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By Adil Riaz

In response to Zakir Naik video in regards to how the Old Testament mentions in its chapter of Leviticus that eating of Pork meat is unclean for you. David Woods instead of creating a response to this, he decided to take a different route. The route of malicious criticism of islam which he always does, so instead of defending his own religion or agreeing that Christians shouldn’t eat pork, he chose to mock the last prophet Muhammad peace and blessing be upon him. Here I will refute each of the points that David Woods mentions in his video: “Christianity, Islam, and Pork: How Zakir Naik Destroyed Muhammad.”

David’s claim: Leviticus 11 and 14 make mention of that Rabbit meat and Camel meat are unclean for you, he quotes Sahih Bukhari 2572 and 2485, show that Prophet Muhammad pbuh ate Both Camel meat and Rabbit meat and also the Quran confirms it in chapter 22 verse 36 “…sacrificial camels we have made for you among the symbols from God…eat ye thereof…”. Also he mentioned that Abdullah ibn Salam a companion who was a scholar among the Jews who converted to islam, that when he converted he still kept his diet from Torah until the verse was revealed Quran 2:208 “O you who believe! Enter completely into Islam, and do not follow the footsteps of Satan: surely he is your open enemy.” Since Jesus pbuh came to fulfil the law not abolish it as he mentioned in Matthew 5:17-20, since Prophet Muhammad pbuh ate the Camel meat and Rabbit meat, David claim’s he broke the law of the Torah the Old Testament.

David’s conclusion: That due to Zakir Naik using these verses from Leviticus, Deuteronomy and Matthew, if we place these came criteria to judge prophet Muhammad pbuh, then we can see that Muhammad pbuh is bound to hell for breaking these Laws from the Torah (astaghfirullah).

My response:

Firstly, before I go onto the regarding the camel and the rabbit meat, let’s first address whether Jesus pbuh according to the Gospel, did he FULFIL the commands of Torah which is the Old Testament or did he BREAK the law of Torah, ACCORDING TO THE GOSPEL.

NT says: Matthew 5:17 NIV “Do not think that I have come to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I have not come to abolish them but to fulfill them.”

Is this TRUE?

If we look again at the New Testament the Gospel:

Mark 7:18 (NIV) “Are you so dull?” he asked. “Don’t you see that nothing that enters a man from the outside can make him ‘unclean’?

Mark 7:19 (NIV) For it doesn’t go into his heart but into his stomach, and then out of his body.” (In saying this, Jesus declared all foods “clean.”)

(Scholar Benjamin L. Corey of Patheos a Christian Blog site states: The Law(Torah) is over- it was brought to the natural ending point with Christ’s death on the cross. Thus, the Law is no more in the life of a Christian.

Now, does all this mean we’re free to live however we want?

No, not at all. At one point Paul says, “I myself am not under the Law” but then he immediately qualifies his statement and essentially says, “Well, I am under a law– I’m under the Law of Christ.” (see 1 Corinthians 9)

If you’re a Christian, you’re not under the old Law, but a new one: the teachings of Jesus found in the red words of the Bible. All this he said, could be summarized via “love God” and “love everyone else, too.”

Reference: http://http://www.patheos.com/blogs/formerlyfundie/for-the-people-who-say-but-jesus-didnt-abolish-the-law/ )

By DECLARING ALL FOOD CLEAN, JESUS BROKE THE LAW OF OT(Torah) ACCORDING TO NT(Gospel). (If you accept the position of Mr. Corey, then with that same realization you must accept Quran as Last Testament and become Muslim.)

These are the VERY verses that Christians claim when they are asked in regards to eating Pork. So yes David Woods, you are not allowed to carry DOUBLE STANDARD, when asked about eating pork, Christian Claim that NT(Gospel) supersedes the OT(Torah). While there is no evidence to show from the New Testament that It supersedes Old Testament the Torah. There is CLEAR Evidence in Final Testament the Quran that it supersedes what came before it.

Quran [2:106] “We do not abrogate a verse or cause it to be forgotten except that We bring forth [one] better than it or similar to it. Do you not know that Allah is over all things competent?”

(No, Quran 2:106 isn’t abrogated as how the Christian apologists like to claim, they like to point out to commentaries which are suggestions of some of scholars who lacked in understanding, what they couldn’t understand they fabricated about, thus these anti-islamic apologetics use the words of men who lacked understanding to try to undermine the words of God, however those with understanding can understand. So Quran abrogates what came before it, and abrogates the hadiths since it is from God and hadiths are from man.)

From this we see there are either of the three points, either Jesus broke the law of the OT thus contradicting himself (thus meaning NT contradicted itself and since God does not contradict himself, NT is corrupted), OR those who reported this verse are in error and thus the claim of NT being corrupted stands. OR the third point that Christians are not bound by laws of OT (But then why did they use much of the OT when making the Gospels?).

