1. "(I begin this book) In the name of God, the Compassionate, the Merciful." (1*:1.)

C. ~ The Mohammedans claim that this Q’uran is the Word of God, but it appears from the above passage that the author of this book was some person other than God, since had it been God himself, He would not have said: "(I begin this book) in the name of God etc." He would have, instead, said: "I write this book for the instruction of mankind." If it be said that by beginning His book in this fashion He means to teach men as to what they should say when about to do a thing, it cannot be true, since some men will do even sinful deeds in the name of God and thereby bring disgrace on Him.

If (the Mohammedan) God be merciful, why has He sanctioned that men should inflict great suffering on other creatures by killing them for their food? Are not these animals innocent? Are they not His creatures? He should have also advised men to begin only good deeds in His name and not evil ones. Thus the passage (under discussion) is quite ambiguous. Should even such sinful acts, as theft, adultery, untruthfulness in speech, begun in God's name? Very likely it is on account of this ambiguity that the (Mohammedan) butchers etc., mutter "In the name of God, the compassionate, the most Merciful as the moment of cutting the throats of cows and other animals."

It is clear then that the Mohammedans do begin even evil deeds in the name of God. The Mohammedan God can never be called Merciful, because He shows no mercy towards those animals (whose slaughter He sanctions). If the Mohammedans do not know the true meaning of this passage, its revelation is of no use

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to mankind. But if the Mohammedans interpret it differently, we should like to know what its plain meaning is.

C. ~ Had the God of the Qoran been the Lord of all creatures, and been Merciful and kind to all, He would never have commanded the Mohammedans to slaughter men of other faiths, and animals, etc. If He is Merciful, will He show mercy even to the sinners? If the answer be given in the affirmative, it cannot be true, because further on it is said in the Qoran "Put Infidels to sword," in other words, he that does not believe in the Qoran and the Prophet Mohammad is an infidel (he should, therefore, be put to death). (Since the Qoran sanctions such cruelty to non-Mohammedans and innocent creatures such as cows) it can never be the Word of God.

C. ~ Does not God always administer justice. If He administers justice only on one particular day, He does wrong. It is right to worship Him and beg assistance of Him, but is this equally right to invoke His assistance in doing even evil deeds? Is the right path that of the Mohammedans alone and not of others? Why do not the Mohammedans tread the path which is really the right one? (We hope) they do not regard the path that leads to evil as the right one. If good is the same in all religions, the Mohammedan religion can have no superiority over others. If the Mohammedans do not believe that other religions are just as good as their own, they are prejudiced.

C. ~ Since the Mohammedans do not believe in the previous existence of the soul, nor that it ever did any deeds before, their God will be open to the charge of being partial by showing favor to some and disfavor to others inasmuch as it is quite unjust to bestow happiness on men or subject them to pain and suffering

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without paying any regard to their merits and demerits. It is also against the nature (of God) to unreasonably look at some with mercy and others with disdain and anger. Indeed He cannot act arbitrarily. When the souls have done no good or bad action in their previous lives, is it not unfair that some should receive blessings while the others not?

The commentary on this verse says: "God Himself made the people repeat this verse with their own lips so that they should ever do so in future." If this be the case, God Himself must have taught them even the alphabet. Besides, how could they read this verse without knowing the alphabet? Or were they made to learn it by rote? If so, the whole of the Qoran must have been taught orally.

Now this book, which is so full of partiality and favoritism (to some). Cannot be the Word of God. For instance, the Qoran having been revealed in Arabic, it was easier for the Arabs to learn it, than for others. The Qoran would have been free from this defect, had it been revealed like the Veda in a language which is altogether distinct from all other languages and is not the mother-tongue of any people, just as God, through His justice vouchsafed into us all His Word, the Veda in Sanskrit which requires the same amount of exertion from persons of all nationalities to be mastered.

C. ~ Is it not arrogance on the part of God to praise His own book? The revelation of the Qoran is of no use, since the pious are already treading the right path without extrinsic aid, while the wicked are not directed by it. Does God provide (the Mohammedans) with necessary cash to defray all their

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expenses out of His own treasury without any exertion on their part or paying heed to their merits and demerits? If He does, why does He not do the same for all? If it is permissible to have faith also in the Bible, why do not the Mohammedans believe in that book in the same way as they do in the Qoran? But if they do, where is then the necessity for the Qoran to be revealed?

