The Last Book or Books

Introduction

God sent messengers and prophets to deliver the Divine Revelations for guidance, however with the passage of time the real message of God got blurred and distorted  due to additional books written by scholars and clergy to explain the message of God. No one could be sure of the authenticity and validity of these writings which at times contradict and override the Holy Scripture. Perversion of Torah and Gospel [Arabic: Injil] through such extra books are living examples.

Caliph Umar (may Allah be pleased with him) strongly opposed both the writing and the transmission of Hadith not because he disapproved of writing or of sharing information, but because he feared that they would gain a status equal to or even greater than that of the Qur’an itself as it happened in the past with Torah and Gospels, the time has proved correctness of his apprehensions. The Talmud and books attributed to Saint Paul and other the disciples overshadowed Torah and Gospel respectively. This bold step in line with the spirit of Quran and Sunnah of the Prophet (pbuh) represents him as the archetypal defender of God’s Book at a time when some people saw the Prophetic traditions as competing for status and authority with God’s Book. 

Caliph Omar was quoted as stating that initially he had desired to write down a collection of the Prophet’s sayings, but refrained for fear of the Muslims choosing to abandon the teachings of the Quran in favor of the Hadith: “I wanted to write the Sun’an, and I remembered a people who were before you, they wrote other books to follow and abandoned the book of God. And I will never, I swear, replace God’s book with anything.” (Jama ul Biyaan)

During Omar’s rule there was a considerable increase in the number of hadiths. He ordered all the pages on which were written the hadiths that were in the hands of the public to be brought to him and then the entire collection to be burnt. He also sent letters to the Prophet’s companions living in other cities, asking them to destroy all the copies of hadiths in their hands.

He said to a team of Qarza bin Ka’ab who were ready for a journey to Iraq:

“You are going to a country where people recite the Quran so much that the voice of the Quran echoes there like busy bees; so do not divert them from the Quran and from their true path by narrating hadiths. Qarza says, after that day, they did not remember narrating any hadith again.” (Jama ul Biyaan)

Omar was infuriated by hadith narrators like Qa’ab and Abu Hurayra, and drew a parallel between the hadiths and the Mishnah that had corrupted Judaism, saying: “These are like the Mishnah of the Jewish people.”

“Omar said: Remember those that went before you, they had books written and abandoned God’s Book. I shall not allow anyone to compare any book with the Quran.” “Omar said: By God, I shall not let any book cast a shadow on the Quran.”

The decision of Caliph Umar was accepted and adhered to by other rightly guided Caliphs and companions uptill over a century when no Companions remained alive. Hence according to Quran, Prophet Muhammad (pbuh), Four Rightly Guided Caliphs and companions; there is no place for any other Book or Scripture except Quran. This great deviation of writing of other books, now there are over 75 Hadith books, Muslims are ahead of Jews and Christians. It is important to know scriptures writing among Jews and Christians and its effects on the real teachings and guidance provided by God.

Jews and Christians 

Allah sent His Last Messenger Muhammad (pbuh) and the Last Book, Quran for the guidance of humanity till eternity because the previous scriptures for the communities were corrupted and undermined by human written books. The Holy Quran has 6236 verses, according to one calculation, there are 401 verses directly about Jews, 169 about Christians and both combined 541 verses i.e. about 8.6% of Quran. This indicates importance given to these two previous communities which had gone astray due to their negligence of the book of God:

The biggest failure of the Jews was that they kept the teachings contained in the Book of God confined to a limited class of people, the rabbis and professional theologians, instead of spreading them. They did not allow this knowledge to filter through even to the Jewish masses let alone the non-Jewish peoples of the world. Later, when errors and corruptions spread among them owing to widespread ignorance the Jewish theologians made no serious effort to root them out. Moreover, in order to maintain their hold on the Jewish masses they lent their tacit approval to every corrupting deviation from the true faith that gained currency. The Muslims are being admonished to refrain from this kind of behavior. The nation which has been charged with the guidance of the entire world is duty-bound to do its utmost to radiate true guidance, rather than keep it under lock and key as a miser hoards his money.

Indeed, those who conceal what We sent down of clear proofs and guidance after We made it clear for the people in the Scripture those are cursed by Allah and cursed by those who curse,(Quran 2:159)

This text has pointed out how the people of the Book (Jews and Christians) went about concealing the truth concerning the prophet hood of the Holy Prophet for whom the Kaaba was appointed as the Qiblah. It was Verse 146, where it was said:

“Those whom We have given the Book recognize him (The Holy Prophet) as they recognize their own sons. And, in fact, a group of them does conceal the truth while they know.

Now the text, in order to conclude the subject, warns those who not only conceal the truth but, going further ahead in obstinacy, persist in their effort. The ultimate fate of this senseless persistence being all too obvious, Allah Almighty still extends the promise of His mercy and forgiveness to those who repent and reflect on what they did, retrace their steps and correct their negative attitude towards divine truth and, in order to demonstrate their positive stand, come forward and state the truth clearly and publicly. The natural consequence of such a reformed attitude would be that they will enter the fold of Islam believing in Allah and His prophet, which is the touchstone for any disbeliever s honest change of heart. The duty of spreading the Islamic Knowledge Verse (Quran 2:159) above stated that concealing from people clear signs and guidance revealed by Allah Almighty is a terrible crime which earns the curse of Allah Almighty Himself, as well as that of His entire creation. 

Jewish Scriptures

The Jewish scripture, Torah consists of two parts: The Written Torah, and the Oral Torah. The Five Books of Moses has many names generically called “Torah” Hebrew for “instructions,” because its purpose is to instruct. It is referred to as the Bible (meaning “book” in Greek), the Chumash (Hebrew for “fifth”), the Pentateuch (Greek for “five scrolls”). (Jews consider it insulting to call it the Old Testament, as this implies a New Testament, which Jews reject.). 

The Written Torah has  totals 24 books, including the Five Books of Moses and the prophetic writings e.g. Isaiah, Jeremiah, Psalms, Proverbs, etc. The Five Books of Moses comprise of Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers and Deuteronomy was written down by Moses in 1273 BCE, and includes all 613 commandments (mitzvahs). Here these five books will be considered as Torah.

