I continue from where I previously left off: CHALLENGES FOR ONE MESSAGE FOUNDATION PT. 4.

ALLAH MURDERS WOMEN, CHILDREN AND ANIMALS

Contrary to the assertions of the Muhammadan polemicists, the Quran NOWHERE forbids the killing of women or children. The opposite is true since it speaks of Allah destroying whole places such as Noah’s people by the flood, and wiping out Sodom and Gomorrah. The Quran even states that Allah makes sure his destruction of people is terribly painful:

Such is the seizing of thy Lord, when He seizes the cities that are evildoing; surely His seizing IS PAINFUL, TERRIBLE. S. 11:102 Arberry

In fact, the supposed sound ahadith proclaim that when Allah decides to destroy or kill a people he does so indiscriminately:

Narrated Ibn ‘Umar: Allah’s Apostle said, “If Allah sends punishment upon a nation then it befalls upon the WHOLE population INDISCRIMINATELY and then they will be resurrected (and judged) according to their deeds.” (Sahih al-Bukhari, Volume 9, Book 88, Number 224 https://www.searchtruth.com/book_display.php?book=88&translator=1&start=0&number=224)

Here is another English version of this particular narration:

XVIII. When Allah sends down a punishment on a people

6691. Hamza ibn ‘Abdullah ibn ‘Umar related that he heard Ibn ‘Umar say, “The Messenger of Allah said, ‘When Allah sends down a punishment on a people, the punishment will strike ALL THOSE WHO ARE AMONG THEM, and then they will be resurrected commensurate with their actions.’” (Aisha Bewley, The Sahih Collection of al-Bukhari, 96. Book of Trials)

These same allegedly sound narrations even Muhammad himself didn’t know whether the children of believers or unbelievers would go to hell or not. Muhammad further stated the reason he didn’t know is because Allah may have destined such infants to hell.

‘A’isha, the mother of the believers, said that Allah’s Messenger was called to lead the funeral prayer of a child of the Ansar. I said: Allah’s Messenger, there is happiness for this child who is a bird from the birds of Paradise for it committed no sin nor has he reached the age when one can commit sin. He said: ‘A’isha, per adventure, IT MAY BE OTHERWISE, because God created for Paradise those who are fit for it WHILE THEY WERE YET IN THEIR FATHER’S LOINS and created for Hell those who are to go to Hell. He created them for Hell WHILE THEY WERE YET IN THEIR FATHER’S LOINS. (Sahih Muslim, Book 033, Number 6436 https://www.searchtruth.com/book_display.php?book=033&translator=2&start=0&number=6436)

Abu Huraira reported Allah’s Messenger as saying: No babe is born but upon Fitra. It is his parents who make him a Jew or a Christian or a Polytheist. A person said: Allah’s Messenger, what is your opinion if they were to die before that (before reaching the age of adolescence when they can distinguish between right and wrong)? He said: It is Allah alone Who knows what they would be doing. (Sahih Muslim, Book 033, Number 6426 https://www.searchtruth.com/book_display.php?book=033&translator=2&start=0&number=6426)

Abu Huraira reported from Allah’s Messenger many ahadith and one amongst them is that he is reported to have said: An infant is born according to his (true) nature. It is his parents who make him a Jew, a Christian, just as a she-camel gives birth to its young ones. Do you find any deficiency in their limbs? You cut their ears (i. e. after birth). They (the Companions of the Holy Prophet) said: What is your opinion about him who dies in infancy? Thereupon Allah’s Apostle (may peace be upon him) said: It is Allah alone Who knows best what they would be doing. (Sahih Muslim, Book 033, Number 6428 https://www.searchtruth.com/book_display.php?book=033&translator=2&start=0&number=6428)

Abu Huraira reported that Allah’s Messenger was asked about the children of the polytheists who die young. Thereupon Allah’s Apostle (may peace be upon him) said: It is Allah Who knows what they would be doing. (Sahih Muslim, Book 033, Number 6432 https://www.searchtruth.com/book_display.php?book=033&translator=2&start=0&number=6432)

ALLAH WORSHIPED AS THE BEST OF ALL DECEIVERS

The Quran not only states that Allah is a deceiver but that he is actually the best of all deceivers, even better than the Devil himself!

