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Islam – Part III
Divisions in Islam
Even though the Quran condemns division, many divisions have
occurred throughout history. The most prominent of these occurred
shortly after Muhammad’s death. Those who believed that Islam’s
leader should be one of Muhammad’s own family members became known
as Shi’ites. Those who thought the community as a whole should
determine the leader became known as Sunnis. Two large divisions
within the Shi’ites are the “Twelvers” located primarily in Iran and
the “Seveners” with the former being the largest sect. These
consider Sunnis to be heretics. About 86-87% of Muslims are Sunni
with 13-14% being Shi’ite.
The Four Pillars of
Islam
The central feature of Islam is the shahadas, the
testimonials.
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“There is no god
but Allah.”
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“Muhammad is the
messenger of Allah.”
For Muslims, the Quran is the verbatim word of God given to
Muhammad. The Hadith, the record of Muhammad’s life, reveal the
pattern of life expected of Muslims. These two make up the Sharieh
or Divine Law.
There are four “pillars” of Muslim religious practice.
1. The first is ritual prayers.
Five times per day the Muslim is to face Mecca and pray
in
Arabic.
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Between
dawn and sunrise
·
Noon
·
Afternoon
·
Sunset
·
Evening
before midnight
There is first a call to prayer, followed by ritual
cleansing using
running water. One must wash hands, forearms, mouth,
nostrils, face, head, and feet.
2. The second
pillar is the fast. This takes place during the holy
month of
Ramadan. No food or drink is taken from dawn to
sunset. Since
the Islam’s calendar and our western calendar
are different,
Ramadan occurs at different times of the year.
3. The third pillar is
pilgrimage. The “great” pilgrimage is the one
to the Ka’bah in
Mecca during a specific month. This is an
obligation on all
Muslims who have the means to go. This
includes the
sacrifice of an animal. The “lesser” pilgrimage may
be made to Mecca
or other holy places at any time of the year.
4. The fourth pillar
is the tithe. It is paid by all Muslims who are
able. It purifies
the Muslim’s wealth and is put in a public
treasury for
various activities.
Inaccuracies in the
Quran
Surah 4:82 – “Will they not then ponder on the Quran? If it had
been from other than Allah, they would have found therein much
incongruity.” Any divinely-inspired book would indeed be free from
any errors and inconsistencies. Is this true of the Quran?
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Inheritance Laws
When actual amounts are used, different values are calculated
which contradict one another.
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Idolatry
In one Surah, Allah commanded Muhammad to not condemn pagan
deities. But in another Surah, this very thing is done.
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Pharoah and the
children of Israel
In one Surah, all the Egyptians are drowned including Pharoah.
In another Surah, they are all drowned except Pharoah who
converts to Islam.
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Moses
The Quran alleges that kings were appointed in Moses’ time when
in reality it was 500 years later!
These inaccuracies and
errors could be multiplied many times over.
Two more brief
examples:
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The Quran makes
an historical mistake by alluding to Samaria hundreds of
years before it was built.
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The Quran
claims the name John had never been given prior to John the
Baptist.
Conclusion:
It
is very obvious that the Quran is not divinely inspired. It does
not meet the requirements for inspiration that the Bible does. Note
Psalms
33:12-18.
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A source for some
of this material is
The Quran Unveiled, by Dave Miller
Bobby Stafford
June 10, 2012
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