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TOWARD PEACE

PRESENTED BY:

AL-BALAGH FOUNDATION

STARTING POINT

Alone among the entire creation, the human being is a
thinking, rational creature, endowed with the wonderful
powers of Intellect and Will. By means of these two
amazing powers, he can decide his fate and determine his
path, either choosing the way leading towards happiness
or the miserable road of tragedies and torments. He is
the only one responsible for his destination, and must
therefore think deeply and search for the path of
salvation. Reason and ration alone can guarantee the
human being salvation, while blind prejudice without
contemplating the environment around and heedless of the
truth, is a sure path to eternal damnation.

The human race has taken great strides in the spheres
of science and technology, and is far too advanced in
industrial and productive domains, and in satisfying its
material and worldly needs. But unfortunately, the more
the progress in industry and technology, the more
complicated and miserable life becomes. The truth is,
although, science in itself is a great blessing depending
on its proper use, material achievements alone cannot
grant happiness and spiritual solace which a human soul
in essence longs for.

On the contrary, these dizzying heights of progress
have brought in their wake, untold miseries such as
psychological depression, social breakdown and a
tormentful conscience, not to speak of the curse of wars,
repression, injustice, apartheid, exploitation and abuse
of the sexes In this so-called enlightened age!

Have we ever pondered about our fate? Just where are
we headed? Let us draw a picture of contemporary human
life and see for ourselves the pathetic state around us.
What should everyone of us do to stem this tragedy which
has infiltrated all aspects of our life?

ECONOMIC WOES

Researches conducted in America, Western Europe,
Soviet Union, Japan and the Third World bring out the
following statistics:

A total of 500 million people are plagued with
malnutrition. About 40 percent all over the world are
deprived of hygienic services, while 30 percent lack
healthy drinking water. In addition 100 million people go
to bed hungry each night.

The infant mortality rate is so high that reports
confirm 40,000 children die every day. Out of every 1000
children in the developing countries, 97 die from
starvation.

A total of 15 million children, whose ages were less
than 5 years, died from starvation in 1978.

Compare these pathetic figures, with what the world
spends on militarization to kill fellow humans.
Statistics reveal that 1 million US Dollars is spent on
military industries for every minute that ticks away.

FAMILY DILEMMA

Family is the basic unit of life and the nest which
provides happiness and peace. If this is the beautiful
image of the family which we aspire to create, the true
image is quite different.

Statistics depict the dim side and draw the present
terrifying picture of family life.

For 50 percent of women in the Soviet Union adultery
is a way of life, while in U K., official figures showed
that one in every 4 children born in 1988 was
illegitimate. They will never know what family life
means. Figures issued by the British Office of Population
Census and Survey Statistics show a provisional U K.
total for 1988 of 787,600 live births, of which 198,000
were registered outside marriage. Compared to 1984 the
figure showed a 100 percent increase.

Polls conducted for the British women in the first six
months of 1984, indicated a 27 percent rise in the number
of rapes.

A report released by the British Home Office states
that 1 in every 5 British children suffers from sexual or
physical abuse. These children are victims of the
breakdown of family life, marital infidelity and the
mounting use of alcohol and drugs.

An average of 4 children a week are killed in Britain
by their parents or guardians, and about 200 children
each year from parental abuse. Besides, every two weeks a
child is slain in Britain by strangers or other
relatives, in most cases their mothers' live-in lovers.

The tragedy of disintegrating family life is not
confined to Britain alone, but is widespread in both the
East and West.

Recent survey in the U.S. showed that 43 percent of
married women are not loyal to their husbands and often
indulge in extra-marital affairs.

The UNESCO Courier says that the highest percentage of
births out of wedlock is in the Caribbean, and in Central
and South America, where due to alcohol abuse or the
inability of husbands to find work the family breaks up,
leaving the children in poverty. Moreover, women lack
security, as rape and exploitation of the fair sex are
the order of the day in societies where moral values have
deteriorated to animal depths.

SEXUAL DISEASES

Inevitably, as a result of the breakdown of the
legitimate natural relationship between man and woman and
the spread of adultery, sodomy, prostitution and other
kinds of sexual perversions, venereal diseases are on the
increase, including gonorrhea, syphilis and the latest
terror, AIDS. They have become as dangerous as atomic,
chemical and biological weapons.

Reports released by the World Health Organization
state that 5 to 10 million people around the world are
carriers of the virus of AIDS, and the figure is likely
to increase to 100 million and even 200 million by the
close of this century, unless effective measures are
taken.

A report published by a scientist in Boston affirms
that 'during the next 3 or 5 years, AIDS will be the
prime cause for the death of people in the 20-29 age
group'.

However, the general estimate is that the number of
carriers of HIV, the AIDS virus, is up to 100 times that
of the actual cases. The deadly scourge has even
penetrated the foetus of the victims, and a report says
that in 1988, 2000 babies in the U.S. were born HIV
positive.

PSYCHOLOGICAL BREAKDOWN AND DRUGS

The helpless miserable individuals who suffer from
vagrancy and chronic psychological and nervous illnesses,
resort to drunkenness and drugs to forget the dismal
reality.

In 1985, figures proved that in the Soviet Union 50
million people were alcoholics. Soviet President Mikhail
Gorbachev said that alcoholic addiction is one reason
behind slowness of production in the Soviet Union.

Alcohol is also responsible for 61 percent of traffic
accidents and 40 percent of divorce cases.

Drugs are becoming the bane of modern society. Cocaine
addicts in the US grew to 5,8 million last year.

A report from Japan puts the number of those who
committed suicide in Japan in 1986 at 25,524 people.

