Rebuttal to "Muhammad's false Prophecies":
Below are Mr. Sam Shamoun's article and my responses to it:
The following article was taken from http://answering-islam.org/Shamoun/false_prophecies.htm
The Holy Bible gives us a test to determine a true prophet from a false one:
"But a prophet who presumes to speak in my name anything I have not commanded him to say, or a prophet who speaks in the name of other gods, must be put to death. You may say to yourselves, 'How can we know when a message has not been spoken by the LORD?' If what a prophet proclaims in the name of the LORD does not take place or come true, that is a message the LORD has not spoken. That prophet has spoken presumptuously. Do not be afraid of him." Deuteronomy 18:20-22
In light of what God says in the preceding passage, we will examine several predictions made by Muhammad in the Quran and Islamic traditions to see if whether he passes God's test.
My response:
Even though I agree with the what the verse above says, I would like Mr. Shamoun to know that according to the Historians and Theologians of the Bible, almost all of its books were written by mysterious authors.
Please visit:
The original Bible was lost! See comments from the commentary of the NIV Bible (one of the most used Bibles world wide) itself admitting that most of the Books and Gospels of the Bible are corrupted. No one ever claimed ownership of the current Books and Gospels. The owners/writers are unknown.The book of Deuteronomy:
"The book itself testifies that, for the most part, Moses wrote it (1:5; 31:9,22,24), and other OT books agree (1Ki 2:3, 8:53; 2ki 14:6; 18:12)--though the preamble (1:1-5) may have been written by someone else, and the report of Moses' death (ch.34) was almost certainly written by someone else. (From the NIV Bible Commentary, page 240)"
As we clearly see, there is ample evidence that proves beyond the shadow of the doubt that Moses was not the sole author of the book. He couldn't have possibly have written about his own death. Again, another corrupted book by man in the Bible. How can you claim that the book of Deuteronomy was indeed all revealed by GOD Almighty? If you're not sure, and you still insist on your claim, then you are committing a crime against GOD Almighty's Revelations.
(www.answering-christianity.com/authors_gospels.htm)
Continuing with his article:
On the Roman Conquest of Persia
S. 30:2-4:
"The Roman Empire has been defeated - in a land close by: But they, (even) after (this) defeat of theirs, will soon be victorious - within a few years."
As the prophecy stated the Byzantines did become victorious over the Persians who had at first defeated them. Yet there are fundamental problems with this alleged prophecy:
This fact is solidified by Muslim commentator al-Baidawi. C.G. Pfander mentions Baidawi's comments on the variant readings surrounding this passage:
"But Al Baizawi shatters the whole argument of the Muslims by informing us of certain varied readings in these verses of Suratu'r Rum. He tells us that some read (Arabic text appears here) instead of the usual (Arabic text appears here) and (Arabic text appears here) instead of (Arabic text appears here). The rendering will then be: 'The Byzantines have conquered in the nearest part of the land, and they shall be defeated in a small number of years'. If this be the correct reading, the whole story about Abu Bakr's bet with Ubai must be a fable, since Ubai was dead long before the Muslims began to defeat the Byzantines, and even long before the victories which Heraclius won over the Persians. This shows how unreliable such Traditions are. The explanation which Al Baizawi gives is, that the Byzantines became conquerors of 'the well-watered land of Syria' (Arabic text appears here) and that the passage predicted that the Muslims would soon overcome them. If this is the meaning, the Tradition which records the 'descent' of the verses about six years before the Hijrah must be wrong, and the passage must belong to A.H. 6 at earliest. It is clear that, as the vowel points were not used when the Qur-an was first written down in Cufic letters, no one can be certain which of the two readings is right. We have seen that there is so much uncertainty about (1) the date at which the verses were 'sent down', (2) the correct reading, and (3) the meaning, that it is quite impossible to show that the passage contains a prophecy which was fulfilled. Hence, it cannot be considered to be a proof of Muhammad's prophetic office." (C. G. Pfander, Mizan-ul-Haqq - The Balance of Truth, revised and enlarged by W. St. Clair Tisdall [Light of Life P.O. Box 18, A-9503, Villach Austria], 279-280) [emphasis ours]
This being the case, a Muslim cannot confidently tell us what the true reading of the text is and hence cannot insure us that this verse originally predicted the Byzantine victory over the Persians. Yet either rendering leaves us with a false prophecy within the Quran.
Interestingly, the phrase "a few years" serves to further discredit this alleged prophecy. Abu Bakr believed the term "a few years" meant that the Byzantines were going to win in three years:
"This passage refers to the defeat of the Byzantines in Syria by the Persians under Khusran Parvis. (A.D. 615 - 6 years before the Hegira). However, the defeat of the Persians should take place soon 'in a small number of years'. In the light of this prediction, Abu-Bakr undertook a bet with Ubai-ibn-Khalaf that this prediction would be fulfilled within three years, but he was corrected by Mohammed who stated that the 'small number' is between three and nine years (Al-Baizawi). Muslims tell us that the Byzantines overcame their enemies within seven years. The fact, however, is that the Byzantines defeated Persia in A.D. 628 (Al-Baizawi commentary). That was twelve years after the prediction of Mohammed. Consequently this passage does not qualify as a prophecy, particularly as the time between prophecy and fulfilment was far too short, and in addition the event was easily predictable." (Gerhard Nehls, Christians Ask Muslims [Life Challenge, SIM International; Africa, 1992], pp. 70-71)
My response:
Mr. Sam uses an anti-Islam inaccurate source to try to discredit the Prophecy and prove that it wasn't met accurately. This claim had been refuted as shown below with historical evidence.
Before we respond to his points, I would like to ask Mr. Shamoun the following:
1- Since you complain about why didn't Allah Almighty specifically say that the Romans will be victorious in an X amount of years, I would like you to use your logic about the Bible's prophecy to Jesus' coming. It took 700 years for Jesus to fulfill Isaiah's prophecy about his coming. How come GOD didn't say that Jesus was going to come 700 years latter?
2- Show me in your Bible a verse where an event was prophesied with an exact number of years. Again, please visit: The original Bible was lost! See comments from the commentary of the NIV Bible (one of the most used Bibles world wide) itself admitting that most of the Books and Gospels of the Bible are corrupted. No one ever claimed ownership of the current Books and Gospels. The owners/writers are unknown.
3- How about Paul's prophecies about the Day of Judgement? He told his followers that the hour is near and they should be prepared. It's been 2000 years so far and Paul and his followers are all dead and the Hour hasn't come yet. How about applying your logic and judgement to Bible too?
The following article was taken from www.answering-christianity.com/defeat_romans.htm
Quran's correct prophecy of defeat of Romans
By
Abdul Haleem
Surah 30 contains a remarkable historical prophecy which was fulfilled.
"The Romans have been defeated
"In the nearer land, and they, after their defeat will be victorious
"Within ten years - Allah's is the command in the former case and in the latter - and in that day believers will rejoice .
"In Allah's help to victory. He helpeth to victory whom He will. He is the Mighty, the Merciful." Quran (Pickthal translation), 30:2-5
The period of the revelation of this Surah is determined absolutely by the historical event that has been mentioned at the outset. It says: "The Romans have been vanquished in the neighboring land." In those days the Byzantine occupied territories adjacent to Arabia were Jordan, Syria and Palestine, and in these territories the Romans were completely overpowered by the Iranians in 615 A. D. Therefore, it can be said with absolute certainty that this Surah was sent down in the same year, and this was the year in which the migration to Habash took place.
