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My rebuttal to Sam Shamoun's "Where is the Blood?" article:

This article is a rebuttal to Sam Shamoun's article that is located at: http://www.answering-islam.org/Shamoun/bloodatonement.htm.

He wrote:

Where is the Blood?

An Examination of the Biblical and Islamic View of Blood Atonement

The Quran says that one of its functions is to confirm and explain the former scriptures:

"It is He (God) who sent down to thee the Book in truth, attesting to (the truth of) what IS between its (his) hands, and He sent down the Torah and the Gospel before this as a guide to mankind." S. 3:3

This Qur'an is not such as can be produced by other than God; but it is a verification of that which IS between his (its) hands, and the explanation of the book, wherein there IS no doubt, from the Lord of the worlds. S. 10:37

... It (the Qur'an) is not a fabricated story, but a verification of that which IS between his (its) hands, a detailed explanation, a guide and a mercy to the people who believe. S. 12:111

That which we have revealed to you of the Book is the truth, attesting to (the truth of) that which IS between his (its) hands... S. 35:31

The expression, "which IS between his (its) hands," clearly refers to the scriptures which were in the possession of the Jews and Christians of Muhammad's time.

My response:

Wrong!  There would be no need for Islam and the Noble Quran if the bible of today and the set of letters that existed during Prophet Muhammad's time were all the Pure and Perfect Holy Word of GOD Almighty.  What the Noble Verses above are confirming is the Divine Truth that EXISTS from among the pile of human-excrement that make up today's world's differing Bibles (notice the "s"), and the remaining of the letters that were not included in the Jewish and Christian "Canons".

To the reader, please visit:  What parts of the Bible and the Hadiths do Muslims believe are closest to the Truth, and why?

Here is a sample of the human-excrement that exists in Sam Shamoun's bible to help him further understand the man-made corruptions, fabrications and lies in the book that he considers as the Pure Word of GOD Almighty:

From http://www.answering-christianity.com/my_muslim_holy_bible_project.htm:

Galatians 2:11-12
11 When Peter came to Antioch, I opposed him to his face, because he was clearly in the wrong.
12 Before certain men came from James, he used to eat with the Gentiles. But when they arrived, he began to draw back and separate himself from the Gentiles because he was afraid of those who belonged to the circumcision group.

How about for Paul to punch Peter on the face??

2 Timothy 4:9-13
9 Do your best to come to me quickly,
10 for Demas, because he loved this world, has deserted me and has gone to Thessalonica. Crescens has gone to Galatia, and Titus to Dalmatia.
11 Only Luke is with me. Get Mark and bring him with you, because he is helpful to me in my ministry.
12 I sent Tychicus to Ephesus.
13 When you come, bring the cloak that I left with Carpus at Troas, and my scrolls, especially the parchments.

Titus 3:12-14
12 As soon as I send Artemas or Tychicus to you, do your best to come to me at Nicopolis, because I have decided to winter there.
13 Do everything you can to help Zenas the lawyer and Apollos on their way and see that they have everything they need.
14 Our people must learn to devote themselves to doing what is good, in order that they may provide for daily necessities and not live unproductive lives.

He decided to winter there???

Are these absurd stories truly Divine Revelations from GOD Almighty?

Even if these stories did historically take place, they're still not Divine Revelations because the text is obvious!

For more details, please visit:  Contradictions and proofs of Historical Corruptions in the Bible.

Just who were the real authors of the Bible? Today's Books and Gospels' authors of the Bible are UNKNOWN.  See the comments from the NIV Bible itself!  Also includes detailed refutations and exposing of Paul's lies.  See Paul's section in the article.  It also includes proofs about the New Testament was written in the 3rd century by Constantine and his church by their own words.  It wasn't written by Jesus and his original Disciples.

Quotes from NIV Bible theologians, and Roman Catholic Encyclopedia admitting that the Bible had been corrupt and the original manuscripts had been lost.  Also, proofs that it was Constantine and his church who wrote the New Testament with their hands around year 300, not Jesus and his original Disciples.

He wrote:

The Quran also exhorts believers to observe the previous scriptures:

And if they had observed the Torah and the Gospel and what has been now sent down to them from their Lord, they would, surely, have eaten of good things from above them and from under their feet. Among them are a people who are moderate; but many of them are such that evil is what they do. S. 5:66 Sher Ali

Say, `O People of the Book, you stand on nothing until you observe the Torah and the Gospel and what has now been sent down to you from your Lord.' And surely what has been sent down to thee from thy Lord will increase many of them in rebellion and disbelieve; so grieve not for the disbelieving people. S. 5:68 Sher Ali

My response:

Again, here the Noble Quran does not Claim that the "bible" is the Perfect and Pure Word of GOD Almighty.  It definitely contains Divine Truth in it, but as we saw above, it also contains human-excrement.  To filter out the Truth from falsehood in the bible, one must refer to the Noble Quran as the "Measuring Stick" or the "Perfect Standard and Balance".  Let us look at what Allah Almighty Said in the Noble Quran regarding this:

"Miserable is the price for which they have sold their souls, in that they deny (the revelation) which God has sent down, in insolent envy that God of His Grace should send it to any of His servants He pleases: Thus have they drawn on themselves Wrath upon Wrath. And humiliating is the punishment of those who reject Faith.  (The Noble Quran, 2:90)"

"And believe in what I reveal, confirming the revelation which is with you, and be not the first to reject Faith therein, nor sell My Signs for a small price; and fear Me, and Me alone.  (The Noble Quran, 2:41)"

"And when there came to them an apostle from God, confirming what was with them, a party of the people of the Book threw away the Book of God behind their backs, as if (it had been something) they did not know!  (The Noble Quran, 2:101)"

"Know they not Allah Knoweth what they conceal and what they reveal? And there are among them illiterates, who know not the Book (i.e., the Bible), but (see therein their own) desires, and they do nothing but conjecture.  Then woe to those who write the Book with their own hands, and then say: 'This is from Allah,' To traffic with it for a miserable price! Woe to them for what their hands do write, and for the gain they make thereby.   (The Noble Quran, 2:77-78)"

"O Apostle! let not those grieve thee, who race each other into unbelief: (whether it be) among those who say "We believe" with their lips but whose hearts have no faith; or it be among the Jews,- men who will listen to any lie,- will listen even to others who have never so much as come to thee. They change the words from their (right) times and places: they say, 'If ye are given this, take it, but if not, beware!' If any one's trial is intended by God, thou hast no authority in the least for him against God. For such - it is not God's will to purify their hearts. For them there is disgrace in this world, and in the Hereafter a heavy punishment.  (The Noble Quran, 5:41)"

Notice in these Noble Verses, Allah Almighty is making it clear that the Jews and Christians did make up their own human-excrement books and called them "Divine Revelations".  Such lies as further proven above in the sample "verses" and links above, had been exposed through Islam. 

He wrote:

Furthermore, the Quran says that the Lord Jesus came to confirm the authenticity and authority of the scriptures in the possession of the Jews of his day:

And I come fulfilling that which IS before me, namely the Torah; and to allow you some of that which was forbidden unto you, and I come to you with a Sign from your Lord; so fear ALLAH and obey me; S. 3:50 Sher Ali

And in their footsteps We sent Jesus the son of Mary, confirming the Law that had come before him: We sent him the Gospel: therein was guidance and light, and confirmation of the Law that had come before him: a guidance and an admonition to those who fear God. S. 5:46 Y. Ali

When Allah saith: O Jesus, son of Mary! Remember My favour unto thee and unto thy mother; how I strengthened thee with the holy Spirit, so that thou spakest unto mankind in the cradle as in maturity; and how I taught thee the Scripture and Wisdom and the Torah and the Gospel; and how thou didst shape of clay as it were the likeness of a bird by My permission, and didst blow upon it and it was a bird by My permission, and thou didst heal him who was born blind and the leper by My permission; and how thou didst raise the dead by My permission; and how I restrained the Children of Israel from (harming) thee when thou camest unto them with clear proofs, and those of them who disbelieved exclaimed: This is naught else than mere magic. S. 5:110 Pickthall

And when Isa son of Marium said: O children of Israel! surely I am the apostle of Allah to you, verifying that which IS before me of the Taurat and giving the good news of an Apostle who will come after me, his name being Ahmad, but when he came to them with clear arguments they said: This is clear magic. S. 61:6 Shakir

My response:

Aside from the Noble Verses and their Holiness, but nothing of real substance from argument and reasoning did Sam Shamoun really provide in this section.  His points are refuted in great details above.  Therefore, let's move on.

He wrote:

The NT concurs with the Quran regarding the Lord Jesus upholding the divine inspiration of the Hebrews Scriptures, confirming them as the very words of God which predicted his coming:

"Think not that I have come to abolish the law and the prophets; I have come not to abolish them but to fulfil them. For truly, I say to you, till heaven and earth pass away, not an iota, not a dot, will pass from the law until all is accomplished." Matthew 5:17-18

"But Jesus answered them, 'You are wrong, because you know neither the scriptures nor the power of God.'" Matthew 22:29

"And he said to them, 'O foolish men, and slow of heart to believe all that the prophets have spoken! Was it not necessary that the Christ should suffer these things and enter into his glory?' And beginning with Moses and all the prophets, he interpreted to them in all the scriptures the things concerning himself." Luke 24:25-27

"Then he said to them, 'These are my words which I spoke to you, while I was still with you, that everything written about me in the law of Moses and the prophets and the psalms must be fulfilled.' Then he opened their minds to understand the scriptures, and said to them, 'Thus it is written, that the Christ should suffer and on the third day rise from the dead, and that repentance and forgiveness of sins should be preached in his name to all nations, beginning from Jerusalem.'" Luke 24:44-47

Due to the historical data available to us today, we know what the Old Testament looked like at the time of Jesus, and what the Bible (i.e. OT and NT) looked like at the time of Muhammad. There can be no doubt that, in light of the discovery of the Dead Sea Scrolls, along with all the extant MSS of both the Old and New Testaments, we definitely hold in our hands the very scriptures that were in use among the Jews and/or Christians at the times of Jesus and Muhammad.

