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Question:
"allah" is the most appropriate name for god in the qur’an. Is this name "allah" mentioned in other religious scriptures besides the qur’an?
Answer:
Almost all the major religious scriptures of the world contain the word "allah" as one of the names of god.
A. Elohim el, elah, alah
in the bible, god is very often referred to as ‘elohim’ in the hebrew language. The ‘im’ in the ending is a plural of honour and god is referred to as ‘el’ or ‘elah’ in the english bible with commentary, edited by reverend c. I. Scofield. ‘elah’ is alternatively spelled as ‘alah’. The difference in spelling is only of a single ‘l’. Muslims spell allah as ‘allah’ while the reverend has spelled it as alah and they pronounce it as ‘elah’. Muslims pronounce it as allah. Hebrew and arabic are sister languages therefore we say it should be pronounced as ‘allah’ and not as ‘elah’.

When i was in school, i was taught ‘d, o’ is do, ‘t, o’ is to. What is ‘g, o’ it is ‘go’ and not ‘gu’. ‘n, u, t’ is nut, ‘c, u, t’ cut; ‘b, u, t’ is but, what is ‘p, u, t’? Not ‘pat’ but it is ‘put’. If you ask "why?" the answer is "it is their language". If i have to pass i have to say ‘p, u, t’ is ‘put’ and not ‘pat’. Similarly the right pronunciation for a, l, l, a, h, is allah.
B. Jesus (pbuh) cried out allah allah when he was put on the cross
it is mentioned in the new testament in the gospel of mathew, chapter 27 verse 46 as well as gospel of mark, chapter 15 verse 34 when jesus (pbuh) was put on the cross.
Jesus cried with a loud voice saying "e’-li, e’-li la’-ma sa-bach’-tha-ni?" that is to say, ‘my god, my god why hast thou forsaken me?’ does this sound like jehovah! Jehovah! Why has thou forsaken me? Does it sound like abba abba? The answer is ‘no’. Hebrew and arabic are sister languages and if you translate "e’-li, e’-li la’-ma sa-bach’-tha-ni" into arabic it is ‘allah allah lama tarak tani’ does it sound similar?
This statement of jesus (pbuh), "e’-li, e’-li la’-ma sa-bach’-tha-ni" is preserved in its original hebrew in each and every of its translation which is available in more than 2000 different languages of the world and in each and every of them, "allah" is present.
2. "allah" in sikhism
one of the names by which gurunanak sahib referred to god is "allah".
3a. "allah" in rigveda book 2 hymn i verse ii
even in the rigveda which is the most sacred scripture of the hindus, one of the attributes given to god almighty in book no 2 hymn no i verse ii, is ‘ila’ which if pronounced properly is the same as allah.
3b. Allo upanishad:
amongst the various upanishads one of the upanishad is named as ‘allo’ upanishad in which god is referred to as "allah" several times.

Question:

The Qur’an says that only Allah knows the sex of the child in the womb of the mother but now science has advanced and we can easily determine the sex of the child in the womb by ultrasonography. Isn’t this verse of the Qur’an conflicting with medical science?

Answer:

Allah is Omnipotent and Omniscient. Allah has granted knowledge of certain things to humankind. But Allah has knowledge of the seen as well as the unseen.

1. Allah has knowledge of all things

Many people believe that the Qur’an claims that Allah alone knows the sex of the child in the mother’s womb. The Glorious Qur’an says:

"Verily the knowledge of the Hour is with Allah (alone). It is He who sends down Rain, and He who knows what is in the wombs…."
[Al-Qur’an 31:34]

A similar message is given in the following verse:

"Allah doth know what every female (womb) doth bear,
By how much the wombs fall short (of their time or number) or do exceed. Every single thing is before His sight, in (due) proportion."
[Al-Qur’an 13:8]

2. Sex can be determined by Ultrasonography

Today science has advanced and we can easily determine the sex of the child in the womb of a pregnant mother, using ultrasonography.

3. The word ‘sex’ is not mentioned in the verse of the Qur’an

It is true that many translations and commentaries of this verse of the Glorious Qur’an say that only Allah knows the sex of the child in the mother’s womb. If you read the Arabic text of this verse, there is no Arabic word corresponding to the English word ‘sex’. In fact the Qur’an says the knowledge of what is in the womb is with Allah alone. Many commentators have misunderstood it to mean only Allah knows the sex of the child in the womb, which is a mistake.

