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Offline Reader Questions

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Questions About Surah Fil (Chapter 105)
« on: March 15, 2012, 04:20:25 AM »
Assalamu alaikum,

I always have questions about the commentries that i have read on the surah al fil.

Since Christianity was one of the only two revealed religions at that time and Abraha wanted to destroy the ka'aba which was then a center of idolatory in order to divert pilgrims to the new church he built in Yemen, why would God destroy him? Remember he wanted to divert people from a center where idols were worshiped to where one true God was worshiped.

Kindly share your thoughts on this.

Wassalam

Offline Joseph Islam

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    • The Quran and its Message
Re: Questions About Surah Fil (Chapter 105)
« Reply #1 on: March 15, 2012, 04:25:01 AM »
Salamun Alaikum.

The Story of Abraha and all the details are written by later professional 'story tellers' centuries removed from the Prophet's ministry and are not found in the Quran. The Quran simply relates an incident which the people at the time may have been familiar with and no details are given in the Quran other than the ones present in the short Surah.

If the details were crucial for mankind's guidance, they would have been mentioned in the Quran which calls itself 'mufassalan' (explained in detail) 6:114, tafsila (detailed explanation) 12:111 and 'tibiana lekulli shaun' (clarification of all things) 16:89.

The Quran asks us to rely on clear matters and not indulge ourselves of details which are not important to us (18:22) for our guidance.

The earliest record of a detailed story is found in the Sira of Ibn Ishaq. My studies in this area have found this kind of 'story telling' highly questionable. Ibn Ishaq is the earliest historian of Islam from where we get a comprehensive Prophetic biograpahy.

Please find information with regards him below:

IBN ISHAQ'S SIRA OF PROPHET MUHAMMAD (pbuh)
http://quransmessage.com/articles/ibn%20ishaq%20FM3.htm

As I do not trust the overall veracity of the information given the late compilation of the source and the manner in which it is collated, I would question the whole narrative attached to it and rely simply on the Quranic narratives and on clear proof. The following articles may also help.

THE QURAN STANDS ALONE AS SOLE RELIGIOUS GUIDANCE
http://quransmessage.com/articles/quran%20sole%20guidance%20FM3.htm

UNKNOWN TOWNS AND NAMES - WHY FILL IN THE GAPS?
http://quransmessage.com/articles/unknown%20towns%20and%20names%20FM3.htm

I hope this helps, God willing,
Joseph.
'During times of universal deceit, telling the truth becomes a revolutionary act' 
George Orwell