Meherally’s Failure to Respond to Our Challenge


In my initial response to Meherally’s critique of Silas’ article, I had stated:

Finally and even more amazingly, it might come as a complete shock to our readers to find that the Quran never actually says that the Taurat was given to Moses. Instead, the Quran says that Allah gave Moses the Book. This means that the only way for Meherally to know whether the Taurat was given to Moses IS BY TURNING TO THE HOLY BIBLE! Otherwise, Meherally can never prove from the Quran itself that the Taurat was given to Moses. This is another indication that the Quran is an incomplete and incoherent record.

Meherally responded by trying to deceive his readers into thinking that the Quran does claim that the Torah was given to Moses. I exposed this lie and reissued my challenge here:

HERE IS AN ADDITIONAL SHOCKER. Meherally thinks that by appealing to a subheading in his article he will somehow refute my original challenge and this constitutes as proof for his claim. Since Meherally's subheading is not part of the Quran, this only further demonstrates that Meherally is using deceptive tactics to evade the fact that he has been exposed. So we issue our challenge again:

WE CHALLENGE MEHERALLY TO PRODUCE ONE SINGLE VERSE FROM THE ENTIRE QURAN WHERE IT SAYS THAT GOD REVEALED THE TORAH TO MOSES. SHOW US A SINGLE PLACE FROM YOUR BOOK WHERE MOSES IS SAID TO HAVE RECEIVED THE TORAH.

How does Meherally respond to this challenge? Well, here it is:

My response to the above:

Any scholar who is sincerely and seriously interested in knowing the truth, pertaining to an important issue relating to the Qur'an, need not just call for "ONE SINGLE VERSE",
but should rather examine several related Revealed Verses to that topic and then try to arrive at a True Conclusion. Quoted below are some of the correlated verses on the topic:

Note: In the past, Sam Shamoun had taken exception to the words that were placed within the parentheses by the translator Abdullah Yusuf Ali. I have below quoted the translated texts done by Muhammad M. Pickthall. Sam may ignore the words that are within the brackets.

RESPONSE:

I need to correct Meherally’s misrepresentation and/or misunderstanding of my arguments. First, my problem with Meherally had nothing to do with the translator adding words within parentheses, but with Meherally’s appeal to these parenthetical comments in order to prove his point, even though he knew full well that these words ARE NOT PART OF THE ORIGINAL ARABIC TEXT!

Second, Meherally again misrepresents my argument by attempting to downplay my request for ONE Quranic verse that states the Torah was given to Moses. To put it quite simply, I don’t care how many verses Meherally quotes, JUST AS LONG AS HE CAN QUOTE AT LEAST ONE VERSE WHICH CLAIMS THAT MOSES RECEIVED THE TORAH! That Meherally needs to evade my challenge by stringing passages together which HE THINKS will then support his case only proves that Meherally CANNOT answer my request.

Meherally continues:

"Who revealed the Book which Moses brought, a light and guidance for mankind, which ye have put on parchments which ye show, but ye hide much (thereof), and by which ye were taught that which ye knew not yourselves nor (did) your fathers (know it)? Say: Allah...." Qur'an 6: 91

1. The above quoted text from the Qur'an acknowledges two things. i) It confirms that Allah had Revealed a Book to Prophet Moses (p.b.u.h.). ii) That this Revealed Book was written down on the parchments by his followers. It is a historical fact that the TORAH was originally caligraphed by the Jewish Rabbis on the SCROLLS that were made from parchments.

RESPONSE:

Let me repeat the last part of Meherally’s sentence for all to see:

... It is a historical fact that the TORAH was originally caligraphed by the Jewish Rabbis on the SCROLLS that were made from parchments.

Here, Meherally appeals to the Jews in order to prove his point that the Torah was given to Moses. I now paste a part of my initial challenge to see how Meherally has basically done WHAT I SAID HE NEEDED TO DO IN ORDER TO PROVE HIS POINT!

... This means that the only way for Meherally to know whether the Taurat was given to Moses IS BY TURNING TO THE HOLY BIBLE! ...

