Why Islam is not a monotheistic religion (part 2)
Our Muslim friends tell us that the trinity is so confusing that Christians have been fighting over it forever and nobody understands it. It is contradictory and makes no logical sense but the Islamic conception of God, Tawhid, on the other hand is so simple a kid could understand it. The Quran succinctly describes Allah thus,
“Say: He is Allah, the One and Only;
Allah, the Eternal, Absolute;
He begetteth not, nor is He begotten;
And there is none like unto Him.”
(Surah 112:1–4)
And that is all we need to know about Allah succinctly put. So succinct in fact that anybody, even a six year old kid (like Aisha) can understand it. Is this all there is to Allah though?
In a previous articles (linked below), I have shown the issues around Allah using plural pronouns, being able to choose a partner from among “us” if he wanted to, showing there are indeed things equal to Allah contrary to what Surah 112:4 tells us. I have also shown that Allah has a word and a spirit, the word is somehow Jesus and the Quran, the spirit is somehow Jesus and Gabriel but the spirit somehow assumes the form of a perfect man to announce the birth of Jesus, Allah prays for Muhammad and somehow to submit to Allah you must absolutely submit to Muhammad without question yet Islam is all about the worship of one God…but again, according to our Muslim friends, all this is really simple and straightforward stuff. I will not rehash those points again (I refer you to the articles below for all references and fuller discussions) but there are a number of new angles to Tawhid I wish to unpack here.
The Quran is the eternal word of Allah. Muhammad in the hadith taught that on judgment day, the Quran will appear as a pale man on the day of judgment,
“It was narrated from Ibn Buraidah that his father told that the Messenger of Allah(ﷺ) said:
“The Quran will come on the Day of Resurrection, like a pale man, and will say: ‘I am the one that kept you awake at night and made you thirsty during the day.”
(Sunan Ibn Majah Book 33, hadith 125)
So the word of Allah as Jesus Christ takes on human flesh (Surah 4:171) but the word of Allah as the Quran also takes on human flesh as a pale man. Jesus is not the pale man, Jesus is not the Quran, yet the Quran is the word of Allah and Jesus is the word of Allah. Neither Jesus nor the Quran are Allah but the word of Allah has to be eternal like Allah. The Quran also speaks in the hadith, is the Quran speaking as Allah or independently from Allah? When Jesus speaks in the Quran does He speak as Allah or independently of Allah? But it does not stop there,
Muhammad also taught that two individual chapters of the Quran will make intercession for the Muslims who recited them on the day of judgment,
“Abu Umama said he heard Allah’s Messenger (ﷺ) say:
Recite the Qur’an, for on the Day of Resurrection it will come as an intercessor for those who recite It. Recite the two bright ones, al-Baqara and Surah Al ‘Imran, for on the Day of Resurrection they will come as two clouds or two shades, or two flocks of birds in ranks, pleading for those who recite them. Recite Surah al-Baqara, for to take recourse to it is a blessing and to give it up is a cause of grief, and the magicians cannot confront it.”
(Sahih Muslim, Book 6 Hadith 302)
So individual chapters of the Quran also intercede for those who recite them. Is it then safe to conclude that the individual chapters of the Quran will intercede for Muslims who recite them or just those two? Some how Surah Al-Baqara (chapter 2) is not Surah Al-Imran (chapter 3) yet both are the Quran. The pale man which the Quran turns into is not the same as the two flocks of birds interceding for Muslims, yet they are all the Word of Allah, which is not Allah. These chapters are speaking and interceding with Allah so they are different persons, yet they fall under the one entity called the Quran, which is the Word of Allah.
Then speaking of the Quran, it was revealed in seven different ways but somehow these seven different strata of revelation still amount to one Quran.
“Narrated `Umar bin Al-Khattab:
I heard Hisham bin Hakim bin Hizam reciting Surat-al-Furqan in a way different to that of mine. Allah’s Messenger (ﷺ) had taught it to me (in a different way). So, I was about to quarrel with him (during the prayer) but I waited till he finished, then I tied his garment round his neck and seized him by it and brought him to Allah’s Messenger (ﷺ) and said, “I have heard him reciting Surat-al-Furqan in a way different to the way you taught it to me.” The Prophet (ﷺ) ordered me to release him and asked Hisham to recite it. When he recited it, Allah s Apostle said, “It was revealed in this way.” He then asked me to recite it. When I recited it, he said, “It was revealed in this way. The Qur’an has been revealed in seven different ways, so recite it in the way that is easier for you.”