But they were deceitful/deceptive (Wa’makaroo), and Allah was deceitful/deceptive (wa’makara Allahu), for Allah is the best of all deceivers (wa’Allahu khayru al-makireena)! S. 3:54 – cf. Q. 8:30; 27:50

Satan himself accused Allah of being a deceitful pervert:

(Allah) said: “O Iblis (Satan)! What is your reason for not being among the prostrators?” [Iblis (Satan)] said: “I am not the one to prostrate myself to a human being, whom You created from sounding clay of altered black smooth mud.” (Allah) said: “Then, get out from here, for verily, you are Rajim (an outcast or a cursed one).” [Tafsir At-Tabari] “And verily, the curse shall be upon you till the Day of Recompense (i.e. the Day of Resurrection).” [Iblis (Satan)] said: “O my Lord! Give me then respite till the Day they (the dead) will be resurrected.” Allah said: “Then, verily, you are of those reprieved, Till the Day of the time appointed.” [Iblis (Satan)] said: “O my Lord! Because YOU MISLED ME, I shall indeed adorn the path of error for them (mankind) on the earth, and I shall mislead them all. Except Your chosen, (guided) slaves among them.” (Allah) said: “This is the Way which will lead straight to Me. Certainly, you shall have no authority over My slaves, except those who follow you of the Ghawin (Mushrikun and those who go astray, criminals, polytheists, and evil-doers, etc.). And surely, Hell is the promised place for them all. It (Hell) has seven gates, for each of those gates is a (special) class (of sinners) assigned.” S. 15:32-44

What makes this exchange rather shocking is that Satan accuses Allah of deceiving or misleading him! Here is what the text in question exactly says:

[Iblis (Satan)] said: “O my Lord! Because you misled me (aghwaytanee), I shall indeed adorn the path of error for them (mankind) on the earth, and I shall mislead (walaoghwiyannahum) them all. S. 15:39

Note the various translations of this specific text by the different versions of the Quran:

Said he, ‘My Lord, for Thy perverting me …’ Arberry

[Satan said]: “My Lord, since you misguided me, …” Majid Fakhry – An Interpretation of the Qur’an (approved by Al-Ahzar University)

‘Lord,’ said Satan, ‘since You have thus seduced me, …’ N.J. Dawood

“My Lord, since you have misled me, …” Thomas Cleary

He said, “O my Lord! because thou hast beguiled me, …” Rodwell

He said, ‘O my Lord! for that Thou hast seduced me …’ Palmer

[The devil] replied, o Lord, because thou hast seduced me, … Sale

The parallel version of this story reads similarly:

(Iblîs) said: “Because You have sent me astray (aghwaytanee), …” S. 7:16

Here is how various versions translate this passage:

Said he, ‘Now, for Thy perverting me, …’ Arberry

Satan said: “Because You have misled me, …” Fakhry

‘Because You led me into sin …’ N.J. Dawood

He said: Now, because Thou hast sent me astray, … Pickthall

He said: “Because thou hast thrown me out of the way, …” Y. Ali

He said, “Since You have willed that I go astray, …” Thomas Cleary

He said, “Now, for that thou hast caused me to err, …” Rodwell

said he, ‘For that Thou hast led me into error, …’ Palmer

The devil] said, because thou hast depraved me, … Sale

And this is how some Muslim commentators explained S. 7:16:

(He) Iblis (said: Now, because Thou hast sent me astray) just as You made me err from guidance, (verily I shall lurk in ambush for them) for the children of Adam (on Thy Right Path) the religion of Islam. (Tanwîr al-Miqbâs min Tafsîr Ibn ‘Abbâs source; bold emphasis mine)

Said he, ‘Now, because You have sent me astray (fa-bi-ma aghwaytani means bi-ighwa’ik, ‘for Your sending me astray’: the ba‘ is for oaths, and the response of the oath is [the following]) verily I shall sit in ambush for them, that is, for the Children of Adam, on Your straight path, that is, on the path that leads to You. (Tafsir al-Jalalayn source; bold emphasis mine)

And because Allah misled Satan the devil will now mislead others!

[Iblis (Satan)] said: “By Your Might, then I will surely mislead (laoghwiyannahum) them all,” S. 38:82

That’s not all. The Quran even goes so far as to say that no one can outdo Allah when it comes to deceiving and misleading others:

The hypocrites would deceive God, but He will deceive them! When they stand up for prayer, they stand carelessly, to be seen of men, and they remember God but little: S. 4:142 Rodwell

And when We make people taste of mercy after an affliction touches them, lo! they devise deception (makrun) against Our communication. Say: Allah is quicker to deceive (makran); surely Our apostles write down what you plan. S. 10:21

The Quran further attests that only the disbelievers are naïve enough to feel safe from Allah’s deceit and lies, since the believers know better than to trust Allah:

Are they then secure from Allah’s deception (makra Allahi)? None deemeth himself secure from Allah’s deception (makra Allahi) save folk that perish. S. 7:99

The Muslim scripture even boasts that all deception and deceit belong entirely to Allah!

