Sam Shamoun

Bassam Zawadi has written an article where he sets out to prove that the Allah of the Quran is more just than the true God of the Holy Bible (here). The focus of this paper is to see how well he did. He writes:

A Christian missionary previously wrote an article attempting to show that Allah is unjust. No worries I refuted it. However, I would like to turn the tables around and show how just Allah really is compared to the God that Christians believe in.

RESPONSE:

Actually, the Muslims should worry since Zawadi did anything but refute my article as we shall show here and in an upcoming rebuttal to his "response" that should appear in due time. (Now available here.) Zawadi quotes:

The Quran says...

Surah 26:208-209

Never did We destroy a population, but had its warners. By way of reminder; and We never are unjust.

Surah 35:36-37

But those who reject (God) - for them will be the Fire of Hell: No term shall be determined for them, so they should die, nor shall its Penalty be lightened for them. Thus do We reward every ungrateful one! Therein will they cry aloud (for assistance): "Our Lord! Bring us out: we shall work righteousness, not the (deeds) we used to do!" - "Did We not give you long enough life so that he that would should receive admonition? and (moreover) the warner came to you. So taste ye (the fruits of your deeds): for the wrong-doers there is no helper."

Surah 39:71-72

The Unbelievers will be led to Hell in crowd: until, when they arrive, there, its gates will be opened. And its keepers will say, "Did not apostles come to you from among yourselves, rehearsing to you the Signs of your Lord, and warning you of the Meeting of This Day of yours?" The answer will be: "True: but the Decree of Punishment has been proved true against the Unbelievers!" (To them) will be said: "Enter ye the gates of Hell, to dwell therein: and evil is (this) Abode of the Arrogant!"

Surah 67:6-11

For those who reject their Lord (and Cherisher) is the Penalty of Hell: and evil is (such), Destination. When they are cast therein, they will hear the (terrible) drawing in of its breath even as it blazes forth, Almost bursting with fury: Every time a Group is cast therein, its Keepers will ask, "Did no Warner come to you?" They will say: "Yes indeed; a Warner did come to us, but we rejected him and said, 'God never sent down any (Message): ye are nothing but an egregious delusion!'" They will further say: "Had we but listened or used our intelligence, we should not (now) be among the Companions of the Blazing Fire!" They will then confess their sins: but far will be (Forgiveness) from the Companions of the Blazing Fire!

Clearly from the Quran we see that no one will ever be punished unless that person has received the true message of God and then rejects it. God will not punish someone who lives in some isolated place and has never received the Message. That would truly be unjust.

RESPONSE:

Zawadi's arguments raise more problems than solutions. First, the Quran itself admits that generations died without ever receiving a warner:

But We had not given them Books which they could study, nor sent messengers to them before thee as Warners. S. 34:44

They swore their strongest oaths by Allah that if a warner came to them, they would follow his guidance better than any (other) of the Peoples: But when a warner came to them, it has only increased their flight (from righteousness),- S. 35:42

By the Wise Koran, thou art truly among the Envoys on a straight path; the sending down of the All-mighty, the All-wise, that thou mayest warn a people WHOSE FATHERS WERE NEVER WARNED, so they are heedless. S. 36:2-6 Arberry

If these Arabs had no warners sent to them until the advent of Muhammad then what was the fate of all those generations who had died long before Muhammad ever walked the earth?

This leads into another problem. According to the Quran and the Islamic traditions, Ishmael was a prophet who had settled in Mecca:

We gave him (Abraham) Isaac and Jacob: all (three) guided: and before him, We guided Noah, and among his progeny, David, Solomon, Job, Joseph, Moses, and Aaron: thus do We reward those who do good: And Zakariya and John, and Jesus and Elias: all in the ranks of the righteous: AND ISMA’IL and Elisha, and Jonas, and Lot: and to all We gave favour above the nations: (To them) and to their fathers, and progeny and brethren: We chose them, and we guided them to a straight way. This is the guidance of Allah: He giveth that guidance to whom He pleaseth, of His worshippers. If they were to join other gods with Him, all that they did would be vain for them. These were THE MEN to whom We gave THE BOOK, and authority, and prophethood: if these (their descendants) reject them, Behold! We shall entrust their charge to a new people who reject them not. S. 6:84-89

And relate the story of Ishmael as mentioned in the Book. He was indeed true to his promises. And he was a Messenger, a Prophet. He used to enjoin Prayer and alms-giving on his people, and he was well pleasing to his Lord. S. 19:54-55, 58 Sher Ali

According to the Quran, prophets are those sent with a book:

(All) people are a single nation; so Allah raised PROPHETS as bearers of good news and as warners, and He revealed WITH THEM THE BOOK WITH TRUTH, that it might judge between people in that in which they differed; and none but the very people who were given it differed about it after clear arguments had come to them, revolting among themselves; so Allah has guided by His will those who believe to the truth about which they differed and Allah guides whom He pleases to the right path. S. 2:213 Shakir

Since Ishmael is said to be a prophet this implies that he had been given a book to pass on to his community, to his people. Thus, either the Arabs had no revealed books or prophets sent to them until the advent of Muhammad or they did. Whatever the situation we are left with a contradiction. For more on this issue please consult this article.