Syed Maudani commentary http://www.usc.edu/dept/MSA/quran/maududi/mau30.html, "This prophecy has two parts:
1. that the Roman [Byzantine] Christians, although they have been vanquished at this time, will predominate over Iran after nine years;
2. that the Muslims shall also rejoice on the day of the Romans' victory over Iran; for they, too, shall gain victory over shirk (associating partners with Allah), although the idolaters, at that time, prided exultantly over their huge numbers."
"Muhammad In World Scriptures," Volume I, Maulana Abdul Haq Vidyarthi (New USA Edition, 1999), p. 253.
Both prophecies were actually fulfilled within ten years in 624 C.E.
"[D]uring the fixed period of time, exactly after nine years, the Roman armies entered Iran triumphantly, and on the same day Muslims also scored their victory against the idolaters on the field of Badr. The event of the Roman victory took place in 624 C.E., and it is written in the Encyclopaedia Britannica, under the heading 'Chosroes II':
"'In 624 he [Heraclius] advanced into northern Media, where he destroyed the great fire-temple of Goudzak.'"
Ibid., emphasis added.
"[Byzantine Emperor] Heraclius started his counter attack in 623 A. D. from Armenia. Next year, in 624 A. D., he entered Azerbaijan and destroyed Clorumia, the birthplace of Zoroaster, and ravaged the principal fire temple of Iran. Great are the powers of Allah, this was the very year when the Muslims achieved a decisive victory at Badr for the first time against the mushriks. Thus both the predictions made in Surah Rum were fulfilled simultaneously within the stipulated period of ten years."
Syed Maudani, supra
What is remarkable is that, at the time the Prophet revealed Surah Rum its fulfillment would have seemed extremely unlikely to objective human observers: These were the conditions when this Surah of the Quran was sent down, and in it a prediction was made, saying: "The Romans have been vanquished in the neighboring land and within a few years after their defeat, they shall be victorious. And it will be the day when the believers will rejoice in the victory granted by Allah." It contained not one but two predictions: First, the Romans shall be Victorious; and second, the Muslims also shall win a victory at the same time.
Apparently, there was not a remote chance of the fulfillment of the either prediction in the next few years. On the one hand, there were a handful of the Muslims, who were being beaten and tortured in Makkah, and even till eight years after this prediction there appeared no chance of their victory and domination. On the other, the Romans were losing more and more ground every next day. By 619 A. D. the whole of Egypt had passed into Sassanid hands and the Magian armies had reached as far as Tripoli. In Asia Minor they beat and pushed back the Romans to Bosporus, and in 617 A. D. they captured Chalcedon (modern, Kadikoy) just opposite Constantinople. The Emperor sent an envoy to Khusrau, praying that he was ready to have peace on any terms, but he replied, "I shall not give protection to the emperor until he is brought in chains before me and gives up obedience to his crucified god and adopts submission to the fire god." At last, the Emperor became so depressed by defeat that he decided to leave Constantinople and shift to Carthage (modern, Tunis). In short, as the British historian Gibbon says, even seven to eight years after this prediction of the Quran, the conditions were such that no one could even imagine that the Byzantine Empire would ever gain an upper hand over Iran. Not to speak of gaining domination, no one could hope that the Empire, under the circumstances, would even survive.
Syed Maudani, supra.
The correctness of this unlikely prophecy clearly points to Divine Revelation as the source of the Quran. This is what Arab polytheists at the time thought:
After this no one could have any doubt about the truth of the prophecy of the Quran, with the result that most of the Arab polytheists accepted Islam.
Syed Maudani, supra.
The prophecy is no less impressive today than it was 1475 years ago!
Continuing with his article:
On Entering Mecca
Sura 48:27 makes the following promise:
"Truly did Allah fulfill the vision for His Messenger. Ye shall enter the Sacred Mosque, IF ALLAH WILLS, with minds secure, heads shaved, hair cut short, and without fear. For He knew what ye knew not, and He granted, besides this, a speedy victory."
This verse was revealed in conjunction with the Muslims' failed attempt of entering Mecca to perform Tawaf (the ritual during Hajj of running between two mountains that was supposed to commemorate Hagar's fetching of water for Ishmael).
On their way to the Ka'bah, they were met with a Meccan deputation headed by Suhail b. Amr who forbade the Muslims from completing their journey. This meeting then led to the signing of the treaty of Hudaibiya.
Several problems arise from this whole incident. First, at the signing of the Hudaibiya treaty Muhammad agreed with the pagan Meccans to return to them those who had converted to Islam. At the same time Muhammad also bowed to their demands of replacing his signature of 'Muhammad, Messenger of God' with 'Muhammad, son of Abdullah' so that he might be allowed to make pilgrimage to Mecca the following year. The following is taken from Sahih al-Bukhari, Volume 3, Book 50, Number 891:
"When Suhail bin Amr came, the Prophet said, ‘Now the matter has become easy.' Suhail said to the Prophet 'Please conclude a peace treaty with us.' So, the Prophet called the clerk and said to him, 'Write: By the Name of Allah, the most Beneficent, the most Merciful." Suhail said, 'As for "Beneficent," by Allah, I do not know what it means. So write: By Your Name O Allah, as you used to write previously.' The Muslims said, 'By Allah, we will not write except: By the Name of Allah, the most Beneficent, the most Merciful.' The Prophet said, 'Write: By Your Name O Allah.' Then he dictated, 'This is the peace treaty which Muhammad, Allah's Apostle has concluded.' Suhail said, 'By Allah, if we knew that you are Allah's Apostle we would not prevent you from visiting the Kaba, and would not fight with you. So, write: 'Muhammad bin Abdullah.' The Prophet said, 'By Allah! I am Apostle of Allah even if you people do not believe me. Write: Muhammad bin Abdullah.' (Az-Zuhri said, 'The Prophet accepted all those things, as he had already said that he would accept everything they would demand if it respects the ordinance of Allah, (i.e. by letting him and his companions perform 'Umra.)') The Prophet said to Suhail, 'On the condition that you allow us to visit the House (i.e. Ka'ba) so that we may perform Tawaf around it.' Suhail said, 'By Allah, we will not (allow you this year) so as not to give chance to the Arabs to say that we have yielded to you, but we will allow you next year.' SO, THE PROPHET GOT THAT WRITTEN.
"Then Suhail said, 'We also stipulate that you should return to us whoever comes to you from us, even if he embraced your religion.' The Muslims said, 'Glorified be Allah! How will such a person be returned to the pagans after he has become a Muslim?'" (bold emphasis ours)
One of those forced to return to Mecca with the pagans was Abu Jandal. In Ibn Ishaq's Sirat Rasulullah (The Life of Muhammad, trans. Alfred Guillaume, Oxford University Press), p. 505 we are told:
'When Suhayl (the Meccan representative and the treaty's compiler) saw Abu Jandal he got up and hit him in the face and took hold of his collar, saying, 'Muhammad, the agreement between us was concluded before this man came to you.' He replied, 'you are right.' He began to pull him roughly by his collar and to drag him away to return him to Quraysh, while Abu Jandal shrieked at the top of his voice, 'Am I to be returned to the polytheists that they may entice me from my religion O Muslims?' and that increased the people's dejection'" (bold and italic emphasis ours)
And:
'While they were in this state Abu- Jandal bin Suhail bin 'Amr came from the valley of Mecca staggering with his fetters and fell down amongst the Muslims. Suhail said, 'O Muhammad! This is the very first term with which we make peace with you, i.e. you shall return Abu Jandal to me.' The Prophet said, 'The peace treaty has not been written yet.' Suhail said, 'I will never allow you to keep him.' The Prophet said, 'Yes, do.' He said, 'I won't do: Mikraz said, 'We allow you (to keep him).' Abu Jandal said, 'O Muslims! Will I be returned to the pagans though I have come as a Muslim? Don't you see how much I have suffered?'
