Al-Baqara 111; God's Proof
The second sura, or chapter, of The Glorious Qur'an is entitled Al Baqara, which means both The Calf and The Heifer. Its name is appropriate because it is named for both the golden calf that the Israelites fashioned for themselves while Moses was on Sinai receiving the Law, and for the red heifer of Numbers 19.
A particular verse in Al-Baqara caught my attention. It reads,
And they say: "None shall enter Paradise unless he is a Yahudi (Jew) or a Nasrani (Christian)." Those are (only) their vain or empty wishes. Say to them: "Bring your proof if you are truthful," (Al-Baqara 111; translated by Dr. Syed Vickar Ahamed Holmdel).
When I read this verse I was immediately reminded of the verse that says, "But sanctify the Lord God in your hearts: and [be] ready always to [give] an answer to every man that asketh you a reason of the hope that is in you with meekness and fear:" (I Peter 3: 15). The Muslims, in the very scriptures they study and revere, have asked for proof, which is to say a reason rather than a mere assertion, of what I believe to be true. Indeed, Muhammad himself, if one holds that he is the author of The Glorious Qur'an, has asked this. But even more importantly than this, if one holds that The Glorious Qur'an is in fact the word of God Himself, merely revealed through the pen of Muhammad, then it is none other than God who asks this. And I, by the very Word of God just cited (I Peter 3: 15), am compelled to give that answer.
Don't be put off by the idea of offering proof about matters of faith. Jesus Himself offered proof of His resurrection, to all of His disciples and to Thomas in particular (John 20: 19 - 31), for the express purpose that they might believe and be saved. He offered them His own wounds, to be touched and probed with their own hands, as proof.
Yes, Jesus did tell Thomas, "...: blessed [are] they that have not seen, and [yet] have believed," (John 20: 29b). But don't take this to mean that God offers no proof of His will and His efforts on our behalf. To the contrary, scripture goes on to say, "But these are written, that ye might believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God; and that believing ye might have life through his name," (John 20: 31; emphasis added).
Do not let it pass unnoticed that Jesus said explicitly that the reason God gave us those prophesies in His Holy Word was to provide us proof of His intentions and His efforts on our behalf. On the road to Emmaus, and subsequently in the room in Jerusalem, Jesus showed His disciples that proof, taking them through the scriptures prophesy by prophesy. Jesus said, "These [are] the words which I spake unto you, while I was yet with you, that all things must be fulfilled, which were written in the law of Moses, and [in] the prophets, and [in] the psalms, concerning me," (Luke 24: 44; emphasis added).
Before we continue, I want to take a moment to point out something of Jesus' language, and of the vagaries of translation, specifically because it is usually lost on people today that Jesus was explicitly talking about the Bible. The Law of Moses, sometimes referred to as either the Books of Moses or simply Moses (much as we might refer to the works of William Shakespeare as simply Shakespeare), is the Torah (%9&;). The Prophets are the Neviim (.*!*"1), and the Psalms, sometimes translated as the Scriptures or the Writings, are the Ketuvim (.*"&;,). These are the three constituent parts of the Tenach (+**1;, an acronym formed from the first letters of the names of the three parts), the Hebrew Holy Scriptures that we call the Old Testament. Anytime you read a phrase like "Moses and the prophets," or "Moses and the prophets and the scriptures," understand that this means, "The Bible."
So aside from the physical proof of the nail holes in His hands, and the spear wound in His side, Jesus also showed His disciples the same proof that you and I have, the proof of God's Holy Word. Jesus showed His disciples, and us, the proof of all that had been prophesied and that had been fulfilled by His persecution, crucifixion, burial and resurrection (Luke 24: 44 - 48).
As a scientist (my doctorate is in physics) I can tell you that it is a fundamental tenet of the scientific method that the ultimate test of any hypothesis is its ability to predict future events. And what we find predicted in the Hebrew scriptures, and fulfilled in the death, burial and resurrection of Jesus, is far too explicit to be mere coincidence. This is real, observably empirical and documented proof.
No, God has never been sparing with proof of His intentions, of his will and work for mankind. So don't think it blasphemous, or even unfaithful that one might ask for such proof. Not only is God pleased to give such proof, He in fact has already done so. He gave us His Holy Word.
