Islam critiqued finds another good reason; piecemeal revelation guarantees better preservation?

In answer to the video "Was Muhammad a False Prophet?"

As already alluded to previously, the prophet's opponents would critisize the periods during which no new verses were revealed and recited by him

7:203"And when you bring them not a revelation they say: Why do you not forge it? Say: I only follow what is revealed to me from my Lord; these are clear proofs from your Lord and a guidance and a mercy for a people who believe".

Consequently, at various places in the Quran, the Prophet is told to exercise resolve and patience 20:113-4 until the whole of the Quran is revealed to him, and he needs not worry as the arrangement of it rests on Allah 25:32 and no falsehood can approach it 41:42.

 The One upon whom its establishement in the prophet's memory is entirely dependant upon, and who could therefore either take it away completely or erase chunks of it from the prophet's mind without him even noticing it 17:86-7,87:6-7 will take care of arranging it in the form of a Book with an ultimate recital structure which he and all Muslims will be bound to follow in the future. If any directive needed further explanation, it will be done so at this last recital, and in this manner this book will stand completed in every way after memorization, collection and arrangement and explanation by the Almighty Himself

75:16-19"Do not move your tongue with it to make haste with it, Surely on Us (devolves) the collecting of it and the reciting of it. Therefore when We have recited it, follow its recitation. Again on Us (devolves) the explaining of it".  

This Divine arrangement gives the Quran a unique feature, it can be read a few verses at a time as anyone can see for himself. One can open it at any page and start reading, even skipping the beginning of the Book and starting in its middle, in most cases even starting at any verse on a page without going back many verses to know what it is speaking of and will still gain a lesson of wisdom.

The Divine structuring of the Quran was solidified by the promise to protect it 15:9, one of the fullfilments of this promise is to guard from extinction the Arabic language in which the Quranic message was coded. Unlike ancient Hebrew in which the HB was put to writing and the Aramaic of Jesus, which both became extinct, classical Arabic flourished and developed since the revelation of the Quran. A language that was confined to the tribes of the Arabian peninsula 1,400 years ago has since developed into the lingua franca of peoples from the extremities of Asia to the farthest corners of Africa. And another fullfilment is that besides all the scholarly scrutiny of the skeptics, no discrepencies can be found in it

4:82"Had it been from other Than God, they would surely have found therein Much discrepancy".

The gradual process solidified the Quran in the believers' hearts 28:51, as a sign of Allah's pledge to secure it and preserve it. Consequently the Prophet would memorize each verse as it was revealed, recite it to the "Scribes of the Revelation" (kuttab al-wahy) who would write it down immediately, in the manner of prophets of old. Jeremiah for instance dictated his prophecies to his disciple Baruch son of Neriah, when God commanded him

Jer30:1"Write for you the words that I have spoken to you, on a scroll"  

Jer36:4"And Jeremiah called Baruch the son of Neriah, and Baruch wrote from Jeremiah's mouth all the words of the Lord that He had spoken to him, on a roll of a book".

The prophet Jeremiah was literate and also wrote a scroll by himself Jer51:60.

It is stated in many traditions that whenever a portion of revelation was received by the Prophet, he told his followers to write a verse before such and such a verse and after such and such a verse, thus indicating its place and position in the Quran. The suras were memorized and recited in that order, in perfect accordance with the divine will

75:16-19"Do not move your tongue with it to make haste with it, Surely on Us (devolves) the collecting of it and the reciting of it. Therefore when We have recited it, follow its recitation. Again on Us (devolves) the explaining of it".

A final arrangement and recital occured twice the year the Prophet died, permitting to secure it from any eventual loss or doubts. The process of memorization as well as writing down of the revelations had thus started right from the beginning of the Prophet's mission.

This dual process of preservation had the additional advantage of checking the one with the other. The Prophet specially emphasized the practice of memorization and attached great merit to it. That the revelations were not collected into one compilation before his death but rather on all kinds of available supports (palm-leaves, bones, parchments..), was because these continued to come down till the last day of the Prophet's life. Yet, as already stated, he had arranged the separately revealed pieces into surahs and had also set the order of the surahs of the Quran.

By the very nature of things the collection of the surahs into one compilation had to be done after his death; and that is exactly what was done by his immediate successor, Abu Bakr. And in doing so, he did not miss the implication of the Prophet's practice of having the Quranic texts both written down and committed to memory. Hence in making the compilation he required the written text to be compared with the memorized text, and vice versa, and nothing was included in the compilation that did not meet this strict criterion.

Also, even when the written compilation was completed, the process of memorization was not discouraged or discontinued, so that even today Muslims can count in their ranks thousands of huffaz.

No other book went through this process of memorization followed by writing in a precise manner even as far as the numbering of the verses instructed by the archangel Gabriel, they were all redacted years even centuries after the message was sent.

Islam critiqued finds benefits instead of harm; the great impact of partial revelations?

In answer to the video "Was Muhammad a False Prophet?"

In the second part of the verse 25:32, God outlines some of the major benefits of this gradual process of revelation

"Thus that We may strengthen thereby your heart; and We have recited it in (clear) reciting".

This concise statement implies a deep impression on the minds, causing a smooth acceptance of its Laws. It would not be possible if all the Commandments and the whole system of life had been sent down all at once. The process of diverting a people from the social norms which they are accustomed to and which have nurtured their ideas and ideals, to make them question and acknowledge the errors of the systems which they grew up believing in, emulating generations of their ancestors, to make them assimilate the laws and wisdom of the Book which was going against their ancient practices, the process had to be gradual

17:106"And it is a Quran which We have revealed in portions so that you may read it to the people by slow degrees, and We have revealed it, revealing in portions"  

28:51"We have caused this word [of Ours] to reach mankind step by step, so that they might [learn to] keep it in mind".

