Rebuttal to Sam Shamoun's article: This Rocks! / Impersonating Solomon?

Rebuttal to Sam Shamoun's article

This Rocks! / Impersonating Solomon?

Even More Quranic Fables and Islamic Myths

Before addressing this article of Shamoun's, I would like to state that Shamoun does not raise any REAL arguments or anything that disproves Islam, this article only shows that Sam has a problem with the fact that God can do whatever he wishes.

He Wrote

It is time, once again, to examine some more of the legends and myths of the Quran and Islamic tradition. According to the Quran, the disbelievers accused Muhammad or the Quran’s author of reproducing the fables of the ancients:

When Our signs are recited to him, he says, 'Fairy-tales of the ancients!' S. 68:15

When Our signs are recited to him, he says, 'Fairy-tales of the ancients!' S. 83:13

We are about to provide here some more evidence proving that the unbelievers were right, that the Quran and Islam presents rehashed myths and ancient tales as God’s words.

My Response

Yes, you are no different than those disbelievers who accused the prophet Muhammad of the same thing; in fact it is hilarious that 1400 years later you are making the same argument as those lying pagans did! Isn’t that ironic?

And what you are about to do is also shoot yourself in the foot, since you obviously have objections to God's power and what he can do, which will severely backfire against you thanks to your own Bible.

He Wrote

The particular fairytales we are about to present in this article also affect the perspicuity of the Quran. These particular legends call into question the clarity of the Quran because they are directly related to some verses which make little to no sense.

The only way that the reader can even understand what these texts are talking about is by consulting the Muslim commentaries and/or Islamic literature such as the hadith or Sira.

We will be citing more than one Islamic source so as to avoid the accusation that this is merely the opinion of a single person, or that the interpretation is an isolated one, not shared by others.

My Response

Note how Sam says he will be quoting Islamic sources and so on, yet he does not tell his reader that the source he quotes does not believe in the same conclusion as Sam does, obvious deception going on here. Shamoun wants to give the impression that the sources he quotes which are Islamic do not believe in these stories and simply saw them as fairytales and fables etc.

He Wrote

The Rock that Gave Birth

The Quran refers to a so-called prophet named Salih who was sent to a people called Thamud in order to call them to repentance. In order to convince his people that he was God’s spokesperson, Salih brought forth a she-camel as a miraculous sign:

And to Thamood their brother Salih; he said, 'O my people, serve God! You have no god other than He; there has now come to you a clear sign from your Lord -- this is the She-camel of God, to be a sign for you. Leave her that she may eat in God's earth, and do not touch her with evil, lest you be seized by a painful chastisement. And remember when He appointed you successors after Ad, and lodged you in the land, taking to yourselves castles of its plains, and hewing its mountains into houses. Remember God's bounties, and do not mischief in the earth, working corruption.' Said the Council of those of his people who waxed proud to those that were abased, to those of them who believed, 'Do you know that Salih is an Envoy from his Lord?' They said, 'In the Message he has been sent with we are believers.' Said the ones who waxed proud, 'As for us, we are unbelievers in the thing in which you believe.' So they hamstrung the She-camel and turned in disdain from the commandment of their Lord, saying, 'O Salih, bring us that thou promisest us, if thou art an Envoy.' So the earthquake seized them, and morning found them in their habitation fallen prostrate. S. 7:73-78 Arberry

Since there is nothing miraculous about having or bringing forth a she-camel, we are left baffled as to how this sufficed as a satisfactory sign. It isn’t until we turn to the Muslim expositors that we are able to fully appreciate just how truly amazing and supernatural the she-camel was. Renowned Sunni commentator Ibn Kathir, commenting on these verses from Sura 7, stated:

Thamud asked that a Camel APPEAR FROM A STONE, and it did

Prophet Salih said, …

<"Indeed there has come to you a clear sign from your Lord. This she-camel of Allah is a sign unto you;"> meaning, a miracle has come to you from Allah testifying to the truth of what I came to you with. Salih's people asked him to produce a miracle and suggested a certain solid rock that they chose, which stood lonely in the area of Hijr, and which was called Al-Katibah. They asked him to bring a pregnant camel out of that stone. Salih took their covenant and promises that if Allah answers their challenge, they would believe and follow him. When they gave him their oaths and promises to that, Salih started praying and invoked Allah (to produce that miracle). All of a sudden, the stone moved and broke apart, producing a she-camel with thick wool. It was pregnant and its fetus was visibly moving in its belly, exactly as Salih's people asked. This is when their chief, Jundu` bin `Amr, and several who followed him believed. The rest of the noblemen of Thamud wanted to believe as well, but Dhu'ab bin `Amr bin Labid, Al-Habbab, who tended their idols, and Rabbab bin Sum`ar bin Jilhis stopped them. One of the cousins of Jundu` bin `Amr, whose name was Shihab bin Khalifah bin Mikhlat bin Labid bin Jawwas, was one of the leaders of Thamud, and he also wanted to accept the message. However, the chiefs whom we mentioned prevented him, and he conceded to their promptings. The camel remained in Thamud, as well as its offspring after she delivered it before them. The camel used to drink from its well on one day and leave the well for Thamud the next day. They also used to drink its milk, for on the days she drank water, they used to milk her and fill their containers from its milk. Allah said in other Ayat, …

