May hamd[1] be to Allāhu
taālā! May salutations and benedictions be unto our Prophet Muhammad alaihis-salām, the highest of Prophets, unto his pure Āl, and unto all of those who had the
honour of being Companions (Ashāb) to him!
Every thousand years since Adam
alaihis-salām, the first human and the first Prophet, Allāhu taālā sent to mankind a new religion through a new Prophet with a Sharīa. Through them He
showed human beings the way of living in peace and comfort in this world and
attaining endless felicity in the Hereafter. Those Prophets by whom a new religion was revealed are
called Rasūl. The superior ones of Rasūls are called Ululazm. They are Ādam, Nūh (Noah), Ibrāhīm. Mūsā (Moses), Īsā (Jesus),
and Muhammad alaihimus-salātu was-salām
And now the world has three religions with
heavenly books: Mūsawī (Judaism), Christianity, and Islam. Taurah was revealed
to Mūsā alaihis-salām and Injil (the Bible) to Īsā alaihis-salām. Jews say
that they have been following the religion revealed to Mūsā alaihis-salām,
and Christians claim to be following that of Īsā alaihis-salām.
Qurān al-kerīm was revealed
to the last Prophet, our Prophet, Muhammad alaihis-salām. Qurān al-kerīm has invalidated all the rules of other
divine books; in other words, it has abrogated some of them and recollected
others within itself. Today, all people have to obey Qurān al-kerīm. No country in the world today has any
original copies of the Taurah or the Bible. These books were later defiled by
human interpolation.
All Prophets, from Ādam alaihis-salām to the last Prophet Muhammad alaihis-salām, taught the same
īmān, and stated the same principles for their umma to believe. Jews believe in Mūsā
alaihis-salām and deny Īsā and Muhammad alaihimus-salām. Christians believe
in Īsā alaihis-salām, too, but they do not believe in Muhammad
alaihis-salām. Muslims, on the other hand, believe in all Prophets. They know that Prophets have some superior qualities distinguishing
them from other people.
The true religion of Īsā alaihis-salām was
soon insidiously changed by his adversaries. A Jew named Paulus (of Tarsus),
who said that he believed in Īsā alaihis-salām and pretended to try to spread
Īsāwī religion, annihilated the Injil, which had been revealed by Allāhu
taālā.
---------------------------------
[1] Praise and gratitude.
Later the theory of trinity was inserted into the Īsāwī religion.
An unreasonable and illogical doctrine, namely father-son-holy spirit, was thus
established. There being no copies of the genuine Injil left now, some people
scribbled books in the name of Gospel. The council of clergy that met in Nicea
in A.D. 325 annulled fifty of the existing fifty-four so-called Gospels. Four
Gospels remained: Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John. Pauls lies and the theory of
trinity propounded by Plato were given place in these Gospels. An apostle named
Barnabas wrote a true account of what he had heard and seen from Īsā
alaihis-salām, but the Gospel of Barnabas was annihilated.
Constantine the Great, who was formerly a
pagan, converted to Christianity in A.D. 313. He ordered that all the Gospels
be compiled into one Gospel, but the Council sanctioned four Gospels. A number
of ancient pagan elements were assimilated into them. He adopted the Christmas night
as the beginning of the new year, and Christianity became the official
religion. [It was written in the Injil of Īsā alaihis-salām and in the Gospel
of Barnabas that Allāhu taālā is one.] Athanasius the Bishop of Alexandria was
a trinitarian. A priest named Arius said that the four Gospels were wrong, that
Allāhu taālā is one, and that Īsā alaihis-salām is not His son but His
created slave and Prophet, but they would not
listen to him. Instead, they excommunicated him. Arius propagated unitarianism,
but did not live long. For many years Athanasians and Arians fought against
each other. Later on, a number of councils came together and made new changes
in the existing four Gospels.
In 446 [A.D. 1054], the Eastern church parted
from the Roman church. Christians who were adherent to the Roman church were
called Catholics, and adherents of the Eastern [Istanbul] church were called
Orthodox.
In the sixteenth century the German priest
Luther Martin [A.D. 1483-1546] revolted against the Pope, Leon X. In 923 [A.D.
1517] he founded the Protestant church. This same priest directed some
abominable aggressions towards the Islamic religion. Luther Martin and Calvin
changed Christianity all the more. Consequently, an unreasonable and
implausible religion came into being.
The light shed on Europeans by the Andalusian
Muslims commenced a renaissance movement in Europe. Upon learning positive
science, many young scientists in Europe revolted against Christianity, which
was now fraught with absurdities and illogical ideations. The attacks carried
on against Christianity were not applicable against Islam. For, since the first
day of its declaration, the Islamic religion has been preserving all its
pristine purity. It contains no idea or information that would run counter to
reason, logic or knowledge. Qurān al-kerīm has been preserved precisely as it was revealed, without even one
diacritical dot having been changed.