Since the beginning, the prophet, despite his fear and reluctance is assured that he will be led and guided every step of the way, in his words and deeds, when the time is appropriate until his momentous mission is complete.

The parallel is made with all natural phenomena as they pass through various gradual stages before reaching the culminating point 87:1-18. Here is an example of an instance of gradual reform through piecemeal revelation. The prophet for example used to freely receive in his own house and at all times, righteous or less righteous people seeking knowledge from him or from any of his wives. Initially his wives would not wear a hijab in their interactions with house guests but the more people came, the more improper the situation could potentially become in terms of attraction and false hopes.

This wasnt an issue from the side of his wives but rather from some male visitors. Although the prophet, in his usual pattern of leniency and unsuspiciousness towards his people, did not deem it necessary at that point to instate an etiquette of behavior and appearance in those circumstances, the fact is that the situation became such that, regardless of what the prophet judged was appropriate or not, the potential for harm required a change in the rules. Umar, contrary to the prophet, and who was of more suspicious mentality had perceived the potential evil of the situation and would urge the prophet to do something about it by veiling his wives

"O Messenger of Allah, the righteous and the sinful enter your house, so why don’t you tell the Mothers of the Believers to [remain behind] a veil?"

Umar did not request a revelation but a personal command from the prophet yet he rejected Umar's wishes and would not change anything to the situation. He could have instructed the visitors right there and then, in line with Umar's advise, without having to wait for any revelation. This is an important nuance often missed by the critics of Islam. Having more foresight than Umar, the prophet knew that this situation required divine revelation to create a change. But as stated in the Quran, the prophet had no control over the timing of revelation.

None knows his creation better than the Creator and the best manner in which behavioral guidance can be implemented is by issuing it when the situation obviously requires it, enough people are prepared for it (Umar being one of those) and the need for a solution/guidance becomes evident. It is in this manner that Allah confirmed Umar's wisdom and knowledge of the religion

 "My Lord agreed with me in three things". 

This does not mean that Umar was the only person whose higher principles would be corroborated by Quranic revelation. Besides the hijab ordinance, Umar cited as examples of Allah confirming his judgement with the direction of prayer, which not only he but other Muslims including the prophet longed for, as well as his advise to the prophet's wives that they should stop taking advantage of his gentle character and leniency. The Quran's revelation being gradual, and many times circumstancial, contains passages that answer specific queries, even the desires of groups of people or individuals, if they are appropriate and beneficial. Some Muslims longed for the command to fight to be issued until revelation came 4:77, others wanted clarifications to practical matters and were answered 

5:101"O you who have believed, do not ask about things which, if they are shown to you, will distress you. But if you ask about them while the Qur'an is being revealed, they will be shown to you". 

A woman became known as "the one whose complaints were heard in the seventh heaven" due to the revelation of 58:1-4 answering her concerns.

It is to be noted the recipient of the Revelation does not automatically become a prophet. Moses' mother received wahi/revelation 20:38-9,28:7 and Mary, the mother of Jesus as well. Some close companions of a prophet, including those of Jesus or Muhammad were divinely inspired 5:111,58:22. The hadith for example describe how the adhan, the call to prayer, was first instituted, when 2 companions were simultaneously divinely inspired in their dream.

Angels 8:12 and even animals such as the bees 16:69 may receive inspiration from Allah. The phenomenon extends also to inanimate objects, including the earth 99:5 or the heavens 41:12. There are therefore different kinds of wahy; for the bee its instinctive behaviour related in the verse has been hardwired in its nature through wahy/inspiration. To the non-prophets it can be the inspiration with an idea or the correct manner in conducting an affair.  In this sense, humans can inspire others 19:11. For the prophets, their wahy is the expression of Divine will for the guidance of men.

As far a the Quranic wording closely resembling Umar's intuition, it firstly is important to note the Quran isnt God's autobiography for it to be cast wholly in the form of 'I' and 'me'. It quotes many different speakers, past, contemporaries to it, or future, like prophets, angels, regular believers or close companions of Muhammad, jinn, Iblis and more. It even sometimes quotes inanimate entities made to speak for a specific purpose. All this is achieved while actively interacting with the reader or audience, sometimes involving it in the flow of the discourse. It remains in all cases God's word, whoever it quotes.

Secondly anyone may become the recipient of revelation, as shown earlier, without making him/her a prophet.

As to Umar's sagacity and correct deductions in relation to veiling the prophet's wives, his opinion could have been influenced by other factors. Several inappropriate incidents occurred showing how tight and crowded the space had become around the prophet. The incidents related in the tradition, which are by no means exhaustive, occurred in places and moments that should otherwise be private or intimate. The prophet's wife, Sawda was recognized while passing in an open area by night, then called out from a gathering of people, when about to go relieve herself. Aisha's hand touched that of a male guest, something that he might have done deliberately keeping in mind the diversity of people and their intentions that visited the prophet at all times. It occurred while they were jointly eating from a plate within the household of the prophet. A verse then came to impose a certain decorum of interaction between the genders inside the busy household of the noble, humble and gentle prophet 33:53.

Etiquettes of behavior when entering people's houses is by no means allocated to the prophet's house exclusively, but to all members of the community 24:27. Reform of gender interaction, which included in pre islamic Arabia, promiscuity, prostitution, and sexual harassment of women, did not initiate with 33:53 but much before. This verse came as a culmination of the previous mental preparation of the believers against what was normal behavior to their society. Some people, as already pointed, were mentally ready ahead of others and felt great discomfort at Muslim women, more particularly those of their beloved prophet, being victim of malicious intent. The prophet however did not wait for, or restrict himself to revelation to instil basic social manners

"The Messenger of Allah said, "Permission is to be sought thrice. If it is accorded, you may enter; otherwise, go back".

