Month: October 2021

Jesus is Our Purification, Our Perfecter of Faith

By Jesus’ suffering we are healed

†We are all sinners but only perfect or sinless man can have eternal life and enter the Kingdom of Heaven. Therefore, we need to be purified via the purification sent by God which is Jesus, the perfecter of our Faith. Without Him, no one can come to the Father (John 14:6). All we have to do is to believe the saving work of Jesus and follow His will. This world is just passing and our life span is very short, thus let us not store Earthly treasures but Heavenly treasures instead. Isn’t having an everlasting life is way more valuable than having a temporary life? Below are Biblical verses telling about purification and perfection that we need to undergo in our way to the Kingdom of God. 

Quoted from the Old Testament:

  1. [Numbers 31:23] everything that can withstand the fire—must be put through the fire, and it will be clean. But it must still be purified with the water of purification. And everything that cannot withstand the fire must pass through the water
  2. [Job 14:4] Who can bring a clean thing out of an unclean? no one.
  3. [Job 15:14] “What is man, that he should be pure, or he who is born of a woman, that he should be righteous? 
  4. [Psalm 37:37] Mark the perfect man, and behold the upright: for the end of that man is peace.
  5. [Psalm 51:2] Wash me thoroughly from my iniquity And cleanse me from my sin.
  6. [Psalm 51:7] Purify me with hyssop, and I shall be clean; Wash me, and I shall be whiter than snow.
  7. [Psalm 66:10] For You, O God, have tested us; You have refined us like silver.
  8. [Isaiah 1:16] “Wash yourselves, make yourselves clean; Remove the evil of your deeds from My sight. Cease to do evil,
  9. [Isaiah 1:18] “Come now, and let us reason together,” Says the LORD, “Though your sins are as scarlet, They will be as white as snow; Though they are red like crimson, They will be like wool.
  10. [Isaiah 1:25] I will turn My hand against you; I will thoroughly purge your dross; I will remove all your impurities.
  11. [Isaiah 4:4] When the Lord shall have washed away the filth of the daughters of Zion and cleansed the bloodstains of Jerusalem from its midst by a spirit of judgment and by a spirit of burning
  12. [Isaiah 6:5-7] And I said: ”Woe is me! for I am lost; for I am a man of unclean lips, and I dwell in the midst of a people of unclean lips; for my eyes have seen the King, the Lord of hosts.” Then flew one of the seraphim to me, having in his hand a burning coal which he had taken with tongs from the altar. And he touched my mouth, and said: “Behold, this has touched your lips; your guilt is taken away, and your sin forgiven.“ 
  13. [Isaiah 35:8-9] And a highway will be there; it will be called the Way of Holiness; it will be for those who walk on that Way. The unclean will not journey on it; wicked fools will not go about on it. No lion will be there, nor any ravenous beast; they will not be found there. But only the redeemed will walk there
  14. [Isaiah 44:22] “I have wiped out your transgressions like a thick cloud And your sins like a heavy mist. Return to Me, for I have redeemed you.”
  15. [Isaiah 48:10] See, I have refined you, but not as silver; I have tested you in the furnace of affliction.
  16. [Ezekiel 20:38] And I will purge you of those who rebel and transgress against Me. I will bring them out of the land in which they dwell, but they will not enter the land of Israel. Then you will know that I am the LORD.’
  17. [Jeremiah 33:8] ‘I will cleanse them from all their iniquity by which they have sinned against Me, and I will pardon all their iniquities by which they have sinned against Me and by which they have transgressed against Me.
  18. [Zechariah 13:9] This third I will bring through the fire; I will refine them like silver and test them like gold. They will call on My name, and I will answer them. I will say, ‘They are My people,’ and they will say, ‘The LORD is our God.'”
  19. [Daniel 11:35] Some of the wise will fall, so that they may be refined, purified, and made spotless until the time of the end, for it will still come at the appointed time.
  20. [Daniel 12:10] Many will be purified, made spotless, and refined, but the wicked will continue to act wickedly. None of the wicked will understand, but the wise will understand.
  21. [Malachi 3:2-3] But who can endure the day of His coming? And who can stand when He appears? For He will be like a refiner’s fire, like a launderer’s soap. And he shall sit as a refiner and purifier of silver: and he shall purify the sons of Levi, and purge them as gold and silver, that they may offer unto the LORD an offering in righteousness. 

