This article was initially published in 2011. No one who believes that Rashad is a messenger of God and read this article closely has been able to counter the arguments presented in this study. They all run away like zebras. If you think you can, please read very attentively the entire article first, so we can discuss intelligently and really face the facts. There are lots of things to say about Rashad Khalifa, but please do not miss section 1.8.1.

Also do not miss section 7 of the article “miracle of 19” on this website which is another easy way to expose Rashad Khalifa regarding his claim that 9:128-129 are false.

This article is meant to tell the truth about Rashad Khalifa, a man who was blessed with great inspiration early in his career following the Quran alone, but became a victim of his own ego claiming he was the messenger of the Covenant mentioned in 3:81 and Prophesying the end of the world. He went as far as altering the Quran by removing two verses (9:128-129) to force numbers to add up when his interpretation of the Quranic sign of number 19 (74:30-35) proved to be wrong when he realized that he had miscalculated the frequency of the word “God”. His life ended tragically in January 1990, shortly after trying to guess the year of the prophecy of the smoke in the same year, which obviously turned out to be a failure. 

For almost two decades, I believed that Rashad Khalifa was the messenger of the Covenant mentioned in 3:81, as well as his claim that two false verses had been added to the Quran. I greatly benefited, God willing for the rest of my life, from the great inspiration he received regarding following the Quran alone and rejecting Hadiths and Sunna, and that Muhammad shall not be mentioned beside God in the Muslim profession of faith (Shahadah). I was on the other hand misled in many ways; I was in particular mesmerized by his mathematical interpretation of the Quran regarding number 19.

Unlike some hard line “Submitters” who believe that everything that Rashad said is the equivalent of Quranic truth, I was well aware right from the beginning that he sometimes misunderstood the Quran, and simply believed that it was understandable since messengers of God are no more than imperfect human beings. Over the years, I noticed more and more serious misinterpretations, and I had no other choice than stopping following many of his teachings. I eventually stopped believing he was a messenger of God when I became aware of some truly chocking manipulations that he made regarding the claim that 9:128-129 are not part of the Quran. It allowed me to take a fresh look at the big picture of Rashad’s life and claims and finally understand that Rashad Khalifa was nothing else but a false messenger. I came to the conclusion that he betrayed true Islam by attempting to hijack the Quran alone movement to serve a personal agenda intended to flatter his ego.

This article is the result of years of data gathered interacting with people for and against Rashad Khalifa in internet forums and in real life, including my personal experience and research. I want to thank all the people who, by the grace of God, gradually helped me to open my eyes thanks to their criticism, as it took me too long to understand what Rashad Khalifa was really about.

I believe the “Submitter” movement that he founded will collapse if people have the courage to read and study carefully this article, face the facts and pass down the information around them. I suggest you print this article to get the most from it.

If you believe in a false messenger and claim to be one, it makes you a false messenger by definition: This is why this article will by default also expose tens of copycat messengers – some of whom have maintained websites on the internet for many years – who believed Rashad was a messenger and subsequently proclaimed they were messengers as well.

This analysis is mainly designed to help all the sincere believers who followed their hearts and saw the truth when it comes to follow the Quran alone, but were misled by Rashad Khalifa’s claims. It will expose Rashad Khalifa very methodically and will insist primarily on the following issues:

– We will prove that Rashad Khalifa repeatedly made false statements to try to back his theory that the entire Quran is protected by number 19. We will show for example that the frequency of all four words of the Bismillah is not indexed on number 19, whether you discard 9:128-129 or not.

– We will prove that Rashad lied when he claimed that the word “Raheem” (“Merciful”) only applies to God in the entire Quran – claiming that it is the most obvious reason why 9:128 should be discarded as Muhammad is described as “merciful” – when verse 48:29 shows unequivocally that all believers are “Merciful” among themselves, not just the prophet.

– We will explain in detail why the prophecy of the messenger of the covenant applies primarily to Muhammad, not Rashad Khalifa, according to the Quran.

– We will provide several key examples of childish numerology that Rashad came up with to try to claim that number 19 confirmed him as a messenger.

– We will show that Rashad wrongly asserted that satan was the Khalifa on earth instead of Adam (despite the self explanatory Quranic context of 2:30) for the sole reason that he could claim that the words “Rashad” and “Khalifa” combined were coded with 19 once we discard the word “Khalifa” in verse 2:30.

– We will explain why Rashad misunderstood several key rites of Islam for example the Hajj, and was not even able to determine and follow the right direction (Kiblah) to Mecca during his ritual prayer.

– We will show that the Quranic initials are absolutely not indexed on number 19, at least not a majority of them.

– Rashad prophesized the end of the world based on a hadith (!) and the gematrical value of the Quranic initials. We will easily prove that numbers do not add up and that it is a false prediction.

All this, and much more, will prove that Rashad Khalifa was an impostor.

Important preliminary remark: Before this article methodically exposes Rashad Khalifa, the alleged Messenger of the Covenant, and as a result, all the copycat messengers who came after him, please bear in mind that I consider the miracle of 19 as one of the greatest mathematical signs of the Quran, and simply believe that, for the most part, Rashad Khalifa grossly misinterpreted its real meaning and scope. Please read the article “Miracle of 19” on this website to see what I consider to be the real miracle of 19.

Table of content:

Part 1: 19: When numbers do not add up

1.1 The frequency of the four words of the Bismillah: The cornerstone of the miracle of 19 according to Rashad Khalifa.

1.2 365 words “day”: The proven method to count words in the Quran.

1.3 Without a proven, consistent method of counting, you gather meaningless data that can only open the door to misinterpretation.

1.4 The 19 words “proof” include an unusual spelling.

1.5 The four words of the Bismillah.

1.6 The four words of the Bismillah found in 1919 verses: Not true.

1.7 Rashad counted words without counting the ones in the unnumbered Bismillahs: Why then does he include them in the total number of verses?

1.8 Appendix 24: Tampering with the Word of God

1.8.1 Is Muhammad “Raheem” (merciful)?

1.8.2 The word “messenger”

1.8.3 The word “Qul”

1.9.1 Is Muhammad raheem?

1.9.2 The word messenger

1.9.3 The word “Qul”

Part 2: Hijacking the prophecy of the messenger of the covenant

2.1 Understanding the covenant of the prophets: 3:81 & 33:7

2.2 Distorting the meaning of 3:78

2.3 Hijacking the prophecy of Malachi 3:1-3.

2.4 Appendix 2 of Rashad’s translation

2.4.1. Baseless manipulation of numbers.

2.4.2 Inserting his name in his Quran translation.

2.4.3 Turning satan – instead of Adam – into the “Khalifa” on earth to come up with artificial multiples of 19 involving his name.

Part 3: Rashad unable to understand fundamental rites and aspects of the Quran

3.1 Rashad unable to figure out the correct direction for Salaat in the USA.

3.2 Rashad unable to recite the correct Quranic greeting.

3.3 Rashad unable to recite the correct Shahadah in his Salaat.

3.4 Rashad teaching not to recite anything else but sura 1 in Salaat: New prohibition?

3.5 Rashad unable to decipher the four consecutive sacred months of Hajj outlined in sura 9.

3.6 Rashad promoting the stoning of satan during hajj: Quran alone or Sunni Islam alone?

3.7 Claiming Muhammad was not unlettered.

3.8 Claiming he delivered a new Quranic Justice system.

Part 4: Ego Worship

4.1 Rashad’s Quran translation: “Authorized” by whom?

4.2 The three messengers of Islam (Appendix 26).

4.3 Messenger of the Covenant, Messiah, Christ, Mahdi, or impersonator?

Part 5: False Prophecy = False Messenger

5.1 The Quranic initials

5.1.1 Letter “N” (ن) in sura 68

5.1.2 Letter S (ص)

5.1.3 Sura 36: Letters Y.S. (يس)

5.1.4 H.M. (حم): Suras 40,41,42,43,44,45,46

5.1.5 K.H.Y.A.S. (كهيعص): Sura 19

5.1.6 T.H. (طه): Sura 20

5.1.7 T.S.M. (طسم): Suras 26,28

5.1.8 T.S. (طس): Sura 27

5.1.9 Initials A.L.M., A.L.M.S., A.L.M.R. and A.L.R.

5.2 Prophecizing the End of the world: Numbers do not add up

5.3 Rashad Guessing the year of the Prophecy of the Smoke

6. Rashad Khalifa’s death coded with number 19

Conclusion

Part 1: 19: When numbers do not add up

1.1 The frequency of the four words of the Bismillah: The cornerstone of the miracle of 19 according to Rashad Khalifa.

– All suras, except sura 9, start with the following statement: “In the Name of God, Most Gracious, Most Merciful” (commonly known as the “Bismillah”), which occurs 114 times (19 × 6) in the entire Quran (one extra Bismillah is found in 27:30). This fundamental statement is composed with 19 letters.

– The above two statements are true facts of the Quran.

Rashad Khalifa’s most important claim regarding his interpretation of the miracle of 19:

The frequency of each of the four key words (Name, God, Most Gracious, Most Merciful) of the opening statement is multiple of 19 throughout the Quran, without exception:

Furthermore, the addition of factors combined with 19 also generates a multiple of 19 (1 + 142 + 3 + 6 = 152 = 19 × 8)

– After Rashad Khalifa’s death, some of his followers pointed out that there are exactly 1919 verses (19 × 101) in the entire Quran which include one or more of the four words of the Bismillah.

One extremely important thing to bear in mind is that Rashad Khalifa came up with the above seemingly astounding facts by claiming that 9:128-129 are false verses that were added to the Quran shortly after Muhammad’s death (see: Appendix 24 of Rashad Khalifa’s translation).

So far, and if there were no manipulation involved, the above pattern would be objectively no less than incredible statistically. But is it really true, or is it the result of an advanced forgery that does not reflect the reality of the Quran?

1.2 365 words “day”: The proven method to count words in the Quran.

– Even before Rashad Khalifa claimed in 1974, 1406 lunar years (19 × 74) after the revelation of the Quran, that there is a mathematical miracle involving number 19 in the Quran interpreting 74:30, it was discovered that the frequency of the simple form of the word “day” occurs 365 times in the entire Quran, symbolizing an average solar year. It involves counting only singular forms of the word “day”, and there is a specific method of counting since it implies discarding any word that is not a simple form, for example when a pronoun is attached like “your day” (يومكم), or “their day” (يومهم). It is very important to understand that only simple, singular forms are taken into account.

– Based on the very same method of counting, the simple form of the plural “days” occurs 30 times, reflecting an average “month” in the solar calendar. Please take note that one of the 30 simple singular forms is written with an unusual spelling in 14:5 (ايىم = “days”), and keep in mind the key symmetry between an average “solar year” (365 words “day”) and an average solar month (30 words “days”).

Remark: The Quran has two different words to define a “solar year” and a “lunar year”, see the article “solar year/lunar year” on this website. The Quran takes both systems into account.

– The word “month” occurs 12 times. Again, it speaks for itself and we are dealing here with a very simple and authentic mathematical miracle of the Quran, one among numerous proofs of its divine authorship.

1.3 Without a proven, consistent method of counting, you gather meaningless data that can only open the door to misinterpretation.

Without a consistent method of counting which provides significant results, as it is the case with the word “day” and other words, there is no miracle. It is relatively easy to manipulate data and come up with seemingly astonishing results once several meaningless methods of counting are used and you discard arbitrarily any given method every time it does not provide the result you anticipate. Using several different methods instead of one implies increasing artificially the odds of getting the result you expect. Any serious researcher would reject data and results based on an inconsistent method of counting.

1.4 The 19 words “Proof” include an unusual spelling.

One of what I consider a genuine proof regarding the miracle of 19 is that the total frequency of the word “Proof” is “19” in the entire Quran:

2:211 (1); 6:57 (1); 6:157 (1); 7:73 (1); 7:85 (1); 7:105 (1); 8:42 (2); 11:17 (1); 11:28 (1); 11:53 (1); 11:63 (1); 11:88 (1); 20:133 (1); 29:35 (1); 35:40 (1); 47:14 (1); 98:1 (1); 98:4 (1) = 19 occurrences.

In one instance, in 35:40, the word “proof” is written in an unusual manner that it to say “بينت” (“Bayyinat”, Gematrical Value 462, with the letter “Ta” GV 400) instead of the regular orthography “بينة” (“Bayyinat”, GV 67, ending with a “Ta Marbuta”, GV 5). This is in line with the count of the 30 plural words “days” that include an unusual spelling, as seen earlier. Please note that Rashad Khalifa did not discard the unusual spelling in 35:40 from the count, because otherwise, the count would be 18, not 19. This will be very important for what follows.

1.5 The four words of the Bismillah.

1.5.1 Rashad did not count the word “name” properly to force the frequency to be 19.

Up to 1980, Rashad Khalifa thought that the count for the word “God” was 2698 (19 × 142), misled by Abdul Baqi’s count of the word in his book entitled “Index of the words of the Quran”. It turned out that it was in reality 2699, not a multiple of 19. This was the departing point of a downward spiral that eventually led him to discard verses 9:128-129, where one word “God” occurs, to reestablish a count that was multiple of 19. It is truly ironic that Rashad Khalifa, who claimed that he rejected hadiths, was guided to the assumption that 9:128-129 were false based on the fact that a few hadiths allege that only one person (who had memorized the Quran, i.e. Khuzeimah) originally knew of 9:128-129, when all other scribes did not.

If 9:128-129 happened to be false, Bingo! The mathematical miracle based on 19 was reestablished regarding the word “God” being back to 2698 = 19 × 142, (instead of 2699) and Rashad Khalifa could become the messenger of God who restored the Quran to its original purity.