Now since that is clear, let’s get to refuting the claims about the camel and rabbit meat.

FIRST AND FOREMOST, I must remind the viewers the OT dietary restrictions are IRRELEVANT to Muslims and Prophet Muhammad pbuh, I will be making that very clear in this refutation.

Islamic Dietary Restriction:

Quran (5:3) “Forbidden to you (for food) are: dead meat, blood the flesh of swine, and that on which hath been invoked the name of other than Allah, that which hath been killed by strangling, or by a violent blow, or by a headlong fall, or by being gored to death; that which hath been (partly) eaten by a wild animal; unless ye are able to slaughter it (in due form); that which is sacrificed on stone (altars); (forbidden) also is the division (of meat) by raffling with arrows: that is impiety. This day have those who reject Faith given up all hope of your religion: yet fear them not but fear Me. This day have I perfected your religion for you, completed my favor upon you, and have chosen for you Islam as your religion. But if any is forced by hunger, with no inclination to transgression, Allah is indeed Oft-Forgiving Most Merciful.”

The Above verse makes it very clear that for Muslims forbidden are DEAD MEAT, BLOOD AND FLESH OF SWINE, FOOD THAT GOD’s NAME HASN’T BEEN RECITED OVER, WHAT WAS SACRIFICED TO OTHER GODS(idols), and GORED MEAT.

Now why is this dietary restriction different from the restriction in Torah and what jews follow:

God mentions Jews in the Quran as the People of the Book, the people that God made Covenant with. BUT did jews respond back to God with guidance or were they transgressors?

Let’s compare and see what Old Testament(Torah), New Testament (actually injeel, but Gospel has some remnants of Injeel) and Final Testament (Quran) has to say about the jews:

OT(Torah): Leviticus 26:33 “And if you do not listen to Me, and do not keep all these commandments… and I will scatter you among the nations, and send the sword after you, and your land will be desolate, and your cities destroyed.”

Deuteronomy 4:25 “I call to witness today heaven and earth that you will perish quickly from the land that you are crossing over the Jordan to possess; you will not stay long on it…And G-d will scatter you among the peoples, and you will be left few in number in the nations where G-d will lead you.”

Deuteronomy 11:16 “Take heed to yourselves, lest your hearts be seduced, and you turn away and serve other gods, and bow to them. Then G-d will be angry at you, and He will close up the heavens and there will be no rain, and the earth will not give its produce, and you will perish quickly from upon the good land that G-d gives you.”

NT(Gospel): Revelation 2:9 “Behold, I will make those of the synagogue of Satan who say that they are Jews and are not, but lie—behold, I will make them come and bow down before your feet and they will learn that I have loved you.”

Matthew 23:5 “Everything they do is just to show off in front of others. They even make a big show of wearing Scripture verses on their foreheads and arms, and they wear big tassels[a] for everyone to see.”

Matthew 23:13-14 “You Pharisees and teachers of the Law of Moses are in for trouble! You’re nothing but show-offs. You lock people out of the kingdom of heaven. You won’t go in yourselves, and you keep others from going in.”

FT(Quran): Quran [2.88] “And they say: Our hearts are covered. Nay, God has cursed them on account of their unbelief; so little it is that they believe.”

Quran [2:16] “And [recall] when you said, “O Moses, we can never endure one [kind of] food. So call upon your Lord to bring forth for us from the earth its green herbs and its cucumbers and its garlic and its lentils and its onions.” [Moses] said, “Would you exchange what is better for what is less? Go into [any] settlement and indeed, you will have what you have asked.” And they were covered with humiliation and poverty and returned with anger from Allah [upon them]. That was because they [repeatedly] disbelieved in the signs of God and killed the prophets without right. That was because they disobeyed and were [habitually] transgressing.”

Quran [2.211] “Ask the Israelites how many a clear sign have We given them; and whoever changes the favor of God after it has come to him, then surely God is severe in requiting (evil).”

We can see from the verses quoted in OT, NT, and FT. That the jews were habitual transgressors that not only did mischief in the land but also ALTERED the laws of the almighty, But WORST among the worst things that they did was that they KILLED PROPHETS. How do we know that the jews used to kill prophets let’s take a look at the Babylonian Talmud which jesus pbuh came to abolish:

“When it comes to a Gentile in peace times, one may harm him indirectly, for instance, by removing a ladder after he had fallen into a crevice.” (Shulkan Arukh, Yoreh De ‘ah, 158).

This was the same method that was used on Jesus pbuh that the Pharisees used the laws in Talmud to trick the Romans to kill Jesus pbuh (even though he wasn’t killed as the Quran says). This was the method used on other prophets that we do not know about since there were many prophets but only the important ones God almighty told us about.

WHY IS THIS RELEVANT?

Now I will explain how the above verses play an important role in refuting David Wood’s claims.

