Surah Al-Baqara   (Heifer) (2)- 286 M


1        A.L.M.                

2        This is the Book; in it is guidance sure without doubt to those who fear Allah.

       *** This verse is intriguing since Muhammad - unlike Moses - did not receive his 'revelations' in writing but were given to him orally by allegedly, the angel Gabriel.

       The Quran was memorized during the ministry of Muhammad of 23 years and was only recorded in 'book' form after his death***

3        Who believe in the Unseen are steadfast in prayer and spend out of what We have provided for them.

4        And who believe in the Revelation sent to thee and sent before thy time and (in their hearts) have the assurance of the Hereafter.

5        They are on (true) guidance from their Lord and it is these who will prosper.

6        As to those who reject Faith it is the same to them whether thou warn them or do not warn them; they will not believe.

7        Allah hath set a seal on their hearts and on their hearing and on their eyes is a veil; great is the penalty they (incur).        
                                               
       #31        All actions are referred to Allah. Therefore, when we get the penalty of our deliberate sin, and our senses become impervious to good, the penalty is referred to the justice of Allah. (2.7)32  The penalty here is the opposite of the prosperity referred to in 5. As we go down the path of sin, our penalty gathers momentum, just as goodness brings its own capacity for greater goodness#
               
       *** This verse implies that Allah has PRE-DESTINED these people to suffer purgatory and not because they are evil. They have been deprived of their free will. In the theology of the Jews, this is not the case since God has given Mankind the FREEWILL to choose.

Deuteronomy 30:15 "See, I have set before you this day life and good, and death and evil;16. In that I command you this day to love the Lord your God, to walk in his ways, and to keep his commandments and his statutes and his judgments, that you may live and multiply; and the Lord your God shall bless you in the land which you are entering to possess.17. But if your heart turns away, so that you will not hear, but shall be drawn away, and worship other gods, and serve them;18. I announce to you this day, that you shall surely perish, and that you shall not prolong your days upon the land, to which you are going over the Jordan, to enter and possess.

                                   19. I call heaven and earth to record this day against you, that I have set before life and death, blessing and cursing; therefore choose life, that both you and your seed may live; 20. That you may love the Lord your God, and that you may obey his voice, and that you may cleave to him; for he is your life, and the length of your days; that you may live in the land which the Lord swore to your fathers, to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob, to give them"***

8        Of the people there are some who say:"We believe in Allah and the Last Day" but they do not (really) believe.

9        Fain would they deceive Allah and those who believe but they only deceive
themselves and realize (it) not!

10        In their hearts is a disease; and Allah has increased their disease and grievous is the penalty they (incur) because they are false (to themselves).

11        When it is said to them: "Make not mischief on the earth" they say: "Why we only  to make peace!"

12        Of a surety they are the ones who make mischief but they realize (it) not.

13        When it is said to them: "Believe as the others believe" they say: "Shall we believe as the fools believe?" nay of a surety they are the fools but they do not know.

14        When they meet those who believe they say: "We believe" but when they are alone with their evil ones they say: "We are really with you we (were) only jesting."

15        Allah will throw back their mockery on them and give them rope in their trespasses; so they will wander like blind ones (to and fro).

16        These are they who have bartered guidance for error: but their traffic is profitless and they have lost true direction.

17        Their similitude is that of a man who kindled a fire; when it lighted all around him Allah took away their light and left them in utter darkness so they could not see.

18        Deaf dumb and blind they will not return (to the path).

19        Or (another similitude) is that of a rain-laden cloud from the sky; in it are zones of darkness and thunder and lightning they press their fingers in their ears to keep out the stunning thunder-clap the while they are in terror of death.But Allah is ever round the rejecters of Faith!

20        The lightning all but snatches away their sight; every time the light (helps) them they walk therein and when the darkness grows on them they stand still. And if Allah willed He could take away their faculty of hearing and seeing; for Allah hath power over all things.

21        O ye people! adore your Guardian-Lord who created you and those who came before you that ye may have the chance to learn righteousness.

22        Who has made the earth your couch and the heaven your canopy; and sent down rain from the heavens; and brought forth therewith fruits for your sustenance;then set not up rivals unto Allah when ye know (the truth).

23        And if ye are in doubt as to what We have revealed from time to time to Our servant then produce a Surah like thereunto; and call your witnesses or helpers (if there are any) besides Allah if your (doubts) are true.

24        But if ye cannot and of a surety ye cannot then fear the fire whose fuel is Men and Stones which is prepared for those who reject Faith.

25        But give glad tidings to those who believe and work righteousness that their portion is Gardens beneath which rivers flow.Every time they are fed with fruits there from they say:"Why this is what we were fed with before" for they are given things in similitude; and they have therein companions (pure and holy); and they abide therein (for ever).        

       #44        This is the antithesis to the last verse.If fire is the symbol of Punishment, the Garden is the symbol of felicity.  And what can be more delightful than a Garden where you observe from a picturesque height a beautiful landscape round you, - rivers flowing with cyrstal water, and fruit trees of which the choicest fruit is before you. The fruit of goodness is goodness, similar, but choicer in every degree of ascent.  You think it is the same, but it is because of your past experiences and associations of memory. Then there is companionship.  If sex is suggested, its physical associations are at once negatived by the addition of the word Mutahharatun "pure and holy." The Arabic epithet is in the intensive form, and must be translated by two adjectives denoting purity in the highest degree.  The Companionship is that of souls and applies to both sexes in the physical world of men and women. And this felicity is not a mere passing phase but will abide beyond the realms of Time#
                                       
       *** The Arabic word for 'Garden' is 'Jannat' which is derived from the Hebrew word 'Gan' meaning garden or grove. This word did not exist in Arabic folklore before the Quran since they had no concept of Heaven, Hell and Paradise (Garden).

       This was of course plagiarised from the Bible. The Quran, contrary to the very careful explanations given by the interpreter, actually promises its heavenbound followers unlimited sexual and sensual pleasures, forever; they can have after death in Muhammad's version of Paradise what they are not allowed in life on Earth.

        There is no doubt that Muhammad's illiterate and unlearned followers would not be interested in everlasting spiritual and or intellectual communion with beautiful companions of the opposite sex even in Paradise. There are other verses in the Quran as well as Ahadith stories that promise sex companions and 72 virgins also, such as Surah 4:57; 11:23.

Tirmidi 3834 & 5648 Al-Tirmidhi HadithHadith 5636 Narrated by Anas ibn Malik
The Prophet (peace be upon him) said, "In Paradise the believer will be given such and such power to conduct sexual intercourse." He was asked whether he would be capable of that and replied that he would be given the capacity of a hundred men"***

26        Allah disdains not to use the similitude of things lowest as well as highest.Those who believe know that it is truth from their Lord; but those who reject Faith say: "What means Allah by this similitude?" By it He causes many to stray and many He leads into the right path but He causes not to stray except those who forsake (the path).

27        Those who break Allah's Covenant after it is ratified and who sunder what Allah has ordered to be joined and do mischief on earth :  These cause loss (only) to themselves

28        How can ye reject the faith in Allah? Seeing that ye were without life and He gave you life; then will He cause you to die and will again bring you to life; and again to Him will ye return.

29        It is He who hath created for you all things that are on earth; moreover His design comprehended the heavens for He gave order and perfection to the seven firmaments; and of all things he hath perfect knowledge.

30        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."
       
       *** This of course is an altered version from Rabbinical traditions***

31        And He taught Adam the nature of all things; then He placed them before the angels and said: "Tell Me the nature of these if ye are right."

       *** This is contrary to the Biblical version where in Adam gave the names WITHOUT the prompting of God***                              
                  
32        They said: "Glory to Thee of knowledge we have none save that Thou hast taught us: in truth it is Thou who art perfect in knowledge and wisdom."

33>        He said: "O Adam! tell them their natures."  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?

       *** "And He taught Adam the nature of all things" is a deliberate mistranslation from Arabic which explicitly states that 'He taught Adam all their names' which is of course a misquotation  from the Bible.

Genesis 1: 19 "And out of the ground the Lord God formed every beast of the field, and every bird of the air; and brought them to Adam to see what he would call them; and whatever Adam called every living creature, that was its name.20. And Adam gave names to all cattle, and to the bird of the air, and to every beast of the field; but for Adam there was not found a help to match him"
       Even from the very beginning of the Quran, the interpreter starts a deliberate process of misinformation, wrong translations and dis-information to explain away the very difficult and incomprehensible verses of the Quran and tries to make the Quran look original as if it had not plagiarised most of its most important verses and concepts from the Bible and rabbinical writings***

34>        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.

       #49        The Arabic may also be translated: "They bowed down, except Iblis." In that case Iblis (Satan) would be one of the angels. But the theory of fallen angels is not accepted in Muslim theology.  In xviii, 50 Iblis is spoken of as a Jinn. We shall discuss later the meaning of this word#

       *** The above story is plagiarized from Jewish folklore as compiled in the Legends of the Jews (Ginzberg 1:62-3) and their Scriptures. The only difference is that instead of Satan, the Quran puts in Iblis as Allah's adversary.

       The Jinn - in the mythology of pagan Arabia - were the malevolent 'spirits' who plagued the pagan Bedouins in the barrenness of the Arabian desert. Muhammad 'Islamised' this primitive theology and incorporated it in his Quran, as he did with almost every other Pagan Arabian fetishes and customs.
       
        Satan is a concept invented by the Rabbis to identify and personalize all evil; it is not in the Torah and neither the God of Israel nor Allah of Pagan Arabia had knowledge of or created such a 'creature'. In the Torah, the God of Israel held Man responsible for all his own deeds whether good or evil.

Deut 30: 19" I call heaven and earth to record this day against you, that I have set before you life and death, blessing and cursing; therefore choose life, that both you and your seed may live".

         Pagan Arabia moreover had no concept of angels in their very primitive religion, this too was pirated from Bible ***

35>        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."

       # Was the Garden of Eden a place on this earth?  Obviously not.  For, in verse 36 below, it was after the Fall that the sentence was pronounced: "On earth will be your dwelling."  Before the Fall, we must suppose Man to be on another plane altogether - of felicity, innocence, trust, a spiritual existence, with the negation of enmity, want of faith, and all evil. Perhaps Time and Space also did not exist, and the Garden is allegorical as well as the tree.  The forbidden tree was not the tree of knowledge for man was given in that perfect state fuller knowledge than he has now (ii. 31); it was the tree of Evil, which he was forbidden not only to eat of, but even to approach#

       *** The deliberate perversion, falsification and distortion of the translation and interpretations of the Quranic verses begin here.

       Since the Arabs before the Quran had a very primitive astral theology and had absolutely no knowledge of the historical and theological contents of the Bible, then on what basis does this interpreter presume to tell the reader that it was the tree of 'evil' that Adam and Eve were prohibited from eating the fruit thereof when the Bible is explicit that it is the tree of 'Knowledge' ?        

       Gen 2:17" But of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, you shall not eat of it; for in the day that you eat of it you shall surely die.

       It should be made clear at the very start, that the interpreters of the Quran in general, are not interested in historical truths but only in trying to explain the incredible number of Quranic verses that are obviously wrong when compared and contrasted to their originals in the Bible and Scriptures.

       It should also be made clear that not ONCE in whole of the Quran does the name of the garden 'Eden' appear in the English translations which otherwise refers to it as the 'garden of Eternity' instead.  Neither is the name 'Eve' ever mentioned in the Arabic of the Quran.
       
       Further more, the Bible literally gives the borders of the Garden as they are on Earth and not anywhere in the Heavens as the interpreter's preposterous and untenable allegations purport it to be.

Genesis 2:10" And a river went out from Eden to water the garden; and from there it was divided, and became four rivers.11. The name of the first is Pishon; that is the one which flows around the whole land of Havilah, where there is gold;12. And the gold of that land is good; there is bdellium and the onyx stone.13. And the name of the second river is Gihon; that is the one which flows around the whole land of Kush.14. And the name of the third river is the Tigris; that is the one which flows toward the east of Assyria. And the fourth river is the Euphrates.15. And the Lord God took the man, and put him into the garden of Eden to cultivate it and to keep it"

       The idea that another Garden of Eden is in heaven was promulgated by the Hebrew Sages as the abode in the afterlife of good people. It is upon such misrepresentations and misunderstandings of the Bible and the Hebrew Scriptures that the Quran and its interpreters almost invariably IMPALE themselves ***

36>        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

       #"Iblis" in ii. 34 is apparently the Power of Evil, with the root idea of desperateness of rebillion. "Satan" in this verse is the Power of Evil, with the root idea of perversity or enmity.  Note the appropriateness of the term on each occasion.  Also, "slipping" from the Garden denotes the idea of Evil gradually tempting man from a higher to a lower state. God's decree is the result of man's action.  Note the transition in Arabic from the singular number in ii. 33, to the dual in ii. 35, and the plural here, which I have indicated in English by "All ye people."  Evidently Adam is the type of all mankind, and the sexes go together in all spiritual matters.  Moreover, the expulsion applied to Adam, Eve, and Satan, and the Arabic plural is appropriate for any number greater than two#        
                                                                               
       *** Pagan Arabs - before the Quranic revelations - had no concept of Satan, the Garden of Eden, Adam or Eve or any other item contained in the Bible. The interpreters of the Quran can say whatever they like - and contrary to all of their assertions -  can never change the most important fact:

        The Quran asserts that Pagan Arabia had no knowledge of the Bible or its contents, neither in its oral tradition nor from any written records.

       Moreover, the Bible does not mention an adversary to the Almighty called Satan or any other such entity. It was the serpent which tempted Eve to eat the fruit of the forbidden tree of Knowledge.

Genesis 3:1" Now the serpent was more subtle than any beast of the field which the Lord God had made. And he said to the woman, Has God said, you shall not eat of every tree of the garden? 2. And the woman said to the serpent, We may eat of the fruit of the trees of the garden;3. But of the fruit of the tree which is in the midst of the garden, God has said, you shall not eat of it, nor shall you touch it, lest you die."

       Muhammad used the Satan concept which he pirated from Jewish and Christian traditions  to replace the serpent and hence makes the Quran appear 'different' from the Bible. Moreover, the "…enmity between yourselves…" applied only to the enmity between serpents and humankind as mentioned, again, in the Bible ***

37>        Then learnt Adam from his Lord words of inspiration and his Lord turned toward him; for He is Oft-Returning Most Merciful.        

       # 55        As "names" in verse 31 above is used for the "nature of things", so "words" here mean "inspiration" "spiritual knowledge".  The Arabic word used for "learn" here implies some effort on his part to which God's Grace responded#                
                                               
38>        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.

        *** Once again, the Quran wrogly assumes that the Garden of Eden is in Heaven from which Adam and Eve were thrown 'down' to Earth.

       The Bible which is, after all,  the originator of the story, asserts that it was on Earth surrounded by four rivers two of which are in Iraq, the Tigris and Euphrates ***

39>        "But those who reject Faith and belie Our Signs they shall be Companions of the Fire; they shall abide therein."

40>        O Children of Israel! call to mind the (special) favor which I bestowed upon you and fulfill your covenant with Me as I fulfill My covenant with you and fear none but Me.

       # The appeal is made to Israel subjectively in terms of their own tradition.  You claim to be a favoured nation; have you forgotten My favours?  You claim a special Covenant with Me: I have fulfilled My part of the Covenant by bringing you out of the land of bondage and giving you Canaan, the land "flowing with milk and honey" how have you fulfilled your part of the Covenant?  Do you fear for your national existence?  If you fear Me, nothing else will matter#
        *** As usual in the Quran, the scene jumps without reason or logic from one subject in one time and place to a completely different and unrelated one in another time and place. Contrary to all the continuous and insidious implications made by the Quran and its interpreters, the indisputable fact remains that-

       While the alleged descendants of Ishmael forgot their One and Only Allah for almost 2500 years, the Children of Israel, against all odds, continued to carry the light of the One and Only God so that it was 'revealed' again to the Arabs by Muhammad by copying from the Bible - with suitable editing and alterations - everything of importance in his Quran.

       The Israelites were 'chosen' to be a 'light unto humanity'; a role in which they succeeded enormously since because of them there are more than three billion people who believe in the One God.

