MUHAMMAD IN WORLD SCRIPTURES
vifollow for modern readers. It was noticed, however, that the author in someof his own comments was referring to particular words used in the
AV
trans-lation which have been amended in the
RSV
translation. In any such case, wefollowed one of three approaches. (1) If the difference is inconsequential, wehave also amended the words in the author’s own comments to conform tothe
RSV
. (2) In other cases, we have indicated within the quotation from the
RSV
what the
AV
translation of certain words or phrases is. The
AV
trans-lation has been inserted within square brackets and printed in italics, prefixedby the letters
AV
. (3) In the few cases in which the author’s argument washeavily dependent on the
AV
translation, we have not amended the quotationto the
RSV
, but retained the
AV
translation and indicated in the footnotereference that the
AV
is being used. Therefore, please note that in all quo-tations from the Bible, the
RSV
translation has been used in this Editionunless it is specifically indicated that the
AV
or some other translation isused.We found that many misprints and obscurities in the previous editioncould be removed by checking against the corresponding Urdu version of thecontents of this book, when available, and this often cleared up a problem.The published Urdu edition of this book (under the title
Mitha¯q-un-Nabiyyin
)is not a complete version of the English book because the author had expan-ded and revised the English work many years after publishing the Urdubook. However, we did have access to many Urdu articles later published bythe author in the paper
Paigham Sulh
of Lahore, which correspond to certainexpanded parts of the English book. Thus a considerable part, though not all,of the English work was available to us in the original Urdu form. While thisproved to be an invaluable source, the comparing of the English with theUrdu, which we carried out, added much time and effort to our revisionwork.In dealing with the scriptural Hebrew and Greek words and expressionsoccurring plentifully in this book, and also the references to other classicallanguages, it must be acknowledged that the work of misprint correction,revision and typesetting would have been impossible but for the fact that thesecond-named of the Editors below (Selim Ahmed) is well-conversant withthese languages, possessing a degree in Hebrew from the prestigiousUniversity College in the University of London. Besides checking andcorrecting misprints in the transliterated expressions from these languages,rendering the transliteration according to modern rules, and doing generalchecking wherever these languages were involved, Selim Ahmed has alsotypeset all the Hebrew and Greek passages that appear in this book.The formatting, type-designing, proof-reading and typesetting of thewhole book has been done entirely by us, the two Editors. The task of formatting was made more difficult due to two factors: (1) trying to incor-
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THE BIBLE AND THE QURAN ON THE BREAKER INTO PIECES BY Allama Muhammad Yousaf Gabriel www.oqasa.org Scriptures in this modern age of rationalism are generally regarded as merely the books of the religious guidance. The miraculous and the spiritual contained in the Bible has been regarded by the modern rational critics as merely unbelievable superstition. This is not exactly the case. And eye endowed with correct vision might see the things otherwise. The scientific description and the characterization of the nuclear phenomenon by the Quran fourteen hundred years ago has furnished . This world with a miracle which could not possibly be denied by any one. And here I intend to give some thing from the Bible which though not as exactly, strictly and completely scientific as is the characterization of the atomic phenomenon given by the Quran, yet it contains at least enough to dispel the view that all that is contained by the Bible in the form of miraculous, or purely spiritual is unbelievable and nonsensical. I will now give a characterization of the nuclear phenomenon as may be found in the Bible, which though giving only the main characteristic of the nuclear phenomenon, that of breaking to pieces, and in no way to be regarded as a complete description, yet serves as an example to annul the view that the existence of miraculous is a natural impossibility. I will produce a vision of Daniel in which could be found the nuclear phenomenon described with scientific clarity, while the other three phenomena, namely, the gravitational, the electrical and the minor nuclear may be seen described as quasi allegorically. While judging between the difference of the degree and style of description by the Quran and Daniel in the Bible the difference of their respective eras have to be kept in mind. If Einstein were alive today, I would have presented this particular excerpt from the Bible to him as a suggestive aid to his research on the unification of natural forces, believing that it would have proved suggestive, resourceful, thought-provoking and interesting to him in his particular theme that of the unification of natural forces, besides the clarification of the basic characteristic of nuclear phenomenon that of breaking into pieces. Einstein indeed had the realization of this last fact as is clear from his appeals to mankind, but unfortunately the realization had come to him only too late, after only the hydrogen bomb had appeared on the scene. Now read the following from the Bible:- "In the first year of Belshazzer, king of Babylon Denial had a dream and visions of his head upon his bed: then he wrote the dream, and told the sum of the matters. Daniel spake and said, I saw in my vision by night, and, behold, the four winds of the heaven strove upon the great sea. And four great beasts came up form the sea, diverse one from another. The first was like a lion, and had eagle's wings: I beheld till the wings thereof were plucked, and it was lifted up from the earth, and made stand upon the feet as a man, and a man's heart was given to it. And behold another beast, a second, like to a bear, and it raised up itself, on one side, and it had three ribs in the mouth of it between the teeth of it: and they said thus unto it, arise, devour much flesh. After this I beheld, and lo another, like a leopard, which had upon the back of it four wings of a fowl: the beast had also four heads; and dominion was given to it. After this I saw in the night visions, and behold a fourth beast, dreadful and terrible, and strong exceedingly; and it had great iron teeth: it devoured and broke in pieces, and stamped the residue with the feet of it; and it was diverse from all the beasts that were before it; and it had ten horns. I considered the horns, and , behold, there came up among them another little horn, before whom there were three of the first horns plucked up by the roots: and , behold, in this horn were eyes like the eyes of man, and a mouth speaking great-things. I beheld till the thrones were cast down, and the ancient of days did sit, whose garment was white as snow, and the hair of this head like the pure wool: his throne was like the fiery flame, and his wheels as burning fire. A fiery steam issued and came forth from before him: thousand thousands ministered unto him, and ten thousand times ten thousand stood before him: the judgment was set, and the books were opened. I beheld then because of the voice of the great words which the horn spake: I beheld even till the beast was slain, and his body destroyed, and given to the burning flame. As concerning the rest of the beasts, they had their dominion taken away: yet their lives were prolonged for a season and time. I saw in the night visions, and, behold, one like the son of man came with the clouds of heaven, and came to the ancient of days, and they brought him near before him. And there was given him dominion, and glory, and a kingdom, that all people, nations, a