Noah and the Lion that Sneezed out Cats

 

One of the stories that the Bible and Quran both share is Noah’s Ark.  Compared to Biblical account of the story in Genesis 6-8, the Quran's version is much abbreviated, only 13 verses.  Noah takes a pair of each species on board the Ark to prepare for a largescale flood.  The Quran writes:

(So it was) till when Our Command came and the oven gushed forth (water like fountains from the earth). We said: "Embark therein, of each kind two (male and female), and your family - except him against whom the Word has already gone forth - and those who believe. And none believed with him, except a few." 

Quran 11:40, Hilali-Khan

In volume 1 of Muhammad Baqir Majlisi's Hayat Al-Qulub, an Islamic book devoted to the stories of the prophet, is a story about Noah’s Ark.  In the story, Allah helps out with a rat problem that developed on the Ark:

In the ship, there were a lot of rats. Allah revealed to Nuh to pat the lion. The lion sneezed and two cats, a male and a female emerged from its nasal openings. They attacked the rats and reduced their number.

(In Arabic works, Noah is called Nuh.)  In a story resembling a fairy tale, Noah pats a lion.  The lion, as it turns out, is sick and sneezes out a pair of cats.  These cats then go to clean up the Ark's rat problem. 

This story didn’t make it to the Bible, but surprisingly was embraced by major scholars in Islam.  It is affirmed by one of Islam's great commentary, Ibn Kathir.  Ibn Kathir was renown for his expertise in Quranic interpretation, the Hadith, and Islamic theology. 

The Arabic version of Ibn Kathir's commentary on Quran 11:40 retells the story.  On Noah's ark, Allah does a world first.  He creates the first ever fever or flu-like sickness.  Allah gives the lion a fever to pacify him.   This makes the cattle then feel safe around the lion.  Cattle no longer fear being eaten.  Quoting Ibn Kathir:

تَطْمَئِنّ الْمَوَاشِي وَمَعَهَا الْأَسَد ؟ فَسَلَّطَ اللَّه عَلَيْهِ الْحُمَّى فَكَانَتْ أَوَّل حُمَّى نَزَلَتْ فِي الْأَرْض ثُمَّ

Are the cattle calm and the lion with them? Then God placed a fever on him [the lion], and it was the first fever that occurred on the earth.

(The Arabic-to-English translations shown here are from Google Translate.)   Next, Ibn Kathir says that the rats in the ark were eating all the food:

شَكَوْا الْفَأْرَة فَقَالُوا الْفُوَيْسِقَة تُفْسِد عَلَيْنَا طَعَامنَا

They complained about the mouse, and they said that the foisika spoils our food. 

So Allah has the lion sneeze out the cats to go after the rodents:

وَ مَتَاعنَا فَأَوْحَى اللَّه إِلَى الْأَسَد فَعَطَسَ فَخَرَجَتْ الْهِرَّ

And our enjoyment, then God revealed to the lion, so he sneezed, and the cat went out. 

The story in Hayat Al-Qulub is obviously folktale.  Yet, Ibn Kathir affirms it.  

Back in Hayat Al-Qulub, the folktale dramatization on the Ark continues.  Noah pats an elephant.  The elephant sneezes and two pigs comes out of its nostrils:

“Then Nuh patted that elephant with his blessed hand. It sneezed and at these two pigs, a male and a female came out of the two nasal openings because of which the facial matter was eliminated.”

Is it not obvious from these examples that early Islamic scholar were not able to distinguish truth from folktale?  If you are Muslim, how you trust your so-called scholars?  Discard such Islamic fiction.  Start reading the Bible.  

In the flood, God wiped out mankind because they had become greatly wicked.  The first thing Noah did when he reached dry land was offer a sacrifice of thankfulness to the Lord.  God promised never to destroy humankind in this way again, in spite of man's tendency for evil:

Then Noah built an altar to the Lord and took some of every clean animal and some of every clean bird and offered burnt offerings on the altar. 21 And when the Lord smelled the pleasing aroma, the Lord said in his heart, “I will never again curse the ground because of man, for the intention of man's heart is evil from his youth. Neither will I ever again strike down every living creature as I have done.  Genesis 8:20-21

Discover God's plan for the salvation of humanity, a plan to radically transform our evil hearts.  Read the Gospel of John.

