In the Bible, GOD swore by His creation. Does Islam’s GOD swear by His creations?
Mohamad Mostafa Nassar
Twitter:@NassarMohamadMR
The sections of this article are:
1- The Bible’s claims.
(a)- GOD swore by the Pride of Jacob.
(i)- Contradiction between Amos 8:7 and Hebrews 6:12-14.
(b)- Noble Verse 15:72 is similar to Amos 8:7.
2- Allah Almighty’s Divine Claims in the Glorious Quran.
(a)- Allah Almighty never once made a Qasam (قسم) over any of His creations.
(b)- Allah Almighty does not like His Holy Name to be sworn by.
(c)- Allah Almighty emphasized on a number of His creations using wa (و) and la (ل).
(d)- Did GOD swear in Noble Verse 89:5?
3- But GOD in the Bible never said “I will not swear by or make a Qasam (قسم)”.
4- Conclusion.
Important Note:
Islam’s GOD is the same as the Bible’s GOD. We Muslims believe in the Sovereign LORD and Creator of the Universe, Who is the GOD of Abraham.
Islam also came to restore the original Faith. Did you know that even according to the Bible and the Jewish and Christian other sources, the original Name for GOD’s Religion was Islam, and the original name for the believers was Muslims (Mushlam)?
Jesus in Luke 6:40, for example, called every believer a “Mushlam”.
See the detailed table at the end of the article below for ample Biblical proofs from Aramaic and Hebrew.
1- The Bible’s claims:
Below we’ll see GOD Almighty supposedly swearing by the Pride of Jacob. But let us first look at the following verses from the Bibles:
Hebrews 6:12-14
12 We do not want you to become lazy, but to imitate those who through faith and patience inherit what has been promised.
13 When God made his promise to Abraham, since there was no one greater for him to swear by, he swore by himself,
14 saying, “I will surely bless you and give you many descendants.”
Genesis 22:15-17
15 The angel of the LORD called to Abraham from heaven a second time
16 and said, “I swear by myself, declares the LORD, that because you have done this and have not withheld your son, your only son,
17 I will surely bless you and make your descendants as numerous as the stars in the sky and as the sand on the seashore. Your descendants will take possession of the cities of their enemies,
Here the Angel reveals to Abraham what GOD Almighty instructed the Angel to reveal to Abraham. GOD Almighty swore upon Himself to bless Abraham, peace be upon him.
Jeremiah 22:4-5
4 For if you are careful to carry out these commands, then kings who sit on David’s throne will come through the gates of this palace, riding in chariots and on horses, accompanied by their officials and their people.
5 But if you do not obey these commands, declares the LORD, I swear by myself that this palace will become a ruin.’ “
Jeremiah 44:15-18, 25-27
15 Then all the men who knew that their wives were burning incense to other gods, along with all the women who were present—a large assembly—and all the people living in Lower and Upper Egypt, said to Jeremiah,
16 “We will not listen to the message you have spoken to us in the name of the LORD!
17 We will certainly do everything we said we would: We will burn incense to the Queen of Heaven [1] and will pour out drink offerings to her just as we and our fathers, our kings and our officials did in the towns of Judah and in the streets of Jerusalem. At that time we had plenty of food and were well off and suffered no harm.
18 But ever since we stopped burning incense to the Queen of Heaven [1] and pouring out drink offerings to her, we have had nothing and have been perishing by sword and famine.”
…………
25 This is what the LORD Almighty, the God of Israel, says: You and your wives have shown by your actions what you promised when you said, ‘We will certainly carry out the vows we made to burn incense and pour out drink offerings to the Queen of Heaven [1].’
“Go ahead then, do what you promised! Keep your vows!
26 But hear the word of the LORD, all Jews living in Egypt: ‘I swear by my great name,’ says the LORD, ‘that no one from Judah living anywhere in Egypt will ever again invoke my name or swear, “As surely as the Sovereign LORD lives.”
27 For I am watching over them for harm, not for good; the Jews in Egypt will perish by sword and famine until they are all destroyed.
Jeremiah 49:12-13
12 This is what the LORD says: “If those who do not deserve to drink the cup must drink it, why should you go unpunished? You will not go unpunished, but must drink it.
