Did Zakir Naik and Ahmad Deedat memorize the Bible??

[Yaqub Sulayman]

:sl:

It seems that they have the ability do quote Bible quotes randomly. I saw their debates with Christians and it's amazing how they quote verses from the Bible so quickly during appropriate times. Did they memorize the Bible?? Please answer, it's more important than you think. Sources appreciated.

Thanks

[Woodrow]

Sadly there are very few members online at the moment. I did a few web searches but did not find any reference that either had memorized the bible. But it is obvious they have both studied it very well.

Having been a Christian in my younger days I can say that it would not be necessary for a Muslim to memorize the entire bible to be able to memorize enough key passages to present a very good refutation.

The major differences between Muslims and Christians are related to the Trinity, the divinity of Isa(as), and dietary restrictions. The Bible phrases referring to those things or lack of those things are all that need to be memorized to present a very good debate. It still is a significant feat to do so.

[Yaqub Sulayman]

Sadly there are very few members online at the moment. I did a few web searches but did not find any reference that either had memorized the bible. But it is obvious they have both studied it very well.

Having been a Christian in my younger days I can say that it would not be necessary for a Muslim to memorize the entire bible to be able to memorize enough key passages to present a very good refutation.

The major differences between Muslims and Christians are related to the Trinity, the divinity of Isa(as), and dietary restrictions. The Bible phrases referring to those things or lack of those things are all that need to be memorized to present a very good debate. It still is a significant feat to do so.

Thank you brother for the reply. I'll wait for someone else to confirm whether they memorize or not. I too did not find anything on google, but their debates just gives me the impression that they know the bible word to word.

Isnt memorizing the Bible haraam?

[Woodrow]

Thank you brother for the reply. I'll wait for someone else to confirm whether they memorize or not. I too did not find anything on google, but their debates just gives me the impression that they know the bible word to word.

Isnt memorizing the Bible haraam?

I am not a scholar and a fairly recent revert, I have not yet found where it would be haram. I know that much of it would probably relate to the intent why a person was memorizing it. But, in my view I do not think it would be any different than memorizing any literary work. I t definetly would be Haram if the purpose was to find justification to convert to Christianity. However, it seems that in order to debate with a Christian a Muslim would have to have some knowledge of the Bible. One of our responsibilities is to practice Da'wah and part of that Da'wah seems to be the ability to present effective refutations. You can not refute what you do not know. astagfirullah

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[AvarAllahNoor]

I suspect before his debate takes place, he studies the relevant quotes.

[Yaqub Sulayman]

I suspect before his debate is taken place, he studies the relevant quotes.

That is a possibility.

[Umar001]

I suspect before his debate takes place, he studies the relevant quotes.

As for Zakir Naik, then Avar has spoken truth, if you suscribe to Zakir Naik's IRF da'wah techniques this is one of the things which people are told to do, prepare a speech and then go through it before the actual event, thus you memorise the whole speech, I used to do this as a child, (non-Muslim) when I had presentations at school, it is very handy.

Also, if you take notice, alot of the quotes on same topics are the same, for example, when brother Ahmed Deedat speaks on the Crucifixtion Matthew 12:38-40 comes up alot, and so forth, also, for example, I have watched some of their talks so much that I have memorised some verses just through listening to them.

I don't think either of them are Hafiz, Allah knows best, I hope they were but I dont think they were.

Anyhow brother, much preparation and then much repetition will lead to ease of memorisation.

:)

[Roo_88]

I know Zakir Naik has memorized the bible because i've heard him speak in conferences and he said that he has memorized the Quran, the bible, some hinduism texts and torah.

[Yaqub Sulayman]

I know Zakir Naik has memorized the bible because i've heard him speak in conferences and he said that he has memorized the Quran, the bible, some hinduism texts and torah.

Wow, that's amazing! The Bible is HUGE! How did he memorize it?? It's incedible

[Roo_88]

I guess he's gifted, alhamdulilallah. You should listen to his lectures, it's amazing. He'll bring you proof from any book right then. Masha'Allah.

[Yaqub Sulayman]

I guess he's gifted, alhamdulilallah. You should listen to his lectures, it's amazing. He'll bring you proof from any book right then. Masha'Allah.

Yeah, I hope there will be more Muslims like them in the future.