Even discarding 9:128-129, there is still one big problem for Rashad who claimed the frequency of all four words of the Bismillah are multiple of 19: The frequency for the word “Name” is not 19, as he claimed, but 22, if we count according to the proven method of counting the 365 words “day” and the 30 plural “days”. Check for yourself:

1:1 (1), 5:4 (1), 6:118 (1), 6:119 (1), 6:121 (1), 6:138 (1), 11:41 (1), 22:28 (1), 22:34 (1), 22:36, (1), 22:40 (1), 27:30 (1), 49:11 (1), 55:78 (1), 56:74 (1), 56:96 (1), 69:52 (1), 73:8 (1), 76:25 (1), 87:1 (1), 87:15 (1), 96:1 (1) = 22 occurrences.

– Let’s clarify: Rashad Khalifa only counted simple forms of the word “name” to come up with 19 words “name”, as we should, following the example of the 365 words “day”, but he decided arbitrarily to discard unusual spellings of the word “In the name” (بسم), because the normal orthography of the word in Arabic is “باسم”, with an “Alif” (letter A), as found in verses 56:74, 56:96, 69:52, and 96:1. He therefore discarded arbitrarily the singular of the word “name” in three instances in verses 1:1 (The “Bismillah”!), 11:41 and 27:30 (where an extra “Bismillah” occurs). Remember, Rashad is counting the four words of the Bismillah throughout the entire Quran, but he does not count the word “Bism” (in the name) in the numbered verses of the Quran where the Bismillah occurs, while counting the words “God”, “Most Gracious” and “Most Merciful” in the same expression! Does this make any sense to you?!

– In other words, on the one hand it is not a problem for Rashad Khalifa to claim that the frequency of the word “proof” is 19 in the entire Quran, or that the plural “days” occurs 30 times, including the count of unusual spellings, but on the other hand he only counted “normal spellings” of the word “Name”, discarding three unusual spelling, because otherwise it would spoil the “fact” that the individual frequency of each of the four words of the Bismillah is multiple of 19, as well as the combined frequency of all four words being double multiple of 19 (2888 = 19 × 19 ×8). This is what you call obvious manipulation, and this is profoundly dishonest.

You cannot have it both ways:

It is either:

The frequency of the word “Proof” is 19 and the plural “days” occurs 30 times, and you always count unusual forms, and the frequency of the word “name” is 22 (which I obviously think is correct),

or:

The frequency of the word “Proof” is 18, discarding the unusual spelling, and the frequency of the plural “days” is 29 (thus breaking the crucial symmetry between 365 words “day”/30 words “days”, both referring to the solar year and solar system) and then the frequency of the word “name” can become 19 discarding all unusual spellings.

– It is either one, or the other – you have to take a pick – but you cannot have it both ways. The problem is that Rashad Khalifa wanted to have it both ways no matter what, as we can see in appendix 1. In other words, he wanted to have his cake and eat it too, as we put it in English, only retaining the results that he longed for and looked seemingly impressive. Nothing could stop him, and that mindset led him as far as tampering with the verse structure of the Quran, choosing to discard arbitrarily 9:128-129, misguided by baseless hadiths (namely “hadiths other than God and His verses” : 45:6) that he chose to interpret in his own way. When you allow yourself to be under the spell of hadiths, and even if it is only a few hadiths like Rashad did, it can only lead you to the path of darkness. It is exactly what happened to him when he discarded 9:128-129 to force his theory on number 19 to fit the pattern he craved for.

– Now, as we saw in table 1, let us go back to Rashad Khalifa’s claim that the frequency of all four words of the Bismillah is individually multiple of 19 – and at the same time – that their frequency precisely matches the only four gematrical values of attributes of God in the Quran that are multiple of 19:

Frequency of “name” = 19 = GV of “waheed” (One).

Frequency of “God” = 2698 = GV of “Zul fadl al Azeem” (Possessor of Infinite Grace).

Frequency of “Most Gracious” = 57 = GV of “Majeed” (Glorious).

Frequency of “Most Merciful” = 114 = GV of “” (Gatherer).

– It truly sounds amazing, and I believed it for years. Then he goes on saying that adding the above frequencies, we get 2888 = 19 × 19 × 8 = double multiple of 19! Furthermore number 8 is the index of number 19, meaning that number 19 is the 8th prime number.

– The big problem is that the real frequency of the word “name” is 22 (not 19). I know it is a real spoiler, but you cannot change the reality of the facts. And let us not forget that to come up with a frequency for the words “God” and “Most merciful” (found in 9:128) that is multiple of 19, Rashad Khalifa decided to discard 9:128-129.

– So what kind of game are we playing here Mr. Khalifa!?

– In reality, if we keep 9:128-129 in the Quran, we have, if we are consistent with the proven method of counting words (like “day” = 365 and “days” = 30):

– 22 words “name” (usual and unsual simple forms), not a multiple of 19.

– 2699 words “God”, not a multiple of 19.

– 57 words “Most Gracious”, a multiple of 19.

– 115 words “Merciful”, not a multiple of 19, one of which is attributed to Muhammad in 9:128,

– This means that the individual frequency of all four words of the “Bismillah” is not multiple of 19, and that the total frequency of the four words of the Bismillah cannot possibly be a double multiple of 19.

Whether Rashad Khalifa and his followers like it or not, and even discarding 9:128-129, what he claimed is not true since the word “name” occurs 22 times, being compliant with the proven way we shall count words in the Quran, that is to say based on counting the singular and plural forms of the word “day” as 365 and 30 respectively.

1.6 The four words of the Bismillah found in 1919 verses: Not true

It was found after Rashad Khalifa passed away that all four words of the Bismillah, as counted by Rashad Khalifa, occur in 1919 verses (19 × 101). This is only true if you choose to discard 9:128-129, as they in reality occur in 1921 verses.

1.7 Rashad counted words without counting the ones in the unnumbered Bismillahs: Why then does he include them in the total number of verses?

By removing 9:128-129, and if we forget about the arbitrary way he counted words, Rashad Khalifa seemingly hit another jackpot as the total of numbered verses (6234) and unnumbered Bismillah (112) became 6346 = 19 × 334, instead of 6348, not a multiple of 19.

Furthermore, 6346: 6+3+4+6 = 19.

– Again that may sound impressive, but if the 112 unnumbered verses are to be included in the total number of verses of the Quran, then why didn’t Rashad Khalifa include all the words “Name”, “God”, “Most Gracious”, “Most Merciful” found in the 112 unnumbered ‘Bismillah” in the total frequency of the four words? He did not include them for one reason and one reason only:

It would have destroyed his beloved multiples of 19

Furthermore, you can be sure that he would have included them right from the start if they had generated multiples of 19.

– Again, this shows that Rashad Khalifa relied on completely arbitrary and unscientific methods.

– Either you include all verses of the Quran – numbered and unnumbered – in the total count of verses of the Quran and you include them in the count of words of the Quran in general, or you discard the 112 unnumbered Bismillah from the total count of verses of the Quran and then you can only count words that belong to numbered verses: You cannot have your cake and eat it too, like Rashad Khalifa persuaded himself he could, when he was only deceiving himself and his followers.

1.8 Appendix 24: Tampering with the Word of God

1.8.1 Is Muhammad “Raheem” (merciful)?

We are going to comment a few claims made by Rashad Khalifa in appendix 24 of his translation of the Quran:

“[9] Another important word that occurs in the false Verses 9:128-129 is the word “Raheem” (Merciful). This word is used in the Quran exclusively as a name of God, and its total count is 114, 19 × 6, after removing the word “Raheem” of 9:128, which refers to the prophet. According to 7:188, 10:49, and 72:21 the Prophet did not possess any power of mercy.”

Remark: Bold letters are mine.

Muhammad is indeed called “raheem” in 9:128:

– Firstly, he is not called “Al Raheem” which clearly refers to God alone.

– Secondly – and most importantly – the straight plural of “raheem” (“ruhama’u” = رُحَمَاءُ) occurs in 48:29 and, like 9:128, also applies to human beings!:

(48:29) Muhammad is the messenger of God, and those with him are fierce against the disbelievers and merciful ( رُحَمَاءُ = ruhamâ’u = straight plural of “raheem”) among themselves. You see them bowing and prostrating seeking God’s favors and acceptance. Their faces (foreheads) bear the marks left by the prostrations (most notably in Salaat). Such is their parable in the Torah as well as their parable in the Gospel: they are like a seed which puts forth its sprout, then strengthens itself, becomes thick and stands firmly on its stem, delighting the sowers, while enraging the disbelievers. God has promised forgiveness as well as an immense reward to those among them who believe and do deeds of righteousness.

– Do I need to tell you that I was absolutely devastated and felt betrayed and manipulated by Mr. Rashad Khalifa when I finally realized that, in fact, the word “raheem” (merciful) does apply to humans? Honestly, I cried, I was so afraid of going to hell because, misled by him, I had rejected 9:128-129. For years I believed Rashad Khalifa’s claim that the word “raheem” only applies to God in the Quran, and it seemed to make so much sense. It was in reality just another horrendous lie to try to justify that 9:128-129 were false verses.

Open your eyes wide and see the proof for yourself:

Above: An excerpt from the root R-H-M in the Arabic/English classical Lane dictionary, edition 1863, considered to this day to be the best Arabic dictionary in the world. Underlined above in red, we read: “the pl. (plural) of رَّحِيم (rahîm)  is رُحَمَاءُ  (ruhamâ’u”). This proves that the plural of “raheem” (ruhamâ’u = merciful), which is found in the Quran in 48:29, does apply to humans (in the verse the plural of “raheem” applies to the fact that “the believers are merciful among themselves“). Look up any Arabic dictionary in the world and you will see that the plural of “raheem” is indeed “ruhama’u”.

Rashad Khalifa, Profession: liar

Rashad translated the word “ruhamâ’u” in 48:29 as “compassionate” in his translation, to attempt to cover up the fact that it is a straight plural from “raheem” (merciful), when, to be consistent, he should have translated it as “merciful” since it is the choice that he made when he translated 9:128. Rashad was a native Arabic speaker from Egypt and he had no excuse not to know: He purposely lied in order to hide the fact that the word “raheem” does apply to humans in the Holy Quran, and not just to God as he claimed, because he wanted so badly to prove that his theory on 19 was true, and he had to find a seemingly good reason to discard verses 9:128-129.

– It is a fact that there is not one single word in verses 9:128-129 that contradicts the language of the Quran. If evil forces had added two false verses as he claimed, they surely would have inserted some language or ideas that would have contradicted its spirit and misled people in some ways. It is not the case in any way, and Rashad Khalifa had to resort to manipulation and deception to claim it was a sin to call Muhammad “raheem”, when it is absolutely not since all true Muslims past, present and future are also “merciful among each other” (48:29).

Is it worth losing your soul by contributing to the horrific lie that 9:128-129 are not part of the Quran just for the sake of staying in the little cult created by Rashad Khalifa and that will never, because it is an impure form of Islam, achieve the victory of Islam prophesied in the Quran? You be the judge.

1.8.2 The word “messenger”

In appendix 24, Rashad Khalifa said:

[8] The INDEX TO THE WORDS OF THE QURAN, lists 116 “Rasool” (Messenger) words. One of these words is in 9:128. By removing this false verse, 115 “Rasool” words remain. Another “Rasool” word which must be excluded from counting is in 12:50, since it refers to the “messenger of Pharaoh,” not the messenger of God. Thus, the total occurrence of “Rasool” of God is 114, 19 × 6.

In reality, all singular forms of the word “rasul” occur 141 times (!) – including 9:128 – (all data in this article has been very precisely checked several times), following the proven way words are counted in the Quran, and certainly not 116 times as claimed by Rashad Khalifa. It is hard to believe that his count could be so far away from the actual Quranic count. Again, this is blatant manipulation and a complete lie.

1.8.3 The word “Qul”

In appendix 24, Rashad Khalifa said:

“[11] The Quranic command “Qul” (Say) occurs in the Quran 332 times. Also, the word “Qaaloo” (They said) occurs the same number of times, 332. Since the false verse 9:129 contains the word “Qul” (Say), its inclusion would have destroyed this typical Quranic phenomenon.”

– Meaningful words symmetries are a reality of the Quran and part of its great mathematical miracle.

– In fact, you can check all Hafs Qurans in print around the world (the most reliable and trusted version of the Quran), except the one printed by Rashad Khalifa, and you will find that there are 332 “Qul” (“Say!) matching 332 Qaalu (They said), including 9:128-129. I verified the count extremely precisely, and Rashad did not tell the ugly story going on behind the scene, that is to say that he chose to modify the vocalization “Qala” (he said) into “Qul” in 21:112 in his Hafs version (!) of the Quran, to reestablish a symmetry between 332 “Say!” and 332 “They said” once he discarded 9:128-129 from his Quran. What a horrific manipulation! It truly does not end.

There are 4 “Qala” (“He said”, normally written “Qala” = “قال”) in the Hafs version that are written in an unusual manner without “alif” (قَلَ). They are found in 21:112, 23:112, 23:114 and 43:24.

– Some non Hafs versions vocalize all of them as “Qul” in all 4 above mentioned verses (21:112; 23:112; 23:114; 43:24), which definitely makes the above symmetry disappear.

– Why did Rashad Khalifa specifically choose to change only one vocalization in 21:112 as he should have changed four of them following the same logic (in 23:112; 23:114; 43:24)?

The only reason why he only changed the one in 21:112 is that he imperatively needed to readjust the data regarding the “Say!”/“They said” symmetry (332 each) because he had broken it by discarding 9:128-129 from the Quran in his Hafs version!

– He did not say a word about what I am telling you right now, that is to say explain that four “Qala” (“they Said”) are spelled in an unusual manner in the Hafs version of the Quran (without alif), and the fact that a minority of early scholars were in disagreement and pronounced them “Qul” (“say!”) instead in all four verses 21:112; 23:112; 23:114; 43:24.

– Again, I was totally manipulated and deceived by Rashad Khalifa when I discovered that he changed just one vocalization instead of four – I can safely say, “off the top of his head” – to “readjust” the discrepancy he had triggered by deleting 9:128-129. He knew that very few people would check, and he was right; but I did, and today is the final showdown regarding Rashad Khalifa’s legacy.

