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 Rebuttal to Sam Shamoun’s  article

Allah, Adam, and the Angels

By

http://www..net/Shamoun/allah_adam_angels.htm

He Wrote

The Quran has a lot to say about the relation between Allah, Adam, the angels and Satan. In fact, some of what the Quran says regarding these persons or entities raises a series of questions and comments. This is specifically the case with Surah 2:30-38 which we will shortly quote.

My Response

I am already excited.

He Wrote

This article is essentially an expansion of points already raised in the following papers:

www../Shamoun/wonders.htm#4
www../Responses/Abualrub/twoadams_ss1.htm
www../Responses/Abualrub/twoadams_ss2.htm

My Response

https://www.answering-christianity.com/which_tree.htm

https://www.answering-christianity.com/adam_eve_downfall.htm

He Wrote

We decided to take the points already discussed in the above links and post them separately from the bulk of the material which was unrelated to this specific issue.

And when thy Lord said unto the angels: Lo! I am about to place a viceroy (khaleefatan) in the earth, they said: Wilt thou place therein one who will do harm therein and will shed blood, while we, we hymn Thy praise and sanctify Thee? He said: Surely I know that which ye know not. And He taught Adam all the names, then showed them to the angels, saying: Inform Me of the names of these, if ye are truthful. They said: Be glorified! We have no knowledge saving that which Thou hast taught us. Lo! Thou, only Thou, art the Knower, the Wise. He said: O Adam! Inform them of their names, and when he had informed them of their names, He said: Did I not tell you that I know the secret of the heavens and the earth? And I know that which ye disclose and which ye hide. And when We said unto the angels: Prostrate yourselves before Adam, they fell prostrate, all save Iblis. He demurred through pride, and so became a disbeliever. And We said: O Adam! Dwell thou and thy wife in the Garden, and eat ye freely (of the fruits) thereof where ye will; but come not nigh this tree lest ye become wrong-doers. But Satan caused them to deflect therefrom and expelled them from the (happy) state in which they were; and We said: Fall down, one of you a foe unto the other! There shall be for you on earth a habitation and provision for a time. Then Adam received from his Lord words (of revelation), and He relented toward him. Lo! He is the relenting, the Merciful. We said: Go down, all of you, from hence; but verily there cometh unto you from Me a guidance; and whoso followeth My guidance, there shall no fear come upon them neither shall they grieve. S. 2:30-38 Pickthall

The above passage brings up several questions. First, how did the angels know what the condition of man would be prior to his creation? Where did they get the idea that man would be a violent creature?

My Response

Two responses are in order, the first one will ultimately silence Shamoun, since it is apparent he does not even read what he quotes, perhaps he should tell his spirit (Satanic spirit) to quit blinding his eyes because in all due respect Shamoun looks like a fool.

He asks, how the angels knew that man would be violent and so on, well let us read what Shamoun CONVENIANTLY failed to take into consideration, so I shall quote the verses he quotes, this time pointing out the part he missed:

002.030
YUSUFALI: Behold, thy Lord said to the angels: "I will create a vicegerent on earth." They said: "Wilt Thou place therein one who will make mischief therein and shed blood?- whilst we do celebrate Thy praises and glorify Thy holy (name)?" He said: "I know what ye know not."

002.031
YUSUFALI: And He taught Adam the names of all things; then He placed them before the angels, and said: "Tell me the names of these if ye are right."

002.032
YUSUFALI: They said: "Glory to Thee, of knowledge We have none, save what Thou Hast taught us: In truth it is Thou Who art perfect in knowledge and wisdom."

002.033
YUSUFALI: He said: "O Adam! Tell them their names." When he had told them, Allah said: "Did I not tell you that I know the secrets of heaven and earth, and I know what ye reveal and what ye conceal?"

002.034
YUSUFALI: And behold, We said to the angels: "Bow down to Adam" and they bowed down. Not so Iblis: he refused and was haughty: He was of those who reject Faith.

002.035
YUSUFALI: We said: "O Adam! dwell thou and thy wife in the Garden; and eat of the bountiful things therein as (where and when) ye will; but approach not this tree, or ye run into harm and transgression."

002.036
YUSUFALI: Then did Satan make them slip from the (garden), and get them out of the state (of felicity) in which they had been. We said: "Get ye down, all (ye people), with enmity between yourselves. On earth will be your dwelling-place and your means of livelihood - for a time."

002.037
YUSUFALI: Then learnt Adam from his Lord words of inspiration, and his Lord Turned towards him; for He is Oft-Returning, Most Merciful.

002.038
YUSUFALI: We said: "Get ye down all from here; and if, as is sure, there comes to you Guidance from me, whosoever follows My guidance, on them shall be no fear, nor shall they grieve.