If it be argued that the Qoran is more comprehensive than the Bible, it might be asked if God had forgotten to write anything in the latter book. If He had not, it was useless for Him to reveal the Qoran. Besides we find that the bible and the Qoran differ so little, in other words, they are at one with each other in most things, it is, therefore, reasonable to ask why the revelation was not sent down (once for all) in one (complete) book such as the Veda?

Thus the human soul cannot be held responsible for its sinful or virtuous deeds since it cannot be said to be a free agent.

C. ~ Well did God increase their infirmity, while they were innocent? Did He not have pity on them? They must have suffered terribly indeed. Is not this act more devilish than that of the Devil? To seal their hearts and increase their infirmity could never be the work of God inasmuch as the increase of infirmity is the result of one's own sinful actions.

7."Who hath spread the earth as a bed for you and the heaven as a covering." (2: 20.)

C. ~ Well! Can the heaven a covering for anything? Now does it not show ignorance (of the author of the Qoran)?

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It is absurd to believe in the sky being a covering. If the Mohammedans believe some kind of planet to be the heaven, it can only be the work of their own imagination.

C. ~ Well! Is it impossible to produce a chapter like unto it? Did not Maulvi Fiazi in the time of king Akbar compile a Qoran without making use of any dotted letters in it? What kind of fire is the hell fire? Is not the fire (of this world) to be feared? The fire of this world also consumes anything that may be put into it.

Just as it is stated in the Qoran that stones have been prepared for the non-believers, likewise it is said in the Puraanaas that Malechhas* are doomed to hell. Now, which of these two statements should be accepted as correct? According to each of these, the adherents of one sect go to hell and those of the other to heaven. Both of these statements are therefore false. The truth is that only the good and the virtuous will enjoy happiness, while the wicked will be subjected to pain and suffering which faith they may belong to.

C. ~ The paradise as described in the Qoran is in no respect better than this world, because the same sort of things that are obtainable here are to be had there. The only exception being that men here die and are born again, whereas this is not the case with them in paradise, te women also here do not continue to live for ever, whereas in paradise they do so. We should like to know how these poor women pass their days till the day of judgment?

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Of course it will be alright if the Mohammaden God extends His helping hand to them and thereby they manage to pass their days with comfort. Tut Tut! Tut! But this goes to show that the paradise of the Mohammedans justly resembles the Golak and the temple of the Gosaeens of Gokal wherein women are valued more than men. Similarly in the temple of God (paradise) women are valued and loved more than men by God. They live forever in heaven but not men. How can this arrangement last unless God desires it? The Mohammedan God is surely in danger of falling in love with these women!!!

C. ~ Could God ever deceive His angels in this way in order to impress them with His Greatness? It was an act of sheer imposture on His part. No enlightened man could ever believe such a thing of God, nor would he display such hauteur. Was it by these means that God wanted to display His supernatural powers? Such quackery can only flourish among the savages but not among the civilized.

C. ~ This indicates that the Mohammedan God was not Omniscient i.e., He was not cognizant of the three periods of time - the past, the present, and future. Had he been Omniscient, He would not have created Satan. Nor was God All-powerful, since when Satan deliberately refuse to obey Him he could do nothing against him. Now if only one infidel (Satan), could trouble God so much as to render Him helpless what will He and His votaries do when they will have to cope with millions (according to their own belief) of infidels? God increased infirmity in some and let others astray. He must have learnt such things from Satan and Satan from God.

12. "And we said, O Adam, dwell thou and thy wife in the garden, and eat of the fruit thereof plentifully wherever ye will; but approach not this tee, lest ye become of the number of the

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transgressors. But Satan caused them to forfeit paradise, and turned them out of the state of happiness wherein they had been, whereupon we said, Get down, one of you shall be an enemy unto the other; and there shall be a dwelling place for you on earth, a provision for a season. And Adam learned words of prayer for His Lord and then came down to earth." (2: 33 - 35.)

C. ~ This indicates that God was not omniscient inasmuch as He one moment blesses Adam saying "Dwell thou…. In the garden" and in the next turns them out. Had He been cognizant of the future, He would not have blessed him at all? It also appears that God was powerless to punish Satan, the tempter.