– God proclaimed that he would preserve the Quran from any alteration (15:9). He preserved it by making sure that no verses would be added or deleted, as well as by other means such as mathematical patterns and properties like the 365 words “day’ Quranic subgroup. Rashad misunderstood the meaning of 74:30 (which he translated as “Over it is 19”) by implying that “19 is over the Quran”, being its “common denominator”, and therefore guarding or protecting it. This is not true in the Quranic context of 74:30 because the word “Quran” is masculine in Arabic, and the pronoun “Ha” in “alayha” (Over it) is feminine: “It” refers to the word “the fire” (النار, referring to the hellfire) as there will be 19 angels in charge of guarding the (hell)fire according to 74:31. This is why it is much better to translate 74:30 as:

عَلَيْهَا تِسْعَةَ عَشَرَ

“Over it [the fire] are nineteen [angels guarding]”.

– Rashad also misled people regarding 9:128-129 by pointing out that the reason why there is no Bismillah at the beginning of sura 9 is because God wanted to alert people that it would be tampered with. He also pointed at that the fact that some historical sources claim that 9:128-129 were revealed in Mecca when the rest of sura 9 was revealed in Medina, which never happened with any other sura. This seems to be a very pertinent remark, except for the fact that this implies believing in questionable non Quranic sources, and this is by no means a sufficient reason to discard 9:128-129.

– Rashad miserably and grossly failed to provide a single solid proof that 9:128-129 are not part of the Quran in the entire appendix 24, basing his interpretation on baseless numerology, questionable hadiths and historical sources as well as guessing, never on facts.

– The real reason why there is no Bismillah to start sura 9 is, in my opinion, because God wanted to send an “ultimatum” or “disavowal” (9:1) to the disbelievers at the very time they had just been defeated and had surrendered the holy city of Mecca. A missing Bismillah was a warning that God was angry at them, disapproved and rejected them, not because something was going to be added to sura 9 as Rashad speculated, as he desperately wanted to find a way to adjust artificially the frequency of the word “God” as 2698 (19 × 142) instead of the actual 2699.

– A lot more could easily be included in this section concerning the baseless and inconsistent “facts” displayed in appendix 24, but since enough truly decisive points have been made to expose Rashad Khalifa, let’s proceed with his interpretation regarding the prophecy of messenger of the Covenant:

Part 2: Hijacking the prophecy of the messenger of the covenant

2.1 Understanding the covenant of the prophets:

(3:81) And when God took a covenant from the prophets [He said]: “This is what I gave you (second person plural) from the Book and wisdom. Afterwards, a messenger came to you (second person plural) confirming what was with you (second person plural): You shall believe in him and you shall support him.” He said, “Do you approve and take this burden of mine?” They said, “We approve.” He said: “Then bear witness, and I stand with you among the witnesses.”

(33:7) When we took from the prophets their covenant, and from you (O Muhammad, second person singular), and from Noah, Abraham, Moses, and Jesus the son of Mary, We took from them an awe inspiring (‘Azeem) covenant.

3:81 provides the definition of a prophet, that is to say “One who is given the Book and wisdom”, meaning that a prophet receives new divine revelations. One can either be a messenger-prophet, or just a messenger if he is appointed by God to deliver a specific “message” but does not receive any new Scripture. In any case, a prophet is always a messenger according to the Quran, and I will depart here from the traditional definition in Sunni Islam.

– The main message of the covenant of the prophets is that they are a family, and they assist each other, not simply with words or a pledge like the one they made before mankind was sent to earth (words alone are not enough), but with concrete actions and preaching during their life on earth, as well as thanks to the content of the books they were sent with, which often contain prophetic messages regarding future prophets and scriptures. Two prophets will assist each other when two of them happen to live at the same time, like Moses and Aaron, David and Solomon, John and Jesus, and they will acknowledge and announce and therefore assist past and especially future messengers-prophets as well.

One of the keys to understand 3:81 is to understand the meaning of the expression “Afterwards, a messenger will come confirming what is with you” as well as how the participle “confirming” (“musaddiqun” = مصدق) is used elsewhere in the Quran, which is always the best method to understand the meaning of a word or an expression.

– The word “Musaddiqun” occurs three times in the Quran in addition to the occurrence in 3:81 (total of four times), so let us see if those verses will enlighten us regarding how someone who is eligible to be a messenger as defined in 3:81 would be “confirming what is with you” (second person plural), that is to say past revelations like the Thorah, Gospel, etc…:

(2:89) And when a book from God came to them (the Quran), confirming what was with them [i.e. People of the book = Jews, Christians, sabians], and [even though] they used to pray for victory over those who disbelieve, then when what they were expecting came to them, they disbelieved therein. God’s curse thus afflicts the disbelievers.

– It is cristal clear here that it is “the book from God” that is “confirming” what the people of the book (Jews Christians, sabians) received. To be precise, it is the Quran, the final revelation to mankind.

(2:99) And indeed, we revealed to you (O Muhammad) clear verses, and no one disbelieves in them except the disobedient ones. And isn’t true that whenever they make a pledge, a portion of them violates it? (2:100) The truth is: Most of them do not believe. (2:101) And when a messenger from God came to them, confirming what was with them, a portion of those who were given the book (prior revelations) threw away the book of God behind their back, as if they never had any knowledge.

– Regarding the direct context of verse 2:101, 2:99 clearly states “and indeed we revealed to you (2nd person Singular, i.e. O Muhammad) clear verses”. Therefore, the “messenger from God who came to them confirming what was with them” is naturally and unequivocally Muhammad.

Let us now compare with Rashad Khalifa’s translation of 2:101:

(2:101) Now that a messenger from GOD has come to them, and even though he proves and confirms their own scripture, some followers of the scripture (Jews, Christians, and Muslims) disregard GOD’s scripture behind their backs, as if they never had any scripture.

Rashad khalifa manipulated here the meaning of the expression “فريق من الذين اوتوا الكتب” (lit. “a portion of those who were given the book”) by claiming, adding a parenthesis, that it refers to both “Jews, Christians, and Muslims” when the exact context of the verse refers to what is called consistently in the Quran “The people of the book”, that is to say “Jews, Christians and Sabians”.

Muslims are absolutely never called “people of the book” in the Quran, and similarly, “those who were given the book” also consistently refers to people who received revelations prior to the Quran; I invite anyone to check the expression throughout the entire Quran for confirmation, like I did. What Rashad wants to imply here is that the verse refers to him, not Muhammad, completely disregarding the direct context of the verse clarified by 2:99. The point he was trying to make is that he is the messenger “confirming what is with you”, the same as the one in 3:81. But, let us be patient, the manipulation will be further exposed very soon.

(6:92) And this is a blessed book that we have revealed [The Quran], confirming that which came before what is [now] in his hands [i.e. the hands of Muhammad], so that you may warn the mother of the cities (Mecca) and whoever may be around it; and those who believe in the Hereafter will believe in it [this blessed Quran], and will strictly observe their ritual prayers.

– Again “the blessed book” that is “confirming that which came before what is [now] in Muhammad’s hands” is unequivocally the Quran.

– Therefore, by checking throughout the entire Quran the meaning of “Musaddiqun” (“confirming”) we can confidently say that what is “confirming what is with you (second person plural)” in 3:81 is either the Quran (2:89, 6:92) or Muhammad himself (2:101, 3:81) as he is the final messenger-prophet to whom the Quran was revealed. In general we can say that it implies a combination of the two: A messenger-prophet always “confirms” prior revelations with the new scripture he comes with.

– Rashad khalifa managed to mislead many people to believe he was the messenger of the Covenant by saying that since 33:7 is related to the covenant of the prophets in 3:81, and since it states that Muhammad was among the prophets mentioned in 33:7, the messenger of the Covenant has to be someone who came after Muhammad.

Let us read Rashad Khalifa’s translation of 33:7:

(33:7) Recall that we took from the prophets their covenant, including you (O Muhammad), Noah, Abraham, Moses, and Jesus the son of Mary. We took from them a solemn pledge.**

The footnote reads: The covenant is detailed in 3:81. God took a covenant from the prophets that they shall support His Messenger of the Covenant who would come after Muhammad to purify and unify their messages.The Covenant was made before the earth’s creation, and was fulfilled in Mecca, Zul-Hijja 3, 1391 (December 21, 1971). The sum of the Islamic month (12), plus the day (3), plus the year (1391) gives 1406, 19 × 74. Overwhelming proof identifying God’s Messenger of the Covenant as Rashad Khalifa is provided throughout the Quran (Appendices 2 & 26).

– Now, let us compare with the original Quranic verse and a more literal translation than Rashad’s, which we are going to put in context with the previous verse:

(33:6) The prophet is closer to the believers than their own souls, and his wives are their mothers, and [when it comes] to those who are related (relatives), some of them are closer to each other according to the book of God than the believers and the emigrants, except if you do a favor to your friends. This is engraved in the book of God. The believers shall take care of their relatives who immigrate to them, provided they have taken care of their own families first. These are commandments of this scripture.

(33:7) When we took from the prophets their covenant, and from you (O Muhammad, second person singular), and from Noah, Abraham, Moses, and Jesus the son of Mary, We took from them an awe inspiring (‘Azeem) covenant.

Rashad Khalifa translated “waminka” (وَمِنكَ) in 33:7 by “including you (O Muhammad)”, because he wanted to claim that Muhammad was with all the messengers who agreed that “a messenger will come confirming what is with you” (3:81). This is how he managed to claim he was the messenger to come “afterwards”, “confirming” all existing scriptures. This is a lie, because “waminka” means literally “and” (wa = وَ) “from you” (minka = مِنكَ, second person singular)”. “Wa” is the equivalent of “+” (as it adds information), not “including”; this is a big difference.

33:7 does clarify 3:81 and the Covenant that God made with “the prophets” as a difference is made in 33:7 between two categories of people:

– (1) The prophets, all of whom were commanded in 3:81 to acknowledge and support a key messenger after them.

– (2) Five key messengers-prophets: Muhammad, Noah, Abraham, Moses, and Jesus.

– In other words, God made a covenant with “the prophets” regarding a messenger to come after them “confirming what is with them” which is the message found in 3:81.

– 33:7 teaches us that there are five key messengers in the history of mankind that had the role of “confirming” (per 3:81) existing scriptures sent to earlier prophets: They are Noah, Abraham, Moses, Jesus and Muhammad.

– 33:7 details that all prophets without exception took a solemn pledge, but a clear distinction is made in the verse between regular prophets’ pledges (“we took from the prophets their covenant”), and the five key messengers prophets who also took a solemn pledge (“and from you (O Muhammad), and from Noah, Abraham, Moses, and Jesus the son of Mary”), but whose scriptures were meant “to confirm” in a broader sense.

– Muhammad did take, just like all others, a solemn pledge as written in 33:7, but as the final recipient of all pledges, being the final prophet (33:40).

– As said earlier, the Covenant of the prophets shows that all prophets are part of a large family (they are often from the same bloodline) and that there is continuity between them because they support each other through their preaching and scriptures. This is especially the case of Muhammad, the final prophet, as he “confirmed” all prophets and scriptures with the Quran.

– 3:81 mentions that a covenant was made with the prophets so they would support “a messenger” to come “afterwards”. This does not mean necessarily, as Rashad Khalifa claimed, one single messenger confirming all previous scripture sent to all prophets: On the contrary, 33:7 clarifies, as we saw, that it is actually five key messengers all of whom were prophets (received scriptures) at the same time they were messengers, and who, as a result of their mission, confirmed previous prophets and scriptures.

– Naturally, Muhammad had to be present with all previous prophets, because otherwise they would not have known who he was.

It is not a coincidence if 33:7 is in the same sura as 33:40 where Muhammad is said to be “a messenger of God and the seal of the prophets” that is to say the seal of all scriptures on earth.

– The least we can say is that Rashad Khalifa has no business being in the glorious company of Noah, Abraham, Moses, Jesus and Muhammad, and the prophets, as he confirmed absolutely nothing, except that he completely misunderstood and shamefully abused the allegory of 19 relying on a lot of baseless numerology. As if it were not enough, he deleted two authentic verses on the way to try to force numbers to add up, to claim it was what was confirming all existing scriptures.

Rashad Khalifa’s claim makes no sense in many ways, especially when he said that he saw in a dream the prophets node to him in approval, supposedly fulfilling the covenant of the prophets: We are not talking here (with Rashad’s alleged dream) about a physical and tangible form of support from the prophets like what the human race experienced with prophets announcing orally with the physical context of revealed scriptures the next prophet to come, especially landmark prophets such as Jesus or Muhammad. In Rashad’s case, his claim is a dream that only he claims to have experienced, and that has no scriptural support. In other words, the so called support he got from the prophets does not have any basis in this physical world, unlike the real kind of support (actual preaching and scriptures) that real prophets got.

Glory to God, the Quran speaks for itself, and eventually falsehood always vanishes.

2.2 Distorting the meaning of 3:78

In appendix 24, which claims that 9:128-129 were added to the Quran, Rashad Khalifa says that it is not a coincidence if verse 3:78 comes shortly before 3:81, the prophecy of the messenger of the Covenant, since it shows some people tampering with God’s revelations:

[69] In Verse 3:78, just 3 verses before proclaiming God’s Messenger of the Covenant, the word “God” number 361 (19 × 19) occurs. This verse (3:78) informs us that some falsifiers will “add falsehood to the Quran, then claim that it is part of the Quran; they attribute lies to God, knowingly.”

Let us read 3:78:

(3:78) And indeed, there is a portion among them who twist their tongues [reciting] the book, that you may think it is from the book, when it is not from the book, and they say: “It is from God!”, but it is not from God; they tell lies about God, and they know [full well].

To understand the real context of the verse we need to know to whom “a portion among them” refers to. Verse 3:75 provides the answer:

(3:75) And among the people of the book [you will find] someone to whom you can entrust a great amount of wealth and he will return it to you; but among them, [you will find] someone to whom even if you entrust a single dinar, he will not return it except if you directly put pressure over him with [your] physical presence. This is because they said: “We are not liable in any way towards the gentiles”; they tell lies about God, and they know [full well].

