People of the Book: Difference between revisions

Jump to navigation Jump to search
no edit summary
[checked revision][checked revision]
mNo edit summary
No edit summary
(13 intermediate revisions by 3 users not shown)
Line 1: Line 1:
<!--
IMPORTANT NOTE FOR TRANSLATIONS:
Do not translate this Core article without translating the linked articles first. Please also read the "WikiIslam:Translations" page for suggestions on which articles to translate and which to avoid. If you still have questions, post them on the "WikiIslam:Forum/Translation Project" page. Thank you.
-->
In the [[Qur'an]] and [[Hadith]], the term '''People of the Book''' (أهل الكتاب‎ ′Ahl al-Kitāb) is used to refer to followers of certain [[Monotheism|monotheistic]] faiths which pre-date the advent of [[Islam]]. In particular, it refers to the Christian, Jewish, and Sabian faiths.<ref>"...''Those who believe and those who are Jews and Christians, and Sabians''..." - {{Quran|2|62}}</ref> This page contains summaries of articles discussing the relationship between Islam and the People of the Book.
In the [[Qur'an]] and [[Hadith]], the term '''People of the Book''' (أهل الكتاب‎ ′Ahl al-Kitāb) is used to refer to followers of certain [[Monotheism|monotheistic]] faiths which pre-date the advent of [[Islam]]. In particular, it refers to the Christian, Jewish, and Sabian faiths.<ref>"...''Those who believe and those who are Jews and Christians, and Sabians''..." - {{Quran|2|62}}</ref> This page contains summaries of articles discussing the relationship between Islam and the People of the Book.
{{Core}}
{{Core}}
Line 34: Line 41:
{{Main|Corruption of Previous Scriptures (Qur'an 2:79)|Qur'an, Hadith and Scholars:Corruption of Previous Scriptures}}
{{Main|Corruption of Previous Scriptures (Qur'an 2:79)|Qur'an, Hadith and Scholars:Corruption of Previous Scriptures}}


It is a common belief among Muslims that the Qur'an states that the previous scriptures (the Taurat and Injil) have been physically corrupted by those who were charged with safeguarding it (the Jews and Christians). Thus, the Qur'an is the 'return' to the true message of the God of the Bible. When asked to provide evidence that the Qur'an says the previous scriptures have been corrupted, Muslims will proudly present verse 2:79 as evidence.
It is a common belief among Muslims that the Qur'an states that the previous scriptures (the Taurat and Injil) have been physically corrupted by those who were charged with safeguarding it (the Jews and Christians). Thus, they claim, the Qur'an is the 'return' to the true message of the God of the Bible. When asked to provide evidence that the Qur'an says the previous scriptures have been corrupted, Muslims will proudly present verse 2:79 as evidence.
{{ quote | {{Quran|2|79}}|'''Shakir:''' Woe, then, to those who write the book with their hands and then say: This is from Allah, so that they may take for it a small price; therefore woe to them for what their hands have written and woe to them for what they earn.}}
{{ quote | {{Quran|2|79}}|'''Shakir:''' Woe, then, to those who write the book with their hands and then say: This is from Allah, so that they may take for it a small price; therefore woe to them for what their hands have written and woe to them for what they earn.}}
   
   
This article will examine What the Qur'an really says about the Taurat and Injil; and examine verse 2:79 in its own context, as well as against the aforementioned verses to see if the belief of physical scriptural corruption is valid. <BR>
The above article examines what the Qur'an really says about the Taurat and Injil; and examine verse 2:79 in its own context, as well as against the aforementioned verses to see if the belief of physical scriptural corruption is valid. <BR>


===Contradictions in Qur'anic Christology===
===Contradictions in Qur'anic Christology===
Line 72: Line 79:
*and Abraham & the idols.  
*and Abraham & the idols.  
{{col-end}}
{{col-end}}
===The People of the Book: Do they Qualify as Believers or Disbelievers?===
{{Main|Kafir|The People of the Book: Do they qualify as believers or disbelievers?}}
This is a fundamentally important question in Islam. If the People of the Book are indeed believers, then Islam is not necessary to avoid eternal torment in hell. However, if the People of the Book are disbelievers, then Allah has a lot to answer for, namely why did he allow for so many people to be led astray by books they themselves did not corrupt? A typical Islamic response would be: "It is a test." But if that's the case, why would any omniscient (all-knowing) being require a test to know the hearts of men? And why create an eternal torture chamber to punish those humans who failed the test when he knew they were going to fail before he even created them? Allah is therefore either a sadist or he is ignorant.


