Oct 25, 2021

The Messiah's Preexistence in Jewish Sources

 


In this article, I will list some sources within Judaism and rabbinic literature which teach (or at least suggest) that the Messiah is preexistent. 


1 Enoch


"And in that place I saw an inexhaustible spring of righteousness and many springs of wisdom surrounded it, and all the thirsty drank from them and were filled with wisdom, and their dwelling was with the Righteous and the Holy and the Chosen. And at that hour that Son of Man was named, in the presence of the Lord of Spirits, and his name brought to the Head of Days. Even before the Sun and the constellations were created, before the Stars of Heaven were made, his name was named in front of the Lord of Spirits. He will be a staff to the righteous and the Holy, so that they may lean on him and not fall, and he will be the Light of the Nations, and he will be the hope of those who grieve in their hearts. All those who dwell upon the dry ground will fall down and worship in front of him, and they will bless, and praise, and celebrate with psalms, the name of the Lord of Spirits. And because of this he was chosen, and hidden in front of Him, before the World was created, and forever.....And on the day of their trouble there will be rest on the earth and they will fall down in front of him and will not rise. And there will be no one who will take them with his hands and raise them for they denied the Lord of Spirits and his Messiah." (1 Enoch 48:1-6, 10)


Many scholars have considered this passage as teaching the Son of Man/Messiah's preexistence:


"This poem, as it is preserved, further elucidates the figure of the Son of Man, particularly in terms of pre-existence." (Leslie W. Walk, The Son of Man in the Parables of Enoch and in Matthew, pg. 85)

These texts obviously teach that the Son of Man existed in heaven before He was to be manifested on earth: He was named beside God in heaven (46:1); His name was named (48:2 and 3) and He was hidden with God before the creation. The statement that the Son of Man was both named and hidden creation leaves no doubt that He was thought to have existed creation, whether naming implies bringing into existence or not. … T.W. Manson’s objections, therefore, miss the point completely. Focusing attention on the ‘naming,’ he believes that there is no evidence of a belief in the ‘pre-mundane existence’ of the Son of Man; rather evidence of a ‘pre-mundane election.’ He concludes, ‘pre-mundane election does not necessarily involve pre-mundane existence except as a project in the mind of God.’ But the ‘naming’ is not the act which brings the Son of Man into existence, rather it implies that He already is in existence. The text, in fact, tells of the pre-mundane election of a pre-existent being who, since he is also to be ‘hidden’ certainly exists outside of God’s mind. … There can be no serious doubt, therefore, that the Son of Man was a pre-mundane, pre-existent, heavenly being, who was reserved in heaven until the appropriate time for the exercise of His office as eschatological judge and king.” (Robert Gerald Hammerton-Kelly, “The Idea of Pre-Existence in Early Judaism: A Study in the Background of New Testament Theology,” unpublished dissertation), pp. 67-70; )         


Even liberal scholar Bart Ehrman says the following when discussing 1 Enoch in his book How Jesus Became God:


"At one point the cosmic judge of the earth is called the messiah–a term we will consider more fully in the next chapter. For now, it is enough to say that it comes from the Hebrew word for anointed and was originally more used of the king of Israel, God’s anointed one (i.e., the one chosen and favored by God. Now the ruler anointed by God is not a mere mortal; he is a divine being who has always existed, who sits beside God on his throne, who will judge the wicked and the righteous at the end of time. He, in other words, is elevated to God’s own status and functions as the divine being who carries God’s judgment on the earth. This is an exalted figure indeed, as exalted as one can possibly be without actually being the Lord God Almighty himself. It is striking that a later edition to the Similitudes, chapters 70-71, identifies this Son of Man as none other than Enoch. In this somewhat later view, it is a man, a mere mortal, who is exalted to this supreme position next to God. As this exalted being, the Son of Man is worshiped and glorified by the righteous." (Bart D. Ehrman, How Jesus Became God: The Exaltation of a Jewish Preacher from Galilee, pg. 67)


The Midrash and Talmud


Before we begin analyzing some more sources, it is worth noting what Jewish scholar Jacob Neusner says regarding the Midrash's theology of the Messiah:


“We focus upon how the system laid out in the Mishnah takes up and disposes of those critical issues of teleology worked out through messianic eschatology in other, earlier versions of Judaism. These earlier systems resorted to the myth of the Messiah as savior and redeemer of Israel, a supernatural figure engaged in political-historical tasks as king of the Jews, even a GOD-MAN facing the crucial historical questions of Israel’s life and resolving them: the Christ as king of the world, of the ages, of death itself.” (Judaisms and their Messiahs at the Turn of the Christian Era, edited by Jacob Neusner, William S. Green, Ernest Frerichs, pg. 275, source)



Now we will be giving a long passage from Peskita Rabbati chapter 36 (source):