<And inform them that the water is to be shared between (her and) them, each one's right to drink being established (by turns)> [54:28] and, …

<Here is a she-camel: it has a right to drink (water), and you have a right to drink (water) (each) on a day, known.> [26:155] The camel used to graze in some of their valleys, going through a pass and coming out through another pass. She did that so as to be able to move easily, because she used to drink a lot of water. She was a tremendous animal that had a strikingly beautiful appearance. When she used to pass by their cattle, the cattle would be afraid of her. When this matter continued for a long time and Thamud's rejection of Salih became intense, they intended to kill her so that they could take the water for themselves every day. It was said that all of them (the disbelievers of Thamud) conspired to kill the camel. Qatadah said that he was told that, "The designated killer of the camel approached them all, including women in their rooms and children, and found out that all of them agreed to kill her." This fact is apparent from the wording of the Ayat, …

<Then they denied him and they killed it. So their Lord destroyed them because of their sin, and made them equal in destruction!> [91:14], and, ...

<And We sent the she-camel to Thamud as a clear sign, but they did her wrong.> [17:59] Allah said here, ...

<So they killed the she-camel> Therefore, these Ayat stated that the entire tribe shared in agreeing to this crime, and Allah knows best. (Source http://tafsir.com/default.asp?sid=7&tid=18193)

My Response

So note what Shamoun is arguing, Shamoun's basic argument is that how can such an event happen? Sam is questioning God's abilities of what he can and cannot do!

Tell me Sam, do you reject the idea that God can cause a she-camel to come out of a rock? Is your God so weak and limited that he is not able to do such things? This is the only reason why Sam has a problem with it, it is simply because his God is weak, this is the only logical explanation, since Sam would never argue against God's powers and the miracles he carries out now would he?

Let us also turn the table on Shamoun. Shamoun thinks its something silly, and fake and impossible for God to cause a she-camel to come out of a rock, let us now see if he thinks his Bible is also silly:

Matthew 27: 50-53:

50 Jesus, when he had cried again with a loud voice, yielded up the ghost. 51 And, behold, the veil of the temple was rent in twain from the top to the bottom; and the earth did quake, and the rocks rent; 52 And the graves were opened; and many bodies of the saints which slept arose, 53 And came out of the graves after his resurrection, and went into the holy city, and appeared unto many

So here we have the Bible telling us dead people rose from their graves and start walking into Jerusalem! The zombies are out!!!!!!!!

So Shamoun, what do you have to say about these verses from Matthew? You obviously do no reject such verses, so why do you have a problem with God causing a she-camel to come out of a rock? I really do not see his argument here, maybe Shamoun can enlighten us all?

He Wrote

And:

Thamud kills the She-Camel

Imam Abu Ja`far Ibn Jarir and other scholars of Tafsir said that the reason behind killing the camel was that a disbelieving old woman among them named Umm Ghanm `Unayzah, the daughter of Ghanm bin Mijlaz, had the severest enmity among Thamud towards Salih, peace be upon him. She had beautiful daughters and she was wealthy, and Dhu'ab bin `Amr, one of the leaders of Thamud, was her husband. There was another noblewoman whose name was Saduf bint Al-Muhayya bin Dahr bin Al-Muhayya, who was of noble family, wealthy and beautiful. She was married to a Muslim man from Thamud, but she left him. These two women offered a prize for those who swore to them that they would kill the camel. Once, Saduf summoned a man called Al-Habbab and offered herself to him if he would kill the camel, but he refused. So she called a cousin of hers whose name was Musaddi` bin Mihraj bin Al-Muhayya, and he agreed. As for `Unayzah bint Ghanm, she called Qudar bin Salif bin Jundu`, a short person with red-blue skin, a bastard, according to them. Qudar was not the son of his claimed father, Salif, but the son of another man called, Suhyad. However, he was born on Salif's bed (and thus named after him). `Unayzah said to Qudar, "I will give you any of my daughters you wish, if you kill the camel." Qudar bin Salif and Musaddi` bin Mihraj went along and recruited several mischievous persons from Thamud to kill the camel. Seven more from Thamud agreed, and the group became nine, as Allah described, when He said, ...

