Subject: How do you…

Date: 1-14-04

From: brian@lucerofamily.com

Hello again Mr. Khan,

I already replied to your email today, but as I was trying to fall asleep I kept on thinking about what you said in your email about "To you be your religion, and to me my religion." And it seemed that you didn't much care about my welfare in this pursuit of truth in our dialogue. You didn't give any response to the articles, or should I say the points made in the articles, I sent you about the Qur'an. I sincerely desire to be on good ground in your 'relations book', and I sincerely desire to see our relationship progress into friendship with mutual respect. But what kept me from sleeping was this sincere curiosity about your conscience. How do you respond to the facts made in those articles that I sent? What do you tell yourself to appease your conscience about these points?

You say that the Qur'an is perfect because it comes from God. The Qur'an claims to be perfect, with no error or contradiction, in pure Arabic. Therefore, grammatically, scientifically, and historically, the Qur'an has to be 100% correct.

1. ) Pure Arabic.

Here are a list of words in the Qur'an that are KNOWN to not be Arabic: But according to Arabic scholars the Quran is not in pure Arabic, containing dozens of foreign words:

Abariq S. 56:18 Persian

Adam S. 2:34 Akkadian

Araik S. 18:31 Persian

Firdaus S. 18:107 Pahlavi

Fir'awn S. 73:15 Syriac

Habr S. 9:31 Hebrew (Haver)

Istabraq S. 18:31 Persian (Istabar)

Sakina S. 2:248 Hebrew

Sijjil (baked clay) S. 105:4 Persian

Taghut (idols) S. 2:257 Syriac (Teghutha)

Zakat S. 2:1 10 Syriac (Zkhutha)

Zanjabil (ginger) S. 76:17 Pahlavi

2.) No Grammatical Errors:

After seeing the first standard copy of the Quran, Islam's third Caliph Uthman proclaimed, "I see grammatical errors in it, and the Arabs will read it correctly with their tongues."

Here are a list of Grammatical Errors in the Arabic. Any Arabic Grammarian will tell you the obvious. There is no one who disagrees with this, non-muslim or Muslim. I will put the list in 10-point font so you will have better organization. I will only cite two such errors for the sake of length in this email. Remember, only ONE error makes the Qur'an not perfect.

The First Error

In 5:69

"Surely they that believe, and those of Jewry, and the Sabaeans, and the Christians, whosoever believes in God and the Last Day, and works righteousness - no fear shall be on them, neither shall they sorrow." (Arberry)

"Innal-laziina 'aamanuu wal-laziina haaduu was-Saabi'uuna wan-Nasaaraa man 'aamana bilaahi

wal-Yawmil-'Aakhiri wa 'amila saali-hanfalaa khaw-fun 'alay-him wa laa hum yah-zanuun."

There is a grammatical error in the above verse. The word Saabi'uuna has been declined wrongly.

In two other verses, the same word, in exactly the same grammatical setting was declined correctly.

2:62 "Innal-laziina 'aamanuu wal-laziina haaduu wan-Nasaaraa was-Saabi'iina ..."

22:17 "Innal-laziina 'aamanuu wal-laziina haaduu was-Saabi'iina wan-Nasaaraa ..."

You notice that the word was written Saabi'uuna in 5:69 and was written Saabi'iina in 2:62 and 22:17. In the last two verses the word was declined correctly because the word inna in the beginning of the sentence causes a form of declension called "nasb" (as in cases of accusative or subjunctive) and the "yeh" is the "sign of nasb". But the word Saabi'uuna in 5:69 was given the 'uu, waw which is the sign of "raf'a" (as in cases of nominative or indicative). This then is an obvious grammatical error.

The Second Error

In 4:162

"But those of them that are firmly rooted in knowledge, and the believers believing in what has been sent down to thee, and what was sent down before thee, that perform the prayer and pay the alms, and those who believe in God and the Last Day - them We shall surely give a mighty wage." (Arberry)

"Laakinir-Raasi-khuuna fil-'ilmi minhum wal-Mu'-minuuna yu'-minuuna bi-maaa 'unzila 'ilayka wa maaa 'unzila min-qablika wal-muqiimiin as-Salaata wal mu'-tuunaz-Zakaata wal-Mu'-mi-nuuna billaahi wal-Yawmil-'Aakhir: 'ulaaa 'ika sanu'-tii-him 'ajran 'aziimaa."