"In Thy light do we see light (Ps. 36:10). This is the light of the Messiah, as it is written, And God saw the light that it was good (Gen. 1:4). This teaches us that the Holy One, blessed be He, saw the generation of the Messiah and its deeds prior to the creation of the world. And He hid the light for the Messiah and his generation under His Throne of Glory. Satan said before the Holy One, blessed be He: “Master of the World! The light which is hidden under Your Throne of Glory, for whom is it [destined]?” He said to him: “For him who will turn you back and disgrace you, and shame your face.” He said to him: “Master of the world! Show him to me!” He said to him: “Come and see him!” When Satan saw the Messiah, he trembled and fell upon his face and said: “Surely this is the Messiah who in the future will cast me and all the princes of the nations of the world into Gehenna….” In that hour the nations became awestruck and said before him: “Master of the World! Who is he into whose hand we shall fall, what is his name and what is his nature?” The Holy One, blessed be He, said to them: “His name is Ephraim, My True Messiah. He will raise his stature and the stature of his generation, and will light up the eyes of Israel, and will save his people, and no nation and language shall be able to stand up against him…. All his enemies and adversaries will be affrighted and will flee from him… and even the rivers will cease to flow into the sea….” [When He created the Messiah], the Holy One, blessed be He, began to tell him the conditions [of his future mission], and said to him: “Those who are hidden with you [your generation], their sins will in the future force you into an iron yoke, and they will render you like unto a calf whose eyes have grown dim, and they will choke your spirit with the yoke, and because of their sins your tongue will cleave to the roof of your mouth. Do you accept this?” The Messiah said before the Holy One, blessed be He, “Master of the World! Will that suffering last many years?” The Holy One, blessed be He, said to him: “By your life and the life of my head, it is a septenary of it that I decreed upon you. But if your soul is troubled, I shall banish them as from this moment.” He said before Him: “Master of the Worlds! With gladness in my soul and with joy in my heart I accept it, so that not a single one of Israel should perish; and not only those who will be alive should be saved in my days, but even the dead who have died from the days of Adam the first man until now. And not only they, but even the stillborn should be saved in my days; and not only the stillborn, but even those to whose creation You gave thought but who were not created. This is what I want, this is what I accept!  They said: In the septenary in which the Son of David comes they will bring iron beams and put them upon his neck until his body bends and he cries and weeps, and his voice rise up into the Heights, and he says before Him: “Master of the World! How much can my strength suffer? How much my spirit? How much my soul? And how much my limbs? Am I not but flesh and blood?…” In that hour the Holy One, blessed be He, says to him: “Ephraim, My True Messiah, you have already accepted [this suffering] from the six days of creation. Now your suffering shall be like My suffering. For ever since the day on which wicked Nebuchadnezzar came up and destroyed My Temple and burnt My sanctuary, and I exiled My children among the nations of the world, by your life and the life of your head, I have not sat on My Throne. And if you do not believe me, see the dew that is upon My head….” In that hour he says before Him: “Master of the World! Now my mind is at rest, for it is sufficient for the servant to be like his Master!”  (Pesikta Rabbati 36 as cited in Raphael Patai, The Messiah Texts: Jewish Legends of Three Thousand Yearspgs. 111-113)


This passage is problematic for those who reject Christ as the Messiah (and Muslims who reject him as God) in a couple of ways. First, this text clearly views the Messiah as preexistent. It says that the Messiah was "hidden under the Throne of his glory" and that the Messiah was the "light" of Genesis 1:4. Secondly, it clearly portrays the Messiah as accepting the task of suffering for the sins of people and "saving Israel". 


Jewish scholar Rivka Ulmer says the following about this passage:


"The hidden Jewish Messiah relates to a preexistent heavenly being, resplendent, majestic, sitting on the Throne of Glory. Similarly, the Christian description of Jesus, occasionally referred to as the “Word” (John 1:14), claims the Christian Messiah was with God at the beginning of creation. The concept of the hidden Messiah continues in mystical midrashic literature, such as Midrash Konen, depicted a concealed Messiah residing in the Garden of Eden." (Rivka Ulmer, "Psalm 22 in Pesiqta Rabbati: The Suffering of the Jewish Messiah and Jesus" in The Jewish Jesus: Revelation, Reflection, Reclamation, edited by Zev Garber, source)



Now we will move on and consider some passages from the Talmud.  Here is a quote from Pesachim 54a:


"Seven phenomena were created before the world was created, and they are: Torah, and repentance, and the Garden of Eden, and Gehenna, and the Throne of Glory, and the Temple, and the name of Messiah....The name of Messiah was created before the world was created, as it is written in the chapter discussing the Messiah: “May his name endure forever; his name existed before the sun” (Psalms 72:17)."


The same thing is said in Nedarim 39b:


"The name of the Messiah was created before the world was created, as it is written about him: 'May his name endure forever; his name existed before the sun' (Psalms 72:17). The name of the Messiah predated the creation of the sun and the rest of the world." (Babylonian Talmud, Nedarim 39b)


Here are several sources commenting on the meaning of these Talmudic passages:



"Thus also the Rabbis. Of the seven things fashioned before the creation of the world, the last was the name of the Messiah (comp. Ps. lxxii. 17; Pes. 54a; Tan., Naso, ed. Buber, No. 19; and parallels); and the Targum regards the preexistence of the Messiah's name as implied in Micah v. 1 (A. V. 2), Zech. iv. 7, and Ps. lxxii. 17." (https://www.jewishencyclopedia.com/articles/12339-preexistence#anchor4)


"12......A similar idea [the Messiah as preexistent] can be found in later Talmudic literature (e.g., BT Nedarim 39b, Pesachim 5a, 54b), but there is no particular person that preexistent status." (Michael L. Morgan, Steve Weitzman, Rethinking the Messianic Idea in Judaism, pg. 338)


The Midrash actually teach the Messiah is "the Spirit of God" (ruach Elohim) in Genesis 1:2:


“And the spirit of God hovers’ refers to the spirit of the Messiah, in line with the following verse of Scripture: ‘And the spirit of the Lord shall rest upon him’ (Is. 11:2).” The same point registers once more, now with reference to the four monarchies, Babylonia, Media, Greece, Rome, the coming of the Messiah by reason of Israel’s repentance. (Jacob Neusner, A Theological Commentary to the Midrash: Genesis Rabbah (Studies in Ancient Judaism) , Volume 2, p. 8, source)


With all of this evidence combined, we can see a fairly strong case for the Messiah's preexistence as being an idea present within rabbinic writings. 