How does Meherally prove his point? By appealing to THE JEWISH RABBIS! How did these Jewish Rabbis know that they were transcribing the Torah given to Moses? THEY KNEW THIS FROM THE VERY SCROLLS WHICH THEY WERE TRANSCRIBING, THAT’S HOW!

More importantly, what was this Torah which the Jews were transcribing? THE VERY PENTATEUCH THAT MEHERALLY HAS SO DESPEREATLY TRIED TO PROVE CANNOT BE THE REVELATION WHICH MOSES RECEIVED FROM GOD!

Meherally is now left with no other conclusion but to accept the fact that the first five books of the Old Testament is in fact THE Torah which God revealed to Moses.

Meherally goes on:

"We gave unto Moses the Scripture, and We appointed it a guidance for
the Children of Israel, saying: Choose no guardian beside Me." Qur'an 17 : 2

2. The above verse confirms that within the Scripture that was given to Moses was a Book of Guidance for the Children of Israel. This particular Guidance, Commanded the Children of Israel, to Choose NO ONE Besides Allah as their Guardian. The famous fundamental CREDO of the Jewish Faith known as SHEMA, directly  acknowledges the above quoted Guidance. It reads: "Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one." This Jewish SHEMA is recorded in the Fifth Book of Jewish TORAH. Please refer to Deuteronomy 6:4.

RESPONSE:

Notice that Meherally cites from the fifth book of the Pentateuch and calls it the Jewish Torah, affirming the Jewish and Christian position that the Pentateuch IS the revelation of God to Moses. It seems that Meherally has had a change of heart and is now willing to concede that the Pentateuch is indeed the Torah of Moses. This, despite the fact that he originally sought to deny this!

Meherally continues:

"Lo! We did reveal the Torah, wherein is guidance and a light, by which the 
Prophets who surrendered (unto Allah) judged the Jews, and the rabbis and 
the priests (judged) by such of Allah's Scripture as they were bidden to 
observe, and thereunto were they witnesses."  Qur'an 5 : 44

3. This verse confirms that the Revealed BOOK of GUIDANCE and LIGHT that was sent for judging the acts and deeds of JEWS ("the Children of Israel") was the TORAH. The earlier quoted Verses and the next quoted Verse from the Qur'an give us the specific details of that GUIDANCE for the "Children of Israel", which were revealed to Prophet Moses.

Then, when the anger of Moses abated, he took up the tablets, and in their inscription there was guidance and mercy for all those who fear their Lord.
Qur'an 7: 154

4. The heart and soul of the TORAH happens to be the TEN COMMANDMENTS that were engraved upon the TWO TABLETS of stones, that Prophet Moses received on Mount Sinai. The above quoted verse from the Qur'an directly and conclusively acknowledges the fact that these TABLETS, with the inscribed GUIDANCE, were in the personal possession of  Moses. The inscribed text of these TABLETS are recorded in the Second Book of the Jewish TORAH called the Book of Exodus. Please refer to Exodus chapter 20, verses 3 to 17.

RESPONSE:

First, Meherally may think that S. 5:44 and 7:154 prove his point, but the fact of the matter is that it does not. These verses simply show that Israel had two revelations: (a) the Torah and (b) the tablets which were given to Moses. How does Meherally know that these tablets (a) contain the Ten Commandments and (b) that these are either the Torah or part of the Torah? The Quran does not state this. For all these claims we see Meherally appealing again to the Torah. He does not derive this from the Quran, just as we said. Meherally seems not to realize that there are certain Muslims who read these passages and still conclude that Moses did not receive the Torah. For instance, the late Muslim translator Rashad Khalifah, in his comments on S. 5:44, stated:

*5:44 The Torah is a collection OF ALL THE SCRIPTURES revealed through all the prophets of Israel prior to Jesus Christ, i.e., TODAY’S OLD TESTAMENT. Nowhere in the Quran do we find that the Torah was given to Moses. (Source: http://www.quran.org/sura5.htm; capital emphasis ours)

Again, the only way for Meherally to know that these stone tablets, containing the Ten Commandments, are the heart and soul of the Torah IS BY TURNING TO THE INSPIRED SCRIPTURES, specifically the Old Testament. Yet, to do so is to acknowledge that the Torah of Moses is none other than the first five books of the OT!

