A Slander Refutation
Abstract: the purpose of this paper is to present verified and authentic proof that will dislodge Christians' myth about Paul being mentioned in Muslim's Nobel Qur'an. In pursuing the answer in History and Scholars' interpretation books, it is found that this claim is groundless and that Paul was a Jewish man who belied and misguided Christians deviating them from the righteous path and he was not the messenger of Allah nor the messenger of his Prophet, Jesus ( PBUH) .
Introduction:
Many Christians attempt to seek a supporting proof for their belief that Paul is the messenger of Allah from Muslim authentic Qur'anic verses. They base their claims on Chapter 36 ( Ya-Sin) of the Noble Book . Here what it says:
وَاضْرِبْ لَهُم مَّثَلاً أَصْحَابَ الْقَرْيَةِ إِذْ جَاءهَا الْمُرْسَلُون َ
Meaning: Give for them a similitude: The people of the city when those sent (from Allah) came unto them; 36.13.
Their claim is based on quotations reported by some Muslim Scholars, who explain that the mentioned messengers in this story are Jesus' (PBUH) Disciples, whom Jesus had sent to Antakiah City to invite them to monotheism and Paul was one of them.
Here, we must have a stance. For, Interpretation Scholars have two popular sayings in this issue:
The first saying which is the preponderant: It explains that these messengers were Allah's messengers and not Jesus' (PBUH).
The second saying is not so preponderant. It lacks proof and continuity of transmitters for the reported hadiths which suggest that these messengers were Jesus' (PBUH).
We will clarify to readers here how the first opinion is the accounted for opinion while the second is almost unanimously denied. Even if we assume that it was meant that the messengers were Jesus', this will not raise Paul's concernment at all because he was never among the Disciples or companions of Jesus, besides, he had never seen Jesus in his lifetime, as agreed by all interpretation scholars. He is thus deprived of this honor.
Summary: We reiterate that whether they are the messengers of Allah or those of Jesus', Paul is not among them. Qur'an is totally purified of mentioning his name. The so called Paul was mentioned elsewhere according to the second unconfirmed narrations . Below we give the details of our research.
Scholars who agreed that Sura of Ya-Sin referred to messengers were those of Jesus' (PBUH), failed to unanimously agree that Paul was one of them. Some accounted him as one of the three messengers while the rest did not, even those who considered him to be so never came to a consensus! Some accounted him as one of the first two sent and others considered him the third, which was sent alone to re-enforce the first two. The verse says:
إِذْ أَرْسَلْنَا إِلَيْهِمُ اثْنَيْنِ فَكَذَّبُوهُمَا فَعَزَّزْنَا بِثَالِثٍ فَقَالُوا إِنَّا إِلَيْكُم مُّرْسَلُون َ
36.14. When We sent unto them twain , and they denied them both , so We reinforced them with a third , and they said ; Lo! We have been sent unto you.
There are some important points have to be made here:
Muslims know that their interpretation scholars are not infallible, thus they can err. They do not however require specifying what was not specified by Qur'an; because the purpose of the Qur'anic stories materializes without specification.
There is consensus that it is not obligatory to abide by or quote from all scholars because of the infallibility issue explained above. All agree that infallibility rather pertains to scholars consent; besides, the Muslim nation never agrees on aberrances or deviations. Muslims only abide by their trusted and authenticated sources: God's words: Qur'an, and those of the Prophet: Hadiths.
If scholars disagree in reporting or in any legislative (Shari'a related) matter, Muslims then take the closest saying that conforms to Qur'an and Sunnah (Muhammad's sayings.). These were the advice of Muslim scholars to their people.
The suspicion of mentioning Paul in Qur'an found marketability among Christians because of their ignorance of the above explained bases of quoting scholars. So if they find a Muslim scholar saying that Paul is mentioned in Qur'an; they stick it to Qur'an rather than to the reporter himself.
• Qur'anic stories style usually obscure, a lot of times, the names of its characters, yet this does not affect the understanding of the story; because what Qur'an obscures does not hinder understanding the events of the main story that Qur'an wants to establish. This is done in such a stimulating way that drives the readers' minds to smoothly deduce the wisdom and allegories enclosed in them.
