Monday, January 22, 2007

Who is Jesus: Consult The Old Testament, The Gospels and The Quran.

By: Maged Taman

For Muslims Jesus is a great prophet. He was born with a miraculous birth. He is not son of God. He was raised to God and was not crucified. In his second coming he will come with glory and redeem the world and the world will be one religion Islam. In his second coming he will be the king and people will enjoy a Messianic era that was proclaimed by the three major religions and interestingly was prophesied also by most world religions. I will explain below the evidences of each of the above statements:1- Perfect God proof: I will let you read this story to Rabbi David Wolpe to understand this point: Growing up in Philadelphia, I attended Akiba Hebrew Academy, a private Jewish school. In 11th grade, a Southern Baptist preacher came to speak to our class. He looked around the room, and with a kindly smile said, "You seem like nice boys and girls. But I must tell you that unless you change your ways, you are all going to hell."I admired his honesty, but not his theology. I spent the next hour trying to think of a question that would stump him. As the class was ending, I raised my hand."Is Jesus perfect?" I asked."Yes," he answered."Is the Father perfect?" I asked."Yes," he said again."And is the Holy Ghost perfect?" Once again, he answered affirmatively."Well then," I said, "two of the three are superfluous. Perfection does not need anything. That is why it's perfect. Since by definition, you can't add anything to perfection, the idea makes no sense."He paused for a minute, and said, "That is the mystery of the Trinity."Since that time, I have been intrigued by the deep division between Jews and Christians over the question of Jesus. It has always seemed as crystal clear to me that Jesus was nothing more than a human being, as it has seemed crystal clear to many of my Christian friends that he was the Son of God. This was the story by the Rabbi at a young age he came with simple logic: why a perfect God will need to prefect himself with the Trinity.2- No Man Can Be a G-d Proof: I quote Rabbi Eliezer Gevirtz The Torah makes it clear that there is only one omnipotent, indivisible G-d: "The L-rd He is G-d; there is none else besides him" (Deuteronomy 4:35)." G-d is unique unto Himself, and does not consist of a trinity: "The L-rd He is G-d in heaven above and upon the earth below; there is none else" (Deuteronomy 4:39). JC himself accepted G-d's uniqueness: "And he (JC) said unto him, 'Why callest thou me good? There is none good but one, that is, G-d." (Matthew 19:17). How, then, could a mortal man-one who was born and who died on a cross-be a segment of an immortal, indivisible G-d? There is no concept of infinity possible if G-d is a man or a Trinity. The Torah states clearly: "G-d is not a man" (Numbers 23:19).3- No Jesus son of God in old testament proof: Why God all of sudden after about 4000 years would declare that he has a son. Why he did not let the prophets know particularly Abraham who take him as a close friend and Moses whom he talked to several times.4-Old Testament usage of the term Son of God Proof: The term “son of God” is used in two main ways in the Old Testament. Neither way denotes any physical relation to God. Rather, the references deal with those who under divine obedience to the call of God. It is used of Israel as a nation through the Exodus. Hosea 11:1 says, “When Israel was a youth I loved him, and out of Egypt I called My son.”1 It is also used in reference to angels. Job 1:6 says, "Now there was a day when the sons of God came to present themselves before the Lord, and Satan also came among them.” Also, in Job 38:7 it says, "When the morning stars sang together, and all the sons of God shouted for joy?" These are in reference to angels who are created beings and in now way implies literal dependency from God.5- "My Father and your Father" Proof: Apostle John, in his Gospel records that when Jesus appeared before Mary Magdalene, outside of the empty tomb, she tried to cling him. There upon Jesus told Mary not to hold him because he had yet to ascend to the Father. Jesus then instructed Mary to go and tell his disciples: "I am ascending to my Father and your Father, to my God and your God." Mary Magdalene went and conveyed that Message to the disciples. (John 20: 16-18). This conclusively proves that the term "My Father" used by Jesus simply meant that the Almighty God was the Father of him as well as that of his disciples. In other words, this unequivocally recorded verbatim authenticates that the relationship of Jesus with "his Father" and "his God" were akin to the relationship