The human tragedy does not end there, for man also
suffers at the hands of fellow human beings. Injustice
and political repressions in the form of racial
discrimination and narrow minded nationalist and lingual
prejudices are tearing apart the social fabric by
dividing human beings into watertight compartments.

It is clear that material achievements and worldly
pleasures have failed to grant security, happiness and
peace. It means that the great technological leap is not
just enough and lacks something essential which the human
soul and psychology is in dire need of. If so, ration
warrants the use of brains, to go to the core of the
problem. We, unlike other creatures, are gifted with the
amazing powers of Intellect and Will. Then let us use
them to find out the Creator, because the major problem
of present day man is that he has lost his faith in the
Exalted Creator and followed ideas and thoughts which run
counter to existence, universe and human nature.

EXISTENCE

Let us search for true happiness. Let us search and
think. To start with, let us contemplate on the human
existence and the environment around us. How did the
world come into existence? Where are we headed?

Is there a Creator who fashioned this wonderful world?
If so, is there any relationship that binds Him with His
creatures, especially the best of creation, the human
race? What shape does this relationship take?

Let us think deeply.

Since the moment man began to think on earth, he started
to find answers to these and other questions arising in
his mind.

Let us visualize this expanding universe. Let us think
of its laws and organization and the aesthetic and
organizational aspects of it. Was it created haphazardly?
How does the Universe come into being?

Development of the human mind, advance of sciences and
the daily observation of life and its sentimental
feelings, present us with a rational and scientific
explanation of life. Grasp of this truth will lead us to
the path of good and happiness and ward off the fits of
anxiety, misery and loss.

Human mind perceives that every effect has a cause.
Surely the universe did not come into existence all by
itself.

If ever there was a 'big bang', as the theory goes, some
power was surely behind it. Does not the systematic orbit
of the earth, the moon, the planets, and life on mother
earth, speak of precise planning?

Everything in the Universe, however big or small,
indicates the existence of a power behind. The blazing
sun, the serenely lit moon, the majestic mountains, the
flowing rivers which end up in the roaring sea, the
colourful fauna and flora, the taste of fruits, the
fragrance of flowers, and above all the sharp senses of
the human being, all vividly express the power of the
Creator, Who gave everything form, shape, law and order.

Any rational mind can perceive that the universe is
created and set in order by a Creator. Organization is
the most glorious expression of the existence of the
Creator , and His Power and Knowledge.

If we see a beautiful painting within an exquisitely
wrought frame, we know there must be an artist behind. If
we see an automation that works and produces by itself,
we understand that there is a designer behind. If we come
across an excellent book on medicine we realize there
must be an authority on medicine who compiled it.

The painting could not have been painted without an
artist.

The machine could not have been designed without a
designer.

The book could not have been written without an author.

Can we say that the book is the result of a freak
incidence, and suddenly or gradually evolved by itself?
Can one believe if told that the wind scattered the
papers and the ink, then the ink was spilled on the
papers and, behold, there was a good book on medicine?

It is obvious, that any sane mind will never believe
such an absurd idea, if not mock at it.

The brain admits the existence of the Creator and
understands this fact easily and clearly.

Many enlightened scholars of physics, medicine,
botany, zoology and other sciences have covered
tremendous facts proving conclusively that the universe
was created by a Wise and Powerful Creator, Who brought
it into being in this flawlessly perfect shape.

The following examples are food for thought:

1. Oxygen is one of the gases forming the atmosphere.
It is essential for human life. Without oxygen neither
human beings nor animals can survive on earth. It
constitutes 21 percent of the atmosphere, that is the
most suitable percentage that can allow life on earth.
Should this percentage change, decrease or increase a
little, the whole life system will go but of order and
life will come to an end.

Who set this system in order and made oxygen in this
perfect percentage to preserve life and prevent its
collapse?

Could this be the work of chance? No, certainly not. It
is the work of the All-knowing, Wise Creator.

2. The temperature at the surface of the sun, the
source of light and heat, is 12,000 degrees Fahrenheit
(5,700 degree Centigrade). The sun's distance from the
earth is approximately 150,000,000 kilometres. This
distance is very suitable for the light and heat to reach
earth adequately, allowing man, plants and animals to
live and flourish. If the heat of the sun doubles, we
would burn and change into ashes and if it decreases by
50 percent we would freeze to death.

3. If the waters of the ocean were sweet they would
have been bad-smelling and unhealthy, with no chance of
life on earth. It is the salt of the ocean which prevents
the water from becoming putrid and bad- smelling.
Chloride and sodium combine together to form salt,
without which life would cease to exist.

Who made the water of the oceans salty so that it
remains clean? Who combined chloride and sodium to
produce the edible salt?

4. The revolving earth takes 24 hours to rotate on its
axis. One rotation completes a day and night, and the
speed is ideal for plants, animals and the human species
to exist on the earth's surface. If the earth was to
rotate or revolve faster than its present speed then
everything would fold up like a pack of cards.

Who made its motion suitable for the benefit of man
and other creatures?

Who set all these things in a perfectly balanced order
and faultless motion?

Could this all be termed haphazardly? Certainly not,
because it all speaks of divine planning and evaluation.

The above examples are an undeniable proof of
perfection, arrangement, and wisdom which wild
unpredictable nature cannot by itself design. They point
out the proof of a Creator Who is All-knowing, Powerful
and extremely Benign.

Scientists assert that oxygen levels have remained at
roughly 21% of the atmosphere for 200 million years,
whereas they should have fluctuated widely according to
some geochemical models of the atmosphere. Were oxygen
levels to rise above 250/0 , spontaneous fires would
break out; if they dropped below 150/0, many higher
life-forms would suffocate.