The Deity of the Lord Jesus and the Hebrew Bible [Part 4]

 



As we continue in our series about what Hebrew Bible has to say concerning the deity of the Messiah, I was a bit stuck as to what Messianic prophecy I would cover next. However, I eventually settled on Micah 5:2. I will provide the verse with the surrounding context below:


"Now muster your troops, O daughter of troops; siege is laid against us; with a rod they strike the judge of Israel on the cheek.  2But you, O Bethlehem Ephrathah, who are too little to be among the clans of Judah, from you shall come forth for me one who is to be ruler in Israel, whose coming forth is from of old, from ancient days.   Therefore he shall give them up until the time when she who is in labor has given birth; then the rest of his brothers shall return to the people of Israel.   And he shall stand and shepherd his flock in the strength of the LORD, in the majesty of the name of the LORD his God. And they shall dwell secure, for now he shall be great to the ends of the earth.  And he shall be their peace. When the Assyrian comes into our land and treads in our palaces, then we will raise against him seven shepherds and eight princes of men;" (Micah 5:1-5)


Jewish sources portray the figure as the Messiah:


וְאַתְּ בֵּית לֶחֶם אֶפְרָתָה כִּזְעֵיר הֲוֵיתָא לְאִתְמַנָאָה בְּאַלְפַיָא דְבֵית יְהוּדָה מִנָךְ קֳדָמַי יִפּוֹק מְשִׁיחָא לְמֶהֱוֵי עֲבֵיד שׁוּלְטַן עַל יִשְׂרָאֵל דִי שְׁמֵיהּ אָמִיר מִלְקָדְמִין מִיוֹמֵי עָלְמָא:  (Targum Jonathan on Micah)


"And you, Bethlehem Ephrathah—whence David emanated, as it is stated (I Sam. 17:58): “The son of your bondsman, Jesse the Bethlehemite.” And Bethlehem is called Ephrath, as it is said (Gen. 48: 7): “On the road to Ephrath, that is Bethlehem.”.....from you shall emerge for Methe Messiah, son of David, and so Scripture says (Ps. 118:22): 'The stone the builders had rejected became a cornerstone.' and his origin is from of old—“Before the sun his name is Yinnon” (Ps. 72:17)." (Rashi, source

"Whence we do know that the name of the Messiah (was premundane)? Because it is said, "His name shall endure for ever; before the sun Yinnôn was his name" (Ps. 72:17). "Yinnôn," before the world had been created. Another verse says, "But thou, Bethlehem Ephrathah, which art to be least among the thousands of Judah, from thee shall he come forth unto me who is to be ruler over Israel; whose ancestry belongs to the past, even to the days of old" (Mic. 5:2). "The past," whilst as yet the world had not been created." (Midrash Pirkei DeRabbi Eliezer 3:4)


this speaks concerning the business of the King Messiah, who shall reign over them, and shall be the Prince of their army; and it is plain that he shall be of the house of David: and it is said, "O thou, Bethlehem Ephratah", which was a small city, in the midst of the cities of Judah; and "although thou art little in the thousands of Judah, out of thee shall come forth unto me" a man, a ruler in Israel, "whose goings forth are from the days of old"; the meaning is, the goings forth of the family of that ruler are from the days of old; that is, from the seed of David, and a rod from the stem of Jesse, who was of Bethlehem Judah.” (Abarbanel, Mashmiah Jeshuah, fol. 62. col. 2. , as cited in John Gill's Exposition of the Whole Bible


Matthew 2:5-6 and John 7:41-42 also prove that the Jews of Jesus' time knew that the OT prophesied the birth of the Messiah in Bethlehem. 


Some have said that "Bethlehem Ephratha" refers to David, who was indeed from Bethlehem and is called an "Ephrathite" (1 Sam. 7:12). This would mean, according to them, that this verse is teaching that the Messiah would merely be descended from David, not actually born in Bethlehem. However, they should note Rashi's commentary above which states explicitly regarding the phrase "Bethlehem Ephratha" that it is referring to the town of Bethlehem. Plus, we as Christians do believe that Jesus was descended from King David (Matthew 1:1), so there wouldn't be a huge issue here. Nonetheless, it is obvious from the text itself that it is referring to the town of Bethlehem more specifically in this context. 


The next thing to be examined is the meaning of the phrase "from of old, from ancient days" (וּמֹוצָאֹתָ֥יו מִקֶּ֖דֶם מִימֵ֥י עֹולָֽם). Many Orthodox Jews have interpreted this phrase as simply meaning "a long time ago" without conveying the idea of eternity. Throughout the OT, both meanings are intended in different contexts. Here are examples where the Hebrew word קֶּ֖דֶם can have the idea of "eternal" or "everlasting":


"The eternal [קֶּ֖דֶם] God is your dwelling place, and underneath are the everlasting arms. And he thrust out the enemy before you and said, ‘Destroy.’" (Deuteronomy 33:27, see also the translation from the Jewish website Chabad which translates it with the same meaning)


"Are you not from everlasting [קֶּ֖דֶם], O LORD my God, my Holy One? We shall not die. O LORD, you have ordained them as a judgment, and you, O Rock, have established them for reproof." (Habakkuk 1:12, link to Chabad's translation)


“‘Have you not heard that I determined it long ago [קֶּ֖דֶם]? I planned from days of old what now I bring to pass, that you should make fortified cities crash into heaps of ruins," (Isaiah 37:26)


"The LORD has done what he purposed; he has carried out his word, which he commanded long ago [קֶּ֖דֶם] ; he has thrown down without pity; he has made the enemy rejoice over you and exalted the might of your foes." (Lamentations 2:17)


"to him who rides in the heavens, the ancient [קֶּ֖דֶם] heavens; behold, he sends out his voice, his mighty voice." (Psalms 68:33)