Allah Teaches Infanticide

 

The Quran speaks of several characters that never made it to the Bible.  One of these is Al Khidr.   In the Quran Al Khidr is a respected servant of Allah and he has some lessons to teach us.  But one of his lessons is quite disconcerting. 

Al Khidr means “Mr. Green”.  Apparently, according to the stories, he is called Mr. Green, because every time he sits on dry grass, the grass becomes green.  He was said to have existed in the time of Noah, attended the funerals of Aaron and Moses, and, if you can believe it, also the funeral of Muhammad!  The same guy apparently lived over a thousand years, because he is said to have drunk from the “fountain of youth”.  In Islam, Moses thought al Khidr was the most knowledgeable person of his time.

Al Khidr was apparently a good servant who had been taught knowledge of Allah.  Though not explicitly named in the Quran, some Qurans identify him in parentheses:

"And they found a servant from among Our servants [i.e., al-Khiḍr] to whom We had given mercy from Us and had taught him from Us a [certain] knowledge." Quran 18:65, Sahih Intl

Now Al Khidr did a very evil thing:

"Then they both proceeded, till they met a boy, and he (Khidr) killed him. Mûsâ (Moses) said: "Have you killed an innocent person who had killed none? Verily, you have committed a thing Nukr (a great Munkar - prohibited, evil, dreadful thing)!" " Quran 18:74, Hilali-Khan

Moses rightfully reacts. “You have killed an innocent person!”  Al Khidr responds:

(Khidr) said: "Did I not tell you that you can have no patience with me?" Quran 18:75

Al Khidr eventually explains.  It was a lesson for Moses.  The parents were believers, and that he feared that the boy would lead the parents into sin and disbelief:

"And as for the boy, his parents were believers, and we feared lest he should oppress them by rebellion and disbelief." Quran 18:80

However, the boy had committed no sin!  He was the son of a family of believers.  By the Islamic principle of Fitrah, he would have been a Muslim too.  But al Khidr feared future sin from the boy.  He thought the boy would be a troublemaker, so he killed him.  They boy was punished for a crime before committing any crime.  Many Muslims believe in fate and that you cannot change your fated destiny.  But to the rest of us, Allah slaughtered an innocent child.

Muslims might claim otherwise.  They might try reframing it as Allah killing someone who wanted to be evil.  But in Quran 18:80, it clearly says the reason for killing the boy, which was fear.  We see this in many of the English translations:

"We feared that he would pressure them into defiance and disbelief." The Clear Quran

"We feared he would overwhelm them with transgression and denial." Soliman Bridges

"fearing he would trouble them through wickedness and disbelief,"  Abdul Hareem

"So I feared that if he grew up, he would cause them to disbelieve in Allah" Abridged Explanation of the Quran

Also, every single time the Arabic word is used in the Quran, it is rendered fear (see Corpus Quran here).  Al Khidr murdered the son out of fear.

Finishing the story, Allah plans to provide the parents a replacement son:

"So we desired that their Lord would give them in exchange (a son) better in purity (of conduct) and closer in affection. Quran 18:81, Yusuf Ali

The slaying by Al Khidr was very brutal.  From Tafsiral-Jalalayn on Q.18:74:

So they set off after leaving the ship making their way on foot until when they met a boy who had not yet reached puberty playing with other boys among whom his face was the fairest — and he al-Khidr slew him by slitting his throat with a knife while he lay down or by tearing his head off with his hand or by smashing his head against a wall all of which are different opinions the coordinating fā’ of fa-qatalahu ‘and he slew him’ is used here because it indicates that the slaying took place after the encounter; the response to idhā ‘when’ is the following statement qāla … — he Moses said to him ‘Have you slain an innocent soul that is a pure one that had not reached the age of legal responsibility a variant reading for zākiya has zakiyya one slain not in retaliation for another soul? in other words one that has not slain any soul. Verily you have committed an dreadful thing’ read nukran or nukuran that is to say an abomination.

