THE TALE OF A NATION-1

Recitation of the Holy Scripture.

All praise is due to God, who created the heavens and the earth and made the darkness and the light.

It is He who created you from clay and then decreed a term and a specified time then still you are in dispute.

Have they not seen how many generations We destroyed before them which We had established upon the earth as We have not established you? And We sent rain from the sky upon them in showers and made rivers flow beneath them; then We destroyed them for their sins and brought forth after them a generation of others.

They have not appraised God with true appraisal. Indeed, God is Powerful and Exalted in Might.

He knows what is before them, and what is behind them. And to God will be returned all matters.

End of Recitation of the Holy Scripture.

Today I will tell you the tale of a nation who call themselves Muslims. Whom God blessed a lot, but they become ungrateful. O Muslims remember the favor of your Lord when He bestowed upon you His blessings and fulfilled His covenant with you and sent his beloved messenger with an enlightening book telling you the truth and that be afraid of Him alone. And that remember when you were few and He increased you. O people and leaders of different sects of Muslims your hearts know very well that how much falsehood has entered in your books.

You cannot go forward from here if you don’t admit the mistakes of your past. If you do not correct your history. Remember the best time to plant a tree was ten years ago, the second best time is today. You are reaping that crop which your forefathers planted. You have tried your level best to camouflage the mistakes and blunders of your past generations and in this process distorted your history. So the disease is there and in all the past centuries you only tried to hide it but the wound is not healing because wounds do not heal like this. They need a special care specific diagnosis and then a proper treatment and sometimes even surgery. Remember If you don’t heal, the others have to deal. That is if you don’t heal your wounds the people around will deal with your wounds. People in other communities hate you, not because of your golden inheritance as you think or that you have a true religion that might be a potential threat to other communities. No this is not the case it is because of the potential threat they have because of your ignorance. Because of the ignorance which your religious clerics and rulers intentionally planted and flourishing in your communities since centuries. By your Lord, in ignorance and trap of your elites you are fighting with each other. Although it is too late but even now if you repent your Lord and prostrate to Him in submission with tears in your eyes and softness in your hearts and if you cry and ask forgiveness and confess your sins, Your Lord is faithful and just to forgive you and to cleanse you from all unrighteousness. God makes possible the things that seem impossible.

I also want to mention here that all this preaching and educating people is not my bread and butter. My bread and butter is not from religion and I consider it a great sin to earn from religion or it’s preaching. Rather I spend on it, and all my wealth whatever I have is to sacrifice for spreading the message of God.  I don’t look towards worldly powers either Washington Beijing Moscow Riyadh or Tehran. I eat two times and my Lord is enough for me and the value of this world for me is like a pinch of soil in my palm which when I blow with breath become dust scattered.