This has never been the case with the other falsified s c r i p t u r e s of non-Muslims, which record all the unnecessary and useless details that distract attention. Non Muslims are thus not accustomed to this Qur'anic style which purifies the story of the unnecessary events in such a way that frees the minds to deduce the good lessons out of it.
• The fact that some scholars mention every detail they hear of in their books, even if it was built on Israelites superstitions, has to be understood properly by non Muslims. They do so because scientific honesty necessitates to transmit exactly every thing that pertains to a given story and to enrich it and make its reading enjoyable. They should also understand that abridgement is a unique characteristic of the Noble Qur'an perfection and inimitability. A divine capability never found in any man written s c r i p t u r e s.
One may say: well. Don't you think that since Paul was mentioned by your interpreters as one of Jesus' messengers, he is not then a liar?
Our response to that saying:
There is not a single narration with continuously conforming transmissions (Sanad Sahih) that reports the mentioning of Paul, neither by the scholars' followers nor by others! All narrations are poorly verified. Despite their weakness of authenticity, they became popular but with a general meaning; the Messengers were Jesus' Disciples.
Besides, mentioning the specific names of these messengers was uncommon among interpreters which makes its authenticity questionable. This explains the disturbance of specifying the Disciples names. Hence, it is not correct to lean on unverified stories as a reference or a source of reliable information.
However, having said so does not prevent discussing the unsupported opinion above. Besides, Prophet Muhammad (SAAW) has never mentioned Paul’s name in any of his sayings (hadiths). The word Polos (aka. Paul) was mentioned only once when he (SAAW) informed companions of the name of a valley in Hellfire that has the same name, which is not proved either!
One may wonder: How did Christians get this information then? We say, they have been narrating what was told to them by their Priests and Pontiffs. Not every told thing to them is verily or truth. Another may also say why Muslims accepted the unauthenticated stories? They had rather prove to everyone that Paul was a liar!
Our response to this:
The veracity of whether Paul is the same person used to be called Saul the Jewish or not, has not been established yet. Therefore, it does not harm Muslims or make it mandatory for them to embrace these afore said unverified opinions nor fear stating that scholars were ignorant of Paul’s true being; because an issue may be comprehendible to one scholar and not to another, and all Muslims believe in this divine creation wisdom without any arguments. Besides, stating so will not belittle or reduce these interpreters' prestige in Islam. It is also not a condition in the interpretation science (or any science) that to be a scholar one should not err! Prophets only are infallible.
It is worth noting that there were also many obscure issues for the Sahaba (the Prophet's companions - PBUT) due to absence of information which got unveiled after his death (SAAW), and this did not affect their sublimity.
Below we will give you a handful of proof to dislodge this Myth:
Ibn Katheer's Interpretation
"Allah says to His Apostle: Muhammad, tell your people who deny you and accuse you of lying, the example and story of the City, which We sent messengers to"
Here, Ibn Ishaq cites according to what Ibn Abbas transmitted to him and according to what had been narrated through Ka’ab Al-Ahbar, and Wahb Ibn Munabbah: "It is Antioch city, which had a king named Antikhs Ibn Antikhs Ibn Antikhs, and he used to worship idols. Then Allah (SWT) sent him three messengers called: Sadiq, Sadouq and Shalom. But the king belied them. This was also narrated by Buraida Ibn Al-Khasib , ‘Ikrimah, Qutada, and Az-Zuhri, they all said " it was Antioch ...Although some scholars were unsure of its being Antioch. We will come to that later- God willing. He said. Here we want to draw your attention to the number of Hadith transmitters indicating authenticity. (p. 567)
After the completion of the story Ibn Kathir fulfilled what he promised us; for he says in p. 570: "And from what has preceded, and according to many of our Salaf, this village is Antioch, and that these three were messengers of Jesus'. He says:
There are many possible interpretations to this, he comments:
• The first : to take the story at face value and show that these were Messengers of Allah's (SWT), not of Jesus'; verses no.14-17 of chapter 36 ( Ya-Sin)
إِذْ أَرْسَلْنَا إِلَيْهِمُ اثْنَيْنِ فَكَذَّبُوهُمَا فَعَزَّزْنَا بِثَالِثٍ فَقَالُوا إِنَّا إِلَيْكُم مُّرْسَلُونَ، قَالُوا مَا أَنتُمْ إِلاَّ بَشَرٌ مِّثْلُنَا وَمَا أَنزَلَ الرَّحْمن مِن شَيْءٍ إِنْ أَنتُمْ إِلاَّ تَكْذِبُونَ، قَالُوا رَبُّنَا يَعْلَمُ إِنَّا إِلَيْكُمْ لَمُرْسَلُونَ وَمَا عَلَيْنَا إِلاَّ الْبَلاَغُ الْمُبِينُ
Meaning of 36.15-17: " When We sent unto them twain, they denied them both, so We reinforced them with a third, and they said; Lo! we have been sent unto you . They then said: Ye are but mortals like unto us. The Beneficent hath naught revealed. Ye do but lie! They answered: Our lord knoweth that we are indeed sent unto you. And our duty is but the plain conveyance of the message ".
