Transcription
Any Christian who spends more than 5 seconds talking to Muslims online will be asked: "How can you believe that one + 1 + 1 equals 1?" Muslims are so incredibly proud of this objection that they post it over and over and over again: "1 + 1 + 1 equal 1, right? 1 + 1 + 1 equal 1."
Christians answer: "Christianity: God is one. 1 + 1 + 1 = 1. Islam: 1 equal 1." Y'all should take a hit at the Islamic belief of one God. If you do, I know it would just be a bunch of lies saying no one is not equal to 1.
A Christian in school taking a test: "1 + 1 + 1 equal 3." Pass.
Christian in church for 2,000 years before God: "1 + 1 + 1 equal 1." Fail. Double standard. But you believe 1 + 1 + 1 equal 1. Speak now, don't post a comment, then make it funny.
You lie when you say 1 + 1 + 1 equal 1. That means either you're lying or you're illiterate. Which one is it?
1 + 1 + 1 equals 1 in Trinity. I think you say 1 + 1 + 1 equals 1. That's the problem. Islam is very simple: one Allah and many prophets.
Christian: 1 + 1 + 1 equals 1. Mathematical mockery. 1 + 1 + 1 is by far the most common Muslim objection to the doctrine of the Trinity.
Now, when Muslims post this objection, Christians often respond with some basic mathematics. They point out that 1 * 1 * 1 equals 1, or if the Muslim demands that we use addition when we're talking about God, Christians will point out that the God of the Bible, unlike the God of the Quran, is infinite. So it would be more accurate to say infinity plus infinity plus infinity equals infinity.
I'd like to help our Muslim friends with their math skills by stressing something even more basic: when we learn math in school, we learn to use numbers in an abstract manner. 2 + 2 = 4; 2 + 2? Well, it doesn't matter. We're using the numbers by themselves without referring to specific objects.
But if you're adding up things in the real world, you need to include units: inches, pounds, jelly beans, whatever. And the units need to be the same on both sides of the equal sign. If you're adding up blocks, then two blocks plus two blocks equal four blocks.
If you take a thousand blocks and use them to build one house, you wouldn't say that 1 + 1 + 1 all the way up to a thousand equals 1, even though the thousand blocks do make one house. If you made one house out of a thousand blocks and someone said, "LOL this guy thinks that 1,000 equals 1," you'd probably want to explain how units work in math.
If the units you're adding are blocks, you can't change the units to house in the answer and then take out all the units and pretend that 1,000 equals 1. If you do, you'll end up with a mathematical absurdity.
Consider a few simple examples of what happens when you don't clarify which units you're using: How old was Aisha when Muhammad consummated the marriage with her? She was 9 years old. But wait a minute, how could Aisha be nine if there was only one of her? Are Muslims telling us that 9 equals 1? Are they telling us that 1 + 1 + 1 + 1 + 1 + 1 + 1 + 1 + 1 equals 1? Is this how math works in Islam?
This would be a silly objection, wouldn't it? Why? Because when we talk about one Aisha, we're talking about one being, one little girl. But when we're talking about her age, nine, we're talking about something completely different. If you conveniently leave out the fact that we're talking about very different features of Aisha—her nature versus her age—you end up with mathematical absurdities.
Here's another proof that according to Islam, 9 equals 1. Sahih Bukhari 5068 narrated Anas: "The Prophet used to go around and have sexual relations with all his wives in one night, and he had nine wives." So each of Muhammad's nine wives could say that she had sex with Muhammad during one of these sexathons, and yet sex with nine different wives somehow added up to one night of sex for the Prophet of Islam.
So according to Islam, 1 + 1 + 1 + 1 + 1 + 1 + 1 + 1 + 1 equals 1. But it gets worse. Sahih Bukhari 268 narrated Katada. Anas bin Malik said: "The Prophet used to visit all his wives in a round during the day and night, and they were 11 in number."
11 in number? I thought it was 9. So now 11 equals 9 and 9 equals 1. I'm confused. I asked Anas: "Did the Prophet have the strength for it?" Meaning: Did Muhammad have the sexual strength to handle 11 women and girls in a single night? Anas replied: "We used to say that the Prophet was given the strength of 30 men."