There is nothing special about the odd number 3 but it is commonly understood even nowadays that knocking once, twice or 4 times isnt a proper way of announcing oneself at someone else's home. This instruction also teaches to not remain too long outside a person's home since that person might have his own reasons for not opening the door or answering back.

Besides this gradual educative purpose of the piecemeal system of revelation, the "strengthening of the hearts" also refers to the constant good tidings to the obedient servants in the midst of daily persecution and obstacles. The numerous prophecies and promises of success in both lives to the patient served this purpose. They were assured of ultimate success time and again to fill them with hope to carry on their mission

16:102"that it may establish those who believe and as a guidance and good news for those who submit".

This mission was to create a movement of faith and righteousness to combat disbelief and sin. The piecemeal revelation guided that movement in all its stages to suit its requirements on different occasions. It did so for example by elaborating on certain previous concise statements, either by a longer revelation in a different place or by addition of relevant information within the same previously revealed verse. We have classical examples reported in the hadith books, like 2:187 and 4:95 where the scribe present, who was being dictated the concise then more elaborate revelation, describes how the event occured supernaturally. It is a Quranic principle that one should not ask about things that if answered would render a simple directive complicated. But one may ask while revelation is descending and will be answered 5:101 as documented regarding ibn Um Maktum's concern upon hearing verse 4:95. The difference between the 2 attitudes is that of sincerity. The first one hears a directive, reflects on it and comes back after a while with conjecture, as if he is trying to avoid it. On the other hand the one expressing a concern directly when hearing a command does so out of genuine concern for a condition preventing him from immediately implementing the directive. 

The gradual revelation, progressive elaboration also gives the audience the feeling that it is being closely followed, listened to, attended to and corrected by its Sustainer, answering relevant questions of law or theology, questions by the believers or disbelievers alike, providing strong argument in favor of the truths it propounds or to counter false notions

25:32"And they do not bring to you an example except that We brought to you the truth and best of explanation".

Again this is not a strange phenomenon in the prophetic history, especially when it comes to the issue of further elaboration/explanation of a previous concise statement or ruling. See Jn3 for example.

17:106 also explains the important point that, despite this gradual system, the Quran is nevertheless one integral whole and can therefore, be properly understood only if it is considered in its entirety, if each of its passages is read in the light of all the other passages it contains. 

Islam critiqued delves into the metaphysical; nature mirrors the divine pattern?

In answer to the video "Was Muhammad a False Prophet?"

Just as in this world daytime and its light and heat are essential and so are the darkness and stillness of the night, in a similar manner, the trials of happiness and sorrow, ease and difficulty, affluence and poverty are essential for mankind's spiritual development. It is through these circumstances that the Almighty tests a person's gratitude and patience.

The prophet is thus assured that the stiff opposition he faced, the little following and meager resources he had and the interruption of revelation did not mean that his Lord had abandoned him or was displeased with him: these circumstances are a trial and test to train and instruct him in order to fully prepare him to bear his responsibilities.

Just as night and day are necessary phases this material life needs going through to develop, so to is our spirituality bound to pass through bright and dark moments in order for it to be trained and purified

93:1-3"By the morning brightness And (by) the night when it darkens, Your Lord has not bidden you farewell, nor has He become displeased".

An interesting linguistic observation testimony once more to the Quran's surgical use of words is that, just after illustrating the fact that revelation, through its phases of interruptions and descent, obeys to an established pattern very similar to the natural and transient phenomena of daylight and darkness of night, the Quran then eloquently consoles its messenger. It does so by negating any thought in his mind that such interruptions, even if long, indicate complete cessation or displeasure by God

93:3"Your Lord has not bidden you farewell, nor has He become displeased".

One does not "bid farewell" to a hated but to a loved person and so the verse uses the particle ka/you in order to establish a link with the prophet

"bidden YOU farewell".

This connection is broken in the second part of the verse with qalaa/displeased, because it implies a situation of conflict between enemies or hated people. The Arabic text makes the distinction more obvious. The sura goes on reminding him of what the revelation brought him in the past and what it was about to bring to him soon for it could not be that the Prophet to whom the Quran was revealed, should remain unsuccessful in bringing about the transformation for which it was revealed 20:1. He should therefore remain patient, and his burdens will be removed 94:1-8, steadfast on the right path along with his followers.

The Quran relates how the prophet's opponents among the pagans and the People of the Book did everything to make him compromise his revealed principles with theirs, forge verses or deliberately corrupt them but the message was divinely protected from the interference of the evil ones -men and jinn- from its descent from heaven all the way to its uttering by the prophet who was repeatedly warned 2:145,10:37,42:15 and never allowed to yield one bit to them despite the hardships he and his followers suffered.

Like the prophets of old, who despite the pressure to alter the divine messages and make them more appealing he answered

2:120,10:15,13:37,17:75,68:9,69:44-7,40:66"Say: I am forbidden to serve those whom you call upon besides Allah when clear arguments have come to me from my Lord, and I am commanded that I should submit to the Lord of the worlds".

As reflected is sura qalam, which is among the earliest Meccan suras, pressure was already being imposed on the prophet at the onset of his mission to change and compromise his message. It is to be noted, when the Noble Book unapologeticaly warns its messenger in the context of temptation to yield to his opponents, these frequently seen conditional statements do not mean that the prophet was actually tempted in doing so.

There are many implicit meanings to these warnings, including that regarding the obligation to abide by the divine law/sharia, there is no difference between a prophet and a regular believer.

The second thing is that, seeing that the prophet is warned, how much more should they be careful of their responsibilities in upholding the principles of this revelation.

And finally, seeing and hearing that the messenger is in no position to change anything in Allah's ordinances, the enemies should know that it would be fruitless to even think of approaching him with such objective.

