Umar's Frustration: The spirit that refused to be an angel

Sam Shamoun

Umar of Answering Christianity infamy has come out of hibernation to refute (*) my rebuttal (*) regarding whether the Quran teaches that the Holy Spirit is the angel Gabriel. Umar is again trying to desperately prove that he is, despite the ample and clear evidences from the Quran to the contrary.

Here is how Umar responds to my citing several verses and commentators to prove that Allah used more than one agent to communicate the Quran to Muhammad:

On the contrary, the Holy Qur'an says:

And lo! it is a revelation of the Lord of the Worlds,.
Which the True Spirit hath brought down (Sura 26 Ayats 192-193)

 The Holy Qur'an clearly says the "True Spirit" is the one who brings down the Revelation. More on this later.

I am assuming that Umar is trying to use this text to disprove that Allah used more than one messenger to reveal the Quran, otherwise why would he bother to even mention this reference? But this only introduces additional problems for his case since the texts I quoted expressly stated that Allah used a group of messengers to bring down the Quran. Hence, if this passage means that Allah used the true Spirit alone to reveal the Quran then this only proves that the Quran is contradicting itself.

Secondly, the above reference doesn’t say that Gabriel brought down the Quran but that the True Spirit did. Umar is again begging the question since he is assuming that Gabriel and the true Spirit are the same being, but has failed thus far to prove that they are. This means that if Umar is correct that the true Spirit was the only one sent down with the Quran then he has only proven that Gabriel didn’t bring the Quran to Muhammad, even though the Quran says that he did. In other words, Umar has again demonstrated that the Quran is contradicting itself regarding the agent which Allah used to communicate the Quran.

Now to show the readers just how confused Umar truly is here is what he says regarding my highlighting his own quotation from Syed Sulaiman Nadvi to prove that even this Islamic scholar agreed that Allah used more than one entity to reveal the Quran:

It is hilarious to note how the Missionary bolds the part which he thinks refuted me, but forgets the part where it says, "It was through him that Allah conveyed his messages and commands to His Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him)." NOW, NOONE [sic] HAS DENIED THAT OTHER ANGELS DESCENDED, INFACT [sic] THE SCHOLAR SAYS," They were ordained to protect the sacred person of Muhammad (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him)"

This is of course true, as there are authentic accounts of how the Angels protected the Holy Prophet (S) on the day of Uhud…

Sahih Muslim

Book 30, Number 5713:

Sa'd reported that on the Day of Uhud I saw on the right side of Allah's Messenger (may peace be upon him) and on his left side two persons dressed in white clothes and whom I did not see before nor after that, and they were Gabriel and Michael (Allah be pleased with both o f them).

Sheikh Abu Ammar Yasir Qadhi writes:

"It might be asked: Was Jibreel the only angel that the Prophet (S) communicated with? THE ANSWER IS THAT THE PROPHET (S) COMMUNICATED WITH A NUMBER OF DIFFERENT ANGELS, but the only angel whose name is mentioned with regards to the revelation of the Qur'aan is Jibreel… Also, there are narrations IN WHICH THE PROPHET (S) informed the Companions THAT THE ANGELS HAD WHISPERED IN HIS EAR CERTAIN STATEMENTS. Therefore, although Jibreel was not the only angel whom the Prophet (S) communicated with, TO THE BEST OF OUR KNOWLEDGE [sic] he is the only angel that came with the Qur'aan. This agrees with the description that is given of the Qur'aan:

<< And this (Qur'aan) is a Revelation from the Lord of the world; which the trustworthy Angel (Jibreel) has brought down>> (26:192-193)

In other words, Jibreel brought down all of the Qur'an.[sic]"

(Source: Introduction to the Sciences of the Qur'aan by Abu Ammar Yasir Qadhi, p.71, Al-Hidaayah Publishing and Distribution 1999)

Thus we ask Sam Shamoun to stop prancing around acting as if you are saying something new (specifically that other Angels also descended), because this is something already well known [sic]. (Capital emphasis ours)

Talk about a person being confused! Despite admitting that Muhammad communicated with more than one angel, Umar’s source still wants to insist that only Gabriel brought down the entire Quran! The problem with this claim is that there isn’t a single text of the Quran that says that Gabriel brought down all of the Quran. In fact, the passages that we cited from the Quran emphatically contradict this statement since it plainly says that a group of persons brought down the so-called revelation. See our initial rebuttal for the details.