       It is crystal clear in this verse that Allah's covenant with the Israelites was a very simple one based upon a single unalterable premise: That they would never associate any other god with him.

       This covenant was never broken by the Israelites and their descendants, the Jews, and because it was continued throughout the centuries, AGAINST ALL ODDS, Muhammad was able to PLAGIARISE, PLUNDER, PIRATE and/or PERVERT these concepts, thoughts and ideas from them.

       Hence, all the accusations, lies, falsifications of history, perversions of truth and disinformation levelled against them by other verses of the Quran and by the followers of Muhammad are exactly that; unsubstantiated and irrelevant calumny and harangues completely bereft of any veracity and based entirely on self evident loathing and fear of the truth:

       That the Quran is a complete and utter fabrication which emanted from the mind of Muhammad but attributed to the mouth of the innocent and unsuspecting pagan rock god of the Ka'ba, Allah***

41>        And believe in what I reveal confirming the revelation which is with you and be not the first to reject faith therein nor sell My Signs for a small price: and fear Me and Me alone.

42>        And cover not Truth with falsehood nor conceal the Truth when ye know (what it is).

43>        And be steadfast in prayer; practice regular charity; and bow down your heads with those who bow down (in worship).

44        Do ye enjoin right conduct on the people and forget (to practice it) yourselves and yet ye study the Scripture? Will ye not understand?

       *** Verses 44-58 are renderings of

Acts 7:36-53 " He brought them out, after that He had showed wonders and signs in the land of Egypt, and in the Red Sea, and in the wilderness forty years…. ***

2:45        Nay seek (Allah's) help with patient perseverance and prayer: it is indeed hard except to those who bring a lowly spirit.

46>        Who bear in mind the certainty that they are to meet their Lord and that they are to  return to Him.

47>        O Children of Israel! call to mind the (special) favor which I bestowed upon You and that I preferred you to all others.

       *** Even the Quran can sometimes err by telling the facts for a change. It was God who after all, CHOSE the People Israel to be a priestly people. Contrary to all the abysmal anti semitic diatribes, it is not the Israelites who claimed such a privilege. It was bestowed upon them by the Almighty .

       With utter contempt to reality and veracity, the followers of Muhammad very deliberately and conveniently IGNORE the fact that Muhammad used EXACTLY the same language in his Quran in describing himself and his followers as the BEST of HUMANITY ***

48>        Then guard yourselves against a day when one soul shall not avail another nor shall intercession be accepted for her nor shall compensation be taken from her nor shall anyone be helped (from outside).

49>        And remember We delivered you from the people of Pharaoh: they set you hard tasks and punishments slaughtered your sons and let your womenfolk live; therein was a tremendous trial from your Lord.        
               
       #64 The bondage of Egypt was indeed a tremendous trial. Even the Egyptians' wish to spare the lives of Israel's females when the males were slaughtered, added to the bitterness of Israel.  Their hatred was cruel, but their "love" was still more cruel. About the hard tasks, see Exod. i. 14: "They made their lives bitter with hard bondage, in mortar and in brick, and in all manner of service in the field; all their service, wherein they made them serve, was with rigour." Pharaoh's taskmasters gave no straw, yet ordered the Israelites to make bricks without straw: Exod. v 5-19.  Pharoah's decree was: "Every son that is born ye shall cast into the river, and every daughter ye shall save alive": Exod. i. 22. It was in consequence of this decree that Moses was hidden three months after he was born, and when he could be hidden no longer, he was put into an ark of bulrushes and cast into the Nile, where he was found by Pharoah's daughter and wife (xxviii. 9), and adopted into the family: Exod. ii. 2-10. Cf. xx. 37-40. Thus Moses was brought up by the enemies of his people. He was chosen by God to deliver his people, and God's wisdom made the learning and experience and even cruelties of the Egyptian enemies themselves to contribute to the salvation of his people#
                                       
       *** I must impress upon the reader that without the Biblical narrative upon which the interpreter of the Quran bases his arguments and explanations, no one, on planet Earth, reading the Quran otherwise, could possibly understand it. In spite of this reality, the same interpreter repeatedly insults the Bible as having been deliberately corrupted by the People of the Book.

       This accusation is of course without a shred of theological or intellectual foundations since the accusers can never show the alleged uncorrupted 'original Bible' upon which they base their mendacious accusations ***

50>        And remember We divided the sea for you and saved you and drowned Pharaoh's people within your very sight.

51>        And remember We appointed forty nights for Moses and in his absence you took the calf (for worship) and ye did grievous wrong.

52>        Even then We did forgive you; there was a chance for you to be grateful.

53>        And remember We gave Moses the Scripture and the criterion (between right and wrong) there was a chance for you to be guided aright.

       #68 God's revelation, the expression of God's Will, is the true standard of right and wrong.  It may be in a Book or in God's dealings in history.  All these may be called His Signs or Miracles.  In this passage some commentators take the Scripture and the Criterion (Furqan) to be identical. Others take them to be two distinct things:  Scripture being the written Book and the Criterion being other Signs. I agree with the latter view.  The word Furqan also occurs in xxi. 48 in connection with Moses and Aaron and in the first verse of Sura xxv, as well as in its title, in connection with Muhammad.  As Aaron received no Book, Furqan must mean the other Signs. Mustafa had both the Book and the other Signs: perhaps here too we take the other Signs as supplementing the Book#

       *** The interpreter does not even know what the translation of the word (Furqan=Criterion) means. Contrary to his own interpretation, Moses was given two things on Mt Sinai:

       The Tablets (Written) as well as the Oral Torah.

       Since the latter explains and details the Ten Commandments, then they must be the (Criterion) that the Quran mentions***

54>        And remember Moses said to his people: "O my people! Ye have indeed wronged yourselves by your worship of the calf so turn (in repentance) to your Maker and slay yourselves (the wrong-doers); that will be better for you in the sight of your Maker."  Then He turned toward you (in forgiveness); for He is Oft-returning Most Merciful.

       # 69 Moses's speech may be construed literally, as translated, in which case it reproduces Exod. xxxii 27-28 but in a much softened form, for the Old Testament says:  "Go in and out from gate to gate throughout the camp, and slay every man his brother and every man his companion, and every man his neighbor... and there fell of the people that day 3,000 men."  A more spiritualized version would be that the order for slaying was given by way of trial, but was withdrawn, for God turned to them in forgiveness. A still more spiritualized way of construing it would be to take "anfusakum" as meaning "souls" not "selves". Then the sense of Moses's speech (abbreviated) would be: "By the worship of the calf you have wronged your own souls; repent: mortify (=slay) your souls now: it will be better in the sight of God."#

       *** The Quran paraphrases the events of the Torah to suit the Arabian mentality and character. The same interpreter - who will repeatedly condemn the Jews and Christians for having 'corrupted' their Books - does not hesitate to play foot loose with the actual words of the Bible whenever he sees them fit to suit his agenda***

55>        And remember ye said: "O Moses! we shall never believe in thee until we see Allah   manifestly" but ye were dazed with thunder and lightning even as ye looked on.

               # 70 We have hitherto had instances from the Jewish traditional Taurat (or Pentateuch). Now we have some instances from Jewish traditions in the Talmud, or body of exposition in the Jewish theological schools.  They are based on the Jewish scriptures, but add many marvellous details and homilies. As to seeing God, we have in Exod. xxxiii 20: "And He said, Thou canst not see My face: for there shall no man see Me and live."  The punishment for insisting on seeing God was therefore death; but those who rejected faith were forgiven, and yet they were ungrateful.#

       *** According to this verse of the Quran, the Israelites knew that Allah was their god even before the arrival of Muhammad.

       Since according to the Quran, Allah was already the god of Abraham, Ishmael, Isaac, Jacob, Moses and the Israelites, what new and revealing thing was he, Muhammad offering them, that they did not already have, and more***

56        Then We raised you up after your death; ye had the chance to be grateful.
                       
       *** This verse - among hundreds of other ambiguous ones - has absolutely no meaning or relevance in the context of the story since there was no resurrection mentioned in the whole of the Torah. This is why also there is no comment made by the interpreter.

       This story on the otherhand, can be found in the Talmud. Since Muhammad and his Quran asserted that the resurrection will occur after the Day of Judgement, then how did it occur before?

       This is, yet one more Quranic contradiction among hundreds of others to follow ***

57>        And We gave You the shade of clouds and sent down to you manna and quails saying: "Eat of the good things We have provided for you"; (but they rebelled); to Us they did no harm but they harmed their own souls.

       # 71 Manna=Hebrew, Manhu: Arabic Mahuwa? - What is it?  In Exod. xvi. 14 it is described as "a small round thing as small as the hoar frost on the ground."  It usually rotted if left over till next day; it melted in the hot sun; the amount necessary for each man was about an Omer, a Hebrew measure of capacity equal to about 2 quarts. This is the Hebrew account, probably distorted by traditional exaggeration.The actual Manna found to this day in the Sinai region is a gummy saccharine secretion found on a species of Tamarisk. It is produced by the puncture of a species of insect like the cochineal, just as lac is produced by the puncture of the lac insect on certain trees in India. As to quails, large flights of them are driven by winds in the Eastern Mediterranean in certain seasons of the year, as was witnessed during the Great War of 1914-1918 by many Indian officers who campaigned between Egypt and Palestine#

       *** The Quran admits that the Torah is Allah's revelation to the Israelites and the Torah explains very clearly that Manna descended from heaven and did not grow on trees.

       The method of collecting it as described in the Torah does not fit in with the interpreter's false and totally absurd assertions that contradict the words of God.

Exodus 16: 15 " And when the people of Israel saw it, they said one to another, It is manna; for they knew not what it was. And Moses said to them, This is the bread which the Lord has given you to eat ***

58>        And remember We said: "Enter this town and eat of the plenty therein as ye wish; 1`but enter the gate with humility in posture and in words and We shall forgive you your faults and increase (the portion of) those who do good."

59>        But the transgressors changed the word from that which had been given them; so We sent on the transgressors a plague from heaven for that they infringed (our command) repeatedly.

60>        And remember Moses prayed for water for his people; We said: "Strike the rock with thy staff." Then gushed forth there from twelve springs. Each group knew its own place for water.  So eat and drink of the sustenance provided by Allah and do no evil nor mischief on the (face of the) earth

       # 73  Here we have a reference to the tribal organization of the Jews, which played a great part in their forty years' march through the Arabian deserts (Num. i. and ii.) and their subsequent settlement in the land of Canaan (Josh. xxii. and xiv.).  The twelve tribes were derived from the sons of Jacob, whose name was changed to Israel (soldier of God) after he had wrestled, says Jewish tradition, with God (Genesis xxxii. 28).  Israel had twelve sons (Gen. xxxv. 22-26), including Levi and Joseph. The descendants of these twelve sons were the "Children of Israel."  Levi's family got the priesthood and the care of the Tabernacle; they were exempted from military duties for which the census was taken (Nu. i. 47-53), and therefore from the distribution of Land in Canaan (Josh. xiv. 3); they were distributed among all the Tribes, and were really a privileged caste and not numbered among the Tribes; Moses and Aaron belonged to the house of Levi.On the other hand Joseph, on account of the high position to which he rose in Egypt as the Pharoah's minister, was the progenitor of two tribes, one in the name of each of his two sons Ephraim and Manasseh. Thus there were twelve Tribes in all, as Levi was cut out and Joseph represented two tribes.  Their having fixed stations and watering places in camp and fixed territorial areas later in the Promised Land prevented confusion and mutual jealousies and is pointed to as an evidence of the Providence of God acting through His prophet Moses#

       *** The above verse confuses two independent events in the Bible and combines them into one. The Quran is full of these anomalies and misrepresentations of the actual texts of the Bible.

Exodus 15: 27. "And they came to Elim, where were twelve wells of water, and seventy palm trees; and they encamped there by the waters"  and

Exodus 17: 6 "Behold, I will stand before you there upon the rock in Horeb; and you shall strike the rock, and water shall come out of it, that the people may drink. And Moses did so in the sight of the elders of Israel"

       Very conveniently and for obvious reasons, the interpreter refrained from quoting from the Biblical text lest the 'rabbit comes out of the bag' ***

61>        And remember ye said: "O Moses! we cannot endure one kind of food (always); so beseech thy Lord for us to produce for us of what the earth groweth its pot-herbs and cucumbers its garlic lentils and onions."  He said: "will ye exchange the better for the worse?  Go ye down to any town [Ihbitou Misra] and ye shall find what ye want!" They were covered with humiliation and misery; they drew on themselves the wrath of Allah. This because they went on rejecting the signs of Allah and slaying His messengers without just cause.  This because They rebelled and went on transgressing

       # 74        The declension of the word Misr in the Arabic text here shows that it is treated as a common noun meaning any town, but this is not conclusive, and the reference may be to the Egypt of Pharoah.  The Tanwin expressing indefiniteness may mean "any Egypt", i.e., any country as fertile as Egypt.  There is here a subtle reminiscence as well as a severe reproach.  The rebellious children of Israel murmured at the sameness of the food they got in the desert. They were evidently hankering after the delicacies of the Egypt which they had left, although they should have known that the only thing certain for them in Egypt was their bondage and harsh treatment.  Moses's reproach to them was twofold: (1) Such variety of foods better than delicate food?  (2) In front is the rich Promised Land, which you are reluctant to march to; behind is Egypt, the land of bondage.  Which is better?  Would you exchange the better for the worse? 75        From here the argument becomes more general.  They got the Promished Land.  But they continued to rebel against God.  And their humiliation and misery became a national disaster. They were carried in captivity to Assyria. They were restored under the Persians, but still remained under the Persian yoke, and they were under the yoke of the Greeks, the Romans, and Araba.  They were scattered all over the earth, and have been a wandering people ever since, because they rejected faith, slew God's messengers and went on transgressing.#

       ***The interpreter is again wrong - either deliberately falsifying or stupidly misinterpreting - in asserting that the word 'Misr' in the Arabic version of the verse above, denotes 'any town' since in the Hebrew original of the Bible it is called 'Mitsraim' meaning Egypt. It means Egypt only. The verse was actually telling the Israelites that if they wanted to eat food other than Manna only, they have to go back to Egypt and return to slavery. Even today, Egypt is called MISR in Arabic.

       Further more, which messengers is the Quran alluding to?

       Who were those who are guilty of such slayings? All the Jews?

       Why should Muhammad - or any one else outside of the Jews - care for cases of Jews killing other Jews?

       How is it moral, just or reasonable to condemn the millions of the innocent majority of Jews for the actions of the guilty few, even if the allegations are true?

       No Compassionate God could ever be so unjust and merciless as to condemn the innocent with the guilty.

       Where in the above insolent and defaming accusations comes Allah's justice, compassion and forgiveness?

       Are all Muhammadans guilty for the crimes committed in their name by their rulers past and present?

       Did not the followers of Muhammad the so called MUSLIMS slaughter each other just after his death and have not stopped even unto today?

       Were not the followers of Muhammad guilty of raining destruction and death upon their allgedly holy cities of Madina and Mecca?

       If this is the 'logic' being used by both the Quran and its interpreters, then there is not a single innocent human being on the face of the earth, especially among the followers of Muhammad, nor were there any in the past, the present or will be any in the future ***

62>      Those who believe (in the Qur'an) and those who follow the Jewish (Scriptures) [Hadoo] and the Christians and the Sabians and who believe in Allah and the last day and work righteousness shall have their reward with their Lord; on        them shall be no fear nor shall they grieve.

       # 77        The point of the verse is that Islam does not teach an exclusive doctrine, and is not meant exclusively for one people.  The Jews claimed this for themselves, and the Christians in their own origin were a sect of the Jews. Even the modern organized Christian churches, though they have been, consciously or unconsciously, influenced by the Time-spirit, including the historical fact of Islam, yet cling to the idea of Vicarious Atonement, which means that all who do not believe in it or who lived previously to the death of Christ are at a disadvantage spiritually before the Throne of God.  The attitude of Islam is entirely different. Islam existed before the preaching of Muhammad on this earth: the Qur-an expressly calls Abraham a Muslim (iii. 67).  Its teaching (submission to God's will) has been and will be the teaching of Religion for all time and for all peoples#

       *** This verse is repeated in 5:69. The above interpretation of the meaning of Islam is the most accurate and correct since the term only means SUBMISSION (to the will of one God).

