I Guds namn, Den Barmhärtigaste, Den Nådigaste
Rashad Khalifa-Purifier or Pretender?
the Reply
|
This is a reply for the article that appeared in Sign magazine-Glasgow U.K.- and posted on the discussion group on the internet in February 1998. The original article is produced in the black ink while the reply is produced in the blue ink. <<Dr Rashad Khalifa’s claim to be A Divine Messenger of The Covenant has caused great controversy and concern. >> Reply: This is the norm. That is exactly what happens with every messenger of God. See 2:87, 5:70, 15:11 and 36:30. but let me first correct you, we do not have divine messengers, but rather human messengers. Check your Quran, see 6:9 <<This appraisal of his work and two translations of the Quran has a few revelations of its own.>> Reply: Did you miss the third one?!. but let us find out. <<Looking at the first English translation of the Quran by Dr Rashad Khalifa it is easy to be persuaded by its simple, clear presentation and ease of use. The rendering is much the same as others available, the only difference, as you might expect, is the choice of words. Although the intricate numerical analysis based on the number 19 is included, the language is quite modern making the reading effortless. The theme throughout is the Oneness of God and worship to Him alone.>> <<The revised edition is, however, something different. Apart from the obvious differences such as layout, a much longer introduction and more appendices, the focus of the contents has changed,-.>> Reply: That is why it is a revised edition. More discoveries of the mathematical miracle of the Quran and other related issues had been made by then. By that time the clear indication for Dr. Khalifa to announce his messengeship took place. The focus of the contents however did not change. It stayed, God alone and Quran alone. Those who could not understand the Quran and the messenger of the covenant issue in the Quran lost their focus and thought the contents has changed. <<For those who are familiar with his earlier edition this immediately becomes apparent but others who are not so well acquainted may mistake it for a translation from the original Arabic Quran instead of the misrepresentation it really is.>> Reply: This is only in the eye of a person who failed to get the message. A person who lost the focus and cannot see but through his prejeduiced eye. The message of the Quran was translated clearly, simply and the same in both translations. <<Rashad Khalifa’s impaired claims to messengership undermine all the good that he has done. >> Reply: Since this is a personal opinion of yours, every individual need to examine these claims for and by his/herself. When Moses presented to Pharoah and his elites what God called a CLEAR proof, they failed to see it and only the magicians appreciated it. It does not surprise us that you failed to appreciate these claims. It does not make you correct. There have been other indications that you would not. <<The contents of this particular translation go against the views he expressed in his previous commentary and against the Quran.>> Reply: This is not true. It only reflects the loss of the focus due to your predetermined prejudice. <<The foundation of his claim is based on the complex gematrical values of the Arabic letters and verses.>> Reply: Again this a loss of focus. His claim was founded on his message, i.e. going back to the Quran, disregarding all the innovations of Hadiths and Sunna and worshipingp God alone. His proofs include but not limited to strong mathematical findings that cannot be just repeated co-incidences in the Quran.The gematrical value of the Arabic Alphabets is not complex as you claim. It was used by the primitive Arabs 1400 years ago. That is an unacceptable lie from a person who knows how to use a computer. <<Mathematics is an exact science and, while it is acceptable that the alphabet has numerical significance, any findings which form the basis of an extraordinary claim must be verified by a recognized authority before they can be taken as a statement of fact.>> Reply: Trying to sound great when you deliberately ignoring the fact that the miracle start with very basic mathematics that does not need any tool or a ”recognized authority”to verify it. See our file ”Simple facts of the miracle”. If you do not trust your own judgment in few simple mathematics, how to expect the reader to trust your judgment in major issues. <<The average reader may be impressed by a string of figures which he cannot possibly check, but unless Rashad’s research can be corroborated by independent investigation, it does not have the integrity which is required to substantiate his claim.>> Reply: The same problem as the previosu statement. A good part of the mathematical miracle can be verified without having to use any tools. If you have the Quran you can have it .If you were serious enough in your search you would have verified everything yourself as did many of Dr. Khalifa’s supporters.Since you made your mind ahead of any investigation, you failed to see the miracle and failed to understand many issues. <<By establishing a formula within the Quran, Rashad’s discovery of the number nineteen has had decisive impact. Many people have been so overwhelmed by this discovery that they have absorbed, without question, any other information ‘supported’ by this numerical miracle.