Meherally concludes:

Putting all the FOUR Verses together resolves the issue conclusively...
IF SAM HAS A PROBLEM ADDING 2 + 2 = 4, he better join a Primary School...

That HE might justify and prove falsehood false, distasteful though it be to those in guilt. Qur'an 8 : 8

Our short rebuttal has shown that Meherally has failed to respond to our challenge. In fact, Meherally had to do the very thing we claimed he needed to in order to prove his case; namely, turn to the Holy Bible. But in so doing he has to now admit that the Pentateuch IS the revealed word of God, that very Torah which Moses received as divine revelation.

Sadly, Meherally has failed to acknowledge his gross error and to apologize to his readers for deceptively using the words of translators to prove his case.

Meherally had originally written regarding my claim that the Quran never says that Moses received the Taurat:

Insha'Allah, God Willing, I am about to EXPOSE Sam that will not only SHOCK the readers, but will DISCREDIT him, once and for all the times. What Sam has claimed is a FALSEHOOD, that none can deny after reading the following verse that speaks of "AT-TAWRAAT" being revealed to Moses. After reading the following translations and the transliteration Sam should sincerely lament and apologize for having written the following falsehood for THE QUR'AN, I quote:
This is another indication that the Quran is an incomplete and incoherent record.

Seeing that it is Meherally who has been exposed for promoting falsehood, will he now apply his own criticism and admit that he has been discredited once and for all?

The only advice we can give Meherally is to turn away from this false religion and turn to Jesus Christ as his Lord and Savior before it is too late. Otherwise, Meherally will end up realizing that the very One he has sought to discredit is actually his eternal Creator who chose to become man in order to die for his people, sparing them from the eternal judgment to come.

By God’s sovereign grace, we continue to remain in the service of our eternal Lord and risen Savior, Jesus Christ, God’s beloved Son. Amen. Come Lord Jesus, come. We love you, O immortal King of all creation.

Sam Shamoun


Meherally's Logical Fallacies

Sam Shamoun has conclusively shown in the above argument, that Akbarally Meherally was unable to make his case by reasoning from the Qur'an alone. Meherally has, therefore, failed to meet the challenge.

There are, however, a number of further observations that need to be made regarding Meherally's arguments, since he does not only appeal to inadmissable outside information, he also uses the statements of the Qur'an themselves in a logically invalid manner. Let me, therefore, go over Meherally's arguments once again.

Any scholar who is sincerely and seriously interested in knowing the truth, pertaining to an important issue relating to the Qur'an, need not just call for "ONE SINGLE VERSE", but should rather examine several related Revealed Verses to that topic and then try to arrive at a True Conclusion.

It is somewhat funny to hear this from Meherally, since he is a master in ripping verses out of context and not caring what the rest of the Holy Scriptures say, when writing his attacks on the Bible and trying to make biblical statements conform to Islam. Furthermore, Meherally's formulation is revealing his fallacious methodology, because it is certainly NOT ENOUGH to quote "several related verses" and string them together in order to arrive at some desired result.

Rather, any serious scholar needs to take into account ALL THE DATA, and then reason carefully in order to arrive at a conclusion that is true to the facts. If, on the other hand, the data is inconclusive, he needs to say so and refrain from drawing a conclusion that he would like to see.

Let's see whether Meherally has done what he demands of any scholar who is sincerely and seriously interested in knowing the truth.

Meherally begins with:

"Who revealed the Book which Moses brought, a light and guidance for mankind, which ye have put on parchments which ye show, but ye hide much (thereof), and by which ye were taught that which ye knew not yourselves nor (did) your fathers (know it)? Say: Allah...." Qur'an 6: 91

1. The above quoted text from the Qur'an acknowledges two things. i) It confirms that Allah had Revealed a Book to Prophet Moses (p.b.u.h.). ii) That this Revealed Book was written down on the parchments by his followers. It is a historical fact that the TORAH was originally caligraphed by the Jewish Rabbis on the SCROLLS that were made from parchments.