Quran mentions that before the Torah was revealed to Moses everything was Lawful to eat for the Jews, EXCEPT what prophet Judah (Israel) FORBADE for himself.

Quran (3:93) “All food was lawful unto the Children of Israel, save that which Israel forbade himself, (in days) before the Torah was revealed. Say: Produce the Torah and read it (unto us) if ye are truthful.”

Is there any evidence of this? Let’s take a look:

ACTS 10:13-15 13“Then a voice told him, “Get up, Peter. Kill and eat.” 14 “Surely not, Lord!” Peter replied. “I have never eaten anything impure or unclean.” 15”The voice spoke to him a second time, “Do not call anything impure that God has made clean.“”

So we can see from these verses, we do not know what these additional foods were that God almighty did not make unlawful for them but they the Jews made it unlawful for THEMSELVES.

But what is important to note is this:

Quran (4:160) “For wrongdoing on the part of the Jews, We (God) made unlawful for them [certain] good foods which had been lawful to them, and for their averting from the way of Allah many [people]”

So now we have established CLEARLY, that those Dietary restrictions only applied to Jews because of their devious deeds, God made certain Good Foods unlawful for them.

SCIENTIFIC EVIDENCE OF RABBIT AND CAMEL MEAT BEING GOOD FOR HEALTH:

Camel meat:

1.Camel meat has other medical qualities, too, like protecting against cancerous tumors, as claimed by some researchers, because it contains unsaturated fatty acids like linoleic acid which interact with other unsaturated fatty acids taken from vegetable oils to protect against cancer.

2. Camel meat can also be used as a cure for exhaustion and fatigue because it contains energy needed by body cells. Such energy comprises sugar not fat, since, a camel’s fat is concentrated in its hump whereas other animals
store it in their muscles.

3.In addition, camel meat contains glycogen, a carbohydrate which is easily absorbed and metabolized in the body, and is converted to glucose which activates nerve as well as other cells.

4. Camel meat prevents obesity and heart diseases. A Tunisian study which compares various meats such as, beef, lamb, camel and chicken has revealed that camel meat is the best by far for human consumption, especially for those people who are afraid to gain weight and who would like to be protected by heart disease. The study pointed out that camel meat has a low level of fat with lots of fibers and that it is highly recommended by doctors for patients who suffer from high cholesterol because it is low in fat. The study said that doctors have found that there is a strong link between heart disease and obesity among people who have diet of beef, buffalo, lamb and goat meat. It added that the flavor of meat usually is a result of the amount of fat, which is why camel meat has a distinct flavor and a high nutritional value also due to the amount of amino acids found in the camel fat compared to beef.

For more health benefits of camel meat read: http://australiancamelindustry.com.au/cjamel/images/pdfs/camelmeat/Benefits_Camel_Meat.pdf

Rabbit meat:

1. “Rabbit meat is well known for its high protein content. A 3-oz. serving of rabbit meat contains 28 g of protein, more than beef or chicken. Rabbit is also a concentrated source of iron. A serving contains more than 4 mg. Additionally, the meat provides a wide range of minerals. The highest levels include 204 mg of phosphorous and 292 mg of potassium. The calories in rabbit meat are low. A serving contains only 147 calories.” – What are the Benefits of Eating Rabbit Meat? – Livestrong.com

2. “Rabbit meat is among the highest protein-dense meats you can get. Nutritionally, it ranks highest in protein and lowest in fat, according to a USDA circular. With 795 calories per pound, rabbit beats chicken, turkey and other lean meats for those looking to get more nutrition in a smaller serving.” – Eatingrules.com

3. “Rabbit meat is all white meat, and when raised off the ground in cages there is no contact with the ground, resulting in a cleaner raised meat. They also can be raised in relatively small areas.” – Eatingrules.com

4. “Rabbit meat is so healthy and lean that some doctors actually prescribe a rabbit meat diet to people who are overweight and obese. Because the fat and calorie levels are so low, but protein so high, one can radically change their life by eating a rabbit meat diet and exercising.” -Greentrust.org

5. The calcium and phosphorus contents of this meat or more than any other meats.

For more health benefits of rabbit meat: http://otrrabbitry.wixsite.com/organic-rabbit/why-eat-rabbit

Conclusion:

Now we can conclude that Prophet Muhammad pbuh who came much after Moses pbuh and is an Arab Prophet and not a jew, ate Camel and Rabbit meat because it was LAWFUL according to the Law that dictates for Muslims and for him (pbuh) the Quran. The OT restrictions are specifically for the Jews due to the CLEAR FACT that they habitually transgressed and broke their covenant with God almighty. Thus trying to judge prophet Muhammad pbuh based on the laws of Torah is ILLOGICAL and IRRELEVANT. So David Woods I am sure that you knew of these facts however, you intentionally and deliberately lied, because you yourself know that the dietary restrictions that Muslims are bound under are mentioned in Quran (5:3) and not the OT.