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mt2014-no-holds-barred
Why the Bible can use Allah
malaysia-today.net
So, my conclusion is, Christians (plus Jews) can use
Allah as the name of God (in fact, MUST use Allah as the
name of God) and hence there is no reason why the Bible
cannot also use Allah as the name of God.
NO HOLDS BARRED
Raja Petra Kamarudin
SIB Church fails bid, judge bound by Herald ruling
(Free Malaysia Today) Sabahs Sijil Injil Borneo church
today lost its long court battle challenging the seizure of three
boxes of childrens religious books which contained the terms Allah, Baitullah, Solat and Kaabah. The
books, in Bahasa Indonesia, were seized by the Home Ministry from the Low Cost Terminal in August
2007.
In December 2007, SIB president Jerry Dusing filed an application for a judicial review to quash the
ministrys decision to seize the books as well as the withholding of delivery of two other titles under the
Printing Presses and Publication Act 1984 (PPPA).
This morning the Kuala Lumpur High Court judge Zaleha Yusof ruled in favour of the ministry. Zaleha
ruled that she was bound by the recent Court of Appeal ruling which held that the term Allah was not an
integral part of the Christian faith and practice.
Referring to last years ruling against the use of the word by Catholic weekly , Zaleha said: The Herald
Although the ruling was limited to the all the learned judges ruled that the use of Allah is not an Herald
integral part of the practice and faith of Christianity. The lower courts are bound by the decision of the
superior court, so the seizure by the Home Ministry is not unconstitutional.
*************************************************
That is what the court ruled today. But then that is what the law says or how the law is interpreted and, as
I have said before, the law can sometimes be an ass (donkey). In fact, under the Federal and State
Constitutions, the Rulers are heads of religion (Islam) and may therefore issue a (royal decree) or titah
(religious decree) through the Mufti in all matters related to Islam. fatwah
So let us not discuss those legal/constitutional matters. Let us instead explore what Islam or the Quran
has to say about the matter of Christians using Allah in the Bible. Maybe we can ignore the legal or
constitutional arguments regarding Christians using Allah in the Bible (just for purposes of this discussion)
and talk about the Quran instead.
In the Quran, chapter 12, verse 111, it says that what Allah (through Prophet Muhammad) is revealing
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(hence it is called the Revelation) is not a new message but a confirmation of the Scriptures before that. In
fact, the Quran, in chapter 13, verse 39, suggests that all Scriptures come from a single book concealed
in heaven called or the . Umm al-Kitab Mother of Books
Some scholars are of the view that the Quran is not an independent book or a book to be read in isolation
but is a book that has to be read alongside the Torah and the Gospels. In fact, for the first 200 years of
Islam, Muslims read both the Torah and the Quran together. The Torah was part of Islam (at least in the
beginning). And hence it is not strange that Muslim customs, traditions and laws are similar to Mosaic
customs, traditions and laws (except for the doctrine of the Trinity which the Quran specifically rejects and
which is not Jamess, the brother of Jesus Christs, teachings anyway).
Going by this, Islam accepts the earlier teachings of Moses and Jesus as part of the Abrahamic faiths or
the Semitic religions. Judaism, Christianity and Islam are not three religions but three parts of the same
religion. And Allah is the God of all People of the Book, not just the God of the Muslims. In that case, the
Jews and Christians, too, can call their God by the name of Allah. In that case, also, why cant the
Christians use Allah in the Bible when Islam says that Allah is the God of the Christians and that the
earlier Holy Books are also the books of Islam?
This argument is further strengthened in chapter 3, verse 84, of the Quran, which says:
Say: We have believed in God, and that which has been sent down on us, and that which was sent down
on Abraham, Ishmael, Isaac, Jacob and the Prophets who were raised in the tribes, and that which was
given to Moses, Jesus, and all other Prophets from their Lord; we make no distinction between any of
them, and we are Muslims.
In this verse, the Quran clearly says that there is no distinction (difference, division, dissimilarity, etc.)
between Islam and the teachings of Abraham, Ishmael, Isaac, Jacob, Moses, Jesus, and all the earlier
Prophets before Muhammad. Hence Allah is the God of all People of the Book since the beginning of
time. Allah is not specific to just the Muslims and Islam does not have monopoly over Allah or over the
name Allah.
No doubt Muslims believe that the Revelation (the Quran) is the final Revelation. But the Quran does not
abrogate or replace the earlier Revelations or previous Scriptures. The Quran just makes them complete.
Hence the Quran can be regarded as Version 3.0 of the earlier Scriptures that we can call Version 1.0
and Version 2.0 if you wish.
The Quran makes many references to ( in Malay) or People of the Book. And Islam ahl al-Kitab ahli kitab
allows Muslims to eat meat from animals slaughtered by the . In other words, meat from animals ahli kitab
slaughtered by Jews and Christians is You do not need Muslims to slaughter a cow or chicken halal.
before you can eat that meat.
Some Muslims (in particular the Malays) will argue that only Muslims will go to heaven and (infidels) kafir
will go to hell. The Quran disagrees with this. In chapter 5, verse 69, of the Quran, it says:
Surely, be they of those who declare faith, or be they of those who are the Jews or the Sabaeans or the
Christians whoever truly and sincerely believes in God and the Last Day and does good, righteous
deeds they will have no fear, nor will they grieve.
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Where does it say only Muslims go to heaven and that the other People of the Book are infidels? It says:
whoever truly and sincerely believes in God and the Last Day and does good, righteous deeds will have
And it mentions the Jews, the Sabaeans and the Christians. no fear, nor will they grieve.
The problem is, because of the later wars between the Christians and the Muslims (in particular during the
Crusades) the other People of the Book came to be regarded as infidels. This was how later Muslims
came to view things. This is not how the Quran sees it. But because most Muslims do not really follow the
Quran but follow later traditions, their perspective of the other People of the Book changed over time.
This is also true regarding the real meaning of Jihad, which we will talk about in another article.
So, my conclusion is, Christians (plus Jews) can use Allah as the name of God (in fact, MUST use Allah
as the name of God) and hence there is no reason why the Bible cannot also use Allah as the name of
God.
Okay, fellow Muslims, now start whacking me and call me (misled), (ignorant), a deviant, and sesat jahil
so on.