To Shibb.

 Here is an interesting Chronological contradiction in your Bible.

 Mark 11:12-16:
"The next day as they were leaving Bethany, Jesus was hungry. Seeing in the distance a fig tree in leaf, he went to find out if it had any fruit. When he reached it, he found nothing but leaves, because it was not the season for figs. Then he said to the tree, "May no one ever eat fruit from you again." And his disciples heard him say it. On reaching Jerusalem, Jesus entered the temple area and began driving out those who were buying and selling there. He overturned the tables of the money changers and the benches of those selling doves, and would not allow anyone to carry merchandise through the temple courts."

 So according to Mark's Gospel Jesus cursed the fig tree then entered the temple area.

 Now let us see what Matthew's Gospel says about this event.

 Matthew 21:12-19:
"Jesus entered the temple area and drove out all who were buying and selling there. He overturned the tables of the money changers and the benches of those selling doves. "It is written," he said to them, " 'My house will be called a house of prayer,' but you are making it a 'den of robbers.'" The blind and the lame came to him at the temple, and he healed them. But when the chief priests and the teachers of the law saw the wonderful things he did and the children shouting in the temple area, "Hosanna to the Son of David," they were indignant. "Do you hear what these children are saying?" they asked him. "Yes," replied Jesus, "have you never read, " 'From the lips of children and infants you have ordained praise?" And he left them and went out of the city to Bethany, where he spent the night. Early in the morning, as he was on his way back to the city, he was hungry. Seeing a fig tree by the road, he went up to it but found nothing on it except leaves. Then he said to it, "May you never bear fruit again!" Immediately the tree withered."

 So according to Matthew Jesus entered the temple area then cursed the fig tree.

 Even Biblical scholar Eduard Schweizer openly admit this contradiction and writes:

 "There is no way to resolve the contradiction."

 So what is a logical response by Mr.Shibb who repeatedly confess that Bible is a God's word.

 

Assalamu alaika Sliman.

Congratulations for joining this forum. I hope you joined it to understand Allah and what Muhammad as His final Messenger came to do.
Muhammad's teaching is not to be taken like an end product- you just purchase it without knowing the process. Unfortunately, this is what is presented by the Muslim Umma. Muhammad spent thirteen years explaining the process of revelation and the Nature of Allah, His Attributes etc. I am not saying that you must take thirteen years also. But you should go through that process to fit into chapter 6:105:Thus We explain variously the Verses so that they (the disbelievers) may say: "You (Muhammad) have studied (the Book of the People of the Scriptures and brought this Qur'an from that)" and that We may make the matter clear for the people who may have the knowledge.
Therefore what is represented by the participants in this dialogue is not what Muhammad came to do.
This is the actual work of Muhammad. In chapter 5:15, Allah addresses those with the previous Scripture: O people of the Scripture (Jews and Christians! Now has come to you Our Messenger (Muhammad) explaining to you  much of that which you used to hide from the Scripture and pass over (i.e. leaving out without explaining) much. Indeed there come to you from Allah a light (Muhammad) and a plain Book. Secondly in the same chapter:19, Allah says, "O people of the scripture! Now has come to you Our Messenger (Muhamamd) making (things) clear unto you, after a break in (the series of) Messengers, lest you say: "There came unto us no bringer of glad tidings and no warner." But now has come unto you a bringer of glad tidings and a warner. And Allah is able to do all things. From this verse to verse 32 is what Allah revealed to Muhammad to the Jews reminding them of their ancestors. it is left to the Jews to accept or reject it.
The greatest lie ever told by Allah for those who want to belive in that is what Allah revealed to Muhammad in chapter 7:157, "Those (i.e. the Jews in Syria, Rome, Iran, Madina and the Christians in Najran) who follow the Messenger, the prophet who can neither read nor write (i.e. Muhammad and not one other than him) whom they find written with them in the Taurat and the Injeel, he commands them (i.e. referring to the Jews in Madina after the Hijra and not before the Hijra) for Al-Ma'ruf (i.e. what is in the ten Commandments)..."
You will never understand 2;29 because you do not know how to translate and understand the Qur'an. in short Allah here is explaining His Rububiyya. In 79:27, Allah is addressing those who denied Him as creator with what they do not know about the creation of the lower heavens i.e. including the earth and human beings. We know about embryology today.
Contradiction is from the original text and not from the translation that invariably in the end carries the same meaning.
I have interest in you because you are in America where since you were colonized by the Protestants you knew nothing about Muhammad. It is difficult withing a glimpse of a second to remove that imbibed in you hating Muhammad and not MONARCHS. If you can understand Muhammad then you will help in removing TERRORISM. Terrorism is a result of the failure of the world POWERS and the POPE and other RELIGIOUS leaders to understand that Muhammad came to make the Torah his Shari'a. Muhammad lived in the midst of the LEVI tribes and not other tribes of the Children of Israel.
Friendship.