==Biblical and Islamic Figures==
==Biblical and Islamic Figures==
Line 90: Line 93:


===The Virgin Mary===
===The Virgin Mary===
{{Main|Allah: I sent Jibreel to blow into Mary's Vagina}}
{{Main|Allah and Marys Vagina|l1=Allah and Mary's Vagina (Qur'an 21:91 & 66:12)}}


The Qur'anic verses 21:91 and 66:12 in conjunction with the tafsir's, tell us the angel Jibreel was sent to breathe Allah's spirit into ''Maryam'''s (مريم Mary's) vagina. {{Quran|5|116}} tells us the Trinity consists of three separate gods, which are the Father (God), the Mother (Virgin Mary) and the Son (Jesus), and due to this abysmal ignorance of the Trinity doctrine, Muslims consider all Trinitarian Christians to be polytheists. Also according to Muhammad, Mary will be one of his wives in paradise.
The Qur'anic verses 21:91 and 66:12 in conjunction with the tafsir's, tell us the angel Jibreel was sent to breathe Allah's spirit into ''Maryam'''s (مريم Mary's) vagina. {{Quran|5|116}} tells us the Trinity consists of three separate gods, which are the Father (God), the Mother (Virgin Mary) and the Son (Jesus), and due to this abysmal ignorance of the Trinity doctrine, Muslims consider all Trinitarian Christians to be polytheists. Also according to Muhammad, Mary will be one of his wives in paradise.
Line 111: Line 114:


===Jizyah Tax===
===Jizyah Tax===
{{Main|Jizyah|Qur'an, Hadith and Scholars:Jizya}}
{{Main|Jizyah|Qur'an, Hadith and Scholars:Jizyah}}


{{Quote|Umar ibn al-Khattab during the conquest of al-Basrah (636 CE)|Summon the people to God; those who respond to your call, accept it from them, but those who refuse must pay the poll tax out of humiliation and lowliness. If they refuse this, it is the sword without leniency. Fear God with regard to what you have been entrusted.<ref>Al-Tabari, ''The History of al-Tabari (Ta'rikh al rusul wa'l-muluk)'', vol. 12: ''The Battle of Qadissiyah and the Conquest of Syria and Palestine,'' trans. Yohanan Friedman (Albany: State University of New York Press, 1992), p. 167.</ref>}}
{{Quote|Umar ibn al-Khattab during the conquest of al-Basrah (636 CE)|Summon the people to God; those who respond to your call, accept it from them, but those who refuse must pay the poll tax out of humiliation and lowliness. If they refuse this, it is the sword without leniency. Fear God with regard to what you have been entrusted.<ref>Al-Tabari, ''The History of al-Tabari (Ta'rikh al rusul wa'l-muluk)'', vol. 12: ''The Battle of Qadissiyah and the Conquest of Syria and Palestine,'' trans. Yohanan Friedman (Albany: State University of New York Press, 1992), p. 167.</ref>}}
Line 123: Line 126:


===The Destruction of Non-Muslim Worship Places===
===The Destruction of Non-Muslim Worship Places===
{{Main|List of Worship Places Converted or Destroyed by Muslims}}
{{Main|Worship Places Converted or Destroyed by Muslims}}


Throughout history, Muslims have destroyed worship places (churches, synagogues, temples) of other religions or converted them into mosques. In fact, the [[Ka'aba]] (the holiest shrine in Islam) was originally a pagan place of worship, used by the polytheist Arabs before Muhammad subsequently removed and destroyed everything considered idolatrous.
Throughout history, Muslims have destroyed worship places (churches, synagogues, temples) of other religions or converted them into mosques. In fact, the Ka'aba (the holiest shrine in Islam) was originally a pagan place of worship, used by the polytheist Arabs before Muhammad subsequently removed and destroyed everything considered idolatrous.


