How the Qur'an Differs From the Bible

By Prof. Shahul Hameed** It is a common allegation by Christians that the Qur'an is a mere copy of the Bible; that Prophet Muhammad (peace and blessings be upon him) simply plagiarized "his" book from the pages of the Bible. It is true that Prophet Muhammad received the Qur'an AFTER the Bible came into existence; and it is also true that the books of the Bible and the Qur'an cover much common ground. But the conclusion of the Christian critics that the Prophet had studied the Bible with a view to copying its verses in order to somehow fabricate the Qur'an is absurd and untenable for the reasons discussed below. Arabic Bible First, there was no Arabic translation of the Bible available during the Prophet's time, as Ernst Würthwein informs us in his book, The Text of the Old Testament:

With the victory of Islam the use of Arabic spread widely and for Jews and Christians in the conquered lands it became the language of daily life. This gave rise to the need of Arabic versions of the Bible, which need was met by a number of versions mainly independent and concerned primarily for interpretation. (Würthwein 104) Thus, the first translations of the Hebrew Bible in Arabic appeared after the advent of Islam. In fact, the oldest dated manuscript of the Old Testament in Arabic dates from the first half of the ninth century.

What about the New Testament? Sidney H. Griffith, who has done extensive research on the appearance of Arabic and the New Testament says that

The oldest dated manuscript containing the Gospels in Arabic is Sinai Arabic MS 72. Here the text of the four canonical Gospels is marked off according to the lessons of the temporal cycle of the Greek liturgical calendar of the Jerusalem Church. A colophon informs us that the MS was written by Stephen of Ramleh in the year 284 of the Arabs, i.e., 897 AD. (Griffith 131–132) And Prophet Muhammad had died in the first half of the seventh century, to be specific, in 632 CE.

Unlettered Prophet Second, it would be ironic if the unlettered Prophet Muhammad could have studied and assimilated all the sources—Christian, Jewish, Zoroastrian, Hanif, and ancient Arab beliefs—before he compiled the Qur'an. Indeed his illiteracy was acknowledged even by the enemies of Islam 1,400 years ago. And there is no record of the pagan Arabs in Makkah accusing Muhammad of pretending to be illiterate while actually being literate.

Allah the Almighty also answered this in the Qur'an:

[And thou wast not [able] to recite a Book before this [Book came] nor art thou [able] to transcribe it with thy right hand: in that case indeed would the talkers of vanities have doubted. Nay here are signs self-evident in the hearts of those endowed with knowledge: and none but the unjust reject Our signs.] (Al-`Ankabut 29:48–49).

No Translation Third, the language of Muhammad was Arabic and the Qur'an was revealed to him in Arabic. It is the original Arabic Qur'an that is always called the Qur'an, not any translation. But the language of the Old Testament was ancient Hebrew, and Jesus was a Jew who spoke Aramaic, which was a dialect of Hebrew, an Eastern Semitic language. But the books of the New Testament, including the Gospels, were written in Greek, a Western language, some time after Jesus Christ.

The Bible is a collection of writings produced at different points in history and authored by different writers. The many denominations of Christianity do not agree on the canon (the list of books accepted by the church as authoritative or divinely inspired) of the Christian Bible. Some of these books are not universally accepted. The Catholic Encyclopedia has this to say on the topic:

The idea of a complete and clear-cut canon of the New Testament existing from the beginning, that is from Apostolic times, has no foundation in history. The Canon of the New Testament, like that of the Old, is the result of a development, of a process at once stimulated by disputes with doubters, both within and without the Church, and retarded by certain obscurities and natural hesitations, and which did not reach its final term until the dogmatic definition of the Tridentine Council. ("Canon of the New Testament")

There is a lot of confusion about the earliest existing texts of the Bible. The oldest extant manuscript of the Bible is believed to be the Codex Vaticanus, (preserved in the Vatican Library), which is slightly older than the Codex Sinaiticus (preserved in the British Library), both of which were transcribed in the fourth century.

As for the story of Jesus, there were at least 50 gospels written in the first and second century CE. Four of them (Mathew, Mark, Luke, and John) were included in the official canon during the fourth century CE and are found today in every Bible. All of the original copies of the gospels were lost. What we have now are handwritten copies, which are an unknown number of replications removed from the originals.