This Tafsir here testifies that the boy was under the age of legal responsibility. 

By contrast, the Bible entrusts parents to raise their children up in righteousness:

"Train a child in the way he should go, and when he is old he will not turn from it." Proverbs 22:6, NIV

The Bible does not instruct us to "kill the child if you fear rebellion".  Instead, parents are taught to train a child and help steer the path they take in life.  Good parenting helps mold a child and can save them from a lifetime of wrong decisions.

The al Khidr story only makes sense in a fatalistic world where free will does not exist.  In this world, there is nothing the parents could have done to instruct the boy to be good, for his fate had been pre-determined by Allah.  Islam presents a depressing world view.  

The truth is, God presents us with choices.  God calls us, and those he calls he provides the choice to either follow him or turn away from him:

When Jesus spoke again to the people, he said, “I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will never walk in darkness, but will have the light of life.” John 8:12, ESV

Jesus is calling you to follow him today.  Won't you open the Bible and learn more?

Is Muhammad Eternally Secure?

Muslims are commanded to pour praise and blessings on Muhammad.  The mere mention of the prophet’s name Muhammad is meant to be followed by “peace be upon him”. Blessings are promised for Muslims who pour blessings on his name.  It even says in the Hadith that, "Whoever does Salah upon me [Muhammad] once, Allah will Salah upon him ten (times)"!  But what actually is the benefit to Muhammad for doing this, when he is already in the grave?  Isn’t Muhammad going to heaven?  Why would Muslims need to bless Muhammad?  Is Muhammad’s fate not certain? 

 The truth is that Muhammad wasn't sure of his fate.  It is written:

Say (O Muhammad SAW):"I am not a new thing among the Messengers (of Allah) (i.e. I am not the first Messenger) nor do I know what will be done with me or with you. I only follow that which is revealed to me, and I am but a plain warner." Quran 46:9, Hilali-Khan

 Muhammad was to say he “didn’t know what would be done with him”.  What does this mean?

 According to Ibn Kathir’s Tafsir on Quran 46:9, this verse relates to a story regarding what would happen to Muhammad when he dies.  The verse was revealed because an Ansari woman was confident about the eternal destiny of a dying man.   She thought this man was very pious.  She was confident that he would be honored by Allah in the afterlife.  Muhammad corrected her.  Muhammad says regarding the dead man:

 “(As for him, certainly (death) has reached him from his Lord, and surely I wish well for him.  But by Allah, even though I am Allah’s Messenger, “I do not know what will happen to me (after death).)  I then said, `Never will I claim a person to be pious after this.' ”  Ibn Kathir's commentary on Quran 46:9

 This story is taught in the Hadith:

Narrated Kharija bin Zaid bin Thabit: 

Um Al-`Ala an Ansari woman who had given the Pledge of allegiance to Allah's Messenger (ﷺ) said, "`Uthman bin Maz'un came in our share when the Ansars drew lots to distribute the emigrants (to dwell) among themselves, He became sick and we looked after (nursed) him till he died. Then we shrouded him in his clothes. Allah's Messenger (ﷺ) came to us, I (addressing the dead body) said, "May Allah's Mercy be on you, O Aba As-Sa'ib! I testify that Allah has honored you." The Prophet (ﷺ) said, 'How do you know that?' I replied, 'I do not know, by Allah.' He said, 'As for him, death has come to him and I wish him all good from Allah. By Allah, though I am Allah's Messenger (ﷺ), I NEITHER KNOW WHAT WILL HAPPEN TO ME, NOR TO YOU.'" Um Al-`Ala said, "By Allah, I will never attest the righteousness of anybody after that." She added, "Later I saw in a dream, a flowing spring for `Uthman. So I went to Allah's Messenger (ﷺ) and mentioned that to him. He said, 'That is (the symbol of) his good deeds (the reward for) which is going on for him.' "  Sahih al-Bukhari 7018, Book 91, Hadith 35

Muhammad didn't know exactly what would happen to himself after he dies.  Muslim friends, do you really want to entrust your eternal security with the teachings of this man?  Jesus promised to provide a way you can be sure of making peace with God.

