Monday, March 4, 2013

Why do you believe?



Here's an invitation to any Muslim reading this. Please tell me as succinctly as possible why you believe the Qur'an to be the uncreated word of God?
Would it, by any chance, be something like this?

A truly scientific approach to the Quran is possible because the Quran offers something that is not offered by other religious scriptures, in particular, and other religions, in general.  It is what scientists demand.  Today there are many people who have ideas and theories about how the universe works.  These people are all over the place, but the scientific community does not even bother to listen to them.  This is because within the last century the scientific community has demanded a test of falsification.  They say, “If you have theory, do not bother us with it unless you bring with that theory a way for us to prove whether you are wrong or not.”Such a test was exactly why the scientific community listened to Einstein towards the beginning of the century.  He came with a new theory and said, “I believe the universe works like this; and here are three ways to prove whether I am wrong!” So the scientific community subjected his theory to the tests, and within six years it passed all three.  Of course, this does not prove that he was great, but it proves that he deserved to be listened to because he said, “This is my idea; and if you want to try to prove me wrong, do this or try that.”This is exactly what the Quran has - falsification tests.  Some are old (in that they have already been proven true), and some still exist today.  Basically it states, “If this book is not what it claims to be, then all you have to do is this or this or this to prove that it is false.” Of course, in 1400 years no one has been able to do “This or this or this,” and thus it is still considered true and authentic.Falsification TestI suggest to you that the next time you get into dispute with someone about Islam and he claims that he has the truth and that you are in darkness, you leave all other arguments at first and make this suggestion.  Ask him, “Is there any falsification test in your religion? Is there anything in your religion that would prove you are wrong if I could prove to you that it exists - anything?”  Well, I can promise right now that people will not have anything - no test, no proof, nothing! This is because they do not carry around the idea that they should not only present what they believe but should also offer others a chance to prove they’re wrong.  However, Islam does that.A perfect example of how Islam provides man with a chance to verify its authenticity and “prove it wrong” occurs in the 4th chapter.  And quiet honestly, I was very surprised when I first discovered this challenge.  It states (Quran 4:82):“Do they not consider the Quran?  Had it been from any other than Allah, they would surely have found therein much discrepancy.”This is a clear challenge to the non-Muslim.  Basically, it invites him to find a mistake.  As a matter of fact, the seriousness and difficulty of the challenge aside, the actual presentation of such a challenge in the first place is not even in human nature and is inconsistent with man’s personality.  One doesn’t  take an exam in school and after finishing the exam, write a note to the instructor at the end saying, “This exam is perfect.  There are no mistakes in it.  Find one if you can!” One just doesn’t do that.  The teacher would not sleep until he found a mistake! And yet this is the way the Quran approaches people.
Note how the author assumes, by the way, that the only person you are going to get into a discussion with is another religious believer:
 Ask him, “Is there any falsification test in your religion? 
But what really gets me here is the belligerent and combative tone which is a natural by-product presumably of the author's utter conviction that he can't be wrong.
I can promise right now that people will not have anything - no test, no proof, nothing!
This is a clear challenge to the non-Muslim.  Basically, it invites him to find a mistake.  
A tone which is encouraged by the Qur'an itself with its puerile and combative challenges:
“Do they not consider the Quran?  Had it been from any other than Allah, they would surely have found therein much discrepancy." 4:82
At the risk of sounding contentious myself,  even the most perfunctory reading will reveal in reality the Qur'an is littered with embarrassing errors.
What is one to make, for example, of a "perfect, error free book" that talks of the stars as being in the "lowest" of the "seven heavens" and describes the moon as being "in their midst"?
"Do you not see how Allah has created the seven heavens, one above the other?And made the moon A light in their midst, and made the sun As a (Glorious) Lamp?" 7:15 -16"So He ordained them seven heavens in two periods, and revealed in every heaven its affair; and We adorned the lower heaven with brilliant stars…"  41: 12
How can anyone claim that such a book is without mistakes after reading that? (The way the miracle seekers try embarrassingly to do so is, of course to say that the atmosphere is made up of seven layers - conveniently forgetting that that would mean the Qur'an is telling its readers that the stars, sun and moon are in the atmosphere. Give me strength..."No, no!" others say. "The seven heavens refer to the, as yet, undiscovered seven layers of skies" And yet others go for the magnificent catch-all cop-out, "Only Allah knows the correct explanation of seven skies" Both of which beg the obvious question "Why did Allah suggest we should be able to see this, then?" )

All of which silliness brings us to this inevitable observation: one would have thought that those who have actually read the Qur'an - such as the author of this nonsense - would be less willing to draw their readers' attention to the risky and rebarbative challenge that has so delighted miracle seekers looking to cock a snook at their Christian counter-parts. For when we take up the challenge, the Qur'an falls at the first hurdle.

