ANOTHER QURANIC BLUNDER: JEWS WORSHIP OSIRIS?

The Quran states that the Jews are guilty of the same sin that Christians commit in worshiping a specific human figure as the son of Allah:  

And the Jews say: Uzair (Auzayrun) is the son of Allah; and the Christians say: The Messiah is the son of Allah; these are the words of their mouths; they imitate the saying of those who disbelieved before; may Allah destroy them; how they are turned away! S. 9:30 Shakir

Suffice it to say, the Islamic expositors are all over the place concerning the identity of Uzair, whom the Muslim scripture accuses the Jews of worshiping as the son of Allah in the same way that Christians worship Jesus as God’s unique divine Son.  

Many commentators identify Uzair with the prophet and priest Ezra,

And the Jews say: Ezra is the son of Allah, and the Christians say: The Messiah is the son of Allah. That is their saying with their mouths. They imitate the saying of those who disbelieved of old. Allah (Himself) fighteth against them. How perverse are they! Pickthall

Even though there have been certain Muslims who weren’t sure whether Uzair was actually a prophet:

42 Model Behavior of the Prophet (Kitab Al-Sunnah)

(1690) Chapter: Making Distinction Between The Prophets

Abu Hurairah reported the Messenger of Allah as saying: I do not know whether Tubba was accursed or not, and ‘Uzair (Azra was a prophet or not).

Grade: Sahih (Al-Albani)

Reference: Sunan Abi Dawud 4674

In-book reference: Book 42, Hadith 79

English translation: Book 41, Hadith 4657 (sunnah.com https://sunnah.com/abudawud:4674)

That the Islamic scripture is slanderously accusing Jews of worshiping Uzair/Ezra as the Christians worship Jesus can be seen from the following narratives:

On the authority of At-Tufail the half brother of Aishah it is reported that he said: “I saw in a dream that I came upon a number of Jews and I said to them: ‘You are indeed a good people were it not that you claim ‘Uzair is the son of Allah.’ They replied: ‘You too are good, were it not that you say: As Allah wills AND as Muhammad wills.’ Then, I came upon a number of Christians and I said to them: ‘You are indeed a good people were it not that you claim the Messiah (Jesus) is the son of Allah.’ They replied: ‘You are also good, were it not that you say: As Allah wills AND as Muhammad wills.’ When I awoke I told someone about this then I went to the Prophet and repeated it to him. He asked me: ‘Have you told anyone about this?’ I said: ‘Yes.’ Then he went to the pulpit and, after praising Allah, he said: ‘At-Tufail had a dream which he has already communicated to some of you. You used to say something which I was prevented from forbidding to you until now. Henceforth do not say: As Allah wills AND as Muhammad wills, but say: What Allah Alone Wills.’” (Ibn Maajah, Albanee mentioned it in as Saheehah # 138, Al Haythamee said in Majma Az-Zawaaid: the men in its chain are reliable according to the conditions of Imam Muslim) (Takhreej of Kitaab at Tawheed, posted by www.SalafiManhaj.com, 2004, Chapter 43: Saying: “As Allah Wills and You Will”, pp. 21-22; capital and italicized emphasis mine)

Narrated Abu Said Al-Khudri:

During the lifetime of the Prophet some people said: O Allah’s Apostle! Shall we see our Lord on the Day of Resurrection?” The Prophet said, “Yes; do you have any difficulty in seeing the sun at midday when it is bright and there is no cloud in the sky?” They replied, “No.” He said, “Do you have any difficulty in seeing the moon on a full moon night when it is bright and there is no cloud in the sky?” They replied, “No.” The Prophet said, “(Similarly) you will have no difficulty in seeing Allah on the Day of Resurrection as you have no difficulty in seeing either of them. On the Day of Resurrection, a call-maker will announce, ‘Let every nation follow that which they used to worship.’ Then none of those who used to worship anything other than Allah like idols and other deities but will fall in Hell (Fire), till there will remain none but those who used to worship Allah, both those who were obedient (i.e. good) and those who were disobedient (i.e. bad) and the remaining party of the people of the Scripture. Then the Jews will be called upon and it will be said to them, ‘Who do you use to worship?’ They will say, ‘We used to worship Ezra, the son of Allah.’ It will be said to them, ‘You are liars, for Allah has never taken anyone as a wife or a son. What do you want now?’ They will say, ‘O our Lord! We are thirsty, so give us something to drink.’ They will be directed and addressed thus, ‘Will you drink,’ whereupon they will be gathered unto Hell (Fire) which will look like a mirage whose different sides will be destroying each other. Then they will fall into the Fire. Afterwards the Christians will be called upon and it will be said to them, ‘Who do you use to worship?’ They will say, ‘We used to worship Jesus, the son of Allah.’ It will be said to them, ‘You are liars, for Allah has never taken anyone as a wife or a son,’ Then it will be said to them, ‘What do you want?’ They will say what the former people have said. Then, when there remain (in the gathering) none but those who used to worship Allah (Alone, the real Lord of the Worlds) whether they were obedient or disobedient. Then (Allah) the Lord of the worlds will come to them in a shape nearest to the picture they had in their minds about Him. It will be said, ‘What are you waiting for?’ Every nation have followed what they used to worship.’ They will reply, ‘We left the people in the world when we were in great need of them and we did not take them as friends. Now we are waiting for our Lord Whom we used to worship.’ Allah will say, ‘I am your Lord.’ They will say twice or thrice, ‘We do not worship any besides Allah.'” (Sahih al-Bukhari, Volume 6, Book 60, Number 105 https://www.searchtruth.com/book_display.php?book=60&translator=1&start=0&number=105)

