Turning the Tables Pt. 9: Allah Needs Carrying!

This is a continuation of my series where I take a Muhammad objection and turn against the Quran and Islamic tradition: Turning the Tables Pt. 8: Islam’s Zombie And Rip Van Winkle Stories And Other Fantastic Fables.

Muslim polemicists like to point to Jesus’ having angels assigned to guard him as a way of disproving his perfect Deity and essential union with God:

“Then the devil taketh him up into the holy city, and setteth him on a pinnacle of the temple, and saith unto him, If thou be the Son of God, cast thyself down: for it is written, He shall give his angels charge concerning thee: and in their hands they shall bear thee up, lest at any time thou dash thy foot against a stone. Jesus said unto him, It is written again, Thou shalt not tempt the Lord thy God.” Matthew 4:5-7

“And he brought him to Jerusalem, and set him on a pinnacle of the temple, and said unto him, If thou be the Son of God, cast thyself down from hence: for it is written, He shall give his angels charge over thee, to keep thee: and in their hands they shall bear thee up, lest at any time thou dash thy foot against a stone. And Jesus answering said unto him, It is said, Thou shalt not tempt the Lord thy God.” Luke 4:9-12

This ignores the fact that Christ voluntarily became a man for the express purpose of becoming the perfect human servant of God:

“But when Jesus knew it, He withdrew from there. And great crowds followed Him, and He healed them all, and warned them that they should not make Him known, to fulfill what was spoken by Isaiah the prophet, saying: ‘Here is My Servant, whom I have chosen, My Beloved, in whom My soul is well pleased; I will put My Spirit upon Him, and He will render judgment to the Gentiles. He shall not struggle nor cry out, nor will anyone hear His voice in the streets. A bruised reed He will not break, and a smoldering wick He will not quench, until He renders judgment unto victory; and in His name will the Gentiles trust.’ Matthew 12:15-22

“In those days Jesus came from Nazareth in Galilee and was baptized by John in the Jordan. Coming up out of the water, He immediately saw the heavens opened and the Spirit descending on Him like a dove. And a voice came from heaven, saying, ‘You are My beloved Son in whom I am well pleased.’ The Spirit immediately drove Him into the wilderness. And He was there in the wilderness for forty days, tempted by Satan, and was with the wild beasts. And the angels ministered to Him.” Mark 1:9-11

“even as the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve and to give His life as a ransom for many.” Matthew 20:28

“There was also rivalry among them concerning which of them was to be counted the greatest. He said to them, ‘The kings of the Gentiles exercise lordship over them, and those who exercise authority over them are called benefactors. But you are not so. Instead, let him who is greatest among you be as the younger, and he who rules as he who serves. For who is greater: he who sits at the table, or he who serves? Is it not he who sits at the table? But I am among you as He who serves.’” Luke 22:24-27

“‘All whom the Father gives Me will come to Me, and he who comes to Me I will never cast out. For I came down from heaven, not to do My own will, but the will of Him who sent Me. This is the will of the Father who has sent Me, that of all whom He has given Me, I should lose nothing, but should raise it up at the last day. This is the will of Him who sent Me, that everyone who sees the Son and believes in Him may have eternal life, and I will raise him up on the last day.’ The Jews then murmured about Him, because He said, ‘I am the bread which came down from heaven.’ They said, ‘Is this not Jesus, the son of Joseph, whose father and mother we know? How is it then that He says, “I have come down from heaven”?’” John 6:37-42

“Now I say that Jesus Christ has become a servant to the circumcised on behalf of the truth of God, to confirm the promises made to the patriarchs,” Roman 15:8

“In your relationships with one another, have the same mindset as Christ Jesus: Who, being in very nature God, did not consider equality with God something to be used to his own advantage; rather, he made himself nothing by taking the very nature of a servant, being made in human likeness. And being found in appearance as a man, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to death—even death on a cross!” Philippians 2:5-8 New International Version (NIV)

“Every high priest chosen from among mortals is put in charge of things pertaining to God on their behalf, to offer gifts and sacrifices for sins. He is able to deal gently with the ignorant and wayward, since he himself is subject to weakness; and because of this he must offer sacrifice for his own sins as well as for those of the people. And one does not presume to take this honor, but takes it only when called by God, just as Aaron was. So also Christ did not glorify himself in becoming a high priest, but was appointed by the one who said to him, ‘You are my Son, today I have begotten you’; as he says also in another place, ‘You are a priest forever, according to the order of Melchizedek.’ In the days of his flesh, Jesus offered up prayers and supplications, with loud cries and tears, to the one who was able to save him from death, and he was heard because of his reverent submission. Although he was a Son, he learned obedience through what he suffered; and having been made perfect, he became the source of eternal salvation for all who obey him, having been designated by God a high priest according to the order of Melchizedek.” Hebrews 5:1-10 New Revised Standard Version (NRSV)

Jesus, therefore, willfully subjected himself to his Father’s will and entrusted himself to the care of the very angels of God that he himself created and sustains:

“In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God. All things were created through Him, and without Him nothing was created that was created. In Him was life, and the life was the light of mankind. The light shines in darkness, but the darkness has not overcome it. There was a man sent from God whose name was John. This man came as a witness in order to testify concerning the Light, that all men through Him might believe. He was not this Light, but was sent in order to testify concerning the Light. The true Light, which enlightens everyone, was coming into the world. He was in the world, and the world was created through Him, yet the world did not know Him. He came to His own, and His own people did not receive Him. Yet to all who received Him, He gave the power to become sons of God, to those who believed in His name, who were born not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God. The Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we saw His glory, the glory as the only Son of the Father, full of grace and truth.” John 1:1-14

