www.bible4islam.com
M. Do you still believe in the Trinity?
C. Sure; it is written in the First Epistle of John (5:7 and8): "For there are three that bear record in heaven, the Father, the Word, and the Holy Ghost: and these three are one. And there are three that bear witness in earth, the spirit, and the water, and the blood: and these three agree in one."
M. Oh, that is in the King james Version, authorized in 1611, and formed the strongest evidence for the Doctrine of the Trinity. But now this part, "the Father, the Word, and the Holy Ghost: and these three are one," has been expunged in the Revised Standard Version of 1952 and 1971 and in many other Bibles, as it was a gloss that had encroached on the Greek text.
I John 5:7 and 8 in the New American Standard Bible reads as follows: "And it is the Spirit who bears witness, because the Spirit is truth. For there are three that bear witness, the Spirit and the water and the blood, and the three are in agreement." Also, in the New World Translation of the Holy Scriptures used by the Jehovah's Witnesses, you will find: "For there are three witness bearers, the spirit and the water and the blood, and the three are in agreement." I can understand if you don't know that this important part has been removed, but I wonder why many ministers and preachers are not aware of this.
The Trinity is not Biblical. The word Trinity is not even in the Bible or Bible dictionaries, was never taught by Jesus and was never mentioned by him. There is no basis or proof in the Bible whatsoever for the acceptance of the Trinity.
C. But in Matthew 28: 19 we still find: "... baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit." This part is not removed yet; is this not a proof of the Trinity?
M. No. If you mention three persons are sitting or eating together, does it mean that they are forming one person? No. The formulation of the Trinity by Athanasius, an Egyptian deacon from Alexandria, was accpted by the Council of Nicaea in A.D. 325, i.e. more than three centuries after Jesus had left. No doubt Roman paganism had influence in this doctrine, the triune god; Sabbath was shifted to Sunday; December 25, which was the birthday of their sun-god Mithra, was introduced as Jesus' birthday, although the Bible clearly predicted and forbade the decoration of Christmas trees in Jeremiah 10:2-5: "Thus saith the Lord, Learn not the way of the heathen, and be not dismayed at the signs of heaven; for the heathen are dismayed at them. For the customs of the people are vain: for one cutteth a tree out of the forest, the work of the hands of the workman, with the axe. They deck it with silver and with gold, they fasten it with nails and with hammers, that it move not. They are upright as the palm tree, but speak not: they must needs be borne, because they cannot go. Be not afraid of them; for they cannot do evil, neither also is it in them to do good."
Because Christianity had deviated a long way from the original teachings of Jesus, Allah then sent as part of His original plan His last Prophet, Muhammad, as revivalist to restore all these changes: the Roman Julian calendar introduced as the Christian era; pork not prohibited; circumcision abolished by Paul (Galatians,5:2): "Behold, I Paul say unto you, that if ye be circumcised, Christ shall profit you nothing."
The Holy Qur'an warns in Surah 5:73: "Surely they are disbelievers, those who said: 'Allah is one of the three in a Trinity.' But there is none who has the right to be worshiped but one God (i.e. Allah). And if they cease not from what they say, verily a painful torment will befall the disbelievers among them."
Do you still believe in the Trinity which was never taught by Jesus?
C. But God and Jesus are one (John 14:11): "Believe me that I am in the Father, and the Father in me."
M. Read then John 17:21.
C. "That they [the disciples] all may be one; as thou, Father, art in me, and I in thee, that they may also be one in us..."
M. It is clear here that God and Jesus are one, but also that the disciples are one in Jesus and God. If Jesus is God because he is in God, why are the disciples then nor God, as they all are like Jesus also in God? If God, Jesus and the Holy Ghost form one unit of Trinity, then with the disciples included they should form a God unit of fifteen.
C. But Jesus is God according to John 14:9: "...he that hath seen me hath seen the Father."
M. See to the context now—what is before and after this: (John 14:8): "Philip saith unto him, Lord, shew us the Father, and it sufficeth us." (John 14:9): "Jesus saith unto him, have I been so long time with you, and yet hast thou not known me, Philip? he that hath seen me hast seen the Father; and how sayest thou then, Shew us the Father?"
So finally Jesus asked Philip how to show the appearance of God to the disciples, which is not possible. You should believe in God by admiring his creation: the sun, the moon, all creation, and Jesus himself who was created by God. He said (John 4:24): "God is a Spirit..." and (John 5:37): "...ye have neither heard his voice at any time, nor seen his shape." How can you see a spirit then? What they saw was Jesus and not God. Also Paul said (I Timothy 6:16): "...whom no man hath seen, nor can see..." So what you can see is never God.
Our Holy Qur'an says (Surah 5:103): "Vision comprehendeth Him not, but He comprehendeth (all) vision. He is the Subtile, the Aware."
C. To be honest, it is difficult to deny what has been taught to us since childhood.
M. Maybe the following questions will give you a better understanding of the Triniry: What is the Holy Spirit?
C. The Holy Spirit is the Holy Ghost, is also God. We are taught, the Father is God, the Son is God, the Holy Ghost is God. We are not allowed to say Three Gods, but One God.
M. Read Matthew 1:18.
C. "Now the birth of Jesus Christ was on this wise: When as his mother Mary was espoused to Joseph, before they came together, she was found with child of the Holy Ghost."
M. Compare now with Luke 1:26 and 27.
C. "And in the sixth month the angel Gabriel was sent from God unto a city of Galilee, named Nazareth, To a virgin espoused to a man whose name was Joseph, of the house of David; and the virgin's name was Mary."
M. So in the miraculous birth of Jesus, Matthew mentioned the Holy Ghost and Luke mentioned the angel Gabriel. What is the Holy Ghost then?
C. The Holy Ghost is then the angel Gabriel.
M. Do you still believe in the Trinity now?
C. Then God is God, the Holy Ghost or the Holy Spirit is the angel Gabriel, and Jesus is...
M. Let me help you: Jesus is a Prophet, son of Mary.
C. How can you solve what we call a mystery?
M. We use the Holy Qur'an as the standard to correct changes made by men in the previously revealed scriptures. If you can now believe in One God, and Jesus, son of Mary, as a Prophet, why don't you goone step further and accept Muhammad as the Last Messenger? Read with me the Shahadah or Witness (Testimony), first in English, then in Arabic.
C. I bear witness that there is no deity except Allah, Who has no partner, and Muhammad is His slave servant and messenger. Ash-hadu an-la Ilaha illal-Lahu wahdahu la shareekalahu wa ash-hadu anna Muhammadan abduhu wa rasuluhu.
But what about my great-grandparents? I would like to stay with them; they were all Christians.
M. Abraham had left his parents and great-grandparents when the Truth, i.e. Islam, was revealed to him. Everyone is responsible for himself. Maybe the Truth hadn't come to your ancestors as clearly as it comes to you now. The Holy Qur'an says in Surah 17:15: "Whoever goes right, then, he goes right only for his own soul's benefit. And whoever goes astray, then he goes astray only to his own loss. No laden soul can bear another's load. And We never punish until We have sent an apostle (to give warnings)."
So the Truth has come to you now and it is up to you.
C. Is it not possible to accept both Islam and Christianity?
M. There is no compulsion in religion. You can do whatever you want. But if you combine both faiths, you haven't surrendered to Allah yet. You are still a disbeliever, as He states in Surah 4:150-152: "Verily those who disbelieve in Allah and His messengers and wish to make distinction between Allah and His messengers [by believing in Allah and disbelieving in His messengers] saying 'We believe in some and reject others,' and wish to take a way in between [this and] that: They are disbelievers in truth. And We have prepared for disbelievers a humiliating torment. To those who believe in Allah and His messengers and make no distinction between any of them [messengers], We shall give them their rewards, and Allah is ever Oft-Forgiving, Most Merciful."
You may later agree with me if we discuss further.
C. Is it not better that we do not make any Confession or Shahadah, so that we are not committed?
M. As soon as you reach adulthood and you are mentally competent, you are then committed whether you make the Shahadah or not. Allah created this world not for nothing. He has supplied you with the organs to differentiate between right and wrong. He has sent many Prophets as warners. We are created to worship Him and that we may compete with each other in good deeds in this world.
Surah 3:191: "...Our Lord! You have not created [all] this without purpose, Glory to You!..."
Surah 90:8-10: "Have We not made for him [mankind] a pair of eyes? And a tongue and a pair of lips? And shown him the two ways [good and evil]?"
Surah 51:56: "And 1 created not the Jinns and mankind except they should worship Me [alone]." Every deed for the pleasure of Allah is worship.
Surah 18:7: "Verily! We have made that which is on earth as an adoration for it [the earth] in order that We may test them [mankind] as to which of them is better in deeds."
Tuesday, January 02, 2007
THE DOCTRINE OF THE DIVINITY OF JESUS CHRIST
From: www.bible4islam.com
M. Is Jesus God?
C. Yes. In the Gospel according to John (1:1): "In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God."
M. We have agreed that a Holy Scripture should not contain contradictions. If there are two conflicting verses, then only one can be true, both can never be true or both are wrong.
Jesus is then God according to John 1:1. Then how many Gods are there? Two at least. This then is in contradiction with many passages in the Bible: (Deuteronomy 4:39): "...that the Lord he is God in heaven above, and upon the earth beneath: there is none else"; (Deuteronomy 6:4): "Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God is one Lord"; (Isaiah 43:19-11): "...that ye may know and believe me, and understand that I am he: before me there was no God formed, neither shall there be after me. I, even I, am the Lord; and beside me there is no saviour"; (Isaiah 44:6): "Thus saith the Lord ... I am the first, and I am the last; and beside me there is no God"; (Isaiah 45:18): "For thus saith the Lord that created the heavens; God himself that formed the earth and made it; he hath established it, he created it not in vain, he formed it to-be inhabited: I am the Lord, and there is none else."
From Isaiah 45:18 alone we can conclude that God alone was the Creator and no one else, not even Jesus, participated in the creation.
See further: Deuteronomy 4:35; Exodus 8:10; II Samuel 7:22; I Kings 8:23:1 Chronicles 17:20; Psalms 86:8, 89:6 and 113:5; Hosea 13:4; Zechariah 14:9.
C. But these are all in the Old Testament Do you find it in the New Testament?
M. Sure. Read in Mark 12:29 what Jesus himself said: "And Jesus answered him, The first of all the commandments is, Hear, 0 Israel: The Lord our God is one Lord."
(I Corinthians 8:4): "...we know that an idol is nothing in the world, and that there is none other God but one." (I Timothy 2:5): "For there is one God, and one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus." Look to the expression "the man Christ Jesus." Now you can either say that John 1:1 is right and all these other verses are wrong, or the reverse.
C. Difficult to judge!
M. Let us see it from the Qur'anic point of view, and this corresponds with what Jesus himself said in the Bible. Jesus is mentioned several times in the Qur'an as 2 Word from Allah. In Surah 3:39: "Then the angels called to him [Zechariah] while he was standing in prayer in the chamber (saying): Allah gives you glad tidings of John [i.e. the Baptist] believing in a Word from Allah [i.e. Jesus, son of Mary], noble, keeping away from sexual relations with women, a prophet, and one of the righteous."
In the same Surah 3, again mentioned in verse 45: "[Remember] when the angels said: "O Mary! Verily Allah gives you the glad tidings of a Word from Him, his name will be Messiah Jesus, the son of Mary, held in honor in this world and the Hereafter, and of those who are near to Allah." In both verses of the Holy Qur'an Jesus is also called a Word from Allah, i.e. a Word coming from Allah or belonging to Allah, in correspondence with I Corinthians 5:23: "And ye are Christ's; and Christ is God's." John 1:1 should also have been written: "...and the Word was God's." The mistake could have been in the translation from Aramaic to Greek, deliberately or not. In the Greek language Theos is God, but Theou means God's (see Greek dictionary, Greek Bible, or Muhammad in the Bible by Prof. Abdu L-Ahad Dawud, former Bishop of Uramiah, page 16). A difference of only one letter but big consequences.
C. Why is Jesus called the Word of God in both Scriptures?
M. The creation of Jesus in the womb of Mary was without the agency of a sperm, just only with the decree of Allah: "Be," as mentioned in the same Surah 3:47: "She [Mary] said; 'O, my Lord! How shall I have a son when no man has touched me,' He said: 'So [it will be], for Allah creates what He will. When He has decreed something. He says to it only "Be" and it is.'"
C. Jesus is God because he is filled with the Holy Spirit.
M. Why don't you consider other people divine who are also rilled with the Holy Ghost? (Acts 11:24): "For he [Barnabas] was a good man, and full of the Holy Ghost and of faith; and much people was added unto the Lord." (Acts 5:32): "And we are his witnesses of these things; and so is also the Holy Ghost, whom God hath given to them that obey him."
See further Acts 6:5; II Peter 1:21; II Timothy 1:14; I Corinthians 2:16; Luke 1:41.
C. But Jesus was filled with the Holy Ghost while he was still in his mother's womb.
M. The same was true with John the Baptist (Luke 1:13, 15): "But the angel said unto him. Fear not, Zacharias: for thy prayer is heard; and thy wife Elizabeth shall bear thee a son, and thou shalt call his name John. For he shall be great in the sight of the lord, and he shall be filled with the Holy Ghost, even from his mother's womb.
C. But Jesus could do miracles He fed five thousand people with only five loaves and two fishes.
M. The same was done by Elisha and Elijah. Elisha fed a hundred people with twenty barley loaves and a few ears of corn (II Kings 4:44): "So he set it before them, and they did eat, and left thereof, according to the word of the Lord." Elisha secured the increase of a widow's oil and he said to her (II Kings 4:7): "Go, sell the oil, and pay thy debt, and live thou and thy children of the rest." See also 1 Kings 17:16: "And the barrel of meal wasted not, neither did the cruse of oil fail, according to the word of the Lord, which he spake by Elijah." Also 1 Kings 17:6: "And the ravens brought him [Elijah] bread and flesh in the morning, bread and flesh in the evening: and he drank of the brook."
C. But Jesus could heal leprosy.
M. Also Elisha told Naaman who was a leper to wash in the Jordan river (II Kings 5:l4): "Then went he [Naaman) down, and dipped himself seven times in Jordan, according to the saying of the man of God [Elisha]: and his flesh came again like unto a flesh of a little child, and he was clean."
