My rebuttal to Jochen Katz' "Pharaoh's Magicians - Muslims or Rejecters of Faith?" article:
This article is a rebuttal to Jochen Katz' article that is located at: http://www.answering-islam.org/Quran/Contra/pharaohs_magicians.html.
He wrote:
Qur'an Contradiction:
In the Qur'an there exist two fundamentally different conclusions to the story of Moses'
contest with the magicians of the Pharaoh. After the power of Moses (given to him by God)
was seen to be stronger than the power of Egyptian magic, we read:
"... the sorcerers fell down prostrate in adoration. Saying: ‘We believe in the Lord of the Worlds,- The Lord of Moses and Aaron.’ Said Pharaoh: ‘Believe ye in Him before I give you permission? Surely this is a trick which ye have planned in the city to drive out its people: but soon shall ye know (the consequences). Be sure I will cut off your hands and your feet on apposite sides, and I will crucify you all.’ They said: ‘For us, We are but sent back unto our Lord: But thou dost wreak thy vengeance on us simply because we believed in the Signs of our Lord when they reached us! Our Lord! pour out on us patience and constancy, and take our souls unto Thee as Muslims (who bow to Thy Will)!’" S. 7:120-126
According to this passage, the Egyptian magicians have become believers, they confessed faith in the Lord of Moses and Aaron. They are even called Muslims in verse 126.
My response:
While I so far have no objections to what he wrote, but I'd like to add that the word "Muslim" simply means submitting yourself to GOD Almighty. I also would like to add that the word itself, "Muslim", does also exist in the Bible's New Testament:
From http://www.answering-christianity.com/luke6_40.htm:
Jesus using the word "Muslim" in Luke 6:40:
This article was give to me by brother Tamer, may Allah Almighty always be pleased with him.
Let us look at Luke 6:40 from my N.I.V. Bible "A student is not above his teacher, but everyone who is fully trained will be like his teacher."
Let us look at what Jesus said in Luke 6:40 in the language of Aramaic translated into Hebrew as shown below:
"Ein talmeed na'leh 'al rabbo; shekken kal adam she'MUSHLAM yihyeh
k'rabbo."
Taken from the Aramaic
bible society.
Note: Aramaic and Hebrew are read from right to
left, which is opposite to English.
Translation in English: "No student can be above
his teacher, but everyone that is a MUSLIM, can be as his teacher."
Important Note: The Hebrew word "Mushlam" comes from the root "Sh L M". "Shalom" which comes from the same root means "peace". The Arabic word "Muslim" comes from the root "S L M". "Salam" means "peace". "Salem" means "safe". Also taken from the Aramaic bible society, http://home.comcast.net/~rzuberi/index_files/page0005.htm, and http://home.comcast.net/~rzuberi/articles/Being_Like_The_Teacher.pdf.
Another Important Note: In case
the pdf file gets lost from the "home.comcast.net" site, I have uploaded it to
my site. You can access a copy of on my site at this link.
Also, please visit: Jesus peace be upon him spoke Aramaic during his ministry.
See Jesus predicting the coming of Muhammad after him in the Bible.
Most recent discoveries:
Recently Father Pecerillo, a famous Franciscan Archiologist, found more than twenty churches in Madaba at the south of Jordan. From the Forth Century we found houses in Syria, Lebanon, Iraq and Palestine with this inscription in Arabic :"Bism Allah al Rahman al Rahim" which showed that Christians were the first to use this name, Allah for GOD Almighty, which proves that the name of GOD Almighty in the Noble Quran, "Allah" is the correct one. This also proves to us that the Bible is not all found. There are still missing pieces in it that disprove trinity.
He wrote:
In Sura 10, however, after recounting the same event we find this conclusion:
"But NONE believed in Moses except some of the children of HIS people, because of the fear of Pharaoh and his chiefs, lest they should persecute them; and certainly Pharaoh was mighty on the earth and one who transgressed all bounds. Moses said: ‘O MY PEOPLE! If ye do (really) believe in Allah, then in Him put your trust if ye submit (your will to His).’ They said: ‘In Allah do we put out trust. Our Lord! make us not a trial for those who practice oppression; And deliver us by Thy Mercy from those who reject (Thee).’" S. 10:83-86
The report of Sura 7 that some Egyptian sorcerers become believers is contradicted by the categorical statement of Sura 10:83 that none but some of Moses' own people (the Israelites) believed in him.