The fundamental unity of the pattern that permeates,
the entire universe, is by itself a proof of the fact
that the universe, as a whole is the handiwork of the
same Designer, Creator or as Voltaire puts it, the Cosmic
Mind. It is also a proof of His Omnipotence, how gigantic
is the solar system and how tiny is an atom, yet the
unity of their design and structure is simply marvellous.

In his book 'Introduction to Evolution' Dr. Paul Moody
writes:

The more I study science the more I am
impressed with the thought that this world and universe
have a definite design and a design suggests a designer.
It may be possible to have a design without a designer, a
picture without an artist, but my mind is unable to
conceive of such a situation.

The more scientists delve into the secrets of nature,
the more they are convinced of the existence of a plan
that permeates the universe which ipsofacto implies the
existence of a Planner.

Birth of a test-tube baby is no doubt an epoch-making
achievement of science; and so is man's landing on the
man.

The fact however, remains that natural laws have never
been transgressed. A child is the by-product of the union
of paternal sperm and maternal ova. Thus, the womb was
simply replaced by a test-tube as an artificial nursery
instead of a natural one. Creation of Adam without
parents and the birth of Jesus without a father are yet
par excellence marvels of creation.

And moreover the fact remains that the moment
Armstrong imprinted, amidst the halo of a baffling
spectacle, his first step on the moon, he ejaculated: 'I
see the Glory of God.' And he uttered it thrice.

DIVINE MESS AGES

So, We are convinced that the universe has a Creator
Who is Omnipotent and Possessor of all attributes of
perfection. The conviction leads us to the inevitable
conclusion that the Creator has a decisive relationship
with His creatures.

From this bond emerges the fact that the Creator did not
create the human race in vain, and nor is physical death
the end of life. He, the Almighty had a firm reason for
fashioning the human race as the most advanced and
excellent form of life, and to this end, endowed them
with the amazing powers called Will and Intellect. He
desires their good and happiness both in this world and
the Hereafter.

To think and discern, to sift truth from falsehood, to
choose between transient and eternal pleasures, He left
it to the human's free will. Hence man is at liberty
either to take the path of salvation or end up in the
dismal depths of disaster.

But of course, The Benign Creator did not leave the
human beings in dilemma, to wander about without
guidance. For this would not have been fair. And surely
injustice is not one of the attributes of the Almighty.
The ultimate objective was reforming man, guiding him and
saving him from injustice, misery and loss.

To this end, the Almighty sent Prophets in every
corner of the globe as mankind started to spread out in
the earth.

Their message was the same. They preached love,
brotherhood abstinence from evil, and above all how to
control and harness will power, and use intellect for the
betterment of mankind. Although the medium of the divine
messages differed depending on the language spoken by the
local people. the main theme was remarkably the same:
Submission to none other than the Almighty To suit the
stages of progress and the development of intellect,
there were some minor differences regarding those
messages, but the goal was one, concentrated on Unity of
the Almighty, universal brotherhood, and the Day of
Resurrection.

As the human race spread out around the furthest
reaches of the globe, geographical barriers separated
them, making or marring their state of development.

Undeterred, humanity continued its forward march, and
in every age and era, the benign Creator made clear His
signs of guidance. Those who believed, and used Will and
Intellect for the betterment of mankind, attained
salvation, while those who misused these powers to pursue
their nefarious ends, plunged fellow humans into wars,
bloodshed, slavery and all other sorts of oppression, and
themselves passed away into eternal damnation. Still
there were others, who adhered to religion simply out of
superstition or some vested interests, and the likes of
these did more harm by their ignorance, distorting the
scriptures and the laws revealed to them. However,
through a succession of prophets, the Merciful Creator
held aloft the bright torch of guidance and repentance.
Though each following message was on a higher wrung of
ladder than its predecessor, the basic points were
remarkably the same.

Each stage of progress gave birth to new ideas. Human
intellect began to grow , and to keep stride with the
development, a more comprehensive message was revealed.

Although it is our firm conviction, that all holy
books are monotheist in essence, certain scriptures have
been greatly discoloured as a result of human tampering.

Even today after centuries of interpolations, the
scriptures contain gems of wisdom. It is for us to
comprehend the truth, by using our brains and will power,
and search for the shores of salvation.

Even today, despite their polytheist way of life and
idol worship, passages remain in the Hindu scriptures, or
for that matter in the Buddhist books, testifying the
Oneness of the Creator. A closer scrutiny of the
Upanishad, Vedas and other books held dear by the Hindus,
reveal the startling facts that the Creator is One and
Only, although the Hindus have conjured up a myriad of
gods and godesses. The other passages in these books,
giving multiplicity and weird illogical ideas, turn out
to be plain fantasies and later interpolations. He, the
Creator is One and Alone, otherwise there would have been
chaos all around, instead of order. The Almighty is
Self-existent, Omnipotent, Everlasting and Merciful, and
has certainly not created us in vain.

UNITY OF THE CREATOR

Let us take a look at the scriptures of the Jews, the
Christians and the Muslims to find out what common
beliefs they contain about the unity of the Creator.
Later we will examine which one of the holy books
contains the ultimate Truth and has withstood the test of
time.

THE OLD TESTAMENT

And he said, that thou mayest know that there
is none like unto the Lord our God!

Exodus (8:16)

Ye shall not make with Me gods of silver
neither shall ye make unto you gods of gold.

Exodus (20:23)

Hear, therefore, O Israel, the Lord our God,
is one Lord.

Deuteronomy (6:4)

Unto thee it was shewed, that thou mightest
know that the Lord He is God; there is none else beside
Him.

