Comments by Khalid Jan on the debate between Dr. Jamal Badawi and Dr. Robert Morey. Robert Morey responded to this.
With success Dr. Morey has deceived his own self along with the uninformed ones who are blindly following him. He says in his paper, "Is the Allah of the Qur'an the true universal God?"
The art of asking questions is the very soul and substance of all scholarship and research. Asking questions is the only way to find out the Truth about any religion including Islam. We must always remember that Truth is never afraid of the spotlight of investigation.
In order to find an answer to the topic of our dialogue, we must be willing to ask some very hard questions. We must probe deeply into the sources of Islam. We must be willing to let history and science answer our questions instead of blindly following the dictates of dogmatism.
To simply bulldoze his false accusations, we'll scrutinize some of the Islamic references he has quoted. Furthermore, he has skillfully manufactured certain references and misquoted others, as we shall see:
He further states:
We recognize that this will be especially hard for Muslims because they are forbidden by the Qur'an to ask questions about their own faith! They are warned that if they start asking questions, they may lose their faith in Islam!
To what extent he is honest in his observation, let us look at few references he has incorporated. Dr. Morey's quotations are given in italics, and the actual Islamic references are in bold:
Morey quotes the Qur'an :
O ye who believe! Ask not questions about things which if made plain to you, may cause you trouble. Some people before you did ask such questions, and on that account lost their faith." (Surah 5:101-102).
But actual passage reads:
"O ye who believe! Ask not questions about things which if made plain to you, may cause you trouble. but if ye ask about things when the Qur'an is being revealed, they will be made plain to you, God will forgive those: for God is oft-forgiving, most Merciful.. Some people before you did ask such questions, and on that account lost their faith." (Surah 5:101-102).
Just the above example is enough to destroy his credibility as a writer, author, theologian, scholar and so forth.
Morey quotes from Bukhari:
The prophet was asked about things which he did not like, and when the questioner insisted, the Prophet got angry. (vol. 1, no. 92)
But it actually says:
"Narrated Abu Musa: The Prophet was asked about things which he did not like, but when the questioners insisted, the Prophet got angry. he then said to the people, ask me any thing you like." Bukhari, Vol. 1, Hadith#. 92
Morey quotes another hadith:
The Prophet got angry and his cheeks or his face became red. (vol. 1, no. 91)
But actual passage reads:
"Narrated Zaid bin Khaid Al-Juhani: a man asked the Prophet about the picking up of a 'luqata'(fallen lost thing). the Prophet replied, 'recognise and remember its tying material and its container, and make public annoucement (about it) for one year, then utilize it but give it to its owner if he comes.' Then the person asked about the lost camel. on that, The Propet got angry and his cheeks or his face became red and he said, "You have no concern with it as it has its water container, and its feet and its will reach water, and eat (the leaves) of trees till its owner finds it." The man then asked about the lost sheep. The Prophet replied, 'It is either for you, for your brother (another person) or for the wolf." Bukhari vol.1, Hadith#. 91
Following reference of his is very interesting. How he altered and changed words within the quotation, only a person of degraded mentality, such as Dr. Morey, would pen it down. Please, read his quotation and compare it with the actual passage.
"Allah has hated you...[for] asking too many questions." (vol. 2, no. 555; and vol. 3, no. 591)
"Narrated Ash-Shabi : The clerk of Al-Mughira bin Shuba narrated, 'Muawya wrote to Al-Mughira bin Shuba: write to me something which you have heard from the Prophet.' so Al-Mughira wrote: I heard the Prophet saying, 'Allah has hated for you three things: vain talks, (useless talk) or that you talk too much about others wasting of wealth (by extravagance). and asking too many questions (in disputed religious matters) or asking others for something (except in great need.) Bukhari vol. 2, Hadith#. 555
"Narrated Al-Mughira bin Shuba: The Prophet said, "Allah has forbidden for you (1) to be undutiful to your mothers, (2) to bury your daughters alive, (3) to not to pay the rights of the others (e.g charity etc.) and (4) to beg of men (begging.) and Allah has hated for you (1) Vain, useless talk, or that you talk too much about othes (2) to ask too many questions (in disputed religious matters) and (3) to waste the wealth (by extravaganace). " Bukhari vol. 3, Hadith#. 591
He further states:
According to the Qur'an, the infidels of Muhammad's day rejected the Qur'an because it was composed of old stories and myths.
and quotes the following Quranic verse by skipping the middle part:
But the unbelievers say, "This is nothing but a lie which he has forged, and other have helped him do it ...Tales of the ancients, which he has caused to be written; and they are dictated before him morning and evening." (Surah 25:4-5)
"But the unbelievers say, This is nothing but a lie which he has forged, and other have helped him do it. In truth it is they who have put forward an iniquity and falsehood and they say: Tales of the ancients, which he has caused to be written; and they are dictated before him morning and evening." (Surah 25:4-5)
And he continues by quoting two more verses along with incomplete footnotes from Abdullah Yusuf Ali's translation of the Qur'an.
How did the authors of the Qur'an handle this accusation? Surprisingly, all they did was attack the character of those who made the accusation and then simply repeat that the Qur'an was brought down from heaven.
In truth, it is they who have put forward an iniquity and a falsehood. (Surah 25:4) Say: "The Qur'an was sent down by Him who knows the mystery that is in the heavens." (Surah 25:6)
In his commentary, Yusuf Ali states,"3058 In their misguided arrogance they say, 'We have heard such things before: they are pretty tales which have come down from ancient times: they are good for amusement, but who takes them seriously?' 3059 The answer is that the Qur'an teaches spiritual knowledge of what is ordinarily hidden from men's sight, and such knowledge can only come from God to Whom alone is known the Mystery of the whole."
But Yusuf Ali actually writes: "3058 In their misguided arrogance they say, 'We have heard such things before: they are pretty tales which have come down from ancient times: they are good for amusement, but who takes them seriously?' When the beauty and power of the revelation are pointed out, and its miracle as coming from an unlearned man, they again hint at other men who wrote them, though they could not produce any one who could write anything like it. 3059 The answer is that the Qur'an teaches spiritual knowledge of what is ordinarily hidden from men's sight, and such knowledge can only come from God to Whom alone is known the Mystery of the whole Creation. In spite of man's sin and shortcomings, he forgives , and he sends his most precious gift, i.e. The Revelation of his will."
The above seven examples are more than enough to hang Dr. Morey with his own rope.