Because of this rather apparent contradiction some commentators of the Qur'an have suggested that the pronoun "his" in "his people" does not refer to Moses which would be the natural understanding but instead refers to Pharaoh, and "his people" are the Egyptians.
Had the statement in 10:83 been "only a few of his people believed in Moses", then such an interpretation would still be forced and unnatural, against the common use of language, but on a formal level it may have solved the problem. The Qur'an, however, states that "none believed in Moses" (an absolute and universal statement) before it gives the only exception to the rule: "except some of his people".
We seem to have only this alternative:
This longer and more detailed article quotes all four Quranic accounts of this incident (found in suras 7, 10, 20, and 26) in full, and indicates further discrepancies.
My response:
First of all, in regards to the link for the other "detailed" article, I have refuted it in the following link:
http://www.answering-christianity.com/quran/pharaohs_magicians_detailed_rebuttal.htm.
Now in regards to the Believers, there is absolutely no contradiction or historical error in the Noble Verses. A Believer is not one who just declares with his mouth that he is one, but rather, is one who also proves through practice and actions that he is on. Pharaoh's Magicians were true Believers for sacrificing their lives for GOD Almighty! They were true followers of GOD Almighty that became part of Moses' people, peace be upon all of them.
They were all executed because they followed Moses!
Both the Bible and the Noble Quran agree that the Israelites were mostly treacherous people! Yes, they did escape with Moses from Egypt, but that was not due to their belief. It was sort of like they nothing to lose, because they lived under brutal slavery. There is even archeological evidence that suggests it was the Hebrews (the Israelites) who built the great pyramids, while the Egyptians, their masters only managed them. While no one really knows who exactly built the great pyramids, but history confirms that the Hebrews did live in bad slavery.
Let us look at the Noble Verses that Jochen Katz presented above once again:
"But NONE believed in Moses except some of the children of HIS people, because of the fear of Pharaoh and his chiefs, lest they should persecute them; and certainly Pharaoh was mighty on the earth and one who transgressed all bounds. Moses said: ‘O MY PEOPLE! If ye do (really) believe in Allah, then in Him put your trust if ye submit (your will to His).’ They said: ‘In Allah do we put out trust. Our Lord! make us not a trial for those who practice oppression; And deliver us by Thy Mercy from those who reject (Thee).’" S. 10:83-86
Notice that Allah Almighty DID document in His Holy and Divine Book, the Noble Quran, what the Israelites said to Moses, peace be upon him. "In Allah do we put our trust...." These were their CHEAP WORDS, and because Allah Almighty is Fair and Just, and continuously Gives chances to people to repent, He let them successfully escape from Egypt without any harm and without being completely wiped out and eliminated by Pharaoh and his army.
So what did they do to thank Allah Almighty in return?
They built a golden calf and worshiped it in the Sinai desert! That was the "Thank you" that they gave to GOD Almighty Who Saved them. Let us look at what the Noble Quran and the Bible say in regards to this subject and what the punishment of the Jews was:
From http://www.answering-christianity.com/bible_quran_differences.htm:
"There came to you Moses with clear (Signs); yet ye worshipped the calf (Even) after that, and ye did behave wrongfully. And remember We took your covenant and We raised above you (the towering height) of Mount (Sinai): (Saying): "Hold firmly to what We have given you, and hearken (to the Law)": They said:" We hear, and we disobey:" And they had to drink into their hearts (of the taint) of the calf because of their Faithlessness. Say: "Vile indeed are the behests of your Faith if ye have any faith!" (The Noble Quran, 2:92-93)"
"Say: "Shall I point out to you something much worse than this, (as judged) by the treatment it received from God? those who incurred the curse of God and His wrath, those of whom some He transformed into apes and swine, those who worshipped evil;- these are (many times) worse in rank, and far more astray from the even path!" (The Noble Quran, 5:60)"
While the Bible doesn't explicitly contain this about the Jews, but it does contain OVERWHELMING evidence about the Jews' defiance and disobedience of GOD Almighty's Divine Words, and GOD Almighty's Promise to destroy them and bring plague upon them:
Numbers 14
10 But the whole assembly talked about stoning them. Then the glory
of the LORD appeared at the Tent of Meeting to all the Israelites.