===The Pact of Umar===
===The Pact of Umar===
{{Main|The Pact of Umar|A Brief Analysis of the Pact of Umar}}
{{Main|The Pact of Umar|Analysis of the Pact of Umar}}


Much has been said of the ''Pact of Umar'',<ref>Paul Halsall - [http://www.fordham.edu/halsall/source/pact-umar.html The Status of Non-Muslims Under Muslim Rule]- Medieval Sourcebook, January, 1996</ref> and much of it distinctly positive. Its non-Muslim admirers gleefully compare its contents to the treatment of religious minorities in Medieval Europe, while ignoring its influence and conformity with Islamic scriptural sources which still govern the treatment of minorities in the East today. Some non-Muslim scholars of early Islam doubt the pact's authenticity, highlighting the fact that the Islamic traditions surrounding the writing of the pact are a few hundred years removed from the actual events described, and that no contemporary sources refers to it at all. ''Sophronius''' (560  - 638 AD) authentic extant writings also refer to the Muslim conquerors in a very negative way, putting further doubts on the Muslim recollections of events.<ref> Robert Hoyland, ''Seeing Islam as Others Saw It'' (Princeton, 1996) p. 69-71</ref> Nevertheless, this article will accept its authenticity and analyse the rights and limitations placed on the Syrians, to see just how free non-Muslims really were under the Rightly-guided Caliph.
Much has been said of the ''Pact of Umar'',<ref>Paul Halsall - [http://www.fordham.edu/halsall/source/pact-umar.html The Status of Non-Muslims Under Muslim Rule]- Medieval Sourcebook, January, 1996</ref> and much of it distinctly positive. Its non-Muslim admirers gleefully compare its contents to the treatment of religious minorities in Medieval Europe, while ignoring its influence and conformity with Islamic scriptural sources which still govern the treatment of minorities in the East today. Some non-Muslim scholars of early Islam doubt the pact's authenticity, highlighting the fact that the Islamic traditions surrounding the writing of the pact are a few hundred years removed from the actual events described, and that no contemporary sources refers to it at all. ''Sophronius''' (560  - 638 AD) authentic extant writings also refer to the Muslim conquerors in a very negative way, putting further doubts on the Muslim recollections of events.<ref> Robert Hoyland, ''Seeing Islam as Others Saw It'' (Princeton, 1996) p. 69-71</ref> Nevertheless, this article will accept its authenticity and analyse the rights and limitations placed on the Syrians, to see just how free non-Muslims really were under the Rightly-guided Caliph.
Line 149: Line 152:
{{Main|Joseph the Pedophile|l1=Joseph the Pedophile|A Refutation of 'The Islamophobe's Glass House'}}
{{Main|Joseph the Pedophile|l1=Joseph the Pedophile|A Refutation of 'The Islamophobe's Glass House'}}


This article refutes the claim that Joseph, the husband of Mary (the mother of Jesus Christ), was a pedophile, a popular yet erroneous tu quoque argument used to defend Prophet Muhammad's pedophilic marriage to Aisha. Upon reading the non-canonical apocrypha, the Christian equivalent of da`if (weak) or maudu (fabricated) hadith, we find it does not say Mary married Joseph when she was aged only 12. It in fact says she was possibly 17 years of age at the time the marriage was eventually consummated, if ever (Mary's perpetual virginity, the belief that Mary remained a virgin her entire life, is an essential article of faith for the majority of the world's Christians). The most decisive argument against the claim that Joseph was a pedophile is the fact that the same non-canonical writings which are used to gather information on Joseph and Mary's age, also confirm Mary's status as "ever virgin" (in The History of Joseph the Carpenter, Jesus says on Joseph's death "my mother, virgin undefiled").
This article refutes the claim that Joseph, the husband of Mary (the mother of Jesus Christ), was a pedophile, a popular yet erroneous tu quoque argument used to defend Prophet Muhammad's pedophilic marriage to Aisha.
 