       The corollary of this is that all Hebrews who are descended from Abraham -Israelites or Jews- are Muslimoon. The interpreter's pretentiousness in claiming that only the Quran is universal is obviously belied by the fact that Christianity had preceded it by at least 600 years.

       It is important to note that at the very beginning of Muhammad's ministry, when he was weak and relatively humble, he included the (Trinitarian) Christians among the Monotheists.

       Also important to point out is that Muhammad considered even the (Pagan) Sabians as monotheists too, contrary to the fact that they were believers in stellar divinities; he even copied the number of prayers, five, that they conducted as well as their own times for prayer; they also fasted in Ramadan and venerated the Ka'ba
( Ibn Hazm's 'Fisal waal-Milal wa al Nihal).

       Later on he held the Christians who believe that Jesus is the son of god as idolators and 'Mushrikoon' that is believing in more than one God.

       As usual, there is a very important mistranslation in the above concerning the word Hadoo, which it is alleged to mean Jews or Jewish where in fact it means 'those who converted to the beliefs of the Jews among the Arabs'; or believers in the faith of the Jews ***

63>        And remember We took your covenant and We raised above you (the towering height) of  Mount (Sinai) (saying): "Hold firmly to what We have given you and bring (ever) to remembrance what is there in perchance ye may fear Allah.

       # 78 The Mountain of Sinai (Tur-u-Sinin) a prominent mountain in the Arabian desert, in the peninsula between the two arms of the Red Sea.  Here the Ten Commandments and the Law were given to Moses.  Hence it is now called the Mountain of Moses (Jabal Musa). The Israelites encamped at the foot of it for nearly a year.  The Covenant was taken from them under many portents (Exod. xix. 5,8,16,18), which are described in Jewish tradition in great detail. Under thunder and lightening the mountain must indeed have appeared an awe-inspiring sight above to the Camp at its foot.  And the people solemnly entered into the Covenant: all the people answered together and said, "All that the Lord hath spoken we will do."#

       *** The Sinai is not part of the Arabian desert especially since it is completely separated from the Arabian Peninsula by the Great Rift Valley (Dead Sea depression and Jordan river). Anyone with minimum knowledge of geography can see that the Sinai is more adjacent to Egypt than to Arabia. There is no historical record of any actual 'Arab' tribes living in there. The above claim is as false as hundreds of others to follow.
       
       The interpreters of the Quran do their best to make it sound as if everything that was written in the Bible had some prior connection with the Arabians whether physically, culturally or theologically. The interpreter mistranslated the actual Arabic verse by adding (Sinai) to it while it does not - in the Arabic version of the verse above - contain any reference to Sinai at all.

       Only in two verses in the Quran (23:20 &  95:2) was such an association made (Tur Sinai/ Mount Sinai) ***

64>        But ye turned back thereafter had it not been for the Grace and Mercy of Allah to you ye had surely been among the lost.

65> And well ye knew those amongst you who transgressed in the matter of the Sabbath; We said to them: "Be ye apes despised and rejected."

       # 79  The punishment for breach of the Sabbath under the Mosaic law was death. "Every one that defieth it (the Sabbath) shall surely be put to death; for whosoever doeth any work therein, that soul shall be cut off from among his people." (Exod.        xxxi. 14).  There must have been a Jewish tradition about a whole fishing community in a seaside town, which persisted in breaking the Sabbath and were turned into apes; cf. vii. 163-166. Or should we translate in both these passages. "Be as apes", instead of "Be apes"?  This is the suggestion of Maulvi Muhammad Ali on this passage, on the authority of Mujabid and Ibn Jarir Tabari. The punishment would be, not for the breach of the Sabbath in itself, but for their contumacious defiance of the Law#

       *** All the 'Muhammadan' interpreters cannot possibly find any such references to the above story in any Jewish tradition; nonetheless, they give their own unfounded interpretations to yet one more ambiguous Quranic verse to explain it away.

       Although this verse is very specific in that it concerns an alleged singular event in the history of the Jews, it is none the less used by Muhammadan scholars to assert in their hate filled propaganda that ALL Jews are descended from Apes (and Swine) dispite the fact that the verse above only mentions that Allah 'said' to those 'who broke the Sabbath rule' and not implied that they are descended from apes.

       More over, since the Arabs themselves, are allegedly descended from Ishmail and the Jews from Isaac, then the Arabs too, by implication, are descended from apes (and swine).

       It is important to point out that Muhammad  did not understand the concept, meaning and implications of the Shabbath. He was ignorant of the actual meaning of the word Shabbath/ Cessation of Creation and confused it with the word Rest meaning Tiredness.

       In his ignorance he alleged that the 'Jews' were very stupid to think that God got 'physically tired' and hence he did not accept the concept of a 'day of rest' for his followers. It was the Almighty who made the Shabbath a mandatory day of relaxation - and cessation of all work to earn a living - even upon pain of death for those who break the rule.

       This was and still is a UNIVERSAL DAY of REST for All Jews, all their Servants, all their Animals, all their Land as well as all those strangers who live amongst them.

        This was a concept that was far beyond the intellect or comprehension, mercy, compassion or morality of Muhammad or his followers, then as well as now.

        It is the ignorance of the Muhammnadans and their perversion of the facts and truth which need to be addressed and confronted at every turn and twist  ***        

66>        So We made it an example to their own time and to their posterity and a lesson to those who fear Allah.

67>        And remember Moses said to his people: "Allah commands that ye sacrifice a heifer." They said:  "Makest thou a laughing-stock of us?" He said:  "Allah save me from being an ignorant (fool)!"

       # 80 This story or parable of the heifer in ii. 67-71 should be read with the parable of the dead man brought to life in ii. 72-73.  The stories were accepted in Jewish traditions, which are themselves based on certain sacrificial directions in the Old Testament.  The heifer story of Jewish tradition is based on Num. xix. 1-10, in which Moses and Aaron ordered the Israelites to sacrifice a red heifer without spot or blemish; her body was to be burnt and the ashes were to be kept for the purification of the congregation from sin.The parable of the dead man we shall refer to later. The lesson of the heifer parable is plain. Moses announced the sacrifice  the Israelites, and they treated it as a jest. When Moses continued solemnly to ask for the sacrifice, they put him off on one pretext and another, asking a number of questions which they could have answered themeselves if they had listened to Moses's directions. Their questions were carping criticisms rather than the result of a desire for information. It was a mere thin pretence that they were genuinely seeking for guidance. When at last they were driven into a corner, they made the sacrifice, but the will was wanting, which would have made the sacrifice efficacious for purification from sin. The real reason for their prevarications was their guilty conscience, as we see in the parable of the dead man (ii. 72-73)#

       *** 67-73, these stories - as depicted - are not  found in the Bible in the manner versed in the Quran; these are yet more improvised and imaginary conclusions since the interpreter cannot understand why these verses are written the way they are.

       Without the interpreter's imaginative explanations, these verses make no sense at all. The Quran has mixed up - a recurrent problem in it - many completely different incidents in the Bible, in this case Numbers 19: 1-10 and Deuteronomy 21:1-9, and put its own twist to them.

       These twists and perversions of the Biblical record are used deliberately to make the Jews look bad, obstinate, disobedient to Moses and to Allah.

       These contortions are used by Muhammad in his Quran to create hatred of the Jews as can be read in the following:

Numbers 19:1 " Hashem [God] spoke to Moses and to Aaron, saying : 2 this is the decree of the Torah, which Hashem has commanded, saying: Speak to the Children of Israel, and they shall take to you a completely red cow, which is without blemish, upon which a yoke has not come 3 You shall give it to Elazar the Kohen……."

       Most important of all is that this verse asserts that Moses and the Israelites knew Allah, at least 2000 years before he was revealed to Muhammad and his  pagan Arabs ***

68>        They said: "Beseech on our behalf thy Lord to make plain to us what (heifer) it is! He said: "He says: The heifer should be neither too old nor too young but of middling age; now do what ye are commanded!.

69>        They said: "Beseech on our behalf thy Lord to make plain to us her color." He said: " He says a fawn-colored heifer pure and rich in tone the admiration of beholders!"

70>        They said "Beseech on our behalf thy Lord to make plain to us what she is to us are all heifers alike; we wish indeed for guidance if Allah wills."

71>        He said: "He says a heifer not trained to till the soil or water the fields; sound and without blemish."  They said: "Now hast thou brought the truth." Then they offered her in sacrifice but not with good-will.

72>        Remember [Itha = If] ye slew a man and fell into a dispute among yourselves as to the crime but Allah was to bring forth what ye did hide.

       # 81 In Deut. xxi. 1-9 it is ordained that if the body of a slain man be found in a field and the slayer is not known, a heifer shall be beheaded, and the elders of the city next to the slain man's domicile shall wash their hands over the heifer and say that they neither did the deed nor saw it done, thus clearing themselves from the blood-guilt. The Jewish story based on this was that in a certain case of this kind, every one tried to clear himself of guilt and lay the blame at the door of others. In the first place they tried to prevaricate and prevent a heifer being slain as in the last parable. When she was slain, Allah by a miracle disclosed the really guilty person. A portion of the sacrificed heifer was ordered to be placed on the corpse, which came to life and disclosed the whole story of the crime.  The lesson of this parable is that men may try to hide their crimes individually or collectively, but Allah will bring them to light in unexpected ways. Applying this further to Jewish national history, the argument is developed in the following verses that the Children of Israel played fast and loose with their own rites and traditions, but they ould not thus evade the consequences of their own sin#

       *** First of all, the translation is blatantly wrong since the word ITHA means IF and NOT Remember. As usual, the interpreter's imagination soars into mythology and creates a story that is plausible but is definitely not in the Bible that he is allegedly quoting from; certainly not in the manner that he portrays it since there was no prevarication nor was there any blame laying.

       The interpreter cannot obviously admit that the Quranic verses above are not factual with respect to the Biblical record. He blatantly dismisses the Biblical version of events that he quotes and adding insult to injury, the interpreter alleges - in pure desperation - that the Bible had been perverted.

       Since the Bible is the Word of God BEFORE the Quran ever existed, then why and how was it perverted?

       Who did this editing and where is the 'original' Bible upon which the Muhammadans base their 'authority'?'

       The MANTRA that the 'Torah and New Testament of today are the altered versions of the originals' is used up to the present time by Muhammadan theologians to explain away the massive and incredible number of meaningless verses in their Quran.

       The verses above are blatant misquotations and misrepresentation of the Biblical story as shown in -

Deut 21: 1 " If a corpse will be found on the land that Hashem, your God gives you to possess it, fallen in the field, it was not known who smote him 2 your elders and judges should go out and measure toward the cities that are around the corpse 3 It shall be that the city nearest the corpse, the elders of that city shall take a heifer, with which no work has been done, which has not pulled with a yoke 4 The elders of that city shall bring the the heifer down to a harsh valley, which cannot be worked and cannot be sown, and they shall axe the back of its neck in the valley 5 The Kohanim, the offspring of Levi, shall approach, for them has Hashem , your God, chosen to minister to Him and to bless with the name of Hashem, and according to their word shall be every grievance and every plague 6 All the elders of that city, who are closest to the corpse, shall wash their hands over the heifer that was axed in the valley 7 They shall speak up and say " Our hands have not spilled this blood, and our eyes did not see 8 Atone for Your people Israel that you have redeemed, O Hashem : Do not place innocent blood in the midst of Your people Israel!" Then the blood shall be atoned for them 9 But you shall remove the innocent blood from your midst when you do what is upright in the eyes of Hashem"

       When the full Biblical text is put in perspective as shown above, it becomes crystal clear that both the Quranic version of events and those of the interpreter's are totally false and unrelated to the records in the Bible.

       Neither the Quran nor its interpreters have VERACITY on their side; theirs is only MENDACITY and perversion of facts and truths which has sustained the existence of the Quran for 1400 years, due ONLY for the use of force and terror ***

73>        So We said: "Strike the (body) with a piece of the (heifer)."  Thus Allah bringeth the dead to life and showeth you His Signs perchance ye may understand.

       *** Verse 73 has no equivalent event in the Biblical narrative. The Quran uses its verses to tell a 'story' which when read in the manner written would make absolutely no sense without actually referring back to the original as this interpreter is forced to do in his unenviable position to explain away another wrongly plagiarized and worded set of verses in the Quran ***

74        Thenceforth were your hearts hardened; they became like a rock and even worse in hardness.  For among rocks there are some from which rivers gush forth; others there are which when split asunder send forth water; and others which sink for fear of Allah.  And Allah is not unmindful of what ye do.
                                       
       *** Rocks that gush out water are allusions to those that Moses tapped with his rod and from which water gushed out to quench the thirst of the Israelites in the desert of Sinai, as shown earlier***

75     Can ye (O ye men of Faith) entertain the hope that they will believe in you?  Seeing that a party of them heard the word of Allah and perverted it knowingly after they understood it.

76        Behold! when they meet the men of Faith they say: "We believe" but when they meet each other in private they say: "Shall you tell them what Allah hath revealed to you that they may engage you in argument about it before your Lord?"  Do ye not understand (their aim)?

       # 83        The immediate argument applies to the Jews of Medina, but the more general argument applies to the people of Faith and the people without Faith, as we shall see below. If the Muslims of Medina ever entertained the hope that the Jews in their city would as a body welcome Muhammad Mustafa as the Prophet prophesied in their own books, they were mistaken.  In Deut. xviii. 18, they read: "I will raise them up a Prophet from among their brethren, like unto thee." (i.e., like unto Moses) which was interpreted by some of their doctors as referring to Muhammad, and they came into Islam.The Arabs are a kindred branch of the Semitic family, and are correctly described in relation to the Jews as "their brethren"; and there is no question that there was not another Prophet "like unto Moses" until Muhammad came; in fact the postcript of Deuteronomy, which was written many centuries after Moses, says: "There arose not a prophet since in Israel like unto Moses, whom the Lord knew face to face." But the Jews as a body were jealous of Muhammad, and played a double part.When the Muslim community began to grow stronger they pretended to be of them, but really tried to keep back any knowledge of theirown Scriptures from them, lest they should be beaten by their own arguments. The more general interpretation holds good in all ages. Faith and Unfaith are pitted against each other. Faith has to struggle against power, position, organization, and privilege. When it gains ground, Unfaith comes forward insincerely and claims fellowship. But in its own mind it is jealous of the armoury of sience and knowledge which Faith brings into the service of Allah.  But Allah knows all, and if the people of Faith will only seek knowledge sincerely wherefver they can find it,-even as far afield as China, as Muhammad said, they can defeat Unfaith on its own ground. [Even though the directive that Muslims should derive knowledge regardless of its location is an acceptable proposition from the Islamic viewpoint, the tradition to which the author refers here is not authentic]#

       ***  First and foremost, Muhammad was NEVER predicted in the Torah as the interpreter falsely claims even based on the verse that he copied from the Torah -

Deut. 18 18 "I will raise them up a Prophet from among their brethren, like unto thee."

       That is like unto Moses who happens to be a descendant of ISAAC and not ISHMAEL- even if based on the remote assumption that the Arabs are from the latter's seed.

       On this fact alone, Muhammad could never have been the predicted prophet.

       Once more, both the Quran and its interpreter fail miserably in proving even a simple declaration of their as true.

       Moreover, Moses was followed by dozens of other Hebrew prophets long before Muhammad's birth.

       The mendacity of this interpreter can be easily revealed by the fact that, many of the most important 'Jewish' tribes in Arabia were actually Arab converts to the faith of the Jews. This can only have happened if the faith was revealed to them and not hidden.

       It was the Jews who were ultimately betrayed and slaughtered by Muhammad and it was he who was jealous of them and their revealed religion and not the other way round especially since they already had the original and directly revealed Book, there was absolutely no logical reason for them to be envious of a modified and highly abridged and falsified copy.