When the prophet Micaiah the son of Imlah was under the same kind of pressure, he answered, knowing the dangerous repercussions of refusing to yield to the rejecters

1Kings22:14"As the Lord lives, for what the Lord will say to me, that will I speak".

The prophet Isaiah was equally warned not to yield to the disbelievers' requests Isa8:11 who, unhappy with his strong warnings and admonitions, would openly demand that he should forsake the straight path, the true God and give them false prophecies

Isa30:10-11"You shall not prophesy for us true things. Speak to us with smooth talk; prophesy mockery". 

The prophet's opponents practiced deception upon him, and tempted him with greed, held out threats, and raised a storm of false propaganda against him, and persecuted him and applied economic pressure and social boycott against him. Yet the prophet did not compromise an iota of what was revealed to him, even in the direst Meccan period. Although he did experience fear at the consequences, never did he withhold a word that needed to be uttered in the face of his opponents, so as to soften their stance. Even when his uncle and protector Abu Talib was pressured by a Meccan delegation to withdraw his tribal protection of Muhammad and the Muslims, he firmly replied: 

"0 my uncle, if they placed the sun in my right hand and the moon in my left hand to cause me to renounce my task, verily I would not desist therefrom until Allah made manifest His cause or I perished in the attempt". 

The prophet then turned to depart until Abu Talib called him back

 "Say whatever you please; for by the Lord I shall not desert you ever".

It is to be stressed that the prophet took this stance when his uncle, his last resort, seemed on the verge of letting him down. This attitude, besides the established reputation he had as a man of great integrity by his friends and foes, before and after the revelation, confirm the testimony of God Himself about His chosen one 

68:4"And indeed, you are of a great moral character".

The Quran also presents situations where the prophet is showing fear in communicating certain revelations to his people 5:67,33:37 fearing their reaction, judgements or tauntings but the Quran would compel him to keep transmitting what he is receiving, not to ever

11:12"give up part of what is revealed to you"

showing how he wasnt acting according to his whims

2:120"If you (Muhammad) give in to their whims and desires despite the knowledge that has reached you, you will have no protector or helper against Allah".

Islam critiqued reveals another pattern of the prophets; Piecemeal revelations?

In answer to the video "Was Muhammad a False Prophet?"

The 114 suras of the Quran were revealed on a period of 22 years, 5 months and 14 days: 13 years in Mecca and the rest in Medina, as and when it was required.

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 as will be pointed out later. 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.

Sometimes even the sincere early Muslims would grow impatient if long periods would pass without a new revelation 47:20, yet the precedent in the history of the prophets, per the HB as shown earlier, is that prophets received prophecy only when God desired it. Some would go months or years or even never again without communication from God.

This created in the prophet the yearning to receive the whole of the Quran as soon as possible. But he was told to show patience through prayer and remembrence of God, and to wait for the decree of the Almighty, not worry about the opposition and idle talk of people. God will deal with these people and He is sufficient to do this 76:23-6. This is because the prophet never asked to be the recipient of revelation, so that it is his responsibility to prove the truths and premises it presents. His authority rests exclusively in delivering the message, not in deciding its timing or contents.

As a side note, studies have been made of the prophet's speech patterns by regrouping all sayings attributed to him, authentic or not, and it has been shown that the Quran, a book revealed over a period of 23 years, uses patterns not only different to the messenger but also that were unknown to the masters of eloquence of the time all the while retaining deep, intricate meanings.

The Quran also depicts him in situations of extreme grief and anguish as he apparently felt abandonned, deprived of his divine support in the midst of the soul tearing taunts and ever growing spiritual conflicts with his opponents. This grief led him to the point he thought his Lord had become displeased with him on account of some error he had done, and had forsaken and left him to fight the battle between truth and falsehood alone. But he was told to remain patient in such moments otherwise he might compromise his divine mission 68:48, to keep conveying the message relentlessly despite the opposition. Slackness in this regard and in such a crucial time would help his opponents in attaining their objective 28:86. A passage even came down quoting the angels themselves, the carriers of revelation, justifying their silence by the fact that they act in obedience to a Higher, all encompassing Authority

19:64-5"And we do not descend but by the command of your Lord; to Him belongs whatever is before us and whatever is behind us and whatever is between these, and your Lord is not forgetful. The Lord of the heavens and the earth and what is between them, so serve Him and be patient in His service. Do you know any one equal to Him?"

Neither the prophet nor even the angels are free to decide the timing of revelation; there can be a break in the process whenever Allah deems it fit, and a continuation whenever He wills it. Although that process would sometimes put him in difficulty opposite his detractors, it in fact supported his credibility that the revelation was not his invention and he had no control over it.

Islam critiqued are passionate; Jesus loves his enemies?

In answer to the video "Was Muhammad a False Prophet?"

Finally, Jesus' "love your enemy", which most Christians uneducated in their own scriptures like quoting, does not refer to all kind of enemies, only to a certain type, those to whom if replied with good and magnanimity may reform themselves and become our friends, as stated in the Quran

"It may be that Allah will bring about friendship between you and those whom you hold to be your enemies among them".

It is a call to try and show love to those who do not necessarily love us, with the hope of them changing their attitude towards us. In a passage absent from the oldest manuscripts of Luke over a wide geographical distribution, Jesus while on the cross prays to the Father 

Lk23:34"forgive them, they do not know what they are doing". 

Again, the words here are conditional and do not concern those who opposed him knowingly, and whom he condemned in his lifetime. The prayer is to those who engage in harmful behavior from ignorance. These are the type of "persecuters" Jesus, and any other prophet prayed for, because they might mend their ways once truth has been properly exposed to them.

