What The Experts/Scholars Say About the Bible

WHAT THE EXPERTS/SCHOLARS SAY:
Peake's Commentary of the Bible
(A Christian scholarly work)
1. Under the heading: " The Textual Criticism of the New Testament " (p.663)
Article authored by K. W. Clark , A.B., B.D., PH.D., Professor of
Biblical Literature, Duke University, Durham, NorthCarolina. He
writes:
"It is well known that theprimitive Christian gospelwas initially
transmitted by word of mouth and that this oral tradition resulted in
variant reporting of the original word and deed. It is equally true
that when the Christian record was later committed to writing it
continued to be subject to verbal variation (involuntary and
intentional) at the hands of scribes and editors. The earliest
written Gospel, by Mark in Rome, was promptly copied for wider
circulation and was soon known as far as Ephesus and Antioch. The
correspondence of Paul was collected and copied and early circulated
between Italy and Syria. Each hand-produced copy, however, contained
its own deviations in the form of error or of editorial revision by
the theologian-scribe. From the very beginning manuscript copies of
New Testament books showed an increasing amount of variation in the
text, and within a single century the original compositions were
greatly altered."
He admits a few paragraphs later:
"For many centuries of Christian history believersseemed unmindful of
textual alterations and therefore felt no need and made no serious
effort to recover a text truer than the one they possessed. In the
absence of ancient manuscript witnesses, the numerous Byzantine copies
of later date were generally accepted as thetraditional text. This
late form of the text was familiar to all and remained firmly
established in use until the 18th century. The first serious doubt
arose in the 17th century whenChristian scholarship in the West was
confronted with a 5th century witness of a different textual
character. This was an Alexandrian MS, which was carried to London in
1627 (and still remains there in the British Library, designated as
Codex Alexandrinus). This was followed by the discoveryof other
manuscript witnesses of even earlier date, which clearly pointed to
the fact that the prevailing Greek text was substantially different
from the original. The desire to reconstruct the lost original, along
with the reappearance of ancient copies long lost from view, caused
the development of the modern scientific discipline known as textual
criticism. Its achievement to date has been to provide Christians
with a Greek text of the NT Scriptures more trustworthy than any in
use since the 6th century. However, it is not to be thought that the
"original" text has now been fully recovered, for
significantdiscoveries and important refinements ofthe text and method
continue to cast more light upon the problem."
On the many manuscript copies from which scholars try to put together
a faithful reading, the learned author writes:
"…this circumstance has created the most intricate textual problem in
seeking to recover the lost original text of the Greek NT."
Admitting the interpolation of scribes, Dr. Clark reveals:
"…it may be recognized that the scribe (present or previous) exhibits
a theological interest which might cause him to change the text of his
exemplar (cf. John 1:18, referring to Jesus as 'onlyGod' or as 'only
Son')."
Further on the subject of the inaccuracies of the NTtext, Professor
Clark writes:
"To recover the NT writings in original form is the ultimate goal and
will always be the main objective of textual criticism, as it unites
withother disciplines to penetrate to Christian origins. But textual
criticism has other tasks that belong to lower criticism, concerned
with tracing the course of transmission……….This sort of inquiry
performs at least three services: it contributes to historical
theology, it illumines church history, and it enables the textual
critic to retrace the process of change which the text has undergone
and thus to exscind accumulated error."
2. Under the heading: " The Early Versions of the New Testament " (p. 671)
Authored by Bruce Metzger , M.A., PH.D., D.D., Professor of New
Testament Language and Literature, Princeton Theological Seminary, New
Jersey.
Writing on the corruptions of the Latin Vulgate by Jerome:
"It was inevitable that in the course of transmission by recopying,
scribal carelessness corrupted Jerome's original work."
3. Under the heading: " The Literature and Canon of the New Testament " (p.676)
Authored by Rev. Joseph Sanders , M.A., Dean, Domestic Bursar and
Fellow of Peterhouse College, University Lecturer in Divinity,
Cambridge.
The Reverend admits the windows in which the corruptions of the
teachings occurred (as had Prof. Clark) as being during the time from
the oral traditions to the written stage:
"So, however it is explained, we must recognize a certain reluctance
on the part of Christians to begin a written literature…What happened
in the oral period, was of immense importance, and has left clear
traces in the writtenliterature".
The Reverend continues:
"In principle, there was no absolute necessity for any written
material, at least, while the apostles were still alive, and written
records may only have begun when the original 'eye-witnesses and
ministers of the word' were no longer available. It is highly
unlikely that any of the four Gospels antedates the deaths of the
chief apostles. The church mayhave been driven to putting its
tradition into writing when it was in danger of being lost, as the
Rabbi's were. Nero's persecution and the Jewish War would provide the
impetus".
Continuing on the progressive authorship of writings by the church,he says:
"But of all the needs of the early church which the NT was written to
satisfy, that for the control, guidance and edification of the newly
founded congregations was the first to lead to the composition of
worksstill extant."
On the false authorship of certain letters of Paul and in the Bible in general:
"The authenticity of 1 and 2 Timothy and Titus is also questioned,
even more generally than that of Ephesians. As they stand they seem
to reflecta stage of development in church organizations impossible in
Paul's own lifetime. They thus raise the whole problem of
pseudonymity in Holy Scripture."
Referring to the Canonization process, theReverend elucidates:
"…the Church of the 2nd century had no other means of distinguishing
genuine from pseudonymous apostolic works, orthodoxy tendedto become
synonymous with apostolicity."
Acknowledging the 'combat writings' nature of the Gospels. The Reverend says:
"It is quite possible that the fourfold Gospel was aCatholic
counterblast to Marcion's single Gospel."
4. Under the heading: " Pagan Religion at the Coming of Christianity " (p. 712)
Authored by Robert Wilson , M.A., B.D., PH.D., Lecturer in New
Testament Language and Literature, St. Andrew's University.
Writing about the 'Mystery Cults' of the Greeks, Dr. Wilson says:
"In its origins Christianity must have appeared to the men of the age
as just another of these oriental cults. Like them, it came out of
the East; like them, it promised salvation. Like them also,it centred
upon a Saviourwho died and rose again,and like them it gave special
place to certain rites: baptism and a sacred meal. It is therefore
only natural that questions should be raised as to the possible
influence of these cults on the thought of the early Church…"
Further on a related topic, the learned scholarwrites:
"At a later stage indeed much was taken over and'baptized' into the
service of the Christian faith: in Mithraism, 25 December had a
special place as the birthday of the god; the image-type representing
the Madonna and Child has been traced back to statue of Isis and the
infant Horus. It must be admitted that the Church in later ages
absorbed into its beliefs and practice those elements which it could
take over without doing violence to its own essential faith…."
5. Under the heading: " The Life and Teaching of Jesus " (p. 733)
Authored by Rev. John Bowman , Professor of New Testament
Interpretation, San Francisco Theological Seminary, San Anselmo,
California.
Concerning the early years of Jesus' life and how each NT author is
expounding their own personal interpretation, the Professor states:
"It seems quite clear that at no time in its history has the Christian
Church thought of its founder's life as beginning with the manger in
Bethlehem. Each of the four evangelists gives expression to this fact
in his own way. The Fourth Evangelist, whose background appears to
have been that of Hellenistic Judaism, employs the current "logos"
doctrine to indicate the eternal character of him who became flesh as
Jesus of Nazareth (Mt. 1:18; Lk. 1:34f).
In addition to the accounts in the Gospels other NT writers in one way
and another give expression to the Church's conviction on this point.
In the Revelation to John, not only does the eternal Christ say for
himself, 'I am the first and the last, and the living one' (1:17),but
he is also acclaimed 'Word of God' (19:13) and'Lord of Lords and King
ofKings' (17:14). For the author of Hebrews, he is the eternal Son of
God through whom the latter created the universe (1:1-14). For Paul,
he was'in the form of God' before he became a man (Phil. 2:5-11)."
On how the 'Coming One',prophesied by John the Baptist was not the
Messiah of Salvation, the Reverend writes:
"John never applied the term 'Messiah' to the Coming One whom he
announced. This Coming One was to act as judge of men, sorting out
the chaff from the wheat on the threshing-floor of judgement in his
time, and the figure who most nearly fits this description is that,
not of the Messiah as popularly conceived, but rather the'Son of Man'
of 1 Enoch 37-71, who comes for judgement rather than for the
salvation of the people of God."
Showing how Jesus responded to the Lordship of God (as opposed to the
common claim of his own Divinity – my emphasis) through the call of
John the Baptist, the Professor substantiates the notion that Jesus
came to do works of the Lord:
"Jesus heard of this new prophetic movement inaugurated by John the
Baptist and so, coming down from his native hills to the Jordan
valley, Jesus purposed to ally himself with it. By way of
explanation, Matthew says that this was to 'fulfill all
righteousness', that is to identify himself wholly with mankind in the
endeavour to fulfill all of God's righteous demand upon man…..Like all
prophetic messages, accordingly, John's represented a call to decision
to submit oneself to the Lordship ofGod. Jesus could no moreresist
the claims of such acall than could any of his contemporaries. In
obedience, therefore, to the prophetic voice represented by John he
came to seek baptism at the latter's hand."