[Roo_88]

yeah inshaAllah

[SATalha]

Wow, that's amazing! The Bible is HUGE! How did he memorize it?? It's incedible

studies have proved that the 'long term memory' can hold 'limitless' information....
...so i guess for anyone to want to memorise as much as they want..is possible...:)

[Roo_88]

studies have proved that the 'long term memory' can hold 'limitless' information....
...so i guess for anyone to want to memorise as much as they want..is possible...:)

Yup it is possible, but you have to keep up with it, can't just memorize it once and know it for the rest of your life.. repitition is the key.

[SATalha]

Yup it is possible, but you have to keep up with it, can't just memorize it once and know it for the rest of your life.. repitition is the key.

yep...& im sure zakir naik & ahmed deedat do regularly.....its like once u memorise the quran..u do have to practice it now & then in order to not forget.....so im sure, since zakir naik & ahmed deedat have set out to debate to the world, they must go back to practice now & then...but if u try to memorise somthing too many times...your memory will keep hold of it :)

[Roo_88]

yup

[Malaikah]

:sl:

I listened to a debate by Ahmed Deedat and he said he hasn't memorised the whole Quran let alone the whole bible. (Of course it is always possible that he went on to do that after that debate, but I don't know).

[Muslim Knight]

It's likely that he had skimmed through Quran and Bible and memorized only the verses in the Bible that represent contradictions and can be refuted. In his book The Choice he tells those who want to defend against missionaries the verses they can memorize.

[Umar001]

I know Zakir Naik has memorized the bible because i've heard him speak in conferences and he said that he has memorized the Quran, the bible, some hinduism texts and torah.

Maybe he meant quotes from there, I.e. parts of the Bible and so forth.

I doubt very highly that he has memorised the whole bible.

[Jayda]

hola,

i memorized the bible years ago... it is difficult but not impossible... i do not think that first man you mentioned has done it though, i am familiar with him and he is very ignorant... i have never heard of the second...

Dios te bendiga

[Umar001]

hola,

i memorized the bible years ago... it is difficult but not impossible... i do not think that first man you mentioned has done it though, i am familiar with him and he is very ignorant... i have never heard of the second...

Dios te bendiga

You memorised the whole bible? And then forgot it?

[Jayda]

You memorised the whole bible? And then forgot it?

hola Al Habeshi,

no, it is not that simple. i memorized the bible but not with total recall that is impossible.

total recall is like having any bit of information available with 100% accuracy at any given moment: like what is the capital of Mexico? Mexico City, in this context it would be like asking "what is John 1:13" and being able to answer completely and with no words incorrect. that is impossible... and that is why i am skeptical about this individual because that is essentially what is being suggested here...

i would have to start from the beginning of John and remember all the way up to that point, before speaking... it was like a domino effect, i would remember in a chain. this is actually very time consuming and tedious but quite easy to do... by the time i was finished i did not have 100% memorization, i am sure i stumbled over adjectives or prepositions and minor things like that occasionally... there is no way of knowing.

today i remember many bits and pieces... usually passages that i thought were very personal or moving, or passages that i hear a lot... much of the new testament i remember. i do not remember the entire bible though, the first things i forgot were lists of names and locations... geneologies are extremely difficult and since you have no need for them you rarely refresh your memory and they fade quickly. the stories in judges and during the two kingdoms i forgot next because i have never enjoyed those stories, then i forgot the deuteronomic laws that do not really affect my life, some of revelations, and it deteriorated from there...

i have not forgotten it all, just things that i had no use for and never revisited again.

Dios te bendiga

[Umar001]

hola Al Habeshi,

no, it is not that simple. i memorized the bible but not with total recall that is impossible.

total recall is like having any bit of information available with 100% accuracy at any given moment: like what is the capital of Mexico? Mexico City, in this context it would be like asking "what is John 1:13" and being able to answer completely and with no words incorrect. that is impossible... and that is why i am skeptical about this individual because that is essentially what is being suggested here...

i would have to start from the beginning of John and remember all the way up to that point, before speaking... it was like a domino effect, i would remember in a chain. this is actually very time consuming and tedious but quite easy to do... by the time i was finished i did not have 100% memorization, i am sure i stumbled over adjectives or prepositions and minor things like that occasionally... there is no way of knowing.

today i remember many bits and pieces... usually passages that i thought were very personal or moving, or passages that i hear a lot... much of the new testament i remember. i do not remember the entire bible though, the first things i forgot were lists of names and locations... geneologies are extremely difficult and since you have no need for them you rarely refresh your memory and they fade quickly. the stories in judges and during the two kingdoms i forgot next because i have never enjoyed those stories, then i forgot the deuteronomic laws that do not really affect my life, some of revelations, and it deteriorated from there...

i have not forgotten it all, just things that i had no use for and never revisited again.