<And there were in the city nine men, who made mischief in the land, and would not reform.> These nine men were chiefs of their people, and they lured the entire tribe into agreeing to kill the camel. So they waited until the camel left the water well, where Qudar waited beside a rock on its path, while Musaddi` waited at another rock. When the camel passed by Musaddi` he shot an arrow at her and the arrow pierced her leg. At that time, `Unayzah came out and ordered her daughter, who was among the most beautiful women, to uncover her face for Qudar, encouraging Qudar to swing his sword, hitting the camel on her knee. So she fell to the ground and screamed once to warn her offspring. Qudar stabbed her in her neck and slaughtered her. Her offspring went up a high rock and screamed. `Abdur-Razzaq recorded from Ma`mar that someone reported from Al-Hasan Al-Basari that the offspring said, "O my Lord! Where is my mother" It was said that her offspring screamed thrice and entered a rock and vanished in it, or, they followed it and killed it together with its mother. Allah knows best. When they finished the camel off and the news reached Prophet Salih, he came to them while they were gathered. When he saw the camel, he cried and proclaimed, ...

<"Enjoy yourselves in your homes for three days."> [11:65] (Source <http://tafsir.com/default.asp?sid=7&tid=18207>; the bolded underline emphasis is ours)

My Response

And what exactly is your problem with that? You dont have any problems with your Bible saying dead people arose from their graves and walked into Jerusalem, so why do you have a problem with this super-natural event? As a Christian and a God-believer Shamoun definatly believes in the super-natural, and in God's powers etc. So why he is arguing against such things baffles me.

Let us now once again turn the table on Shamoun by quoting Shamoun himself! Here is a verse Shamoun quotes from the Bible:

"As they were talking about these things, Jesus himself stood among them, and said to them, ‘Peace to you!’ But they were startled and frightened and thought they saw a spirit. And he said to them, ‘Why are you troubled, and why do doubts arise in your hearts? See my hands and my feet, that it is I myself. Touch me, and see. For a spirit does not have FLESH AND BONES AS YOU SEE THAT I HAVE.’ And when he had said this, he showed them his hands and his feet. And while they still disbelieved for joy and were marveling, he said to them, ‘Have you anything here to eat?’ They gave him a piece of broiled fish, and he took it and ate before them. Then he said to them, ‘These are my words that I spoke to you while I was still with you, that everything written about me in the Law of Moses and the Prophets and the Psalms must be fulfilled.’ Then he opened their minds to understand the Scriptures, and said to them, ‘Thus it is written, that the Christ should suffer and on the third day rise from the dead, and that repentance and forgiveness of sins should be proclaimed in his name to all nations, beginning from Jerusalem." Luke 24:36-47

Note the ending, dying and rising in the 3rd day, since Shamoun has a problem with the super-natural, then he surely must have a problem with Jesus being dead, and then rising from the dead after 3 days, since this contradicts all bioligy and science and the natural. So hence Shamoun must now also consider his own book a fable, since when do people start dying and causing themselves to rise after 3 days?

So maybe Shamoun can enlighten us all as to what his argument is, because so far I have no idea, maybe the reader can help me? If so, please email me.

He Wrote

Al-Tabari wrote in his History:

What happened then regarding them and Salih was told by al-Hasan b. Yahya- ‘Abd al-Razzaq- Isra’il- ‘Abd al-‘Aziz b. Rufay‘- Abu al-Tufayl: Thamud said to Salih, "Bring us a sign if you are indeed truthful." Salih said to them, "Go to an elevation on the land," and it shook violently as a woman in labor shakes, and it opened up, and from its midst a camel came forth. Salih said, "This is God’s camel, a token unto you. Let her feed in God’s land, and do not hurt her, lest a painful torment seize you…"

One of the people came to Salih and said, "Hurry, go to your camel, it has been hamstrung." At this he went to them, and they came forth to meet him and sought his forgiveness, saying, "O prophet of God, only so-and-so hamstrung her, so it is not a sin of ours." He said, "See if you can overtake her young. If you overtake him perhaps God will remove the punishment from you." So they went forth seeking him. But when the young camel saw his mother upset, he went to a low mountain called al-Qarah and ascended it. They went to seize him, but God gave command to the mountain and it grew so tall in the sky that not even the birds could reach it. Salih entered the city, and when the young camel saw him, he wept until his tears flowed. Then he approached Salih and grumbled once, then again, then again. Salih said, "Each grumble is the term of one day. Enjoy yourselves in your homes for these three days. This is no false promise. The sign of punishment is that on the first day your faces will become yellow in the morning, on the second day they will become red, and on the third day black." (The History of Al-Tabari: Prophets and Patriarchs, translated by William M. Brinner [State University of New York Press (SUNY), 1987], Volume II, pp. 41, 44)