       Those who hold an ORIGINAL MASTERPIECE cannot possibly envy those who only have a mere DEFECTIVE REPRODUCTION ***

77>        Know they not that Allah knoweth what they conceal and what they reveal?
                                       
78        And there are among them illiterates [Ummyioun/unlearned] who know not the Book [la ya'lamoona'l kitab] but (see therein their own) desires and they do nothing but conjecture

       #84 The argument of i. 76 is continued. The Jews wanted to keep back knowledge, but what knowledge had they?  Many of them, even if they could read, were no better than illiterates, for they knew not their own true Scriptures, but read into them what they wanted, or at best their own conjectures.  They palmed off their own writings for the Message of God.  Perhaps it brought them profit for the time being; but it was a miserable profit if they "gained the whole world and lost their own souls" (Matt. xvi. 26). "Writing with their own hands" means inventing books themselves, which had no divine authority. The general argument is similar. Unfaith erects its own false gods. It attributes things to causes which only exist in its own imagination. Sometimes it even indulges in actual dishonest traffic in the ignorance of the multitude. It may pay for a time, but the bubble always bursts#        
                       
       *** Although the verse deliberately uses the word 'illiterates' to translate the Arabic 'Ummiyoun' above, nonetheless, in his own interpretation of the verse, he explains that this Arabic word does not actually mean illiterate (one who cannot read and write), but is invariably used in contradistinction to the People of the Book (who possess a Book of Revelation, a Scripture) thus meaning UNLEARNED.

       Ummi is always associated with those who have no Scriptures, people who are ignorant of the One and Only God and His Revelations. This verse makes it very clear that even those who are from the People of the Book but do not follow the rules, or those who allegedly 'perverted/changed' the contents of the Book are also called Ummioun, thus meaning IGNORANT but definitely not ILLITERATE.

       The best translation of the word Ummi would be the Hebrew word GOY (nations other than the People Israel). The same Book and its People that this interpreter has the audacity to condemn, he himself uses in chapter and verse, to explain the otherwise totally unintelligible verses of Muhammad's Quran.

        Continuing his deliberate falsification of the historical record, the interpreter is loath to make it clear that if the Jews really wanted to keep back knowledge from all other peoples, then how was it possible that there were tens of Arab tribes who had already converted to the religion of the Jews, centuries before Muhammad?

       How was it also possible to have a Jewish kingdom -the Himyarites- in the heart of the Arabian Peninsula in the area of Yaman?

       The Arab historical record itself shows up the mendacity of the interpreter and translator of the Quran***

79        Then woe to those who write the Book with their own hands and then say: "This is from Allah" to traffic with it for a miserable price! Woe to them for what their hands do write and for the gain they make thereby.
       
       *** This is a very interesting and apt remark written by a people who have themselves done exactly what they are accusing others of having done.

       This is in general what every criminal does to justify his/her criminality:

accuse the victim of being the one lacking in justice and/or morality; in psychological terms, this is called Projective Identification used for Psychopaths and Narcissists***

80        And they say: "The fire shall not touch us but for a few numbered days"; Say: "Have ye taken a promise from Allah for He never breaks His promise?  Or is it that ye say of Allah what ye do not know?"

81>        Nay those who seek gain in Evil and are girt round by their sins they are Companions of the Fire therein shall they abide (for ever).

82>        But those who have faith and work righteousness they are Companions of the Garden therein shall they abide (for ever).        
                                               
       *** The Quran, without its foundation in the Bible and Hebrew Scritures, is like a fish out of water.

       Pagan Arabia had no knowledge, concept or understanding of the 'Garden' (of Eden). Without the Biblical background upon which it bases its credentials, the Quran is bereft of any meaningful content, yet, it has the audacity to attack the People of the Book relentlessly, shamelessly, with venom and calumny in a manner that can only be attributed to its total lack of originality and its continuous attempt to distance itself from the very sources upon which it claims its credentials ***

83>        And remember We took a covenant from the children of Israel (to this effect): worship none but Allah; treat with kindness your parents and kindred and orphans and those in need; speak fair to the people; be steadfast in prayer; and practice regular charity. Then did ye turn back except a few among you and ye backslide (even now).                

       #87        So far from the Covenant being of the kind you suggest in ii. 80, the real Covenant is about the moral law, which is set out in ii. 83.  This moral law is universal and if you break it, no privileges will lighten your punishment or help you in any way (ii. 86).  "Speak fair to the people" not only means outward courtesy from the leaders to the meanest among the people, but the protection of the people from being exploited, deceived, defrauded, or doped with things to lull their intelligence#

       *** Anyone who has read the Bible would know that any and all the truly moral and judicial precepts that are in the Quran - all be it modified - are totally plagiarized from the Bible and Hebrew Scriptures.

       There is absolutely nothing revolutionary or extraordinary in the Quran that in any way shape or form supercedes those of the Bible.

       The only concepts in the Quran that exceed anything in the Bible are its WARMONGERING, HATEMONGERING & INCITING verses that fill its pages.

       When the Quran addresses the People of the Book, it is wasting its breath since it is only preaching to the already converted; they were and are already Muslimoon.

       They are after all, the ones who upheld their belief in the One and Only God of Israel for 2100 years during which centuries, the followers of Muhammad were praying in the PAGAN Ka'ba surrounded by 360 idols, one of which was called Allah***

84>        And remember We took your Covenant (to this effect): shed no blood amongst you nor turn out your own people from your homes; and this ye solemnly ratified and to this ye can bear witness.

       # 88  Verse 83 referred to the universal moral law. This verse 84 refers to its application under a special Covenant entered into with the Jews of Medina by the new-born Muslim Commonwealth under its Guide and teacher Muhammad.  This Covenant is given in Ibn Hisham's Sirat-ur-Rasul, and comments on it will be found in Ameer Ali's Spirit of Islam (London 1922), pp. 57-61.  It was entered into in the second year of the Hijra, and was treacherously broken by the Jews almost immediately afterwards#

       *** As usual, the interpreter of the Quran puts his own spin to the meaning of the verse above for the sole purpose of insulting and denigrating the Jews. Since Muhammad and his followers were a very small minority - who were seeking refuge and protection - in the Jewish dominated Madina, it beggars belief that the majority needed to go into a pact with such a small group.

       It is a fact that actions speak louder than words - and since the Quranic verses and the history of Muhammadan Islam were written by the victors - the subsequent history of Muhammad and his followers shows that it was they who invariably and unilaterally broke every treaty and promise that they ever made with their adversaries, whether they were Jews, Christians, Pagans or other Arabs. ***

85>        After this it is ye the same people who slay among yourselves and banish a party of you from their homes; assist (their enemies) against them in guilt and rancor; and if they come to you as captives ye ransom them though it was not lawful for you to banish them. Then is it only a part of the Book that ye believe in and do ye reject the rest?  But what is the reward for those among you who behave like this but disgrace in this life?  and on the Day of Judgment they shall be consigned to the most grievous penalty. For Allah is not unmindful of what ye do.
                       
       # 89        I understand "ransom them" here to mean "take ransom for them" though most of the Commentators take it to mean "give ransom for them". Mustafa had made a Pact which, if it had been faithfully observed by all parties, would have brought a reign of law and order for Medina. But some of the treacherous Jews never intended to observe its terms.  They fought and slew each other and not only banished those who were obnoxious to them but intrigued with their enemies. If by chance they came back into their hands as captives, they demanded ransom for them to return to their homes although they had no right to banish them at all.  If we understand by "ransom them" pay "ransom for them to release them from the hands of their enemies," it would mean that they did this pious act for show, although they were themselves the authors of their unlawful banishment.  I think the former makes better sense#

       *** For centuries before Muhammad, the Jews and other Arab tribes coexisted with each other as well as with the usual inter tribal problems without having had the need for a third party to act as a law enforcer.

       Hundreds of years of Jewish presence in Madina (its Hebrew name) were obliterated within SIX years by the new warlord Muhammad and his followers whom they falsely accused of breaking their covenant with him; the same Muhammad who - according to their own historical record - broke all the holy rules of Arabia whether pagan or not.

       The historical record as written in the Ahadith proves beyond a shadow of a doubt, that Pre 'Islamic' Arabs were infinitely more decent and 'law abiding' than Muhammad and his followers ever were ***

86>        These are the people who buy the life of this world at the price of the Hereafter; their penalty shall not be lightened nor shall they be helped.        
       
       *** Muhammad was obsessed with the Afterlife. He exhorts his followers to live a simple frugal and joyless life, full of prayers and of continuous aggression against all 'UNBELIEVING' humanity to disseminate the 'faith of Islam' with enormous and eternal rewards obtained after death***

87>        We gave Moses the Book and followed him up with a succession of Apostles; We gave Jesus the son of Mary clear (Signs) and strengthened him with  holy spirit.  Is it that whenever there comes to you an Apostle with what ye yourselves desire not ye are puffed up with pride?  Some ye called impostors and others ye slay!

       #89. I understand "ransom them" here to mean "take ransom for them" though most of the Commentators take it to mean "give ransom for them". Mustafa had made a Pact which, if it had been faithfully observed by all parties, would have brought a reign of law and order for Medina.  But some of the treacherous Jews never intended to observe its terms.  They fought and slew each other and not only banished those who were obnoxious to them but intrigued with their enemies. If by chance they came back into their hands as captives, they demanded ransom for them to return to their homes although they had no right to banish them at all. If we understand by "ransom them" pay "ransom for them to release them from the hands of their enemies," it would mean that they did this pious act for show, although they were themselves the authors of their unlawful banishment.  I think the former makes better sense.91 Notice the sudden transition from the past tense in  "some ye called imposters" to the present tense in "others ye slay."  There is a double significance. First, reviewing the long course of Jewish history, we have come to the time of Jesus; they have often given the lie to God's Apostles, and even now they are trying to slay Jesus.  Secondly, extending the review of that history to the time of Muhammad, they are even now trying to take the life of that holy Apostle.  This would be literally true at the time the words were promulgated to the people.And this transition leads on naturally to the next verse, which refers to the actual conditions before Muhammad in Medina in the second year of the Hijra. Sections 11/13 (ii. 87-121) refer to the People of the Book generally, Jews and Christians. Even where Moses and the Law of Sinai are referred to, those traditions are common to both Jews and Christians. The argument is about the people who ought to have learnt from previous Revelations and welcomed Muhammad's teaching, and yet they both took up an attitude of arrogant rejection#

       *** Neither the Jews nor the Christians who had existed for centuries in Arabia before Muhammad, needed to convert to his cult. Both the Jewish and Christian tribes in Arabia, were converted indigenous Arab tribes and hence were aboriginal  Arabians like Muhammad and his followers.

        They already had their Scriptures upon which the new 'faith' was basing its own credentials.

       Why would anyone change one's ORIGINAL FAITH to a new one, which is only a derivative and a minor reflection of their own? Their attitude is not unlike that of a modern 'muslim' whose arrogance in his belief is not different from others.

        Moreover, the Jews and Judaized Arabs of Madina had existed for centuries in relative harmony with their pagan Arab neighbours and had not needed anyone to impose any 'Law and Order' upon them.

       The historical facts are that they lost their lives, their land and their wealth at the hands of Muhammad and his followers whom they had taken in for protection to start with.

       The Quran also repeatedly accuses ALL the Jews for the killing of some of the Hebrew prophets lumping both the innocent vast majority with the infinitesimal guilty minority.

       Why should the Quran - or any one else for that matter - care for what some Jews were doing to other Jews? What business is it of theirs?

       Muhammadan theologians continue these accusations conveniently forgetting that their own important leaders were also murdered by their followers such as Umar ibn al Khattab, Ali bin abi Talib and his grandsons Hassan and Hussein just to name a few.

       Are All Arabs and Muhammadans hence guilty of these crimes?

       For all time? Just as the maligned Jews and Christians are in the 'eyes' of the Quran? ***

88        They say "Our hearts are the wrappings (which preserve Allah's word we need no more)."  Nay Allah's curse is on them for their blasphemy; little is it they believe.

2:89>  And when there comes to them a Book from Allah confirming what is with them although from of old they had prayed for victory against those without faith when there comes to them that which they (should) have recognized they refused to believe in it; but the curse of Allah is on those without Faith.

       #The Jews, who pretended to be so superior to the people without Faith - the Gentiles - should have been the first to recognize the new Truth - or the Truth renewed - which it was Muhammad's mission to bring because it was so similar in form and language to what they had already received.  But they had more arrogance than faith.  It is this want of faith that brings on the curse, i.e., deprives us (if we adopt such an attitude) of the blessings of God. Again the lesson applies to a much wider circle than the Jews. We are all apt, in our perverseness, to reject an appeal form our brother even more summarily than one from an outsider. If we have a glimmering of the truth, we are apt to make ourselves impervious to further truth, and thus lose the benefit of Allah's Grace#

         *** Allah did not send a Book to Muhammad since this would have entailed a written document. In fact the Quran was put pen to paper, collated and collected only AFTER Muhammad was dead.
       
       The Quran after all asserts, that Muhammad was given an oral transmission by the angel Gabriel - this angel is a product of Jewish thought and tradition - and not directly by Allah.

       According to the Bible - and as accepted in the Quran - Moses on the other hand, was given both a written and an oral tradition in a 'face to face direct communication' with God.

        In any case, the Quran is not a confirmation of either the Torah or the New Testament since it is itself only a small derivation from both.

       It is interesting how the interpreter is maligning the Jews by using the term 'superior to the Gentiles'. The Quran repeatedly and mercilessly denigrates its 'gentiles' - all the non 'Muslims' of the world - without any pretence or qualms; they are invariably called infidels or Kaffirs in hundreds of Quranic verses.

       Moreover, since the Quran itself confirms that the Jews are Muslimoon - believers in the One and Only God and had had this revelation since the days of Abraham as in 2:62 above - then there was absolutely no logical reason for them to forgoe their Book and take up an extremely blemished imitation ***

90        Miserable is the price for which they have sold their souls in that they deny (the revelation) which Allah has sent down in insolent envy that Allah of His Grace should send it to any of His servants He pleases; thus have they drawn on themselves wrath upon wrath. And humiliating is the punishment of those who reject Faith.

       #Racial arrogance made the Jews averse to the reception of Truth when it came through a servant of God, not of their own race. Again the lesson is wider. Is that averseness unknown in our own times, and among other races?  Yet how can a race or a people set bounds to God's choice?  God is the Creater and Cherisher of all races and all worlds#

       *** It was not racial arrogance which prevented the Jews from accepting the 'new revelations' since the interpreter forgot his own assertion that the Arabs are cousins of the Jews and hence of the same Semitic race.

       Their refusal to accept Muhammad's theology was based on the simple fact that the Quran was not offering them even a single new and important precept that would warrant them to abandon their own comprehensive and ancient religion. The Quran was only a reflection and or a small offshoot from the mighty trunk of the Torah.

       No one in their right mind, anywhere in the world, would exchange an ORIGINAL for a COPY whether in religion, art, money or anything else.

       The Jews were NOT against Muhammad teaching his pagan brother Arabs about monotheism. They were justified in resisting his attempts at forcefully converting them to his version perverted of Islam.

       Muhammad after all, faced exactly the same opposition from his own Quraysh tribe as well as the Christians for exactly the same obvious reasons***

91        > When it is said to them: "believe in what Allah hath sent down" they say "We believe in what was sent down to us"; yet they reject all besides even if it be truth confirming what is with them.  Say: "Why then have ye slain the prophets of Allah in times gone by if ye did indeed believe?"

       #Even the race argument is often flimsy and hollow pretext. Did not the Jews reject Prophets of their own race who told them unpleasant truths?  And do not other nations do likewise?  The real trouble is selfishness, narrowness, a mean dislike of anything which runs counter to habits, customs or inclinations#        

       *** Contrary to the perverted insinuations of this interpreter, the Jews did accept converts; they were not mean, narrow minded nor selfish. This is attested to by the historical fact that many of the 'Jewish' tribes in Arabia were native Arabs who had peaceably converted to the faith of the Jews and not immigrants; that there was the Jewish Hymiarite Kingdom in the Yaman; that tens of thousands of Greeks and Romans also, had WILLINGLY and without COERSION accepted the religion of the Jews.

