Allah | Muhammad | Islam | Quran

It would appear as if English is not his or her native language, so I would request that all votes in the “grammar and punctuation” section of the voting be given as a tie, so as not to unfairly disadvantage him or her. I take issue with my opponent’s change in my resolution. My original resolution, which he accepted, was “It is probable that a deity exists, and, if he does exist, it is probable that Allah is the only deity in existence. ” My opponent has argued that “It might be possible (but is uncertian) that there may be a God, and if there is a God it might be possible (but is uncertain) that Allah is the Only God”I am not debating the possibility of the existence of a deity – I readily admit this is possible. Rather, I am debating whether it is more likely than not that such a figure exists. I will direct all my arguments to my original resolution, and request that my opponent do the same and that the voters vote accordingly. ===Rebuttal===My opponent has presented four main contentions for the existence of Allah, paraphrased here. C1: The Quran mentions the separation of heaven and earth, similar to the scenario in the big bang theory. C2: The Quran mentions an expanding universe, coinciding with current theories about cosmological expansion. C3: The Quran mentions that upon the Day of Resurrection[1], even peoples’ fingertips shall be reformed[2], presumably in an afterlife. C4: The Quran mentions the process of gestation. [3]I will respond to each of these contentions individually; however, there are several fallacies that encompass all of these contentions. First, the author of the Quran must be brought into question. Though all of my opponents’ points are circumstantial evidence at best, let’s assume that they all predict the theories or phenomena he asserts that they do. If the Quran was written by human hand, then all of the evidence above is simply the musings of men far ahead of their times. Since my opponent has offered no evidence that the Quran was written by divine means, or even that such a deity exists, we can only assume it is a book written by man. I will now address each contention individually with a rebuttal statement. R1: The “separation of heaven and earth” is not specific enough to point directly to the Big Bang Theory. In fact, it is a common theme in many creation stories, ranging from the Bible to Maori legend. [4] Furthermore, it lacks identifying features that would distinguish it from other religious creation stories, such as the one in the Bible. Even if we assume that this contention points directly to the existence of a deity, since almost all religions mentioning this theme, specifically Christianity and Islam, claim that their god is the only true god, we cannot assume that either one is correct, so my opponent has failed to address the second element of their burden – that Allah is the one true deity. R2: The quote “…and it is We who are expanding [the universe]” is mentioned in only a single translation of the Quran, and is most commonly interpreted as “We are the makers of all things. ” I have included several translations of the same entry in the Quran from the same source my opponent cited: [5] M. M. Pickthall"We have built the heaven with might, and We it is Who make the vast extent (thereof). "Shakir"And the heaven, We raised it high with power, and most surely We are the makers of things ample. "Yusuf Ali (Saudi Rev. 1985)"With power and skill did We construct the Firmament: for it is We Who create the vastness of pace. "Yusuf Ali (Orig. 1938)"With power and skill did We construct the Firmament: for it is We Who create the vastness of pace. "Dr. Laleh Bakhtiar"And We built the heaven with potency. And, truly, We are ones who extend wide. "Abdel Haleem"We built the heavens with Our power and made them vast. "Abdul Majid Daryabadi"And the heaven! We have built it with might, and verily We are powerful. "Ahmed Ali"We built the heavens by Our authority; and We are the Lord of power and expanse. "Aisha Bewley"As for heaven — We built it with great power and gave it its vast expanse. "R3: This passage does not refer to the uniqueness of fingerprints, or even to their use in identification. Rather, it refers to the idea that there exists a day of resurrection where the faithful will be revived and their bodies remade, down to their very fingertips, presumably in an afterlife. [1] [2] My opponent has presented no evidence to support the existence of a day of resurrection or an afterlife, and has instead misdirected you by taking the quote out of context to try and show a coincidence with modern scientific knowledge. R4: The quote cited by my opponent [6] does not make any specific mention to particular processes in gestation; in fact, it does not refer to embryology or gestation at all:“He created you from one being, then from that (being) He made its mate; and He hath provided for you of cattle eight kinds. He created you in the wombs of your mothers, creation after creation, in a threefold gloom. Such is Allah, your Lord. His is the Sovereignty. There is no Allah save Him. How then are ye turned away? ” [6]Moving to the next quote cited by my opponent, a more simple translation shows: [7]"Then We placed him as a sperm-drop in a firm lodging. ”It was commonly known that semen, “seed”, “sperm”, etc. was the cause of conception; the Bible mentions it several time. This does not evidence the existence of a divine figure. The full translation of my opponent’s final quote is: [8]“Then We made the sperm-drop into a clinging clot, and We made the clot into a lump [of flesh], and We made [from] the lump, bones, and We covered the bones with flesh; then We developed him into another creation. So blessed is Allah, the best of creators. ”Though this quote most directly mentions the process of gestation, it is nothing that humans 1500 years ago could not figure out without divine knowledge. The average miscarriage rate among women is 15% [9], and the fetuses ejected in miscarriages could have informed early man about processes involved in pregnancy. ===Conclusion===As of the beginning of this round, my opponent has not met his burden of proof, citing only circumstantial and misquoted evidence. I have now offered rebuttals contradicting each of his contentions and pointed out overall logical fallacies in his argument. I await further arguments from my opponent. ===References===[1] . http://www.islamawakened.com...[2] . http://www.islamawakened.com...[3] . http://www.islamawakened.com...[4] . http://www.gly.uga.edu...[5] . http://www.islamawakened.com...[6] . http://www.islamawakened.com...[7] . http://quran.com...[8] . http://quran.com...[9] . http://www.nlm.nih.gov...