The late Christian writer ‘Abdallah Abd al-‘Fadi quoted renowned Muslim exegete Al-Baidawi’s Anwar al-Tanzil wa Asrar al-Ta’wil who wrote:

t was reported [regarding Thamud] that, after ‘Ad, they reinhabited their lands and succeeded them. They multiplied their lands and succeeded them. They multiplied and lived very long lives, outliving even their own buildings, so that they hewed for themselves houses from the mountains. They had much fertility and affluence so that they did mischief in the lands and corrupted it by worshipping idols. Thereupon, God sent to them Salih, one of their nobility, who warned them. But they asked him for a sign. He said, "What sign do you want?" They said, "Go out with us to our feast." There, call upon your God, and we will call upon ours; and we will follow the one whose prayer will be answered." He went out with them, and they called upon their gods, but their prayer was not answered. Then their Lord Janda ‘Ibn Amr pointed to a secluded rock called al-Katiba ["the writer"], and said to Salih, "Bring forth out of this rock, a huge, hairy, dappled she-camel. Do that, and we will believe you." So Salih accepted their requests and said, "If I do that, will you believe?" They said yes. He, therefore, prayed and called upon his Lord, and the rock was in such labour as with a she-camel, great with child. [The rock] split apart, revealing a huge, hairy, dappled she-camel, just as they described… Salih said to them "Catch up with the young camel, perchance the chastisement will be removed from you." But they could not prevail against it, since the rock opened after it had foamed, and the young camel went into it… (Al-‘Fadi, Is the Qur’an Infallible? [Light of Life, P.O. Box 13, A-9503 Villach, Austria], pp. 260-261; bold emphasis ours)

My Response

My email is -@hotmail.com. So if anyone can tell me what Shamoun's argument is, please send an email to that adress since I have not seen any.

All he does now is quote Tabari, and nothing of what he quotes causes any problems for me, in fact I am greatly enjoying these commentaries by Islamic scholars so thank you very much Sam. You just show us how great and mighty Allah is, and that he can do whatever he pleases, no matter how un-natural that is, since when was a super-natural event something wrong or confusing for a believer in God?

Let us once again turn the table on Shamoun quoting his own Bible:

Revelations 13: 1-5:

1 And I stood upon the sand of the sea, and saw a beast rise up out of the

sea, having seven heads and ten horns, and upon his horns ten crowns, and upon his heads the name of blasphemy. 2 And the beast which I saw was like unto a leopard, and his feet were as the feet of a bear, and his mouth as the mouth of a lion: and the dragon gave him his power, and his seat, and great authority. 3 And I saw one of his heads as it were wounded to death; and his deadly wound was healed: and all the world wondered after the beast. 4 And they worshipped the dragon which gave power unto the beast: and they worshipped the beast, saying, Who is like unto the beast? who is able to make war with him? 5 And there was given unto him a mouth speaking great things and blasphemies; and power was given unto him to continue forty and two months.

How amusing, seems that this John who wrote Revelations was having nightmares on this island. 7 heads and 10 horns? Wow, you dont even find this in the lord of the rings or Harry potter!

Shamoun then quotes some more sources which still prove nothing so there will be no need to post it.

He then switches to another event:

He Wrote

Solomon’s Phantom Menace:
The Case of the Mysterious Body

The Quran narrates many fantastic details regarding Solomon, such as his having control over the winds and demons (jinns), speaking the language of animals, insects and birds etc. There is one passage in particular that is rather perplexing. The Quran says that Solomon repented as a result of Allah placing an unspecified body on his throne:

Certainly We tried Solomon, and We cast upon his throne a mere body; then he repented. He said, 'My Lord, forgive me, and give me a kingdom such as may not befall anyone after me; surely Thou art the All-giver.' S. 38:34-35

This cryptic reference raises many questions, some of which are mentioned here <incomplete.htm>.

So that the reader may not be left completely bewildered about this verse, Al-Tabari provides the following "background information":

Muhammad b. al-Husayn related to us- Ahmad b. al-Mufaddal – al-Suddi said about [God’s] word: And verily We tried Solomon, and set upon his throne a body - he said, [this was] the devil, when he sat on [Solomon’s] throne for forty days. He continued: Among Solomon’s one hundred wives, was one called "Jaradah." She was his favorite wife and the most trusted. When he was impure or went out for his need, he would take off his ring, and he would trust no one of the people but her with it. She went to him one day and said, "My brother has a dispute with so-and-so, and I should like you to settle it for him when he comes to you." He said, "Of course." But he did not do it, and he was afflicted. He gave her his signet ring and entered the toilet. But the devil came out in his form. He said, "Give me the ring!" and she gave it to him. Then he went and sat on Solomon’s seat. Afterward, Solomon came out and asked her for his signet ring, and she said, "Did you not take it before? He said, "No," and went out of his place bewildered.