Assalamu alaikum.

Brother Sliman posted: But unfortunately, my skepticism also fires up when I have also come up against many such sites that make claims about Islam and raise it up to standards that it cannot uphold.
Response: you are lucky if you have maintained your language probably Arabic. I have to learn Arabic, but could not continue as I had to learn English. Arabic language unfortunately has no place among the Muslim Umma. Any one with strong faith will see many funny things done and said by the Muslims. It was only in 1990 that I decided to start reading Islamic books as a protest because what they say is in total contradiction of the life of the Noble Muhammad. What Islam must uphold are the practices of Muhammad called his SUNANAN. Unfortunately even in the holy mosques you see people praying the way they liked. The very moment an American accepts Islam his ambition is to go for the Pilgrimage to insult Muhammad Rasulullah. Nobody to correct them. Look at the expansion of the mosques, congregating illiterate and impoverished folks. EDUCATION IS FOREMOST IN ISLAM FOR NO ONE IS SUPPOSED TO PERFORM AN ACT UNLESS HE IS FULLY AWARE, CONVERSANT WITH THE RULES, GUIDELINES AND ETIQUETTE OF THAT IBADAT. As for the Sciences of the Qur'an nobody is interested in assimilating those sciences in our education curriculum. I do not think there is ever a faculty of pharmaceutical sciences that investigated the date tree or its fruit to find the substance that reduced the labour pains of Maryam the mother Jesus. Look the absurdity in not discouraging the People of the Book to read the holy Qur'an! Yes, indeed for our mundane affairs we have raised Islam to standards that it cannot uphold. Where is the Khalifate with the Khalifa leading the five daily prayers?
2. Your comment: After all, when Muslims challenge non-Muslims with such grandiose statements --- like that the Quran is perfect, is has no contradictions, that it is scientifically perfect, etc --- this incites people to study the Quran and note that it is not what many Muslims like to claim it as.
Response: The Sciences of the holy Qur'an are facing what the Bible faced during the Olympian age of Antiquity. The translation and interpretation of the holy Qur'an is under the Monarchs who get their position without any qualification. They allowed this disastrous trend to gravitate to authorship and translation of the Qur'an. The moment you try to translate an incident according to the Sunna, to fit our scientific achievements you are targeted as an innovator and rejector. You cannot compare the Bible with the Sunna and draw out a legal rule. Muhammad did not come to teach us the Sciences of the holy Qur'an. Abdullah ibn Abbas skipped such controversial issues claiming that the time for their correct interpretation will soon come. But what are we doing today? The contradictions in the Qur'an is man made, because we do not regard it as our complete way of life. The freedom and laxity in it is translated into obstruction and strangulation. Look at our way of life. I am not against riches or enjoyment, but the Bible is clear on what to do with wealth. Now, did Muhammad dispelled this institution in Madina? Never! the first thing he did was to establish brotherhood where no one is left unattended. The Jews of Madina understood this as their Shari'a and endorsed it.
My advice is you go back to reading Islamic books on your own to save yourself from the torment of Hell-Fire.
Friendship. 

Sliman,

Edited by honeto - 25 October 2010 at 3:13pm