Apologetics: Flippin’ Fatwa Friday – The Quran vs. The Bible: Surah al-Baqarah Verses 130-141

Continuing with our Ramadan take-down of the Quran, we’re going to be jumping back to Surah 2:130 and going from there. In today’s verses, we’re going to be going a bit more into the Islamic Dilemma. Let’s jump in.

^130. And who will show aversion to Abraham’s creed except he who has befooled himself. We did make him our chosen one in this world, and surely he, in the Hereafter will surely be (counted) among the righteous. ^131. When his Lord said to him, “Submit,” he said, “I have already submitted to the Lord of the worlds.” ^132. The same (faith) did Abraham enjoin upon his sons and (so did) Jacob (saying), “My sons! Surely, Allah has chosen for you this faith. See that when you die you are in a state of complete submission (according to his will).” ^133. Were you present when death visited Jacob, and when he said to his sons, “What (God) will you worship after me?” They replied, “We will worship your God, the God of your fathers – Abraham, Ismail and Issac, the only One God, and to him do we submit ourselves.” ^134. This was a community (preaching righteousness) which has passed away; for them is (the fruit of) what (good deeds) that performed, while for you is (the reward of) what (noble deeds) you perform. You will not be called upon to account for their deeds. ^135. And they (the Jews and the Christians respectively) said, “Be Jews or be Christians, then you shall be on the right course.” Say, “Nay, but (ours is) the faith of Abraham, the upright, and he was not of the polytheist.” ^136. Say, “We believe in Allah and in that (the Quran) which has been revealed to us, and what was revealed to Abraham and Ismail and Issac and Jacob and his children, and what was given to Moses and Jesus and (we believe) in what was given to (all other) Prophets from their Lord. We (while believing in them) make no discrimination between anyone of them, and to him do we submit ourselves entirely.” ^137. Now, if they believe just as (sincerely) as you have believed in this (Quran), then, of course, they are guided aright. But if they turn back then they are only schism, (and fighting against the truth). In that case Allah will surely suffice you against them for he is the All-Hearing, the All-Knowing. ^138. (Assume) the hues (and the attributes) of Allah! And who is fairer than Allah’s hues (and attributes)? We are his worshippers ever. ^139. Say, “Do you despite with us with regard to Allah, while he is our Lord and your Lord (as well). We shall be judged by our deeds, and you by your deeds, and to him alone are we sincerely devoted. ^140. Do you (O Jews and the Christians!) say that Abraham, Ismail, Issac, Jacob and his children were Jews or Christians? Say, “Have you then greater knowledge or (is it) Allah (who knows better)?” And who is more unjust than he who conceals the testimony he has from Allah. And Allah is not at all unaware of what you do.” ^141. These are a community (preaching righteousness) that have passed away; for them is (the good fruit of) what (good deeds) they performed, while for you is (the reward of) what (good and noble deeds) you perform. And you shall not be called to account for their deeds.

For some background, Abraham is super important in Judaism, Christianity, and Islam because he’s the dude who made monotheism great again (MMGA) and was the father of the Jewish and Arabic peoples. But here’s what the Quran gets wrong: Abraham was, in the spirit of things, a Christian.

What I mean by that is that while Abraham can’t be considered a Christian in the traditional sense as in Jesus hadn’t died on the cross yet, he likely didn’t know much of the Trinity, etc. he followed God in faith and was justified through that. His works were an offshoot of that faith.

With Islam, on the other hand, while it claims to follow the teachings of Abraham, it doesn’t. Islam is purely works-based (verse 138 supports this). You have to do XYZ to get into heaven in Islam, which flies in the face of what Abraham believed, which was demonstrated in his actions and obedience to God.

Moving on from there, (verses 136-137) we run into the Islamic Dilemma. These verses in particular not only affirm the Torah and the Gospels as being true, but it also affirms the rest of the Bible when it says “and (we believe) in what was given to (all other) Prophets from their Lord. We (while believing in them) make no discrimination between any one of them.” That further damns the Quran by its own standards because the prophets of the Bible all point to Jesus’ coming as the Son of God, which outright contradicts the Quran amongst other things.

Then there’s verse 140, which according to the tafsir on Quran.com is referring to people covering up that Abraham and the rest were Muslims. But this accusation has a small problem, since there is absolutely no evidence that Abraham, Issac, Jacob, or anyone else was a Muslim. They did not believe in anything resembling Islam, and they did not follow a god called Allah. From what we’re told in the Bible about them, it’s clear that they had a faith-based view of salvation, not a works based one.

Until next time,

M.J.