Further in his article, the learned Professor comments of the doublets
concerning the disciples and the mission of the seventy. He writes:
"Luke alone among the evangelists suggests that our Lord also sent out
seventy-two others as well (10:1-22). We inclineto the belief that
this is a doublet of the sending out of the twelve disciples, as the
Greek characters for twelve andseventy two exhibit little difference
and may easilybe confused by a slip of the pen."
6. Under the heading: " Matthew " (p. 769)
Authored by: Krister Stendahl , PH.D., THEOL.D., Associate Professor
of New Testament Studies, Harvard University.
In the opening commentary on the Gospel of Matthew, the Professor writes:
"…the image of the Gospel writers as 'authors' – with or without
specific channelsof inspiration - has fadedaway under the impact of
comparative synoptic studies and under the impact of Form Criticism…"
He continues that Matthew was not a "mereredactor" but had his own way
of putting the pieces together. In this regard, Professor Stendahl
admits:
"In carrying out his work by such an interpretative use of earlier
material, written as well as oral, Matthew does not work in a vacuum,
but within the life of a church for those whose needs he is catering;
his Gospel morethan the others is a product of a community and for a
community."
Dr. Stendahl admits the unsolved problem of the authorship of this
Gospel in these words:
"It remains an unsolved problem how and why the Gospel came to
circulate under the name of Matthew, who only in this Gospel is
identified with a tax-collector calledby Jesus (see 9:9, 10:3). But
it is highly unlikely that the man responsible for this Gospel had
lived on the despised outskirts of Jewish religious life, nor does the
Gospel itself (the title was certainly added later) intimate that
Matthew was its author."
7. Under the heading: " Mark " (p.799)
Authored by Robert McL. Wilson , M.A., PH.D., Lecturer in New
Testament Language and Literature, St. Andrews University.
Speaking on the position of Mark in relation to the other gospels, Dr.
Wilson writes:
"…Mk is now commonly recognized not only as the earliest canonical
Gospel but also as one of the sources used by Mt. And Lk."
The learned Doctor notes that the earliest reference to Mark is made
by Papias (c. AD 140) however, he has thisto say in its regard:
"There are several problems connected withthis tradition, and it is
probably not to be taken entirely at face value. In particular the
associationof Mk with Peter should not be understood to mean that the
Gospel records the testimony of an eye-witness throughout."
Concerning the type of mindset that authored this Gospel, the Doctor writes:
"Moreover, as Branscombnotes, a Roman origin would go far to explain
the ready acceptance andrapid dissemination of the Gospel. It would
also explain the inclusion and preservation of Mk. among the Gospels
finallyadmitted to the Canon."
Concerning the language source behind this Gospel, Dr. Wilson says:
"There are grounds for suspecting Aramaic sources behind the Gospel,
though whether written or oral it is impossible to say."
Finally, Dr. Wilson observes:
"It is now generally agreed that 9-20 are not an original part of Mk.
They are not found in theoldest manuscripts, and indeed were
apparently not in the copies used by Mt. And Lk."
8. Under the heading: " Luke " (p. 82)
Authored by: Rev. Geoffrey W. H. Lampe , M.C., D.D., Ely Professor
of Divinity, Cambridge University.
Commenting on the authorship of this Gospel by Luke, Professor Lampenotes:
"…this gospel and Acts have been attributed to Luke, the companion of
Paul (Col. 4:11; 2 Tim 4:10). He is said by the above-mentioned
prologue to have been a native of Antioch in Syria,a tradition found
also, possibly independently, in Eusebias (HE III, iv, 6), and, by
many early writers (following Col. 4:11) a doctor. How far these
traditions are inferred from the 'we passages' of Acts including the
short 'we passage' in Acts 11:27 in the 'Western' text, the setting of
which is in Antioch, taken in conjunction with the Pauline references
mentioned above, and how far they rest on genuinely independent
records or reminiscences is quite uncertain."
Writing on the source usage of the Gospel of Luke, the Professor writes:
"On the whole it seems probable that Lk. handlesMk freely, modifying
and supplementing as it suits his purpose."
9. Under the heading: " John " (p. 844)
Authored by: Rev. C. Kingsley Barrett , M.A., B.D., F.B.A., Professor
of Theology, Durham University.
Simply put:
"The origin of this Gospelis veiled in obscurity. Towards the end of
the 2nd century a tradition became strongly established that it had
been written by John the son of Zebedee (who wasunderstood to be
referred to in the Gospel itself as 'the disciple whom Jesus loved')
not far from AD 100 (John was believed to have survived till the
principate of Trajan). This tradition cannot however be traced early
in the 2nd century. It finds confirmation in some features of the
Gospel itself, but is contradicted by others, and the position is
complicated by both the similarities and the differences bewteen John
and the Synoptic Gospels."
An oft-cited personage recounting the authenticity of this Gospel by
the disciple John is Polycarp. However, the evidence shows otherwise.
The Professor notes the history of the tradition by quoting the work
of Irenaeus. However, he says:
"The earlier evidence is however much less satisfactory. Polycarp
himself in his extant epistle makes no claim to personal contact with
theapostle, and does not refer to the Gospel (though he does quote 1
John). Iraneus's statement about Papias, which is similar to that
about Polycarp, is almost certainly incorrect. Ignatius of Antioch,
writing c. AD 112 to the Church at Ephesus, makesno allusion to John,
though emphasizes Paul'scontacts with Ephesus. Infact there is no
early evidence to connect Johnwith Ephesus or with the writing of a
Gospel."
Speaking on the relationship of this Gospel with that of the
Synoptics, the Professor writes:
"On account of these parallels it is today very generally agreed that
John was familiar with the synoptic tradition – that is, the
traditional material out of which theSynoptic Gospels were composed.
Whether he knew any of the Gospels themselves is disputed. Astrong
case can be made for his having known Mk,a fairly strong case for
hisknowledge of Luke. On any view of this question,however, one is
bound toask whether an apostle, equipped with such unrivalled
first-hand knowledge as John the son of Zebedee must have possessed,
would have a) found it necessary to consult and use other authorities,
and b) come into conflict with the good and the early tradition of Mk
on such an issue as the date of the crucifixion. No simple answer to
the question of authorship is possible."

Story,- The Boats of the Glen Carrig: Chapter 16

XVI
FREED
NOW, WHEN MISTRESS Madison had seated herself, she invited me todo
likewise, after which we fell into talk, first touching upon the
matter of the stranding of the rope, about whichI hastened to assure
her, and later to other things,and so, as is natural enough with a man
and maid, to ourselves, and here we were very content to let it
remain.
Presently, the second mate came in with a note from the bo'sun, which
he laid upon the table for the girl to read, the which she beckoned me
to do also, and so I discovered that it was a suggestion, written very
rudely and ill-spelt, that they should send us a quantity of reeds
from the island, with which we might be able to easethe weed somewhat
from around the stern ofthe hulk, thus aiding her progress. And to
this the second mate desired the girl to write a reply, saying that we
should bevery happy for the reeds,and would endeavour toact upon his
hint, and this Mistress Madison did,after which she passed the letter
to me, perchance I desired to send any message. Yet I had naught that
I wishedto say, and so handed it back, with a word of thanks, and, at
once, she gave it to the second mate, who went, forthwith, and
dispatched it.
Later, the stout woman from the galley came aft to set out the table,
which occupied the centre of the saloon, andwhilst she was at this,
she asked for information on many things, being very free and
unaffected in her speech, and seeming with less of deference to my
companion, than a certain motherliness; for it was very plain that
sheloved Mistress Madison, and in this my heart did not blame her.
Further, itwas plain to me that the girl had a very warm affection for
her old nurse, which was but natural, seeing that the old woman had
cared for her through all the past years, besides beingcompanion to
her, and a good and cheerful one, as I could guess.
Now awhile I passed in answering the buxom woman's questions, and odd
times such occasional ones as were slipt in by Mistress Madison; and
then, suddenly there came the clatter of men's feet overhead, and,
later, the thud of something beingcast down upon the deck, and so we
knew that the reeds had come.At that, Mistress Madison cried out that
we should go and watch the men try them upon the weed;for that if they
proved ofuse in easing that which lay in our path, then should we come
the more speedily to the clear water, and this without the need of
putting so great a strain upon the hawser, as had been the case
hitherto.
When we came to the poop, we found the menremoving a portion of the
superstructure over the stern, and after that they took some of the
stronger reeds, and proceeded to work at the weed that stretched away
in a line with our taffrail. Yet that they anticipated danger, I
perceived; for there stood by them two of themen and the second mate,
all armed with muskets, and these threekept a very strict watch upon
the weed, knowing, through much experience of its terrors, how that
there might be a need for their weapons at any moment.And so a while
passed, and it was plain that the men's work upon the weed was having
effect; for the rope grew slack visibly, and those at the capstan had
all that they could do, taking fleet and fleet with the tackle,to keep
it anywhere near to tautness, and so, perceiving that they were kept
so hard at it, I ran to give a hand, the which did Mistress Madison,
pushing upon the capstan-bars right merrily and with heartiness. And
thus a while passed, and the evening began to come down upon the
lonesomeness of the weed-continent. Then there appeared the buxom
woman, and bade us come to our suppers, and her mannerof addressing
the two of us was the manner of one who might have mothered us; but
Mistress Madison cried out to her to wait, that we had found work to
do, and at that the big woman laughed, and came towards us
threateningly, as though intending to remove us hence by force.