his disciples had with the Heavenly Father and God.6- No worship of Jesus proof: When Jesus was alive was not worshiped by his apostle or the Christians at that time if he is a son of God you would have expected them to do so. He was pleading to them to follow the father and not the human son. The father of all of us if we follow his path.7- No one is atoned for another one proof: Every one of us will be judged in day of judgment according to the good and evil he does. No one dies or crucified for other one sin. This is well stated in both the old testament and Quran. There is some support to us from the prophets, good people and even family members to ask God for forgiveness or better place in heaven. However, nothing is guarantee except our balance of good and evil deeds. In Islam there is no despair of God compassion or strong assurance of having God acceptance. One has to feel assured but with some degree of uncertainty enough to make you do more and not to give up.8-Son of Man in Gospel proof: The title "son of man" which is a self-designation of Jesus and occurs 81 times in the gospels is the clearest description and emphasis by Jesus on his humanity. The classical interpretation given to this title by Christians is that it is used to emphasize the human side of Jesus. Easily understandable is he is a real son of man and not son of God. The father was given also to other worshipers like Jesus. Jesus himself only mentioned son of God twice in the John Gospel much less than son of man. He did not ask his apostles to worship him. " Who loves me follow the father commandments". The first commandment: you shall love the lord.... He did not mention and the Son too.9- Where is the Son before birth proof: So before Jesus was born he was supposedly existing. Where he was (heaven?) and who was the initial mother (Goddess). This is actually a deviation to the teachings of all prophets. Their center message of God that no God but him (El Hasheem, God, Allah). In Islam he has actually 99 names. All are for one and the same God.10- Easier deceiving proof: What is more easier for Satan to do: to deceive people that a son of God a word also was used with other prophets to make people believe he is a real son of God given the miraculous birth or to come up after about 560 years later with a revelation to Muhammad (PBUH) for 23 years to strongly dispute that. The first is easier to do just a little twist as Jesus a real son of God. The second is much harder for Satan to do.11- Counterfeit Proof: Second Coming of Jesus in Islam and Christianity prophesied in both religions. This suggested to Christians that Islam is a counterfeit deceive by Satan to Christianity. Which is right if you can prove that the Quran was inspired by Satan. For Muslims they consider the failure of Christians to understand Islam made them live falsely with this counterfeit theory. Superficially it is easy to see Islam as religion of war and his prophet married many women. But these do not answer this simple questions why 1.3 billion Muslims in the globe and followers are increasing and they can take a lot of sufferings for their religion. Muslims follow Jesus teaching more than Christians. HIV is rare in Muslim countries compared by Christian countries. The great tribulation was described as God's wrath to those who do not follow his commandments and Jesus said: "And if those days had not been shortened, no one would be saved; but for the sake of the elect they will be shortened". The matter is just to serious particularly for people who attack Islam and do not do their homework and study it. If you read Islam you find that Christ is a great prophet and the closest To Islam in both his first and second coming. Abu Hurairah reported Allah's Messenger (PBUH) as saying, "I am the nearest of kin to Jesus, son of Mary, in this world and the next. The prophets are brothers, sons of one father by co-wives. Their mothers are different but their religion is one. There has been no prophet between us". (Bukhari and Muslim).