And verily, those before them did plot deception (makara), but all deception (al-makru) is Allah’s. He knows what every person earns, and the disbelievers will know who gets the good end. S. 13:42

The word for deception/deceiver/scheme in Q. 3:54 and 8:30 is makr. The lexical sources define the term as:

Miim-Kaf-Ra = To practice deceit or guile or circumvention, practice evasion or elusion, to plot, to exercise art or craft or cunning, act with policy, practice stratagem.

makara vb. (1)
perf. act. 3:54, 3:54, 7:123, 13:42, 14:46, 16:26, 16:45, 27:50, 40:45, 71:22
impf. act. 6:123, 6:123, 6:124, 8:30, 8:30, 8:30, 10:21, 12:102, 16:127, 27:70, 35:10
n.vb. 7:99, 7:99, 7:123, 10:21, 10:21, 12:31, 13:33, 13:42, 14:46, 14:46, 14:46, 27:50, 27:50, 27:51, 34:33, 35:10, 35:43, 35:43, 71:22
pcple. act. 3:54, 8:30

LL, V7, p: 256 (Source)

He practised DECEIT, GUILE, or CIRCUMVENTION, desiring to do another a foul, an abominable, or an evil action, clandestinely or without his knowing whence it proceeded. (Lane’s Arabic-English Lexicon; source)

Lest Muslims accuse these lexicons of bias or distortion notice what Muslim scholar Dr. Mahmoud M. Ayoub writes after asking,

“how the word makr (scheming or plotting), which implies deceitfulness or dishonesty, could be attributed to God.” (The Quran and Its Interpreters – The House of Imran [State University of New York Press [SUNY], Albany, NY 1992], Volume II, p. 165; bold emphasis mine)

Ayoub later quotes renowned Muslim expositor named ar-Razi who stated that,

“scheming (makr) is actually an act of deception aiming at causing evil. It is not possible to attribute deception to God. Thus the word is one of the muttashabihat [multivalent words of the Quran].” (Ibid., p. 166; bold emphasis mine)

Ayoub also sources one Muslim who actually boasted of Allah being the best conniver/deceiver/schemer etc.,

“Qurtubi observes that some scholars have considered the words ‘best of schemers’ to be one of God’s beautiful names. Thus one would pray, ‘O Best of Schemers, scheme for me!’ Qurtubi also reports that the Prophet used to pray, ‘O God, scheme for me, and do not scheme against me!’ (Qurtubi, IV, pp. 98-99; cf. Zamakhshari, I, p. 366).” (Ibid., p. 166)

And here, also, is how one of the earliest sources on the life of Muhammad interprets Q. 8:30:

Then he reminds the apostle of His favour towards him when the people plotted against him ‘to kill him, or to wound him, or to drive him out; and they plotted and God plotted, and is the best of plotters.’ i.e. I DECEIVED them with My firm GUILE so that I delivered you from them. (The Life of Muhammad: A Translation of Ibn Ishaq’s Sirat Rasul Allah, with introduction and notes by Alfred Guillaume [Oxford University Press, Karachi, Tenth impression 1995], p. 323; capital emphasis mine)

ALLAH AS THE MOST CORRUPT MISLEADER OF THEM ALL

According to the Quran, Allah misleads people in order to pervert and condemn them to hell:

Then what is the matter with you that you are divided into two parties about the hypocrites? Allah has cast them back (to disbelief) because of what they have earned. Do you want to guide him whom Allah has made to go astray? And he whom Allah has made to go astray, you will never find for him any way (of guidance). S. 4:88 Hilali-Khan

And whomsoever Allah wills to guide, He opens his breast to Islam, and whomsoever He wills to send astray, He makes his breast closed and constricted, as if he is climbing up to the sky. Thus Allah puts the wrath on those who believe not. S. 6:125 Hilali-Khan

And We sent not a Messenger except with the language of his people, in order that he might make (the Message) clear for them. Then Allah misleads whom He wills and guides whom He wills. And He is the All-Mighty, the All-Wise. S. 14:4 Hilali-Khan

If you (O Muhammad) covet for their guidance then verily Allah guides not those whom He makes to go astray (or none can guide him whom Allah sends astray). And they will have no helpers. S. 16:37 Hilali-Khan

And when We desire to destroy a city, We command its men who live at ease, and they commit ungodliness therein, then the Word is realized against it, and We destroy it utterly. S. 17:16 Arberry

Allah goes as far as to send devils from among spirit creatures and human beings for the express purpose of tempting mankind to sin:

So have we made for every prophet an enemy, – devils of men and ginns; some of them inspire others with specious speech to lead astray; but had thy Lord pleased they would not have done it; so leave them with what they do devise. S. 6:112 Palmer

Do you not notice? WE SEND the Shaitans upon the disbelievers, and they continually incite and instigate them. S. 19:83 (Dr. Munir Munshey https://www.islamawakened.com/quran/19/st41.htm)

That HE MAY MAKE that which the devil proposeth a temptation for those in whose hearts is a disease, and those whose hearts are hardened – Lo! the evil-doers are in open schism – S. 22:53 Pickthall

indeed ate food and walked in the markets. And We have made some of you to be a temptation for (some) others. “Will you (endure) patiently?” And your Lord has been Ever-Beholding. S. 25:20 (Muhammad Mahmoud https://www.islamawakened.com/quran/25/st21.htm)

FURTHER READING

Incompleteness and Incoherence of the Qur’an

Introduction — a discussion of the quranic references claiming completeness

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