Moreover, Abu Ammar Yasir Qadhi begs the question, much like Umar does, since he quotes Q. 26:192-193 which refers to the true Spirit bringing down the Quran and somehow thinks that this refers to Gabriel!

When challenged to prove that the Holy Spirit is Gabriel instead of Michael, Umar runs to the Sira literature:

Just note the above in bold, and how this will eventually backfire on Shamoun. Secondly, we thank Sam Shamoun for mentioning Sura 2 Ayat 98. In the Prophet (S) biography, we find an interesting conversation between him and the Jews that occurred. It goes as follows:

?Tell us about the Spirit.'

'Do you now know that it is Gabriel, he who comes to me?'

?Agreed, but O Muhammad he is an enemy to us, an angel who comes only with violence and the shedding of blood, and were it not for that we would follow you.'

So God sent down concerning them: "Who is an enemy to Gabriel? For it is he who brought it down to they heart by God's permission confirming what was before it and a guidance and good tidings to the believers.."

(Source: The Life of Muhammad: A Translation of Ibn Ishaq's Sirat RasulAllah, by A. Guillaume, p. 255 Oxford University Press)

Syed Sulaiman Nadvi also writes:

" The Jews refused to believe in the Holy Qur'an on the plea that it was revealed through the angel, Gabriel." (Source: Sirat Un Nabi by Syed Sulaiman Nadvi Vol. III, p. 54, Kitab Bhavan New Delhi 2004)

Therefore, it is proven beyond a doubt, that the Holy Spirit is indeed Angel Gabriel, and noone [sic] else, and this is confirmed by the Holy Prophet (S) himself, as well as common sense.

Let us see if this really backfires against me. First, here is the context of Ibn Ishaq which Umar conveniently omitted:

‘Abdullah b. ‘Abdu’l-Rahman b. Abu Husayn al-Makki told me from Shahr b. Haushab al-Ash‘ari that a number of Jewish rabbis came to the apostle and asked him to answer four questions, saying that if he did so they would follow him and testify to his truth, and believe in him. He got them to swear a solemn oath that if he gave them the right answers they would acknowledge his truth and they began: ‘Why does a boy resemble his mother when the semen comes from the man?’ ‘I adjure you by God and His favours towards the children of Israel, do you not know that a man’s semen is white and thick while a woman’s is yellow and thin, and the likeness goes with which comes to the top?’ ‘Agreed.’ … Tell us about the Spirit.’ ‘Do you not know that it is Gabriel, he who comes to me?’ ‘Agreed, but O Muhammad he is an enemy to us, an angel who comes only with violence and the shedding of blood, and were it not for that we would follow you.’ So God sent down concerning them: ‘Who is an enemy to Gabriel? For it is he who brought it down to thy heart by God's permission confirming what was before it and a guidance and good tidings to the believers’…

This paragraph is brimming with errors since, a) women do not have semen (*), and b) the Jews have never considered Gabriel to be their enemy, especially when their own Scriptures speak highly of him:

"While I, Daniel, was watching the vision and trying to understand it, there before me stood one who looked like a man. And I heard a man's voice from the Ulai calling, ‘Gabriel, tell this man the meaning of the vision.’" Daniel 8:15-16

"While I was speaking and praying, confessing my sin and the sin of my people Israel and making my request to the LORD my God for his holy hill - while I was still in prayer, Gabriel, the man I had seen in the earlier vision, came to me in swift flight about the time of the evening sacrifice." Daniel 9:20-21

It is obvious that the Jews were mocking Muhammad when they said that Gabriel was their enemy since they knew he would just about believe anything they told him. Ibn Ishaq himself admitted that the Jews often ridiculed and played games on Muhammad:

About this time the Jewish rabbis showed hostility to the apostle in envy, hatred, malice, because God had chosen His apostle from the Arabs. They were joined by men from al-Aus and al-Khazraj who had obstinately clung to their heathen religion. They were hypocrites, clinging to the polytheism of their fathers denying the resurrection; yet when Islam appeared and their people flocked to it they were compelled to pretend to accept it to save their lives. But in secret they were hypocrites whose inclination was towards the Jews because they considered the apostle a liar and strove against Islam.