So note the part Shamoun missed, he missed the part where the angels say that they only know what ALLAH HAS TAUGHT THEM.

So we now know that everything the angels know is from what God has told/taught them. So the angels knowing that man would be violent and cause bloodshed was due to the fact that Allah had told them about the state of man and his nature and so on, and from this the angels knew that mankind would cause bloodshed on earth. So how did Shamoun miss this part? It does not take a genius to figure this out.

So the fact that angels knew man would cause bloodshed was simply because God has taught the angels about man, and from what they were taught by God let them know that man would cause bloodshed on earth.

He Wrote

Secondly, Allah secretly teaches Adam unspecified names in order to silence the angels for complaining against man. Was it not unfair for Allah to teach Adam these names and then proceed to challenge the angels to do likewise? Does Allah have to use deception and lies in order to vindicate himself against the charges brought against Adam by the angels (charges which turned out to be correct)?

My Response

This missionary once again exposes himself, and proves that he does indeed have one very satanic spirit inside him which he wrongly calls the Holy Spirit, I mean such lies and distortions is unbelievable!

His first lie is that Allah went in secret to teach Adam, where does the text say that? This is what the text says:

002.031
YUSUFALI: And He taught Adam the names of all things; then He placed them before the angels, and said: "Tell me the names of these if ye are right."

Where does it say Allah SECRETLY went and taught Adam the names of everything? This is Shamoun making things up as usual.

Secondly, Allah teaching Adam the names of everything is not to silence the angels, it is to TEACH MAN about Allah’s creation, Allah is being a teacher to Adam since Allah specifically created Adam to be his Khalifah on earth, what would you prefer? Allah to teach Adam nothing and leave mankind without any knowledge making us as idiots?!

Thirdly, no it was not unfair for Allah to ask the angels to inform him of the names of all things, there is wisdom behind this, which is that God knows everything, let us quote to see how it all makes sense:

002.030
YUSUFALI: Behold, thy Lord said to the angels: "I will create a vicegerent on earth." They said: "Wilt Thou place therein one who will make mischief therein and shed blood?- whilst we do celebrate Thy praises and glorify Thy holy (name)?" He said: "I know what ye know not."

Ibn Kathir comments:

Adam and His Children inhabited the Earth, Generation after Generation

Allah reiterated His favor on the Children of Adam when He stated that He mentioned them in the highest of heights before He created them. Allah said,

[وَإِذْ قَالَ رَبُّكَ لِلْمَلَـئِكَةِ]

(And (remember) when your Lord said to the angels.)

This Ayah means, "O Muhammad ! Mention to your people what Allah said to the angels,

[إِنِّي جَاعِلٌ فِى الأَرْضِ خَلِيفَةً]

(Verily, I am going to place a Khalifah on earth).

Meaning people reproducing generation after generation, century after century, just as Allah said,

[وَهُوَ الَّذِى جَعَلَكُمْ خَلَـئِفَ الاٌّرْضِ]

(And it is He Who has made you (Khala'if) generations coming after generations, replacing each other on the earth) (6:165),

[وَيَجْعَلُكُمْ حُلَفَآءَ الاٌّرْضِ]

(And makes you (Khulafa') inheritors of the earth) (27:62),

[وَلَوْ نَشَآءُ لَجَعَلْنَا مِنكُمْ مَّلَـئِكَةً فِى الاٌّرْضِ يَخْلُفُونَ ]

(And if it were Our will, We would have (destroyed you (mankind all, and) made angels to replace you (Yakhlufun) on the earth.) (43: 60) and,

[فَخَلَفَ مِن بَعْدِهِمْ خَلْفٌ]

(Then after them succeeded an (evil) generation (Khalf)) (7:169). It appears that Allah was not refering to Adam specifically as Khalifah, otherwise he would not have allowed the angels' statement,

[أَتَجْعَلُ فِيهَا مَن يُفْسِدُ فِيهَا وَيَسْفِكُ الدِّمَآءَ]

(Will You place therein those who will make mischief therein and shed blood).

The angels meant that this type of creature usually commits the atrocities they mentioned. The angels knew of this fact, according to their understanding of human nature, for Allah stated that He would create man from clay. Or, the angels understood this fact from the word Khalifah, which also means the person who judges disputes that occur between people, forbidding them from injustice and sin, as Al-Qurtubi said.