And now, at this moment, there came a sudden interruption which
checked our merriment; for, abruptly,there sounded the report of a
musket in thestern, and then came shouts, and the noise of the two
other weapons, seeming like thunder, being pent by the over-arching
superstructure. And, directly, the men about the taffrail gave back,
running here and there, and so I saw that great arms had come all
about the opening which they had made in the superstructure, and two
of these flickered in-board, searching hither and thither; but the
stout woman took a man near to her, and thrust him out of danger,and
after that, she caught Mistress Madison up in her big arms, and ran
down on to the main-deck with her, and all this before I had cometo a
full knowledge of our danger. But now I perceived that I should do
well to get further back from the stern, the which I did with haste,
and, coming to a safe position, I stood and stared at the huge
creature, its great arms, vague in the growing dusk, writhing about in
vain search for a victim. Then returned the second mate, having been
for more weapons, and now I observed that he armed all the men, and
had brought up a spare musket for my use,and so we commenced, all of
us, to fire at the monster, whereat it began to lash about most
furiously, and so, after some minutes, it slipped away from the
opening and slid down into the weed. Upon thatseveral of the men
rushed to replace those parts of the superstructure which had been
removed, and Iwith them; yet there were sufficient for the job, so
that I had no need to do aught; thus, before they had made up the
opening, I had been given chance to look out upon the weed, and so
discovered that all the surface which lay between our stern and the
island, was moving in vast ripples, as thoughmighty fish were swimming
beneath it, and then, just before themen put back the last of the
great panels, I saw the weed all tossed up like to a vast pot a-boil,
and then a vague glimpse of thousands of monstrous arms that filled
the air, and came towards the ship.
And then the men had the panel back in its place, and were hasting to
drive the supporting struts into their positions. And when this was
done, we stood awhile and listened; but there came no sound above that
of the wail of the wind across the extent of the weed-continent. And
at that, I turned to the men,asking how it was that I could hear no
sounds of the creatures attacking us, and so they took me up into the
look-out place, and from there I stared down at the weed; but it was
withoutmovement, save for the stirring of the wind, and there was
nowhere any sign of the devil-fish. Then, seeing me amazed,they told
me how that anything which moved the weed seemed to draw them from all
parts; but that they seldom touched the hulk unless there was
something visible to them which had movement. Yet, as they went on to
explain, there would be hundreds and hundreds of them lying all about
the ship, hiding in the weed; but that if we took care not to show
ourselves within their reach, they would have gone most of them by the
morning. And this the men told me in a very matter-of-fact way; for
they had become inured to such happenings.
Presently, I heard Mistress Madison calling to me by name, and so
descended out of the growing darkness, to theinterior of the
superstructure, and here they had lit a number of rude slush-lamps,
the oil for which, as I learned later, they obtained froma certain
fish which haunted the sea, beneath the weed, in very large schools,
and took near any sort of bait with great readiness. And so, when Ihad
climbed down into the light, I found the girl waiting for me to come
to supper, for which I discovered myself to be in a mightily agreeable
humour.
Presently, having made an end of eating, she leaned back in her seat
and commenced once more to bait me in her playful manner, the which
appeared to afford her much pleasure, and in which I joined with no
less, and so we fell presently to more earnest talk, and inthis wise
we passed a great space of the evening. Then there came to her a
sudden idea, and what must she do but propose that we should climb to
the look-out, and to this I agreed with a very happy willingness. And
to the lookout we went. Now when we had comethere, I perceived her
reason for this freak; for away in the night, asternthe hulk, there
blazed half-way between the heaven and the sea, a mighty glow, and
suddenly, as I stared, being dumb with admiration and surprise, I knew
that it was the blaze of our fires upon the crown of the bigger hill;
for, all the hill being in shadow, and hidden by the darkness, there
showed only the glow ofthe fires, hung, as it were, in the void, and a
very striking and beautiful spectacle it was. Then, as I watched,
there came, abruptly a figure into view upon the edge of the glow,
showing black and minute, and this I knew to be one of the men come to
the edge of the hill to take a look at the hulk, or test the strain
onthe hawser. Now, upon my expressing admiration of the sight to
Mistress Madison, she seemed greatly pleased, and told me that she
hadbeen up many times in the darkness to view it. And after that we
went down again into the interior of the superstructure, and here the
men were taking a further heave upon the big rope, before settling the
watches for the night, the which they managed, by having oneman at a
time to keep awake and call the rest whenever the hawser grew slack.
Later Mistress Madison showed me where I was to sleep, and so, having
bid one another a very warm good-night, we parted, she going to see
that her aunt was comfortable, and I out on to the main-deck to have a
chat with the man on watch. In this way, I passed the time until
midnight, and in that while we had been forced to call the men thrice
to heave upon the hawser, so quickly had the ship begun to make way
through the weed. Then, having grown sleepy, I said good-night,and
went to my berth, and so had my first sleep upon a mattress, for some
weeks.
Now when the morning was come, I waked, hearing Mistress
Madisoncalling upon me from theother side of my door, and rating me
very saucily for a lie-a-bed, and at that I made good speed at
dressing, and came quickly into the saloon, where she had ready a
breakfast that made me glad I had waked. But first, before she would
do aught else,she had me out to the lookout place, running up before
me most merrily and singing in the fullness of her glee, and so, when
I had cometo the top of the superstructure, I perceived that she had
very good reason for so much merriment, and the sight which came to my
eyes, gladdened me most mightily, yet at the same time filling me with
a great amazement;for, behold! in the courseof that one night, we had
made near unto twohundred fathoms across the weed, being now, with
what we had made previously, no more thansome thirty fathoms in from
the edge of the weed. And there stood Mistress Madison beside me,
doing somewhat of a dainty step-dance upon the flooring of the
look-out, and singing a quaint old lilt that I had not heard that
dozen years, and this little thing, I think, brought back more clearly
to me than aught else how thatthis winsome maid had been lost to the
world for so many years, having been scarce of the age of twelve when
the ship had been lost in the weed-continent. Then, as I turned to
make some remark, being filled with many feelings, there came a hail,
from far above in the air, as it might be, and, looking up, I
discovered the man upon the hill to be standing along the edge,and
waving to us, and now I perceived how that the hill towered a very
great way above us,seeming, as it were, to overhang the hulk though we
were yet some seventy fathoms distant from the sheer sweep of its
nearer precipice. And so, havingwaved back our greeting, we made down
to breakfast, and, having come to the saloon, set-to upon the good
victuals, and did very sound justice thereto.
Presently, having made an end of eating, and hearing the clack of the
capstan-pawls, we hurried out on deck, andput our hands upon the bars,
intending to join inthat last heave which should bring the ship free
out of her long captivity, and so for a time we moved round about the
capstan, and I glanced at the girl beside me; for she had become very
solemn, and indeed it was a strange and solemn time for her; for she,
who haddreamed of the world as her childish eyes had seen it, was now,
after many hopeless years, to go forth once more to it--to live in it,
and to learn how much had been dreams, and how much real; and with all
these thoughts I creditedher; for they seemed such as would have come
to me at such a time, and, presently, I made some blundering effort to
show to her that I had understandingof the tumult which possessed her,
and at that she smiled up at me with a sudden queer flash of sadness
and merriment, and our glances met, and I saw something in hers,
whichwas but newborn, and though I was but a young man, my heart
interpreted it for me, and I was all hot suddenly with the pain and
sweet delight of thisnew thing; for I had not dared to think upon
thatwhich already my heart had made bold to whisper to me, so that
even thus soon I was miserable out of her presence. Then she looked
downward at herhands upon the bar; and,in the same instant, there came
a loud, abrupt cry from the second mate, to vast heaving, and at that
all the men pulled out their bars and cast them upon the deck, and
ran, shouting, to the ladder that led to the look-out, and we
followed, and so came to the top, and discovered that at last the ship
was clear of the weed, and floating in the open water betweenit and
the island.
Now at the discovery that the hulk was free, the men commenced to
cheer and shout in a verywild fashion, as, indeed, is no cause for
wonder, and we cheered with them. Then, suddenly, in the midst of our
shouting, Mistress Madison plucked me by the sleeve and pointed to the
end of the island where the foot of the bigger hill jutted out in
agreat spur, and now I perceived a boat, coming round into view, and
in another moment Isaw that the bo'sun stood in the stern, steering;
thus I knew that he must have finished repairing her whilst I had been
on the hulk. By this, the men about us had discovered the nearness of
the boat,and commenced shouting afresh, and they ran down, and to the
bows of the vessel, and got ready a rope to cast. Now when the
boatcame near, the men in her scanned us very curiously; but the
bo'sun took off his head-gear, with a clumsy grace that well became
him; at which Mistress Madison smiled very kindly upon him, and, after
that, she told me with great frankness that he pleased her, and, more,
that she had never seen so great a man, which was not strange seeing
that she had seen but few since she had come to years when men become
of interest to a maid.
After saluting us the bo'sun called out to the second mate that he
would tow us round to the far side of the island,and to this the
officer agreed, being, I surmised, by no means sorry to put some solid
matter between himself and the desolation of thegreat weed-continent;
and so, having loosed the hawser, which fell from the hill-top with a
prodigious splash, we had the boat ahead, towing. In this wise we
opened out, presently, the end of the hill; but feeling now the force
of the breeze, we bent a kedge to the hawser, and, the bo'sun carrying
it seawards, we warped ourselves to windward of the island, and here,
in forty fathoms, we vast heaving, and rode to thekedge.