It was the Jewish rabbis who used to annoy the apostle with questions and introduce confusion, so as to confound the truth with falsity. The Quran used to come down in reference to these questions of theirs, though some of the questions about what was allowed and forbidden came from the Muslims themselves… (The Life of Muhammad, A Translation of Ibn Ishaq’s Sirat Rasul Allah, with introduction and notes by Alfred Guillaume [Karachi Oxford University Press, Karachi, Tenth Impression 1995], p. 239; bold and underline emphasis ours)

Among those people whom the Quran came down, especially the rabbis and the unbelieving Jews who used to ask him questions and annoy him in confusing truth with falsehood – as I was told on the authority of ‘Abdullah b. ‘Abbas and Jabir b. ‘Abdullah b. Ri’ab–was Abu Yasir b. Akhtab who passed by the apostle as he was reciting the opening words of The Cow… (P. 256)

It is truly ironic that what Umar thought was evidence supporting his position actually turns out to be even more proof that Muhammad was a false prophet.

Furthermore, here is how Muhammad responded when the Jews asked him on another occasion to divulge the precise identity of the Spirit:

Narrated 'Abdullah:
While I was going with the Prophet through the ruins of Medina and he was reclining on a date-palm leaf stalk, some Jews passed by. Some of them said to the others: Ask him (the Prophet) about the spirit. Some of them said that they should not ask him that question as he might give a reply which would displease them. But some of them insisted on asking, and so one of them stood up and asked, "O Abu-l-Qasim! What is the spirit?" The Prophet remained quiet. I thought he was being inspired Divinely. So I stayed till that state of the Prophet (while being inspired) was over. The Prophet then said, "And they ask you (O Muhammad) concerning the spirit -- Say: The spirit -- its knowledge is with my Lord. And of knowledge you (mankind) have been given only a little)." (17.85) (Sahih al-Bukhari, Volume 1, Book 3, Number 127)

Now Umar will either have to admit that Muhammad was confused, since at one time he denies knowing who or what the Spirit is whereas on another occasion he claimed that the Spirit is Gabriel, or that he didn’t read the Sira carefully.

The Jews as reported in the Sira weren’t asking about the identity of the Holy Spirit, but wanted to know who the Spirit visiting Muhammad was. In other words, they weren’t inquiring about whether the Holy Spirit was Gabriel, but were curious to know the identity of Muhammad’s spirit messenger, i.e. was he an angel from God and if so which of the angels?

Moreover, Umar must have forgotten what he wrote later regarding Q. 58:22 where he tries to "correct" Y. Ali’s exegesis:

Correcting that commentary, Mufti Shafi Usmani writes:

"The word Ruh according to some authorities on Tafsir, stands for ?light', which radiates and emanates from Allah and enters the heart of a believer which urges him to perform righteous deeds, and is the source of peace and contentment of the heart. This tranquility and satisfaction is the source of great strength and power. Other authorities say that this word stands for the Holy Qur'an and the arguments of the Holy Qur'an. This is the real strength and power of the believers (Qurtubi). Allah, the Pure, and Exalted knows best!

(Source: Maariful Qu'ran by Mufti Shafi Usmani, Volume 8, pp. 364-365)

What is evident from the above that Sura 58:22 doesn't speak of Ruh Al Qudus but just the Ruh (?Ruh' as explained by the Mufti above). Further proof is what Tafsir Jalalyn [sic] says: …

Most importantly, again the verse reads:

Thou wilt not find any people who believe in God and the Last Day, loving those who resist God and His Apostle, even though they were their fathers or their sons, or their brothers, or their kindred. For such He has written Faith in their hearts, and strengthened them with a spirit from Himself. And He will admit them to Gardens beneath which Rivers flow, to dwell therein (for ever). God will be well pleased with them, and they with Him. They are the Party of God. Truly it is the Party of God that will achieve Felicity. (Sura 58 Ayat 22)

Isn't it evident from this Ayat that all the power is with Allah SWT only??

We omitted his quotes from Tafsir al-Jalalayn since they fail to refute our points or help establish Umar’s case.

