Islam
Père Zakaria Boutros

Answering the challenge of Ahaziah’s age  And the Christ Son of God
 

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

Some claim that there is a contradiction in The Holy Bible in the age of king Ahaziah between 2 Kings 8:26 and 2 Chronicles 22:2

In 2 Kings 8:26:”Ahaziah was a son of twenty two years when he began to reign, and he reigned one year in Jerusalem. And his mother's name was Athaliah the daughter of Omri, the king of Israel”
 
While in 2 Chronicles 22:2:” Ahaziah was a son of forty two years when he began to reign, and he reigned one year in Jerusalem; and the name of his mother was Athaliah the daughter of Omri….He also walked in the ways of the house of Ahab, for his mother was his counselor to do evilly”

The superficial reading of those verses shows the presence of a contradiction, but the proper study shows no contradiction

If the Holy Bible was falsified those differences were easily corrected by the falsifier and he wouldn’t leave them as such, but those differences have meanings

In fact king Ahaziah‘s age was 22 , as his father Jehoram was 32 years when he began to reign and he reigned 8 years so he was 40 years ( 2Kings 8:17), therefore his son could never be 42 years old when he reigned , so his real age was 22 years

So why it was mentioned that he was a son of 42 years old in 2 Chronicles 22:2? (Notice that he said son of 42 years and not his age was 42) as that was a punning for the age of his mother as she was the one actually reigned and not him, as mentioned in 2 Chronicles 22:12:” And Athaliah reigned over the land”

His mother Athaliah had the actual reign, so that was a punning for the age of the mother who was 42 years old

We are telling the challenger, what he says about the discrepancies in the quran as:

1) The day of Resurrection:

- In the Prostration chapter (Surat As-Sajdah) 5:" then it will go up to Him, in one Day, the space whereof is a thousand years of your reckoning"

Al-Nasfy said: that is the day of resurrection, it is 1000 years long (1)
 
 

- While in the Ways of Ascent chapter (Surat Al-Ma'arij) 4:" in a Day the measure whereof is fifty thousand years"

Al-Nasfy said: that is the day of resurrection, it is fifty thousand years long (2)
 
So is it thousand years long of fifty thousands years long?

2) The days of creation:

- In Jonah chapter (Surat Yunus) 3:” your Lord is God, who created the heavens and the earth in six days, and is firmly established on the throne”

It was mentioned in seven verses of the quran that the days of creation were six days

Those are: the Prostration chapter (Surat As-Sajdah) 4, Jonah chapter (Surat Yunus) 3, Hud chapter (Surat Hud) 7, The Criterion chapter (Surat Al-Furqan) 59, The Heights chapter (Surat Al-A'raf) 54, Qaf chapter (Surat Qaf) 38 and the iron chapter (Surat Al-Hadid) 4

- While in distinguished chapter (Surat Fussilat) 9-12 :" Do you verily disbelieve in Him, who created the earth in two days .., and measured therein its sustenance in four days, Then He rose over towards the heaven when it was smoke, and said to it and to the earth: "Come both of you willingly or unwillingly." They both said: "We come, willingly.” He completed them as seven heavens in two days”
So the total number of days of creation in that verse is eight days: 2 + 4 + 2 = 8 days
While in the other seven verses they were six days only, so were they six or eight?

Imam Al-Nasfy said:" God created the earth in two days, measured therein its sustenance in four days, then He completed and finished from their creation as seven heavens in two days" so that will be contradicting with his saying  six days in The Heights chapter (Surat Al-A'raf) (3)

The Christ is He God o son of God?

The Christ in one nature of two natures

The Christ has a human nature exactly as our nature, but without sin, that nature he took from Virgin Mary, in which the divine nature was revealed, so God revealed in a body

The Holy Bible said:” the mystery of godliness is great: God was revealed in the flesh"
 (1 timothy 3:16)

God revealed in a body, that is not strange for the mightiness of God

Also in the quran, God was revealed to Moses in the mountain as in:

The Heights chapter (Surat Al-A'raf) 143:” when his Lord appeared to the mountain, He made it collapse to dust, and Moses fell down unconscious”

And God revealed to Moses from behind a veil that was the tree in:

1-The Story Chapter (Surat Al-Qasas) 29-30:“So, when Moses had fulfilled the term and was traveling with his family, he saw a fire in the direction of the Tur (the Tur Mountain). He said to his family, wait; I have seen a fire. Perhaps I may bring to you from there some information, or a burning firebrand, that you may warm yourselves. So when he reached to it (the fire), he was called from the right of the valley, in the blessed place, from the tree: O Moses, Verify I am Allah (God), and the Lord of all Being"

2- Ta-Ha Chapter (Surat Ta-Ha) 8-14: "You received the story of Moses? When he saw a fire, and said to his family, 'Wait verify; I have seen a fire. Perhaps I can bring you some burning brand therefrom, or find some guidance at the fire& When he came to it (the fire),he was called by name 'Moses, Verify I am your Lord; so take off your shoes; you are in the sacred valley,Towa " I am, Allah (God), there is no god but me"
3- The Ants Chapter (Surat An-Naml) 7- 9:"When Moses said to his household verify 'I have seen a fire, I will bring you from there some information, or I will bring you a burning brand, that you may warm yourselves.' But when, he came to it, he was called: 'Blessed is whosoever is in the fire, and whosoever is around it & Glorified be God, the Lord of all Being! Moses, verify, it is I, Allah (God), the All-mighty, the All-wise"
In the quran, God was revealed in a tree and a mountain, so if He was revealed in an inanimate body and a plant, is it impossible to reveal in a human, who is more sublimate than the inanimate and the plant

The Christ is God revealed in a human

like the union of a peace of iron with fire,( when a piece of iron is put in a fire) as by such union the iron unites with fire without mixing with it, so neither the iron nor the fire changes in its nature or mix with the other , meaning that the iron doesn’t become a fire & the fire doesn’t become an iron but they are in union without mixing, so the fire united with the iron keeping its nature can burn, in the same time the iron unites with fire keeping its nature can be hammered & remodeled

How could the Christ be the son of God?

The son of God means coming from God in the eloquent meaning, and not the literal physical meaning which the reproduction

It is like saying; Son of Nile or Son of Egypt

The son of man has the same nature of man, and Son of God has the same nature of God

God is one in holy trinity Father, Son and Holy Spirit

God in his existence: the father, in his mind: the Son and He is alive: the Holy Spirit

When man wants to know God, and ask him, He will reveal himself to him

Ask him to enlighten your way and reveal himself to you

The Christ said: Ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock and it will be opened to you.
 
 

(1)  the exegesis of Al-Nasfy, part 2, page 417

(2)  the exegesis of Al-Nasfy, part 4, page 426

(3) the exegesis of Al-Nasfy, part 4, and page 130