Islam
Père Zakaria Boutros

Answering the challenge of Ezekiel 23

The author      : Father Zakaria Boutros
The publisher:  www.fatherzakaria.com

Some are challenging some words mentioned in Holy Bible as being not befitting the words of God in Ezekiel 23:3, 20

The scripture from Ezekiel 23:3-20 said:

"The word of the lord came to me, saying, Son of man, there were two women, the daughters of one mother And they fornicated in Egypt; in their youth they fornicated. There were their breasts pressed, and there was handled the bosom of their virginity.
And their names were Oholah, the oldest, and Oholibah, her sister. And they were mine, and they bore sons and daughters. And their names: Samaria is Oholah, and Jerusalem is Oholibah. …..And she lusted on their paramours of whom the flesh of asses resembles their flesh, and as the semen of horses was their semen. And you longed for the wickedness of your youth, when from Egypt they worked your nipples, for the sake of the breasts of your youth”

The logic exegesis for that issue should be realized from the background of those words, as they say for the quran the reasons of descend

Those words are said to the Jewish nation; as he said: mother with two daughters
“And their names were Oholah, the oldest, and Oholibah, her sister. And they were mine, and their names: Samaria is Oholah and Jerusalem…they fornicated in Egypt with both Assyria and Egypt (Ezekiel 23:3-19)

The fornication here is the spiritual fornication and not literal or physical fornication

The literal fornication is when the woman leaves her husband and engages in relation with another man, while the spiritual fornication when one leaves God and follows another god

The nation fornicated by leaving God her lord and engaging with other gods, that is a metaphoric expression for the betrayal of that nation to her lord and abandoning him

The spiritual fornication is used by the Holy Bible with the meaning of hostility to the lord and his betrayal by getting away from him

So that is not woman fornication by the sexual meaning but a spiritual fornication

To understand any text we have to know the circumstances of that text and the rituals and customs of the people at that time

And those verbalisms mentioned was a description of evilly, and not inciting for it, it was for criticizing the evilly and showing its awfulness
 
 
 

As there were certain rituals conducted for worshiping the strange gods and idols at that time, that was mentioned in the British encyclopedia, saying that;” among the rituals of joining the idols worshiping was that they were practicing sex in an outrageous salacity as a sign of the union between those idolatrous in one essence and one body “{that's the same concept  Pointed at by the lord on the words of prophet Ezekiel here, rebuking and blaming those who are committing such acts}(1)

- Those outrageous salacious rituals were not considered disgraceful or shameful acts by            those who are committing them or they wouldn't do them, so the Holy Bible said” whose glory is in their Shame" (Philippians 3:19)

Therefore the lord wanted to disclose the ugliness of what they were doing and the disgracefulness of what they were committing to rebuke them for that

If the mere mentioning of those things is such outrageous as the Holy Bible said:” For the things which are done by them, it is a shame even to speak of” (Ephesus 5:12) so how would be the disgracefulness of doing them?

Wouldn't those acts deserve disclosure, rebuking and punishment by God?
 
- Actually God mentioned those vices to punish the nation for committing them, Therefore, the Lord said:” l arouse your lovers against you, And they shall come against you with weapons, chariots, and wheels, and they will judge you by their judgments"
(Ezekiel 23: 22-24), so that was for punishment

That challenging mentioned was provoked by Sheik Ahmed Didat, and it is available over his web site, he quoted them from the jurisprudent Rahmat Allah Al-Hindi who wrote them in his book “Revealing the truth” in 4 volumes and Sheikh Al-Hindi derived them from the atheists of the sixteen century in Europe who attacked the Holy Bible, but what the atheists say should not be said by Muslims as the quran attested for the Holy Bible saying:
The Narration chapter (Surat Al-Qasas) 49:" Say "Then bring a Book from Allah, which is a better guide than these two, that I may follow it"
The table chapter (Surat Al-Ma'idah) 48"And we have sent down to you the book in truth, confirming what came before of the Scripture and dominant over it"

Islam and Muhammad the prophet of Islam attested for the Holy Bible so whoever asperses in the Holy Bible is actually aspersing in the quran
 