Here, Umar wants to disassociate any connection Q. 58:22 has with the Holy Spirit on the grounds that the passage speaks of Ruh, not Ruh al-Quddus. Yet earlier he tried to prove from Ibn Ishaq’s Sira that Gabriel is the Holy Spirit despite the fact that Ibn Ishaq didn’t refer to the Holy Spirit / Ruh al-Quddus but simply mentioned the Spirit or Ruh! Thus, if Umar has no problem seeing a connection between the Ruh and the Holy Spirit in the Sira then why should he have a problem making that same connection in Q. 58:22 especially when the same word Ruh is used? The inconsistency on the part of Umar is absolutely glaring and truly amazing to say the least.

And let me correct Umar at this point… the text doesn’t merely speak of the Ruh but of the Ruhin minhu, a Spirit from Him, the very title used for Christ:

People of the Book, go not beyond the bounds in your religion, and say not as to God but the truth. The Messiah, Jesus son of Mary, was only the Messenger of God, and His Word that He committed to Mary, and a Spirit from Him (Ruhin minhu). So believe in God and His Messengers, and say not, 'Three.' Refrain; better is it for you. God is only One God. Glory be to Him -- That He should have a son! To Him belongs all that is in the heavens and in the earth; God suffices for a guardian. S. 4:171 Arberry

To see how this title demonstrates the Deity of Christ we recommend that the readers consult the following articles:

http://answering-islam.org/Gilchrist/titles.html#15
http://answering-islam.org/Gilchrist/Sharing/12son.html
http://answering-islam.org/Gilchrist/Vol2/5c.html

And if the author of the Quran intended to say that Allah strengthens believers with a light from himself then he could have used the Arabic word noor, as opposed to Ruhun minhu, just as he did in the following texts:

"Those who follow the apostle, the unlettered Prophet, whom they find mentioned in their own (scriptures), - in the law and the Gospel; - for he commands them what is just and forbids them what is evil; he allows them as lawful what is good (and pure) and prohibits them from what is bad (and impure); He releases them from their heavy burdens and from the yokes that are upon them. So it is those who believe in him, honour him, help him, and follow the light which is sent down with him, - it is they who will prosper." S. 7:157 Y. Ali

Is he whose breast Allah has opened to Islam, so that he is in light from His Lord (as he who is non-Muslim)? So, woe to those whose hearts are hardened against remembrance of Allah! They are in plain error! S. 39:22 Hilali-Khan

Clearly, the Quran did not use this term which shows that the author intended to communicate something other than what these expositors are claiming, i.e. that Allah’s own Spirit, and not merely light which Allah places in the hearts, is guiding and empowering the believers wherever they are. Yet for the Spirit to be able to empower all the believers wherever they are he must be omnipresent and omnipotent, which means that the Spirit must be God!

Is it any wonder that Yusuf Ali could say that this Spirit is both incomprehensible and divine? And isn’t it evident that per this verse that all the power which Muslims supposedly receive is from the Spirit from Allah, which makes the Spirit coequal with Allah?

Here is how Umar interacts with my analysis of the Quran’s use of the term musaddaq in support of the Holy Bible’s authenticity:

On the contrary, what is written in the pamphlet concerning what the Holy Qur'an says about the Bible is true. The Holy Qur'an confirms what is authentic, and rejects that which is against what the Holy Qur'an preaches. We know this because Caliph Umar is reported to have said when a copy of the Torah was presented to him:

"If you know what it is that God revealed to Moses, read it all hours of the day and night," implying that in the present text of the Torah truth is so intertwined with falsehood that it is impossible to distinguish one from the other."

(Source: Exegesis as Polemical Discourse: Ibn Hazm on Jewish and Christian Scriptures by Theodore Pulcini p.175, The American Academy of Religion 1998)

So we ask Sam Shamoun and his missionary buddies to wake up from lala land and stop arguing that the Holy Qur'an views the Bible as 100% accurate, as you are just making yourself look foolish.