C. But Jesus could cause a blind man to see again
M. Also Elisha did (II Kings 6:17): "And Elisha prayed, and said, Lord, I pray thee, open his eyes, that he may see. And the Lord opened the eyes of the young man: and he saw..." (II Kings 6:20): "And it came to pass, when they were come into Samaria, that Elisha said. Lord open the eyes of these men, that they may see. And the Lord opened their eyes, and they saw; and behold, they were in the midst of Samaria."
Elisha was also told to cause blindness (II Kings 6:18): "And when they came down to him, Elisha prayed unto the Lord, and said, Smite this people, I pray thee, with blindness. And he smote them with blindness according to the word of Elisha."
C. Jesus, could raise the dead.
M. Compare with Elijah (I Kings 17:22): "And the Lord heard the voice of Elijah: and the soul of the child came into him again, and he revived." Compare also with Elisha (II Kings 4:34): "And he [Elisha] went up, and lay upon the child, and put his mouth upon his mouth, and his eyes upon his eyes, and his hands upon his hands; and he stretched himself upon the child; and the flesh of the child waxed warm."
Even the dead bones of Elisha could restore a dead body to life by touching only (II Kings 13:21): "And it came to pass, as they were burying a man, that, behold, they spied a band of men; and they cast the man into the sepulchre of Elisha: and when the man was let down, and touched the bones of Elisha, he revived, and stood up on his feet."
C. But Jesus walked upon the water.
M. Moses stretched out his arms over the sea (Exodus 14:22): "And the children of Israel went into the midst of the sea upon the dry ground; and the waters were a wall unto them on their right hand, and on their left."
C. But Jesus could cast out devils.
M. Jesus himself admitted that other people could do it (Matthew 12:27 and Luke 11:19): "And if 1 by Beelzebub case out devils, by whom do your children cast them out? therefore shall they be your judges."
Also the disciples could cast out devils as Jesus said (Matthew 7:22): "Many will say to me in that day, Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in thy name: and in thy name have cast out devils? and in thy name done many wonderful works?"
Even false prophets would do wonders, as prophesied by Jesus himself (Matthew 24:24): "For there shall arise false Christs, and false prophets, and shall shew great signs and wonders; insomuch that, if it were possible, (hey shall deceive the very elect."
C. But Elijah and Elisha did wonders through praying to the Lord.
M. Jesus also did the miracles with the grace of God, as he himself said (John 5:30): "I can of mine own self do nothing..." and (Luke 11:20): "But if I with the finger of God cast out devils', no doubt the Kingdom of God is come upon you."
All miracles performed by Jesus had been done by previous prophets, disciples, and even unbelievers. On the other hand, Jesus could do no mighty work where there was unbelief (Mark 6:5,6): "And he could there do no mighty work, save that he laid his hands upon a few sick folk, and healed them. And he marvelled because of their unbelief. And he went around about the villages, teaching."
C. But Jesus was resurrected three days after he died.
M. We will talk later about his crucifixion because there are so many controversies about it. I 11 only say now briefly that it was a gospel of Paul, who never saw Jesus alive (II Timothy 2:8): "Remember that Jesus Christ of the seed of David was raised from the dead according to my gospel."
The gospel of resurrection in Mark 16:9-20 has also been removed in many Bibles. If not removed it is printed in small print or between two brackets and with commentary. See Revised Standard Version, New American Standard Bible and New World Translation of the Holy Scriptures of the Jehovah's Witnesses. Let me ask you one thing: did Jesus ever claim to be God or to say, "Here am I, your God, and worship me"?
C. No, but he is God and man.
M. But did he ever claim that?
C. No.
M. Indeed he had prophesied that people will worship him uselessly and will believe in doctrines not made by God but by men (Matthew 15:9): "But in vain they do worship me, teaching for doctrines the commandments of men."
All doctrines of modern Christianity are made by men: the Trinity, Divine Sonship of Jesus, Divinity of Jesus Christ, Original Sin and Atonement. From Jesus own sayings, recorded in the New Testament, it is clear that he never claimed divinity or identity to God: "I do nothing of myself" (John 8:28), "My Father is greater than I" (John 14:28): "The Lord our God is one Lord" (Mark 1 2:29); "My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me?" (Mark 15:34); "Father, into thy hands I commend my spirit" (Luke 23:46).
But of that day and that hour knoweth no man, no, not the angels which are in heaven, neither the Son, but the Father" (Mark 13:32). Jesus was called prophet, teacher from God, His servant, Messiah, and later was escalated to Son of God, and then God Himself.
Let us now use our reason: how can God be born by a mortal one as any other mortal?
Jesus slept while God never sleeps (Psalm 121:4): "Behold, he that keepeth Israel shall neither slumber nor sleep." God should be powerful but how could people spit on him, crucify him as alleged. How could Jesus be God if he worshiped God as any other mortal (Luke 5:16); "And he withdrew himself into the wilderness, and prayed."
Jesus was tempted by Satan for forty days (Luke 4:1-13) but in James 1:13 is said: "...for God cannot be tempted with evil..." How can Jesus be God, then? We can rationalize further and further.
C. Yes, I myself can't understand it but we have to accept it blindly,
M. Is it not contradicting the Bible itself which says that you have to prove it (I Thessalonians 5:21): "Prove all things; hold fast that which is good."
C. It's really confusing.
M. But I Corinthians 14:33 says: "For God is not the author of confusion, but of peace, as in all churches of the saints."
Doctrines made by men create confusion.
M. Is Jesus God?
C. Yes. In the Gospel according to John (1:1): "In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God."
M. We have agreed that a Holy Scripture should not contain contradictions. If there are two conflicting verses, then only one can be true, both can never be true or both are wrong.
Jesus is then God according to John 1:1. Then how many Gods are there? Two at least. This then is in contradiction with many passages in the Bible: (Deuteronomy 4:39): "...that the Lord he is God in heaven above, and upon the earth beneath: there is none else"; (Deuteronomy 6:4): "Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God is one Lord"; (Isaiah 43:19-11): "...that ye may know and believe me, and understand that I am he: before me there was no God formed, neither shall there be after me. I, even I, am the Lord; and beside me there is no saviour"; (Isaiah 44:6): "Thus saith the Lord ... I am the first, and I am the last; and beside me there is no God"; (Isaiah 45:18): "For thus saith the Lord that created the heavens; God himself that formed the earth and made it; he hath established it, he created it not in vain, he formed it to-be inhabited: I am the Lord, and there is none else."
From Isaiah 45:18 alone we can conclude that God alone was the Creator and no one else, not even Jesus, participated in the creation.
See further: Deuteronomy 4:35; Exodus 8:10; II Samuel 7:22; I Kings 8:23:1 Chronicles 17:20; Psalms 86:8, 89:6 and 113:5; Hosea 13:4; Zechariah 14:9.
C. But these are all in the Old Testament Do you find it in the New Testament?
M. Sure. Read in Mark 12:29 what Jesus himself said: "And Jesus answered him, The first of all the commandments is, Hear, 0 Israel: The Lord our God is one Lord."
(I Corinthians 8:4): "...we know that an idol is nothing in the world, and that there is none other God but one." (I Timothy 2:5): "For there is one God, and one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus." Look to the expression "the man Christ Jesus." Now you can either say that John 1:1 is right and all these other verses are wrong, or the reverse.
C. Difficult to judge!
M. Let us see it from the Qur'anic point of view, and this corresponds with what Jesus himself said in the Bible. Jesus is mentioned several times in the Qur'an as 2 Word from Allah. In Surah 3:39: "Then the angels called to him [Zechariah] while he was standing in prayer in the chamber (saying): Allah gives you glad tidings of John [i.e. the Baptist] believing in a Word from Allah [i.e. Jesus, son of Mary], noble, keeping away from sexual relations with women, a prophet, and one of the righteous."
In the same Surah 3, again mentioned in verse 45: "[Remember] when the angels said: "O Mary! Verily Allah gives you the glad tidings of a Word from Him, his name will be Messiah Jesus, the son of Mary, held in honor in this world and the Hereafter, and of those who are near to Allah." In both verses of the Holy Qur'an Jesus is also called a Word from Allah, i.e. a Word coming from Allah or belonging to Allah, in correspondence with I Corinthians 5:23: "And ye are Christ's; and Christ is God's." John 1:1 should also have been written: "...and the Word was God's." The mistake could have been in the translation from Aramaic to Greek, deliberately or not. In the Greek language Theos is God, but Theou means God's (see Greek dictionary, Greek Bible, or Muhammad in the Bible by Prof. Abdu L-Ahad Dawud, former Bishop of Uramiah, page 16). A difference of only one letter but big consequences.
C. Why is Jesus called the Word of God in both Scriptures?
M. The creation of Jesus in the womb of Mary was without the agency of a sperm, just only with the decree of Allah: "Be," as mentioned in the same Surah 3:47: "She [Mary] said; 'O, my Lord! How shall I have a son when no man has touched me,' He said: 'So [it will be], for Allah creates what He will. When He has decreed something. He says to it only "Be" and it is.'"
C. Jesus is God because he is filled with the Holy Spirit.
M. Why don't you consider other people divine who are also rilled with the Holy Ghost? (Acts 11:24): "For he [Barnabas] was a good man, and full of the Holy Ghost and of faith; and much people was added unto the Lord." (Acts 5:32): "And we are his witnesses of these things; and so is also the Holy Ghost, whom God hath given to them that obey him."
See further Acts 6:5; II Peter 1:21; II Timothy 1:14; I Corinthians 2:16; Luke 1:41.
C. But Jesus was filled with the Holy Ghost while he was still in his mother's womb.
M. The same was true with John the Baptist (Luke 1:13, 15): "But the angel said unto him. Fear not, Zacharias: for thy prayer is heard; and thy wife Elizabeth shall bear thee a son, and thou shalt call his name John. For he shall be great in the sight of the lord, and he shall be filled with the Holy Ghost, even from his mother's womb.
C. But Jesus could do miracles He fed five thousand people with only five loaves and two fishes.
M. The same was done by Elisha and Elijah. Elisha fed a hundred people with twenty barley loaves and a few ears of corn (II Kings 4:44): "So he set it before them, and they did eat, and left thereof, according to the word of the Lord." Elisha secured the increase of a widow's oil and he said to her (II Kings 4:7): "Go, sell the oil, and pay thy debt, and live thou and thy children of the rest." See also 1 Kings 17:16: "And the barrel of meal wasted not, neither did the cruse of oil fail, according to the word of the Lord, which he spake by Elijah." Also 1 Kings 17:6: "And the ravens brought him [Elijah] bread and flesh in the morning, bread and flesh in the evening: and he drank of the brook."
C. But Jesus could heal leprosy.
M. Also Elisha told Naaman who was a leper to wash in the Jordan river (II Kings 5:l4): "Then went he [Naaman) down, and dipped himself seven times in Jordan, according to the saying of the man of God [Elisha]: and his flesh came again like unto a flesh of a little child, and he was clean."
C. But Jesus could cause a blind man to see again
M. Also Elisha did (II Kings 6:17): "And Elisha prayed, and said, Lord, I pray thee, open his eyes, that he may see. And the Lord opened the eyes of the young man: and he saw..." (II Kings 6:20): "And it came to pass, when they were come into Samaria, that Elisha said. Lord open the eyes of these men, that they may see. And the Lord opened their eyes, and they saw; and behold, they were in the midst of Samaria."
Elisha was also told to cause blindness (II Kings 6:18): "And when they came down to him, Elisha prayed unto the Lord, and said, Smite this people, I pray thee, with blindness. And he smote them with blindness according to the word of Elisha."
C. Jesus, could raise the dead.
M. Compare with Elijah (I Kings 17:22): "And the Lord heard the voice of Elijah: and the soul of the child came into him again, and he revived." Compare also with Elisha (II Kings 4:34): "And he [Elisha] went up, and lay upon the child, and put his mouth upon his mouth, and his eyes upon his eyes, and his hands upon his hands; and he stretched himself upon the child; and the flesh of the child waxed warm."
Even the dead bones of Elisha could restore a dead body to life by touching only (II Kings 13:21): "And it came to pass, as they were burying a man, that, behold, they spied a band of men; and they cast the man into the sepulchre of Elisha: and when the man was let down, and touched the bones of Elisha, he revived, and stood up on his feet."
C. But Jesus walked upon the water.
M. Moses stretched out his arms over the sea (Exodus 14:22): "And the children of Israel went into the midst of the sea upon the dry ground; and the waters were a wall unto them on their right hand, and on their left."
C. But Jesus could cast out devils.
M. Jesus himself admitted that other people could do it (Matthew 12:27 and Luke 11:19): "And if 1 by Beelzebub case out devils, by whom do your children cast them out? therefore shall they be your judges."
Also the disciples could cast out devils as Jesus said (Matthew 7:22): "Many will say to me in that day, Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in thy name: and in thy name have cast out devils? and in thy name done many wonderful works?"
Even false prophets would do wonders, as prophesied by Jesus himself (Matthew 24:24): "For there shall arise false Christs, and false prophets, and shall shew great signs and wonders; insomuch that, if it were possible, (hey shall deceive the very elect."
C. But Elijah and Elisha did wonders through praying to the Lord.
M. Jesus also did the miracles with the grace of God, as he himself said (John 5:30): "I can of mine own self do nothing..." and (Luke 11:20): "But if I with the finger of God cast out devils', no doubt the Kingdom of God is come upon you."
All miracles performed by Jesus had been done by previous prophets, disciples, and even unbelievers. On the other hand, Jesus could do no mighty work where there was unbelief (Mark 6:5,6): "And he could there do no mighty work, save that he laid his hands upon a few sick folk, and healed them. And he marvelled because of their unbelief. And he went around about the villages, teaching."
C. But Jesus was resurrected three days after he died.
M. We will talk later about his crucifixion because there are so many controversies about it. I 11 only say now briefly that it was a gospel of Paul, who never saw Jesus alive (II Timothy 2:8): "Remember that Jesus Christ of the seed of David was raised from the dead according to my gospel."
The gospel of resurrection in Mark 16:9-20 has also been removed in many Bibles. If not removed it is printed in small print or between two brackets and with commentary. See Revised Standard Version, New American Standard Bible and New World Translation of the Holy Scriptures of the Jehovah's Witnesses. Let me ask you one thing: did Jesus ever claim to be God or to say, "Here am I, your God, and worship me"?
