Confusing Truth with Falsehood

Confusing Truth with Falsehood

1988 9 September 22 Confusing Truth with Falsehood (311) The Jews have been admonished in the Quran for their habit of confusing truth with falsehood. “Do not confound truth with falsehood,” says the Quran, “nor knowingly hide the truth” (2:42). As Abdullah ibn Abbas, the first commentator of the Quran has noted, the phrase, “confounding truth with falsehood” means adulterating the former with additions of the latter.

In ancient Arabia, the Jews were considered the greatest religious authorities, so that when people wished to enquire into anything connected with religion, it was to the Jewish theologians that they turned. When the Prophet of Islam was sent to the world, people went, therefore, to the Jewish scholars, and asked them for their opinion on the validity of his prophethood.

Now, the Jews realized that acceptance of the prophethood of Muhammad would mean the end of their religious hegemony, so they opposed the Prophet tooth and nail. They launched a whole campaign against him by spreading false propaganda about him, and whenever anyone asked them their opinion on Muhammad, they would raise issues which bore no relation to the question, thereby sowing the seeds of doubt in people’s minds, and swaying public opinion against him. One recent Quranic commentator, writing in Urdu, observes: “They made every questioner nurture misgivings about the Prophet, his followers and his mission. At times they levelled accusations at the Prophet, or else they raised some irrelevant issue designed to make people doubt the validity of his claim to prophethood.”

These are the tactics resorted to by people who do not wish to acknowledge a properly substantiated truth. By raising questions which are quite unconnected with the central issue, they do their utmost to mislead people. Unable to find any reasonable accusation to level, they take to making false accusations. Such action, however, far from achieving lasting and positive results, serves only to underscore their own despicable culpability.

Faith attaches one to God

1988 9 September 22 Faith attaches one to God (28) Bara’ ibn Azib reported the Prophet as saying:

The strongest knot of faith is living for the sake of God and animosity for the sake of God.”

(Hadith)