· Abu Hurairah reported Allah's Messenger(PBUH) as saying,"By Him in whose hand my soul is, the son of Mary will soon descend among you as a just judge. He will break crosses, kill swine and abolish the jizya (a tax payable by a community which accepts the protection of a Muslim ruler but whose members do not embrace Islam), and wealth will pour forth to such an extent that no one will accept it, and one sajda (the position in Muslim’s prayer where the forehead is placed on the ground), will be better than the world and what it contains". (Bukahri and Muslim). Thus Islam can be a counterfeit deceive by Satan or Christianity became the counterfeit for failure to accept Islam. So if still believe God can have a on despite all points mentioned above. He has to read Islam and prove it is from Satan. Please read Muhammad (PBUH) prophet from God Proofs in my blog. http://www.commonsensemessiah.blogspot.com/12- Freedom of Worship proof: Unlike Christians who persecuted and killed Jews to convert them to Christianity, in Islam free creed is essential. Muslims believe that Jews voluntarily will accept Jesus as a great prophet and the Messiah before his second coming. In Islam any arguments particularly that of religion should be dissent. I do the same except I feel angry about the saving of Christians by blood. I have been discriminated against and oppressed by many Christians in America because they are saved. For honesty I met very good Christians and very bad Muslims. In Islam the the infidels are those who are fighting and oppressing Muslims regardless of their religion. That is why America is trying to reverse its policy now. Even atheists like communists fought the rich and oppressors in Russia 1917 revolution. Again most Muslims are Bin Lade-non who would like not to see any terror but know that desperate people can do desperate things. If Satan had sent revelation to Muhammad (PBUH) he would have Muslims hate Christ not to love him and wait eagerly for his second coming. A lot of Muslims follow his teachings more than many Christians since they believe they are saved by his message and not his blood. The later would be very convenient to Satan he would just corrupt the world and make us deserve God's wrath. Muhammad (PBUH) did not order to kill for creed but to defend religion and release the captives. His worst enemies were actually the hypocrites who were pretending to be Muslims and meantime conspire with his enemies. He knew them and did not kill them. Actually their leader Abd-Allah Bin Aby asked Muhammad to pray for him when he was dying and the messenger did though he was his worst enemy.13- Adam Proof: The Qur’an recognizes the fact that Jesus had no human father but this does not make him the son of God or God Himself. By this criterion Adam would have been more entitled to be the son of God because he had neither a father nor a mother. So the Qur'an draws attention to the miraculous creation of both in the following verse:Truly the likeness of Jesus, in God's sight, is as Adam's likeness; He created him of dust. then said He unto him, "Be", and he was. (3:59)14- Birth of Jesus in Quran proof: Before you read to Dr. Maneh Al-Johani the birth of Jesus in Quran put three possible things in the back of your mind as you read: 1-The Quran is a revelation from God. 2-Satan has deceived Muhammad with the revelation. 3- Muhammad came up with the revelation on his own for one reason or another. That is what he wrote: When Mary became a woman, the Holy Spirit (the Archangel Gabriel) appeared to her as a man bringing her the news of a son. We read the following duologue in the Qur'an between Mary and the angels:When the angels said, 'Mary. God gives you good tidings of a Word from Him whose name is Messiah Jesus, son of Mary; high honored shall he be in this world and the next, near stationed to God. He shall speak to men in the cradle, and of age, and righteous she shall be.' 'Lord', said Mary, 'how shall I have a son seeing no mortal has touched me? 'Even so' he said, 'God creates what He will.' When He decrees a thing He does but say to it, "Be", and it is.' (3:45-7)Mary conceived the child miraculously and retired to a distant place where she awaited her delivery. The Qur'an in a chapter entitled 'Mary’ tells us how Mary felt and what the Jews told her when she brought the child home:She conceived him and withdrew with him to a distant place. And the birth-pangs surprised her by the trunk of the palm-tree. She said, 'would I had died before this. and become a thing forgotten.' The one from below her called to her, 'Do not grieve; see, your Lord has set below you a rivulet. Shake also toward you the palm-trunk. and there shall come tumbling upon you dates fresh and ripe. Eat therefore, and drink, and be comforted; and if you should see any mortal, say. "I have vowed to the All-Merciful a fast, and today I will not speak to any man." Then she brought the child to her folk carrying him; and they said, ‘Mary, you have surely committed a monstrous thing. Sister of Aaron, your father was not a wicked man, nor was your mother a woman unchaste.' Mary pointed to the child. but they said, 'How shall we speak to one who is still in the cradle, a little child?' He said, 'Lo, I am God's servant; God has given me the Book and made me a Prophet. Blessed he has made