The word muqiimiin should be muqiimuun. The word should be declined by the "raf'a sign" like the other nouns in the sentence. Indeed the two nouns before it (Raasi-khuun and Mu'-minuun), and the noun after it (mu'-tuun) are declined correctly. Some have argued that this word was declined as such to distinguish and praise the act of praying, but the scholar Ibn al-Khatib says that this is a sick reasoning. (al-Furqan by Mohammad M. 'abd al-Latif Ibn al-Katib, Dar al-Kutub al-'elmiyah, Beirut, p.43). Such reasoning defies logic. Why would one distinguishe prayer which is a branch of religion, and not faith which is the fundamental and root of religion? Besides can this logic apply to the error of declension in the previous verse? Do we conclude that the Saabi'iin are more distinguished than those who believe, and the People of the Book? And why do they get distinguished in one verse and not the other as we have seen? God is much higher than this sick logic. This again is an obvious grammatical error.

(The above taken from: <<http://debate.domini.org/newton/grammar.html>>)

3.) No Variant Qur'anic readings.

Muslims always claim that the Qur'an has not been changed - that it is perfect in transmission. If this is the case, then why are there presently variant readings in the Arabic? Here is a list of a few variations. To see the actual arabic, please go here

(http://www.answering-islam.org/Green/seven.htm#compare), for I could not paste the arabic script.

THE QUR'AN ACCORDING TO THE

TRANSMISSION OF IMAM HAFS

THE QUR'AN ACCORDING TO THE

TRANSMISSION OF IMAM WARSH

surah 2:132 (wawassaa)

surah 2:131 (wa'awsaa)

surah 91:15 (wa laa yakhaafu)

surah 91:15 (fa laa yakhaafu)

surah 2:132 (himu)

surah 2:131 (hiimu)

surah 3:133 (wasaari'uu)

surah 3:133 (saari'uu)

surah 5:54 (yartadda)

surah 5:56 (yartadid)

4.) Source of Qur'an is from Allah.

Muslims boast that the source of the Qur'an is from Allah alone - that Muhammad copied nothing from any human or jinn. I will give only one such example for the sake of length (but take note, there are many dozen more). This is very interesting. I will give the quote from a Jewish targam that was in existence long before Muhammad's time. Then I will give the quote from the Qur'an. You are able to see that they are amlost identical. You may rebut by saying that if God almighty gave the revelation to the Jews AND to Muhammad, then the story SHOULD be the same, so there is no problem. Well, the thing is that the Targams are not revelation from God, but fairy tales told by the Jews. Many of these fairy tales started out by a mistranslation by a Jewish commentator, where he made an obvious mistake, and so the tales was spurned. Why is an obvious Jewish mistake repeated in the Qur'an?

Story of the Queen of Sheba's visit to Solomon.

Here is the Qur'an's account taken from (Surah XXVII., An Naml, v. 17 and vv. 20-45)

"And his hosts (composed) of jinns and men and birds were gathered together unto Solomon. And he reviewed the birds: then He said, ‘What (hath happened) to me that I do not see the hoopoe (hudhud)? Or is it among the absentees? Truly I shall punish it with severe punishment. Either I shall slaughter it assuredly, or it shall surely bring me clear proof39.’ Accordingly it delayed not long. Then it said: ‘I am aware of what thou art not aware of, and I have come to thee from Sheba40 with sure information. Verily I found a woman who reigneth over them and who is brought some of everything, and she hath a great throne. And I found her and her people worshipping the Sun instead of God, and Satan hath made their deeds attractive

unto them, and hath turned them aside from the way, therefore they are not guided aright so that they should worship God, who bringeth forth what is concealed in the heavens and the earth, and knoweth what ye hide and what ye reveal. God! there is no god but He, the Lord of the Great Throne.’ He said, ‘We shall see whether thou hast spoken truly or art among the liars. Go thou with this my epistle, and cast it down to them; then turn thou away from them: then see what (answer) they will return.’