13 I swear by myself,” declares the LORD, “that Bozrah will become a ruin and an object of horror, of reproach and of cursing; and all its towns will be in ruins forever.”
Notes:
1- Queen of Heaven here is not referring to the virgin Mary, peace be upon her. According to Nelson’s Compact Bible Commentary, ISBN 10: 0-7852-5249-5, pages 543-544:
“44:15-17 The people countered Jeremiah’s words with an argument from experience. They rejected God by saying that when they worshiped the queen of heaven – that is, the goddess Ishtar or Astarte, they had plenty of food, were well off, and saw no trouble.
44:18 Queen of heaven refers to Ishtar, a goddess of war and fertility who was worshiped with explicit sexual activity. The people reasoned that when they stopped worshiping the queen of heaven in the days of Josiah’s reform, their king was killed and their land was overrun and destroyed.”
(a)- GOD swore by the Pride of Jacob:
Let us look at the following verses from the Bible’s Old Testament:
Amos 8:7 (KJV)
7 The Lord hath sworn by the excellency of Jacob, Surely I will never forget any of their works.
Amos 8:7 (RSV)
7 The Lord has sworn by the pride of Jacob: “Surely I will never forget any of their deeds.
Amos 8:7 (ESV)
7 The Lord has sworn by the pride of Jacob: “Surely I will never forget any of their deeds.
Amos 8:7 (AMP)
7 The Lord has sworn [an oath] by the pride of Jacob, “Surely I shall never forget [nor leave unpunished] any of their [rebellious] acts.
Amos 8:7 (GNV)
7 The Lord hath sworn by the excellency of Jacob, Surely, I will never forget any of their works.
Amos 8:7 (NLV)
7 The Lord has promised by the pride of Jacob, “For sure I will never forget anything they have done.
Amos 8:7 (NRSV)
7 The Lord has sworn by the pride of Jacob: Surely I will never forget any of their deeds.
Amos 8:7 (YLT)
7 Sworn hath Jehovah by the excellency of Jacob: `I forget not for ever any of their works.
Yet, in Hebrews 6:12-14 above, we’re told that GOD Almighty wouldn’t swear on anything other than Himself, because there is none Greater than Him:
Hebrews 6:12-14
12 We do not want you to become lazy, but to imitate those who through faith and patience inherit what has been promised.
13 When God made his promise to Abraham, since there was no one greater for him to swear by, he swore by himself,
14 saying, “I will surely bless you and give you many descendants.”
Clear contradiction, which proves that the Bible is corrupt, and those who spoke were not inspired by GOD Almight
(b)- Noble Verse 15:72 is similar to Amos 8:7:
Let us look at Noble Verse 15:72 from the Glorious Quran:
| Noble Verse(s) 15:72 |
Yusuf Ali:[015:072] Verily, by thy life (O Prophet), in their wild intoxication, they wander in distraction, to and fro.Arabic (Read from right to left. ):15:72 Here Allah Almighty emphasized on Prophet Muhammad’s (peace be upon him) life. But he never swore by it. He never said “Oqsim” اقسم (I swear) by it, and the Almighty made sure that He made it very clear throughout the Glorious Quran that He doesn’t actually swear by any creation, in ample Noble Verses. He always said “I need not to swear” ( فلا اقسم). In the following main section, you’ll see thorough analysis and ample Noble Verses that go into details about this. And at the end of the section, you’ll also see the following points: لعمرك انهم لفي سكرتهم يعمهون The following point are important to mention: 1- Allah Almighty in Noble Verse 89:5 certainly expressed the importance of His VOW or OATH. But he never actually said “I swear”. 2- Again, keep in mind that Allah Almighty in several Noble Verses said “I need not to swear” (فلا اقسم). 3- Also, Oqsim (اقسم) is different from Qasam (قسم). Qasam can mean oath or a vow or an emphasis on something in the Glorious Quran. Oqsim means “I swear”, and every time Allah Almighty used Oqsim He preceded it with FALA فلا (I need not to). Every time Allah Almighty used Oqsim اقسم, He preceded it with “I need not…” فلا: “I need not to swear by…” (فلا اقسم) 4- Qasam is generic. It can mean Oath, but it also means a Vow. Here Allah Almighty means it as a Vow and a Divine Promise. 