>> Reply: Generally, this is a false statement. You are talking about a minority of people who were interested in the mathematical miracle more than the message itself. These people failed their test as much as those who failed to see the miracle completely, like you, for many reasons, the least of it is their ego The majority of the people who have seen the miracle did not absorb or accept any information unless supported by the Quran. <<In fact, matters which common sense would normally reject have been accepted by the ingenuous and ingenious alike. This opportunity has not been missed and is used as a license to prop up the otherwise fragile claim as a messenger of God.>> Reply: The author is talking about ”In fact” when he presented no facts so far. While the author may have found difficulty with the simple mathematics of the alphabets, it should not surprise us that he failed to understand the claim of messengership. <<However, the discrepancies found in his two translations published some years apart are evidence that his designation is self instated and not from the Almighty.>> Reply: The author has failed to understand that Dr. Khalifa is a human being and not a ”divine messenger” and that humans may make mistakes. The discrepancies claimed by the author, however are only his personal opinion and should be checked out. <<Rashad makes a notable distinction between prophethood and his messengership. A messenger, he maintains, does not bring anything new and he, as a messenger of the covenant, confirms and purifies the existing scripture.>> Reply: Rashad did not make this distinction, God did. See 3:81 for example. Messengers do not bring new scripture. They confirm existing scriptures and this culod be with new informaton e.g. the mathematical miracle of the Quran. Read also our file ”Prophet or messenger” << And how does he refine the Quran? From Sura 9 he has removed the last two verses.>> Reply: This was just one aspect. He exposed many of the corruptions of those who interpreted the Quran or translated it, see his translation and his book ”Quran, Hadith and Islam”. The mathematical discoveries proved beyond any doubt that the two verses at the end of Sura 9, as always suspected, are an addition and not from God. The documented history of the writing of the Quran always doubted these two verses and there was no solid proof until the mathematical miracle of the Quran brought one.See the extensive proof in our file ”Tampering with the word of God”. <<In appendix 24 and under the title ‘Tampering With the Word of God’ he explains: “Nineteen years after the Prophet’s death, some scribes injected two false verses at the end of sura 9…” and further on says: “One of the scribes suggested adding a couple of verses to honour the Prophet”. Surely, he cannot be referring to the same Quran and the same scribes portrayed by God in Sura 80 verse 15-16 as ‘ … an honourable scripture. Exalted and pure. Written by the hands of scribes. Who are honourable and righteous.’?>> Reply: The author here is confused between the Quran and the ”Mos-haf” (the human written book of the Quran). The Quran is preserved by God in master tablet (85:22), the Mos-haf is the human written book. Anyone can try to tamper with the mos-haf but no one can change the Quran. Its preservation will be proved to us but when it happened the hypocrites could not understand it. In our life time there have been several attempts to tamper with the Mos-haf by some radical groups. This does not mean God cannot preserve His book. God set the mathematical guard in the Quran to uncover any attempt of tampering. As for 80:15-16, the author tried to ignore the fact that the first (original )Quran was written during the prophet’s life and that the tampering happened during the re-writing of the Quran. The original Quran was destroyed by Calph Ibn Al Hakam.. Yes indeed, the first written Quran was written by honorable scribes, see our file ”Muhammed reads and writes” <<Does this mean that the Quran we have possessed for centuries was not the authentic one? Apparently not>> Reply: We always had the authentic Quran. Those who chose to believe God in His own book and accept the Quran alone and refuse the innovation of the books of Hadiths and sunna know the original Quran and doubted these two verses.The story of these two (suspicious) verses is documented in our Islamic history from the first day of re-writing of the Mos-haf. Under oppression and threats of violence the tampered copy of teh Mos-haf was kept around. All the outspoken believers (minority) were silenced . <<What seems to have happened, according to Rashad, is that for the first 19 years the Quran was perfect, then two additions took place. These appendages remained in the Quran for 1400 years until he, Rashad the messenger, came to cleanse the Quran of impurities!