Rudolf Bultmann, a prominent 20th-century professor of New Testament studies writes about the life of Jesus:

We can now know almost nothing concerning the life and personality of Jesus, since the early Christian sources show no interest in either, are moreover fragmentary and often legendary; and other sources about Jesus do not exist. (Bultmann 8)

The earliest of the four gospels is Mark's and this was written sometime from 57 to 75 CE, according to scholars. The other gospels were composed much later than this, and the last of the four Gospels (John's) was probably written between 85 and 100 CE. All these gospels were originally in Greek and their authorship is a subject of dispute.

Self-Reference The Bible does not contain self-reference; that is, the word Bible does not occur in the Bible. In fact, only certain Christian groups believe that the Bible — in its entirety — is the revealed word of God. The presence of so many contradictions and patently questionable ideas makes this claim untenable.

In comparison, the Qur'an's claim to be the record of the word of God dictated to His Prophet is borne out by the following facts: The speaker in the Qur'an is God talking directly to man, while the sayings of the Prophet, called Hadith, are in other books. The Qur'an repeatedly says that it is the word of God. It has self-reference; that is to say, it names itself 70 times as the Qur'an.

Memorization The verses of the Qur'an were revealed to Prophet Muhammad in the course of 23 years of his life as the events in the unfolding development of the religion of God called for divine guidance. As soon as the Prophet received these verses, he dictated them to his disciples, who not only wrote them down, but also learned them by heart. There were so many people who had memorized the Qur'an that we can say that from the first day of its revelation, the Qur'an was in the hands and hearts of the people.

Before the death of the Prophet, the whole of the Qur'an was written down, examined, and verified by the Prophet himself. From that time onwards, it has remained safe from corruption, as several copies of it were in the possession of the Muslims. It was not possible to make any changes to its verses, even if someone wanted to do so, because a standard copy was preserved. Further, so many Muslims had memorized the Qur'an that they would have recognized any changes. Moreover, God has promised in the Qur'an [Certainly, it was We Who revealed the Reminder (the Qur'an) and certainly We shall preserve it] (Al-Hijr 15:9).

At the time of the Prophet's death, a number of the Prophet's Companions already had assembled the portions of the Qur'an with them into a volume. It was during the time of the first caliph, Abu Bakr, that a leading scholar and scribe of the Prophet, Zayd ibn Thabit, was appointed to compile an official version. After meticulous work, he prepared the official collection (mushaf).

Incorruptibility One of the foremost reasons for the Qur'an's continued incorruptibility is that it has been preserved in its original language, unlike the Bible. No one in the Muslim world has ever thought to supersede it with a translation. Thus the Qur'an we have today is the same Qur'an that the Prophet received from God. Its authenticity and genuineness therefore, are unimpeachable. One of the miracles of the Qur'an, which was revealed 14 centuries ago, is the fact that it can be read and understood by the Arabic-speaking people living today. Every language undergoes changes as time passes, and one or two hundred years is long enough for a language to undergo substantial changes. Thus anyone who knows the rudiments of the history of languages knows that logically it should be impossible for the Arabic-speaking peoples of today to read and understand a book 14 centuries old. And yet, every day, every hour, every minute, in fact every second of the 24 hours of the 365 days of every year of the past centuries has been alive with the reading and study of the Qur'anic verses. And it goes on into the future. The volume and scope of it multiplies in every imaginable way with the coming of the multimedia. This started at the time of the Prophet and it has continued unceasingly till the present day, making this the ever-present miracle of Prophet Muhammad rivaling all other miracles. Allah says [This is the Book; in it is Sure Guidance, no doubt, for those who are God-conscious] (Al-Baqarah 2:2) In another verse we read [And say: "The Truth has arrived, and Falsehood perished; for Falsehood is bound to perish"] (Al-Israa' 17:81).

Sources

Bultmann, Rudolf. Jesus and the Word. Charles Scribner's Sons, New York, 1958 "Canon of the New Testament." Catholic Encyclopedia (www.newadvent.org). Griffith, Sidney H. "The Gospel in Arabic: An Enquiry into Its Appearance in the First Abbasid Century." in Oriens Christianus, volume 69, pp. 131-132. Würthwein, Ernst. The Text of the Old Testament. Grand Rapids, Michigan: William B. Eerdmans Publishing Company, 1988. ** Professor Shahul Hameed is a consultant for the Discover Islam section in IslamOnline.net. He also writes occasionally for other sections. He was formerly the president of the Kerala Islamic Mission in Calicut, India. He is the author of three books on Islam published in the Malayalam language. His books are on comparative religion, the status of women, and science and human values

http://www.islamonline.net/English/Living_Shariah/QuranTheReminder/FactsFallacies/2006/09/01.shtml