Abu Jandal had been [previously] tortured severely for the cause of Allah' (Sahih al-Bukhari, Volume 3, Book 50, Number 891)
We need to ask did Moses ever return a convert (especially one who was an Egyptian) back to the pagan Pharaoh in order to please the latter in obtaining what he wanted? Did Jesus ever compromise the truth of God by agreeing with the Pharisees in turning back all gentile seekers in order to be accepted by the Jewish ruling council? Would either Moses or Jesus go so far as to deny their apostleship in order to please the demands of pagans'? Would these men refuse to glorify the true God in the manner commanded by the Creator and acquiesce to the request of addressing God in a manner pleasing to the unbelievers, much like Muhammad did?
As one would expect the Muslims were enraged, especially Umar b. al-Khattab who rebuked Muhammad:
' Umar bin al-Khattab said, 'I went to the Prophet and said, "Aren't you truly the messenger of Allah?" The Prophet said, "Yes, indeed." I said, "Isn't our cause just and the cause of the enemy unjust?" He said, "Yes." I said, "Then why should we be humble in our religion?" He said, "I am Allah's messenger and I do not disobey Him, and He will make me victorious"'" (Sahih al-Bukhari, Volume 3, Book 50, Number 891)
The anger of the Muslims is justifiable when we realize that Muhammad promised that his followers would have access to Mecca that very same year. When that did not occur, Muhammad attempted to justify his statement by stating, "Yes, did I tell you that we would go to Ka'ba this year?" (Ibid)
In other words, since he did not specify when they would enter Mecca this cannot be considered a false prophecy! This is simply erroneous since the Muslim contingent was on their way to Mecca when a deputation from the pagan Arabs stopped them. In fact, one of Muhammad's demands in signing the treaty was that the pagans permit the Muslims to complete their journey to Mecca in order to perform Tawaf. Suhail denied Muhammad's request and instead made an agreement that the Muslims could enter Mecca the following year. Ibn Kathir further supports this in his commentary on S. 48:27:
"In a dream, the Messenger of Allah saw himself entering Makkah and performing Tawaf around the House. He told his Companions about this dream when he was still in Al-Madinah. When they went to Makkah in the year of Al-Hudaybiyyah, none of them doubted that the Prophet's vision WOULD COME TRUE THAT YEAR. When the treaty of peace was conducted and they had to return to Al-Madinah that year, being allowed to return to Makkah the next year, SOME OF THE COMPANIONS DISLIKED WHAT HAPPENED. 'Umar bin Al-Khattab asked about THIS, saying, 'Haven't you told us that we will go to the House and perform Tawaf around it?'" (Tafsir Ibn Kathir, Abridged, Volume 9, Surat Al-Jathiyah to the end of Surat Al-Munafiqun, Abridged by a group of scholars under the supervision of Shaykh Safiur-Rahman Al-Mubarakpuri [Darussalam Publishers & Distributors, Riyadh, Houston, New York, London, Lahore; first edition, September 2000], p. 171; bold and capital emphasis ours)
This proves that Muhammad actually believed he was going to enter into Mecca, a plan that never materialized. In order to save face he had to deny admitting that he actually implied that the Muslims would enter Mecca that same year.
Second, to make matters worse Muhammad broke the treaty with the Meccans by refusing to return a Muslim convert from the Quraysh. This refusal was in clear violation of things expressly stipulated in the very document that Muhammad had agreed to sign:
"Umm Kulthum Uqba b. Mu'ayt migrated to the apostle during this period. Her two brothers 'Umara and Walid sons of 'Uqba came and asked the apostle to return her to them in accordance with the agreement between him and Quraysh at Hudaybiyya, but he would not. God forbade it." (Sirat Rasulullah, p. 509; italic emphasis ours)
Hence, Muhammad justified the breaking of his oath by claiming that it was God's will to do so. Unfortunately for Muslims, this would prove that Muhammad's God is not the God of the Holy Bible since breaking one's oath is strictly forbidden. (Cf. Numbers 30:1-2)
In light of all these considerations we are again compelled to ask the following questions. Did Moses ever bow down to Pharaoh's requests in order to bring Israel out of bondage from Egypt? Did Jesus ever deny his Messiahship to gain access to the Temple? Did any true prophet of God ever compromise with the unbelievers in order to fulfill the will of God? Did these men proceed to break their oaths and promises in order to gain an unfair advantage over the unbelievers?
One final problem with all this is that Muslims claim that every single word in the Quran was revealed directly by God to Muhammad through Gabriel. Based on this assumption Muslims further reason that one will not find Muhammad's words intermingled with the words of God. This being the case, how do Muslims explain the fact that S. 48:27 has Allah saying insha' Allah, i.e. "If Allah wills"? Does God not know what his will is? If so, is he uncertain whether his purpose shall come to pass necessitating him to then qualify his statement with the phrase, insha' Allah?
One can understand how fallible humans who are unaware of God's purpose can qualify their statements with the expression "If God wills" (Cf. James 4:13-15). But for God to make such a qualification is beyond reasoning.
Furthermore, if God is in fact speaking then whom is he referring to when he says "If Allah wills"? Is he addressing himself or someone else? If he is addressing someone else, than how many Gods are there? Or perhaps Allah is also a multi-personal Being seeing that there are more than one Person that make up the unity of Allah?
This leads us to conclude that Muhammad's prediction not only failed to materialize, but that his motives in concocting revelation were power, money and fame. This verse also proves that God cannot be the author of the Quran.
My response:
As to the Hudaibiyya peace treaty, what Mr. Sam Shamoun fells to see here is the following:
1- The Muslims were taking on 365 Arab Pagan tribes. Our Prophet's main concern was to spread Islam to Mankind. The Muslims suffered a great deal losses in lives from the many battles that were imposed upon them. A peace treaty was a must to take place in order for Islam to grow quickly and swiftly among the Pagan Arabs.
Our Prophet peace be upon him did the right thing, because he was inspired by Allah Almighty to do so. The treaty only lasted 2 years, and only few Muslims had to be sacrificed and die as Martyrs from the Pagans for embracing Islam. The number of the Muslims rose from approximately 700 or so, to 10,000 military men. That's very impressive!
2- If Mr. Sam Shamoun wants to consider this a "compromise" on Muhammad's part, then how about using this logic with Jesus?
Tell us Mr. Sam, why did the "Prince of Peace", Jesus peace be upon him, order his followers to buy swords? Isn't this a compromise to the "peace" that the prince came for? How is a sword supposed to show your enemy that you love him as much as you love yourself as Jesus told his followers to love their enemies as much as they love themselves.
Please visit Why did Muhammad take up arms and Christ didn't? Why did Islam spread by the sword if it were indeed a Religion of Truth, and Christianity didn't? See my response to this misunderstanding. Did you know that even Jesus killed his enemies in the Bible?
What does the Qu'ran say about violence? Why does the Noble Quran contain Verses that command the Muslims to fight? See the justified and good reasons behind it.
As to the liberation of Mecca, it was foretold in the parts of the Bible that the Muslims believe are closest to the Truth.