Written and Oral Torah

Rabbinic writings state that the Oral Torah was given to Moses at Mount Sinai, which, according to the tradition of Orthodox Judaism, occurred in 1312 BCE. The Orthodox rabbinic tradition holds that the Written Torah was recorded during the following forty years, though many non-Orthodox Jewish scholars affirm the modern scholarly consensus that the Written Torah has multiple authors and was written over centuries.

The Talmud presents two opinions as to how exactly the Torah was written down by Moses. One opinion holds that it was written by Moses gradually as it was dictated to him, and finished it close to his death, and the other opinion holds that Moses wrote the complete Torah in one writing close to his death, based on what was dictated to him over the years.

All classical rabbinic views hold that the Torah was entirely Mosaic and of divine origin. Present-day Reform and Liberal Jewish movements all reject Mosaic authorship, as do most shades of Conservative Judaism.

Rabbinic tradition holds that Moses learned the whole Torah while he lived on Mount Sinai for 40 days and nights and both the Oral and the written Torah were transmitted in parallel with each other. Where the Torah leaves words and concepts undefined, and mentions procedures without explanation or instructions, the reader is required to seek out the missing details from supplemental sources known as the Oral Law or Oral Torah. [The Hadith proponents give similar arguments]

According to Legends of the Jews, God gave Torah to the children of Israel after he approached every tribe and nation in the world, and offered them the Torah, but the latter refused it so they might have no excuse to be ignorant about it. In this book, Torah is defined as one of the first things created, as remedy against the evil inclination, and as the counselor who advised God to create humans in the creation of the world in order to make him the honored One.

The Oral Torah

Rabbinic tradition holds that Moses learned the whole Torah while he lived on Mount Sinai for 40 days and nights and both the Oral and the written Torah were transmitted in parallel with each other. Where the Torah leaves words and concepts undefined, and mentions procedures without explanation or instructions, the reader is required to seek out the missing details from supplemental sources known as the Oral Law or Oral Torah. [The Hadith proponents give similar arguments]

Some of the Torah’s most prominent commandments needing further explanation include on Shabbat laws; With the severity of Sabbath violation, namely the death penalty, one would assume that direction would be provided as to how exactly such a serious and core commandment should be upheld. However, most information regarding the rules and traditions of Shabbat are dictated in the Talmud and other books deriving from Jewish oral law.

According to classical rabbinic texts this parallel set of material was originally transmitted to Moses at Sinai, and then from Moses to Israel. At that time it was forbidden to write and publish the oral law, as any writing would be incomplete and subject to misinterpretation and abuse. [Hadith writing was also banned by Prophet (pbuh) and Rightly Guided Caliphs]

However, after exile, dispersion, and persecution, this tradition was lifted when it became apparent that in writing was the only way to ensure that the Oral Law could be preserved. After many years of effort by a great number of tannaim, the oral tradition was written down around 200 CE (over 1500 years after Moses) by Rabbi Judah haNasi, who took up the compilation of a nominally written version of the Oral Law, the Mishnah (Hebrew: משנה). Other oral traditions from the same time period not entered into the Mishnah were recorded as Baraitot (external teaching), and the Tosefta. Other traditions were written down as Midrashim. [Hadith writing in form of books started in 2nd and 3rd century Hijrah, continued till later period]

After continued persecution more of the Oral Law was committed to writing. A great many more lessons, lectures and traditions only alluded to in the few hundred pages of Mishnah, became the thousands of pages now called the Gemara. Gemara is written in Aramaic, having been compiled in Babylon. The Mishnah and Gemara together are called the Talmud. The rabbis in the Land of Israel also collected their traditions and compiled them into the Jerusalem Talmud. Since the greater number of rabbis lived in Babylon, the Babylonian Talmud has precedence should the two be in conflict. [Out of millions of Hadith, the books written by scholars have about forty thousands after sifting]

Orthodox and Conservative branches of Judaism accept these texts as the basis for all subsequent halakha and codes of Jewish law, which are held to be normative. Reform and Reconstructionist Judaism deny that these texts, or the Torah itself for that matter, may be used for determining normative law (laws accepted as binding) but accept them as the authentic and only Jewish version for understanding the Torah and its development throughout history. 

Humanistic Judaism holds that the Torah is a historical, political, and sociological text, but does not believe that every word of the Torah is true, or even morally correct. Humanistic Judaism is willing to question the Torah and to disagree with it, believing that the entire Jewish experience, not just the Torah, should be the source for Jewish behavior and ethics. 

The Hadiths have many classifications according to the level of authenticity worked out by the scholars according to rules and criteria laid down by themselves, not approved by the Prophet (pbuh) or Rightly Guided Caliphs, who banned Hadith writing. There are divergent views among scholars and groups about acceptance or rejection of some Hadiths. It is common practice to reject the Hadith quoted by opposing sects on the basis of weak authenticity. 

Talmud – The Oral Torah

Its name derives from the fact that it was not allowed to be formally written down but had to be taught orally. It contains the explanations of the Written Torah. One cannot be understood without the other. In 190 CE, persecution and exile of the Jewish people threatened the proper transmission of the Oral Torah. Therefore, Rabbi Yehudah HaNasi compiled written notes on the Oral Torah called the “Mishnah” (Hebrew for “teaching”). Rabbi Yehudah arranged the Mishnah into six sections: Laws of Agriculture, Festivals, Damages, Marriage, Purity, and Offerings. Rabbi Yehudah wrote the Mishnah in code form, so that students would still require the explanation of a rabbi since this information was meant to remain oral.

In 500 CE, the Jewish people again suffered an uprooting of their communities, and two Babylonian rabbis Rav Ashi and Ravina compiled a 60-volume record of rabbinic discussions on the Mishnah, called the “Gemara.” Together, the Mishnah and Gemara comprise what is commonly called the “Talmud.” 

The Oral Torah also includes the Midrash, an explanation of the Written Torah, comprising both ethical and legal components. Much of this material is also contained in the Talmud.