Upon reading the non-canonical apocrypha, the Christian equivalent of da`if (weak) or maudu (fabricated) hadith, we find it does not say Mary married Joseph when she was aged only 12. It in fact says she was possibly 17 years of age at the time the marriage was eventually consummated, if ever (Mary's perpetual virginity, the belief that Mary remained a virgin her entire life, is an essential article of faith for the majority of the world's Christians).
 
The most decisive argument against the claim that Joseph was a pedophile is the fact that the same non-canonical writings which are used to gather information on Joseph and Mary's age, also confirm Mary's status as "ever virgin" (in The History of Joseph the Carpenter, Jesus says on Joseph's death "my mother, virgin undefiled").


===What Islamic Scripture and Scholars Say about the People of the Book===
===What Islamic Scripture and Scholars Say about the People of the Book===
Line 175: Line 182:


When Royalty assign a task to someone in person, it is often denoted as a great privilege and is considered as an honor to whom it is the Royal addressed. Conversely, when a subject is deemed unfit to associate with in a personal manner, the undesirable task may be assigned to a servant. With this in mind, it is surprising to learn that, according to the Qur'an, Musa and Isa (commonly identified with the Judeo-Christian Moses and Jesus) received revelations directly from Allah while Muhammad did not.
When Royalty assign a task to someone in person, it is often denoted as a great privilege and is considered as an honor to whom it is the Royal addressed. Conversely, when a subject is deemed unfit to associate with in a personal manner, the undesirable task may be assigned to a servant. With this in mind, it is surprising to learn that, according to the Qur'an, Musa and Isa (commonly identified with the Judeo-Christian Moses and Jesus) received revelations directly from Allah while Muhammad did not.
===Islamic Hijabs and Nun's Habits===
{{Main|Islamic Hijabs and Nuns Habits}}
Apologists often attempt to compare the Islamic observance of hijab with the wearing of the religious habit by Christian nuns. This comparison is fundamentally flawed and is one of many fallacious tu quoque arguments utilized in defense of Islam. In reality, there are numerous differences between the two items of clothing. For example, unlike the compulsory observance of hijab (in some form or another) for practicing Muslim women, practicing Christian women are not required or expected to wear a nun's habit. Naturally, only nuns are. In fact, it would be considered quite bizarre for a Christian women to wear a nun's habit is she were not a nun. The burka covers everything including the eyes, leaving women unrecognizable, visually impaired, and closed off to social interaction. The nun's habit does not cover the face at all, so they cause no such problems. Also, if a nun were to remove her head covering, unlike a Muslim woman, she would not run the risk of being intimidated, ostracized or honor killed by her co-religionists. For example, Aqsa Parvez was a 16-year-old Muslim girl who was honor-killed in Ontario, Canada. Her brother had strangled her to death when she refused to wear a hijab covering.


==See Also==
==See Also==
Line 181: Line 193:


*[[People of the Book (Translations of Arabic/Islamic Media)]]
*[[People of the Book (Translations of Arabic/Islamic Media)]]
*[[Non-Muslims]] ''- A hub page that leads to other articles related to Non-Muslims''
{{Hub4|Non-Muslims|Non-Muslims}}
*[[Antisemitism]] ''- A hub page that leads to other articles related to Antisemitism''
{{Hub4|Antisemitism|Antisemitism}}


'''Multimedia'''
'''Multimedia'''
Line 209: Line 221:


==References==
==References==
{{reflist}}
{{Reflist|30em}}


[[Category:Core Article]]
[[Category:Core Articles]]
[[Category:People of the Book]]
[[Category:People of the Book]]
__NOEDITSECTION__
__NOEDITSECTION__
em-bypass-2
1,979

edits

Navigation menu