Convert Me

Thank you very much. -- Content -- Rebuttal Section: • Argument 1 o Claim to be the True Religion o Jesus' Statement • Argument 2 o Creation in Six or Eight Days? • Argument 3 o Seven Heavens, Scientific Error? • Argument 4 o Preservation and Divine Claim o Weak "Hadith" Cited o Doubts About the Qur'an in Early Times? Argument Section[*]: • 1. Prophecies o Fulfilled o Signs of Day of Judgement o What About Nostradamus? • 2. Historical Truth o Evidence • 3. Mathematical Structure of the Qur'an • 4. Further Scientific Points in the Qur'an • 5. Explanation for Prohibition of Homosexuality (Due to my opponent's comment about it) -- Rebuttals -- • Argument 1 o Claim to be the True Religion My opponent said that Islam being the safest bet does not make it the true religion. I agree with this, and that is only a part of my other arguments. However, he made a thread[1] where he claimed that he wanted eternal life, and naturally, a happy one. If he wants it, then I ask, what is his best bet? Hinduism? Christianity? Sikhism? He has answered the question. o Jesus' Statement [John 14:6] Jesus answered, "I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me." My opponent said that Christianity claims exclusivity, and used the verse above as evidence. Firstly, it is a criteria of Christianity that one believe sin Jesus (peace be upon him) in order to go to Heaven. I mention such criteria in the previous round. Secondly, as a Hindu, I agree that you will not be saved from punishment if Christianity is true, because Hindus do not accept Jesus. What about the Muslims? In Islam, Jesus is regarded as one of the mightiest Prophets in Islam. It strongly disagrees that he is God, but he is nevertheless a Prophet, and we Muslims accept him. Now, the passage above does not mention Jesus saying that no one goes to the Father except if believing that Jesus is God. It simply says "through him," meaning by accepting him, having him in your heart. Islam agrees with this: no person is a Muslim if he denies Jesus' words, and he will not have access to Paradise. Therefore, truth of Christianity is not excluded for Muslims. In fact, "Christianity" is not found in the Bible. • Argument 2 o Creation in Six or Eight Days? My opponent claimed that in one place, the Qur'an concludes that the heavens and the earth were created in six days, but some verses describing it seem to make the result of eight days. I will explain what the Qur'an really says about it. [Qur'an 41:9-12] "Say: Is it that ye Deny Him (Allah) Who created the earth in ? And do ye join equals with Him? He is the Lord of (all) the worlds. (10)He set on the (earth) mountains standing firm, high above it, and bestowed blessings on the earth, and measured therein all things to give them nourishment in due proportion, in , in accordance with (the needs of) those who seek (sustenance). (11)Moreover, He Comprehended in His design the sky, and it had been (as) smoke: He said to it and to the earth: 'Come ye together, Willingly or unwillingly.' They said: 'We do come (together), in willing obedience.' (12)So He completed them as seven firmaments in two days and He assigned to each heaven its duty and command. And We (Allah) adorned the lower heaven with lights, and (provided it) with guard. Such is the Decree of (Him) The Exalted in Might, Full of Knowledge." Reading this, you will find no contradiction. Why? Because the word 'moreover' is used in verse 11. The Arabic word used there is "suma" and means moreover, simultaneously, then. In this context, the words simultaneously/moreover are the correct ones, because the creation part is six days, and the Qur'an refers to it. Some translators translated 'suma' as 'then', but that is their own mistake. The translation I used has the correct word. There is no contradictions here. • Argument 3 o Seven Heavens, Scientific Error? My opponent argues that the Qur'an is erroneous in the part where it mentions "seven heavens." Firstly, heavens refer to the universe, too. Science has no objection to the fact that there might be seven so-called heavens in the entire existence. In fact, we humans have a lot to find out about our universe. This is therefore not a scientific error, but scientific theory. Secondly, a few hundred years ago, one would think that the following verse is a scientific error: [Qur'an 51:47] "And it is We who have constructed the heaven with might, and verily, it is We who are steadily expanding it." This refers to the universe being expanded. Only almost 100 years ago, it was known that the universe kept expanding. The Qur'an mentioned it, and while it seemed to be an error, we now know that it is not, thanks to science. However, as for seven heavens above one another, let us apply it to the atmosphere. The atmosphere consists of following layers: Troposphere Stratosphere Mesosphere Thermosphere Exosphere Ionosphere Magnetosphere These layers of the atmosphere have their own tasks, and they all help in preserving life on our planet. Now, compare it to the following verse: [Qur'an 41:12] "So He completed them as seven firmaments in two Days, and He assigned to each heaven its duty and command." • Argument 4 o Preservation and Divine Claim My opponent claimed that preservation of an old text does not in itself confirm its truth or message. What is important here is to know that the prophecy in the Qur'an, that it will always be preserved, is fulfilled, and that it is the only religious book out of all others that stands out this way. In fact, it is the book preserved perfectly for longest time ever. 14 centuries old, and it is untouched. o Weak "Hadith" Cited The citation of the son of Caliph Umar is not one I can seem to find in any collection of authentic hadith. If this was said, we would have seen it in many authentic hadith, since they describe incredibly many events, sayings etc. This citation would be no exception, but I cannot even find a narration of it in authentic hadith on Google.[2] o Doubts About the Qur'an in Early Times? Due to restricted character usage, I will present a short argument of this. Please read source #3.[3] The Qur'an was revealed in the Quraish dialect of the Arabic language, which the beloved Prophet spoke. It is the most advanced of the Arabic dialects. During his lifetime, people memorized the Qur'an in this original dialect. When he died, some people started writing the Qur'an down, however, it was with a different dialect, which would distort the original one. When Uthman was in power, he feared that the Qur'an would be vulnerable, so he ordered that all the Qur'an copies got collected, except the original one, and then burnt. It was successful, and the original Qur'an was preserved, and is today in a museum. Although missing some parts, there are other old Qur'an copies, all matching each other, and I have presented sources in the link I referred to above. Therefore there was no confusion to begin with, rather because people wrote down what was unoriginal, but it was all solved, and today, there is only one Qur'an. Uthman only preserved one version, not several others. -- References -- [1]http://www.debate.org... [2]http://www.google.com... [3]http://www.debate.org... [*]Due to limited character usage, I will present the arguments in the next rounds. They are on the list of content here because they are meant to be elaboration of Round 2.