Opinion

Theory of Revelations (Part-2)

How Jews and Christians went astray through extra books

November 10, 2021

576

Introduction

The Jews and Christians got astray due to abandoning the Books of God and following the invented beliefs and Bida’a^[1]. Hence Prophet Muhammad (Pbuh) was averse to following the practices of Jews and Christians and he categorically warned the Muslims to refrain from such practices repeatedly. The Hadith narrating the most important reason of “Hadith-Book” prohibition has been deliberately excluded from the famous Hadith Books, it has been found after strenuous effort:

Abu Hurayra said; God’s Messenger (God bless him) came out to us while we were writing ḥadiths, and he said, “What is this that you are writing?” We said,” ‘Ḥadiths we have heard from you.” He said, “Do you want a book other than God’s book? [a kitāban ghayr kitāb illāh turīdūna]? The communities before you were only caused to stray by the books they wrote along with God’s book.” Abū Hurayra said, “Then, I said, ‘May we relate ḥadīth [orally] on your authority, oh, Messenger of God?’ He said, ‘Yes, there is no harm in relating ḥadīth [orally] on my authority, but anyone who intentionally attributes a lie (to) me should prepare to take his place in the fire.’ [Taqyid Ilm 33]^[2]

This command^[3]of the Prophet (Pbuh) was strictly adhered to by the four Rightly Guided Caliphs^[4], their Companions^[5] and followers for centuries, till deviators disobeyed on various spurious pretexts^[6] and dreams^[7]. The Prophet (Pbuh) in his mercy did grant permission^[8] for private notes to some companions with weak memory but declined^[9] many others, keeping the Hadith Book writing ban intact.

Narrated Abu Sa’id: The Prophet (Pbuh) said,

“You will follow the wrong ways of your predecessors so completely and literally that if they should go into the hole of a mastigure, you too will go there.” We said, “O Allah’s Apostle! Do you mean the Jews and the Christians?” He replied, “Whom else?” (Meaning, of course, the Jews and the Christians.) (Muslim: 3456, Al-Bukhari:6781)^[10]

The Jews and Christians were prohibited by God to add or change words of God in His books and to follow them:

Deuteronomy 4:2: You must not add to or subtract from what I command you, so that you may keep the commandments of the LORD your God that I am giving you.
Deuteronomy 12:32: See that you do everything I command you; do not add to it or subtract from it.
Revelation 22:18: I testify to everyone who hears the words of prophecy in this book: If anyone adds to them, God will add to him the plagues described in this book.
Revelation 22:19: And if anyone takes away from the words of this book of prophecy, God will take away his share in the tree of life and in the holy city, which are described in this book.
Proverbs 30:6: Do not add to His words, lest He rebuke you and prove you a liar.

No serious effort has been made by Muslim scholars to study and analyse as to how the extra books caused the Jews and Christians to go astray. This study will enable the Muslims to avoid it, though Command of the Prophet (Pbuh) should have sufficed. This is a humble effort based on Jewish & Christian sources in the same context.

Muslims in the Footsteps of Jews & Christians

The Jews rendered the Torah (the Book of God) ineffective by the Oral Torah, which is actually the commentary of Jewish scholars. The^[11] Mishnah and Gemara were combined to make ‘Talmud’ and they declared it as divinely inspired (Wahi). The Muslims version is declaring Hadiths as secret revelations [Wahi Khiffi/ Secret Wahi/ Wahi Ghair Matlo] and others Bid’ah.^[12],^[13]

Oral Torah/Written Torah

The rabbinic concept of Oral Torah/Written Torah is part of a wider conversation about what Torah is in antiquity, and we find several variations on a double-Torah notion. Some of these speak of a double revelation of written scripture.^[14] According to scholar Jubilees, Moses received two torot, one written by God on tablets (Jub. 1:1) and one written by Moses, dictated to him by an angel reading from heavenly tablets (Jub. 1:4-27). Cana Werman claims that Oral Torah/Written Torah were Pharisaic concepts, and interprets Jubilees as adopting, reworking and countering a Pharisaic twofold-Torah solution that was already prevalent and popular. But there is no evidence for Oral Torah/Written Torah before the Tannaim. Philo also seems to hold a specific notion of double law.