Now when this was accomplished they calledto our men to come aboard,
and this they did, and spent all of that day in talk and eating; for
those in the ship could scarce make enough of our fellows. And then,
when it had come to night, they replaced that part of the
superstructure which they had removed from about the head of the
mizzen-stump, and so, allbeing secure, each one turned-in and had a
full night's rest, of the which, indeed, many of them stood in sore
need.
The following morning, the second mate had a consultation with the
bo'sun, after which he gave the order to commence upon the removal of
the great superstructure, and to this each one of us set himself with
vigour. Yet it was a work requiring some time, and near five days had
passed before we had the ship strippedclear. When this had been
accomplished, there came a busy time of routing out various matter of
which we should have need in jury rigging her; for they hadbeen so
long in disuse, that none remembered where to look for them. At this a
day and a half was spent, and after thatwe set-to about fitting her
with such jury-masts as we could manage from our material.
Now, after the ship had been dismasted, all thoseseven years gone, the
crew had been able to save many of her spars, these having remained
attached to her, through their inability to cut away all of the gear;
andthough this had put them in sore peril at the time, of being sent
to thebottom with a hole in their side, yet now had they every reason
to be thankful; for, by this accident, we had now a foreyard, a
topsail-yard, a main t'gallant-yard, and the fore-topmast. They had
saved more than these; but had made use of the smaller spars to shore
up the superstructure, sawing them into lengths for that purpose.
Apart from such spars as they had managed to secure, they had a spare
topmast lashed along under the larboard bulwarks, and aspare t'gallant
and royal-mast lying along the starboard side.
Now, the second mate and the bo'sun set the carpenter to work upon the
spare topmast, bidding him make for it some trestle-trees and
bolsters, upon which to lay the eyes of the rigging; but they did not
trouble him to shape it. Further, they ordered the same to be fitted
to the fore-topmast and thespare t'gallant and royal-mast. And in the
meanwhile, the rigging was prepared, and whenthis was finished, they
made ready the shears tohoist the spare topmast, intending this to
take the place of the main lower-mast. Then, when the carpenter had
carried out their orders, he was set to make threepartners with a step
cut in each, these being intended to take the heels of the three
masts, and when these were completed, they bolted them securely to the
decks at the fore part of each one of the stumps of the three
lower-masts.And so, having all ready, we hove the main-mast into
position, after which we proceeded to rig it. Now, when we had made an
end of this,we set-to upon the foremast, using for this the
fore-topmast which they had saved, and after that we hove the
mizzen-mast into place, having for this the spare t'gallant and
royal-mast.
Now the manner in which we secured the masts, before ever we came to
the rigging of them, was by lashing them to the stumps of the
lower-masts, and after we had lashed them, we drove dunnageand wedges
between the masts and the lashings, thus making them very secure. And
so,when we had set up the rigging, we had confidence that they would
stand all such sail as we should be able to set upon them. Yet,
further than this, the bo'sun bade the carpenter make wooden caps of
six inch oak, these caps to fit over the squared heads of the
lower-mast stumps, and having a hole, each of them, to embrace the
jury-mast, and by making these caps in two halves, they were abled to
bolt them on after the masts had beenhove into position.
And so, having gotten in our three jury lower-masts, we hoisted up
theforeyard to the main, to act as our mainyard, and did likewise with
the topsail-yard to the fore, and after that, we sent up the
t'gallant-yard to the mizzen. Thus we had her sparred, all but a
bowsprit and jibboom; yet this we managed by making a stumpy, spike
bowsprit from one of thesmaller spars which they had used to shore up
thesuperstructure, and because we feared that it lacked strength to
bearthe strain of our fore and aft stays, we took down two hawsers
from the fore, passing them inthrough the hawse-holesand setting them
up there. And so we had herrigged, and, after that, we bent such sail
as our gear abled us to carry, and in this wise had the hulk ready for
sea.
Now, the time that it took us to rig the ship, and fit her out, was
seven weeks, saving one day. And in all this time we suffered no
molestation from any of the strange habitants of the weed-continent;
though this may have been because we kept fires of dried weed going
all the night aboutthe decks, these fires being lit on big flat pieces
of rock which we had gotten from the island. Yet, for all that wehad
not been troubled, we had more than once discovered strange things in
the water swimming near to the vessel; but a flare of weed, hung over
the side, on the end of a reed, had sufficed always to scare away such
unholy visitants.
And so at last we came tothe day on which we were in so good a
condition that the bo'sun and the second mate considered the shipto be
in a fit state to put to sea--the carpenter having gone over so much
of her hull as he could get at and found her everywhere very sound;
though her lowerparts were hideously overgrown with weed, barnacles
and other matters; yet this we could not help, and it was not wise to
attempt to scrape her, having consideration to the creatures which we
knew to abound in thosewaters.
Now in those seven weeks, Mistress Madison and I had come very close
to one another, so that I had ceased to call her by any name save
Mary, unless it were a dearer one than that; though this would be one
of my own invention, and would leave my heart too naked did I put it
down here.
Of our love one for the other, I think yet, and ponder how that mighty
man, the bo'sun, came soquickly to a knowledge of the state of our
hearts; for he gave me a very sly hint one day thathe had a sound idea
of the way in which the wind blew, and yet, though he said it with a
half-jest, methought there was something wistful in his voice, as
hespoke, and at that I just clapt my hand in his, andhe gave it a very
huge grip. And after that he ceased from the subject.

The Prophet Jesus (pbuh) did not die, he was raised to God's Sight

In our previous article , we explained that the Christians' faith of
crucifixion could not have been originated from the original Gospel
which was revealed to the Prophet Jesus (pbuh). There are various
Gospels which were written after the Prophet Jesus (pbuh). Each one of
these Gospels depict the very same incident in a different way and
each Book has many contradictions within itself. Only these two
features provide enoughevidence to be doubtful about the information
conveyed in these books. Our Christian brothers are also aware that,
apart from the existence of many true and righteous accounts in the
Gospel, the parts in question which they claim to be divine
revealations do not provide a common account; accordingly thisstate
casts serious doubts over the accuracyof the information provided.
These contradictory passages must make our Christian brothers adopt a
more objective view about theissue, because the contradictions in
question are not the kind of statements that can be explained away or
denied. They are solidevidences sufficient enough to present the
inaccuracy of the conservative belief that the current Gospel is of
undistorted, precise pronouncements. Accordingly it is of great
importance for our Christian brothers to payattention to the evidence
provided below. This aside, it is unacceptable that a piece of
information conveying the so-called death of the Prophet Jesus (pbuh)
is considered as a righteous revelation revealed to the Prophet Jesus
(pbuh):
In the Qur'an God expresseses certain information that the Prophet
Jesus (pbuh) did not die:
In the Qur'an God provides accurate information about the crucifixion
of the Prophet Jesus (pbuh), which is described in theGospel with
contradictory and doubtful explanations. In the Qur'an, God makesit
clear that SCHEMES MADE TOWARDS THE PROPHET JESUS (PBUH) ARE THWARTED
AND THAT THEY CERTAINLY DID NOT KILL HİM:
and their saying, 'We killed the Messiah, Jesus son of Mary, Messenger
of God.' THEY DID NOT KILL HIM AND THEY DID NOT CRUCIFY HIM but it was
made to seem so to them. Those who argue about him are in doubt about
it. They have no real knowledge of it, justconjecture. BUT THEY
CERTAINLY DID NOT KILL HIM . (Surat An-Nisa', 157)
In the Qur'an, that the Prophet Jesus (pbuh) was not killed is
stressedtwice in the same verse and it is stated that those who
advocate the belief that the Prophet Jesus (pbuh) was killed have no
real knowledge of it. This is a very clear statement.
Someone resembling to the Prophet Jesus (pbuh)was crucified:
In the same verse in the Qur'an God reveals, " They did not kill him
andthey did not crucify him but IT WAS MADE TO SEEM SO TO THEM ." (
Surat an-Nisa', 157 ), and informs us that the person who was
crucified was another person who was resembling the Prophet Jesus
(pbuh). The individual who was crucified instead of the Prophet Jesus
(pbuh) was Judas Iscariot, who acted treacherously towards the Prophet
Jesus (pbuh). As a great miracle, God made JudasIscariot seem like the
Prophet Jesus (pbuh). When they came to take the Prophet Jesus
(pbuh)to crucify him, they took Judas Iscariot who was present there
and crucified him. Besides, because Judas Iscariot's face was covered
with blood, people also did not understand that it was not the Prophet
Jesus (pbuh) who was crucified. In the latter part of Surat an-Nisa'
157, God relates, "They have no real knowledge of it, just
conjecture." Indeed, in the Gospel, the words which are conveyed as
the last words of the Prophet Jesus (pbuh) [" Elohi , Elohi, lama
sabachthani?" which means, "My God, My God,why have You forsaken me?
"], is again a continuation of the same delusion and the expression of
disbelief inquestion belong to JudasIscariot, whose plot was thwarted
and was crucified instead of the Prophet Jesus (pbuh). Indeed, it is
obvious thatthe Prophet Jesus (pbuh), who was a servant of God who
wholeheartedly submitted to God and loved Him, could not have told
these words. One can only expect to hear such rebellious expressions
from a hypocrite.