       Again and again, the Quran uses the hateful mantra that ALL the Jews are guilty for the death of some of THEIR own prophets not knowing that its own followers, would do the same and worse in the future.

       It is an irony that the reason given by Muhammadan theologians as to why the Quran refuses to accept the death of Jesus is because they believe it inconceivable that Allah would send a prophet to his death. Yet, the verse above asserts just such events being recorded throughout the history of the Israelites. Prophets who stood against established authority and sometimes paid the ultimate price for such a challenge.

       The greatest tragedy of all, is the FACT that, Muhammadan Islam was ONLY able to propagate its belief system by the use of TERROR, War, FEAR, SUBJUGATION and TAXATION. Not methods that lend themselves to PRIDE, PEACE, MERCY or COMPASSION ***

92>        There came to you Moses with clear (Signs); yet ye worshipped the Calf (even) after that and ye did behave wrongfully.        
                                       
       *** The Israelites failed in their religious belief in an instant of weakness before the Torah was given to them but kept the faith from then on till today.

       On the other hand, Muhammad and the pagans Arabs had  been failing to follow the God of Abraham and Ishmael for previous 2500 years until Muhammad gave them the Quran based upon the Bible and are still failing God since they turned into a fraternity of intolerant and violent hatemongerers.

       The Quran conveniently glosses over the FACT that Muhammad also, in a moment of weakness, succumbed to IDOLATRY by allowing his followers to believe in the daughters of Allah as intercessors in the case of the SATANIC VERSES. Using the same 'logic' of the Quran, Muhammad too should be condemned eternally ***

93>        And remember We took your Covenant and We raised above you (the towering height) of Mount (Sinai) (saying): "Hold firmly to what We have given you and hearken (to the Law)"; they said: "We hear and we disobey"; and they had to drink into their hearts (of the taint) of the calf because of their faithlessness.  Say: "Vile indeed are the behests of your faith if ye have any faith!"
               
       #  After they are reminded of the solemn Covenant under the towering height of Mount Sinai they are told how they broke the Covenant in after ages.  Here, after they are reminded of the same solemn Covenant, they are told that even then they never meant to observe it.  Their thought is expressed in biting words of sarcasm.  They said in words: "All that the Lord hath spoken we will do"  But they said in their hearts: "We shall disobey"99 After the Commandments and the Law had been given at Mount Sinai, and the people had solemnly given their Covenant,  Moses went up to the Mount, and in his absence, the people made the golden calf. When Moses returned, his anger waxed hot.  "He took the Calf which they had made, and burnt it in the fire, and ground it to powder, and strewed it upon the water, and made the children of Israel drink of it."  (Exod. xxxii. 20).  This incident is interpreted in the Qur-an allegorically.  The Calf is the symbol of disobedience, rebellion, want of faith.  It was like a taint of poison.  Their punishment was to swallow the taint of poison which they had themselves produced.  They swallowed it not into their stomachs, but into their hearts, their very being.  They had to mortify and humble themselves in the sight of God, as was shown in another allegory based on the Jewish narrative (see ii. 54 and note, above)#

       *** Although the Quranic verses above (92/3) were only repeating what the Bible mentions, yet the hate and spite of the interpreter of the Quran repeatedly attacks the Jews for their alleged infractions of Allah's commands. He very conveniently forgets that they, the Arabs, who are presumably of the seed of both Abraham and Ishmael, forgot all about Allah, the god of their forefathers and turned to paganism which lasted for almost 2500 years.

       While they wallowed in ignorance, it was the vilified Jews who carried the torch of the 'One and Only God' for all these centuries, so that one day, an Arab called Muhammad would see the 'light' of revelation and awaken his pagan brethren to One and Only Allah once again***

94        Say: "If the last Home with Allah be for you specially and not for anyone else then seek ye for death if ye are sincere."

95        But they will never seek for death on account of the (sins) which their hands have sent on before them.  And Allah is well acquainted with the wrong-doers.

       #The phrase "What their hands have sent on before them" frequently occurs in the        Qur-an. Here, and in many places, it refers to sins.  In such passages as lxxviii. 40, or lxxxi. 14, it is implied that both good and bad deeds go before us to the judgement seat of God before we do ourselves. In ii. 110, it is the good that goes before us.  Our deeds are personified.  They are witnesses for or against us, and they always go before us.  Their good or bad influence begins to operate before we even know it.  This is more general than the New Testament idea in the First Epistle of St. Paul to Timothy, v. 24: "Some men's sins are open beforehand, going before to judgment; and some men they follow after."#        
                               
       *** The interpreter now uses the New Tetament to explain the verse above without hesitation in spite of his allegations that the New Testament that we have today, had also been 'edited and perverted' by the Christians and is not a valid holy Book anymore***

96        Thou wilt indeed find them of all people most greedy of life even more than the idolaters; each one of them wishes he could be given a life of a thousand years; but the grant of such life will not save him from (due) punishment for Allah sees well all that they do.

97>        Say: Whoever is an enemy to Gabriel for he brings down the (revelation) to thy heart by Allah's will a confirmation of what went before and guidance and glad tidings for those who believe.

       #101        A party of the Jews in the time of Muhammad ridiculed the Muslim belief that Gabriel brought down revelations to Muhammad Mustafa.  Michael was called in their books "the great prince which standeth for the children of thy people": (Daniel xiii. 1).  The vision of Gabriel inspired fear (Daniel, viii. 16-17). But this pretence -        that Michael was their friend and Gabriel their enemy - was merely a manifestation of their unbelief in angels, apostles, and God Himself; and such unbelief could notwin the love of God.  In any case it was disingenuous to say that they believed in one angel and not in another. Muhammad's inspiration was through visions of Gabriel. Muhammad had been helped to the highest spiritual light, and the message which he delivered and his spotless integrity and exemplary life were manifest Signs which every one could understand except those who were obstinate and perverse. Besides, the verses of the Qur-an were in themselves reasonable and clear#

       *** The interpreter has either not done his research well on this point or is doing his best to mislead his readers. The fact is that the Talmud, Midrash and other Rabbinical writings are full of references to angels and Angelology.

       The pagan Arabs, before the Quran, had no knowledge or concept of angels. The Quran and its interpreters who assiduously refer to Biblical and Rabbinical writings cannot and must not be allowed at the same time to claim any independent or prior knowledge of their contents.

       The unlearned and mainly illiterate pagan Arabs did not know of Gabriel or of any of the other angels. Of more than one billion 'Muslims' in the world there may only be a few dozens who may actually know the context in which his name was mentioned and what it actually means in the Hebrew original. The Quran that was allegedly given to Muhammad by Gabriel is definitely not the one that we have in hand.

       The current Quran has been assiduously altered, edited, perverted and corrupted from the original to suit the theological and sectarian needs of the Arab 'Muslim' theologians and politicians over a period of almost 300 years after the death of Muhammad.

       Neither Allah, nor Gabriel could have changed the contents of the Bible in its letter or spirit and broke all their original promises to the Israelites and their descendants or to the Christians and their descendants so as to allow the Pagan Muhammad to create a scripture for his people***

98>        Whoever is an enemy to Allah and His angels and apostles to Gabriel and Michael Lo! Allah is an enemy to those who reject faith.

       *** The interpreter of the Quran did not find it fit to explain the above verse in detail for the simple reason that he would have had to tell the reader who the angel Michael is. The one that the Quran is referring to comes from

Daniel 10:13 "But the prince of the kingdom of Persia withstood me twenty one days; but, behold, Michael, one of the chief princes, came to help me; and I remained there with the kings of Persia".

       In the tradition of the Jews he became a symbol of the angel who protects them. The pagan Arabs, including Muhammad, had no knowledge of him.***

99        We have sent down to thee manifest signs (ayat); and none reject them but those who are perverse.        

       *** Ayat are not just Signs but Miracles and Wonders that are described in the Bible and to which the Quran repeatedly refers ***

100>     Is it not (the case) that every time they make a Covenant some party among them  throw it aside? - Nay most of them are faithless.

       *** The Quran repeatedly, mercilessly and without a shred of evidence, attacks the People of the Book by claiming that they have been and are faithless to their revealed books. These unrelenting attacks are used to give itself a higher moral stature which it definitely is not entitled to.

       So what if they had lapsed on several occasions into idolatory ?

       The fact that Muhammad's Quran is based on the Bible and Hebrew Scriptures is a perfect witness that the Jews never abandoned their faith in the One and Only God of Israel.

       In every religion there will always be people who are hypocrites. After all, Muhammad also lapsed into temporary IDOLATRY when he recited the SATANIC VERSES. Using the same 'logic' of the Quran, he too should be judged very harshly AND never FORGIVEN.

       The 'Muslim' world of yesterday and today has hundreds of millions of them as they are not immune to human weaknesses and attitudes.

       The reader must understand that while the Quran was being 'revealed', Muhammad would not have believed that immediately after his death, his followers would break almost every single rule, precept and instruction that he gave them***

101>   And when came to them an Apostle from Allah confirming what was with them a party of the people of the Book threw away the Book of Allah behind their backs as if (it had been something) they did not know!

       #102         I think that by "the Book of God" here is meant, not the Qur-an, but the Book which the People of the Book had been given, viz., the previous Revelations. The argument is that Muhammad's Message was similar to Revelations which they had already received, and if they had looked into their own Books honestly and sincerely, they would have found proofs in them to show that the new Message was true and from God.  But they ignored their own Books or twisted or distorted them according to their own fancies. Worse, they followed something which was actually false and mischeivous and inspired by the evil one. Such was the belief in magic and sorcery.  These are described in the next verse in terms referring to the beliefs and practices of the "People of the Book."#
       
       *** The above comments by the interpreter of the Quran confirm without a shadow of a doubt that his agenda - as well as those of all Quranic interpreters - is to misrepresent the facts, deliberately mislead the readers and keep repeating all their falsehoods until the readers start to believe that these lies are actually the 'truth'.

       The Jews and Christians would have had no quarrel with the new 'Islamic' entity had its ATTENTION been directed towards the pagan Arabs ONLY.

       When Muhammad DEMANDED that the Jews and Christians should convert to his perverted version of 'Islam', the whole picture got more offensive and dangerous.

       It was Muhammad who broke the 'rules of engagement' by attacking the People of the Book. They had no choice but to defend themselves against his unwarranted aggression.

       They already had their Revealed Books for centuries and did not need to be 'enlightened' any further by the Quran, the contents of which are only a very small and altered part of their Bible***

102>        They followed what the evil ones gave out (falsely) against the power of Solomon; the blasphemers were not Solomon but the evil ones teaching men magic and such things as came down at Babylon to the angels Harut and Marut.  But neither of these taught anyone (such things) without saying: "We are only for trial so do not blaspheme." They learned from them the means to sow discord between man and wife. But they could not thus harm anyone except by Allah's permission.  And they learned what harmed them not what profited them.  And they knew that the buyers of (magic) would have no share in the happiness of the Hereafter.  And vile was the price for which they did sell their souls if they but knew!

       #  This is a continuation of the argument in ii. 101.  The People of the Book, instead of sticking to the plain Books of Revelations, and seeking to do the will of God ran after all sorts of occult knowledge, most of which was false and evil.  Many wonderful tales of occult power attributed the power of Solomon to magic.  But Solomon dealt in not arts of evil.  It was the powers of evil that pretended to force the laws of nature and the will of God; such a pretense is plainly blasphemy 104 This verse has been interpreted variously. Whe were Harut and Marut?  What did they teach?  Why did they teach it?  The view which commends itself to me is that of the Tafsir Haqqani following Baidhawi and the Tafsir Kabir.  The word "angels" as applied to Harut and Marut is figurative.  It means "good men, of knowledge, science (or wisdom) and power." In modern language the word "angel" is applied to a good and beautiful woman.  The earlier tradition made angels masculine, and applied to them the attributes which I have mentioned, along with the attribute of beauty, which was implied in goodness, knowledge, wisdom, and power. 105 What the evil ones learnt from Harut and Marut (see last note) they turned to evil.  When mixed with fraud and deception, it appeared as charms and spells of love potions.  They did nothing but cause discord between the sexes.  But of course their power was limited to the extent to which God permitted the evil to work, for His grace protected all who sought His guidance and repented and returned to Him.  But apart from the harm that these false pretenders might do to others, the chief harm which they did was to their own souls.  They sold themselves into slavery to the Evil One, as is shown in the allegory of Goethe's Faust. That allegory dealt with the individual soul.  Here the tragedy is shown to occur not only to individuals but to whole groups of people, for example, the People of the Book.  Indeed the story might be extended indefinitely#
       
       *** The only comment one can make regarding the above 'dissertation' is that it is all humbug trying to sound authoritative. Harut and Marut are characters that appear only in the Quran, and there is no record of them  in pagan Arabia. This methodology of mendacity is used by this interpreter in most of his 'arguments' and 'explanations' none of which are either based on facts or on truth.

       The Quranic verses AFTER ALL, jump from one subject and event in one century to a completely different subject and event in another century with no connection between the two all within a few verses of a Surah ***

103>         If they had kept their faith and guarded themselves from evil far better had been the reward from their Lord if they but knew!        
                                                               
       #103        This is a continuation of the argument in ii. 101.  The People of the Book, instead of sticking to the plain Books of Revelations, and seeking to do the will of God ran after all sorts of occult knowledge, most of which was false and evil.  Many wonderful tales of occult power attributed the power of Solomon to magic.  But Solomon dealt in not arts of evil.  It was the powers of evil that pretended to force the laws of nature and the will of God; such a pretense is plainly blasphemy#
               
       *** 'Muslim' theologians associate the dispersal of the Jewish people as a punishment from God for their alleged failure to observe His ordinances. They make the same allegations about Christian defeats and/or failures.

       They deliberately and conveniently, do not use the same 'logic' for the failures and defeats of 'Islam' both in the past and in the present such as under the Mongols, the Crusares, the British, the French etc;  only none 'Muslims' are accused of 'backslidings and failures'.
       
       This verse also simply disregards the FACT that the Arabs had been ignorant pagans for 2500 years prior to the Quranic 'revelations' while the deliberately denigrated Jews had been keeping the flame and light of the One and Only God burning during all these centuries ***

104    O ye of Faith! say not (to the Apostle) words of ambiguous import but words of respect; and hearken (to him); to those without faith is a grievous punishment.

105>           It is never the wish of those without faith among the people of the Book nor of the Pagans that anything good should come down to you from your Lord.  But Allah will choose for His special Mercy whom He will for Allah is Lord of grace abounding.        

       *** This verse, maliciously and falsely associates and equates the pagans with the People of the Book. These types of insults by association and accusations are rife among the Quranic verses as if the Arabs were not themselves the pagans to start with and who without the People of the Book would not have then seen the light of Monotheism.

       This verse also denies credit - where credit is due - to the Abyssinian Christians and the Jews of the Madina who gave safe haven and succor to Muhammad and his followers from their persecutors the pagan Arabs of Quraysh.

       It is important to repeat here also, that it was Muhammad and his followers - a small but extremely violent minority - who were forcing and imposing their ideology and will upon the great majority of the people of Arabia. ***

106>        None of Our revelations do We abrogate or cause to be forgotten but We substitute something better or similar; knowest thou not that Allah hath power over all things?

       # 107         The word which I have translated by the word "revelations" is Ayat.  See C.41 and n. 15.  It is not only used for verses of the Qur-an, but in a general sense for God's revelations, as in ii. 39 and for other Signs of God in history or nature, or miracles, as in ii. 61.  It has even been used for human signs and tokens of wonder, as, for example, monuments or landmarks built by the ancient people of Ad (xxvi. 128).  What is the meaning here?  If we take it in a general sense, it means that God's Message from age to age is always the same, but that its form may differ according to the needs and exigencies of the time.  That form was different as given to Moses and then to Jesus and then to Muhammad. Some commentators apply it also to the Ayat of the Qur-an.  There is nothing derogatory in this if we believe in progressive revelation.  In iii. 7 we are told distinctly about the Qur-an, that some of its verses are basic or fundamental, and others are allegorical, and it is mischievous to treat the allegorical verses and follow them (literally).  On the other hand, it is absurd to treat such a verse as ii. 115 as if it were abrograted by ii. 144 about the Qibla.  We turn to the Qibla, but we do not believe that God is only in one place.  He is everywhere.  See second note to ii. 144# 
      
       *** If the above is a statement from Allah, then how is it that the Quran alleges that the same Allah has abrogated his Revelations to the Jews and Christians especially since the Quran is neither better, similar or a substitute to the Bible?