Conveniently, Umar doesn’t provide a source for this hadith which would allow for a careful examination of its context to see what al-Khattab actually meant (that is assuming that he did say that). Since Umar is clearly living in wonderland we feel it our duty to awaken him to the reality of what the second caliph truly believed about the Holy Bible:

(97, 98) These two verses were sent down, as Wahidi relates, on the authority of Ibn 'Abbas, when the Jews of Medina came to the Prophet saying, "We shall ask you concerning certain matters. If you answer us truthfully, we will follow you. Tell us who of the angels comes down to you, for there is no prophet but that an angel comes to him from his Lord with the [charge] of apostleship and revelation. Who is your angel?" He answered, "He is Gabriel." They said, "He is the one who comes down with strife and battle; he is our enemy. Had you said, ‘Michael,’ the angel who comes down with rain and mercy, we would have followed you" (Wahidi, p. 26). Wahidi further relates on the authority of al-Sha'bi that 'Umar ibn al-Khattab said, "I used to frequent the Jews in their schools WHEN THEY STUDIED THE TORAH AND MARVEL AT HOW THE TORAH CONCURS WITH THE QUR'AN AND HOW THE QUR'AN CONCURS WITH THE TORAH. They said to me, 'O 'Umar, there is no one dearer to us than you.' 'Why?' I asked. 'Because,' they said, 'you come to us and enjoy our company.' I answered, 'I come to marvel at how THE BOOKS OF GOD CONFIRM EACH OTHER.'..." (Mahmoud M. Ayoub, The Qur'an and Its Interpreters [State University of New York Press, Albany, 1984], Volume One, p. 127; bold and capital emphasis ours)

It is rather interesting that the second caliph made these comments regarding the Torah in the context of the Jews asking about the angel who came to Muhammad, which prompted the response given in Q. 2:97! This supports our exegesis that the Jews weren’t asking about the Holy Spirit, but wanted to know the name of the messenger that Muhammad claimed was visiting him.

And, according to Ibn Ishaq, this is what Muhammad said about the Torah:

The apostle wrote to the Jews of Khaybar according to what a freedman of the family of Zayd b. Thabit told me from ‘Ikrima or from Sa‘id b. Jubayr from Ibn ‘Abbas: ‘In the name of God the compassionate the merciful from Muhammad the apostle of God friend and brother of Moses WHO CONFIRMS WHAT MOSES BROUGHT. God says to you O scripture folk, and you will find it in your scripture "Muhammad is the apostle of God; and those with him are severe against the unbelievers, merciful among themselves. Thou seest them bowing, falling prostrate seeking bounty and acceptance from God. The mark of their prostrations is on their foreheads. That is their likeness in the Torah and in the Gospel like a seed which sends forth its shoot and strengthens it and it becomes thick and rises straight upon its stalk delighting the sowers that He may anger the unbelievers with them. God has promised those who believe and do well forgiveness and a great reward." I adjure you by God, AND BY WHAT HE HAS SENT DOWN TO YOU, by the manna and quails He gave as food to your tribes before you, and by His drying up the sea for your fathers when He delivered them from Pharaoh and his works, that you tell me, DO YOU FIND IN WHAT HE SENT DOWN TO YOU that you should believe in Muhammad? IF YOU DO NOT FIND THAT IN YOUR SCRIPTURE THEN THERE IS NO COMPULSION UPON YOU. "The right path has become plainly distinguished from error" so I call you to God and His Prophet’ (313). (Guillaume, p. 256; bold and capital emphasis ours)

The foregoing presupposes that Muhammad believed that the Jews of his time had the revelation which Allah sent down to Moses. There is more:

Mahmud b. Sayhan and Nu’man b. Ada’ and Bahri and ‘Uzayr and Sallam came to him and said: ‘Is it true, Muhammad, that what you have brought is the truth from God? For our part we cannot see that it is arranged as the Torah is.’ He answered, ‘You know quite well that it is from God; you will find it written IN THE TORAH WHICH YOU HAVE. If men and jinn came together to produce its like they could not.’ Finhas and ‘Abdullah b. Suriya and Ibn Saluba and Kinana b. al-Raba‘ and Ashya‘ and Ka’b b. al-Asad and Shamwil and Jabal were there and they said: ‘Did neither men nor jinn tell you this, Muhammad?’ He said: ‘You know well that it is from God and that I am the apostle of God. You will find it written IN THE TORAH YOU HAVE.’ They said: ‘When God sends an apostle He does for him what he wishes, so bring down a book to us from heaven that we may read it and know what it is, otherwise we will produce one like the one you bring.’ So God sent down concerning their words: ‘Say, Though men and jinn should meet to produce the like of this Quran they would not produce its like though one helped the other.’ (324).