The concept of unconditional divine "love" not only is beyond common sense, as it would encourage the oppressor in the sin and even turn the passive victim into an accomplice in the crime, but in addition this notion is one that is alien to all scriptures. Both the Quran and the previous scriptures clearly define what God loves and what He doesnt

Prov8:17"I will love those who love me, and those who seek me eagerly will find me"  

Prov15:9"The way of a wicked man is an abomination of the Lord, but He loves him who pursues righteousness".

The Greek writings themselves reflect that notion in several places as previously mentioned, including in

Jn14:21"he that has my commandments, and keeps them, he it is that loves me: and he that loves me shall be loved of my Father, and I will love him, and will manifest myself to him".

God certainly loves his creatures, but not the ones that willfully disobey, rather until they repent. God doesnt love the stubborn sinner but the repentent sinner. 

Nothing about loving those that do not love Him, and are defiantly sinful. In fact, immediately after stating that God 

Jn3:16"so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son" 

a restriction states to who that love extends 

"Whoever believes in him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe stands condemned". 

Further, despite the  

1Jn3"great love the Father has lavished on us...This is how we know who the children of God are and who the children of the devil are: Anyone who does not do what is right is not God’s child". 

God certainly loves his creatures, but not the ones that wilfully disobey, until they repent. God doesnt love the stubborn sinner but the repentent sinner.

There is a reason why Love of Truth and aversion towards everything false and sinful is the natural outcome of the acceptance of the straight path. One becomes in a heightened state of spiritual awareness, constantly longing to be increased in divine knowledge and wisdom. IT is however important to keep in view that the Quran here is not speaking of hatred towards the sinful person itself.

There are countless verses encouraging rectitude and compassion indiscriminately even towards one's enemies, and regardless of the person's religion or lack thereof. Religious hatred is hatred for evil and evil deeds. This again, demonstrates the supreme pragmatism of the Quran; infatuated love and destructive hatred completely miss the mark. One hates for the sake of God and loves for the sake of God. One hates the evil deed because it harms the sinner, just as one loves the good deed because it brings one closer to guidance.

The prophet encapsulated that notion when  he spoke of a category of people whom the prophets and martyrs themselves will envy on the day of resurrection 

"The best faith is to love for the sake of Allah, to hate for the sake of Allah, and to work your tongue in the remembrance of Allah. Mu’adh said, “What is it, O Messenger of Allah?” The Prophet said: That you love for the people what you love for yourself, and you hate for the people what you hate for yourself, and that you speak goodness or remain silent".

The HB surely echoes the theme of religious hatred although it amalgamates hatred towards the individual itself as reflected in David's

Psalms119:104-5,139:21-22"From Your precepts I shall gain understanding; therefore, I hate all ways of falsehood. Your words are a lamp for my foot, and light for my path...Did I not hate Your enemies, O Lord? With those who rise up against You, I quarrel. I hate them with utmost hatred; they have become my enemies"

as well as Solomon's Proverbs2:7-10,13:5.

We may also add the fact that Jesus, Besides distancing himself from the spiritually unclean while calling them dogs and pigs Matt7:6, Jesus also purposely spoke to the spiritually dead, as the ones alluded to above, in parables, knowing that however clear his language is they will not understand him, thus conforming the prophecy of Isaiah according to which a category of transgressors will never be spiritually receptive

Mk4:10-12,Matt13:13-15"Therefore speak I to them in parables: because they seeing see not; and hearing they hear not, neither do they understand. And in them is fulfilled the prophecy of Esaias, which saith, By hearing ye shall hear, and shall not understand; and seeing ye shall see, and shall not perceive: For this people's heart is waxed gross, and their ears are dull of hearing, and their eyes they have closed...lest at any time they should see with their eyes and hear with their ears, and should understand with their heart, and should be converted, and I should heal them".

Jesus did not love and pray for these "enemies", he on the contrary kept them far from the truth, in line with David who "hated" the lame and blind Jebusites 2Sam5:8.

Jesus clearly states in it that he keeps speaking in parables to the spiritually blind "in order that" they do not understand

"otherwise they might turn and be forgiven".

He uses parables to teach and lead astray at the same time. It teaches his followers and confuses his rejecters and he purposely continues in this manner "otherwise" the rejecters might turn and repent, meaning he could have taught them in another manner than in parables but didnt, to achieve the purpose of NOT having them reform themselves.

Note Jesus is quoting Isaiah6's prophecy where YHWH is sending Isaiah to some sinful nation. Isaiah foretells that nation's doom and prior to this these people have their spiritual senses sealed as a punishment. Isaiah is to further confuse them (make the heart...) "otherwise" they might mend their ways. It is in this exact sense that Jesus in Matt13 is referencing Isaiah, hence the words that the prophecy is fulfilled in his contemporaries. He was confronted to people whose spiritual senses were sealed by God as a punishment as he stated earlier.

To fulfill Isaiah's text he does exactly like him, confusing them further as a form of worldly punishment for their rejection of him, through unintelligible parables that will prevent any possibility for them to reform themselves. This theme isnt unique to Isa6, elsewhere God has

Isa29:10"poured upon you a spirit of deep sleep, and He has closed your eyes; the prophets and your heads who stargaze, He has covered".

This sealed their understanding to all the vision which Isaiah was putting before them

"And the vision of everything has been to you like the words of a sealed book, which they give to one who can read, saying, "Now read this," and he shall say, "I cannot, for it is sealed".

To those who only pay lip service to the Law, the hypocrites who only fear God outwardly

Isa29:14"I will continue to perform obscurity to this people, obscurity upon obscurity, and the wisdom of his wise men shall be lost, and the understanding of his geniuses shall be hidden".

This complete loss of wisdom will perdure until an unspecified day where the spiritualy dead wil "see" and "hear" again v18.

Islam critiqued taps into Islamic wisdom; a balanced emotional approach to the divine ?

In answer to the video "Was Muhammad a False Prophet?"