       It seems that the Quran allows itself the 'privilidge' of having Allah 'reveal' verses that later on he 'abrogated' or 'recanted' while the same is used as a weapon to defame the People of the Book. The Quran shows a supposedly Omniscient Allah who changes his mind repeatedly. Note also 16:101 ***

107>         Knowest thou not that to Allah belongeth the dominion of the heavens and the earth! And besides Him ye have neither patron nor helper.
                       
       *** This verse is not bringing about a new 'revelation' to the People of the Book since these ideas and concepts are already enshrined in their Book***

108>        Would ye question your Apostle as Moses was questioned of old?  But whoever changeth from faith to unbelief hath strayed without doubt from the even way        

       #108        Moses was constantly harassed with foolish, impertinent, or disingenuous questions by his own people.  We must not follow that bad example.Questions should be asked only for real instruction. (2.108)109"Even way": the Arabic word sawaa signifies smoothness as opposed to roughness: symmetry as opposed to want of plan; equality or proportion as opposed to want of design; rectitude as opposed to crookedness; a mean as opposed to extremes; and fitness for the object held in view as opposed to faultiness

       *** The above verse and its explanation are of enormous importance in understanding the mentality of the Muhammadan concept of learning. The Israelites are not a herd of sheep who follow unthinkingly any one who plays the flute. They are endowed with an enormous appetite to question and explore ideas, precepts and thought.

        On the other hand, Muhammad wanted followers who were robotic in their thought processes since the more questions they asked the more they would have realized that he was neither an original thinker nor a great theologian but that he plagiarized most of his ideas from the Bible, the Jews and Christians.

       According to the Hadith, Muhammad used to get extremely upset and agitated when questioned by some of his more inquisitive followers. To stop them from doing so he 'created' a properly 'revealed' verse (Aya), in the name of  the unsuspecting Allah, forbidding them from doing so…

Surah 5: "101 O ye who believe! ask not questions about things which if made plain to you may cause you trouble.  But if ye ask about things when the Qur'an is being revealed they will be made plain to you: Allah will forgive those: for Allah is Oft-Forgiving Most Forbearing. 102 Some people before you did ask such questions and on that account lost their faith..***

109>        Quite a number of the people of the Book wish they could turn you (people) back to infidelity after ye have believed from selfish envy after the truth hath become manifest unto them; but forgive and overlook till Allah accomplish His purpose; for Allah hath power over all things

       #110        There words are used in the Qur-an, with a meaning akin to "forgive" but each with a different shade of meaning.  Afa (here translated "forgive") means to forget, to obliterate from one's mind.  Safaha (here translated "overlook") means to turn away from, to ignore, to treat a matter as if it did not affect one. Gafara (which does not occur in this verse) means to cover up something as God does to our sins with His grace; this word is particularly appropriate in God's attribute of Gaffar, the One who forgives again and again#

       ***  The allegation above is of course deliberately false and contrary to the history of the Arabs as we know it. The People of the Book had absolutely no reason to envy anything in the new faith especially since it is entirely based on variations to their own Books. The envy actually resides only with the new faith which was not able to convert them.

       It was after all, the People of the Book who brought to the pagan Arabs the concept of the One and Only God and even had several of the tribes voluntarily convert from paganism - without the use of force - unlike what Muhammad and his followers did to all others. More over, the Hymiarite Kingdom in the Yemen converted to the religion of the Jews without coersion or threat. The Quran and its interpreters have to resort to lies and calumny against the Jews to justify their ideology***

110>        And be steadfast in prayer and regular in charity: and whatever good ye send forth for your souls before you ye shall find it with Allah; for Allah sees well all that ye do.        

       *** Before the Quranic 'revelations', it was the Jews who followed the precepts of regular prayer and the enshrined demands to do charity. Neither Muhammad nor pagan Arabia had any concept of charity until they copied it from the Bible ***

111>        And they say: "None shall enter paradise unless he be a Jew or a Christian."  Those are their (vain) desires.  Say: "Produce your proof if ye are truthful."
                               
       *** The Muhammadans are the ones who insist that Paradise is only for their followers and no one else. As usual with the Quran and its interpreters, it is the case of 'the pot calling the kettle Black'. The same demand can and must be made of the Muhammadans: you too produce your proof if you can.

       It was from the Zoroasreians and the Hebrew sages that the concept of Paradise was promulgated and later propagated by the Christians. It was from the People of the Book that Muhammad copied and assimilated these concepts in his new cultic belief system.

       The very word in Arabic for Paradise is (Jannah) which is derived from the Hebrew (Gan) meaning garden. Before his alleged 'revelations' neither Muhammad nor the pagan Arabs had any knowledge or concept of an afterlife in Paradise***

112>        Nay whoever submits his whole self to Allah and is a doer of good he will get his reward with his Lord; on such shall be no fear nor shall they grieve

113>        The Jews say: "The Christians have naught (to stand) upon"; and the Christians say: "The Jews have naught (to stand) upon."  Yet they (profess to) study the (same) Book.  Like unto their word is what those say who know not but Allah will judge between them in their quarrel on the Day of Judgment.

       #116        It is a sure sign of ignorance and prejudice when you study the same book as another or a similar one and yet are absolutely intolerant of the meaning which the other draws from it.  You should know better, but you speak like the ignorant.  In this case the primary reference in the word "ignorant" may be to the Pagan Arabs#

       *** Neither the Quranic verse nor the conclusion of the interpreter are true for the simple reason that the
New Testament is extraneous to the Hebrew Bible and hence is not the 'same book' as the Quran alleges.

       Both the Jews and Christians accept the divine origin of the Hebrew Bible; the only matter they do not agree upon resides on the New Testament as to whether or not Jesus was the prophesized Messiah or the son of God.        

       The interpreter, while he is condemning both the Jews and Christians, does not hesitate to plagiarize from their Holy Books by mentioning the expression
'Day of Judgment' which the pagan Arabs had absolutely no concept of until the Quranic 'revelations'.

       What is even more important - and contrary to the malicious and mendacious allegations by Muhammadan theologians - is that although the Quran highlites the severe and irreconcilable differences between the
'People of the Book', it does not declare that either Book is corrupt or in error ***

114>        And who is more unjust than he who forbids that in places for the worship of Allah Allah's name should be celebrated?  Whose zeal is (in fact) to ruin them?  It was not fitting that such should themselves enter them except in fear.  For them there is nothing but disgrace in this world and in the world to come an exceeding torment
               
       # 117        There were actually Pagans in Mecca who tried to shut out the Muslim Arabs from the Ka'ba, the universal place of Arab worship. The Pagans themselves called it the House of God. With what face could they exclude the Muslims, who wanted to worship the true God instead of worshipping idols?  If these Pagans had succeeded, they would only have caused violent divisions among the Arabs and destroyed the sanctity and the very existence of the Ka'ba#
       
       *** The pervesion of historical and moral truths are the staple deit of both the Quranic verses and the interpreter's explanations. It was Muhammad and his followers after all, who were forcing their 'religion' upon the pagan Quraysh.

       It was they who were trying to change a status quo that had been in existence for hundreds of years. It was they who were demanding and forcing the majority to change their theological beliefs as well as their economic well- being at the say so of Muhammad.

       To condemn the pagans for resisting is both intellectually and morally incomprehensible and untenable. When Muhammad and his followers were able in the end to conquer and force their adversaries to convert, they imposed even harsher exclusions on those who remained pagan.

       Muhammadanism, even unto today does not tolerate any change in its theology and is willing to die for its beliefs. Why then condemn others for doing exactly the same thing?*** 

115>        To Allah belong the East and the West; whithersoever ye turn there is the presence of Allah.  For Allah is All-Pervading All-Knowing.

       *** This interpretation is of course totally false when subjected to the scrutiny of the historical records. It was the new 'Muslim' entity that was more intolerant than the pagans; after all, the pagan Arabs had been venerating the Ka'ba and Allah for centuries before Muhammad and his followers arrogated to themselves sole control of it.

       It was Muhammad and his followers after all, who created the very dissention, exclusivity and dis-harmony that he and his followers accuse their enemies of. It is a 'natural' consequence that history is written by the victor, especially one that was able to eradicate all traces of his victims as Muhammad and his followers did to the pagan Arabs, the Christians and the Jews ***

116>        They say: "Allah hath begotten a son"; Glory be to Him.  Nay to Him belongs all that is in the heavens and on earth; everything renders worship to Him.        

       # 119        It is a derogation from the glory of God - in fact it is blasphemy - to say        that God begets sons, like a man or an animal.  The Christian doctrine is here emphatically repudiated.  If words have any meaning, it would mean an attribution of God of a material nature, and of the lower animal functions of sex.  In a spiritual sense, we are all children of God.  And all Creation celebrates His glory.  Verse 117 should be read with this to complete the argument#        

       *** This is a jibe at Christianity equating it with paganism since it makes Jesus a divine being, the son of the Almighty; a concept of (Shirk) that it is having partners with Allah***

117> To Him is due the primal origin of the heavens and the earth; when He decreeth a matter He saith to it: "Be"; and it is.

118        Say those without knowledge: "Why speaketh not Allah unto Us? Or why cometh not unto Us a sign?" So said the people before them words of similar import. Their hearts are alike.  We have indeed made clear the signs unto any people who hold firmly to faith (in their hearts).

       *** Since neither the Quran nor Muhammad ever provided any miracles, signs or prophesies, the above "made clear the signs …" can only be applied to the People of Israel ***

119>        Verily We have sent thee in truth as a bearer of glad tidings and a warner.  But of thee no question shall be asked of Companions of the blazing fire.

120>  Never will the Jews or the Christians be satisfied with thee unless thou follow their   form of religion.  Say: "The guidance of Allah that is the (only) guidance."  Wert thou to follow their desires after the knowledge which hath reached thee then wouldst thou find neither protector nor helper against Allah.
       
       *** This is an interesting comment since it is Muhammadism which arrogates for itself the right to convert the whole world to its own belief system. What the verse also implies is that the Jews and Christians do not have the protection of Allah since they are not followers of Muhammad ***

121>  Those to whom We have sent the book study it as it should be studied; they are the ones that believe therein; those who reject faith therein the loss is their own.

122>        O Children of Israel! call to mind the special favor [nia'mati] which I bestowed upon you and that I preferred you [fadthaltakum] to all others (for my message).                        

       *** It is interesting to note that when complimentary verses to the People of the Book are mentioned in the Quran - as in the one above - the interpreter chooses not to make any comments ***

123        Then guard yourselves against a day when one soul shall not avail another nor shall compensation be accepted from her nor shall intercession profit her nor shall anyone be helped (from outside).

124>        And remember that Abraham was tried by his Lord with certain commands which he fulfilled; He said: "I will make thee an Imam to the nations." He pleaded: "And also (Imams) from my offspring!"  He answered: "But my promise is not within the reach of evil-doers."

       #123        Kalimat: literally "words" here used in the mystic sense of God's Will or Decree or Purpose.  This verse may be taken to be the sum of the verses following.  In everything Abraham fulfilled God's wish: he purified God's house; he built the sacred refuge of the Ka'ba; he submitted his will to God's, and thus became the type of Islam.  He was promised the leadership of the world; he pleaded for his progeny, and his prayer was granted, with the limitation that if his progeny was false to God, God's promise did not reach the people who proved themselves false#

       ***  The stories of Abraham, Ishmael and Jacob in the Quran are completely and utterly different from their originals in the Bible. Some verses were copied from stories in Rabbinical and other records such as the Talmud, Midrash (Legends of the Jews). The Quran applies these stories to suit its Arab audience that was totally ignorant of their 'heritage' prior to these 'revelations'.

       The relevant word here is 'Imam' which is applied in Muhammadan theology to the lay readers of prayers in the mosques, making Abraham such a leader. Unfortunately though, the Quran does not enumerate or elucidate the nature or details of these commands and trials ***

125        Remember We made the house a place of assembly for men and a place of safety; and take ye the station of Abraham as a place of prayer; and We covenanted with Abraham and Isma`il that they should sanctify My House for those who compass it round or use it as a retreat or bow or prostrate themselves (therein in prayer).

       #125        The Ka'ba, the House of God.  Its foundation goes back by Arab tradition to Abraham. Its fourfold character is here referred to. (1) It was the centre to which all the Arab tribes resorted for trade, for poetic contests, and for worship, (2) It was sacred territory and was respected by friend and foe alike. At certain seasons, all fighting was and is forbidden within it limits, and even arms are not allowed to be carried and no game or other thing is allowed to be killed.  Like the Cities of Refuge under the Mosaic Dispensation to which manslayers could flee (Num. xxxv. 6) or the Sanctuaries in Mediaeval Europe, to which criminals could not be pursued.  Mecca was recognized by Arab custom as inviolable for the pursuit of revenge or violence. (3) It was a place of prayer; even today there is a Station of Abraham within the enclosure where Abraham was supposed to have prayed.  (4) It must be held pure and sacred for all purposes 126 Four rites are here enumerated, which have now acquired a technical meaning. (1) Compassing the sacred territory, or going round the Ka'ba: Tawaf.  There are special guides who take pilgrims and visitors round. (2) Retiring to the place as a spiritual retreat, for contemplation and prayer: Itikat. (3) The posture of bending the back in prayer: Ruku. (4) The posture of prostrating oneself on the ground in prayer: Sujud.  The protection of the holy territory is for all, but special cleanliness and purity is required for the sake of the devotees who undertake these rites.#

       *** First of all, the word representing 'remember' is not mentioned in the verse above, the translator put it there.  Second, there was never any mention of the Ka'ba or Allah in the Bible nor a record of any covenant between Allah and Abraham regarding it.

       The Ka'ba was the 'House of Allah' long before Muhammad. It was venerated by the pagan Arabs because it contained the 'Black Stone', a meteor. The Ka'ba was and still is not a Temple; it is a cubical structure around which worshippers walk (circumambulate) while reciting prayers. Since no one prostrates there while praying, it cannot be a Masjid (a place of prostration) either.

      Prior to Isalm, Mecca was the center of Paganism and Heathenism with hundreds of stones representing the different gods and godesses in its collection, among which was the important deity, Allah.

       There was no central temple in Mecca to be called a 'House'. Excluding the sect called Hanifs - who were influenced by Christian and Hebrew tradtions about Abraham - the Pagan Arab tradition could not have known anything about Abraham and still had pagan gods to pray to.

       There are no records in the whole of Arabian history - whether written or oral - that can be found attesting to their knowledge of Abraham prior to the Quranic 'revelations' during which, almost 2500 years had already elapsed.

       It was Muhammad and his followers who invented retroactively this alleged and imaginary 'tradition' to allow them to claim ancient descent and antiquity befitting a new 'theology' ***

126>        And remember Abraham said: "My Lord make this a City of Peace and feed its people with fruits such of them as believe in Allah and the Last Day."  He said: "(Yea) and such as reject faith for a while will I grant them their pleasure but will soon drive them to the torment of fire an evil destination (indeed)!"

       #127        The root salama in the word Islam implies (among other ideas) the idea of Peace, and therefore when Mecca is the city of Islam, it is also the City of Peace. The same root occurs in the latter part of the name Jerusalem, the Jewish City of Peace.  When the day of Jerusalem passed (see verse 134 or 141 below), Mecca became the "New Jerusalem" - or rather the old and original "City of Peace" restored and made universal#

       ***  First of all, Allah's instruction 'remember' is totally meaningless since tha pagan Arabs had no knowledge of previous revelations to remember.

              Second, it is totally misleading and untrue that the word Salam (Peace) is similar to Islam (Submission). The interpreter, who shows a DEPRAVED INDIFFERENCE to TRUTH and VERACITY, alleges that God forsook His eternal city Jerusalem and Mount Zion for pagan Mecca at the say so of Muhammad.
       