me, wherever I may be; and he has enjoined me to pray. and to give the alms, so long as I live, and likewise to cherish my mother; he has not made me arrogant or wicked. Peace be upon me, the day I was born, and the day I die, and the day I am raised up alive.' (19:22-23)In the same chapter, following the above quotation, God assured Muhammad and the whole world that what was mentioned above is the truth about Jesus although the Christians might not believe it. Jesus is not the son of God. He was, obviously enough, the son of Mary. The verses continue:That is Jesus, son of Mary, in word of truth, concerning which they are doubting. It is not for God to take a son unto Him. Glory be to Him! When He decrees a thing. He but says to it "Be". and it is. (19:34-5)After this strong statement about the nature of Jesus, God directed Muhammad to call the Christians to a fair deal: to worship the one God:Surely God is my Lord, and your Lord, so serve Him. This is the straight path. (19:38).The rejection of the idea of God having a son is reported later in the same chapter with even stronger words:And they say, 'The All-merciful has taken unto Himself a son.' You have indeed advanced something hideous. The heavens are well nigh rent of it and the earth split asunder, and the mountains well nigh fall down crashing for that they have attributed to the All-merciful a son; and it behooves not the All-merciful to take a son. None is there in the heavens and earth but he comes to the All-merciful as a servant. (19:88-93)The Qur'an rejects the concept of the Trinity as strongly as it rejects the Son-ship of Jesus. This is because God is One. This is the essence of all monotheistic revelations. Three, by reason and by simple arithmetic, are not one. The Qur'an addresses the Christians in the following verses in the chapter entitled "Women".People of the Book, go not beyond the bounds in your religion, and say not as to God but the Truth. The Messiah, Jesus, son of Mary, was only the Messenger of God, and His Word that He committed to Mary, and a spirit from Him. So believe in God and His Messengers, and say not, 'Three'. Refrain. better is it for you. God is only One God. Glory be to Him — that He should have a son! To Him belongs all that is in the heavens and in the earth, God suffices for a guardian.The Messiah will not disdain to be a servant of God, neither the angels who are close to Him. Whosoever disdains to serve Him and waxes proud. He will assuredly muster them to Him, all of them.As for the believers, who do deeds of righteousness, He will pay them their rewards in full, and He will give them more, of His bounty; as for them who disdain and wax proud, them He will punish with a severe punishment, and they shall not find for them, apart from God, a friend or helper. (4:171-3)15- Traditions proof: the author continues and explaining by verses of Quran how people can be wrongly inherited the wrong interpretation from their parents and adhere to them blindly. Read what he says: The verses continue to draw the attention of people, all people, to the proof which Muhammad brought. God knows that people frequently inherit certain ideas and beliefs which include, among other things, the mistakes and interpretations of previous generations. They have no way of discovering such mistakes for themselves. Thus God presents the Qur’an as a proof to such people. He says:O men, a manifest proof has now come to you from your Lord; we have sent down to you a clear light. As for those who believe in God, and hold fast to Him, He will surely admit them to mercy from Him, and bounty, and will guide them to Him on a straight path. (4:173-5)The denial of Jesus' divinity (and for that matter Mary's divinity) is presented in the Qur’an as a topic of dialogue at the Day of Judgment between God Almighty and Jesus. All the messengers and the nations will be gathered in front of God and He will ask the messengers how they were received by their peoples and what they said to them. Among those who are going to be questioned is Jesus:And when God said, 'O Jesus son of Mary, did you say unto men, "Take me and my mother as gods. apart from God?” He said, 'To you be glory! It is not mine to say what I have no right to. If I indeed said it, you knew it, knowing what is within my soul, and I do not know what is within your soul. you know the things unseen. I only said to them what you did command me: "serve God, my Lord and your Lord." And I was a witness over them, while I remained among them; but when you did take me to yourself, you were yourself the watcher over them; you are the witness of everything. If you punish them, they are your servants, if you forgive