My response:

Wrong again!  First of all, "scriptures" were not as available 1500 years ago as they are available to us today.  Back then an ordinary person did not posses a "bible" nor were people knowledgeable about their own religions as we are today.  The reason why we are more advanced in knowledge today is because the technology of today enables us to be so.  This point is very important because not only were the "bibles" (if any even existed as a whole to begin with!) among the Arabs just mere translations and personal interpretations from Hebrew and Aramaic to Arabic, but they were also partial.  Plus, the sheets and letters of translations and personal notes that people possessed did not necessarily make up any of the conflicting and contradicting bibles of today.

The different "Canons" of the Bible!

Different and conflicting variations of "gospels" and "books" that are disagreed upon by the Churches today.

An average bible today consists of around 2,000 printed pages.   It is absolutely clear and beyond doubt that people back then could not and did not have such enormous amount of pages be written on animal skins and carved stones be all existing in one sole place, especially in a scattered and irrelevant place to Jews and Christians back then like Arabia.

So in other words, neither Sam Shamoun's historical claims are accurate, nor do they come from reasonable and unbiased sources.  To put it in a different perspective, Sam Shamoun's claims are clear foolishness and only display a great amount of ignorance about history and common sense.

Now in regards to his New Testament, history and ironically, even the Bible's own theologians and historians, tell us that most of the bible's so-called books and gospels were actually written by "mysterious people."  This is according to the bible's own theologians and historians themselves!  This is also aside from the fact that the bible(s) contains overwhelming amount of textual and historical contradictions and errors.  Let us look at the following irrefutable quotes from and about the bible itself:

From http://www.answering-christianity.com/authors_gospels.htm:

Please visit: Contradictions and proofs of Historical Corruptions in the Bible, and see exactly what I mean, instead of acting like a total fool and saying things that even the Bible refutes in it!

It is quite obvious that Christians today believe in third party authors' words as the words of GOD.  This is a very serious corruption in the Bible that must be taken into deep consideration by the Bible's followers.  Please visit "Is the Bible the true word of GOD?" to see a full and complete paper about the logical corruptions in the Bible, along with many Christian famous priests and ministers opinions that agree with the Bible's corruption.  I have their personal quotes in that site.

Also, as to the parts of the Bible that Muslims believe are closest to the Truth, please visit: www.answering-christianity.com/warning.htm

After that, please visit:  Prophet Muhammad was foretold in many places in the Bible in both the Old and New Testaments.

He wrote:

Let us summarize the teaching of the Quran's view of the previous scriptures:

1. The Quran confirms the previous scriptures and is an explanation of them.

My response:

Wrong!  See my refutations above.

He wrote:

2. The Quran commands people to uphold the teachings of the Torah and the Gospel, along with its own teachings.

My response:

Wrong again!  Allah Almighty in the Noble Quran did confirm the Divine Truth that the blasphemers from the Jews and Christians mixed with their pile of human-excrement, and He did Command the Jews and Christians to follow the Noble Quran as the Pure and Perfect Revelations of GOD Almighty.  As I showed above:

"Miserable is the price for which they have sold their souls, in that they deny (the revelation) which God has sent down, in insolent envy that God of His Grace should send it to any of His servants He pleases: Thus have they drawn on themselves Wrath upon Wrath. And humiliating is the punishment of those who reject Faith.  (The Noble Quran, 2:90)"

"And believe in what I reveal, confirming the revelation which is with you, and be not the first to reject Faith therein, nor sell My Signs for a small price; and fear Me, and Me alone.  (The Noble Quran, 2:41)"

"And when there came to them an apostle from God, confirming what was with them, a party of the people of the Book threw away the Book of God behind their backs, as if (it had been something) they did not know!  (The Noble Quran, 2:101)"

"Know they not Allah Knoweth what they conceal and what they reveal? And there are among them illiterates, who know not the Book (i.e., the Bible), but (see therein their own) desires, and they do nothing but conjecture.  Then woe to those who write the Book with their own hands, and then say: 'This is from Allah,' To traffic with it for a miserable price! Woe to them for what their hands do write, and for the gain they make thereby.   (The Noble Quran, 2:77-78)"

"O Apostle! let not those grieve thee, who race each other into unbelief: (whether it be) among those who say "We believe" with their lips but whose hearts have no faith; or it be among the Jews,- men who will listen to any lie,- will listen even to others who have never so much as come to thee. They change the words from their (right) times and places: they say, 'If ye are given this, take it, but if not, beware!' If any one's trial is intended by God, thou hast no authority in the least for him against God. For such - it is not God's will to purify their hearts. For them there is disgrace in this world, and in the Hereafter a heavy punishment.  (The Noble Quran, 5:41)"

He wrote:

3. The Lord Jesus upheld the integrity and authenticity of the Hebrew Scriptures, a fact which the NT documents confirm.

My response:

Wrong again!  Again, "scriptures" were not as available 1500 years ago as they are available to us today.  Back then an ordinary person did not posses a "bible" nor were people knowledgeable about their own religions as we are today.   The reason why we are more advanced in knowledge today is because the technology of today enables us to be so.  This point is very important because not only were the "bibles" (if any even existed as a whole to begin with!) among the Arabs just mere translations and personal interpretations from Hebrew and Aramaic to Arabic, but they were also partial.  Plus, the sheets and letters of translations and personal notes that people possessed did not necessarily make up any of the conflicting and contradicting bibles of today.

The different "Canons" of the Bible!

Different and conflicting variations of "gospels" and "books" that are disagreed upon by the Churches today.

An average bible today consists of around 2,000 printed pages.   It is absolutely clear and beyond doubt that people back then could not and did not have such enormous amount of pages be written on animal skins and carved stones be all existing in one sole place, especially in a scattered and irrelevant place to Jews and Christians back then like Arabia.

So in other words, neither Sam Shamoun's historical claims are accurate, nor do they come from reasonable and unbiased sources.  To put it in a different perspective, Sam Shamoun's claims are clear foolishness and only display a great amount of ignorance about history and common sense.

The New Testament:

Now in regards to his New Testament, history and ironically, even the Bible's own theologians and historians, tell us that most of the bible's so-called books and gospels were actually written by "mysterious people."  This is according to the bible's own theologians and historians themselves!  So what ever sayings you have for Jesus in any New Testament are certainly extremely doubtful and definitely are not the exact words, word for word, from him.  This is also aside from the fact that the bible(s) contains overwhelming amount of textual and historical contradictions and errors.  Let us look at the following irrefutable quotes from and about the bible itself:

From http://www.answering-christianity.com/authors_gospels.htm:

Please visit: Contradictions and proofs of Historical Corruptions in the Bible, and see exactly what I mean, instead of acting like a total fool and saying things that even the Bible refutes in it!

It is quite obvious that Christians today believe in third party authors' words as the words of GOD.  This is a very serious corruption in the Bible that must be taken into deep consideration by the Bible's followers.  Please visit "Is the Bible the true word of GOD?" to see a full and complete paper about the logical corruptions in the Bible, along with many Christian famous priests and ministers opinions that agree with the Bible's corruption.  I have their personal quotes in that site.

Also, as to the parts of the Bible that Muslims believe are closest to the Truth, please visit: www.answering-christianity.com/warning.htm

After that, please visit:  Prophet Muhammad was foretold in many places in the Bible in both the Old and New Testaments.

He wrote:

4. The historical evidence (i.e. the Dead Sea Scrolls, Septuagint, thousands of extant MSS of both the Old and New Testaments) shows beyond any reasonable doubt that the scriptures of today are virtually identical to what existed in the times of Jesus and Muhammad.

My response:

Absolute nonsense!  This is not even according to me!  This is according to the Bibles' own historians and theologians.

He wrote:

The foregoing leads one to expect that the Quran would naturally mention something about the Torah's insistence on salvation by atonement via the sacrificial system and the priesthood. Blood atonement through the animal sacrificial system lies at the very heart and essence of the Mosaic law, as any cursory reading of the Torah shows. In fact, once a year the Aaronic high priest was required to go before the Lord in the most holy place of the tabernacle/temple and provide an atoning sacrifice. If the sacrifice was pleasing to God and done in accordance with the precise specifications given to Moses, then the Lord would forgive all of the sins committed (whether intentional or unintentional) by the entire nation. Due to its extreme importance in understanding the means of salvation as delineated in the Mosaic system, we quote the entire sixteenth chapter of Leviticus:

The LORD spoke to Moses, after the death of the two sons of Aaron, when they drew near before the LORD and died; and the LORD said to Moses, "Tell Aaron your brother not to come at all times into the holy place within the veil, before the mercy seat which is upon the ark, lest he die; for I will appear in the cloud upon the mercy seat. But thus shall Aaron come into the holy place: with a young bull for a sin offering and a ram for a burnt offering. He shall put on the holy linen coat, and shall have the linen breeches on his body, be girded with the linen girdle, and wear the linen turban; these are the holy garments. He shall bathe his body in water, and then put them on.

