THE BOOK
Defining the Very Essence of Koranic Verse and Bible Scripture
In order to get to the very heart of the relevant respective Tenets of the two religions, it is not enough to simply take Koranic Verses and Biblical Scripture and pit one against the other in some kind of point-scoring “word- game”, and then perhaps paraphrase elements of commentary to fit the subject of the moment. No: The object of our Mission is to strive to really look into the very essence of the mechanics of the respective primary claims to try to find ‘the what’ and ‘the why’ of each. For if we are content to just see, hear or read a Verse or Scripture and then blindly accept it as a cornerstone, or part thereof, of a complete faith for one’s whole life – or, more telling, for one’s whole spiritual existence – then what, exactly, are we content with?
If we voluntarily choose to believe, at a surface face-value level, that a particular Verse or Scripture is truth absolute without any corroborating narrative or perhaps historical or scientific evidence that fits or at least aids the validity of the particular Tenet in question, then all we achieve is a ‘blind faith’ standard.
The word says it all. In this case, to be blind means to not see, or to refuse to see. That is not good enough, for it is tantamount to “spiritual laziness”. We have all surely heard the sage Biblical adage:
“When the blind lead the blind, all will fall into the ditch.”
We should add this very telling Scripture as well: Stated by Jesus to one of His Disciples for leave to attend a funeral; “Let the dead bury their dead.” (Luke 9:60; Matthew 8:22.)
What is obviously meant here is even whilst “physically alive”, we can be spiritually “not alive” to pure Truth and therefore its concomitant knowledge and the associated critical recognition of where we should be in our earth life. Globally, billions of “the faithful” go through daily life “ostensibly secure” in their particular ‘beliefs’. However, without access to, or knowledge of, the deepest possible meaning of every nuance of those Verses and Scriptures within their “Faith” that actually ‘accord’ with the True Law, they must be counted as not being fully “spiritually alive”.
THAT is what we will deliver in this Work: the detail, the very Life- Essence, of the relevant Primary Tenets, for both religions. By relevant, we mean to the Title, for the rest of so-called knowledge really takes second place to that reality. A tall ask, an arrogant assumption or statement, a monumental “ego trip” in the mind of you, the reader, perhaps?
Yes, the claim does seem too outlandish to bother with. Yet to dismiss it out of hand at this early juncture and not even begin to really explore what is in this document -– even out of simple curiosity --- will mean that you will never know whether such a claim is exactly as stated, and thus not discover the key revelation that actually permits me to make such an unequivocal assertion in the first place. In the final analysis, the following great proverb really can be applied to this Work: “The Proof of the Pudding is in the Eating.”
To that end, around each primary Tenet we will formulate a Discourse in which, and through which, each one, each claim --- based on the self-stated parameters of both religions --- will be analysed. The very force of Islam in its rapid expansion across the globe means that we will need to produce explanations sufficiently strong to induce the open-minded reader to at least be prepared to examine the material we will present.
Notwithstanding the growing numbers in Global Islamism, we are more than sufficiently “spiritually secure” in our position to state that both Muslims and Christians do not yet know that their “closed-faith” paradigms have not permitted the key Ray of Light to enter their religions. Through this Work, that Ray of Spiritual Knowledge and Revelation will ultimately impact both religions.
In Islam’s case, its uncompromising position is illustrated by the following statement. Under the Heading: 2. WORLD’S GREATEST SPIRITUAL FORCE; -- in M.M. Ali’s translation, we read:
‘The Holy ‘Koran’ claims to be the greatest spiritual force which is ultimately destined to bring the whole of humanity to perfection. Anyone who will simply cast a glance at its opening and closing verses will not fail to see this. It opens thus:’
“Praise be to Allah, the Nourisher of the worlds to perfection (‘Lord’ of the worlds)” (1:1). ‘And it ends thus:’
“Say: I seek refuge with the Nourisher of mankind to perfection (‘Lord’ of men)” (114:1).
‘And this is the theme of the Holy Book throughout. It calls itself al-Ruh (42:52) or the Spirit which gives life to humanity...’
So, not only is it: ‘A spiritual force which will ultimately overcome all’, it goes further and makes the claim that it is the only spiritual force which will ‘ultimately conquer the whole world and that the whole of humanity cannot produce a force like it’:
“And if there could be a Qur‘an with which the mountains were made to pass away, or the earth were cloven asunder, or the dead were made to speak --- nay, the commandment is wholly Allah’s (13:31).
“Had we sent down this Qur-an on a mountain, thou wouldst certainly have seen it falling down, splitting asunder” (59:21).
In addition: ‘All opposition to it was to be swept away:’
“Leave me and the deniers, possessors of plenty, and respite them a little” (73:11).
Also: ‘Not the whole world could produce a book like it:’
“If men and jinn should combine together to bring the like of this Qur- an, they could not bring the like of it, though some of them were aiders of others” (17:88).
