Boreal

Let Me Rephrase That!

Preface to the Second Edition

Revelation = revealed truth =

an immutable fact communicated to a mortal by a god

The second edition of Let Me Rephrase That is a lot shorter than the first. Gone are the excerpts; in their place you will find reading recommendations. I wanted this edition to be the book you turn to when reading any books on the Koran, including the Koran itself, that don’t identify revelations God later abrogated, i.e., modified or nullified.

For example, earlier in Muhammad’s Call, Allah showed a measure of respect for other religions.

2:62 The believers (Muslims), the Jews, the Christians and the Sabians – whoever believes in Allah and the Last Day and does what is good, shall receive their reward from their Lord. They shall have nothing to fear and they shall not grieve.

As Islam became a force to be reckoned with, God’s position toward other religions hardened and He sent down another immutable fact, which abrogated, and in this instance invalidated, what He had said earlier about Jews, Christians and an obscure sect having nothing to fear.

3:85 Whoever seeks a religion other than Islam, it will never be accepted from him, and in the Hereafter he will be one of the losers.

Scholars have identified more than two hundred revealed truths that were abrogated by subsequent communications from Allah to His ultimate spokesperson, the former merchant Muhammad. These ephemeral immutable facts and their abrogator(s), most of which, like Revelation 3:85, reflect a god’s growing intolerance, is what Let Me Rephrase That! wants to bring to your attention