them, you are the Almighty, the All-wise.' God said, ‘This is the day the truthful shall be profited by their truthfulness. For them await gardens underneath which rivers flow therein dwelling forever, God being well-pleased with them end they well-pleased with Him; That is the mighty triumph'.16- God's Anger proof: If people read the old testament as well Quran you find how comes the most important and first commandment of God is monotheism. This comes first to God and he can forgive all sins except for that. See how this angered God that they claim Jesus a son to him: And they say, 'The All-merciful has taken unto Himself a son.' You have indeed advanced something hideous. The heavens are well nigh rent of it and the earth split asunder, and the mountains well nigh fall down crashing for that they have attributed to the All-merciful a son; and it behooves not the All-merciful to take a son. None is there in the heavens and earth but he comes to the All-merciful as a servant. (19:88-93). The anger is not particularly for thinking of a blasphemous act but the idea as a whole is terribly wrong, Imagine that someone claimed that a person is your son and you know very well that he is not your son. God had this miraculous birth of Jesus followed by a lot of miracles to support Jesus during his message. Many Christians unfortunately fell in the trap of Satan they took from the message the opposite: they made Jesus is a son of God to worship and neglected most of his teachings thinking when Jesus crucified and they are saved by his blood". It is very logical that the next message after Christianity to correct this error has to come from same source God. This is in itself is a proof of the message. You may ask so why God would let Satan deceive a lot of us. The same question was going on Muhammad (PBUH) mind when he was eager to have people to convert to Islam God told him: you do not guide whom you like but God guides whom he wishes. As we understand more now that God plan was to have people convert to one message as one nation in the last millennium. He planned to guide us for this purpose but this may stand against the interest of a lot of people. However, God is very able to execute his plans. People may be surprised as he does with history and his revelations how God deals with us macroscopically (meaning we get different revelations over history at certain points) while at personal level he deals with us microscopically (every atom of sin or good recorded to us). You may ask why he deals with us macroscopically. The answer is simple he is God and by definition his wisdom many times is beyond our understanding. The more obvious is what happens when he send us a messenger we fight them like dogs and cats. About 124,000 messengers were sent and millions of righteous people to carry his message. See what happen people are rarely righteous like prophets want them to, despite this is being of interest of every one. People deserved God's wrath when they despised and rejected his messengers.17- Mission of Jesus proof in Quran: Now one might ask: If the Qur'an denies the Trinity and the Son-ship of Jesus, what was the real mission of Jesus according to the Qur'an?Jesus was a link in a long chain of prophets and messengers sent by God to various societies and nations whenever they needed guidance or deviated from the teachings of God. Jesus was especially prepared by God to be sent to the Jews who had deviated from the teachings of Moses and other Messengers. As he was miraculously supported by God in conception, birth and childhood, he was also supported by numerous miracles to prove that he was a messenger from God. The Qur'an tells us about Jesus' mission in the following verses which are a continuation of the verses quoted earlier in which the glad tiding was brought to Mary:And He will teach him the Book, the wisdom, the Torah, the Gospel and make him a Messenger to the children of Israel saying, “I have come to you with a sign from your Lord. I will create for you out of clay as the likeness of a bird; then I will breathe into It, and it will be a bird, by the power of God. I will also heal the blind and the leper and bring to life the dead, by the power of God. I will inform you too of the things you eat, and what you treasure up in your houses. Surely in that is a sign for you if you are believers. Likewise I will confirm the truth of the Torah that is before me, and to make lawful to you certain things that before were forbidden unto you. I have come to you with a sign from your Lord; so fear God, and obey me. Surely God is my Lord and your Lord; so serve Him. This is a straight path". (3:45-51)In another verse of the Qur’an, Jesus confirmed the validity of the Torah which was revealed to Moses and he also brought the glad tidings of the coming of a final messenger after him. This is clearly indicated in the following verse:And when Jesus son of Mary said. 