I am reposting this from David’s Wood’s blog: Sam Shamoun vs. 1MoreMuslim on Allah’s Repentance.
Have you ever noticed that some Muslims are so desperate to attack Christianity, they don’t care if they contradict Islam in the process? Here is another response from Sam Shamoun to 1MoreMuslim.
——————————————————–
It is time, once again, to turn the tables on 1MoreMuslim to show that he is both inconsistent and dishonest.
He wrote:
“You should be busy correcting your theology, rather than teaching me about my language. And allah is not yahweh, Allah created human being knowing they will be wicked, so he felt no regrets, unlike Yahweh.”
And:
“unfortunately the only God who repents is the God of the bible, perhaps you can find other Greek Gods who do so.”
What makes this assertion rather astonishing is that the Quran claims that Allah is a god who often and relents and changes his mind! Note the following verse carefully:
Then Adam received commandments from his Lord, and his Lord REPENTED towards him; for He is OFT-REPENTING (huwa al-tawwabu), Most Merciful. S. 2:37
Here is how the verse is translated in the various English versions:
Then Adam received from his Lord words (of revelation), and He RELENTED toward him. Lo! He is THE RELENTING, the Merciful. Pickthall
Then learnt Adam from his Lord words of inspiration, and his Lord TURNED towards him; for He is Oft-RETURNING, Most Merciful. Y. Ali
Then Adam received (some) words from his Lord, so He TURNED to him mercifully; surely He is Oft-RETURNING (to mercy), the Merciful. Shakir
Then Adam learnt from his Lord certain words of prayer. So HE TURNED toward him with mercy. Surely HE is Oft-RETURNING with compassion, and is Merciful. Sher Ali
Thereafter Adam received certain words from his Lord, and He TURNED towards him; truly He TURNS, and is All-compassionate. Arberry
And Adam caught certain words from his Lord, and He TURNED towards him, for He is the compassionate one easily TURNED. Palmer
And words of prayer learned Adam from his Lord: and God TURNED to him; for He loveth to TURN, the Merciful. Rodwell
And Adam learned words [of prayer] from his Lord, and God TURNED unto him, for he is easy to be reconciled and merciful. Sale
Notice that these versions render the Arabic words taba and tawwab as relented, relenting, turned, turns, etc. Now my question to you is what does repentance mean if not a turning away from something towards something? What does repentance mean if not relenting from something? Moreover, what did Allah relent from? What did he turn from when he turned towards Adam in mercy and compassion?
Here are a few more cases where Allah is said to repent and change his mind or course of action:
Except those who repent (taboo) and make amends and openly declare: To them I repent (atoobu); for I am Oft-Repenting (wa ana al-tawwabu), Most Merciful. S. 2:160
Do they not know that Allah accepts repentance (al-tawbata) from his servants and takes the alms, and that Allah is the Oft-returning (huwa al-tawwabu), the Merciful? S. 9:104
And to the three who were left behind, until the earth became strait to them notwithstanding its spaciousness and their souls were also straightened to them; and they knew it for certain that there was no refuge from Allah but in Him; then He repented (taba) to them that they might repent (liyatooboo); surely Allah is the Oft-repenting (huwa al-tawwabu), the Merciful. S. 9:118
Let us see how the lexical sources define these words:
= Ta-Waw-Ba = TO RETURN; REPENT; TURN ONE’S SELF IN A REPENTANT MANNER (with ila or without it), TURN with mercy (with ala), ADAPT.
taba vb. (1) (Project Root List)
Now just in case 1MoreMuslim still wants to stubbornly deny that these words mean that Allah actually repents and changes his mind, here are some verses where the very same words are used in connection to Allah calling individuals to change or repent from their evil ways:
They will question thee concerning the monthly course. Say: ‘It is hurt; so go apart from women during the monthly course, and do not approach them till they are clean. When they have cleansed themselves, then come unto them as God has commanded you.’ Truly, God loves those who repent (al-tawwabeena), and He loves those who cleanse themselves. S. 2:222 Arberry
And when two of you commit indecency, punish them both; but if they repent (taba) and make amends, then suffer them to be; God turns, and is All-compassionate. S. 4:16 Arberry
And to Thamood their brother Salih; he said, ‘O my people, serve God! You have no god other than He. It is He who produced you from the earth and has given you to live therein; so ask forgiveness of Him, then repent (tooboo) to Him; surely my Lord is nigh, and answers prayer. S. 11:61 Arberry
Save him who repenteth (taba) and believeth and doth righteous work; as for such, Allah will change their evil deeds to good deeds. Allah is ever Forgiving, Merciful. And whosoever repenteth (taba) and doeth good, he verily repenteth (yatoobu) toward Allah with true repentance (mataban). S. 25:70-71 Pickthall