4. No one besides Allah can determine the nature of the child

This verse does not refer to the sex of the child in the womb but it refers to, how the child in the mother’s womb will be. How will his nature be? Will he be a blessing or a curse to his parents? Will he be a boon or a bane to the society? Will he be good or evil? Will he go to heaven or hell? The complete knowledge of all things is with Allah alone. No scientist in the world, no matter how advanced his equipment, will ever be able to accurately determine the knowledge of these things about the child in the mother’s womb.

Question:

The Qur’an in several places says that Iblis was an angel, but in Surah Kahf it says that Iblis was a Jinn. Isn’t this a contradiction in the Qur’an?

Answer:

1. Incidence of Iblis and Angels mentioned in the Qur’an

The story of Adam and Iblis is mentioned in the Qur’an in various places in which Allah (swt) says, "We said to the angels bow down to Adam: and they bowed down: not so Iblis".

This is mentioned in:

Surah Al Baqarah chapter 2 verse 43
Surah Al ‘Araf chapter 7 verse 17
Surah Al Hijr chapter 15 verses 28-31
Surah Al Isra chapter 17 verse 61
Surah Ta Ha chapter 20 verse 116
Surah Sad chapter 38 verses 71-74

But in Surah Al Kahf chapter 18 verse 50 the Qur’an says:

"Behold! We said to the angels, "Bow down to Adam." they bowed down except Iblis He was one of the Jinns."
[Al-Qur’an 18:50]

2. Arabic Rule Of Tagleeb

The English translation of the first part of the verse ‘We said to the angels bow down to Adam: they bowed down except Iblis’, gives us the impression that Iblis was an angel. The Qur’an was revealed in Arabic. In Arabic grammar there is a rule known as Tagleeb, according to which, if the majority is addressed, even the minority is included. If for example, I address a class containing 100 students of whom 99 are boys and one is a girl, and if I say in Arabic that the boys should stand up, it includes the girl as well. I need not mention her separately.

Similarly in the Qur’an, when Allah addressed the angels, even Iblis was present, but it is not required that he be mentioned separately. Therefore according to that sentence Iblis may be an angel or may not be an angel, but we come to know from Surah Al Kahf chapter 18 verse 50 that Iblis was a Jinn. No where does the Qur’an say Iblis was an angel. Therefore there is no contradiction in the Qur’an.

3. Jinns have free will and can disobey Allah

Secondly, Jinns have a free will and may or may not obey Allah, but angels have no free will and always obey Allah. Therefore the question of an angel disobeying Allah does not arise. This further supplements that Iblis was a Jinn and not an angel.

Question
It is mentioned in your qur’an that mary was the sister of aaron (pbuh). Prophet muhammad (pbuh) who wrote the qur’an did not know the difference between miriam the sister of aaron (pbuh) and mary the mother of jesus (pbuh), the time span between both of them was about a thousand years.
Answer
1. In the semitic languages sister also means descendant
The qur’an mentions in surah maryam, chapter 19 verses 27-28
"at length she brought the (babe) to her people, carrying him (in her arms). They said: ‘o mary! Truly an amazing thing hast thou brought!
O sister of aaron! Thy father was not a man of evil, nor thy mother a woman unchaste!’"
[al-qur’an 19:27-28]
Christian missionaries say that prophet muhammad (pbuh) did not know the difference between mary the mother of jesus (pbuh) and miriam the sister of aaron (pbuh). The time span between both was more than a thousand years.
In the arabic construction of the sentence, sister is also considered as a descendant. Thus, when the people said to mary, ukhta haroon i.e. ‘sister of aaron’ it actually means descendant of aaron (pbuh).
2. Son also means descendant
It is mentioned in the gospel of mathew, chapter 1 verse 1
"jesus christ, the son of david,....".
[mathew 1:1]

gospel of luke chapter 3, verse 23

"and jesus himself began to be about thirty years of age, being (as was supposed) the son of joseph, ....."
[luke 3:23]
Did jesus (pbuh) have two fathers?
What do you call a person who has two fathers? The explanation of the phrase that jesus (pbuh) was the son of david (pbuh), is that jesus (pbuh) was a descendant of david (pbuh). ‘son’, here means a descendant.