Truly, truly, I say to you, whoever hears my word and believes him who sent me has eternal life. He does not come into judgment, but has passed from death to life.  John 5:24, ESV

Allah Prays for Muhammad

In a debate between Muhammad Hijab and David Wood, Hijab admitted, "Allah prays for Muhammad".

Prayer is defined as the act of communication with a higher power.  We pray to God, for worship, praise, confession, and supplication.  Muslims pray to Allah for similar such things.  Question, does it make sense for God to pray?

The word for prayers in Islam in Islam is “salat”.  Prayer is important for the Muslim.  Ritual prayer is one of the five pillars of Islam.  

Apparently, Allah sends prayers upon Muhammad:

“He it is Who sends salat (His blessings) on you, and His angels too (ask Allah to bless and forgive you)…"  Quran 33:43a, Hilali-Khan

The “He” in this verse is Allah.  The Arabic here is not actually “sends blessings” “yuṣallī” (يُصَلِّي) but it means “he prays”. 

He does it again later in the same surah.  Allah sends his salat on Muhammad, just as Muslims do their salat on him.  Allah prays:

“Allah sends his salat (Graces, Honours, Blessings, Mercy, etc.) on the Prophet (Muhammad SAW) and also His angels too (ask Allah to bless and forgive him). O you who believe! send your salat on (ask Allah to bless) him (Muhammad SAW), and (you should) greet (salute) him with the Islamic way of greeting (salutation i.e. AsSalamu 'Alaikum).” Quran 33:56, Hilali-Khan

Again, the Arabic word for the salat that Allah sends here is “yuṣallūna” (يُصَلُّونَ) means “they pray”.  The Arabic word for the “salat” that the Muslim sends, “ṣallū” (صَلُّوا) translates the same way.  So, the Muslim is asked to send salat on Muhammad, just as Allah sends salat on Muhammad.  The same root word is used for both acts.  Allah and His angels send their prayers of blessings on Muhammad.  

Even in the Sunnah does it say the same:

“The Prophet (ﷺ) said: "Whoever sends salah upon me once, Allah (SWT) will send salah upon him tenfold." “  Sunan an-Nasa'i 1296, Book 13, Hadith 118

In this hadith the same word “salah” (صَلَّى) is used twice, once for us, once for Allah.  Allah sends salah in the same way as the Muslim sends salah.

If salah means "pray", then Allah prays for Muhammad.  In the Patton 2009 book chapter, the literal translation “God prays for the Prophet” is the phrase's most obvious meaning. 

The big question is who is Allah praying to?  Is it another God?  Allah is asking another being of equal or greater authority, presumably another God, to bless Muhammad.  Either Allah is then blessing Muhammad through partners.  I.e. Allah commits shirk.  

Now in Surah 33:56 the Arabic is rendered "Allah and his angels" (literally "l-laha wamalāikatahu").  If one really insists that the phrase means "send blessings", then Allah and his angels work together to send blessings.  This puts Allah and his angels on the same level.  The angels then are partners with Allah.  

In either case, Allah is seen committing shirk.  Allah should not be praying blessings on someone.  Humans do this, God doesn't.  Allah should not be working together with angels to send blessings.  Is not Allah meant to be greater than the angels?  There should be no greater authority than God: 

...For there is no authority except from God, and those that exist have been instituted by God. Romans 13:1b

Allah cannot be God, and the Quran cannot be the word of God.  Come back to the Torah, Zabur (Psalms) and Injeel (gospel).  To find God, come back to the Bible.