DON'T LET SHAYTAN KEEP YOU BUSY

Satan called a worldwide convention of demons. In his opening address he said, "We can't keep Muslims from going to the Mosque." "We can't keep them from reading their Quran and knowing the truth." "We can't even keep them from forming an intimate relationship with their Allaah, our power over them is broken." "So let them go to their Mosque; let them have their covered dish dinners, BUT steal their time, so they don't have time to develop a relationship with Allaah and his messenger, Muhammaad (SAW)." "This is what I want you to do," said the devil: Distract them from gaining hold of their Allaah and maintaining that vital connection throughout their day!" "How shall we do this?" his demons shouted. "Keep them busy in the non-essentials of life and invent innumerable schemes to occupy their minds," he answered. "Tempt them to spend, spend, spend, and borrow, borrow, borrow." "Persuade the wives to go to work for long hours and the husbands to work 6-7 days each week, 10-12 hours a day, so they can afford their empty lifestyles." "keep them from spending time with their children." "As their families fragment, soon, their homes will offer no escape from the pressures of work!" "Over stimulate their minds so that they can not hear that still, small voice." "Entice them to play the radio or cassette player whenever they drive." "To keep the TV, VCR, CDs and their PCs going constantly in their home and see to it that very store and restaurant in the world play music constantly." "This will jam their minds and break that union with Allaah and his messenger, Muhammaad (SAW)." "Fill the coffee tables with magazines and newspapers." "Pound their minds with the news 24 hours a day." "Invade their driving moments with billboards." "Flood their mailboxes with junk mail, mail order catalogs, sweeptakes, and every kind of newsletter and promotional offering free products, services and false hopes." "Keep skinny, beautiful models on the magazines and TV so their husbands will believe that outward beauty is what's important, and they'll become dissatisfied with their wives." "Keep the wives too tired to love their husbands at night." "Give them headaches, too!"" "If they don't give their husbands the love they need, they will begin to look elsewhere." "That will fragment their families quickly!" "Give them story books to distract them from teaching their children the real meaning of Salat." "Keep them too busy to go out in nature and reflect on Allaah's creation. Send them to amusement parks, sporting events, plays, concerts, and movies instead." "Keep them busy, busy, busy." "And when they meet for spiritual fellowship, involve them in gossip and small talk so that they leave with troubled consciences." "Crowd their lives with so many good causes they have no time to seek power from Allaah." "Soon they will be working in their own strength, sacrificing their health and family for the good of the cause." "It will work!" "It will work!" It was quite a plan! The demons went eagerly to their assignments causing Muslims everywhere to get busier and more rushed, going here and there. Having little time for their Allaah or their families. Having no time to tell others about the power of Allaah and his messenger, Muhammaad SAW to change lives. I guess the question is, has the devil been successful in his schemes? You be the judge!!!!! Does "BUSY" mean: B-EING U-NDER S-ATAN'S Y-OKE? Source taken from here.

Perkara Sebelum Tidur

Perkara Sebelum Tidur ( Tafsir Haqqi ) Rasulullah berpesan kepada Aisyah ra : "Ya Aisyah, jangan engkau tidur sebelum melakukan empat perkara, yaitu : 1. Sebelum khatam Al Qur'an, 2. Sebelum membuat para nabi memberimu syafaat di hari akhir, 3. Sebelum para muslim meridhai kamu, 4. Sebelum kau laksanakan haji dan umroh.... "Bertanya Aisyah : "Ya Rasulullah.... Bagaimana aku dapat melaksanakan empat perkara tersebut sekaligus?" Rasul tersenyum dan bersabda :

"Jika engkau tidur bacalah : Al Ikhlas tiga kali maka seakan-akan kau mengkhatamkan Al Qur'an. Bismillaahirrahmaanirrahiim, Qulhuallaahu ahad' Allaahushshamad' lam yalid walam yuulad' walam yakul lahuu kufuwan ahad' ( 3 x ) Membacalah shalawat untukku dan para nabi sebelum aku, maka kami semua akan memberi syafaat di hari kiamat. Bismillaahirrohmaanirrohiim, Allaahumma shallii 'alaa Muhammad wa'alaa aalii Muhammad ( 3 x ) Beristighfarlah untuk para muslimin maka mereka akan meridhai kamu. Astaghfirullaahal adziim aladzii laa ilaaha illaa huwal hayyul qayyuum wa atuubu ilaih ( 3 x ) Dan,perbanyaklah bertasbih, bertahmid, bertahlil, bertakbir maka seakan-akankamu telah melaksanakan ibadah haji dan umrah." Bismillaahirrohmaanirrohiim, Subhanalloohi Walhamdulillaahi walaailaaha illallaahu allaahu akbar (3 x ) Sekian untuk ingatan kita bersama. Sumber: dari forward seorang teman with slight edition.