The challenged verbalisms
1) The same word “bosom of their virginity” which was mentioned in Ezekiel which is the subject of challenging was mentioned in the noble quran in:
 The Night-Comer chapter (Surat At-Tariq) 5-7: "So let man see from what he is created! He is created from water gushing forth. Proceeding from between the back-bone and the bosom of virginity “

2) The same word "semen" which was mentioned in Ezekiel, was mentioned also in:
 The Resurrection chapter (Surat Al-Qiyamah) 36-39;" Does man think that he will be left neglected, was he not Nutfah (a discharge of semen) poured forth? Then he became an 'Alaqa (a clot); then Allah shaped and fashioned him in due proportion, and made him in two sexes, male and female”
3) From that words also what was mentioned in:

 The Confederates chapter (Surat Al-Ahzab) 50: "and a believing woman if she offers herself to the Prophet, and the Prophet wishes to wedlock her; a privilege for you only, not for the rest of the believers.  ... In order that there should be no embarrassment on you”

4) Also it was mentioned in The Light chapter (Surat An-Nur) 31" And tell the believing women to lower their gaze, and protect their private parts"

- And the Hour-Alien (the paradise women) in the chapters of :{ the Mount (Surat At-Tur), The Event (Surat Al-Waqi'ah), and Man ((Surat Al-Insan)

-The Event chapter (Surat Al-Waqi'ah) 15-35 "They will be served by immortal boys, with cups, and jugs, and a glass from the flowing wine… and there will be Hour-Alien (the paradise women) … And made them virgins"

Also in the converses:

- the prophet married a six years old child Aeisha and he was doing some acts to her as rubbing his thighs on her from the age of six to the age of nine as mentioned in the converses

- And also the verbalisms mentioned in the converses regarding the adult suckling

-In a prophetical converse :a man came to the prophet confessing that he committed adultery then the prophet asked him repeatedly inquiring about his action, he asked him four times and in the fifth time he said to him frankly" " ??????meaning did you fuck her?
 (the sources mentioned that story, said that he said that slant vulgar word frankly without using any alternative) the man replied: yes, then the prophet continued asking: did your part disappear  into her part, as the kohl probe disappears into the kohl jar?, the man replied yes, the prophet said to him: then why did you come to me now?, the man said : to purify me, the prophet ordered the people to stone him , and he was stoned to death

That converse was mentioned in four references:

1- Sahih Al-Bokhary , the fighters chapter , converse number 6913
2- Sonan Abe-Dawûd , converse number 4430
3- Mosnad Ahmed, converse number 2477, mosnad Abdullah Ibn Abbas
4- Mosnad Al-Darquatly , converse number 3491
 
 

Such flagrant words were never mentioned in the book of song of the songs, as it mentioned some acts to condemn them and punish those committing such acts

What about the paradise in Christianity:

In Christianity the kingdom of heaven is spiritual and not a place for lusts and attaining pleasures

The Holy Bible said: For the kingdom of God is not eating and drinking, but righteousness and peace and joy in the Holy Spirit” (Romans 14:17)

“For in the resurrection they neither marry nor are given in marriage, but they are as the angels of God in Heaven” (Matthew 22:30)

Man doesn’t go to heaven to attain the bodily lusts and enjoyment but he will live spiritual life in the presence of God

                                      -------------------------------------------------------

-Some are challenging what was mentioned in the book of Hosea 1:2 that said:” the lord said to Hosea, Go, take to yourself a wife of adultery and children of adultery. For the land has utterly gone lusting away from the lord” saying how could God ordered Hosea to take a wife of adultery?

Actually God was telling Hosea about what will happen in the future , as he will marry a woman , then she will betray him and commit adultery , and will have children of adultery and that what happed exactly to him later on , as he married Gomer and she betrayed him and committed adultery and had children

And in that text he mentioned that the land has utterly gone lusting away from God, so that was a metonymy for the Israeli nation
 
 
 

(1) Encyclopedia Britannica, Volume 12, page782