Sahih said on the authority of Katada that Anas had told him about nine wives only, not 11. So Muhammad had the sexual strength of 30 men? This means that we can add up the sexual strength of one man and the sexual strength of another man and the sexual strength of another man until we get the sexual strength of 30 men, and it will equal the sexual strength of one Prophet Muhammad.
So 1 + 1 + 1 + 1 + 1 + 1 + 1 + 1 + 1 + 1 + 1 + 1 + 1 + 1 + 1 + 1 + 1 + 1 + 1 + 1 + 1 + 1 + 1 + 1 + 1 + 1 + 1 + 1 + 1 + 1 + 1 equals one in Islam, right?
Now these are just some goofy examples to illustrate the utter ridiculousness of claiming that when someone says that something is one in one way but more than one in another way, he's actually saying that 3 or 9 or 11 or 30 equals 1 mathematically.
Here our Muslim friends may reply: "But David, we're not talking about Aisha; we're not talking about Muhammad's sex life; we're talking about God."
Funny, I thought we were talking about math. But I hear you; let's talk about your God. According to Islam, Allah has literal body parts. Lots of Muslims don't know this, but their scholars do. Their scholars will admit that Allah has a literal shin, a face, a foot or two feet, depending on whom you ask, and two right hands, and so on.
So Allah is described in the Quran as having a face. Allah mentioned that we made Adam by our hands. Allah described in the Quran that he has two hands. The Hadith says very clearly that both his hands are right. We believe that both of the hands of Allah are what? Huh, both of them are right?
How? I don't know. The "shin" refers to Allah's leg. Number 68, number 42: the shin of Allah is mentioned. Allah says: "Indeed, on the Day of Judgment, Allah would uplift and show his leg." If you read, the fingers of Allah are mentioned. The Prophet tells us that Allah has fingers. The Quran says that Allah has one eye, and another Ayah says he has multiple eyes. Allah tells us about Himself, Subhanahu wa Ta'ala, that He has an eye.
So all these are a direct indication that Allah has got a shape. They'll just qualify this by saying that we can't comprehend Allah's shin, face, foot or feet, right hands, and so on because nothing is like Allah. So how many incomprehensible but literal body parts does Allah have?
Let's say it's 10. You see where I'm going with this, don't you? Allah is one in one way but more than one in another way. He's one on the level of being, but more than one on the level of body parts. Following the method that Muslims use, then we would say that Allah's body parts add up to one Allah, which means that if Allah has 10 body parts, 1 + 1 + 1 + 1 + 1 + 1 + 1 + 1 + 1 + 1 equals 1.
But Allah gets even more confusing because Allah is more than one, not just in body parts but in other kinds of attributes. Allah has 99 names, so he's one in nature but 99 in name, which means that 99 equals 1 in Islam. Allah's 99 names correspond to 99 attributes, and Allah's attributes can be in conflict with one another. As we read in Sunan Ibn Majah 4295, it was narrated from Abu Huraira that the messenger of Allah said: "When Allah created the universe, he decreed for himself: 'My mercy prevails over my wrath.'"
Allah's attribute of mercy is in conflict with his attribute of wrath, but his mercy triumphs over his wrath. This means that Allah's mercy is not the same thing as his wrath. There are distinctions within the nature of Allah.
So Allah is one in one way (essence or being or nature) but he's more than one in another way (more than one in attribute). But when Christians say that God is one in one way (essence or being or nature) but more than one in another way (more than one in person), our Muslim friends tell us that we're bad at math.
Well, if we're bad at math, then Muhammad was really, really bad at math. Now we talked about Allah; what about the Quran?
How many Surahs are there in the Quran? That depends on which Quran we go to. Muhammad's companion Abdullah ibn Masud only had 111 Surahs in his Quran. Muhammad's companion Ubayy ibn Ka'b had 116 Surahs in his Quran. The Quran that Muslims use today is descended from the one that was put together by Zaid ibn Thabit, and the Zaid ibn Thabit edition had 114 Surahs.
But there's only one Quran, right? So 111 = 114 = 116 in Islam. That's weird.