5- “Oqsim” اقسم (I swear) is the highest degree in taking an oath or a vow. Allah Almighty never used it. The lesser ones such as wa (و) and la (ل) were used by Allah Almighty, and they are only emphasis on the importance of the thing. They’re not being sworn by. 2-Allah Almighty’s Divine Claims in the Glorious Quran: In Arabic, the Qasam (القسم) is taking an oath or swearing by either Allah Almighty’s Holy Name or by His Holy Book, the Glorious Quran. In the Islamic court, one would take the Qasam when he puts his/her hand on the Glorious Quran to swear that he/she is telling the Truth and nothing but the Truth. (a)-Allah Almighty never once made a Qasam (قسم) over any of His creations: In the Glorious Quran, Allah Almighty never once made a Qasam (قسم) over any of His creations. The closest He, the Almighty, got to was giving very important emphasis on something and then Say that if He, the Almighty, does not need to swear by it in order to prove how big it is. The following Noble Verses demonstrate this: Noble Verse(s) 56:75-56:76 Palmer:[056:075] So I will not swear by the positions of the stars; [056:076] and, verily, it is a grand oath if ye did but know –Arabic (from right to left): 56:75 فلا اقسم بمواقع النجوم56:76 وانه لقسم لو تعلمون عظيم Noble Verse(s) 69:38 Palmer:[069:038] I need not swear by what ye see Arabic (from right to left): 69:38 فلا اقسم بما تبصرون Noble Verse(s) 70:40 Palmer:[070:040] And I need not swear by the Lord of the easts and the wests; verily, we are able Arabic (from right to left): 70:40 فلا اقسم برب المشارق والمغارب انا لقادرون Noble Verse(s) 75:1-75:2 Palmer:[075:001] I need not swear by the resurrection day! [075:002] Nor need I swear by the self-accusing soul!Arabic (from right to left): 75:1 لااقسم بيوم القيامة75:2 ولااقسم بالنفس اللوامة Noble Verse(s) 81:15 Palmer:[081:015] I need not swear by the stars that slink back, Arabic (from right to left): 81:15 فلا اقسم بالخنس Noble Verse(s) 84:16 Palmer:[084:016] I need not swear by the evening glow, Arabic (from right to left): 84:16 فلا اقسم بالشفق Noble Verse(s) 90:1 Palmer:[090:001] I need not swear by the Lord of this land, Arabic (from right to left): 90:1 لااقسم بهذا البلد (b)-Allah Almighty does not like His Holy Name to be sworn by: Noble Verse(s) 70:40 Palmer:[070:040] And I need not swear by the Lord of the easts and the wests; verily, we are able Arabic (from right to left): 70:40 فلا اقسم برب المشارق والمغارب انا لقادرون Noble Verse(s) 2:224-2:225 Sher Ali:[002:224] And make not ALLAH a target for your oaths that you may thereby abstain from doing good and acting righteously and making peace between men. And ALLAH is All-Hearing, All-Knowing. [002:225] ALLAH will not call you to account for such of your oaths as are vain, but HE will call you to account for what your hearts have earned . And ALLAH is Most forgiving, Forbearing.Arabic (from right to left): 2:224 ولاتجعلوا الله عرضة لايمانكم ان تبروا وتتقوا وتصلحوا بين الناس والله سميع عليم2:225 لايؤاخذكم الله باللغو في ايمانكم ولكن يؤاخذكم بما كسبت قلوبكم والله غفور حليم Allah Almighty does not like the Muslims to swear by His Holy Name excessively. It is our intentions and what is in our hearts that counts. Also, oaths that are taken during times when a person is out of control do not count. (c)-Allah Almighty emphasized on a number of His creations using wa (و) and la (ل): There is a gross misunderstanding by many Muslims and non-Muslims about the wa (و) emphasis that Allah Almighty gave to some of His creations to bring out their importance, significance and mightiness. They think that Allah Almighty is swearing by them. This is completely false. These were not Qasams that Allah Almighty gave. Let us first look at some of these Noble Verses: Noble Verse(s) 86:1-86:3 Pickthall:[086:001] By the heaven and the Morning Star (Knocker) [086:002] – Ah, what will tell thee what the Morning Star (Knocker) is! [086:003] – The piercing Star! Arabic (from right to left): 86:1 والسماء والطارق86:2 وماادراك ماالطارق 86:3 النجم الثاقب Noble Verse(s) 91:5 Yusuf Ali:[091:005] By the Firmament and its (wonderful) structure; Arabic (from right to left): 91:5 