C. No, but he is God and man.
M. But did he ever claim that?
C. No.
M. Indeed he had prophesied that people will worship him uselessly and will believe in doctrines not made by God but by men (Matthew 15:9): "But in vain they do worship me, teaching for doctrines the commandments of men."
All doctrines of modern Christianity are made by men: the Trinity, Divine Sonship of Jesus, Divinity of Jesus Christ, Original Sin and Atonement. From Jesus own sayings, recorded in the New Testament, it is clear that he never claimed divinity or identity to God: "I do nothing of myself" (John 8:28), "My Father is greater than I" (John 14:28): "The Lord our God is one Lord" (Mark 1 2:29); "My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me?" (Mark 15:34); "Father, into thy hands I commend my spirit" (Luke 23:46).
But of that day and that hour knoweth no man, no, not the angels which are in heaven, neither the Son, but the Father" (Mark 13:32). Jesus was called prophet, teacher from God, His servant, Messiah, and later was escalated to Son of God, and then God Himself.
Let us now use our reason: how can God be born by a mortal one as any other mortal?
Jesus slept while God never sleeps (Psalm 121:4): "Behold, he that keepeth Israel shall neither slumber nor sleep." God should be powerful but how could people spit on him, crucify him as alleged. How could Jesus be God if he worshiped God as any other mortal (Luke 5:16); "And he withdrew himself into the wilderness, and prayed."
Jesus was tempted by Satan for forty days (Luke 4:1-13) but in James 1:13 is said: "...for God cannot be tempted with evil..." How can Jesus be God, then? We can rationalize further and further.
C. Yes, I myself can't understand it but we have to accept it blindly,
M. Is it not contradicting the Bible itself which says that you have to prove it (I Thessalonians 5:21): "Prove all things; hold fast that which is good."
C. It's really confusing.
M. But I Corinthians 14:33 says: "For God is not the author of confusion, but of peace, as in all churches of the saints."
Doctrines made by men create confusion.
THE FIRST CONTACT BETWEEN A CHRISTIAN AND A MUSLIM
From: www.bible4islam.com
C: Christian. M: Muslim.
C. Why have there been in the last decade many discussions held between Christians and Muslims about their beliefs?
M. I think because we both have several things in common. We believe in the One Creator Who had sent many Prophets and in Jesus as the Messiah as well as the Word of God which had been denied by the Jews.
Our Holy Qur'an mentions in Surah 3:45: "[Remember] when the angels said, "O Mary! Verily Allah gives you the glad tidings of a Word from Him, his name will be Messiah Jesus, the son of Mary, held in honor in this world and in the hereafter, and of those who are near to Allah...."
Dialogues have been held everywhere in Europe, Canada, the USA and Australia. Even the Vatican is not spared where discussions were held between Vatican theologians and Egyptian Muslim scholars in Rome in 1970 and in Cairo in 1974 and 1978. Also between Vatican theologians and Saudi Arabian Muslim scholars in Rome in 1974. Many times in Colombo, not to mention Muslims invited by many churches to present Islam.
C. If Christianity is nearly two thousand years old and Islam more than fourteen hundred years, why were these discussions not held centuries ago?
M. For the last three to four centuries many Asian and African countries dominated by Muslims were colonized by Britain, France, Holland, Belgium, Spain and Portugal. Many Christian mission colonists tried to convert as many Muslims as they could by whatever means they had, by giving them medical treatment, clothes, food, jobs to the poor, but only a few were converted. A small part of the elite were converted to Christianity because of their prejudice that Christianity brought them to their civilization and progress of knowledge. They had a wrong notion because this progress was attained after the separation of state and church in Europe.
After the Second World War many Muslims from Asian and African countries were emigrating as workers and professionals to the Western Hemisphere, which brought them more in contact with the Christians. Also students were active in introducing Islam.
C. Do you see other reasons why many dialogues were held nowadays even by their respective missions?
M. I think the gap between both is becoming smaller as each is more tolerant, although both are still competing in getting more converts. I still remember my Christian teacher who used to say, "Muhammad the imposter, the dreamer, the epileptic." You now find fewer writers depicting Islam in such a manner.
We Muslims feel closer to the Christians than to the Jews and disbelievers, as the Qur'an prophesied in Surah 5:82: "Thou wilt find the most vehement of mankind in hostility to those who believe (to be) the Jews and the idolaters. And thou wilt find the nearest of them in affection to those who believe (to be) those who say: Lo! We are Christians. This is because there are among them priests and monks (i.e.- persons entirely devoted to the service of God, as were the Muslims), and because they are not proud." Some Christian denominations are making tremendous progress now by acknowledging for the first time in history that Muhammad [PBUH] descended from Ishmael through his second son Kedar. The Davis Dictionary of the Bible, 1980, sponsored by the Board of Christian Education of the Presbyterian Church in the USA, writes under the word Kedar: "... A tribe descended from Ishmael (Gen. 25:13)... The people of Kedar were Pliny's Cedrai, and from their tribe Mohammed ultimately arose." The International Standard Bible Encyclopedia quotes the following from A. S. Fulton: "... Of the Ishmaelite tribes, Kedar must have been one of the most important, and thus in later times the name came to be applied to all the wild tribes of the desert. It is through Kedar (Arab.Keidar) that Muslim genealogists trace the descent of Mohammed from Ishmael."
Also Smith's Bible Dictionary will not stay behind and prints the following: "Kedar (black). Second son of Ishmael (Gen. 25:13) ... Mohammed traces his lineage to Abraham through the celebrated Koreish tribe, which sprang from Kedar. The Arabs in the Hejaz are called Beni Harb (men of war), and are Ishmaelites as of old, from their beginning. Palgrave says their language is as pure now as when the Koran was written (A.D. 610), having remained unchanged more than 1200 years; a fine proof of the permanency of Eastern Institutions."
The biggest asset brought by Muslim immigrants to the Western hemisphere is not their manpower but the Islam which is now taking root here. Many mosques and Islamic centers are established and many are reverted into Islam. I prefer the word reverted and not converted, as everybody is born in submission to Allah, i.e. Islam, this is the nature of every child born. The parents or the community convert him to Judaism, Christianity, other faiths, or atheism.
This is also a proof that Islam is not spreading by the sword but simply by propagation by individuals or groups of Muslims. We don't have special missions organized as in Christian missions.
The world population has increased 136% from 1934 through 1984, Christianity with 47% and Islam with 235%. See The Plain Truth, February 1984, in its 50 Year Anniversary issue, quoting from The World Almanac and Book of Facts 1935 and Reader's Digest Almanac and Year-book 1983.
C. If all three religions, Judaism, Christianity and Islam, are claiming to emanate from the One and same Creator, why do they differ?
M. All Prophets from Adam to Muhammad [PBUT] were sent with the same message: that is, the total submission of mankind to Allah. This submission in Arabic is called Islam; Islam means also Peace, peace between the Creator and His creatures. Unlike the names Judaism and Christianity, this name Islam has been given by Allah, the Creator Himself, as mentioned in Surah 5:3: "This day I have perfected your religion for you and completed My favor on you, and have chosen for you as the way of life Al-Islam as your religion." Neither the name Judaism nor Christianity is found in the Bible, not even in a Bible dictionary. No Israelite prophet mentioned the word Judaism. Jesus never claimed to establish Christianity on earth and never called himself a Christian. The word Christian is mentioned only three times in the New Testament and first by pagans and Jews in Ancioch about 43 A.D., long after Jesus had left this earth. Read in Acts 11:26: "...And the disciples were called Christians first in Antioch."
Later by King Agrippa II to Paul in Acts 26:28: "Then Agrippa said unto Paul. Almost thou persuadest me to be a Christian."
So the name Christian was first given by foes rather than friends. And finally by Peter in his letter to comfort the faithful in I Peter 4:16: "Yet if any man suffer as a Christian, let him not be ashamed...."
The first Muslim on earth is not Muhammad but Abraham who submitted totally to Allah. But Islam as a way of life had been revealed to other prophets prior to Abraham like Adam and Noah. Then Islam follows as the way of life for all humanity.
C. How could Abraham be a Muslim? He is known as a Jew!
M. A Jew? Who told you that?
C. We are taught that; it must be confirmed by the Bible, too.
M. Can you show me where in the Bible it says that he is a Jew? If you can't find it quickly, let me help you. Read Genesis 11:31.
C. "And Terah took Abram his son, and Lot the son of Haran his son's son, and Sarai his daughter-in-law, his son Abram's wife, and they went forth with them from Ur of the Chaldees, to go into the land of Canaan; and they came unto Haran and dwelt there."
C. So Abraham who was born in Ur of Chaldees could not have been a Jew, First because Ur of Chaldees was in Mesopotamia, which is now a part of Iraq. He was then more an Arab than a Jew. Secondly the name Jew came after the existence ofJudah, the great-grandson of Abraham (see chart on page 4). Read further, Genesis 12:4 and 5.
C. "... and Abram was seventy and five years old when he departed out of Haran.... and into the land of Canaan they came."
M. So Abraham emigrated to Canaan at the age of seventy-five and the Bible clearly mentioned that he was there a stranger in Genesis 17:8: "And I will give unto thee, and to thy seed after thee, the land wherein thou art a stranger, all the land of Canaan, for an everlasting possession; and I will be their God." Read now Genesis 14:13.
C. "And there came one that had escaped, and told Abram the Hebrew,"
M. How can you call Abraham a Jew if the Bible itself calls him a Hebrew which means a man from the other side of the Euphrates. It also means pertaining to Eber,a descendant of Shem. Read now in Genesis 32:28 what happened to the name of Jacob after wrestling with an angel.
C. "And he said, Thy name shall be called no more Jacob, but Israel; for as a prince hast thou power with God and with men, and hast prevailed."
M. So Abraham was a Hebrew. The descendants of Jacob were Israelites consisting of the twelve tribes. Judah was nicknamed "Jew" so that only Judah's descendants were called Jews originally.
To know who Moses really was, read Exodus 6:16-20.
C. "And these are the names of the sons of Levi according to their generations; Ghershon, and Kohath, and Merari.... And the sons of Kohach: Amram.... And Amram took him Jochebed his father's sister to wife; and she bare him Aaron and Moses."
M. So Moses was not a Jew because he was not descended from Judah but a Levite. Moses was the "law-giver" (Torah is law) to the children of Israel.
C. How can you explain that?
M. Because we are using the Holy Qur'an as standard. You can explain the Bible and correct the Jewish and Christian prejudice with the context of the Qur'an. It is the last revealed Book which has never been corrupted or adulterated. Its contents has been guaranteed by Allah in Surah 2:2: "This is the Scripture whereof there is no doubt..." and also in Surah 15:9: 'No doubt We have sent down the Qur'an and surely We will guard it (from corruption)." This verse is a challenge to mankind. It is a clear fact that more than fourteen hundred years have passed and not a single word of this Qur'an has been changed although disbelievers tried their utmost to change it, but they failed miserably in their efforts. As it is mentioned in this Holy Verse: "We will guard this Book," by Allah, He has guarded it.
On the contrary, all the other holy books (Torah, Psalms, Gospels, etc) have been adulterated in the form of additions, deletions or alterations from the original.
C. What does the Qur'an say about Abraham and Moses that you can deduce it from the Bible?
M. In Surah 3:65: "0 people of the Scripture [Jews and Christians]! Why do you dispute about Abraham, while the Torah and the Gospel were not revealed till after him? Have you then no sense?"
And in Surah 3:67: "Abraham was neither a Jew nor a Christian, but he was a true Muslim (worshiper of none but Allah alone) and he joined none in worship with Allah."
In Surah 2:140: "Or say you that Abraham, Ishmael, Isaac, Jacob and the twelve sons of Jacob were Jews or Christians? Say (0, Muhammad), "Do you know better or does Allah (know better)? And who is more unjust than he who conceals the testimony he has from Allah? And Allah is not unaware of what you do." Of course they were not Jews or Christians as the name Jews came after Judah and the name Christians came long after Jesus had left.
C. It feels strange to hear the name Allah. Why don't you say God if you speak English?
M. Yes, indeed, the name Allah seems to be strange to non-Muslims but this name has been used by all Prophets since Adam until Muhammad [PBUT]. It is a contraction of the two Arabic words Al-Ilah, i.e. The God. By dropping the letter "I" you will find the word Allah. According to its position in an Arabic sentence it can have the form Allaha which is close to the Hebrew name of the Creator, i.e. Eloha. But the Jews are using wrongly the plural form Elohim which denotes more than one God. The word Allaha sounds closer to the Aramaic word for God used by Jesus, namely Alaha (see Encyclopedia Britannica 1980 under Allah and Elohim). So while the name Allah is strange to non-Muslims, it is not strange to all Prophets from Adam to Muhammad [PBUT], as they propagated in principle the same Islam, i.e. total submission, and the word Allah denotes the personal name of the Supreme Being. It is not subject to plurality or gender, so there is no such thing as Allahs, or male or female Allah, as there
is Gods or God and Goddess. It is confusing to use the word God as many English-speaking Christians still consider Jesus as God. Even the word Creator is also confusing, as many Christians still maintain that Jesus had created the world. Not only the name Allah is strange, but also the way Muslims worship Allah with ablution, bowing, knecling, prostration and fasting is strange to non-Muslims, but not strange to all Prophets. While ablution (washing of face. arms, feet, and moistening of the hair) prior to worship is abandoned by modern Christians, it is still required by Muslims and previous Prophets, as seen in the following passages of the Bible: Exodus 40:31-32: "And Moses and Aaron and his sons washed their hands and their feet thereat; When they went into the tent of the congregation, and when they came near unto the altar, they washed; as the Lord commanded Moses." Although Paul made many changes in Jesus" teaching, he was still faithful in respect to ablution as seen in Acts 21:26: "Then Paul took the men, and the next day purifying himself with them entered into the temple..." Muslim women perform their prayer with their head covered as in I Corinthians 11:5,6 and 1 3: "But every woman that prayeth or prophesieth with her head uncovered dishonoureth her head: for that is even all one as if she were shaven. For if the woman be not covered, let her also be shorn: but if it be a shame for a woman to be shorn or shaven, let her be covered... Judge in yourselves, is it comely that a woman pray unto God uncovered?" Muslims worship with bowing, kneeling, prostration and without shoes as done by previous Prophets: Psalm 95:6: "0 come, let us worship and bow down: let us kneel before the Lord our maker. Joshua 5:14: "And Joshua fell on his face to the earth, and did worship..." I Kings 18:42: "And Elijah went up to the top of Carmel; and he cast himself down upon the earth, and put his face between his knees" Numbers 20:6: "... and they (Moses and Aaron] fell upon their faces: and the glory of the Lord appeared upon them." Genesis 17:3: And Abram fell on his face: and God talked with him, saying..." Exodus 3:5 and Acts 7:33: And he [God] said [to Moses], Draw not nigh hither: put off thy shoes from off thy feet, for the place whereon thou standest is holy ground."