"(The queen) said, ‘O nobles, verily to me hath a gracious epistle been cast down: verily it is from Solomon: verily it is "In the name of God the Merciful, the Compassionate! Rise not up against me, but come unto me submissively41."’ She said, ‘O nobles, instruct ye me in my matter: I do not decide a matter until ye bear witness.’ They said, ‘We are men of strength and of mighty courage and command (belongeth) unto thee: therefore see thou what thou wilt command.’ She said, ‘Verily when kings enter a city, they destroy it and make humble the most honoured of its people, even so do they. And verily I do send unto them a gift and see with what (answer) the messengers return.’

"Accordingly when (the messenger) came to Solomon, (the king) said, ‘Do ye increase my goods? since what God hath brought me is better than what He hath brought you. Nay, ye boast of your gift. Return thou to them: for indeed we shall come to them with hosts which they cannot resist, and we shall expel them from it (the country) humbled, and they shall be small.’ He said, ‘O nobles, which of you will bring me her throne, before they come to me submissively41?’ An 'Ifrit of the jinns said, ‘I shall bring it to thee before thou risest up from thy place, and verily I am indeed able to do it (and am) faithful.’ He who had knowledge from the Book said, ‘I shall bring it to thee before thy glance shall return42 to thee.’ When, therefore, (Solomon) saw it placed beside him, he said, ‘This is from my Lord's favour, that he may prove me, whether I be grateful or ungrateful. And he who is grateful is grateful indeed for himself, and he who is ungrateful, verily my Lord is rich and gracious.’

"He said, ‘Alter her throne for her! we shall see whether she is rightly guided or is among those who are not guided aright.’ Accordingly, when she came, it was said, ‘Is this thy throne?’ She said, ‘It is as if it were.’ ‘And we were brought knowledge before she was, and became Muslims: And that which she used to worship instead of God hath led her astray: verily she is of an unbelieving people.’ It was said to her, ‘Enter the palace.’ When therefore she saw it, she accounted it an abyss, and she uncovered her legs. He said, ‘Verily it is a palace paved with glass.’ She said, ‘O my Lord, verily I have wronged my soul, and I resign43 myself along with Solomon to God, the Lord of the worlds.’"

Second Targum on Esther, which is printed in the Miqraoth Gedoloth. Here is the Jewish Targum's account:

"Again, when King Solomon's heart was merry with his wine, he commanded to bring the beasts of the field and the fowls of the air and the creeping things of the earth and the jinns and the spirits and the night-goblins to dance before him, in order to show his greatness to all the kings who were prostrating themselves before him. And the king's scribes summoned them by their names, and they all assembled and came unto him, except the prisoners and except the captives and except the man who took charge of them. At that hour the cock of the desert was enjoying himself among the birds and was not found. And the king commanded concerning him that they should bring him by force, and wished to destroy him. The cock of the desert

returned to King Solomon's presence and said to him, ‘Hearken, my lord the king of the earth, incline thine ear and hear my words. Is it not three months ago that I took counsel in my heart and formed a firm resolution with myself that I would not eat, and would not drink water, before I had seen the whole world and flown about in it? And I said, Which province or kingdom is there that is not obedient to my lord the

king? I beheld and saw a fortified city, the name of which is Qitor, in an eastern land. The dust is heavy with gold, and silver is like dung in the streets, and trees have been planted there from the beginning; and from the Garden of Eden do they drink water. There are there great multitudes with garlands on their heads. From there are plants from the Garden of Eden, because it is near unto it. They know how to shoot with the bow, but cannot be slain with the bow. One woman rules over them all, and her name is the Queen of Sheba. Now if it please thee, my lord the king, this person45 will gird up my loins, and I shall rise up and go to the fortress of Qitor, to the city of Sheba; I shall "bind their kings with chains and their nobles with links of iron," and shall bring them unto my lord the King.’ And the saying was pleasing before the king, and the king's scribes were called, and they wrote a letter and fastened the letter to the wing of the cock of the desert. And he arose and went up high into the sky and bound on his tiara and grew strong, and flew among the birds. And they flew after him. And they went to the fortress of Qitor, to the city of Sheba. And it came to pass at morning time that the Queen of Sheba went forth by the sea to worship. And the birds darkened the sun; and she laid her hand upon her garments and rent them, and she became surprised and troubled. And when she was troubled, the cock of the desert came down to her, and she saw, and lo! a letter was fastened to his wing. She opened and read it. And this was what was written in it:— ‘From me, King Solomon. Peace be to thee, peace be to thy nobles! Forasmuch as thou knowest that the Holy One, blessed be He! has made me King over the beasts of the field, and over the fowls of the air, and over jinns and over spirits and over night-goblins, and all the kings of the East and the West and the South and the North come and inquire about my health (peace): now, if thou art willing and dost come and inquire after my health, well: I shall make thee greater than all the kings that bow down before me. And if thou art not willing and dost not come nor inquire after my health, I shall send against thee kings and legions and horsemen. And if thou sayest, ‘What kings and legions and horsemen has King Solomon?’ — the beasts of the field are kings and legions and horsemen. And if thou sayest, ‘What horsemen?’ — the fowls of the air are horsemen, my armies are spirits and jinns, and the night-goblins are legions that shall strangle you in your beds within your houses: the beasts of the field shall slay you in the field; the birds of the air shall eat your flesh