The Quran says, Fear of God, awareness of the seriousness of His threats avoids one from falling into self-complacency, makes one feel obliged at all times to act upon Divine Commands and regard the righteous good deeds as insignificant in the face of divine perfection 7:99,70:24-8. This state of mind further frees one from any tinge of idolatry as it makes one aware that no protector ultimately exists outside of Allah 

6:14,51,70,17:111"Praise to Allah, who has not taken a son and has had no partner in [His] dominion and has no [need of a] protector out of weakness; and glorify Him with [great] glorification" 33:17"Say, "Who is it that can protect you from Allah if He intends for you an ill or intends for you a mercy?" And they will not find for themselves besides Allah any protector or any helper".

 Fear however can never be the sole constituent of belief, it must be balanced with 2 other elements; hope 12:87 and love for God

32:16"call upon their Sustainer in fear and in hope"  

21:90"These people exerted their utmost in righteous deeds and called upon Us with love and fear and they remained humble before Us".

From a philosophical viewpoint, fear,  whether in the natural or spiritual world, is an asset without which survival is impossible. But it must be balanced and controlled or else it leads to stagnation and even death. As is taught to us by the Creator, spiritually, fear must be balanced with love and trust.

The correct attitude is to never fall into either extreme, becoming self-complacent or hopeless of God's mercy. This upright perspective leads one to continuously strive to increase safety/iman in Allah. 

This balanced attitude is reflected in the saying of the prophet 

“If the believer knew what was with Allah of punishment, no one would hope for Paradise; and if the disbeliever knew what was with Allah of Mercy, no one would despair of attaining Paradise".

Elsewhere the Quran describes the successful as those who "hope" to meet their Lord and "hope" for His forgiveness 2:218,18:110.

This is a sign of humility, when even within the same verse, those people are reassured that Allah is surely forgiving and merciful, they still keep in mind that salvation is ultimately in God's hands

2:218"Surely those who believed and those who fled (their home) and strove hard in the way of Allah these hope for the mercy of Allah and Allah is Forgiving, Merciful".

The believer in those concepts, the one who knows what God demands of Him and what not, what His Sustainer loves in His servant and what not, continuously toils in the path of truth, without pride and self content. Contrary to the scripturally indefensible concept of an unconditionally loving God, which leads to conceit and self-righteousness, the one striving to meet God's explicit criteria of approval, constantly remains God-conscious. He remains humble, never thinking he is beyond reproach, fearing the seriousness of God's threats as well as hoping for His mercy, until he meets his Creator.

39:23"Allah has sent down the best statement: a consistent Book wherein is reiteration. The skins shiver therefrom of those who fear their Lord; then their skins and their hearts relax at the remembrance of Allah. That is the guidance of Allah by which He guides whom He wills".

The Love is evident in the word IMAN that denotes profound and sincere feeling of safety implying that one is in complete trust of a protective entity, that is, God. One cannot feel safe in an entity without having love for that entity, and knowing in turn that the entity is loving. This is where the Quran explains that this love isnt reciprocal, but more intense when coming from God. He is as al-rahman, the intensification of rahma. The root R-H-M means WOMB. Therefore in order to imagine what this word actually means one has to picture the womb and what it does to the fetus. It nurtures, protects, provides warmth, love etc. without even the fetus being aware of it. This word describes God's unconditional, intricate, unfathomable love for His creatures.

There are several literary devices the Quran uses to illustrate the concept of divine love. For example in sura fatiha. Allah is firstly called rabb/the Raiser or Sustainer. Since it is a word implying authority, and that authority doesnt necessarily evoke the concept of love, immediately after, God is called al rahman. It is in the intensive form, but another characteristic of the word is that it does not cover the future. Which is why rahim comes next, undetermined in time. This makes the rabb take care with love now by answering present needs, and does the same for later needs. However, to strike a balance in human psyche, who is now told that the master answers with intense love, the concept of accountability is introduced malik yawm eddin/master of the day of judgement. This is because intense love is most often abused of, negatively taken advantage of. So, although God's love in unconditional when it comes to caring for His creatures and making all necessary arrangements for their ultimate success, such love does not confuse His perfect justice and does not prevent Him in the least from applying the appropriate sentence no matter how severe.

This is the Quran's supreme precision, pragmatism, consistency in the manner it conveys its concepts and interconnects them from word to word, verse to verse, chapter to chapter.

Mercy is a particular attribute of God, described as being "ordained" upon God's self 6:12,54. None of the other divine attributes have been described with this expression

"kataba ala nafsihi".

This statement is meant to emphasize that Allah is merciful but also that Allah made mercy a self imposed mandate upon himself. When something is written, it conveys the sense that it is well established and solid. God is the Creator and Owner, Sustainer of the universe. He makes it function in accordance with the laws He likes and these laws are rooted in His mercy. He in addition decided to inform His servants of that self imposed commitment, yet He owes them nothing. The prophet portrayed that notion by paralleling a mother's love for her baby to God's love for His creation. While the companions were looking at a woman frantically searching for her child, the prophet said

"Do you think that this lady can throw her son in the fire?" We replied, "No, if she has the power not to throw it (in the fire)." The Prophet then said, "Allah is more merciful to His slaves than this lady to her son".

Another hadith demonstrates how, if Allah were to create anything to make it enter into one of the abodes of the hereafter, it would be to make it enter paradise 

"The Prophet (ﷺ) said, "(The people will be thrown into Hell ( Fire) and it will keep on saying, 'Is there any more?' till the Lord of the worlds puts His Foot over it, whereupon its different sides will come close to each other, and it will say, 'Qad! Qad! (enough! enough!) By Your 'Izzat (Honor and Power) and Your Karam (Generosity)!' Paradise will remain spacious enough to accommodate more people until Allah will create a new creation and let them dwell in the superfluous space of Paradise". 