Here’s another English rendering of the aforementioned hadith:

LXXVII: “Allah does not wrong anyone by so much as the smallest mote.” (4:40)

i.e. the weight of a speck of dust.

4305. It is related from Abu Sa’id al-Khudri that in the time of the Prophet some people said, “Messenger of Allah, will we see our Lord on the Day of Rising?” The Prophet replied, “Yes, do you dispute with one another about seeing the sun at noon when it is light and there are no clouds?” They said, “No.” He said, “Do you dispute with one another about seeing the moon on the night of the full moon when it is light and there are no clouds?” They answered, “No.” He said, “You will not disagree about seeing Allah, the Mighty and Exalted, on the Day of Rising except as you disagree about seeing either of them. On the Day of Rising, an announcer will make a proclamation: ‘Let every community follow what they used to worship.’ None of those who worshipped other than Allah in the form of idols and figures will remain who does not fall into the Fire until there only remains those who worshipped Allah, pious or impious, and the remnants of the People of the Book. The Jews will be summoned and they will be asked, “What were you worshipping?” They will say, ‘We used to worship ‘Uzayr the son of God.’ They will be told, ‘You lied. Allah has not taken consort or son. What are you seeking?’ They will say, ‘We are thirsty, our Lord, so let us drink.’ An indication will be made, ‘Will you not be taken to drink?’ and they will be gathered to the Fire which will be like a mirage whose parts are consuming one another. They will fall into the Fire. Then the Christians will be summoned and will be asked, ‘What were you worshipping?’ They will say, ‘We used to worship the Messiah son of God.’ They will be told, ‘You lied. Allah has not taken consort or son. What are you seeking?’ and it will like the first until none remains but those who worshipped Allah, pious or impious. The Lord of the worlds will come to them in the form nearest to the form in which they thought of Him. It will be said, ‘What are you waiting for? Every community has followed what they used to worship.’ They will say, ‘We parted from people in the world in spite of the greatest need for them and did not accompany them. We are waiting for our Lord whom we used to worship.’ He will say, ‘I am your Lord.’ They will say, ‘We will not associate anything with Allah’ twice or three times.’” (Aisha Bewley, The Sahih Collection of al-Bukhari, Chapter 68. Book of Tafsir)

The problem with this equation is that there isn’t a shred of textual, historical and/or archaeological evidence outside of the Islamic sources that the Jews ever viewed Ezra as God’s unique Son, especially in the manner that Christians view Christ’s relationship with God.  

In light of this dilemma, certain Muslims have proposed that Uzair isn’t Ezra, but is actually the Egyptian god of the dead Osiris!

Here are links to some Muslim Youtubers that argue for this identification:

Who is Uzair in the Quran? Ezra or Osiris? Mufti Abu Layth (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GdlCbTkYHgM)

A new Quranic perspective on: The Jews say ” Ezra (Uzair) is the son of God” (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iruxBicm59o&t=1215s)

One Of The Biggest Mysteries In The Quran Was Finally Revealed – [Osiris the Son of God] (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A4ydRlPDXMo&t=4s)

These Muslims base this association on the fact that Osiris is actually the latinized transliteration of the Greek, whereas the name given to him in hieroglyphics is Asar/Ausar/Ausir/Wesir/Usir/Usire, just as the following references all confirm:

Etymology of the name

Osiris is a Latin transliteration of the Ancient Greek Ὄσιρις IPA: [ó.siː.ris], which in turn is the Greek adaptation of the original name in the Egyptian language. In Egyptian hieroglyphs the name appears as wsjr, which some Egyptologists instead choose to transliterate as sjr or jsjrj. Since hieroglyphic writing lacks vowels, Egyptologists have vocalized the name in various ways, such as Asar, Ausar, Ausir, Wesir, Usir, or Usire.