Huyayy, Ka’b, Abu Rafi‘, Ashya‘, and Shamwil said to ‘Abdullah b. Sallam when he became a Muslim, ‘There is no prophecy among the Arabs, but your master is a king.’ Then they went to the apostle and asked him about Dhu’l-Qarnayn and he told them what God had sent him about him from what he had already narrated to Quraysh. They were of those who ordered Quraysh to ask the apostle about him when they sent al-Nadr and ‘Uqba to them. (Pp. 269-270; bold, underline and capital emphasis ours)

It is clear from both the Quran and the early Islamic sources that the first Muslims, such as Muhammad and his companions, believed that the Scriptures which the Jews and Christians possessed at that time were the very revealed words of God given through his prophets like Moses. The extant biblical manuscripts conclusively show that the Scriptures that these Jews and Christians had are identical to the Holy Bible that we possess today, which means that the Quran and Islamic traditions are basically confirming the authenticity of the Bible we now have.

It is rather unfortunate that Umar doesn’t believe in what his own prophet and his followers taught about the previous Scriptures, since if he did he would be forced to admit that the Bible as we know it is indeed God’s preserved Word. Sadly, Umar chooses to live in lala land regarding this issue, and in so doing exposes just how foolish he really is for denying what his own prophet believed about the Holy Bible being 100% the Word of God.

For more on this topic please consult the following material: http://answering-islam.org/Quran/Bible/index.html

And since Umar appealed to the words of the second caliph regarding the veracity of the Holy Bible here is what the latter had to say concerning whether the Quran has been fully preserved:

Narrated Ibn 'Abbas:
'Umar said, "I am afraid that after a long time has passed, people may say, ‘We do not find the Verses of the Rajam (stoning to death) IN THE HOLY BOOK,’ and consequently they may GO ASTRAY by leaving AN OBLIGATION that Allah has revealed. Lo! I confirm that the penalty of Rajam be inflicted on him who commits illegal sexual intercourse, if he is already married and the crime is proved by witnesses or pregnancy or confession." Sufyan added, "I have memorized this narration in this way." 'Umar added, "Surely Allah's Apostle carried out the penalty of Rajam, and so did we after him." (Sahih Al-Bukhari, Volume 8, Book 82, Number 816)

... In the meantime, 'Umar sat on the pulpit and when the call makers for the prayer had finished their call, 'Umar stood up, and having glorified and praised Allah as He deserved, he said, "Now then, I am going to tell you something which (Allah) has written for me to say. I do not know; perhaps it portends my death, so whoever understands and remembers it, must narrate it to the others wherever his mount takes him, but if somebody is afraid that he does not understand it, then it is unlawful for him to tell lies about me. Allah sent Muhammad with the Truth and revealed the Holy Book to him, and among what Allah revealed, was the Verse of the Rajam (the stoning of married person (male & female) who commits illegal sexual intercourse, and we did recite this Verse and understood and memorized it. Allah's Apostle did carry out the punishment of stoning and so did we after him.

I am afraid that after a long time has passed, somebody will say, ‘By Allah, we do not find the Verse of the Rajam in Allah's Book,’ and thus they will go astray by leaving an obligation which Allah has revealed. And the punishment of the Rajam is to be inflicted to any married person (male & female), who commits illegal sexual intercourse, if the required evidence is available or there is conception or confession. And then we used to recite among the Verses in Allah's BOOK: ‘O people! Do not claim to be the offspring of other than your fathers, as it is disbelief (unthankfulness) on your part that you claim to be the offspring of other than your real father’ ..." (Sahih Al-Bukhari, Volume 8, Book 82, Number 817)

Muhammad’s father-in-law and close personal friend was adamant that Allah had revealed the verse of stoning as part of the Quran, a passage that is currently missing from its pages! So much for the Quran’s claim that Allah will fully preserve it.