The following was taken from www.answering-christianity.com/10000.htm
The liberation of Mecca (Paran) by 10,000 Muslims in the Bible:
Let us look at the following Verse from the King James Version Bible: "And Enoch [Idris in Arabic, one of Allah Almighty's Prophets peace be upon all of them to the people of Israel.] also, the seventh generation from Adam, prophesied of these, saying, Behold, the Lord came with ten thousands of his saints, to execute judgment upon all, and to convince all that are ungodly among them of all their ungodly deeds which they have ungodly committed, and of all their hard [speeches] which ungodly sinners have spoken against him. (Jude 1:14-15)"
Let us also look at the following Verse: "And he said, The LORD came from Si'-nai, and rose up from Se'-ir unto them; he shined forth from mount Pa'-ran [Mecca in Arabic], and he came with ten thousands of saints: from his right hand went a fiery law for them. (The King James Version Bible, Deuteronomy 33:2)" According to Islam's history, when Prophet Muhammad peace be upon him and his followers faced hostility from the people of Mecca (Paran), they had to leave the city. They fled to the City of "Yathrib" which was called later "Madina" where Prophet Muhammad peace be upon him continued to spread Islam to all of the Arabs and then later to the countries near by.
(Click here) See Proof that "Paran" in the Bible is "Mecca".
When Islam became complete and the number of the Muslims grew up, Prophet Muhammad peace be upon him decided to liberated the Holy City of Mecca, the city of our beloved father Abraham the father of Ishmael and Isaac peace be upon all of them who built the black cube building of Kaaba in the same city, the Holy House of GOD Almighty.
The army of the Muslims that conquered Mecca without any blood shed (peacefully) were exactly 10,000 men (From the book of "Muhammad the Prophet" by Maulana Muhammad Ali, pages 128-129). The Bible calls them "ten thousands of saints".
It's quite interesting to see how the Bible in both the Old Testament and the New Testament predicts this event to occur in the city of Paran (Mecca).
Two questions for Jews and Christians:
If the prophecies above from the Bible were not referring to our beloved Prophet peace be upon him and his army, then who else are they referring to?
If you are a Christian or a Jew who does not think that the above prophecies are for Muhammad peace be upon him and his men, then would you please bring me one Christian or Jewish event that took place in the Holy City of Paran (Mecca) that involved 10,000 Christian or Jewish saints?
Further from brother Haleem, a new convert to Islam; may Allah Almighty always be pleased with him:
It is a well-established tradition, that:
The Prophet [pbuh] left
Medina [for Mecca] in the company
of ten thousand in Ramadan.
Saheeh Bukhari, 5:574, emphasis added.
In both Old and New Testaments - despite the corrupted nature of the texts - the
appearance of Muhammad with an army of 10,000 is prophesied. In Deuteronomy 33:2,
the appearance of a prophet with "ten thousands of saints" is predicted by
Moses:
And he said The Lord came
from Sinai, and rose up from Seir unto
them; he shined forth from Mount Paran, and he
came with ten
thousands of saints; from his right hand went a
fiery law for them.
Bible (King James Version), Deuteronomy 33:2, emphasis added.
That this reference is to the prophet Muhammad [pbuh] is unmistakable:
"Paran" is a
biblical name for the part of Arabia called Hejaz
where prophet Muhammad [pbuh] was born. When
prophet
Ishmael and his mother were driven out by
Sarah; they settled
in the "Wilderness of Paran"
(Genesis, 21:21). Prophet Ishmael
happens to be the progenitor of prophet
Muhammad [pbuh]. . . .
"Muhammad [pbuh] In the Bible," Mohd Elfi Nieshaem Juferi, http://members.xoox.com/_XMCM/lordxarkun/Islam/habakkuk.html.
Not only the history of
the Israelite prophets, but the
annals of the world point out but one person -
that of the Holy
Prophet Muhammad [pbuh] as being the holy one
accompanied
by ten thousand saints. . . .
"Muhammad In World Scriptures," Volume I, Maulana Abdul Haq Vidyarthi (New USA
Edition, 1999), p. 73, emphasis added.
In order to obscure this prophecy, the New Living Translation, Douay and some other English translations of the Bible, purposely mistranslate Deuteronomy 33:2, to eliminate all references to "ten thousand."
Maulana Abdul Haq Vidyarthi comments on this mistranslation as follows:
There is an important
word ribeboth - which occurs in the text
which we have translated as ten thousands. This
word has
occurred at many places in the books of the
Prophets, and is derived
ribboth which means ten thousands. The
dictionary A Hebrew
and English Lexicon by Gesenius and Brown has
shown ribboth
to mean a myriad, ten thousands, and
shte-ribboth to mean
twice ten thousand. Sometimes ribboth is used
without the final
letter th with the same meaning. [see e.g. 1
Chronicles, 29:7; Ezra, 2:64;
Niemiah, 7:66, all using ribbo]
Id., at p. 74, emphasis in original, footnotes and Hebrew text omitted, footnote 97
partially reproduced in ellipses.
Significantly , in both the New Living Translation and Douay Bible, 1 Chronicles 29:7, which talks about offerings of "ten thousand darics gold" and "ten thousand talents of silver," the Hebrew number term that is not translated "ten thousand" in Deuteronomy 33:2 is translated as "ten thousand."
It also should be noted that the Revised Standard Bible, Websters Bible, World English Bible and New American Standard all include the number "ten thousand" in their translations of Deuteronomy 33:2.
Todays English Version attempts to obscure the prophecy contained in Deuteronomy 33:2 another way, by translating the Hebrew as saying "ten thousand angels," rather than "ten thousand saints."
Maulana Abdul Haq Vidyarthi also has commented on this mistranslation:
The next important word in this regard is
qodesh, which is now
being translated into angels. Its primary meaning is pure and holy and
is applied to every pure and holy thing, person or people or even to a
place,
e.g. admath-qodesh, [Exodus 3:5] holy ground; meqom-ha-qodesh,
[Leviticus,
10:7] holy place; am-ha-qodesh, [Daniel 12;7] holy people; har-qodeshi,
[Psalms 2;6] my holy hill.
Hence, me-ribeboth-qodesh, according to the dictionary and usage of the Bible means with
then thousands of saints.
"Muhammad In World Scriptures," supra, at p. 74, emphasis in original, footnotes omitted, footnotes 98, 99, 100 and 101 reproduced in ellipses.
Here, again, most English translations of the Bible agree that the "ten thousand" are "saints" or "holy ones," not "angels." See e.g. Revised Standard Version ("holy ones"); Websters Bible ("saints"); New American Standard ("holy ones"); Douay ("saints").
The predictions of a Prophet appearing with a host of "ten thousand saints" are repeated in the New Testament.
In Jude 1:14-15, Jude writes of a then-unfulfilled prophecy by Enoch [Idris in the
Arabic, see Quran, 19:56-57]:
It was also about these
that Enoch, in the seventh generation from
Adam prophesied, saying, "See, the Lord
came with ten thousands
of his saints, to execute judgment on all, and
to convict everyone of
all the deeds of ungodliness that they have
committed
in such an ungodly way, and of all the harsh
things which
ungodly sinners have spoken against him."
Bible (The New Revised Standard Version), Jude 1:14-15, emphasis added.
This prophecy of Enoch clearly refers to the Holy Prophet [pbuh] for the following
reasons:
1. Only the Prophet
Muhammad [pbuh] had ten thousand
saints with him. We have shown elsewhere that
these saints accompanied
the Prophet [pbuh] at the conquest of Makka.
2. The Holy Prophet [pbuh] executed
judgment upon all the
unbelievers at the conquest of Makka and
convinced ungodly Makkans
of their ungodly deeds.
