Truth in Islam

By Daniel Scot Sept. 2008

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Sura 'Al-Fatihiah' (The Opening) 1:1-7

In the name of Allah, the Beneficent, the Merciful. Praise be to Allah, Lord of the Worlds, The Beneficent, the Merciful. Master of the Day of Judgment, You (alone) we worship; You (alone) we ask for help. Show us the straight path, The path of those whom You have favoured; Not the (path) of those who earn Your anger nor of those who go astray.

Jesus said: "...and you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free." (John 8:32)

Warning—This pamphlet contains words of the Qur'an in Arabic and English. Please use appropriately.

NOTE: Authoritative Islamic texts are the Qur'an and Hadith. Muslims believe that the Qur'an is the revealed word of Allah (verse numbers differ slightly in different versions). Sura always stands for a chapter in the Qur'an. Islamic belief is that Muhammad is the perfect example to be followed by all Muslims. Whatever he said, practiced or approved is called Hadith. There are six different sets of authentic ahadith (Hadiths): Bukhari, Muslim, Abu Dawud, Tirmizi, Sunnan Ibn Majah and Sunnan Nasa'i. This pamphlet is intended to show the teachings and examples of Muhammad, and is not intended to be offensive to Muslims; many Muslims may have little real knowledge of what their god, Allah and their prophet has said on this topic.

The value and importance of truth is proclaimed in almost every religion. In Christianity, all liars will have their part in the lake which burns with fire and brimstone (Revelation 21:8); Islam lists lying as one of the great sins (Sura 6:152-153). But do all religions agree on the importance of truth? Is truth flexible? Is truth in the eye of the beholder?

The Grand Mufti of Egypt, Sheikh Muhammad Sayyed Tantawi, (also the Grand Imam of Al-Azhar University in Cairo, the oldest Islamic University), who is seen as the highest spiritual authority by most Sunnis worldwide has often made contradictory statements: In 2004, he was quoted in the Italian daily Avennire as saying: "Islam forbids suicide and considers human life a precious gift". However, on IslamOnline in 2002, he argued that "Suicide operations and the killing of Israeli civilians, even women and children, are permitted and indeed should be intensified.". How can such a highly regarded scholar, make such statements? He is not the only one.

The former Mufti of Australia, Sheik Taj El-Din Al-Hilali, on a trip to Egypt in early 2004, he praised and encouraged martyrdom operations, and then promptly denied it on his return, claiming it was a mistranslation. Similarly, his comments in 2006 regarding women deserving rape was dismissed as mistranslation and misunderstanding.

In a weekly sermon in April 2002, Al-Azhar Sheikh Muhammad Sayyid Tantawi, the highest-ranking cleric in the Sunni Muslim world, called the Jews "the enemies of Allah, descendants of apes and pigs." Yet he is the Patron of the U.K.-based Three Faiths Forum working for mutual understanding between Muslims, Christians and Jews. The claim that difficulties in translating from Arabic to English makes communication with non-Arab speakers difficult or impossible, is another tactic used in subterfuge.

The President of Iran who wants to "push Israel in to the sea," also claims mistranslation and misunderstanding. A common thread is beginning to emerge.

Throughout history, Islamic forces have deceived other groups, making them think Islam and Muslims are peace-loving, only later to find the opposite. For example: in A.D. 635, Damascus fell to Muslims because they used the Bishop of Damascus to deceive the population opening the city gates at night

Many Christians in Egypt welcomed the Islamic forces because Muhammad's wife was Egyptian (and they thought they would get preferential treatment), but especially because they would be delivered from the persecution of the Byzantines. However, 1400 years of severe persecution followed and continues today where Christians are routinely murdered, kidnapped and tortured.

Rather than pass this off as nothing to be concerned about, we should ask whether there is something in Islam that allows flexibility in the "Great Sin." If so, we must look carefully at the teachings of Allah/Muhammad and the practices of Muhammad.

Allah claims thirty times in the Qur'an that he misleads/sends astray people and that he is the greatest deceiver [Allaahu Khayrul-maakiriin] (Sura 3:54; 8:30). Allah says that he leads people astray (Sura 4:88, 143; 6:39, 126; 7:178,186; 9:51; 13:27, 31; 14:4; 16:93; 17:13, 97; 30:29; 35:8; 36:8-10; 39:23; 40:33,34,74; 42:44,46; 74:31). Even the first, Rightly Guided Caliph said, "I swear to Allah that I do not feel safe from Allah's cunning even if one of my feet is already inside paradise...." (Khalid Muhammad Khalid, Successors of the Messenger, (2005) p. 99).