“A portion among them” relates to “the people of the book”, that is to say that it refers to Jews, Christians and Sabians throughout the Quran without exception, never to Muslims as Rashad tried to claim. Furthermore 3:79 alludes to people who claim that some prophets should be idolized, referring primarily to Jesus, which further confirms that 3:78 does refer specifically to “people of the book”, and certainly not to some Muslims who would have tampered with the Quran, as Rashad claimed, distorting the meaning of the verse by separating it from its real context.                                       

2.3 Hijacking the prophecy of Malachi 3:1-3

1 “Behold, I send My messenger, and he will prepare the way before Me. and the Lord, whom you seek, will suddenly come to His temple, even the Messenger of the covenant, in whom you delight. Behold, He is coming,” says the Lord of hosts. 2 “But who can endure the day of His coming? And who can stand when He appears? For He is like a refiner’s fire, and like launderers’ soap. 3 He will sit as a refiner and a purifier of silver; he will purify the sons of Levi, and purge them as gold and silver, that they may offer to the Lord an offering in righteousness.

Rashad Khalifa claimed that the messenger of the covenant mentioned in Malachi refers to him.

The prophecy says that the messenger of the covenant will purify the sons of Levy: It is an understatement that Rashad Khalifa did not accomplish that in any way. Do you know any substantial number of people of the Jewish faith (if any) or even Christians who followed Rashad Khalifa? Even his understanding of the miracle of 19, which he claims is what “confirms” all existing scriptures, was profoundly flawed as we saw. Therefore, he cannot possibly be the messenger of the covenant prophesized in Malachi.

– The prophecy of Malachi foretells two prophets: The first “prepares the way” and it is Jesus, who announced the coming of “Ahmad” (“the praiseworthy”) translated as “the paraclete” in the gospel of John (John 14:16); the messenger of the covenant is Muhammad as he brought the final scripture that “confirms” all prophets and scriptures. As a result of the coming of the Quran, people among “the sons of Levi” purified themselves by embracing Islam at the time of the prophet and all along the history of Islam; the final victory is yet to come and it is the message of the Quran, originally delivered by Muhammad, and which continues to act as a messenger, that will eventually purify the remainder of the sons of Levy who have not yet accepted the message – whether Jews or Christians – and more widely it is the entire human race who is destined to embrace Islam in throngs, God willing (sura 110).

We will finish this section by saying that Jesus did foretell Muhammad in the gospels. So if Rashad Khalifa were the messenger of the covenant, why didn’t Jesus announce Rashad – Jesus being prophesized in Malachi as the one who “prepares the way” – and foretold Muhammad instead in the Gospel?

It is so clear in so many ways that Rashad Khalifa was an impostor.

2.4 Appendix 2 of Rashad’s translation

2.4.1. Rashad manipulating numbers to “prove” his messengership.

Rashad Khalifa invented a number of numerological techniques designed to generate multiples of 19, particularly when it involves his name, and designed to persuade people that he was a messenger whose name was coded in the Quran with the very miracle he was sent with.

Examples:

– In appendix 2 of his translation of the Quran, he points at the fact that the root “rashada” occurs 19 times in the Quran, which is true, and which includes nouns, verbs and adjectives. Then he points out that the singular noun “Khalifa” occurs twice in 2:30 and 38:26 and by adding all suras and verses of the root “rashada” and the noun “Khalifa” he comes up with a total of 1463 = 19 × 77.

– This is baseless numerology for a simple reason: He mixes apples with oranges, that is to say all forms of the root “rashada” (nouns, verbs and adjectives combined) with only the singular of “Khalifa”, when the root Khalifa occurs actually 127 times in the Quran!!!

– If he had been consistent in his method, he would have added suras and verses of all roots of “rashada” with all roots of “Khalifa”. What he did is pick and choose an illogical method simply because the outcome provides a multiple of 19. If this particular illogical example had not provided the expected multiple of 19, if would have tried other combinations until he would have come up with a multiple of 19. This is one example among many where we can see that Rashad Khalifa was blinded by his ego and by the necessity to prove he was a messenger of God to the point of idolizing number 19, an idol he thought was proving his messengership.

– It would be too long and a pure waste of time to comment all the so called “proofs” Rashad came up with in appendix 2 and in his translation, so we will only provide a few key examples:

– In fact number (10) he says that adding all sura numbers where the root word “rashada” occurs to the total number of verses in those suras (not even the specific verse numbers where Rashada occurs!), the total is 224 + 1144 = 1368 = 19 × 72.

– This does not make sense because the total of suras + specific verse numbers where the root rashada occurs are not even multiple of 19 to begin with. If, by chance, it had been the case, of course, he would have considered it as a proof of messengership and he would have mentioned it.

– Again this is a typical case where he picks and chooses randomly various methods and retains a particular one whenever the outcome provides a multiple of 19; on the other hand he will discard more logical methods every time they do not provide what Rashad wanted desperately: A multiple of 19.

Let us compare the following claims:

– In “fact” (32) he claims that verse 5:19 refers to him, and says that by adding 5 + 19 + 1230 (the gematrical value of “Rashad Khalifa”), we get 1254 = 19 × 66.

– He also claims in “fact” (22) that verse 36:3 refers to him, and says that by adding 36 + 3 + gematrical value of verse 36:3 (612) + GV Rashad Khalifa (1230), we get 1881 = 19 × 99.

– It is obvious that he used two different methods, therefore increasing the odds to come up with a multiple of 19, simply because identical methods did not provide a multiple of 19. Scientifically and logically speaking, what he did is simply absurd. He will never tell you the story behind the scene and how many different techniques he tried before he picked and chose only the ones that provided a multiple of 19.

– In the footnote for verse 6:157 in his translation, he claims that the verse refers to him because adding the verse number + the gematrical value of Rashad Khalifa, we get 1387 = 19 × 73.

This time, he omitted the sura number in his calculation, simply because it did it provide a multiple of 19. It could have been any verse number 157 in the Quran, but logic does not matter to him. He used the very same technique with verse 3:81 (prophecy of the messenger of the covenant) where he only added the verse number (81) + 1230 = 1311 = 19 × 69. It could have been any verse number 81 in tens of suras. What does such so called “facts” prove? Absolutely nothing. Anyone could pick and choose hundreds of verse adding the verse, or sura and verse number to his name, and come up with artificial multiples of 19. You would then select the ones where you would manipulate the meaning of the verse and claim that it applies to you, and you would claim it is a proof from God when it would be nothing but a “proof” made up “off the top of your head”.

– In the footnote to 13:30, Rashad Khalifa decided not to discard sura numbers anymore, and switched back to adding both the sura (13) + verse number (30) + his gematrical value (1230) = 1273 = 19 × 67. Is there is any reason justifying in some cases counting or discarding a sura number? Of course there isn’t: It is nothing but baseless manipulation of numbers.

– In the footnote to verse 9:33, he claims that verses 9:33 and 61:9 refer to him, and says that by concatenating 505 (GV “Rashad”) 725 (GV “Khalifa”) to 9:33 and 61:9, we get 505725933619 = a multiple of 19.

Again, we have a radically different method of calculation based on nothing but whatever method he came up with “off the top of his head” and that allowed him, after a number of various attempts, to eventually “nail” a most treasured multiple of 19.

– And it goes on and on in footnotes of his translation and appendixes: Many various inconsistent methods designed to flatter his ego by attempting to prove that various verses referred to him, the holy messenger of God who discovered the great miracle of 19, when it has in reality nothing to do with the actual meaning of verses properly placed in their context.

– It is truly hard to believe that someone like Rashad Khalifa who had a PhD in biochemistry would allow himself to play such childish and meaningless games of numerology. What an insult to his profession and real science!

– We saw that Rashad frequently added the gematrical values of either his first name (505) or first name and last name (1230) – depending on whatever sudden 19 based “inspiration” crossed his mind – to various suras and verses numbers or verses numbers alone, or other types of combinations as seen above: This is idol worship and tampering with the Quran because the Quran is fully detailed (7:52, 6:114, 10:37) and you therefore cannot add anything that is not already there.

– Rashad de facto implied that he was receiving special inspiration and secret knowledge from God that gave him a special authorization to play those little kinds of games of numerology when in reality it was all manipulation of the Quran for the sole purpose of flattering his own ego and manipulating people.

– This is where we can see that the real agenda of Rashad Khalifa, a man who turned number 19 into an idol to which he gave the power to supersede and distort the real meaning and content of the Quran. 

– Is this following the Quran alone, or is it following baseless numerology and idols made out of thin air?

2.4.2 Inserting his name in his translation of the Quran.

Rashad Khalifa inserted his own name in parenthesis in a number of verses of his translation which he claimed referred to him.

A few examples:

(13:30) We have sent you (O Rashad)* to this community, just as we did for other communities in the past. You shall recite to them what we reveal to you, for they have disbelieved in the Most Gracious. Say, “He is my Lord. There is no god except He. I put my trust in Him alone; to Him is my ultimate destiny.”*

(25:56) We have sent you (Rashad) as a deliverer of good news, as well as a warner.

(34:28) We have sent you (O Rashad) to all the people, a bearer of good news, as well as a warner, but most people do not know.

(36:3) Most assuredly, you (Rashad) are one of the messengers.*

– We have extremely bad news for Rashad Khalifa: It is an incontrovertible and consistent rule throughout the entire Quran that whenever God speaks to someone in the second person singular, it consistently refers to Muhammad, the last prophet, never to anyone else.

– Regarding for instance verse 36:3, a very simple proof that it applies to Muhammad is that verse 36:5 says: “This revelation is from the Almighty, Most Merciful.” (I purposely quoted Rashad Khalifa’s translation here!). The word “tanizila” (تنزيل, a revelation) is derived from the root “nazala” which means “to descend”, “to reveal”. Therefore, 36:3 refers evidently and unquestionably to the holy prophet to whom the Quran was revealed, certainly not Rashad Khalifa.

– Rashad Khalifa tried to usurp a number of such verses of the Quran by adding gematrical values of his name or his name in parenthesis, and this is one of the many reasons why Rashad Khalifa’s translation is deeply corrupt as it adds elements that are non Quranic to the Holy Word of Allah. In the final analysis, his translation became a tool to serve the agenda of a false messenger and egotistic man, not pure Islam. In addition, his translation is badly written, crippled with numerous mistakes or imprecision, and he even regularly forgot to translate a number of words or expressions.

Here’s a verse that Rashad Khalifa should have meditated before he engaged in manipulating verses of the Quran with baseless numerology and egotistically claiming they referred to him:

(6:93) Who is more unjust than one who fabricates a lie regarding God, and says: “This has been inspired to me,” when nothing has been inspired to him, and one who says: “I will reveal something similar as what was revealed by God”. If only you could see the wrongdoers at the agony of death, while the angels extend their hands: “Release your souls! Today, you have incurred a shameful retribution because you used to say about God other than the truth, and you were arrogant regarding his verses.”

2.4.3 Turning satan – instead of Adam – into the “Khalifa” on earth to come up with artificial multiples of 19 involving his name to try to prove he was a messenger.

– We provided examples that Rashad Khalifa idolized number 19, coming up with insignificant multiples of 19 using a variety of incoherent and inconsistent techniques, which increase very significantly the likelihood of obtaining multiples of 19, rendering them completely meaningless even from a statistical point of view.

– Rashad Khalifa was absolutely right when he said that false messengers cannot possibly worship God alone, as they always provide proof of their own idol worship: It was undoubtedly his case when it comes to number 19, which became his idol, alongside his own ego. This is particularly obvious when, in the latest part of in his life, he probably became the first “scholar” in the history of Islam to surprisingly change the interpretation of verse 2:30, where we see that God appoints Adam as a “Khalifa” (a ruler) on earth, which is the clear interpretation of the verse in the Quranic context as we are going to see. He decreed instead in appendix 2 as well as in his translation that satan was the Khalifa on earth according to the verse.

– The ugly reason why Rashad changed his mind and believed that satan was the Khalifa in 2:30 appears in appendix 2, fact number 4 of his translation:

“(4) The word “Rashad” occurs in 40:29 & 38. The word “Khalifa” occurs in 2:30 and 38:26. The first “Khalifa” refers to a non-human “Khalifa”, namely, Satan, while the second occurrence (Sura 38), refers to a human “Khalifa”. If we add the numbers of suras and verses of “Rashad” (40:29, 39) and “Khalifa” (38:26) we get 40+29+38+38+26 = 171 = 19 × 9.” [End of Quote]

Let us read verse 2:30 and subsequent verses to understand the context:

(2:30) And when your Lord (second person singular, i.e. the lord of Muhammad) said to the angels: “Indeed, I am appointing a Khalifa (meaning literally: “a dynasty of beings destined to rule generation after generation”) on earth”. They (the angels) replied: “Will you appoint therein one who spreads corruption and sheds blood, while we glorify [chanting] your praise and we sanctify you?” He said; “Indeed, I know what you do not know”. (2:31) And He taught Adam the names of all things, then he showed them to the angels. He then said: “Inform Me of the names of these if you are truthful”. (2:32) They replied: “Glory be to you! We have no knowledge except what you taught us. Indeed you are all knowing, all wise.” (2:33) He said” “O Adam, inform them of their names.”And once he informed them of their names, He said: “Didn’t I tell you that, indeed, I know the hidden side of the heavens and the earth, and I know what you disclose and what you conceal?”(2:34) And when We said to the angels: “prostrate before Adam!”, they prostrated, except Iblis. He refused and was arrogant; he was among the disbelievers. (2:35) And We said; “O Adam, dwell you and your spouse in the garden, and eat freely from it wherever you wish, but do not approach this tree, otherwise you will be among the wrongdoers.

– From the above verses, it is impossible for satan to be the Khalifa because 2:34 makes it clear that Iblis (satan) was an angel who was commanded to prostrate before Adam just like all other angels.

Would it make sense for the Khalifa on earth, if it

were Iblis, to be asked to prostrate before Adam?

The very reason why Iblis refused to prostrate is precisely because he was horribly jealous that Adam had been chosen by God to be the Khalifa on earth.