And he shall take from the congregation of the people of Israel two male goats for a sin offering, and one ram for a burnt offering. "And Aaron shall offer the bull as a sin offering for himself, and shall make atonement for himself and for his house. Then he shall take the two goats, and set them before the LORD at the door of the tent of meeting; and Aaron shall cast lots upon the two goats, one lot for the LORD and the other lot for Aza'zel. And Aaron shall present the goat on which the lot fell for the LORD, and offer it as a sin offering; but the goat on which the lot fell for Aza'zel shall be presented alive before the LORD to make atonement over it, that it may be sent away into the wilderness to Aza'zel. "Aaron shall present the bull as a sin offering for himself, and shall make atonement for himself and for his house; he shall kill the bull as a sin offering for himself. And he shall take a censer full of coals of fire from the altar before the LORD, and two handfuls of sweet incense beaten small; and he shall bring it within the veil and put the incense on the fire before the LORD, that the cloud of the incense may cover the mercy seat which is upon the testimony, lest he die; and he shall take some of the blood of the bull, and sprinkle it with his finger on the front of the mercy seat, and before the mercy seat he shall sprinkle the blood with his finger seven times.

"Then he shall kill the goat of the sin offering which is for the people, and bring its blood within the veil, and do with its blood as he did with the blood of the bull, sprinkling it upon the mercy seat and before the mercy seat; thus he shall make atonement for the holy place, because of the uncleannesses of the people of Israel, and because of their transgressions, all their sins; and so he shall do for the tent of meeting, which abides with them in the midst of their uncleannesses. There shall be no man in the tent of meeting when he enters to make atonement in the holy place until he comes out and has made atonement for himself and for his house and for all the assembly of Israel. Then he shall go out to the altar which is before the LORD and make atonement for it, and shall take some of the blood of the bull and of the blood of the goat, and put it on the horns of the altar round about. And he shall sprinkle some of the blood upon it with his finger seven times, and cleanse it and hallow it from the uncleannesses of the people of Israel.

"And when he has made an end of atoning for the holy place and the tent of meeting and the altar, he shall present the live goat; and Aaron shall lay both his hands upon the head of the live goat, and confess over him all the iniquities of the people of Israel, and all their transgressions, all their sins; and he shall put them upon the head of the goat, and send him away into the wilderness by the hand of a man who is in readiness. The goat shall bear all their iniquities upon him to a solitary land; and he shall let the goat go in the wilderness. "Then Aaron shall come into the tent of meeting, and shall put off the linen garments which he put on when he went into the holy place, and shall leave them there; and he shall bathe his body in water in a holy place, and put on his garments, and come forth, and offer his burnt offering and the burnt offering of the people, and make atonement for himself and for the people. And the fat of the sin offering he shall burn upon the altar. And he who lets the goat go to Aza'zel shall wash his clothes and bathe his body in water, and afterward he may come into the camp. And the bull for the sin offering and the goat for the sin offering, whose blood was brought in to make atonement in the holy place, shall be carried forth outside the camp; their skin and their flesh and their dung shall be burned with fire. And he who burns them shall wash his clothes and bathe his body in water, and afterward he may come into the camp.

"And it shall be a statute to you for ever that in the seventh month, on the tenth day of the month, you shall afflict yourselves, and shall do no work, either the native or the stranger who sojourns among you; for on this day shall atonement be made for you, to cleanse you; from all your sins you shall be clean before the LORD. It is a sabbath of solemn rest to you, and you shall afflict yourselves; it is a statute for ever. And the priest who is anointed and consecrated as priest in his father's place shall make atonement, wearing the holy linen garments; he shall make atonement for the sanctuary, and he shall make atonement for the tent of meeting and for the altar, and he shall make atonement for the priests and for all the people of the assembly. And this shall be an everlasting statute for you, that atonement may be made for the people of Israel once in the year because of all their sins." And Moses did as the LORD commanded him.

The following passage also highlights the centrality and necessity of blood for forgiveness and salvation:

"If any man of the house of Israel or of the strangers that sojourn among them eats any blood, I will set my face against that person who eats blood, and will cut him off from among his people. For the life of the flesh is in the blood; and I have given it for you upon the altar to make atonement for your souls; for it is the blood that makes atonement, by reason of the life. Therefore I have said to the people of Israel, No person among you shall eat blood, neither shall any stranger who sojourns among you eat blood. Any man also of the people of Israel, or of the strangers that sojourn among them, who takes in hunting any beast or bird that may be eaten shall pour out its blood and cover it with dust. For the life of every creature is the blood of it; therefore I have said to the people of Israel, You shall not eat the blood of any creature, for the life of every creature is its blood; whoever eats it shall be cut off." Leviticus 17:10-14

The New Testament is in perfect agreement:

"Indeed, under the law almost everything is purified with blood, and without the shedding of blood there is no forgiveness of sins." Hebrews 9:22

The necessity of blood for atonement and the need of a priest to intercede wasn't something which God revealed for the first time during the Mosaic dispensation. The Holy Bible shows that the need for sacrifice and a priest to administer it was known from the very start of man's existence:

"When the woman saw that the tree was good for food, and that it was a delight to the eyes, and that the tree was desirable to make {one} wise, she took from its fruit and ate; and she gave also to her husband with her, and he ate. Then the eyes of both of them were opened, and they knew that they were naked; and they sewed fig leaves together and made themselves loin coverings. They heard the sound of the LORD God walking in the garden in the cool of the day, and the man and his wife hid themselves from the presence of the LORD God among the trees of the garden. Then the LORD God called to the man, and said to him, 'Where are you?' He said, 'I heard the sound of You in the garden, and I was afraid because I was naked; so I hid myself.' And He said, 'Who told you that you were naked? Have you eaten from the tree of which I commanded you not to eat?' The man said, 'The woman WHOM YOU GAVE (to be} with me, she gave me from the tree, and I ate'... The LORD God made garments of skin for Adam and his wife, and clothed them." Genesis 3:6-12, 21 NASB

Note carefully that, in spite of the first couples' attempt of hiding their shame by sowing fig leaves, they were still ashamed to stand before God. Later in the text we read that it was God who had to cover over their nakedness and shame by clothing them with coats of skin. The preceding text establishes at least five points:

1. The first couples' reaction after sinning against God was to run away and hide from their Creator. Carefully notice that when God appeared to them in their moment of crisis, they didn't run to him, but away from him. This shows the negative effects sin has upon us, that sin causes us to run away from God and makes us shun him. This is also the reason why God came looking for the first couple, since he knew that sin would cause them to flee from his perfect and holy presence.

2. Man's response to God that the woman he had given him caused him to sin demonstrates another negative effect of sin. Instead of confessing and repenting of the sin he committed, man puts the blame indirectly on God for giving him the woman in the first place. In other words, sin affects man in such a way as to prevent man from confessing and turning away from his transgressions.

3. Man cannot hide or cover up his sin and shame by his own efforts, that is, by his own good works, since God still sees man's nakedness and shame.

4. God alone can satisfactorily cover up man's sin since he alone can provide the means of salvation. This points to the need of God's mercy and grace in dealing with sinners since he alone (if he so chooses) can provide an adequate covering for sins which satisfies him.

5. The making of garments of skin strongly implies that a sacrifice was made by which God provided the clothing required to hide man's shame and wickedness. According to Genesis 1:31 and 2:1-3, after seeing that everything he had made was very good, God then ceased from creating anything else. This seems to suggest that God didn't simply create garments of skin from nothing, but acquired them by means of what he had already created, much like God created man from matter which had already been formed. In light of the foregoing, we are safe in assuming that God sacrificed certain animals by which clothes were made to cover up the shame of the first couple.

Here are some additional passages showing that individuals living before Moses' time were aware of the need of atonement through sacrifice:

"In the course of time Cain brought to the LORD an offering of the fruit of the ground, and Abel brought of the firstlings of his flock and of their fat portions. And the LORD had regard for Abel and his offering, but for Cain and his offering he had no regard. So Cain was very angry, and his countenance fell." Genesis 4:3-5

Abel and Cain both brought offerings to God, with God looking upon Abel's offerings with favor. According to the book of Hebrews, God regarded Abel's offering because it was offered in faith, whereas Cain's wasn't (cf. Heb. 11:4). We will have more to say about this significant point in our Appendix. Suffice it to say that, right from the start of creation, man already knew to present gifts and sacrifices to God.

"Then Noah built an altar to the LORD, and took of every clean animal and of every clean bird, and offered burnt offerings on the altar. And when the LORD smelled the pleasing odor, the LORD said in his heart, 'I will never again curse the ground because of man, for the imagination of man's heart is evil from his youth; neither will I ever again destroy every living creature as I have done.'" Genesis 8:20-21

Yahweh makes a promise to never completely destroy all flesh again BECAUSE of Noah's burnt offerings which pleased him greatly.

"And Mel-chiz'edek king of Salem brought out bread and wine; he was priest of God Most High. And he blessed him and said, 'Blessed be Abram by God Most High, maker of heaven and earth; and blessed be God Most High, who has delivered your enemies into your hand!' And Abram gave him a tenth of everything." Genesis 14:18-20

Melchizedek appears on the scene out of nowhere to bless Abram. Coming out of what later became known as Jerusalem, Melchizedek is already functioning as a priest of the Most High God, long before Moses sets up the Levitical priesthood!