The devil continued judging the people for forty days. The people found fault with his judgments, and the readers and scholars of the Children of Israel assembled, and came and entered to [Solomon’s] wives and said, "We find fault with this, and if it is Solomon, then he has lost his senses. We disapprove of his judgments." [Al-Suddi] continued: the women wept upon [hearing] this. The people approached them on foot until they reached [the devil] and surrounded him. Then they unrolled and read the Torah. He flew from before them until he rested upon an embattlement with the signet ring. Then he flew until he reached the sea, and the signet ring, falling from him into sea, was swallowed by one of the fish.

[Al-Suddi] continued: Solomon approached in the state in which he was, until he reached one of the fishermen on the sea, and he was hungry. Solomon’s hunger had become very strong, and he asked [the fisherman] for food from their catch, saying, "Verily I am Solomon." One of the fishermen arose and struck him with a staff, cutting open his head. Solomon began to wash off his blood – he was on the seashore – and the fishermen blamed their companion who had struck him, saying: "How bad was what you did when you struck him!" He said, "It was because he claimed that he was Solomon."

They gave him two fish they had caught, but he did not busy himself with what he had of the catch until he stood at the seashore and split open the two [fish], beginning to wash them, and found his signet ring in the stomach of one. He took it, put it on, and God restored his glory to him and his dominion. The birds came so that they hovered over him, and the people knew it was Solomon. The people rose and asked his pardon for what they had done. He said, "I shall not praise you for asking pardon, nor will I blame you for what you did. This matter had to be."

He went until he reached his dominion, he sent for the devil, and he was brought to him. The wind and the demons were made to work for him on that day; they had not been subordinated to him before then, for that is His word: "Bestow upon me sovereignty such as shall not belong to anyone else after me. Lo! You are the Bestower."

He sent for the devil, and he was brought. [Solomon] gave orders to place him in a chest of iron, then it was shut and locked with a lock. He sealed it with his signet ring, then he gave orders to cast it unto the sea. The devil will be in it until the Hour arrives. His name was Habaqiq. (The History of Al-Tabari: The Children of Israel, translated by William M. Brinner [State University of New York Press (SUNY), Albany 1991] Volume III, pp. 170-172; bold and underline emphasis ours)

Al-Tabari also narrates a slightly different version of the story where he claims that Solomon was punished for making an image of the deceased father of one of his wives, which she then idolized:

He had a chief concubine named al-Aminah to whom, when he entered the privy or when he wished to have intercourse with one of his wives, he would give his signet ring until he purified himself, because he would not touch his signet ring unless he was [ritually] pure. His dominion was in his signet ring, and one day, he gave it to her as he used to do, then he entered his privy. The Devil who was master of the sea, who was named Sakhr, came to her in Solomon’s form. Aminah saw nothing unlike Solomon in him, and when he said, "My signet ring, O Aminah!" she gave it to him. He put it on his hand and went out, sat on Solomon’s throne, and the birds, jinns, and men surrounded him.

Solomon came out and went to al-Aminah, but his condition and appearance had changed for everyone who saw him. When he said, "O Aminah, my signet ring!" she replied, "And who are you?" He said, "I am Solomon b. David." She said, "You lie! You are not Solomon b. David. Solomon came and took his signet ring. He is that one, sitting on his throne in his dominion."

Solomon realized that his sin had overtaken him. He went out and began to stand at one of the houses of the Israelites, saying, "I am Solomon b. David," but they would throw dirt on him and insult him, saying, "Look at this madman! What does he say? He claims that he is Solomon b. David." When Solomon saw that, he turned to the sea, and would carry fish to the market for the seafaring men. Each day, they would give him two fish. When evening came, he would sell one fish for some loaves of bread, and grill the other and eat it. He remained thus for forty days – the same amount of time that the idol had been worshiped in his dwelling. Asaph and the powerful men of the Israelites found fault with the judgment of God’s enemy, the Devil, during those forty days. Asaph said, "O assembly of the Children of Israel! Have you noticed the same change in the judgment of the son of David that I have noticed?" They said "Yes." He said, "Give me time to enter to his wives so that I may ask them whether they have found the same fault in his private affairs that we have found with his public affairs with the people and his outward behavior." He went o Solomon’s wives and said. "Woe unto you! Have you found something wrong in Solomon’s behavior as we have found wrong?" They said, "The worst of it is that he will not leave any woman of us who is menstruating alone, and he does not wash himself from impurity." Asaph said: "Verily we are God’s, and to Him do we return! Verily that is a clear test." Then he returned to the Israelites and said, "What he does in private is worse than what he does in public."