“He has delivered us from the power of darkness and has transferred us into the kingdom of His dear Son, in whom we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of sins. He is the image of the invisible God and the firstborn of every creature. For by Him all things were created that are in heaven and that are in earth, visible and invisible, whether they are thrones, or dominions, or principalities, or powers. All things were created by Him and for Him. He IS before all things, and in Him all things hold together. He is the head of the body, the church. He is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead, so that in all things He may have the preeminence.” Colossians 1:13-18

“God, who at various times and in diverse ways spoke long ago to the fathers through the prophets, has in these last days spoken to us by His Son, whom He has appointed heir of all things, and through whom He made the world. He is the brightness of His glory, the express image of Himself, and upholds all things by the word of His power. When He had by Himself purged our sins, He sat down at the right hand of the Majesty on high. He was made so much better than the angels as He has inherited a more excellent name than they. For to which of the angels did He at any time say: ‘You are My Son; today I have become Your Father’? Or again, ‘I will be a Father to Him, and He shall be a Son to Me’? And again, when He brings the firstborn into the world, He says: ‘Let all the angels of God worship Him.’ Of the angels He says: ‘He makes His angels spirits, and His servants a flame of fire.’ But to the Son He says: ‘Your throne, O God, lasts forever and ever; a scepter of righteousness is the scepter of Your kingdom. You have loved righteousness and hated wickedness; therefore God, Your God, has anointed You with the oil of gladness more than Your companions.’ And, ‘You, Lord [the Son], laid the foundation of the earth in the beginning, and the heavens are the works of Your hands. They will perish, but You remain; and they all will wear out like a garment; as a cloak You will fold them up, and they will be changed. But You are the same, and Your years will not end.’ Are they not all ministering spirits sent out to minister to those who will inherit salvation?” Hebrews 1:1-14

This is where the problem lay for those Muslims that raise this as an objection.

Allah is supposed to be an all sufficient being who is in need of nothing and no one, since he sustains all creation. And yet Allah has eight angelic creatures sustaining or carrying his throne,    

Those who sustain (yahmiluna) the Throne (of God) and those around it Sing Glory and Praise to their Lord; believe in Him; and implore Forgiveness for those who believe: “Our Lord! Thy Reach is over all things, in Mercy and Knowledge. Forgive, then, those who turn in Repentance, and follow Thy Path; and preserve them from the Penalty of the Blazing Fire! S. 40:7 Yusuf Ali

And the angels will be on its sides, and eight will, that Day, bear (yahmilu) the Throne of thy Lord above them. S. 69:17 Y. Ali

The very throne which Allah mounted as a sign of his sovereignty over creation!

Lo! your Lord is Allah Who created the heavens and the earth in six Days, then mounted He the Throne. He covereth the night with the day, which is in haste to follow it, and hath made the sun and the moon and the stars subservient by His command. His verily is all creation and commandment. Blessed be Allah, the Lord of the Worlds! S. 7:54 Pickthall

Lo! your Lord is Allah Who created the heavens and the earth in six Days, then He established Himself upon the Throne, directing all things. There is no intercessor (with Him) save after His permission. That is Allah, your Lord, so worship Him. Oh, will ye not remind? S. 10:3 Pickthall

Allah it is Who raised up the heavens without visible supports, then mounted the Throne, and compelled the sun and the moon to be of service, each runneth unto an appointed term; He ordereth the course; He detaileth the revelations, that haply ye may be certain of the meeting with your Lord. S. 13:2 Pickthall

He it is Who created the heavens and the earth in six Days; then He mounted the Throne. He knoweth all that entereth the earth and all that emergeth therefrom and all that cometh down from the sky and all that ascendeth therein; and He is with you wheresoever ye may be. And Allah is Seer of what ye do. S. 57:4

The verb rendered as sustain/bear can refer to a person or thing being sustained/borne by the strength of another, which makes it dependent on that other for its very life/preservation. Note the following instances for example:

And (further) their Prophet said to them: “A Sign of his authority is that there shall come to you the Ark of the covenant, with (an assurance) therein of security from your Lord, and the relics left by the family of Moses and the family of Aaron, carried (tahmiluhu) by angels. In this is a symbol for you if ye indeed have faith.” S. 2:248 Y. Ali

God doth know what every female (womb) doth bear (tahmilu), by how much the wombs fall short (of their time or number) or do exceed. Every single thing is before His sight, in (due) proportion. S. 13:8 Y. Ali

And they carry (watahmilu) your heavy loads to lands that ye could not (otherwise) reach except with souls distressed: for your Lord is indeed Most Kind, Most Merciful, S. 16:7 Y. Ali

At length she brought the (babe) to her people, carrying him (tahmiluhu) (in her arms). They said: “O Mary! truly an amazing thing hast thou brought!” S. 19:27 Y. Ali

The similitude of those who were charged (hummilu) with the (obligations of the) Mosaic Law, but who subsequently failed in those (obligations), is that of a donkey which carries (yahmiluha) huge tomes (but understands them not). Evil is the similitude of people who falsify the Signs of God: and God guides not people who do wrong. S. 62:5

What this basically proves is that Allah is not independent and self-existent since he is in need of eight angels to bear him on his throne.  This in turn means that Allah’s sovereignty is clearly dependent on the strength and effort of angelic creatures to sustain it and make it a reality.

Therefore, let the foregoing serve as a warning to these Muhammadan blasphemers. This is what shall happen whenever these polemicists try to ridicule and mock the true God revealed in the Person of the Lord Jesus Christ and his only inspired Scripture, the Holy Bible. By the grace of the risen Lord, we his unworthy servants shall take their very objections and turn them against their own false gods and religious texts in order to silence their lies and blasphemies against the majestic and glorious eternal Son of God the Father.  

Unless indicated otherwise, scriptural references taken from the Modern English Version (MEV) of the Holy Bible.

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