So back to my question. Given the above - why do you believe?




11 comments:

  1. I "believe" because I was born in a Muslim society and read and heard philosophy only with confirmation bias.

    But now with eye wide open I see so many errors in the Qur'an. Such as rising and setting of sun the burns people where it rises and ends up in a muddy spring.
    Or mountains placed on earth as pegs to stop earthquakes. Or so many insinuations of a flat earth, or the erroneous plagiarism of Galen's embryology, or shootings are there to drive away eavesdropping jinns.

    Azim

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  2. you are simply misreading - perhaps you have been mislead.
    Allah would never make a mistake because it's impossible!
    what is more likely - a fallible human misunderstands or God makes a mistake???
    Really - it doesn't take much time to come to the right answer, does it?

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    1. a man made god

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    2. "what is more likely - a fallible human misunderstands or God makes a mistake???"

      God doesn't make a mistake. However, you are asking the wrong question friend,

      What is more likely - a fallible human being reinterprets and applies wishful thinking to the works of other fallible human being ... OR ... God authored such a shitty work as the Quran?

      Really - it doesn't take much time to come to right answer, does it?

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    3. "Allah would never make a mistake because it's impossible." According to fundamental Islamic society, women are so imperfect that they have to have their clitoris removed and the entrance to their vagina sewn up to prevent them having any enjoyment of the sex act while making men feel so strong and virile because their erect penis then appears large for the cavity it's filling. If Allah was perfect, women would have been made without a clitoris and a smaller vaginal opening. Alternatively, men would have been born with a penis the size of a baby's arm and the staying power of a corrupt politician and then both partners would have enjoyed the act. The fact that men are not made that way either proves that Allah is imperfect or doesn't exist.

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  3. Spinoza,
    Why is the verse saying that the stars are in the lowest heaven an error? There is also no error in saying that the moon is in their midst. You have shown the Ptolemaic conception of the universe. However, according to this model, aren't the stars beyond the seven planets?

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  4. As of now, I can only chuckle at the thought the Sura 4:82 is the challenge offered by Muslims to find an error in the Quran; when in fact Sura 4:82 is in itself an erroneous statement.

    [For more details, see - http://rationalislam.blogspot.com/2013/02/qurans-error-sura-482-if-quran-had-been.html]

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  5. You are utterly wrong, there is nothing, nada, in the Qur'an that resembles the myths of the ancients. Every single and each verse in the Qur'an that speaks of a natural phenomena is 100% accurate and predates modern science by many hundreds of years! Tell me now, when were neutron stars, pulsar stars, black holes, expansion of the universe, cosmic interwoven fabric, gaseous smoky stage of the universe, rotation of the Earth, sunrises and sunsets on many other stars and planets in the universe , genetic experiments and cloning and changing the creation, evolution and the value of fossils in the understanding of how the creation began, the fossilization process of bones not only turning into dust but also into stones and iron, the presence of life in other planets, the atom and even that is which smaller than an atom, the beautifully detailed embryological development stages far more detailed, accurate and descriptive than all the ancient Greek myths which you despicably compare to the Qur'an, modern transportation methods, reduction of oxygen in higher altitudes, relativity of time, the introduction of iron to Earth from space, the Earth sustained and raised in space just like any other celestial object, the frontal decision making lobe of the brain and much more that is far more than a bunch of ancient Greek, Hindu or Chinese philosophers would have ever even imagined and what is so remarkable is the fact all the above and much more was delivered in the most beautiful language in a manner acceptable to primitive people living 1500 years ago and remarkable to people living in the 21 century. Every single error, I repeat, every single error or misunderstanding attributed to the Qur'an is false and unsubstantiated. All these errors and misunderstandings are attributable to mistakes in the Qur'an translations. To you atheist out their thinking and acting picky, logical and scientific, believe me when I tell you, I'm far more picky and suspicious than any of you will ever be, had I found one error in the Arabic Qur'an which lucky for me I fully understand in its original language, I would have tossed it in the nearest garbage long ago. Rest assure knowing you are on the wrong path and it wont be long before the grim surprise.

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    1. I must say you are so very lucky to understand the Arabic Qur'an. For the 98% of us unfortunate humans who don't, I suppose we'll just have to settle for the grim surprise. What that grim surprise is we'll not know because we cannot understand Arabic Qur'an. Such a conundrum.

      What a shame Allah wasn't merciful enough to make sure he provided adequate translations for all his children.

      Azim

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    2. Mate, You need a reality check or at the very least a psychiatrist.

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