Dios te bendiga

So there was no one point where you knew the whole text? Where if a person read a verse you'd be able to read from it onwards from any part of the Bible? I'm guessing this includes the books that the Protestant Bible does not have, it would be cool to see it done. Did you memorise them in a chant type of way? What language did you memorise it in?

[Jayda]

So there was no one point where you knew the whole text? Where if a person read a verse you'd be able to read from it onwards from any part of the Bible?

hola,

i knew the whole text if i started with "in principio creavit Deus caelum et terram" and just continued reciting until "Gratia Domini Iesu omnibus" ... which i have never done, (that would take days) but instead tested myself by breaking it up book by book and repeating, with no gaurantee that i would have every last "in" "et" "cum" and qui" in their correct places... but it was memorized... i memorized it in a line... i did not memorize it in a way that you could say "john 3:16" and i would just respond "sic enim dilexit Deus mundum ut Filium suum unigenitum daret omnisqui credit in eum non pereat sed habitat vitam aeternam" the only reason i can do that with john 3:16 is that it is such an important verse and i have constant reinforcement... like if you asked me to do john 3:18 i would have to start with the beginning of John, reciting the whole thing until i came to 3:18 just because i could only remember based on what came before it... even then i would have no idea sometimes what "john 3:18" is so i wouldnt know when i got to it... you would have to stop me (if you were a nice person).

I'm guessing this includes the books that the Protestant Bible does not have, it would be cool to see it done.

i did not know the protestants have changed the canon... that is a serious sin... i memorized the catholic nova vulgata, originally compiled by St. Jerome but revised at VTII

Did you memorise them in a chant type of way?

i think... if i understand you correctly, yes... i remembered certain chapters through chants or songs... i have been singing in classes choirs or jazz orchestras since i was 5 so it is a personal way for me to remember things... im such a dork i used to memorize disaccharide structures with songs when i studied for finals in college... but with the bible any time i came to names i would turn them into songs or little poems so that i could remember them easier...

What language did you memorise it in?

latin... it is the only language the bible is written in, but since i am fluent in english and spanish (im latina) i had it automatically memorized in spanish and english... i tried to harmonize my personal translations to the perfections of the official translations (NASB + Navarre) with some success... so i memorized it in three languages: latin english in spanish, from a certain point of view... but really i just memorized it in latin... you probably learned the quran in arabic but because you speak english it is not like you needed to relearn the quran in english you just knew it because you speak that language...

Dios te bendiga

[Umar001]

Am totally confused, so you learned books, but then you never knew if you have memorised them properly because it would be too big of a task to test them all out.

As for the Protestant thing, well let me just ask, you got more than 66 Books? Anyhow thats not a big deal at the moment.

As for chant I meant like you know how orthodox read, when I went to orthodox places they say it in a chant type of way, that's what I meant.

As for the latin, wow, and well maybe one day we can have a thread on why the Bible is written in Latin.

Thank you for your patience with me.

[Woodrow]

The old Latin Vulgate was well adapted to the Gregorian chants I've known several old Priests that had memorized it that way. way back when I was a Kid and a practicing Roman Catholic the Mass was said in Latin and the High Mass was a Gregorian Chant. Even us kids that were Alter Boys had to memorise our responses to the priest. All I can remember is "Dominus Vobiscum." But, for a while, I was quite fluent in Latin.

[Keltoi]

Am totally confused, so you learned books, but then you never knew if you have memorised them properly because it would be too big of a task to test them all out.

As for the Protestant thing, well let me just ask, you got more than 66 Books? Anyhow thats not a big deal at the moment.

As for chant I meant like you know how orthodox read, when I went to orthodox places they say it in a chant type of way, that's what I meant.

As for the latin, wow, and well maybe one day we can have a thread on why the Bible is written in Latin.

Thank you for your patience with me.

The Catholic Church decreed that the Bible could only be written in Latin. Anyone who translated the Bible in a dialect known to peasants or commoners could be executed. One of the many reasons for the Protestant Reformation and other break-away Christian groups.