Let us read again the beginning of 2:30:

(2:30) And when your Lord said to the angels (Including Iblis at the time): “Indeed, I am appointing a Khalifa on earth”…

– Rashad Khalifa was initially very disappointed when he could not identify a multiple of 19 associated with suras and verses numbers where the words “rashad” and “khalifa” occur, and he adopted the absurd belief that satan is the Khalifa on earth when he realized that if 2:30 could be interpreted as referring to “a non-human “Khalifa”, it could provide a pretext to adjust 2:30 from the count of suras and verses referring to “Rashad” and “Khalifa”, as he had noticed that by doing so he could secure a seemingly significant multiple of 19, proving that he, Rashad Khalifa PhD, was the Holy Messenger of the Covenant, destined to reveal the miracle of 19 to mankind and purify Islam and the Quran. If it were not for that meaningless multiple of 19, and even though he was misguided, Rashad would otherwise never have come up with such nonsense.

– Rashad Khalifa used here a similar technique as when he realized in 1980 that the count of the word “God” wasn’t 2698 (19 × 142) as he initially thought, but 2699: What a horrible disappointment! He then identified two verses (9:128-129) that he interpreted as doubtful by digging through a pile of hadiths (yes, the same ones he had himself called “satanic innovations”) and found that by deleting them from the Quran, it would restore the precious multiple of 19 he was craving for (the frequency of the word “God” would be “restored” to 2698 = 19 × 142). Similar technique here with the word “Khalifa” in 2:30: Rashad was not the type to get a no for an answer; if he could not get the expected result right from the start, there was no need to worry, all he needed to do was to be creative: “Let’s get a closer look and see what we can adjust to get a multiple of 19, maybe we will get lucky”.

– It is how his ego, as well as his idol (number 19), blinded him to the point of completely ignoring the straightforward context of 2:30, which lured him to believe that Iblis was the real Khalifa on earth.

– Can you imagine for a minute how flattered and proud Rashad Khalifa must have felt when he hypnotized and persuaded himself that the words “Rashad” and “Khalifa” were multiple of 19, consecrating him as the chosen one? His feet probably could not even touch ground. And of course, anyone who would dare to reject that satan is the real Khalifa would do so out of pure disbelief, unable to see how the miracle of 19 divinely elected him in a hidden manner as the messenger of the Covenant.

– It is truly pathetic that someone wanted so badly to be a messenger of God, to the point of idolizing numbers, and manipulating the Quran. I truly hope that people who were fooled by him like I was will now open their eyes and understand what his real agenda was.

Part 3: Rashad unable to understand fundamental rites and aspects of the Quran

3.1 Rashad unable to figure out the correct direction for Salât in the USA

– Rashad Khalifa claimed he was the messenger destined to restore the purity of Islam on earth and guide mankind. It is a huge problem because he used to pray towards southeast in the mosque that he founded in Tucson, Arizona – where he used to live – and which is a direction that he initially determined on a flat map, according to Edip Yuksel who faithfully assisted him for a few years in his research in Tucson, Arizona. When you take into consideration that the earth is round, the only symbolical direction that makes sense is praying towards the shortest direction that leads to Mecca, because we are all commanded to do the pilgrimage to the sacred mosque of Mecca. Traveling to Mecca means we will choose the shortest way. In the US, Muslims pray towards the Northeast because it is the path that a plane would follow if we were to fly directly to Mecca.

– Submitters, many of whom idolize Rashad, claimed after his death that he was right because if we trace a straight line through the earth where he prayed, southeast would be the direction. Someone posted a 30 page document on masjidtucson.org trying to prove what I named the “peek through the earth theory”:

http://www.masjidtucson.org/submission/practices/salat/QiblahSouthEastUSAandCanada.pdf.

By the way, Rashad himself had no idea of such a theory as he had chosen the direction based on a flat map. A very simple way to disprove this ridiculous theory is that it is Abraham who first implemented the ritual of salât and commanded to Muslims to pray towards Mecca wherever they were on earth. For thousands of years, no one would have been able to determine the correct direction to Mecca drawing a straight line through the earth towards Mecca; obviously most people did not even know the earth was round, and even if they did, it would have been impossible for them to figure out such a direction. The only way for them to determine it was to know the shortest way to get to Mecca as if they were going to the pilgrimage, which is the equivalent of drawing an arc following a straight line on the surface of a sphere.

– Following what the submitters accept as true amounts to claiming that Abraham implemented a senseless ritual that no one could have followed correctly for several thousands of years. This is truly ridiculous, and simply proves that Rashad Khalifa is their idol, an idol misguided to the point of not even being able to follow the right “Kiblah”. Even today with all the technology available, most people on various continents would not be able to determine a precise direction towards Mecca based on the “peak through the earth theory”.

3.2 Rashad unable to recite the correct Quranic greeting.

–  The Quran decrees that the correct greeting in Islam is “salamun ‘alaykum” (see for instance 6:54) or “salaam” (11:69), please read the article “The Quranic greeting” on this website for more details. Rashad Khalifa used to say “assalamu alaykum” (with the article “al”) to greet people or finish his prayer, simply because he was influenced by the Sunni society where he grew up. He thus failed to identify such an obvious corruption of the Quran providing one more proof that his teachings were very far from being in phase with the Quran.

3.3 Rashad unable to recite the correct Shahadah in his Salât.

Rashad’s biggest inspiration and contribution was to understand that no one shall be mentioned beside God, not even Muhammad, Abraham, etc… Bearing witness that “There is no other god beside God” is the only true Shahadah (3:18, 37:35, 47:19); What would be the point for Muhammad to say in his prayers other than “I bear witness that there is no other god beside God” as adding his own name would make no sense for him? Why should we pray differently from the prophet? The Sunni Shahadah is never found anywhere in the Quran. Adding Muhammad’s or any other name next to God is idol worship as 39:45 alerts us that only those who have a disease in their hearts feel the need to mention other entities beside Him.

– Bizarrely, the pure Shahadah (I bear witness that there is no other god beside God) did not translate in Rashad’s salât as he used to say: “I bear witness that there is no other god beside God, the One, he has no partner.” He inherited the expression “the One, he has no partner” from corrupted Sunni and Shia Islam because adding “the one, he has no partner” before bearing witness that “Muhammad is the messenger of God” helps them to hide that in reality they are not satisfied when God alone is mentioned (39:45). The expression “the One, he has no partner” never appears in the Quran alongside bearing witness to God’s oneness for a very simple reason: It is a needless repetition, or pleonasm. When you say “There is no other god beside God” it already means by definition that God is One and has no partner. There are never any needless repetitions or pleonasms in the perfect Quran, and it is why Rashad’s Shahadah in his salât was non Quranic.

3.4 Rashad teaching not to recite anything else but sura 1 in Salât: New prohibition?

Rashad invented that only sura 1 should be recited in Salât, creating a prohibition that prevents people from reciting additional Quranic verses. As a result, it is a fact that Submitters never recite anything else but sura 1 in their salât. The very meaning of “salât” is to establish contact with God, and the ideal way to accomplish that is to read, and meditate upon God’s verses during the prayer as recommended for instance in 29:45. Forbidding people to recite suras or verses beside sura 1 is a immense crime that disconnects them from the Quran during the salaat.

3.5 Rashad unable to decipher the four consecutive sacred months of Hajj outlined in sura 9.

A careful reading of the Quran teaches us that the last four consecutive months ending the lunar year are sacred and designed to perform the Hajj pilgrimage:

– 2:97 specifies that several months are decreed in Islam for Hajj (the plural “months” in the verse implies 3 or more by definition) during which fighting is prohibited, and 9:36 points out that there are four of them (“four of them are sacred”).

– 9:2 and 9:4 show that God decreed a truce of four consecutive (sacred) months between the believers and the polytheists because it is forbidden to fight during the months of Hajj. The polytheists could move freely through the land during the truce, included to Mecca to perform Hajj, since 9:28 shows that the disbelievers were not allowed “to approach the Sacred Mosque (of Mecca) after this (final) lunar year”. The word “’Aam” in 9:28 means specifically “Lunar year” in Quranic Arabic, as proven in the article “Solar year/lunar year”, which is no surprise since Hajj is indexed to a pure lunar calendar. This implies it was the last time the polytheists could perform Hajj as non Muslims during the four sacred months, which means that the four month truce ended with Dhul-Hijjah, the last month of the lunar calendar.

– This is clear Quranic evidence that the four months of Hajj are the 9th, 10th 11th 12th months of the lunar calendar, that is to say Ramadan, Shawwal, Dhul-Qi’dah and Dhul-Hijjah.

– This Quranic law has tragically been perverted because the Sunni and Shia world made it a habit that hadiths would supersede the Quran even when they contradict the divine Word of God: A famous hadith (Al Bukhary 2958) states that the four months of Hajj were not even consecutive (!!!) and were instead the 11th, 12th, 1st and 7th months (Dhul-Qi’dah, Dhul-Hijjah, Muharram and Rajab). Such deviance is the real reason why the Muslim world lost the four sacred months decreed by the Quran.

– Rashad Khalifa understood that the months of Hajj were consecutive, departing from the corrupted Sunni belief that they are not, but did not understand that they are the last four months of any given lunar year. He guessed instead that they were the last month of the lunar year and first three of the next (12th, 1st, 2nd, 3rd, see appendix 15). He made that mistake because the name of the first month of the lunar year has been distorted and is currently called “Muharram” (“Forbidden”), meaning that, in Sunni Islam, it is “Forbidden” to fight during such a month because they believe it is one of the four sacred months. Therefore, Rashad failed again to provide a correct outline of Islam based on the Quran alone.

3.6 Rashad promoting the stoning of satan during Hajj: Quran alone or Sunni Islam alone?

All currently practiced Hajj rituals are mentioned directly in the Quran except the stoning of satan: The Quran is fully detailed and this is why the stoning of satan is an addition to the rituals decreed by God. Again, Rashad Khalifa failed to preach Islam based on the Quran alone.

3.7 Claiming Muhammad was not unlettered.

Rashad Khalifa claimed that Muhammad was not illiterate prior to receiving the first revelation (appendix 28) and did make some valid points in his article. He was actually partially right but was also wrong. The Quran does tell us that Muhammad was illiterate when he first received the revelation:

(29:48) You did not recite before it (the Quran) any book (“Kitabeen”: indefinite in Arabic), nor did you write any with your right hand”.

Rashad claims in appendix 28 that 29:48 “relates specifically to previous scriptures” which is not what the original Quranic verse says as the indefinite “kitabeen” is used in the verse: “You did not recite before it any book…”.

Furthermore, a landmark Biblical prophecy (Isaiah 29:10-12) confirms that, indeed, the Quran, which summarizes the entire history of mankind (or “the entire vision”), was going to be revealed to an illiterate man:

(Isaiah 29:10) For the Lord has poured over you a spirit of deep sleep, He has shut your eyes, the prophets, and He has covered your heads, the seers. (29:11) The entire vision will be to you like the words of a sealed book, which when they give it to the one who is literate, saying, “Please read this”, he will say, “I cannot, for it is sealed” (29:12) Then the book will be given to the one who is illiterate, saying “Please read this”, and he will say “I cannot read”.

Neither Jesus, nor any of the prophets after Isaiah qualify as “illiterate”, except for Muhammad. Muhammad did learn to read and write afterwards, since God commanded him to “read” (96:1) and learn how to write with “a pen” (96:4), but he was initially clearly illiterate according to the Quran and the Bible.

3.8 Claiming he delivered a new Quranic Justice system

In appendix 37, in barely one page, Rashad Khalifa claims he delivered a new Quranic justice system. While I will agree with him that the Quran is indeed the law, and that hadiths and sunna are definitely not part of it as they contradict the Quran in many ways, Rashad made, as usual, important mistakes.

Regarding the punishment for theft, he claims that because the sura plus verse number in 5:38 and 12:31 both equal 43, it means that the hand of the thief should not be cut off. He does not give any further justification for number 43, and as usual this is baseless numerology of course. He claims that the hand should be marked instead, referring to verse 12:31. But what if the thief steals a second, and then a third time, should we still mark the hand? Does this make any sense? What if someone, let’s say a Bernard Madoff, steals so much money and ruins so many lives that he will never be able to repair the damage that he has caused. Should we also mark his hand, seize whatever assets he may still have and let him go as a free man? Of course, this does not make any sense and this is not justice.

– The Quran is about establishing peace and there cannot be peace in a society where theft and corruption is widespread.

Rashad Khalifa, just like Sunnis, did not understand the real punishment for theft, why is to pay a fine equivalent to what had been stolen and return what has been stolen (please read the section in the article “hadiths the cancer of Islam” for a summarized explanation of the real punishment for theft. The real sentence is about sending a strong deterrent to the population that if you steal, you will be punished appropriately, that is to say according to the law of equivalence (qisas). In addition, 5:39 says that the thief can be forgiven, as Islam is a religion of forgiveness.

– Islamic law is a system based on equivalence, and only heartless people would cut off the hand of a human being. Rashad understood that, but he did not really understand that Quranic law is based on equivalence in every way, including theft.

– Rashad Khalifa again failed to analyze the Quran correctly because he was influenced by a permissive American society as well as by baseless numerology, and did not analyze the Quran in depth. On the other hand he was absolutely right to say that the punishment for adultery is not stoning to death, as corrupted Sunni and Shia Islam states, but one hundred mild lashes.

– Claiming he delivered a new criminal justice system is false not only based on his mistakes, but because there is so much more to say about Quranic law than what he did in barely one page. Again, he made a ridiculously big claim out of ego, but was utterly incapable to deliver.