A Christian will shiver in hearing that Pilgrimage or Haj as is now done by Muslims by circumambulating around the sacred stone Ka'bah in Mecca, had been performed by many Prophets, even by Israelite Prophets.
C. I never read Pilgrimage or sacred stone in the Bible.
M. This has been mentioned clearly several times bur overlooked by Bible readers:
1. Jacob on his way to Padan-aram saw a vision and built the next morning a pillar of stone which he called Beth-El, i.e. the House of the Lord (Genesis 28:18-19).
2. Years later the same Prophet, Jacob, was ordered by Allah to go to Beth-El (Genesis 35:4,14,15). Jacob removed all the strange Gods prior to going there. Later also Prophet Muhammad [PBUH] removed all idols around the sacred stone Ka'bah in Mecca.
3. Another pillar was built by Jacob and his father-in-law Laban (Genesis 51:45-49): "And Jacob cook a stone, and set it up for a pillar. And Jacob said unto his brethren, Gather stones; and they took stones, and made an heap; and they did eat there upon the heap. And Laban called it Jegar-sahadutha, but Jacob called it Galeed. . . . And Mizpah; for he said. The Lord watch between me and thee..."
4. Jephthah and Ammon had a war against each other. Jephthah swore to the Lord in Mizpeh of Gilead to sacrifice his only daughter if he won. He did win, and burnt his daughter there alive as an offering to the Lord (Judges 11:29-59).
5. Four hundred thousand swordsmen from the eleven tribes of Israel swore before the Lord in Mizpeh to exterminate the tribes of Benjamin (Judges 20 and 21).
6. The children of Israel under Samuel swore in Mizpeh to destroy their idols if they won against the Philistines (I Samuel 7).
7. The whole nation of Israel assembled in Mizpeh when Samuel was appointed king of Israel (1 Samuel 10).
It is obvious now that there is no Mizpah left in the world except the oldest one in the Holy City of Mecca built by Abraham and his son Ishmael, from whom later Prophet Muhammad arose. Muslims are really the followers of all Prophets. I can tell you other things about Muslims, Islam and Muhammad [PBUH] in the Bible, but why should you know this if you are not looking for the truth?
C. I am sure of my own belief as a Christian but I am stimulated to know more about both religions. 1 feel sometimes ridiculed as a Christian after reading books written by Muslims.
M. Did it affect you in your religious life?
C. Yes, I am not going to Church as regularly as before. I have been secretly reading books written by Muslims. I have asked several Muslims what was not clear to me, but not to my satisfaction. I am looking for a belief chat I can rely on, that can give me peace of mind, scientifically acceptable, and not just believe in it blindly.
M. It should be like that. I appreciate your attitude. But we are not allowed to allure anyone. We propagate only to those who want to listen to us.
C. But I am free to choose any belief I like and nobody can stop me.
M. Yes, there is no compulsion in religion.
C. Why are Muslims calling other people to accept their belief, then?
M. As Christians ask the Jews to accept Jesus as the Messiah, we Muslims ask the Christians as well as Jews and all mankind to accept Muhammad [PBUH] as the Seal of all Prophets. Our Prophet Muhammad [PBUH] said: "Convey my message even one ayah (verse of the Holy Qur'an)."
Also, Isaiah mentioned in chapter 21:13, The burden upon Arabia," which means the responsibility of the Muslim Arabs, of course of all Muslims now, to spread the Islam. Isaiah mentioned this after he saw in a vision a chariot of asses and a chariot of camels (21:7): "And he saw a chariot with a couple of horsemen, a chariot of asses, and a chariot of camels; and he hearkened diligently wit. much heed."
The chariot of asses turned out to Jesus who entered Jerusalem (John 12:14; Matthew 21:5). Who then was the chariot of camels? It could not be other than Muhammad [PBUH] who came about six hundred years after the advent of the Messiah. If this is not accepted, then this prophecy has not yet been fulfilled.
C. Your explanation stimulates me to review the Bible more carefully. I would like to get more discussions with you.
M. Yes, if you are successful in this world, it doesn't mean that you will be successful in (he hereafter. The hereafter is much better and more lasting than this life. People are now becoming more materialistic and secular. Let us come together several times and discuss the differences frankly and without prejudice. Islam is based on reason, and you should not just accept it. Even your Bible says, "Prove all things; hold fast that which is good" (I Thessalonians 5:21).
C. You quoted just now "chariot of camels" from Isaiah and made the conclusion that it was Muhammad. Is he then prophesied in the Bible?
M. Sure.
C. In the Old or New Testament?
M. In both. But you cannot recognize him in the Bible as long as you don't believe in the Oneness of God. I mean as long as you still believe in the Trinity, the Divinity of Jesus, the Divine Sonship of Jesus, the Original Sin and the Atonement. All these are doctrines made by men. Jesus had prophesied (Matthew 15:9) that people will worship him uselessly and believing in doctrines made by men: "But in vain they do worship me, teaching for doctrines the commandments of men."
C: Christian. M: Muslim.
C. Why have there been in the last decade many discussions held between Christians and Muslims about their beliefs?
M. I think because we both have several things in common. We believe in the One Creator Who had sent many Prophets and in Jesus as the Messiah as well as the Word of God which had been denied by the Jews.
Our Holy Qur'an mentions in Surah 3:45: "[Remember] when the angels said, "O Mary! Verily Allah gives you the glad tidings of a Word from Him, his name will be Messiah Jesus, the son of Mary, held in honor in this world and in the hereafter, and of those who are near to Allah...."
Dialogues have been held everywhere in Europe, Canada, the USA and Australia. Even the Vatican is not spared where discussions were held between Vatican theologians and Egyptian Muslim scholars in Rome in 1970 and in Cairo in 1974 and 1978. Also between Vatican theologians and Saudi Arabian Muslim scholars in Rome in 1974. Many times in Colombo, not to mention Muslims invited by many churches to present Islam.
C. If Christianity is nearly two thousand years old and Islam more than fourteen hundred years, why were these discussions not held centuries ago?
M. For the last three to four centuries many Asian and African countries dominated by Muslims were colonized by Britain, France, Holland, Belgium, Spain and Portugal. Many Christian mission colonists tried to convert as many Muslims as they could by whatever means they had, by giving them medical treatment, clothes, food, jobs to the poor, but only a few were converted. A small part of the elite were converted to Christianity because of their prejudice that Christianity brought them to their civilization and progress of knowledge. They had a wrong notion because this progress was attained after the separation of state and church in Europe.
After the Second World War many Muslims from Asian and African countries were emigrating as workers and professionals to the Western Hemisphere, which brought them more in contact with the Christians. Also students were active in introducing Islam.
C. Do you see other reasons why many dialogues were held nowadays even by their respective missions?
M. I think the gap between both is becoming smaller as each is more tolerant, although both are still competing in getting more converts. I still remember my Christian teacher who used to say, "Muhammad the imposter, the dreamer, the epileptic." You now find fewer writers depicting Islam in such a manner.
We Muslims feel closer to the Christians than to the Jews and disbelievers, as the Qur'an prophesied in Surah 5:82: "Thou wilt find the most vehement of mankind in hostility to those who believe (to be) the Jews and the idolaters. And thou wilt find the nearest of them in affection to those who believe (to be) those who say: Lo! We are Christians. This is because there are among them priests and monks (i.e.- persons entirely devoted to the service of God, as were the Muslims), and because they are not proud." Some Christian denominations are making tremendous progress now by acknowledging for the first time in history that Muhammad [PBUH] descended from Ishmael through his second son Kedar. The Davis Dictionary of the Bible, 1980, sponsored by the Board of Christian Education of the Presbyterian Church in the USA, writes under the word Kedar: "... A tribe descended from Ishmael (Gen. 25:13)... The people of Kedar were Pliny's Cedrai, and from their tribe Mohammed ultimately arose." The International Standard Bible Encyclopedia quotes the following from A. S. Fulton: "... Of the Ishmaelite tribes, Kedar must have been one of the most important, and thus in later times the name came to be applied to all the wild tribes of the desert. It is through Kedar (Arab.Keidar) that Muslim genealogists trace the descent of Mohammed from Ishmael."
Also Smith's Bible Dictionary will not stay behind and prints the following: "Kedar (black). Second son of Ishmael (Gen. 25:13) ... Mohammed traces his lineage to Abraham through the celebrated Koreish tribe, which sprang from Kedar. The Arabs in the Hejaz are called Beni Harb (men of war), and are Ishmaelites as of old, from their beginning. Palgrave says their language is as pure now as when the Koran was written (A.D. 610), having remained unchanged more than 1200 years; a fine proof of the permanency of Eastern Institutions."
The biggest asset brought by Muslim immigrants to the Western hemisphere is not their manpower but the Islam which is now taking root here. Many mosques and Islamic centers are established and many are reverted into Islam. I prefer the word reverted and not converted, as everybody is born in submission to Allah, i.e. Islam, this is the nature of every child born. The parents or the community convert him to Judaism, Christianity, other faiths, or atheism.
This is also a proof that Islam is not spreading by the sword but simply by propagation by individuals or groups of Muslims. We don't have special missions organized as in Christian missions.
The world population has increased 136% from 1934 through 1984, Christianity with 47% and Islam with 235%. See The Plain Truth, February 1984, in its 50 Year Anniversary issue, quoting from The World Almanac and Book of Facts 1935 and Reader's Digest Almanac and Year-book 1983.
C. If all three religions, Judaism, Christianity and Islam, are claiming to emanate from the One and same Creator, why do they differ?
M. All Prophets from Adam to Muhammad [PBUT] were sent with the same message: that is, the total submission of mankind to Allah. This submission in Arabic is called Islam; Islam means also Peace, peace between the Creator and His creatures. Unlike the names Judaism and Christianity, this name Islam has been given by Allah, the Creator Himself, as mentioned in Surah 5:3: "This day I have perfected your religion for you and completed My favor on you, and have chosen for you as the way of life Al-Islam as your religion." Neither the name Judaism nor Christianity is found in the Bible, not even in a Bible dictionary. No Israelite prophet mentioned the word Judaism. Jesus never claimed to establish Christianity on earth and never called himself a Christian. The word Christian is mentioned only three times in the New Testament and first by pagans and Jews in Ancioch about 43 A.D., long after Jesus had left this earth. Read in Acts 11:26: "...And the disciples were called Christians first in Antioch."
Later by King Agrippa II to Paul in Acts 26:28: "Then Agrippa said unto Paul. Almost thou persuadest me to be a Christian."
So the name Christian was first given by foes rather than friends. And finally by Peter in his letter to comfort the faithful in I Peter 4:16: "Yet if any man suffer as a Christian, let him not be ashamed...."
The first Muslim on earth is not Muhammad but Abraham who submitted totally to Allah. But Islam as a way of life had been revealed to other prophets prior to Abraham like Adam and Noah. Then Islam follows as the way of life for all humanity.
C. How could Abraham be a Muslim? He is known as a Jew!
M. A Jew? Who told you that?
C. We are taught that; it must be confirmed by the Bible, too.
M. Can you show me where in the Bible it says that he is a Jew? If you can't find it quickly, let me help you. Read Genesis 11:31.
C. "And Terah took Abram his son, and Lot the son of Haran his son's son, and Sarai his daughter-in-law, his son Abram's wife, and they went forth with them from Ur of the Chaldees, to go into the land of Canaan; and they came unto Haran and dwelt there."
C. So Abraham who was born in Ur of Chaldees could not have been a Jew, First because Ur of Chaldees was in Mesopotamia, which is now a part of Iraq. He was then more an Arab than a Jew. Secondly the name Jew came after the existence ofJudah, the great-grandson of Abraham (see chart on page 4). Read further, Genesis 12:4 and 5.
C. "... and Abram was seventy and five years old when he departed out of Haran.... and into the land of Canaan they came."
M. So Abraham emigrated to Canaan at the age of seventy-five and the Bible clearly mentioned that he was there a stranger in Genesis 17:8: "And I will give unto thee, and to thy seed after thee, the land wherein thou art a stranger, all the land of Canaan, for an everlasting possession; and I will be their God." Read now Genesis 14:13.
C. "And there came one that had escaped, and told Abram the Hebrew,"
M. How can you call Abraham a Jew if the Bible itself calls him a Hebrew which means a man from the other side of the Euphrates. It also means pertaining to Eber,a descendant of Shem. Read now in Genesis 32:28 what happened to the name of Jacob after wrestling with an angel.
C. "And he said, Thy name shall be called no more Jacob, but Israel; for as a prince hast thou power with God and with men, and hast prevailed."
M. So Abraham was a Hebrew. The descendants of Jacob were Israelites consisting of the twelve tribes. Judah was nicknamed "Jew" so that only Judah's descendants were called Jews originally.
To know who Moses really was, read Exodus 6:16-20.
C. "And these are the names of the sons of Levi according to their generations; Ghershon, and Kohath, and Merari.... And the sons of Kohach: Amram.... And Amram took him Jochebed his father's sister to wife; and she bare him Aaron and Moses."
M. So Moses was not a Jew because he was not descended from Judah but a Levite. Moses was the "law-giver" (Torah is law) to the children of Israel.
C. How can you explain that?
M. Because we are using the Holy Qur'an as standard. You can explain the Bible and correct the Jewish and Christian prejudice with the context of the Qur'an. It is the last revealed Book which has never been corrupted or adulterated. Its contents has been guaranteed by Allah in Surah 2:2: "This is the Scripture whereof there is no doubt..." and also in Surah 15:9: 'No doubt We have sent down the Qur'an and surely We will guard it (from corruption)." This verse is a challenge to mankind. It is a clear fact that more than fourteen hundred years have passed and not a single word of this Qur'an has been changed although disbelievers tried their utmost to change it, but they failed miserably in their efforts. As it is mentioned in this Holy Verse: "We will guard this Book," by Allah, He has guarded it.