These new creation could be the dwellers of hell that will eventually be admitted to paradise, or something else known to Allah.   

Divine mercy is thus hardwired into the teachings of the prophet and the Quranic revelation,

even in those passages most quoted by Islam critics attempting to cast it into an evil and wantonly violent religion. There is simply no plausible way to understand the Quran in a manner bereft of mercy and compassion. An interesting parallel can be made with a statement from the Tanakh

Psalms89:3"a world which manifests Your loving kindness, You did build".

Giving requires a receiver. So God created human beings to be the recipients of His bounty. He has brought mankind into existence and established a system of moral accountability it is therefore natural that He makes all necessary arrangements for a just retribution

41:2"A revelation from the Beneficent, the Merciful Allah".

Spiritual guidance is a natural consequence of this Mercy, despite most men being unworthy of it

43:5"shall We then turn away the reminder from you altogether because you are an extravagant people?"

Islam critiqued looks with horror; YHWH instills fear in the hearts?

In answer to the video "Was Muhammad a False Prophet?"

As to the HB, when the Israelites feared they might die if they continued to experience revelation and so asked of Moses to step in and be their intermediary with God, they were told that it is precisely the awe of God that humbles a person and prevents him from sin, keeps evil away, makes him walk aright and perform justice

Malachi2:5-6,Prov19:23,Ex20:16-17"in order that His awe shall be upon your faces, so that you shall not sin".

The same is stated in the Quran 79:40. As the psalmist states, the one wo performs justice and rigtheousness can only be one whose

Ps119:120"flesh bristles from fear of You, and I dread Your judgments".

Ezra to whom part of the book of Chronicles is traditionally attributed to, states, while recalling the prophet David's prayer

1Chr16:30"Quake before Him, all the earth.."

To fear God reverently is actually among the 613 commandements revealed at Sinai Deut6:13,10:20 and reiterated time and again by the prophets 1Sam12:24-5, including Solomon, the wisest of all prophets who stated when concluding the last book attributed to him that fear from, and servitude to God is the whole purpose of man's existence Ecc12:13-14. In fact the whole of creation has been arranged in such a way so as to result in fear of God for the spiritually aware, who cannot but perceive God's all-encompassing grasp in the functioning of all existence Ecc3:14.

His father David before him echoed that universal purpose, it is every human's duty, to be inculcated from the youngest age

Ps34:12,Ps33:8"Let all the earth fear the Lord; let all the inhabitants of the world stand in awe of Him".

He also stated, in the context of a time where all nations will be brought low before the Jewish people and either convert to Judaism or die

Ps2:11"Serve the Lord with fear, and rejoice with quaking".

God fearing is a precondition for divine acceptance and guidance Ps25:12, one of the prime qualities of the righteous believer Ex18:21, up to the most respected, upright leaders of a community 2Sam23:3 and prophets

Isa8:13,Ps5:8,Ps34:10"Fear the Lord, His holy ones".

The love of YHWH certainly has degrees, it is directly proportional to the servant's fear, not love, of Him. Fear of God is the pre-condition to wisdom itself, as well as discipline, uprightness and true knowledge, and to gaining God's praise and acceptance Ps111:10,112:1,Prov1:7,8:13. David also stated that

Ps19:10"the fear of the Lord is pure"

and hence the absence of that fear is often equated with disbelief Jer2:19.

This is why the unconditionally loving YHWH will consider those who do not fear Him as worthless and deserving a severe chastisement. Those in fear of Him, more particularily of His chastisment, will be saved and rewarded Mal3:5,20,Ps85:10,Prov28:14. As the Quran equally states, fear of God, when kept in view in one's daily life and actions, inevitably leads to reward in the Hereafter 55:46,76:5-10,79:40-1.

It will be the fear of God that will animate the mythical messianic figure that will come at the end of times to restore justice and righteousness Isa11:2-5 and it is the fear of God, carved into the hearts of the Jews at the end of times that will make them walk the straight path forever Jer32:38-40.

The fear, awe and reverence to God is so deeply rooted in the teachings of Judaism that they may not pronounce what they have construed as His actual proper name

Deut28:58"fear this glorious and awesome name, the Lord, your God".

Seeing God's name as so sacred that it shouldn't be mentioned is condemned as a great injustice in the Quran 2:114. The remembrance of God, praising Him by His name and attributes is an important part of a worshiper's rituals, continuously commanded in the Quran

87:1"Glorify the name of your Lord, the Most High".

Islam critiqued is above the law; Conditional divine love?

In answer to the video "Was Muhammad a False Prophet?"

The naive depiction of a loving God that Christian missionaries keep harping upon is scripturally baseless. Both in the HB, the Greek writings, let alone the Quran. It is nothing but a missionary ploy. That is why the Quran quotes the people making a basless, verbal claim

5:18"The Jews and the Christians have said: We are the sons of God and his well-beloved ones".

The overarching Quranic principle of divine, indiscriminate justice is that none can claim favor for himself simply on account of belonging to a race or community. A Muslim will not be beloved by God just by being a Muslim. To secure God’s approbation, one must behave as a Muslim should. A Muslim is one that has recalibrated his life on all levels so as to build a relationship with God.

If one goes back to the HB, one notices that the pervasive emotion the religion demands in relation to God, isnt love but fear. The Quran describes the righteous in the hereafter as the one who "khashiya" the beneficient God without seeing Him in this world. The word denotes fear of Allah not only on account of the fear of His punishment as is the case with "khawf", but it stresses a sense of humility and awe at Allah's glory and greatness, something only the ones who ponder and reflect at the higher meanings of things can achieve, hence the repeated statements that

35:28"only those of His servants fear Allah who have knowledge".

The verse ends with a statement that infuses hope in the God-conscious

"verily Allah is Mighty, Forgiving".