Isaiah 9 shows us that Jesus is God

As Christians, we lavish titles on Jesus.  Jesus is Wonderful Counsellor, Mighty God, Prince of Peace.  Why do we do this?  Where do these titles come from?  In Isaiah it says:

For to us a child is born,
    to us a son is given;
and the government shall be upon his shoulder,
    and his name shall be called
Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God,
    Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.

 Isaiah 9:6 ESV 

Some may say that these names are not used in the New Testament.  How do we know that these titles apply to Jesus?

When Jews would read Isaiah 9:6, they read it as part of a greater passage, Isaiah 9:1-7.  Its last verse says:

Of the increase of his government and of peace
    there will be no end,
on the throne of David and over his kingdom,
    to establish it and to uphold it
with justice and with righteousness
    from this time forth and forevermore.
The zeal of the Lord of hosts will do this.

 Isaiah 9:7 ESV 

The passage is prophetic, telling of something great to occur.  A throne of justice and righteousness is to be established.  This throne is to be established forever; the passage is Messianic.  The last verse of the passage says the one to accomplish it is God (or more specifically "The Lord of Hosts").

In the book of Matthew, this passage is applied to Jesus.  Matthew quotes Isaiah 9:1-2, claiming that Jesus, who resided in Naphtali, fulfilled the prophecy in the Isaiah verses:

5 “The land of Zebulun and the land of Naphtali,
    the way of the sea, beyond the Jordan, Galilee of the Gentiles—
16 the people dwelling in darkness
    have seen a great light,
and for those dwelling in the region and shadow of death,
    on them a light has dawned.”

  Matthew 4:15-16 ESV

Here, Jesus is identified as this great light.  But from Isaiah 9:7, the one who is the Great Light is the same person who is identified as Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father and Prince of Peace.  It then follows that these titles directly apply to Jesus.

The titles Mighty God and Everlasting Father especially can apply only to the Lord of Hosts (God) himself.   Therefore Matthew says here not only that Jesus is the promised Messiah, but identifies Jesus as God.  

Have you spent time to get to know the Prince of Peace?  

Solomon, his army of birds and a hoopoe

Solomon, the wise son of David, according to Islam was also a prophet of Allah:

"Surely We gave knowledge to Dāwūd and Sulaimān, and they said, “Praise belongs to Allah who made us excel many of His believing servants." Quran 27:15, Usmani

According to the Bible, Solomon was blessed with unimaginable wisdom.   According to the Quran, Solomon was apparently also given another gift, understanding of the speech of birds and animals:

'And Sulaimān inherited (the traits of) Dāwūd and said, “O people we have been taught the speech of birds, and all sorts of things are given to us. Indeed, this is the evident grace (of Allah).” ' Quran 27:16, Usmani

Now Solomon had an army with a mixture of humans, jinns (genies) and birds:

"And mustered for Sulaimān were his forces from among the Jinns and the humans and the birds. So all of them were kept under (his) control," Quran 27:17, Usmani

In Surah 27:18-19, Solomon then encountered "the valley of the ants":

"until when they reached the valley of the ants, one of the ants said, “O ants, enter your dwelling places, lest Sulaimān and his armies crush you unknowingly.” " Quran 27:18, Usmani

Solomon, hearing the ant speak, talks with her:

So he (Sulaimān) smiled, laughing on her speech and said, “My Lord, enable me to become grateful to Your favor that you have bestowed on me and on my parents, and to do good deeds that You like, and admit me, with Your mercy, among Your righteous servants.” Quran 27:19, Usmani

Solomon could apparently understand the language of ants.  This is very funny.

Solomon also supposedly had been taught by Allah the language of birds.  In this story, Solomon inspects his army of birds.  He could not find one of his birds, the hoopoe:

"And (once) he (Sulaimān) checked the birds and said, “How is it with me that I do not see the hudhud (hoopoe)? Rather he has disappeared."  Quran 27:20, Usmani

This picture shows a hoopoe.