On the contrary, all the other holy books (Torah, Psalms, Gospels, etc) have been adulterated in the form of additions, deletions or alterations from the original.
C. What does the Qur'an say about Abraham and Moses that you can deduce it from the Bible?
M. In Surah 3:65: "0 people of the Scripture [Jews and Christians]! Why do you dispute about Abraham, while the Torah and the Gospel were not revealed till after him? Have you then no sense?"
And in Surah 3:67: "Abraham was neither a Jew nor a Christian, but he was a true Muslim (worshiper of none but Allah alone) and he joined none in worship with Allah."
In Surah 2:140: "Or say you that Abraham, Ishmael, Isaac, Jacob and the twelve sons of Jacob were Jews or Christians? Say (0, Muhammad), "Do you know better or does Allah (know better)? And who is more unjust than he who conceals the testimony he has from Allah? And Allah is not unaware of what you do." Of course they were not Jews or Christians as the name Jews came after Judah and the name Christians came long after Jesus had left.
C. It feels strange to hear the name Allah. Why don't you say God if you speak English?
M. Yes, indeed, the name Allah seems to be strange to non-Muslims but this name has been used by all Prophets since Adam until Muhammad [PBUT]. It is a contraction of the two Arabic words Al-Ilah, i.e. The God. By dropping the letter "I" you will find the word Allah. According to its position in an Arabic sentence it can have the form Allaha which is close to the Hebrew name of the Creator, i.e. Eloha. But the Jews are using wrongly the plural form Elohim which denotes more than one God. The word Allaha sounds closer to the Aramaic word for God used by Jesus, namely Alaha (see Encyclopedia Britannica 1980 under Allah and Elohim). So while the name Allah is strange to non-Muslims, it is not strange to all Prophets from Adam to Muhammad [PBUT], as they propagated in principle the same Islam, i.e. total submission, and the word Allah denotes the personal name of the Supreme Being. It is not subject to plurality or gender, so there is no such thing as Allahs, or male or female Allah, as there
is Gods or God and Goddess. It is confusing to use the word God as many English-speaking Christians still consider Jesus as God. Even the word Creator is also confusing, as many Christians still maintain that Jesus had created the world. Not only the name Allah is strange, but also the way Muslims worship Allah with ablution, bowing, knecling, prostration and fasting is strange to non-Muslims, but not strange to all Prophets. While ablution (washing of face. arms, feet, and moistening of the hair) prior to worship is abandoned by modern Christians, it is still required by Muslims and previous Prophets, as seen in the following passages of the Bible: Exodus 40:31-32: "And Moses and Aaron and his sons washed their hands and their feet thereat; When they went into the tent of the congregation, and when they came near unto the altar, they washed; as the Lord commanded Moses." Although Paul made many changes in Jesus" teaching, he was still faithful in respect to ablution as seen in Acts 21:26: "Then Paul took the men, and the next day purifying himself with them entered into the temple..." Muslim women perform their prayer with their head covered as in I Corinthians 11:5,6 and 1 3: "But every woman that prayeth or prophesieth with her head uncovered dishonoureth her head: for that is even all one as if she were shaven. For if the woman be not covered, let her also be shorn: but if it be a shame for a woman to be shorn or shaven, let her be covered... Judge in yourselves, is it comely that a woman pray unto God uncovered?" Muslims worship with bowing, kneeling, prostration and without shoes as done by previous Prophets: Psalm 95:6: "0 come, let us worship and bow down: let us kneel before the Lord our maker. Joshua 5:14: "And Joshua fell on his face to the earth, and did worship..." I Kings 18:42: "And Elijah went up to the top of Carmel; and he cast himself down upon the earth, and put his face between his knees" Numbers 20:6: "... and they (Moses and Aaron] fell upon their faces: and the glory of the Lord appeared upon them." Genesis 17:3: And Abram fell on his face: and God talked with him, saying..." Exodus 3:5 and Acts 7:33: And he [God] said [to Moses], Draw not nigh hither: put off thy shoes from off thy feet, for the place whereon thou standest is holy ground."
A Christian will shiver in hearing that Pilgrimage or Haj as is now done by Muslims by circumambulating around the sacred stone Ka'bah in Mecca, had been performed by many Prophets, even by Israelite Prophets.
C. I never read Pilgrimage or sacred stone in the Bible.
M. This has been mentioned clearly several times bur overlooked by Bible readers:
1. Jacob on his way to Padan-aram saw a vision and built the next morning a pillar of stone which he called Beth-El, i.e. the House of the Lord (Genesis 28:18-19).
2. Years later the same Prophet, Jacob, was ordered by Allah to go to Beth-El (Genesis 35:4,14,15). Jacob removed all the strange Gods prior to going there. Later also Prophet Muhammad [PBUH] removed all idols around the sacred stone Ka'bah in Mecca.
3. Another pillar was built by Jacob and his father-in-law Laban (Genesis 51:45-49): "And Jacob cook a stone, and set it up for a pillar. And Jacob said unto his brethren, Gather stones; and they took stones, and made an heap; and they did eat there upon the heap. And Laban called it Jegar-sahadutha, but Jacob called it Galeed. . . . And Mizpah; for he said. The Lord watch between me and thee..."
4. Jephthah and Ammon had a war against each other. Jephthah swore to the Lord in Mizpeh of Gilead to sacrifice his only daughter if he won. He did win, and burnt his daughter there alive as an offering to the Lord (Judges 11:29-59).
5. Four hundred thousand swordsmen from the eleven tribes of Israel swore before the Lord in Mizpeh to exterminate the tribes of Benjamin (Judges 20 and 21).
6. The children of Israel under Samuel swore in Mizpeh to destroy their idols if they won against the Philistines (I Samuel 7).
7. The whole nation of Israel assembled in Mizpeh when Samuel was appointed king of Israel (1 Samuel 10).
It is obvious now that there is no Mizpah left in the world except the oldest one in the Holy City of Mecca built by Abraham and his son Ishmael, from whom later Prophet Muhammad arose. Muslims are really the followers of all Prophets. I can tell you other things about Muslims, Islam and Muhammad [PBUH] in the Bible, but why should you know this if you are not looking for the truth?
C. I am sure of my own belief as a Christian but I am stimulated to know more about both religions. 1 feel sometimes ridiculed as a Christian after reading books written by Muslims.
M. Did it affect you in your religious life?
C. Yes, I am not going to Church as regularly as before. I have been secretly reading books written by Muslims. I have asked several Muslims what was not clear to me, but not to my satisfaction. I am looking for a belief chat I can rely on, that can give me peace of mind, scientifically acceptable, and not just believe in it blindly.
M. It should be like that. I appreciate your attitude. But we are not allowed to allure anyone. We propagate only to those who want to listen to us.
C. But I am free to choose any belief I like and nobody can stop me.
M. Yes, there is no compulsion in religion.
C. Why are Muslims calling other people to accept their belief, then?
M. As Christians ask the Jews to accept Jesus as the Messiah, we Muslims ask the Christians as well as Jews and all mankind to accept Muhammad [PBUH] as the Seal of all Prophets. Our Prophet Muhammad [PBUH] said: "Convey my message even one ayah (verse of the Holy Qur'an)."
Also, Isaiah mentioned in chapter 21:13, The burden upon Arabia," which means the responsibility of the Muslim Arabs, of course of all Muslims now, to spread the Islam. Isaiah mentioned this after he saw in a vision a chariot of asses and a chariot of camels (21:7): "And he saw a chariot with a couple of horsemen, a chariot of asses, and a chariot of camels; and he hearkened diligently wit. much heed."
The chariot of asses turned out to Jesus who entered Jerusalem (John 12:14; Matthew 21:5). Who then was the chariot of camels? It could not be other than Muhammad [PBUH] who came about six hundred years after the advent of the Messiah. If this is not accepted, then this prophecy has not yet been fulfilled.
C. Your explanation stimulates me to review the Bible more carefully. I would like to get more discussions with you.
M. Yes, if you are successful in this world, it doesn't mean that you will be successful in (he hereafter. The hereafter is much better and more lasting than this life. People are now becoming more materialistic and secular. Let us come together several times and discuss the differences frankly and without prejudice. Islam is based on reason, and you should not just accept it. Even your Bible says, "Prove all things; hold fast that which is good" (I Thessalonians 5:21).
C. You quoted just now "chariot of camels" from Isaiah and made the conclusion that it was Muhammad. Is he then prophesied in the Bible?
M. Sure.
C. In the Old or New Testament?
M. In both. But you cannot recognize him in the Bible as long as you don't believe in the Oneness of God. I mean as long as you still believe in the Trinity, the Divinity of Jesus, the Divine Sonship of Jesus, the Original Sin and the Atonement. All these are doctrines made by men. Jesus had prophesied (Matthew 15:9) that people will worship him uselessly and believing in doctrines made by men: "But in vain they do worship me, teaching for doctrines the commandments of men."
The Wisdom of The Qur’ân Was Revealed In Stages
From: www.islamtoday.com
Allah revealed the Qur’ân to Muhammad (peace be upon him) to guide humanity. When the Qur’ân came down, it was an auspicious occasion, extolled throughout the heavens and the Earth. It first came down from the Protected Tablet to the Abode of Might in the lowest heaven in the month of Ramadân, on the night known as the Night of Decree. The angels at this time came to know the special honor that the people that were going to follow Muhammad (peace be upon him) were to have. They were to have the new Message and become the greatest nation brought forth for humanity.
It was then sent down a second time in stages, this time to Muhammad (peace be upon him). This way of being revealed was different than it had been for the previous scriptures. This startled the disbelievers among the Arabs and made them argumentative until the divine wisdom behind it became apparent. The Messenger (peace be upon him) did not receive the Message all at once to try and convince his people who were steeped in arrogance and pride. The revelation came down to him in stages, strengthening his heart and consoling him, responding to the circumstances that he faced, until Allah perfected the faith and completed His favor.
Allah says:
And those who disbelieve say: “Why is the Qur’ân not revealed to him at once?” (It is revealed) thus that We may strengthen your heart with it. We have revealed it to you gradually, in stages. And no example or similitude do they bring, but We reveal to you the truth and the better explanation thereof.
The Qur’ân was revealed in stages over a period of twenty-three years, the period of Muhammad’s mission (peace be upon him). The wisdom behind this is as follows:
1. It served to strengthen the heart of the Prophet (peace be upon him). The Prophet (peace be upon him), from the start, had to face arrogance, rejection, and abuse from his people, while he desired only to invite them and guide them. He needed to have the Qur’ân come to him time and again in response to the circumstances, to strengthen his heart and to console him. This is one reason why the Qur’ân is full of the stories of the previous Prophets and the pride, arrogance, and abuse that they had to withstand from their people and how the outcome of their efforts was victory and divine assistance, which is the destiny of all those who adhere to Allah’s religion.
2. It emphasized the inability of the disbelievers to produce something like it. The failure of the disbelievers to rise to the challenge and come with a chapter like it becomes more acute with the Qur’ân coming in stages. The challenge would have appeared far more daunting had the Qur’ân been revealed all at once.
3. It eased the memorization and comprehension of the Qur’ân. The Qur’ân was revealed to an illiterate nation, most of whom could neither read nor write. Had the Qur’ân been revealed all at once, it would not have been easy for the people to commit it to memory and to ponder over its meanings. The best way to facilitate its memorization was for the Qur’ân to be revealed in stages. It made it easier for the people to understand its verses and to apply its teachings in their lives.
4. It allowed the revelation to respond to circumstances. People would not have been so ready to embrace this new faith, had the Qur’ân not dealt with them with wisdom and provided its cure for sin and bad character in palatable doses. The Qur’ân’s approach was like a medicine for the heart. Whenever something happened to the people, the injunction for it was revealed, guiding them in the clearest way to what was right and laying the foundations for an Islamic jurisprudence that responds to circumstances and contingencies.
5. It provided a clear proof that the Qur’ân was revelation from Allah, the All-Wise. The Qur’ân took over twenty years to be revealed, coming down a verse here and a few verses there over a protracted period of time. In spite of this, a person who reads it finds it to be most perfectly composed, most eloquent in style, and consistent in meaning. Its verses and chapters fit together perfectly. If the Qur’ân had been of human origin, coming as it did in response to events and circumstances, there would have been inconsistency in its style. It would have been impossible for it to come out so smooth and flowing in its style, so harmonious in meaning.
Allah revealed the Qur’ân to Muhammad (peace be upon him) to guide humanity. When the Qur’ân came down, it was an auspicious occasion, extolled throughout the heavens and the Earth. It first came down from the Protected Tablet to the Abode of Might in the lowest heaven in the month of Ramadân, on the night known as the Night of Decree. The angels at this time came to know the special honor that the people that were going to follow Muhammad (peace be upon him) were to have. They were to have the new Message and become the greatest nation brought forth for humanity.
It was then sent down a second time in stages, this time to Muhammad (peace be upon him). This way of being revealed was different than it had been for the previous scriptures. This startled the disbelievers among the Arabs and made them argumentative until the divine wisdom behind it became apparent. The Messenger (peace be upon him) did not receive the Message all at once to try and convince his people who were steeped in arrogance and pride. The revelation came down to him in stages, strengthening his heart and consoling him, responding to the circumstances that he faced, until Allah perfected the faith and completed His favor.
Allah says:
And those who disbelieve say: “Why is the Qur’ân not revealed to him at once?” (It is revealed) thus that We may strengthen your heart with it. We have revealed it to you gradually, in stages. And no example or similitude do they bring, but We reveal to you the truth and the better explanation thereof.
The Qur’ân was revealed in stages over a period of twenty-three years, the period of Muhammad’s mission (peace be upon him). The wisdom behind this is as follows:
1. It served to strengthen the heart of the Prophet (peace be upon him). The Prophet (peace be upon him), from the start, had to face arrogance, rejection, and abuse from his people, while he desired only to invite them and guide them. He needed to have the Qur’ân come to him time and again in response to the circumstances, to strengthen his heart and to console him. This is one reason why the Qur’ân is full of the stories of the previous Prophets and the pride, arrogance, and abuse that they had to withstand from their people and how the outcome of their efforts was victory and divine assistance, which is the destiny of all those who adhere to Allah’s religion.
2. It emphasized the inability of the disbelievers to produce something like it. The failure of the disbelievers to rise to the challenge and come with a chapter like it becomes more acute with the Qur’ân coming in stages. The challenge would have appeared far more daunting had the Qur’ân been revealed all at once.