The Oral Torah also includes the works of Kabbalah, a tradition of mystical secrets of the metaphysical universe received by Moses at Mount Sinai. It was first published as “The Zohar” by R’ Shimon bar Yochai (170 CE), and elucidated by the Arizal (1572 CE).

Torah is not to be regarded, however, as an academic field of study. It is meant to be applied to all aspects of our everyday life speech, food, prayer, etc. Over the centuries great rabbis have compiled summaries of practical law from the Talmud. Landmark works include: “Mishneh Torah” by Maimonides (12th century Egypt); “Shulchan Aruch” by Rabbi Yosef Karo (16th century Israel); “Mishnah Berurah” by the Chafetz Chaim (20th century Poland).

Torah vs Talmud

Torah revealed to Moses (pbuh) (books of Moses) has 5853 verses, whereas Talmud (written by Jewish religious scholars), stretches to well over 10 million words across 38 volumes. Practically it takes precedence over Divine scripture. There are controversies on the role of Talmud and many Jewish sects give priority to Torah (Written Law).

Rejection of Talmud (Oral Law) by Jewish Sects

The Talmud represents the written record of an oral tradition. It became the basis for many rabbinic legal codes and customs, most importantly for the Mishneh Torah and for the Shulchan Aruch. Orthodox and, to a lesser extent, Conservative Judaism accept the Talmud as authoritative, while Samaritan, Karaite, Reconstructionist, and Reform Judaism do not.

Sadducees: The Jewish sect of the Sadducees (Hebrew: צְדוּקִים) flourished during the Second Temple period. Principal distinctions between them and the Pharisees (later known as Rabbinic Judaism) involved their rejection of an Oral Torah and their denying a resurrection after death.

Karaism: Another movement that rejected the Oral Torah as authoritative was Karaism, which arose within two centuries after completion of the Talmud. Karaism developed as a reaction against the Talmudic Judaism of Babylonia. The central concept of Karaism is the rejection of the Oral Torah, as embodied in the Talmud, in favor of a strict adherence only to the Written Torah. This opposes the fundamental Rabbinic concept that the Oral Torah was given to Moses on Mount Sinai together with the Written Torah. Some later Karaites took a more moderate stance, allowing that some element of tradition (called sevel ha-yerushah, the burden of inheritance) is admissible in interpreting the Torah and that some authentic traditions are contained in the Mishnah and the Talmud, though these can never supersede the plain meaning of the Written Torah.

Reform Judaism: The rise of Reform Judaism during the 19th century saw more questioning of the authority of the Talmud. Reform Jews saw the Talmud as a product of late antiquity, having relevance merely as a historical document. For example, the “Declaration of Principles” issued by the Association of Friends of Reform Frankfurt in August 1843 states among other things that:

1. The collection of controversies, dissertations, and prescriptions commonly designated by the name Talmud possesses no authority, from either the dogmatic or the practical standpoint.
2. Some took a critical-historical view of the written Torah as well, while others appeared to adopt a neo-Karaite “back to the Bible” approach, though often with greater emphasis on the prophetic than on the legal books.

Humanistic Judaism: Within Humanistic Judaism, Talmud is studied as a historical text, in order to discover how it can demonstrate practical relevance to living today.

Role of Torah in Present Time

Orthodox Judaism continues to stress the importance of Talmud study as a central component of Yeshiva curriculum, in particular for those training to become rabbis. This is so even though Halakha is generally studied from the medieval and early modern codes and not directly from the Talmud. Talmudic study amongst the laity is widespread in Orthodox Judaism, with daily or weekly Talmud study particularly common in Haredi Judaism and with Talmud study a central part of the curriculum in Orthodox Yeshivas and day schools. The regular study of Talmud among laymen has been popularized by many Rabbis to show how the Talmud is relevant to a wide range of people.

Conservative Judaism similarly emphasizes the study of Talmud within its religious and rabbinic education. Generally, however, Conservative Jews study the Talmud as a historical source-text for Halakha. The Conservative approach to legal decision-making emphasizes placing classic texts and prior decisions in historical and cultural context, and examining the historical development of Halakha (Halakha is the collective body of Jewish religious laws derived from the written and Oral Torah). This approach has resulted in greater practical flexibility than that of the Orthodox. Talmud study forms part of the curriculum of Conservative parochial education at many Conservative day-schools, and an increase in Conservative day-school enrollments has resulted in an increase in Talmud study as part of Conservative Jewish education among a minority of Conservative Jews. See also: The Conservative Jewish view of the Halakha.

Reform Judaism does not emphasize the study of Talmud to the same degree in their Hebrew schools, but they do teach it in their rabbinical seminaries; the world view of liberal Judaism rejects the idea of binding Jewish law, and uses the Talmud as a source of inspiration and moral instruction. Ownership and reading of the Talmud is not widespread among Reform and Reconstructionist Jews, who usually place more emphasis on the study of the Hebrew Bible or Tanakh.

Muslims Groups- Ahl al-Kalam, Ahle Quran and Ahle Hadith

Like many Jews opposed to Talmud, among Muslims there has always been people opposed to granting high status to Hadith books on various grounds, especially Hadith ban in Quran, Sunnah of Prophet (pbuh) and Rightly Guided Caliphs. The late recording and placing more emphasis on the chain of narrators (asnad) than the contents (matn) is another reason. Ahle Quran and other Hadith rejecters totally reject Hadith literature. The Ahle Quran and Ahle Hadith have many delusions, there is a middle ground to accept Mutawatir Hadith/ Sunnah (practices) of the Prophet (pbuh) transmitted through a huge number of people via practice from generation to generation. 

Historian Daniel W. Brown describes Ahl al-Kalam as one of three main groups engaged in polemical disputes over sources of authority in Islamic law during the second century of Islam. Ahl ar-Ra’y and Ahl al-Hadith being the other two. Ahl al-Kalam agreed with Ahl al-Hadith that the example of Muhammad, the prophet of Islam, was authoritative, but it did not believe it to be divine revelation, a status that only the Quran had (in its view). It also rejected the authority of hadith on the grounds that its corpus was “fill with contradictory, blasphemous, and absurd” reports, and that in jurisprudence, even the smallest doubt about a source was too much. Thus, they believed, the true legacy of the prophet was to be found elsewhere i.e. in “Sunnah” which is separate from Hadith. Ahl al-Hadith prevailed over the Ahl al-Kalam (and Muslims, or at least mainstream Muslims, now accept the authority of hadith) so that most of what is known about their arguments comes from the writings of their opponents, such as Imam al-Shafi’i. Brown also describes the Muʿtazili as “the later ahl al-kalām”, suggesting the ahl al-kalām were forerunners of the Muʿtazili.