When forty days had passed, the Devil flew away from his council chamber. As he passed over the sea, he threw the signet ring into it, and a fish swallowed it. One of the fishermen saw that fish and caught it. Solomon had worked for him from the beginning of that day until evening, so he gave Solomon two fish, [including] the one that had the signet ring. Solomon went out with his two fish and sold the one in whose stomach was no signet ring for some loaves of bread. He then applied himself to the other fish, cutting it open in order to grill it, and was confronted by his signet ring in its stomach. He took it, placed it on his hand, and fell down, prostrating himself to God. The birds and jinns surrounded him, and people approached him, and he knew that what had come upon him was only because of what he had let happen in his household. He returned to his dominion and manifested repentance for his sin. He commanded the demons, saying, "Bring [Sakhr] to me!" The demons sought him until they caught him, and he was brought. Solomon bored a hole in a stone for him and put him inside. Then he closed it up with another [stone], bound it with iron and lead, and gave orders for it to be cast into the sea. (Ibid., bold and capital emphasis ours)

Renowned Mu`tazila scholar al-Zamakhshari narrates similar reports, as well as some additional ones:

Some say that after twenty years (of rule) Solomon was subjected to a test and he reigned after that for twenty more years. The testing of Solomon proceeded as follows: When a son was born to Solomon, the satans (who were made subservient to Solomon) said: 'If this son continues to live, we will not be able to escape forced labour; thus, we should kill him or cause him to sink into madness.' Solomon learned of their plan, however, and caused his son to rise up into the clouds (so that he was hidden). Then he was completely surprised when God set a dead body on the throne (in his place), and he became aware of the sin he had (committed in that he had) not trusted in his Lord in this affair. He asked for forgiveness and turned in repentance to God.

The following account is related from the Prophet: Solomon (once) said: 'Tonight I shall visit seventy wives and each shall bear a knight who shall fight for God.' But he failed to add: 'If God wills.' Then he visited the wives, but only one became pregnant and she brought a monster into the world. By him in whose hand my soul lies, had he added 'if God wills', then all the knights (would have been born and) would have fought for God. God's words certainly We tried Solomon refer to this.

Such reports and similar ones are not to be rejected. On the other hand, regarding the (following) stories about the signet-ring, the satans, and the worship of idols in Solomon's house, God knows best whether they are true. It is related that Solomon received news of Sidon, a coastal city, and (he learned) that a powerful king ruled there, against whom one is powerless because (this king) is protected by the sea. Then Solomon set out on the wind until he came down on Sidon with his hosts of jinn and men, and he killed the king of this city. Now, Solomon found here a daughter of the king named Jarada who was the most beautiful to behold among all of mankind, and he selected her for himself. She declared herself to be surrendered to God (aslamat), and Solomon loved her. But the tears that she shed out of grief for her father would not be dried up; so Solomon commanded the satans to make an image (sura) of her father and to clothe it according to his style. Jarada and her maids then went to this image in the mornings and evenings in order to worship it; as was customary in her father's kingdom. When (the vizier) Asaf reported this to Solomon, Solomon had the image destroyed and he punished the woman. Then he went out (of his palace) to a deserted place to be in solitude, and ashes were spread out before him. Then he sat down, humbly doing penance before God.

(Another account of idolatry in the house of Solomon reads as follows:) Solomon had a slave named Amina, who became a mother (umm walad) through him. (Once) when he went for purification or to cohabit with one of his wives, he deposited with Amina his signet-ring in which his power lay. He left it with her for one whole day; then the satan who lives in the sea came to her. This satan, whose name was Sakhr and who had proved to be indispensable to Solomon in the task of building the Temple (bait al-muqaddas), came to her in the form (sura) of Solomon, and said: 'Amina, (give me) my signet-ring!' Then he put the ring on (his finger) and sat down on Solomon's throne. (This ring) placed under his command the birds, the jinn, and men. Also, he transformed the outward appearance of Solomon so that when the[sic] later came to Amina to fetch the signet-ring, she took him for a stranger and drove him away. Then he realized that he had fallen into a state of sin, and he wandered among the houses as a beggar. Whenever he said: 'I am Solomon,' people threw dirt at him and insulted him. Then he went to the fishermen whom he assisted by hauling the fish. For this they gave him two fish per day, and he remained in this situation for forty days, that is, for as long as idolatry was practised in his house. However, Asaf and the (other) great men of Israel did not acknowledge the sovereignty of the satan (who had taken over Solomon's throne). Now, when the Asaf questioned the wives of Solomon regarding (the imposter), they answered: 'He exempts none when one of us bleeds and does not purify herself from uncleanness.' On the other hand, others say that the rule of the satan included everyone, and not just the wives. (At the end of the period of testing Solomon) the satan dashed away and threw the ring into the sea. A fish swallowed it and came into the hands of Solomon, who split open the belly of the fish and saw the ring there. When he put the ring on (his finger) and knelt down to worship, his power returned to him. Then he drilled a hole in a stone boulder for Sakhr and put him in it and closed the whole with another boulder. Next, he had the two boulders bound together firmly with iron and lead, and he cast him (with the boulders) into the sea.