Now read the parable Jesus told about Lazarus and the rich man (Luke 16: 19 - 31). The rich man, suffering in Hell, asked that his brothers be warned before they end up in Hell with him. He was then told that his brothers had the Bible, and if they wouldn't believe the Bible then that was just too bad.
Abraham saith unto him, They have Moses and the prophets (the Bible); let them hear them. And he said, Nay, father Abraham: but if one went unto them from the dead, they will repent. And he said unto him, If they hear not Moses and the prophets (the Bible), neither will they be persuaded, though one rose from the dead, (Luke 16: 29 - 31; emphasis and parenthetic added).
Unfortunately, men are too often less concerned with actually being right than with believing others wrong. Most men, rather than relying upon their own reasoning, will rely on nothing more than the consensus of those around them as confirmation of their own beliefs, at times even to the exclusion of their own reasoning. Most men, upon learning that another believes something different than themselves, will assume the other is wrong, as though the mere assertion will make it so, rather than even entertain the possibility that they themselves might not be right.
And it is precisely this tendency of human nature that is implicit in the verse that is cited above, Al-Baqara 111. To paraphrase Muhammad, he basically wrote, "The Jews say only Jews will go to Heaven, and the Christians say that only Christians will go to Heaven, but they're all wrong. Let them prove it if they're not wrong."
Ironically this verse itself is wrong, concerning the Jews at least. Oh, to be sure Christians do indeed believe that only those who accept Christ as their savior will go to Heaven (see e.g. John 3: 14 - 18). But the Jews in fact do not believe that only Jews will get to Heaven. It is a tenet of Judaism that God will judge all peoples, rewarding the righteous and punishing the wicked, and that the righteous of all peoples will have a place in the world to come, in Heaven or paradise. While Jews do believe that being an observant Jew is to be righteous, they do not believe that it then follows that not being an observant Jew is to be unrighteous.
Consider too that the Jews, like the Muslims, recognize that Christians, Jews and Muslims alike all worship the same God, the God of Abraham, the creator of the universe. It is only among professing Christians that one commonly finds people who errantly believe that Allah is a different, or false, God.
So straightaway we have seen, in these specific cases, that the Muslims are wrong about the Jews and the Christians are wrong about the Muslims. And so it goes. Christians think that they're right. Jews are convinced that they're right. Muslims believe that they're right, and implicit in all of this is that everyone believes that everyone else is wrong.
But in the end, it's not about who's right and who's wrong. Why not? Because none of us are right! God is right, and only God is right. And if one of us is right, it's only because of what God has shown us. If any of us is right, it is only by the grace of God.
So this is my response to Al-Baqara 111. In the same Spirit as Paul when he went to Mars Hill (Acts 17: 22, 23), I want to look at the proof that God has provided all men, His Word. And note that to find this proof, I am not looking to the Christian scriptures, but the Jewish scriptures instead. It is not my intent to prove that the Jews or the Muslims are wrong, or that the Christians are right. It is my intent to show that God and only God is right. It is my intent to show that He has made His plans for all men known from the beginning, and that He did so for the express purpose that we all might know the Truth (John 14: 6), and believe and be saved.
Of course there is no way that I can cover this subject in a single article, not even in the most cursory way. So I will not try. Instead I will write a series of articles, each looking at different prophesies which were fulfilled by Jesus. Each looking at more of the proof that God has provided. I do not know how many articles there will be, nor how frequently I will publish them. In point of fact, I've already published one such article entitled The Feasts of the Lord. But as I publish them in the future, they will all be under the title Al-Baqara 111.
Comments or questions? I'd like to hear them. Comments
Numbers 19: 1 - 9 And the LORD spake unto Moses and unto Aaron, saying, This is the ordinance of the law which the LORD hath commanded, saying, Speak unto the children of Israel, that they bring thee a red heifer without spot, wherein is no blemish, and upon which never came yoke: And ye shall give her unto Eleazar the priest, that he may bring her forth without the camp, and one shall slay her before his face: And Eleazar the priest shall take of her blood with his finger, and sprinkle of her blood directly before the tabernacle of the congregation seven times: And one shall burn the heifer in his sight; her skin, and her flesh, and her blood, with her dung, shall he burn: And the priest shall take cedar wood, and hyssop, and scarlet, and cast it into the midst of the burning of the heifer. Then the priest shall wash his clothes, and he shall bathe his flesh in water, and afterward he shall come into the camp, and the priest shall be unclean until the even. And he that burneth her shall wash his clothes in water, and bathe his flesh in water, and shall be unclean until the even. And a man that is clean shall gather up the ashes of the heifer, and lay them up without the camp in a clean place, and it shall be kept for the congregation of the children of Israel for a water of separation: it is a purification for sin.