Ibn Kathir continues to explain: " if they were Jesus' Disciples they would have used different words that suit their status and not say: "you are but mortals like us"
• The second: It is widely known that the People of Antioch believed Jesus' Disciples who were sent to them, and that Antioch was the first believing city. That is why it is one of the four major Christian cities which have Patriarchs. If it were decided that Antioch was the first city that believed Jesus' Disciples, how can it then be the same village that God destroyed because it denied them? Qur'an says:
إِن كَانَتْ إِلاَّ صَيْحَةً وَاحِدَةً فَإِذَا هُمْ خَامِدُون َ
Meaning: It was but one Shout, and lo! They were extinct. 36.29.
• The third: Antioch story with Jesus Disciples happened after the revelation of the Torah For; Abu Sa’eed Al-Khidri - may Allah be pleased with him- mentioned along with many others, that Allah (SWT) did not only destroy those old nations by merely inflicting chastisement on them, but He also ordered believers to fight polytheists . this saying was supported by this Quranic verse :
وَلَقَدْ آتَيْنَا مُوسَى الْكِتَابَ مِن بَعْدِ مَا أَهْلَكْنَا الْقُرُونَ الْأُولَى بَصَائِرَ لِلنَّاسِ وَهُدًى وَرَحْمَةً لَّعَلَّهُمْ يَتَذَكَّرُونَ
Meaning: And We verity gave the s c r i p t u r e unto Moses after We had destroyed the generations of old ; as clear testimonies for mankind , and a guidance and a mercy , that haply they might reflect . 28.43
Conclusion: Ibn Kathir's does not say that Paul was one of Jesus' messengers or Disciples as it seems he did not originally believe that the messengers referred to in Chapter 36 of Qur'an ( Ya-Sin) are the messengers of Jesus. He rather clearly says they were the messengers of Allah.
Al Galalain Interpretation
• Other Interpretation Books such Al Galalin saw that the messengers were Jesus' Disciples. We again say that we are not obliged to embrace the sayings of those late writers who do not have enough proof for their interpretations; unlike Qutada and others. Besides this does not mean that Paul was one of them. Once again, he is deprived of the honor of Jesus' companionship!
Hadith of Ibn Ishaq
Some Christians quote this Hadith which was narrated by Ibn Ishaq as the ground of their myth:
" One day, the Prophet (SAAW) went out to his Companions and said: Allah sent me as a mercy for all mankind, Give up to me slaves of Allah, so you get Allah's mercy , and do not differ on me as the Disciples differed on Jesus, the companions then asked : and how O messenger of Allah was their difference ? He said: He called them to the same thing I am calling you for. Those who loved and greeted him willfully believed and those who denied him refused. Jesus then complained them to Allah. So each man of them became talking in a different language; the language of the people he was sent to".
This Hadith proves again that there is no a mentioning of Paul in Muhammad's (SAAW) sayings. He said "Jesus Disciples" and never named them.