from off you.’ And when the Queen of Sheba heard the words of the letter, again a second time she laid her hand upon her garments and rent them. She sent and called the elders and nobles, and said to them, ‘Do ye not know what King Solomon has sent to me?’ They answered and said, ‘We do not know King Solomon nor do we make any account of his kingdom.’ But she was not contented, nor did she hearken unto their words, but she sent and called all the ships of the sea and loaded them with offerings and jewels and precious stones. And she sent unto him six thousand boys and girls, and all of them were born in the same (one) year, and all of them were born in one month, and all of them were born in one day, and all of them were born in one hour, and all of them were of the same stature, and all of them were of the same figure, and all of them were clad in purple garments And she wrote a letter and sent it to King Solomon by their hands. ‘From the fortress of Qitor to the land of Israel is seven years journey. Now through thy prayers and through thy petitions which I entreat of thee, I shall come to thee at the end of three years.’ And it came to pass at the end of three years that the Queen of Sheba came to King Solomon. And when King Solomon heard that the Queen of Sheba had come, he sent unto her Benaiah the son of Jehoiada, who was like the dawn that rises at morning-time, and resembled the Star of Splendour (Venus) which shines and stands firm among the stars, and was similar to the lily which stands by the water-courses. And when the Queen of Sheba saw Benaiah, son of Jehoiada, she alighted from the chariot. Benaiah, son of Jehoiada, answered and said to her, ‘Why hast thou alighted from thy chariot?’ She answered and said to him, ‘Art not thou King Solomon?’ He answered and said to her, ‘I am not King Solomon, but one of his servants who stand before him.’ And forthwith she turned her face behind her and uttered a parable to the nobles, ‘If the lion has not appeared to you, ye have seen his offspring, and if ye have not seen King Solomon ye have seen the beauty of a man who stands before him.’ And Benaiah, son of Jehoiada, brought her before the king. And when the king heard that she had come to him, he arose and went and sat in a crystal house. And when the Queen of

Sheba saw that the king sat in a crystal house, she considered in her heart and said that the king sat in water, and she gathered up her garment that she might cross over, and he saw that she had hair on her legs. The king answered and said unto her, ‘Thy beauty is the beauty of women, and thy hair is the hair of a man; and hair is beautiful for a man, but for a woman it is disgraceful.’ The Queen of Sheba answered and said to him, ‘My lord the king, I shall utter to thee three parables, which if thou explain to me, I shall know that thou art a wise man, and if not, thou art as the rest of men.’ (Solomon solved all three problems.) And she said, ‘Blessed be the Lord thy God who delighted in thee to seat thee upon the throne of the kingdom to do judgment and justice.’ And she gave unto the king good gold and silver. ... And the king gave her all that she desired."

In this Jewish narrative we see that there is mention made of certain puzzles which the Queen of Sheba desired Solomon to solve for her. Although this matter is not mentioned in the Qur'an, yet it is all recorded in the Traditions. And since what the Qur'an says with regard to the Queen's mistaking the crystal pavement for a deep pool of water is not quite so full an account of the incident as that given in the Targum, certain Muhammadan writers have filled up the details exactly. For instance, in the 'Araisu'l Majalis (p. 438) we read: "She uncovered her legs that she might wade through it, unto Solomon. Then Solomon beheld her, and lo she was the fairest of women as to leg and foot, except that she was hairy-legged. When therefore Solomon saw that, He cried out to prevent her, and he called aloud to her,

‘Verily it is a palace paved with g1ass.’"