Hadith, Mishnah & Talmud

Caliph Umer al Khattab compares the written Hadith with the Mishnah of the People of the Book. In Judaism, the Mishnah serves much the same function that the Hadith have come to serve in Islam. It is a codification of the Oral Law and contains rulings related to the details of ritual purity, prayer, marriage, divorce, and so on. The Mishnah and the Gemara together make up the Talmud, which is the most important book in Judaism besides the Torah.

The Prophet banned Hadith writing and is reported to have said: “ Then write the book of Allah, uphold the book of Allah, no other books but the book of Allah, uphold the book of Allah.” [Musnad Ahmad, Hadith Number 10611]. 

Quran also bans any other book, mentioning specifically word “Hadith”  repeatedly:

1. In which Hadith other than the Quran will they believe? (Quran;77:50)
2. In what Hadith after this (Quran) will they then believe?(Quran;7:185)
3. These are the revelations of God which We recite to you for a genuine purpose. In what Hadith other than God’s and His revelations will they then believe? (Quran;45;6)
4. Let them produce a Hadith like it if they are true in their claim.(Quran;52:34)
5. Indeed, those who conceal what We sent down of clear proofs and guidance after We made it clear for the people in the Scripture those are cursed by Allah and cursed by those who curse,(Quran 2:159)

The Muslims are being admonished to refrain from this kind of behaviour like Jews and Christians who concealed the verses which did not conform to their self-created doctrines.

Quran and Hadith – A Comparison of Written Contents:

The Quran has 6236 verses, while there are around 75 Hadith books, mostly written in 3rd century Hijrah. If we consider the one famous Imam Bukhari selected only 7397 Hadiths to be included in his compilation out of over 0.6 million Hadiths, if repetition is catered then the number falls to 2762. On the average the Quranic verse comprises 2 to three lines, but Hadith is generally lengthy, hence according to a reasonable assumption, the number of words in a Hadith may be equal to five verses. It is difficult to count the total number of Hadiths, there are different assessments by different scholars, the number may vary between 25,000 to 40,000. Hence according to a rough estimate out of the total written material of Quran and Hadith, 5 to 10% may be Quran and 90 -95% Hadith. Similarly if the Quran verses compared with Mutawatir Hadith (113), the Quran is 91% and Mutawatir Hadith 8%.

There is One Book of Allah, The Quran and 75 books of Hadith to explain it!

New Testament : The Holy Books of Christians:

According to the Bible and Quran Jesus Christ was a Jewish Prophet for guidance of Jews. Jesus Christ conveyed orally to the people what God had originally revealed to him. His disciples, too, propagated it among the people by the spoken words in such a manner that they presented an admixture of their Prophet’s life-story and the verses revealed to Prophet Jesus (peace be upon him). None of this material was put into writing during the lifetime of Prophet Jesus Christ (peace be upon him) or even in the period immediately following him. It fell to the lot of the Christians whose vernacular was Greek to transform the oral traditions into writing. It must be borne in mind that Christ’s native tongue was Syriac or Aramaic and his disciples, too, spoke the same language. Most Greek-speaking authors heard these traditions in the Aramaic vernacular and committed them to writing in Greek. The oral traditions have been put into writing from Aramaic to Greek from 50-70 C.E.

During fourth century Four Gospels were selected out of many books in circulation, which are now part of the New Testament. The word ‘gospel’ is derived from the Anglo-Saxon term ‘god-spell’, meaning ‘good story’, a rendering of the Latin ‘evangelium’ and the Greek ‘euangelion’ (Arabic; Injil), meaning ‘good news’ or “good telling”. The Christian Bibles range from the 73 books of the Catholic Church canon, the 66 books of the canon of some denominations or the 80 books of the canon of other denominations of the Protestant Church, to the 81 books of the Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahedo Church canon. The first part of Christian Bibles is the Greek Old Testament, which contains, at minimum, the above 24 books of the Tanakh but divided into 39 (Protestant) or 46 (Catholic) books and ordered differently. The second part is the Greek New Testament, containing 27 books; the four canonical gospels, Acts of the Apostles, 21 Epistles or letters and the Book of Revelation.

The Bible includes four Gospels. The Gospel is any of four biblical narratives covering the life, the person, death (according to Christian belief) and the teachings of Prophet Jesus (peace be upon him), as he was remembered by the Christian community. Traditionally their authorship (highly speculative) is attributed to Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John (the four evangelists), they are placed at the beginning of the New Testament and make up about half the total text.

The New Testament is the second part of the Christian biblical canon, the first being the Old Testament (also called Hebrew Bible which includes 5 books of Moses in Torah). The New Testament discusses the teachings and person of Jesus, as well as events in first-century Christianity. Christians regard both the Old and New Testaments together as sacred scripture but consider the New Testament has abrogated the Old Testament, which is a history. 

The New Testament is a collection of Christian texts originally written in the Koine Greek language, at different times by various different authors. While the Old Testament canon varies somewhat between different Christian denominations, the 27-book canon of the New Testament has been almost universally recognized within Christianity since at least Late Antiquity. Thus, in almost all Christian traditions today, the New Testament consists of 27 books:

1. Four Canonical Gospels (Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John) 
2. The Acts of the Apostles
3. Thirteen Epistles of Paul
4. Eight General Epistles, and
5. The Book of Revelation.

During fourth century Four Gospels were selected out of many books in circulation, which are now part of the New Testament. The word ‘gospel’ is derived from the Anglo-Saxon term ‘god-spell’, meaning ‘good story’, a rendering of the Latin ‘evangelium’ and the Greek ‘euangelion’ (Arabic; Injil), meaning ‘good news’ or “good telling”. The Christian Bibles range from the 73 books of the Catholic Church canon, the 66 books of the canon of some denominations or the 80 books of the canon of other denominations of the Protestant Church, to the 81 books of the Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahedo Church canon.