Question:

It is mentioned in one verse of the Qur’an that Allah is the Lord of two Easts and two Wests. How can you explain this verse of the Qur’an scientifically?

Answer:

1. Qur’an mentions Allah is the Lord of two Easts and two Wests

The verse of the Qur’an which refers to Allah being the Lord of two easts and two wests is the following verse from Surah Ar-Rahman:

"(He is) Lord of the two Easts and Lord of the two Wests:"
[Al-Qur’an 55:17]

In the original Arabic script, the words east and west have been used in the dual form. It implies that Allah is the Lord of two easts and two wests.

2. Allah is the Lord of both the extremes of East and West

The science of geography tells us that the sun rises from the east, but the point of sunrise keeps shifting throughout the year. Only on two days of the year known as ‘equinox’, does the sun rise exactly from due east. On the remaining days, it rises either from a little north or a little south of due east. During summer solstice the sun rises from one extreme of the east and during winter solstice it rises from the other extreme. Similarly, the sun sets in one extreme of the west in summer solstice. It sets in the other extreme of the west in winter solstice. This phenomenon can be easily seen in Bombay or any other city, by people living in certain areas, or in tall skyscraper buildings, from where the rising or setting of sun can be seen. They are able to notice that during the summer solstice the sun rises from one extreme of east and during winter solstice it rises from the other extreme of east. In short, through out the year, the sun keeps rising from different points of the east and sets on different points of the west. Thus when the Qur’an refers to Allah as the Lord of two easts and two wests, it means that Allah is the Lord of both the extremes of east and both the extremes of west.

3. Allah is the Lord of all the points of the East and West

Arabic language has two types of plurals. One is the dual plural i.e. the plural that implies the existence of two. The other is the plural for more than two, i.e. three and above. In Surah Rahman verse 17 the Arabic words used are mashriqaini and magribaini which are in dual plural and therefore imply two easts and two wests.

Consider the following verse of the Qur’an:
"Now I do call to witness the Lord of all points in the East and the West."
[Al-Qur’an 70:40]

The Arabic words for east and west used in this verse are mashaariqi and magharibi’ which are plurals that imply the existence of more than two.

We can thus conclude that the Qur’an refers to Allah being the Lord of all the points in the east and all the points of the west, as well as the Lord of both the extreme points of east and both the extreme points of west.

Question:

If Allah has sealed the hearts of the Kuffar i.e. non-Muslims, then why are they to be blamed for not accepting Islam?

Answer:

1. Allah has sealed the hearts of those who are continuously bent on rejecting the truth

Allah (swt) mentions in Surah Al Baqarah chapter 2 verses 6 and 7

"As to those who reject Faith, it is the same to them Whether thou warn them or do not warn them; they will not believe.

Allah hath set a seal on their hearts and on their hearing, and on their eyes is a veil; great is the penalty they (incur)."
[Al-Qur’an 2:6-7]

These verses do not refer to common Kuffar who reject faith. The Arabic words used are al-lazina kafaroo, those who are bent on rejecting the truth. It will not make any difference to such people whether you warn them or not, they will not believe. Allah has set a seal on their hearts and on their hearing and on their eyes is a veil. It is not because Allah has set a seal on their hearts that these kuffar do not understand and believe, but it is the vice-versa. It is because these kuffar are bent on rejecting the truth and whether you warn them or not they will not believe, that Allah has set a seal on their hearts. Therefore Allah is not to blame, but these kuffaar who are bent on rejecting the faith are responsible.

2. Example of teacher predicting a student will fail

Suppose an experienced teacher, before the final examinations, predicts that a particular student will fail in the exams, since the student is very mischievous, not attentive in class and does not do his homework. If after the student appears for the examination, he fails, who is to be blamed for the student failing: the teacher or the student? Just because the teacher predicted, it does not mean that the teacher is to be blamed but the student himself is responsible for his failure.

