What Happened is You Looked into a Mirror

Submitted by Willing Foe (Canada), Mar 26, 2008 at 18:12

Mansoor,

I will grant you one thing - I opened my last missive to you with a deliberately inflammatory comment. I believe that the Qur'an, while it may have a seed in the Word of God, the behaviour of Muhammed (MGHMOHS) and the highly politically charged nature of the years after his death (three of the first five Caliphs were murdered and the son of Ali was forced to stand down by the weight of Muawiyah forces) virtually ensures that the text was "standardized" for rhetorical effect supporting the Caliph of the time.

Recall that Ali had compiled a collection of verses which was not the version collected by Abu Bakr and standardized (accepted into Canon in the Christian terminology) by Uthman. Uthman had all other versions destroyed proving that there were competing versions of the Qur'an at that time. With the powerful control of the Islamic Empire exhibited by the Caliphs, though frequently politically charged, you have managed excellent document control of the version chosen by Uthman to move forward as Mus'haf.

So, have a testament that was received, recited, written, collected, edited, and approved by men with weaknesses, prejudices and agenda. You have a document that is pretty certainly a very similar version to that which was originally promulgated and controlled by a powerful hierarchy. What you do not have is any degree of certainty that this document is the faithfully transcribed Word of God. The only evidence of this is that the document itself considers itself to be such. I will say again that the Qur'an is not the faithfully reproduced Word of God, though its initial seed may have started there.

I will agree with you that the Bible is also a testament such as that described in the first sentence of the last paragraph. As, however, I described in a previous post the Word of God is not a written document; it is not a recited document; it is not a document. The Word of God was made flesh in Jesus Christ and is characterized in his Two Great Commandments:

"You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind. This is the great and first commandment. And a second is like unto it, You shall love your neighbor as yourself. On these two commandments depend all the law and the prophets."

Where the words of Muhammed (MGHMOHS), as approved by Uthman, follow that guide then they reflect the Word of God. I submit that does not include consummating a marriage with a nine year old girl, slaughtering all the men of an entire tribe although they were unarmed and in custody, or murdering a soldier to marry his wife.

Mansoor, I do get your point. I have a true path, shown to me by the Word of God. You and your people were once offered a place on that path but you distorted it to the point that you do not travel in the same direction. Believe it or not, I do pray for you and your people. You are not moving in a direction towards the Kingdom of God. You face darkness thinking it is light. I do not believe that you are all Lost but your certainly are not yet Found. I do hope that the Holy Spirit does fill your soul. It would make the world better for all of us.

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