2. God is the best of planners…
“About the current moment” №9(57), September 2015. The Future of the Humankind: The Dictatorship of Conscience or the Tyranny of Bible Owners · перевод (English) · раздел 2 из 5
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2. God is the best of planners…
Returning to the question of Manuel II Palaiologos, which became with the help of the Pope the question of current interest, we can’t but stress that: Muhammad made no pretence of introducing into the humankind culture something absolutely new. He constantly asserted that:
· Koran is not the fruit of his own thoughts but the God’s Revelation. He stated that his duty is to convey this Revelation to the people and to control them in the formative stage of their culture based on Koran;
· The purpose of Koran is to confirm the truth of those Revelations, given earlier through Adam, Noah, Moses, Jesus Christ and other God’s missioners to the people, who for many reasons ignored them. Therefore there was a necessity to send Koran and that’s why there was in general nothing new in it.
It is said in Koran [17] many times, for instance (we put sometimes the main text in bold to differ it from our commentaries given in italic):
«And We have revealed to you(to Muhammad)the Book with the truth, verifying what is before it (before Koran) of the Book and a guardian over it (from the context it is understood “a guardian over the truth”), therefore judge between them by what God has revealed, and do not follow their low desires (to turn away) from the truth that has come to you» (Koran, Sura 5:48).
«Naught is said to you (to Muhammad) but what was said indeed to the messengers before you; surely your Lord is the Lord of forgiveness and the Lord of painful retribution» (Koran, Sura 41:43).
The thing is that the very formulation of the question put by Manuel II Palaiologos: “Show me just what Muhammad brought that was new?” - is one of the signs showing that Manuel II Palaiologos as well as his advisors on theological and political issues (and also their predecessors [18]) were incompetent. And that turned out to be the reason for Byzantine collapse [19].
One should understand that God doesn’t uproot righteousness and the collapse of Byzantine reveals unrighteousness of the dominant creed there and proves that everybody adhered to that untruth.
The reaction of the Muslim world towards the Pope’s speech in which he cited the question of Manuel II Palaiologos contradicts Koran. In Koran it is said:
«196. Surely my guardian is God, Who revealed the Book, and He befriends the good.
And those whom you call upon besides Him are not able to help you, nor can they help themselves.
And if you invite them (other people) to guidance (i.e. to the life in harmony with God), they do not hear; and you see them looking towards you, yet they do not see.
Take to forgiveness and enjoin good and turn aside from the ignorant! [20]
And if a false imputation from the satan afflict you, seek refuge in God; surely He is Hearing, Knowing.
Surely those who guard (against evil), when a visitation from the satan afflicts them they become mindful, then lo! they see» (Sura 7).
«255. God is He besides Whom there is no god, the Everliving, the Self-subsisting by Whom all subsist; slumber does not overtake Him nor sleep; whatever is in the heavens and whatever is in the earth is His; who is he that can intercede with Him but by His permission? He knows what is before them and what is behind them, and they cannot comprehend anything out of His knowledge except what He pleases, His knowledge extends over the heavens and the earth, and the preservation of them both tires Him not, and He is the Most High, the Great.
There is no compulsion in religion; truly the right way has become clearly distinct from error [21]; therefore, whoever disbelieves in the satan and believes in God he indeed has laid hold on the firmest handle, which shall not break off, and God is Hearing, Knowing.
God is the guardian of those who believe. He brings them out of the darkness into the light; and (as to) those who disbelieve, their guardians are satan who take them out of the light into the darkness; they are the inmates of the fire, in it they shall abide» (Sura 2).
With all this Koran in its own text is characterized as an “Arab law book” (sura 13:37 - “true judgment in Arabic”). That means that Koran doesn’t oblige those who don’t speak Arabic to accept the ritual forms of Islam profession, created in Arabic culture and existing nowadays, because of the fact that God gives the right to everybody to appeal to Him in his native language.
«135. And they say: Be Jews or Christians, you will be on the right course [22]. Say: Nay! (we follow) the religion of Ibrahim (Abraham), the Hanif [23], and he was not one of the polytheists.
