Islam (Pro) Vs. Buddhism (Con)

Fist: Truth. Authenticity: - Islam is the most authentic religion of the world’s great religions, & certainly more authentic than Buddhism. If Religion was the product of a founder with a message, it stands to reason that it’s authenticity relies on the authenticity of what reached us from that message & the historicity of the founder. & thus, in the case of Islam there is a strong, even conclusive, case to be made for that purpose: 1. Prophet Muhammad: whose historicity is certain beyond doubt, & that for the following reasons: > There were in total 12,267 biographically recorded companions of Muhammad, among which 1,522 were women (all mentioned in the 15-volumes books of al-Isaba of Ibn Hajar [1]) > These companions narrated over 200,000 reports about ~11,200 unique account of the Prophet []. as-Suyuti compiled over 100,000 of these reports in his 25-volumes book: Jami’ al-Jawami’ , 28,425 of which were reports of sayings of Muhammad [2]. > A typical comprehensive book on the biography of Muhammad extend to over 10 volumes (such as Subul al-Huda of as-Salhi [3]). > These reports speak of details of the life of Muhammad during his 23 years of Prophethood, often down to the week or the day. => There is an unsurmountable evidence for the historicity of Muhammad: we know exactly where & when he was born, received his revelation, & died, & we know with the same exactitude of every important thing that happened in between. It is very unlikely that a biography of any man, of any time, could amount to over 20 volumes of paper, it is nonetheless the case here, which leads us to assert with absolute certainty that the man existed & that his life & teachings are substantially accessible. => This however, is not found in Buddhism, far from it, there is an immense vagueness surrounding his life, & even his birth [4]. 2. The Qur’an: the authenticity of which is also beyond doubt, for: > The Qur’an, as the name in Arabic would suggest, is fundamentally a Recitation (series of recited verses) that has a textual form. > The Textual form of the Qur’an was transcribed during the Prophet’s life, where he had 48 scribes of the Qur’an. All these transcriptions were then gathered by his successor Abu Bakr into one single Codex, which then was finally canonised by Uthman (the 3rd successor) into the Uthmanic Codex 20 years after the Prophet’s death [5]. > The Recitation form of the Qur’an was preserved independently by Reciters through the process of Tawatur: the transmission of an identical Recitation by a large number of Reciters in each level throughout the Chain of Transmission, such that they could not have conspired to spread falsehood. A condition based on probabilistic reasoning which provides extremely probable authenticity (of at least 1 in a billion billion chance of false transmission [6]). > A valid Recitation of the Qur’an is one that fulfils the following conditions: 1. Tawatur. 2. Corresponding to the Uthmanic Codex. 3. Corresponding to an authentic Arabic (in the Qurashi Tongue). => All the above is proof that a valid Recitation of the Qur’an (the one we have today) is authentic beyond doubt. => This is hardly the case for Buddhism, not even to a much lesser degree. Rationality: The religion of Islam is the most rational religion among all others, particularly Buddhism. Rationality is related to reason, thus verifying the rationality of a religion or any other type of knowledge for that matter, consist of verifying the extent Reason influenced it. In our case, Islam is as much based on Revelation as it is on Reason, & for all Islamic Schools of Thought, Revelation & Reason ultimately lead to each-other, & thus Truth. 1. From Revelation itself: > The Qur'an urges believers to seek Knowledge, even before Revelation, in more than 100 places. For instance: “And that those on whom knowledge has been bestowed may learn that the (Qur'an) is the Truth from your Lord, and that they may believe therein, and their hearts may be made humbly (open) to it” (22:54) => As the verses suggest: Knowledge is the the way to learning that the Revelation is True (not the opposite); & then comes Belief. > The Prophet said: "Seeking knowledge is a duty upon every Muslim" [7] => So it's an Obligation for every Muslim to Seek Knowledge. > According to Islamic Theology, the first requirement of a believer is: Discernment ('Aq'l), which must come before the Declaration of Faith [8]. > According to Islamic Law: There are two kinds of Obligatory Knowledge: - Individually Obligatory Knowledge: the type that every Muslim is required to learn, such as: how to pray, how to read, how to think... - Sufficiently Obligated Knowledge: the type which is imposed on the whole community. At least some members of the community must learn it. such as: every knowledge known to man (theology, law, linguistics, medicine, mathematics…)[9]. 