The disappearance of Judas Iscariot cccording to the Gospel:
Parallel to what is revealed by the verses ofthe Qur'an and these
explanations also supported by various sources, there are passages in
Gospel that may provide evidence that a disciple of the Prophet Jesus
(pbuh), Judas Iscariot, was crucified instead of him. According to
these passages we need to notice that just after the crucifixion Judas
Iscariotdisappeared. Various Gospel authors try to explain away this
subject in many ways and have contradicted with one other. The
contradictory explanations regarding the disappearance of Iscariot in
the Gospel is as follows:
Early in the morning, all the chief priests and the elders of the
people came to the decision to put Jesus to death. They bound him, led
him away and handed him over to Pilate, the governor.
When Judas, who had betrayed him, saw that Jesus was condemned, he
was seized with remorse and returned the thirty silver coins to the
chief priests and the elders. "I have sinned," he said, "for I have
betrayed innocent blood." "What is that to us?" they replied.
"That'syour responsibility." So Judas threw the money into the temple
and left. Then he went away and hanged himself. (Matthew 27: 1-5)
In those days Peter stood up among the believers and said,"Brothers,
the Scripture had to be fulfilled...through the mouth of David
concerning Judas, who served as guide for those who arrested Jesus—he
was one of our number and shared in this ministry."
With the reward he got for his wickedness, Judasbought a field; there
he fell headlong, his body burst open and all his intestines spilled
out. (Acts 1: 5-18)
Despite the fact that some explanations in theGospel contradict with
one another, there is consensus on the disappearance of Judas Iscariot
just after the crucifixation. Judas Iscariot disappeared, because the
one who was crucified and killed was Judas Iscariot. Judas Iscariot,
who normally looked like the Prophet Jesus (pbuh) in the physical
sense, was made to seem more like the Prophet Jesus (pbuh)as a miracle
of God. Upon this, soldiers were mistaken and took him to the crucifix
instead of The Prophet Jesus (pbuh). Just before this incident, by
God's command, the Prophet Jesus (pbuh) was taken to the heavens by
angels, into the Sight of God.
In the Qur'an God informs that the plot against the Prophet Jesus
(pbuh) was "thwarted":
In the leadership of Judas Iscariot who was ahypocrite, unbelievers
plotted against the Prophet Jesus (pbuh). The purpose of this plot was
to kill the Prophet Jesus (pbuh). However, in the Qur'an God INFORMS
US THAT THE PLOT AGAINST THE PROPHET JESUS (PBUH) WAS THWARTED. If, in
oneway, The Prophet Jesus (pbuh) died, this would mean unbelievers'
plot coming to a favorable end on their part , and this is impossible.
THAT PLOT WAS THWARTED. THEPROPHET JESUS (PBUH), INNO WAY, DIED AND
WAS NOT MURDERED. God informs us about this fact in the Qur'an thus:
When Jesus sensed disbelief on their part, he said, 'Who will be my
helpers to God?' The disciples said, 'We are God's helpers. We believe
in God. Bear witness that we are Muslims. Our Lord, we have faith in
what You have sent down and have followed the Messenger, so write us
down among the witnesses.'THEY PLOTTED AND GOD PLOTTED. BUT GOD IS THE
BEST OF PLOTTERS. (Surah Al 'Imran, 52-54)
If the plots of unbelievers succeeded, this would surely be related in
the Qur'an. On the contrary, we know from the Qur'an that the plots
against the Prophet Jesus (pbuh) came to nothing and that the Prophet
Jesus (pbuh) was raised to the Sight of God.
You can read further information about the subject on this link.
It is a great blessing for sincere believers that a stealthy plot
against The Prophet Jesus (pbuh) was thwarted:
Despite very clear evidence, those who insist on the claim that the
Prophet Jesus (pbuh)was killed should think wisely and re-read the
Qur'an with an open mind and and keep theirmind free of any
prejudices. The Prophet Jesus (pbuh) did not die; he was honorably
raisedto the heavens. For a sincere Christian, there isno meaning in
being insistent upon the claim that the Prophet Jesus (pbuh) was
killed. For a Christian, it is a blessing to know and believe that the
Prophet Jesus (pbuh) did not die, that he was saved from the plots of
unbelivers and that he is in our Lord's Sight. Insistently turning
one's face from such glad tidings, not wanting the Prophet Jesus
(pbuh) to be alive despite all these facts revealed is a strange
attitude.
Some Christians claim that Muslims object the belief that the Prophet
Jesus (pbuh) is not alive, because they think it is unbecoming for a
prophet to suffer. However Muslims believein it simply because it is
stated so in the Qur'an. The key point that deserves mention here
isthe following:
Surely God has tested Prophets with various affliction, hardships and
trials. As a requisite of the trial in this world, God also granted
temporary triumph to unbelievers. But God never lets His Prophets to
be in a state that will, in the eyes of unbelievers, make them seem as
if they were weak. Accordingly, such a state also holds true for the
Prophet Jesus (pbuh). Believing that the Prophet Jesus (pbuh)did not
die is also good for Christians. Indeed, in the End Times when the
Prophet Jesus (pbuh) will be sent back to earth, Christians will see
that he has no scar on his palms or feet. In the End Times in which we
live the Prophet Jesus (pbuh) will come back toearth with the clothes,
belongings he had on 2000 years ago, and the money dating back to 2000
years. When these happen, Christians will be better convinced,
Insha'Allah.
You can read further information about the subject on this link.
The delusion of redemption:
One of the main reasons why this claim – the so-called death of the
Prophet Jesus (pbuh) - was subsequently introduced into the Gospel and
has been since persistently upheldis to be able to lay the ground for
another erronous viewpoint, thatis, Redemption. This subject will be
expandedon our next article. However we can briefly say that according
to theQur'an, it is impossible for a baby to be born as a sinner.
Again according to the Qur'an, no one can take on another's
wrongdoing, and everyone will give an account of his deeds and every
moment he spends in this life by himself. The contrary would be
incompatible with God's justice and the purpose of this life's
creation. Accordingly a life that is free of sins can by no means be
valid in Christianity or any other religion. This claim was probably
introduced to Christianity by various circles in order to put away
with religious responsibilities in daily life and those that are
brought by as the requisite of faith in God. In order to validate it,
the circles in question had to spread the view that the Prophet Jesus
(pbuh) had died. SincereChristians need to see the inaccuracy of this
belief.
Various contradictions in the four Gospels about theclaim of the
Prophet Jesus' (pbuh) so-calledcrucification>>>
It is important for genuine Christians to understand the true purpose
behind the articles about Christianity on this site>>>

The real source of democracy and freedom of expressionis Islam

No matter from which line of thought, religion,or nation people may
come from, one of the most important requests of all people in our day
is freedom. People remain healthy as long as they feel free in the
corporal and mental sense, express themselves freely and live as they
wish. A person who is taken under pressure in any realm of his life no
sooner starts to lose his peace, joy and the capacity to produce. When
one recalls the cold, joyless expression, and the dullness in the eyes
of the majority of people in the Soviet Russia and China in recent
history, one will once again remember how, in human life, it is
important to think freelyand lead a free life.
Freedom, which is an important part of humanlife and raises the
quality of life, is a blessing granted by Allahto human beings. Some
people who do not know the morality of religion, and especially Islam
or obtain information from inaccurate sources and examples may harbor
several prejudices and erroneous convictions about this subject.
Though having no accuracy whatsoever, these people assume that Islam
will limit their living spaces and freedom, take their thoughts under
control and restrict arts and science. The fact is however that Islam
is a religion that ensures all kinds of intellectual freedom as well
as freedom of worship and expression, that takes allkinds of rights of
people under protection and, more importantly, presents real freedom
topeople.
However, the following fact should be clear: Allah wishes ease,
comfort, happiness and joy to people. Allah does not wrong people. The
religion, which is the commandment of Allah, also shows people the way
to the most peaceful, blissful, safest, highest quality, comfortable,
and delightful life. There is no compulsion where religion is
concerned. A person believes in Allah and lives by religion, by seeing
Allah's existence and oneness by using hisconscience. Religion is an
acceptance by the heart. If a person is obliged to live a religious
life by force, then this person does not become devout and he simply
becomes a hypocrite. As we are informed in the Qur'an, a hypocrite is
someone who deserves Allah's torment and whose place is at the bottom
of Hell. Furthermore hypocrites not only give harm to themselves, with
their insincere and tricky nature, but also they pose a threat for
society as a whole.
Generating such a peril with one's own hands, bringing hypocrites and
a system of hypocrisy into being is something that Muslims would by no
means wish. Every Muslim, as a requisite of the morality of the
Qur'an, is responsible forshowing people the truepath, enjoining the
good and forbidding theevil. But this never means to oblige others to
think, live, act and dress like oneself. A Muslim shows the truth and
leaves the choice to the person himself. This is the commandment Allah
informs us in the Qur'an.
Along with this, a Muslimwishes all sorts of thoughts and beliefs to
be freely expressed in the society. He respects the opinions, views
and lives of others. He wishesthe systems that are not in compliance
with the morality of religion, and even irreligious, atheist
ideologies and views to be explained, so that he can respond to them
in the scientific and ideological sense. Prohibiting views and
ideologies, taking them under pressure is not ease for a Muslim. On
thecontrary, this is a state that will make the communication of the
religion difficult, and render the scientific struggle harder. In an
environment where everyone can express their thoughts openly, religion
develops easily and becomes even stronger.
