Islam has some amazing stories which can be shown to be based on temple symbolism. For example, the first man Adam is said to have been about 30m/90ft tall, yet this is the length of Solomon's temple (see the Cyclops video at 7:45). Mountains are said to exist in order to stabilise the earth and are also likened to pegs, yet these 'mountains' are supporting pillars in the temple complex (see the World Turtle video).
It will be shown that this strongly criticised episode of Muhammad’s life - wherein about 600 men get executed and the women taken as ‘booty’ - is actually a retelling of the ancient Israelite ‘Day of Atonement’ rituals. In other words, “No people were harmed in the making of this story”.
Additionally, certain parts of the story of the Jewish Exodus are also shown to come from temple symbolism (which probably implies that the violence in that story is symbolic also).
Additionally, certain parts of the story of the Jewish Exodus are also shown to come from temple symbolism (which probably implies that the violence in that story is symbolic also).
(50 minutes, 2 Oct 2017, minor revision 12 July 2018) Explanations Acknowledgements
I am probably the first ever non-Muslim to defend the Islamic view of Christ’s crucifixion, namely that someone else was made to look like Jesus and it was this substitute who was crucified instead. To be more precise, both the Islamic and Christian stories of Christ’s crucifixion can be linked to the rituals of the ancient Israelite ‘Day of Atonement’. In particular, these rituals involved using two goats which had to be identical - hence the idea of Jesus’ face being copied to another person. Therefore, this ‘substitution theory’ is shown in all probability to have come from the apostles of Christ (+1 to Islam). However, to keep a balance, the Quranic account of Jesus being raised to heaven instead of being killed is re-examined (+1 to Christianity). As such, therefore, either story could be the historical version and the other a symbolic retelling (although Christians obviously lean towards the real crucifixion, and Muslims the substitution theory).
Academic Articles
Islamic Child Brides and Solomon’s Temple
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Abstract: The concept of child brides in Islam is based on the marriage of Muhammad to Aisha when she was only nine years old. However, ‘temple symbolism’ is used to re-interpret the hadiths as referring to temple rituals performed by the high priests in Solomon’s temple. For example, in the hadith Solomon sleeps with seventy wives in one night, like Muhammad sleeping with his many wives also in one night. Yet Solomon’s seventy ‘wives’ are the seventy lamps in the main temple area, which would relate the hadiths about Muhammad and his wives to temple symbolism also. In particular, hadiths about Aisha being nine when the marriage was consummated are also only about the rituals of Solomon’s temple. The fact that the hadiths can be embraced, as opposed to being discarded, without implying any real consummation with Aisha could help traditional Islamic communities to re-assess their view of child brides. In the appendix, Aisha’s jealousy of Maria the Copt (and Khadija) are likewise explained as temple symbolism.
Key Words: Aisha, child brides, Solomon, temple, houri, ‘splitting the moon’, menstruation, tanning leather
Key Words: Aisha, child brides, Solomon, temple, houri, ‘splitting the moon’, menstruation, tanning leather
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Publication Status: Published 2019
Religious Inquiries |
Abstract: The so-called ‘Islamic State’ (ISIS/ISIL) uses the narration/‘hadith’ mentioning that “the slave-girl will give birth to her master” to justify its renewal of sexual slavery. This hadith is talking about signs before the End of the World and so it is to be interpreted by the same ‘Temple theology’ technique that has been used in the biblical book of Revelation which is also about the End of the World: ‘Temple theology’ refers to the fact that many obscure texts symbolically describe the rituals and politics of the Temple in Jerusalem. It is shown that the whole hadith is talking about events that happened before the destruction of the second Temple in Jerusalem in 70CE. (The Temple symbolised the world and so the End of the World refers to this incident.) In particular, the slave-girl is shown to refer to the Virgin Mary giving birth to Christ. As such, the ‘Islamic State’ has no Islamic basis to use sexual slavery.
Key words: Islamic State (ISIS/ISIL), End of the World, slave-girl, birth, master, Temple
You Say Periklute, I Say Paraclete: Towards a Reconciliation Between the Bible and the Quran |
Publication Status: Published 2020
Religious Inquiries |
Abstract: The Quranic statement that Jesus predicted Muhammad by name is examined in light of the expectation of what the “kingdom of God” was. The concept of the kingdom of God as being the light or fire of the Holy Spirit at Pentecost is contrasted with the Sufi concept of the “Light of Muhammad.” Pentecost could be the Light of Muhammad coming upon the apostles of Christ; the Light is the same, but known under a different name. However, on the other hand, it is shown that some Jewish Christians could have been looking for an earthly “kingdom of Israel” to be restored. In this case, they would be expecting a human person to bring this about. The name “Muhammad” is then wordplay on the term “Paraclete” via the related Greek word “periklute,” having the same approximate meaning as the name “Muhammad.” In this way, the term “Paraclete” remains unchanged in the Bible, referring to Pentecost, while enabling Jewish Christians to give it a double meaning, because these two Greek words appeared identical when written in Semitic languages before the invention of vowel points. Finally, non-biblical references to Jesus talking about the Paraclete are examined and shown to have some relevance.
Key words: Periklutos, Ahmad, Light of Muhammad, kingdom of God, Manichean
Upcoming
I'm waiting for the Child Brides article to appear before publishing about ‘Female Circumcision‘. This is because the females described in the hadiths refer to the lampstands, and so female circumcision relates to the lamps, but I will need to reference sections of the Child Brides article.
I plan to write or make videos about signs of the Dajjal/Antichrist and the conquest of Constantinople, and the second coming of Christ in the Islamic traditions (hint: Jesus coming 40 years before the end of the world is related to Jesus actually being on earth about 40 years before the destruction of the second temple in Jerusalem: the temple symbolised the world, hence its destruction is the end of the world)
I plan to write or make videos about signs of the Dajjal/Antichrist and the conquest of Constantinople, and the second coming of Christ in the Islamic traditions (hint: Jesus coming 40 years before the end of the world is related to Jesus actually being on earth about 40 years before the destruction of the second temple in Jerusalem: the temple symbolised the world, hence its destruction is the end of the world)