"After these things God tested Abraham, and said to him, 'Abraham!' And he said, 'Here am I.' He said, 'Take your son, your only son Isaac, whom you love, and go to the land of Mori'ah, and offer him there as a burnt offering upon one of the mountains of which I shall tell you.' So Abraham rose early in the morning, saddled his ass, and took two of his young men with him, and his son Isaac; and he cut the wood for the burnt offering, and arose and went to the place of which God had told him. On the third day Abraham lifted up his eyes and saw the place afar off. Then Abraham said to his young men, 'Stay here with the ass; I and the lad will go yonder and worship, and come again to you.' And Abraham took the wood of the burnt offering, and laid it on Isaac his son; and he took in his hand the fire and the knife. So they went both of them together. And Isaac said to his father Abraham, 'My father!' And he said, 'Here am I, my son.' He said, 'Behold, the fire and the wood; but where is the lamb for a burnt offering?' Abraham said, 'God will provide himself the lamb for a burnt offering, my son.' So they went both of them together... And Abraham lifted up his eyes and looked, and behold, behind him was a ram, caught in a thicket by his horns; and Abraham went and took the ram, and offered it up as a burnt offering instead of his son." Genesis 22:1-8, 13

The preceding passage presupposes that Abraham and Isaac already knew what a burnt offering was and didn't therefore need God to explain to them the precise details.

"Now Moses was keeping the flock of his father-in-law, Jethro, the priest of Mid'ian; and he led his flock to the west side of the wilderness, and came to Horeb, the mountain of God." Exodus 3:1

"Jethro, the priest of Mid'ian, Moses' father-in-law, heard of all that God had done for Moses and for Israel his people, how the LORD had brought Israel out of Egypt... Moses went out to meet his father-in-law, and did obeisance and kissed him; and they asked each other of their welfare, and went into the tent. Then Moses told his father-in-law all that the LORD had done to Pharaoh and to the Egyptians for Israel's sake, all the hardship that had come upon them in the way, and how the LORD had delivered them. And Jethro rejoiced for all the good which the LORD had done to Israel, in that he had delivered them out of the hand of the Egyptians. And Jethro said, 'Blessed be the LORD, who has delivered you out of the hand of the Egyptians and out of the hand of Pharaoh. Now I know that the LORD is greater than all gods, because he delivered the people from under the hand of the Egyptians, when they dealt arrogantly with them.' And Jethro, Moses' father-in-law, offered a burnt offering and sacrifices to God; and Aaron came with all the elders of Israel to eat bread with Moses' father-in-law before God." Exodus 18:1, 7-12

Again, even before Moses received divine instructions on sacrifices, his father-in-law Jethro, who was also a descendant of Abraham through Midian (whom Keturah bore for Abraham), already knew how to present burnt offerings and sacrifices.

Job is another example of a person who functioned as a priest, and who offered sacrifices for atonement before the giving of the Mosaic Law:

"His sons used to go and hold a feast in the house of each on his day; and they would send and invite their three sisters to eat and drink with them. And when the days of the feast had run their course, Job would send and sanctify them, and he would rise early in the morning and offer burnt offerings according to the number of them all; for Job said, 'It may be that my sons have sinned, and cursed God in their hearts.' Thus Job did continually." Job 1:4-5

"After the LORD had spoken these words to Job, the LORD said to Eli'phaz the Te'manite: 'My wrath is kindled against you and against your two friends; for you have not spoken of me what is right, as my servant Job has. Now therefore take seven bulls and seven rams, and go to my servant Job, and offer up for yourselves a burnt offering; and my servant Job shall pray for you, for I will accept his prayer not to deal with you according to your folly; for you have not spoken of me what is right, as my servant Job has.' So Eli'phaz the Te'manite and Bildad the Shuhite and Zophar the Na'amathite went and did what the LORD had told them; and the LORD accepted Job's prayer." Job 42:7-9

Some scholars believe that Job was actually a contemporary of Abraham, or lived sometime during the period of the patriarchs. Whatever the case may be, the story of Job demonstrates that even non-Israelites knew of the need of the mediation of priests and sacrifices for atonement.

The Holy Bible says that Moses and Samuel functioned as (were) priests of God:

"Moses and Aaron were among his priests, Samuel also was among those who called on his name. They cried to the LORD, and he answered them." Psalm 99:6

In fact, the sons of King David were also called priests!

"and Benai'ah the son of Jehoi'ada was over the Cher'ethites and the Pel'ethites; and David's sons were priests." 2 Samuel 8:18

David's sons become prophetic types of the Lord Jesus since he also is a son of David by lineage, and is priest and king at the same time.

In light of the foregoing, one would think that the Quran would have something positive to say about the important significance of blood atonement and the centrality of the animal sacrificial system of the Mosaic law. Yet even though the Quran says that sacrifices were demanded of all nations, it denies the salvific nature of these rites:

In them ye have benefits for a term appointed: in the end their place of sacrifice is near the Ancient House. To every people did We appoint rites (of sacrifice), that they might celebrate the name of God over the sustenance He gave them from animals (fit for food). But your God is One God: submit then your wills to Him (in Islam): and give thou the good news to those who humble themselves,- S. 22:33-34 Y. Ali- see 22:67

And among the sacred Signs of ALLAH WE have appointed for you the sacrificial camels. In them there is much good for you. So mention the name of ALLAH over them as they stand tied up in rows. And when they fall down dead on their sides, eat thereof and feed him who is needy but contented and him also who supplicates. Thus have WE subjected them to you, that you may be grateful. Their flesh reaches not ALLAH, NOR DOES THEIR BLOOD, but it is your righteousness that reaches HIM. Thus HE has subjected them to you, that you may glorify ALLAH for HIS guiding you. And give glad tidings to those who do good. S. 22:36-37 Sher Ali

Instead of living up to its own claim of confirming the previous scriptures, the Quran denies the very heart and essence of both the Torah and the Gospel. In fact, the Quran not only denies the necessity of blood for atonement, but actually claims that God provided a different system of atonement for Israel than that found in the Torah:

And certainly Allah made a covenant with the children of Israel, and We raised up among them twelve chieftains; and Allah said: Surely I am with you; if you keep up prayer and pay the poor-rate and believe in My apostles and assist them and offer to Allah a goodly gift, I will most certainly cover (laokaffiranna ) your evil deeds, and I will most certainly cause you to enter into gardens beneath which rivers flow, but whoever disbelieves from among you after that, he indeed shall lose the right way. S. 5:12 Shakir

The above passage asserts that God prescribed a works-based system of atonement for Israel, similar to what the Quran prescribes for Muslims. For instance, the Quran tells Muslims that avoiding major sins makes atonement for lesser sins:

If ye avoid great sins from which ye are forbidden, we will cover (nukaffir) your offences and make you enter with a noble entrance. S. 4:31 Palmer

The words laokaffiranna and nukaffir come from the Arabic word kaffara, which is the equivalent of the Hebrew word used in the Holy Bible for atonement, namely kaphar. The Arabic, much like the Hebrew, can mean to hide something or cover something, which in these respective contexts refer to the covering over of sins.

My response:

All of the biblical verses and the Noble Quran Verses that Sam Shamoun mentioned above don't prove or disprove a thing.  Islam is not limited to the bible and the Mosaic Laws and any other Law in the bible, while the Original Ones are considered as Light in the Noble Quran, but no where in the Noble Quran are we allowed to follow them:

"It was We who revealed the law (to Moses): therein was guidance and light. By its standard have been judged the Jews, by the prophets who bowed (as in Islam) to God's will, by the rabbis and the doctors of law: for to them was entrusted the protection of God's book, and they were witnesses thereto: therefore fear not men, but fear me, and sell not my signs for a miserable price.  If any do fail to judge by (the light of) what God hath revealed, they are (no better than) Unbelievers.  (The Noble Quran, 5:44)"

"Those who believe (in the Quran), and those who follow the Jewish (scriptures), and the Christians and the Sabians,- any who believe in God and the Last Day, and work righteousness, shall have their reward with their Lord; on them shall be no fear, nor shall they grieve.    (The Noble Quran, 2:62)"

"Of the people of Moses (i.e., the Jews) there is a section who guide and do justice in the light of truth.  (The Noble Quran, 7:159)"

Muslims are not obligated to follow the Jewish Sacrifices:

"To every people did We appoint rites (of sacrifice), that they might celebrate the name of God over the sustenance He gave them from animals (fit for food). But your God is One God: submit then your wills to Him (in Islam): and give thou the good news to those who humble themselves,-  (The Noble Quran, 22:34)"

"To every People have We appointed rites and ceremonies which they must follow: let them not then dispute with thee on the matter, but do thou invite (them) to thy Lord: for thou art assuredly on the Right Way.   (The Noble Quran, 22:67)"

"And remember Moses said to his people: "God commands that ye sacrifice a heifer." They said: "Makest thou a laughing-stock of us?" He said: "God save me from being an ignorant (fool)!"  (The Noble Quran, 2:67)"

"If We had ordered them to sacrifice their lives or to leave their homes, very few of them would have done it: But if they had done what they were (actually) told, it would have been best for them, and would have gone farthest to strengthen their (faith);  (The Noble Quran, 4:66)"

We have our own Islamic Rites:

"So when ye have accomplished your holy rites, celebrate the praises of God, as ye used to celebrate the praises of your fathers,- yea, with far more Heart and soul. There are men who say: "Our Lord! Give us (Thy bounties) in this world!" but they will have no portion in the Hereafter.   (The Noble Quran, 2:200)"

