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Is Islam Based on Truth?
Rivka Olenick
According to Islamic ideology, "The Koran (the Islamic Holy book) is God's literal word, and can only be comprehended in the Arabic language in which it was revealed."
The above statement, "The Koran is God's literal word", is not a truth. If analyzed properly this statement would be confusing to those who assume this religion is based on absolute truth. We know that God revealed Himself at Mt. Sinai, as witnessed by millions of Jews. The Torah says in Exodus 19, 9: "And the Lord said unto Moses: Lo, I come unto thee in a thick cloud, that the people may hear when I speak with thee, and may also believe thee for ever." This sentence in and of itself is a foundation of truth. The ONE God spoke to Moses, the ONE God who created all existence and Whose word is divine.
Islam believes their prophet Mohammed was spoken to by God through an angel. According to the Rambam, regarding prophecy, all prophets other than Moses received their prophecy through an angel. However, Mohammed was not a true prophet to begin with, and did not follow the divine word of God nor the truths that Moses taught.
It says in Deuteronomy 13:2: "If there arise in the midst of thee a prophet, or a dreamer of dreams and he give thee a sign or a wonder, and the sign or the wonder come to pass, whereof he spoke unto thee- saying: "Let us go after other gods, which thou hast not known, and let us serve them," thou shalt not hearken unto the words of that prophet, or that dreamer of dreams, for the Lord your God putteth you to proof, to know whether ye do love the Lord your God with all your heart and all your soul. After the Lord your God shall ye walk, and Him shall ye fear, and His commandments shall ye keep, and unto His voice shall ye hearken, and Him shall ye serve, and unto Him shall ye cleave. And that prophet, or that dreamer of dreams, shall be put to death; for he hath spoken perversion against the Lord your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, and redeemed thee out of the house of bondage, to draw thee aside out of the way which the Lord thy God commanded thee to walk in. So shalt thou put away the evil from the midst of thee."
Parts of the Koran contain the Old Testament, The New Testament, The Bible, the Apocrypha (writings that are not considered authentic according to Judaism) and the Talmud. By combining the written word of the three major religions, makes it a respectable book in the eyes of the rest of the world and gives credence to the concepts of what Islam believes as truths. However, this book was cleverly put together this way to legitimize only their beliefs. Since we believe that God revealed His divine word only to Moses - then only those words of Torah are true - absolute truth. "Absolute" meaning no words other than what was given to Moses is real truth. So, the Koran not only confuses one who is looking for truths, it taints and warps the Old Testament which is true. The Koran, therefore is not divine or based on absolute truth.
In summary, there is only one God - and belief in God means that one believes in God's divine word. This is logical. If God created all existence then all of what God instructs in His word is absolute truth. No alternation to truth can be made by any human being, even through prophecy. If one letter of the Written Word is altered, this automatically denies the divine truth and God's word. There can be no alterations made to the divine word of God.
"Nothing else shall be a god to you alongside. My omnipresent and all-pervading dominion." Exodus 20:3.
During the Messianic Age, which is ideologically based on the 12th Principle, (of our "Thirteen Principles of Faith") (Yigdal), the world will recognize all the "false" prophets of other religions and know that only the knowledge of Torah is true.
"God will restore your fortunes, have mercy on you, and gather you (again from all the countries where He has scattered you). If He were to banish you to the ends of the heavens (the Lord your God will bring you) to the land that your fathers occupied. You will occupy it again, and He will make you even more prosperous and numerous than your fathers). Deuteronomy 30:3-5
"I will then give all peoples a pure tongue, that they may call in the name of God, and all serve Him in one manner." Zephania 3:9
"All the world will be filled with knowledge." Isaiah 2:4
(To be continued) |