraham drew near and said, ‘Will you indeed sweep away the righteous with the wicked? Suppose there are fifty righteous within the city. Will you then sweep away the place and not spare it for the fifty righteous who are in it? Far be it from you to do such a thing, to put the righteous to death with the wicked, so that the righteous fare as the wicked! Far be that from you! Shall not the Judge of all the earth do what is just?’ And the LORD said, ‘If I find at Sodom fifty righteous in the city, I will spare the whole place for their sake.’ Abraham answered and said, ‘Behold, I have undertaken to speak to the Lord, I who am but dust and ashes. Suppose five of the fifty righteous are lacking. Will you destroy the whole city for lack of five?’ And he said, ‘I will not destroy it if I find forty-five there.’ Again he spoke to him and said, ‘Suppose forty are found there.’ He answered, ‘For the sake of forty I will not do it.’ Then he said, ‘Oh let not the Lord be angry, and I will speak. Suppose thirty are found there.’ He answered, ‘I will not do it, if I find thirty there.’ He said, ‘Behold, I have undertaken to speak to the Lord. Suppose twenty are found there.’ He answered, ‘For the sake of twenty I will not destroy it.’ Then he said, ‘Oh let not the Lord be angry, and I will speak again but this once. Suppose ten are found there.’ He answered, ‘For the sake of ten I will not destroy it.’ And the LORD WENT HIS WAY, when he had finished speaking to Abraham, and Abraham returned to his place." Genesis 18:1-33

Thus, if the Muslims appeal to the Holy Bible to explain the Quran then they must accept the fact that Allah appeared as one of the messengers. In this way a Muslim can even argue that the messengers did in fact destroy Lot’s people, at least one of them did, since Allah was one of the messengers who was sent. Let us examine this point a little more:

And Lot, when he said to his people, 'What, do you commit indecency with your eyes open? What, do you approach men lustfully instead of women? No, you are a people that are ignorant.' And the only answer of his people was that they said, 'Expel the folk of Lot from your city; they are men that keep themselves clean!' So We delivered him and his family, except his wife; We decreed she should be of those that tarried. And We rained on them a rain; and evil indeed is the rain of them that are warned. S. 27:54-58

Allah is supposedly speaking using the first plural pronoun "We." Now compare this with the following:

And when Our messengers brought Abraham the good news, they said: Lo! we are about to destroy the people of that township, for its people are wrong-doers. S. 29:31 Pickthall

In Sura 29, the messengers used the plural pronoun since there is more than one envoy, and yet in Sura 27 Allah himself uses the plural pronoun. Allah's use of the plural can either be viewed as a royal plural or a genuine numerical plural reflecting a plurality of entities united together as a group. Furthermore, in one Sura it says Allah killed Lot's people whereas in the other one it is the envoys that did. This may mean that both Allah and his envoys destroyed Lot's people, or it may mean something else.

By piecing both these passages together we come to see that one of the messengers that came to Abraham and Lot must have been Allah who had been sent by another person who also happened to be Allah! This understanding accounts for why Allah used the plural pronoun for himself in Sura 27, he was obviously referring to both himself and at least to one of the envoys that he had sent since one of them happened to be God also. If this is correct then this rules out the royal or majestic plural explanation. What this basically means is that Allah used the plural pronoun for himself so as to indicate that he is a multi-personal entity. Putting it another way, the conclusion of trying to harmonize both these passages together is that Allah sent Allah as his messenger in order to destroy Lot’s people because there is more than one entity that is Allah! If one were to accept this explanation then both the Holy Bible and the Quran would be in agreement that one of the messengers who came to Abraham was God Almighty himself.

Third, the biblical Gabriel is one who contradicts the theology of the Quran. This Gabriel calls Jesus the Son of God and sovereign King:

"In the sixth month the angel Gabriel was sent from God to a city of Galilee named Nazareth, to a virgin betrothed to a man whose name was Joseph, of the house of David. And the virgin's name was Mary. And he came to her and said, ‘Greetings, O favored one, the Lord is with you!’ But she was greatly troubled at the saying, and tried to discern what sort of greeting this might be. And the angel said to her, ‘Do not be afraid, Mary, for you have found favor with God. And behold, you will conceive in your womb and bear a son, and you shall call his name Jesus. He will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High. And the Lord God will give to him the throne of his father David, and he will reign over the house of Jacob forever, and of his kingdom there will be no end.’ And Mary said to the angel, ‘How will this be, since I am a virgin?’ And the angel answered her, ‘The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you; therefore the child to be born will be called holy--the Son of God. And behold, your relative Elizabeth in her old age has also conceived a son, and this is the sixth month with her who was called barren. For nothing will be impossible with God.’" Luke 1:26-37

But the Quran’s Gabriel didn’t preach the same message that this other Gabriel did. If the Muslims say the Bible is corrupted at this point then how can they even use it to show who this Gabriel was? How do they know that the Bible is accurate when it identifies the angel, but not accurate when it records the message from this same angel? Muslims cannot have their cake and eat it too.

My response:

We do not need to refer to your bible, because your bible is a book that contains countless contradictions and corruptions as ironically your own bible-theologians openly admit!  They even claim that it contains fables and fairy tales:

As to Allah Almighty's use of the plural noun "we" VS the two Angels referring to themselves as "we", Allah Almighty Gave Himself majestic titles and references.  There is nothing wrong with that nor is there any contradiction between the Noble Quranic Verses that you mentioned above.  I have already covered this topic in great details at: https://www.answering-christianity.com/we.htm.

In conclusion, Sam Shamoun's points had all been refuted especially after I demonstrated above that Allah Almighty clearly and indesputably Commanded the Muslims to follow Prophet Muhammad's Commands in the Noble Quran.  What Sam Shamoun needs to do is provide evidence that refutes this.  Otherwise, it is beyond question that his points in this article had all been refuted.

Rebuttals to the so-called "Incoherence" in the Noble Quran.

Rebuttals to all of the so-called "Errors" in the Noble Quran.

Rebuttals to the "Textual Variants" lies in the Noble Quran. 

Rebuttals, and exposing the lies of the Answering Islam team section.

Rebuttals to Sam Shamoun's Articles section.

The Dumpster Section.

X-Rated Pornography in the Bible.

Women in Islam VS women in the Bible.

Prophet Muhammad peace be upon him and his marriage from Aisha.

Answering Trinity.

Contradictions and History of Corruption in the Bible.

Questions about Jesus that trinitarian Christians don't have logical answers for.

What parts of the Bible do Muslims believe are closest to the Truth? and Why?

"Allah" was GOD Almighty's original Name in the Bible according to the Hebrew and Aramaic sources.

Scientific Miracles in Islam and the Noble Quran.

Most of the Bible's books and gospels were written by mysterious people!

Jesus mentioned Muhammad by the name in the Bible.

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.

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