Quoted from the New Testament: 

  1. [John 1:29] The next day John saw Jesus coming toward him and said, “Look, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world!
  2. [John 5:48] Be perfect, therefore, as your heavenly Father is perfect.
  3. [Matthew 8:2-3] Suddenly a leper came and knelt before Him, saying, “Lord, if You are willing, You can make me clean.” Jesus reached out His hand and touched the man. “I am willing,” He said. “Be clean!” And immediately his leprosy was cleansed . . .
  4. [Acts 15:9] He made no distinction between us and them, for he cleansed their hearts by faith.
  5. [1 John 1:7] But if we walk in the light as He is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus His Son cleanses us from all sin.
  6. [1 John 1:9] If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.
  7. [1 John 3:3-4] And everyone who has this hope in Him purifies himself, just as He is pure. Everyone who practices sin practices lawlessness as well. Indeed, sin is lawlessness. But you know that Christ appeared to take away sins, and in Him there is no sin
  8. [Romans 12:1-2] I appeal to you therefore, brothers, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, which is your spiritual worship. Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect.
  9. [Hebrews 1:3] The Son is the radiance of God’s glory and the exact representation of His nature, upholding all things by His powerful word. After He had provided purification for sins, He sat down at the right hand of the Majesty on high.
  10. [Hebrews 9:14] how much more will the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered Himself unblemished to God, purify our consciences from works of death, so that we may serve the living God!
  11. [Hebrews 9:22] Indeed, under the law almost everything is purified with blood, and without the shedding of blood there is no forgiveness of sins.
  12. [Hebrews 10:12] But when this Priest had offered for all time one sacrifice for sins, He sat down at the right hand of God.
  13. [Hebrews 11:40] God had planned something better for us, so that together with us they would be made perfect.
  14. [Hebrews 12:2] Looking unto Jesus the author and perfecter of our faith; who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is seated at the right hand of the throne of God.
  15. [Hebrews 12:22-23] But you have come to Mount Zion and to the city of the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem, to an innumerable company of angels, to the general assembly and church of the firstborn who are registered in heaven, to God the Judge of all, to the spirits of just men made perfect
  16. [1 Corinthians 3:13] his workmanship will be evident, because the Day will bring it to light. It will be revealed with fire, and the fire will prove the quality of each man’s work.
  17. [1 Corinthians 3:15] But if someone’s work is burned up, that one will suffer loss; the person will be saved, but only as through fire.
  18. [Ephesians 5:26] to sanctify her, cleansing her by the washing with water through the word,
  19. [1 Thessalonians 3:13] so that He may establish your hearts in blamelessness and holiness before our God and Father at the coming of our Lord Jesus with all His saints. Amen.
  20. [1 Timothy 1:5] The goal of our instruction is the love that comes from a pure heart, a clear conscience, and a sincere faith.
  21. [James 1:27] Pure and undefiled religion before our God and Father is this: to care for orphans and widows in their distress, and to keep oneself from being polluted by the world.
  22. [James 2:22] You see that his faith was working with his actions, and his faith was perfected by what he did.
  23. [2 Peter 3:14] Therefore, beloved, as you anticipate these things, make every effort to be found at peace with Him, without spot or blemish.
  24. [Titus 2:14] He gave Himself for us to redeem us from all lawlessness and to purify for Himself a people for His own possession, zealous for good deeds
  25. [Revelation 21:27] Nothing impure will ever enter it, nor will anyone who does what is shameful or deceitful, but only those whose names are written in the Lamb’s book of life.
  26. [Revelation 22:14] Blessed are those who wash their robes, so that they may have the right to the tree of life, and may enter by the gates into the city. 

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The Quran is a Product of Collecting and Burning

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A.) THE COLLECTING OF QURANS  

Contrary to the claim of Muslims that the Quran (the Quranic book) is a pure word of God and came directly from Heaven, it is only a product of collecting from different sources and picked up from surroundings. When Muhammad was still alive, he did not bother to keep safe and preserve his supposed divine revelations from God. This is also one of the strong proofs that Islam is only a fabrication of Muhammad because a thing as important as the word of God that to be used as a backbone of His message, His messenger just threw them away. As a result when Muhammad died, the Muslims left with no Qurans (Revelations) in their hands. The Muslims were yet to search and collect them from parchments, scapula, leaf-stalks of date palms, white stones, and from the memories of men. Below are reports how the early Muslims came up with the Quranic book that we know today. 

1. [Sahih al-Bukhari 3810] Narrated Qatada: Anas said, “The Qur’an was collected in the lifetime of the Prophet by four (men), all of whom were from the Ansar: Ubai, Mu`adh bin Jabal, Abu Zaid and Zaid bin Thabit.” I asked Anas, “Who is Abu Zaid?” He said, “One of my uncles.”