       The expression 'City of Peace' is copied from the description always attributed to Jerusalem whose ending 'shalem' is associated with 'shalom' meaning peace.

       Everything is attempted by the Quran and its interpreters to remove God's blessings from the Jews and Jerusalem and direct them towards the Arabs and Mecca by using any and all convoluted perversions and explanations.

       Moreover, it is important to make clear here, that neither in the age of Abraham and Ishmael nor for that matter during the whole period of Arab paganism, was the concept of the Last Days had by then been formulated; neither of the patriarchs would have spoken of the subject to either Gabriel or Allah for that matter, as can be confirmed in the original Biblical version.

       Another deliberate mistranslation is the Arabic word (Balad) which rendered (City) here to change the meaning and implication of the verse which should read instead " My Lord, make this country peaceable…"***                
                       
127>        And remember Abraham and Isma`il raised the foundations of the House: "Our Lord! accept (this service) from us for thou art the All-Hearing the All-Knowing.

          *** The Bible, of course, has no such record as mentioned above. This is a most remarkable statement made by the Quran since upon it and a few others like it, the Arabs allege that they are descended from Ishmael; if this were true, we have the following corollaries:

First, that the first language heard in Arabia at the Ka'ba in Mecca would have been Hebrew and not Arabic.

Second, that the 'Arabised' Arabs [al Arab al Mut'ariba] are Hebrews in origin, from Abraham & Ishmael

Third, that both of the latter must have travelled a distance of about 1000 miles to get there from Beersheba, Canaan, and later return just so that they raise the foundations of the Ka'ba.
         
        Most important of all, the reader should be made aware that the Ka'ba is not a mosque/masjid where people could worship, but a solitary cubic structure that contains a meteor (Black Stone) which became a revered shrine by the pagan Arabs.

       There never was a House (Beit/Temple) for which any foundation could have been raised. The term for 'House' in Arabic is Beit and was copied from the same used by the Israelites for the Temple of Solomon (Beit Ha'mikdash; the Sacred House).

          Assuming for an instance that the Quranic version may be true, the theological, ethnic and political ramifications are colossal in their implications and revolutionary in their conclusions. At a stroke:

First, the Arabs become descendants of the Hebrews (Al Arab al Must'ariba/ the Arabized Arabs) of whom, Muhammad is  descendant.

Second, the Ka'bah in Mecca becomes a holy place for the Jews, since it was built by the hands of their ancesors, Abrahan & Ishmael

Third, Arabic could be only a derivative of Hebrew

Fourth, the Arabian Peninsula should not be made - any more - forbidden to Jewish immigration and settlement

Fifth, the Arab-Jewish conflict will not reside upon Israel/Palestine only any more

Sixth, and moreover, how does Arab 'tradition' explain away the fact that Abraham ended up being buried in Hebron, in Canaan and not near Mecca? Where is Ishmael buried?

Seventh, is it possible that the Arabs had undergone the most massive case of FOLK AMNESIA for at least 2500 years until Muhammad started 'reminding' them that they were actually descendants from the Hebrews, Abraham & Ishmael? ***

128        Our Lord! make of us Muslims bowing to Thy (Will) [Muslimayni] and of our progeny a people Muslim bowing to Thy (Will) [Muslimata] and show us our places for the celebration of (due) rites; and turn unto us (in mercy); for Thou art the Oft-Returning Most-Merciful.

       *** According to the above verse, Abraham and Ishmael were Muslims (Muslimeen), that is believers in the
One and Only Allah. They were such believers (Muslimeen) at least 2500 years before Muhammad and the Quran.

       As a corollary, their descendants and fellow believers in their faith, the Israelites and later the Jews are also undeniably Muslims***

129        "Our Lord! send amongst them an Apostle of their own who shall rehearse Thy Signs to them and instruct them in Scripture and Wisdom and sanctify them; for Thou art the Exalted in Might the Wise."

       #129        How beautiful this prayer is, and how aptly it comes in here in the argument! Such Paganism or star-worship or planet-worship as there was in Abraham's time was first cleared out of Mecca by Abraham.  This is the chief meaning of "sanctification" or purification in ii. 125, although of course physical cleanliness is (in physical conditions) a necessary element of purification in the higher sense.  Abraham and his elder son Ismail then built the Ka'ba and established the rites and usages of the sacred city.  He was thus the founder of the original Islam (which is as old as mankind) in Arabia.  As becomes a devout man, he offers and dedicates the work to God in humble supplication, addressing Him as the All-Hearing and the All-Knowing.  He then asks for a blessing on himself and his progeny generally, both the children of his eldest-born Ismail and his younger son Isaac.  With prophetic vision he foresees that there will be corruption and backsliding in both branches of his family: Mecca will house 360 idols, and Jerusalem will become a harlot city (Ezekiel xvi. 15), a city of abomination.  But the light of Islam will shine, and reclaim the lost people in both branches and indeed in all the world.  So he prays for God's mercy, addressing Him as the Oft-Returning Most Merciful.  And finally he foresees in Mecca an Apostle teaching the people as one "of their own", and in their own beautiful Arabic language; he asks for a blessing on Muhammad's ministry,appealing to the Power and Wisdom of God#

       *** Unfailingly, the interpreter deliberately misrepresents the whole verse and then takes out of context from the Bible and Hebrew Scriptures whatever suits his agenda for denigrating the People of the Book.

       He uses the contents of the allegedly 'doctored' and 'edited' Bible and Hebrew Scriptures against the very people who NEVER deviated from the tradition of believing in the One and Only God.

       At the same time he alleges that the ignorant pagan Arabs had knowledge of Abraham and Ishmael prior to their revelations in the Quran, which of course was not the case.

       He deliberately ignores the FACTS that while the descendants of Isaac had their lapses, they nevertheless were the only ones who continued to carry the flame and light of (Islam), Monotheism while the alleged descendants of Ishmael
- the Arabs - lapsed without recovering until Muhammad awakened them up by plagiarizing from the Bible for the benefit of his pagan brethren, more than 2500 years later.

        He also ignores the following verses: 11:49 & 12:3, for a start that clearly assert that the pagan Arabs had absolutely no knowledge of the Bible before the Quranic revelations. ***

130>        And who turns away from the religion of Abraham but such as debase their souls with    folly?  Him We chose and rendered pure in this world: and he will be in the Hereafter in the ranks of the righteous.        

       # Istafa: chose; chose because of purity; chose and purified. It is the same root from which Mustafa is derived, one of the titles of Muhammad#

       *** It is vital to point out why Muhammad was obsessed with the God of Abraham. He copied Paul's concept that Abraham's God is the primal and only true one since Abraham was neither a 'Jew' nor a Christian and in this manner he is the Universal God unlike the God of Moses (for the Isrelites) or the God of Jesus (for the Christians).

       This 'neutral' God was subsequently arrogated by Muhammad for himself and his followers. In this manner he could claim separation from the two earlier monotheistc theologies. In reality, no matter how far he wanted to distance his beliefs from that of the Jews and Christians, he had no choice but to copy from both to create his scripture***

131 Behold! his Lord said to him: "Bow (thy will to me)" [Aslim]  He said: "I bow (my will) [Aslamtu] to the Lord and Cherisher of the universe."

       *** The Arabic for 'bow thy will' is to submit to the will of Allah is Aslama that is becoming a Muslim ***

132>        And this was the legacy that Abraham left to his sons and so did Jacob; "O my sons! Allah hath chosen the faith for you; then die not except in the faith of Islam [Muslimoona]."

       *** Abraham, Jacob and their descendants were and are all Muslimoon (Muslims); believers in the One and Only God. This affirmation should also include, obviously, the Israelites and the Jews.

       It also means - that without a shadow of a doubt- anyone can be a Muslim who believes in the One and Only God of Abraham without being a Muhammadan since all of the above were before him and the Quran .

       The reader should be aware that in verse after verse, the prophets that the Quran mentions are from the seed of Abraham through Isaac and not a single one from the seed of Ishmael.

        Since this is a fact, then how is it possible to allege that it was Ishmael and not Isaac who was the elect of Allah, if Allah is the God of Israel?***

133>        Were ye witnesses when death appeared before Jacob?  Behold he said to his sons: "What will ye worship after me?"  They said: "We shall worship thy Allah [Ilahaka] and the Allah [Ilaha] of thy fathers of Abraham Isma`il and Isaac the one (true) Allah to Him we bow (in Islam) [Muslimoona]."

       #131        The whole of the Children of Israel are called to witness one of their slogans, that they worshipped "the God of their fathers." The idea in their minds got narrowed down to that of a tribal God.  But they are reminded that their ancestors had the principle of Islam in them - the worship of the One True and Universal God.  The death-bed scene is described in Jewish tradition 132"Fathers" means ancestors, and include uncles, grand-uncles, as well as direct ascendants.#

       *** First and foremost, the interpreter, deliberately changed the words Ilahaka and Ilah which mean God, to Allah which was the name of the supreme god of the pagan Ka'ba.

       Allah of the Arabs was never the God of Israel Who has no name. Muhammad deliberately associated Allah with the God of Israel to serve the agenda of his new belief system.

           It should also be pointed out here that while the maligned Jews have kept their faith and belief in the One and Only God, the alleged descendants of Ishmael, the Arabs, lapsed immediately after his death and returned Mecca to paganism and idolatry for 2500 years until Muhammad - who was inspired through his contacts with the 'Jews' of Arabia - re-opened his and their eyes with his Quran.

       Since the Bible repeatedly instructs the Israelites that all people among them who believe in the One and Only God - are themselves as if they were descended 'from the seed of Abraham'

Exodus 12: 48 "And when a stranger shall sojourn with you, and will keep the Passover to the Lord, let all his males be circumcised, and then let him come near and keep it; and he shall be as one who is born in the land; for no uncircumcised person shall eat of it". 

Exodus  20: 10." But the seventh day is the sabbath of the Lord your God; in it you shall not do any work, you, nor your son, nor your daughter, your manservant, nor your maidservant, nor your cattle, nor your stranger that is within your gates.."

       Hence the interpreter's conclusion that theirs was a tribal God is erroneous, untrue and incredibly stupid since the Quran itself asserts that their God was Allah.

       How many versions of Allah does the interpreter intend to create to satisfy his perverted agenda?***

134>        That was a People that hath passed away.  They shall reap the fruit of what they did ye of what ye do! of their merits there is no question in your case!
       
135>        They say: "Become Jews or Christians if ye would be guided (to salvation)."  Say thou: "Nay! (I would rather) the religion of Abraham the true and he joined not gods with Allah."

       # Hanif: inclined to right opinion, orthodox (in the literal meaning of the Greed words), firm in faith, sound and well-balanced, true. Perhaps the last word, True, sums up most of the other shades#

       *** The hidden and derogatory meaning in the above verse is obvious; it implies that both the Jews and Christians - since the times of Moses and Jesus - have joined other gods with God and hence are idolators.

       This verse - as well as hundreds of others like it- is used to insult and denigrate both faiths. As far as the Quran is concerned, any Christian who believes in the divinity of Jesus is automatically a 'Mushrik' that is an idolator (Surah 5:73)***

2:136> Say ye: "We believe in Allah and the revelation given to us and to Abraham Isma`il Isaac Jacob and the Tribes and that given to Moses and Jesus and that given to (all) Prophets from their Lord [Rabbihim] we make no difference between one and another of them and we bow to Him (Allah in Islam) [Muslimoona]."

       *** The above is a repeat of 3:84. The Quran asserts that Muhammadans must believe in the revelations given to the Patriarchs and Moses, that is that they must believe in the divine source of the Bible.

       This confirms that all the ancestors of the Jews were Muslimoon because of their fervent belief in the One and Only God, and it follows reason and as a corollary, that all their descendants the Israelites and the Jews are also Muslimoon for exactly the same reason.

       The Jews are Muslimoon who believe in the Torah while the Muhammadans are Muslimoon who believe in the Quran.

       At no point in the Quran does it assert or even intimate that the previous Books have been perverted. It only condems some of the People of the Book who did not follow its precepts and rules or deliberately misrepresented or misinterpreted  some of its contents.

       Since the followers of Muhammad are instructed to believe in all the previous revelations as they and the Quran are the same, an important and very pertinant question arises:

       What is then the need for the Quran?

       What then distinguishes 'Islam' from the religion of the People of the Book?

       If it is the same as the previous revelations, what new purpose can it possibly serve?

        Why would Allah - the all knowing - want to replace one set of 'divine' revelations with another of the same while nothing is changing? ***

137>        So if they believe as ye believe they are indeed on the right path; but if they turn back it is they who are in schism; but Allah will suffice thee as against them and He is the All-Hearing the All- Knowing.

138>        (Our religion is) the baptism of [sibghata] Allah; and who can baptize [sibghata] better than Allah? and it is He whom we worship.        
               
       #Sibgat: baptism: the root-meaning implies a dye or colour; apparently the Arab Christians mixed a dye or colour in the baptismal water, signifying  that the baptized person got a new colour in life.  We do not believe that it is necessary to be baptized to be saved.  Our higher baptism is the "Baptism" of God, by which we take on a colour (symbolically) of God, and absorb His goodness in us#
                       
       *** The interpreter, as usual, goes to enormous lengths to contort and twist words to fit his agenda.

First of all, he is wrong, since baptism does NOT mean being saved but to belong to a sect or a church through a cleansing process.

Second, baptism is a physical act and not a spiritual one; hence, why does the Quran not explain how Allah's baptism is accomplished? In fact, this word is not found anywhere in all of the Ahadith comprising tens of thousands of verses.

        As usual in the Quran, names of characters and places, words and objects are mentioned without the slightest explanation as to their meaning, function or origin, leaving any reader completely at a loss. In fact, the verse above had to be explained to the reader (between brackets)  otherwise it made no sense at all ***

139        Say: Will ye dispute with us about Allah seeing that He is our Lord and your Lord; that we are responsible for our doings and ye for yours; and that we are sincere (in our faith) in Him?

        *** Only the Quran affirms that the God of Jews and the Allah of Muhammad are the same.

       The former is the God of Love and Mercy, the latter of Hate and Retribution; the former allows for Salvation and Redemption, the latter only for Punishment and Submission; the former allows Free Will while the latter deprives them of it.

       They are not and cannot be the same ***

140>        Or do ye say that Abraham Isma`il Isaac Jacob and the Tribes were Jews or Christians?  Say: Do ye know better than Allah?  Ah! who is more unjust than those who conceal the testimony they have from Allah?  But Allah is not unmindful of what ye do!

141        That was a people that hath passed away.  They shall reap the fruit of what they did and ye of what ye do! Of their merits there is no question in your case.

142>        The fools among the people will say: "What hath turned them from the Qiblah to which they were used?"  Say: To Allah belong both East and West; He guideth whom He will to a Way that is straight.

        # 140 Nas - People, the unthinking multitude that sway to and fro, instead of        being firm in God's Way.  The reference here is to the idolaters, the Hypocrites, and the party of Jews who were constantly seeking to "entangle in their talk" Mustafa and his disciples in Medina even as the Pharisees and the Sadducees of Jesus's day tried to entangle Jesus (Matt. xxii, 15, 23)        

       *** This verse was - as usual - conveniently 'descended' to explain away the reason why Muhammad changed the Qiblah (Direction to which Muhammadans turned in prayer) from the one towards Jerusalem (emulating the Jews) at the beginning of his stay in Madina ( for the first 18 months) to that which he later changed towards Mecca in anger because the Jews refused to follow his new 'theology'.

       It is a fact that if Mecca was the first 'House of Allah' on Earth, why then did Allah not instruct Muhammad to face it during prayers instead of allowing him to ERR for 18 months in his Qibla to Jerusalem?

       The unavoidable conclusion remains: that Muhammad at the very beginning of his 'mission' totally believed in the message of the Torah and the holiness of Jerusalem being ever more superior to Mecca.

       It was only after his total rejection by the Jews of Madina regarding his message and alleged - self proclaimed- prophethood that he turned the Qibla towards the
centre of paganism in Mecca.