Before starting this story let me give you a brief history of the world and post Islam events as per Bible. There are hot debates on this between creationists especially Young Earth Creationists and modern science as according to the literal interpretation of Bible the total age of this universe is not more than 6000-12000 years. 6000 years if we take the six initial days of creation by God as 24 hour earthly days and 12000 years if we take one day of God as 1000 years as in Psalm chapter 90:4 and 2 Peter chapter 3:8 and also as in Quran Surah Hajj chapter 22:47. While modern science tells us that the age of this universe is more than 13 billion years and the age of planet earth is almost 4.5 billion years. I will clear this confusion in later programs but for now you better consider this timeline only to understand the human history and advent of major prophets as per Bible. All account of creation is there in Hebrew Bible and Christian Bible Old Testament Book of Genesis chapter 1 Verse 1-31. According to that, Creation was ex nihilo, which means that what God created He created out of nothing. The statement “In the beginning” indicates that time began with the initial creation of matter and energy. So on Day 1 God created the heavens and the earth but it was formless dark and empty. And the Spirit of God was hovering over the waters. Then He created light and made day and Night. This topic is also a great debate and Christians skeptics, Muslims and modern science object this as a contradiction in Bible that how can there be light, day and night before the creation of Sun as God created Sun on Day 4. I will also explain this later and clear this for all of you but just a hint that all opponents, Muslim scholars and modern science all are wrong and Bible is right. Anyhow, let’s move forward, on Day 2 God divided the water that He had created. So God made the vault and separated the water under the vault from the water above it. God called the vault “sky”. On Day 3 God gathered the water under the sky to one place and dry ground appear. Which He called “land,” and the gathered waters he called “sea. God said let there be Vegetation and the land produced vegetation: plants bearing seed according to their kinds and trees bearing fruit with seed in it according to their kinds. On Day 4  God said, “Let there be lights in the vault of the sky to separate the day from the night, and let them serve as signs to mark sacred times, and days and years. And it was so. God made two great lights—the greater light to govern the day and the lesser light to govern the night. He also made the stars. And God saw that it was good. And there was evening, and there was morning—the fourth day ends. On Day 5 God filled the oceans with life and also created birds and other flying creatures. On Day 6 God commanded the earth to bring forth all living creatures livestock,  and the wild animals. Then God created mankind in his own image, male and female he created them. God blessed them and said to them, “Be fruitful and increase in number; fill the earth and subdue it. Rule over the fish in the sea and the birds in the sky and over every living creature that moves on the ground.”

On Day Seven, God rested from His work of creating because it was finished. There are again many issues which I will discuss in later programs that point again towards contradictions in Bible. As Genesis chapter 1 says man was created after plants and animals on Day 6 while Genesis chapter 2 tells us that Man was created before plants and animals. Then chapter 2 also points that Man was not created on Day 6 but later after seven days passed and man was created alone, then woman was created later after some time. I will discuss all this in later programs but again all opponents of Bible, Muslim critics and modern science all are wrong and Bible is correct in saying all that.

Anyhow, let me briefly summarize important events in human history as per Bible. I am not using Muslims calendar as it has many shortcomings and it does not properly account for events prior to prophet Muhammad. Muslims calendar has dates that relate to Mohammad’s emigration from Mecca to Medina called the Hijra, and so they use AH dating method. AH stands for After Hijrah. The Year 2018 AD is 1439AH. I will tell all the coming story in AD or CE dating method. For an average person let me describe that to label or number years in the Julian and Gregorian calendars we use AD and BC. The AD is after Jesus was born and BC is before Jesus was born. The AD comes from Latin Anno Domini meaning “In the year of Our Lord” BC comes from Before Christ. There are new terms that mean the same as AD and BC which are CE and BCE. CE means “Common Era” and is the same as the AD. BCE means “Before Common Era” and is the same as BC.

So In 4111 BC, God started creation and after creating heavens and Earth created Adam and Eve.

In 4004 BC Adam and Eve’s first two children were born, Cain and Abel and later Cain killed Abel. In Arabic Cain is Qabeel and Abel is Habeel.

3900 Enoch son of Cain and Seth son of Adam born.

3000 BC Noah born, then after almost 500 years in 2500 BC Shem, Ham, and Japheth, Noah three sons born. Also this is the time that Noah was ordered by God to start building the Ark.

2350 BC is the year of The Great flood also called Noah’s Flood which as per Bible and Quran covers a vast part of Earth.

In 2300 BC After the great flood of Noah the remaining and united humanity speaking a single language started building The Tower of Babel, tall enough to reach heaven. God, observing their city and tower, disrupted the work by confounding and confusing their language so that they can no longer understand each other, and disperses them around the world.

2030 or 2000 BC is the year of the death of Noah and just after 80 years in 1920, God Calls Abram. Abram and Lot departed Haran, as per God’s instruction. God promised to make Abram a great nation. Changed his name to Abraham and a son is promised to him.

Then in 1890 BC Angels came to Lot and the destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah happens. Same time Isaac which in Arabic is Ishaq born to Abraham.

1872 BC is marked as the year when Abraham is put to the test regarding Isaac. Muslims consider Abraham’s son Ishmael as the one appointed for sacrifice instead of Isaac.