Similarly Allah (swt) knows in advance that there are some people who are bent on rejecting the faith and Allah has put a seal on their hearts. Thus these non-Muslims themselves are responsible for rejecting the faith and not Allah (swt).

Question:

Does Islam believe in several gods because the Qur’an uses the word ‘We’ when God speaks in the Qur’an?

Answer:

Islam is a strictly monotheistic religion. It believes in and adheres to uncompromising monotheism. It believes that God is one, and unique in His attributes. In the Qur’an, God often refers to Himself using the word ‘We’. But this does not mean that Islam believes in the existence of more than one God.

Two types of plural

In several languages, there are two types of plurals, one is a plural of numbers to refer to something that occurs in a quantity of more than one. The other plural is a plural of respect.

a. In the English language, the Queen of England refers to herself as ‘We’ instead of ‘I’. This is known as the ‘royal plural’.
b. Rajiv Gandhi, the ex-Prime Minister of India used to say in Hindi "Hum dekhna chahte hain". "We want to see." ‘Hum’ means ‘We’ which is again a royal plural in Hindi.
c. Similarly in Arabic, when Allah refers to Himself in the Qur’an, He often uses Arabic word 'Nahnu' meaning ‘We’. It does not indicate plural of number but plural of respect.

Tawheed or monotheism is one of the pillars of Islam. The existence and uniqueness of one and only one God is mentioned several times in the Qur’an. For instance in Surah Ikhlas, it says :

"Say He is Allah the One and Only."
[Al-Qur’an 112: 1]

Question:
Doesn’t Islam promote violence, bloodshed and brutality since the Qur’an says that Muslims should kill the kuffar where ever they find them?
Answer:
A few selected verses from the Qur’an are often misquoted to perpetuate the myth that Islam promotes violence, and exhorts its followers to kill those outside the pale of Islam.
1. Verse from Surah Taubah
The following verse from Surah Taubah is very often quoted by critics of Islam, to show that Islam promotes violence, bloodshed and brutality:
"Kill the mushriqeen (pagans, polytheists, kuffar) where ever you find them."
[Al-Qur’an 9:5]
2. Context of verse is during battlefield
Critics of Islam actually quote this verse out of context. In order to understand the context, we need to read from verse 1 of this surah. It says that there was a peace treaty between the Muslims and the Mushriqs (pagans) of Makkah. This treaty was violated by the Mushriqs of Makkah. A period of four months was given to the Mushriqs of Makkah to make amends. Otherwise war would be declared against them. Verse 5 of Surah Taubah says:
"But when the forbidden months are past, then fight and slay the Pagans wherever ye find them, and seize them, beleaguer them, and lie in wait for them in every stratagem (of war); but if they repent, and establish regular prayers and practise regular charity, then open the way for them: for Allah is oft-forgiving, Most merciful."
[Al-Qur’an 9:5]
This verse is quoted during a battle.
3. Example of war between America and Vietnam
We know that America was once at war with Vietnam. Suppose the President of America or the General of the American Army told the American soldiers during the war: "Wherever you find the Vietnamese, kill them". Today if I say that the American President said, "Wherever you find Vietnamese, kill them" without giving the context, I will make him sound like a butcher. But if I quote him in context, that he said it during a war, it will sound very logical, as he was trying to boost the morale of the American soldiers during the war.
4. Verse 9:5 quoted to boost morale of Muslims during battle
Similarly in Surah Taubah chapter 9 verse 5 the Qur’an says, "Kill the Mushriqs where ever you find them", during a battle to boost the morale of the Muslim soldiers. What the Qur’an is telling Muslim soldiers is, don’t be afraid during battle; wherever you find the enemies kill them.
5. Shourie jumps from verse 5 to verse 7
Arun Shourie is one of the staunchest critics of Islam in India. He quotes the same verse, Surah Taubah chapter 9 verse 5 in his book ‘The World of Fatwahs’, on page 572. After quoting verse 5 he jumps to verse 7 of Surah Taubah. Any sensible person will realise that he has skipped verse 6.
6. Surah Taubah chapter 9 verse 6 gives the answer
Surah Taubah chapter 9 verse 6 gives the answer to the allegation that Islam promotes violence, brutality and bloodshed. It says:
"If one amongst the pagans ask thee for asylum,grant it to him, so that he may hear the word of Allah; and then escort him to where he can be secure that is because they are men without knowledge."
[Al-Qur’an 9:6]
The Qur’an not only says that a Mushriq seeking asylum during the battle should be granted refuge, but also that he should be escorted to a secure place. In the present international scenario, even a kind, peace-loving army General, during a battle, may let the enemy soldiers go free, if they want peace. But which army General will ever tell his soldiers, that if the enemy soldiers want peace during a battle, don’t just let them go free, but also escort them to a place of security?
This is exactly what Allah (swt) says in the Glorious Qur’an to promote peace in the world.

