Responses to Akbarally Meherally's site

Section A Part 11

Meherally Revisited Once More

It seems that this debate will never end. Again Meherally attempts to rebut my arguments, and again he fails to do so. Let us proceed, AGAIN:

Meherally:

SAM SHAMOUN RESPONDS TO MY DECEPTION CHARGE

Here is what Sam writes:

RESPONDING TO AKBARALLY'S DECEPTION CHARGE

Mr. Meherally attempts to rebut other aspects of my article, yet as we shall see, falls way short of doing so. Let us proceed to his arguments.

MORE TEXTS....

Mr. Sam Shamoun writes in his original article:

Thus, Muslims believe that scribes later corrupted the original reading from Ishmael to Isaac. This idea stems from the Muslim misunderstanding of the phrase, "Only son", in reference to Isaac, since the title is used to affirm Isaac's unique status, a status based on the following:

Isaac was the only promised child of Abraham, a fact which the Quran agrees with (cf. Genesis 17:15-21; Sura 11:69-73, 37:112-113, 51:24-30). Ishmael was never a promised child.

THE QUR'AN DOES NOT AGREE WITH THE PRESENTED FACT...

Here is the promise from the Book of Genesis Chapter 17:

God said; "I will establish My Covenant with him (Isaac) as an everlasting covenant for his offspring after him." (verse 19). "But My Covenant I will establish with Isaac, whom Sarah shall bear to you at this season next year." (verse 21).

Response:

Mr. Meherally again attacks a straw man, since I NEVER said that the Quran mentions God making a covenant with Isaac. The fact that you made this inference from my citation of Genesis 17:15-21 is your problem. Please read what I actually did say, instead of assuming what you think I meant to say.

My Response to the "straw man" ploy:

Here is what Sam wrote:

Isaac was the only promised child of Abraham, a fact which the Quran agrees with (cf. Genesis 17:15-21; Sura 11:69-73, 37:112-113, 51:24-30). Ishmael was never a promised child.

Sam never said "Quran mentions", instead he wrote "Quran agrees with", which carries far greater emphasis than what he claims he did not write.

Response:

Precisely, agrees with what I said, namely ISAAC WAS THE ONLY PROMISED CHILD OF ABRAHAM, NOT THAT ISAAC WAS THE SOLE RECEPIENT OF A COVENANT PROMISE.

Meherally:

Sam writes that I (Akbarally), made an inference to the God's Covenant with Isaac, from his own citation of Genesis 17:15-12, and that is my problem.

Sam wants us to completely ignore the fact he had asked his readers to "cf." the text from Genesis 17:15-12 with the text from the listed Suras of the Qur'an and find out the facts. In case Sam has forgotten, the abbreviation "cf" stands for the verb "confer" which clearly indicates; "imperative to Compare (the passages that follows)". Is Sam now trying to tell his readers that they should NOT compare the two texts?

Response:

I assumed that the readers would have realized that "cf." would have stood for a comparison between what the Holy Bible and the Quran say in relation to Isaac being the only promised child of Abraham. Yet, Akbarally must desperately find something to rebut since he seems to be aware that thus far he has proven incapable of rebutting anything I have said.

Meherally:

Here is the entire text of GENESIS 17:15-21:

(KJV) And God said unto Abraham, As for Sarai thy wife, thou shalt not call her name Sarai, but Sarah {shall} her name be}. And I will bless her, and give thee a son also of her: yea, I will bless her, and she shall be {a mother} of nations; kings of people shall be of her. Then Abraham fell upon his face, and laughed, and said in his heart, Shall {a child} be born unto him that is an hundred years old? and shall Sarah, that is ninety years old, bear? And Abraham said unto God, O that Ishmael might live before thee! And God said, Sarah thy wife shall bear thee a son indeed; and thou shalt call his name Isaac: and I will establish my covenant with him for an everlasting covenant, {and} with his seed after him. And as for Ishmael, I have heard thee: behold, I have blessed him, and will make him fruitful, and will multiply him exceedingly; twelve princes shall he beget, and I will make him a great nation. But my covenant will I establish with Isaac, which Sarah shall bear unto thee at this set time in the next year.

Before we go any further let us examine what is a "covenant" in the biblical term. The term "covenant" appears three times for Isaac, in the text cited by Sam. Here is the dictionary meaning of the word "covenant" from Compton's Interactive Encyclopedia Deluxe © 1998.

cov-e-nant (kuv nnt) n. [[OFr, agreement, orig., prp. of covenir < L convenire: see CONVENE]] 1 a binding and solemn agreement to do or keep from doing a specified thing; compact 2 an agreement among members of a church to defend and maintain its doctrines, polity, and faith 3 [C-] an agreement of Presbyterians in Scotland in 1638 to oppose episcopacy: also called National Covenant 4 [C-] an agreement between the parliaments of Scotland and England in 1643 to extend and preserve Presbyterianism: also called Solemn League and Covenant 5 Law a) a formal, sealed contract b) a clause of such a contract c) a suit for damages for violation of such a contract 6 Theol. the promise made by God to man, as recorded in the Bible.