3. It eased the memorization and comprehension of the Qur’ân. The Qur’ân was revealed to an illiterate nation, most of whom could neither read nor write. Had the Qur’ân been revealed all at once, it would not have been easy for the people to commit it to memory and to ponder over its meanings. The best way to facilitate its memorization was for the Qur’ân to be revealed in stages. It made it easier for the people to understand its verses and to apply its teachings in their lives.
4. It allowed the revelation to respond to circumstances. People would not have been so ready to embrace this new faith, had the Qur’ân not dealt with them with wisdom and provided its cure for sin and bad character in palatable doses. The Qur’ân’s approach was like a medicine for the heart. Whenever something happened to the people, the injunction for it was revealed, guiding them in the clearest way to what was right and laying the foundations for an Islamic jurisprudence that responds to circumstances and contingencies.
5. It provided a clear proof that the Qur’ân was revelation from Allah, the All-Wise. The Qur’ân took over twenty years to be revealed, coming down a verse here and a few verses there over a protracted period of time. In spite of this, a person who reads it finds it to be most perfectly composed, most eloquent in style, and consistent in meaning. Its verses and chapters fit together perfectly. If the Qur’ân had been of human origin, coming as it did in response to events and circumstances, there would have been inconsistency in its style. It would have been impossible for it to come out so smooth and flowing in its style, so harmonious in meaning.
It is Satan, Satan, Satan.
By: Maged Taman
Advocates against religion look to religious people more so now than anytime saying "I told you it is religion". If violence is committed by Muslims Muhammad (PBUH) is the one to be blamed and if committed by Christians Jesus (PBUH) is the one to be blamed. If they look at religions through out the history God to be blamed. The fact is Satan is the one who is behind all of that. That is why he is called the prince. He is subtle and very clever he finds for us many reasons for wars, just wars are the exception. He uses religion for control, oppression and wars. Religion supposed to be for freedom, justice and peace. He usually control the world through institutions and military forces. His guys are usually the ones who consider themselves semi-Gods like Hitler and Saddam. He uses people religious feelings and exploit them. When Islam was described as violent religion in 2006, fanatic Muslims expressed their violence against accusation of violence, Strange!!. The lack of wisdom at a large scale is the work of Satan as well other factors like oppression and economic frustration. Do not forget in the seventies when there were shortage of oil people were fighting at gas stations in USA. Satan would not let smart and wise people to sit together to solve their problems. He would also find something as loss of power or loosing economic advantages to preclude dialogue and peace. He promised God to ruin Adam life and his children. He is successful because we listen to him. All the prophets had warned us about him. It is sometimes look embarrassing to talk about Satan, but he is real. A simple scientific evidence is the progress of humans in all aspects of science except getting along and preventing wars.
Advocates against religion look to religious people more so now than anytime saying "I told you it is religion". If violence is committed by Muslims Muhammad (PBUH) is the one to be blamed and if committed by Christians Jesus (PBUH) is the one to be blamed. If they look at religions through out the history God to be blamed. The fact is Satan is the one who is behind all of that. That is why he is called the prince. He is subtle and very clever he finds for us many reasons for wars, just wars are the exception. He uses religion for control, oppression and wars. Religion supposed to be for freedom, justice and peace. He usually control the world through institutions and military forces. His guys are usually the ones who consider themselves semi-Gods like Hitler and Saddam. He uses people religious feelings and exploit them. When Islam was described as violent religion in 2006, fanatic Muslims expressed their violence against accusation of violence, Strange!!. The lack of wisdom at a large scale is the work of Satan as well other factors like oppression and economic frustration. Do not forget in the seventies when there were shortage of oil people were fighting at gas stations in USA. Satan would not let smart and wise people to sit together to solve their problems. He would also find something as loss of power or loosing economic advantages to preclude dialogue and peace. He promised God to ruin Adam life and his children. He is successful because we listen to him. All the prophets had warned us about him. It is sometimes look embarrassing to talk about Satan, but he is real. A simple scientific evidence is the progress of humans in all aspects of science except getting along and preventing wars.
How can we prove that The Qur'an is the word of God?
From: www.islamanswers.net
The amount of people who have believed in the Divine authorship of the Qur’an since its revelation 14 centuries ago amounts to billions. In the face of such a consensus, especially when considered that each affirmation corroborates the others while negations or denials add nothing to each other, it falls upon those who reject the Divine authorship of the Qur’an to prove their negation, which is impossible. However, in order to remove the dust of doubt that may come to the hearts and minds of some believers under the influence of both modern trends of scepticism and atheism and followers of other religions, we shall mention only a few of the evidences to establish that the Qur’an is a word of God.
The Qur’an is completely different from all the other books in the world.
When we study the Qur’an even superficially from the viewpoint of its wording, styles, and meaning, we will certainly conclude that it is completely different from all the other books in the world. So, in rank and worth it is either below all of them—even Satan cannot claim this, nor does he conceive of it—or above them. Since it is above all of them, it must be the Word of God.
The Qur’an, which he brought, has challenged all mankind with all their literary geniuses and scientists, from the first day of its revelation to the Last Day, to produce a like of it or even a single chapter of it
The Qur’an openly declares:
You (O Muhammad) was not a reader of any Scripture before it, nor did you write (such a Scripture) with your right hand, for then those who follow falsehood might (have a right) to doubt it. (al-Ankabut, 29.48)
It is an established, undeniable fact that the Prophet Muhammad, upon him be peace and blessings, was unlettered. Whereas the Qur’an, which he brought, has challenged all mankind with all their literary geniuses and scientists, from the first day of its revelation to the Last Day, to produce a like of it or even a single chapter of it:
If you are in doubt concerning that which We have sent down onto Our servant (Muhammad), then produce a chapter of the like thereof, and call your witnesses, supporters, who are apart from God, if you are truthful. (al-Baqara, 2.23)
Mankind have since been unable to produce a like of only one of its chapters, including, of course, its shortest ones like sura al-Ikhlas or sura al-Kawthar; those who have ventured to do that have all laid themselves open to ridicule. This is a clear proof for the Divine authorship of the Qur’an.
The Qur’an was revealed in 23 years, yet there are not any contradictory points in it.
The revelation of the Qur’an lasted 23 years. It is inconceivable that any book written by a mortal being in 23 years, one which is a book of Divine truths, metaphysics, religious beliefs and worship, prayer, law and morality, a book fully describing the other life, a book of psychology, sociology, epistemology, and history, and a book containing scientific facts and the principles of a happy life, does not have any contradictory points. Whereas, the Qur’an openly declares that it has no contradictions at all and therefore is a Divine Book:
Will they not then ponder on the Qur’an? If it had been from other than God they would have found therein much contradiction and incongruity. (al-Nisa’, 4.82)
The Qur’an is beyond compare from the viewpoint of its styles and eloquence.
The Qur’an is beyond compare from the viewpoint of its styles and eloquence. All the sentences, words and even letters used in the Qur’an form such a miraculous harmony that, with respect to rhythm, music, and even geometric proportions and mathematical measures, and with respect to how many times each is used in the whole of the Qur’an, each is in the exact place it must be and interwoven and interrelated with others. The literary masterpiece of no one, including the sayings of the Prophet himself, upon him be peace and blessings, cannot compete with the Qur’an.
Prophet Muhammad was unlettered and no one had heard him say even a couple of poetry. However, the Qur’an also challenged the known experts in poetry and oratory and forced them to surrender.
In the period when the Qur’an was revealed, in addition to eloquence, poetry and oratory enjoyed great prestige in the Arabian peninsula. They used to hold poetry competitions and the poems of the winners write in gold and hang on the wall of the Ka‘ba. The Prophet Muhammad was, as everybody knows, unlettered and no one had heard him say even a couple of poetry. However, the Qur’an also challenged the known experts in these fields and forced them to surrender. When those who persisted in unbelief heard the Qur’an, they were captivated by it. Nevertheless, in order to prevent the spread of Islam, they labelled it as something magical and advised people not to listen to it. But when those, like Hansa and Lebid, who believed in the Qur’an, gave up inventing poetry after the Qur’an’s revelation in respect for and awe of its styles and eloquence, the unbelievers had to confess: ‘If we call it a piece of poetry, it is not. If we designate it a piece of rhymed prose, it is not. If we describe it as the word of a soothsayer, it is not.’ At times, they could not help listening to the Prophet’s recitation secretly at night but they could not overcome their arrogance and so believe in its Divine origin.
Arabic became so rich through the Qur’an and attained such a high level that it developed as the language of the most magnificent civilization of world history with all its scientific, religious, metaphysical, literary, economic, juridical, social and political aspects.
Despite the high level poetry reached at that time, the vocabulary of Arabic was not as advanced as the same degree. It was difficult, even impossible, to express in it metaphysical ideas or scientific, religious and philosophical concepts. Restricted to the words and expressions to explain the thoughts and feelings of desert men and the simple life they led, this language became so rich through the Qur’an and attained such a high level that it developed as the language of the most magnificent civilization of world history with all its scientific, religious, metaphysical, literary, economic, juridical, social and political aspects. It is impossible for an unlettered one to prepare the ground for and give way to such a philological revolution unparalleled in human history.
Despite its apparent simplicity, the Qur’an has such depths of meaning that everyone from the commonest of people to the most high-ranking scholar, scientist and literary man, finds his share in it.
Despite its apparent simplicity, the Qur’an has such depths of meaning that everyone from the commonest of people to the most high-ranking scholar, scientist and literary man, finds his share in it. The Qur’an is such a book that it illuminates the ways of both poets, musicians and orators, sociologists, psychologists, scientists, economists and jurists. Also, the founders of all the true spiritual orders and the schools of law and conduct found in it the principles of their orders and schools. The Qur’an has shown everybody the ways to solve their problems. It also satisfies everyone in his spiritual quests. Is there another book of the same character, quality and level next to the Qur’an?
No one has ever been heard to be bored with the recitation of the Qur’an.
However beautiful and interesting, we can read a book at most two or three times and then are bored with it. However, no one has ever been heard to be bored with the recitation of the Qur’an. Hundreds of millions of Muslims recite portions from it in their five daily prayers and most of them recite it from beginning to end at least once a year. There have been hundreds of thousands of people reciting it from the beginning to the end once or twice or even three times a month. The more frequently one recites it, the more one benefits from it and the more desire one feels to recite it. One never gets tired of it, its wording, meaning and content, nor does the Qur’an lose anything of its originality and freshness. As time passes, it breathes into minds and souls new truths and meanings, thus increasing them in activity and liveliness.
The Qur’an describes man with all his physical and spiritual aspects and contains principles to solve all the problems that may appear at any time and in any place concerning all the social, economic, juridical, political and administrative fields of life. Furthermore, it satisfies both the mind and spirit at the same time and guarantees happiness in both worlds.
The Qur’an describes man with all his physical and spiritual aspects and contains principles to solve all the problems that may appear at any time and in any place concerning all the social, economic, juridical, political and administrative fields of life. Furthermore, it satisfies both the mind and spirit at the same time and guarantees happiness in both worlds.
However great a genius one may be, it is impossible for one to establish rules to solve all kinds of problems that mankind may encounter until the Last Day. Even the best of systems that do not originate in the Qur’an or the Divine Revelation cannot last without undergoing revisions at least every 50 years. More important than this, none of those systems can promise man eternal happiness; the principles of all of them are restricted to the worldly life, which is transient and infinitely short when compared to the afterlife. By contrast, none of the principles which the Qur’an laid down centuries ago has become outmoded and worn-out with the passage of time, nor do they have any defects or shortcomings. For example, the Qur’an enjoins that wealth should not become a means of prosperity circulated only among the rich (al-Hashr, 59.7); that government offices should be entrusted to competent persons qualified for them and absolute justice should be the rule in public administration and judging between people (al-Nisa’, 4.58), and it lays down that a man has only that for which he makes effort (al-Najm, 53.39) and that whoever kills a human being unjustly is as if he had killed all mankind (al-Ma’ida, 5.32). All such eternal, golden principles and many others like the prohibition of usury, gambling, alcohol and all kinds of illicit intercourse, and the injunctions with respect to praying, fasting, alms-giving and good conduct—principles strengthened through love and fear of God and through the promise of an eternal, happy life and fear of the eternal punishment of Hell—constitute another undeniable proof for the Divine authorship of the Qur’an.
The Qur’an unveils the mystery of man, creation and the universe.
Also, the Qur’an unveils the mystery of man, creation and the universe. These three creatures of God, that is, man, the Qur’an and the universe, are the three ‘books’ which make the Creator known to us. They are the three versions or expressions of the same truth. Therefore, the One Who has created man and the universe is He Who has revealed the Qur’an.
The Qur’an is the embodiment of Muhammad in words or Muhammad is the embodiment of the Qur’an in belief and conduct
You cannot find one who does exactly what he tells others to do or one whose work exactly reflects himself. However, the Qur’an is exactly identical with the Prophet Muhammad, upon him be peace and blessings, who received it from God and designed his life according to it. It may be said that the Qur’an is the embodiment of Muhammad in words or Muhammad is the embodiment of the Qur’an in belief and conduct. They are the two expressions of the same truth. When asked about the conduct of Muhammad, upon him be peace and blessings, ‘A’isha Siddiqa answered: ‘Don’t you read the Qur’an? The conduct of Muhammad, upon him be peace and blessings, consisted in the Qur’an.’ This clearly shows that both the Qur’an and Muhammad, upon him be peace and blessings, are the works of God Almighty.
Even though revealed in parts on certain occasions, the Qur’an is equally universal and objective where it deals with particular issues as it is exact and precise where it deals with universal matters.
A writer usually writes under the influence of the conditions surrounding him. It is almost impossible to find a writer, whether he be a realist or idealist or even a science-fiction writer, who can write completely detached from the conditions surrounding him. By contrast, even though revealed in parts on certain occasions, the Qur’an is equally universal and objective where it deals with particular issues as it is exact and precise where it deals with universal matters. It uses precise expressions even while describing the beginning of creation and end of time and the creation of man and his future life in the other world. Also, just as it sometimes draws universal conclusions from particular events, so too it sometimes goes from universal principles to particular events. This is typical of the Qur’anic style, which is impossible to find in any human work and is, therefore, another sign of its Divine origin.
