Introduction to the Study of The Holy Quran — Page 29
29 (2). In Leviticus 20:27 we read: A man also or woman that hath a familiar spirit, or that is a wizard, shall surely be put to death: they shall stone them with stones: their blood shall be upon them. Similarly in Exodus 22:18 we read: Thou shalt not suffer a witch to live. How irrational is this teaching and how unjust if witchcraft here only means tricks performed by a class of professional entertainers? We should regard it as an innocent calling. In the busy and anxious lives that men often lead, fun and amusement provide welcome relief. It is then that these professional entertainers divert attention from serious pursuits to their own feats. To regard this innocent calling punishable with death is unjust. If magic and witchcraft call up the mystery man of fairy tales who transforms a man into a bull, a woman into a bird, then this teaching of the Bible is both stupid and savage. Such mystery men have never existed, and to accuse anybody of such impossible powers and then to order his death is extreme savagery. (3). In Deuteronomy 7:2 we read: And when the Lord thy God shall deliver them before thee; thou shalt smite them, and utterly destroy them; thou shalt make no covenant with them, nor shew mercy unto them. About a vanquished enemy how cruel is this teaching. To put to death all members of the enemy after their defeat, not to enter into any understanding with them and to refuse to show any mercy to them may be the conduct of cruel earthly kings. It cannot be attributed to a Beneficent and Merciful God. Certainly such teaching must have been invented by unrelenting Jews who came after Moses and entered this teaching into the Bible and made it so foul. Irrational Teaching of the Old Testament The Old Testament contains many irrational statements. (1) In Leviticus 11:6 we read: And the hare, because he cheweth the cud, but divideth not the hoof; he is unclean unto you. Similarly, in Numbers 22:28 it is said that Balaam’s ass talked to him. In Genesis 46:27 we read that the number of the Israelites when they entered Egypt was three score and ten but 215 years later, that is to say in the time of Moses, they had multiplied so much that the adult males alone numbered six hundred thousand. In Exodus 12:37 this is the claim made: And the children of Israel journeyed from Rameses to Succoth, about six hundred thousand on foot that were men beside children.