The patriarchs and Moses were followers of the unwritten law before the law was put to writing, and that the laws of Moses are copies, “expressions of the ‘actual words and deeds’ of sages. Ezra (Aziz, Quran;9:30^[15]) depicts Ezra as a new Moses, who receives a divine revelation of scripture resulting in the writing of ninety-four books, twenty-four of which were given and revealed to the public, and the remaining seventy of which were intended solely for the “wise among your people.” According to this narrative, the Torah of Ezra is the product of a new instance of writing that replaces the Mosaic Torah. Ezra, like Jubilees, stresses the act of writing as crucial. For Philo, the law of nature is unwritten but paradoxically copied in the Mosaic Tora^[16].

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 man made books. The Holy Quran has 6236 verses, according to one calculation there are 401 verses directly about Jews, 169 about Christians and both combined 570 verses i.e. about 9.1% of the Quran. This indicates the 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 behaviour. 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 Prophethood of the Holy Prophet for whom the Kaaba (at Makkah) 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 the 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”), and 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 a total of 24 books, including the Five Books of Moses (Pbuh) and the prophetic writings e.g. Isaiah, Jeremiah, Psalms, Proverbs, etc. According to tradition, the Five Books of Moses comprising 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.^[17]

The Talmud^[18] 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 (Pbuh) 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.

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.^[19]

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”. [Hadith book 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. [Compare with death by stoning to adulterers, not given in Quran but Hadith]

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 the Prophet (pbuh) and the Rightly Guided Caliphs but the reason given was not to repeat the mistake of Jews and Christians]

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 ha Nasi 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 and continues till date].

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 thousand after sifting as per their own perception]

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. However when the Prophet (Pbuh) forbade Hadith book writing, in his wisdom, foresight and knowledge he expected distortion (tehreef) during oral transmission, so he outlined his policy/criteria^[20] that: Any Hadith which is found to be in conflict with the Quran, his Sunnah (practices) and commonsense should not be considered as originated from him. The Hadith book writers ignored this and resorted to Biidaa (Deviation). 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 declaring it to be of weak authenticity (Zaeef).

Talmud – The Oral Torah [Mishnah and Gemara]

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. [Hadiths were allowed to be transmitted orally as per command of the Prophet]

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. [Muslims replicated as Hadith books] Landmark works include: “Mishneh Torah” by Maimonides (12th century Egypt); “Shulchan Aruch” by Rabbi Yosef Karo (16^th century Israel); “Mishnah Berurah” by Chafetz Chaim (20th century Poland).

Torah vs Talmud

The Torah revealed to Moses (Pbuh) (books of Moses) has 5853 verses, whereas the 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).^[21]

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.^[22]

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 19^th 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:

The collection of controversies, dissertations, and prescriptions commonly designated by the name Talmud possesses no authority, from either the dogmatic or the practical standpoint.
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 the 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.

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.

Role of Extra Books In Christianity

The Christians have abandoned the monotheistic teachings of Jesus Christ in Gospels, adopted polytheistic doctrine of the Trinity^[23] and abandoned the Law of Moses (Shariah) which Jesus Christ upheld, practiced and preached.

All main Christian Doctrines; Trinity, Atonement and Original Sin are the work of doctors of scripture and extra books. Jesus Christ did not preach these doctrines, the other 23 books of the New Testament, the work of Saint Paul and others helped to create the Christian theology and doctrines, creating a new man made religion.

Monotheism

Jesus Christ in the Gospel talk of strict Jewish monotheism:

“Now one of the scribes had come up and heard their debate. Noticing how well Jesus had answered them, he asked Him, “Which commandment is the most important of all?” Jesus replied, “This is the most important: ‘Hear O Israel, the Lord our God, the Lord is One. Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength.’ [Gospel; Mark 1228-:31]^[24]

Then the Trinity doctrine^[25] was evolved against monotheism believed and practiced by Jesus Christ.