To read more about the verse of stoning please consult the following articles:

http://answering-islam.org/Quran/Text/stoning.html
http://answering-islam.org/Quran/Miracle/stoning.html
www.faithfreedom.org/Articles/stoning.htm

Umar tries to show that the Holy Spirit is not God, despite the fact that the Quran identifies him as the Creator, and attempts to disprove that the Quran contradicts itself when it says that Allah is the one that creates:

Hilariously enough, Sam Shamoun fails to realize that it is Allah SWT who enables the Angel to do this task. The Ayat says so clearly:

(Oh Muhammad, SAW), say, "Oh mankind! I am certainly the messenger of Allah towards you all _ (the entire world). To Him belongs the kingdom of the heavens and the earth. There is no god but He. It is He Who gives life. And He gives death! So believe in Allah and His messenger, the prophet who can neither read nor write, and who believes in Allah and His words (the commandments). Follow him, so that you may receive guidance." (Sura 7 Ayat 158)

Sam thinks by quoting Sura 19 Ayat 19 he has refuted the argument, but we beg to differ. Sura 19 Ayat 19 says, as Shamoun quotes:

He said: I am only a messenger of thy Lord, that I MAY BESTOW ON THEE a faultless son

Does this shameless individual forget however that whatever Allah SWT enables someone to do he can do. For example it is Gabriel who breathes the life into Maryam, but who gave the life? It was obviously God Almighty! Like when Prophet Isa (A) did the miracles, who enabled him to do so?? Is Jesus God because he raised the dead?? Obviously not, since Jesus himself says:

By myself I can do nothing; I judge only as I hear, and my judgment is just, for I seek not to please myself but him who sent me. (John 5:30)

Therefore, it is Allah SWT who is the real cause for this life, all the Angel is doing is carrying out his commands.

We honestly do not know what to say to Sam Shamoun, since his arrogance and ignorance has made him stubborn. Let him just remember La Hawla Wala Quwatta Illa Billah (There is No Change or Power Except through Allah)!

What is hilarious is how Umar contradicts himself since he initially said that:

Again, this verse IS NOT SAYING that the Holy Spirit gives life, infact it is very clear above in the bold, that it is Allah SWT who gives life, as it is made clear in this Quranic Ayat: (Capital and underline emphasis ours)

Yet he now uses this very passage to prove that Allah enabled the Spirit (not angel) to create! So which is it, what are we supposed to believe? Does Q. 19:19 say that the Spirit gives life or not? Or was it Allah who really gave life to Jesus, not the Spirit? Can Umar even make up his mind?

Umar isn’t the only person contradicting himself since even the Quran is confused whether Allah is the only creator or whether there are others who can create as well: http://answering-islam.org/Quran/Contra/death_angels.html, http://answering-islam.org/Quran/Contra/jesus_creator.htm

Moreover, to say that Allah enabled the Spirit to give life is simply another way of saying that the Spirit was the one who actually created the life of Christ.

To illustrate what we mean, the Quran says that Allah creates what is in the wombs:

We created man of an extraction of clay, then We set him, a drop, in a receptacle secure, then We created of the drop a clot then We created of the clot a tissue then We created of the tissue bones then We garmented the bones in flesh; thereafter We produced him as another creature. So blessed be God, the fairest of creators! S. 23:12-14 Arberry

But how does God create human life? Through the act of sexual intercourse, of course. God has enabled humans to propagate their race through sexual reproduction. Now does this mean that since the ability of a man and woman to procreate is from God that they are not really responsible for producing a child? And would this further imply that they are not the parents of that child since the ability to procreate came from God, not from them? Obviously not.

Hence, just because Umar thinks that the Spirit (not the angel as he erroneously claims since Q. 19:19 mentions Allah’s Spirit) was enabled by Allah to create this does nothing to refute the plain teaching of the Quran that the Spirit created Jesus.

More importantly, there is no passage in the Quran that says that the Spirit was enabled by Allah to create. Umar erroneously thinks that the Spirit is a creature, as opposed to being the Creator, and on that basis has mistakenly assumed that Allah must have given him his ability to create. But instead of presenting the Spirit as a creature the Quran actually identifies him as God and as the Agent of life, points that Umar has failed to contest or refute.

The simple fact is that Umar isn’t refuting anything at all but simply tossing out rabbit trails in order to confuse the readers and hide the fact that he got caught contradicting himself.