“The LORD possessed me at the beginning [קֶּ֖דֶם] of his work, the first of his acts of old. Ages ago [מֵ֭עוֹלָם] I was set up, at the first, before [מִקַּדְמֵי] the beginning of the earth." (Proverbs 8:22-23)


"Declare and present your case; let them take counsel together! Who told this long ago? Who declared it of old [מִקֶּ֜דֶם]? Was it not I, the LORD? And there is no other god besides me, a righteous God and a Savior; there is none besides me." (Isaiah 45:21)


As we can see, qedem is used in different ways in different contexts. However, the word olam is also used to describe the Messiah as well. Here are some of its uses throughout the OT:


 "Abraham planted a tamarisk tree in Beersheba and called there on the name of the LORD, the Everlasting [עוֹלָֽם] God." (Genesis 21:33)


"Have you not known? Have you not heard? The LORD is the everlasting [עוֹלָ֤ם] God, the Creator of the ends of the earth. He does not faint or grow weary; his understanding is unsearchable." (Isaiah 40:28, link to Jewish translation)


"The LORD is king forever and ever [עוֹלָ֣ם וָעֶ֑ד]; the nations perish from his land." (Psalms 10:16)


"Lord, you have been our dwelling place in all generations. Before the mountains were brought forth, or ever you had formed the earth and the world, from everlasting to everlasting [ּֽמֵעֹולָ֥ם עַד־֝עֹולָ֗ם] you are God." (Psalm 90:1-2)


"Your throne is established from of old; you are from everlasting [מֵֽעוֹלָ֣ם]." (Psalms 93:2)


"But the LORD is the true God; he is the living God and the everlasting [עוֹלָ֑ם] King. At his wrath the earth quakes, and the nations cannot endure his indignation." (Jeremiah 10:10)


Here is a final note from OT scholar Thomas E. McComiskey:


“The terms ‘old’ (qedem) and ‘ancient times’ (yeme ‘olam) may denote ‘great antiquity’ as well as ‘eternity’ in the strictest sense. The context must determine the expanse of time indicated by the expressions. In Micah 7:14, 20, for example, yeme ‘olam is used of Israel’s earliest history. But the word qedem is used of God himself on occasion in the OT (Deut 33:27; Hab 1:12), of God’s purposes (Isa 37:26; Lam 2:17), of God’s declarations (Isa 45:21; 46:10), of the heavens (Ps 68:33 [34 MT]), and of the time before Creation (Prov 8:22-23). At any rate the word qedem can indicate only great antiquity, and its application to a future ruler–one yet to appear on the scene of Israel’s history–is strong evidence that Micah expected a supernatural figure. This is in keeping with the expectations of Isaiah 9:6, where the future King is called el (‘God’), an appellation used only of God by Isaiah. It is also in keeping with the common prophetic tradition of God’s eventual rule over the house of Israel (Isa 24:23; Mic 4:7; et al.). Only in Christ does this prophecy find fulfillment.” (The Expositor’s Bible Commentary with the New International Version: Daniel and the Minor Prophets, Volume 7, p. 427)


A further insight on the meaning of miqqedem can be found from the Talmud:


"The Garden of Eden was created before the world was created, as it is written: “And the Lord God planted a garden in Eden eastward [mikedem]” (Genesis 2:8). “Eastward [mikedem]” is interpreted in the sense of before [mikodem], i.e., before the world was created." (Babylonian Talmud, Nedarim 39b)


Notice that they say mikedem is interpreted in the sense of "before the world was created". 


A final note is from Rashi's commentary:


"and his origin is from of old—“Before the sun his name is Yinnon” (Ps. 72:17)." (Rashi, source


Notice that Rashi quotes from Psalm 72:17 (we deal with that text quite thoroughly in part 1 of this article series). The phrase "before the sun" is an expression of eternity (see Proverbs 8:23 where similar language is used in regards to the earth). 


The church father Cyril of Jerusalem also interpreted Micah 5:2 as speaking of the divinity of the Messiah:


"For godliness it suffices you to know, as we have said, that God has One Only Son, One naturally begotten; who began not His being when He was born in Bethlehem, but Before All Ages. For hear the Prophet Micah saying, And thou, Bethlehem, house of Ephrata, art little to be among the thousands of Judah. Out of you shall come forth unto Me a Ruler, who shall feed My people Israel: and His goings forth are from the beginning, from days of eternity. Think not then of Him who is now come forth out of Bethlehem, but worship Him who was eternally begotten of the Father. Suffer none to speak of a beginning of the Son in time, but as a timeless Beginning acknowledge the Father. For the Father is the Beginning of the Son, timeless, incomprehensible, without beginning." (Cyril of Jerusalem, Catechetical Lectures 11)


There are even Islamic sources which agree that our Lord Jesus was born in Bethlehem:


"Gibril said: 'Alight and pray here.' He [Muhammad] did so and remounted, then the Buraq continued his lightning flight and Gibril said: 'Do you know where you prayed?' He said no. Gibril said: "You prayed in Bayt Lahm [Bethlehem], where 'Isa ibn Maryam was born." ... (Islamic Doctrines & Beliefs, Volume 1: The Prophets in Barzakh, the Hadith of Isra' and Mi'raj, The Immense Merits of Al-Sham, The Vision of Allah, Al-Sayyid Muhammad Ibn 'Alawi al-Maliki, translation and notes by Dr. Gibril Foaud Haddad [As-Sunna Foundation of America, 1999], pg. 100)









































Oct 24, 2021

A Devastating Quote from Muslim Scholar Ibn Juzayy al-Kalbi

 


Recently, several Arabic-speaking Christians (Orthodox Shahada) worked together to translate a passage from the Islamic scholar Ibn Juzayy al-Kalbi's work Al-Nur al-Mubin. In particular, it proves that he interpreted the Qur'an as teaching that the Christian Trinity consisted of Allah, Jesus, and Mary (Surah 5:116). It also has some other interesting things it. It is about 4 pages, so the quote is a bit long:


Refutation of the Christians:


Know that Jesus son of Mary, blessings of Allah be upon Muhammad and him, is a servant among the servants of Allah, and one of His messengers. Allah created Him in the womb of his mother Mary, the righteous one, without a father. And miracles were manifested by his hands which demonstrate the truthfulness of his prophethood and message. And these are mentioned by Allah in the Quran: his speech from the cradle, his resurrecting the dead, and other such miracles, all of which occurred by the permission of Allah and His power.