Third, the Quran says that Allah predestines whomever he wills to hell or heaven, deliberately deceiving and misleading those whom he desires:

Whomsoever Allah guides, he is the one who follows the right way; and whomsoever He causes to err, these are the losers. And certainly We have created for hell many of the jinn and the men; they have hearts with which they do not understand, and they have eyes with which they do not see, and they have ears with which they do not hear; they are as cattle, nay, they are in worse errors; these are the heedless ones… Whomsoever Allah causes to err, there is no guide for him; and He leaves them alone in their inordinacy, blindly wandering on. S. 7:178-179, 186 Shakir

And We have sent no Messenger save with the tongue of his people, that he might make all clear to them; then God leads astray whomsoever He will, and He guides whomsoever He will; and He is the All-mighty, the All-wise. S. 14:4 Arberry

The Quran also says that had Allah wanted to he could have given everyone the guidance, but has obviously chosen not to:

And if their turning away is hard on you, then if you can seek an opening (to go down) into the earth or a ladder (to ascend up) to heaven so that you should bring them a sign and if Allah had pleased He would certainly have gathered them all on guidance, therefore be not of the ignorant. S. 6:35 Shakir

Say - For Allah's is the final argument - Had He willed He could indeed have guided all of you. S. 6:149 Pickthall

In truth thy Lord destroyed not the townships tyrannously while their folk were doing right. And if thy Lord had willed, He verily would have made mankind one nation, yet they cease not differing, Save him on whom thy Lord hath mercy; and for that He did create them. And the Word of thy Lord hath been fulfilled: Verily I shall fill hell with the jinn and mankind together. S. 11:117-119 Pickthall

And if Allah please He would certainly make you a single nation, but He causes to err whom He pleases and guides whom He pleases; and most certainly you will be questioned as to what you did. S. 16:93 Shakir

And if We had so willed, We could have given every soul its guidance, but the word from Me concerning evildoers took effect: that I will fill hell with the jinn and mankind together. S. 32:13 Pickthall

Surely this is a reminder, so whoever pleases takes to his Lord a way. And you do not please except that Allah please, surely Allah is Knowing, Wise; He makes whom He pleases to enter into His mercy; and (as for) the unjust, He has prepared for them a painful chastisement. S. 76:29-31 Shakir

This last reference explicitly says that a person will not be pleased to follow Allah unless Allah is pleased to grant him or her that ability!

Note how some of Islam's premiere exegetes interpreted these texts, specifically Sura 32:13. A commentary which is attributed to Ibn Abbas says regarding it that:

(And if We had so willed, We could have given every soul its guidance) its godfearingness, (but the word from Me concerning evil-doers took effect) My word decreed (that I will fill Hell with the Jinn and mankind together) with the disbelievers among the Jinn and mankind. Had it not been for this, I would have honoured every single soul with knowledge and the confession of Allah's divine Oneness. (Tanw顁 al-Miqb鈙 min Tafs顁 Ibn 'Abb鈙; source; bold and underline emphasis ours)

The two renowned Sunni commentators al-Jalalayn concur:

And had We [so] wished, We could have given every soul its [means to] guidance, so that it may be guided through faith and obedience, through its own choice, but My Word became due, and it is that: "Verily I shall fill Hell with jinn and mankind together", and when they enter it its Keepers shall say to them: (Tafsir Al-Jalalayn; source; bold and underline emphasis ours)

And here is what the two Jalals say about Sura 6:35:

And if their aversion, to Islam, is grievous, [too] great, for you, on account of your concern for them, then, if you can, seek out a hole, an underground passage, in the earth, or a ladder, a stairway, to heaven, that you may bring them a sign, from among those they have requested, then go ahead: the meaning is that you will not be able to do this, so be patient until God delivers His judgement - but had God willed, to guide them, He would have gathered them together in guidance, but He did not will this, and so they do not believe; so do not be among the ignorant, of this matter. (Source; bold and underline emphasis ours)

Moreover, Allah can even command people to act immorally in order to destroy them!