The Qur’an contains at least the principles of all the branches of knowledge either in summary or detail and not even a single piece of the knowledge it contains has ever been contradicted.
There has been no one in human history who has written books accurate to the same degree on both religion and law and sociology and psychology and eschatology and morality and history and literature and so on. However, the Qur’an contains at least the principles of all the branches of knowledge either in summary or detail and not even a single piece of the knowledge it contains has ever been contradicted. Must this not be enough for one unprejudiced to acknowledge its Divine origin?
“As time passes, the Qur’an grows ever younger.”
Which writer can claim that whatever he writes is absolutely correct and cannot be contradicted until the Last Day? At a time when the conclusions of science soon become ‘outmoded’ and worn-out and even the previous Divine Scriptures such as the Torah and Gospels undergo continuous alterations—even a superficial study of the issues of the Bible published in different times and in different languages will be enough to see the great alterations it has undergone—the truths of the Qur’an retain their freshness or, in the words of Said Nursi, ‘as time passes, the Qur’an grows ever younger.’ Despite all the efforts to find mistakes and contradictions in it exerted since the beginning of its revelation, it has remained unchanged and displayed its uniqueness, conquering every day new hearts and its hidden unlimited treasures being discovered one by one or growing to full bloom like a heavenly rose with countless petals.
The Qur’an addresses and legislates for all in all times.
However knowledgeable you are and if you are famous for your truthfulness, can you speak on behalf of the president, the prime minister and all of the ministers, and also on behalf of the associations of literary men, lawyers and craftsmen, and the board of university lecturers and scientists? If you can, can you claim that you represented them all as perfectly as each would want you to? If you can, can you legislate for all the affairs of the country? This is just what the Prophet achieved through the Qur’an. Now, how can you claim that an unlettered one, who had had nothing to do with any such affairs until his fortieth year, achieved this without Divine inspiration and support?
If Prophet Muhammad had written the Qur’an by himself, he should never have mentioned some incidents concerning him.
However slight, there are some admonitions for the Prophet in the Qur’an.
No one, especially if that one claims Prophethood, mentions a grave slander against his wife in the book he writes by himself. Whereas, the Qur’an gives an important place to the slander hypocrites uttered against ‘A’isha, the Prophet’s wife.
In order to show practically that Islam does not allow any racial discrimination and that superiority is only by piety and righteousness, not by birth, color, race, wealth or position, the Prophet married Zaynab, a noble woman from the Hashimites, to Zayd, an emancipated black slave. However, verses revealed later ordered that, in order to put an end to an established false tradition—namely, neither adoption nor any other way of declaring someone a son can create a legal relationship comparable to the relationship of children and natural parents, and there is no difficulty and sin for believers in marriage with the divorced wives of those whom they once adopted as sons—the Prophet should marry Zaynab. This marriage was very difficult for God’s Messenger to enter into, but since it was ordered by God, he had no way out other than fulfilling it. As ‘A’isha would later say, if the Prophet, upon him be peace and blessings, would have concealed something of the Qur’an, he would have concealed this order and would not have married Zaynab. Also, if he had written the Qur’an by himself, he would never have mentioned this incident.
Abu Talib, the Prophet’s uncle to whose safeguarding ‘Abd al-Muttalib entrusted him, undertook the Prophet’s maintenance when he was yet eight years old and, after his declaration of Prophethood, protected him against the Quraysh for ten years. The Prophet, upon him be peace and blessings, loved his uncle very deeply and desired his conversion very much. However, a verse came and admonished the Prophet against this desire of his which nearly drove him to death: You guide not whom you love, but God guides whom He wills. He is best aware of those who are guided (al-Qasas, 28.56). What would have prevented the Prophet, if he were the author of the Qur’an, from falsely declaring that his uncle had accepted Islam?
There are answers to many such questions in the Qur’an that one who does not have an all-encompassing knowledge could not have answered them.
There are many verses in the Qur’an beginning with ‘They ask you’ and continue with ‘Say (in answer)’. These verses were revealed to answer the questions put to the Prophet by Muslims and non-Muslims, including especially the Jews of Madina. The questions asked were about lawful or unlawful things, the distribution of war spoils, the mansions of the moon, the Judgment Day, Dhu’l-Qarnayn (one of the ancient kings who made great conquests in Asia and Africa), the spirit and so on. One who does not have an all-encompassing knowledge cannot answer such questions. But the answers given by the unlettered Prophet, upon him be peace and blessings, satisfied everybody and no one could object to him. This shows that he was taught by God, the All-Knowing.
To claim that Muhammad—God forbid such a thought!— invented the Qur’an means that Muhammad, who was known as Muhammad the Trustworthy, was—we beg forgiveness for having to narrate such a false claim—the greatest liar and cheat history has ever known.
As was explained earlier, the Prophet lived a very austere life and never pursued any worldly gains or aims like fame, rulership, wealth and having beautiful women. Furthermore, he had to resist hardships and persecutions of the severest kind. To claim that Muhammad—God forbid such a thought!— invented the Qur’an means that Muhammad, who was known as Muhammad the Trustworthy, was—we beg forgiveness for having to narrate such a false claim— the greatest liar and cheat history has ever known. What might have caused him to falsely claim Prophethood despite the severest of deprivations and persecutions? To accuse the Prophet Muhammad of falsely claiming Prophethood and attribute the Qur’an to him, is the most groundless and the most degrading and meanest of accusations.
Although other Prophets like Moses and Jesus are mentioned many times in the Qur’an despite the Jews’ and Christians’ denial of Muhammad, we come across the name Muhammad only four times
The Prophet Muhammad, upon him be peace and blessings, saw much resistance from the Jews and Christians. He had to fight against the Jews of Madina several times and expel them from the city. Despite this, the Qur’an mentions the Prophet Moses, the Prophet sent to the Israelites, about 500 times, while the name of Muhammad is mentioned in the Qur’an only four times. The Qur’an also mentions the Prophet Jesus many times. Is it conceivable that one who falsely claims Prophethood ever mentions the Prophets of the peoples who show him great hostility?
The Qur’an’s mention of previous Prophets, including especially Moses and Jesus, upon them be peace, and the Christians’ and Jews’ denial of Muhammad’s Prophethood and the Divine authorship of the Qur’an, is an undeniable proof of the Prophethood of Muhammad and the Divine authorship of the Qur’an and that the Christians’ and Jews’ denial comes from purely false reasons like jealousy, prejudice and selfishness.
It is another argument for the Divine authorship of the Qur’an that it refers to certain facts of creation recently established by modern scientific methods.
It is another argument for the Divine authorship of the Qur’an that it refers to certain facts of creation recently established by modern scientific methods. How, except on account of its Divine authorship, is it possible for the Qur’an to be literally true on matters of which people had not the least inkling at the time when it was revealed? For example, if the Qur’an were not a Divine Revelation, would it have been possible for it to contain such a verse as this: Do not the unbelievers realize that the heavens and the earth were one unit of creation before we split them asunder? (al-Anbiya’, 21.20).
Whether the Qur’an really does refer, explicitly or implicitly, to the kinds of facts the sciences deal with, and the relationship between the Qur’an and modern sciences, are matters of considerable controversy among Muslim intellectuals. We should therefore treat the subject at length.
Conclusion
All of the six sides or aspects of the Qur’an are luminous and demonstrate its truth. From below, it is supported upon the pillars of proofs and evidences (rational, scientific, historical, and those pertaining to conscience and sound judgment, and so on); above it, are gleams of the seal of miraculousness: it aims at happiness in both worlds; and behind it are, another point of support, the truths of the Divine Revelation. To its right is the unanimous confirmation of guided reasons based on proofs; and to its left are the intellectual and spiritual contentment of those with sound heart and conscience, and their sincere attachment and submission to it. All these together bear witness that the Qur’an is an absolutely formidable, extraordinary and unconquerable stronghold which the hand of heaven established on the earth, and set their seal of admission of it as a faultless, true Word of God. The Administrator of the universe, Who always acts in a way to manifest unity, protect virtuousness and goodness, and extirpate falsehood and slander, has given the Qur’an the most acceptable, high and dominant rank of respect and success, and thereby confirmed its truth.
Also, the person who is the interpreter of the Qur’an, upon him be peace and blessings, believed in it and respected it more than anything and anybody else. He went into a sleep-like state during the revelation of its verses and confirmed and preached all of its decrees and commandments with utmost conviction and without exhibiting any deception and error to eyes wide open always to catch him, and without anything to shake him. Despite being unlettered, having founded on the Qur’an, he gave, without hesitation, news and information about the past and future and about the facts of creation and operation of the universe. Other sayings of his do not resemble the Qur’an and are inferior to it in certain respects. All this together proves that the Qur’an is the true, heavenly and blessed Word of that person’s Merciful Creator.
The fifth of mankind or even the majority of them in certain cases have always had an ecstatic and religious devotion to the Qur’an and listened to it lovingly and in adoration of truth, and as is testified to by numerous observations, signs, and events, as moths fly round a light, angels, believing jinn and other spirit beings gather together around it during its recitation. This also confirms that the Qur’an is accepted by almost all the beings in the universe and is of the highest rank.
Also, all the groups of mankind with different levels of understanding and learning, from the commonest to the most intelligent and learned, derive their share from the teaching of the Qur’an, and all the greatest scholars in Islamic sciences such as jurisprudence, theology, and religious methodology, have found in the Qur’an the answers to all of their questions and based their conclusions upon it. This is another evidence that the Qur’an is the source of truths, the mine of all true knowledge.
Furthermore, although among the unbelieving Arab literary men those who have been the most advanced in literature, have always felt much need to dispute with the Qur’an, they have been unable to do that even in eloquence, which is only one of the seven major aspects of the Qur’an’s miraculousness, and have not dared to produce the like of even one of its suras. The others, geniuses of learning and eloquence, who by disputing with it in eloquence have sought fame, have been compelled to refrain from doing so. This clearly shows that the Qur’an is a miracle, beyond the capacity of mankind.
Indeed, in order to judge the value, sublimity, and eloquence of a word it is asked: ‘Who has spoken it? To whom has it been spoken? Why has it been spoken?’ When considered from the perspective of these questions, again the Qur’an has no equal. For the Qur’an is the Word of the Lord of all beings and the Speech of the Creator of the whole of the universe which bears no signs to suggest that it is a book of imitation, one fabricated by someone and then falsely attributed to God. God revealed the Qur’an to the one whom He chose as the representative of all the creatures, one who is His most famous and renowned addressee, and the extent and strength of whose faith embraced the comprehensive religion of Islam and caused its owner to rise to the rank of the distance of two bows’ length, and being honored with direct conversation with the Eternally Besought-of-All, after which he turned back to the world to convey to people the principles of happiness in both worlds. The Qur’an explains the principles of happiness in both worlds and the results of, and the Divine purpose in, the creation of the universe, and expounds the Prophet’s most comprehensive faith, which sustains all the truths of Islam: it shows and describes the huge universe like a map or a clock or a house and teaches about the Artist Who made it. Certainly it is impossible to produce a like of it or to match the degree of its eloquence.
In addition, numerous collections of books on the interpretation of the Qur’an, some of which cover as many as forty or even seventy volumes—written by meticulous scholars of the highest intelligence and learning—expound with proofs countless virtues of the Qur’an and its subtleties and mysteries, and disclose and affirm its numerous predictions. Among them, the one hundred and thirty treatises of the Risale-i Nur explain each virtue and subtlety of the Qur’an, such as its allusions to the scientific and technical wonders of modern civilization like trains and aircrafts and electricity, and its indirect references to future victories of Muslims and the history of the Companions after the Prophet, and the meaningful and mysterious design of its letters. All this means setting a seal on the fact that the Qur’an is a miracle with no equals and the Word of the Knower of the Unseen, which is the tongue of the world of the Unseen in this visible world of corporeality.
It is because of such virtues of the Qur’an that its magnificent spiritual dominion and its majestic sacred rule has been continuing for centuries to illuminate the earth and the ages, time and space, and more and more people have been embracing it with perfect respect. It is because of the same virtues, that each letter of the Qur’an yields at least the merits, ten rewards, and ten fruits pertaining to the eternal world, and that the letters of certain verses and suras, each give hundreds or even thousands of merits, and when recited on certain blessed occasions, the light and merits of each of its letters multiply by tens or hundreds. The world-traveller came to understand this and said to himself: ‘Based on the consensus of its lights and mysteries, and the concord of its fruits and results, this Qur’an, miraculous in every respect, proves and testifies to the existence, unity, attributes, and Names of a single Necessarily Existent One in such a manner that the testimonies of innumerable believers have their sources from that testimony.’
In a brief reference to the instruction which that traveller has taken from the Qur’an about faith and the Unity of God, we say:
There is no god but God—the Necessarily Existent One, the One, the Single—the necessity of Whose existence in His Oneness the Qur’an of miraculous exposition decisively proves, which is accepted and sought for by the species of angels, human beings and jinn; all of whose verses are recited in every minute with perfect respect by the tongues of millions of human beings; whose sacred rule in the regions of the earth and the realms of space and on the faces of ages and time; whose enlightened spiritual dominion has prevailed with perfect splendor over half of the globe and a fifth of humankind for fourteen centuries... Likewise, with the consensus of its heavenly and sacred suras, and the agreement of its luminous Divine verses, and the correspondence of its mysteries and lights, and the concord of its truths, and results, it manifestly attests, and is a clear proof of, this same truth.
The amount of people who have believed in the Divine authorship of the Qur’an since its revelation 14 centuries ago amounts to billions. In the face of such a consensus, especially when considered that each affirmation corroborates the others while negations or denials add nothing to each other, it falls upon those who reject the Divine authorship of the Qur’an to prove their negation, which is impossible. However, in order to remove the dust of doubt that may come to the hearts and minds of some believers under the influence of both modern trends of scepticism and atheism and followers of other religions, we shall mention only a few of the evidences to establish that the Qur’an is a word of God.
The Qur’an is completely different from all the other books in the world.
When we study the Qur’an even superficially from the viewpoint of its wording, styles, and meaning, we will certainly conclude that it is completely different from all the other books in the world. So, in rank and worth it is either below all of them—even Satan cannot claim this, nor does he conceive of it—or above them. Since it is above all of them, it must be the Word of God.