Factual Errors

1 Kings 7:23 "He made a molten sea, ten cubits from the one brim to the other: it was round all about, and his height was five cubits: and a line of thirty cubits did compass it round about."	Circumference = Pi() x Diameter, which means the line would have to have been over 31 cubits. In order for this to be rounding, it would have had to overstate the amount to ensure that the line did "compass it round about."
Lev 11:20-21: "All fowls that creep, going upon all four, shall be an abomination unto you."	Fowl do not go upon all four.
Lev 11:6: "And the hare, because he cheweth the cud..."	Hare do not chew the cud.
Deut 14:7: " "...as the camel, and the hare, and the coney: for they chew the cud, but divide not the hoof."	For the hare this is wrong on both counts: Hare don’t chew the cud and they do divide the "hoof."
Jonah 1:17 says, "...Jonah was in the belly of the fish three days and three nights"	Matt 12:40 says "...Jonas was three days and three nights in the whale's belly..." whales and fish are not related
Matt 13:31-32: " "the kingdom of heaven is like to a grain of mustard seed which…is the least of all seeds, but when it is grown is the greatest among herbs and becometh a tree."	There are 2 significant errors here: first, there are many smaller seeds, like the orchid seed; and second, mustard plants don't grow into trees.
Matt 4:8: " Again, the devil taketh him up into an exceeding high mountain, and sheweth him all the kingdoms of the world, and the glory of them."	Unless the world is flat, altitude simply will not help you see all the kingdoms of the earth.

Bible Errors and Contradictions - P. Wesley Edwards

Bible debates, perhaps more than any other debate topic, can become lost in endless details of interpretation and subtle questions of translation. It can easily seem that to get into the debate at all requires one to be a Biblical scholar. Fortunately, this is not the case, particularly when dealing with fundamentalists who claim that the Bible is free of error and contradiction.

The claim of Biblical inerrancy puts the Christian in the position of not just claiming that the original Bible was free of error (and, remember, none of the original autograph manuscripts exist) but that their modern version of the Bible is the end result of an error-free history of copying and translation beginning with the originals. Such a position is so specific that it allows one to falsify it simply by reference to the Bible itself. For example, Gen 32:30 states, "...for I have seen God face to face, and my life is preserved." However, John 1:18 states, "No man hath seen God at any time..." Both statements cannot be true. Either there is an error of fact, or an error of translation. In either case, there is an error. And if there is an error, then infallibility of the Bible (in this case the King James Version) is falsified. A typical defense used here is to look up the meaning of the original Hebrew / Greek, read that one of the words can have multiple meanings, and then pick the meaning that seems to break the contradiction. For example, the Christian might argue that "seen" or "face" means one thing in the first scripture, and something completely different in the second. The logical flaw in this approach is that it amounts to saying that the translator should have chosen to use a different word in one of the two scriptures in order to avoid the resulting logical contradiction that now appears in English—that is, the translator made an error. If no translation error occurred, then an error of fact exists in at least one of the two scriptures. Appeals to "context" are irrelevant in cases like this where simple declarative statements are involved such as "no one has seen God" and "I have seen God." Simply put, no "context" makes a contradiction or a false statement, like 2 = 3, true.

If one is prepared to allow for the possibility of translator or transcriber errors, then the claim of Biblical inerrancy is completely undermined since no originals exist to serve as a benchmark against which to identify the errors. Left only with our error-prone copies of the originals, the claim of infallibility becomes completely vacuous. Pandora's Box would truly be open: You could have the Bible say whatever you want it to say by simply claiming that words to the contrary are the result of copying or translation/interpretation errors, and nothing could prove you wrong.