And when We would destroy a township We send commandment to its folk who live at ease, and afterward they commit abomination therein, and so the Word (of doom) hath effect for it, and we annihilate it with complete annihilation. S. 17:16 Pickthall

Notice that Allah sends commands with the intention of destroying the people, not saving them. In other words, Allah has already decided beforehand that he will destroy the town and will do so by sending them commands that they will not perform. According to Egyptian Christian writer and scholar, Dr. Labib Mikhail, the text actually implies that Allah is commanding the people to commit evil in order to destroy them:

I have to mention, as one who mastered the Arabic as my first language and who has read the different versions of the Koran, that some of who translated the Koran into English were not honest; they tried to deceive the English speaking reader. Here are a few examples of their deception.

(4) In Surat Al-Isra we read this Arabic verse in the Koran, where Allah is saying:

Wa eza aradna an nohlika kariatan amarna motrifiha fafasako feha fahaqa Alliah alkowl fadamarnaha (Surat Al-Isra 17:16)

The correct translation of this verse should be:

And when we (Allah) decide to destroy a village, we send a definite command to those who lead a life of luxury in it to commit lewdness, and thus the word of torment is justified against them. Then we destroy it with complete destruction.

This means that when Allah wants to destroy a village that he will command the elite of that town to commit gross sins. Then after that he will punish them because they obeyed his commands. (Mikhail, Islam, Muhammad and the Koran: A Documented Analysis [Blessed Hope Ministry, Springfield VA; Second edition, Revised and Expanded 2002; second edition], pp. 111, 112-113, here is also a link to the first edition of his book)

The late Christian writer ‘Abdallah Abd al-‘Fadi wrote:

Does God desire to destroy the people he created? Would He really command people who live at ease in a certain place to commit ungodliness, so that they would be worthy of punishment, together with the poor who live among them? Is this compatible with God’s justice, holiness and faithfulness? How could anyone ascribe to God such infamy, injustice and ungodliness?

Besides, the Qur’an contradicts this statement in many other places… (Al-‘Fadi, Is the Qur’an Infallible? [Light of Life, P.O. Box 13, A-9503 Villach, Austria], p. 131)

One of the texts which al-‘Fadi quoted to prove that Allah commands ungodliness as to destroy people is this very text of Sura 17:16. Since both he and Mikhail know/knew Arabic, Zawadi cannot use the lame excuse that this interpretation is the result of failing to properly understand or exegete the Arabic Quran.

Allah even creates the idols which persons worship and which leads them to be punished!

He said: Worship ye that which ye yourselves do carve When Allah hath created you and what ye make? S. 37:95-96 Pickthall

He said, `Do you worship that which you yourselves carve out, Whereas ALLAH has created you and also your handiwork?' Sher Ali

Lest Zawadi try to distort what these texts actually imply we will allow the so-called sound narrations provide further clarification:

Narrated Ibn 'Abbas:
I did not see anything so resembling minor sins as what Abu Huraira said from the Prophet, who said, "Allah has written for the son of Adam his inevitable share of adultery whether he is aware of it or not: The adultery of the eye is the looking (at something which is sinful to look at), and the adultery of the tongue is to utter (what it is unlawful to utter), and the innerself wishes and longs for (adultery) and the private parts turn that into reality or refrain from submitting to the temptation." (Sahih al-Bukhari, Volume 8, Book 77, Number 609)

Verily Allah has fixed the very portion of adultery which a man will indulge in, and which he OF NECESSITY MUST COMMIT (or there would be no escape from it). (Sahih Muslim, Book 033, Number 6421; see also Number 6422)

Allah has predetermined the very adultery, the very wickedness a person will necessarily commit!

Abu al-Aswad reported that 'Imran b Husain asked him: What is your view, what the people do today in the world, and strive for, is it something decreed for them or preordained for them or will their fate in the Hereafter be determined by the fact that their Prophets brought them teaching which they did not act upon? I said: Of course, IT IS SOMETHING WHICH IS PREDETERMINED FOR THEM AND PREORDAINED FOR THEM. He (further) said: Then, would it not be an injustice (to punish them)? I felt greatly disturbed because of that, and said: Everything is created by Allah and lies in His Power. He would not be questioned as to what He does, but they would be questioned; thereupon he said to me: May Allah have mercy upon you, I did not mean to ask you but for testing your intelligence. Two men of the tribe of Muzaina came to Allah's Messenger (may peace be upon him) and said: Allah's Messenger, what is your opinion that the people do in the world and strive for, is something decreed for them; omething preordained for them and will their fate in the Hereafter be determined by the fact that their Prophets brought them teachings which they did not act upon, and thus they became deserving of punishment? Thereupon, HE SAID: Of course, it happens AS IT IS DECREED BY DESTINY AND PREORDAINED FOR THEM, and this view is confirmed by this verse of the Book of Allah, the Exalted and Glorious: "Consider the soul and Him Who made it perfect, THEN BREATHED INTO IT ITS SIN and its piety" (xci. 8). (Sahih Muslim, Book 033, Number 6406)

Notice that Imran b. Husain asked whether the fate of individuals rested on their response to the teaching brought by their Prophets or on the basis of what Allah has predestined. The answer is given by Imran himself on the authority of Muhammad that the destiny of people is not due to how they responded to their Prophets' message, but on what Allah has preordained and decreed for them. The narration even quotes Sura 91:8 to support the fact that Allah is the one who breathes the sin (i.e. the very evil, the wickedness of a person) into a person's soul!