Furthermore, a Muslim knows that every man lives the destiny Allah
wills for him. He is awarethat an atheist is an atheist because Allah
created him so. Alternatively, he knows that an unbeliever does not
believe in Allah because that is what is preordained for him by Allah.
Accordingly he truly believes that a member of another religion
believes in that religion because Allah wills it so. He
approachesthese people with compassion, understanding and affection.
He wishes them to be free to express their own views,just as how he is
free to do so. He wants them to live as they wish and be at ease, just
as how he isfree himself to fulfill his acts of worship. Surely this
does not mean that he should condone immorality or cruelty and simply
disregard them. However he does not struggle against them by
oppressing the other party, putting pressure upon them, preventing
them from speaking, writing and expressing his opinion freely. On the
contrary, he carries on his struggle with patience, good words,
modesty, affection and respect. As we stated earlier, a Muslim is not
responsiblefor all the people's guidance except calling them to the
true path. It is Allah Who guides a person. A Muslim only calls to the
true path but by no means oppresses the other party.
As is seen, in the essence of Islam, there is intellectual freedom,
freedom of faith and expression. Some peopleassume that democracy
entered the history of humanity with the ancient Greeks. However, it
is Allah Who teaches democracy to people. From the time ofthe Prophet
Adam (as) allprophets have been the genuine representatives of
intellectual freedom and respect to views. The essence of all primary
concepts – freedom of justice, not putting any pressure upon anyone,
treating everyone as a first class citizens, respecting and trusting
people, not judging anyone due to his views- which are associated with
democracy and are present in the morality of religion. Throughout
history, people have learned these concepts from the righteous
religions revealed by Allah and witnessed its most beautiful examples
during the times when people lived by the righteous religions. When we
look at the times when people wereoppressed due to their opinions and
their different ideologies, members of various religions were
humiliated, while the arts, science and architecture died out. People
lost their joy of living and almost turned into robots. Book
burnings, murders, massacres, genocides became widespread, and we see
the influenceof irreligious, atheist ideologies or those who interpret
the religion with a radical mindset by distancing it from its essence.
Before explaining by evidence that once Allah's righteous religionis
lived in the form it is commanded by Allah, the real justice,
democracy, respect and love, that people have been longing for can be
experienced, we would like to remind with a beautiful good news from
our Prophet (saas):
Very soon, democracy, brotherhood, love, friendship and peace will, by
Allah's leave, dominate the world in an unprecedented way in history
and people will experience the joy, bliss and abundance of faith as
much as they can. As one can clearly see from the signs of theverses,
hadith of our Prophet (saas) and words of great Islamic scholars, the
time in which we live is the End Times. The difficult and troublesome
days of the End Times will, in this century, come to end with the
Prophet Jesus' (as) and Hazrat Mahdi's (as) being instrumental, and
the world will enter a brand new, bright era. (For further information
on this subject, please see www.awaitedmahdi.com) Communicating the
Oneness and Unity of Allah in the most beautiful and wise manner and
introducingpeople to the Islam described in the Qur'an lays a very
important ground for the bright days that we will attain in the near
future. Our wish is that Allah rendersalso this work instrumental in
attainingthe beauties in question.We wish that the days when we see
"people entering Allah's religion in droves" come at once.
DEMOCRACY IS THE UNDERSTANDING OF MORALITY COMMANDED BYALLAH; PEOPLE
WILL ACKNOWLEDGE THE GENUINE DEMOCRACY WITHTHE DOMINANCE OF THE
MORALITY OF ISLAM
ADNAN OKTAR: Now briefly, what will happen in the time of Hazrat Mahdi
(as)? Let me tell it. Full freedom, full democracy, full
enlightenment, full peace, love, compassion,brotherhood, technology,
science and arts will be at its peak point. They will exist in an
unprecedented way. Every view will be free. Every opinion will be
free. In the world [even the letter] "d" of democracy is non-existent
right now. People will know what actual democracy is. Because they
received [the concept of] democracy from the Qur'an. That is from the
Prophet Moses (as), the Prophet Abraham (as). Democracy is very
ancient; it dates back to the Prophet Adam (as), the Prophet Noah
(as). It is an understanding of morality that comes from the ancient
prophets. An understanding of morality commanded by Allah. That is,
granting freedom to all views. Forinstance what does All-Mighty Allah
say? I take refuge in Allah fromsatan. "You have your religion and I
have my religion." Allah says; "There is no compulsion where the
religion is concerned." That is, you can neither make one fulfill his
prayer or tell her to cover her hair. You cannot interfere with
anything of a person. Religion is merely an offer. You communicate it
and that is all. One lives by religion with love. Whencompulsion
enters the equation, a hypocrite comes out. They say, "Weoblige them."
You can only cause the appearance of millions of hypocrites then. You
establish a factory of hypocrites. Right? A hypocrite is the meanest
creature of this world. We will attain such a level of arts that
people will be out of breath. (In his hadith) our Prophet (saas) said
that even those in their graves willenvy them. Even those intheir
graves. Such an environment of security comes into being. For
instance, "women go to Madinah, Mecca and Damascus all alone." All
alone. In darkness, and with their hands free. "Nothing happens", says
our Prophet (saas). "Eventhe predatory animals will be compassionate."
Obedient. Such a development will happen Insha'Allah. Bigotry,
fanaticism, radicalism, fraudulence, insaneness, psychopathy, mafia,
murder, terror organizations; none of these will remain in the time of
Hazrat Mahdi (as). Absolute peace, bliss, love reigns and all weapons
are removed. Including guns and rifles. Tanks, cannons; allof them
will be melted; all of them. Washing machines, refrigerators will be
produced with them, they will be used in constructions; that is iron
will not be used in the production of weapons. It is removed. Where
can you use weapon? It may be in snow-balls war, that is all. As a
joke. Why shouldwar be, my brother? Why should people kill one
another? They are the innocent, pure slavesof Allah. You can
educatethem, tell them, and thatis it. Right? People will think more
clearly. They will construct such architectural masterpieces that
those looking at them will be out of breath. Now we look and see
square buildings like boxes of matches. Are these buildings at all? If
you do them, then make some effort and construct something beautiful.
Right? For each building constructed, you will think to yourself, "I
guess not a more beautiful one can ever be built." They will look at
another one and say, "This is the best one ever." Notice that neither
a theatrical production nor a movie, a quality film or a picture can
be produced.There is none; artistry has died in the world. There are
no longer any artists… (Gaziantep Olay TV, August 3, 2010)
ADNAN OKTAR: No one will intervene another. "Her head is covered,
open" They will be as free as they wish; there will not be something
like that. That is to say, noone will reproach another; because
religion is freedom. Religion endows us freedom,
independence.All-Mighty Allah says, "relieving them of the chains
which were around them." Our Prophet (saas) says thoseheavy chains
wrapping around one's body. All-Mighty Allah says that the Qur'an will
accomplish this. The Qur'an does not bring any chains, It rescues us
from chains; this is the attribute of religion. It brings us
democracy, freedom, independence.Pressure paralyses a person's soul;
it ruins thepower of arts, the powerof writing. For instance I was
watching TV other day; there were those ancient buildings in Europe,
the paintings in them. They cannot ever reproduce those, or produce
new ones. There are very bad imitations of movies. They can only take
photographs and displaytheir photographs. Why?Their power of artistry
has disappeared. Why? Because they do not loveAllah; Allah has taken
thepower in their hearts. When love disappears, science also
disappears, all of them disappear. The man is not strong enough, he
cannot do it,he simply cannot. He canneither paint nor construct a
building, nordo artwork for architecture; nothing of that sort. Notice
that, forinstance, even in the old Turkish movies – except those with
obscene scenes- there was some sense of nobility. Right? There was
quality. Why? Because they were the last Ottomans. They preserved
their spiritual values. Then, a corruption of a great scope occurred
and they have no power right now; they cannot do it. Neither any
artists, nor any actors, nobody appears. Arts disappeared. But I tell
this for the whole world.Not only for Turkey. Those buildings, for
instance, those ancient churches are amazing. But of course we
exemptthose parts related with disbelief. I don't adopt them, of
course. But with the part that is righteous, it is a tremendous
artistry. Why? They made them with the love of Allah. For instance the
old mosques. Can they do the Sultanahmet? The Bayazid Mosque? Right?
Can they construct Nur-i Osmania? They can only imitate them. With
concrete etc. But they are not beautiful either. It is understood when
one looks at them. Does that glory, that beautifulconstruction that
soothes the soul exist? All these and more of them will return back
with the time of Hazrat Mahdi (as). But with much greater beauty. Our
Prophet (saas) says that it will be like the Prophet Solomon (as) and
Dhu'l-Qarnayn (as); he says he will dominatethe world. An
unprecedented sovereignty.

Is it prescribed not to do the prostration of forgetfulness in Jumu‘ahand Eid prayer?.

Dear brother i came to know from my father that prostration of
forgetfulness should not b done during friday salah and eid, how far
is it true i was going on searching it on ur website but i couldnt
find it please provide meif any evidence.
Praise be to Allah.
Firstly:
We have previously discussed the ruling on Eid prayer in the answers
to questions no. 48983 and 49014 .
In the answer to question no. 45456 we stated that it is prescribed to
do the prostration of forgetfulness (sujood as-sahw) in naafil prayers
just as it is prescribed in obligatory prayers; it is exactly the
same. This is the view of the majority of scholars.