And the Christians, may God curse them, exaggerated his position, blaspheming by the most heinous blasphemy, which cannot be accepted by those of intellect nor sanctioned by the communities. And Allah Most High called them to return from their blasphemy and falsehood, the Most High saying: "O People of the Scripture, do not commit excess in your religion or say about Allah except the truth. The Messiah, Jesus the son of Mary, was but a messenger of Allah and His word which He directed to Mary and a soul [created at a command] from Him" in 4:171, until the saying "Never would the Messiah disdain to be a servant of Allah, nor would the angels near [to Him]" in 4:172


The Prophet, blessings and peace of Allah be upon him, called them (the Christians) to the mubahala, but they refrained because they knew that they were not upon the truth, and that they feared the punishment would descend upon them. And there were those who Allah guided to Islam and reconciled them, like al-Najashi and others.


The Christians disagree among themselves in the matter of Jesus, peace be upon him, for they did not know the truth about his position and they do not have a single proof they can rely on. Indeed, they took their corrupted faith from those who cannot be trusted in this, and they built it up upon lies and dreams and wrong information. This is why Allah Most High has named them the ones who go astray (daalin).

Some of them claim: "Jesus is the son of Allah", as mentioned about them by Allah in His saying "They say Allah has taken a son" in 2:116.

And of them are those who claim: "Truly, Allah is Jesus", as Allah tells us about them in His saying "They have certainly disbelieved who say that Allah is Christ, the son of Mary" in 5:17.

And of them are those who profess by the doctrine of the Trinity (بِالتََثلِيثِ), as Allah Most High says: "They have certainly disbelieved who say, 'Allah is the third of three'" in 5:73. And Most High is Allah far above what they claim.

And there are four points as proof that refute their fallacious claim that "truly Jesus is the son of Allah":

1) That Allah Most High is able to create a son without a father, just like how He was able to create Adam without a mother or father. And this is the meaning of His saying "Indeed, the example of Jesus to Allah is like that of Adam. He created him from dust; then He said to him, 'Be,' and he was" in 3:59.


2) That the son must be of the same species and type as his father, and that the wife must be of the same species as her husband, but there is nothing like unto Allah Most High. And indeed, Jesus and his mother are of the species belonging to the sons of Adam. Therefore, there is no son or wife for Allah.

And this is the meaning of the saying of His Most High: "The Messiah, son of Mary, was not but a messenger; [other] messengers have passed on before him. And his mother was a supporter of truth. They both used to eat food' in 5:75.


3) That a wife and son are truly taken because one has a need for them. But it is not proper that Allah Most High be in need of anything that is other than Him. So He does not take a son or wife.

And this is the meaning of the saying of His Most High: "They have said, 'Allah has taken a son.' Exalted is He; He is the [one] Free of need. To Him belongs whatever is in the heavens and whatever is in the earth" in 10:68.


4) That everything that exists apart from Allah Most High is other than Him, because He creates and brings into existence all, so nothing can be a Son to Him. The Most High said: "And it is not appropriate for the Most Merciful that He should take a son. There is no one in the heavens and earth but that he comes to the Most Merciful as a servant" in 19:92-93.

As for those among them who claim: "Truly God is the Messiah, son of Mary" it is false in four ways:

1) That the Messiah was worshiping God.

2) That he would eat, drink, starve, thirst, and sleep, being subjected to all things humans are subjected to, and that is not permissible upon Allah Most High.

3) That they allege that he was crucified and killed, and this contradicts their claim: "Truly he is God", Most High! Because Allah is the Living (al-Hayy) and does not die, and they lied in their claim: truly Jesus was crucified and killed. But they received that from the lies of the Jews. Allah Most High said: "And they did not kill him, nor did they crucify him; but [another] was made to resemble him to them." in 4:157. And Allah Most High said: "[Mention] when Allah said, 'O Jesus, indeed I will take you and raise you to Myself'" in 3:55.

Then they truly built upon their lies the worship of the cross. So it became clear that their religion is false based on one falsehood after another. And Jesus will descend to earth and break the cross.

4) That Jesus was young and then grew up. And Allah Most High is free of need for anything of the sort.


As for the saying from among them who claim: "Truly Allah is the third of three”, that is a falsehood in three respects:

1) The proofs we provided for monotheism and the impossibility of the existence of two gods.

2) That Jesus and Mary worshiped Allah Most High, prayed and fasted, and if they were two gods, they would have not worshiped other than themselves. Moreover, Jesus acknowledged that Allah is his Lord (ّرب) Most High. The Most High said about him: "the Messiah has said, 'O Children of Israel, worship Allah, my Lord and your Lord.'" in 5:72. This also exists in the Gospel (الإنجيل) that is in their hands.

3) That Jesus and Mary were subjected to all things humans are subjected to, and these are not what the the divine are subjected to.