"Then shall anyone who has done an atom's weight of good, see it!  And anyone who has done an atom's weight of evil, shall see it.  (The Noble Quran, 99:7-8)"

"Wealth and sons are allurements of the life of this world: But the things that endure, good deeds, are best in the sight of thy Lord, as rewards, and best as (the foundation for) hopes.  (The Noble Quran, 18:46)"

"God commands justice, the doing of good, and liberality to kith and kin, and He forbids all shameful deeds, and injustice and rebellion: He instructs you, that ye may receive admonition.  (The Noble Quran, 16:90)"

"And God doth advance in guidance those who seek guidance: and the things that endure, Good Deeds, are best in the sight of thy Lord, as rewards, and best in respect of (their) eventual return.  (The Noble Quran, 19:76)"

"Then those whose balance (of good deeds) is heavy,- they will attain salvation:  (The Noble Quran, 23:102)"

"Unless he repents, believes, and works righteous deeds, for God will change the evil of such persons into good, and God is Oft-Forgiving, Most Merciful,  (The Noble Quran, 25:70)"

"If any does good, the reward to him is better than his deed; but if any does evil, the doers of evil are only punished (to the extent) of their deeds.  (The Noble Quran, 28:84)"

"But those who believe and work deeds of righteousness - to them shall We give a Home in Heaven,- lofty mansions beneath which flow rivers,- to dwell therein for aye;- an excellent reward for those who do (good)!-  (The Noble Quran, 29:58)"

"Now no person knows what delights of the eye are kept hidden (in reserve) for them - as a reward for their (good) deeds.   (The Noble Quran, 32:17)"

"Say: "Truly, my prayer and my service of sacrifice, my life and my death, are (all) for God, the Cherisher of the Worlds:  (The Noble Quran, 6:162)"

"That they may witness the benefits (provided) for them, and celebrate the name of God, through the Days appointed, over the cattle which He has provided for them (for sacrifice): then eat ye thereof and feed the distressed ones in want.  (The Noble Quran, 22:28)"

The Original Scriptures, not today's human-excrements and rewrites (inventions):

Like I showed and proved above, the bibles of today with all their different versions and differing quantities of "books" and "gospels" are nothing but rewrites of the Original Holy Scriptures.  There are thousands of letters that existed and exist today, and they were scattered all over Southern Europe, the Middle East and North Africa.  Tens if not Hundreds of churches during the early Christians' days were formed and each had their own unique scriptures.  Many were false scriptures and some were the Originals.  But one thing for certain, today's New Testaments' "books" and "gospels" are nothing but third-party rewrites.  They weren't even written by Jesus nor by any of his disciples.

From http://www.answering-christianity.com/authors_gospels.htm:

So, who then are the authors of the books of the Bible? Obviously the Church must know them very well since they are popularly believed to have received divine inspiration from God Himself. Right? Actually, they don't. For example, we will note that every Gospel begins with the introduction "According to....." such as "The Gospel according to Saint Matthew," "The Gospel according to Saint Luke," "The Gospel according to Saint Mark," "The Gospel according to Saint John." The obvious conclusion for the average man on the street is that these people are known to be the authors of the books attributed to them. This, however is not the case. Why? Because not one of the vaunted four thousand copies existent carries its author's signature. It has just been assumed that certain people were the authors. Recent discoveries, however, refute this belief. Even the internal evidence suggests that, for instance, Matthew did not write the Gospel attributed to him:

"...And as Jesus passed forth thence, HE (Jesus) saw a man, named Matthew, sitting at the receipt of custom: and HE (Jesus) saith unto HIM (Matthew), follow ME (Jesus) and HE (Matthew) arose, and followed HIM (Jesus). (Matthew 9:9)"

Did "Matthew" write this about himself? Why then didn't Matthew write for example: "he (Jesus) saw ME, and my name is Matthew. I was sitting at the receipt of custom…" etc.

Such evidence can be found in many places throughout the New Testament. Granted, it may be possible that an author sometimes may write in the third person, still, in light of the rest of the evidence that we shall see throughout this book, there is simply too much evidence against this hypothesis.

This observation is by no means limited to the New Testament. There is even similar evidence that at least parts of Deuteronomy were not written by their claimed author, prophet Moses  . This can be seen in Deuteronomy 34:5-10 where we read

"So Moses....DIED... and he (God Almighty) BURIED HIM (Moses)... He was 120 years old WHEN HE DIED... and there arose not a prophet SINCE in Israel like unto Moses....(Deuteronomy 34:5-10)"

Did Moses write his own obituary? Similarly, Joshua too speaks in detail about his own death in Joshua 24:29-33.

"And it came to pass after these things, that Joshua the son of Nun, the servant of the Lord, DIED, … And they BURIED HIM … And Israel served the Lord all the days of Joshua, and all the days of the elders that over lived Joshua, and which had known all the works of the Lord, that he had done for Israel ….(Joshua 24:29-33)"

Such evidence is part of the large cache which has driven the Biblical scholars to come to the current recognition that most of the books of the Bible were not written by their supposed authors. For example, the authors of the Revised Standard Version of the Bible by Collins honestly say that the author of "Kings" is "Unknown." But if the author is unknown then why attribute it to God? How can it then be claimed to have been "inspired"? Continuing, we read that the book of Isaiah is "Mainly credited to Isaiah. Parts may have been written by others." Ecclesiastics: "Author. Doubtful, but commonly assigned to Solomon." Ruth: "Author. Not definitely known, perhaps Samuel." and on and on.

Let us have a slightly more detailed look at only one book of the New Testament, that of 'Hebrews':

"The author of the Book of Hebrews is unknown. Martin Luther suggested that Apollos was the author...Tertullian said that Hebrews was a letter of Barnabas...Adolf Harnack and J. Rendel Harris speculated that it was written by Priscilla (or Prisca). William Ramsey suggested that it was done by Philip. However, the traditional position is that the Apostle Paul wrote Hebrews...Eusebius believed that Paul wrote it, but Origen was not positive of Pauline authorship."

From the introduction to the King James Bible, New revised and updated sixth edition, the Hebrew/Greek Key Study, Red Letter Edition

and one book of the Old Testament:

"In tradition, [David] is credited with writing 73 of the Psalms; most scholars, however, consider this claim questionable."

Encarta Encyclopedia, under "David"

Is this how we define "inspired by God"?

I asked a reverend of the local church in my neighborhood, on what gospel most often quoted and used, he quickly answered, the Gospel of St. John!

Let us examine the Contextual Problems of the Gospel of John - Highly Recommended!    Even though this is a Darwinist site, but it has some very good and important historical facts about the Bible's corruption.  What makes it interesting is that many of their articles were written by former Christian missionaries.

So what scriptures is Sam Shamoun exactly talking about here??

The Quran also prescribes camels for sacrifices which was forbidden in the Torah:

"The LORD said to Moses and Aaron, ‘Say to the Israelites: "Of all the animals that live on land, these are the ones you may eat: You may eat any animal that has a split hoof completely divided and that chews the cud. There are some that only chew the cud or only have a split hoof, but you must not eat them. The camel, though it chews the cud, does not have a split hoof; it is ceremonially unclean for you."’" Leviticus 11:1-4

"Do not eat any detestable thing. These are the animals you may eat: the ox, the sheep, the goat, the deer, the gazelle, the roe deer, the wild goat, the ibex, the antelope and the mountain sheep. You may eat any animal that has a split hoof divided in two and that chews the cud. However, of those that chew the cud or that have a split hoof completely divided you may not eat the camel, the rabbit or the coney. Although they chew the cud, they do not have a split hoof; they are ceremonially unclean for you." Deuteronomy 14:3-7

The Quran therefore contradicts the Torah both on the significance of blood and on the issue of clean versus unclean animals!

No greater examples could have been provided to show just how much these two books contradict each other regarding the history of God's people (i.e. Jews and Christians) and on essential doctrines than the preceding. One book says that God prescribed blood atonement for Israel whereas the other states that God commanded a works-based atonement!

Very good point.  Let us examine Mr. Shamoun's points to see if Islam truly contradicts GOD Almighty's Former Scriptures or not.  While it is made clear in both the Noble Quran and the Hadiths (Sayings) of Prophet Muhammad peace be upon him, that the Bible or Bibles are doubtful and full of man's alterations, fabrications and corruption, but I will go ahead and assume for Mr. Shamoun's sake that the biblical verses that he presented above are Divine Revelations from GOD Almighty, just for the time being.   This still doesn't mean much according to both the Bible and the Noble Quran for the following reasons.

A quick answer to his points above is the following Noble Verse:

"For the iniquity of the Jews We made unlawful for them certain (foods) good and wholesome which had been lawful for them;- in that they hindered many from God's Way;-  (The Noble Quran, 4:160)"

Notice how Allah Almighty Said that He Made certain food be lawful to them.  This clearly tells us that Allah Almighty's prescription and prohibition of certain foods to the Jews doesn't necessarily make it unlawful to other people.  Section #2 below gives more details and proofs regarding this subject. 

This sub-section will be divided into the following sections:

1-  GOD Almighty did Change His Position in both the Bible and the Noble Quran.

2-  Camel Sacrifice was only made to the Muslims in the Noble Quran.  Previous people had different rituals according to the Noble Quran.

3-  Muslims are not obligated to follow the Jewish Laws.