The earliest known complete list of the 27 books of the New Testament is found in a letter written by Athanasius, a 4th-century bishop of Alexandria, dated to 367 AD. The 27-book New Testament was first formally canonized during the councils of Hippo (393) and Carthage (397) in North Africa. Pope Innocent I ratified the same canon in 405, but it is probable that a Council in Rome in 382 under Pope Damasus I gave the same list first. These councils also provided the canon of the Old Testament, which included the apocryphal books.

There is no scholarly consensus on the date of composition of the latest New Testament texts. Conservative scholars John A.T. Robinson, Dan Wallace, and William F. Albright dated all the books of the New Testament before 70 AD. But most scholars date some New Testament texts much later than this. For example, Richard Pervo dates Luke-Acts to c. AD 115, and David Trobisch places Acts in the mid-to late second century, contemporaneous with the publication of the first New Testament canon.

Distortion & Corruption of Original Message of Jesus Christ

The New Testament (NT), the Christian holy scripture, has 27 books, only 4 Gospels (Injeels) with some verses attributed to Jesus Christ, while 23 other books have been attributed to St. Paul and other  disciples. NT comprises a total 7,959 verses, of which but 1,599 are sayings of Christ. The words count, New Testament is 181,253. However only 36,450 are the words attributed to Christ barely over 20 per cent. Jesus Christ criticized the clergy and tried to guide them to follow  the true teachings of God in the Torah but they turned against him. 

Monotheism vs Trinity

The word “Trinity” does not appear in Gospels, Jesus Christ never claimed Divinity, rather being a Hebres, Jew he preached strict monotheism, many verses in the Bible which verify this claim: 

“There is ONE God and one mediator between God and man, the HUMAN BEING Messiah Jesus” (1 Tim. 2:5). 

“I ALONE AM GOD! I AM GOD and there is NONE LIKE ME” [Isaiah 46:9] 

“How can you say, ‘We are wise, And the law of the LORD is with us’? But behold, the lying pen of the scribes made it a lie[Jeremiah 8:8]

The Shema Yisrael (Shema “Hear, O Israel”) is a Jewish prayer, and is also the first two words of a section of the Torah, and is the title (better known as The Shema) of a prayer that serves as a centerpiece of the morning and evening Jewish prayer services. The first verse encapsulates the monotheistic essence of Judaism: “Hear, O Israel: the LORD our God, the LORD is one” found in Deuteronomy 6:4. It is repeated by Jesus Christ, the Gospel of Mark 12:29–31 mentions that Jesus of Nazareth considered the opening exhortation of the Shema to be the first of his two greatest commandments and linked with a second (based on Leviticus 19:18b) “The first of all the commandments is, Hear, O Israel; The Lord our God is one Lord: And thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind, and with all thy strength: this is the first commandment. And the second is like, namely this, Thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself.” In Luke 10:25-27 the Shema is also linked with Leviticus 19:18. The verses Deuteronomy 6:5 and Leviticus 19:18b both begin with ve’ahavta, “and you shall love”. In Luke’s Gospel, it appears that this connection between the two verses was already part of cultural discussion or practice. However this great monotheistic prayer (Shema ) repeated by Jesus Christ was buried under the doctrine of Trinity by Christian theologians. 

Jesus Christ , The Prophet

Jesus Chrsit is mentioned as a Prophet in the Gospels repeatedly but he was raised to the level of divinity through other writings.

And the crowds were saying, “This is the prophet Jesus, from Nazareth in Galilee.” (Matthew 21:11 )

And He said, “Truly I say to you, no prophet is welcome in his hometown. (Luke 4:24)

Adherence to the The Law of Moses 

Jesus Christ was adhering to Law of Moses and perched to follow it, he said:

Think not that I have come to abolish the law and the prophets; I have come not to abolish them but to fulfill them. For truly, I say to you, till heaven and earth pass away, not an iota, not a dot, will pass from the law until all is accomplished. Whoever then relaxes one of the least of these commandments and teaches men so, shall be called least in the kingdom of heaven; but he who does them and teaches them shall be called great in the kingdom of heaven. For I tell you, unless your righteousness exceeds that of the scribes and Pharisees, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven.”(Mathew;5:17-20).

In blatant violation of teachings of Jesus Christ, while most Christian theology reflects the view that at least some Mosaic Laws have been set aside under the New Covenant, there are some theology systems that view the entire Mosaic or Old Covenant as abrogated in that all of the Mosaic Laws are set aside for the Law of Christ. However, other theologians do not subscribe to this view, believing that the Law and the Prophets form the basis of Christian living and Christian ethics, and are therefore not abrogated; rather, they can only be understood in their historical context subsequent to the advent of the Messiah. Individuals who believe that Old Covenant laws have been completely abrogated are referred to as antinomians by various Christian traditions, such as the Methodist faith, which teaches that the moral law continues to be binding on the faithful.

New Invented Doctrines

All main Christian Doctrines; Trinity, Atonement & Original Sin are the work of corruption of the Bible by doctors of scripture, Jesus Christ did not preach these doctrines, the other 23 books of New Testament, the work of Saint Paul and others helped to create the Christian theology and doctrines. Creating a new religion and putting the label of a Prophet of God, does not make it divine religion.

This is the obvious that why Quran, Prophet Muhammad (pbuh) and Rightly Guided Caliphs did not approve of any other book beside Quran.

In his book “A Short History of the World: H. G. Wells briefly explains: 

In the four gospels we find the personality and teachings of Jesus but very little of the dogmas of the Christian church. It is in the epistles, a series of writings by the immediate followers of Jesus, that the broad lines of Christian belief are laid down. Chief among the makers of Christian doctrine was St. Paul. He had never seen Jesus nor heard him preach. Paul’s name was originally Saul, and he was conspicuous at first as an active persecutor of the little band of disciples after the crucifixion. Then he was suddenly converted to Christianity, and he changed his name to Paul. He was a man of great intellectual vigour and deeply and passionately interested in the religious movements of the time. He was well versed in Judaism and in the Mithraism and Alexandrian religion of the day. He carried over many of their ideas and terms of expression into Christianity. He did very little to enlarge or develop the original teaching of Jesus, the teaching of the Kingdom of Heaven. But he taught that Jesus was not only the promised Christ, the promised leader of the Jews, but also that his death was a sacrifice, like the deaths of the ancient sacrificial, for the redemption of mankind.