Readers must have noticed that we neglected or deferred the discussion of the other preponderant opinions which says that the messengers were sent by Allah! We did not. We will quote you below Ibn Taimiyah's opinion on this issue which dislodges any allegations which claim that Chapter 36 of the Noble Qur'an (Surat Ya-Sin) mentioned or even meant that they were the Disciple of Jesus by any means. The quotations are self-explanatory and we urge reader to read them carefully.
Ibn Taimiyah's Interpretation
Ibn Taimiyyah says in his book titled "the Correct answer to who changed Jesus' Religion" on page 251:
"There is not a single verse in the Noble Qur'an that says that the disciples are messengers of Allah. It was never stated too that Allah sent them. However, in Chapter 36 (Ya-Sin) where it says:
وَاضْرِبْ لَهُم مَّثَلاً أَصْحَابَ الْقَرْيَةِ إِذْ جَاءهَا الْمُرْسَلُونَ إِذْ أَرْسَلْنَا إِلَيْهِمُ اثْنَيْنِ فَكَذَّبُوهُمَا فَعَزَّزْنَا بِثَالِثٍ فَقَالُوا إِنَّا إِلَيْكُم مُّرْسَلُونَ قَالُوا مَا أَنتُم إِلاَّ بَشَرٌ مِّثْلُنَا وَمَا أَنزَلَ الرَّحْمن مِن شَيْءٍ إِنْ أَنتُمْ إِلاَّ تَكْذِبُونَ ْقَالُوا رَبُّنَا يَعْلَمُ إِنَّا إِلَيْكُمْ لَمُرْسَلُونَ وَمَا عَلَيْنَا إِلاَّ الْبَلاَغُ الْمُبِينُ قَالُوا إِنَّا تَطَيَّرْنَا بِكُمْ لَئِن لَّمْ تَنتَهُوا لَنَرْجُمَنَّكُمْ وَلَيَمَسَّنَّكُم مِّنَّا عَذَابٌ أَلِيمٌ قَالُوا طَائِرُكُمْ مَعَكُمْ أَئِن ذُكِّرْتُم بَلْ أَنتُمْ قَوْمٌ مُّسْرِفُونَ وَجَاء مِنْ أَقْصَى الْمَدِينَةِ رَجُلٌ يَسْعَى قَالَ يَا قَوْمِ اتَّبِعُوا الْمُرْسَلِينَ اتَّبِعُوا مَن لاَّ يَسْأَلُكُمْ أَجْراً وَهُم مُّهْتَدُونَ وَمَا لِي لاَ أَعْبُدُ الَّذِي فَطَرَنِي وَإِلَيْهِ تُرْجَعُونَ أَأَتَّخِذُ مِن دُونِهِ آلِهَةً إِن يُرِدْنِ الرَّحْمَن بِضُرٍّ لاَّ تُغْنِ عَنِّي شَفَاعَتُهُمْ شَيْئاً وَلاَ يُنقِذُونِ إِنِّي إِذاً لَّفِي ضَلاَلٍ مُّبِينٍ إِنِّي آمَنتُ بِرَبِّكُمْ فَاسْمَعُونِ قِيلَ ادْخُلِ الْجَنَّةَ قَالَ يَا لَيْتَ قَوْمِي يَعْلَمُونَ بِمَا غَفَرَ لِي رَبِّي وَجَعَلَنِي مِنَ الْمُكْرَمِينَ وَمَا أَنزَلْنَا عَلَى قَوْمِهِ مِن بَعْدِهِ مِنْ جُندٍ مِّنَ السَّمَاءِ وَمَا كُنَّا مُنزِلِينَ إِن كَانَتْ إِلاَّ صَيْحَةً وَاحِدَةً فَإِذَا هُمْ خَامِدُونَ يَا حَسْرَةً عَلَى الْعِبَادِ مَا يَأْتِيهِم مِّن رَّسُولٍ إِلاَّ كَانُوا بِهِ يَسْتَهْزِئُون يس (13-30)
Meaning of the above verses (13-30):
"Tell for them a similitude: The people of the city when those sent (from Allah) came unto them. When We sent unto them twain , and they denied them both , so We reinforced them with a third , and they said ; Lo! We have been sent unto you. They said: Ye are but mortals like unto us. The Beneficent hath naught revealed. Ye do but lie. They answered: Our lord knoweth that we are indeed sent unto you, and our duty is but plain conveyance (of the message). (The people of the city) said: We augur ill of you. If ye desist not, we shall surely stone you, and grievous torture will befall you at our hands. They said: Your evil augury is with you! Is it because ye are reminded (of the truth)? Nay, but ye are froward folk. And there came from the uttermost part of the city a man running. He cried: O my people! Follow those who have been sent! Minded (of the truth)? Nay, but ye are froward folk. Follow those who ask of you no fee, and who are rightly guided. For what cause should I not serve Him who hath created me, and unto whom ye will be brought back? Shall I take (other) gods in place of Him when, if the Beneficent should wish me any harm, their intercession will avail me naught, nor can they save? Then truly I should be in error manifest. Lo! I have believed in your Lord, so hear met. It was said (unto him): Enter Paradise. He said: Would that my people knew" With what (munificence) my Lord hath pardoned me and made me of the honored ones!. We sent not down against his people after him a host from heaven, nor do we ever send. It was but one Shout, and lo! They were extinct. Ah, the anguish for the bondmen! Never came there unto them a messenger but they did mock him! "