1-  GOD Almighty does and DID Change His Position, Mind and Opinion in the past.  Here are few Biblical and Noble Quranic Verses that will make this point clear:

"...and Jehovah repenteth of the evil which He hath spoken of doing to His people."   (Exodus 32:14)

The Sabbath:

"Ye shall keep the sabbath therefore; for it is holy unto you: every one that defileth it shall surely be put to death: for whosoever doeth any work therein, that soul shall be cut off from among his people.  (Exodus 31:14)"

"And it was the sabbath day when Jesus made the clay, and opened his eyes.  (John 9:14)"  Jesus was supposedly inspired by GOD Almighty to break the Sabbath.

Adultery:

"If a man is found sleeping with another man's wife, both the man who slept with her and the woman MUST DIE.  (From the NIV Bible, Deuteronomy 22:22)"

"One evening David got up from his bed and walked around on the roof of the palace. From the roof he saw a woman bathing. The woman was very beautiful, and David sent someone to find out about her. The man said, 'Isn't this Bathsheba, the daughter of Eliam and the WIFE of Uriah the Hittite?'    Then David sent messengers to get her. She came to him, and he slept with her. (She had purified herself from her uncleanness.) Then she went back home.  (From the NIV Bible, 2 Samuel 11:2-4)"

2 Samuel 12:12-14
12 You did it in secret, but I will do this thing in broad daylight before all Israel.' "
13 Then David said to Nathan, "I have sinned against the LORD ."    Nathan replied, "The LORD has taken away your sin. You are not going to die.
14 But because by doing this you have made the enemies of the LORD show utter contempt, the son born to you will die."

The Noble Quran:

"None of Our revelations do We abrogate or cause to be forgotten, but We substitute something better or similar: Knowest thou not that God Hath power over all things?  (The Noble Quran, 2:106)"

"We ordained therein for them: "Life for life, eye for eye, nose or nose, ear for ear, tooth for tooth, and wounds equal for equal."    But if any one remits the retaliation by way of charity, it is an act of atonement for himself.  And if any fail to judge by (the light of) what God hath revealed, they are (No better than) wrong-doers.  (The Noble Quran, 5:45)"

EXAMPLE:

Noble Verse 24:33 "Let those who find not the wherewithal for marriage keep themselves chaste, until God gives them means out of His grace. And if any of your slaves ask for a deed in writing (to enable them to earn their freedom for a certain sum), give them such a deed if ye know any good in them: yea, give them something yourselves out of the means which God has given to you. But force not your maids to prostitution when they desire chastity, in order that ye may make a gain in the goods of this life. But if anyone compels them, yet, after such compulsion, is God, Oft-Forgiving, Most Merciful (to them)," 

ABROGATED:

Leviticus 25:44-46 "Your male and female slaves are to come from the nations around you; from them you may buy slaves. You may also buy some of the temporary residents living among you and members of their clans born in your country, and they will become your property. You can will them to your children as inherited property and can make them slaves for life, but you must not rule over your fellow Israelites ruthlessly." 

Allah Almighty in the Noble Quran Commands the Muslims to free their slaves if the slaves want to be free, and to pay them money too so they can have a good jump start in life.  In the Bible on the other hand, we see slaves not being allowed to be freed at all.  Not only that, but they and their children must be inherited as slaves forever.

Please visit:  Human equality and freedom in Islam Vs the Bible.

GOD Almighty's Forgiveness:

The fact that even GOD Almighty FORGIVES sins is by itself another proof for my points above, because GOD Almighty Changed his Position from punishing the person for his/her sins to forgiving them by removing that sin from them.

2-  Let us look at what Allah Almighty Said in the Noble Quran regarding camel sacrifices:

"The sacrificial camels we have made for you as among the symbols from God: in them is (much) good for you: then pronounce the name of God over them as they line up (for sacrifice): when they are down on their sides (after slaughter), eat ye thereof, and feed such as (beg not but) live in contentment, and such as beg with due humility: thus have We made animals subject to you, that ye may be grateful.  (The Noble Quran, 22:36)"

Every group of people had their own special Religious Rites:

"To every people did We appoint rites (of sacrifice), that they might celebrate the name of God over the sustenance He gave them from animals (fit for food). But your God is One God: submit then your wills to Him (in Islam): and give thou the good news to those who humble themselves,-  (The Noble Quran, 22:34)"

"To every People have We appointed rites and ceremonies which they must follow: let them not then dispute with thee on the matter, but do thou invite (them) to thy Lord: for thou art assuredly on the Right Way.   (The Noble Quran, 22:67)"

"So when ye have accomplished your holy rites, celebrate the praises of God, as ye used to celebrate the praises of your fathers,- yea, with far more Heart and soul. There are men who say: "Our Lord! Give us (Thy bounties) in this world!" but they will have no portion in the Hereafter.  (The Noble Quran, 2:200)"

"Then let them complete the rites prescribed for them, perform their vows, and (again) circumambulate the Ancient House.   (The Noble Quran, 22:29)"

"Such (is the Pilgrimage): whoever honours the sacred rites of God, for him it is good in the Sight of his Lord. Lawful to you (for food in Pilgrimage) are cattle, except those mentioned to you (as exception): but shun the abomination of idols, and shun the word that is false,-  (The Noble Quran, 22:30)"

"For the iniquity of the Jews We made unlawful for them certain (foods) good and wholesome which had been lawful for them;- in that they hindered many from God's Way;-  (The Noble Quran, 4:160)"

Notice in Noble Verse 4:160 how Allah Almighty Said that He Made certain food be lawful to them.  This clearly tells us that Allah Almighty's prescription and prohibition of certain foods to the Jews doesn't necessarily make it unlawful to other people. 

Notice also in Noble Verse 22:36 the Noble Words "...for you...", which clearly recognizes that the allowance of camel sacrifice was something new and limited to the Muslims.  There is absolutely nothing wrong with GOD Almighty allowing specific things for specific people. 

Did He not forbid the Jews, for instance, from working on Saturday, while He didn't Forbid it for anyone else??

Using Mr. Shamoun's logic above, that would also make the Bible, or at least his New Testament, false for contradicting the Sabbath rules as I showed in point #1 above, which Jesus violated the Sabbath.

GOD Almighty Said regarding the camels: "...in them is (much) good for you:...", which is why He, the Almighty, Made camel sacrifices be allowed to us.  Just because camels, like the Sabbath, for really unknown Divine Reasons to us, were made unlawful to the Jews, then that still doesn't make them bad altogether, or that they should be forbidden to non-Jews.

There are things in the Bible that don't make much sense and are taken by face value.  Take for instance the following examples:

Leviticus 12:2-5 "Speak unto the children of Israel, saying, If a woman have conceived seed, and born a MALE child: then she shall be unclean SEVEN DAYS; according to the days of the separation for her infirmity shall she be unclean. And in the eighth day the flesh of his foreskin shall be circumcised. And she shall then continue in the blood of her purifying THIRTY THREE days; she shall touch no hallowed thing, nor come into the sanctuary, until the days of her purifying be fulfilled. But if she bear a FEMALE child, then she shall be unclean TWO WEEKS, as in her separation: and she shall continue in the blood of her purifying SIXTY SIX days."

Can Mr. Shamoun honestly scientifically explain to us why does the birth of females cause double the pollution?

Leviticus 14

49 To purify the house he is to take two birds and some cedar wood, scarlet yarn and hyssop.
50 He shall kill one of the birds over fresh water in a clay pot.
51 Then he is to take the cedar wood, the hyssop, the scarlet yarn and the live bird, dip them into the blood of the dead bird and the fresh water, and sprinkle the house seven times.
52 He shall purify the house with the bird's blood, the fresh water, the live bird, the cedar wood, the hyssop and the scarlet yarn.
53 Then he is to release the live bird in the open fields outside the town. In this way he will make atonement for the house, and it will be clean."

Can Mr. Shamoun honestly tell us how is the killing of any bird and use of cedar wood supposed to purify any house?

Isn't this close to voodoo superstition??

3-    I as a Muslim am not obligated to follow the Jewish Laws, even if they were proven to be Divine Revelations from GOD Almighty.

1-  My wife doesn't necessarily have to be unclean twice as much if she gives birth to a female.

2-  I don't need to kill a bird and use cedar wood to purify my house.

3-  I can work on Saturdays.

Etc...

Islam's similarity with the previous Scriptures is definitely NOT in the religious rituals that were practiced among them, for even in your own bible, these rituals had been abrogated!  And as we've clearly seen above, Allah Almighty Clearly Said that the camel sacrifices were made for us, the Muslims, which can mean that they never existed in the Original and Divine Old Scriptures.

The similarity that Allah Almighty talked about and the Religion of Abraham, peace be upon him, is the concentration on Belief of the Absolute Oneness of GOD Almighty, and associating no partners (idols or humans) with Him:

"Who can be better in religion than one who submits his whole self to God, does good, and follows the way of Abraham the true in Faith? For God did take Abraham for a friend.  (The Noble Quran, 4:125)"

"They say: 'Become Jews or Christians if ye would be guided (To salvation).' Say thou: 'Nay! (I would rather) the Religion of Abraham the True, and he joined not gods with God.'  (The Noble Quran, 2:135)"

"Abraham was not a Jew nor yet a Christian; but he was true in Faith, and bowed his will to God's (Which is Islam), and he joined not gods with God.   (The Noble Quran, 3:67)"

"God forgiveth not that partners should be set up with Him; but He forgiveth anything else, to whom He pleaseth; to set up partners with God is to devise a sin Most heinous indeed. (The Noble Quran, 4:48)"

"Say: He is God, the One and Only; God, the Eternal, Absolute; He begetteth not, nor is He begotten; And there is none like unto Him.  (The Noble Quran, 112:1-4)"

"Say: 'O People of the Book (i.e., Jews and Christians)!    Come to common terms as between us and you:  That we worship none but Allah; that we associate no partners with Him; that we erect not, from among ourselves, Lords and patrons other than Allah.'  If then they turn back, say ye: 'Bear witness that we (at least) are Muslims (bowing to Allah's Will).'  (The Noble Quran, 3:64)"

Visit: What is the Wisdom of Islam? for more details.