(Sahih Bukhari Book 44 Hadith 9)
From the above, we can see the recitation of Hisham was different from the recitation of Umar, it was so different in fact that Umar was ready to fight Hisham over this. The recitation was of the same Surah of the Quran (Al-Furqan), yet these different recitations is still somehow the same chapter of the Quran. Islamic scholars cannot agree on how exactly this works. There are more than a dozen opinions on what exactly the modes and recitations (Ahruf and Qirat) of revelation are and how they fit into one corpus of revelation.
But this is not all — Allah has different attributes. These attributes are also in conflict with one another.
“Abu Huraira reported that Allah’s Messenger (ﷺ) said:
When Allah created the creation as He was upon the Throne, He put down in His Book: Verily, My mercy predominates My wrath.”
(Sahih Muslim Book 50 Hadith 17)
Allah’s attribute of mercy is contrary to his attribute of wrath and Allah has decreed that one must dominate the other. These attributes of Allah are not Allah but are part of Allah yet they conflict, if Allah is an absolute unity, how and why are there conflicting attributes within himself? At this point, one might be tempted to argue that human beings feel a whole range of emotions or thing but it does not stop them from being one entity. The problem is a human being is not an absolute unity! Think about it, a human being has a body, a spirit and a soul. A human being has multiple cells (trillions) which make up numerous bones, organs and entire systems which enables him to function. Allah however claims to be unique so using a human analogy would defeat Surah 112:4 which says there is nothing like Allah.
Then we have the fact that Allah prays and the obvious question is to who does Allah pray?
“Allah and His angels pray on the Prophet: O ye that believe! Send ye blessings on him, and salute him with all respect.”
(Surah 33:56)
I have addressed the nuances on the word usually translated “showers blessings” in the above verse in the article linked below so would not rehash that here. I bring this point up again for another reason which will soon become clear.
There is a very interesting connection between the last two points above and a Jewish religious belief. In the New Testament, James writes,
“For judgment is without mercy to the one who has shown no mercy. Mercy triumphs over judgment.”
(James 2:13)
And in the Talmud, the following is recorded,
“Along the same lines, Rabbi Yoḥanan said in the name of Rabbi Yosei: From where is it derived that the Holy One, Blessed be He, prays? As it is stated: “I will bring them to My holy mountain, and make them joyful in the house of My prayer” (Isaiah 56:7). The verse does not say the house of their prayer, but rather, “the house of My prayer”; from here we see that the Holy One, Blessed be He, prays.
The Gemara asks: What does God pray?
Rav Zutra bar Tovia said that Rav said:
God says: May it be My will that My mercy will overcome My anger towards Israel for their transgressions,
and may My mercy prevail over My other attributes through which Israel is punished,
and may I conduct myself toward My children, Israel, with the attribute of mercy,
and may I enter before them beyond the letter of the law.”
(Babylonian Talmud, Tractate Berakhot 7a:4)
The idea that God prays and what exactly He prays for are once again “religious appropriations” from Christian and Jewish beliefs. Surprising that, isn’t it?
Then there is the question of whether Allah has body parts over which wars have been fought between Muslims. There is no agreement as to whether or not Allah has body parts. The question would be if Allah has body parts, are those parts necessary and can they be separate from Allah? if they are necessary then they are as divine as Allah since they cannot be created, if they are not necessary then why would Allah have them? It would also raise the question of where those body parts were occupying before time and space began. In another hadith it says Allah comes down in the third part of the night,
“Abu Sa’id and Abu Huraira reported Allah’s Messenger (ﷺ) as saying:
Allah waits till when one-third of the first part of the night is over; He descends to the lowest heaven and says: It there any supplicator of forgiveness? Is there any penitant? Is there any petitioner (for mercy and favour)? Is there any solicitor? -till it is daybreak.”
(Sahih Muslim Book 6 Hadith 205)
Would this not mean Allah is limited in time and space (as well as knowledge) if he needs to descend to the lowest heaven to know if anybody is praying to him? Then secondly, it is always the third part of the night somewhere, so does Allah keep bouncing up and down 24 hours a day in different regions and locations like a yoyo? How does he have time to do anything else?
