Thursday, April 16, 2020

Apostate prophet reflects; previous scriptures revealed or simply inspired?

In answer to the video "The Kaaba in the Bible: Debunked"

All Israelite prophets such as Isaiah, Jeremiah, Ezekiel or Habakkuk, Iddo and others put themselves into writing or asked their followers to eventually write down, in their lifetime or after their death, what was revealed to them of wisdom, teachings, prophecies, warnings and admonitions 2Chr11:2,12:5,15,13:22. Solomon had his wise utterings, that were either put into writing in his lifetime or later, compiled from scattered suppports under the reign of Hezekiah Prov25:1.

It thus certainly is an established trend within the line of the prophets of Israel, of which Jesus fully adhered to, to commit to writing, whether themselves or by others, in their lifetime or later, the revelation bestowed upon them. We're talking about prophets, they received messages from the divine, and they applied themselves to put into writing as faithfully as possible all that they perceived.

The prophet Muhammad was no different in that regard. He wrote what was revealed, when it was revealed, over 23 years. This system of occasional, piecemeal revelation applies to all prophets. Ezekiel for example and other prophets in the HB were granted a vision of their entire individual book and its content which they will be responsible to later communicate and put into writing Ezek2:9-10. They still had to follow directions and commands revealed at specific times in answer to certain events.

There are ample examples of biblical prophets, including Moses who received revelation in answer to specific incidents, whether having to do with the prophet's own personal life or concerning the comunity at large. There are even situations in the Hebrew Bible where the solution to a situation is deffered until God reveals the answer Lev24:12. According to Jewish tradition, the entire Torah was given to Moses in 2 parts; the first during the year after the exodus, then followed a 38 years hiatus after which the rest was revealed. David is reported to have told his followers to wait for God's decision as regards a possible strike on an enemy 1Sam22:3.

Moses received oral instructions for 40 years and long before the events of Sinai, see for example Ex12:49,13:9,16:4,28,18:19-20 all refering to Torah and Law before Moses went to Mt Sinai. This process is meant at smoothly establishing socio-religious reforms, among other benefits. Gradual revelation also ensures a continuous connection between the receiver/prophet and the Source, providing him further comfort and legitimity in the face of the unavoidable persistent, increasing opposition, as well as answers to new challenges and questions.

Muhammad went through the same process for 23 years, just like Jeremiah was inspired with warnings and glad tidings to his people for 23 years Jer25:3.

This was objected to by the Quraysh, and, ironically, by the People of the Book themselves, just as missionaries do today, in ignorance of their prophetic history
4:153,25:32"Why has not the Quran been revealed to him all at once?".
Yet had the request been granted, it would still not prevent the rebellion and disbelief of those that requested it in the first place, since the demand did not stem from sincere hearts seeking to confirm their belief and intuition, rather it was a mocking challenge and an excuse to justify their rejection 6:7.

The moment during which the Quran started descending to the heart of the prophet wasnt a random point in time. It was in the night, as darkness symbolically stands for a time of spiritual obscurity. A prophet's advent is always preceded by such darkness. And neither was it a random night. It was during the month of Ramadan 2:185, during the specifc night of qadr/destiny 97:1, a most blessed night 44:3. It is blessed because in it the world received the greatest manifestation of Divine light. Linguisticaly, the Quran descending in one night does not necessarily imply it entirely descended on that specific night. The Quran is a composite entity spoken of as "Quran" even while it wasnt yet entirely revealed 43:2-4 just as it is said to be the book before it was a complete book. Even in everyday speak, a portion of it is said to be "Quran".

So it is perfectly accurate to say of the Quran that it has descended on a specific moment in time, even though it was just the beginning of this glorious process.

Finally, even those that argue that the Quran did entirely descend on that night, still say that this descent was partial, remaining suspended somewhere in the heavens from where it was sent on occasions unto the prophet's heart.

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