The mention of the crystal pavement may be due to a confused recollection of the "molten sea" in the Temple at Jerusalem (1 Kings vii. 23). All the other marvels seem to be purely Jewish fancies. The Jewish account is so evidently fabulous that it is surprising that Muhammad so evidently believed it to be strictly true. But some of the incidents mentioned can be somewhat more fully explained than others. For instance, the idea (widely prevalent in the East to the present day) that Solomon ruled over various kinds of evil spirits was derived from the Jews from a misunderstanding46 of the Hebrew words in Eccles. ii. 8.

These words probably mean "a lady and ladies." But the commentators seem to have misunderstood the terms, which occur nowhere else in the Bible, and to have explained them as denoting certain demons (fem. of ). Hence he is spoken of in both the Jewish legend and in the Qur'an as having armies composed of various kinds of spirits. The story of the Merchant and the Jinni in the Arabian Nights is another instance of the same belief. It is strange to find the Prophet Muhammad emulating the writer of that wonderful book as a story-teller even though the source of the Qur'anic tale is known. In credulity, however, Muhammad

undoubtedly eclipsed his rival, for the latter cannot be supposed to have believed his own wondrous tales, nor does he profess to have received them from above.

The historical basis for the whole tale is afforded by the record given in 1 Kings x. 1-10 (and repeated in 2 Chron. ix. 1-9), which tells us nothing whatever marvellous about Solomon, nothing about Jinns and 'Ifrits and crystal palaces, but is a simple narrative of a visit paid to Solomon by the Queen of Sheba, a well-known part of Arabia.

"And when the Queen of Sheba heard of the fame of Solomon concerning the name of the Lord, she came to prove him with hard questions. And she came to Jerusalem with a very great train, with camels that bare spices and very much gold and precious stones: and when she was come to Solomon, she communed with him of all that was in her heart. And Solomon told her all her questions: there was not anything hid from the king which he told her not. And when the queen of Sheba had seen all the wisdom of Solomon, and the house that he had built, and the meat of his table, and the sitting of his servants, and the attendance of his ministers, and their apparel, and his cupbearers, and his ascent by which he went up unto the house of the Lord; there was no more spirit in her. And she said to the king, ‘It was a true report that I heard in my own land of thy acts, and of thy wisdom. Howbeit, I believed not the words, until I came, and mine eyes had seen it: and, behold, the half was not told me: thy wisdom and prosperity exceedeth the fame which I heard. Happy are thy men, happy are these thy servants, which stand continually before thee, and that hear thy wisdom. Blessed be the Lord thy God, which delighted in thee, to set thee on the throne of Israel: because the Lord loved Israel for ever, therefore made He thee king to do judgment and justice.’ And she

gave the king an hundred and twenty talents of gold, and of spices very great store, and precious stones: there came no more such abundance of spices as those which the queen of Sheba gave to King Solomon."

Although many others of the narratives that are contained in the Qur'an have been borrowed from Jewish fables, yet here it is not necessary to quote them all at length. In every case Muhammad seems to have been ignorant of the true history of the Prophets as related in the Canonical Books of the Old Testament. This was doubtless due to the fact that the Jews of Arabia were not learned men, and that they were better acquainted with the fables of the Talmud than with the Bible.

The above being taken from (http://www.answering-islam.org/Books/Tisdall/Sources/chap3.htm).

5.) Source of Qur'an is from Allah alone, part 2.