(Ibn Juzayy al-Kalbi, Al-Nur al-Mubin, pgs. 43-47, source)



Oct 23, 2021

The Hands of Allah

 


Muslims often accuse Christians of having an irrational view of the nature of God as Trinitarians. Some Christian apologists have responded back by appealing to the issue of Allah's attributes, and the many debates that have taken place between Islamic groups centuries ago concerning these theological issues (I would recommend watching the debate between Anthony Rogers and Shabir Ally titled "Is Islamic Monotheism Pure?" for an introduction to the arguments on this topic).  In this article I will be examining an anthropomorphic attribute ascribed to Allah, namely, that he has hands (two right hands, to be more specific). I will show how the common Islamic argument ends up collapsing under the weight of lots of evidence that appears to suggest a more literal interpretation.


First of all, the Qur'an teaches explicitly that Allah has hands:


"The Jews say: "Allah's hand is tied up." Be their hands tied up and be they accursed for the (blasphemy) they utter. Nay, both His hands are widely outstretched" (Surah 5:64)

"Say: 'Who is it in whose hands is the governance of all things,- who protects (all), but is not protected (of any)? (say) if ye know.'" (Surah 23:88)

"Blessed be He in Whose hands is Dominion; and He over all things hath Power." (Surah 67:1)


(I want to make a note that I am more than willing to grant than Allah's hands may be used metaphorically at all times. However, saying that the metaphorical meaning is what is always intended would be a composition fallacy. Just because it can be proved that "hand" is used in a figurative sense in some verses, doesn't mean the same goes for all of the verses which deal with this issue.)

The common reply from Muslims is an appeal to Surah 42:11 ("There is nothing like unto Him") along with simply dismissing these verses and descriptions as being metaphorical. Or, Allah's hand(s) are seen as referring to his power. How do we know which view is correct? One particular verse of the Qur'an which helps us greatly in this is from Surah Saad:


"(Allah) said: "O Iblis! What prevents thee from prostrating thyself to one whom I have created with my hands? Art thou haughty? Or art thou one of the high (and mighty) ones?" (Surah 38:75 Yusuf Ali translation)


The context is where Allah is speaking to Satan (Iblis) about Adam and why he refused to bow down to him. Adam is the one that Allah created "with his hands".


Why is this verse so important for our discussion? Right here (and elsewhere in the hadith, as we'll shall see) Adam is singled as unique for a specific reason, i.e. he was created with the hands of Allah. Bear this in mind! Now this verse would not make any sense if the "hand of Allah" here simply meant his power. Because, remember Adam is being viewed as unique. Yet the Qur'an says that everything is created by Allah's power:


"For to Allah belongeth the dominion of the heavens and the earth, and all that is between. He createth what He pleaseth. For Allah hath power over all things." (Surah 5:17)


"And Allah has created every animal from water: of them there are some that creep on their bellies; some that walk on two legs; and some that walk on four. Allah creates what He wills for verily Allah has power over all things." (Surah 24:45)


If the meaning of Allah's hand in Surah 38:75 is simply "power", then what makes Adam so unique? Everything is created by the power of Allah! And yet Iblis and the angels are being commanded to prostrate only before Adam (and Allah, of course). Here are the comments from two Muslim scholars on this issue:


"If the intended meaning of the Hand is power, then Adam will enjoy no superiority over Iblis; not even over a donkey and the dogs, because they were all created with the power of Allah. If the intended meaning of the Hand is power, the proof against Iblis will not be valid, since Iblis will say: "And I, my Lord, you created me with your power, with what you have preferred him over me? This Hand which Allah affirmed for Himself is related in such different manners that prevent it meaning favor and power. It is related with the mention of the Fingers, Holding, Stretching, Palm and "the Right." All these show that power cannot be intended by it, because power cannot be described with these attributes. It becomes clear by this, that the view of those who distort the Attributes of Allah and assert that the meaning of Hand is power, is false, from a number of viewpoints" (Muhammad bin Salih al-Uthaymeen, Commentary on Shaikh al-Islam Ibn Taymiyya's Al-'Aqidah al-Wasitiyyah, vol. 1, pgs. 404-405)


"The obvious meaning here does not leav [sic] us with the obvious meaning of the first, because in this ayaah, the bounties of Allah is not what is being implied here, but the actual merit of Adam because of the fact that Adam was created by Allah’s literal Hands. So here, Hands means Hands, it is just that we have no grasp, or understanding of what these Hands are. This is the reality of knowing the meaning and not knowing the nature." (Ash'ari Contentions: On Tafweedh and Allah's Hand)


The "uniqueness" of Adam (due to his creation by Allah's hands) is further confirmed by the following hadith:


"Narrated AnasThe Prophet (ﷺ) said, "Allah will gather the believers on the Day of Resurrection in the same way (as they are gathered in this life), and they will say, 'Let us ask someone to intercede for us with our Lord that He may relieve us from this place of ours.' Then they will go to Adam and say, 'O Adam! Don't you see the people (people's condition)? Allah created you with His Own Hands and ordered His angels to prostrate before you, and taught you the names of all the things. Please intercede for us with our Lord so that He may relieve us from this place of ours.' " (Sahih al-Bukhari 7410)


This hadith is mutawatir. Here are links to five other versions of this same narration: [Sahih Muslim 193a] [Sahih al-Bukhari 3340] [Sahih al-Bukhari 4476] [Sahih Muslim 194a] [Jami' at-Tirmidhi 2434]


Another narration which highlights Adam's uniqueness as the one whom Allah created with his own hands is in a story in the hadith about an argument between Moses (Musa) and Adam:


"Abu Huraira reported Allah's Messenger (ﷺ) as saying: There was an argument between Adam and Moses (peace be upon both of them) in the presence of their Lord. Adam came the better of Moses. Moses said: Are you that Adam whom Allah created with His Hand and breathed into him His spirit, and commanded angels to fall in prostration before him and He made you live in Paradise with comfort and ease. Then you caused the people to get down to the earth because of your lapse. Adam said: Are you that Moses whom Allah selected for His Messengership and for His conversation with him and conferred upon you the tablets, in which everything was clearly explained and granted you the audience in order to have confidential talk with you. What is your opinion, how long Torah would haye been written before I was created? Moses said: Forty years before. Adam said: Did you not see these words: Adam committed an error and he was enticed to (do so). He (Moses) said: Yes. Whereupon, he (Adam) said: Do you then blame me for an act which Allah had ordained for me forty years before He created me? Allah's Messenger (ﷺ) said: This is how Adam came the better of Moses." (Sahih Muslim 2652c) 


There are other versions of this same story of the dispute between Adam and Moses. One of them says that Allah wrote the Torah with his hand:


"Narrated Abu HurairaThe Prophet (ﷺ) said, "Adam and Moses argued with each other. Moses said to Adam. 'O Adam! You are our father who disappointed us and turned us out of Paradise.' Then Adam said to him, 'O Moses! Allah favored you with His talk (talked to you directly) and He wrote (the Torah) for you with His Own Hand. Do you blame me for action which Allah had written in my fate forty years before my creation?' So Adam confuted Moses, Adam confuted Moses," the Prophet (ﷺ) added, repeating the Statement three times." (Sahih al-Bukhari 6614, also narrated in Sahih Muslim 2652a and Sunan Abu Dawud 4701)


Relevant to the issue is the comment of Abdullah bin Ahmad (son of Ahmad ibn Hanbal) in his Kitab al-Sunna:


"Allah wrote the Torah for Moses with His hand while leaning back on a rock, on tablets of pearl, and the screech of the quill could be heard. There was no veil between Him and him," (Abdullah bin Ahmad, Kitab al-Sunna, vol 1, pg. 294)


The language used here obviously points to a more literal interpretation of the hand of Allah. A common reply from some groups of Muslims is that Kitab al-Sunna is a forgery and falsely attributed to Abdullah bin Ahmad. I refer them to this article  (of about 5 pages) which gives many lines of evidence for its authenticity. 



The following tradition gives further evidence for our above statement that the uniqueness of Adam (and the Torah) due to their being created by Allah's hands strongly negates the idea that Allah's hands always are metaphorical or merely refer to his power. I warn you beforehand that a lot of text is below to read from the source. 


On the authority of al Haarith ibn Nawfal: Allah created three things with His Hand: He created Adam with His Hand He wrote the Tawraah with His Hand and He planted Firdaus with His Hand. (Collected by ad Daylami, It was also collected by ad Darqutni in ‘As Sifaat’ P. 26 #28 and Abu Ash Shaikh in ‘Al ‘Udhmah’: 5/1555)

 

In another Hadeeth narrated by ‘Abdullah ibn ‘Amr: Indeed Allah - the Mighty and Majestic - created three things with His Hand; He created Adam with His Hand, He wrote the Torah with His Hand and He planted Firdaws with His Hand. (Collected by ad Darqutni in ‘As Sifaat’ P.45 and al Bayhaqi in ‘Al Asma was Sifat’: P. 403 on the authority of al Harith ibn Nawfal.)

 

It was authentically reported that ‘Abdullah ibn ‘Umar said: Allah created four things with His Hand; The Throne, The Pen, Adam and the paradise of ‘Adn. He then said to the rest of the creation ‘Kun’ [Be] and it was.”

 

Adh Dhahabi stated in ‘Al ‘Uluw’: ‘It’s chain is good.’

Al Albaani stated in ‘Mukhtasar al ‘Uluw’ P.105: ‘The chain is authentic according to the conditions of Muslim.’

On the authority of ‘Abdullah ibn al Haarith who said; the Messenger of Allah - صلى الله عليه و سلم - said: Allah created three things with His Hand; He created Adam with His Hand, He wrote the Torah with His Hand and He planted Firdaws with His Hand. He then said; ;By my Glory, neither a drunkard nor a ‘Dayyooth’ will live in it The companions asked: O Messenger of Allah, we know the drunkard, but who is the Dayyooth? He responded: One who consents to evil taking place in his family. (Collected by al Khira-ity in Masaawi al Akhlaaq: P.62, #426)

 

On the authority of ibn ‘Umar – may Allah be pleased with him: Allah created four things with his hands: The throne, The paradise of ‘Adn, Adam and the Pen. He veiled the creation from Himself with four: Fire, then darkness, then light, then darkness.

 

Al-Hakim stated: ‘The chain is authentic according to the conditions of both Bukhari and Muslim but they did not collect them [in their Saheehs].’[Mukhtasar al ‘Uluw by al Albaani]


Ibnul Qayyimstated: "It has been authentically reported by both al Bukhari and Muslim in their Saheehs, that the Prophet - صلى الله عليه و سلم - said in the Hadeeth of the intercession: it will be said to Musa: ‘…You are Musa that Allah has specified with His [direct] Speech [to you] and wrote the Tablets for you with His Hand…’ (Bayaan Talbees al Jahmiyyah: 1/153)


Ibn ‘Uthaymeen said:

The people of knowledge stated that Allah did not create anything with His Hand except Adam, the Paradise of ‘Adn – for indeed he created it with His Hand, and He wrote the Torah with His Hand. These are three things that were by the Hand of Allah – the Mighty and Majestic, as for [those of mankind] other than Adam , they were created by the word ‘Kun’ (be). (Tafseer Surat al Kahf: P.89)

 

(All of the above quotes were taken from this page)


There are more ahadith which confirm what we're saying:


"Narrated Umar ibn al-Khattab: Muslim ibn Yasar al-Juhani said: When Umar ibn al-Khattab was asked about the verse "When your Lord took their offspring from the backs of the children of Adam" - al-Qa'nabi recited the verse--he said: I heard the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) say when he was questioned about it: Allah created Adam, then passed His right hand over his back, and brought forth from it his offspring, saying: I have these for Paradise and these will do the deeds of those who go to Paradise. He then passed His hand over his back and brought forth from it his offspring, saying: I have created these for Hell, and they will do the deeds of those who go to Hell. A man asked: What is the good of doing anything, Messenger of Allah? The Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) said: When Allah creates a servant for Paradise, He employs him in doing the deeds of those who will go to Paradise, so that his final action before death is one of the deeds of those who go to Paradise, for which He will bring him into Paradise. But when He creates a servant for Hell, He employs him in doing the deeds of those who will go to Hell, so that his final action before death is one of the deeds of those who go to Hell, for which He will bring him into Hell." (Sunan Abu Dawud 4703)


One particular hadith is quite interesting which mentions Allah even shaking hands with people (something which can only be indeed physically):


"It was narrated that Ubayy bin Ka'b said: 'The Messenger of Allah said: 'The first person with whom Allah will shake hands will be 'Umar, (and he is) the first person to be greeted with the Salam, and the first person who will be taken by the hand and admitted into Paradise. (Da'if: weak) '" (Sunan ibn Majah 104)


Of course, this hadith is indeed graded da'if, so I personally am not basing all of my arguments upon it (I still have the rest of the article with all of its sources to support my case!). However, I did use an online hadith database to check the reliability of each of the narrators in the isnad chain for this hadith using Tahdheeb al-Tahdheeb by the famous hadith scholar Ibn Hajar al-Asqalani. All of the narrators were said to be trustworthy except for one. You can view a profile for each of them using these links [1] [2] [3] [4]. So I am willing to grant that this hadith not be authentic and thus toss out this mini-argument. However, there are still other hadith which are authentic which are perhaps even worse (for traditional Muslims) than the one I just cited from Ibn Majah. 


"Narrated `Abdullah: A Jew came to the Prophet (ﷺ) and said, "O Muhammad! Allah will hold the heavens on a Finger, and the mountains on a Finger, and the trees on a Finger, and all the creation on a Finger, and then He will say, 'I am the King.' " On that Allah's Messenger (ﷺ) smiled till his premolar teeth became visible, and then recited:-- 'No just estimate have they made of Allah such as due to him....(39.67) `Abdullah added: Allah's Apostle smiled (at the Jew's statement) expressing his wonder and BELIEF IN WHAT WAS SAID" (Sahih al-Bukhari 7414)


Notice that the hadith says Muhammad agreed with what the Jew was saying about Allah and the fingers on his obviously-literal hand (at least in some sense). This same tradition is reported in other hadith:


"Abdullah b. Mas'ud reported that a Jewish scholar came to Allah's Apostle (may peace he upon him) and saidMuhammad, or Abu al-Qasim, verily, Allah, the Exalted and Glorious would carry the Heavens on the Day of Judgment upon one finger and earths upon one finger and the mountains and trees upon one finger and the ocean and moist earth upon one finger, and in fact the whole of the creation upon one finger, and then He would stir them and say: I am your Lord, I am your Lord. Thereupon Allah's Messenger (ﷺ) smiled testifying what that scholar had said. He then recited this verse:" And they honour not Allah with the honour due to Him; and the whole earth will be in His grip on the Day of Resurrection and the heaven rolled up in His right hand. Glory be to Him I and highly Exalted is He above what they associate (with Him)" (Sahih Muslim 2786a)


"This hadith has been narrated on the authority of Mansur with the same chain of truemittm (and the words are):A Jew scholar came to Allah's Messenger (ﷺ). The rest of the hadith is the same, but there is no mention of" then He would stir them." But there is this addition:" I saw Allah's Messengcr (ﷺ) smiling so much that his front teeth appeared and testifying him (the Jew scholar) ; then Allah's Messenger (ﷺ) recited the verse:" And they honour not Allah with the honour due to Him" (Sahih Muslim Book 52, Hadith 3)


Some might think that Muhammad's citation of Surah 39:67 means that he is actually disagreeing with what the Jew was saying. If the explicit statements from the above-cited hadith that Muhammad did in fact agree with the Jew, then here are the words of Ibn Kathir from his well-respected tafsir:


"(They made not a just estimate of Allah such as is due to Him. ) Al-Bukhari recorded that `Abdullah bin Mas`ud, may Allah be pleased with him, said, "One of the rabbis came to the Messenger of Allah and said, `O Muhammad! We learn that Allah will put the heavens on one finger, the earths on one finger, the trees on one finger, the water and dust on one finger, and the rest of creation on one finger, then He will say: I am the King.' The Messenger of Allah smiled so broadly that his molars could be seen, in CONFIRMATION of what the rabbi had said. " (Tafsir Ibn Kathir, vol 8, pg. 418, source)


You can find more information on what the hadith have to say about Allah's hands from this thread post (on a Muslim forum) from Islamic apologist Bassam Zawadi. Here is a quote from Mr. Zawadi:


"This is "clear" and "powerful" evidence that the Prophet (peace be upon him) recognized that Allah literally has a Hand (unlike that of creation of course)." (source)



This a TON of evidence in favor of some form of a "literal" interpretation. Ultimately, Muslims will have to either resort to full-blown anthropormorphism or they can simply say that Allah is "beyond your comprehension", in which case, we could say the same thing about the Trinity and dash all arguments against the logic of Trinitarianism to pieces. Either way, Islam is damaged in a severe way. 























 



 







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