Over the years, several questions have been asked about Rashad Khalifa and his involvement with Islam. The information below will help readers get a comprehensive picture from one location. It will be useful to go through all of it, as it deals with important aspects that concern the human race which you may not have realized before. For more details about any subject and to check the actual verse references, please follow the links provided.
Who was Rashad Khalifa?
Rashad Khalifa was born in a traditional Muslim family in Cairo, Egypt on November 19, 1935. His father was a renowned leader of the Sufi sect of Islam. After receiving his honors degree at Ain Shams University, Cairo, he moved to the United States in 1959 to pursue a Master’s degree at the University of Arizona, followed by a Ph.D. in biochemistry from the University of California, Riverside. His professional career included assignments with the United Nations, the public sector (e.g., State of Arizona) and the private sector (e.g., Monsanto), in positions related to his expertise in biochemistry, agriculture and horticultural science.
Dr. Rashad Khalifa was a naturalized American citizen. He lived in Tucson, Arizona with his wife of American origin and two children. Sometime in the dawn of January 31, 1990, Rashad Khalifa was martyred inside Masjid Tucson, which he had set up for the purpose of studying and spreading the true message of Submission to God (Islam, in Arabic).
How did he become involved in studying Islam?
In 1968, Rashad Khalifa realized that the existing English translations did not present the truthful message of God’s Final Testament, the Quran. For example, two of the most popular translators (Yusuf Ali and Marmaduke Pickthall), could not overcome their corrupted religious traditions when it came to the Quran’s great criterion dealing with the worship of God alone (39:45). This distortion of the truth prompted him to translate the Quran himself, at least for the sake of his children. (“Worship God alone” is the foundational theme of Islam.)
What is the mathematical miracle of the Quran; how was it discovered?
While working on his translation, Rashad Khalifa also began to explore the significance of the mysterious alphabets that precede 29 chapters (Suras) of the Quran which remained unexplained till date. He decided to enter the Quran into a computer and analyze its text to see if there were any mathematical correlations among these Quranic initials.
What emerged is that the Quran is characterized by a unique phenomenon never found in any human authored book. Every element of the Quran is mathematically composed, from the frequency of letters and words, unique spellings, number of words from the same root etc.; consistently conforming to a common dominator—the number 19. This superhuman mathematical coding of the Quran, far beyond human ability to create or duplicate, incontrovertibly establishes its Divine authorship. By 1974, it was clearly evident that this was an actual ‘miracle of God,’ just like the previous miracles of God, providing proof of His existence and Kingship over the universe.
What is the function of the mathematical miracle; how is it different from previous miracles of God?
The mathematical miracle of the Quran provides irrefutable physical evidence that God exists and that the Quran is His unaltered message to the world, intact, down to every letter (74:30-37). Once a person recognizes that the Quran is the direct and complete word of God, he or she needs to follow it to lead a happy life and make it back to God in the Hereafter. Several aspects of the religion and other important information concerning the human race are also confirmed by the code. At the foundation is the critical message that ‘there is no god but God’ who must be worshipped alone, without mentioning or associating any other entity along with Him. Other confirmations include: the purpose of our creation, correct religious practices, end of the world, and identity of the messenger to come after Muhammad.
Unlike previous miracles that were limited to time and place, the mathematical miracle of the Quran is a perpetual miracle that can be witnessed and verified by all generations, anytime, and from anywhere. Even today it continues to manifest itself, reassuring the faithful that God is in full control of the world and that His word will dominate over everything, despite Satan’s attempts to corrupt the truth (8:8).
Some claim the miracle is a fake or a play with numerology
God’s law in the Quran is that you shall not accept anything unless you verify it for yourself (17:36). Most people follow their religions blindly but the traditional Muslims are paramount in this, considering the fact that they have a complete and fully detailed scripture from God in their hands. For anyone to objectively examine the evidence and yet reject it as false is either hopelessly biased, or is trying to escape the responsibility of abandoning his ego and following God’s perfect and practical system of Submission (Islam) described in the Quran.