He wrote:

Interestingly, the Quran is totally silent about the slaughter of the Passover lamb on the night God brought Israel out of Egypt:

"The LORD said to Moses, 'Yet one plague more I will bring upon Pharaoh and upon Egypt; afterwards he will let you go hence; when he lets you go, he will drive you away completely'... And Moses said, 'Thus says the LORD: About midnight I will go forth in the midst of Egypt; and all the first-born in the land of Egypt shall die, from the first-born of Pharaoh who sits upon his throne, even to the first-born of the maidservant who is behind the mill; and all the first-born of the cattle. And there shall be a great cry throughout all the land of Egypt, such as there has never been, nor ever shall be again. But against any of the people of Israel, either man or beast, not a dog shall growl; that you may know that the LORD makes a distinction between the Egyptians and Israel. And all these your servants shall come down to me, and bow down to me, saying, `Get you out, and all the people who follow you.' And after that I will go out.' And he went out from Pharaoh in hot anger." Exodus 11:1, 4-8

"The LORD said to Moses and Aaron in the land of Egypt, 'This month shall be for you the beginning of months; it shall be the first month of the year for you. Tell all the congregation of Israel that on the tenth day of this month they shall take every man a lamb according to their fathers' houses, a lamb for a household; and if the household is too small for a lamb, then a man and his neighbor next to his house shall take according to the number of persons; according to what each can eat you shall make your count for the lamb. Your lamb shall be without blemish, a male a year old; you shall take it from the sheep or from the goats; and you shall keep it until the fourteenth day of this month, when the whole assembly of the congregation of Israel shall KILL their lambs in the evening. Then they shall take some of the blood, and put it on the two doorposts and the lintel of the houses in which they eat them. They shall eat the flesh that night, roasted; with unleavened bread and bitter herbs they shall eat it. Do not eat any of it raw or boiled with water, but roasted, its head with its legs and its inner parts. And you shall let none of it remain until the morning, anything that remains until the morning you shall burn. In this manner you shall eat it: your loins girded, your sandals on your feet, and your staff in your hand; and you shall eat it in haste. It is the LORD's passover. For I will pass through the land of Egypt that night, and I will smite all the first-born in the land of Egypt, both man and beast; and on all the gods of Egypt I will execute judgments: I am the LORD. The blood shall be a sign for you, upon the houses where you are; and when I see the blood, I will pass over you, and no plague shall fall upon you to destroy you, when I smite the land of Egypt. This day shall be for you a memorial day, and you shall keep it as a feast to the LORD; throughout your generations you shall observe it as an ordinance for ever'... Then Moses called all the elders of Israel, and said to them, 'Select lambs for yourselves according to your families, and KILL the passover lamb. Take a bunch of hyssop and dip it in the blood which is in the basin, and touch the lintel and the two doorposts with the blood which is in the basin; and none of you shall go out of the door of his house until the morning. For the LORD will pass through to slay the Egyptians; and when he sees the blood on the lintel and on the two doorposts, the LORD will pass over the door, and will not allow the destroyer to enter your houses to slay you. You shall observe this rite as an ordinance for you and for your sons for ever. And when you come to the land which the LORD will give you, as he has promised, you shall keep this service. And when your children say to you, "What do you mean by this service?" you shall say, "It is the sacrifice of the LORD's passover, for he passed over the houses of the people of Israel in Egypt, when he slew the Egyptians but spared our houses."' And the people bowed their heads and worshiped... Exodus 12:1-14, 21-27

Notice once more how significant the blood was in preventing God from striking down all the firstborns of Israel. It was the blood again which saved Israel from death, just as the blood of Jesus saves believers from spiritual death (cf. Matthew 26:28; Mark 10:45; John 5:24; 6:50-51, 58; 11:25-27). And yet the Quran says nothing about this important event which marked the day of Israel's exodus from Egypt! The Quran's silence here is truly astonishing to say the least.

The Muslim may say that the Quran has abrogated the need for blood atonement. We have three main responses to this claim.

First, the verses which refer to abrogation speak of the Quran abrogating itself, not the previous scriptures. This can be seen from the fact that the verses do not say that the Quran cancels out the previous books (Arabic - kitab/kutub), but abrogates certain verses/signs (Arabic - ayat):

And when We exchange a verse (ayatan) in the place of another verse (ayatin) and God knows very well what He is sending down -- they say, 'Thou art a mere forger!' Nay, but the most of them have no knowledge. S. 16:101 A.J. Arberry

The word ayah generally refers to either miracles or to the verses of the Quran. The use of ayah, as opposed to kitab, demonstrates that there really aren't any conclusive statements which say that the Quran has abrogated the Holy Bible, at least not explicitly. One must read this meaning back into these Quranic passages in order to draw this conclusion.

If we turn to the hadiths, then it is quite clear that the verses on abrogation refer to the Quran itself:

Narrated Ibn Abbas:
Umar said, "Ubai was the best of us in the recitation (of the Qur'an) yet we leave some of what he recites." Ubai says, "I have taken it from the mouth of Allah's Apostle and will not leave for anything whatever." But Allah said, "None of Our Revelations do We abrogate or cause to be forgotten but We substitute something better or similar." 2.106 (Sahih Al-Bukhari, Volume 6, Book 61, Number 527)

The Quran also says that the previous Scriptures are a criterion over it, a rule of faith determining whether the Quran is true or false:

But if you are in doubt as to what We have revealed to you, ask those who read the Book before you; certainly the truth has come to you from your Lord, therefore you should not be of the disputers. S. 10:94 Shakir

Hence, the Quran, instead of abrogating the previous scriptures, actually appeals to them for verification purposes.

Second, even if we were to accept the claim that the Quran abrogates biblical doctrines such as the need of blood atonement, what did it replace it with? After all, the Quran says that when Allah abrogates a verse he will replace it with something better or similar:

Whatever verses we cancel, or cause thee to forget, we bring a better or its like. Knowest thou not that God hath power over all things? S. 2:106 Rodwell

What did Allah give in place of blood for salvation that is similar or even better? The Holy Bible tells us that the sacrificial system and the OT priesthood have been consummated in the life, death, and resurrection of the Lord Jesus Christ, as well as in his work as mediator and intercessor:

"Clean out the old leaven so that you may be a new lump, just as you are in fact unleavened. For Christ our Passover also has been sacrificed." 1 Corinthians 5:7 NASB

"Now if perfection had been attainable through the Levit'ical priesthood (for under it the people received the law), what further need would there have been for another priest to arise after the order of Melchiz'edek, rather than one named after the order of Aaron? For when there is a change in the priesthood, there is necessarily a change in the law as well. For the one of whom these things are spoken belonged to another tribe, from which no one has ever served at the altar. For it is evident that our Lord was descended from Judah, and in connection with that tribe Moses said nothing about priests. This becomes even more evident when another priest arises in the likeness of Melchiz'edek, who has become a priest, not according to a legal requirement concerning bodily descent but by the power of an indestructible life." Hebrews 7:11-16

"This makes Jesus the surety of a better covenant. The former priests were many in number, because they were prevented by death from continuing in office; but he holds his priesthood permanently, because he continues for ever. Consequently he is able for all time to save those who draw near to God through him, since he always lives to make intercession for them. For it was fitting that we should have such a high priest, holy, blameless, unstained, separated from sinners, exalted above the heavens. He has no need, like those high priests, to offer sacrifices daily, first for his own sins and then for those of the people; he did this once for all when he offered up himself. Indeed, the law appoints men in their weakness as high priests, but the word of the oath, which came later than the law, appoints a Son who has been made perfect for ever." Hebrews 7:22-28

"But when Christ appeared as a high priest of the good things that have come, then through the greater and more perfect tent (not made with hands, that is, not of this creation) he entered once for all into the Holy Place, taking not the blood of goats and calves but his own blood, thus securing an eternal redemption. For if the sprinkling of defiled persons with the blood of goats and bulls and with the ashes of a heifer sanctifies for the purification of the flesh, how much more shall the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered himself without blemish to God, purify your conscience from dead works to serve the living God. Therefore he is the mediator of a new covenant, so that those who are called may receive the promised eternal inheritance, since a death has occurred which redeems them from the transgressions under the first covenant." Hebrews 9:11-15

"Thus it was necessary for the copies of the heavenly things to be purified with these rites, but the heavenly things themselves with BETTER sacrifices than these. For Christ has entered, not into a sanctuary made with hands, a copy of the true one, but into heaven itself, now to appear in the presence of God on our behalf. Nor was it to offer himself repeatedly, as the high priest enters the Holy Place yearly with blood not his own; for then he would have had to suffer repeatedly since the foundation of the world. But as it is, he has appeared once for all at the end of the age to put away sin by the sacrifice of himself. And just as it is appointed for men to die once, and after that comes judgment, so Christ, having been offered once to bear the sins of many, will appear a second time, not to deal with sin but to save those who are eagerly waiting for him." Hebrews 9:23-28

"For since the law has but a shadow of the good things to come instead of the true form of these realities, it can never, by the same sacrifices which are continually offered year after year, make perfect those who draw near. Otherwise, would they not have ceased to be offered? If the worshipers had once been cleansed, they would no longer have any consciousness of sin. But in these sacrifices there is a reminder of sin year after year. For it is impossible that the blood of bulls and goats should take away sins... And by that will we have been sanctified through the offering of the body of Jesus Christ once for all. And every priest stands daily at his service, offering repeatedly the same sacrifices, which can never take away sins. But when Christ had offered for all time a single sacrifice for sins, he sat down at the right hand of God, then to wait until his enemies should be made a stool for his feet. For by a single offering he has perfected for all time those who are sanctified." Hebrews 10:1-4, 10-14

"You know that you were ransomed from the futile ways inherited from your fathers, not with perishable things such as silver or gold, but with the precious blood of Christ, like that of a lamb without blemish or spot." 1 Peter 1:18-19

The New Testament, therefore, didn't abrogate the need of blood atonement, but consummated the entire OT sacrificial system in the death of the Lord Jesus, whose blood is infinitely better than the blood of animals!