Acts 17: 22, 23 Then Paul stood in the midst of Mars' hill, and said, [Ye] men of Athens, I perceive that in all things ye are too superstitious. For as I passed by, and beheld your devotions, I found an altar with this inscription, TO THE UNKNOWN GOD. Whom therefore ye ignorantly worship, him declare I unto you.
John 20: 19 - 31 Then the same day at evening, being the first [day] of the week, when the doors were shut where the disciples were assembled for fear of the Jews, came Jesus and stood in the midst, and saith unto them, Peace [be] unto you. And when he had so said, he shewed unto them [his] hands and his side. Then were the disciples glad, when they saw the Lord. Then said Jesus to them again, Peace [be] unto you: as [my] Father hath sent me, even so send I you. And when he had said this, he breathed on [them], and saith unto them, Receive ye the Holy Ghost: Whose soever sins ye remit, they are remitted unto them; [and] whose soever [sins] ye retain, they are retained. But Thomas, one of the twelve, called Didymus, was not with them when Jesus came. The other disciples therefore said unto him, We have seen the Lord. But he said unto them, Except I shall see in his hands the print of the nails, and put my finger into the print of the nails, and thrust my hand into his side, I will not believe. And after eight days again his disciples were within, and Thomas with them: [then] came Jesus, the doors being shut, and stood in the midst, and said, Peace [be] unto you. Then saith he to Thomas, Reach hither thy finger, and behold my hands; and reach hither thy hand, and thrust [it] into my side: and be not faithless, but believing. And Thomas answered and said unto him, My Lord and my God. Jesus saith unto him, Thomas, because thou hast seen me, thou hast believed: blessed [are] they that have not seen, and [yet] have believed. And many other signs truly did Jesus in the presence of his disciples, which are not written in this book: But these are written, that ye might believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God; and that believing ye might have life through his name.
Luke 24: 44 - 48 And he said unto them, These [are] the words which I spake unto you, while I was yet with you, that all things must be fulfilled, which were written in the law of Moses, and [in] the prophets, and [in] the psalms, concerning me. Then opened he their understanding, that they might understand the scriptures, And said unto them, Thus it is written, and thus it behoved Christ to suffer, and to rise from the dead the third day: And that repentance and remission of sins should be preached in his name among all nations, beginning at Jerusalem. And ye are witnesses of these things.
Luke 16: 19 - 31 There was a certain rich man, which was clothed in purple and fine linen, and fared sumptuously every day: And there was a certain beggar named Lazarus, which was laid at his gate, full of sores, And desiring to be fed with the crumbs which fell from the rich man's table: moreover the dogs came and licked his sores. And it came to pass, that the beggar died, and was carried by the angels into Abraham's bosom: the rich man also died, and was buried; And in hell he lift up his eyes, being in torments, and seeth Abraham afar off, and Lazarus in his bosom. And he cried and said, Father Abraham, have mercy on me, and send Lazarus, that he may dip the tip of his finger in water, and cool my tongue; for I am tormented in this flame. But Abraham said, Son, remember that thou in thy lifetime receivedst thy good things, and likewise Lazarus evil things: but now he is comforted, and thou art tormented. And beside all this, between us and you there is a great gulf fixed: so that they which would pass from hence to you cannot; neither can they pass to us, that would come from thence. Then he said, I pray thee therefore, father, that thou wouldest send him to my father's house: For I have five brethren; that he may testify unto them, lest they also come into this place of torment. Abraham saith unto him, They have Moses and the prophets; let them hear them. And he said, Nay, father Abraham: but if one went unto them from the dead, they will repent. And he said unto him, If they hear not Moses and the prophets, neither will they be persuaded, though one rose from the dead.
John 3: 14 - 18 And as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, even so must the Son of man be lifted up: That whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have eternal life. For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life. For God sent not his Son into the world to condemn the world; but that the world through him might be saved. He that believeth on him is not condemned: but he that believeth not is condemned already, because he hath not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God.
John 14: 6 Jesus saith unto him, I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me.