Error Dress Code For Muslimah

Gambar di samping tidak sengaja saya temukan di profil salah seorang ukhti yang menurut saya sangat bagus jika saya bagi ke para blog readers semuanya. Semoga menambah 'pengetahuan' akan pentingnya hijab yang sesuai syariat. Aamin Ya Rabbal 'Alamiin...

A Reminder For All of Us...

Dan Umar pun Menangis..... Pernahkah anda membaca dalam riwayat akan Umar bin Khattab menangis ? Umar bin Khattab terkenal gagah perkasa sehingga disegani lawan maupun kawan. Bahkan konon, dalam satu riwayat, Nabi menyebutkan kalau Syaitan pun amat segan dengan Umar sehingga kalau Umar lewat di suatu jalan, maka Syaitan pun menghindar lewat jalan yang lain. Terlepas dari kebenaran riwayat terakhir ini, yang jelas keperkasaan Umar sudah menjadi buah bibir di kalangan umat Islam. Karena itu kalau Umar sampai menangis tentulah itu menjadi peristiwa yang menakjubkan. Mengapa "singa padang pasir" ini sampai menangis? Umar pernah meminta izin menemui Rasulullah SAW. Ia mendapatkan beliau sedang berbaring di atas tikar yang sangat kasar. Sebagian tubuh beliau berada di atas tanah. Beliau hanya berbantal pelepah kurma yang keras. Aku ucapkan salam kepadanya dan duduk di dekatnya. Aku tidak sanggup menahan tangisku. Rasul yang mulia bertanya, "Mengapa engkau menangis, ya Umar ?" Umar menjawab, "Bagaimana aku tidak menangis. Tikar ini telah menimbulkan bekas pada tubuh engkau, padahal engkau ini Nabi Allah dan kekasih-Nya. Kekayaanmu hanya yang aku lihat sekarang ini. Sedangkan Kisra dan kaisar duduk di singgasana emas dan berbantalkan sutera." Nabi berkata, "Mereka telah menyegerakan kesenangannya sekarang juga; sebuah kesenangan yang akan cepat berakhir. Kita adalah kaum yang menangguhkan kesenangan kita untuk hari akhir. Perumpamaan hubunganku dengan dunia seperti orang yang bepergian pada musim panas. Ia berlindung sejenak di bawah pohon, kemudian berangkat dan meninggalkannya." Indah nian perumpamaan Nabi akan hubungan beliau dengan dunia ini. Dunia ini hanyalah tempat pemberhentian sementara; hanyalah tempat berteduh sejenak, untuk kemudian kita meneruskan perjalanan yang sesungguhnya. Ketika anda pergi ke Belanda, biasanya pesawat akan transit di Singapura. Atau anda pulang dari Saudi Arabia, biasanya pesawat anda mampir sejenak di Abu Dhabi. Anggap saja tempat transit itu, Singapura dan Abu Dhabi, merupakan dunia ini. Apakah ketika transit anda akan habiskan segala perbekalan anda? Apakah anda akan selamanya tinggal di tempat transit itu? Ketika anda sibuk shopping ternyata pesawat telah memanggil anda untuk segera meneruskan perjalanan anda. Ketika anda sedang terlena dan sibuk dengan dunia ini, tiba-tiba Allah memanggil anda pulang kembali ke sisi-Nya. Perbekalan anda sudah habis, tangan anda penuh dengan bungkusan dosa anda, lalu apa yang akan anda bawa nanti di padang Mahsyar. Sisakan kesenangan anda di dunia ini untuk bekal anda di akhirat. Dalam tujuh hari seminggu, mengapa tak anda tahan segala nafsu, rasa lapar dan rasa haus paling tidak dua hari dalam seminggu. Lakukan ibadah puasa Senin-Kamis. Dalam dua puluh empat jam sehari, mengapa tak anda sisakan waktu barang satu-dua jam untuk sholat dan membaca Al-Qur'an. Delapan jam waktu tidur kita....mengapa tak kita buang 15 menit saja untuk sholat tahajud. "Celupkan tanganmu ke dalam lautan," saran Nabi ketika ada sahabat yang bertanya tentang perbedaan dunia dan akherat. "Air yang ada di jarimu itulah dunia, sedangkan sisanya adalah akhirat." Bersiaplah, untuk menyelam di "lautan akhirat". Siapa tahu Allah sebentar lagi akan memanggil kita,dan bila saat panggilan itu tiba, jangankan untuk beribadah, menangis pun kita tak akan punya waktu lagi.