Know therefore this day, and consider it in thine
heart, that the Lord He is God in heaven above, and upon
the earth beneath, there is none else.

Deuteronomy (4:35-39)

Thus saith the Lord...I am the first, and I
am the last; and beside Me there is no God

Isaiah (44:6)

For thus saith the Lord that created the
heavens; God Himself that formed the earth and made it;
He hath established it, He created it not in vain, He
formed it to be inhabited, I am the Lord: and there is
none else.

Isaiah (45:18)

To whom then will ye liken God? or what
likeness will ye compare unto Him?

Isaiah (40:18)

I am the Lord, and there is none else, there
is no God beside Me; I girded thee though thou hast not
known Me.

That they may know from the rising of the sun, and
from the west, that there is none beside me. I am the
Lord, and there is none else.

Isaiah (45:5-6)

THE NEW TESTAMENT

And Jesus answered him, the first of all the
commandments is, Hear, O Israel; the Lord our God is one
Lord.

Mark (12:29)

And the scribe said unto him, Well, Master,
thou hast said the truth: for there is One God; and there
is none other but He.

Mark (12:32)

...and there is none other God but
one.

1 Corinthians (8:4)

For there is one God.

1. Timothy(2:5)

THE HOLY QUR'AN

Allah is He besides Whom there is no god,
save Him, the Everliving, the Eternal

Holy Qur'an (2:255)

His is the creation and the command;
Blessed is Allah, the Lord of the worlds.

Holy Qur'an (7:54)

Allah - there is no god but He; His are
the very best names.

Holy Qur'an (20:8)

...nothing is like unto Him and He is the
Hearing, the Seeing.

Holy Qur'an (42:11)

He is the First and the Last, and the
Manifest and the Hiddenmost and He is Cognizant of all
things.

Holy Qur'an (57:3)

And He made subservient to you whatever is
in the heavens and whatever is in the earth, all, from
Himself, most surely there are signs in this for people
who reflect.

Holy Qur'an (45:13)

And (remember) when your Lord brought
forth from the children of Adam, from their loins, their
descendents and made them bear witness against their own
souls (saying) Am I not your Lord? They said yes: We bear
witness; lest (that was) you say on the day of
resurrection, 'Surely we were unaware of this.

Holy Qur'an (7:172)

TAMPERINGS WITH THE SCRIPTURES

We have seen the remarkable unity of message in the
scriptures of the Jews, the Christians and the Muslims.
But the question is why different creeds, or set of
beliefs, when the source of origin is One and the Same.

To find out the answer we have to delve deeper and
scrutinize the texts concerned, whether or not ignorant
human hands had dared to tamper with their contents.
Which of them embodies the ultimate truth and speaks as
the final word of the Almighty for humanity as a whole?
Which one is more comprehensive in view of man's
multidimensional personality, and is universal in
character transcending barriers of race, class, language,
geographical factors and...etc.? And how does it back up
its claims?

Reason and ration should be the criteria for arriving
at the ultimate truth.

Earlier, we had left out books of other major world
religions, like the Buddhists and the Hindus, for their
mythological and polytheist character, and no pretensions
whatsoever to speak for humanity as a universal whole.
These are more or less regional in outlook, while the
inhuman caste system preached by the idol-worshipping
Hindus is an absolute mockery of human values and nature
itself.

To the above three, we can safely add Judaism and its
chauvinistic preference for only the children of Israel
as the chosen of God, which shows the havoc played by the
Jews with the heavenly scriptures reducing them to mere
national sagas.

The absurdity of the Torah is all the more evident.
Chapter XIX of the Book of Genesis ascribes a serious
crime to Prophet Lot, in a bid to give the Ammonites and
Moabites an illegitimate origin.

And the firstborn said unto the younger, Our
father is old, and there is not a man in the earth to
come in unto us after the manner of all the earth: Come
let us make our father drink wine, and we will lie with
him, that we may preserve seed of our father. And they
made their father drink wine that night: and the
firstborn went in, and lay with her father, and he
perceived not when she lay down, nor when she arose. And
it came to pass on the morrow, that the firstborn said
unto the younger, Behold, I lay yesternight with my
father. let us make him drink wine this night also, and
go thou in, and lie with him, that we may preserve seed
of our father. And they made their father drink wine that
night also: and the younger arose, and lay with him, and
he perceived not when she lay down, nor when she arose.
Thus were both the daughter of Lot with child by their
father. And the firstborn bare a son, and called his name
Moab: the same is the father of Moabites unto this day.
And the younger, she also bare a son, and called his name
Benammi: the same is the father of the children of Ammon
unto this day.

Genesis (19:31-38)

Even David and several other upright god-fearing
figures are not spared by the Old Testament. which
depicts them as weaklings succumbing to wanton desires.

The question which arises is, if the Creator was
perfect, and precisely planned the intricate Universe,
was He not capable of choosing people with firm will
power and higher intellect as bearers of His message. An
analaysis reveals that He, the Glorious, did just that.
but it was human envy and racial hatred, which tried to
discolour the Messages and the Messengers.

Quite evident is the contradiction, between Monotheism
and the text of these scriptures. Let us take a look at
the Evangel or the collection of books by different
authors, which the Christians call the New Testament.

WHO FOUNDED CHRISTIANITY

Christian historians and researchers themselves assert
Christianity to be the religion imagined, conjured up and
written by Paul the hellenized Jew. The creed known as
Christianity they say, was emptied by Paul of the true
teachings of Jesus. For example, the doctrine of trinity
can be found in the beliefs of the pagan Persians and
Indians.