'children of Israel. I am indeed the Messenger to you, confirming the Torah that is before me, and giving good tidings of a Messenger who shall come after me, whose name shall be the praised one (note that this is translation of Ahmad which is Prophet Muhammad’s name). (61:6)The messenger of whom Jesus gave glad tidings is referred to in both the old and new testaments of the Bible.18- Muhammad (PBUH) in the Bible proof: If we prove that Muhammad is a real messenger of God the argument is over, since his message is the last revelation from God and Quran was very well preserved with no change of one letter. So I always prefer in religious arguments for people to try disprove Islam first if they fail then his revelation is the best judge to Who Jesus is. The old testament contains several prophecies that apply only to the Prophet Muhammad. I quote only one of those which applies to none except Prophet Muhammad. This prophecy which was addressed to Moses said that God will send among the 'brethren' of the Israelites, a prophet like Moses who will be a founder, a leader, and an exemplar of a community of believers. We read this in the following verses of Deut. Ch. 18:I will raise up for them a prophet like you from among their brethren; and I will put My words in his mouth, and he shall speak to them all that I command him. And whoever will not give heed to My words which he shall speak in My name, I Myself will require it of him. (Deut. 18:18-20)Any one who is familiar with Prophet Muhammad's life, can easily see that no one fits the above description better than Prophet Muhammad. It was Prophet Muhammad, not Jesus, who like Moses was born from ordinary parents, got married, founded a faithful community, established a great law and died a natural death.Careful study of the New Testament shows that this same prophet is referred to by Jesus in John 14:16,17:And I will pray the Father, and He will give you another Counselor, to be with you for ever, even the Spirit of truth.Later in John specific description of this Spirit of Truth and his role is given as we read in John 16:13,14.:When the Spirit of Truth comes, he will guide you into all the truth, for he will not speak on his own authority, but whatever he hears he will speak and he will declare to you the things that are to come. He will glorify Me...The terms of the prophecy do not warrant the conclusion usually attributed to this prophecy, namely that it refers to the Holy Ghost. The Holy Ghost explanation is excluded by a previous verse in John which reads:Nevertheless I tell you the truth: it is to your advantages that I go away, for if I do not go away, the counselor will not come to you.It is clear from the Bible that the Holy Ghost used to visit men before and during the life-time of Jesus. John was filled with the Holy Ghost before he was born and Jesus himself received the Holy Ghost in the shape of a dove.The characteristics of this counselor, as can be derived from the prophecy,are the following:1. He will not come until Jesus leaves.2. He will stay forever, with the believers.3. He will glorify Jesus.4. He will speak what he hears from God.These characteristics are applicable only to Prophet Muhammad, as thefollowing brief remarks show:Prophet Muhammad was the only messenger that came after Jesus. There was a period of six centuries between them. Jesus' mission was limited to the "lost sheep of the children of Israel”, but Muhammad's was a universal message. This explains the second characteristic.Only Prophet Muhammad's message was intended by God to be a universal and everlasting message. This agrees with the statement that the counselor will stay forever with the faithful.No other prophet glorified Jesus as much as Prophet Muhammad did. Prophet Muhammad considered Jesus as great Prophet and the “Word of God". The Qur'an attributed to him miracles that are not mentioned in the Bible. Mary is considered the most chaste woman and the best of all women in paradise. Thus did Muhammad really glorify Jesus.The fourth characteristic also applies neatly to Prophet Muhammad. The Qur’an was revealed to Prophet Muhammad through the angel Gabriel. When the angel finished reciting the Qur’an, Prophet Muhammad used to convey verbatim to his companions what he heard from the angel without adding, changing or forgetting anything. The Qur'an also describes Prophet Muhammad saying “He does not speak out of his own fancy. He