3.9 People who die before 40 go to heaven automatically

In appendix 32, and referring to verse 46:15, Rashad claims that people who die before 40 all go to heaven. According to the verse, the age of 40 is indeed the age of responsibility, but it does not mean in any way that if you commit horrendous crimes and die before 40 you will go to heaven. People who read appendix 32 will see that Rashad, as usual, could not resist doing baseless numerology to justify his claim. Rashad cites the example of Theodore Robert Bundy, a serial killer who confessed killing 19 women, pointing at the fact that his name contains 19 letters, and who stayed long enough in jail to be executed after 40, saying that he is a sign from God that people who die over 40 and sinned will go to hell. It is so easy to single out one case and disregard all the others: What would Rashad Khalifa have to say about Jeffrey Dahmer, the famous serial killer who was homosexual and savagely killed and even ate his victims and died at 34? Is he going to go straight to heaven as well? This is one example among thousands in the history of mankind, and it shows that what Rashad said simply does not make sense.

Part 4: Ego Worship

4.1 Rashad’s Quran translation: “Authorized” by whom?

– Rashad Khalifa said that his translation was an “Authorized English Version”.

What in the world does it mean? Does it mean authorized by some kind of committee of scholars? Obviously, there was no such committee. Does it mean authorized by himself? I would be tempted to say yes, but it is not what he meant. It simply means that Rashad Khalifa thought that his translation was “authorized” by God Himself, as he believed that, being the messenger of the Covenant, he was receiving divine inspiration doing his translation.

– In addition to misguiding himself, he brainwashed his followers by grossly misrepresenting the value of his translation to make sure that people would become dependent on it. A good number of Submitters, up to this day, believe that it is a perfect translation “authorized by God” and do not read any other translation. In Quran studies, everyone brings his own copy of Rashad’s translation; his rendering of the Quran is the only way for them to interpret and understand the Quran. This is how his flawed translation becomes their prison.

– In reality, it is very poorly written, as Rashad was not a native English speaker and his English was very average. It is full of translation errors and inaccuracies (we are going to show a few examples), and its main purpose turned out not to preach Islam based on the Quran alone as he claimed, but to try to prove his messengership by manipulating the Quran.

– Rashad purposely manipulated his followers to rely solely on his translation to avoid having to deal with people questioning it all the time, and to make sure they would embrace the idea that he was the messenger of the covenant as well as his beliefs, detailed in the appendix and throughout the text. It is the same type of technique that cults use: They disconnect you from your family, friends and from society in general, to make sure that no one will convince you that you are following a wrong message. In Rashad’s case, he made sure that his followers would rely solely on his translation, to prevent them from having access to the original Arabic Quran or more accurate translations that would expose his egotistic agenda.

– His translation, despite a few qualities (it is very simple to read), is overall a very bad translation and very dangerous for someone who is not aware of the hidden agenda behind it.

Examples of translation inaccuracies or errors:

1. Inaccuracies

Rashad Khalifa:

(2:125) We have rendered the shrine (the Ka`aba) a focal point for the people, and a safe sanctuary. You may use Abraham’s shrine as a prayer house. We commissioned Abraham and Ismail: “You shall purify My house for those who visit, those who live there, and those who bow and prostrate.” (Rashad’s translation)

A more accurate translation would be:

(2:125) We have designated The [sacred] House (the Ka`aba) as a place for mankind to assemble, and a safe sanctuary. You shall take the location where Abraham [once] stood as a place of prayer. And We made the following covenant with Abraham and Ismail: “you shall (dual form) purify My house for those who perform the Tawaf, make a [pious] retreat, and those who bow and prostrate.”

– Rashad translated the word “LiTta’ifina” as “for those who visit” when the word implies in this particular context the sacred ritual of “tawaf” where people circle the Kaaba (I translated the word as “for those who perform the Tawaf”). Lots of translations concur with the above personal translation. When you read Rashad’s translation you cannot possibly know that the crucial ritual of tawaf is actually detailed in the Quran. It is a big deal when you believe that the Quran is fully detailed because it could make some people doubt that the tawaf is actually part of the ritual of Hajj. Rashad made the very same enormous error translating 22:26.

2. Missing words

فَإِذَا نَزَلَ بِسَاحَتِهِمْ فَسَاءَ صَبَاحُ الْمُنذَرِينَ

(37:177) When it hits them one day, it will be a miserable day; they have been sufficiently warned. (Rashad’s translation)

(37:177) But when it strikes their territory, it will then be a miserable morning for those who had been warned. (Personal translation)

– When you read Rashad’s translation, you would think the word “day” occurs twice: The word does not actually occur even once in the verse. The word “Bisahatihim” (in their territory) was also completely disregarded by Rashad.

– What Rashad translated by “it will be a miserable day” actually means literally “it will then be a miserable morning”. Is it so difficult to translate the word “sabâh” by what it means, that is to say “morning”? The Quran is very precise and tells us that a particular disaster happened in the “morning” not just during the “day”. This is one verse among many that shows that Rashad’s translation is often extremely inaccurate, and that many words are often either not translated at all or mistranslated.

3. Errors of translation

وَلَقَدْ آتَيْنَاكَ سَبْعًا مِّنَ الْمَثَانِي وَالْقُرْآنَ الْعَظِيمَ

(15:87) We have given you the seven pairs, and the great Quran. (Rashad’s translation)

(15:87) We have given you the seven [verses of sura 1] [recited] in sets of two (during the salaat) and the sublime Quran. (Personal translation).

– Rashad interpreted “Sab’an minalmathâni” (سَبْعًا مِّنَ الْمَثَانِي) as “the seven pairs”, because he thought that it referred to the 14 arrangements (7×2) of Quranic initials that preface 29 suras.

– The expression “Sab’an minalmathâni” actually refers to the seven verses of sura 1, Al Fatiha, which we recite in sets of two or “pairs” throughout the day in the salât, and on other occasions (marriage, burial ceremony, etc…). It is very easy to understand that Rashad’s interpretation is completely wrong because the arrangements of Quranic initials are not “pairs” nor cannot possibly be grouped in “7×2” types of sets of initials. They are sets of initials that are often radically different (A.L.M, A.L.R, T.H, K.H.Y.A.S, Y.S, S, Q …), some sets of letters are mentioned several times (A.L.M, TH…), and some are mentioned only once (K.H.Y.A.S, Y.S, S, Q etc…). Therefore, they cannot possibly be called “pairs”; calling them the “14 arrangements of letters” is a much more accurate description of what they are.

– We will stop here because citing errors and omissions of words in Rashad’s translation would take an entire book, and we have better things to do.

– Calling Rashad’s translation “authorized”, which he and his followers understand as “authorized by God” is pure idol worship. There is only one person who “authorized” Rashad’s translation, and it is himself, out of ego and misguidance. Do yourself a favor: Do not read or buy Rashad’s translation. There are plenty of better English translations on the market, for example Muhammad Asad’s, Malik, etc…

4.2 The three messengers of Islam (Appendix 26)

– In appendix 26, Rashad Khalifa lined up nonsensical calculations meant to prove that there are “three messengers of Islam”. This is obviously false, firstly because the Quran forbids us to make any distinction or difference among messengers (2:285, 4:152, …), and secondly because all messengers are “messengers of Islam” by definition.

– Rashad mainly said that by adding the gematrical value of Abraham (258) + Muhammad (92) + Rashad (505), we get 855 = 19 × 45.

– Adding the gematrical value of hundreds of pop stars and movie stars to the gematrical values of Abraham and Muhammad would also generate a multiple a 19. So what is the point?

He also says:

“[1] Abraham was the original messenger of Islam (22:78), [2] Muhammad was the scripture delivering messenger, [3] and Rashad is the purifying and consolidating messenger who delivered the religion’s authenticating proof (3:81, & appendix 2).”

– [1] Rashad needs to learn that the original messenger of Islam is Adam, not Abraham; Noah was also another key messenger of Islam before him; Abraham did pass down to us the rituals that we practice today, but he cannot be called “the original messenger of Islam”;

– [2] Since a number of messengers delivered God’s revelations (Moses, Jesus…), it does not make any sense to claim that Muhammad was “the scripture delivering messenger”; he simply happened to deliver the final one, and [3] Rashad has no business to be cited in the company of such saints and authentic messengers, as he idolized himself and number 19, and therefore was incapable of preaching a pure monotheistic message.

– Rashad felt extremely flattered to put his name alongside Abraham and Muhammad: Generating multiples of 19 through nonsensical additions using a variety of meaningless methods to increase the odds of getting multiples of 19 is not what makes you a messenger of God; it is the purity and veracity of the message that you preach, and Rashad miserably failed in that area.

4.2 Messenger of the Covenant, Messiah, Christ, Mahdi, or impersonator?

5 months before his tragic death, in September 1989, Rashad proclaimed the following at the end of page 2 of the monthly newsletter “Submission perspective”:

Through Gabriel: I was commanded to make this announcement:

AFTER I DIE MILLIONS OF BELIEVERS WILL KNOW That I represent the Messiah the Jews have been waiting for, the Christ Christians have been expecting, the Mehdi the Muslims have been praying for… I am God’s Messenger of the Covenant [Malachi 3:1-8, Quran 3:81]

This extraordinary announcement came right after an article rejecting verses 9:128-129.

Let’s read very carefully what Rashad says: He claimed that the angel Gabriel commanded him to announce that [1] he represented the messiah expected by the Jews, [2] the Christ that Christians had been waiting for, [3] the Mehdi Muslims had been praying for.

This does not make any sense for several reasons:

[1] The Messiah the Jews have been waiting for was Jesus, and they rejected him. They also were expecting Muhammad, and rejected him as well. Rashad has nothing to do with the prophecy of the Messiah or Muhammad.

[2] The Christ that Christians have been waiting for has already come, and it was… Jesus Christ, not Rashad Khalifa. The second coming of Christ will be on the day of Judgment, again, it has strictly nothing to do with Rashad.

[3] The prophecy of the Mahdi is mentioned only in baseless hadiths, the same that Rashad called “satanic innovations”. It has no Quranic basis as the word “Mahdi” does not even exist in the Quran. It is therefore a false prophecy, period end of story.

– Most of all, the announcement made by Rashad shows how big his ego was, trying to hijack whatever prophecy or belief might resonate among Jews, Christians and Muslims. He wants us to believe that he “represents” three different entities, two of whom have already come (the messiah, the Christ) and one who does not even exist (the Mahdi)!

Would Gabriel command someone to proclaim that he “represents” prophets that have already come (Jesus, Muhammad) or someone who does not even exist (the Mahdi)?

In other words, Rashad was either lying or hallucinating. Gabriel would never ask people to believe in a lie. Rashad tried to hijack two prophets (Jesus, Muhammad) and one folkloric entity (the Mahdi), and you cannot have it both ways anyway.

Many years after Rashad’s death, where are the millions of believers “who will know” that Rashad Khalifa “represented” the Messiah, the Christ and Mahdi that mankind had eagerly been waiting for? Actually almost no one cares about the claims of a false messenger that do not connect with the reality of the Bible and the Quran and whose legacy is mostly a failed legacy. The claims of Rashad Khalifa have had a limited success almost solely among Muslims, mainly because he was right on target when he said that we should reject hadiths and follow the Quran alone, which is indeed the pure message of Islam. When you look at the facts, he unfortunately failed to actually reach that goal because he starting idolizing himself as well as numbers and had a very limited understanding of the Quran.

Part 5: False Prophecy = False Messenger

5.1 The Quranic initials

The reason why we are studying the claim Rashad Khalifa made regarding a 19 based system in suras containing initials is not only because we are going to prove that it is at least mostly false, but also because such a study will allow us in to easily expose his prophecy of the end of the world in section 5.2.

The study of the Quranic initials in the 29 initialed suras is what led Rashad Khalifa to think there was a 19 based pattern in such suras. Let us study to what extent it is true.

Remark: You have to know that every time Rashad counted initialed letters in initialed suras, he included the 19 letter unnumbered “Bismillahs”.

1. A.L.M (الم).: Suras 2,3,7,13,29,30,31,32.

2. A.L.M.S. (المص): Sura 7

3. A.L.R. (الر): Suras 10,11,12,13,14,15.

4. A.L.M.R. (المر): Sura 13

5. K.H.Y.A.S. (كهيعص): Sura 19,

6. T.H. (طه): Sura 20

7. T.S.M. (طسم): Suras 26,28

8. T.S. (طس): Sura 27

9. Y.S. (يس): Sura 36

10. S. (ص): Sura 38

11. H.M. (حم): Suras 40,41,42,43,44,45,46

12. ‘A.S.Q. (عسق): Sura 42

13. Q. (ق): Suras 42, 50

14. N. (ن): Sura 68

– Rashad Khalifa claimed that all initial letters that are found in 29 suras of the Quran are coded with number 19. Let us comment the count of initials in the suras where they are found, as conducted by Rashad Khalifa in appendix 1 of his translation:

5.1.1 Letter “N” (ن) in sura 68

– Rashad Khalifa failed to come up with a count that was multiple of 19 in sura 68. Using the same technique as when he removed two verses from the Quran, he adjusted the count for the initial in sura 68 by claiming that the letter “Noon” (ن = N = One Quranic initial) found in Qurans all over the world should be spelled “Noon Wow Noon” (نون = NWN = 3 Quranic initials) saying that it was how it was in the original of the Quran. Rashad Khalifa never provided any old or recent Quran to support such a claim. There is actually no old Quran that has ever spelled “Noon” with three letters (نون). Therefore the count for the letter “N” in sura 68 is 132, not a multiple of 19.

One simple way to see that his claim was just another manipulation of the word of God is that one very consistent feature of the Quranic initials is that no letter is ever repeated twice in a particular set of letters. So if sura 68 were “NWN”, there would be two letters “N”, which would be completely departing from that very consistent rule.

– But, let us assume for a moment that Rashad Khalifa was actually right and that there is not one (letter N), but three initials (NWN) prefacing sura 68 as he claims: There would then be 133 letters “N” (19 × 7) and 96 letters “W” (و): The total frequency of initial letters would therefore be 133 N + 96 W = 229, NOT a multiple of 19.

Bottom line: Even by cheating, lying and tampering with the Holy Quran, Rashad Khalifa miserably failed to come up with a frequency of initials multiple of 19.