Believers, turn (tooboo) to God in sincere repentance (tawbatan); it may be that your Lord will acquit you of your evil deeds, and will admit you into gardens underneath which rivers flow. Upon the day when God will not degrade the Prophet and those who believe with him, their light running before them, and on their right hands; and they say, ‘Our Lord, perfect for us our light, and forgive us; surely Thou art powerful over everything.’ S. 66:8 Arberry
To further confirm that Allah literally changes his mind and repents, here is what the Quran says Allah did when the people whom Jonah preached to repent of their sins:
If only there had been a community (of all those that were destroyed of old) that believed and profited by its belief as did the folk of Jonah! When they believed WE DREW OFF FROM THEM THE TORMENT OF DISGRACE in the life of the world and gave them comfort for a while. S. 10:98 Pickthall
Let us see how the Muslim expositors interpreted this passage:
(If only there had been a community (of all those that were destroyed of old) that believed) if only the people of a township believed when the punishment befell them (and profited by its belief) He says: their faith did not benefit them upon the descent of punishment (as did the folk of Jonah) except the folk of Jonah who benefited from their belief. (When they believed We drew off) WE DIVERTED (from them the torment of disgrace) the severe punishment (in the life of the world and gave them comfort for a while) We left them without punishment until they died. (Tanwîr al-Miqbâs min Tafsîr Ibn ‘Abbâs, Q. 10:98 https://www.altafsir.com/Tafasir.asp?tMadhNo=0&tTafsirNo=73&tSoraNo=10&tAyahNo=98&tDisplay=yes&UserProfile=0&LanguageId=2; bold and capital emphasis mine)
If only there had been one town – meaning its inhabitants – that believed, before chastisement befell it, and profited by its belief – except for the people of Jonah: when they believed, after seeing a portent of the chastisement, for they did not wait [to believe] until it came to pass, We removed from upon them the chastisement of degradation in the life of this world and We gave them comfort for a while, until the conclusion of their terms [of life]. (Tafsir al-Jalalayn, Q. 10:98 https://www.altafsir.com/Tafasir.asp?tMadhNo=0&tTafsirNo=74&tSoraNo=10&tAyahNo=98&tDisplay=yes&UserProfile=0&LanguageId=2; bold emphasis mine)
And they believed, after they saw [with their own eyes] the chastisement WHICH THEY HAD BEEN PROMISED. So We gave them comfort, We kept them alive to enjoy their wealth, for a while, until their terms [of life] would be concluded [while they took comfort] therein. (Tafsir al-Jalalayn, Q. 37:148 https://www.altafsir.com/Tafasir.asp?tMadhNo=0&tTafsirNo=74&tSoraNo=37&tAyahNo=148&tDisplay=yes&UserProfile=0&LanguageId=2; bold and capital emphasis mine)
… Then he mentioned the multitude of followers that Musa had, peace be upon him, then that he saw his nation of people filling from the west to the east. The point is that between Musa and Yunus, there was no nation, in its entirety, that believed except the people of Yunus, the people of Naynawa (Nineveh). And they only believed because they feared that the torment from which their Messenger warned them, might strike them. They actually witnessed its signs. So they cried to Allah and asked for help. They engaged in humility in invoking Him. They brought their children and cattle and asked Allah to lift the torment from which their Prophet had warned them. As a result, Allah sent His mercy AND REMOVED THE SCOURGE from them and gave them respite. Allah said…
In interpreting this Ayah, Qatadah said: “No town has denied the truth and then believed when they saw the scourge, and then their belief benefited them, with the exception of the people of Yunus. When they lost their Prophet and they thought that the scourge was close upon them, Allah sent through their hearts the desire to repent. So they wore woolen fabrics and they separated each animal from its offspring. They then cried out to Allah for forty nights. When Allah saw the truth in their hearts and that they were sincere in their repentance and regrets, He REMOVED the scourge from them.” Qatadah said: “It was mentioned that the people of Yunus were in Naynawa, the land of Mosul.” This was also reported from Ibn Mas`ud, Mujahid, Sa`id bin Jubayr and others from the Salaf. (Tafsir Ibn Kathir, Q. 10:98 https://www.alim.org/quran/tafsir/ibn-kathir/surah/10/98; bold and capital emphasis mine)
These commentators candidly admit that even though Allah had sworn to punish Nineveh, he nonetheless repented from destroying them when he saw their repentance!
The foregoing proves beyond any shadow of a doubt that when taba and tawwab are used in respect to the Islamic deity we are to interpret this as Allah literally changing his mind and course of action.
Now watch as 1More tries to pervert the plain and unambiguous meanings of these texts and Arabic words in order to force the Quran to agree with his theological presuppositions. Watch him do the very thing he condemns Christians for doing in trying to force these verses to fit in with his mistaken notion that his god is perfect and therefore never repents and changes his mind.
Lord willing in my next post I will prove that Allah doesn’t simply allow people to do evil, as 1More erroneously asserted, but that he actually creates them to be evil and to act wickedly!
Inconsistency, thy name is 1MoreMuslim!
FURTHER READING
Answering Islam Blog 