He says: these are Allah's words! It does not mention that these messengers were the Disciples, nor does it say that the people they were sent to believed them. It also mentions that these people were extinct by a one cry sent from Allah.
Narrators and Historians Sayings
Many narrators and historians have too mentioned that these were the disciples and that the village was Antioch, and that this man referred to was named Habib Al-Najjar, while others say that the messengers were sent during Jesus' lifetime. But Christians believe that the people of Antioch believed the Disciples and followed them and that Allah did not extinct this City, whereas Qur'an says that God demolished this man's people.
Christian S c r i p t u r e s Sayings
Christians also say: they came to Antioch’s people after raising Jesus and the ones (messengers) who came were two without a third. They also reported that one was called Shim’on Al-Safa, and the other was Paul, and that Antioch people believed in them, they do not mention Habib Al-Najjar nor the arrival of a man from the uttermost place of the city, but they say: Shim’on and Paul prayed to Allah until he revived the king's son.
Christian s c r i p t u r e s thus state that they were not Jesus' disciples which concords with Muslim scholars and interpreters sayings. They reported that the messengers of Ya-Sin in Qur'an are not from the Disciples, and that story happened before Jesus' life time besides they had other names; not the disciples as was reported by Muhammad Ibn Ishaq.
Mohamed Ibn Isacc Narration
Salmah Ibn Al-Fadl reported that Muhammad Ibn Ishaq told him when they were discussing Ya-Sin chapter 36 of the Noble Qur'an and through a chain of narrators; Ibn Abbas, from Ka'ab, from Wahb Ibn Munabbah, say that it was a man from Antioch people, and his name was Habib, his craft was weaving silk, and he was a sick man; leprosy spread in his body. He lived in a house nearby the city doors where he conducted his trading business; he was a charitable righteous person. He used to earn his living, split his earnings, gives half of it to his children and the rest to charity. There used to live a Pharaoh in this same city of Habib, and his name was Intkhs Ibn Intnkhs. He used to worship idols; he was a polytheist. God sent his three messengers for this Pharaoh; they were called Sadik, Masdouk and Shalom. Allah sent the first two messengers and when the Pharaoh belied them Allah re-enforced them with a third.
Al-Rabee’ Ibn Anas
Al-Rbee’ Ibn Anas narrated from Abul-‘Aliya about God's saying " tell them the example of the peoples of the town when the messengers were sent to them , and when we sent them two whom they denied, then we reinforced them with a third messenger " chapter 36.13: To strengthen the proof of their denial for the messengers God sent a third. When they approached the village people, they called them to monotheism, but they denied them, so they approached a man who lived in a farm, he then asked them who are you? They answered that they are God's messengers, they are sent for the people of this village to invite them to monotheism, so he asked them: are you getting paid for doing this? They said no. So he threw what he had in his hand and accompanied them. He then approached the city people and said: "O my people! Follow those who have been sent! Minded (of the truth)? Nay, but ye are froward folk. Follow those who ask of you no fee, and who are rightly guided"
This saying is considered to be the right one; those messengers were God's messengers before Jesus. They were sent to Antioch, Habib Al-Najjar believed in them, they came before Jesus' time, the city people denied them and that God destroyed them as mentioned in Qur'an, then after this Antioch was rebuilt while its people were polytheists, until the Disciples were sent to them and they believed in Jesus Christ later on and became Christians.