       The allegedly staunch monotheist Muhammad, reverted to his 'origin' in paganism but re packaged it in 'Monotheistic/Islamic' wrappings.

       Another disturbing question can be asked as to why would Allah, who was sending all unbelievers to Hell's fires, allow Muhammad and his followers to face the Qibla of Mecca while it was still unclean since it was harbouring all the pagan gods and
goddesses? ***

143>        Thus have We made of you an Ummah justly balanced that ye might be witnesses over the nations and the Apostle a witness over yourselves; and We appointed the Qiblah to which thou wast used only to test those who followed the Apostle from those who would turn on their heels (from the faith).  Indeed it was (a change) momentous except to those guided by Allah.  And never would Allah make your faith of no effect.  For Allah is to all people most surely full of kindness Most Merciful.
       
       #142         Thus:  By giving you a Qibla of your own, most ancient in history, and most modern as a symbol of your organisation as a new nation (Ummat). (2.143)143 Justly balanced:  The essence of Islam is to avoid all extravagances on either side. It is a sober, practical religion.  But the Arabic word (wasat) also implies a touch of the literal meaning of Intermediacy.  Geographically Arabia is in an intermediate position in the Old World, as was proved in history by the rapid expansion of Islam, north, south, west and east.144 Witnesses:  When two persons dispute, they advance extravagant claims.  A just witness comes between them, and brings the light of reason to bear on them, pruning all their selfish extravagances.  So the mission of Islam is to curb, for instance, the extreme formalism of the Mosaic law and the extreme "other-worldiness" professed by Christianity.  The witness must be unselfish, equipped with first-hand knowledge, and ready to intervene in the cause of justice.  Such is the position claimed by Islam among rival systems.  Similarly, within Islam itself, the position of witness to whom disputants can appeal is held by Muhammad Mustafa. 145 The Qibla of Jerusalem might itself have seemed strange to the Arabs, and the change from it to the Ka'ba might have seemed strange after they had become used to the other.  In reality one direction or another, or east or west, in itself did no matter, as God is in all places, and is independent of Time and Place. What mattered was the sense of discipline, on which Islam lays so much stress: which of us is willing to follow the directions of the chosen Apostle of God? Mere quibbles about non-essential matters are tested by this#                        

       *** All the above 'explanations' by the Quran and its interpreters - as to the reasons for the change in the direction of the Qibla - are false and contrived to explain away Muhammad's personal and convenient 'change of heart' and not Allah's.

       It stands to reason that if the Ka'ba was the alleged first and foremost 'House of Allah', then why did Muhammad order his followers at the very beginning of his mission to imitate the tradition of the Jews by praying towards Jerusalem?

       For almost eighteen months this policy was continued without it having been sanctioned by Gabriel or Allah.

       It was only terminated after the unavoidable conclusion by Muhammad that all his efforts to have the Jews 'convert' to his new theology had failed.

       It was purely because of anger, disappointment and spite that he turned his attention and that of his followers to the pagan shrine of the Ka'ba.

       To explain this change as a "..test of those who followed the Apostle…" is a lame and infantile excuse since there is no difficulty or challenge in changing the posture of prayer from one direction to another.
       The Hadiths are full of reports of how his followers changed direction without questions, without challenge and instantly.

       Yet once more, for the sake of convenience and not out of conviction, did Muhammad easily change his position to gain favour with the pagan Arab tribes who worshipped the pagan Ka'ba in Mecca by producing the usual 'MADE TO ORDER' verse from Allah to justify it ***

144>        We see the turning of thy face (for guidance) to the heavens; now shall We turn thee to a Qiblah that shall please thee. Turn then thy face in the direction of the Sacred Mosque; wherever ye are turn your faces in that direction.  The people of the book [Bible] know well that that is the truth from their Lord nor is Allah unmindful of what they do.

         # This shows the sincere desire of Mustafa to seek light from above in the matter of the Qibla.  Until the organisation of his own People into a well-knit community, with its distinctive laws and ordinances, he followed a practice based on the fact that the Jews and Christians looked upon Jerusalem as a sacred city.  But there was no universal Qibla among them.  Some Jews turned towards Jerusalem, especially during the Captivity, as we shall see later.  At the time of our Prophet, Jerusalem was in the hands of the Byzantine Empire, which was Christian.  But the Christians oriented their churches to the East (hence the word "orientation") which is a point of the compass, and not the direction of any sacred place.  The fact of the altar being in the East does not mean that every worshipper has his face to the east; for, according at least to modern practice, the seats in a church are so placed that different worshippers may face in different directions.  The Preacher of Unity naturally wanted, in this as in other matters, a symbol of complete unity, and his heart was naturally delighted when the Qibla towards the Ka'ba was settled.  Its connection with Abraham gave it great antiquity; its character of being an Arab centre made it appropriate when the Message came in Arabic, and was preached through the union of the Arabs; at the time it was adopted, the little Muslim community was shut out of it, being exiles in Medina, but it became a symbol of hope and eventual triumph, of which Muhammad lived to see the fulfilment; and it also became the centre and gathering ground of all peoples in the universal pilgrimage, which was instituted with it. 148 The sacred Mosque: The Ka'ba in the sacred city of Mecca.  It is not correct to suggest that the command making the Ka'ba the Qibla abrogates ii. 115, where it is stated that East and West belong to God, and He is everywhere.  This is perfectly true at all times, before and after the institution of the Qibla.  As if to emphasise this, the same words about East and West are repeated in this very passage; see ii, 142 above.  Where the Itqan mentions mansukh in this connection, I am sorry I cannot follow that opinion, unless mansukh is defined in a special way, as some of the commentators do. 149 Glimmerings of such a Qibla were already foreshadowed in Jewish and Christian practice but its universality was only perfected in Islam#

       *** It is really sad to see to what level of intellectual, historical and theological depravity do the followers of Muhammad sink to in attempting to explain the unexplainable.

        Muhammad was NOT INSTRUCTED by either Allah or by Gabriel to tell his followers to face the Qibla towards Jerusalem.

       It was his decision alone and was done because he KNEW very well that Jerusalem was a HOLIER and a more IMPORTANT SANCTUARY than Mecca.

       He only changed the Qibla out of anger and spite because the Jews of the Madina refused to believe in him or his message.

        If Allah is God then He could not have told the Angel Gabriel to 'reveal' a verse full of such  blatant lies to Muhammad since it contradicts all His previous revelations in the Torah.

       If these verses are NOT from Allah, then they must have emanated from the fertile but erroneous imagination of Muhammad or from SATAN.

       It is an incontrovertible fact that only Muhammad's Quran makes a connection between Abraham and the Ka'ba; it is exactly because neither the Bible nor the New Testament  have any such knowledge, that the verse above is utterly farcical; it defies logic and history.

       Moreover, to add insult to injury, pagan Arabia left no record of such a relationship either written or oral. I leave it to the reader to make its own deduction.        

       Most important of all, I must repeat again, there was no Mosque/Masjid in Mecca. According to the Hadihs, the Ka'ba was but a very crude and insubstantial building and not a Mosque. It did not even have a roof to speak of in the beginning.

       Also, contrary to all the deliberate but totally erroneous derogatory implications in the above interpretation of the verse, the Jews all over the world always oriented their prayers towards Jerusalem.

        The change in the direction of the Qibla was settled by Muhammad's decision and not by Gabriel. He failed to convert the Jews to his new theology and hence re directed his efforts and attention towards his pagan tribe of Quraysh instead ***

145>        Even if thou wert to bring to the people of the Book [Bible] all the signs (together) they would not follow thy Qiblah; nor art thou going to follow their Qiblah; nor indeed will they follow each other's Qiblah. If thou after the knowledge hath reached thee wert to follow their (vain) desires then wert thou indeed (clearly) in the wrong.

       # See n. 147 to ii. 144 above.  The Jews and Christians had a glimmering of the Qibla idea, but in their attitude of self-sufficiency they were not likely to welcome the Qibla idea as perfected in Islam.  Nor is Islam, after the fuller knowledge which it has received, likely to revert to the uncertain, imperfect, and varying ideas of orientation held previously. A very large glimpse of the old jewish practice in the matter of the Qiblah and the importance attached to it is found in Daniel 6:10. He was captured by the Medes and incarcerated in Babylon (506-538 BCE). Despite this, his attachment to Jerusalem continued to be true. His window bein open in his chamber towards Jerusalem, he kneeled three times a day, and prayed, and gave thanks before God, as he did aforetime.#

       *** This verse is extremely important since it asserts that the Quran and Muhammad knew very well that the Jews directed their prayers towards Jerusalem.

        Unfortunarely and as usual, the interpreter had to put in his worthless thoughts by alleging that the Jews and Christians "…had a glimmer of the Qibla idea.." knowing full well that the pagan Arabs had no concept of any Qibla at all until Muhammad plagiarized  it from the same People of the Book that are being denigrated.

       It is most certainly because the Quran has no foundations in fact or truth, that the followers of Muhammad are left no other option but to deceive themselves and others through a bottomless number of lies, pervesions, myths and contorsions of history and theology to try and explain the unexplainable as well as to defend the indefensible***

146>        The people of the Book [Bible] know this as they know their own sons; but some of them conceal the truth which they themselves know.

       # The People of the Book should have known all this as well as "they knew their own sons", as their past traditions and teaching should have made them receptive of the new message.  Some commentators construe the demonstrative pronoun "this" to refer to the Apostle.  In that case the interpretation would be: The People of the Book know Muhammad as well as they know their own sons; they know him to be true and upright; they know him to be in the line of Abraham; they know him to correspond to the description of the prophet foretold among themselves; but selfishness induces some of them to act against their own knowledge and conceal the truth.#

       *** The Jews of the Madina where Muhammad and his followers became guests, at first welcomed his attempts to convert the pagan Arabs to monotheism.

       If this were not the case, they would not have harboured and protected him against his own tribe of Quraysh. They recognized in him a kindred spirit not for themselves but only for the pagan Arabs since he had nothing superior or equal to offer them than their Torah.

       It was because the Jews of Madina knew that Muhammad was becoming a dangerous charlatan that they refused to believe in him or his message.

       In fact, this verse shows his incredible admiration for their intimate learning and knowledge of the Torah equal to their knowledge of their own children. This verse is repeated in 6:20 and it was exactly because "…know this as they know their own sons…" that they refused to believe in him or his message ***

147>        The truth is from thy Lord so be not at all in doubt.

148        To each is a goal to which Allah turns him; then strive together (as in a race) toward all that is good.  Wheresoever ye are Allah will bring you together. For Allah hath power over all things.

149        From whencesoever thou startest forth turn thy face in the direction of the Sacred Mosque; that is indeed the truth from thy Lord.  And Allah is not unmindful of what ye do.

       # The simile of a race is continued, and so the Qibla command is repeated from that point of view.  In ii. 144 it was mentioned as the new symbol of the new nation (Muslim): now it is shown as the symbol of Good, at which we should all aim, from whichever point we started, e.g., as Jews or Christians, or our individual point of view; the Qibla will unite us as a symbol of the Goal of the Future.  In ii. 150 below, it is repeated:  First for the individual, on the ground of uniformity and the removal of all occasions of dispute and argument; and secondly for the Muslim people, on the same ground, as a matter of discipline. There is another little harmony in the matter of the repetitions. Note that the race and starting point argument begins at ii. 149 and is rounded off in the latter part of ii. 150.  The latter argument includes the former, and is more widely worded: "wheresoever ye are":  which in the Arabic expression would imply three things; in whatever circumstances ye are, or at whatever time ye are, or in whatever place ye are.  I have spoken before of a sort of musical harmony in verbal repetitions:  here there is a sort of pictorial harmony, as of a larger circle symmetrically including a smaller concentric circle#

       *** Although both the Quran and the above interpreter confirm that all those who believe in the One and Only God are Muslimoon (Muslims), yet they have not once included the Jews among them.

       Why not? After all, it was the Hebrews who were the first in the world to conceive of and believe in the One and Only Invisible God and whose descendants are the Jews.

        Why are the Jews so consistently and deliberately excluded by the so called egalitarian and none discriminating religion of Islam?

       Why do the Muhammadans arrogate the term 'Muslims' only to themselves hence excluding all other Monotheists such as Hanifs, 'Sabeans' , some Christian sects and the Jews? ***

150         So from whence so ever thou startest forth turn thy face in the direction of the Sacred Mosque; among where so ever ye are turn your face thither that there be no ground of dispute against you among the people except those of them that are bent on wickedness; so fear them not but fear Me; and that I may complete My favors on you and ye may (consent to) be guided.

       *** The mention once more of the 'Sacred Mosque' is misapplied since there was no Mosque/masjid in the whole of Arabia let alone Mecca before Muhammad had controlled the area.

       Repeatedly and ad nauseum, Allah demands only FEAR from his followers and not LOVE ***

151        A similar (favor have ye already received) in that We have sent among you an Apostle of your own rehearsing to you Our signs and sanctifying you and instructing you in Scripture and wisdom and in new Knowledge.

       # This verse should be read with ii. 150., of which the sentence is here completed.  The argument is that in the grant of the Ka'ba Qibla, God was perfecting religion and fulfilling the prayer for the future made by Abraham. That prayer was threefold: (1) That Mecca should be made a sacred Sanctuary (ii.  126); (2) that a truly believing (Muslim) nation should be raised, with places of devotion there (ii 128); and (3) that an Apostle should be sent among the Arabs with certain qualities (ii. 129), which are set out there and again repeated here to complete the argument.#

       ***  From the historical point of view based upon the Biblical narrative, Abraham was never in Mecca or near the Ka'ba since he sojourned between Canaan and Egypt only.

       The Quran also makes it clear that before it, the pagan Arabs had no knowledge of previous Scriptures and could not have had in their 'traditions' anything pertaining to the Bible. Both of the above  contradict all Quranic and the interpreter's assertions that the 'Arabian tradition' had knowledge of Abraham.

       It is a recorded fact that the most famous pagan Arabian poems NEVER mention any of the Biblical characters and especially not Abraham or Ishmael. They do not even mention the Kaba or Mecca ***

152>        Then do ye remember Me; I will remember you.  Be grateful to Me and reject not faith

       # The word "remember" is too pale a word for zikr, which has now acquired a large number of associations in our religious literature, especially Sufi literature. In its verbal signification it implies: to remember; to praise by frequently mentioning; to rehearse; to celebrate or commemorate; to make much of; to cherish the memory of as a precious possession.  In Sufi devotions zikr represents both a solemn ritual and a spiritual state of mind or heart, in which the devotee seeks to realise the presence of God.  Thus there is zikr of the mind and zikr of the heart.  For beginners the one may lead to the other, but in many cases the two may be simultaneous.  There is a subtler distinction, between the zikr that is open, and the zikr that is secret, corresponding to the two doors of the heart, the fleshly and the spiritual.  In English some account (very imperfect) of zikr will be found in Hughe's Dictionary of Islam, covering over 14 columns.#

       *** This is only a copy of God's order to the Israelites to remember him at all times. The wearing of the Tefillin  is such a consequence.

Exodus 13:9 " and it shall be for you a sign on your arm and a reminder between your eyes ---" ***

153        O ye who believe! seek help with patient perseverance and prayer: for Allah is with those who patiently persevere.

154>        And say not of those who are slain in the way of Allah: "They are dead." Nay they are living though ye perceive (it) not.

       *** All those believers who die fighting against all none believers do not actually 'die' because they will 'live' forever in Allah's paradise enjoying its carnal and sensual pleasures.

       Muhammadan Islam has no concept of the spirit world but only of the physical one***

155>        Be sure We shall test you with something of fear and hunger some loss in goods or lives or the fruits (of your toil) but give glad tidings to those who patiently persevere.

156>        Who say when afflicted with calamity: "To Allah we belong and to Him is our return."

157>        They are those on whom (descend) blessings from Allah and Mercy and they are the ones that receive guidance.

158        Behold! Safa and Marwa are among the Symbols of Allah.  So if those who visit the house in the season or at other times should compass them round it is no sin in them.  And if anyone obeyeth his own impulse to good be sure that Allah is He Who recogniseth and knoweth.<