The “Now you see it, now you don’t” technique:

Rashad Khalifa did not say a word about the letter “W” (و) that he added together with the letter ‘N”, and chose to focus solely on the initial “N” (ن): Let us just pretend it is not there, people are stupid and they won’t even notice. Again, you cannot have you cake and eat it too, and if Rashad adds two letters (W + N) to the letter “N”, all three letters become “Quranic initials” and not just the two letters “N”. It is a fact, and it shows the kind of treachery that Rashad was capable of. He basically behaved like an illusionist who makes you focus your attention on one hand while the other one is hiding something: “Now you see it, now you don’t”! But sorry, the trick is so obvious that you have to be an idiot to buy it.

5.1.2 Letter S (ص)

Rashad said that the letter “saad” (ص) is found in 3 suras (7, 19, 38) and that the total count in the three suras in 152 = 19 × 8. This is true; but Rashad “forgets” to say that the letter “saad” occurs as a single Quranic initial only in sura 38, and is combined with other Quranic initials in suras 7 (المص) and sura 19 (كهيعص).

– What I mean by that is that “Saad” which occurs by itself in sura 38, occurs only 29 times in the sura, and is not a multiple of 19. We will see later that Rashad, as usual, uses several methods of counting, and chooses to focus solely on results that are multiple of 19, while conveniently “forgetting” results that are not, using the very same methods that occasionally do provide multiples of 19. This is profoundly dishonest and totally unscientific.

5.1.3 Sura 36: Letters Y.S. (يس)

In sura 36, the initials occur 237 (Y) + 48 (S) times = 285 = 19 × 15.

– Great, but Rashad does not tell you that using strictly the same method as for the letter “Saad” studied in the previous section, if we count all letters “Ya” used as initials in suras 19 and 36, we get 343 (sura 19) + 237 (sura 36) = 580, NOT a multiple of 19. So on which foot are we dancing here Mr. Khalifa? On both at the same time whenever one technique provides a multiple of 19?

– Furthermore, the letter “seen” occurs in suras 26 (94), 27 (94), 28 (102), 36 (48), 42 (54), and 94+94+102+48+54 = 392, NOT a multiple of 19.

– If we decide to combine all occurrences of the initials “Ya” and “Seen” in all suras where they occur – which could be a logical approach – we get 580 (Ya) + 392 (Seen) = 972, NOT a multiple of 19.

So which method does Rashad Khalifa use? One and the same method that provides statistically miraculous results, or several methods that increase the likelihood to get multiple of 19, and he only retains the ones that are multiples of 19, while hiding all the failed attempts? Unfortunately, we have proven so far that Rashad is hiding the results that are not multiple of 19.

5.1.4 H.M. (حم): Suras 40, 41, 42, 43, 44, 45, 46

Rashad said that counting all letters “H” and “M” in all 7 “HM” initialed suras, we get 2147 = 19 × 113.

This is true. But Rashad did not use the same method as for the letter “Saad” where he combined all suras where the letter “saad” occurs, otherwise, he would not have come up with a multiple of 19. For example he discarded many initialed suras where the letter “M” occurs in combination with other letters:

A.L.M (الم).: Suras 2,3,29,30,31,32.

A.L.M.S. (المص): Sura 7

A.L.M.R. (المر): Sura 13

T.S.M. (طسم): Suras 26,28

– Again, his count for the initials “HM” is not consistent with the method he used for the letter “Saad”, where he chose to count all letters “Saad” wherever they are found, and whether they are combined with other letters or not.

– Furthermore, in sura 42 we find a second set of initials (’A.S.Q. = عسق) in verse 2, in addition to “HM” in verse 1. It is interesting that the frequency of the three letters ’A.S.Q. is multiple of 19:

98 (‘A) + 54 (S) + 57 (Q) = 209 = 19 × 11.

– It is also interesting that the letter “H” and “M” occur respectively 53 times and 300 times in sura 42, therefore 53 + 300 = 353, not a multiple of 19. Therefore the frequency of all initials (HM, ‘ASQ) in sura 42 is 209 + 353 = 562, not a multiple of 19, and counting all initials “HM, ‘ASQ” in all suras where one initial at least occur, it does not provide a multiple of 19 either.

5.1.5 K.H.Y.A.S. (كهيعص): Sura 19

The frequency of all five initials in sura 19 is 137 (K) + 175 (H) + 343 (Y) + 117 (‘A) + 26 (S) = 798 = 19 × 42. This would not be the case if we counted all occurrences of the five initials in all initialed suras.

5.1.6 T.H. (طه): Sura 20

In sura 20, the initial letters “T” and “H” occur respectively 28 + 251 = 279, not a multiple of 19.

5.1.7 T.S.M. (طسم): Suras 26,28

In suras 26 and 28, the initials “T.S.M.” occur respectively 52 (T) + 196 (S) + 944 (M) = 1192 times, not a multiple of 19.

5.1.8 T.S. (طس): Sura 27

In sura 27, the initials occur 27 (T) + 94 (S) = 121 times, not a multiple of 19.

If we try to combine the initials “TS” only, which are the common denominator of suras 26, 27, 28, we get a total of 389 letters “TS”, not a multiple of 19.

Rashad Khalifa, because he had failed to identify any 19 based pattern regarding (1) the initials “T.H.”, (2) “T.S.M.”, and (3) “T.S.” resorted, as usual, to more advanced manipulation and made the following comment in appendix 1 regarding a group of initials that he completely made up out of thin air and called the “H., T.H., T.S. & T.S.M.” group !!!:

“An intricate interlocking relationship links these overlapping Quranic Initials to produce a total that is also a multiple of 19. The initial “H.” is found in suras 19 and 20. The initials “T.H.” prefix sura 20. The initials “T.S.” are found in sura 27, while the initials “T.S.M.” prefix its surrounding suras 26 & 28.” (Rashad Khalifa, appendix 1).

Rashad tries to convince himself and the reader that there is some type of “intricate interlocking relationship” between suras 19, 20, 26, 27, 28, this is a very vague expression that sounds very scientific but means absolutely nothing from a logical standpoint. The manipulation is obvious and linking those suras and initials makes no sense.

In reality, Rashad Khalifa found himself in a complete dead-end regarding those 5 suras where it is clear that there is no way to generate any multiples of 19, even resorting to all the various unscientific techniques that he typically uses to attempt to fool people; but as usual, he never took no for an answer and resorted to more manipulation by persuading himself and his gullible followers that there was some kind of “intricate” relationship when there was “bleeping nothing”.

Again, he changed arbitrarily the rule according to which initials should be counted in suras with the same initials (as shown above in points 6, 7, 8) because he did not get the results he was expecting. The so called suras he claims hide an “intricate interlocking relationship” (19, 20, 26, 27, 28) are not even contiguous and have no common denominator regarding initials; he decided to pick the initial “H” out of five initials in sura 19 (!?) to start his alleged “intricate interlocking system” with sura 20, then switching to other initials for suras 26, 27, 28: Again, it has no logic, no meaning and no scientific merit whatsoever.

Any sound mind would have admitted here that there was no 19 based pattern, but he wanted so badly to see what was not there that he invented the most ridiculous way to count, literally out of thin air.

5.1.9 Initials A.L.M., A.L.M.S., A.L.M.R. and A.L.R.

These initials are found in suras 2,3,7, 10,11,12,13,14,15,29,30,31,32, and even submission.org acknowledged that Rashad Khalifa’s count for these letters were inaccurate, therefore the results we see in appendix 1 today are utterly false. Submission.org made a desperate attempt to update and reconcile the data regarding these groups of initials and they claim they identified a 19 based pattern. At the end of the day, they included the letter “Hamza” (ء) as being part of the “Alif” (ا) count, but it is a fact that the letter “Hamza” did not even exist in the original Arabic Quran. It is therefore conjecture, guessing, and anyway, does not solve the issue of several other suras like 20, 26, 27, 28 or 68 and others where it is proven that there is no 19 based pattern.

Conclusion regarding the Quranic initials: It is clear that there is no proven 19 based pattern in at least (to remain conservative) 18 out of 29 initialed suras. Rashad Khalifa’s theory and claim that all Quranic initials are based on number 19 is nothing but a gigantic fiasco. Eventually, truth always defeats falsehood, and Rashad Khalifa failed to explain the mystery of Quranic initials in the Quran. He may have explained the meaning of the letter “Q”, possibly standing for “Quran”, and which frequency occurs 114 times (19 × 6) in suras 42 and 50, possibly reflecting the number of suras in the Quran, but that is pretty much it. All the rest is a combination of inaccurate letter counts (for example letters “Alif” and “Mim”), using different methods of counting to generate multiples of 19 artificially, which is completely unscientific. What he did with the letter “NWN” in sura 68 adding to imaginary letters is also pure manipulation as usual, without any historical basis to back his claim, and which does not hold water anyway because assuming there were three initials in sura 68, the count of letters “NWN” does not generate a multiple of 19 anyway as we demonstrated, Rashad conveniently focusing only on the letter “N”, while “forgetting” the letter “W” as if it did not exist!

5.2 Prophesying the End of the world: Numbers do not add up

In appendix 26, Rashad Khalifa prophesized the end of the world, relying on the false assumption that the “seven pairs” in 15:87 refer to the 14 sets of Quranic initials (without repeat) mentioned in the Quran, when it refers in reality to the “seven [verses of sura 1 recited] in sets of two” in the salât. We saw earlier that what Rashad believes to be the “seven pairs” cannot be true because the 14 different sets of Quranic initials used in the Quran do not correspond in any way to the definition of “pairs”.

Rashad Khalifa said the following in appendix 26:

“The gematrical values of “The Seven Pairs” of Quranic Initials total 1709 (see also Table 1 of Appendix 1). According to 15:87, the world will survive for 1709 lunar years from the time this prophecy is stated in the Quran. This means that the world will end in the year 1710 AH. This number is a multiple of 19; 1710 = 19 × 90. The unveiling of this information took place in the year 1400 AH, 309 years before the prophesied end of the world (1709-1400=309). The number 309 is a Quranic number (18:25), and is connected with the end of the world (18:21). The peculiar way of writing 309 in 18:25, “Three hundred years, increased by nine,” indicates that the 309 are lunar years. The difference between 300 solar years and 300 lunar years is 9 years. The year of this discovery, 1400 AH, coincided with 1980 AD, and 1980 plus 300 solar years is 2280, also a multiple of 19, 19 × 120. Thus the world ends in 1710 AH, 19 × 90, which coincides with 2280 AD, 19 × 120. For the disbelievers who do not accept these powerful Quranic proofs, the end of the world will come suddenly (6:31, 44, 47; 7:95, 187; 12:107; 21:40, 22:55; 26:202; 29:53; 39:55; 43:66; and 47:18).”

As usual, Rashad Khalifa sees number 19 everywhere – even when it is not there – and even though lunar year 1709 (gematrical value of the 14 types of sets of Quranic initials) is not multiple of 19 (it is a prime number). As always, he could not resist and had to adjust and manipulate and said that it means that the “world will survive for 1709 lunar years from the time this prophecy is stated in the Quran”, claiming that “the world will end in the year 1710 AH” (19 × 90). Bravo, now we have a multiple of 19! He then noticed that 1710AD coincides with 2280 AD (19 × 120), and voilà: Here is his alleged incontrovertible proof that the world will end on that date. Of course, according to him, those “who do not accept these powerful Quranic proofs” are “disbelievers”, meaning that Rashad claims that they will go to hell for not accepting such a mind blowing proof, which is in reality pure manipulation and numerology.

As we pointed out, numbers do not add up, and sorry 1709 IS NOT a multiple of 19. Furthermore, Rashad Khalifa disclosed in appendix 26 how he came up with the idea that the end of the world was coded in the Quranic initials: It is not through the Quran, or the angel Gabriel, or because God spoke to him directly, but pure guessing derived from a hadith!:

The Jews of Medina went to the Prophet and said, “Your Quran is initialed with A.L.M., and these Initials determine the life span of your religion. Since `A’ is 1, `L’ is 30, and `M’ is 40, this means that your religion will survive only 71 years.” Muhammad said, “We also have A.L.M.S.” They said, “The `A’ is 1, the `L’ is 30, the `M’ is 40, and the `S’ is 90. This adds up to 161. Do you have anything else?” The Prophet said, “Yes, A.L.M.R.” They said, “This is longer and heavier; the `A’ is 1, `L’ is 30, `M’ is 40, and `R’ is 200, making the total 271.” They finally gave up, saying, “We do not know how many of these Initials he was given!” [Al-Suyuty’s Famous Reference ITQAAN]

Of course Rashad tried to defend himself and claimed that “while Hadith is forbidden as a source of religious teachings (Appendix 19), it can be a useful source of history”, but in reality he teaches us and derives the date of the end of the world solely from a baseless hadith, which are all forbidden in the Quran (see 45:6 and the article “Hadiths the cancer of Islam” on this website). Rashad tried to scare and bully people by saying that if they reject what he calls “Quranic facts” (really?!) regarding the end of the world, they will be “disbelievers”;.

I will ask one question to people who still believe Rashad’s prophecy regarding the end of the world: Show me specifically what Rashad calls the “Quranic facts” in question? Because there is absolutely NOTHING in the entire Quran that corroborates Rashad’s “hadiths inspired hallucinations” regarding the end of the world.

This is another blatant proof that Rashad claimed he was following the Quran alone, but was utterly incapable of doing so when you take a straight look at the facts.

All along the history of mankind, Hundreds – and more probably thousands – of people have tried to prophesize the end of the world, and like Rashad, miserably failed, relying purely on conjecture.

Both the Bible and the Quran, God’s revealed Holy Scriptures, warn the human race that no one can prophesize the end of the world:

Matthew 24:36: “No one knows when that day or hour will come. Not even the angels in heaven, but only the Father.”

(33:63) People ask you [O Muhammad] about the hour (the end of the world). Proclaim!: “Its knowledge rests exclusively (إِنَّمَا = innamâ = exclusive particle) with God!” And what will make you know? It may be that the hour is near.