[Fishman]

i do not think that first man you mentioned has done it though, i am familiar with him and he is very ignorant... i have never heard of the second...

:sl:
I think he might have done it, but I do somewhat agree with you here, since I do not find Zakir Naik's stuff to be of the quality that it is reputed to be. It's much better than a lot of the stuff I see on the internet, but I still think it is not as good as the work of his former teacher, Ahmad Deedat. Deedat was ownage!
:w:

[Jayda]

Am totally confused, so you learned books, but then you never knew if you have memorised them properly because it would be too big of a task to test them all out.

hola,

i am sorry i am confusing you... what i mean is that they way i memorized is what you wrote there i memorized the books of the bible in order... but because it is so large i never repeated the entire bible as one big book... that would be almost two days of nonstop recitation to prove that i had done it...

As for the Protestant thing, well let me just ask, you got more than 66 Books? Anyhow thats not a big deal at the moment.

there are 73 books in the bible... i did not know protestants removed books... that is extremely bad

As for chant I meant like you know how orthodox read, when I went to orthodox places they say it in a chant type of way, that's what I meant.

i understand, i am sorry for the confusion... no i never did this. i am only recently acquainted with the orthodox divine liturgy because of the Holy Fathers visit to the Holy Father of Constantinople... i do not know any of their chants but i am learning kyrie eleison greek chant (our kyrie is an ordinary prayer)

As for the latin, wow, and well maybe one day we can have a thread on why the Bible is written in Latin.

Thank you for your patience with me.

if you wish you may create one... the short answer is that is the language st. jerome wrote it in...

Dios te bendiga

[Jayda]

The old Latin Vulgate was well adapted to the Gregorian chants I've known several old Priests that had memorized it that way. way back when I was a Kid and a practicing Roman Catholic the Mass was said in Latin and the High Mass was a Gregorian Chant. Even us kids that were Alter Boys had to memorise our responses to the priest. All I can remember is "Dominus Vobiscum." But, for a while, I was quite fluent in Latin.

that means "the Lord be with you"

i think you are talking about the tridentine mass... this is now forbidden without a dispensation to use it... but i think the Holy Father is planning on revisiting this issue...

[Jayda]

:sl:
I think he might have done it, but I do somewhat agree with you here, since I do not find Zakir Naik's stuff to be of the quality that it is reputed to be. It's much better than a lot of the stuff I see on the internet, but I still think it is not as good as the work of his former teacher, Ahmad Deedat. Deedat was ownage!
:w:

hola Fishman,

who is this person? i have not heard of him before... and if i may ask, where do people like him and the other individual come from? i had no idea there were muslim televangelists until somebody posted dr naik on CF...

Dios te bendiga

[Fishman]

hola Fishman,

who is this person? i have not heard of him before... and if i may ask, where do people like him and the other individual come from? i had no idea there were muslim televangelists until somebody posted dr naik on CF...

Dios te bendiga

:sl:
He was a Muslim 'evangelist' who died in June 2005 from stroke-related problems. He was born in India and moved to live in south Africa when he was young. He has since then produced quite a few rather controversial books on Christianity and Islam, and has participated in many debates and lectures, resulting in hundreds of conversions. The only main thing I don't like about him was the way he was somewhat agressive and confrontational. And his views about Jesus (pbuh)'s crucifiction are also a bit different to mine. According to him, Jesus (pbuh) was put on the Cross, but didn't die, only went unconcious. He then goes on to say that Jesus (pbuh) woke up in the tomb, and somehow ripped off all the tight wrappings, moved the huge stone and managed to walk all the way to find his deciples. I think that Jesus (pbuh) never actually went on the cross, but in fact Judas was put on the cross and died because he betrayed Jesus (pbuh).
I don't understand how Jesus (pbuh) could be the son of God (swt) or even a prophet according to the Bible, because I thought prophets could not be killed. Muhammad (pbuh) escaped poisoning (and he even forgave the woman who tried to poison him, mashallaah!) and assassinations miraculously many times, and still the Jews of Madina continued to fight him.
:w:

[chacha_jalebi]

salaam

it looks they both have bless them, but also it could be they have memorised the parts which are for their arguments :D any how, may Allah (swt) bless them and increase them both in more knowlegde :D:D:D they heavy scholars:D