Muhammad believed that lying was acceptable and even taught how to expiate [make amends for] an oath,

Z 'Allah willing, if ever I take an oath to do something, and later on I find that it is more beneficial to do something different, I will do the thing which is better, and give expiation for my oath.' (Bukhari, vol. 4, Hadith No. 361)

Muhammad saw nothing wrong in practicing duplicity. It was his common practice to say one thing and do exactly the opposite if something appealed to him otherwise. He sent men to kill people unawares in their homes and also gave them permission to tell lies in order to deceive the people being killed. (A. Guillaume, The Life of Muhammad, Bukhari, vol. 4, Hadith No. 143)

Imam Jafar Sadiq said: "You belong to a religion that whosoever conceals it, Allah will honour him and whosoever reveals it, Allah will disgrace and humiliate him." (Ahmad Abdullah Salamah, The Sunni and Shi'a Perspective of The Holy Qur'an). This is called al-Taqiyya [legal deception].

Sura 3:28 and others, record that Muslims cannot take unbelievers for real friends (else they will cease to be true Muslims),

Z 'Let not the believers take the disbelievers as Auliyâ (supporters, helpers, etc.) instead of the believers, and whoever does that will never be helped by Allâh in any way, except if you indeed fear a danger from them. And Allâh warns you against Himself (His Punishment), and to Allâh is the final return.' Also see Sura 60:1; 4:144; 5:51; 8:73.

In other words, Muslims can outwardly pretend to be your friend, to guard against you, to strengthen themselves against you. Some Muslims will argue that this is only in Shi'a Islam, but Ibn Kathir, a highly regarded Sunni scholar records, as an argument for Taqiyya, "We smile in the face of some people although our hearts curse them." (Fath Al-Bāri, 10:544, quoted in Ibn Kathir, Tafsir, vol. 2, p. 141-143). He also argues that Muslims can even deny that they are Muslims and deny Islam, the Qur'an and Muhammad, in the interest of self preservation. They can lie to promote a social 'good' i.e. promote Islam. (Imamovic, Outlines of Islamic Doctrine, p. 346).

As such, treaties are not binding (Sura 47:35; 2:224-225; 66:1-2, ccf: 16:91, 94) and used to provide time to regroup and rearm.

Ghazali, the most famous and highly regarded Muslim scholar of all times, states that lying is obligatory when the goal is obligatory and it cannot be reached by telling the truth (Ahmad ibn Naqib al-Misri, (1368), Reliance of the Traveller, translated by Nuh Ha Mim Keller (1994), r.8.2, p. 745). Dawah (Islamic evangelism) is obligatory; if Islam cannot be spread with the truth, they are obliged to lie.

According to Ghazali, Muhammad taught people to retract truthful confessions of sins so they could avoid punishment; lying is also permissible if the consequences of telling the truth are more damaging than the damage by lying (ibid., p. 746).

The ultimate purpose of Taqiyya is to confuse and split the enemy, so that they can be conquered for Allah. A perfect example of this is when Sura 2:256 is quoted, 'there is no compulsion in religion,' but they fail to cite Sura 9:5, 29, (and others) which abrogate 2:256. Today, unbelievers only have the choice of converting, paying protection money or facing humiliation by Muslims or death.

On the one hand, the Qur'an in numerous places condemns falsehood, but as we have seen, not only do Allah and Muhammad practice lying, but Muhammad also taught his followers how to lie and deceive. Unfortunately for Muslims, the long history of lying has caused many Muslims to believe their own lies. (Irshad Manji, The Trouble with Islam, Random House, Sydney, 2003, p.3)

Truth in the Bible

The Bible teaches the exact opposite. It does not condone or allow for deceit of any kind (Revelation 22:15). Believers are commanded to keep their oaths even to their own detriment (Joshua 9; Psalm 15:4). In fact, Yahweh, the God of the Bible, says that He is not a man, that He would not lie (Number 23:19). The Bible describes Jesus as Truth (John 14:6), the Holy Spirit as Truth (1 John 5:6) and the Father has not the slightest deceit in Him (James 1:17; 2 Samuel 7:28; Psalm 31:5). Jesus IS truth. Believers are to be Holy as God is Holy (Leviticus 19:2; 1 Peter 1:16 etc.).

In the New Testament period, the seriousness of sin and lying was highlighted when God killed some people who lied (Acts 5). The Bible declares that:

... "all liars will have their part in the lake which burns with fire and brimstone." (Revelation 21:8)

However, in Islam, if you do not sin, Allah will kill you and replace you with people who will sin (Muslim, Book 37, Hadith No. 6622 & 6621).

We have brought you this message because we love you and desire to see you know the truth; we want you to know that you can have your mind, body, heart and soul cleansed by Jesus. For more information, read our tract on Salvation in Islam.

Now you have an opportunity to find out for yourself, as God has given you the means and the ability to search for the truth. I am offering you a copy of the Holy Bible and "The Life of the Messiah" DVD absolutely FREE, just by contacting us at the address at the bottom of the page.

Read the Holy Bible online: http://www.ibs.org/bibles

Watch the Jesus Film online: http://www.jesusfilm.org/languages

Mizan ul Haqq

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