Rashad mistranslated 20:15 to claim that the hour was “almost hidden”, speculating it was a hint it would be revealed to someone:

(20:15) “The Hour (end of the world) is surely coming; I will keep it almost hidden, for each soul must be paid for its works.” (Translation: Rashad Khalifa)

A much more correct translation on the contrary sates:

(20:15) “Behold, [although] I have willed to keep it hidden; the Last Hour is bound to come, so that every human being may be recompensed in accordance with what he strove for [in life]. (translation Muhammad Asad)

The Arabic imperfect verb “Akada” means in this context “I have willed” or “I have intended/wished” and not “ I have almost” or “I was on the verge of” as is often (mis)translated, and not just by Rashad. The verb “Kâda” means for example “to be about to”, “to wish”, “to intend”, and the clear Quranic context of 33:63 prevails and enlightens us concerning the real meaning of 20:15, as it shuts the door to any successful prophecy regarding the end of the world, except through pure conjecture.

One of the traits of true believers is that they will never even come close to trying to guess the date of the end of the world as they submit totally to God who decreed that He alone has the knowledge thereof. Those who do try are transgressors, like Rashad Khalifa. 

All along the history of mankind, and despite God’s clear warnings, false messengers and prophets have repeatedly transgressed against the Word of God Prophecizing the End of the World. The idea that one may be the chosen one to prophesize the End of the World may be thrilling for people with the wrong mindset, and Rashad was so proud that he thought he had been blessed to figure it out. He simply ended up adding his name to the very long list of false prophets who unsuccessfully prophesized it: False prophecy = False prophet, by definition, even though Rashad played on words as he only claimed to be a messenger.

5.3 Rashad Guessing the year of the Prophecy of the Smoke

Rashad Khalifa also tried to guess the prophecy of the smoke. He said:

* A massive asteroid will hit somewhere in the Middle East.

* The resulting heat will burn living organisms within a 100 mile radius.

* Total devastation will envelope the Arab world, main opponents of God, His miracle, and His Messenger of the Covenant (3:81, 9:97, 33:7)

* The Quranic prophecy in 44:10-15 will come to pass: A giant dust cloud will envelope the whole world and obscure the sun for a few months.

* In fulfillment of 17:92, the Arabs will mock and ridicule this prophecy.

* When will this happen? I do not know when; but I have a strong feeling that this will take place before the end of 1990. Only God knows the exact time.

The prophecy of the smoke is a well known and authentic prophecy of the Quran that has not yet been fulfilled. Rashad Khalifa could not resist and took a wild guess prophesying that “he had a strong feeling” it would happen “before the end of 1990”. He did not have the courage to make a firm commitment just in case it would not happen. Rashad Khalifa was murdered before his prophecy… did not come to pass. Not too impressive for the alleged and self proclaimed “Messenger of the Covenant”.

When Rashad was murdered in January 1990, some Submitters in Tucson, Arizona, who idolized him ridiculed themselves further by Prophesizing May 19, 1990 as the date for the prophecy of the smoke, which they visibly thought was going to happen “before the end of 1990”, as a divine retribution for the assassination of the so called “messenger of the Covenant”. One of the leaders of that false prophecy – whose name I will decline to mention as I do not want to hurt anyone – did not take the lesson, and later claimed to be a messenger of God and made countless additional false prophecies relying on baseless numerology afterwards. I happened to be in his group for a few months in 2003-2004 as a young, naïve and inexperienced “Submitter” and almost everyone in the group – including myself – believed at one point that we were messengers and/or made false prophecies. I left those crazy people, repented to God, and took a very hard lesson. Some of those false messengers have maintained to this day their claims of messengership, which tells a lot about how egotistic and astray they are, and are ready to prey over gullible people.

– It took me another 8 years to figure out for good that Rashad was an impostor, even though I have been very conscious for many years that many of his beliefs were definitely not in phase with the Quran. I pray this article will prevent more people to be misled by Rashad Khalifa and that it will help those who happened to believe his claims to leave what is nothing but a cult. Beware of the many self-proclaimed messengers who have regularly surfaced since he died – most believing in Rashad’s messengership – and who followed his foolish example by succumbing to their big egos. I have personally heard of about 30 false messengers since Rashad died. They all had in common with him the fact that they are completely astray, and I hope that, whoever they are, they will repent publicly before it is too late for them. I strongly urge people not to waste any time or energy with such people.

6. Rashad Khalifa’s death coded with number 19

We extensively showed that Rashad Khalifa desperately and unsuccessfully tried to prove that his “messengership” was coded with number 19 in the Quran in the last years of his life.

The sign of 19 in the Quran in sura 74 is both a positive sign as it is a true miracle that will strengthen the faith of the believers and people of the book once correctly identified and interpreted, and a negative one as 19 also reflects the number of angels that will guard disbelievers in hell.

Despite the fact that his interpretation was wrong, Rashad Khalifa initially had a brilliant idea to try to interpret the Quranic initials and their respective suras as an independent subgroup coded mathematically, as it happens to be the case with other subgroups of the Quran like verses where the 365 words “day” or 30 words “days” occur.

In 1992, one person who viewed Rashad as a messenger of God pointed out that Rashad’s death seems to point at Sura 19, first verse and last verse: Sura 19 is an initialed sura, and contains 5 Quranic initials (the largest set of Quranic initials in the Quran). Such initials occur 798 times in sura 19 (including the unnumbered “Bismillah”), and 798 = 19 × 42.

Rashad Khalifa, who is the first historically to try to interpret the sign of 19 as a mathematical miracle studying the Quranic initials, was Born in Egypt on the 19^th of November 1935 and died on the 31^st of January 1990: He spent very exactly 19798 days on earth (both dates inclusive), and 19798 = 19 × 1042.

It is easy to verify this fact for yourself, for instance at the following website: http://www.timeanddate.com/date/duration.html (don’t forget to click on “Include end date in calculation” so both start date and end date are taken into account).

This is in my opinion the first sign to meditate regarding Rashad’s life.

The following is in my opinion equally important:

Rashad Khalifa died on 31/01/1990 and number 31011990 is – incredibly – both divisible by number 19 and 1230, the gematrical value of “Rashad Khalifa” (!):

31/01/1990: 31011990 = 19 × 1230 × 1327.

Furthermore, if we consider the initialed suras subgroup – from which Rashad derived his 19 based theory – verse 19:1 (the initials “K.H,Y.A.S.”) is the 1230^th verse of the Quran in such initialed suras, and the last verse of sura 19 is the 1327^th verse !

Given the fact that Rashad Khalifa was assassinated on 31/01/1990 (31011990 = 19 × 1230 x 1327), is it just an amazing coincidence or a sign from God Almighty?

Despite what I consider catastrophic sins, I completely condemn the assassination of Rashad Khalifa, conducted by one or more terrorists close to Al Qaida and I thank God that one assassin was arrested and sentenced to life in prison (honestly the killer deserved death, but where is justice in America?). I fear that, because of his sins, God ceased to protect Rashad despite some positive aspects in his preaching, which made him vulnerable to the worst type of Islamic extremism and obscurantism, namely terrorism.

The two signs I pointed at (19798 days spent on earth = 19 × 1042, and the date of his assassination: 31011990 = 19 × 1230 × 1327) are in my opinion both a gigantic sign from God that Rashad was indeed destined to discover the miracle of 19, which no one can ever take away from him, but also a divine lesson that if you conspire against the Quran (trying to delete verses 9:128-129) and make false claims of messengership, the very nature of your claims (in this case number “19”) eventually backfires at you.

Conclusion

Rashad Khalifa grossly misinterpreted the sign of number 19 in the Quran: He came to the point of seeing number 19 everywhere and believing that every aspect of the Quran was coded with it.

– He devised a well-crafted scheme regarding the four words of the Bismillah and the Quranic initials by claiming two authentic verses (9:128-129) were false, to force numbers to add up, and by using inconsistent methods to count words, as well as the Quranic initials to make it seem that all sets of initials were coded with 19, when they are not. 

– He tried to mislead people by claiming that it was a satanic plot to call Muhammad “raheem” (“merciful”, as seen in 9:128) when the Quran states unequivocally in 48:29 that even simple believers are “raheem” among each other.

– Rashad never hesitated to adjust whatever he could when his theory failed, like adding two initials in sura 68 (“N” and a “W”) without any historical proof to back his claim, to make it seem that the initial “N” is multiple of 19, while conveniently “forgetting” to count the letter “W” because doing so would have been admitting that his entire theory was incorrect.

– He claimed he purified the Quran, and he did in reality the exact opposite as he is the one who tried to modify it, blinded by his interpretation of the number 19.

– Rashad was guided early in his career preaching Islam based on the Quran alone and rejected Hadiths and Sunna. He unfortunately misinterpreted the prophecy of the messenger of the Covenant (3:81) which we proved relates to the several key messengers mentioned in 33:7, and especially to Muhammad who was sent with the Quran which – as pointed out in 3:81 – “confirms” by essence all existing scriptures as it summarizes and validates them, as underlined by 2:89, 2:101 and 6:92.

– The Quran never said that number 19 is “the common denominator of the Quran”, as claimed by Rashad, and therefore it cannot possibly be what “confirms” the Quran.

– Rashad was so right when he said that false messengers and prophets are incapable of preaching a pure monotheistic message: He idolized number 19, and it led him as far as deleting two verses from his own copy of the Quran to accommodate his idol.

– He claimed that he purified Islam but grossly misunderstood key aspects of the Islamic ritual:

– Surprisingly, he could not even recite the pure Quranic Shahadah referred to in the Quran (3:18, 37:35, 47:19) in his daily prayers (I bear witness that there is no other god beside God) adding a redundant part to it (The One, He has no partner).

– Rashad did not understand the correct Quranic Islamic greeting (salamun ‘alaykum) detailed in the Quran and was misled his entire life by the Sunni version (assalamu ‘alaykum).

– Rashad founded a mosque in Tucson, Arizona, but wasn’t even capable of determining the right qiblah towards Mecca which is always the shortest path to travel to Mecca and therefore towards the Northeast in the United States.

– He de facto invented a false prohibition by claiming that nothing but sura 1 should be recited during Salât, which is a great crime, and defeats the purpose of the Quran being the medium of communication between us and our Creator.

– He failed to identify the four consecutive months of Hajj as being the last four of the lunar calendar, starting with Ramadan, as sura 9 makes it obvious (9:2, 9:4, 9:28, 9:36).

– He failed to follow the Quran alone regarding the rites of Hajj believing in the stoning of satan, not mentioned in the Quran fully detailed.

– He failed to understand that Muhammad was indeed unlettered when he received the first revelation (29:48), which is also one of the most important Biblical prophecy regarding the advent of the final revelation (Isaiah 29:10-12).

– He claimed he created a new Quranic justice system but proved to follow his own opinion in several ways when it came to interpret some Quranic laws, for instance the punishment for theft, and did not understand what the real law based on equivalence is (5:38).

– He proved that he was misled by his ego was when he claimed that his English translation of the Quran was “authorized”, implying “authorized by God”, when it is poorly written, crippled with translation mistakes and inaccuracies, and amputated from two authentic verses (9:128-129).

– Blinded by his ego, Rashad literally “lost it”, proclaiming he was “The Messiah the Jews have been waiting for, the Christ Christians have been expecting, the Mehdi the Muslims have been praying for…”.

One cannot be both the Messiah and the Mahdi (a non-Islamic Shia legend without any Quranic basis) at the same time. Rashad was not Jesus, nor was he Muhammad, and the Mahdi does not even exist. These are facts.

– Just like so many false prophets in the past, and despite the Holy Scriptures (Bible and Quran) warning the human race that God alone knows when it will take place (Matthew 24:36, Quran 33:63), he prophesized the end of the world. Numbers do not add up in his prophecy (lunar year 1709, gematrical value of the so called “seven pairs”, does not equal 1710 = 19 × 90), and what he calls the “seven pairs” actually refers to sura 1 being recited twice during each salât. He derived his prophecy solely from a baseless hadith, of the same kind than those he claimed were “satanic innovations”, and this is also a fact.

– He took a wild guess regarding the prophecy of the smoke, believing it was going to happen in 1990, and God did not even allow him to witness how wrong he was, as He decided to terminate his life on 31/01/1990.

– Let’s get real: False prophecies = False messenger. Rashad Khalifa was nothing but a false messenger.

Rashad managed quite successfully to spread his claim of being the messenger of the Covenant mostly because he mixed truth (seemingly preaching Islam based on the Quran alone, which he did in some ways) with falsehood (misunderstanding the allegory of 19 and manipulating the Quran – deleting two verses – to force numbers to add up). A number of his teachings are still true and we can learn from them, when we understand that his overall beliefs definitely do not reflect the pure message of the Quran.

– Sincere people are always very receptive when it comes to following the Quran alone and rejecting hadiths and Sunna (1) because it is what the Quran says literally (for example 45:6), (2) because a number of them convey horrible beliefs, and (3) because they heavily contradict the Quran (see “Hadiths, the cancer of Islam” on this website). Rashad took advantage of a number of sincere and vulnerable believers to promote an egotistic agenda. I pray that people who were misled by him will read carefully and study this article and make the necessary adjustments, and I pray it will prevent more people from being misled.

What really matters today is to forget about the deviances of Rashad Khalifa, and continue to rebuild true Islam based on the Quran alone. Rashad Khalifa is not the only danger as there are lots of other self-proclaimed false messengers ready to prey on people, as well as lots of so called “reformists” who specialize in reinventing Islam from scratch misunderstanding and misinterpreting the Quran. My advice is: Study the Quran carefully, be Muslims and stay away from those ignorant people.

The goal of Quranaloneislam.org is to preach Islam based on the Quran alone without trying to reinvent the wheel as, if traditional Islam did alter some of the rites of Islam, it still has a lot to do with the real Islam that was revealed to Abraham and Muhammad in many ways. We are simply about eliminating the aspects that contradict the Quran without falling into revisionism and disconnecting completely from the message of the Quran in its historical context like some “reformists” have done.

It is the only way pure believers will be united following the Quran alone, God willing.