Thus the religion invented by Paul, and named
Christianity by him has nothing to do with The Messiah,
as is evident by the following facts:

If by Christianity we understand faith in
Christ as the heavenly Son of God, who did not belong to
earthly humanity, but who lived in the Divine likeness
and glory, who came down from Heaven to earth, who
entered humanity and took upon himself a human form
through a virgin, that he might make propitiation for
men's sins by his own blood upon the cross, who was then
awakened from death and raised to the right hand of God,
as the Lord of his own people, who believe in him, who
hears their prayers, guards and leads them, who, moreover
dwells and works personally in each of them, who will
come again with the clouds of heaven to judge the world,
who will cast down all the foes of God, and will bring
his own people with him unto the home of heavenly light
so that they may become like His glorified body- IF THIS
IS CHRISTIANITY, THEN SUCH CHRISTIANITY WAS FOUNDED BY ST
PAUL AND NOT BY OUR LORD (Jesus or Paul, p.122
Dr. Annold Meyer, Professor of Theology, Zurich
University).

The idea of Trinity was started by Paul, but was given
a final shape by Athanasius in about 325 A.D. Trinity is
not mentioned at all in the Bible.

The Catholic Encyclopedia says:

The Trinity is the term employed to signify
the central doctrine of Christian religion.... in the
unity of Godhead there are three persons, the Father, the
Son, and the Holy Spirit, these three persons being truly
distinct one from another. Thus in the words of
Athanasian Creed; the Father is God, the Son is God, and
the Holy Spirit is God. And yet there are not three but
one God. This doctrine was not clearly grasped even by
Athanasius. He says at another place that whenever he
forced his understanding to mediate on the divinity of
Jesus his toilsome and unavailing efforts recoil on
themselves, that the more he wrote the less capable was
he of expressing his thoughts. This confusion is
explained away as Mystery, yet the Bible says
God is not the author of confusion

Corinthian (14:33)

FACTS ABOUT GOSPELS

The speeches in the Fourth Gospel (even apart
from the early messianic claim) are so different from
those in the Synoptics, and so like the comments of the
Fourth Evangelist himself, that both cannot be equally
reliable as record of what Jesus said Literary veracity
in ancient times did not forbid, as it does now, the
assignment of fictitious speeches to historical
characters; the best ancient historians made a practice
of composing and assigning such speeches in this
way. (C.J. Cadoux - The Life of Jesus. P. 16).

The Gospels which were produced clearly
reflected the conception of the practical needs of the
community for which they were written. In them the
traditional material was used, but there was no
hesitation in altering it or making additions to it, or
in leaving out what did not suit the writer's purpose. (T.G.
Tucker The History of the Christians in the Light of
Modern Knowledge, P. 320).

A copyist would sometimes put in not what was
in the text, but what he thought ought to be in it. He
would trust a fickle memory, or he would make the text
accord with the views of the school to which he belonged.
In addition to the versions and quotations from the
Christian Fathers, nearly four thousand Greek MSS of the
Testament were known to exist. As a result, the variety
of reading is considerable. (Prof J. R.
Dummelow Commentary on the Holy Bible, P.16).

Another major defect of the Christian creed, is the
belief that Jesus is the begotten son of God. It is
claimed that Jesus was one of the Trinity because he was
the only son of God, but there are other sons of God
mentioned as well in the Bible.

About David the Bible says :

...the Lord has said unto me Thou art my Son,
this day have I begotten thee.

Psalm (2:7)

...thus saith the Lord, Israel is my son,
even my firstborn.

Exodus (4:22)

Blessed are the peacemakers: for they shall
be called the children of God.

Mathew (5:9)

But as many as received him, to them gave he
the power to become the sons of God...

John (1:12)

...son of Adam, which was the Son of
God.

Luke (3:38)

For as many as are led by the Spirit of God
they are the sons of God.

Romans (8:14)

The Spirit itself beareth witness with our
spirit, that we are the children of God: And if children,
then heirs; heirs of God, and joint heirs with Christ; if
so be that we suffer with him, that we may also be
glorified together.

Romans (8:16-17)

In addition to the above mentioned discrepancies, the
Old and the New Testaments are at variance with proven
scientific facts. Thus, reason dictates us to give up the
hope for our quest for truth in these two scriptures. So
what should we do? Where should we turn to?

But wait, there is no need for despair. We have yet
another divinely revealed book called the Our'an.

Let us examine it. To our amazement, as the next
chapter will help unfold, the Qur'an does not contain a
single statement assailable from a modern scientific
point of view.

HARMONY BETWEEN SCIENCE AND QUR'AN

In his book 'La Bible, le Coran et la Science'
translated into English under the title 'The Bible, The
Qur'an And Science', Dr. Maurice Bucaille, an eminent
French surgeon, devoted himself to a thorough,
examination of the scriptures in the light of modern
scientific knowledge'. In the course of his study, he has
made a valuable contribution to the understanding of the
verses of the Holy Qur'an , His observations about the
authenticity of Qur'an, deserve a special mention as it
will go a long way to despel the prevailing doubt about
the compatibility between religion and science. He tells
us:

It was a totally objective spirit, and,
without any preconceived ideas that I first examined the
Qur'anic Revelation. I was looking for the degree of
compatibility between the Qur'anic text and the data of
modern science. I knew from translations that the Qur'an
often made allusion to all sorts of natural phenomena but
I had only a summary knowledge of it. It was only when I
examined the text very closely in Arabic that I kept a
list of them at the end of which I had to acknowledge the
evidence in front of me. The Qur'an did not contain a
single statement that was assailable from a modem
scientific point of view.

I repeated the same test for the Old
Testament and the Gospels, always preserving the same
objective outlook. I n the former I did not even have to
go beyond the first book, Genesis, to find statements
totally out of keeping with the cast-iron facts of modem
science.