During 1720-1760 BC Joseph born to Jacob, sold to an official of Egypt and his various experiences that resulted him as a ruler in Egypt.

1571 BC is the year when Moses born and adopted into the Egyptian royal court. And at the age of eighty years In 1491 BC God Calls Moses and commissions him as the messenger of God. It is during this time when Moses has the burning bush experience as in Bible old testament second book of Pentateuch Exodus chapter 2&3 and as per Quran Surah Naml chapter 27:7-12.  In the next couple of years are the events of ten plagues or ten calamities that God inflicted upon Egypt to persuade Pharaoh to release the Israelites from slavery as in Book of Exodus chapter 7-12 and Quran Surah Araf chapter 7:130-133 and during this time is the Giving of the Ten Commandments Law as in Exodus chapter 20.

In 1451 BC Moses dies and within 25 years in 1425 Israelites realized the Abrahamic promised land. Now in the promised land and in the kingdom of Israel lets jump to 1063 BC when David defeats Goliath as in Samuel 1 chapter 17 and Quran Surah Baqra chapter 2: verse 249-251. Soon after that in 1055 David is appointed as King. In 1015 Solomon, David’s son, is appointed as King and 992 BC is the time when Queen of Sheba visits Solomon as in  Kings 1 chapter 10 and Quran Surah Naml chapter 27:42.

975 BC is the year of Solomon’s death and the great kingdom of Solomon divides because of conflict between his sons Rehoboam and Jeroboam. Ultimately the twelve tribes of Israel divides, creating the Great Schism. The two southern tribes, Benjamin and Judah makes Rehoboam their king and establish the Kingdom of Judah with Jerusalem as their capital. The ten northern tribes of Israel makes Jeroboam their king and establish the Kingdom of Israel with Samaria as their capital.

In 722 BC The Assyrians capture Samaria and take Israel captive. Then in 597 BC, Jerusalem is captured by Babylon as in 2 Chronicles chapter 36 and Quran Surah Isra chapter 17: verse 4-5

3BC or 1CE Jesus and John the Baptist born and in 27AD John the Baptist began his ministry. Jesus is baptized by John and also begins his ministry as in Mark chapter 1:4-11.

30 AD Jesus is crucified and resurrected from the dead some scholars list the date as 33 AD. There are good arguments for both dates. This time table is based primarily on Jesus’ birth occurring at 3 BC. Hence, Jesus would have been 30-36 years of age when crucified.

In 64 AD Rome burns and Nero blames the Christians. As a result severe persecution of Christians begins. But soon after that in 70 AD, the Temple at Jerusalem is destroyed as prophesied by Jesus as in Matthew chapter 24 and Quran Surah Isra chapter 17:7

Now, that ends the prelude to this tale of a nation and a brief introduction of past events before the birth of Muhammad. I will now give you an overview of the beginnings of Islam. Remember Islam started from Mecca where Muhammad was born in 570 AD. Sixth Century Arab was entirely different from its surrounding regions where there were various empires the Roman Empire, Byzantine Empire, and the great Persian empire. But Mecca and Arab in general were a tribal culture with no records of formal organized rule and empire in near or farther past. Just consider a tribal society in recent times in today’s world around you in countries in North Africa, Saudi Arab, Afghanistan and Pakistan and you can see how rigid and stubborn a tribal personality is. How far from modern ethical values they are. How honor killing and shedding blood on small issues is a matter of pride. Then consider what kind of tribal culture was that almost 1500 years ago in Arab.

If my Lord Wills, I will continue this in next program.

Recitation of the Holy Scripture.

Indeed Mankind was of one religion then God sent the prophets as bringers of good tidings and warners and sent down with them the Scripture in truth to judge between the people concerning that in which they differed.

And none differed over the Scripture except those who were given it – after the clear proofs came to them – out of jealous animosity among themselves.

And God, by His permission, guided those who believed to the truth concerning that over which they had differed.

And God guides whom He wills to a straight path.