>> Reply: Again the author is confusing the Mos-haf and the Quran. Quran has always been pure in a master tablet. God promised to uncover any attempts to tamper with it. When God proved his promise, the hypocrites could not understand it. <<In the first nineteen years undoubtedly many thousands of people all over the Islamic region must have memorized the Quran. Was it possible to inform each and everyone that certain additions had been made?>> Reply: I do not know where the author gets his statistics from. It is well known that the people who memorized the Quran were relatively few and many of them lost their lives during the wars and that is why the idea of collecting the Quran from those who were still alive came about. They lived apart and can be made unsure of what they memorized. That is how the addition of these two verses happened. The commitee collecting the Quran asked all of those who know the Quran if they have these two verses and all of them denied them except the one person who invented them. He had to present them with a fake hadith to force these two verses on them. See the history of these two verses in Islamic history books or read it in our file. ”Tampering with the word of God.” << Did anyone not question where these verses came from after 19 years?>> Reply: It is sad to see the author trying to mislead the reader by such a question. Islamic history books clearly document the questioning of the person who invented these two verses and how they were refused first. He had to come up with a fake hadith to make them accept these two verses from him. Ali Ibn Abu Talib showed his anger and objection as well and refused to go the masjid to join the prayer in protest. <<What has God to say about this? Offensive accusations that any alterations ever took place are shattered by the Quran’s explicit verses: Reply: The author reveled inability to understand how God does just that. First. God 1400 years ago told His true believers to follow ONLY the Quran or else they will lose. Then God , the knower of the future, refused to post His name in the Basmallah on top of Sura 9. Then it was God’s will that the Islamic history books reflect the tampering story. God told us in the Quran that the people will try to tamper with the scripture so people think it is from Him, 3:78. He forced several historical mistakes on the fabricators that made these two verses specifically suspicious. Then it was the destiny of the mathematical proof to present the final evidence of the tampering. A law cannot be proven to exist unless someone breaks it. <<‘No falsehood can ever enter it, in the past or in the future; for it is a revelation from God, most wise, praiseworthy.’ Sura 41.42.>> Reply: Falsehood never entered the Quran and never will. The two verses were marked by God from the first day they were added. Before the advent of the mathematical proof and for 1400 years God gave the believers enough evidence of the falsehood of these two verses. It is written all over the history books.It was up to the believers to choose between the Quran or the fabricated hadith that added these two verses to the written Quran. <<It is important to note that both nullified verse are included in Rashad’s first translation without any reservation being expressed.>> Reply: It is not unexpected. The mathematical proof of the tampering was not available then. The historical proof was not solid enough to build on it without a stronger evidence. It was God who was giving the proof, not Rashad. You will have to question HIM and HIS timing. << As Rashad’s subsequent claim to messengership is basd on the numerical value of letters, words or verses in the Quran, the removal of the two verses, according to the translator’s calculations, brings the composition into perfect harmony.>> Reply: Another false statement used often by those who do not and did not understand the mathematical miracle of the Quran. First the messengership is not based on the numerical values but rather on the message. The proof in the mathematical miracle of the Quran comes second. This proof is not dependent on the removal of these two verses. There are too many proofs that do not include anything that has to do with these two verses. <<Exactly who is tampering with the Quran can be seen by comparing Rashad’s two translations. One which was published in 1981 and the other in 1992. Not only have many Sura titles changed in the new version, some verses have been mutilated and others interpolated with Rashad’s own name.>> Reply: The author again is ignoring the fact that, he is talking about a translation that also carries the understanding of its author. Sura titles are historical names that even vary in the Arabic editions of the Quran. The so called mutilation of verses is only this author’s opinion and we do not see it true. Rashad’s name again can be found only in the English translation because it carries his understanding. The Arabic version in the same book does not have his name. After reviewing the evidence he presented the reader will understand why his name was added there. See our file, ”messenger of the covenant.” <<For example in his earlier translation Verse 56 in sura 25 states: ‘We did not sent you (O Muhammed) except as a mere bearer of good news, as well as a warner.’ but in the new version it reads: ‘We have sent you (Rashad) as a deliverer of good news, as well as a warner.’>> Reply: Messengers are not born messengers. When they are commissioned to preach the message things change. During the earlier translation, Dr. Khalifa was not given any idea about his choice as a messenger. The verse made perfect sense for the messenger. In the original Quran it does not mention any messenger’s name because God knows it will refer to more than one. The proof that was presented for any change is worth reviewing. <<Another conspicuous discrepancy worthy of note is that in the early translation in appendix 1 under the title of ‘simple facts’, the word ‘God’ is noted as having a count of 2,698 (19 x 142). In the later translation the count is also given as 2,698. But the two verses of Sura 9, one with the word ‘God’ have been eliminated. How can the total remain the same?>> Reply: It was God’s plan to present His numbers correctly in either case. If Dr. Khalifa did not make his mistake in the first count, he may have never found the true count. If the author ever tried to count a common word in the whole Quran he would have known how easy to miscount. The famous book of Abdul Baqy ”Quranic Index” has miscounted several words in the Quran, including the word God, despite several revisions. It is clear that Dr. khalifa missed one count in the first translation and corrected it in the second one. The author, surprisingly is complaining of a corrected count and not because of a f wrong one. A reasonable person would worry if the opposite was true. What matters is the final count in a tedious process that took years to mature. <<In two other books by Rashad, Quran: Visual Presentation of the miracle and The Computer Speaks: God’s message to the World, Rashad has counted the word ‘God’ only once in Sura 9:15 when it appears twice. In the later translation it has been shown in bold letters and correctly counted as two spearate words.>> Reply: Again the author is complaining because Dr.Khalifa did his job correctly, discovering where the mistake was ,and correcting it. << It can be assumed that other calculations may also be wrong, but it is not within the scope of Signature Publications to carry out the necessary research.>> Reply: You do not need to assume, you can verify. If you want to assume, you can assume at least that Dr. Khalifa did correct any mistakes he could have done to the best of his abilities. The author’s own remarks point to that. If finding the truth is not within the scope of this publication, then the author should not have made any conclusions for something he claims he could not verify. Even God ordered us to verify before passing judgment.17:37 and 49:6 <<Rashad also had a vision in which he alleges to have experienced heavenly travel. In some place in the universe he was introduced to all the rophets and recognized a strong resemblance that the prophet Abraham had to his own father, uncles and, to himself. This fantasy is in complete contrast considering the disparaging remarks he made abut the people who forged such nonsense about the prophet Muhammad.>> Reply: The author here is resorting to lies to support his views. Dr. Khalifa never called Muhammed’s night trip a non sense in any of the three translations that he authored. See the translation of 17:1 in all of his translations. Dr Khalifa called non-sense all the fairy tales that filled the hadiths books and contradict the Quran in every aspect. Those who believed these non-sense hadiths have difficult time accepting the Quran, the true word of God. What happened to Dr. Khalifa (or the prophet Muhammed) is a personal experience that was meant for him personally and cannot be verified by us except by accepting the words of the Quran. When Muhammed mentioned his night trip he had the same kind of skepticism from his contemporaries. <<In his early translation, Rashad wrote in footnotes to sura 17.1 ‘Two hundred years after Muhammad, some storytellers with limited knowledge, and a lot of imagination, fabricated a story alleging a night journey…’>> Reply: The author is deliberately misleading the reader to believe that Dr. Khalifa did not believe the Israa (Muhammed’s night journey). Dr. Khalifa was only objecting to the pages after pages of lies that filled the hadiths books about that same journey of Muhammed. For example the story of ”Boraq” an animal that carried Muhammed to heaven, the story of opening Muhammed’s chest washing it with water then removing a bad piece from his heart then filling his chest with a bucket full of wisdom….etc. <<Rashad is supposed to have made his celestial flight in 1971. His early translation was in print in 1981 in which there is no mention of his divine status or the extra verses. If his reverent position was bestowed to purify the Quran why did he publish a translation which would undergo major surgery in the near future? Surely his utmost priority would have been to present his mathematical prof with the corrected copy.