The claim about numerology stems from either ignorance or bias. The Quran prohibits numerology, which is an occult based system that tries to use numbers to predict or influence the future. No one knows the future except God and nothing can change anyone’s fortune unless God wills it. Besides, numerology involves unverifiable mysterious assumptions which don’t guarantee any results. On the other hand, the mathematical code is a perfect, tangible system dealing with facts that can be verified by anyone. For example, anyone can count the number of chapters in the Quran or how many letters appear in the Basmala. Further, anything God says in the Quran is guaranteed to happen or not happen, as per the conditions defined by Him therein.
Does the Muslim world accept the miracle of the Quran?
Initially, the math code became very popular among Muslim masses around the world, with Dr. Khalifa’s personal popularity soaring with this most exciting and humbling discovery. Even so- called renowned religious scholars advocated and distributed this information among millions. This positive reception continued till the research unveiled the startling fact that the "Hadith and Sunna" have nothing to do with Prophet Muhammad—and that adherence thereto represents flagrant disobedience of God and His final prophet. (Instead of taking their religious guidance from the Quran alone, the Muslims follow the books of Hadith and Sunna which are satanic innovations falsely attributed to Prophet Muhammad against his will.)
Consequently, popularity of the miracle, along with Dr. Khalifa’s personal popularity plunged to the point of endangering his life and reputation. However, in accordance with God’s plan to unite the world under a single purified system of Submission to God alone (Islam), the mathematical miracle of the Quran is rapidly reaching all corners of the globe. God has made the internet pervasive at this time so that everyone has individual access to explore the miracle. Simultaneously, the world is also now directly accessing and realizing the truth from the Quran that was kept hidden from them for centuries by ignorant or corrupt religious leaders and scholars.
Did Rashad Khalifa change the Quran by removing two verses from it?
Rashad Khalifa did not remove any of God’s verses from the Quran. The mathematical code exposed two false verses at the end of Sura 9 that were never part of the Quran delivered by Prophet Muhammad in the first place. It was some scribes in charge of making Quran copies who added these verses to honor the prophet after his death. Studies show that these two verses have always been suspect which was confirmed by the powerful mathematical code. With the elimination of these two false verses, the Quran has been restored to its unaltered state after about 1400 years.
Did Rashad Khalifa claim to be a prophet? Wasn’t Muhammad the last prophet?
Rashad Khalifa never claimed to be a prophet, nor was he a prophet. A Prophet (Nabi) is a messenger who delivers a scripture from God. The Quran, God’s final scripture to mankind, was brought by Prophet Muhammad—which definitely makes him the last and final prophet (Quran 33:40). However, while he was the final prophet, the Quran does not say that Muhammad was the last messenger. That is because we are told in 3:81 that after all scriptures were delivered, God will send a messenger (Rasool) to confirm an existing scripture. Therefore, a messenger (rasool) has to come after Muhammad (nabi) to confirm the Quran.
Who is the ‘Messenger of the Covenant’ mentioned in the Quran (3:81)?
As mentioned above, a messenger has to come after Muhammad. One of the major prophecies of the Quran is that God will send His ‘Messenger of the Covenant’ after all the prophets have come to this world and after all of God’s scriptures have been delivered. This messenger would be a consolidating messenger whose mission would be to confirm all existing scriptures and purify and unify all existing religions into one—Submission (Islam). Rashad Khalifa is “that” Messenger of the Covenant specified in the Quran to come after Prophet Muhammad (3:81, 33:7, 33:40. See also Malachi 3:1-21, Luke 17:22-36, Matthew 24:27).
What is Rashad Khalifa’s proof of messengership?
All messengers of God are given proof of their divine appointment, so that people can be certain that they are not magicians or impostors. For example, Moses’ staff turned into a serpent, Jesus healed the leprous and revived the dead by God’s leave, Saleh’s sign was the famous camel, and Abraham walked out of the fire.
Rashad Khalifa’s proof was discovery of the mathematical miracle of the Quran in 1974. The mathematical miracle of the Quran – a numerical code based on the number 19 - is a perpetual miracle that can be witnessed by all future generations. In addition to being a clear proof of his messengership, the mathematical code also confirmed Rashad Khalifa’s identity as God’s Messenger of the Covenant.