What is even worse is that there are specific narrations which claim that Allah deliberately created black skin people for hell!

Abu Darda' reported God's messenger as saying, "God created Adam when He created him and struck his right shoulder and brought forth his offspring white like small ants. And he struck his left shoulder and brought forth his offspring BLACK as though they were charcoal. Then He said to the party on his right said, 'To paradise, and I do not care', and He said to the party in his left shoulder 'To hell, and I do not care'." Ahmad transmitted it. (Mishkat Al Masabih, English translation with explanatory notes by Dr. James Robson [Sh. Muhammad Ahsraf Publishers, Booksellers & Exporters, Lahore-Pakistan, Reprint 1990], Volume I, Chapter IV, Book I.- Faith, pp. 31-32; capital and underline emphasis ours)

Narrated AbudDarda'

Allah's Messenger (peace be upon him) said: Allah created Adam when He had to create him and He struck his right shoulder and there emitted from it white offspring as if they were white ants. He struck his left shoulder and there emitted from it THE BLACK OFFSPRINGS as if they were charcoal. He then said (to those who had been emitted) from the right (shoulder): For Paradise and I do not mind. Then He said to those (who had been emitted) from his left shoulder: They are for Hell and I do not mind.

Transmitted by Ahmad. (Al-Tirmidhi Hadith, Number 38- ALIM CD ROM Version)

What the foregoing implies is that it is irrelevant whether Allah sends warners or not, since the fate of an individual has already been determined beforehand whether he or she will go to heaven or hell.

Zawadi himself believes that the doctrine of predestination (known as Qadar) is one of the essentials that a person must believe in order to be considered a true Muslim. In trying to defend Osama Abdallah against Jalal Abualrub's claim that the former has turned apostate with his heretical teachings (here), Zawadi writes:

The Prophet made it clear that a Muslim is a Muslim if he believes in the five pillars of Islam, six pillars of Eeman AND CONCEPT OF QADAR. Osama believes in all. You cannot excommunicate him from Islam if he does not publicly reject any of these. (Refuting Jalal Abul-Rub's fabrication of quotes and lies; source; bold, capital and underline emphasis ours)

So much for Zawadi's appeal to the justice of Allah!

Zawadi now turns his attention to the Holy Bible, God's true Word.

However, what do Christians believe?

Christians believe that no one can enter heaven unless they are 'born again'.

John 3:3

In reply Jesus declared, "I tell you the truth, no one can see the kingdom of God unless he is born again.

No where else in the Bible do we see God making exceptions to those who have not received the message. As a matter of fact, we see in the Bible that God has condemned people without even sending a messenger to them.

RESPONSE:

As far as being born again is concerned, the Bible affirms that everyone must experience this spiritual rebirth, this spiritual transformation in order to be fit for God's kingdom:

"Jesus answered him, 'Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born anew, he cannot see the kingdom of God.' Nicode'mus said to him, 'How can a man be born when he is old? Can he enter a second time into his mother's womb and be born?' Jesus answered, 'Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born of water and the Spirit, he cannot enter the kingdom of God. That which is born of the flesh is flesh, and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit. Do not marvel that I said to you, "You must be born anew." The wind blows where it wills, and you hear the sound of it, but you do not know whence it comes or whither it goes; so it is with every one who is born of the Spirit.'" John 3:3-8

"I tell you this, brethren: flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God, nor does the perishable inherit the imperishable." 1 Corinthians 15:50

Yet it does not follow that only those who hear the message are capable of being born again, or that God cannot cause infants to be born anew before their deaths as an act of mercy and grace. God can make children fit for his eternal kingdom by causing them to experience this spiritual rebirth just as the followng example demonstrates:

"But the angel said to him, 'Do not be afraid, Zechari'ah, for your prayer is heard, and your wife Elizabeth will bear you a son, and you shall call his name John. And you will have joy and gladness, and many will rejoice at his birth; for he will be great before the Lord, and he shall drink no wine nor strong drink, and he will be filled with the Holy Spirit, even from his mother's womb.'" Luke 1:13-15

John the Baptist, while still in his mother's womb, was filled with the Holy Spirit, indicating that even babies can be born from above!

Zawadi now quotes Acts 14:16: