What People Say?Different people with different perspectives

Death in the Bible versus Quran: Job and the Shadow of death (1)

 

1. In the Quran, Death is mentioned 34 times, and the Shadow of death is not found therein.

It is interesting that Adam, Noah, Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, Joseph, Moses etc. did not talk about the Shadow of death and it is Job who was the first one ever who talks about the Shadow of death.

 

A Biblical verse (Job 1:1) talks about Job’s Character, it says that Job was perfect, blameless and upright; he feared God and shunned (turned away from) evil.

However, Job cursed the day of his birth; and he said: Let darkness and the shadow of death stain it; let a cloud dwell upon it; let the blackness of the day terrify it as the most bitter of days.

Job, the perfect man, said unto God: Why did you bring me out from the womb? Would that I had died before any eye had seen me. I should have been as though I had not been; I should have been carried from the womb to the grave. Are not my few days almost over? Turn away from me so I can have a moment’s joy; let me alone before I go whence I shall not return, even to the land of darkness and of the shadow of death.

On the other hand, the Quran says that Job called to his lord: ‘affliction has befallen me, and you are the most merciful of the merciful.’

Then Allah heard his prayer and removed that adversity from which he suffered, and Allah gave him his household (that he had lost) and the like thereof along with them, a mercy from Allah, and a reminder to the worshippers.

The Quran says that none of Allah’s Prophets including Job could say anything like Turn away from me or let me alone unto their Lord. So, Muslims’ faith is that Job never ever said that.

According to the teaching of Quran, it is unforgivable sin to say or to believe that Job said that unto the Lord God.

 

================================================

 

Death in the Bible: Job and the Shadow of death (1)

 

In the Bible, Job said that the Lord God: 1) leads priests away stripped and overthrows men long established, 2) silences the lips of trusted advisers and takes away the discernment of elders, 3) pours contempt on nobles and disarms the mighty, 4) reveals the deep things of darkness and brings deep shadows into the light, 5) makes nations great, and destroys them; he enlarges nations, and disperses them and He deprives the leaders of the earth of their reason; he sends them wandering through a trackless waste and they grope in darkness with no light; he makes them stagger like drunkards.

 

———————————————————————————

 

Job 3:5 (King James Version)

Let darkness and the shadow of death stain it (claim it); let a cloud dwell upon it; let the blackness of the day terrify it (as the most bitter of days).

————————

 

Job 10:18-22 (American Standard Version)

18 Wherefore then hast thou brought me forth out of the womb? I had given up the ghost, and no eye had seen me.

19 I should have been as though I had not been; I should have been carried from the womb to the grave.

20 Are not my days few? Cease then, And let me alone, that I may take comfort a little,

21 Before I go whence I shall not return, even to the land of darkness and of the shadow of death;

22 The land dark as midnight, the land of the shadow of death, without any order, and where the light is as midnight.

————————

 

Job 12:19-25 (English Standard Version)

19He leads priests away stripped and overthrows the mighty.

20He deprives of speech those who are trusted and takes away the discernment of the elders.

21He pours contempt on princes and loosens the belt of the strong.

22He uncovers the deeps out of darkness and brings deep darkness to light.

23He makes nations great, and he destroys them; he enlarges nations, and leads them away.

24He takes away understanding from the chiefs of the people of the earth and makes them wander in a pathless waste.

25They grope in the dark without light, and he makes them stagger like a drunken man.

 

================================================

 

Death in the Quran: Job and the Shadow of death (1)

 

The Shadow of death is not mentioned in the Quran.

Job was a great Prophet. He had been afflicted with the loss of all of his possessions and children, the laceration of his body, his being shunned by all except his wife, for a period of about eighteen years, as well as the affliction of enduring a straitened means of livelihood.

 

Verses 21:83-84 talk about Job suffering, and his prayer to Allah and how Allah did respond to him; the wisdom of Job’ story is given by the Quran.

 

The verses say:

And, mention, Job when he prayed and called out to his Lord: ‘Indeed harm, adversity, has befallen me, and You are the Most Merciful of the merciful’. Then Allah heard his prayer and removed that adversity

So Allah responded to him, in his call, and removed the harm that had befallen him; He healed the laceration of his body and Allah restored his people to him, and doubled their number; Allah is the most open-handed one.

But what is the wisdom of Job’ story in these two verses?

The Quran says that Allah has done that (removed the harm etc.) as a mercy from Him and a reminder to the believers and the worshippers that they have be patient and thus they will be rewarded by Allah.

 

——————————————————————————–

 

21:83-84 (Yusuf Ali Translation)

 

83) And (remember) Job, when he cried to his lord, “truly distress has seized me, but thou art the most merciful of those that are merciful.”

84) So We listened to him: we removed the distress that was on him, and We restored his people to him, and doubled their number, - as a grace from Ourselves, and a thing for commemoration, for all who serve us.

 

================================================

 

Back to my question to the smart and interested reader: Are the Scholars truthful when they claim that the Quran is quoted from the Bible?

Professor Dr. Ibrahim Khalil
 Prof. of Clinical and Chemical Pathology,
 Head of Clinical Microbiology and Infection Control Unit, Ain-Shams University. Cairo, Egypt,
 President of the Egyptian Society of Inventors,
 Member of the Egyptian union of Writers,
 Published some 60 Medical Articles,
 Supervisors for 79 PhD theses,
 Supervisors for 111 Master Degree theses,
 Co-Chief Editor of the Egyptian Journal of Lab. Medicine,
 Honorary President of SPIC-Egypt (The Society of Practitioners of Infection Control – Egypt)

Article Source:http://www.articlesbase.com/free-articles/in-bible-versus-quran-job-said-unto-god-why-did-you-bring-me-out-from-the-womb-1513592.html

Experts coming from 80 countries took part. An emotive tribute to Abbas Jirari, adviser to the king The forum held at Fez on the union of civilisations and cultural diversity which opened on Sunday has brought back under discussion the role of the media. Initiated by the Centre marocain interdisciplinaire des études stratégiques et internationales (CMIESI)/ Interdisciplinary Centre of Morocco for Strategic and International Studies (ICMSIS), the Spirit Foundation of Fez, the Town Council, in collaboration with several foreign and Moroccan partners, this new slant on things has rendered an emotive tribute to Abbas Jirari, adviser to His Majesty the King and a member of the Academy of the Kingdom of Morocco. At one and the same time a committed intellectual, a thinker, a researcher, a critic, an educationalist and a fervent defender of Moroccan identity, Jirari has enriched national thought in the areas of both education and help for researchers notes Abdelhaq Mrini, director of Royal Etiquette and the Chancellery. In terms of number of contributors, the writings and studies of Abbas Jirari constitute a reference for researchers and academics all over the Arab and Western world. The tribute paid to him in this forum which was held from 15 to 17 November with the theme: “Media and communication: the stakes and challenges of the third millennium” is a good opportunity to promote the capabilities of Moroccan intellectuals. Especially in the presence of a panel of experts coming from more than 80 countries. Hence the opportunity also to “conduct a common reflexion on the interaction between union of civilisations and what is at stake for the reporting of them in the media” as Khalid Naciri, Minister of Communication and government spokesman, points out. According to him this forum constitutes the point of departure for a new recognition of the right to be different, of cultural diversity, of peaceful co-existence and the eschewing of conflicts, just when the media is taking off in a big way, welcoming various intellectual, political and cultural approaches. In point of fact, countries are confronted by a major problem, that of morality in order to harmonise politics and ethics.

The debate is open anyway and sessions of reflexion on “Globalisation and Dialogue between Cultures: the Role of the Media in Contemporary International Relations”, “The Fourth Power?” , “Ambiguous Relations between the Media and Politics”, “Arab Media and Western Media: Interactions and Crossed Perceptions”, “Media and Communication within the Confines of Union for the Mediterranean” and “The Media in Morocco: Realities and Perspectives” are going to finish on what should be the profession of the media. The goal is to promote access for all peoples, notably the poorest, to the information society through the development and utilisation of NTICs* bearing in mind their fundamental role in the discovery and the knowing of others and, by extension, in the mutual enrichment of cultures and civilisations with the sole aim of establishing a better life together.
*
Nouvelles Technologies de l’Informatique et de la Communication = New Technologies of Information Science and Communication

Morocco Newsline

www.morocconewsline.com

http://www.morocconewsline.com

Morocco Newsline

www.morocconewsline.com

http://www.morocconewsline.com

Article Source:http://www.articlesbase.com/free-articles/morocco-a-new-recognition-of-the-right-to-be-different-1504556.html

Nairobi is indeed one of the most interesting African cities one can be privileged to spend a couple of weeks. Its distinctiveness comes from the people who inhibit it coming from various cultural backgrounds. The city has a place for everyone to dwell irrespective of the language one speaks, the level of education one has attained, religious affiliation or better still, how much income one earns.

Without any doubt, the mixed culture has numerous benefits attached to it, however on the flip side of it is branding the city as a cultural melting point. A situation where one’s culture is replaced by Nairobi’s mixed culture that very few inhabitants have resisted the temptations of adapting it. How many times have we seen and heard our parents saying how someone has changed after living in the city for a while?

The most common thing that identifies people with this mixed culture is sheng, a language that results as an end product of broken English and broken Swahili. Despite the many efforts from the education sector to end the language, it has refused to melt away. Its roots continue to dig themselves deeper and deeper every day. The mixed culture has contributed immensely to the language’s evolving process. Sheng of the mid 1990s is very different from the one in the 2000s and so are the people who belong to those years.

The interesting things to note about the mixed culture are, one, it consumes one’s culture and replaces it with a mixed culture that will not last for a decade due to its ever-growing nature. Two the mixed culture itself is lead and justified by people, this is very different from our individual cultures that often lead the way.

To explain this, picture this scenario if you are living up country and you are about to get married, cultural values dictate that due processes should be followed before tying the knot blissfully. In the mixed culture where there is no value to dictate the terms, one will pursue a come we stay arrangement without anyone uttering a word.

This arrangement is comfortable with both parties on condition that they are living together within the borders of the city.  Once they step out of the city, it suddenly dawns on them that something is not right somewhere.

The mixed culture is here to stay and no one can run away with it. Its existence will continue to enjoy its life as long as long as people continue to migrate in the city. The major challenge it faces is justifying its actions to our own cultures.

Article Source:http://www.articlesbase.com/free-articles/nairobi-is-a-cultural-melting-point-1504027.html

India, a highly corrupt nation? Dalip Singh Wasan, Advocate. We, the people of India must be sorry to note that India has been declared as highly corrupt nation in the world by The Transparency International and it has been said that high officers in the bureaucracy and the politicians holding position are corrupt. We have already proof of such indulgence when we have noted that big amounts are lying in secret bank accounts in Swiss Banks and none is daring to disclose the names of those who had been depositing these amounts from illegal collections because once names of all are disclosed, we shall have to rewrite our history. Most of the people who had been known as true sons and daughters of India and had been decorated with awards shall be in the line of these corrupt people and then we shall have to withdraw some of the prizes and awards which had been given to them for their meritorial services. One of our PMs had said that when we say that 100 paise had been spent on a development work, we must accept that only 29 paise had been spent and the remining 71 had been bungled out by the politicians and the executors. This assessment is not wrong and when this calculation is coming from the mouth of the PM, then we must feel sorry that this is the ‘ Ram Rajaya’ which had been promised by Mahatma Gandhi. It is an old saying that people get the government they deserve and if the people who are elected by us and are governing us are corrupt, it means, whole fault lies on our shoulders and it shall be for us to decide to elect right people to run the administration. We must be sorry to note that people who had been declared corrupt and against whom there are so many cases in Courts, even they are winning in elections and they are getting another chance to rule and avoid or delay further investigations and final trials. Here the fault lies on the part of the people who elect. We have wasted six decades on these election exercises, but still we are not in a position to choose right type of people. The political parties in India are like co-operative societies and some people join together and form a political party and then divide the offices amongst themselves and they start selling seats and even party tickets in elections are sold and the higher bidders come in power. The people who are in politics have taken up this line considering this line as a profession, trade, calling and employment and they do not come in this line to serve the people as public servants, but they join this line to earn money and they had been successful in their targets. There is none here who can stop this corruption in India and therefore, the people of India have accepted this state of affairs and they too are giving bribes to get favours and even government jobs and stations are auctioned and the highest bidder is getting the station of his liking. There is none who shall bring back all the moneys in Swiss banks and confiscate the same for government exchequer and there is none who shall stop corruption in the administration and therefore, the people have learned to live in this corrupt society with corrupt living methods. 101-C Vikas Colony, Patiala Punjab-India-147003

Article Source:http://www.articlesbase.com/free-articles/india-a-highly-corrupt-nation-1471180.html

India, a highly corrupt nation? Dalip Singh Wasan, Advocate. We, the people of India must be sorry to note that India has been declared as highly corrupt nation in the world by The Transparency International and it has been said that high officers in the bureaucracy and the politicians holding position are corrupt. We have already proof of such indulgence when we have noted that big amounts are lying in secret bank accounts in Swiss Banks and none is daring to disclose the names of those who had been depositing these amounts from illegal collections because once names of all are disclosed, we shall have to rewrite our history. Most of the people who had been known as true sons and daughters of India and had been decorated with awards shall be in the line of these corrupt people and then we shall have to withdraw some of the prizes and awards which had been given to them for their meritorial services. One of our PMs had said that when we say that 100 paise had been spent on a development work, we must accept that only 29 paise had been spent and the remining 71 had been bungled out by the politicians and the executors. This assessment is not wrong and when this calculation is coming from the mouth of the PM, then we must feel sorry that this is the ‘ Ram Rajaya’ which had been promised by Mahatma Gandhi. It is an old saying that people get the government they deserve and if the people who are elected by us and are governing us are corrupt, it means, whole fault lies on our shoulders and it shall be for us to decide to elect right people to run the administration. We must be sorry to note that people who had been declared corrupt and against whom there are so many cases in Courts, even they are winning in elections and they are getting another chance to rule and avoid or delay further investigations and final trials. Here the fault lies on the part of the people who elect. We have wasted six decades on these election exercises, but still we are not in a position to choose right type of people. The political parties in India are like co-operative societies and some people join together and form a political party and then divide the offices amongst themselves and they start selling seats and even party tickets in elections are sold and the higher bidders come in power. The people who are in politics have taken up this line considering this line as a profession, trade, calling and employment and they do not come in this line to serve the people as public servants, but they join this line to earn money and they had been successful in their targets. There is none here who can stop this corruption in India and therefore, the people of India have accepted this state of affairs and they too are giving bribes to get favours and even government jobs and stations are auctioned and the highest bidder is getting the station of his liking. There is none who shall bring back all the moneys in Swiss banks and confiscate the same for government exchequer and there is none who shall stop corruption in the administration and therefore, the people have learned to live in this corrupt society with corrupt living methods. 101-C Vikas Colony, Patiala Punjab-India-147003

Article Source:http://www.articlesbase.com/free-articles/india-a-highly-corrupt-nation-1471203.html