What is very interesting is that many of the most renown Muslim authorities admit to the following account of Adbullah Ibn Sarh, who was Muhammad's scribe (i.e. -Al-Tabari, -Al-Wahidi, -Al-Sira by al-'Iraqi, -Al-Baidawi, and others). When Muhammad told the scribe what to write down, the scribe added stuff, and Muhammad said, "yes, this is from Allah too", and so it was put in the Qur'an. On many ocassions when Muhammad told the scribe to write something, the scribe wrote something else. For this reason, the scribe forsook Islam because he thought to himself that if he can change Allah's revelations, then this revelation is not really from the One true God. So he forsook Islam. And because of this, Muhammad killed him later. Another interesting note is that Muhammad lied to the scribe that he would be safe. So Muhammad lied in his face and then seconds later Muhammad scolded his followers for not killing the scribe when Muhammad said that he should not be killed.

'Abdullah ibn Sa'd Ibn Abi Sarh Inspires the Revelation

Abdullah was one of Muhammad's scribes who actually changed the revelation with Muhammad's approval. In fact, according to some Muslims S. 6:93 was revealed concerning Abi Sarh:

Who is more wicked than the man who invents a falsehood about God, or says: "This was revealed to me", when nothing was revealed to him? Or the man who says, "I can reveal the like of what God has revealed"?

N.J. Dawood

According to the following Muslim expositors the phrase, "I can reveal the like of what God has revealed', refers specifically to Abi Sarh:

"Islamic commentators claim that the first part of this verse refers to Musaylima (the false prophet), but that the second part is about Abdallah b. Sa'd b. Abi Sarh. In fact, Abdallah was the scribe who wrote down the so-called divine revelation for Muhammad and ended up becoming an apostate. He later joined the polytheists (idolaters). Islamic expositors provide us with a full account of the incident. When Sura Al-Muminun 23:12 was inspired, 'Verily, we created man from a product of wet earth,' the Prophet called him and dictated it to him until he finished with, 'and then produced it another creation' (Sura Al-Muminun 23:14). At that moment, Abdallah was so impressed with and amazed at the detailed stages of man's creation that he said: 'Blessed be Allah, the best of creators!' (Sura Al-Muminun 23:14). Immediately Muhammad said, 'This is how it was inspired to me.' This definitely made Abdallah very suspicious and he said to himself: 'If Muhammad is a true prophet, then I also receive divine inspiration (wahy) like him. And if he is false, I only say what he has said.' For this reason, he deserted Islam and joined the idolaters. This is what the verse means: 'I will reveal the like of that which Allah has revealed.' Al-Kalbi related this account as he heard it from Ibn Abbas. Muhammad b. Ishaq also related it. He said: 'Shurahbil said to me: "This verse was inspired regarding Abdallah b. Sa'd b. Abi Sarh. I will reveal a similar inspiration like that of Allah.' In fact, he deserted Islam. When Muhammad entered Mecca, he commanded that he be killed, together with Abdallah b. Khatal and Maqias b. Subaba even if they were to be found hidden behind the Ka'ba curtains. Abdallah b. Sa'd b. Abi Sarh fled to Uthman, who was his foster brother. So Uthman concealed him until he was brought to Muhammad, having sensed security and safety from Uthman's assurance. Muhammad kept silent for a long time, but then said: 'Yes!' When Uthman left, Muhammad said: 'I only kept silent so that some of you may go and cut off his head.' A man from the Ansar said to him: 'Will you make a gesture to do that for you?' Muhammad replied: 'The Prophet should not give orders through an eye-gesture.' (i.e., he implies that he can, with authority, command Ibn Sarh be killed without resorting to eye gestures. See al-Qurtubi on Sura al-An'am 6:109).

Al-Sira by al-'Iraqi:

The scribes of Muhammad were 42 in number. 'Abdallah Ibn Sarh al-'Amiri was one of them, and he was the first Quraishite among those who wrote in Mecca before he turned away from Islam. He started saying, "I used to direct Muhammad wherever I willed. He would dictate to me 'Most High, All-Wise', and I would write down 'All-Wise' only. Then he would say, 'Yes it is all the same'. On a certain occasion he said, 'Write such and such', but I wrote 'Write' only, and he said, 'Write whatever you like.'" So when this scribe exposed Muhammad, he wrote in the Qur'an, "And who does greater evil than he who forges against God a lie, or says, 'To me it has been revealed', when naught has been revealed to him." So on the day Muhammad conquered Mecca, he commanded his scribe to be killed. But the scribe fled to 'Uthman Ibn `Affan, because 'Uthman was his foster brother (his mother suckled 'Uthman). 'Uthman, therefore, kept him away from Muhammad. After the people calmed down, 'Uthman brought the scribe to Muhammad and sought protection for him. Muhammad kept silent for a long time, after which he said yes. When 'Uthman had left, Muhammad said "I only kept silent so that you (the people) should kill him."('Abdallah 'Abd al-Fadi, Is the Qur'an Infallible?