Jesus Christ & Law of Moses (Shariah)

Jesus Christ Said:

“Do not think that I have come to abolish the Law or the Prophets. I have not come to abolish them, but to fulfill them. For I tell you truly, until heaven and earth pass away, not a single jot, not a stroke of a pen, will disappear from the Law until everything is accomplished. So then, whoever breaks one of the least of these commandments and teaches others to do likewise will be called least in the kingdom of heaven; but whoever practices and teaches them will be called great in the kingdom of heaven.[Gospel- Matthew 5:17-20]^[26]

Christians have written 23 extra books along with 4 Gospels. 14 Books are attributed to St. Paul, the main architect of Christianity. He cancels the Law of Moses (Sharia), which Jesus Christ was to uphold.

Paul’s Eleven-Fold Cancellation of the Law

These eleven verses are from Paul’s letters to the Galatians, the Romans, and the Colossians^[27]. The comprehensive cancellation of the Law is one of Paul’s major themes.

Galatians 5:18—But if you are led by the Spirit, you are not under law.
Galatians 3:25—Now that faith has come, we are no longer under the supervision of the law.
Romans 4:15—The law brings wrath. And where there is no law there is no transgression.
Galatians 3:10— All who rely on observing the law are under a curse, for it is written: “Cursed is everyone who does not continue to do everything written in the Book of the Law.”
Galatians 3:13—Christ redeemed us from the curse of the law by becoming a curse for us.
Galatians 5:1—It is for freedom that Christ has set us free. Stand firm, then, and do not let yourselves be burdened again by a yoke of slavery.
Romans 2:12—All who sin apart from the law will also perish apart from the law, and all who sin under the law will be judged by the law.
Romans 5: 13—Before the law was given, sin was in the world. But sin is not taken into account when there is no law.
Romans 6:14—Sin shall not be your master, because you are not under law, but under grace.
Romans 7:8b—Apart from law, sin is dead.
Colossians 2:13b -14—He forgave us all our sins, having canceled the written code, with its regulations, that was against us and that stood opposed to us; he took it away, nailing it to the cross.

Impact of Extra Books

The impact of extra books has been catastrophic. The biggest impact of extra books is the formation of sects and disunity among Jews and Christians. The book of God (Torah and Gospel) has been neglected by Jews and Christians respectively, the views and teachings of disciples, religious teachers and scholars have crept into their religions making them man-made religions rather than the religions of divine origin. The Christians have abandoned the monotheistic teachings of Jesus Christ in Gospels, adopted polytheistic doctrine of the Trinity and abandoned the Law of Moses (Shariah) which Jesus Christ upheld, practiced and preached.

Conclusion

Despite clear warning by the Prophet (Pbuh), Muslims scholars, theologians and Muahdaseen neglected command and warning by Prophet (Pbuh) and just after a century followed in the footsteps to Jews and Christians. The Jews have written 38 volumes of Talmud, Christians have written 23 books with Gospels/ Injeels, The Muslims have overtaken them to write 75 Hadiths books and abandoned the Quran.^[28] The famous Hadiths books, though written during the third century were not accepted immediately, the Oral narration continues even till to date though at limited scale. Al-Bukhari was first read publicly at Nishapur in 464 AH/ 1072 CE. Many new doctrines have been evolved^[29] based upon Hadiths-Books, which at times contradict, neutralize, and dilute the teachings of Holy Quran. Silently there has been insertion in the six Islamic Articles of Faith (Aymaan)^[30] besides reinterpretation of doctrines like Intercession (Shafat)^[31] and other doctrines^[32]

To be continued ……… Next Part-3 about … Hadith Books …..

References / Links: https://Quran1book.wordpress.com

[1] https://wp.me/scyQCZ-bidah

[2] http://ar.lib.efatwa.ir/43553/1/33, https://wp.me/scyQCZ-forbid

[3] https://wp.me/scyQCZ-forbid

[4] https://wp.me/pcyQCZ-4t

[5] https://wp.me/scyQCZ-sahabah

[6] https://quran1book.blogspot.com/2021/07/Distortion.html

[7] https://quran1book.blogspot.com/2021/07/St-Paul-Imam-Bukhari-Dreams.html

[8] https://wp.me/scyQCZ-ban04

[9] https://wp.me/scyQCZ-ban05

[10] https://islamicurdubooks.com/hadith/hadith-.php?tarqeem=1&bookid=2&hadith_number=6781