That is because the basicprinciple is that it is prescribed to do the
prostration of forgetfulness in prayer when there is the reasonfor
doing it, and the Lawgiver made no differentiation between obligatory
and naafil prayers in that regard.
Shaykh Ibn Baaz (may Allah have mercy on him) said:
The prostration of forgetfulness is prescribed in all prayers,both
naafil and obligatory, because of the general meaning of the hadeeths.
End quote from Majmoo'Fataawa Ibn Baaz, 30;13.
There is no disagreement that Jumu'ah prayer is obligatory, so the
requirement to compensate for mistakesby doing the prostrationof
forgetfulness in this prayer is more certain.
With regard to Eid prayer, whether we say it is obligatory or naafil,
it is like all other prayers; if a person makes a mistake he should
compensate for itby doing the prostrationof forgetfulness.
We have not found any one among the scholars, either the imams of the
four madhhabs or other leading fuqaha', who differentiate between the
prayers and Jumu'ahand Eid prayer, with regard to the prostration of
forgetfulness.
However, the well-known view amongst the later Hanafis is that it is
betternot to do the prostrationof forgetfulness in Jumu'ah and Eid
prayer if a large number of people are present, lest that confuse the
worshippers, although in principle they also do not differentiate in
the ruling on prostration of forgetfulness between obligatory and
naafil prayers; rather they thought it was better not to do it with a
large congregation for the reasons mentioned.
Burhaani ad-Deen al-Bukhaari al-Hanafi said in al-Muheet, 2/229:
It says in al-Asl: Making mistakes (or forgetting) in the Eid prayer,
Jumu'ah, obligatory and voluntary prayers is the same, because Jumu'ah
and Eid prayers are the same as other prayers with regard to what
mayspoil them, and they are the same with regard to what is required
as compensation, except that our shaykhs said: They should not do the
prostration of forgetfulness in Jumu'ahand Eid prayers, lest that
cause people to fall into confusion. End quote.
Abu Bakr al-Haddaadi said in al-Jawharah an-Nayyirah, 1/95:
Prostration of forgetfulness in Jumu'ah, Eid and obligatory prayers is
all the same; what is meant is that one should do theprostration of
forgetfulness in all prayers (if required). Butsome of the shaykhs
saidthat the imam should not do the prostration offorgetfulness in
Jumu'ahor Eid prayer lest he cause confusion to thosewho are far away
from the imam. End quote.
Ibn 'Aabideen said in al-Haashiyah, 2/157:
The favoured view among the later scholarsis that he should not do the
prostration of forgetfulness in Jumu'ahand Eid prayer, lest the
ignorant think that something has been added. This is what it says in
as-Siraaj and elsewhere. But that doesnot mean that it is not
permissible; rather it is better not to do it so that the people will
not become confused. End quote.
It is clear from the wordsof Ibn 'Aabideen and others that this
opinion is only well-known among the later Hanafis. As for the imams
of the madhhabs and the earlier scholars, this is not known from them;
rather what is well known from them is the opposite, as is clear
fromthe above. Muhammad ibn al-Hasan ash-Shaybaani, the companion of
Imam Abu Haneefah, the propagator of his madhhab and the faqeeh of
Iraq, said that the prostration of forgetfulness should be done (if
required) in the Eid prayer, Jumu ah and all other prayers.
Abu Sulaymaan al-Jawzjaani said: I said –i.e., to Muhammad ibn
al-Hasan – Do you think that the prostration of forgetfulness is the
samein the Eid prayer, Jumu'ah, and in the obligatory and
voluntaryprayers? He said: Yes.
Al-Mabsoot, 1/383
This is the correct view, which is in accordance with the opinion of
the majority of scholars. What was quoted above from the later Hanafis
is an opinion and juristic preference, but it is an opinion that is
superseded.
The correct view is what is stated above, that the prostration of
forgetfulness is prescribed in all prayers,whether obligatory or
naafil, if the reason for doing it is present. Thereis no
differentiation between Eid prayer, Jumu'ah prayer, or any other
prayer, whether obligatory or naafil.
And Allah knows best.

Is there any saheeh text about the number of Prophets and Messengers?.

Is there any saheeh hadeeth that gives the number of Prophets and Messengers?.
Praise be to Allah.
Firstly:
Allah, may He be exalted,sent Messengers to everynation and He stated
that they came one afteranother, as He says (interpretation of the
meaning):
"Then We sent Our Messengers in succession, every time there came to a
nation their Messenger, they denied him, so We madethem follow one
another(to destruction), and We made them as Ahadeeth (the true
stories for mankind to learn a lesson from them). So away with a
people whobelieve not"
[al-Mu'minoon 23:44]
"Verily! We have sent you with the truth, a bearer of glad tidings,
and a warner. And there never was a nation but awarner had passed
among them"
[Faatir 35:24].
Allah has named some ofthose Messengers and told us the stories of
some of them, but not ofmany others. Allah, may He be exalted, says
(interpretation of the meaning):
"Verily, We have inspiredyou (O Muhammad SAW) as We inspired Nooh
(Noah) and the Prophets after him; We (also) inspired Ibrahim
(Abraham), Ismail (Ishmael), Ishaque (Isaac), Yaqoob (Jacob), and
Al-Asbat (the twelve sons of Yaqoob (Jacob)), Iesa (Jesus), Ayub
(Job), Yoonus (Jonah), Haroon (Aaron), and Sulaiman (Solomon), and to
Dawood (David) We gave the Zaboor (Psalms).
And Messengers We havementioned to you before, and Messengers We have
not mentioned to you, - and to Moosa (Moses) Allah spoke directly"
[an-Nisa' 4:163-164].
Ibn Katheer (may Allah have mercy on him) said:
These are the names of the Prophets whose names are mentioned in the
Qur'an: Adam, Idrees,Nooh, Hood, Saalih, Ibraaheem, Loot, Ismaa'eel,
Ishaaq, Ya'qoob, Yoosuf, Ayyoob,Shu'ayb, Moosa, Haroon, Yoonus,
Dawood, Sulaymaan, Ilyaas, al-Yasa', Zakariya, Yahya,and 'Eesa
(blessings and peace be upon them), as well as Dhu'l-Kifl according to
many commentators, and theirleader is Muhammad (blessings and peace of
Allah be upon him).
The words "and Messengers We have not mentioned to you" mean: other
people whoare not mentioned in the Qur'an.
Tafseer Ibn Katheer, 2/469
Secondly:
The scholars differed as to the number of Prophets and Messengers,
according to what reached them and their opinions on the authenticity
of the hadeeths that mentioned their numbers. Those who classed the
hadeeths as saheeh or hasan gave their opinion based on those reports;
those whoclassed the hadeeths as da'eef said that the number could not
be known except through Revelation, so they refrained from stating a
number.
The hadeeths that mentioned a number areas follows:
1.
It was narrated that Abu Dharr said: I said: O Messenger of Allah, how
many Prophets were there? He said: "One hundred and twenty four
thousand." I said: O Messenger of Allah, how many of them were
Messengers? He said: "Three hundred and thirteen, a good number." I
said: O Messenger of Allah, who was the first of them? Hesaid: "Adam."
…
Narrated by Ibn Hibbaan, 361
This hadeeth is da'eef jiddan (very weak). Its isnaad includes
Ibraaheem ibn Hishaam al-Ghassaani, of whom adh-Dhahabi said: he is
matrook (rejected). Indeed, Abu Haatim said:(He is) a liar. Hence Ibn
al-Jawzi ruled that the hadeeth was fabricated and false.
Ibn Katheer (may Allah have mercy on him) said:
This hadeeth was narrated at length by al-Haafiz Abu Haatim ibn
Hibbaan al-Basti in his book al-Anwaa' wa't-Taqaaseem, and he said
that it was saheeh. But Abu'l-Faraj ibn al-Jazwi disagreed with him
and included this hadeeth in his book al-Mawdoo'aat (the fabricated
hadeeths) and accused Ibraaheem ibn Hishaam of fabricating the
hadeeth. There is no doubt that more than one of the imams of al-jarh
wa't-ta'deel (evaluation of hadeeth narrators) criticised him because
ofthis hadeeth.
Tafseer Ibn Katheer, 2/470
Shu'ayb al-Arna'oot said:Its isnaad is da'eef jiddan (very weak) –
andhe quoted the commentsof the scholars about Ibraaheem ibn Hishaam.
Tahqeeq Saheeh Ibn Hibbaan, 2/79
2.
A hadeeth mentioning this number - one hundred and twenty four
thousand – was alsonarrated via another isnaad:
It was narrated that Abu Umaamah said: I said: O Prophet of Allah, how
many Prophets were there? He said: "One hundred and twenty four
thousand, of whom three hundred and fifteen were a good number."
Narrated by Ibn Hibbaanin his Tafseer, 963
Ibn Katheer (may Allah have mercy on him) said:
Mu'aan ibn Rifaa'ah as-Silaami is da'eef; 'Ali ibn Yazeed is da'eef;
andal-Qaasim Abu 'Abd ar-Rahmaan is also da'eef.
Tafseer Ibn Katheer, 2/470
3.
The hadeeth of Abu Dharr (may Allah be pleased with him) was also
narrated via another isnaad, without any mention of the number of
Prophets; rather it mentions the number of Messengers:
He said: I said: O Messenger of Allah, how many Messengers were there?
