Could NOT Answer

May hamd be to Allâhu ta’âlâ! May salutations and benedictions be unto our Prophet Muhammad ‘alaihis-salâm’, the highest of Prophets, unto his pure Âl, and unto all of those who had the honour of being Companions (As-hâb) to him!

Every thousand years since Adam ‘alaihis-salâm’, the first human and the first Prophet, Allâhu ta’âlâ sent to mankind a new religion through a new Prophet with a Sharî’a. Through them He showed human beings the way of living in peace and comfort in this world and attaining endless felicity in the Hereafter. Those Prophets by whom a new religion was revealed are called Rasûl. The superior ones of Rasûls are called Ulul’azm. They are Âdam, Nûh (Noah), Ibrâhîm. Mûsâ (Moses), Îsâ (Jesus), and Muhammad ‘alaihimus-salâtu was-salâm’

And now the world has three religions with heavenly books: Mûsawî (Judaism), Christianity, and Islam. Taurah was revealed to Mûsâ ‘alaihis- salâm’ and Injil (the Bible) to Îsâ ‘alaihis-salâm.’ Jews say that they have been following the religion revealed to Mûsâ ‘alaihis-salâm,’ and Christians claim to be following that of Îsâ ‘alaihis-salâm’.

Qur’ân al-kerîm was revealed to the last Prophet, our Prophet, Muhammad ‘alaihis-salâm’. Qur’ân al-kerîm has invalidated all the rules of other divine books; in other words, it has abrogated some of them and recollected others within itself. Today, all people have to obey Qur’ân al-kerîm. No country in the world today has any original copies of the Taurah or the Bible. These books were later defiled by human interpolation.

All Prophets, from Âdam ‘alaihis-salâm’ to the last Prophet Muhammad ‘alaihis-salâm’, taught the same îmân, and stated the same principles for their umma to believe. Jews believe in Mûsâ ‘alaihis- salâm’ and deny Îsâ and Muhammad ‘alaihimus-salâm’. Christians believe in Îsâ ‘alaihis-salâm’, too, but they do not believe in Muhammad ‘alaihis-salâm’. Muslims, on the other hand, believe in all Prophets. They know that Prophets have some superior qualities distinguishing them from other people.

The true religion of Îsâ ‘alaihis-salâm’ was soon insidiously changed by his adversaries. A Jew named Paulus (of Tarsus), who said that he believed in Îsâ ‘alaihis-salâm’ and pretended to try to spread Îsâwî religion, annihilated the Injil, which had been revealed by Allâhu ta’âlâ.

Praise and gratitude.

Later the theory of trinity was inserted into the Îsâwî religion. An unreasonable and illogical doctrine, namely father-son-holy spirit, was thus established. There being no copies of the genuine Injil left now, some people scribbled books in the name of Gospel. The council of clergy that met in Nicea in A.D. 325 annulled fifty of the existing fifty- four so-called Gospels. Four Gospels remained: Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John. Paul’s lies and the theory of trinity propounded by Plato were given place in these Gospels. An apostle named Barnabas wrote a true account of what he had heard and seen from Îsâ ‘alaihis-salâm’, but the Gospel of Barnabas was annihilated.

Constantine the Great, who was formerly a pagan, converted to Christianity in A.D. 313. He ordered that all the Gospels be compiled into one Gospel, but the Council sanctioned four Gospels. A number of ancient pagan elements were assimilated into them. He adopted the Christmas night as the beginning of the new year, and Christianity became the official religion. [It was written in the Injil of Îsâ ‘alaihis- salâm’ and in the Gospel of Barnabas that Allâhu ta’âlâ is one.] Athanasius the Bishop of Alexandria was a trinitarian. A priest named Arius said that the four Gospels were wrong, that Allâhu ta’âlâ is one, and that Îsâ ‘alaihis-salâm’ is not His son but His created slave and Prophet, but they would not listen to him. Instead, they excommunicated him. Arius propagated unitarianism, but did not live long. For many years Athanasians and Arians fought against each other. Later on, a number of councils came together and made new changes in the existing four Gospels.

In 446 [A.D. 1054], the Eastern church parted from the Roman church. Christians who were adherent to the Roman church were called Catholics, and adherents of the Eastern [Istanbul] church were called Orthodox.

In the sixteenth century the German priest Luther Martin [A.D. 1483-1546] revolted against the Pope, Leon X. In 923 [A.D. 1517] he founded the Protestant church. This same priest directed some abominable aggressions towards the Islamic religion. Luther Martin and Calvin changed Christianity all the more. Consequently, an unreasonable and implausible religion came into being.