3. The Christians kept waiting for the
coming of the Lord
even after Christ had come, for this epistle of
Jude was written long
after Christ and the Christians knew that it
referred to come other
personage who, from the time of the Prophet
Enoch up to the time
of Christ, had not appeared. The prophecy was
therefore clearly for
the Prophet Muhammad [pbuh] and for none else.
"Muhammad In World Scriptures," supra, at p. 24.
Because of the clarity of this prophecy, many of the English translations of the Bible purposely obscure it, by omitting the number reference to "ten thousand" or by claiming that the prophet announced was accompanied by "angels" rather than "saints" or "holy ones." See New Living Testament, Todays English Version, Douay, and New American Standard.
However, the King James and New Revised Standard Version translate the passage in Jude 1:14 as referring to "ten thousands of his saints" (King James) or "ten thousands of his holy ones" (New Revised Standard).
An examination of the original Greek supports the latter interpretation:
The word translated "ten thousand" is murias, which in Greek usually means "ten thousand," though it may also mean "an innumerable multitude" or :innumerable hosts." Strongs Concordance, No. 3461.
The word mistranslated in Todays English Version as "angels" is hagios which means in Greek "most holy thing" or "saint," not "angel." Strongs Concordance, No. 40.
Once we get past the deliberate mistranslations of Deuteronomy 33:2 and Jude 1:14-15, we find that these prophecies not only refer unequivocally to the Prophet Muhammad (pbuh) , but that they are corroborative of the much-discussed prophecy in Song of Songs, 5:10-16.
According to the well-researched work of Mohd Elfi Nieshaem Juferi and Maulana Abdul
Haq Vidyarthi, the original Hebrew version of Song of Songs 5:16, if correctly translated,
predicts the coming of Muhammad (pbuh) by name:
His mouth is most: yea,
he is MUHAMMAD. This is my
(paternal) UNCLE, and this is my COMRADE, O
daughters
of Jerusalem.
"Muhammad [pbuh] In the Bible," supra, http://members.xoox.com_XMCM/lordxarkun/Islam/songs5_10-16.html,
emphasis in original; see also "Muhammad In World Scriptures," supra, at pp.
100-111.
Significantly, in Song of Songs 5:10, this same prophet - expressly identified in the Hebrew as "Muhammad," is described as being "the chiefest among ten thousands" (ibid., emphasis added) (King James Version).
This reference to the "ten thousands" indicates that the Prophet referred to must be the Prophet Muhammad (pbuh)!
Continuing with his article:
On the Appearance of the Antichrist and the End of the World
Muhammad allegedly claimed that the Antichrist (called the Dajjal) was to appear shortly after the Muslim conquest of Constantinople. The following traditions are taken from the Sunan Abu Dawud:
Narrated Mu'adh ibn Jabal:
The Prophet (peace_be_upon_him) said: The flourishing state of Jerusalem will be when Yathrib is in ruins, the ruined state of Yathrib will be when the great war comes, the outbreak of the great war will be at the conquest of Constantinople and the conquest of Constantinople when the Dajjal (Antichrist) comes forth. He (the Prophet) struck his thigh or his shoulder with his hand and said: This is as true as you are here or as you are sitting (meaning Mu'adh ibn Jabal).
Narrated Mu'adh ibn Jabal:
The Prophet (peace_be_upon_him) said: The greatest war, the conquest of Constantinople and the coming forth of the Dajjal (Antichrist) will take place within a period of seven months.
Narrated Abdullah ibn Busr:
The Prophet (peace_be_upon_him) said: The time between the great war and the conquest of the city (Constantinople) will be six years, and the Dajjal (Antichrist) will come forth in the seventh.
Accordingly, Muslims conquered Jerusalem in 636 AD. Constantinople was taken over by Muslims in May 1453 AD. Yet the prophecy regarding Yathrib (Medina) being in ruins and Antichrist's advent to take place seven months after the conquest of Constantinople did not materialize. Based on the preceding traditions Antichrist was to appear in November 1453.
Some may wish to argue that these events refer to future conquests. For instance some may wish to say that Constantinople is used as a synonym for the Roman Christian Empire. This would therefore be predicting that Muslims are to takeover Rome before Antichrist appears.
The problem with this is that if Muhammad was speaking of Rome he could have simply used the word Romans (Arabic: Ar-Rum). In fact, Romans/Ar-Rum is the name given to chapter 30 of the Quran. To call Rome either Constantinople or even Byzantium would be rather anachronistic. See above.
Hence, in light of the preceding factors we are forced to conclude that Muhammad's predictions failed to materialize, thus disqualifying him regarding his claim to prophethood.
Muhammad also believed in a young earth and that the world was about to end shortly after his advent. The following citations are taken from The History of al-Tabari, Volume 1 - General Introduction and from the Creation to the Flood (trans. Franz Rosenthal, State University of New York Press, Albany 1989), with all bold emphasis being ours:
"According to Ibn Humayd- Yahya b. Wadih- Yahya b. Ya'qub- Hammad- Sa'id b. Jubayr- Ibn Abbas: This world is one of the weeks of the other world- seven thousand years. Six thousand two hundred years have already passed. (The world) will surely experience hundreds of years, during which there will be no believer in the oneness of God there. Others said that the total extent of time is six thousand years." (Tabari, pp. 172-173; emphasis ours)
"According to Abu Hisham- Mu'awiyah b. Hisham- Sufyan- al-A'mash- Abu Salih- Ka'b: This world is six thousand years." (Ibid.)
"According to Muhammad b. Sahl b. 'Askar- Isma'il b. 'Abd al-Karim- 'Abd al-Samad b. Ma'qil I- Wahb: Five thousand six hundred years of this world have elapsed. I do not know which kings and prophets lived in every period (zaman) of those years. I aksed Wahb b. Munabbih: How long is (the total duration of) this world? He replied: Six thousand years." (Tabari, pp. 173-174; emphasis ours)
According to at-Tabari Muhammad believe that the end of the world was to occur 500 years after his coming:
"According to Hannad b. al-Sari and Abu Hisham al-Rifa'i- Abu Bakr b. 'Ayyash- Abu Hasin- Abu Salih- Abu Hurayrah: The Messenger of God said: When I was sent (to transmit the divine message), I and the Hour were like these two, pointing at his index and middle fingers." (Tabari, p. 176; emphasis ours, see also pp. 175-181)
At-Tabari comments on the meaning of the Hour being as close as Muhammad's index and middle fingers:
"Thus, (the evidence permitting) a conclusion is as follows: The beginning of the day is the rise of the dawn, and its end is the setting of the sun. Further, the reported tradition on the authority of the Prophet is sound. As we have mentioned earlier, he said after having prayed the afternoon prayer: What remains of this world as compared to what has passed of it is just like what remains of this day as compared to what has passed of it. He also said: When I was sent, I and the Hour were like these two- holding index finger and middle finger together; I preceded it to the same extent as this one- meaning the middle finger- preceded that one- meaning the index finger. Further, the extent (of time) between the mean time of the afternoon prayer- that is, when the shadow of everything is twice its size, according to the best assumption ('ala al-taharri)- (to sunset) is the extent of time of one-half of one-seventh of the day, give or take a little. Likewise, the excess of the length of the middle finger over the index finger is something about that or close to it. There is also a sound tradition on the authority of the Messenger of God, as I was told by Ahmad b. 'Abd al-Rahman b. Wahb- his paternal uncle 'Abd-allah b. Wahb- Mu'awiyah b. Salih- 'Abd al-Rahman b. Jubayr b. Nufayr- his father Jubayr b. Nufayr- the companion of the Prophet, Abu Tha'labah al-Khushani: The Messenger of God said: Indeed, God will not make this nation incapable of (lasting) half a day- referring to the day of a thousand years.