والسماء ومابناها Noble Verse(s) 95:1 Yusuf Ali:[095:001] By the Fig and the Olive, Arabic (from right to left): 95:1 والتين والزيتون Noble Verse(s) 15:72 Yusuf Ali:[015:072] Verily, by thy life (O Prophet), in their wild intoxication, they wander in distraction, to and fro. Arabic (Read from right to left. Also, all png image files: 15:72 لعمرك انهم لفي سكرتهم يعمهون We have already seen how Allah Almighty never gave a Qasam (قسم) to any of His creations. We’ve also seen how Allah Almighty doesn’t like for His Holy Name to be used in excessive oaths. What we have here are not Noble Verses of Allah Almighty swearing by some of His creations, but rather, Allah Almighty is emphasizing on the mightiness, significance and importance of these creations. 1- For Noble Verse 86:1-3 above, Allah Almighty talked about the Pulsars. These neutron stars give knocking sounds in space, which had been captured by NASA, and their rays pierce or penetrate anything they strike. 2- For Noble Verse 91:5, Allah Almighty emphasized on the complex structure of the Heavens. See ample Noble Verses and Miracles in the link. 3- For Noble Verse 95:1, Allah Almighty emphasized on the importance of the fig and the olive fruits, especially for the people in the desert. 4- For Noble Verse 15:72, Allah Almighty emphasized on Prophet Muhammad’s (peace be upon him) life. But he never swore by it. Like in the others, He never said “Oqsim” اقسم (I swear) by it, and the Almighty made sure that He made it very clear throughout the Glorious Quran that He doesn’t actually swear by any creation, in ample Noble Verses. He always said: “I need not to swear” (فلا اقسم) In ample Noble Verses, Allah Almighty emphasized about how He created things and how mighty and important some of His creations are. He, the Almighty, gave them for us as parables so that we would learn from them. They were not Qasams that Allah Almighty gave. They were only highlights to bring to our attention the importance, significance and mightiness of those creations. (d)- Did GOD swear in Noble Verse 89:5? Let us look at Noble Verses 89:1-5 in their full context: Noble Verse(s) 89:1-89:5 Yusuf Ali:[089:001] By the break of Day [089:002] By the Nights twice five;[089:003] By the even and odd (contrasted); [089:004] And by the Night when it passeth away;-[089:005] Is there (not) in these an adjuration (or evidence) for those who understand? Arabic (Read from right to left. Also, all png image files: ): 89:1 والفجر89:2 وليال عشر 89:3 والشفع والوتر89:4 والليل اذا يسر 89:5 هل في ذلك قسم لذي حجرSher Ali: [089:001] By the Dawn,[089:002] And the Ten Nights, [089:003] And the Even and the Odd,[089:004] And the night when it moves on to its close, [089:005] Is there not in it strong evidence for one possessed of understanding ?Pickthall: [089:001] By the Dawn[089:002] And ten nights, [089:003] And the Even and the Odd,[089:004] And the night when it departeth, [089:005] There surely is an oath for thinking man.Sale: [089:001] By the day-break,[089:002] and then nights; [089:003] by that which is double, and that which is single;[089:004] and by the night when it cometh on: [089:005] Is there not in this an oath formed with understanding?Muhammad Al-Hilali & Muhsin Khan: [089:001] By the dawn;[089:002] By the ten nights (i.e. the first ten days of the month of Dhul-Heejjah) , [089:003] And by the even and the odd (of all the creations of Allah) .[089:004] And by the night when it departs. [089:005] There is indeed in them (the above oaths) sufficient proofs for men of understanding (and that, they should avoid all kinds of sins and disbeliefs, etc.)!Palmer: [089:001] By the dawn[089:002] and ten nights! [089:003] And the single and the double![089:004] And the night when it travels on! [089:005] Is there in that an oath for a man of sense?Arberry: [089:001] By the dawn[089:002] and ten nights, [089:003] by the even and the odd,[089:004] by the night when it journeys on! [089:005] Is there in that an oath for a mindful man?Khalifa: [089:001] By the dawn.[089:002] And the ten nights. [089:003] By the even and the odd.