Rebuttal to Sam Shamoun’s article: A Messenger From Among the Beasts

Rebuttal to Sam Shamoun’s article: A Messenger From Among the Beasts?

Sam Shamoun writes:

The Quran expressly proclaims that all of Allah’s messengers and prophets were humans:

And We sent not before you (as Messengers) ANY BUT MEN, whom We inspired from among the people of townships. Have they not travelled through the earth and seen what was the end of those who were before them? And verily, the home of the Hereafter is the best for those who fear Allah and obey Him (by abstaining from sins and evil deeds, and by performing righteous good deeds). Do you not then understand? S. 12:109

And We sent not before you (O Muhammad SAW) BUT MEN to whom We inspired, so ask the people of the Reminder [Scriptures - the Taurat (Torah), the Injeel (Gospel)] if you do not know. And We did not create them (the Messengers, with) bodies that ate not food, nor were they immortals, S. 21:7-8

And We never sent before you (O Muhammad SAW) any of the Messengers but verily, they ate food and walked in the markets. And We have made some of you as a trial for others: will you have patience? And your Lord is Ever All-Seer (of everything). And those who expect not for a Meeting with Us (i.e. those who deny the Day of Resurrection and the life of the Hereafter), say: "Why are not the angels sent down to us, or why do we not see our Lord?" Indeed they think too highly of themselves, and are scornful with great pride. S. 25:20-21

My Response:

So far it is absolutely correct. Very rare that you didn’t provide your twisted explanation of the first verses that you presented.

Sam Shamoun writes:

The Quran provides the reason why Allah sent only men:

And nothing prevented men from believing when the guidance came to them, except that they said: "Has Allah sent a man as (His) Messenger?" Say: "If there were on the earth, angels walking about in peace and security, We should certainly have sent down for them from the heaven an angel as a Messenger." S. 17:94-95

The two Jalals had this to say of Q. 17:95:

Say, to them, 'Had there been in the earth, instead of humans, angels, walking [and living] secure, We would have sent down to them from the heaven an angel as Messenger', for when a messenger is sent to a people he is [always] of their kind, so that they are able to speak to him and understand from him [his message]. (Tafsir al-Jalalayn; source; bold and underline emphasis ours)

The following commentary attributed to Ibn Abbas stated regarding this same text that:

(Say) O Muhammad, to the people of Mecca: (If there were in the earth angels walking secure, We had sent down for them from heaven an angel as messenger) for we send angel messengers only to angels and human messengers to humans. (Tanwîr al-Miqbâs min Tafsîr Ibn ‘Abbâs; source; bold and underline emphasis ours)

Hence, the Quranic logic goes something like this: Allah sends humans as his messengers because he is communicating his divine message to human beings. If Allah were revealing the Quran to some other creatures then Allah would raise a messenger from their species so as to be able to communicate to them on their level. Thus, if Allah were speaking to angels he would send an angel, if he were speaking to beasts he would raise up a beast etc.

My Response:

To the points that you mentioned, you had your own emphasis to deceive the readers. Below you will find the same references with my emphasis.

Say, to them, 'Had there been in the earth, instead of humans, angels, walking [and living] secure, We would have sent down to them from the heaven an angel as Messenger', for when a messenger is sent to a people he is [always] of their kind, so that they are able to speak to him and understand from him [his message].

The reason given is the most important thing but surprisingly the accuser didn’t found it worth highlighting.

(Say) O Muhammad, to the people of Mecca: (If there were in the earth angels walking secure, We had sent down for them from heaven an angel as messenger) for we send angel messengers only to angels and human messengers to humans.

The above is not a general rule but an interpretation. The most important thing in the above is the reason given which is communication. If a beast can communicate, it will do.

Sam Shamoun writes:

The Quran also says that Muhammad is the last prophet:

Muhammad (SAW) is not the father of any man among you, but he is the Messenger of Allah and the last (end) of the Prophets. And Allah is Ever All Aware of everything. S. 33:40

Here is a summary of the points raised by the foregoing texts:

All of Allah’s messengers were human beings.
The reason why they were human beings is because Allah directed his communications to humanity.
The Quran states in Q. 17:94-95 that Allah’s policy is to raise messengers from among the very species he is addressing, i.e. if they are angels he will raise up a fellow angel, if the intended audience is animals he will then send an animal etc.
This basically means that Allah will not send a messenger to humanity who is not a fellow human being.
Muhammad is the last of Allah’s prophets which Muslims take to mean that Allah will not send forth anymore prophets and messengers.

My Response:

Incorrect summary! All of Allah’s messengers were not human beings. You incorrectly concluded without proof. Your understanding is horribly wrong here as my emphasis above shows.

The reason why they were human being also includes the important reason that they were thankless people. The Jews demanded that God Himself comes down to talk to them, others demanded Angels, people in history (people of Moses) also demanded such things.

This basically does not mean that a beast cannot come or will not be sent.

Prophets (Rasools and Nabis) will not be sent any more and this is a fact.

Sam Shamoun writes:

Yet Allah fails to maintain his own stated policy since the Quran claims that he will send forth a beast, an animal, to speak to humanity!

And when the Word (of torment) is fulfilled against them, We shall bring out from the earth a beast to them, which will speak to them because mankind believed not with certainty in Our Ayât (Verses of the Qur'ân and Prophet Muhammad SAW). S. 27:82

My Response:

Wa-itha waqaAAa alqawlu AAalayhim akhrajna lahum dabbatan mina al-ardi tukallimuhum anna alnnasa kanoo bi-ayatina la yooqinoona

This is the Arabic of the above verse. The word Rasool or Nabi is nowhere to be found. The beast will not be a Nabi.

Sam Shamoun writes:

By sending forth a beast to warn human beings Allah has provided an argument for the unbelievers against Muhammad. After all, the Quran records the unbelievers inquiring as to why didn’t Allah send an angel to communicate with them in order to convince them of Muhammad’s apostleship, with the response being that Allah would have done so if they were angels. Yet Allah has no problem sending an animal to communicate to human beings, so why should there be a problem with sending an angel to speak to them? If one species can communicate to a different kind of species then why can’t angels speak to human beings, especially when the Quran says that angels have spoken with humans before?

My Response:

The reasons have been provided before. The reason is that the Jews demanded that Allah Himself comes and talks to them, the pagans and pagan Trinitarians had other demands. All of them were rejected to them as per the will of Allah. The best will be a sign of the day of judgement and it’s role will be more of a sign than the message. Notice the words in the verse,

Sam Shamoun writes:

Moreover, if a beast will come forth to warn human beings about their disbelief then this essentially rules out Muhammad as the last prophet and messenger. After all, this beast is acting as Allah’s messenger, his agent of revelation to mankind.

Finally, Muhammad is also believed to be a messenger to the jinn and supposedly converted a group of them who had heard his message (cf. Q. 46:29-32; 72:1-14). Thus, Muhammad himself violated this policy of human messengers being sent only to humans!

My Response:

Your explanation is third hand knowledge. You have taken the translation of Nabi, which is messenger, and apply that to the beast. Why not take the original word and apply that to the beast? The reason is that, it exposes your falsehood.

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