Let's look at several more of these context-independent contradictions and errors of fact.¹

The Larabanga mosque is one of the oldest mosques in West Africa and is the oldest mosque in Ghana. Each year the Larabanga mosque must be renovated due to damage to the mud walls during heavy rains. These yearly renovations can cost up to $1,000 and although the government of Ghana provides monetary assistance to keep up the mosque, this is not always enough money to do the job well.

The Salia brothers are currently writing proposals to receive funding to be used towards the renovation of the mosque. The Larabanga mosque was declared a World Heritage site in 2001. The mosque is now listed on the World Monuments Fund's List of 100 Most Endangered Sites.
Story of the Larabanga Mosque
After Ndewura Jakpa died, and Ibrahim decided to remain in the Gonja kingdom, he realized that as an Islamic spiritual leader, or Imam, he needed a Koran. At this time there were only seven korans in existence, all of them written by hand and bound into no less than sixty Hinzibs each and kept wrapped bulkily in many blankets and stored in large calabash bowls far away in Mecca. Ibrahim decided to consult an old Dhen Zuo man who was a remaining resident of Zuriyir and he learned of the Mystic stone which was already known as a holy spot to the residents of Zuriyir. Ibrahim went to the Mystic Stone and prayed hard for a Koran to be brought to Larabanga and it is said that his prayers were rewarded when one of the original seven Koran from Mecca was delivered to him from the heavens. This Koran is preserved in the village today by a caretaker and it is brought out for special prayers each year during the Fire Festival when the new Muslim calendar year is celebrated. Many people converge at Larabanga from far and wide to attend these readings outside the ancient mosque.

Islam is a Semitic religion, which has more than 1.2 billion adherents all

over the world. Islam means submission to the will of Allah. Muslims

accept the Quran, as the word of God revealed to Prophet Mohammed

(peace be upon him). Islam states that Allah sent messengers and

prophets throughout the ages with the message of the Unity of God, and

accountability in the Hereafter. Islam thus makes it an article of faith to

believe in the earlier prophets, starting with Adam, and including Noah,

Abraham, Ishmael, Isaac, Jacob, Moses, David, John, Jesus and many

others (may peace be on them all).

The Most Concise Definition of God:

The most concise definition of God in Islam is given in four verses of

Surah Ikhlas which is Chapter 112 of the Holy Quran:

1. Say: He is Allah, The one and Only.

2. Allah, the Eternal, Absolute.

3. He begets not, nor is He begotten.

4. And there is none like unto Him.

[Holy Quran 112:1-4]

The word Assamad is difficult to translate. It means absolute existence, which can be attributed only to Allah, all other existence being temporal or conditional. It also means that Allah is not dependent on any person or thing but all persons and things are dependent on Him. Surah Ikhlas - the touchstone of theology: Surah Ikhlas (Chapter 112) of the Holy Quran, is the touchstone of theology. Theo in Greek means God and logy means study. Thus Theology means study of God and to Muslims this four lines definition of Almighty God serves as the touchstone of the study of God. Any candidate to divinity must be subject to this acid test. Since the attributes of Allah given in this chapter are unique, false gods and pretenders to divinity can be easily dismissed using these verses.

What does Islam say about god-men?

India is often called the land of god-men. This is due to the abundance of so called spiritual masters in India. Many of these babas and saints have a large following in many countries. Islam abhors deification of any

human being. To understand the Islamic stand towards such pretenders to divinity let us analyze one such god-man, Osho Rajneesh. Rajneesh was one among the multitude of spiritual teachers produced by India. In May 1981 he went to U.S.A. and established a town called Rajneeshpuram. He later fell foul of the West and was finally arrested and asked to leave the country. He came back to India and started a commune in Pune which is now known as the Osho commune. He died in 1990. The followers of Osho Rajneesh believe that he is Almighty God. A visitor to the Osho commune in Pune will find the following epitaph on his tombstone:

Osho never, born never died; only visited the planet earth between 11th December 1931 to 19th January 1990.