Response:

A more scholarly thing to do is to see what the term originally meant in the language and culture in which it was revealed, i.e. Hebrew, since the Holy Bible was not written in English. Here is the original Hebrew term and its related meanings as taken from the Brown-Driver-Briggs Hebrew Lexicon:

Strong's #1285 : b@riyth {ber-eeth'}

Definition
1) covenant, alliance, pledge

a) between men 1) treaty, alliance, league (man to man)
2) constitution, ordinance (monarch to subjects)
3) agreement, pledge (man to man)
4) alliance (of friendship)
5) alliance (of marriage)
b) between God and man 1) alliance (of friendship)
2) covenant (divine ordinance with signs or pledges)
(Source: Blue Letter Bible)

Meherally:

I have in my article quoted the texts from the above citation, which speaks of "God's Covenant" (the promise made by God), that were made for Isaac.

Here are the complete texts from the QUR'AN: (Translation by Yusuf Ali)

Sura 11:69-73 There came Our Messengers to Abraham with glad tidings. They said "Peace!" He answered "Peace!" and hastened to entertain them with a roasted calf. But when he saw their hands went not towards the (meal) he felt some mistrust of them and conceived a fear of them. They said: "Fear not: we have been sent against the people of Lut." And his wife was standing (there) and she laughed: but We gave her glad tidings of Isaac and after him of Jacob. She said: "Alas for me! Shall I bear a child seeing I am an old woman and my husband here is an old man? That would indeed be a wonderful thing!" They said: "Dost thou wonder at Allah's decree? The grace of Allah and His blessings on you O ye people of the house! for He is indeed worthy of all praise full of all glory!"

Sura 37:112-113 And We gave him the good news of Isaac a prophet one of the Righteous. We blessed him and Isaac: but of their progeny are (some) that do right and (some) that obviously do wrong to their own souls.

Sura 51:24-30 Has the story reached thee of the honored guests of Abraham? Behold they entered His presence and said: "Peace!" He said "Peace!" (and thought "these seem) unusual people." Then he turned quickly to his household brought out a fatted calf. And placed it before them... He said "Will ye not eat?" (When they did not eat) He conceived a fear of them. They said "Fear not" and they gave him glad tidings of a son endowed with knowledge. But his wife came forward (laughing) aloud: she smote her forehead and said: "a barren old woman!" They said "Even so has thy Lord spoken: and He is full of Wisdom and Knowledge."

In the above mentioned texts from the Qur'an there is no mention of God's Covenant (the promise made by God), that "agrees" with the one that we have seen in the Biblical Text.

Response:

And there is not a single place in my article where I said that the Quran specifically mentions a covenant made with Isaac alone. So your straw man remains.

Meherally:

If Sam wanted his readers to compare ONLY the "Good News" of Isaac's Birth, which is in the Qur'an, then why did Sam include the verses 19-20 and 21 within his citation that speak of "God's Covenant"? He could have excluded these three verses. Plain and simple.

Response:

It is only plain and simple when one has no defense against an argument and must give the impression that one is actually rebutting a particular point. The question is why should I have excluded those passages seeing that the context begins and ends with those passages? If I had made mention of a covenant then you would have grounds to argue. Since I did not, your arguments are nothing more than red herrings.

Meherally:

I have not created any strawman. Sam himself has cited the biblical texts WHICH MENTIONED GOD'S COVENANT (PROMISE) FOR ISAAC. Now that Sam has found out that the text similar to or in agreement to the CITED TEXT does not appear within the Qur'an, Sam wants that his readers should simply IGNORE what he has cited or to regard that TEXT cited by HIM as a STRAWMAN!

Would it not be better if you Sam, simply admit the fact that it was erroneous on your part to include the verses 19 to 21, since these three verses "do not agree" with the cited Revelations from the Quran?

Response:

In order to prove your point, you must demonstrate where I SAID ANYTHING ABOUT A COVENANT. The fact that you have failed to do so speaks volumes of your inability to rebut my points.

So, now, Mr. Meherally would it not be better for you to admit that you have misread my paper and deliberately misrepresented and misquoted both Badawi and myself?

Meherally:

Sam's entire thrust is upon "God's promise" for Isaac who was to be born "in the next year". Ishmael was at that time nearly thirteen years old. IF for Sam, the "God's promise" or "Good News" for the "birth of Isaac" was the most important thing for Abraham then what about the "God's promise" to Abraham for Ishmael (who was already offered for Sacrifice), that HE the Almighty God would "bless Ishmael, and will make him fruitful, and will multiply him exceedingly; twelve princes shall he beget, and will make him a great nation" that is written within the cited text?