[Light of Life, P.O. Box 13, A-9503 Villach, Austria], pp. 366-367)

Taken from (http://www.answering-islam.org/Responses/Naik/quranclaims3.htm)

If this is how Muhammad revealed scripture, how do you respond to this Mr. Khan. What is a Muslim supposed to think in light of this evidence? Obviously you don't want to disagree with all the great Muslim authorities on its authenticity. So how do you cope with this?

6.) Scientific Evidence:

In your emails and in many articles that i've read on the Qur'an, there have been many, many so called scientific evidences that prove that the Qur'an is from Almighty God. If there is one scientific error, then you have admitted that it cannot be from God. Let’s just look at one:

We gave knowledge to David and Solomon: And they both said: "Praise be to Allah, Who has favored us above many of His servants who believe!" And Solomon was David's heir. He said: "O ye people! We have been taught the speech of birds, and we have been given of every thing: this is indeed Grace manifest (from Allah.)" And before Solomon were marshaled his hosts,- of Jinns and men and birds, and they were all kept in order and ranks. At length, when they came to a valley of ants, one of the ants said: O ye ants, get into your habitations, lest Solomon and his hosts crush you (under foot) without knowing it." So he smiled, amused at her speech; and he said: "O my Lord! So order me that I may be grateful for Thy favors, which Thou hast bestowed on me and on my parents, and that I may work the righteousness that will please Thee: and admit me, by Thy Grace, to the ranks of Thy Righteous Servants." And he took a muster of the Birds; and he said: "Why is it I see not the Hoopoe? Or is he among the absentees? I will certainly punish him with a severe punishment, or execute him, unless he bring me a clear reason (for absence)."..... Surah 27:15-44

I will not quote this whole passage again, for we have already done that under section 4.) i beleive.

According to Naik, the statement regarding the ant's speech is in complete agreement with modern scientific discoveries that show that ants do in fact communicate among themselves in order to accomplish specific tasks. The problem with Naik's claim is that it overlooks the fact that this passage has ants, birds, demons and Solomon all communicating amongst themselves! Therefore, this passage indicates that Solomon and his animal friends all understood the language of the others!

[Note: See the article Talking Ants in the Qur'an for a detailed discussion of Surah 27:18-19.]

Interestingly, whereas Naik sees prescientific information in the preceding fable another Muslim, Muhammad Asad, actually allegorizes this passage in order to avoid the obvious absurdity of viewing this historically:

"In this instance, Solomon evidently refers to his own understanding and admiration of nature (cf. 38:31-33 and the corresponding notes) as well as to his loving compassion for the humblest of God's creatures, as a great divine blessing: and this is the Qur'anic moral of the LEGENDARY story of the ant." (Asad, p. 578, f. 17)

Taken from (http://www.answering-islam.org/Responses/Naik/quranclaims2.htm#part5).

7.) Conclusion:

These evidences above show very conclusively that the Qur'an is not perfect, and more importantly that the general Muslim authorities, past and present, Arabic Scholars, most renown Islamic commentators, and the Sahih Hadith like Bukhari and Muslim, all are in baisc unity for the truthfull accounts of the above evidences. I know that you might not have read the above in scrutiny and depth and that it might not have "shaked" or "phased" your faith in the Qur'an. But what do you say to the FACT that the Qur'an is NOT in perfect Arabic, that the Qur'an is NOT perfectly grammatically correct, that the Qur'an

does have the exact same stories of those fairy tales of the Jews and Arabians and Sabeans before Muhammad's time, that the scribes of Muhammad forsook Islam because they were able to change the revelations that Muhammad recieved? How do you still hold that the Qur'an is perfectly from God? Do you just brush aside these FACTS with just "To you your religion, and to me my religion"? And take no further thought of it?

May Almighty God guide you Mr. Khan.

In deepest sincerity and frienship,

Brian Lucero