For this challenge, the last sentence is inadmissable outside information. But even if it were admitted, it is not conclusive. Since paper was not yet available in the Middle East at the time of Muhammad, all books were written either on parchment or papyrus until about AD 750. The more valuable books, needed for frequent use, were usually written on the more durable material, i.e. on parchment. Not only the Torah was written on parchments, but all the Jewish Scriptures and also the Talmud were written on parchments by the Jews. The first codices of the Qur'an were written on parchments as well. Nearly all books were written on parchments at that time. Therefore, this is not a characteristic property by which one can identify the Torah and distinguish it from other books.

Meherally's argument is very simple:

The "book given to Moses" was written on parchments (information found in the Qur'an).
The Torah was written on parchments (information taken from history).
Therefore, the "book given to Moses" is identical to the Torah.

Do I need to explain why this is a logical fallacy? Let me present another example of this format. Assuming Meherally, as a good Muslim, has a beard, one could present the argument:

Mr. Meherally has a beard.
Mr. Katz has a beard.
Therefore, Mr. Meherally is the same as Mr. Katz.

Even though the first two statements may be true, the third one does not follow. One cannot argue the essential identity of two entities from non-distinctive properties. Nor does it help to string together a number of such non-distinctives:

Mr. Meherally has a beard, wears glasses and has wedding ring.
Mr. Katz has a beard, wears glasses and has wedding ring.
Therefore, Mr. Meherally is the same as Mr. Katz.

Essentially, Meherally's argument in this paper consists of an iteration of this logical fallacy. Let us examine each of these iterations in turn.

"We gave unto Moses the Scripture, and We appointed it a guidance for
the Children of Israel, saying: Choose no guardian beside Me." Qur'an 17 : 2

2. The above verse confirms that within the Scripture that was given to Moses was a Book of Guidance for the Children of Israel. This particular Guidance, Commanded the Children of Israel, to Choose NO ONE Besides Allah as their Guardian. The famous fundamental CREDO of the Jewish Faith known as SHEMA, directly acknowledges the above quoted Guidance. It reads: "Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one." This Jewish SHEMA is recorded in the Fifth Book of Jewish TORAH. Please refer to Deuteronomy 6:4.

There are several problems with these claims.

First, what does Meherally mean when claiming that "within the Scripture that was given to Moses was a Book ..."? Does he speak of a hierarchy of books, comparable to the collected works of ... consisting of several books bound into one large volume? Does he consider the simple statement "Choose no guardian beside Me" to be a book by itself? Whatever he means, I can't see such a hierarchy of books mentioned in the verse quoted by Meherally.

Second, even if we do not want to ask for an absolutely literal translation, it is quite a stretch to identify the command "Choose no guardian beside Me" with the creedal confession in the Shema: "Hear O Israel: The LORD our God, the LORD is one." The quranic command would be somewhat closer to the first of the Ten Commandments as given in Exodus 20:2-3, "I am the LORD your God, ... You shall not have any other gods besides me." But there is a bigger problem. In both of these references the Hebrew text contains the name of God, YHWH (usually rendered in English as "LORD" in all upper case letters). These verses are very clear. There is only one God, and his name is Yahweh, not Allah. [A detailed discussion on this issue of the name of God is due to be published on Answering Islam soon.]

Furthermore, let Meherally look through all of the Torah or even all of the Old Testament whether he can find a verse stating, "Choose no guardian beside Me". If he cannot find it, then this alleged "book given to Moses" is definitely not the Torah. Assuming that Allah is able to translate properly from Hebrew to Arabic, this verse is actually proof that the Torah and the "book given to Moses" refered to in the Qur'an are NOT identical.

Third, the two verses quoted so far by Meherally already contradict each other. Surah 6:91 said that the book of Moses was a guidance for mankind, while Surah 17:2 now says it is a guidance for the Children of Israel. What is it, a guidance for all of mankind or only for the Children of Israel?