2. [Sahih al-Bukhari 5003] Narrated Qatada: I asked Anas bin Malik: “Who collected the Qur’an at the time of the Prophet?” He replied, “Four, all of whom were from the Ansar: Ubai bin Ka`b, Mu`adh bin Jabal, Zaid bin Thabit and Abu Zaid.”

3. [Sahih al-Bukhari 5004] Narrated Anas bin Malik: When the Prophet died, none had collected the Qur’an but four persons;: Abu Ad-Darda’. Mu`adh bin Jabal, Zaid bin Thabit and Abu Zaid. We were the inheritor (of Abu Zaid) as he had no offspring.

4. [Sahih al-Bukhari 4530] Narrated Ibn Az-Zubair: I said to `Uthman bin `Affan (while he was collecting the Qur’an) regarding the Verse:– “Those of you who die and leave wives …” (2.240) “This Verse was abrogated by an other Verse. So why should you write it? (Or leave it in the Qur’an)?” `Uthman said. “O son of my brother! I will not shift anything of it from its place.” 

5. [Sahih al-Bukhari 4679]

Narrated Zaid bin Thabit Al-Ansari: who was one of those who used to write the Divine Revelation: Abu Bakr sent for me after the (heavy) casualties among the warriors (of the battle) of Yamama (where a great number of Qurra’ were killed). `Umar was present with Abu Bakr who said, `Umar has come to me and said, The people have suffered heavy casualties on the day of (the battle of) Yamama, and I am afraid that there will be more casualties among the Qurra’ (those who know the Qur’an by heart) at other battle-fields, whereby a large part of the Qur’an may be lost, unless you collect it. And I am of the opinion that you should collect the Qur’an.” Abu Bakr added, “I said to `Umar, ‘How can I do something which Allah’s Apostle has not done?’ `Umar said (to me), ‘By Allah, it is (really) a good thing.’ So `Umar kept on pressing, trying to persuade me to accept his proposal, till Allah opened my bosom for it and I had the same opinion as `Umar.” (Zaid bin Thabit added:) `Umar was sitting with him (Abu Bakr) and was not speaking. me). “You are a wise young man and we do not suspect you (of telling lies or of forgetfulness): and you used to write the Divine Inspiration for Allah’s Messenger. Therefore, look for the Qur’an and collect it (in one manuscript). ” By Allah, if he (Abu Bakr) had ordered me to shift one of the mountains (from its place) it would not have been harder for me than what he had ordered me concerning the collection of the Qur’an. I said to both of them, “How dare you do a thing which the Prophet has not done?” Abu Bakr said, “By Allah, it is (really) a good thing. So I kept on arguing with him about it till Allah opened my bosom for that which He had opened the bosoms of Abu Bakr and `Umar. So I started locating Qur’anic material and collecting it from parchments, scapula, leaf-stalks of date palms and from the memories of men (who knew it by heart). I found with Khuza`ima two Verses of Surat-at-Tauba which I had not found with anybody else, (and they were):– “Verily there has come to you an Apostle (Muhammad) from amongst yourselves. It grieves him that you should receive any injury or difficulty He (Muhammad) is ardently anxious over you (to be rightly guided)” (9.128) The manuscript on which the Qur’an was collected, remained with Abu Bakr till Allah took him unto Him, and then with `Umar till Allah took him unto Him, and finally it remained with Hafsa, `Umar’s daughter. 

6. [Sahih al-Bukhari 7191]