But let's just stick with the Zaid ibn Thabit edition. There are 114 Surahs in Zaid's Quran. So, 1 + 1 + 1 + 1 + 1 + 1 + 1 + 1 + 1 + 1 + 1 + 1 + 1 + 1 + 1 + 1 + 1 + 1 + 1 + 1 + 1 + 1 + 1 + 1 + 1 + 1 + 1 + 1 + 1 + 1 + 1 + 1 + 1 + 1 + 1 + 1 + 1 + 1 + 1 + 1 + 1 + 1 + 1 + 1 + 1 + 1 + 1 + 1 + 1 + 1 + 1 + 1 + 1 + 1 + 1 + 1 + 1 + 1 + 1 + 1 + 1 + 1 + 1 + 1 + 1 + 1 + 1 + 1 + 1 + 1 + 1 + 1 + 1 + 1 + 1 + 1 + 1 + 1 + 1 + 1 + 1 + 1 + 1 + 1 + 1 + 1 + 1 + 1 = 1 according to Islam.
Things get more interesting when we think about the nature of those Surahs. What is a Surah of the Quran? What is Surah 2, for instance? What is its nature?
You Muslims will say that its nature is the Quran or that it's the speech of Allah. So different Surahs of the Quran share that same nature, don't they? They all share the same nature as the eternal speech of Allah, don't they?
Okay, let's think about this: Is Surah 1 identical to Surah 2? Is Surah 2 identical to Surah 3? Surah 1 is distinct from Surah 2, isn't it? Surah 2 is distinct from Surah 3, isn't it? And yet their nature—they're all the Quran or the speech of Allah—so Surah 1 is the Quran, Surah 2 is the Quran, Surah 3 is the Quran. But Surah 1 is not Surah 2; Surah 2 is not Surah 3; Surah 3 is not Surah 1.
You Christians who are watching may recognize this as an illustration of the concept of the Trinity: the Father is God, the Son is God, the Holy Spirit is God; but the Father is not the Son, the Son is not the Holy Spirit, the Holy Spirit is not the Father. Our Muslim friends tell us that this is impossible, and yet we can use the same illustration for the Quran.
The only difference is that if we wanted to be accurate, we'd need a figure with 114 sides, and there's no way I'm drawing that—way too complicated.
Now, if each of the 114 Surahs is the Quran, are there 114 Qurans? I thought there was only one Quran. It seems that Muslims believe that the Quran is one in essence or nature but 114 in Surah or chapter. The Quran is one in one way but more than one in another way.
But with all the Muslim mockery of the Trinity, I thought it was impossible to be one in one way but more than one in another way. What about the seven ahruf? According to Muhammad, the Quran was revealed in seven ahruf, seven different modes or forms.
Muslims today claim that this simply refers to different dialects, but there's no way this is just different dialects because people who spoke the same dialect were reciting different ahruf. What are the different ahruf? Sad story, no one knows. But whatever the seven different modes or forms are, there's only one Quran, right?
So the Quran is one in essence or being or nature but seven in mode or form. What about the 10 official qira'at? The 10 different recitations or readings of the Quran? The different qira'at contain different Arabic letters and different Arabic words, and this led to differences in the text of the Quran in different parts of the world.
Today, most Muslims read the Quran in a text that is referred to as the Egyptian edition of 1924. To Muslims in general, this is just simply the Quran. But this is not the only text of the Quran that is read throughout the world. In other words, if you were to compare two printed Qurans, you're going to see differences between them.
When we say the various different ways to recite the Quran, we are not talking about different voices or different styles; we're talking about slight differences in pronunciations, slight differences in letters, slight differences in the text.
In North Africa, there is a slightly different text based on a slightly different reading, and then too, in some parts of Africa, there is another reading of the Quran and a matching manuscript that is prevalent. They recite the Quran in a slightly different way—not just a voice or not just a speaking style, but also changes in letters and words.
Sometimes the different words give the verses different meanings; sometimes the different words lead to contradictory meanings. It gets even worse because there are multiple versions of the different qira'at, and yet there's only one Quran, right?
So the 10 different qira'at with different Arabic letters and different Arabic words and different meanings are somehow only one Quran, aren't they? This means that according to Islam, 1 + 1 + 1 + 1 + 1 + 1 + 1 + 1 + 1 + 1 equals 1, and each of these readings really is the Quran, isn't it?