Third, denying the significance blood plays in redemption and forgiveness is not an abrogation, but a direct contradiction. Either the Quran is right, or the Holy Bible is right, but both can't be true at the same time. Both could be wrong, but they cannot both be correct, since the two positions are a direct violation of the law of non-contradiction:

A. Blood is necessary for forgiveness and salvation, and makes atonement.

Non-A. Blood is not necessary for forgiveness and salvation, and does not make atonement.

Since the Quran states that the Holy Bible is true, and that one of its alleged functions is to confirm the previous scriptures, then the Quran must be wrong on this issue.

So what happened to the blood in Islam? Where is Islam's atonement? Where is the need of a priest to mediate on behalf of the people before God? If Islam and the Quran are truly from the God of Abraham, and if the Quran does confirm and explain the Holy Bible, then there must be a suitable replacement or equivalent to the Torah's sacrificial system and priesthood, which the NT says have been fully consummated and perfectly fulfilled in the Lord Jesus Christ.

The fact that Islam has none only further proves that it is not the religion of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. The Quran, instead, presents a rather confused and convoluted system of atonement that isn’t simply based on faith-works, but on Allah punishing Jews and Christians in the place of sinful Muslims! See the following article for the details: www.answering-islam.org/Shamoun/ransom.htm.

APPENDIX:

I Desire Mercy Not Sacrifice?

Muslims oftentimes appeal to certain biblical passages which, on the surface level, seem to deny the importance of blood sacrifices. For example, appeal is often made to Hosea 6:6, which the Lord Jesus also quoted in Matthew 9:13 and 12:7:

"For I desire steadfast love and not sacrifice, the knowledge of God, rather than burnt offerings."

There are many other passages that basically say the same thing and which Muslims feel prove that the Quran's position regarding the blood being unnecessary is actually correct.

Yet a careful reading of any of these passages will show that the biblical writers were in no way denying the importance of blood sacrifices, but were condemning the rather cavalier attitude of the Israelites in offering them with sinful hearts and minds. For instance, if we take Hosea 6 in context, we will discover that the people were offering sacrifices with an unrepentant and wicked heart:

"But at Adam they transgressed the covenant; there they dealt faithlessly with me. Gilead is a city of evildoers, tracked with blood. As robbers lie in wait for a man, so the priests are banded together; they murder on the way to Shechem, yea, they commit villainy. In the house of Israel I have seen a horrible thing; E'phraim's harlotry is there, Israel is defiled. For you also, O Judah, a harvest is appointed. When I would restore the fortunes of my people," Hosea 6:7-11

It must be stated that the sacrifices were only efficacious (made effective) for people who offered them in sincere faith and repentance. Otherwise, God would not accept them on behalf of the person making them. Earlier we mentioned the offerings made by Cain and Abel and how God accepted the one offering but not the other. Hebrews tells us why:

"By faith Abel offered to God a more acceptable sacrifice than Cain, through which he received approval as righteous, God bearing witness by accepting his gifts; he died, but through his faith he is still speaking." Hebrews 11:4

Note that Abel's faith made his offering efficacious and acceptable to God. This means that Cain's offering was rejected because he had no faith, a fact supported by the context of Genesis itself (cf. 4:6-7).

This shows the importance and necessity of faith on the part of the offerer, otherwise his sacrifices will be nothing more than vain ritualism, which does nothing to commend him to an infinitely holy and just God.

But if a Muslim wants to insist that these passages make void all of those passages of the Torah which specifically highlight the necessity of the sacrificial system, then he/she will also have to reject the necessity and importance of prayers and other rituals:

"Hear the word of the LORD, you rulers of Sodom! Give ear to the teaching of our God, you people of Gomor'rah! 'What to me is the multitude of your sacrifices? says the LORD; I have had enough of burnt offerings of rams and the fat of fed beasts; I do not delight in the blood of bulls, or of lambs, or of he-goats. When you come to appear before me, who requires of you this trampling of my courts? Bring no more VAIN offerings; incense is an abomination to me. New moon and sabbath and the calling of assemblies - I cannot endure iniquity and solemn assembly. Your new moons and your appointed feasts my soul hates; they have become a burden to me, I am weary of bearing them. When you spread forth your hands, I will hide my eyes from you; even though you make many prayers, I will not listen; your hands are full of blood. Wash yourselves; make yourselves clean; remove the evil of your doings from before my eyes; cease to do evil, learn to do good; seek justice, correct oppression; defend the fatherless, plead for the widow." Isaiah 1:10-17

Using the logic of the Muslim to understand Isaiah, we must conclude that the Israelites didn't need to pray or observe the Sabbaths or any of the other holy days prescribed in the Torah, which is obviously quite nonsensical. The point of Isaiah, as well as the other prophets, is that prayers, sacrifices, Sabbath observances etc. mean nothing to God when done with unrepentant and unbelieving hearts.

King David puts this all together; after sinning against God by committing adultery, David (by inspiration) cried out to God in repentance through the following Psalm:

"Deliver me from bloodguiltiness, O God, thou God of my salvation, and my tongue will sing aloud of thy deliverance. O Lord, open thou my lips, and my mouth shall show forth thy praise. For thou hast no delight in sacrifice; were I to give a burnt offering, thou wouldst not be pleased. The sacrifice acceptable to God is a broken spirit; a broken and contrite heart, O God, thou wilt not despise. Do good to Zion in thy good pleasure; rebuild the walls of Jerusalem, THEN wilt thou delight in RIGHT sacrifices, in burnt offerings and whole burnt offerings; then bulls will be offered on thy altar." Psalm 51:14-19

In the words of the Lord Jesus:

"Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for you tithe mint and dill and cummin, and have neglected the weightier matters of the law, justice and mercy and faith; these you ought to have done, WITHOUT NEGLECTING THE OTHERS." Matthew 23:23

My response:

First of all, in regards to ransom, yes GOD Almighty will remove the sins of those who had been misled by evil doers and dump them on the evil doers.

To the reader, please visit:  GOD Almighty will remove some of the Muslims' sins and put them on the Jews and Christians at the Day of Judgement!

Now as I mentioned and proved above, the Noble Quran is not concerned with the People of Israels' rituals and history.  Islam's Main Divine Message is to believe in the Absolute One and Only GOD Almighty and associate no partners (idols or humans) with Him.  This is something had been badly corrupted by the polytheist trinitarian pagans and their allies from the Jewish hypocrites. 

Muslims have their own unique Rituals as I showed in my previous response section above.  Jews too had their own unique ones that were even discontinued in the Bible itself, as also shown above. 

We're not obligated to follow any Religious Rituals other than Islam's.  The animal sacrifices that Islam has are indirectly used for forgiving of sins.  They're not as the rewritten and man-altered and man-corrupted bible made for erasing of sins as if Good Deeeds are irrelevant.  They are rather made as a way for the rich to feed the poor through Charity or "Zakah" as it is called in Islam, and as Zakah is one of Islam's Main Pillars, where it is compulsory for the Rich to pay the State so it can feed the poor.  Through that, the Rich may (depending on his/her intentions) get forgiveness.  This is clearly shown and proven above.

That's the whole point of Islam's sacrifices and Charity paying.  It is not for some fake people to to commit sins and knowingly rely on some sheep to forgive it for them, as Christians today do all kinds of sins and use the man-made lie and excuse about Jesus died for their sins.  These are all lies and they are all man-made.

To the reader, please visit:

The Early Christians Doctrines confirm that Jesus never got crucified.

Answering Trinity.

Contradictions and History of Man's Corruption in the Bible.

Responses to all of the so-called "Contradictions" in the Noble Quran.

My Rebuttals, and exposing the lies of the Answering Islam team section.

Rebuttals to Sam Shamoun's Articles section.

My rebuttal to Sam Shamoun's "Examining the Evidence which proves that the Spirit is God" blasphemous article (PART II).

My rebuttal to Sam Shamoun's "A Brief Rebuttal to Anti-Missionary Attacks on the Trinity" article.

What is the Role of the Holy Spirit in Islam? Why can't we call it GOD?

Ask me any question section.

Errors and History of Contradictions and Corruption in the Bible.

Christians are Commanded to follow the Old Testament.

Allah, Islam, Quran, Muhammad questions and answers.

What is the place of Jews, Christians and non-Muslims in Islam?

Answering Trinity.

"Allah" was GOD Almighty's Original Name in the Bible according to the Hebrew and Aramaic sources.

Send your comments.

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