The statement the angels uttered was not a form of disputing with Allah's, nor out of envy for the Children of Adam, as some mistakenly thought. Allah has described them as those who do not precede Him in speaking, meaning that they do not ask Allah anything without His permission. When Allah informed them that He was going to create a creation on the earth, and they had knowledge that this creation would commit mischief on it, as Qatadah mentioned, they said,

[أَتَجْعَلُ فِيهَا مَن يُفْسِدُ فِيهَا وَيَسْفِكُ الدِّمَآءَ]

(Will You place therein those who will make mischief therein and shed blood)

This is only a question for the sake of learning about the wisdom of that, as if they said, Our Lord! What is the wisdom of creating such creatures since they will cause trouble in the earth and spill blood "If the wisdom behind this action is that You be worshipped, we praise and glorify You (meaning we pray to You) we never indulge in mischief, so why create other creatures''

Allah said to the angels in answer to their inquiry,

[إِنِّي أَعْلَمُ مَا لاَ تَعْلَمُونَ]

(I know that which you do not know.) meaning, "I know that the benefit of creating this type of creature outweighs the harm that you mentioned, that which you have no knowledge of. I will create among them Prophets and send Messengers. I will also create among them truthful, martyrs, righteous believers, worshippers, the modest, the pious, the scholars who implement their knowledge, humble people and those who love Allah and follow His Messengers.''

The Sahih recorded that when the angels ascend to Allah with the records of the servant's deeds, Allah asks them, while having better knowledge, "How did you leave My servants'' They will say, "We came to them while they were praying and left them while they were praying.'' This is because the angels work in shifts with mankind, and they change shifts during the Fajr and `Asr prayers. The angels who descended will remain with us, while the angels who have remained with us ascend with our deeds. The Messenger of Allah said,

«يُرْفَعُ إِلَيْهِ عَمَلُ اللَّيْلِ قَبْلَ النَّهَارِ وَعَمَلُ النَّهَارِ قَبْلَ اللَّيْل»

(The deeds of the night are elevated to Allah before the morning, and the deeds of the morning before the night falls. )

Hence, the angels' statement, "We came to them while they were praying and left them while they were praying,'' explains Allah's statement,

[إِنِّي أَعْلَمُ مَا لاَ تَعْلَمُونَ]

(I know that which you do not know.)

It was said that the meaning of Allah's statement,

[إِنِّي أَعْلَمُ مَا لاَ تَعْلَمُونَ]

(I know that which you do not know.) is, "I have a specific wisdom in creating them, which you do not have knowledge of.'' It was also said that it is in answer to,

[وَنَحْنُ نُسَبِّحُ بِحَمْدِكَ وَنُقَدِّسُ لَكَ]

(While we glorify You with praises and thanks and sanctify You) after which Allah said,

[إِنِّي أَعْلَمُ مَا لاَ تَعْلَمُونَ]

(I know that which you do not know). Meaning, "I know that Iblis is not as you are, although he is among you.'' Others said,

[أَتَجْعَلُ فِيهَا مَن يُفْسِدُ فِيهَا وَيَسْفِكُ الدِّمَآءَ وَنَحْنُ نُسَبِّحُ بِحَمْدِكَ وَنُقَدِّسُ لَكَ]

"(Will You place therein those who will make mischief therein and shed blood, ـ while we glorify you with praises and thanks and sanctify You.) is their request that they should be allowed to inhabit the earth, instead of the Children of Adam. So Allah said to them,

[إِنِّي أَعْلَمُ مَا لاَ تَعْلَمُونَ]

(I know that which you do not know) if your inhabiting the heavens is better, or worse for you.'' Ar-Razi as well as others said this. Allah knows best.

So the angels knew this information because Allah had taught them it, they knew man would cause bloodshed and so on thanks to Allah, and Allah told them he knows what they know not, that a lot of good would also come from man etc. So Allah teaches Adam the names of all things and asks the angels to name all things, this is to show that indeed Allah knows what they know not, and that he has a plan for mankind.

There is more wisdom behind this, I shall quote some more:

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YUSUFALI: Behold, thy Lord said to the angels: "I will create a vicegerent on earth." They said: "Wilt Thou place therein one who will make mischief therein and shed blood?- whilst we do celebrate Thy praises and glorify Thy holy (name)?" He said: "I know what ye know not."

002.031
YUSUFALI: And He taught Adam the names of all things; then He placed them before the angels, and said: "Tell me the names of these if ye are right."

002.033
YUSUFALI: He said: "O Adam! Tell them their names." When he had told them, Allah said: "Did I not tell you that I know the secrets of heaven and earth, and I know what ye reveal and what ye conceal?"

Allah has chosen to make mankind as his representative on earth, and he taught Adam the names of everything. Allah then tells Adam to tell the angels the name of all things, so what we have here now is a human being, teaching the angels the names of everything.

What all of this was showing was man’s superiority in knowledge to that of the angels, and mans higher position than that of the angels since God taught man the name of all things and not the angels, and the angels had to get this information from man.

Here is what Ibn Kathir says:

The Virtue of Adam over the Angels

Allah stated the virtue of Adam above the angels, because He taught Adam, rather than them, the names of everything. This occurred after they prostrated to him. This discussion precedes that event here, only to show the importance of his position, and the absence of the angels' knowledge about creating the Khalifah when they asked about it. So Allah informed the angels that He knows what they do not know, and then He mentioned this to show them Adam's superiority over them in knowledge. Allah said,

[وَعَلَّمَ ءَادَمَ الأَسْمَآءَ كُلَّهَا]

(And He taught Adam all the names (of everything)).

Ad-Dahhak said that Ibn `Abbas commented on the Ayah;

[وَعَلَّمَ ءَادَمَ الأَسْمَآءَ كُلَّهَا]

(And He taught Adam all the names (of everything)) "Meaning, the names that people use, such as human, animal, sky, earth, land, sea, horse, donkey, and so forth, including the names of the other species.'' Ibn Abi Hatim and Ibn Jarir reported that `Asim bin Kulayb narrated from Sa`id bin Ma`bad that Ibn `Abbas was questioned,

Own Hand, ordered the angels to prostrate for you, and taught you the names of everything). This part of the Hadith testifies to the fact that Allah taught Adam the names of all creatures.

This is why Allah said,

[ثُمَّ عَرَضَهُمْ عَلَى الْمَلَـئِكَةِ]

(Then He showed them to the angels) meaning, the objects or creations. `Abdur-Razzaq narrated that Ma`mar said that Qatadah said, "Allah paraded the objects before the angels,

[فَقَالَ أَنبِئُونِى بِأَسْمَآءِ هَـؤُلاَءِ إِن كُنتُمْ صَـدِقِينَ]

(And said, "Tell Me the names of these if you are truthful'').''

Allah's statement means, "Tell Me the names of what I paraded before you, O angels who said,

[أَتَجْعَلُ فِيهَا مَن يُفْسِدُ فِيهَا وَيَسْفِكُ الدِّمَآءَ]

(Will You place therein those who will make mischief therein and shed blood).

You asked, `Are You appointing a Khalifah from us or from other creations We praise and glorify You.

Therefore, Allah said, "If you say the truth, that if I appoint a non-angel Khalifah on the earth, he and his offspring will disobey Me, commit mischief and shed blood, but if I designate you the Khalifahs you will obey Me, follow My command and honor and glorify Me. However, since you do not know the names of the objects I paraded before you, then you have even less knowledge of what will occur on the earth that does not exist yet.''

[قَالُواْ سُبْحَـنَكَ لاَ عِلْمَ لَنَآ إِلاَّ مَا عَلَّمْتَنَآ إِنَّكَ أَنتَ الْعَلِيمُ الْحَكِيمُ ]

(They (angels) said: "Glory is to You, we have no knowledge except what you have taught us. Verily, it is You, the Knower, the Wise.'').

Here the angels are praising Allah's holiness, and perfection above every kind of deficiency, affirming that no creature could ever acquire any part of Allah's knowledge, except by His permission, nor could anyone know anything except what Allah teaches them. This is why they said,

[سُبْحَـنَكَ لاَ عِلْمَ لَنَآ إِلاَّ مَا عَلَّمْتَنَآ إِنَّكَ أَنتَ الْعَلِيمُ الْحَكِيمُ]

("Glory is to You, we have no knowledge except what you have taught us. Verily You are the Knower, the Wise) meaning, Allah is knowledgeable of everything, Most Wise about His creation, and He makes the wisest decisions, and He teaches and deprives whom He wills from knowledge. Verily, Allah's wisdom and justice in all matters is perfect.

Adam's Virtue of Knowledge is demonstrated

Allah said,

[قَالَ يَـاءَادَمُ أَنبِئْهُم بِأَسْمَآئِهِمْ فَلَمَّآ أَنبَأَهُم بِأَسْمَآئِهِم قَالَ أَلَمْ أَقُل لَّكُمْ إِنِّي أَعْلَمُ غَيْبَ السَّمَـوَاتِ وَالاٌّرْضِ وَأَعْلَمُ مَا تُبْدُونَ وَمَا كُنتُمْ تَكْتُمُونَ ]

(He said: "O Adam! Inform them of their names,'' and when he had informed them of their names, He said: "Did I not tell you that I know the Ghayb (unseen) in the heavens and the earth, and I know what you reveal and what you have been concealing'')

Zayd bin Aslam said, "You are Jibril, you are Mika'il, you are Israfil, until he mentioned the name of the crow.'' Mujahid said that Allah's statement,

[قَالَ يَـاءَادَمُ أَنبِئْهُم بِأَسْمَآئِهِمْ]

(He said: "O Adam! Inform them of their names,'') "The name of the pigeon, the crow and everything.'' Statements of a similar meaning were reported from Sa`id bin Jubayr, Al-Hasan, and Qatadah. When Adam's virtue over the angels became apparent, as he mentioned the names that Allah taught him, Allah said to the angels,

[أَلَمْ أَقُل لَّكُمْ إِنِّي أَعْلَمُ غَيْبَ السَّمَـوَاتِ وَالاٌّرْضِ وَأَعْلَمُ مَا تُبْدُونَ وَمَا كُنتُمْ تَكْتُمُونَ]

(Did I not tell you that I know the Ghayb (unseen) in the heavens and the earth, and I know what you reveal and what you have been concealing)

This means, "Did I not state that I know the seen and unseen matters. '' Similarly, Allah said,

[وَإِن تَجْهَرْ بِالْقَوْلِ فَإِنَّهُ يَعْلَمُ السِّرَّ وَأَخْفَى ]

(And if you (O Muhammad ) speak (the invocation) aloud, then verily, He knows the secret and that which is yet more hidden) (20:7).

Also, Allah said about the hoopoe, that it said to Sulayman;

[أَلاَّ يَسْجُدُواْ للَّهِ الَّذِى يُخْرِجُ الْخَبْءَ فِى السَّمَـوَتِ وَالاٌّرْضِ وَيَعْلَمُ مَا تُخْفُونَ وَمَا تُعْلِنُونَ - اللَّهُ لاَ إِلَـهَ إِلاَّ هُوَ رَبُّ الْعَرْشِ الْعَظِيمِ ]

([As Shaytan (Satan) has barred them from Allah's way] so they do not prostrate before Allah, Who brings to light what is hidden in the heavens and the earth, and knows what you conceal and what you reveal. Allah, La ilaha illa Huwa (none has the right to be worshipped but He), the Lord of the Supreme Throne!) (27:25-26).

They also have comments other than what we have said about the meaning of Allah's statement,

[وَأَعْلَمُ مَا تُبْدُونَ وَمَا كُنتُمْ تَكْتُمُونَ]

(And I know what you reveal and what you have been concealing).

It is reported from Ad-Dahhak that Ibn `Abbas said that,

[وَأَعْلَمُ مَا تُبْدُونَ وَمَا كُنتُمْ تَكْتُمُونَ]

(And I know what you reveal and what you have been concealing) means, "`I know the secrets, just as I know the apparent things, such as, what Iblis concealed in his heart of arrogance and pride.'' Abu Ja`far Ar-Razi narrated that Ar-Rabi` bin Anas said that,

[وَأَعْلَمُ مَا تُبْدُونَ وَمَا كُنتُمْ تَكْتُمُونَ]

(And I know what you reveal and what you have been concealing) means, "The apparent part of what they said was: `Do you create in it that which would commit mischief and shed blood' The hidden meaning was: `We have more knowledge and honor than any creation our Lord would create.' But they came to know that Allah favored Adam above them regarding knowledge and honor.''

So there is wisdom behind all of this, to show mans superiority over the angels. Off course Shamoun doesn’t realize any of this, instead he barks about lies and deception occurring! Only a liar and a fool would try to bring up arguments against this incident, and that is what you get with Shamoun.

He Wrote

Is it not obvious that Adam would have been just as ignorant as the angels were regarding these things had it not been for Allah teaching him? What kind of vindication is this seeing that Adam only knew of these names because Allah taught him, whereas the angels were ignorant because Allah hadn't taught them these things?

My Response

It was to show mans superiority over the angels, that God taught man the names of all things instead of the angels. This is not too hard to understand, but when you’re dealing with missionaries like Shamoun, even the simplest issues become the most complicated for them!

He Wrote

And how does the naming of things justify the creation of man despite all the evil and violence he will commit? After all, if there is a superior value in humans that justifies their creation, despite their violent and sinful behavior, then it should be stated in a clear way instead of using deceptive tricks that hardly show the superiority of humans.

My Response

Again, the naming of all things by Adam was to show man’s superiority over the angels, in knowledge, and in the fact that God taught this to man and not to the angels.

Secondly, yes man will commit violence and so on, but the fact is man will also worship God and serve him, which is God’s purpose for mankind, and the difference between mankind and the angels when it comes to this, is that mankind have a freewill to do as they chose. You see, angels and man are very two different natures and two very different creations, the angels are perfect servants, they never sin or commit crimes, no such thing as angels gone bad in Islam. They are created that way, however so, man was created with the choice of whether to accept or reject God.

God has bestowed this gift upon mankind, that we are allowed to make our decisions, and it is up to us to accept or reject him. Angels simply do what God tells them to do, as I said, they are the perfect servant, unlike humans and jinns, angels simply serve God and that is all.

He Wrote

Thirdly, after using deception to silence the angels Allah then proceeds to command the angels to worship the man. This command to worship was obviously the result of the man having bested them by naming the things which Allah had personally taught him.

My Response

There was no deception used, a lot of wisdom was used, which is hard for you to understand, since your blinded by satan to believe in fairy tales such as the trinity and other nonsense.

Secondly, let me correct another lie by you, Allah did not command the angels to worship Adam, such distortions and lies is in-excusable, but that is what you get from Sam Shamoun, as I said in my debate with him, His holy spirit is satan, nothing holy about the spirit he claims to have. So Sam Shamoun should stop insulting the REAL Holy Spirit by claiming it lives in him, since no Holy Spirit would make someone lie like you.

The angels were told to bow/prostrate to Adam, NOT worship him, it was a sign of respect for mankind, and that mankind was above all other creation from jinns to animals.

This also exposes inconsistency from Shamoun, when we show him people who bow and prostrate to prophets in the Bible, Shamoun will claim that does not mean they are being worshiped, but they are being respected etc. Yet when it comes to the Quran, it must mean worship when someone bows to another!

Here is what Ibn Kathir says:

The Prostration was before Adam but the Obedience was to Allah

Qatadah commented on Allah's statement,

[وَإِذْ قُلْنَا لِلْمَلَـئِكَةِ اسْجُدُواْ لاًّدَمَ]

(And (remember) when We said to the angels: "Prostrate yourselves before Adam.'')

"The obedience was for Allah and the prostration was before Adam. Allah honored Adam and commanded the angels to prostrate before him.'' Some people said that this prostration was just a prostration of greeting, peace and honor, hence Allah's statement,

[وَرَفَعَ أَبَوَيْهِ عَلَى الْعَرْشِ وَخَرُّواْ لَهُ سُجَّدَا وَقَالَ يأَبَتِ هَـذَا تَأْوِيلُ رُؤْيَـى مِن قَبْلُ قَدْ جَعَلَهَا رَبِّى حَقًّا]

(And he (Prophet Yusuf) raised his parents to the throne and they fell down before him prostrate. And he said: "O my father! This is the interpretation of my dream aforetime! My Lord has made it come true!'') (12:100)

The practice of prostrating was allowed for previous nations, but was repealed for ours. Mu`adh said to the Prophet , "I visited Ash-Sham and found that they used to prostate before their priests and scholars. You, O Messenger of Allah, are more deserving of prostration.'' The Prophet said,

«لَا لَوْ كُنْتُ آمِرًا بَشَرًا أنْ يَسْجُدَ لِبَشَرٍ لَأَمَرْتُ الْمَرْأةَ أنْ تَسْجُدَ لِزَوجِهَا مِنْ عِظَمِ حَقِّهِ عَلَيْهَا»

(No. If I was to command any human to prostrate before another human, I would command the wife to prostrate before her husband because of the enormity of his right on her.)

Honoring Adam when the Angels prostrated before Him

This Ayah mentions the great honor that Allah granted Adam, and Allah reminded Adam's offspring of this fact. Allah commanded the angels to prostrate before Adam, as this Ayah and many Hadiths testify, such as the Hadith about the intercession that we discussed. There is a Hadith about the supplication of Musa, "O my Lord! Show me Adam who caused us and himself to be thrown out of Paradise.'' When Musa met Adam, he said to him, "Are you Adam whom Allah created with His Own Hands, blew life into and commanded the angels to prostrate before'' Iblis was among Those ordered to prostrate before Adam, although He was not an Angel

So as you can see, the angels prostrating before Adam was a sign of honor, not worship! In fact if the angels were told to worship Adam, why weren’t Muslims in the time of the prophet Muhammad also taught to worship Adam and pray to him?

Secondly, Ibn Kathir points out a very interesting point, in Surah Yousef, his brothers and Father even prostrated before him, so does this mean they worshiped him?! Here is the relevant verse:

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YUSUFALI: Then when they entered the presence of Joseph, he provided a home for his parents with himself, and said: "Enter ye Egypt (all) in safety if it please Allah."

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YUSUFALI: And he raised his parents high on the throne (of dignity), and they fell down in prostration, (all) before him. He said: "O my father! this is the fulfilment of my vision of old! Allah hath made it come true! He was indeed good to me when He took me out of prison and brought you (all here) out of the desert, (even) after Satan had sown enmity between me and my brothers. Verily my Lord understandeth best the mysteries of all that He planneth to do, for verily He is full of knowledge and wisdom.

So tell me Shamoun, is Yousef God?!

He Wrote

We therefore need to ask, why make angels worship Adam for being able to name things that they couldn't when the man only knew these names as a result of Allah having taught them to him? And why is Allah commanding them to bow down to Adam, a creature, when it is absolutely forbidden to do so in Islam? If it is argued that the prostration signified respect and not worship then why are such acts of respect forbidden in Islam today? It is obvious that Allah, unlike the true God of the Holy Bible, is always changing his mind and commands as time goes by.