Did God plant that tree for Himself or for others? If it was for others He should not have prevented them (Adam and his wife) from tasting the fruit thereof. God could never do such things, nor could they be ever found in His book. What were the words Adam leant from God and how did Adam come down on earth? Is the paradise somewhere in the sky or on some hill? Did Adam fly sown like a bird or fall down like a stone?

It appears that there is dust in paradise since Adam was made of dust. Angels too like Adam must also have been made of dust inasmuch as bodily organs cannot be made without dust (earthly material) but the body made of dust, must perish. Hence if the angels are also subject to death, one should like to know where they go after death. On the other hand if they do not die, they could not have been born, but if they were born, they would surely die. If this be the case, the statement of the Qoran that women in paradise live for ever cannot be valid inasmuch as they must also die. It follows, therefore, that all those who go to heaven will also die.

C. ~ Should we not dread the present? One should dread evil doing on all days. If it be true that no intercession will be accepted, how can this statement be reconciled with the belief of

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the Mohammedan that they will go to paradise through the intercession of the Prophet? Does God help only those who are in paradise and not those who are in hell? If it is so, God is not free from prejudice.

C. ~ if the book was given to Moses, the revelation of the Qoran becomes meaningless. Both Qoran and the Bible assert that Moses was endowed with miraculous powers, but it is absolutely incredible, inasmuch as no man can work miracles now-a-days, and what cannot be done in our day, could never have been done in the past.

Moses must have resorted to hypocrisy in the same way as the selfish impose upon the credulity of the ignorant at the present time. Now why does not God endow anyone with miraculous powers when both He and His devotees exist in our day. Where was the necessity of sending down the Qoran when God had already given Moses a book? If the teachings about dong good and abstaining from evil are the same in the Bible and Qoran, the sending down of two different books was nothing but a mere repetition of the same. Again, did God forget to record something in the book given to Moses that He had to send down another book later on?

Now either what God said regarding their (transgressors') being changed into scouted apes in order to make an example for others never came to pass or He must have resorted to trickery.

Whoever does such things cannot be God, nor can the book containing them be divine in origin.

C. ~ If God raised the dead to life (in the past), why does He not do so now? Will they all remain lying in their graves till the day of judgment? Is your God on tour in these days (that He cannot find time to administer justice)? Are these (raising the

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dead etc.) the only proofs (of the existence) of God? Are not the earth, the sun, and the moon, etc., His signs? Is the wonderful design so manifestly seen existing in the world of no significance?

C. ~ As the soul is finite, its deeds - good or bad - cannot be infinite. It cannot, therefore be sent to an everlasting hell or heaven. Should God do so, His justice will be destroyed, or would He be considered and an enlightened Being. If there is one judgment day for all souls, their virtuous and sinful acts must be equal. Human deeds being finite their fruits - reward or punishment - cannot be infinite.

The Mohammedans believe that the world had been in existence for less than or eight thousand years. One should like to know if God was sitting idle before Creation and will do the same after the day of judgment. These are all childish things, because God is ever active and awards every soul reward or punishment in proportion to the nature and amount of its virtuous and sinful feeds. Hence what the Qoran teaches (on the subject) is not right.

C. ~ Is the making of covenants the work of man, possessed of finite powers, or of God? God being Omniscient cannot behave like an ordinary man. Now what kind of virtue is this to consider it wrong to shed the blood of one's brethren or to dispossess them of their houses, but to regard it commendable to shed the blood of others and dispossess them of their houses? It is merely the result of folly and prejudice to believe in such things. Did not God know it before hand that men would act against their covenant? It appears from this that the Mohammedan God has many attributes in common with the God of the Christians and that the Qoran is not an independent book in itself, and with a few exceptions it is a mere echo of the Bible.

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C. ~ Can God ever act so jealously and malevolently? Who are those whose sins will be remitted or who will helped? If they are sinners whose sins will be remitted without any punishment being inflicted on them, then God's justice will be destroyed. If their sins will be remitted after they have undergone punishment for them, the men referred to in the verse will have also to suffer punishment for their sins.

but if the remission of sins refers to those men who are pious, they by virtue of their pious life have no sins to be remitted, what will God remit then? One naturally infers from this that whoever uttered these words was not an enlightened person. In fact, the righteous and the unrighteous should be awarded reward - happiness or punishment - sorrow and suffering - according to the nature of their deeds - virtuous or sinful.