Others say that when Solomon was put to a test, the ring fell from his hand again and again and would not cling (to his finger) any longer. Then Asaf said: 'You must undergo a test on account of your transgression, as the signet-ring no longer wants to remain still on your hand.' At this, Solomon turned to God in repentance. (Helmut Gätje, The Qur'an and its Exegesis [Oneworld Publications, Oxford 1996], pp. 116-118)

My Response

Okay and? Is this supposed to make me leave Islam? I really do not see why Shamoun has a problem with them. He has no problems with his Bible talking about super-natural events, so why does he get all fired up when he reads them in Islamic sources? I fail to see Shamoun's arguments, to a God believer this is all normal, and nothing strange or hard to believe, maybe Sam was thinking of becoming an atheist when he wrote this article of his.

And here is the Bible once again:

Matthew 27: 50-53:

Revelations 13: 1-5:

1 And I stood upon the sand of the sea, and saw a beast rise up out of the

Shamoun obviously has no problems with these verses, however using his criteria and logic, these verses too are fables and myths, so therefore Shamoun must REJECT them at once.

He Wrote

These stories contradict God’s true Word, the Holy Bible, since it says absolutely nothing about Solomon being dethroned for some time due to a demon impersonating him, which then caused him to work for fishermen, events which would definitely have been mentioned if it were true. Can you imagine, a demon impersonated one of Israel’s greatest kings and duped God’s people into thinking he was Solomon without God intervening or his prophets saying a single word about it?

My Response

What great circular reasoning he uses, Shamoun must first prove that his book the un-holy Bible is God's true word, not assume, what a fallacy on his part! He always complains when Muslims say something similar, yet he doesnt have a problem when he uses the same approach as Muslims!

The un-holy Bible does not mention Jesus being saved from the cross, so therefore it is not suprising to find something things which are not mentioned in the Bible/Torah, not everything has to be recorded down now does it? Does the un-holy Bible tell us about everytime a prophet got sick or felt ill? No, it doesnt! So if another source talks about a prophet getting sick or ill, and the un-holy Bible doesnt, does it mean they never got sick?!

Now secondly, Shamoun says:

without God intervening or his prophets saying a single word about it?

So just because God did not intervene this makes it false? Well how about we quote Shamoun from another of his article where he claims that God allowed the Devil to do his work!

There is no difficulty at all with these passages, since God allowed Satan to incite David to number Israel, something which displeased the Lord.

The reason why this angered the Lord is that rather than trusting God, David was evidently placing his trust in the number of his people. Even David's commander-in-chief, Joab, was not totally pleased with the king's decision:

"But Joab said to the king, `May the LORD your God increase the number of the people a hundred fold, while the eyes of my lord king can still see it! But why does my lord the king want to do this? But the king's word prevailed against Joab and the commanders of the army..." 2 Sam. 24:3-4a NRSV

Evidently, David had purposed within his heart to number Israel, something which the Lord was aware of. Realizing this, the Lord in his anger moved David through the agency of the Devil to act upon his heart's desire.

Hence, although Satan was the direct cause, God was also indirectly responsible since the Devil can only do that which God allows him to do.

http://answering-christianity.com/rebuttal_to_sam_shamoun_22.htm

So note Sam claims that the devil can only do what God allows him to do, and that on this occasion God allowed the devil to do who is work. So why does Sam have a problem with God not intervening to stop the devil I dont know, he didnt have a problem with it then, but all of a sudden he does. Hmmm seems our little freind Shamoun is a very confused Christian isnt he?

He Wrote

Furthermore, how could God allow Satan to sleep with the wives of his prophets, allowing them to commit acts of adultery and being defiled by an evil, unclean spirit?