On opening the Gospels, one is immediately
confronted with a serious problem. On the first page we
find the genealogy of Jesus, but Mathew's text is in
obvious contradiction to Luke's on the same
question......the latter's data on the antiquity of man
on Earth are incompatible with modem knowledge.

The Biblical data concerning the antiquity of
man are therefore inaccurate.

...Mathew's phantasms, the flat
contradictions between Gospels, the improbabilities, the
incompatibilities with modem scientific data, the
successive distortions of the text - all these things add
up to the fact that the Gospels contain chapters and
passages that are the sole product of human imagination.
These flaws do not, however, cast doubt on the existence
of Jesus' mission: the doubt is solely confined to the
course it took.

The Old Testament represents a vast number of
literary works written over a period of roughly nine
hundred years. It forms a highly disparate mosaic whose
pieces have, in the course of centuries, been changed by
man. Some parts were added to what already existed, so
that today it is sometimes very difficult indeed to
identify where they came from originally.

The inevitable result of the multiplicity of
sources is the existence of contradictions and
oppositions: many examples have been given of these. The
authors of the Gospels had (when talking of Jesus) the
same tendency to magnify certain facts as the poets of
French Medieval literature in their narrative poems. The
consequence of this was that events were presented from
each individual narrator's point of view and the
authenticity of the facts reported in many cases proved
to be extremely dubious.

It must be stressed that when scientific data
are discussed here, what is meant is data definitely
established.

Subsequent to the first trials of ballistic
missiles, people imagined a day when man would perhaps
have the material possibility of leaving his earthly
habitat and exploring space. It was then known that a
verse existed in the Qur'an predicting how one day man
would make the conquest. This statement has now been
verified.

...if you can penetrate the bounds of the
heavens and the earth, then do penetrate (them). (But)
you cannot penetrate except with (Our) authority.

Holy Qur'an (55:33)

... in the West, Jews, Christians and
Atheists are unanimous in stating (without a scrap of
evidence however) that Muhammad wrote the Qur'an or had
it written as an imitation of the Bible. It is claimed
that stories of religious history in the Qur'an resume
Bible stories. This attitude is as thoughtless as saying
that Jesus Himself duped His contemporaries by drawing
inspiration from the Old Testament during his preachings;
the whole of Mathew's Gospel is based on this
continuation of the Old Testament... What expert in
exegesis would dream of depriving Jesus of his status as
God's envoy for this reason? This is nevertheless the way
that Muhammad is judged more often than not in the West.
It is a summary judgement that does not take account of
the fact that the Qur'an and the Bible provide different
versions of a single event.

The above observation makes the hypothesis
advanced by those who see Muhammad as the author of the
Qur'an quite untenable. How could a man, from being
illiterate, become the most important author in terms of
literary merit, in the whole of Arabic literature? How
could he then pronounce truths of a scientific nature
that no other human being could possibly have developed
at the time, and all this without once making the
slightest error in his pronouncements on the subject? For
me there can be no human explanation to the Qur'an.

Surgeon Maurice has made extensive studies in various
fields covered by the Qur'an e.g. Creation of the Heavens
and the Earth, Astronomy, Water Cycle, Earth's Relief,
Earth's Atmosphere, Animal and Vegetable Kingdoms, The
Flood, Exodus and above all, Human Reproduction. His
views on human embryo after he quotes relevant verses of
the Qur'an are summed up as under:

...As for observed facts such as the
evolution of human embryo, it is quite possible to
confront different stages described in the Qur'an with
the data of modern embryology and find complete
concordance between modern science and verses of the
Qur'an referring to this subject.

He created man from (small quantity of)
sperm...

Holy Qur'an (16:4)

The Arabic word nutfa has been translated by
the words 'small quantity (of sperm)' because we do not
have the terms that are strictly appropriate. This word
comes from a verb signifying 'to dribble, to trickle'; it
is used to describe what remains at the bottom of a
bucket that has been emptied out. It therefore indicates
a very small quantity of liquid. Here it is sperm because
the word is associated in another verse with the word
sperm. (see Holy Qur'an 75..37-39)

Another verse indicates that the small
quantity in question is put 'in a firmly established
lodging' (qarar) which obviously means the genital
organs. (see Holy Qur'an 23:13)

...the adjective which in this text refers to
'the firmly established lodging' is, I think, hardly
translatable, It expresses the idea of a firmly
established and respected place. However this may be, it
refers to the spot where man grows in the maternal
organism.

Once the egg is fertilized in the Fallopian
tube it descends to lodge inside the uterus; this is
called the 'implantation of the egg'. The Qur'an names
the lodging of the fertilized egg (as) womb. (see
Holy Qur'an 22:5)

The implantation of the egg in the uterus
(womb) is the result of the development of villosities,
veritable elongations of the egg, which, like roots in
the soil, draw nourishment from the thickness of the
uterus necessary to the egg's growth. These formations
make the egg literally cling to the uterus. This is a
discovery of modern times.

The act of clinging is described five times
in the Qur'an...

Something which clings is the translation of the
word 'alaq'. It is the original meaning of the word.

The original sense of something which clings
'corresponds exactly to today's firmly established
reality.

Chewed flesh' is the translation of the word
mudhgha; 'intact flesh' is Lahm. This distinction needs
to be stressed. The embryo is initially a small mass. At
a certain stage in its development, it looks to the naked
eye like chewed flesh. The bone structure develops inside
this mass in what is called the mesenchyma. The bones
that are formed are covered in muscles; the word Lahm
applies to them.

It is known how certain parts appear to be
completely out of proportion during embryonic development
with what is later to become the individual, while others
remain in proportion.