C. ~ When the Qoran bears witness to this that God gave the book of law to Moses, it is incumbent on Mohammedans to believe it. All the defects found therein, will therefore, be regarded as those of the Muslim religion itself. The story of miracles seems to have been connocted with a view to play upon the credulity of simple and ignorant people. All things which are against the laws of nature are false. If miracles could be wrought in those days, why can't they be done now-a-days? If not miracles can be worked now, it is certain that none were wrought in days gone by.

20. "Although they had before prayed for victory over those who prayed not - yet when that Qoran came to them, of which they had knowledge, they did not recognize it. The curse of God is on the infidels!" (2: 83.)

C. ~ You call men professing other religions infidels, while they do the same to you, and their God curses you in the same way. Now will you please tell us which of the two should be considered right and which wrong? On reflection it is clear that there are errors in all creeds.

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C. ~ Where does this host of partners come from, if, as the Mohammedans say, God is one without a partner? Is he who is an enemy to others also an enemy to God? This can never be true, since God is an enemy to none.

22. "And say forgiveness; and we will pardon you your sins, give an increase to the doers of good." (2:55)

C. ~ Does not this (so-called) Divine teaching encourage people to live sinful lives? Why should one fear sin when he is given the promise of redemption? He that gives such a promise cannot be God, nor can a book that inculcates such a doctrine be the Word of God. God can never do injustice, but if He pardons the sinners, He renders Himself unjust.

23. "And when Moses asked drink for his people, we said "strike the rock with thy rod;" and from it there gushed twelve fountains." (2:57)

C. ~ Now can anyone (except the Mohammedan God) utter such impossibilities? It is absolutely impossible to believe that twelve springs could gush forth on striking a rock with a rod, unless it had been hollowed out in the center and filled with water and twelve holes bored therein.

24. "But God will show his special mercy to whom He will." (2:99.)

C. ~ Does God show His special mercy to those who do not deserve it? If He does, He works great mischief, for all men will become indifferent to the practice of virtue. No one will then lead a virtuous life and hate sin, since His mercy depends upon His (arbitrary) will and not upon one's deeds.

25. "People may not, out of malice, try to turn you away from your religion, for there are among them many a friend of the faithful." (2:101.)

C. ~ Now behold! God Himself put them on their guard lest the infidels should turn them away from their faith. Is not God omniscient? Such things cannot be true of God.

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c. ~ If this is true, why do the Mohammedans turn their face towards Qibla (i.e., the sacred Mosque at Mecca)? If it be argued that they have been commanded to do so, to answer that they have also been permitted to turn their face in whatever direction they choose. Not which of these two (contradictory statements) should be held to be true. If God has a face, it can only be in one direction and not in all directions at one and the same time.

C. ~ Now who heard God when He said "Be"? whom did He address that word and what came into being? Where from did this world come into existence when it is written in the Qoran that nothing but God existed before Creation? No effect can be produced without cause. How could He have then created this vast universe without (material) cause. You cannot even make one leg of a fly, how can you then believe that God create this world by the flat of His Will.

Mohammedan: - God is Almighty. He can do whatever He wills

C. ~ What does the word Almighty mean?

M.- It means that He can do whatever He likes.

C. ~ Can He create another God? Can He die? Can He become ill, ignorant or destitute of knowledge?

M.-No, He cannot.

C. ~ It is proved then that God cannot do any thing against His Own nature, attributes and characteristics or against those of others (matter and the soul). Three things are essential for the production of an effect:-

1. The (Efficient Cause) Maker, such as the potter in the case of the pot.
2. The Material Cause, such as clay.
3. The instruments where with to make an object like a pot.

Now just as the potter, clay and the necessary instruments must exist before the pot can be manufactured, likewise, God, and prakrati - the material cause of the Universe - with their inherent

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nature, attributes and characteristics must have existed before this Universe came into being. Hence what the Qoran says on Creation is altogether absurd.

C.~ Had not God appointed sacred place before He sanctified Kaba? If he had, where was the necessity for consecrating Kaba? But if He had not it is indeed a pity that those who were born before that period had to go without a holy place. Perhaps it had not struck God to consecrate a place like Kaba before that.

29." And who but he that hath debased his soul to folly will dislike the faith of Abraham, when we have chosen him in this world, and in the world to come he shall be of the Just." (2:124.)

