Answering Christianity Research Center

Wa Alaikum As'salam dear brother Mohammed,

Welcome back.  The Islamic awaited Messiah has a lot in common with what the old scriptures say about him, but you can't base our Islamic Messiah entirely on the previous scriptures, because they contain ample corruption in them.

Please visit:

https://www.answering-christianity.com/ac24.htm#links
https://www.answering-christianity.com/isaiah_53.htm
https://www.answering-christianity.com/predict.htm  (Prophet Muhammad, the Arabian Prophet, predicted)


Take care,
Osama Abdallah

In this paper, I will talk about the "crosswise" mentioned in Maide 33, but before that, I would like to briefly introduce another topic;

I also get a lot of questions about the punishment for theft according to the Qur'an. There is a lot of focus on whether the punishment for cutting off the hand is to cut it off completely or to scratch it and mark it.

When we consider the Qur'an in its entirety, the generally agreed conclusion is this;

In the book, the expression "cutting off the hand" in cases of theft includes all 3 meanings:

1- Cutting off his hand

2- Scratching (marking) your hand

3- Cutting off his means, i.e. imprisonment and similar restrictions.

It is noteworthy that in the story of Prophet Joseph, which is described in the verses, we see that the thief was detained, that is, imprisoned.

We think that the verses ask for one of these 3 practices depending on the magnitude/degree of the theft and the situation of the thief. In addition, the victim, i.e. the owner, can forgive the thief if he wishes, or there may be cases where the thief is not punished at all due to other special circumstances (e.g. stealing out of hunger/necessity, kleptomania/stealing disorder, etc...). Considering that the verses already authorize the relatives of the victim to forgive, i.e. mitigate the punishment, even for the crime of murder, which is the most serious violation of individual rights, it means that the same door of forgiveness is always open in the case of extortion of property/money, which is a relatively minor crime.

But as I said at the beginning of my article, I would like to address the issue of "crosswise" mentioned in verse 33 of Surah Maide and I will say something new about it. The situation is exactly the opposite of what is believed. The practice of crossing the hands and feet was actually practiced by the pagans against those who did not submit to them/Muslims, and what the verse is referring to is the struggle for defense by responding in the same way against the oppressors who did not give up this practice during the time of the prophet.

First of all, it should be well understood that the verse is about the Muslims fighting a defensive war against aggressors.

As I have already stated in this article, only self-defense, i.e. defensive warfare, is permitted in Islam:

And this verse, which also speaks of self-defense, speaks of retaliating against those who persecuted the believers at the time and persisted in doing so, and making them taste/return what they had done:

http://emre1974tr.blogspot.com/2011/07/kuranda-sadece-nefsi-mudafaya-izin.html

Surah al-Ma'idah 33: "The recompense of those who fight Allah and His Messenger and seek to make mischief in the land is this: They shall be killed, or hanged, or their hands and feet shall be cut off crosswise, or they shall be driven out of their homes. This is a disgrace for them in this world. And a great torment for them in the Hereafter.  34. Except those who repent before you seize them. So know that Allah is most forgiving, most merciful."
   
As I have said, the Qur'an only calls for self-defense and retaliation against the oppressors who attacked Muslims out of the blue at that time and refused to give up the war and refused to make peace. As the Qur'an tells us, the pagans had been practicing this practice of crosswise against Muslims since time immemorial (especially the Pharaohs of Egypt). In order to understand the subject, you should first read my study:

http://emre1974tr.blogspot.com/2011/07/msr-firavunlarnn-caprazlama-merak.html

As Texe Marrs explains in his book Codex Magica, in Ancient Egyptian religion, the "X" or "crosswise" was a symbol of the sun god Osiris and therefore sacred to them. Egyptian kings were buried with their hands and feet crossed. The X symbol is frequently seen in inscriptions from the ancient Egyptian civilization and on the walls of temples and pyramids. They also used this crossing ritual to punish those who opposed them.

The verses also inform us that pagans have been obsessed with crosses since ancient times, even while committing violence against Muslims. In the incident described in Surah Taha, we see that Pharaoh attempted to use the crossing of hands and feet against Muslims:

Surah Taha

63. They said: "They are nothing but two sorcerers. They want to drive you out of your land by their sorcery and destroy your exemplary way.
64. "So join your skills together, then come together in ranks! Today, the one who prevails will be saved. "
65. They said: "O Moses, either show your prowess, or we shall be the first to show it. "
66. Moses said: "No, you throw!" And what did he see! Their ropes and sticks and their incantations made him think that they were really running.
67. Suddenly Moses felt a sudden fear within him.
68. We said: "Fear not, it is you who will prevail!"
69. "Put down what is in your right hand! Let it devour what they have produced as an industry. What they produce as an industry is only a sorcerer's trick. And the sorcerer does not prosper wherever he goes. "
70. Then the sorcerers fell prostrate and cried out: "We believe in the Lord of Aaron and Moses!"
71. Pharaoh said: "You believed in him without my permission? He is your elder who taught you magic. I swear by Allah that I will cut off your hands and your feet crosswise, and I swear by Allah that I will hang you from palm trees. Then you will know which of us will have a more severe and lasting punishment. "
72 They said: "We will never prefer you to the clear proofs that have come to us and to the One who created us. Execute your judgment. Your judgment is valid only in the life of this world. "