Fourth, the above paragraph exhibits again Meherally's main logical fallacy. ALL of God's revelation is guidance for mankind, or, if we want to focus only on Israel: ALL of God's revelation to Israel is guidance for Israel. This is non-distinctive and can therefore not be used to establish identity.

The Old Testament Scriptures contain, e.g., the Book of Isaiah, the Book of Jeremiah, the Book of Ezekiel, the Book of Obadiah, and other books that are only named after the Prophet who was inspired to write them. All these books have no other names than the name of the Prophet. On the other hand, there are books that have special names, e.g., Psalms, Proverbs, Lamentations, Song of Songs.

There is, in principle, no problem to assume that the Qur'an speaks of two revelations, one called the "Book of Moses", and another book bearing the special name "Torah". In fact, the Qur'an does speak of "the books (suhuf) of Abraham and of Moses" (87:19; 53:36-37), "the book of Moses" (kitabu Moosa: 11:17; 46:12) as well as of books of revelation with names: al-Injil (3:3), al-Qur'an (2:185), al-Tawrat (3:3), al-Zabur (3:184).

The claim still stands strong that it is not possible to prove from the Qur'an alone that the Torah was given to Moses, or expressed differently, that the Torah and "the Book given to Moses" are identical.

Let me list explicitly that many books are called "a guidance" in the Qur'an:

If Allah has given any other books, certainly they would also be a guidance, or which of the books of Allah would Meherally deny this property? If all of Allah's books are guidance, then both, the Torah and the "Book of Moses" would be guidance, but this would not make them any more identical than having a beard would imply that Meherally and I are really not two people but one and the same person.

Adding the further specific "a guidance for Israel" does not help to make the two one, since we do not deny that on the basis of the Qur'an alone, both, the Torah and the book given to Moses could have been for Israel, just as we believe that the Zabur and the Injil were originally given to Israel as well, but are now also part of the scriptures of the Christians, i.e. scripture for all mankind, for people of every nation.

In fact, here is a verse that may indicate that "al-kitab" of Moses and the Torah are indeed two different books. The angels announcing to Mary the birth of a son to be called Jesus the Messiah, say:

And He [Allah] will teach him [Jesus] the Scripture (al-kitab) and the wisdom and the Torah and the Gospel. And will make him a messenger to the Children of Israel, ... (3:48-49)

The Torah and the Gospel are certainly different books. It is unclear what the wisdom refers to, but since the other three entities are books, maybe it refers to the Psalms or the book of Proverbs which contains words of wisdom. Is "al-kitab" perhaps the book of Moses? Then this verse seems to testify that "the book (of Moses)" and the Torah are two different books. We can't know for sure, since too many books are called "al-kitab" in the Qur'an.

Let me explain why Meherally's methodology to select only "several related verses" instead of taking into account all the data is not scholarship but manipulation. Using his method of selecting some and disregarding other verses, we can prove that the Book of Moses is identical with the Qur'an. Here is how:

The book of Moses is characterized as

And We verily gave the Book (al-kitab) unto Moses after We had destroyed the generations of old: clear testimonies for mankind (an-naas), and a guidance and a mercy (hudan wa rahmatan), that haply they might reflect. (28:43)

Again, We gave the Book (al-kitab) unto Moses, complete for him who would do good ('alalladhii 'ahsana), an explanation of all things (tafsiilan-likulli shay'in), a guidance and a mercy (hudan wa rahmatan), that they might believe in the meeting with their Lord. (6:154)

The Qur'an is characterized as

The month of Ramadan in which was revealed the Qur'an, a guidance for mankind (hudan lin-naas), ... (2:185)

And We have revealed the Book (al-kitab) unto thee only that thou mayst explain unto them that wherein they differ, and (as) a guidance and a mercy for a people who believe. (16:64)