"All these facts taken together make it clear that of the two statements I have mentioned concerning the total extent of time, the one from Ibn Abbas, and the other from Ka'b, the one more likely to be correct in accordance with the information coming from the Messenger of God is that of Ibn 'Abbas transmitted here by us on his authority: The world is one of the weeks of the other world- seven thousand years.
"Consequently, because this is so and the report on the authority of the Messenger of God is sound- namely, that he reported that what remained of the time of this world during his lifetime was half a day, or five hundred years, since five hundred years are half a day of the days, of which one is a thousand years- the conclusion is that the time of this world that had elapsed to the moment of the Prophet's statement corresponds to what we have transmitted on the authority of Abu Tha'labah al-Khushani from the Prophet, and is 6,500 years or approximately 6,500 years. God knows best!" (Tabari, pp. 182-183, bold emphasis ours)
Hence, according to these traditions Muhammad believed that not only was the world less than 7,000 years old but it was to end on the seventh day, or seven thousand years from the time it was created.
Accordingly, the world should have ended sometime between 1070-1132 AD, approximately 500 years after the birth and death of Muhammad. This is based on the fact that according to at-Tabari and others, the advent of Muhammad took place approximately 6,500 years from the time of creation. This is clearly a false prophecy.
Yet this date contradicts the one approximated by Abu Dawood in his Sunan. There, we saw that Antichrist was to appear seven months after the conquest of Constantinople, an event that took place in 1453 AD. This being the case, how could Muhammad have claimed elsewhere that the world was to end 500 years after his own birth and death? To make matters worse, the Islamic traditions claim that Antichrist was actually present during Muhammad's lifetime. In fact, according to the traditions Antichrist was a man named Ibn Saiyad:
Sahih al-Bukhari, Volume 2, Book 23, Number 437:
Narrated Ibn 'Umar:
'Umar set out along with the Prophet (p.b.u.h) with a group of people to Ibn Saiyad till they saw him playing with the boys near the hillocks of Bani Mughala. Ibn Saiyad at that time was nearing his puberty and did not notice (us) until the Prophet stroked him with his hand and said to him, "Do you testify that I am Allah's Apostle?" Ibn Saiyad looked at him and said, "I testify that you are the Messenger of illiterates." Then Ibn Saiyad asked the Prophet (p.b.u.h), "Do you testify that I am Allah's Apostle?" The Prophet (p.b.u.h) refuted it and said, "I believe in Allah and His Apostles." Then he said (to Ibn Saiyad), "What do you think?" Ibn Saiyad answered, "True people and liars visit me." The Prophet said, "You have been confused as to this matter." Then the Prophet said to him, "I have kept something (in my mind) for you, (can you tell me that?)" Ibn Saiyad said, "It is Al-Dukh (the smoke)." (2) The Prophet said, "Let you be in ignominy. You cannot cross your limits." On that 'Umar, said, "O Allah's Apostle! Allow me to chop his head off." The Prophet (p.b.u.h) said, "If he is he (i.e. Dajjal), then you cannot over-power him, and if he is not, then there is no use of murdering him." (Ibn 'Umar added): Later on Allah's Apostle (p.b.u.h) once again went along with Ubai bin Ka'b to the date-palm trees (garden) where Ibn Saiyad was staying. The Prophet (p.b.u.h) wanted to hear something from Ibn Saiyad before Ibn Saiyad could see him, and the Prophet (p.b.u.h) saw him lying covered with a sheet and from where his murmurs were heard. Ibn Saiyad's mother saw Allah's Apostle while he was hiding himself behind the trunks of the date-palm trees. She addressed Ibn Saiyad, "O Saf! (and this was the name of Ibn Saiyad) Here is Muhammad." And with that Ibn Saiyad got up. The Prophet said, "Had this woman left him (Had she not disturbed him), then Ibn Saiyad would have revealed the reality of his case."
The traditions go on to positively identify Ibn Saiyad as Antichrist:
Sahih al-Bukhari, Volume 9, Book 92, Number 453:
Narrated Muhammad bin Al-Munkadir:
I saw Jabir bin 'Abdullah swearing by Allah that Ibn Sayyad was the Dajjal. I said to Jabir, "How can you swear by Allah?" Jabir said, "I have heard 'Umar swearing by Allah regarding this matter in the presence of the Prophet and the Prophet did not disapprove of it."
Sunan Abu Dawood, Book 37, Number 4317:
Narrated Jabir ibn Abdullah:
Muhammad ibn al-Munkadir told that he saw Jabir ibn Abdullah swearing by Allah that Ibn as-Sa'id was the Dajjal (Antichrist). I expressed my surprise by saying: You swear by Allah! He said: I heard Umar swearing to that in the presence of the Apostle of Allah (peace_be_upon_him), but the Apostle of Allah (peace_be_upon_him) did not make any objection to it.
Yet these traditions contradict the following traditions where Antichrist is described as being one eyed and as being locked up in chains:
Sahih Bukhari, Volume 4, Book 55, Number 553:
Narrated Ibn Umar:
Once Allah's Apostle stood amongst the people, glorified and praised Allah as He deserved and then mentioned the Dajjal saying, "I warn you against him (i.e. the Dajjal) and there was no prophet but warned his nation against him. No doubt, Noah warned his nation against him but I tell you about him something of which no prophet told his nation before me. You should know that he is one-eyed, and Allah is not one-eyed."
Sunan Abu Dawood, Book 37, Number 4306:
Narrated Ubadah ibn as-Samit: The Prophet (peace_be_upon_him) said: I have told you so much about the Dajjal (Antichrist) that I am afraid you may not understand. The Antichrist is short, hen-toed, woolly-haired, one-eyed, an eye-sightless, and neither protruding nor deep-seated. If you are confused about him, know that your Lord is not one-eyed.
Sunan Abu Dawood, Book 37, Number 4311:
Narrated Fatimah, daughter of Qays:
The Apostle of Allah (peace_be_upon_him) once delayed the congregational night prayer.
He came out and said: The talk of Tamim ad-Dari detained me. He transmitted it to me from a man who was of the islands of the sea. All of a sudden he found a woman who was trailing her hair. He asked: Who are you?
She said: I am the Jassasah. Go to that castle. So I came to it and found a man who was trailing his hair, chained in iron collars, and leaping between Heaven and Earth.
I asked: Who are you? He replied: I am the Dajjal (Antichrist). Has the Prophet of the unlettered people come forth now? I replied: Yes. He said: Have they obeyed him or disobeyed him? I said: No, they have obeyed him. He said: That is better for them.
Someone might interject here and claim that the traditions make mention of 30 Antichrists to come into the world:
Sunan Abu Dawood, Book 37, Number 4319:
Narrated Abu Hurayrah:
The Prophet (peace_be_upon_him) said: The Last Hour will not come before there come forth thirty Dajjals (fraudulents), everyone presuming himself that he is an apostle of Allah. (see also Sahih al-Bukhari, Volume 9, Book 88, Number 237)
This implies that Ibn Saiyad was just one of the thirty antichrists, and not THE Antichrist that was to come right before the end of the world.