>> Reply: Dr. Khalifa clearly admitted that he did not understand the meaning or significance of that night journey until later . It stayed in his mind like a dream for years. He mentioned its happening to his father and family when happened without knowing the implications. The mathematical proofs that surround this event is very strong and leave no room for speculations.The mathematical discoveries in relation to the false two verses were also completed later in his life after the first translation. Dr. Khalifa was not the planner of all this, God was. <<It is his ‘final testament’ published in 1992 which is defective and it is in this corrupt version that his name appears within the text of his unscrupulously paraphrased translation of the Quran.>> Reply: The author here is trying to influence the reader with his own personal opinion that was built on personal prejudice, the result of years of following a corrupted version of Islam. The Islam that is built on books never authorized by God. His failure to verify the mathematical miracle by his own admission disqualify him from giving a fair judgment of Dr. Khalifa’s translation. We encourage the reader to check the translation him/herself, click here to verify for yourself. <<Reading the introduction and commentary of this sacrilegious text one wonders what is the source of his information. The inconsistencies found do not correspond with the mission of a messenger who has come to purge Islam of all contamination.>> Reply: Again the author here is reflecting how disturbed he is, seeing the Quran alone used to explain the Quran. Every aspect and issue in Dr. Khalifa’s translation is explained by the Quran from the Quran. We have to remember that those who already made their minds before seeing the truth are prohibited by God from seeing the light. 6:25, 18:57 and 17:46 There is no inconsistencies in the translation, it can only be found in the mind of the author. Quran alone is too much for those who had too many years of corrupted Islam. <<One of the eccentric beliefs peddled is that anyone who dies before the age of 40 goes to heaven. This crucial period, if this notion is to be accepted, is the post which marks the human beings ‘coming of age’. A person under forty is not considered responsible for his actions and anyone who does not believe this bizarre idea denies God’s mercy!>> Reply: The author here is calling this Quranic view eccentric but mentions nothing about the alternative traditional belief that makes a nine year old boy or girl who reached puberty responsible for making the right decision in choosing the correct religion for themselves. If not, they will end in Hell. This is what the traditional Muslim scholars hold and it does not seem eccentric for the author. Again the author is resorting to lies to dramatize his position by claiming that Dr. Khalifa had said that a person under forty is not considered responsible for his actions. While the author is unable to grab simple and direct meaning that is expressed in the Quran, his prejudice or deliberate lies reflect ignorance with the issue he is discussing. According to the Quran, 46:15-16, we reach the age of responsibility at 40. We are responsible for everything we do in all our life ,good deeds and bad ones are added for us. Only those who die before forty will not be hold responsible for not making the right choices. That is a destiny noone knows or can plan it. In keeping with the same law, the prophet Muhammed was given his message at the age of forty. God, the Most Merciful gave the human beings forty years to search, study and decide on the right religion.Some people, like the author, cannot accept this kind of Mercy from God evenwhen pointed to them in the Quran.. <<Sura 4.48 states: ‘God never forgives the idolization of anything besides him, and He forgives all lesser offences for whomever He will’. The Quran says nothing about all sins being forgiven for those under forty, this is only wishful thinking. In reality there is no evidence for hawking this myth to give people a false sense of security.>> Reply: God also told us in 46:15 at what age He hold us responsible and it is not the age of puberty as the author and traditional Muslims entertain based on no basis in the Quran. <<Another religious philosophy the revised version proclaims is that the job of the messenger of the covenant is to lead the righteous believers – Jews, Christians, Muslims, Buddhists, Sikhs, Hindus, and others out of darkness and into light. Appendix 2 announces ‘…one may be a Muslim Jew, a Muslim Christian, a Muslim Hindu, a Muslim Buddhist, or a Muslim Muslim.’>> Reply: It is the Quran and not Dr Khalifa who proclaimed the ONE religion. Dr. Khalifa only brought it into the light again. In 2:62 and 5:60 God clearly defines the class of people who may make it to heaven from any religion, being Jews, Christians, Hindus, Buddhist…etc. if they meet the criteria mentioned in the verse. <<The theory to include all religions based on beliefs common to all faiths is not a new one. This peculiar idea has been tried, without success, by emperor Akbar of India, M.K. Ghandi, Brahmu Samaj and other novel innovations pronouncing universal faiths.