Other Sayings
It is also said that Antioch was one of the first great cities that believed in Jesus (PBUH) after raising him to the heaven, but some interpreters thought that the mentioned messengers in Qur'an are Jesus' Disciples.
This is wrong because of many reasons:
• Allah has mentioned in Qur'an that he destroyed those whom he sent the messengers to, whereas the people of Antioch believed the messengers who invited them to Jesus' religion, and that they were not destroyed.
• The messengers in Qur'an are three: a man came hurrying form the uttermost part of the city, while the ones sent as Jesus followers were two, and no one came hurrying to them, neither Habib nor another.
• These messengers came after Jesus lifetime and God did not send them.
• God destroyed the people of Midian with the retribution of the day of gloom ( Yawm Al Zolah ) when Shu'aib came to them.
• It was also mentioned in Qur'an that Moses came to this city, and he married one of its peoples' daughter, and this is considered not correct as agreed by Muslim Scholars; such as Ibn ‘Abbas, Al-Hassan Al-Basry and Ibn Juraij and many others who agreed that the man was not prophet Shu'aib,
Although some misinformed interpreters said it was Shu'aib. It was also confirmed by the Prophet’s (SAAW) companions and other followers and the.
People of the s c r i p t u r e Sayings
Ahl-ul-Kitab
• People of the s c r i p t u r e ure ( Ahl-ul-Kitab ) agree that Moses' father in law was not prophet Shu'aib, but a man from Midian city. Others say it is a different Midian, and not the one which God destroyed.
Interpreters' Opinion
Interpreters' opinion on the messengers' issue were two:
• The first said that Allah sent them. For, Abul-Farag Ibn Al-Jawzi said: this is the apparent meaning in Qur'an; and is narrated by Ibn Abbas and Ka'ab and Wahb Ibn Munabbah who said Interpreters explained God's saying " It was but one Shout" verse of the Ya-Sin, that Angel Gibril took the city forcefully by its doors and shouted a loud cry which killed everybody; soundless like a quenched fire. This is what was meant by saying: "and lo! They were extinct". Thus they were all dead as though they were extinct ash.
• It is also popular among people that this did not happen to the people of Antioch after Jesus' advent and that they believed him before his religion got falsified. They were all Muslims believing in his religion till it got altered, (this conforms to Qurtubi's sayings.)
• It is also acknowledged by scholars, that after the revelation of Torah, Allah did not destroy disbelieving nations with a general heavenly punishment similar to that of Noah's people, ‘Aad, Thamod, and Lot's people as well as the Pharaoh and many others. He also ordered believers to fight the atheists, like when he ordered the Children of Israel, according to Moses, to fight the tyrants. But this village's people were destroyed by a heavenly retribution which proves that those mentioned messengers were before Moses lifetime. Also God did not mention in Qur'an any messengers sent by someone else. He only mentioned the Apostles he himself sent.
• God also mentioned: "where we sent them twain, they denied them, so we enforced them with a third", so he stated that he had sent them like when he did telling us of sending Noah and Moses and others.
• When it says in Qur’an “You are but mortals like us, and the beneficent did not send any one " this proves they are sent by Allah because this is the polytheists way of speech with any one informing them that he was sent and received an inspiration from Allah, and not for messengers sent by Apostles.
• The saying "Ah, the anguish for the slaves! Never came there unto them a messenger but they did mock him!". This is usually said about messengers sent to them by Allah.