And (bethink you of) the day when We raise in every nation a witness against them of their own folk, and We bring thee (Muhammad) as a witness against these. And We reveal the Book (al-kitab) unto thee as an exposition of all things (tibyaanan likulli shay'in), and a guidance and a mercy and good tidings for those who have surrendered (to Allah). (16:89)

A guidance and a mercy for the good (muhsiniin), (31:3)

O mankind (an-naas)! There hath come unto you an exhortation from your Lord, a balm for that which is in the breasts, a guidance and a mercy (hudan wa rahmatan) for believers. (10:57)

Both books are "a guidance and a mercy" (most of the above quoted verses say so), both are for mankind (an-naas) (28:43 and 2:185, 10:57), both are an explanation or exposition of all things (6:154 and 16:89), and both are for those who are good (muhsin) or do good ('ahsan) (31:3 and 6:154). In addition, both books bear the title "al-kitab" (THE book), so that - based on so many common properties - we can now confidently conclude that these two are actually one and the same book which was first given to Moses, and later it is given to Muhammad.

I do not agree with this kind of reasoning. I have only presented it to expose Meherally's irresponsible manipulation of the data. This can hardly be called sound scholarship or being "sincerely and seriously interested in knowing the truth".

In fact, there is at least one Muslim author who is propagating my above conclusion and even more! Dr. Kamal Omar claims that Al-Kitab = Torah = Injil = Zabur = Qur'an. According to him, there was always only one book, Al-Kitab, which was given to many different prophets. Dr. Kamal Omar agrees with Dr. Rashad Khalifa in the first of the following statements:

Allah has nowhere said that He revealed or gave or delivered "Taurat" to Prophet Musa. He has said that He gave "Taurat" to Prophet Essa and Essa himself says that he holds "Taurat" in his two hands (See Surah 3:48,50). ...

The situation brought forward is sufficient to make it quite evident that the most important attribute of the Scripture is "AL-KITAB" and the wordings of "AL-KITAB" never change and that "AL-KITAB" was revealed to every Prophet. (Source: Dr. Kamal Omar, The Ultimate Truth; bold emphasis mine)

I disagree with Kamal Omar's final conclusion, but both Khalifa and Omar are correct in their observation that the Qur'an nowhere states that the Torah was given to Moses.

Meherally continues:

"Lo! We did reveal the Torah, wherein is guidance and a light, by which the 
Prophets who surrendered (unto Allah) judged the Jews, and the rabbis and 
the priests (judged) by such of Allah's Scripture as they were bidden to 
observe, and thereunto were they witnesses."  Qur'an 5 : 44

3. This verse confirms that the Revealed BOOK of GUIDANCE and LIGHT that was sent for judging the acts and deeds of JEWS ("the Children of Israel") was the TORAH. ...

The same logical fallacy again, Mr. Meherally. There is not only one book that is "guidance and light". ALL of Allah's books are guidance and light. Let me quote several verses from the Qur'an to establish this theological concept:

Lo! We did reveal the Torah, wherein is guidance and a light, ... (5:44)

And We caused Jesus, son of Mary, to follow in their footsteps, confirming that which was (revealed) before him in the Torah, and We bestowed on him the Gospel, wherein is guidance and a light, confirming that which was (revealed) before it in the Torah - a guidance and an admonition unto those who ward off (evil). (5:46)

Say: Who revealed the Book which Moses brought, a light and guidance for mankind, ... (6:91)

About the Qur'an we read:

This is the Scripture whereof there is no doubt, a guidance unto those who ward off (evil). (2:2)

The month of Ramadan in which was revealed the Qur'an, a guidance for mankind, and clear proofs of the guidance, and the Criterion (of right and wrong). (2:185)

This is a declaration for mankind, a guidance and an admonition unto those who ward off (evil) (3:138)

O mankind! Now hath a proof from your Lord come unto you, and We have sent down unto you a clear light; (4:174)

Then those who believe in him, and honour him, and help him, and follow the light which is sent down with him: they are the successful. (7:157)

Believe, therefore, in Allah and His Apostle, and in the Light which we have sent down. And Allah is well acquainted with all that ye do. (64:8)

Therefore, the Qur'an is said to be a guidance and a light.