Many Quranic passages follow that pattern of balancing the attributes of God among one another, in order to infuse hope after a warning or a feeling of reassurance following glad tidings. Such is the case in 85:4-14 first mentioning the just and severe requital of a group of criminals, then the praise of the righteous, and the passage concludes with

"And He is the Forgiving/ghafur, the Loving/wadud".

Both words amplify the concepts to the utmost; He is 'forgiving' of the sins of those sinners who repent, and is 'Loving' to the servants who are good-doers. This illustrates the concept of iman/feeling of safety in Allah (as will be detailed shortly). It is a balance between fear, hope, love.

Islam critiqued does mental guesses; Was the prophet Muhammad aware of biblical prophecies related to him?

In answer to the video "Was Muhammad a False Prophet?"

Since Muhammad was destined to be the seal of the line of prophethood and that no warner would be sent to mankind till the Day of Resurrection, past prophets and scriptures made clear his imminent arrival in such a way that people would have no difficulty in recognizing him. The Quran and the prophetic traditions allude in many places to the predictions of the Ishmaelite prophet in previous scriptures. Not all prophets were foretold by their predecessors.

For example, no prophecy in the HB applies to Jesus just like most Israelite prophets have no prophecies about them. But in the case of the last prophet and the importance of his final message, the matter was different. The Quran reinforces the notion that the predictions about Muhammad are so clear that

6:20,2:146"those to whom We have given the scripture recognize him as they recognize their own sons".

This verse echoes what the prominent Jewish Rabbi of Medina, Abdullah ibn Salam used to say as regards the prophet Muhammad

"Certainly, I have greater knowledge of this Muḥammad than my knowledge of my son".

The Quran would mention the reaction of such early converts among the Jews and Christians

5:83"hear what has been revealed to the messenger you will see their eyes overflowing with tears on account of the truth that they recognize; they say: Our Lord! we believe, so write us down with the witnesses (of truth)".

The Quran speaks in sura Baqara of the predictions of the HB regarding Muhammad in the context of the covenant established with the Israelites at Mt Sinai, emphasizing that the context of the prophecy is the promulgation of a new law and the birth of a nation under God.

Muslims throughout the ages have used the Bible to prove Muhammad was foretold by previous prophets. This was and still is a proselytizing strategy aimed at Jews and Christians. The idea is to have a common ground for discussion with those religious groups, after which Islamic teachings are introduced. There are however other proselytizing approaches Muslims have taken, namely pointing to the inconsistent, incomplete theologies of other systems in comparison to Islam, or naturalistic arguments, or simply presenting Islamic teachings by themselves for the audience to appreciate. Going back to the argument from the viewpoint of prophecy, Muslims didnt alter any text nor invent reports so as to create the striking parallelisms that can be seen between the Bible, the Quran and the authentic Islamic traditions. We thus see the prophet himself addressing those Jews that did not believe in him, telling them to honestly look into the writings in their hands and draw the relevant conclusions, as some of the most learned in their community did

 "I adjure you to tell me if you find in that revelation which Allah sent down to You, that you should believe in Muhammad. If you cannot find that in your scripture, no displeasure will fall on you. Guidance will be distinguishable from error, and I invite you to Allah and to His prophet".

Christians on the other hand are notorious for their distortions of the meaning and of the text itself so as to retrofit their christologies into the HB. The text of the Septuagint, the Greek rendering of the HB is known for its numerous mistranslations. But the NT text is by far the most corrupt. The anonymous writers create impossible scenarios, are anachronistic, fabricate genealogies, misquote the Hebrew writings, allude to non existent HB prophecies so as to allign their Jesus character with the previous writings.

Islam critiqued is dazzled; the Islamic unprejudiced ideology?

In answer to the video "Was Muhammad a False Prophet?"

Muhammad was inspired following the same pattern as other known illustrious men before him were, including many unnamed and forgotten ones, whether among the tribes of Israel (Jewish tradition holds that thousands were sent to them) or outside of them

4:163-4"We inspired towards you as We inspired towards Noah and the prophets from after him. And We inspired towards Abraham and Ishmael and Isaac and Jacob and the children (of Jacob)/alasbat and Jesus and Job and Jonah and Aaron and Solomon. And we brought to David, Psalm. And (We sent) apostles We have mentioned to you before and apostles we have not mentioned to you; and to Musa, Allah addressed His Word, speaking (to him)."

As shown above through the attitude of Jews and Christians in whose creed one must acknowledge the superiority of one prophet above all others, Islam, truly earns its name as the "willful surrender unto God" instead of surrendering to one's prejudice and desires. 

Just as it calls and presents the prophet Muhammad as no more than a humble slave of Allah, Jesus is equally shown as powerless without Allah's will and in entire submission to Him. That description is appropriate given the Christians' raising him to divine status. Moses likewise, seen as the wisest of all prophets by the Jews, is shown humbling himself before another of God's messengers who far surpassed him in wisdom and knowledge of the unseen. This again is highly appropriate given the particular exaltation the Jews give him in comparison to other prophets.

The Quran in addition admonishes against the attitude of claiming belief in God but rejecting a particular prophet 4:150. Those who do so simply do not like the message from the God they claim to believe in, it threatens their sinful ways and prevents them from pursuing their evil interests.

Muslims are warned not to fall in the same prejudice and error of the Jews and Christians who each gave such absolute reverence to a particular prophet that they regarded and still do, the acceptance of a new prophet with a different message as a denial of the superiority of their revered figure.

In 45:16-18 the Quran addresses Muhammad, telling him just as another nation was vouchsafed revelation, he too is now chosen and put on the straight path, thus stressing the continuation of the divine message.

Stress is also laid, in different ways, on the principle that rejecting one messenger amounts to rejecting all the messengers because all of them had brought one and the same message from Allah 26:105,123,141,160,176.