• This example was also mentioned for the nations Prophet Muhammad was sent to; warning them of God's vengeance done to the past nations. God sets for the Prophet (SAAW) an example with an equivalent or counterpart and not with any one lower in sublimity to the Prophet’s companions such as the disciples. (Agreed by all scholars that disciples are lower in sublimity to Sahaba).
• God did not send any messengers after Jesus; maintaining a reminding period for the people of the s c r i p t u r e to grasp the lessons , as he says in Qur'an:
يَا أَهْلَ الْكِتَابِ قَدْ جَاءكُمْ رَسُولُنَا يُبَيِّنُ لَكُمْ عَلَى فَتْرَةٍ مِّنَ الرُّسُل ِ
Meaning: O people of the s c r i p t u r e ! Now hath Our messenger come unto you to make things plain after an interval (of cessation) of the messengers. 5.19.
• God also says:
إِذْ أَرْسَلْنَا إِلَيْهِمُ اثْنَيْنِ فَكَذَّبُوهُمَا فَعَزَّزْنَا بِثَالِثٍ فَقَالُوا إِنَّا إِلَيْكُم مُّرْسلُون، قَالُوا مَا أَنتُمْ إِلاَّ بَشَرٌ مِّثْلُنَا
Meaning: When We sent unto them twain, and they denied them both, so We reinforced them with a third, and they said; Lo! We have been sent unto you. They then said: Ye are but mortals like us. 36.14.
If they were an Apostle's messengers, denial would be for the apostle who sent them, and there would be no doubt in their saying "you are but mortals like us" Because no body argues that messengers of Allah's apostles would be mortals, but they deny the fact that God's Apostles are mortals too.
If denial was for them as mortals; messengers of an Apostle, they could have said: "send for the person who sent us or to his companions, who already know that we are honestly conveying their message to you; unlike if they were God's messengers".
• The saying: "When We sent them twain" is a clear statement that the sender is Allah (God).
• Another explanation: Muslims never say for those sent anywhere in a mission by Prophet Muhammad that they are Allah's messengers: One would not say about, for example, Dahiyyah Ibn Khalifa that Allah sent him. This also applies to Al-Mughira Ibn Shu'ba, Abdullah Ibn Huzaifah, and any other one sent by the Prpohet (SAAW). For we know that the Prophet had sent his messengers to kings all over the world; he sent Dahiyyah Ibn Khalifa to Caesar of Rome, and Abdullah Ibn Huzaifah to King of Persia and Hatib Ibn Balta’a to the Bishop of Egypt.
We thus never say that God sent them. Besides Muslims never call these "God's Apostles" and it is not permissible as agreed by all scholars to say that they are included in God's saying: "We sent our messengers with the clear proof of God's sovereignty"..... If the names of the Prophet’s messengers were not mentioned in the aforementioned verse, so how can anyone say that their names were included in it? The same logic applies to our discussion.
Summary: We introduced above an exposition of all sayings on Ya-Sin Chapter of the Noble Qur'an. Verses 13-30 were explained with a concentration on verse 14 of the Noble Qur'an; God's saying: "when we sent them twain". We tried to establish together from trusted, verified and authenticated sources the meaning of "twain"; was it meant that they were messengers sent by Allah or they were messengers sent by his Apostle?
It is also taken for granted that the Prophet (SAAW) never had any confusion in these verses at all. If any one says that the Prophet meant that the sender was an Apostle and not God, he would have then lied unto Muhammad.