There are several problems with this assertion. First, none of the traditions claim that Ibn Saiyad is one of the thirty antichrists that were to appear. Rather, the traditions imply that he is THE Dajjal or Antichrist. Second, if we take either of the dates proposed by at-Tabari or Abu Dawood all thirty Dajjals needed to have appeared before either 1070-1132 or 1453 AD. Finally, according to the New Testament Muhammad is actually one of these Antichrists:
"Dear children, this is the last hour; and as you have heard that the antichrist is coming, even now many antichrists have come. This is how we know it is the last hour… Who is the liar? It is the man who denies that Jesus is the Christ. Such a man is the antichrist-he denies the Father and the Son. No one who denies the Son has the Father; whoever acknowledges the Son has the Father also." 1 John 2:18, 22-23
Since Muhammad denied that Jesus is God's Son he is therefore one of the many antichrists that was to come according to the apostle John.
Therefore, no matter from what angle one looks at it we are still left with irreconcilable contradictions and false predictions.
CONCLUSION
We have examined both the Quran and the Islamic traditions and found that both sources contain false predictions. In light of the prophetic criteria given by God in Deuteronomy 18 we discover that Muhammad fails this test. This means that Muhammad is neither a true prophet nor is he the prophet like Moses.
In the service of our Great God and Savior, Jesus Christ, our risen Lord forever. Amen. Come Lord Jesus. We love always.
My response:
First of all, the Biblical verses 1 John 2:18, 22-23 that Mr. Sam Shamoun used all come from a very doubtful and unreliable book. Let us look at what the Theologians and Historians of the NIV Bible say about the book of 1 John in the Bible:
The Gospel of 1 John:
"....Unlike most NT letters, 1 John does not tell us who its author is. The earliest identification of him comes from the church fathers...(From the NIV Bible Commentary, page 1904)"
"The letter is difficult to date with precision....(From the NIV Bible Commentary, page 1905)"
This is really ironic! with all respect due to Christians. If the Book's author is not for sure known, then why assume that it was Saint John who wrote it?
Please visit The lie of 1 John 5:7. This verse was later discovered to be a Satanic lie. The Roman Catholic Theologians don't believe in it, and it doesn't exist in their Bibles.
The same case where no author is really known exists in the Gospels of 2 and 3 John.
(www.answering-christianity.com/authors_gospels.htm)
Now regarding the Sayings of Prophet Muhammad peace be upon him above, Mr. Sam Shamoun used a nice trick here. He brought some narrations from "Sunan Abu Dawud" about our Prophet peace be upon him predicting the day of Judgement and the coming of the Dajjal (Antichrist). He didn't use any narration from any "Sahih (authentic)" volume. The problem with the Sunan Abu Dawud narrations is that they are doubtful. Unless you can support a narration from a narration that exists in a Sahih volume, then your source is doubtful.
Important Note: Some Muslims do not believe in the Sayings or narrations from Sunan Abu-Dawud or any other volumes that are not "Sahih" volumes. In general, Sayings of our Prophet's companions and wives narrated in "Sunan Abu Dawud" are indeed authentic. Also, Sayings from Sunan Abu Dawud that agree with Sayings that in any of the Sahih volumes are also authentic. But Sayings from other people who were not close companions of the Prophet are doubtful. The only volumes that had been double and triple checked and are absolutely authentic to the Muslims are the "Sahih" volumes. With "Sunan Abu Dawud" we have to be extra careful, for it contains truthful and untruthful narrations about our Prophet peace be upon him.
The narrations that Mr. Shamoun provided above from Sunan Abu Dawud were not narrated by close companions of our Prophet. They were narrated by ordinary people, some of which were women. The only women who were close companions to our Prophet peace be upon him were his wives, and the women in Mr. Shamoun's narrations are not the wives of Prophet Muhammad peace be upon him.
Any person back then could come up with any false Saying for our Prophet. That's why the Muslim scholars mainly believe in the Sayings that exist only in the "Sahih" volumes.
The Noble Quran, which is the strongest resource that Muslims use and rely on clearly states that only Allah Almighty Knows when the Day of Judgement will come.
The following was taken from www.answering-christianity.com/the_hour.htm
Did Prophet Muhammad peace be upon him really claim that he knew when the Day of Judgement will come?
Absolutely not!
The sections of this article are:
- Did Prophet Muhammad peace be upon him really claim that he
knew when the Day
of Judgement will come?
- From the Noble Quran.
- From the Hadiths (Sayings of Muhammad).
- Even Jesus peace be upon him didn't know when the Day of
Judgement will
come.
I have received the following email from one of my Christian readers:
From: <Anonymous>
To: ISLM4EVR1@aol.com
Subj: Re: Question
Date: 9/24/01 4:04:22 PM Central Daylight Time
The other day I read on the "answering-islam" website that
Mohammed
prophesied that the world would come to an end 500 years after his
death. I can't find the article now, but I remember that they referenced the
Hadiths. The article said something about how Mohammed held up his fingers.
They said that this represented that the world would end in 1/2 of a thousand
years, or 500 years. The answering-islam team said that this was an example
of a false prophecy from Mohammed.
I have noticed in the past the the Christian "Answering Islam" team use very doubtful Islamic resources that have Christian and Jewish origins. They use the sources that the Muslims have refused to accept, and they claim that they used authentic Islamic resources.
Allah Almighty warned the Muslims 1400 years ago from the Jews and Christians lies by Saying:
"A section of the People of the Book (Jews and Christians) say: Believe in the morning what is revealed to the believers (Muslims), but reject it at the end of the day; perchance they may (themselves) turn back (from Islam). (The Noble Quran, Noble Verse 3:72)"
I would like to expose the Christian "Answering Islam" team's lie by presenting some of the Noble Verses from the Noble Quran, and some of the Hadiths (Sayings) of our beloved Prophet Muhammad peace be upon him from authentic Islamic resources that prove that no one but Allah Almighty knows when the Hour will come:
From the Noble Quran:
"They ask thee about the (final) Hour - when will be its appointed time? Say: 'The knowledge thereof is with my Lord (alone): None but He can reveal as to when it will occur. Heavy were its burden through the heavens and the earth. Only, all of a sudden will it come to you.' They ask thee as if thou Wert eager in search thereof: Say: 'The knowledge thereof is with God (alone), but most men know not.' (The Noble Quran, 7:187)"
"Verily the Hour is coming - My design is to keep it hidden - for every soul to receive its reward by the measure of its Endeavour. (The Noble Quran, 20:15)"
"They say: 'When will this promise come to pass, if ye are telling the truth?' If only the Unbelievers knew (the time) when they will not be able to ward off the fire from their faces, nor yet from their backs, and (when) no help can reach them! Nay, it may come to them all of a sudden and confound them: no power will they have then to avert it, nor will they (then) get respite. (The Noble Quran, 21:38-40)"
"Verily the knowledge of the Hour is with God (alone). It is He Who sends down rain, and He Who knows what is in the wombs. Nor does any one know what it is that he will earn on the morrow: Nor does any one know in what land he is to die. Verily with God is full knowledge and He is acquainted (with all things). (The Noble Quran, 31:34)"
"Men ask thee concerning the Hour: Say, 'The knowledge thereof is with God (alone)': and what will make thee understand?- perchance the Hour is nigh! (The Noble Quran, 33:63)"
"The Unbelievers say, 'Never to us will come the Hour': Say, 'Nay! but most surely, by my Lord, it will come upon you;- by Him Who knows the unseen,- from Whom is not hidden the least little atom in the heavens or on earth: Nor is there anything less than that, or greater, but is in the Record Perspicuous:' (The Noble Quran, 34:3)"
"And blessed is He to Whom belongs the dominion of the heavens and the earth, and all between them: with Him is the Knowledge of the Hour (of Judgment): and to Him shall ye be brought back. (The Noble Quran, 43:85)"
"Say: 'I know not whether the (Punishment) which ye are promised is near, or whether my Lord will appoint for it a distant term. (The Noble Quran, 72:25)"
From the Hadiths (Sayings of Muhammad):
Narrated Abu Huraira: "One day while the Prophet was sitting in the company of some people, (The angel) Gabriel came and asked, 'What is faith?' Allah's Apostle replied, 'Faith is to believe in Allah, His angels, (the) meeting with Him, His Apostles, and to believe in Resurrection.' Then he further asked, 'What is Islam?' Allah's Apostle replied, 'To worship Allah Alone and none else, to offer prayers perfectly to pay the compulsory charity (Zakat) and to observe fasts during the month of Ramadan.' Then he further asked, 'What is Ihsan (perfection)?' Allah's Apostle replied, 'To worship Allah as if you see Him, and if you cannot achieve this state of devotion then you must consider that He is looking at you.' Then he further asked, 'When will the Hour be established?' Allah's Apostle replied, 'The answerer has no better knowledge than the questioner. But I will inform you about its portents.