C. ~ Now can it ever be true that he who does not like the faith of Abraham is a fool? Why did God choose Abraham alone ( as the founder of the true faith)? If he did so on account of his being very religious, there were many others who were as religious as he, why did He not choose them as (His prophets)? But if he chose him because he was irreligious, He acted unjustly. It is quite true that is only the righteous who are loved by God and not others.

C. ~ Now is this trivial idolatry? We should think, it is the crudest form of idolatry.

Mohammedan. - We Mohammedans are not image-worshippers but image-breakers, because we do not believe that Kibla is God.

C. ~ They too, whom you call image-worshippers, do not regard the image as God. They profess to worship God behind the image. If you are image-breakers, why do you not break that big image called Kibla (the sacred Mosque).

M. - Good! We have the authority of the Qoran in turning our faces towards the Kibla, while the image-worshippers have none in their Veda to worship images. We most obey God anyhow.

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C. ~ Just as you have the authority of the Qoran, the image-worshippers have that of the Puraanaas. As you believe the Qoran to be the Word of God, even so do they believe the Puraanaas to be the Word of God's incarnation, Vyas. The difference between the Pauranics and yourselves is this that you worship a big image, while they bow down before the smaller ones. Your case is just the same as that of a man who strains at a gnat but swallows a camel.

Your Mohammad expunged the worship of small images from the Muslim faith, but introduced into it the worship of the sacred Mosque (at Mecca) which is as big as a hill. Is this idol worship on a small scale? You could be free yourselves from image-worship and the like evil practices only by embracing the Vedic religion and not otherwise. Unless you give up the worship of your big image, you should feel ashamed of yourselves and abstain from condemning the worship of small images found in other faiths and purify your hearts by avoiding idolatry.

C. ~ Where is the necessity of slaying other and of being slain on God's path? Why do you not say plainly that all this is meant for accomplishing your selfish ends. You hold out this inducement to people that they may fight well and help you to gain victory you’re your enemies and acquire wealth and power by looting other and thereby enable you to live in luxury and enjoy sensual pleasures.

32. "God is severe in chastising. Follow not the steps of Satan, He only enjoineth upon you evil and wickedness and that ye should aver of God that which ye know not." (2: 164, 165.)

C. ~ You’re your God punish the wicked and reward the virtuous, or does He show mercy to the Mohammedans and torture others? If the latter, He is not God. But if your God is not partial (to your), He will reward the virtuous and punish the wicked whatever religion they may profess. This being the case, the belief in the Qoran and in Mohammad (as the prophet of God) becomes unnecessary. Why did God create Satan - the enemy of the human race who has been tempting all mankind. Is He not cognizant of the future? If you say, He has created Satan just to try man, it cannot be right, because only one who is possessed of finite knowledge would do such a thing; while One who is Omniscient is

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already aware of the good or evil deeds of the soul. Now if Satan tempts all mankind, who tempted Satan? If it be said that Satan tempts himself, why could not others tempt themselves? Where is then the necessity of supposing Satan to be the tempter of al mankind? If God was the tempter of the Devil, He was more devilish than the Devil. But such a thing could not be said of God. Whosoever goes astray from the right path does so through evil company and ignorance.

33. "But that which dieth of itself, and blood, and swine's flesh, and that over which any other name than that of God hath been invoked is forbidden you." (2: 168.)

C. ~ Now one should pause to think and realize that an animal whether it dies a natural death or is put to death, is a dead body all the same; of course there is a little difference but that difference counts for nothing so far as death is concerned. Swine's flesh is forbidden (but not human flesh), shall we then conclude that is right to eat human flesh? Can it ever be commendable to torture animals to death in God's name? This casts a blot on the good name of God.

Why does He suffer the animals to be tortured by the Mohammedans in the absence of sins committed in their previous lives (by those animals)? Is He not Merciful to them? Does He not love them as a father loves his children? God did not forbid the slaughter of such animals as are useful to man, and by failing to do it has proved Himself to be an enemy of the human race, and brought disgrace on Him by being guilty of having sanctioned the slaughter of (useful) animals. Such things can never be true of God or of His word.

C. ~ It seems that at the time the Mohammedan religion came into being or before that period some (Arab) must have asked a follower of the Puraanics as to what was the mode of observing the Chandrayana fast, the latter being ignorant of the true method of

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observing this fast, which consists in decreasing or increasing one mouthful of food at a time in accordance with the increase or decrease in the digits of the moon and taking one's food in the middle of the day, might have told him that one should take his food on seeing the moon. The Moh