In order to spread
the Christian belief and christianize other
peoples, Europeans, led by the British, founded missionary
organizations. The ecclesiastical and missionary organizations, which had now
become the worlds most powerful organizations economically, took to an
activity beyond reason. In order to propagate Christianity throughout Islamic
countries, they started an intensive hostility against Islam. They began to
send thousands of books, brochures and magazines praising Christianity to all
parts of Islamic countries. And now books, magazines and brochures teaching
Christianity are unceasingly being distributed worldwide. Thus they are trying
to blur minds and undermine beliefs.
The Islamic scholars have answered all the
views, ideas and philosophical thoughts contrary to the Islamic faith.
Meanwhile they have exposed the errors of defiled Christianity. They have
declared that it is not permissible to follow the changed and invalidated
books. They have explained that, for living in comfort and peace in this world
and attaining endless bliss in the next world, it is necessary to be Muslim.
Priests have not been able to refute the books of Islamic scholars. The books
written by the Islamic scholars to refute strayed religions are numerous. Among
them, the following are renowned for replying to Christians:
Tuhfat-ul-erīb, Arabic and Turkish; Diyā-ul-qulūb, Turkish and English; Izhār-ul-haqq, Arabic and Turkish; Es-sirāt-ul-mustaqīm, Arabic; Izāh-ul-marām, Turkish; Mīzān-ul-mawāzīn, Persian; Irshād-ul-hiyārā, Arabic; and Er-redd-ul-djemīl, Arabic and French.
Of these, Diyā-ul-qulūb, written by Ishaq
Efendi of Harput,[1] especially answers
the wrongful writings and slanders written by Protestant priests against Islam.
The book was first published in Istanbul in 1293 [A.D. 1876]. Simplifying the
book, we published it in Turkish in 1987. Now we present the English edition.
We used brackets for adding statements borrowed from a second book. As will be
seen in various parts of the book, the priests could not answer the questions
they were asked. We therefore considered the title Could not Answer appropriate for our
book. The unscientific, unreasonable and immoral contents of todays existing
copies of the Holy Bible are obvious. On the other hand, the writings of
Islamic scholars, shedding light on reason, knowledge, science and
civilization, teem in the worlds libraries. Being unaware of this fact would
therefore be no more than a flimsy pretext. Now, those who search for a
religion other than the Islamic religion brought by Muhammad alaihis-salām
will not escape endless torment in the world to come. In our book, the meanings
of āyat-i-kerīmas are explained in such terms as It is purported that..., It
purports that..., It is meant that..., etc. The meaning of these expressions
is According to the explanation of the scholars of Quranic interpretation (Tafsīr)...
. For, the meanings of āyat-i kerīmas were understood only by Rasūlullah
sall-Allāhu alaihi wasallam, who explained them to his Ashāb. The scholars
---------------------------------
[1] Is-Haq
Efendi of Harput passed away in 1309 [A.D. 1891].
of Quranic interpretation distinguished these hadīth-i-sherīfs (explaining the āyat-i-kerīmas) from
those hadīth-i-sherīfs concocted by
munāfiqs, mulhids and zindiqs, who could not find hadīth-i-sherīfs to suit their purposes and so made their own interpretations of āyat-i-kerīmas within the principles of the science of Tafsīr. The interpreations of those religiously ignorant people who know Arabic but who are unaware of the science of Tafsīr are not to be called Tafsīr of the Qurān. For this reason, it is stated in a hadīth-i-sherīf: He who interprets Qurān al-kerīm according to his own inferences will
become a kāfir.
May Allāhu taālā bestow on us all the fortune
of obeying the master of this world and the next, Muhammad alaihis-salām! May
He protect us against believing the erroneous ideas and propagandas of
missionaries, especially those heretics called Jehovahs witnesses! Āmīn.
Mīlādī Hijrī
Shamsī Hijrī
Qamarī
2000 1378 1420
Publishers Note:
Those who wish to print this book in its
original form or to translate it into any other language are permitted to do
so. We pray to Allāhu taālā to reward this beneficial deed of theirs, and we
thank them very much. The permission is granted on the condition that the paper
used in printing will be of good quality and that the design of the text and
setting will be properly and neatly done without mistakes.
____________________
A Warning: Missionaries are striving to advertise
Christianity, Jews are working to spread out the concocted words of Jewish
rabbis, Hakīkat Kitābevi (Bookstore), in Istanbul, is struggling to publicize
Islam, and freemasons are trying to annihilate religions. A person with wisdom,
knowledge and conscience will understand and admit the right one among these
and will help to spread out that for salvation of all humanity. There is no
better way and more valuable thing to serve humanity than doing so.