In the next verse, Solomon promises to punish the absent bird, with a "severe torment", and to execute the poor hoopoe unless the bird gives Solomon a good reason for his absence.

Soon after this, the hoopoe appears with a spy report from the land of Sheba.  Solomon listens to the bird's report but does not fully believe the hoopoe:

"He (Sulaimān) said, “We shall see whether you have told the truth or you are one of the liars."  Quran 27:27, Usmani

Poor hoopoe.

One problem in the above story is that ants can't speak.  It is physically impossible for them to generate speech.  Ants communicate by transmitting vibration and leaving chemical scent (pheromones).  Biologists have found they also at times generate sounds by rubbing together their hind legs, but this is far from speaking.

The obvious problem, who honesty believes that anyone can communicate in the language of the ants and birds?  This is Islam.  Many myths like this have found their way into the Islamic literature.  The Bible has no such obvious fabrications in its account of the life of Solomon.

Are we born good?

Islam teaches that every person is born Muslim.  In the Islamic doctrine of "original disposition" or fitra, it is thought that a person naturally inclines to their creator Allah and is born with a mind that naturally follows Islam.  It is the people around us--our family, friends and society--that overpower our innate tendency to follow Allah and cause us to sin.  Muslims are born sinless or into a state of "fitra" (c.f. Wikipedia).  This Islamic doctrine denies the Christian doctrine of Original Sin, the idea that we received sin from our parents at birth.

Let us look at the concept of fitra in context of the Islamic creation story.  In the Quran, the first man Adam was not created on earth but created in heaven, and then fell down to earth:

"Then, Satan caused them to slip from it, and brought them out of where they had been. And We said, “Go down, all of you, some of you the enemies of others; and on the earth there will be for you a dwelling place and enjoyment for a time.” " Quran 2:36, Usmani

Adam had sinned and this verse says that he was kicked out of God's sight.  But Adam learned some words through which he repented:

"Then ’Ādam learned certain words (to pray with) from his Lord; so, Allah accepted his repentance. No doubt, He is the Most-Relenting, the Very-Merciful."  Quran 2:37, Usmani

Even though Adam prayed and was forgiven, he still wasn't allowed back into Allah's abode.  Allah did send guidance to Adam:

We said, “Go down from here, all of you. Then, should some guidance come to you from Me, those who follow My guidance shall have no fear, nor shall they grieve."  Quran 2:38, Usmani

This verse says we need guidance to the righteous path to find the way back to Allah.  There are problems with this idea.  If we are born into a state of "fitra", why do we need a guide in order to bring us back to heaven?  Shouldn't every newborn start out in heaven?  Instead, every day in their daily prayers, Muslims recite Surah al Fatihah where they ask for guidance (see Quran 1:6).  

Even the prophet Muhammed prayed this surah.  So even Muhammad needed guidance.  How can this prophet be expected to guide us when he himself needs guidance?  Is Muhammed qualified to do this?

In the bigger picture, if man is born sinless, then why does the Hadith say that all men are sinners?:

Anas (RAA) narrated that Allah's Messenger (ﷺ) said:  “All the sons of Adam are sinners, but the best of sinners are those who repent often.”  Related by At·Tirmidhi and Ibn Majah with a strong chain of narrators.  Book 16, Hadith 41

Why does the Quran ascribe sinlessness only to Jesus (Quran 19:19-20)?

Is it that our family, friends and society really change our predisposition toward Allah?   Are people more powerful than God, that they can change our basic nature?  

As Christians, we believe we can do no such thing.  People are innately sinful.  People do not have the power to remove our faith, just as they don't have to power to give us faith.  The Holy Spirit can change someone's heart and take someone from the hellfire into the kingdom of God.  Jesus takes our sin and then we become righteous:

"For He made Him who knew no sin to be sin for us, that we might become the righteousness of God in Him." 2 Corinthians 5:21

This is not because of anything I or another human does to us, but it is God's work.

(Argument is from Al Fadi "Only Jesus is Sinless Islamic Original Win Dilemma")