Several proposals have been made for the etymology and meaning of the original name; as Egyptologist Mark J. Smith notes, none are fully convincing.[19] Most take wsjr as the accepted transliteration, following Adolf Erman:

John Gwyn Griffiths (1980), “bearing in mind Erman’s emphasis on the fact that the name must begin with an [sic] w“, proposes a derivation from wsr with an original meaning of “The Mighty One”.[20]

Kurt Sethe (1930) proposes a compound stjrt, meaning “seat of the eye”, in a hypothetical earlier form *wst-jrt; this is rejected by Griffiths on phonetic grounds.[20]

David Lorton (1985) takes up this same compound but explains st-jrt as signifying “product, something made”, Osiris representing the product of the ritual mummification process.[19]

Wolfhart Westendorf (1987) proposes an etymology from wꜣstjrt “she who bears the eye”.[21][22]

Mark J. Smith (2017) makes no definitive proposals but asserts that the second element must be a form of jrj (“to do, make”) (rather than jrt (“eye”)).[19]

However, recently alternative transliterations have been proposed:

Yoshi Muchiki (1990) reexamines Erman’s evidence that the throne hieroglyph in the word is to be read ws and finds it unconvincing, suggesting instead that the name should be read sjr on the basis of Aramaic, Phoenician, and Old South Arabian transcriptions, readings of the throne sign in other words, and comparison with ꜣst (“Isis”).[23]

James P. Allen (2000) reads the word as jsjrt[24] but revises the reading (2013) to jsjrj and derives it from jsjrj, meaning “engendering (male) principle”.[25] (Osiris – Wikipedia; emphasis mine)

And:

Osiris is the Egyptian Lord of the Underworld and Judge of the Dead, brother-husband to Isis, and one of the most important gods of ancient Egypt. The name `Osiris’ is the Latinized form of the Egyptian Usir which is interpreted as ‘powerful’ or ‘mighty’. He is the first-born of the gods Geb (earth) and Nut (sky) shortly after the creation of the world, was murdered by his younger brother Set, and brought back to life by his sister-wife Isis. (Osiris: Ruler of the Afterlife; emphasis mine)

Again:

Osiris, also called Usir, one of the most important gods of ancient Egypt. The origin of Osiris is obscure; he was a local god of Busiris, in Lower Egypt, and may have been a personification of chthonic (underworld) fertility. By about 2400 BCE, however, Osiris clearly played a double role: he was both a god of fertility and the embodiment of the dead and resurrected king. This dual role was in turn combined with the Egyptian concept of divine kingship: the king at death became Osiris, god of the underworld; and the dead king’s son, the living king, was identified with Horus, a god of the sky. Osiris and Horus were thus father and son. The goddess Isis was the mother of the king and was thus the mother of Horus and consort of Osiris. The god Seth was considered the murderer of Osiris and adversary of Horus.

According to the form of the myth reported by the Greek author Plutarch, Osiris was slain or drowned by Seth, who tore the corpse into 14 pieces and flung them over Egypt. Eventually, Isis and her sister Nephthys found and buried all the pieces, except the phallus, thereby giving new life to Osiris, who thenceforth remained in the underworld as ruler and judge. His son Horus successfully fought against Seth, avenging Osiris and becoming the new king of Egypt. (Osiris | Description, Myth, Symbols, & Facts | Britannica; emphasis mine)

As one can see, the most common rendering of Osiris’ Egyptian name is Usir, which corresponds more closely with the Quran’s Uzair than does the name Ezra.

And yet far from solving the Quran’s major blunders and mistakes, this identification actually makes the matter much worse!

Once again, there is no historical, textual, and/or archaeological data that the Jews (especially at Muhammad’s time) ever worshiped a pagan Egyptian god as the son of YHWH, in the same way that the Christians worshiped and continue to worship Jesus as God’s uniquely begotten Son.

Therefore, no matter what angle or interpretation a Muslim may present to make sense out of this particular Quranic text, the problem remains that this is an embarrassing mistake that the one true omniscient God would never inspire a true prophet to ever commit.

FURTHER READING  

Ezra, the Son of God?

Was ‘Uzayr (Ezra) Called The Son Of God?

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