2. Islamic Theology particularly escapes all the mainstream paradoxes found in other religions, for instance: > No Problem of Evil, because: 1. God is neither benevolent nor non-benevolent. 2. Good & Evil are both created by God, both equally insignificant, & both under the immediate act of God. => The theodicy paradox thus disappears [(4:78) , (2:35), (39:62)]. > No problem of Free Will, because: 1. There is no real Free Will [(81:29)]. 2. Everything is strictly pre-ordained [(54:49)]. > No predestination paradox as there is Buddhism in the form of Anatta & the cycle of rebirth, because: 1. There is no soullessness. 2. There is no rebirth. 3. Islam, contrary to other religions, was based on, equally, both Reason & Revelation, from its very founding. > The Qur’an consistent about using Reason before Revelation, & it’s constantly addressing “the men of reason” (in over 100 places) urging believers & unbelievers alike to observe & explore the creation, & to seek knowledge & share it: “Are those equal, those who know and those who do not know? It is those who are endued with understanding that receive admonition.” (39:9) > The Hadiths are equally consistent with that fact: “This world is cursed and what is in it is cursed, except the remembrance of Allah and what is conducive to that, or one who has knowledge or who acquires knowledge” [10] “"Whoever takes a path upon which to obtain knowledge, Allah makes the path to Paradise easy for him.” [11] => A side that is scarcely found in Buddhism! > All Islamic Sciences, ranging from Jurisprudence, Theology, Sufism, Philosophy. . . are based on Logic to a high extent. For instance, the Science of Theology in Arabic is called Kalam, which literally translates to Critical Discourse, & it is almost entirely based on Reason. > This place of Reason in Islam is not just theoretical or associated with religious studies alone, it is also largely practical. Muslims throughout their civilisation, of the Umayyad Empire, Abbasid Empire, al-Andalus, Fatimid Empire. . . produced an immense amount of output in all fields of knowledge: scientific, literary, historical, social, philosophical, legal, religious. I’ll come back to this later. => Also, not even remotely the case of Buddhism. Accuracy/Agreement with the facts: It would hard to delve into the Islamic Worldview & compare to what is known to us now as established facts, for the Islamic Tradition is too immense for such a task to be carried out. However, just to make a point I am gonna mention a few comparisons nonetheless: 1. Prophecies: Islam being a prophetic religion, it stands to reason to expect some prophecies made by its Prophet: Muhammad. Since there are over 300 prophecies made in the Qur’an & by Muhammad, I am just gonna mention a few: > The Prophet was asked: "Which city will be conquered by muslims first, Constantinople or Rome" He replied "Indeed the City of Heraclius - Constantinople - will be conquered by muslims first" [13] => Constantinople was conquered in 1453 by the Ottomans, now it's Istanbul, & Rome is still an existing city. > He said: “[…] the ground of Mecca will be cleft open and through it will be dug out river-like passages (i.e. wide tunnels) and the buildings of Mecca will rise higher than its mountains, when you observe these signs" [14] => Now tunnels are being dug in Mecca, & in 2012 a building in Mecca literally higher than its mountains was constructed: the Mecca Clock Tower [15]. > He said: "My Ummah will be chased three times by a people with flat faces -like shields- & small eyes, until they push you [my Ummah] to the Arabic peninsula[...]" some said: 'O! Apostle of Allah, who are they?' He said: "They are the Turks. By Him in Whose Hand my soul is! They will tie their horses by the pillars of the mosques of muslims" [16] => The Mongols (called Turks by the Arabs) invaded all the land of muslims from the east & stopped exactly at the Arabic peninsula [17]. > He also said: "There will come a time when there will be no one left who does not consume usury (interest), and whoever does not consume it will nevertheless be affected by it." [18] => that's the state of our Economy today, currency is in fact usury money due to inflation, & everybody is affected by it. => These 3 examples of extremely unique events that were realised, & most of the other prophecies were also realised. 2. Theology: Islamic Theology is compatible with all current Physical Theories, including: Quantum Mechanics, Relativity, String Theory. & also with other theories not as well established, such as Evolution. I’ll come back to that later.