In light of the foregoing, does (modifying Umar’s words at this point) this shameless, lying pagan black-stone worshiper forget what he first wrote? And does this follower of a false prophet think that we wouldn’t expose his lies for all to see?

And even more hilarious is Umar’s use of John 5:30 to prove his point, when it actually establishes our case against him. Here is the context which Umar conveniently omitted:

"So Jesus said to them, ‘Truly, truly, I say to you, the Son can do nothing of his own accord, but only what he sees the Father doing. For WHATEVER the Father does, THAT THE SON DOES LIKEWISE. For the Father loves the Son and shows him all that he himself is doing. And greater works than these will he show him, so that you may marvel. For as the Father raises the dead and gives them life, SO ALSO THE SON GIVES LIFE TO WHOM HE WILL. The Father judges no one, but has given all judgment to the Son, that all may honor the Son, JUST AS they honor the Father. Whoever does not honor the Son does not honor the Father who sent him. Truly, truly, I say to you, whoever hears MY WORD and believes him who sent me has eternal life. He does not come into judgment, but has passed from death to life. Truly, truly, I say to you, an hour is coming, and is now here, when the dead will hear THE VOICE OF THE SON OF GOD, and those who hear will live. For as the Father has life in himself, so he has granted THE SON ALSO TO HAVE LIFE IN HIMSELF. And he has given him authority to execute judgment, because he is the Son of Man. Do not marvel at this, for an hour is coming when all who are in the graves will hear HIS VOICE and come out, those who have done good to the resurrection of life, and those who have done evil to the resurrection of judgment.’" John 5:19-29

Notice that here, in the above, Jesus makes the following astounding claims:

With the foregoing in mind it should be clear to the readers what Jesus actually meant when he said he could nothing by himself, on his own authority. Jesus’ statements simply mean that he does nothing independently from God the Father since, as a member of the glorious and blessed Triune Godhead, Christ always and only works in perfect union with the other Divine Persons. Jesus says the same exact thing about the Holy Spirit:

"When the Spirit of truth comes, he will guide you into all the truth, for he will not speak on his own authority, but whatever he hears he will speak, and he will declare to you the things that are to come." John 16:13

So to answer Umar’s question, Jesus raised the dead in order to demonstrate that he is indeed God Almighty in the flesh, the eternal Son of God who is coequal with the Father in essence. For more on Jesus’ miracles and their relationship to his Deity we recommend the following articles:

http://answering-islam.org/Shamoun/q_jesus_miracles.htm
http://answering-islam.org/Shamoun/q_can_do_nothing.htm

Finally, even if we were to accept that the Holy Spirit is Gabriel this still wouldn’t prove Umar’s case in the least bit. This would simply prove that Gabriel isn’t a creature but God Almighty, one of several Persons whom the Quran identifies as Deity. After all, according to God’s true Word the Holy Bible, as well as the Quran, the Holy Spirit has the following characteristics and names:

Thus, if Gabriel were the Holy Spirit then he too would have all of the above characteristics and names, and therefore would have to be God! In other words,

  1. The Holy Spirit is God Almighty according to the Holy Bible and the Quran.
  2. The angel Gabriel is the Holy Spirit.
  3. Therefore, the angel Gabriel is God Almighty according to the Holy Bible and the Quran.

This means that Umar would have to change his entire view about Gabriel, as well as modifying his position regarding the nature of Allah. Umar must accept that the Quran teaches that Allah is a multi-personal Being and that the name of one of these Persons of God is Gabriel!

For more on this issue we recommend the following articles:

http://answering-islam.org/Shamoun/allah_plurality.htm
http://answering-islam.org/Quran/Contra/jesus_creator.htm

We omit the rest of Umar’s "rebuttal" since there is nothing there worth responding to.

And with that I want to conclude my refutation of this dawagandist’s deluded attempt of trying to prove the Holy Spirit is the angel Gabriel according to Islam by using his introductory remarks against him (albeit in a modified form).

The readers shouldn’t be surprised that Umar has once again failed to defend his case since we have come to expect this from such a Muslim dawagandist who writes for websites that have done greater damage to the cause of Islam. Muslims like Umar only manage to produce shoddy rebuttals that help us expose Muhammad as a false prophet and which cause major humiliation for their fellow Muslims.

And Truly, the Triune God Knows Best!

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