“And if you are in doubt as to that which We have revealed to Our servant, then produce a Discourse like it, and call on your helpers besides Allah, if you are truthful” (2:23).
Ali further states that: ‘And it is repeated thrice that the Qur’an was ultimately to prevail over the whole world:’
“He it is Who has sent His Messenger with the guidance and the Religion of Truth that He may make it prevail over all religions” (61:9; 48:28; 9:33).
It is to that strength of belief where we will offer our input as we journey into discovery and revelation. So, before we begin the Discourse sequences proper, we should explain that the whole thrust of the Work will take the form of two quite different narratives in terms of the overall and final assertion of each. Both, however, based on the “faith-knowledge” that each religion possesses.
One will be primarily founded on the Bible (Christian religion). The other narrative will be centred on the Koran and Muslim faith as interpreted or translated by Koranic scholars. Judaism must also be seriously examined; quite simply because they claim to be the Chosen race of God and thus hold the keys to His All-Truth. Other beliefs will also be looked at, and all will necessarily have science and philosophy to contend with.
The two primary narratives will not run parallel to, and separate from, each other as such, but rather be con-joined or interweaved at appropriate points to demonstrate the differences between the two knowledge-quotients of the two religions we are focussing on. Included in the narrative at appropriate points will be Judaism’s take on the particular subject under discussion. You, the reader will thus have your own “knowledge-foundation” with which to make a determination about ‘religion’ and its “state of play” in today’s world. You may even recognise for yourself as well; something of The Spirit of Truth.
Despite the rhetoric from the Muslim world and by Muslim ‘educators’ that the Koran is easy to understand, it really is not. It does not have continuity in the sense that there is a clear, flowing, narrative. It is repetitive, yet disjointed; in short, a quite frustrating book that does not lend itself to any kind of real understanding about Islam at all.
A statement such as that surely leaves this writer open to counter- arguments based on the lines that it is because I am not Muslim, or Arabic, or I do not have sufficient spiritual insight for simple and clear understanding of such an “elevated” work, or that I am not blessed in that regard. My answer is that we should all keep a very open mind, and we may be very, very surprised at what we might discover.
Robert Spencer, author of “The Complete Infidel’s Guide to the Koran”, on page 16 sagely explains the difficulty of understanding the Koran from a Westerner’s point of view. He says: ‘But never fear, I read the Koran so you don’t have to.’
‘The Koran is less a collection of historical narratives, as is much of the Bible, as it is a collection of sermons in which the historical material is not told for its own sake but is used to illustrate various points. It makes no attempt at linear history, either as a whole or, generally, within the individual chapters. While the Bible contains historical books that are more or less in chronological order, and in broad outline follows a coherent historical trajectory, the focus of the Koran’s suras often moves from subject to subject, with various historical incidents recounted only in fragments.
The chapter titles can cause further confusion to the novice Koran reader, as they generally bear no connection to the subject matter of the chapter itself. Most of the chapters –- “The Cow” (sura 2), “The Spider” (sura 29), ‘Smoke” (sura 44) – take their name from an apparently randomly chosen element of the chapter itself; one that does not necessarily have any particular importance. Only a few chapters, such as “The spoils of War” or “Booty” (sura 8), bear titles that actually summarize their contents.
In the longer suras, stories are told, laws are given, and warnings to unbelievers are issued with no evident regard for logical sequence. The shorter suras, meanwhile, particularly those that run only a few lines near the end of the book, are poetic and arresting warnings of the impending divine judgment.’
Spencer’s next observation touches on the one aspect of the Koran that really is difficult to grasp in terms of why, and that is its repetitive nature. If the very many repetitious elements were edited out, the Koran would be a much smaller book.
‘Although the Koran is shorter than the New Testament, in keeping with its character as a collection of sermons designed to inculcate various ideas and attitudes, a surprisingly large amount of what it says is said more than once. ... This guide eliminates the repetitions and dry passages, and gives you the book’s message without the long trudge through yet another denunciation of unbelievers, yet another description of the damned, yet another retelling of Moses’ confrontation with Pharaoh.’
Spencer also quotes eminent English literary personalities who read the Koran and came to the same conclusion that probably many Westerners arrive at; that it is not an easy read.
‘In the original Arabic, the repetitions are accompanied by rhymes and rhythms that create a kind of incantatory effect; shorn of these musical effects, however, when translated, the printed Koran risks becoming “wrist-slittingly boring,” in the words of John Derbyshire. And Derbyshire isn’t alone: the great eighteenth-century historian Edward Gibbon called the Koran an “endless incoherent rhapsody of fable and precept”, and nineteenth-century writer Thomas Carlyle complained that it was “as toilsome reading as I ever undertook; a wearisome, confused jumble, crude, incondite”.’