11 The LORD said to Moses, "How long will these people treat me with contempt? How
long will they refuse to believe in me, in spite of all the miraculous signs I have
performed among them?
12 I will strike them down with a plague and destroy them, but I
will make you into a nation greater and stronger than they."
Numbers 14
22 not one of the men who saw my glory and the miraculous signs I
performed in Egypt and in the desert but who disobeyed me and tested me ten
times-
23 not one of them will ever see the land I promised on oath to their
forefathers. No one who has treated me with contempt will ever see it.
24 But because my servant Caleb has a different spirit and follows me wholeheartedly, I
will bring him into the land he went to, and his descendants will inherit it.
Numbers 16
29 If these men die a natural death and experience only what usually
happens to men, then the LORD has not sent me.
30 But if the LORD brings about something totally new, and the
earth opens its mouth and swallows them, with everything that belongs to them, and they go
down alive into the grave, then you will know that these men have treated the LORD with
contempt."
31 As soon as he finished saying all this, the ground under them split apart
Note:
I believe this is where they were transformed
into apes and swines. The earth probably
never opened up and swallowed them. Or may be it did after they were shown to
everyone. Only Allah Almighty Knows about the exact timing.
Exodus 32
1 When the people saw that Moses was so long in coming down from the
mountain, they gathered around Aaron and said, "Come, make us gods who
will go before us. As for this fellow Moses who brought us up out of Egypt,
we don't know what has happened to him."
Exodus 32
7 Then the LORD said to Moses, "Go down, because your people, whom you
brought up out of Egypt, have become corrupt.
8 They have been quick to turn away from what I commanded them and
have made themselves an idol cast in the shape of a calf. They have bowed down to it and
sacrificed to it and have said, 'These are your gods, O Israel, who brought you up out of
Egypt.'
9 "I have seen these people," the LORD said to Moses, "and they
are a stiff-necked people.
Exodus 34
8 Moses bowed to the ground at once and worshiped. 9 "O Lord,
if I have found favor in your eyes," he said, "then let the Lord go with us. Although
this is a stiff-necked people, forgive our wickedness and our sin, and take
us as your inheritance."
Deuteronomy 31
25 he gave this command to the Levites who carried the ark of the
covenant of the LORD :
26 "Take this Book of the Law and place it beside the ark of the covenant of the LORD
your God. There it will remain as a witness against you.
27 For I know how rebellious and stiff-necked you are. If you have been
rebellious against the LORD while I am still alive and with you, how much more will you
rebel after I die!
28 Assemble before me all the elders of your tribes and all your officials, so that I can
speak these words in their hearing and call heaven and earth to testify against them.
29 For I know that after my death you are sure to become utterly corrupt and to turn from
the way I have commanded you. In days to come, disaster will fall upon you because you
will do evil in the sight of the LORD and provoke him to anger by what your hands have
made."
Numbers 16
12 Then Moses summoned Dathan and Abiram, the sons of Eliab. But
they said, "We will not come!
13 Isn't it enough that you have brought us up out of a land flowing with milk and
honey to kill us in the desert? And now you also want to lord it over us?
14 Moreover, you haven't brought us into a land flowing with milk and honey or
given us an inheritance of fields and vineyards. Will you gouge out the eyes of these men?
No, we will not come!"
Numbers 14
10 But the whole assembly talked about stoning them. Then the glory
of the LORD appeared at the Tent of Meeting to all the Israelites.
11 The LORD said to Moses, "How long will these people treat me with
contempt? How long will they refuse to believe in me, in spite of all the miraculous signs
I have performed among them?
12 I will strike them down with a plague and destroy them, but I will make you into a
nation greater and stronger than they."
Again, even the Bible gives ample evidence of their blasphemy to GOD Almighty. You can read in full details the following Biblical books:
Exodus 32 - They built their golden calf god using their jewelry.
Exodus 34 - The Jews are hard-headed people who don't listen.
Deuteronomy 31 - Moses is concerned about the Jews' future after his death because they are constantly rebellious against the Holy Words and Law of GOD Almighty.
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 Jochen Katz' Articles section.
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?
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?
"Allah" was GOD Almighty's Original Name in the Bible according to the Hebrew and Aramaic sources.