When religions flourish side by side they tend to pick up each other’s ceremonial and other outward peculiarities. Buddhism, for example, in China has now almost the same sort of temples and priests and uses as Taoism, which follows in the teachings of Lao Tse. Yet the original teachings of Buddhism and Taoism were almost flatly opposed. And it reflects no doubt or discredit upon the essentials of Christian teaching that it took over not merely such formal things as the shaven priest, the votive offering, the altars, candles, chanting and images of the Alexandrian and Mithraic faiths, but adopted even their devotional phrases and their theological ideas. All these religions were flourishing side by side with many less prominent cults. Each was seeking adherents, and there must have been a constant going and coming of converts between them. Sometimes one or other would be in favour with the government. But Christianity was regarded with more suspicion than its rivals because, like the Jews, its adherents would not perform acts of worship to the God Caesar. This made it a seditious religion, quite apart from the revolutionary spirit of the teachings of Jesus himself. 

St. Paul familiarized his disciples with the idea that Jesus, like Osiris, was a god who died to rise again and give men immortality. And presently the spreading Christian community was greatly torn by complicated theological disputes about the relationship of this God Jesus to God the Father of Mankind. The Arians taught that Jesus was divine, but distant from and inferior to the Father. The Sabellians taught that Jesus was merely an aspect of the Father, and that God was Jesus and Father at the same time just as a man may be a father and an artificer at the same time; and the Trinitarians taught a more subtle doctrine that God was both one and three, Father, Son and Holy Spirit. For a time it seemed that Arianism would prevail over its rivals, and then after disputes, violence and wars, the Trinitarian formula became the accepted formula of all Christendom. It may be found in its completest expression in the Athanasian Creed.

Throughout the first two centuries after Christ, the Christian religion spread throughout the Roman Empire, weaving together an ever-growing multitude of converts into a new community of ideas and will. The attitude of the emperors varied between hostility and toleration. There were attempts to suppress this new faith in both the second and third centuries; and finally in 303 and the following years a great persecution under the Emperor Diocletian. The considerable accumulations of Church property were seized, all bibles and religious writings were confiscated and destroyed, Christians were put out of the protection of the law and many executed. The destruction of the books is particularly notable. It shows how the power of the written word in holding together the new faith was appreciated by the authorities. Christian church that was mainly instrumental in preserving the tradition of learning.

The persecution of Diocletian failed completely to suppress the growing Christian community. In many provinces it was ineffective because the bulk of the population and many of the officials were Christian. In 317 an edict of toleration was issued by the associated Emperor Galerius, and in 324 Constantine the Great, a friend and on his deathbed a baptized convert to Christianity, became sole ruler of the Roman world. He abandoned all divine pretensions and put Christian symbols on the shields and banners of his troops. In a few years Christianity was securely established as the official religion of the empire. 

Disagreements among Christians

The concocted doctrines and teachings have not been accepted by many Christians right from the outset, 2000 years ago. There have always been Christians who read Gospels (Injeel) and cling to the original message of Jesus Christ and oppose the concocted extra biblical doctrines. Thomas Jefferson (1743–1826) was one of such persons. He was an American statesman, diplomat, lawyer, architect, philosopher, and Founding Father who served as the third president of the United States from 1801 to 1809.  

Thomas Jefferson and his Bible

In the White House, Washington, D.C. 1804, Thomas Jefferson’s attempted to extract an authentic Jesus from the Gospel accounts and the result was “The Jefferson Bibl”. Thomas Jefferson was frustrated. It was not the burdens of office that bothered him. It was his Bible. Jefferson was convinced that the authentic words of Jesus written in the New Testament had been contaminated. Early Christians, overly eager to make their religion appealing to the pagans, had obscured the words of Jesus with the philosophy of the ancient Greeks and the teachings of Plato. These “Platonists” had thoroughly muddled Jesus’ original message. Jefferson assured his friend and rival, John Adams, that the authentic words of Jesus were still there. The task, as he put it, was one of abstracting what is really his from the rubbish in which it is buried, easily distinguished by its lustre from the dross of his biographers, and as separate from that as the diamond from the dunghill.

With the confidence and optimistic energy characteristic of the Enlightenment, Jefferson proceeded to dig out the diamonds. Candles burning late at night, his quill pen scratching “too hastily” as he later admitted, Jefferson composed a short monograph titled The Philosophy of Jesus of Nazareth. The subtitle explains that the work is “extracted from the account of his life and the doctrines as given by Matthew, Mark, Luke & John.” In it, Jefferson presented what he understood was the true message of Jesus.

Jefferson set aside his New Testament research, returning to it again in the summer of 1820. This time, he completed a more ambitious work, The Life and Morals of Jesus of Nazareth Extracted Textually from the Gospels in Greek, Latin, French and English. The text of the New Testament appears in four parallel columns in four languages. Jefferson omitted the words that he thought were inauthentic and retained those he believed were original. The resulting work is commonly known as the “Jefferson Bible.”

Who was the Jesus that Jefferson found? He was not the familiar figure of the New Testament. Jefferson discovered a Jesus who was a great Teacher of Common Sense. His message was the morality of absolute love and service. Its authenticity was not dependent upon the dogma of the Trinity. In short, Mr. Jefferson’s Jesus, modeled on the ideals of the Enlightenment thinkers of his day, bore a striking resemblance to Jefferson himself.