Narrated Zaid bin Thabit: Abu Bakr sent for me owing to the large number of casualties in the battle of Al-Yamama, while `Umar was sitting with him. Abu Bakr said (to me), `Umar has come to my and said, ‘A great number of Qaris of the Holy Qur’an were killed on the day of the battle of Al-Yamama, and I am afraid that the casualties among the Qaris of the Qur’an may increase on other battle-fields whereby a large part of the Qur’an may be lost. Therefore I consider it advisable that you (Abu Bakr) should have the Qur’an collected.’ I said, ‘How dare I do something which Allah’s Messenger did not do?’ `Umar said, By Allah, it is something beneficial.’ `Umar kept on pressing me for that till Allah opened my chest for that for which He had opened the chest of `Umar and I had in that matter, the same opinion as `Umar had.” Abu Bakr then said to me (Zaid), “You are a wise young man and we do not have any suspicion about you, and you used to write the Divine Inspiration for Allah’s Messenger. So you should search for the fragmentary scripts of the Qur’an and collect it (in one Book).” Zaid further said: By Allah, if Abu Bakr had ordered me to shift a mountain among the mountains from one place to another it would not have been heavier for me than this ordering me to collect the Qur’an. Then I said (to `Umar and Abu Bakr), “How can you do something which Allah’s Messenger did not do?” Abu Bakr said, “By Allah, it is something beneficial.” Zaid added: So he (Abu Bakr) kept on pressing me for that until Allah opened my chest for that for which He had opened the chests of Abu Bakr and `Umar, and I had in that matter, the same opinion as theirs. So I started compiling the Qur’an by collecting it from the leafless stalks of the date-palm tree and from the pieces of leather and hides and from the stones, and from the chests of men (who had memorized the Qur’an). I found the last verses of Sirat-at-Tauba: (“Verily there has come unto you an Apostle (Muhammad) from amongst yourselves–‘ (9.128-129) ) from Khuza`ima or Abi Khuza`ima and I added to it the rest of the Sura. The manuscripts of the Qur’an remained with Abu Bakr till Allah took him unto Him. Then it remained with `Umar till Allah took him unto Him, and then with Hafsa bint `Umar. 

7. [Sahih al-Bukhari 4986]

Narrated Zaid bin Thabit: Abu Bakr As-Siddiq sent for me when the people of Yamama had been killed (i.e., a number of the Prophet’s Companions who fought against Musailima). (I went to him) and found `Umar bin Al- Khattab sitting with him. Abu Bakr then said (to me), “`Umar has come to me and said: “Casualties were heavy among the Qurra’ of the Qur’an (i.e. those who knew the Qur’an by heart) on the day of the Battle of Yamama, and I am afraid that more heavy casualties may take place among the Qurra’ on other battlefields, whereby a large part of the Qur’an may be lost. Therefore I suggest, you (Abu Bakr) order that the Qur’an be collected.” I said to `Umar, “How can you do something which Allah’s Apostle did not do?” `Umar said, “By Allah, that is a good project.” `Umar kept on urging me to accept his proposal till Allah opened my chest for it and I began to realize the good in the idea which `Umar had realized.” Then Abu Bakr said (to me). ‘You are a wise young man and we do not have any suspicion about you, and you used to write the Divine Inspiration for Allah’s Messenger. So you should search for (the fragmentary scripts of) the Qur’an and collect it in one book.” By Allah If they had ordered me to shift one of the mountains, it would not have been heavier for me than this ordering me to collect the Qur’an. Then I said to Abu Bakr, “How will you do something which Allah’s Messenger did not do?” Abu Bakr replied, “By Allah, it is a good project.” Abu Bakr kept on urging me to accept his idea until Allah opened my chest for what He had opened the chests of Abu Bakr and `Umar. So I started looking for the Qur’an and collecting it from (what was written on) palm stalks, thin white stones and also from the men who knew it by heart, till I found the last Verse of Surat at-Tauba (Repentance) with Abi Khuzaima Al-Ansari, and I did not find it with anybody other than him. The Verse is: ‘Verily there has come unto you an Apostle (Muhammad) from amongst yourselves. It grieves him that you should receive any injury or difficulty..(till the end of Surat-Baraa’ (at-Tauba) (9.128-129). Then the complete manuscripts (copy) of the Qur’an remained with Abu Bakr till he died, then with `Umar till the end of his life, and then with Hafsa, the daughter of `Umar. 

8. [Sahih Muslim 2465a] Anas is reported to have said: Four persons collected the Qur’an during the lifetime of Allah’s Messenger and all of them were Ansar: Mu’adh b. Jabal, Ubayy b. Ka’b, Zaid b. Thabit, Abu Zaid. Qatada said: Anas, who was Abu Zaid? He said: He was one of my uncles.

9. [Sahih al-Bukhari 4784] Narrated Zaid bin Thabit: When we collected the fragramentary manuscripts of the Qur’an into copies, I missed one of the Verses of Surat al-Ahzab which I used to hear Allah’s Messenger reading. Finally I did not find it with anybody except Khuza`ima Al-Ansari, whose witness was considered by Allah’s Messenger equal to the witness of two men. (And that Verse was:) ‘Among the believers are men who have been true to their covenant with Allah.’ 

10. [Sahih al-Bukhari 7425] Narrated Zaid bin Thabit: Abu Bakr sent for me, so I collected the Qur’an till I found the last part of Surat-at-Tauba with Abi Khuza`ima Al-Ansari and did not find it with anybody else. (The Verses are): — ‘Verily, there has come to you an Apostle (Muhammad) from amongst yourselves..(till the end of Surat Bara’a) (i.e., at- Tauba).’ (9.128-129) Yunus also narrated as above. 

