Who suffers loss if Muhammad was wrong?

Andrew: In chapter 34:50, Muhammad is commanded to say: Say: ‘If I go astray, I go astray only to my own loss; if I am guided, it is by what my Lord reveals to me. He is All-hearing, Ever-nigh.’ (Arberry’s Translation)

An enormous number of people (all Muslims) will suffer both earthly and eternal loss if Muhammad was wrong. But the verse say only Mohammad suffers loss if Mohammad was wrong. It is a plain error in the Qur'an.

Ali: Unbelievers claimed God didn’t reveal the Quran on Prophet (sw), instead Prophet (sw) made the Quran up and deceived people:

“And when our verses are recited to them as clear evidences, they say, "This is not but a man who wishes to avert you from that which your fathers were worshipping." And they say, "This is not except a lie invented." And those who disbelieve say of the truth when it has come to them, "This is not but obvious magic.” (34:43)

This is why God tells his Prophet in chapter 34:50 to tell the unbelievers that if he deceives others, then he would just deceive himself.

Below is the word for word translation of chapter 34:50-

(34:50) قَرِيبٌ  سَمِيعٌ إِنَّهُ رَبِّي إِلَيَّ يُوحِي فَبِمَ اهْتَدَيْتُ وَإِنِ نَفْسِي عَلَى أَضِلُّ فَإِنَّمَا ضَلَلْتُ إِن قُلْ 

       

قُلْ = say (o Muhammad)

إِن = if

ضَلَلْتُ = I deceive (others by inventing the Quran)

فَإِنَّمَا = then simply

أَضِلُّ = (I) deceive

عَلَى = to/at/in/on

نَفْسِي = myself

وَإِنِ = and if

اهْتَدَيْتُ = I am guided

فَبِمَا = then it (The Quran)

يُوحِي = reveals

إِلَيَّ = to me

رَبِّي = my God

إِنَّهُ = Indeed, he (my God)

سَمِيعٌ = (is) hearing

قَرِيبٌ = (and) close

Therefore, accurate translation of chapter 34:50 based on proper context:

Say, O Mohammad: if I deceive others by inventing the Quran, then I simply deceive myself. And if I am guided, then the Quran is revealed to me by my God. Indeed, my God is hearing and close.

Here is what the critics of Islam take issue with. They say فَإِنَّمَا mean “then only” since some well-known Muslim translators translated فَإِنَّمَا as “then only”. The phrase فَإِنَّمَا can either mean “the simply” or “then just” or “then only”. Let’s see what difference it makes if we translate فَإِنَّمَا in English in three different ways in chapter 34:50:

·  When we say “if I deceive others by inventing the Quran, then I simply deceive myself”, it means if Prophet (sw) deceives others, then he will deceive himself too.

·  When we say ““if I deceive others by inventing the Quran, then I just deceive myself”, it means if Prophet (sw) deceives others, then he will deceive himself too.

·  When we say “if I deceive others by inventing the Quran, then I only deceive myself”, it means if Prophet (sw) deceives others, then he will deceive himself only.

Note that if we say فَإِنَّمَا means “then only”, then first part of the sentence contradicts the second part of the sentence: “if I deceive others by inventing the Quran, then I only deceive myself”. “I deceive others” and “I ONLY deceive myself” cannot co-exist. Therefore it would be a wrong translation of the sentence if we translate فَإِنَّمَا as “then only”. It is accurate to translate فَإِنَّمَا as either “then simply” or “then just”.

By the way, how come Prophet (sw) deceives himself if he deceives others? The Quran says the deceivers will get double punishment of the deceived people. Therefore, if Prophet (sw) deceives others after knowing the punishment of deceiving others, then it is same as deceiving himself (putting himself in danger).

The Quran says- [God] will say, "Enter among nations which had passed on before you of jinn and mankind into the Fire." Every time a nation enters, it will curse its sister until, when they have all overtaken one another therein, the last of them will say about the first of them "Our Lord, these had misled us, so give them a double punishment of the Fire. He [God] will say, "For each is double, but you do not know." (7:38)

Andrew: Is it fair to punish both deceivers and deceived people? What is the crime of deceived people? Aren't deceived people victims? Shouldn't only deceivers be punished because they are criminals? 

Ali: An English saying goes like this-"You fool me once shame on you fool me twice shame on me." It is okay if the priest deceives you once in the church to believe in a lie. But it is not okay if the priest deceives you to believe in lies day after day in the church till your death. God gave you intelligence to distinguish between true and false. In addition, not everybody is deceived. Some people get deceived because they don't use their intelligence. People who use their intelligence don't get deceived. Thus, it is clear that deceived people deserve the punishment.