He said: "Three hundred and umpteen, agood number."
Narrated by Ahmad, 35/431
According to another report (35/438): "three hundred and fifteen, a
good number."
Shu'ayb al-Arna'oot said:
Its isnaad is da'eef jiddan (very weak), because 'Ubayd ibn
al-Khashkhaash is majhool (unknown) and Abu 'Umar ad-Dimashqi is
da'eef. Ad-Daaraqutni said: al-Mas'oodi from Abu 'Umar ad-Dimashqi is
matrook (rejected).
Al-Mas'oodi is 'Abd ar-Rahmaan ibn 'Abdullah ibn 'Utbah.
Tahqeeq Musnad Ahmad,35/432
4.
It was narrated that Anassaid: The Messenger of Allah (blessings and
peace of Allah be upon him) said: "Allah sent eight thousand Prophets,
four thousand to the Children of Israel and four thousand to the rest
of mankind."
Narrated by Abu Ya'la in his Musnad, 7/160
This hadeeth is da'eef jiddan (very weak).
Al-Haythami (may Allah have mercy on him) said:
It was narrated by Abu Ya'la and its isnaad includes Moosa ibn
'Ubaydah ar-Rabdhi, who is da'eef jiddan.
Majma' az-Zawaa'id, 8/210
Ibn Katheer (may Allah have mercy on him) said:
This is also a da'eef isnaad. It includes ar-Rabdhi who is da'eef, and
his shaykh ar-Raqqaashi is also weaker than him.
Tafseer Ibn Katheer, 2/470
5.
It was narrated that Abu'l-Waddaak said: AbuSa'eed said to me: Do
theKhaarijis believe in the Dajjaal? I said: No. He said: The
Messenger of Allah (sa) said: "I am the Seal of a thousand Prophets or
more; no Prophet was sent but he warned his nation aboutthe Dajjaal…"
Narrated by Ahmad, 18/275
This hadeeth is da'eef because Mujaalid ibn Sa'eed is da'eef.
Al-Haythami (may Allah have mercy on him) said:
It was narrated by Ahmad, and its isnaad includes Mujaalid ibn Sa'eed.
An-Nasaa'i classed him as thiqah (trustworthy) in one report but he
said concerning another: He is not qawiy (strong). A number of
scholars classed him as da'eef.
Majma' az-Zawaa'id, 7/346
It was also classed as da'eef by al-Arna'oot in Tahqeeq al-Musnad, 18/276
6.
This hadeeth was narrated from Jaabir ibn'Abdullah (may Allah be
pleased with him):
It was narrated by al-Bazzaar in his Musnad,3380, Kashf al-Astaar.
Its isnaad includes Mujaalid ibn Sa'eed; it has been stated above that
he is da'eef.
Al-Haythami (may Allah have mercy on him) said:
It was narrated by al-Bazzaar and its isnaadincludes Mujaalid ibn
Sa'eed, who was classed as da'eef by the majority.
Majma' az-Zawaa'id, 7/347
From the hadeeths quoted above – and there are others that we have not
quoted to save space, all of which are da'eef – it is clear that the
reports differ concerning the number of Prophets and Messengers. Every
group spoke on the basis of thereports that were saheeh in their
opinion. The most well-known of the reports mentioned above is the
hadeeth of Abu Dharr (may Allah be pleased with him), which says that
the number of Prophets was one hundred and twentyfour thousand, among
whom the number of Messengers was three hundred and fifteen. Some of
the scholars even said that the number of Prophets was the same as the
number of Companions of the Prophet (blessings and peace of Allah be
upon him) and the number of Messengers was the same as the number of
those who were present at Badr.
But by examining the isnaads of these reports, it does not seem to us
that these hadeeths are saheeh, either individually or when their
isnaads are put together.
Thirdly:
There follow the opinions of some of the leading scholars who said
that these hadeeths and the numbers mentioned in them are not saheeh
(sound):
1.
Shaykh al-Islam Ibn Taymiyah (may Allah have mercy on him) said:
From what is mentioned by Ahmad, Muhammad ibn Nasr and others, it is
clear that they did not know the number of Books and Messengers, and
the hadeeth of Abu Dharr that speaks of thatwas not proven in their
view.
Majmoo' al-Fataawa, 7/409
From this report from the two imams Ahmad and Muhammad ibn
Nasral-Marwazi it is clear thatthey regarded the hadeeths which speak
ofthe number of Prophets as da'eef. What appears to be the case is
that Shaykh al-Islam (may Allah have mercy on him) supported them in
that. And he indicated that the hadeeth of Abu Dharr was da'eef. As he
said: It was narrated in the hadeeth of Abu Dharr that their number
was three hundred and thirteen, but that hadeeth was not quotedas
evidence; rather whatis quoted as evidence is the verses that speak of
their large number.
2.
Ibn 'Atiyyah (may Allah have mercy on him) said in his commentary on
the verse in an-Nisa':
The words of Allah, may He be exalted, "and Messengers We have not
mentioned to you" [an-Nisa' 4:164], imply a large number of Prophets,
without mentioning a specific number. Allah, may He be exalted, says
(interpretation of the meaning):
"And there never was a nation but a warner hadpassed among them"
[Faatir 35:24]
"and many generations in between"
[al-Furqaan 25:38].
What has been narrated about the number of Prophets is not correct;
Allah knows best about their number, may the blessings of Allah be
upon them. End quote.
3.
The scholars of the Standing Committee were asked:
What is the number of Prophets and Messengers (blessings and peace of
Allah be upon them)?
They replied:
No one knows their number except Allah, because He says
(interpretation of the meaning):
"And, indeed We have sent Messengers before you (O Muhammad SAW);of
some of them We have related to you theirstory and of some We have not
related to you their story"
[Ghaafir 40:78].
Those who are known are those who are mentioned in the Qur'an or in
the saheeh Sunnah.
Shaykh 'Abd al-Azeez ibnBaaz, Shaykh 'Abd ar-Razzaaq 'Afeefi, Shaykh
'Abdullah ibn Ghadyaan, Shaykh 'Abdullah ibn Qa'ood
Fataawa al-Lajnah ad-Daa'imah, 3/256
4.
Shaykh 'Abd al-'Azeez ibn Baaz (may Allah havemercy on him) said:
In the hadeeth of Abu Dharr that is narrated byAbu Haatim ibn Hibbaan
and others, it says that he asked the Prophet (sa) about the
Messengers and about the Prophets, and the Prophet (blessings and
peace of Allah be upon him) said: "The Prophets were one hundred and
twenty-four thousand and the Messengers were three hundred
andthirteen." According to the report of Abu Umaamah: three hundred
and fifteen. Butthese are both da'eef hadeeths according to the
scholars. They have corroborating reports, but those are also da'eef,
as we have mentioned above. According to some of them it says that the
Prophet (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him) said that there
were a thousand Prophets or more, and insome it says that the number
of Prophets was three thousand. All the hadeeths that speak of this
matter are da'eef; infact Ibn al-Jawzi regarded the hadeeth ofAbu
Dharr as being fabricated. The point is that there is no reliable
report about the number of Prophets and Messengers; no one knows their
number except Allah, may He be glorified and exalted. But they were a
good number. Allah has told usthe stories of some of them and He has
not toldus the stories of others in His wisdom, may He be glorified
and exalted.
Majmoo' Fataawa ash-Shaykh Ibn Baaz, 2/66, 67
5.
Shaykh 'Abdullah ibn Jibreen (may Allah preserve him) was asked:
What is the number of Prophets and Messengers? Is not believing in
some of them (because we are unaware of them) regarded as kufr? What
is the number of divinelyrevealed Books?
He replied:
In a number of hadeethsit is stated that the number of the Prophets
was one hundred and twenty-four thousand, and that the number of
Messengers among themwas three hundred and thirteen; it was also
narrated that the number of Prophets was eight thousand. All of these
hadeeths were quoted in Ibn Katheer's Tafseer al-Qur'an al-'Azeem, at
the end of Soorat an-Nisa', in his commentary on the verse in which
Allah, may He be exalted, says (interpretation of the meaning): "and
Messengers We have not mentioned to you" [an-Nisa' 4:164]. But the
hadeeths about this matter are all da'eef, despite the fact that there
are so many. So it is better to refrain from discussing this matter.
What is required of the Muslim is to believe specifically in those
Prophets whose names were mentioned by Allahand His Messenger, and to
believe in the rest in general terms. Allah condemned the Jews for
differentiating between them, as He said (interpretation of the
meaning): "…saying, We believe in some but reject others…"
[an-Nisa'4:150]. We believe in every Prophet and every Messenger whom
Allah sent at some time or another, but each one's message was for the
people of his own time and his Book was for his nation and his people.
With regard to the number of Books, it says in the lengthy hadeeth
narrated from Abu Dharrthat the number of books was one hundred books
and four books, aswas mentioned by Ibn Katheer in his commentary on
the verse quoted above. But Allah knows best how sound this is. Allah
has mentioned the Torah, the Gospel, the Psalms (Zaboor), and the
Scriptures of Ibraaheem and Moosa, so we believe in that and we
believe that Allah has many Books of which wehave no knowledge; it is
sufficient for us to believe in them in general terms.
Fataawa Islamiyyah, 1/41
And Allah knows best.