Monotheist Christians – Unitarians not Trinitarians

There is a common perception that Christianity has always been following the doctrines like Trinity, Original Sin, Redemption and Crucifixion’s of Christ; this is far from truth. After doctrinal differences with Paul (who never met “”Jesus Christ), the monotheists like Barnabas (disciple of Jesus Christ) did not sit idle but continued preaching the true message of monotheism of Jesus Christ. The followers of Barnabas never developed a central organ­ization. Yet due to the truthfulness of simple theology and devotion of their leaders, their number increased very fast. These Christians incurred the wrath of the Church and systematic effort was made to destroy them and to obliterate all traces of their existence including books and churches. The lesson of history, however, is that it is very difficult to destroy faith by force. Their lack of organization became a source of strength because it was not so easy to pick them up one by one. Later many doctrines and groups appeared inspired by the teachings of Barnabas; however they avoided mentioning the name of Barnabas due to the fear of persecution.

Monarchianism

Monarchianism was a Christian dissent sect that developed during the 2nd and 3rd centuries C.E. It opposed the doctrine of an independent, personal subsistence of the Logos, affirmed the sole deity of God the Father, and thus represented the extreme monotheistic view. Though it regarded Christ as Redeemer, it clung to the numerical unity of the Deity. Two types of Monarchianism developed: the Dynamic (or Adoptionist) and the Modalistic (or Sabellian).

The Dynamic Monarchianism held that Christ was a mere man, miraculously conceived, but constituted the Son of God (servant of God, in Hebrew terminology) simply by the infinitely high degree in which he had been filled with divine wisdom and power. This view was taught at Rome about the end of the 2nd century by Theodotus. About 260 C.E it was again taught by Paul of Samosata. It is the belief of many modern Unitarians Christians. Modalistic Monarchianism took exception to the “subordinationism” of some of the Church Fathers.

Hypisistarians

Modern research has brought to light odd facts about these Christians. They are like the crests of waves and looking at them one can visualize a whole body of ocean not yet visible. It is noticed that up to the 4th century C.E there existed a sect known as Hypisistarians who refused to worship God as father. They revered God as an All Mighty Ruler of the world, He was the Highest of all and no one was equal to Him.

Paul of Samosata

Paul of Samosata, a Monarchianist was a Bishop of Antioch in 260 C.E. He was of the view that Christ was not God but a man and a prophet, he was a man who was born of Mary, through whom God spoke his Word (Logos). He differed only in degree from prophets who came before him and that God could not have become man substantially.

Bishop Lucian of Antioch

History comes across another Bishop of Antioch; Lucian. As a Bishop his reputation for sanctity was not less than his fame as a scholar. He came down strongly against the belief of Trinity. He deleted all mention of Trinity from the Bible as he believed it to be a later interpolation not found in the earlier Gospels. He was martyred in 312 C.E by torture and starvation for refusing to eat meat ritually offered to the Roman gods.

Arius (250-336) & Unitarianism

Arius (250-336 C.E) is the famous disciple of Lucian of Antioch He was a Libyan by birth. Peter Bishop of Alexandria ordained him a Deacon but later excommunicated him. Achilles, the successor of Peter again ordained Arius as priest. Alexander the next Bishop of Alexandria once again excommunicated him. Arius however had gathered such a large following that he became a headache for the Church. If kept out of Church he could be a great danger but he could not be accommodated within the Church as he wanted to establish the unity and simplicity of the Eternal God. He believed that how so ever much Christ may surpass other created beings he himself was not of the same substance as God. He was as human being as any other man.  His teachings gave rise to a theological doctrine known as ‘Arianism’, which, in affirming the created, finite nature of Christ, was denounced by the early church as a major heresy. As an ascetical (renouncing material comforts and leading a life of austere self-discipline, especially as an act of religious devotion.), moral leader of a Christian community in the area of Alexandria, Arius attracted a large following through a message, which accented the absolute oneness of the divinity as the highest perfection, with a literal, rationalist approach to the New Testament texts. This point of view was publicized about 323C.E through the poetic verse of his major work, Thalia (“Banquet”), was widely spread by popular songs written for labourers and travelers.

Hence the teaching of Arius spread like wildfire and shook the very foundation of the (Pauline) Church. The controversy that was simmering for three hundred years suddenly became a conflagration. No man dared to oppose the organized Church but Arius did, and remained a headache for her whether he was ordained a priest or was excommunicated. During this time some events changed the history of Europe.

Arianism is often considered to be a form of Unitarian theology in that it stresses God’s unity at the expense of the notion of the Trinity, the doctrine that three distinct persons are united in one Godhead. Arius’s basic premise was the uniqueness of God, who is alone self-existent (not dependent for its existence on anything else) and immutable; the Son, who is not self-existent, cannot therefore be the self-existent and immutable God. Because the Godhead is unique, it cannot be shared or communicated. Because the Godhead is immutable, the Son, who is mutable, must, therefore, be deemed a creature who has been called into existence out of nothing and has had a beginning. Moreover, the Son can have no direct knowledge of the Father, since the Son is finite and of a different order of existence. According to its opponents, especially the bishop St. Athanasius, Arius’s teaching reduced the Son to a demigod, reintroduced polytheism (since worship of the Son was not abandoned), and undermined the Christian concept of redemption, since only he who was truly God could be deemed to have reconciled humanity to the Godhead.

How Trinitarians Became Dominant Group

Emperor Constantine I brought a greater part of Europe under his rule and secondly he began to support the Christians without accepting Christianity. To the soldier prince the dif­ferent creeds within the Christian faith were very confusing. In the Imperial Palace itself the controversy was raging not less fiercely. It appears that perhaps the Queen Mother was inclined towards Pauline Christianity while his sister Princess Constantina was a disciple of Arius. The Emperor was wav­ering between the two faiths. As an administrator he was interested only in uniting all the Christians within one Church. It was at this time that the conflict between Arius and Bishop Alexander became so widespread and so violent that it became a law and order problem. So the Emperor, anxious to maintain peace in the newly unified Europe had to intervene.

Council of Nicea (325) & Doctrine of Trinity

In 325 C.E a meeting of all denominations of Christianity was called at Nicea (Now Isnik, a village). Bishop Alexander was not able to attend the conference and he deputed his lieutenant Athanasius, who subsequently succeeded Alexander as Bishop of Alexandria. The conference had many prolonged sessions. Emperor Constantine could not grasp the full implications of the eccle­siastical confrontation, but he was very clear in his mind that for maintaining peace in his realm the support and cooperation of the Church was necessary. Accordingly he threw his weight behind Athanasius and banished Arius from the realm. Thus the belief of Trinity became the official religion of the empire.