More Proofs
Verified Ahadith
Here are some more verified narrations (hadiths) for enforcing the previous citations:
Ahmad Ibn Ali Ibn Al-Muthna narrated that Hudbah Ibn Khaled narrated that Hammam Ibn Yahya said that Qatada reported what Abdul-Rahman Ibn Adam narrated about what Abu Huraira informed him of: that the Prophet (SAAW) said " Allah's Messengers are all brothers for reasons of their mothers' being related, and their religion is but One, and I am the worthier of Jesus, the son of Mary because there were no other Apostles between me ( my span) and him ( his span) and that Jesus will be descending, and if you saw him then know him " … Sahih Ibn Habban # 6821
Abul-‘Abbas Muhammad Ibn Ya’qoub narrated that Al-‘Abbas Ibn Muhammad Al-Dori said Sarig Ibn Al-Nu'man Al-Guhari reported that Fleih Ibn Suleiman narrated that Hilal Ibn Ali narrated that Abul-Rahman Ibn Abi ‘Amrah reported that Abu Huraira narrated that the Prophet ( SAAW) said: " I am the worthier of Jesus, son of Mary, in life and the hereafter , and that prophets are all brothers for reasons of their mothers' relationships , and their religion is One, and there were no prophets between me and Jesus, son of Mary " …. This is considered a verified Hadith according to the Shaikhain- Sahih Ibn Habban # 4153
Here too verified Ahadith says that there is was prophet between Muhammad's span (SAAW) and Jesus' (PBUH). This means that if anyone claimed to be a messenger or prophet-hood in the period between Jesus' span and that of Mohamed's, he would be lying.
((( END OF Ibn Taimiyah’s Quotation )))
Imam Al-Qurtubi Sayings
Below is the most stunning proof that will dislodge and uproot this myth:
Imam Al-Qurtubi says in his interpretation book:
"Christians remained Muslims for 81 years after Jesus was raised to heavens, praying while directing their faces towards Qiblah, fasting the month of Ramadan, until a war erupted between them and the Jews. There was a bold man called Paul who killed a group of Jesus' companions. He said if Jesus is truthful, we state that we renege and disbelieve him and our fate will be to hellfire. We will be duped if they entered paradise and we entered hellfire. I will trick and misguide them till they enter hellfire. He used to have a horse named Al-‘Uqab. He then regretted and put dust over his head and said to Christians: I am Paul, your enemy, I was called from the heaven that I have no repentance, until you get Christianized. He was led to a house inside the church were he retired for a whole year. He went out neither at day time nor at night till he learned the teachings of the Bible. Then he went out to people and said I was called from Heavens that God accepted your repentance. People believed and loved him. He then marched to Jerusalem, where he appointed Nestora as a successor there. He informed Nestora that Jesus, son of Mary, is a God. He then marched to Rome and taught them theology and humanities. He taught them that Jesus was not a mortal to become like humans, nor a body to become a corporeal, but he was God's son. He then taught this to a man named Jacob. Later then called someone named the king and told him that God is still Jesus. When he managed to gain the three men's full trust, He invited each one individually and said you were my savior. I dreamed of Jesus when I was sleeping, and he is satisfied with me. He informed each one of them that he will slaughter himself tomorrow seeking nearness, so you call your people to your creed, and then he entered the abattoir and slaughtered himself. On the third day, each of the men called his people to believe in his creed (faith). Each person then followed a different creed and the sects started fighting…fighting that never ended till date.
We all know that Christians are of three sects presently and this was the result of their polytheism. It was said, only God knows!
Conclusion:
There were no prophets between Jesus' span and that of Muhammad's according to Muslims interpretations and proofs.
There are some Muslim and Christian scholars who attribute Christians' aberrance and polytheism to Paul; the Jewish who pretended to be a Christian.
There are neither Qur'anic verses nor narrated Hadiths that says Paul is an Apostle or a messenger, sent by Allah.
The name that scholars and historians referred to in their books has qualities different from those the Christians believe in.
We now ask, will they belie their s c r i p t ure and believe our interpreters?
Finally we thank God that Paul’s, the liar; name is not mentioned in our Noble book except in this verse:
قُلْ يَا أَهْلَ الْكِتَابِ لاَ تَغْلُواْ فِي دِينِكُمْ غَيْرَ الْحَقِّ وَلاَ تَتَّبِعُواْ أَهْوَاء قَوْمٍ قَدْ ضَلُّواْ مِن قَبْلُ وَأَضَلُّواْ كَثِيراً وَضَلُّواْ عَن سَوَاء السَّبِيلِ المائدة 77
Meaning- Say: O People of the ure! Stress not in your religion other than the truth, and follow not the vain desires of folk who erred of old s c r i p t u r e and led many astray, and erred from a plain road. 5.77
تم بحمد الله- لا تنسونا اخوانى من صالح الدعاء