My Response

Shamoun once again shoots himself in the foot, he has a problem with God letting satan or whoever sleep with another mans wife, yet when his God does it he doesn’t say a word! To make matters worse it is Shamoun's Bible which states this! All Shamoun can do is quote Islamic sources, which he himself believes were made up, so hence he has no solid arguments, I on the other hand have his Bible to quote from:

Deuteronomy

Chapter 28

15-30

15 But it shall come to pass, if thou wilt not hearken unto the voice of the LORD thy God, to observe to do all his commandments and his statutes which I command thee this day; that all these curses shall come upon thee, and overtake thee: 16 Cursed shalt thou be in the city, and cursed shalt thou be in the field. 17 Cursed shall be thy basket and thy store. 18 Cursed shall be the fruit of thy body, and the fruit of thy land, the increase of thy kine, and the flocks of thy sheep. 19 Cursed shalt thou be when thou comest in, and cursed shalt thou be when thou goest out. 20 The LORD shall send upon thee cursing, vexation, and rebuke, in all that thou settest thine hand unto for to do, until thou be destroyed, and until thou perish quickly; because of the wickedness of thy doings, whereby thou hast forsaken me. 21 The LORD shall make the pestilence cleave unto thee, until he have consumed thee from off the land, whither thou goest to possess it. 22 The LORD shall smite thee with a consumption, and with a fever, and with an inflammation, and with an extreme burning, and with the sword, and with blasting, and with mildew; and they shall pursue thee until thou perish. 23 And thy heaven that is over thy head shall be brass, and the earth that is under thee shall be iron. 24 The LORD shall make the rain of thy land powder and dust: from heaven shall it come down upon thee, until thou be destroyed. 25 The LORD shall cause thee to be smitten before thine enemies: thou shalt go out one way against them, and flee seven ways before them: and shalt be removed into all the kingdoms of the earth. 26 And thy carcass shall be meat unto all fowls of the air, and unto the beasts of the earth, and no man shall fray them away. 27 The LORD will smite thee with the botch of Egypt, and with the emerods, and with the scab, and with the itch, whereof thou canst not be healed. 28 The LORD shall smite thee with madness, and blindness, and astonishment of heart: 29 And thou shalt grope at noonday, as the blind gropeth in darkness, and thou shalt not prosper in thy ways: and thou shalt be only oppressed and spoiled evermore, and no man shall save thee. 30 Thou shalt betroth a wife, and another man shall lie with her

Note the last verse, God will punish his people by giving their wives to other men to sleep with!!!!! The irony, why is Sam arguing against something his own BIBLE preaches? Truly very inconsistent behaviour by Shamoun.

No again, whereas Sam can only quote Islamic sources which are not even close to the Quran, I quote his BIBLE, THE book of God according to him, so hence he is in a much bigger problem than me. What makes it more amusing is that he believes these Islamic stories found by commentators are fake and made up! So hence he has no real argument, to him this never even happened, however he does believe in everything in the Bible. So he is in big trouble.

So whether the story of Solomon found in the Islamic sources are true or not does not matter, since Muslims do not have to believe these stories anyway, they are not an article of faith. There are tons of weak stories found in commentaries, this is not something new, and is not a problem at all.

But I on the other hand quote Shamoun's holy book, not some church father or commentary, BUT HIS VERY OWN BOOK. I could quote more verses of the Bible showing God giving other men's wives to other men but that should do.

He Wrote

But there is an even greater problem, a greater dilemma, which results from these stories. If Satan could impersonate Solomon and deceive people then this opens the door for the possibility of Satan appearing as any prophet in order to mislead people. This would also mean that Satan or a demon could appear in the form of Muhammad so as to deceive Muslims into thinking that he was God’s prophet and that Islam is true. In fact, this story from the Islamic sources strengthens our case that either Satan or another demon masqueraded as the angel Gabriel in order mislead and deceive Muhammad into thinking that he was one of God’s prophets. Basically, by citing these narrations regarding Solomon, Muslims have opened Pandora’s box!

My Response

Shamoun thinks he has scored a slam dunk here as his missionary colleague Queball would say. However let me end Shamoun's victory parade before it even started:

Sahih Bukhari:

Volume 1, Book 3, Number 110:

Narrated Abu Huraira:

The Prophet said, "Name yourselves with my name (use my name) but do not name yourselves with my Kunya name (i.e. Abu-l Qasim). And whoever sees me in a dream then surely he has seen me for Satan cannot impersonate me. And whoever tells a lie against me (intentionally), then (surely) let him occupy his seat in Hell-fire."

Sahih Bukhari:

Volume 8, Book 73, Number 217:

Narrated Abu Huraira:

The Prophet said, "Name yourselves after me (by my name), but do not call yourselves by my Kuniya, and whoever sees me in a dream, he surely sees me, for Satan cannot impersonate me (appear in my figure). And whoever intentionally ascribes something to me falsely, he will surely take his place in the (Hell) Fire.

So no satan can never impersonate the prophet Muhammad. What will Sam say now? The hadith is false? The hadith is a lie? The hadith is a fake?

So there are no problems.