>> Reply: This theory actually belongs to God and is preached in the Quran. That is why there is only one religion that is acceptable to God, submission to God alone (Islam in Arabic). Every religion preached by God’s prophets and messengers was submission to Him alone (Islam in Arabic) Noah, Abraham, Moses, Jesus and Muhammed had one and the same religion. The failure of the human subjects who preached one religion was only because they were preaching human made religions and not the religion of God that was preached by all His prophets and messengers, ”Submission to HIM alone” <<How can Islam encompass the integral Hindu beliefs based on the racist cast system, even if they both have some other things in common? Both systems of life are incompatible>> Reply: Dr Khalifa never said or implied that Islam encompass Hindu belief or Buddhist beliefs, but the author is making his own suggestion here to add more lies to a weak position of his. <<If a Hindu rejects his inherent faith and accepts the Quran as God’s word then he no longer remains a Hindu and becomes a Muslim. So there is no question of him becoming a Muslim Hindu which would be a compromise between the two faiths.>> Reply: The short insight of the author stems from his inability of understanding Verses like 2:62 and 5:69 In these verses God is talking about anyone of any background who adheres to the clear rules in the verse. In the incidence of a Hindu or anyone following the rules in these verse, then he/she has submitted to God, and become submitter (Muslim in Arabic). <<‘Submitters Perspective’ (sometimes titled Muslim Perspective) is a monthly publication of the Masjid Tucson (U.S.A.) of which Rashad Khalifa was the imam before his death in 1990. In the April issue number 64, his murder is likened to the termination of the prophet Jesus’s life. It is said Rashad’s soul was raised before his attackers, described as disbelievers, struck. How this comparison is known to be true is not stated – unnless someone else from the Masjid Tucson has also started receiving inspiration from God.>> Reply: Here, the author is attacking some people who claim to be following Dr. Khalifa after his death. He is making their mistakes his mistake. I will not discuss how correct or incorrect they were. It is not related to this topic.This has no bearing on Dr. Khalifa. You cannot blame the prophet Muhammed for the mistakes of the Shiite for example. <<In another issue, writer Parvaneh Parnian ends an article on Salat by saying ‘…Thus, in addition to the information sent down by God during the last few months, all aspects of Salat are confirmed.’>> Reply: All the discoveries of the mathematical miracle of the Quran were considered gifts sent down by God. No-one could have discovered them without His permission. All the clear understanding of the Quran was considered information sent down to us by God. He is in control of His book. He has placed a veil on the mind of many traditional Muslims who could not see the truth in the Quran. They were too busy with the fabricated books of Hadiths and Sunna. <<In the February 1989 issue Rashad is quoted as saying “I was most assertively told, through Gabriel, that Sura 36, and more specifically verse 36.3 (Surely, you are one of the messengers), refers to me and I was provided with the following mathematical proof…” But in his early translation he interprets this verse as: `Y.S. And this Quran that is full of wisdom; (prove that) you (Muhammad) are one of the messengers. Advocating the right path.’ Sura 36 1-4.>> Reply: The author insists on ignoring the fact that Dr. Khalifa was a human being who has a time span like us. In his earlier translation he was not told yet about the significance of these verses or any other verses in relation to him. Later, Dr. Khalifa did not just claime it. He presented the proofs, see the file, click here. <<In his commentary to these verses he states: ‘The miraculous numerical code associated with the Quranic initials such as Y.S. here, proves that Muhammad was indeed a messenger of God.’ Since Gabriel transmitted the Quran to Muhammad the obvious implication here is that Gabriel made a mistake at some point. If this is not the case than Rashad has prevaricated his story.>> Reply: Gabriel did not make mistakes, but the author did, he does not understand the significance or implication of the mathematical miracle of the Quran. The miracle proved the authenticity of the book that call Muhammed a messenger of God and accordingly the messengership of Muhammed. It does not affect the incidence mentioned by Dr. Khalifa. <<The June 1990 issue announces that the Messenger of the Covenant has accomplished his mission. In appendix 2 of the new translation one of his principal duties was to establish a criminal justice system. Where and when, if at all, Rashad established such a system is not mentioned. If he has not founded such a system then his mission has not yet been completed.