The Psalms we need to discuss separately, because the formulation is somewhat different in this case. The Qur'an states:

And if they deny thee, those before them also denied. Their messengers came unto them with clear proofs (of Allah's Sovereignty), and with the Psalms and the Scripture giving light. (35:25)

And if they deny thee, even so did they deny messengers who were before thee, who came with miracles and with the Psalms and with the Scripture giving light. (3:184)

First, what do we make with the "and" in the expression "the Psalms and the Scripture"? Does this speak of two different entities or does it only state that the Psalms are Scripture? Even though it is an akward formulation, I understand these two verses to mean that the Psalms are a scripture that is giving light. The reason are several verses which have a similarly akward use of the word "and":

And certainly We gave to Musa and Haroun the Furqan and a light and a reminder for those who would guard (against evil). (21:48)

Did Moses and Aaron receive three entities (books?), the first called "the Furqan", the second "a light" and the third "a reminder"? Hardly! Despite the akward "and", it most likely means that they were given "the Furqan which is a light and a reminder for those who would guard (against evil)."

Another akward use of "and" is found in this verse:

Wa-in khiftum alla tuqsitoo fee alyatama fainkihoo ma taba lakum mina alnnisa-i mathna wathulatha warubaAAa ...

And if ye fear that ye will not deal fairly by the orphans, marry of the women, who seem good to you, two or three or four; ... (4:3)

The Arabic literally says "two AND three AND four", but nearly all translators render it as "two OR three OR four".

There may be some weird Muslim sectarians who believe this to be Allah's permission or command to marry 2 + 3 + 4 = 9 wives, but the vast majority sees this not as addition but as alternatives, i.e. that a Muslim man cannot marry distinct entities (sets) of 2 and 3 and 4 wives at the same time, but he can only marry one set, which may consist of two OR three OR four wives. In the same way, the Psalms AND the scripture may not be two different entities existing side by side, but are alternative names for the same book talked about in this verse.

There are probably several further verses that also exhibit a similarly non-standard use of "and", but these two shall suffice for now since this argument is not essential anyway as we will see shortly.

Second, if we accept the above observations and consider it possible that the formulation "the Psalms and the Scripture giving light" in 3:184 and 35:25 may mean only one entity, i.e. it is the Psalms that are a scripture giving light, then we face the next question: What about the Psalms being also a guidance?

The Qur'an explains this as well:

And thus have We inspired in thee (Muhammad) a Spirit of Our command. Thou knewest not what the Scripture was, nor what the Faith. But We have made it a light whereby We guide whom We will of Our bondmen. And lo! thou verily dost guide unto a right path, (42:52)

Thus we see, the light is there in order to guide us. To enlighten us is the same as to guide us to the right way. Therefore, whether a verse calls a revelation only "a guidance" or only "a light" or, in a more flowery expression, "a guidance and a light", it means always the same.

Conclusion: ALL of Allah's books and revelations are guidance and light, even though it is not necessarily repeated explicitly for each individual one of them. If Meherally wants to disagree, he has to point out to us any of Allah's revelations that are explicitly said not to be guidance and light.

For example, the books of Abraham are mentioned in the Qur'an only in two short remarks (53:37; 87:18-19), and it is not explicitly said about them that they are guidance and light. But certainly this property held for them as well. Similarly, whether it is said explicitly about the Psalms in 3:184 and 35:25 as we suggested, or not, the conclusion that this is a general attribute for all of Allah's revelations would be hard to avoid.

Consequence: The property to be "guidance and light" is non-distinctive and no better than the observation that various books were written on parchments. It cannot be used to identify the Torah and "the book of Moses" as being one book.

Thus we have dealt with the first part of Meherally's claim about Surah 5:44:

"Lo! We did reveal the Torah, wherein is guidance and a light, by which the 
Prophets who surrendered (unto Allah) judged the Jews, and the rabbis and 
the priests (judged) by such of Allah's Scripture as they were bidden to 
observe, and thereunto were they witnesses."  Qur'an 5 : 44

3. This verse confirms that the Revealed BOOK of GUIDANCE and LIGHT that was sent for judging the acts and deeds of JEWS ("the Children of Israel") was the TORAH. ...