[089:004] By the night as it passes. [089:005] A profound oath, for one who possesses intelligence.Rodwell: [089:001] By the DAYBREAK[089:002] and ten nights. [089:003] By that which is double and that which is single,[089:004] By the night when it pursues its course! [089:005] Is there not in this an oath becoming a man of sense? The following point are important to mention: 1-Allah Almighty in Noble Verse 89:5 certainly expressed the importance of His VOW or OATH.But he never actually said “I swear”. 2-Again, keep in mind that Allah Almighty in several Noble Verses said “I need not to swear” (فلا اقسم). 3-Also, Oqsim (اقسم) is different from Qasam (قسم). Qasam can mean oath or a vow or an emphasis on something in the Glorious Quran. Oqsim means “I swear”, and every time Allah Almighty used Oqsim He preceded it with FALA فلا (I need not to). Every time Allah Almighty used Oqsim اقسم, He preceded it with “I need not…” فلا: “I need not to swear by…” (فلا اقسم) 4-Qasam is generic. It can mean Oath, but it also means a Vow. Here Allah Almighty means it as a Vow and a Divine Promise. 5-“Oqsim” اقسم (I swear) is the highest degree in taking an oath or a vow. Allah Almighty never used it. The lesser ones such as wa (و) and la (ل) were used by Allah Almighty, and they are only emphasis on the importance of the thing. They’re not being sworn by. 3- But GOD in the Bible never said “I will not swear or make a Qasam (قسم)”: Some might argue that GOD Almighty’s Statements in the Bible never included things such as “I will not swear”, or “I do not need to swear by such and such” to emphasize on its importance or relevance. The following points are my response to this: 1- The Bible is not all complete, nor does it encompass everything that GOD Almighty told the people of Israel. There are missing books [2]. Even the Bible says so! Also, the Bible is a man-altered and corrupt Book. It is not and can not be the measuring stick for standards. Just because something does not exist in the Bible, it doesn’t mean that it is false. This is simply assuming that the Bible is the True Word of GOD Almighty, when in reality, it is a book that is filled with: 2- The Bible was never concerned about Science (how GOD Almighty Created certain things), and in 90% of the times, when it did talk about science, it got its facts miserably wrong! The Glorious Quran, on the other hand, talked a great deal about Science (how GOD Almighty Created things), and the Holy Book got, literally, 100% of Its facts correct! This is no mere bias statement from me. We have countless Scientific Miracles in the Glorious Quran that clearly and indisputably prove this. Simply put, the Glorious Quran had many valid reasons to include a certain Language and Style from Allah Almighty, in It, that the current Bible doesn’t have. This is not to say that the original Revelations of the Old Scriptures did not contain Scientific Miracles in them. But they had all been forever lost, according to the Bible’s scholars themselves. Therefore, we can neither accept the current Bible as the True and Living Word of Allah Almighty, nor judge Islam according to it And again, Islam’s GOD is the same as the Bible’s GOD. We Muslims believe in the Sovereign LORD and Creator of the Universe, Who is the GOD of Abraham . Islam also came to restore the original Faith. Did you know that even according to the Bible and the Jewish and Christian other sources, the original Name for GOD’s Religion was Islam, and the original name for the believers was Muslims? See the detailed table below for ample Biblical proofs from Aramaic and Hebrew. 4- Conclusion: Allah Almighty never gave a Qasam (قسم) to anything in the Glorious Quran. He, the Almighty, also doesn’t like us to excessively use His Holy Name in our oaths. And Allah Almighty’s emphasis on some of His creations’ importance, significance and mightiness weren’t Qasams at all in the Glorious Quran. They are only highlights for us to further investigate them. We also saw how the Bible is in contradiction with itself regarding whether GOD Almighty actually would swear on something lesser than Him or not. Allah knows Best Paul the False Apostle of Satan |