They forget to mention that he was not given visa for 21 different countries of the world. The followers of Rajneesh see no problem in their god visiting the earth and requiring a visa to enter a country! Let us put this candidate to divinity, Bhagwan Rajneesh, to the test of Surah Ikhlas, the touchstone of theology:

i) The first criterion is Say, He is Allah, one and only. Is Rajneesh

one and only? No! There are many people like Rajneesh who claim divinity. Some disciples of Rajneesh may still hold that Rajneesh is one and only.

ii) The second criterion is, Allah is absolute and eternal. Rajneesh was surely not absolute and eternal since he died in 1990. We know from his biography that he was suffering from diabetes, Asthma, and chronic backache. He alleged that the U.S.A. Government gave him slow poison in Jail. Imagine Almighty God being poisoned! Rajneesh was neither absolute nor eternal.

iii) The third criterion is He begets not, nor is He begotten. We know that Rajneesh was born in Jabalpur in India and had a mother as well as a father who later became his disciples. In May 1981 he went to U.S.A. and establised a town called 'Rajneeshpuram'. He later fell foul of the West and was finally arrested and asked to leave the country. He came back to India and started a commune in Pune which is now known as the 'Osho'

commune. He died in 1990. the followers of Osho Rajneesh believe that he is Almighty God. A visitor to the 'Osho commune' in Pune will find the following epitah on his tombstone:"Osho never, born never died; only visited the planet earth between 11th December 1931 to 19th january 1990".

They forget to mention that he was not granted visa for 21 countries of the world. Can aperson imagine a 'God' visiting the earth and requiring a visa to enter a country! The Arcbishop of Greece said that if Rajneesh had not

been deported, they would have burnt his house and those of his discipiles. The fourth test, which is the most stringent, is There is none like unto Him. The moment you can imagine God or compare God to anything then he (the candidate to divinity) is not God. It is not possible to conjure up a mental picture of the One True God. We know that Rajneesh was a human being with a white flowing beard. He had 2 eyes 2 ears, 1 nose, 1 mouthPhotographs and posters of Rajneesh are available in plenty. The moment you can imagine what god is, he is not God. Many are tempted to make anthropomorphic comparisons who was given the title of Mr. Universe, the strongest man in the worl. What is the concluding remark to this section of "acid test"? This said testcannot be

passed by anyone except the true God.

By what name do we call God?

The Muslims prefer calling Allah, instead of the English word God. The Arabic word, Allah, is pure and unique, unlike the English word God, which can be played around with.If you add s to the word God, it becomes Gods, that is the plural of God. Allah is one and singular, there is no plural of Allah. If you add dess to the word God, it becomes Goddess that is a female God. There is nothing like male Allah or female Allah. Allah has no gender. If you pre-fix tin before the word God, it becomes tin-God i.e., fake God. Allah is a unique word, which does not conjure up any mental picture nor can it be played around with. Therefore the Muslims prefer saying 'Allah', but sometimes while speaking to the non-Muslims we may have to use the inappropriate word God for Allah. Since the intended audience of this book is general in nature, consisting of both Muslims as well as non-Muslims, I have used the word God instead of Allah in several places in this article. God does not becomes a human being:

Some people argue that God can do everything, then why cannot He take human form? If God wishes He can become a human being. But then He no longer remains God because the qualities of God and human beings in

many respects are completely incompatible. The following paragraphs will show the absurdity of the idea of God becoming a human being. God is immortal and human beings are mortal. You cannot have a God- man i.e. an immortal being, and at the same time and in the same entity. It is meaningless. God does not have a beginning while human beings have a beginning. You cannot have a person, not having a beginning and at the same time having a beginning. Human being have an end You cannot have a being, which has no end and an end at the same time. It is meaningless.God Almighty does not require to eat whereas human beings require nourishment to sustain life.

And He it is that Feeds but is not fed.

[Holy Quran 6 :14]

God does not require rest or sleep while human beings cannot go

indefinitely without rest.

But He the Living, The Self-subsisting, Eternal. 296 No

slumber can seize Him Nor sleep. His are all things In the

heavens and on earth.