My Response

Allah did not command the angels to worship Adam, so please stop lying. The reason they bowed to Adam was to signify man’s superiority over every other creation, if Allah wishes for you to bow to someone for respect, you will do it, this is being obedient to God and obeying his command.

Secondly, you say why are these acts forbidden today, seems you want to compare apples and oranges!

Firstly, it was ALLAH who commanded the angels to bow down, and also Adam was the first man, and the first prophet. Your not going to go bow down to every leader and good man in today’s world are you? And once again, it seems Shamoun does not understand the significance of the angels bowing to Adam; it was to show MANKINDS SUPERIORITY over all creation, is this too hard for you to understand?

As for the true god of the holy Bible, can you show me what is so holy about the Bible? Is it genesis 38? When Judah had sex with his daughter in law when she became a hooker for him? Or is it Ezekiel 23 where God tells us the story of women who are sleeping with every man. So please tell me what is so holy about the book you call the Bible.

He Wrote

Fourth, Iblis or Satan is blamed for not worshiping Adam even though the command was given to angels. According to the Quran, Iblis isn't an angel, but rather he is said to be a jinn:

And when We said to the angels, 'Bow yourselves to Adam'; so they bowed themselves, save Iblis; he was one of the jinn, and committed ungodliness against his Lord's command. What, and do you take him and his seed to be your friends, apart from Me, and they an enemy to you? How evil is that exchange for the evildoers! S. 18:50 Shakir

The late Maulana Muhammad Ali wrote in his Quranic translation:

50a. Iblis is one of the jinn or the evil spirits, so it is an error to take him for an angel or a good spirit. The spirit of evil is always rebellious, and it is against this that man is warned, so that he should resist every evil tendency. (Source; underline emphasis ours)

Why then does Allah blame Iblis for not obeying a command directed to angels, not to the jinn?

My Response

Again, Allah did not command the angels to worship Adam, but it is okay, you can keep barking and screaming it like a demon possessed human does when an exorcism is being performed.

The reason Iblis is rebuked for not prostrating was because although he was not an angel, he was among their presence when Allah told them to bow to Adam, so this naturally also included him in it since he was with them.

Here is what Ibn Kathir says:

Honoring Adam when the Angels prostrated before Him

This Ayah mentions the great honor that Allah granted Adam, and Allah reminded Adam's offspring of this fact. Allah commanded the angels to prostrate before Adam, as this Ayah and many Hadiths testify, such as the Hadith about the intercession that we discussed. There is a Hadith about the supplication of Musa, "O my Lord! Show me Adam who caused us and himself to be thrown out of Paradise.'' When Musa met Adam, he said to him, "Are you Adam whom Allah created with His Own Hands, blew life into and commanded the angels to prostrate before'' Iblis was among Those ordered to prostrate before Adam, although He was not an Angel

When Allah commanded the angels to prostrate before Adam, Iblis was included in this command. Although Iblis was not an angel, he was trying - and pretending - to imitate the angels' behavior and deeds, and this is why he was also included in the command to the angels to prostrate before Adam. Satan was criticized for defying that command, as we will explain with detail, Allah willing, when we mention the Tafsir of Allah's statement,

[إِلاَّ إِبْلِيسَ كَانَ مِنَ الْجِنِّ فَفَسَقَ عَنْ أَمْرِ رَبِّهِ]

(Except Iblis (Satan). He was one of the Jinn; he disobeyed the command of his Lord.) (18:50)

Similarly, Muhammad bin Ishaq reported that Ibn `Abbas said, "Before he undertook the path of sin, Iblis was with the angels and was called `Azazil.' He was among the residents of the earth and was one of the most active worshippers and knowledgeable persons among the angels. This fact caused him to be arrogant. Iblis was from a genus called Jinn.''

(And they prostrated except Iblis (Shaytan), he refused and was proud and was one of the disbelievers (disobedient to Allah).)

"Iblis, the enemy of Allah, envied Adam because Allah honored Adam. He said, `I was created from fire, and he was created from clay.' Therefore, the first error ever committed was arrogance, for the enemy of Allah was too arrogant to prostrate before Adam.'' I - Ibn Kathir - say, the following is recorded in the Sahih,

«لَا يَدْخُلُ الْجَنَّةَ مَنْ كَانَ فِي قَلْبِهِ مِثْقَالُ حَبَّةٍ مِنْ خَرْدَلٍ مِنْ كِبْر»

(No person who has the weight of a mustard seed of arrogance in his heart shall enter Paradise.)

Iblis had disbelief, arrogance, and rebellion, all of which caused him to be expelled from the holy presence of Allah, and His mercy.