Then there are also the questions of the divine status of the throne of Allah, was it always there with Allah from the beginning, how does Allah sit on his throne if he does not have body parts? Then there is also the pen of Allah with which he writes the fate of every creature including himself. Can Allah act contrary to his pen?
Then we have the spirit of Allah, who is Jesus and Gabriel and the Holy spirit. Gabriel is both the spirit of Allah and an angel, Jesus is simultaneously the spirit, the word of Allah and a prophet of Allah, the spirit of Allah takes the form of a man when he appeared to Mary…you get the idea.
Furthermore, Allah will appear to Muslims as a man who looks like the Anti-Christ in every conceivable way with one exception — he is not one-eyed,
“Narrated Ubadah ibn as-Samit:
The Prophet (ﷺ) said: I have told you so much about the Dajjal (Antichrist) that I am afraid you may not understand. The Antichrist is short, hen-toed, woolly-haired, one-eyed, an eye-sightless, and neither protruding nor deep-seated. If you are confused about him, know that your Lord is not one-eyed.”
(Sunan Abi Dawud Book 39 Hadith 30)
“Narrated Anas:
The Prophet (ﷺ) said, “No prophet was sent but that he warned his followers against the one-eyed liar (Ad-Dajjal). Beware! He is blind in one eye, and your Lord is not so, and there will be written between his (Ad-Dajjal’s) eyes (the word) Kafir (i.e., disbeliever).” (This Hadith is also quoted by Abu Huraira and Ibn `Abbas).”
(Sahih Bukhari book 92 hadith 78)
The final clue about how complex the Islamic conception of God is in the name “Tawhid”. It does not mean one-ness, it means “unification” and the question again is if Allah is a singular unity as our Muslim friends claim, Why is there need for multiple things to be unified to arrive at an understanding of Allah?
To summarise, the basic formulation of the trinity is this; The Father is not the Son or the Spirit, the Son is not the Spirit or the Father, the Spirit is not the Son or the Father but the Father, the Spirit and the Son are the one God in essence. Succinctly, there is one God composed of three persons who share the same essence within that one God. So God is one and three in different senses, one essence, three persons.
Tawhid on the other hand goes something like this;
Allah, his word and his spirit are eternal and divine. Jesus is not the Quran, the Quran is not Jesus yet both Jesus and the Quran are the word of Allah. Surah Al-Baqara and Surah Al-Imran are not the same chapter, they are two different chapters but they are both the Quran. The Quran itself has seven different recitations of the same chapters which are somehow one and the same. So one recitation of Surah Al-Furqan of the Quran is not the same as another recitation of Surah Al-Furqan of the Quran, yet they are both Surah Al-Furqan of the Quran.
The Holy Spirit is not the angel Gabriel or Jesus, Gabriel is not the Holy Spirit or Jesus, Jesus is not the Holy Spirit or Gabriel yet the Holy Spirit, Jesus and Gabriel are all the Spirit of Allah. The Word of Allah became Jesus, the Quran, which is also the word of Allah becomes a pale man, chapters within the Quran become flocks of birds and intercede for those who recite it, Allah also becomes a man that looks like the Anti-Christ. Allah’s attributes are not Allah but they sometimes conflict so somehow there are conflicting elements within this one Allah. Muslims cannot agree on whether or not Allah has body parts but if he does, his body parts are not him yet they are him in a sense. Allah prays and offers sacrifices (Surah 37:107) but it is not clear to who.
Now, cards on the table, I have not presented Tawhid in the most charitable light. Muslims have all sorts of explanations or disagreements on how to reconcile all of this and let us grant for the sake of argument that there is actually a way all of this works and is perfectly coherent, the point is that there is no conceivable universe where this is less complicated than the trinity and a kid would easily understand all of this. Tawhid also incorporates elements of Christian (e.g. Jesus as the Word of God and the concept of the Holy Spirit) and Jewish (e.g. Allah using plural pronouns and praying for one attribute to dominate another) conceptions of God so it is a bit rich for Muslims to criticize the trinity when their religion stole from it and their scholars cannot even agree on what exactly Tawhid is.
In conclusion, Islam remains an agglomeration of stolen beliefs and Tawhid is a very messy and incoherent doctrine. There is no scenario where it makes better than sense than or is less complicated than the trinity. There is therefore no chance in hell that a kid understands Tawhid.
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