There are nearly 25 million Jews (the so called descendants of Isaac), upon this earth, whereas the number for those who have entered Islam - a great nation established by the descendant of Ishmael, prophet Muhammad upon the authority of God's Revelations - is nearly 1.2 billion. This conclusively proves that Islam is the Great Nation that was PROMISED to Abraham through Ishmael. Unfortunately, Sam simply brushes aside this GREAT PROMISE for a GREAT NATION and keeps on harping; "Ishmael was never a promised child". Hence, Ishmael was not fit for the offering. Hence, we all should accept that Isaac was the "ONLY SON" of Abraham.

IF GOD'S PROMISE FOR THE BIRTH OF A CHILD NEXT YEAR WAS "GREATER", THAN GOD'S PROMISE FOR THE BIRTH OF "GREAT NATION" IN THE YEARS TO COME, WAS "THE GREATEST".

THIS APPARENT REALITY CAN ONLY BE DENIED BY THOSE WHOSE EYES, EARS AND HEART ARE SEALED WITH PRIDE.

I can only pray, May Allah open their eyes, ears and heart to admit The Truth and accept The Great Religion that was promised by God. Sam should read his own citation from his own bible, one more time.

Response:

First, due notice that now Meherally inserts the words "who was to be born the next year." Mr. Meherally, are you trying to add to my original statements or are you simply making a point unrelated to my original comments?

Secondly, which part of my answer to your question on the fulfillment of the promises made to Ishmael did you not understand? Here it is again:

"Thirdly, even though God promised Abraham that Ishmael would also be a great nation, that promise never included Canaan as part of God's blessing upon Ishmael:

"Abraham fell facedown; he laughed and said to himself, "Will a son be born to a man a hundred years old? Will Sarah bear a child at the age of ninety?" And Abraham said to God, "If only Ishmael might live under your blessing!" Then God said, "Yes, BUT your wife Sarah will bear you a son, and you will call him Isaac. I will establish my covenant with him as an everlasting covenant for his descendants after him. And as for Ishmael, I have heard you: I WILL SURELY BLESS HIM; I WILL MAKE HIM FRUITFUL AND WILL GREATLY INCREASE HIS NUMBERS. HE WILL BE THE FATHER OF TWELVE RULERS, AND I WILL MAKE HIM INTO A GREAT NATION. But my covenant I will establish with Isaac, whom Sarah will bear to you this time next year." Genesis 17:17-21

Interestingly Meherally alludes to Genesis 17:1-5 yet fails to mention this preceding passage which helps clarify what the verses he alludes to actually mean within its immediate context. We wonder why? Perhaps Meherally realized that this passage would demonstrate to his readers that the Holy Bible specifically denies the fact that God had made a covenant with Ishmael like he did with Isaac.

The Holy Bible PROCEEDS TO RECORD THE FULFILLMENT OF GOD'S PROMISE TO ISHMAEL:

"This is the account of Abraham's son Ishmael, whom Sarah's maidservant, Hagar the Egyptian, bore to Abraham. These are the names of the sons of Ishmael, listed in the order of their birth: Nebaioth the firstborn of Ishmael, Kedar, Adbeel, Mibsam, Mishma, Dumah, Massa, Hadad, Tema, Jetur, Naphish and Kedemah. THESE WERE THE SONS OF ISHMAEL, AND THESE ARE THE NAMES OF THE TWELVE TRIBAL RULERS ACCORDING TO THEIR SETTLEMENTS AND CAMPS. Altogether, Ishmael lived a hundred and thirty-seven years. He breathed his last and died, and he was gathered to his people. His descendants settled in the area from Havilah to Shur, near the border of Egypt, as you go toward Asshur. And they lived in hostility toward all their brothers." Genesis 25:12-18

Since the Holy Bible records God's fulfillment of the promise made to Ishmael where he would have twelve princes (rulers) forming a great nation(s), why do you read back into the holy text your theological presuppositions? And since this promise is restricted to the descendants of Ishmael, how can Islam be a fulfillment of this promise seeing that the majority of Muslims are not Arabs and therefore are not descendants of Ishmael (not that all Arabs are Ishmaelites)?

Finally, I challenge you to show me anywhere in the Holy Bible where it says that the DESCENDANT (SINGULAR) OF ISHMAEL was to establish a great nation. You again dare to add words, this time to the Holy Scriptures.

Yes, Mr. Meherally I do hope and pray that the Lord Jesus Christ grants you eyes to see and helps to destroy your pride, enabling you to see the truth and embrace Jesus as your Lord and Savior and the Holy Bible as the only inspired word of God. Lord willing, when this occurs, only then will it become apparent to you that Islam is not the Great Religion, but rather the Great Deception.

Sam Shamoun


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