I agree that Surah 5:44 states that the Torah was a basis of the Jewish law. But that does not by itself mean it is therefore same as the "book of Moses". For Christians all 66 books of the Old and New Testaments are the basis for doctrine (belief) and ethics (behavior). They are nevertheless 66 different books.

The Qur'an does not say that the Torah was the only basis for judgment among the Jews, and that the book (al-Kitab) of Moses also was the only basis of judgment among the Jews. They could both have been used.

Meherally continues

3. ... The earlier quoted Verses and the next quoted Verse from the Qur'an give us the specific details of that GUIDANCE for the "Children of Israel", which were revealed to Prophet Moses.

Then, when the anger of Moses abated, he took up the tablets, and in their inscription there was guidance and mercy for all those who fear their Lord.
Qur'an 7: 154

4. The heart and soul of the TORAH happens to be the TEN COMMANDMENTS that were engraved upon the TWO TABLETS of stones, that Prophet Moses received on Mount Sinai. The above quoted verse from the Qur'an directly and conclusively acknowledges the fact that these TABLETS, with the inscribed GUIDANCE, were in the personal possession of Moses. The inscribed text of these TABLETS are recorded in the Second Book of the Jewish TORAH called the Book of Exodus. Please refer to Exodus chapter 20, verses 3 to 17.

Again, there are several problems with these statements, and ironically they are found in those expressions that Meherally emphasized by putting them into upper case.

First, the verse does not mention that these were TWO TABLETS. In the contrary, although their number is not specified, the Arabic word (al-alwah) is in the plural, which means they were at least three, but certainly not two.

Second, the verse does not mention the TEN COMMANDMENTS. In fact, where are the specific details about the guidance that Meherally promised? I would have expected some quotations from the content of the tablets. We are not told anything. Surah 7:154 only tells us that they were "guidance and mercy", which is again a "general attribute" for every revelation from Allah, just as we observed above for the attributes "guidance and light".

Here is another question for Meherally: If he believes the Ten Commandments are the heart and soul of the Torah, why then are they never quoted in their entirety in the Qur'an or even mentioned by the name "Ten Commandments"? Looking at the Qur'an alone, one would never know there was such a thing as "Ten Commandments".

Third, and most importantly, the verse does not mention the TORAH.

Far from helping Meherally to establish a connection between the Torah and the book given to Moses, this verse makes matters worse by introducing yet another entity: The Tablets given to Moses (7:144-145,150,154). What is the relationship of those tablets to the book that Moses received? What is their relationship to the Torah?

In fact, when we are talking about further revelations given to Moses, let me come back at this occasion to another verse, that was already quoted above for a different purpose:

And certainly We gave to Musa and Haroun the Furqan and a light and a reminder for those who would guard (against evil). (21:48)

What is the relationship of the Furqan to the Torah? And what its relationship to the book (al-Kitab) given to Moses?


Conclusion:

Not only has Meherally been unable to show from the Quran alone that the Torah was given to Moses, but this discussion revealed that the Quran is severely confused and lacking even more information. The deficit list of the Quran now contains the following points:

Meherally concluded his article with:

Putting all the FOUR Verses together resolves the issue conclusively...
IF SAM HAS A PROBLEM ADDING 2 + 2 = 4, he better join a Primary School...

The Bible remarks:

Pride goes before destruction,
a haughty spirit before a fall. (Proverbs 16:18)

Even Meherally should have realized by now that the problem is not adding. When reading the Qur'an in detail, the revelations to Moses are multiplying. If Meherally still wants to believe that Moses only got one book, the Torah, then he urgently needs to find a way to start the process of subtracting.

Iterating one particular logical fallacy a number of times is certainly not going to solve this problem.


Jochen Katz


Responses to Akbarally Meherally
Answering Islam Home Page