11. [Sahih al-Bukhari 4989] Narrated Zaid bin Thabit: Abu Bakr sent for me and said, “You used to write the Divine Revelations for Allah’s Messenger : So you should search for (the Qur’an and collect) it.” I started searching for the Qur’an till I found the last two Verses of Surat at-Tauba with Abi Khuza`ima Al-Ansari and I could not find these Verses with anybody other than him. (They were): ‘Verily there has come unto you an Apostle (Muhammad) from amongst yourselves. It grieves him that you should receive any injury or difficulty …’ (9.128-129)

12. [Musnad Ahmad 57] It was narrated that Zaid bin Thabit said: Abu Bakr sent for me when many of the people of al-Yamamah were killed. Abu Bakr said: O Zaid bin Thabit, you are a wise young man and we trust you; you used to write down the Revelation for the Messenger of Allah. Seek out the Qur’an and collect it.

13. [Musnad Ahmad 76]

Ibn as-Sabbaq said that Zaid bin Thabit told him that Abu Bakr sent for him to tell him that a large number of people at al-Yamamah had been killed. He found ʼUmar with him and Abu Bakr said:

‘Umar has come to me and told me that casualties were heavy at al-Yamamah among the Muslims who knew the Qur’an by heart, and I am afraid that more heavy casualties may take place among the Muslims who know the Qur’an by heart on other battlefields and a large part of the Qur’an may be lost. I [‘Umar] think that you [Abu Bakr should issue instructions that the Qur’an be collected. I said to ‘Umar. How can I do anything that the Messenger of Allah did not do? He said: By Allah, it is a good thing. And he kept urging me to do that until Allah opened my heart to it and I came around to ‘Umar’s point of view. Zaid said: And ‘Umar was sitting with him, not speaking. Abu Bakr said: You are a wise young man and we trust you. You used to write down the revelation for the Messenger of Allah, so collect it. Zaid said: By Allah, if they had ordered me to move a mountain, that would not have been more difficult for me than what they instructed me to do of collecting the Qur’an. I said: How can you do anything that the Messenger of Allah did not do?

B.) THE BURNING OF QURANS 

After the Muslims collected and rewrote Qurans (revelations), it’s not surprising that the copies did not agree to each other since they were only picked up from surroundings. In attempt to have a standard Quran (the Quranic book), Caliph Uthman set aside one version of Quran while he ordered to burn the rest of the copies. The narrations below testify this reality;  

[Sahih al-Bukhari 4987]

Narrated Anas bin Malik: Hudhaifa bin Al-Yaman came to `Uthman at the time when the people of Sham and the people of Iraq were Waging war to conquer Arminya and Adharbijan. Hudhaifa was afraid of their (the people of Sham and Iraq) differences in the recitation of the Qur’an, so he said to `Uthman, “O chief of the Believers! Save this nation before they differ about the Book (Qur’an) as Jews and the Christians did before.” So `Uthman sent a message to Hafsa saying, “Send us the manuscripts of the Qur’an so that we may compile the Qur’anic materials in perfect copies and return the manuscripts to you.” Hafsa sent it to `Uthman. `Uthman then ordered Zaid bin Thabit, `Abdullah bin AzZubair, Sa`id bin Al-As and `AbdurRahman bin Harith bin Hisham to rewrite the manuscripts in perfect copies. `Uthman said to the three Quraishi men, “In case you disagree with Zaid bin Thabit on any point in the Qur’an, then write it in the dialect of Quraish, the Qur’an was revealed in their tongue.” They did so, and when they had written many copies, `Uthman returned the original manuscripts to Hafsa. `Uthman sent to every Muslim province one copy of what they had copied, and ordered that all the other Qur’anic materials, whether written in fragmentary manuscripts or whole copies, be burnt. 

Watch video 1: Uthman burned Qur’ans, while Abu Bakr burned Hadiths

Watch video 2: Unfortunately, despite the great effort put up by the early Muslims to have a one Arabic version of Qur’an, they failed to succeed because nowadays there are 31 Arabic versions of Qur’an discovered. 

ALSO READ: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cairo_edition It took 17 years for Muslims to create an official printed Quranic book, from 1907 to 1924. This means that the Quran went through a massive correcting and editing. And after that 17 years, the official Quran still underwent corrections for twelve years from 1924 to 1936.

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