[Holy Quran 2:255]

Worship of another human is useless:

If the idea of God becoming a human is unacceptable, we must also agree that there is therefore no sense in worshipping another human. If God becomes a human form, He ceases to be God and possesses all the qualities of a human. For example if a brilliant professor meets with an accident and suffers irreparable loss of memory, it would be foolish on the part of his students to continue to take lessons from him in that subject. Moreover if God takes human form, the same human cannot later

become God, since human beings, by definition, do not possess the power to become God. The worship of God in a human form is therefore a logical fallacy and should be abhorred in all its forms.

That is the reason why the Holy Quran speaks against all forms of anthropomorphism.The glorious Qur'an says in the following verse:

"There is nothing whatever like create him"

(Al-Qur'an 42:11)

God does not perform ungodly acts:

The attributes of Almighty God preclude any evil since God is the fountainhead of justice, mercy and truth. God can never be thought of as doing an ungodly act. Hence we cannot imagine God telling a lie, being unjust, making a mistake, forgetting things, and such other human failings.Similarly God can do injustice if he wants but He will never do it because being unjust is an ungodly act. The Holy Quran says:

Allah is never unjust In the least degree

([Holy Quran 4:40)

God can be unjust if he wants, but the moment God does injustice He ceases to be God

God does not forget nor does He make mistakes:

God will not forget anything because forgetting is an ungodly act, which reeks of human limitations and failing. Similarly God will not make a mistake, because making mistakes is an ungodly act. my Lord never errs, nor forgets.

[Holy Quran (20:52)]

God performs Godly acts:

He has power over all things: The Islamic concept of God is that God has

power over all things. The Holy Quran says in several places:

For verily Allah has power over all things

[Holy Quran (2:106)]

[Holy Quran (2:109)]

[Holy Quran (2:284)]

[Holy Quran (3:29)]

[Holy Quran (16:77)]

[Holy Quran (35:1)]

Futher the Glorious Qur'an says:

Allah is the doer of all He intends

[Holy Quran (85:16)]

We must keep in mind that Allah intends only Godly acts and not ungodly acts.Many religions at some point believe,directly or indirectly in the philosophy of anthropomorphism i.e. God becoming a human form. Their

contention is that Almighty God is so pure and holy that He is unaware of the hardships, shortcomings and feelings of human beings. In order to set the rules for human beings He came down to earth in the form of

a human. This deceptive logic has fooled countless millions through the ages. Let us now analyze this argument and see if it stands to reason.The Creator prepares the instruction manual: Allah (SWT) has endowed us humans with reason and intelligence. We invent and manufacture appliances for specific purposes. Tape recorders

for instance are manufactured in large numbers. It has never been suggested that in order to understand what is good for the tape recorder the manufacturer should become a tape recorder himself. One simply assumes that the manufacturer will publish an instruction manual, since he has complete knowledge of his product. In short the instruction manual gives the dos and donts for the machine If you think of the human being as a machine,it is indeed a complex creation of Allah (SWT).Our Lord and Creator Allah (SWT) need not come in the form of a human being to know what is good or bad for the human being. He only has to reveal the instruction manual to mankind.The Holy Quran is the instruction manual for human beings.Moreover, Allah will call this creation to account on the Day of Judgement. It therefore stands to reason, that the Creator informs us about the dos and donts of life.Allah chooses Messengers: Allah (SWT) need not come down personally for writing the instruction

manual. Over the ages Allah has chosen men in every nation to deliver the Divine message. Such chosen men are called as messengers and prophets of God. Some people are blind and deaf: Despite the absurdity of the philosophy of anthropomorphism, followers of many religions believe in and preach it to others. Is it not an insult to human intelligence and to the Creator who gave us this intelligence? Such people are truly deaf and blind despite the faculty of hearing and sight given to them by Allah. The Holy Quran says: Deaf, dumb, and blind, They will not return (to the path).

[Holy Quran 2:18]

The Bible gives a similar message in the Gospel of Mathew:

Seeing they see not; and hearing they hear not, neither do

they understand.

[Matthew 13:13]

A similar message is also given in the Hindu Scriptures in the Rigveda

There maybe someone who sees the words and yet indeed do

not see them; may be another one who hears these words but

indeed does not hear them

[Rigveda 10:71:4]

All these Scriptures are telling its reader that though the things are

made so clear yet they divert away from the truth.