What process can be applied to verify or confirm Rashad Khalifa’s identity as God’s Messenger of the Covenant?
The best approach to confirm Rashad Khalifa’s identity as God’s Messenger of the Covenant is to first decide if another messenger will come after Muhammad. If anyone is not satisfied that God will send another messenger after Muhammad, then it won’t make any difference whoever proclaims to be a messenger of God. However, once a person accepts that God a messenger will come after Muhammad, then he can proceed to examine the logical and mathematical evidence establishing Rashad Khalifa as God’s Messenger of the Covenant.
Since it is God’s system to send messengers to communicate specific information to humans, it is good to keep an open mind to avoid making any wrong decisions. In the Quran we see that humans have always been hesitant to accept a new messenger when he came to them. The Jews refused to accept Jesus when he came to them and the Christians did the same with Muhammad (40:34). The Muslims particularly, find it quite difficult to accept a new messenger because of their strong programming that no more messengers will come after Muhammad. Also, there is a tendency among people to attach a ‘mystique and heavenly’ persona to all messengers, whereas in reality, all messengers are just like everyone else having families, work responsibilities, contemporary lifestyles, weaknesses, etc. People must abandon their preset notions and come to terms with the reality of the expectations God has from the human race.
Why did God send a messenger now?
Right from Adam, the first human being, God has been sending messengers to deliver His messages and guide the people out of darkness into the light. A fact about God’s religions today is that they are corrupted beyond recognition. The original content itself is either lost, or where the content is intact—only the Quran is intact—its message has been abandoned in favor of false sources such as Hadith/Sunna and other man made innovations. The world is in a major state of chaos and animosity because of turning away from God’s laws in His scriptures. As mentioned earlier, God’s Messenger of Covenant is a consolidating messenger whose job is to purify and unify all the religions into one. With the Quran, God has consummated and superseded all His messages into one single system of Submission to Him alone (Islam). Before Rashad Khalifa was martyred in 1990, God made him complete all his duties (5:67) which included explaining and confirming the rites of Islam so that every generation henceforth can practice the religion correctly and completely free from doubt.
Thus, God’s Messenger of the Covenant is a global messenger for a global religion. God’s Messenger of the Covenant has left behind a wealth of invaluable teachings from the Quran for anyone who wishes to lead a happy life and return to God in the Hereafter.
How does a messenger after Muhammad affect him or previous messengers of God?
Another problem Muslims have with accepting a messenger after Muhammad is their worry that he will undermine Prophet Muhammad whom they blindly idolize to the extent of setting him up as a partner or ‘god besides God.’ This should not be cause of concern for them because nothing can change Prophet Muhammad’s significant position in history as the final prophet who brought God’s Final Testament for the world. In fact, Rashad Khalifa pointed out that if the Muslims really loved Muhammad, then they should do exactly as the prophet did—which is ‘worship God alone’ and ‘follow Quran alone’ for their guidance.
Every messenger has a unique position in history because he is sent with a specific role in accordance with God’s knowledge of what each community/generation needs at its time. Unfortunately, it is the blind idolization and veneration of everyone’s ‘favorite messenger’ that is the cause of so much religious bias and dispute in the world. That is why in Quran, God commands humans to reverence Him, not humans, and prohibits making distinction among any of His messengers (2:136, 2:285, 3:84, 4:150-152). We must be careful not to idolize or venerate any messenger (including Rashad Khalifa). Our focus in this world, each and every day, must be God Alone. No messenger’s name must be part of the first pillar of Submission proclaiming, “There is no god except the One God.” Nor should any messenger be mentioned during the Contact Prayers, or venerated during any other worship practice. We must constantly think of God (33:41-42), not any human being or messenger.
Did Rashad Khalifa start a new ideology or sect of Islam?
In the Quran, God prohibits the formation of sects or innovating things in His name (6:159, 30:32, 6:138). Rashad Khalifa did not say or do anything that could constitute starting a new sect or religion. Whatever he talked about was already there in the Quran. His job was to point out the truth from the Quran which was kept hidden by religious leaders and scholars out of their own ignorance or for their own convenience. How can there be sects in Islam when everything is already so clearly defined in the Quran? For example, the Salat (Contact) Prayer is a mathematically coded format that must be done exactly as decreed by God for it to be accepted by Him. When the method is already defined and non-changeable, how can there be a sectarian version of it?