This is surely the meaning of the word
'mukhallaqa' which signifies 'shaped in proportion' as
used in verse 5 sura 22 to describe this phenomenon.

We fashioned.........into something which
clings....into a lump of flesh in proportion and out of
proportion.

More than a thousand years before our time, at a
period when whimsical doctrines still prevailed, men had
a knowledge of the Qur'an. The statements it contains
express in simple terms truth of primordial importance
which man has taken centuries to discover.

The thesis of Surgeon Maurice which covers more than
250 pages, may perhaps be summed up in a few words:

Changes made by men in the Old Testament and the Gospels
are responsible for contradictions, improbabilities and
incompatibilities between the scriptures and the modern
scientific knowledge. This view is shared by some other
eminent scientists and writers. The Qur'an made a pointed
reference to it but Christendom refused to accept it
century after century.

Such flaws in the scriptures need not detract men from
the existence of God or the mission of Jesus.

The Qur'an is, historically speaking, the most
authentic Book of Revelations; nothing in it is
incompatible with the modern scientific data which has
been definitely established.

When statements contained in the Qur'an about this
life are factually true, would not the statements
contained in it about the Hereafter be taken to be
equally true?

In short, the Qur'an contains many other scientific
facts, which modern knowledge is just beginning to
unravel. Even its literary aspects are beyond the reach
of the best of Arabic literati, as the following
challenge stands eternally supreme today nearly a
millenium and a half after its revelation.

Or do they say, he (the Prophet) invented
it? Bring then a Surah (chapter) like it, and call (to
your aid) anyone you can other than Allah, if you be
truthful.

Holy Qur'an (10:38)

ISLAM PROPHESIED

Thus as is clear, The Almighty never leaves a people
without guidance, and never does the message come to an
abrupt end upon the passing away of a prophet. For in
such a case, the very truth would be open to doubt. As a
matter of fact, every divine message has foretold in
explicit terms about the coming of the last divine
message, and the final prophet, whose mission will be
universal lasting till Doomsday.

In the Holy Qur'an, The benign Creator gave us the
most comprehensive law dealing with shaping of an embyro
to the mysteries of space. But it is we who are groping
in the dark. We ourselves are to blame for our misery.

The Jews stopped obeying the Creator more than two
milleniums back. Instead of propagating the truth they
disobeyed the Creator , falling headlong into the narrow
depths of nationalism and turning chauvinists. It was a
great crime indeed, for they breached the covenant and
sowed discord among the human race.

Jesus Christ came, preaching the divine message and
giving glad tidings of the final messenger to come, but
he met a stormy reception at the hands of the Jews, who
mocked at and ridiculed him. His message also met a
tragic end as analyzed earlier. No sooner, had he
departed, Paul, the hellenized Jew distorted the whole
contents, transforming the divine truth into the creed
called Christianity today. The few true followers of the
great messenger were persecuted and for centuries havoc
was wrought with his teachings, resulting in the numerous
Gospels which are in circulation today.

None could be considered as the Almighty's own word, and
are more or less books of tradition of a very brief
period of the last days of Jesus. But even despite these
distortions, some fragments remain in them, which direct
any discernible reader towards the ultimate truth. The
same is true of other religions, which contain, truth
peeping out from underneath the centuries old pile of
interpolation.

Let us summon our Intellect and Will power and embark
on a search for truth. Let us sift through the huge stack
and cast an analyzing glance at the parchments of truth
waiting to be discovered. They are there in the sacred
books of all religions, eager to guide us to the straight
path, provided we are sincerely after the rationale
truth.

The following passages leave no doubt, as to where the
ultimate truth lies, and who, we are commanded by the
Creator to follow:

According to the Old Testament, God tells prophet
Abraham:

And I will make of thee a great nation, and I
will bless thee, and make thy name great; and thou shalt
be a blessing. And I will bless them that bless thee, and
curse him that curseth thee; and in thee shall all
families of the earth be blessed.

Genesis (12:2-3)

And to Hagar:

...I will multiply thy seed exceedingly, that
it shall not be numbered for multitude. And the angel of
the Lord said unto her, Behold, thou art with child, and
shalt bear a son, and shalt call his name Ishmael,
because the Lord hath heard thy affliction.

Genesis (16:10-11)

And regarding Ishmael the elder son of Abraham; in
whose direct lineage Prophet Muhammad was born, the Old
Testament says:

As for Ishmael, I have heard thee: Behold I
have blessed him, and will make him fruitful, and will
multiply him exceedingly. twelve princes shall he beget,
and I will make him a great nation.

Genesis (17:20)

And about the right of the firstborn:

If a man have two wives, one beloved another
hated, and they have born him children, both the beloved
and the hated; and if the firstborn son be hers that was
hated; Then it shall be, when he maketh his sons to
inherit that which he hath, that he may not make the son
of the beloved firstborn, before the son of the hated
which is indeed the firstborn: But he shall acknowledge
the son of the hated, by giving him the double portion of
all that he hath; for he is the beginning of his
strength; the right of the firstborn is his.

Deuteronomy (21:15-17)

Note: Ishamel was 14 years old when Isaac was born.

Elsewhere the Old Testament foretells to Moses the
coming of a great Prophet:

I will raise them up a Prophet from amongst
their brethren, like unto thee, and will put my word sin
his mouth and he shall speak unto them all that I shall
command him.

Deuteronomy (18:18)

Behold my servant, whom I uphold; mine elect,
in whom my soul delighteth; I have put my spirit upon
him: he shall bring judgement to the Gentiles. He shall
not cry nor lift up, nor cause his voice to be heard in
the street. A bruised reed shall he not break, and the
smoking-flax shall he not quench: he shall bring forth
judgement unto truth. He shall not fail nor be
discouraged, till he have set judgement in the earth: and
the isles shall wait for his law.