>> Reply: The system was established by correcting (from the Quran) what has been considered by the traditional Muslims as the law of God when it was the man made laws of the fabricated books of Hadiths and Sunna. This correction was explained throughout the translation from the Quran and in a special appendix at the end of his translation. Issues like the capital punishment in Islam, see the file, cutting the hand of the thieve instead of cutting it off, the punishment of adultery and prison system in Islam. The details can be found in appendix 37 of Dr. Khalifa’s translation. <<Yet in the Submitters Perspective of April 1993 followers of Rashad’s principles are defined as ‘community of Rashad’. In effect the disciples of Rashad are differentiating themselves not as Muslims, The Believers, but as a separate new sect belonging to the community of Rashad. How long will it be before they present themselves as ‘Rashadites’?>> Reply: Gross lie. They never called themselves that name. Their enemies did. This incident is taken out of context. The referral was to all those who lived during Rashad time and not to his followers. They consider themselves to be on the path of the true Islam (Submission in English). They do not consider themselves to be new sect. They are the followers of the same religions that was followed by of Abraham, Moses, Jesus and Muhammed and this cannot be new. <<In his comments to Sura 6.159 of his early translation Rashad wrote: ‘The only reason behind the existence of several Islamic sects today is that the Muslims have abandoned the Quran in favour of the human opinions of their leaders who are in fact their idols.’>> Reply: These leaders used the fabricated books of Hadiths and Sunna to create new laws and new religion that can never be found in the Quran I many occasions these laws contradict the teachings of the Quran. <<The community of Rashad has a new version of the Quran sandwiched between an introduction and commentaries which are in fact opinions of their leaders. Conjecture, the Quran tells us in Sura 10:36, is no substitute for the truth.>> Reply: Another gross lie. First the author is trying to make a sect out of those who chose to correct their Islam by following the Quran alone. Then he claimed they have a new Quran when we know it is the original Quran they have. Since this is a translation of the Quran, it has commentaries to explain why the need to change to correct the corruption of the Muslim traditions. It has the new discoveries of the mathematical miracle of the Quran. It does not make new laws or change or contradict what has been stated in the Quran. Check it your self at our Quran page. Click here. <<To justify why people deny Rashad’s messengership, the community of Rashad say these people are hypocrites who are expected ‘to utter we do not need a messenger.’ This is precisely how the Mormons defend their apocrypha (see 2 Nephi 29 Book of Mormon).>> Reply: It does not matter what anybody says. What matter is what the Quran says; 2:87, 5:70, 15:11, 36:30, 40:34 <<The Jehovah’s Witness state that there is no hell, as death is the wages of sin. The community of Rashad preach that you are guaranteed heaven if you die before you reach the age of forty, even if you are evil or an atheist. They also readily incorporate all other religions so it would be easy for a Buddhist to become a ‘Muslim Buddhist’ (!). This may seem a paradox to most people but not to the community of Rashad.>> Reply: These false statements are a repeat and were explained in the earlier commentaries. <<God says in the Quran ‘…you do not need to exalt your selves; He is fully aware of the righteous’ (Sura 53.32. At the end of appendix 24 of Rashad’s new version, the contributors acknowledge themselves with unanimous vote of thanks for a ‘job well done’. The Quran says: ‘What about the one who idolizes his own ego? Can you do anything for him?’ Sura 25:43>> Reply: More lies by the author. The contributors did not acknowledge themselves, but it was Dr. Khalifa acknowledge their contributions. A big difference. <<Dr Rashad Khalifa’s discovery of the number 19 pattern in the Quran was a momentous step for Muslims all over the world.>> Reply: The author has proved throughout this article that he did not even get close to know the basics of the mathematical miracle of the Quran, but he still is calling it a momentous step. Had he spent a little time verifying it he would not have had hard time understanding the correction that Dr. Khalifa presented from the Quran. This author failed twice. He failed to verify what he considers a momentous discovery and because of that failure he failed second time to understand the many issues that is connected to the first one. These two failures disqualify him from being a judge in issues he could not understand, i.e. the many issues included in this whole lengthy article we have just finished. <<However, his changing views regarding the essence of faith, recorded in his two renditions of the Quran, are not appropriate for a man commissioned by God. To declare himself as a divine messenger was un unfortunate decision. It has overshadowed the seriousness of his previous achievement.>> Reply: This judgment should not surprise us when it comes from a man who failed twice as explained in the above commentary. Ihsan Tawfeek |