The problem with the Muslim world is that by following their own opinions instead of the Quran, they have created innumerable sects for themselves. In the bargain, they are not able to agree on almost any religious matter, nor are they able to identify themselves as just ‘Muslims,’ unless they also mention which sect of Islam they belong to. The irony of this all is that anyone who asks to follow the exact path decreed by God in the Quran is also accused of starting a new sect—which is what has happened in the case of Rashad Khalifa!
How does Rashad Khalifa’s death affect the world? What is the world expected to do next?
God’s messengers have no power of mercy or intercession and can perform the functions God sent them for. While it is alright to respect all God’s messengers, the fact is that they are all mortals who exit this world after carrying out their duties. Whether they are alive on Earth or with God does not change the responsibility of all humans to worship God alone and seek the ways and means to return to Him.
Rashad Khalifa has returned to His Lord after fulfilling his duty of putting the human race back on track to salvation. He pointed out from the Quran what the world has been missing the last few centuries. The Quran is not a “Muslim book” but a complete book of guidance for anyone who wishes to practice Submission to God alone, regardless of his or her religious background. Even those who call themselves Muslims have to abandon all their traditional/corrupt ways and start all over again if they want to be really counted as true Muslims (Submitters). The words Muslim and Islam are only the Arabic words for Submitter and Submission. To practice Submission to God alone, you do not have to use these Arabic titles, nor do you need to know how to read, write or speak Arabic, or change your name or anything like that.
As for those responsible for causing God’s messenger’s death or suppressing the truth, their fate is already sealed. They may have silenced the voice of a mortal but God’s truth is already reaching—and will dominate—all corners of the globe (9:33, 61:9). (Glen Francis, the individual who actually murdered Rashad Khalifa was sentenced to life on January 28, 2013.) Exactly as prophesized in the Quran, the Muslims have thrown away their opportunity for guidance and are being replaced by people who will allow His message to flourish freely and fairly (47:38). Today, true Islam (Submission) is being rapidly restored from America where people with no previous idea of its requirements are practicing it correctly and more earnestly than those who received the Quran in their own language!
What else should the world know about Rashad Khalifa, God’s Messenger of the Covenant?
Rashad Khalifa never sought fame or asked for any money. He used his own money to spread God’s truth form the Quran, unlike many religious institutions and self-proclaimed saviors/evangelists who subscribe to the blasphemy of taking ‘money-for-blessings.’ When he started out with translating the Quran, Rashad Khalifa had no idea that he would discover the mathematical miracle of the Quran or be appointed a messenger of God. In fact, even after he realized that he was the Messenger of the Covenant prophesized in Quran, he shied away from announcing it publicly for a few years until God made him proclaim it in 1988.
Like all messengers, he led by example advocating peace, demonstrating tolerance and patience, inviting with wisdom and kind enlightenment, and never engaging in any aggressive step—which is everything the world does not associate Muslims or Islam with today!
It is a great blessing from God that He sent a messenger in this era to show the world what it has been doing wrong and how to mend its ways by following God’s guidance from the Quran. Rashad Khalifa is the savior/messiah/mahdi that the world has been waiting for. An extremely significant step in this process is the “Authorized English Version of Quran” by Rashad Khalifa, the first ever translation of Quran dedicated to the worship of God alone. As per God’s perfect plan, Rashad Khalifa’s mother tongue was Arabic and he had vast experience with the English language by living in the USA for many years. This, along with his understanding of the traditional/corrupted version of Islam, provided the perfect platform for him to bring out the true meaning of the Quran, free from traditional bias. An objective comparison will instantly show the wisdom and clarity that makes it distinct from any other traditional translation.
God has put in motion His plan to make Submission dominate the world. There is no compulsion in religion but the right way is now distinct from the wrong way. The consequences of obeying or disobeying God’s messengers have also been pointed out in the Quran.
As per God’s system of death, Rashad Khalifa, God’s Messenger of the Covenant, is alive at His Lord, enjoying Paradise with all of God’s righteous servants.
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