Say: We believe in God and (in) that which had been revealed to us, and (in) that which was revealed to Ibrahim and Ismail and Ishaq and Yaqoub (Abraham, Ishmael, Isaac, Jacob) and the tribes, and (in) that which was given to Musa and Isa (Moses and Jesus), and (in) that which was given to the prophets from their Lord, we do not make any distinction between any of them (i.e. all of them taught the same), and to Him do we submit.
If then they believe as you believe in Him, they are indeed on the right course, and if they turn back, then they are only in great opposition, so God will suffice you against them, and He is the Hearing, the Knowing» (Sura 2, - marked with bold by us when citing, our commentaries are given in italic).
There is inevitable the following question:
If the Koran is really sent from the God in order to confirm the truth of earlier Revelations - Torah and New Testament [24], what are the reasons of centuries-old conflicts between those who believe that they are the true followers of Moses’, Christ’s and Muhammad’s creeds?
The answer for this question is given in Koran. Koran accuses the historically set Judaism and Christianity of backsliding from the Unified Testament expressed in various versions by Moses, Jesus Christ and other God’s missioners.
· It is said in Koran about the historically set Judaism and its followers:
«The likeness of those who were charged with the Taurat (Torah), then they did not observe it, is as the likeness of the ass bearing books, evil is the likeness of the people who reject the communications of God; and God does not guide the unjust people!» (Sura 62:5).
«It is not meet for a mortal that God should give him the Book and the wisdom and prophethood, then he should say to men: Be my servants rather than God's; but rather (he would say): Be worshippers of the Lord because of your teaching the Book and your reading (it yourselves)» (Sura 3:79) [25].
That’s why law-abiding Jews as well as rabbinate will have to answer for Torah distortion and for the following of the distorted Torah in the everyday life. And even “kashrut [26]” won’t absolve them of this responsibility - historical (“karmic”) and religious (before God Himself).
· It is said in Koran about the historically set Christianity the following:
«45. When the angels said: O Marium(Virgin Mary), surely God gives you good news with a Word from Him (of one) whose name is the '. Messiah, Isa (Jesus) son of Marium, worthy of regard in this world and the hereafter and of those who are made near (to God).
And he shall speak to the people when in the cradle and when of old age, and (he shall be) one of the good ones.
She said: My Lord! when shall there be a son (born) to I me, and man has not touched me? He said: Even so, God creates what He pleases; when He has decreed a matter, He only says to it, Be, and it is.
And He will teach him the Book and the wisdom and the Taurat(Torah) and the Injeel (Evangelium - Gospel).
And (make him) a messenger to the children of Israel: That I have come to you with a sign from your Lord, that I determine for you out of dust like the form of a bird, then I breathe into it and it becomes a bird with God's permission and I heal the blind and the leprous, and bring the dead to life with God's permission and I inform you of what you should eat and what you should store in your houses; most surely there is a sign in this for you, if you are believers.
And a verifier of that which is before me of the Taurat and that I may allow you part of that which has been forbidden t you, and I have come to you with a sign from your Lord therefore be careful of (your duty to) God and obey me.
Surely God is my Lord and your Lord, therefore serve Him; this is the right path.
But when Isa perceived unbelief on their part, he said Who will be my helpers in God's way? The disciples said: We are helpers (in the way) of God: We believe in God and bear witness that we are submitting ones(to God).
Our Lord! we believe in what Thou hast revealed and we follow the messenger, so write us down with those who bear witness.
And they planned [27] and God (also) planned, and God is the best of planners» (Koran, Sura 3 - underlined by us when citing, our commentaries are given in italic).
That’s why the adherents of Christianity in all its modifications also have the ground for thinking, as the words from Koran are similar to the cited above words of Jesus Christ.
But the natural question arises: Why should one agree with Koran in these issues and reject other faith traditions, perceiving them as false? What if Koran is actually a “satanic verse”, as Salmon Rushdie stated, with the purpose to turn away from the true faith tradition (Judaism - in the perception of Jews, or Christianity - in the perception of Christians and etc.) and to disorientate?
In attempt to answer this question all the texts seem to be equally unconvincing if not compared to the life itself.