" Sesuatu yang bernyawa tidak akan mati melainkan dengan izin Allah, sebagai ketetapan yang telah ditentukan waktunya. Barangsiapa menghendaki pahala dunia, niscaya Kami berikan kepadanya pahala dunia itu, dan barangsiapa menghendaki pahala akhirat, Kami berikan (pula) kepadanya pahala akhirat. Dan Kami akan memberi balasan kepada orang-orang yang bersyukur. " (QS. Al-Imran 3:145)

'How to be a Successful Muslim Wife'

Here are the tips on 'How to be a Successful Muslim Wife' 1. Use your 'Fitnah' (beauty and overtures of allurement) to win the heart of your husband.All women have the ornaments that Allah blessed them with. Use the beauty Allah - Azza wa Jal - has bestowed you with to win the heart of your husband. 2. When your husband comes home, greet him with a wonderful greeting.Imagine your husband coming home to a clean house, an exquisitely dressed wife, a dinner prepared with care, children clean and sweet smelling, a clean bedroom - what would this do to his love for you? Now imagine what the opposite does to him. 3. Review the characteristics of the Hoor Al-Ayn and try to imitate them The Qur'an and Sunnah describe the women in Jannah with certain characteristics. Such as the silk they wear, their large dark eyes, their singing to their husband, etc. Try it, wear silk for your husband, put Kohl in your eyes to 'enlarge' them, and sing to your husband. 4. Always wear jewellery and dress up in the house. From the early years, little girls have adorned themselves with earrings and bracelets and worn pretty dresses - as described in the Qur'an. As a wife, continue to use the jewellery that you have and the pretty dresses for your husband. 5. Joke and play games with your husband. A mans secret: they seek women who are light-hearted and have a sense of humour. As Rasul Allah - sal Allahu alayhi wa sallam - told Jabir to marry someone who would make him laugh and he would make her laugh. 6. Thank your husband constantly for the nice things he does. Then thank him again. This is one of the most important techniques, as the opposite is a characteristic of the women of hellfire. 7. An argument is a fire in the house. Extinguish it with a simple 'I'm sorry' even if it is not your fault. When you fight back, you are only adding wood to the fire. Watch how sweetly an argument will end when you just say sincerely, "Look, I'm sorry. Let's be friends." 8. Always seek to please your husband, for he is your key to Jannah. Rasul Allah - sal Allahu alayhi wa sallam - taught us that any women who dies in a state where her husband is pleased with her, shall enter Jannah. So .. please him. 9. Listen and Obey! Obeying your husband is Fard! Your husband is the Ameer of the household. Give him that right and respect. 10. Make Dua to Allah to make your marriage and relationship successful. All good things are from Allah. Never forget to ask Allah ta'ala for the blessing of having a successful marriage that begins in this Dunya and continues on - by the Mercy of Allah ta'ala - into Jannah. from: Forwarded Message

• For attractive lips, Speak words of kindness.
• For lovely eyes, Seek out the good in people.
• For a slim figure, Share your food with the hungry.
• For beautiful hair,Let a child run his or her fingers through it once a day.
• For poise, Walk with the knowledge you'll never walk alone.
• People, even more than things, have to be restored, renewed, revived, reclaimed, and redeemed; Never throw out anybody.
• Remember, If you ever need a helping hand,you'll find one at the end of your arm.
• As you grow older, you will discover that you have two hands,one for helping yourself, the other for helping others.The beauty of a woman is not in the clothes she wears,The figure that she carries, or the way she combs her hair.
• The beauty of a woman must be seen from in her eyes,because that is the doorway to her heart,the place where love resides.
• The beauty of a woman is not in a facial mole,but true beauty in a woman is reflected in her soul.It is the caring that she lovingly gives, the passion that she shows,
• And the beauty of a woman with passing years-only grows . . .

This article was originally published on: Site:Queensland Muslim Times URL:http://www.qmt.org.au/modules/articles/article.php?id=133 Komentar: Benar-benar tidak mudah ya... Tapi patut dicoba dan diterapkan semaksimal kita... Semoga Allaah mempermudahnya. Aamin.