The light shed on Europeans by the Andalusian Muslims commenced a renaissance movement in Europe. Upon learning positive science, many young scientists in Europe revolted against Christianity, which was now fraught with absurdities and illogical ideations. The attacks carried on against Christianity were not applicable against Islam. For, since the first day of its declaration, the Islamic religion has been preserving all its pristine purity. It contains no idea or information that would run counter to reason, logic or knowledge. Qur’ân al-kerîm has been preserved precisely as it was revealed, without even one diacritical dot having been changed.

In order to spread the Christian belief and christianize other peoples, Europeans, led by the British, founded missionary organizations. The ecclesiastical and missionary organizations, which had now become the world’s most powerful organizations economically, took to an activity beyond reason. In order to propagate Christianity throughout Islamic countries, they started an intensive hostility against Islam. They began to send thousands of books, brochures and magazines praising Christianity to all parts of Islamic countries. And now books, magazines and brochures teaching Christianity are unceasingly being distributed worldwide. Thus they are trying to blur minds and undermine beliefs.

The Islamic scholars have answered all the views, ideas and philosophical thoughts contrary to the Islamic faith. Meanwhile they have exposed the errors of defiled Christianity. They have declared that it is not permissible to follow the changed and invalidated books. They have explained that, for living in comfort and peace in this world and attaining endless bliss in the next world, it is necessary to be Muslim. Priests have not been able to refute the books of Islamic scholars. The books written by the Islamic scholars to refute strayed religions are numerous. Among them, the following are renowned for replying to Christians:

Tuhfat-ul-erîb, Arabic and Turkish; Diyâ-ul-qulûb, Turkish and English; Iz-hâr-ul-haqq, Arabic and Turkish; Es-sirât-ul-mustaqîm, Arabic; Izâh-ul-marâm, Turkish; Mîzân-ul-mawâzîn, Persian; Irshâd-ul- hiyârâ, Arabic; and Er-redd-ul-djemîl, Arabic and French.

Of these, Diyâ-ul-qulûb, written by Is-haq Efendi of Harput,[1] especially answers the wrongful writings and slanders written by Protestant priests against Islam. The book was first published in Istanbul in 1293 [A.D. 1876]. Simplifying the book, we published it in Turkish in 1987. Now we present the English edition. We used brackets for adding statements borrowed from a second book. As will be seen in various parts of the book, the priests could not answer the questions they were asked. We therefore considered the title Could not Answer appropriate for our book. The unscientific, unreasonable and immoral contents of today’s existing copies of the Holy Bible are obvious. On the other hand, the writings of Islamic scholars, shedding light on reason, knowledge, science and civilization, teem in the world’s libraries. Being unaware of this fact would therefore be no more than a flimsy pretext. Now, those who search for a religion other than the Islamic religion brought by Muhammad ‘alaihis-salâm’ will not escape endless torment in the world to come. In our book, the meanings of âyat-i-kerîmas are explained in such terms as “It is purported that…”, “It purports that…”, “It is meant that…”, etc. The meaning of these expressions is “According to the explanation of the scholars of Quranic interpretation (Tafsîr)… .” For, the meanings of âyat-i kerîmas were understood only by Rasûlullah ‘sall- Allâhu alaihi wasallam’, who explained them to his As-hâb. The scholars Is-Haq Efendi of Harput passed away in 1309 [A.D. 1891].

of Quranic interpretation distinguished these hadîth-i-sherîfs (explaining the âyat-i-kerîmas) from those hadîth-i-sherîfs concocted by munâfiqs, mulhids and zindiqs, who could not find hadîth-i-sherîfs to suit their purposes and so made their own interpretations of âyat-i-kerîmas within the principles of the science of Tafsîr. The interpretations of those religiously ignorant people who know Arabic but who are unaware of the science of Tafsîr are not to be called Tafsîr of the Qur’ân. For this reason, it is stated in a hadîth-i-sherîf: “He who interprets Qur’ân al-kerîm according to his own inferences will become a kâfir.”

May Allâhu ta’âlâ bestow on us all the fortune of obeying the master of this world and the next, Muhammad ‘alaihis-salâm’! May He protect us against believing the erroneous ideas and propagandas of missionaries, especially those heretics called Jehovah’s witnesses! Âmîn.