1. When a slave (lady) gives birth to her master.
2. When the shepherds of black camels start boasting and competing with others in the construction of higher buildings. And the Hour is one of five things which nobody knows except Allah.'
The Prophet then recited: 'Verily, with Allah (Alone) is the knowledge of the Hour--.' (31. 34) Then that man (Gabriel) left and the Prophet asked his companions to call him back, but they could not see him. Then the Prophet said, "That was Gabriel who came to teach the people their religion." Abu 'Abdullah said: He (the Prophet) considered all that as a part of faith. (Translation of Sahih Bukhari, Belief, Volume 1, Book 2, Number 47)"
Regarding Sign #2, in every major city we have today, you would see high buildings and towers built by men.
Narrated Abu Huraira: "While the Prophet was saying something in a gathering, a Bedouin came and asked him, 'When would the Hour (Doomsday) take place?' Allah's Apostle continued his talk, so some people said that Allah's Apostle had heard the question, but did not like what that Bedouin had asked. Some of them said that Allah's Apostle had not heard it. When the Prophet finished his speech, he said, 'Where is the questioner, who enquired about the Hour (Doomsday)?' The Bedouin said, 'I am here, O Allah's Apostle.' Then the Prophet said, 'When honesty is lost, then wait for the Hour (Doomsday).' The Bedouin said, 'How will that be lost?' The Prophet said, 'When the power or authority comes in the hands of unfit persons, then wait for the Hour (Doomsday.)' (Translation of Sahih Bukhari, Knowledge, Volume 1, Book 3, Number 56)"
The world's corrupted governments is a fulfillment for this Prophecy! Governments cause for nations to fight with each others and lose millions of innocent lives for political gains.
Narrated Anas: "Allah's Apostle said, 'From among the portents of the Hour are (the following):
1. Religious knowledge will be taken away (by the death of Religious learned men).
2. (Religious) ignorance will prevail.
3. Drinking of Alcoholic drinks (will be very common).
4. There will be prevalence of open illegal sexual intercourse.' (Translation of Sahih Bukhari, Knowledge, Volume 1, Book 3, Number 80)"
Narrated Abu Huraira: "The Prophet said, 'The Hour (Last Day) will not be established until (religious) knowledge will be taken away (by the death of religious learned men), earthquakes will be very frequent, time will pass quickly, afflictions will appear, murders will increase and money will overflow amongst you.' (Translation of Sahih Bukhari, Invoking Allah for Rain (Istisqaa), Volume 2, Book 17, Number 146)"
Narrated Abu Huraira: "The Prophet said, 'The Hour will not be established till you fight with people wearing shoes made of hair. And the Hour will not be established till you fight with people whose faces look like shields coated with leather.' (Abu Huraira added, 'They will be) small-eyed, flat nosed, and their faces will look like shields coated with leather.') (Translation of Sahih Bukhari, Fighting for the Cause of Allah (Jihaad), Volume 4, Book 52, Number 180)"
It appears that this will be the army of Gog and Magog.
Narrated Abu Huraira: "The Prophet said, 'The Hour will not be established till there is a war between two groups among whom there will be a great number of casualties, though the claims (or religion) of both of them will be one and the same. And the Hour will not be established till there appear about thirty liars, all of whom will be claiming to be the messengers of Allah.' (Translation of Sahih Bukhari, Virtues and Merits of the Prophet (pbuh) and his Companions, Volume 4, Book 56, Number 806)"
Narrated Abu Huraira: "Allah's Apostle said, 'The Hour will not be established till two (huge) groups fight against each other, their claim (i.e, religion) being one and the same.' (Translation of Sahih Bukhari, Dealing with Apostates, Volume 9, Book 84, Number 69)"
World Wars I and II happened mostly among Christians. They were of the same religion, and their battles were great and their casualties were also great.
Narrated Anas: "I will narrate to you a Hadith I heard from Allah's Apostle and none other than I will tell you of it. I heard Allah's Apostle saying, 'From among the portents of the Hour are the following: Religious knowledge will be taken away; General ignorance (in religious matters) will increase; illegal Sexual intercourse will prevail: Drinking of alcoholic drinks will prevail. Men will decrease in number, and women will increase in number, so much so that fifty women will be looked after by one man.' (Translation of Sahih Bukhari, Wedlock, Marriage (Nikaah), Volume 7, Book 62, Number 158)"
Abu Huraira reported Allah's Messenger (may peace be upon him) as saying: "The Last Hour will not come till wealth is abundant and overflowing, so much so that the owner of the property will think as to who will accept Sadaqa from him, and a person would be called to accept Sadaqa and he would say: I do not need it. (Translation of Sahih Muslim, The Book of Zakat (Kitab Al-Zakat), Book 005, Number 2209)"
As we clearly see from the above Sayings of our beloved Prophet Muhammad peace be upon him, no one, including our Prophet, but Allah Almighty knows when the Day of Judgement will come.
Even Jesus peace be upon him didn't know when the Day of Judgement will come:
It is quite ironic that Christians believe in Jesus as the Creator of the Universe, when he himself never made such claim, and the word "Trinity" which is the central faith for the Christian religion doesn't even exist in the Bible. In fact, when Jesus peace be upon him was asked about when the Day of Judgement will come, he said he didn't know:
"No one knows about that day or hour, not even the angels in heaven, nor the Son, but only the Father. (From the NIV Bible, Matthew 24:36)"
Please visit Answering Trinity section.
Conclusion:
Mr. Sam Shamoun's article had been clearly refuted! He failed to prove any contradictions against our Prophet peace be upon him, or against Islam. I hope his stubbornness, arrogance and pride of being an active member of the Christian "Answering Islam" team won't blind him from the Straight Path of Islam. I will pray for him to see the Truth of Islam, and to worship the One True Living GOD Almighty who has no trinity and no sons.
Allah, Islam, Quran, Muhammad questions and answers.
What is the place of Jews, Christians and non-Muslims in Islam.
Muhammad was foretold by the name from Isaiah, John and Jesus in the Bible.
What parts of the Bible do Muslims believe in?
Contradictions and Historical Corruption in the Bible.
Rebuttals and Exposing the Cheap Lies of the Christian "Answering Islam" team.
Muhammad peace be upon him section.