Arianism as an Official Faith

Fearful massacre of Christians (Arians) who did not believe in Trinity followed. It became a penal offence to possess a Bible not authorized by the Church and according to some estimates as many as 270 different versions of the Bible were burnt. Princess Constantina was not happy at the turn of events. The Emperor ultimately was persuaded to accept the faith of the men he killed. The result was that Arius was called back in 346 C.E. The day Arius was scheduled to visit the Cathedral of Constan­tinople in triumph, he died suddenly. The Church called it a miracle. The Emperor knew it was a murder. He banished Athanasius and two other Bishops. The Emperor then formally accepted Christianity and was baptized by an Arian Bishop. Thus Monotheism became the official religion. Constantine died in 337 C.E followed by Emperor Constantanius, he also accepted the faith of Arius (monotheism).

Monotheism & True Christian Faith

Conference of Antioch (341 C.E): In 341 C.E. a Christian church council was held in Antioch (modern Antakya in southeastern Turkey) and Monotheism was accepted as a correct interpretation of Christian faith. This council was held on the occasion of the consecration of the emperor Constantine-I’s Golden Church there. It was the first of several 4th-century councils that attempted to replace orthodox Nicene theology with a modified Arianism. Attended by the Eastern emperor Constantius-II and about 100 bishops. The council developed four creeds as substitutes for the Nicene, all of them to some degree unorthodox and omitting or rejecting the Nicene statement that Christ was “of one substance” (homoousios) with the Father. The disciplinary 25 canons of Antioch are generally thought to have come from this council, but some scholars believe they were the work of an earlier council (330) at Antioch.

Council of Sirmium (351 C.E): This view was confirmed by another Council held in Sirmium in 351 C.E. As a result Arianism was accepted by an overwhelming majority of Christians. St. Jerome wrote in 359 C.E that ‘the whole world groaned and marveled to find itself Arian’. Indeed, for more than 40 years after the death of Constantine, Arianism continued to be the official orthodoxy of the Eastern Empire.

Arians Declined in Numbers but Survived: After Constantius’ death (361 C.E), the orthodox Christian majority (Trinitarians) in the West consolidated its position. The persecution of orthodox Christians conducted by the Arian emperor Valens (364-378 C.E) in the East and the success of Basil the Great of Caesarea, Gregory of Nyssa, and Gregory of Nazianzus led the Homoiousian majority in the East to toe the line of the Nicene party. When the emperors Gratian (367-383 C.E) and Theodosius-I (379-395 C.E) took up to favour orthodoxy, Arianism had to recede. In 381 C.E the second ecumenical (concerned with establishing or promoting unity among churches or religions.) council met at Constantinople. Arianism was proscribed, and a statement of faith, the Nicene Creed, was approved. However the basic doctrines of Arianism continue to survive and expand with different forms & names within Christianity and beyond.

Biblical Unitarianism in 21 St Century: Presently there is a great movement of Biblical Unitarians. Professor Sir Anthony Buzzard is one of the most persuasive and energetic voices of our day calling for Christians to pursue reformation and restoration of original Christianity. His message is getting popular. Focus on the Kingdom is his theme. 

The brief history of evolution of Christianity, highlights the importance of adherence to the original divine message preached by the Messenger of God. While the non biblical doctrines were invented to produce a new religion, but the original message survives till to date which leads the truth seekers to Islam, making it the fastest growing religion in Europe and USA.

There are lessons from the history of previous communities, while Jews created many sects by adding man made voluminous book like Talmud, the Christians added 23 books to 4 Gospels to create New Testament comprising 27 books. This was the reason that Umar and other Rightly Guided Caliphs only put Quran in writing in form of Book and forbade Hadith writing in line with Sunnah of Prophet (pbuh) and Quran However after first century Hijrah, there was deviation form this Sunnah and resultantly we find many sects in Islam. ignoring the last book of Allah, indulging in “Qeel o Qaal” (unnecessary discussions- “It was said”- “that was said”), this was the fear expressed by Hazrat Ali (RA) when he also justified the decision of Hazrat Umar (RA).

Conclusion 

Caliph Umer al Khattab compares the written Hadith with the Mishnah of the People of the Book (Jews). In Judaism, the Mishna serves much the same function that the Hadith have come to serve in Islam. It is a codification of the Oral Law and contains rulings related to the details of ritual purity, prayer, marriage, divorce, and so on. The Mishnah and the Gemara together make up the Talmud, which is the most important book in Judaism besides the Torah. 

The Christians added 23 books with 4 Gospels to make New Testament of 27 books, which created a new religion unknown to Jesus Christ. Muslims have added 75 Hadith books and created many sects to damage unity and harmony of Muslim Ummah.

It must be understood well and adhered to, that, Quran except itself denies any other book of Hadith^[1], Prophet (pbuh) banned Hadith writing^[2], then Abu Hurairah (R.A)  burnt all Hadith and never wrote it, Caliph Abu Bakr (R.A) destroyed his collection of 500 Hadiths, Caliph Umer (R.A) also followed this policy, after detailed considerations decided not to compile Hadiths, Ali (R.A) also supported him and other caliphs and companions adhered to this policy for over a century.^[3] This was due to the decision of Umer (R.A),  also consented by other Rightly Guided Caliphs, also honoured and implemented by majority Companions till they passed away after the first century Hijra, when Hadith writing started.^[4] How can those violating this policy, claim to be following the Quran, Sunnah of the Prophet (pbuh), Sunnah of Rightly Guided Caliphs^[5] and Companions? This great deviation gained momentum with the passage of time, there was one then six or 7 and now over 75 Hadith books, Muslims are much ahead of Jews and Christians to create scriptures to undermine the Divine Message. The Quran has been sidelined as contemplated, hence, the Messenger will say, “Lord, my people did indeed discard the Quran,” (25:30)

Its time to adhere to Quran, Sunnah of Prophet Muhammad (pbuh) and Righlty Guided Caliphs to maintain straight path (Sirat-e-Mustqeem) for salvation and eternal bliss.

To be continued ……