Misinterpretation

The question is: from whence comes the venom which is used against Islam and its Holy Founder? How is it that some non- Muslim scholars misunderstand Islam, while others understand and appreciate it? This is the question for which we must find an answer. This misunderstandiug exists not only in the minds of the anti-Islam element, but also in the minds of some Muslims whose only available source of knowledge is literature in the Engstsh language which provides faulty information about Islam and its Founder. However sincere these Muslims are in seeliing to know the tr'ith of Islam, the literature available to them makes them doubt the claims of Islam to be God's revealed religion and its Holy Founder the Apostle of God.
Consider, for insance, the following:
1 The labricated story of the Holy Prophet being frightened by the heavenly Messenger, being comforted by Lady Khadija, and being advised of the apostleship conferred on him by Waraqa bin Nawfil.
2 The fiLise stories of sexual lust indulged in by the Holy Prophet 3 Descriptions of the defensive resistance which Islam was forced to exercise, such as wielding the sword for territorial ambition.
4 The fabricated story of the Holy Prophet seating one of his wives on his shoulders to show her the slave dance.
5 The denial of the miracles of the apostles of God and the Holy Prophet.
6 The false story of the Virgin Mary having contact with Joseph in the Sanctuary, assigning a huruan father to the Holy Prophet Jesus and thus denying his miraculous birth.
7 Creating doubts upon the bodily Ascension (Me'raj) of the Holy Prophet.
8 Aligning the sinful ones with those purified by God Himself.
9 Misinterpreting the Qur'anic laws of heritage relating to the Apostles of God.
10 Inventing false traditions in the name of the Holy Prophet.
11 Hiding the defects, drawbacks and the natural deficiencies of some pet heroes, and praising them in spite of their known errors, and presenting even tyrants as leaders of the faith.
12 Lowering the position of the holy ones in favour of those who can never be their equal.
13 Misinterpreting verses of the Holy Qur'an to suit a particular theory.
14 Misinterpreting the significance of the most important historic event of Ghadeer-e-Khum.
15 Denying that the Holy Prophet appointed his succor, claiming that he left this world without doing so.
16 Presenting as legal and warranted the acts of some political leaders after the departure of the Holy Prophet, and presenting them as heroic deeds for the faith Such falsehoods and misrepresentations appear in the translations and works of many non-Muslim writers. And those who take guidance from the Holy Ahlul-Bait have a responsibility to present the truth to the world and correct the lies against Islam which are misleading many men and women who are searching for the truth.
Besides the above falsehoods, there is also mischievous propaganda against the genuineness of the Holy Qur'an, which throws doubt about the completeness of the Holy Book and the arrangement of the material in it In reply to this hostile material which is misleading its readers, the only source of correct information about the faith and its truths is the verdict of the Ahlul-Bait, the authorities divinely set up by the Lord through the Holy Prophet. The pity is that this panacea for all evils has not been made available by us for the information and guidance of seekers of the truth and as an answer to the hostile forces.
Therefore, instead of attempting to answer each mischievous publication and each mischief-maker who may appear on the scene each day in a different garb, the foremost concern of the advocates of Islam and its Holy Founder is to put a stop to these poisonous publications and bring Out an authentic version of the Holy Qur'an in the English language so that there will be no misunderstandings of the Qur'anic truth either by uninformed friends or misinformed foes. With such an authentic source, we can quell all antagonistic movements against the teachings of Islam and the Holy Prophet by making available to the misguided ones an authentic source of the faith. Until this is done, errors and misunderstandings will continue to occur. And to do the task, the responsibility rests with whose who call themselves the devotees of the Ahlul-Bait, the Shias.
I considered it my first concern to clarify the actual position of the Holy Qur'an, which is the greatest and ever-current miracle of the Holy Prophet Muhammad, the last Apostle of God until the Day of Final Judgement. Because of the importance of this subject and its direct concern with the faith, I have taken detailed notes from Hujjatul Islam Ayatullah A1haj Allama Agha Mirza Mahdi Pooya Yazdi, one of the well-known authorities on the Holy Qur'an and Islam. These notes were prepared with special care and effort, using authentic sources, and are presented with maximum brevity.
There is clear evidence of the following:
1. The Qur'an, as a whole and complete Book, was revealed to the Holy Prophet on the Night of Qadr (2:185,44:3,97:1).
2. In the course of its Tanzeel, or gradual revelation, as and when the verses were revealed, the Holy Prophet put them in their respective places as he was divinely directed to do.
3. The Holy Qur'an was recorded in writing at least by the following:
(a) Ameerul Momineen Ali ibne Abi Taleb, whose collection contained not only the text, but also the notes - both ordinary and special - from the Holy Prophet.
(b) Abdullah ibne Mas'ood (c) Ma'aaz ibne Jabal (d) Obai ibne Kaab 4. The Holy Prophet, before his departure from the world, made the well-known historic announcement, universally acknowledged by the Muslim world, that he was leaving behind for the people (not one particular person, for the words are clear, Feekom, "among you")
the Saqalain (or Thaqalain), the two weighty or important things, the Kitaaballah, the Book of God and the Ahlul-Bait. This shows that by that time the Qur'an had been collected and formed a complete Book.
5. If the Qur'anic verses had not been collected into a complete Book, what was the Book to which Omar referred when he said in reply to the demand of the Holy Prophet for pen and paper, Hasbona Kitaaballah, "Sufficient for us is the Book of God."
With all this unchallenged evidence of history, any one who suggests that the verses of the Qur'an were collected by some one else, or who suggests its Tahreef is either betraying a determination not to know the truth, or an inability to understand it Readers may refer to the notes by Ayatullah Pooya Yazdi on Tahreef where they will find the truth about the compilation of the Qur'an and the genuineness of the version in our possession.
In addition to the detailed notes from Ayatullah Pooya Yazdi, I wrote to the great scholar-divines, the Mujtahids in Iran and Iraq, and have obtained their respective verdicts on Tahreef in the Qur'an, providing a decisive verdict for the Shia world. (See the Fatwas).
Thus, any talk denying the genuineness, completeness, originality and correctness in the arrangement of the material in the Qur'an is anti-Shia and anti-Islamic.
With regard to the other doctrines of Islam, about which many slanderous allegations have been made aimed at poisoning the mind of the general public, I have given short explanatory notes under each topic, and have quoted one or two of the many verses of the Qur'an on which the doctrine and its practice are based. This has been offered to the seekers of the truth, and that the general public may know what is meant by the original Islam which, in order to distinguish it from other sects, is termed Shiaism.