utters what is revealed to him." (53:4,5). If we compare this with, "He will not speak on his own authority", we see the striking similarity between the characteristics of the counselor and those of Prophet Muhammad. These and other prophecies in the old and new testaments predict in unequivocal terms the advent of Prophet Muhammad who is rejected by the Jews and Christians on the basis of misunderstanding and bias rather than on the basis of careful study of the Bible, the Qur'an and modern findings in the field of comparative religion.JESUS RAISED TO HEAVENIt is a sad fact of history that not many follow "the straight path", to which people were called by Jesus. He was followed by a few disciples who were inspired by God to support him. Not only that, but the non-believers plotted (as they did to Muhammad six centuries later) to kill Jesus, but God had a better plan for him and his followers as the Qur'an tells us in the following verses:And when Jesus perceived their unbelief, he said, 'who will be my helpers in the cause of God? The Apostles said, 'we will be helpers of God.' We believe in God; be witness of our submission. Lord, we believe in that you have sent down, and we follow the Messenger. Inscribe us therefore with those who bear witness.' And they devised, and God devised, and God is the best of devisers. When God said, 'Jesus, I will take you to me and will raise you to Me, and I will purify you of those who do not believe. I will set your followers above the unbelievers till the Resurrection Day. Then unto Me shall you return, and I will decide between you, as to what you were at variance on. As for the unbelievers, I will punish them with a terrible punishment in this world and the next; they shall have no helpers.' (3:52-6)As the above verses indicate, Jesus was raised to heaven before he died.This means that according to the Qur'an he was not crucified. It was the plan ofthe enemies of Jesus to put him to death on the cross, but God saved him andsomebody else was crucified. This plot and the false accusation of Mary areconsidered by the Qur'an to be some of the sins of the non-believing Jews. Allthis is clear in the following quotation:And for their unbelief, and their uttering against Mary a mighty calumny, and for their saying, ‘We slew the Messiah, Jesus son of Mary, the Messenger of God'... yet they did not slay him, neither crucified him, only a likeness of that was shown to them. Those who are at variance concerning him surely are in doubt regarding him, they have no knowledge of him, except the following of surmise; and they did not slay him of certainty... no indeed; God raised him up to Him; God is Almighty, All-wise. There is not one of the people of the Book but will assuredly believe in him before his death, and on the Resurrection Day he will be a witness against them. (4:156-9).Who was the person crucified instead of Jesus? The Qur'an does not elaborate on this point nor does it give any answer to this question. The interpreters of the Qur'an have suggested a few names. But all these are individual guesses not supported by the Qur'an or the sayings of the Prophet Muhammad.This means that Jesus will come back before the Day of Judgment. Again the Second Coming is not clearly mentioned in the Qur'an. However, the explanatory of the Qur'an understood the last verse of the above quotation: there is not one of the people of the Book but will assuredly believe in him before his death, and on the Resurrection Day he will be a witness against them, to mean that Jesus will come back and all the Christians and the Jews will believe in him before he dies. This understanding is supported by authentic sayings of the Prophet Muhammad.So if we can get smart and examine the bible and Quran as well end of time prophecies we will be able to match things with current world affairs.Maged Taman.FURTHER READINGS ON ISLAM AND CHRISTIANITYM. M. Pickthall, The Meaning of the Glorious Qur'an T. B.Irving, et al., The Qur'an: Basic TeachingsHammed Abdulati, Islam in FocusM. Qutb, /slam: The Misunderstood ReligionB. A. Bawany, Islam: The First and Final ReligionMaurice Bucaille, The Bible, The Qur'an and ScienceMaurice Bucaille, The Origin of ManLordsale and Laura Ragg, The Gospel of BarnabasMuhammad Ata-ur-Rahman, Jesus: A Prophet of IslamRudolf Augustein, Jesus Son of ManJohn Hick (ed), The Myth of God IncarnateS. S. Mufassir, Jesus in the Qur'an.Some of these books and others about Islam can be obtained from:World Assembly of Muslim Youth (WAMY)P. O. Box 10845Tel. (01)4641663Riyadh 11443, Saudi ArabiaOr the nearest Islamic Center in your part of the world.

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