After much rambling about nothing, Shamoun then says:

Fifth, the passage says that Adam/Man was to be Allah's viceroy/vicegerent on earth, with other verses stating that he was created from mud, dust, clay etc.:

Lo! the likeness of Jesus with Allah is as the likeness of Adam. He created him of dust, then He said unto him: Be! and he is. S. 3:59

We created man from sounding clay, from mud moulded into shape. S. 15:26

Amongst his signs is this, that he created you from dust. S. 30:20

Adam and his wife were then told to enter the Garden together, which can mean that this Garden was located somewhere on the earth. Yet Surah 2:36 suggests otherwise:

Then did Satan make them slip from the (Garden), and get them out of the state (of felicity) in which they had been. We said: "Get ye down, all (ye people). With enmity between yourselves. On earth will be your dwelling place and your means of livelihood for a time." Y. Ali

RESPONSE

It seems I need to teach Shamoun a bit about Islam. Adam was created from mud/dust collected from the earth, and he was made into shape by Allah in heaven.

Shamoun then says:

But this leaves us with the problem of Adam having been created from mud, dust, etc. while being in heaven. Are we to therefore assume that heaven, a spiritual realm, contains all these physical elements?

Let us assume that heaven does have these physical elements, exactly what is wrong with that? The Christian inconsistency amazes me, they believe their God wept, ate, went to the bathroom, and even died! Yet if heaven has some physical elements they go crazy! I mean wake up! It is times like these that I have to ask my Christian friends ‘are you guys insane?!!!!!! Are you guys mentally unstable?!!!!!!!!!’. Or maybe my Christian friends agree with me that Shamoun’s argument is simply crazy, and that he is an embarrassment to them, in that case we have no problems.

Again, Shamoun should go read the tafsirs, tafsir Tabari, I am sure he has it, he will see how the mud was collected from earth and it was made into shape in heaven by Allah himself.

Shamoun then writes:

The above explanation still leaves us with the problem of explaining why Adam was in heaven when he was created to dwell on the earth as Allah's vice-regent. He wasn't created to dwell in heaven (at least not initially since the Quran does say that eventually all true believers will end up in the Garden). So again, why was Adam in heaven when Allah had specifically created him to dwell on the earth?

RESPONSE

It was Allah’s plan to initially have Adam dwell in paradise, and to test him and Eve by the apple, which they would fail, and that they would then be sent to earth, and that from then on the other generations of mankind would now have to earn the right to get into paradise. I shall let the Quran speak for itself on this:

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YUSUFALI: Then did Satan make them slip from the (garden), and get them out of the state (of felicity) in which they had been. We said: "Get ye down, all (ye people), with enmity between yourselves. On earth will be your dwelling-place and your means of livelihood - for a time."

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YUSUFALI: Then learnt Adam from his Lord words of inspiration, and his Lord Turned towards him; for He is Oft-Returning, Most Merciful.

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YUSUFALI: We said: "Get ye down all from here; and if, as is sure, there comes to you Guidance from me, whosoever follows My guidance, on them shall be no fear, nor shall they grieve.

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YUSUFALI: "But those who reject Faith and belie Our Signs, they shall be companions of the Fire; they shall abide therein."

So after Adam and Eve were kicked out of heaven, people would have to earn the right to get back in. Allah would send his guidance to mankind, through his prophets, and who ever follows it would be granted paradise, and whoever does not, would be thrown into hell.

He Wrote

But this introduces even more difficulties. The above passages say that Allah expelled Satan from Paradise for refusing to worship Adam. Then how in the world did he get into Paradise to tempt Adam and Eve? Furthermore, after expelling and demoting Satan Allah swore to give him respite till the Day of Resurrection, which suggests that he wouldn’t suffer any more punishment until the Judgment Day. Then how could Satan be expelled from Paradise and demoted a second time? Did Allah renege on his word?

My Response

Satan was able to get into heaven not because he was able to snuck in without anyone noticing, no, Allah had let the cursed one in to test Adam and Eve, a test they would fail, which would then see them expelled from heaven. This is what Allah had planned.

Satan would be given respite, and his punishment was simply delayed until judgment day, he wasn’t forgiven, his punishment was just delayed and he would was made a trial and test for mankind.

There will be no need to quote the rest of what Shamoun quotes, since he brings nothing to the table, he simply shows mankind now has to earn heaven because of Adam and Eve’s sin. Or maybe he is trying to imply Islam teaches original sin?! To cut this argument off, Muslims are not born with sin, just because we are no longer in heaven because of Adam and Eve’s sin does not mean that sin has been put on us, all it means is that we now have to earn heaven, and that we don’t get a free ride.

Shamoun then ends his argument by saying Allah had pre-destined Adam to fall from heaven and so on, yes and? Is that a problem? It was the plan, and I have been saying that throughout this article.

So in conclusion, this ranks as one of Shamoun’s worst article, absolutely terrible.

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Islam and the Noble Quran - Questions and Answers.

Contradictions and History of Corruption in the Bible.

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