Let's consider three different versions: The Hafs version is the Quran, the Warsh version is the Quran, the Al-Duri version is the Quran. But the Hafs version isn't the Warsh version; the Warsh version isn't the Al-Duri version; the Al-Duri version isn't the Hafs version. And yet there's only one Quran.
So the Quran is one in essence, seven in ahruf, ten in qira'at, and 114 in Surah. Hence, according to Islam, 1 = 7 = 10 = 114.
Here our Muslim friends might object: "But David, we're only raising this objection because you say that there are three persons in the Trinity. It's impossible for three persons to be one in essence or nature."
Is it? Now let's see if your Prophet agrees with you. In Sahih Muslim 1874, Muhammad tells his followers: "Recite the Quran, for it will come on the Day of Resurrection interceding for its companions. Recite the two bright ones: Surah Al-Baqarah and Surah Al-Imran, for they will come on the Day of Resurrection as if they were two clouds or as if they were two shadows or as if they were two flocks of birds in ranks pleading on behalf of their companions."
Notice it will come. The Quran will come interceding for its companions. But individual Surahs will also come as flocks of birds pleading on behalf of Muslims.
So the Quran as a whole intercedes, but individual Surahs also intercede. They speak, they intercede, they plead. Other Surahs of the Quran will intercede as well. In Sunan Abu Dawood 1400, Muhammad says that another Surah of the Quran—Surah 67—will intercede on behalf of its companion until he is forgiven.
Since Muhammad tells us that multiple Surahs of the Quran act as personal agents, I think it's safe to conclude that all of the Surahs of the Quran act as personal agents. Unless our Muslim friends want to convince us that some Surahs are personal agents while others aren't, which would suggest that different Surahs actually have different natures.
But notice: if all of the Surahs of the Quran act as personal agents speaking and interceding and pleading, then there are 114 personal agents within the Quran, and yet the Quran also acts as a single personal agent.
Sunan Ibn Majah 3781: "The Quran will come on the Day of Resurrection like a pale man and will say: 'I am the one that kept you awake at night and made you thirsty during the day.'"
According to Muhammad, there are 114 personal agents in the Quran. They speak, they intercede, they plead. But the Quran appears as a single pale man, a single personal agent: 114 persons in a single pale man—that's got to be a record.
So here again, 114 equals 1 in Islam.
Try to get your mind around this: Allah's speech is eternal. That eternal speech is also personal. It appears as a man speaking and interceding, but within the one nature of that eternal personal speech, there are 114 personal agents that speak and intercede and plead.
Now let me ask all my Muslim friends out there: What was your objection to the mathematics of the Trinity? Why do you keep saying that the Trinity is irrational and absurd? What was your objection to the claim of Jesus and the apostles and the prophet that God is one in one way but more than one in another way?
If you insist, as you keep doing, that the doctrine of the Trinity must be rejected because it leads to mathematical absurdities, well then we have no choice but to reject your God, your Prophet, and your book for producing so many mathematical absurdities.
Tell me, why is it that the absolute dumbest objections to Christianity—1 + 1 + 1 equals 1 in Trinity—become the most popular Muslim objections to Christianity?
Do you really want to know, my Muslim friends? It's because you serve the single most obvious false prophet in history. That 7th-century Arabian caravan robber you call your Prophet contradicts the teachings of the most indisputably reliable, trustworthy, and miraculous person in history: Jesus Christ.
Your scholars and apologists don't want you thinking about the unmistakable differences between Jesus and Muhammad, so they fill your heads with laughably stupid objections to Christianity, along with lies about your Prophet, to keep you distracted.
Your Creator, the Creator of the universe, revealed something about His eternal nature. He revealed it through Jesus Christ, the apostles, and the true prophets, and you mock what He revealed because you'd rather believe the most obvious false prophet in history and the scholars and da'ees who constantly lie to you to keep you in a state of ignorance.
If you still don't believe me when I tell you that your scholars and da'ees are trying to keep you in a state of ignorance, just ask yourself: Why is it that most of the information David just shared with me in this video is information that I will only hear from David, and maybe from some other Christians or a few atheists, but never from Muslim scholars and apologists, even though it comes from Islam's most trusted sources?
If your scholars and apologists are hiding this from you, what else are they hiding?