A Gift from Heaven: My Journey from Christianity to Islam 4

A Gift from Heaven: My Journey from Christianity to Islam Ali Al-Sheikh — Dar Al-Sadiqeen 1 — These (holy) scriptures were written over a period of about fifteen centuries or more, and most, if not all, of the original texts are now lost. In addition, many of them have unknown authors; it is not known who copied them or when they were written. The existing copies are, at best, believed to have been taken from original manuscripts. Can it be said that the copyists of these later books made no mistakes, especially considering that these books were translated from Hebrew into other languages? And was this translation — as the Jews believed regarding the Septuagint — carried out by divine inspiration or not? For this reason, I believe that these books and scriptures of the Old Testament that we possess today cannot be relied upon with absolute certainty, nor can we be assured that errors did not creep into them. The Dictionary of the Bible states: “All that has reached us are copies taken from the original. Although the scribes exercised great care with these copies, some very minor scribal slips were inevitable.” (1) At the very least, there is doubt that the existing copies are identical to the originals, and this explains the differences among biblical scholars concerning these scriptures. (1) Dictionary of the Bible, p. 763. (27) 2 — As believers in God and His messages, despite differences in sects and religions, we believe that the divine prophets are among the best of humanity. Therefore, we can say that they are righteous and at least protected from legislative sins and major faults. However, we unfortunately find in these scriptures, in many places, the attribution of grave sins and offenses to these great prophets — such as drinking wine, incest, and other matters that any honorable believer would refuse even to think about, let alone practice. I will mention some examples, and whoever wishes to explore further may consult the Old Testament. The Old Testament reports that the Prophet Lot (peace be upon him) drank wine, became intoxicated, and then committed the sin of incest with those forbidden to him (his daughters), who then conceived by him (see Genesis 19:1–38). It also reports about the Prophet Solomon (peace be upon him), who was full of wisdom, that the later years of his reign were unfortunate: he began to multiply wives and loved many women besides Pharaoh’s daughter (his wife). He had seven hundred wives and three hundred concubines, who turned his heart toward foreign gods, and he even built places for idol worship to please them, so the Lord became angry with him (see 1 Kings 11:1–25). Likewise, the story of the Prophet Noah (peace be upon him): the Old Testament narrates that he made wine, drank it, became drunk, and exposed his nakedness before his sons, who then covered him (see Genesis 9:1–29). And the story of Jacob wrestling with God and other accounts lead us to believe that some distortions have entered these scriptures, prompting the conclusion that the Old Testament in its present form is, at the very least, not entirely divine revelation. In addition, there are some strange stories that reason finds difficult to accept, such as prophets appearing naked. For example: “As Saul was on his way there, the Spirit of God came upon him, and he prophesied along the way. He also stripped off his clothes and prophesied in Samuel’s presence, lying down naked all that day and night; therefore it is said, ‘Is Saul also among the prophets?’” (see 1 Samuel 19:20–24). Also in Isaiah (20:1–6), the Prophet Isaiah walked naked and barefoot for three years; likewise, the captives of Egypt were said to walk naked and barefoot with their buttocks uncovered, and many other similar accounts. (28) 3 — Another issue worth mentioning is the abundance of contradictions found within these texts. In a single story, some books contradict others, and even within one book there are contradictions. In the Book of Genesis, regarding the story of Noah and the Ark, he is commanded to take two of every living creature, male and f