Isaiah (42:1-4)

Let the wilderness and the cities thereof
lift up their voice, the villages that Kedar doth
inhabit: let the inhabitants of the rock sing, Let them
shout from the top of the mountains. Let them give glory
unto the Lord and declare His praise in the
islands.

Isaiah (42:11-1 2)

Note: Kedar was Ishmael's eldest son and the ancestor
of Prophet Muhammad.

...The Lord came from Sinai, and rose up from
Seir unto them; He shined forth from Mount Paran (Faran
in Arabic), and He came with ten thousands of saints,
from His right hand went a fiery law for them.

Deuteronomy (33:2)

And Jacob called unto his sons, and said,
Gather unto yourselves together, that I may tell you that
which shall befall you in the last days... The sceptre
shall not depart from Judah, nor a lawgiver from between
his feet, until SHILLOH come; and unto him shall the
gathering of the people be.

Genesis (49:1&10)

Shilloh means peace, or Islam in Arabic. In other
words, the prediction may well be about the Almighty's
final message to mankind - Islam.

About Jesus, who was but a Prophet only:

And the multitude said, This is Jesus the
Prophet of Nazareth of Galilee.

Mathew (21:11)

And they said unto him, concerning Jesus of
Nazareth, which was a Prophet mighty in deed and word
before God...

Luke (24:19)

We know that thou art a teacher come from
God.

John (3:2)

Then those men, when they had seen the
miracle that Jesus did, said, This is of a truth that
Prophet that should come into the world.

John (6:14)

The following passages of the New Testament lend
further proof to the Prophethood of Muhammad (s.a.w.) as
the final Messenger of the Almighty:

And this is the record of John (the Baptist)
when the Jews sent priests and levites from Jerusalem to
ask him, who art thou? And he confessed, and denied not;
but confessed I am not the Christ. And they asked him,
what then? Art thow Elias? And he saith I am not. Art
thou THAT PROPHET? And he answered, No. And they asked
him, and said unto him, why baptizest thou then, if thou
be not the Christ, nor Elias, neither THAT PROPHET.

John (1:19,21,25)

But when the comforter is come, whom I shall
send unto you from the Father, even the spirit of the
truth, which proceedeth from the Father, he shall testify
of me.

John (15:26)

Nevertheless I tell you the truth; it is
expedient for you that I go away: for if I go not away,
the Comforter will not come unto you. And when he is
come, he will reprove the world of sin, and of
righteousness, and of judgement: Of sin, because they
believe not on me; Of righteousness, because I go to my
Father, and ye see me no more; Of judgement because the
prince of this world is judged. I have yet many things to
say unto you, but ye cannot bear them now. Howbeit when
he, the Spirit of truth is come, he will guide you unto
all truth: for he shall not speak of himself; but
whatsoever he shall hear, t hat shall he speak: and he
will shew you things to come. He shall glorify me: for he
shall receive of mine, and shall she wit unto you.

John (16:7-14)

It is admitted that if the correct word in the
original Greek version of the New Testament was 'Proclete'
then it means AHMAD in Arabic from the
semitic root H M D.

After centuries the translation was changed into 'Proclytos'.
The translation of this Greek word was supposed to be 'Comforter'
or 'Advocate'. However it was not realised that
both the terms are the titles of Prophet Mohammed, as
shown below:

Rahmat-ul-Lil-Alameen which means the
'Comforter of this world and the next'.

Shafi-ul-Mudhnibeen which means 'Advocate of
sinners'.

To sum up: The prophet after Jesus would be: God's
Elect (Mustafa). Inhabitant of the villages of Prince
Kedar son of Ishmael, from Arabia. His religion will be
known as Shilloh that is peace or Islam. His light will
shine from Mount Faran in Mecca. The sceptre of Judah
will pass on to him. God will put his words in his mouth.
He shall not fail. He shall be known as Ahmad, Comforter,
or Advocate.

How explicitly, the holy Qur'an corroborates these
facts, when it says:

Those who follow the Messenger-Prophet the
Ummi, whom they find written with them in the Torah and
the Evangel; he commands them good and forbids them evil,
and he made lawful to them the good things, and prohibits
to them the bad (impure) ones, and he removes from them
their burden and the yokes which were upon them. So those
who believe in him and honour him, and help him, and
follow the Light which has been sent down with him: These
are they the successful.

Holy Qur'an (7:157)

CONCLUSION

Thus dear readers, in the light of these undeniable
facts, it is clear that we and the wide universe have
been created by the All-wise and Omnipotent Creator Who
sees and watches our every minute act. We have a
destination, and our deeds in this life span will be
judged in the Hereafter, where due retribution awaits us.
Each and every sign in this wonderful universe indicates
to us the straight path of guidance, and only by using
our powers of Will and Intellect, we can reach the garden
of salvation.

Our main goal is to make our readers aware of the
significance of independent, objective and rational
thinking, and awaken in them the quest for truth.

We do not want, by these few pages to close the
subject. What we want is to stir up the human mind and
conscience to obvious facts. This book is only the
beginning of the road, and by sifting chaff from grain,
we discovered the eternal truth about Islam, which has a
comprehensive set of laws for each and everything.

Therefore, in order to make peace prevail and help
build a harmonious society, it is incumbent upon us to
glean at the wonderful code of human behaviour called 'Sharia'.
Please look forward to our next Book 'The Meaning of
Islam' which will help you discover that Islam is a
complete way of life.