The pagan, Spiritualist/Spiritualist-based teaching of the Pharaohs, which held the sign of the cross sacred, was not limited to the ancient Egyptian period. It has survived to the present day under various names all over the world (Jewish mysticism was also built on the basis of this teaching) and still continues to this day (for example, in Far Eastern meditations, legs are crossed and trance is entered, etc.).

Spiritualism, which has continued to immerse people in shirk for thousands of years in its various versions, was of course influential on the pagans in the time of our prophet, as it was in every period. And so the polytheists of that time continued the same violence and methods against the Muslims. Just as they had done in the times of previous prophets.


                            Some pictures from Texe Marrs' Codex Magica     

 

 

 




And again, in Surat al-Ma'ida, it is presented as an option, as a defense strategy, to retaliate against the pagans/spiritualists who have been cutting the hands and feet of Muslims crosswise since time immemorial and who continue to do so, i.e. to do the same to them. Those who expelled the prophets and their followers from their countries were likewise expelled from their countries, and those who attacked them were responded to in the same way, in short, the permission of "an eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth" was mentioned. And as I said, when we read the book in its entirety, we see that this permission for defensive warfare given to Muslims ends if the attackers stop what they are doing to the believers and make peace.

In other words, the cross here has nothing to do with theft or whether the person believes or not. It only calls for a war of defense and retaliation against those who physically attacked them, that's all. Otherwise, everyone is free to believe or not believe whatever they want and to direct their lives accordingly. According to the Quran, no one can even be slapped because of their beliefs.

Greetings and love

(My Turkish article translated with machine)

In terms of the power of Allah, it is possible for the Prophet Dawud to cast iron into any shape he wished like wax, without heating and forging it. Elmalılı, the tafsir scholar, states the following regarding the issue:

"It seems that iron softens and dissolves so much in the fire that it becomes like ink used in writing. Then, who, among sane people, regards it as impossible for to divine power?

Some people reached the conclusion that what was meant by it was to say that he found and discovered melting iron by using fire and tools but it is not true. The discovery and smelting of iron must have occurred before. However, applying sensitive technology to weave it like clothes by putting it in any shape like wax was an art granted to the Prophet Dawud. "
https://questionsonislam.com/question/who-invented-war-armor

Allah knows best

 Most of the Arabs had complied with the call of Ishmael (Peace be upon him) , and professed the religion of his father Abraham (Peace be upon him) They had worshipped Allah, professed His Oneness and followed His religion a long time until they forgot part of what they had been reminded of.

However, they still maintained such fundamental beliefs such as monotheism as well as various other aspects of Abraham’s religion, until the time when a chief of Khuza‘a, namely ‘Amr bin Luhai, who was renowned for righteousness, charity, reverence and care for religion, and was granted unreserved love and obedience by his tribesmen, came back from a trip to Syria where he saw people worship idols, a phenomenon he approved of and believed it to be righteous since Syria was the locus of Messengers and Scriptures, he brought with him an idol (Hubal) which he placed in the middle of Al-Kaabah and summoned people to worship it.

Readily enough, paganism spread all over Makkah and, thence, to Arabia, people of Makkah being custodians of not only the Sacred House but the whole Haram as well. A great many idols, bearing different names, were introduced into the area.

The Arabs believed that such idols, or heathen gods, would bring them nearer to Allah, lead them to Him, and mediate with Him for their sake, to which effect, the Qur’an goes:

“We worship them only that they may bring us near to Allah.” [39:3], and

“And they worship besides Allah things that hurt them not, nor profit them, and they say: These are our intercessors with Allah.” [10:18]

The polytheists, who faked Abrahamism, were so far detached from its precepts, and totally oblivious of its immanent good manners. They plunged into disobedience and ungodliness, and developed certain peculiar religious superstitions that managed to leave a serious impact on the religious and socio-political life in the whole of Arabia.
Religions of the Arabs: https://www.muhammad.net/index.php/biographies/17-ar-raheeq-al-makhtum/605-religions-of-the-arabs

The polytheists who associated partners with Allah in worship admitted that He is the Sole Creator of the heavens, earth, sun, moon, day, and night, and that He is the Sole Sustainer of all Creation, Who grants all beings provisions, and Who has predetermined their destinies and decreed that they should be granted dissimilar amounts of provision in this worldly life, making some rich and some poor. They, just like Christ-worshippers, claimed that these idols are "the only way" to God/Allah.

If you have further questions, let us know.

thank you brother, is there an image of the Pharaoh?