The Qur’an, which he brought, has challenged all mankind with all their literary geniuses and scientists, from the first day of its revelation to the Last Day, to produce a like of it or even a single chapter of it
The Qur’an openly declares:
You (O Muhammad) was not a reader of any Scripture before it, nor did you write (such a Scripture) with your right hand, for then those who follow falsehood might (have a right) to doubt it. (al-Ankabut, 29.48)
It is an established, undeniable fact that the Prophet Muhammad, upon him be peace and blessings, was unlettered. Whereas the Qur’an, which he brought, has challenged all mankind with all their literary geniuses and scientists, from the first day of its revelation to the Last Day, to produce a like of it or even a single chapter of it:
If you are in doubt concerning that which We have sent down onto Our servant (Muhammad), then produce a chapter of the like thereof, and call your witnesses, supporters, who are apart from God, if you are truthful. (al-Baqara, 2.23)
Mankind have since been unable to produce a like of only one of its chapters, including, of course, its shortest ones like sura al-Ikhlas or sura al-Kawthar; those who have ventured to do that have all laid themselves open to ridicule. This is a clear proof for the Divine authorship of the Qur’an.
The Qur’an was revealed in 23 years, yet there are not any contradictory points in it.
The revelation of the Qur’an lasted 23 years. It is inconceivable that any book written by a mortal being in 23 years, one which is a book of Divine truths, metaphysics, religious beliefs and worship, prayer, law and morality, a book fully describing the other life, a book of psychology, sociology, epistemology, and history, and a book containing scientific facts and the principles of a happy life, does not have any contradictory points. Whereas, the Qur’an openly declares that it has no contradictions at all and therefore is a Divine Book:
Will they not then ponder on the Qur’an? If it had been from other than God they would have found therein much contradiction and incongruity. (al-Nisa’, 4.82)
The Qur’an is beyond compare from the viewpoint of its styles and eloquence.
The Qur’an is beyond compare from the viewpoint of its styles and eloquence. All the sentences, words and even letters used in the Qur’an form such a miraculous harmony that, with respect to rhythm, music, and even geometric proportions and mathematical measures, and with respect to how many times each is used in the whole of the Qur’an, each is in the exact place it must be and interwoven and interrelated with others. The literary masterpiece of no one, including the sayings of the Prophet himself, upon him be peace and blessings, cannot compete with the Qur’an.
Prophet Muhammad was unlettered and no one had heard him say even a couple of poetry. However, the Qur’an also challenged the known experts in poetry and oratory and forced them to surrender.
In the period when the Qur’an was revealed, in addition to eloquence, poetry and oratory enjoyed great prestige in the Arabian peninsula. They used to hold poetry competitions and the poems of the winners write in gold and hang on the wall of the Ka‘ba. The Prophet Muhammad was, as everybody knows, unlettered and no one had heard him say even a couple of poetry. However, the Qur’an also challenged the known experts in these fields and forced them to surrender. When those who persisted in unbelief heard the Qur’an, they were captivated by it. Nevertheless, in order to prevent the spread of Islam, they labelled it as something magical and advised people not to listen to it. But when those, like Hansa and Lebid, who believed in the Qur’an, gave up inventing poetry after the Qur’an’s revelation in respect for and awe of its styles and eloquence, the unbelievers had to confess: ‘If we call it a piece of poetry, it is not. If we designate it a piece of rhymed prose, it is not. If we describe it as the word of a soothsayer, it is not.’ At times, they could not help listening to the Prophet’s recitation secretly at night but they could not overcome their arrogance and so believe in its Divine origin.
Arabic became so rich through the Qur’an and attained such a high level that it developed as the language of the most magnificent civilization of world history with all its scientific, religious, metaphysical, literary, economic, juridical, social and political aspects.
Despite the high level poetry reached at that time, the vocabulary of Arabic was not as advanced as the same degree. It was difficult, even impossible, to express in it metaphysical ideas or scientific, religious and philosophical concepts. Restricted to the words and expressions to explain the thoughts and feelings of desert men and the simple life they led, this language became so rich through the Qur’an and attained such a high level that it developed as the language of the most magnificent civilization of world history with all its scientific, religious, metaphysical, literary, economic, juridical, social and political aspects. It is impossible for an unlettered one to prepare the ground for and give way to such a philological revolution unparalleled in human history.
Despite its apparent simplicity, the Qur’an has such depths of meaning that everyone from the commonest of people to the most high-ranking scholar, scientist and literary man, finds his share in it.
Despite its apparent simplicity, the Qur’an has such depths of meaning that everyone from the commonest of people to the most high-ranking scholar, scientist and literary man, finds his share in it. The Qur’an is such a book that it illuminates the ways of both poets, musicians and orators, sociologists, psychologists, scientists, economists and jurists. Also, the founders of all the true spiritual orders and the schools of law and conduct found in it the principles of their orders and schools. The Qur’an has shown everybody the ways to solve their problems. It also satisfies everyone in his spiritual quests. Is there another book of the same character, quality and level next to the Qur’an?
No one has ever been heard to be bored with the recitation of the Qur’an.
However beautiful and interesting, we can read a book at most two or three times and then are bored with it. However, no one has ever been heard to be bored with the recitation of the Qur’an. Hundreds of millions of Muslims recite portions from it in their five daily prayers and most of them recite it from beginning to end at least once a year. There have been hundreds of thousands of people reciting it from the beginning to the end once or twice or even three times a month. The more frequently one recites it, the more one benefits from it and the more desire one feels to recite it. One never gets tired of it, its wording, meaning and content, nor does the Qur’an lose anything of its originality and freshness. As time passes, it breathes into minds and souls new truths and meanings, thus increasing them in activity and liveliness.
The Qur’an describes man with all his physical and spiritual aspects and contains principles to solve all the problems that may appear at any time and in any place concerning all the social, economic, juridical, political and administrative fields of life. Furthermore, it satisfies both the mind and spirit at the same time and guarantees happiness in both worlds.
The Qur’an describes man with all his physical and spiritual aspects and contains principles to solve all the problems that may appear at any time and in any place concerning all the social, economic, juridical, political and administrative fields of life. Furthermore, it satisfies both the mind and spirit at the same time and guarantees happiness in both worlds.
However great a genius one may be, it is impossible for one to establish rules to solve all kinds of problems that mankind may encounter until the Last Day. Even the best of systems that do not originate in the Qur’an or the Divine Revelation cannot last without undergoing revisions at least every 50 years. More important than this, none of those systems can promise man eternal happiness; the principles of all of them are restricted to the worldly life, which is transient and infinitely short when compared to the afterlife. By contrast, none of the principles which the Qur’an laid down centuries ago has become outmoded and worn-out with the passage of time, nor do they have any defects or shortcomings. For example, the Qur’an enjoins that wealth should not become a means of prosperity circulated only among the rich (al-Hashr, 59.7); that government offices should be entrusted to competent persons qualified for them and absolute justice should be the rule in public administration and judging between people (al-Nisa’, 4.58), and it lays down that a man has only that for which he makes effort (al-Najm, 53.39) and that whoever kills a human being unjustly is as if he had killed all mankind (al-Ma’ida, 5.32). All such eternal, golden principles and many others like the prohibition of usury, gambling, alcohol and all kinds of illicit intercourse, and the injunctions with respect to praying, fasting, alms-giving and good conduct—principles strengthened through love and fear of God and through the promise of an eternal, happy life and fear of the eternal punishment of Hell—constitute another undeniable proof for the Divine authorship of the Qur’an.
The Qur’an unveils the mystery of man, creation and the universe.
Also, the Qur’an unveils the mystery of man, creation and the universe. These three creatures of God, that is, man, the Qur’an and the universe, are the three ‘books’ which make the Creator known to us. They are the three versions or expressions of the same truth. Therefore, the One Who has created man and the universe is He Who has revealed the Qur’an.
The Qur’an is the embodiment of Muhammad in words or Muhammad is the embodiment of the Qur’an in belief and conduct
You cannot find one who does exactly what he tells others to do or one whose work exactly reflects himself. However, the Qur’an is exactly identical with the Prophet Muhammad, upon him be peace and blessings, who received it from God and designed his life according to it. It may be said that the Qur’an is the embodiment of Muhammad in words or Muhammad is the embodiment of the Qur’an in belief and conduct. They are the two expressions of the same truth. When asked about the conduct of Muhammad, upon him be peace and blessings, ‘A’isha Siddiqa answered: ‘Don’t you read the Qur’an? The conduct of Muhammad, upon him be peace and blessings, consisted in the Qur’an.’ This clearly shows that both the Qur’an and Muhammad, upon him be peace and blessings, are the works of God Almighty.
Even though revealed in parts on certain occasions, the Qur’an is equally universal and objective where it deals with particular issues as it is exact and precise where it deals with universal matters.
A writer usually writes under the influence of the conditions surrounding him. It is almost impossible to find a writer, whether he be a realist or idealist or even a science-fiction writer, who can write completely detached from the conditions surrounding him. By contrast, even though revealed in parts on certain occasions, the Qur’an is equally universal and objective where it deals with particular issues as it is exact and precise where it deals with universal matters. It uses precise expressions even while describing the beginning of creation and end of time and the creation of man and his future life in the other world. Also, just as it sometimes draws universal conclusions from particular events, so too it sometimes goes from universal principles to particular events. This is typical of the Qur’anic style, which is impossible to find in any human work and is, therefore, another sign of its Divine origin.
The Qur’an contains at least the principles of all the branches of knowledge either in summary or detail and not even a single piece of the knowledge it contains has ever been contradicted.
There has been no one in human history who has written books accurate to the same degree on both religion and law and sociology and psychology and eschatology and morality and history and literature and so on. However, the Qur’an contains at least the principles of all the branches of knowledge either in summary or detail and not even a single piece of the knowledge it contains has ever been contradicted. Must this not be enough for one unprejudiced to acknowledge its Divine origin?
“As time passes, the Qur’an grows ever younger.”
Which writer can claim that whatever he writes is absolutely correct and cannot be contradicted until the Last Day? At a time when the conclusions of science soon become ‘outmoded’ and worn-out and even the previous Divine Scriptures such as the Torah and Gospels undergo continuous alterations—even a superficial study of the issues of the Bible published in different times and in different languages will be enough to see the great alterations it has undergone—the truths of the Qur’an retain their freshness or, in the words of Said Nursi, ‘as time passes, the Qur’an grows ever younger.’ Despite all the efforts to find mistakes and contradictions in it exerted since the beginning of its revelation, it has remained unchanged and displayed its uniqueness, conquering every day new hearts and its hidden unlimited treasures being discovered one by one or growing to full bloom like a heavenly rose with countless petals.
The Qur’an addresses and legislates for all in all times.
However knowledgeable you are and if you are famous for your truthfulness, can you speak on behalf of the president, the prime minister and all of the ministers, and also on behalf of the associations of literary men, lawyers and craftsmen, and the board of university lecturers and scientists? If you can, can you claim that you represented them all as perfectly as each would want you to? If you can, can you legislate for all the affairs of the country? This is just what the Prophet achieved through the Qur’an. Now, how can you claim that an unlettered one, who had had nothing to do with any such affairs until his fortieth year, achieved this without Divine inspiration and support?
If Prophet Muhammad had written the Qur’an by himself, he should never have mentioned some incidents concerning him.
However slight, there are some admonitions for the Prophet in the Qur’an.
No one, especially if that one claims Prophethood, mentions a grave slander against his wife in the book he writes by himself. Whereas, the Qur’an gives an important place to the slander hypocrites uttered against ‘A’isha, the Prophet’s wife.
In order to show practically that Islam does not allow any racial discrimination and that superiority is only by piety and righteousness, not by birth, color, race, wealth or position, the Prophet married Zaynab, a noble woman from the Hashimites, to Zayd, an emancipated black slave. However, verses revealed later ordered that, in order to put an end to an established false tradition—namely, neither adoption nor any other way of declaring someone a son can create a legal relationship comparable to the relationship of children and natural parents, and there is no difficulty and sin for believers in marriage with the divorced wives of those whom they once adopted as sons—the Prophet should marry Zaynab. This marriage was very difficult for God’s Messenger to enter into, but since it was ordered by God, he had no way out other than fulfilling it. As ‘A’isha would later say, if the Prophet, upon him be peace and blessings, would have concealed something of the Qur’an, he would have concealed this order and would not have married Zaynab. Also, if he had written the Qur’an by himself, he would never have mentioned this incident.
Abu Talib, the Prophet’s uncle to whose safeguarding ‘Abd al-Muttalib entrusted him, undertook the Prophet’s maintenance when he was yet eight years old and, after his declaration of Prophethood, protected him against the Quraysh for ten years. The Prophet, upon him be peace and blessings, loved his uncle very deeply and desired his conversion very much. However, a verse came and admonished the Prophet against this desire of his which nearly drove him to death: You guide not whom you love, but God guides whom He wills. He is best aware of those who are guided (al-Qasas, 28.56). What would have prevented the Prophet, if he were the author of the Qur’an, from falsely declaring that his uncle had accepted Islam?
There are answers to many such questions in the Qur’an that one who does not have an all-encompassing knowledge could not have answered them.
There are many verses in the Qur’an beginning with ‘They ask you’ and continue with ‘Say (in answer)’. These verses were revealed to answer the questions put to the Prophet by Muslims and non-Muslims, including especially the Jews of Madina. The questions asked were about lawful or unlawful things, the distribution of war spoils, the mansions of the moon, the Judgment Day, Dhu’l-Qarnayn (one of the ancient kings who made great conquests in Asia and Africa), the spirit and so on. One who does not have an all-encompassing knowledge cannot answer such questions. But the answers given by the unlettered Prophet, upon him be peace and blessings, satisfied everybody and no one could object to him. This shows that he was taught by God, the All-Knowing.
To claim that Muhammad—God forbid such a thought!— invented the Qur’an means that Muhammad, who was known as Muhammad the Trustworthy, was—we beg forgiveness for having to narrate such a false claim—the greatest liar and cheat history has ever known.
As was explained earlier, the Prophet lived a very austere life and never pursued any worldly gains or aims like fame, rulership, wealth and having beautiful women. Furthermore, he had to resist hardships and persecutions of the severest kind. To claim that Muhammad—God forbid such a thought!— invented the Qur’an means that Muhammad, who was known as Muhammad the Trustworthy, was—we beg forgiveness for having to narrate such a false claim— the greatest liar and cheat history has ever known. What might have caused him to falsely claim Prophethood despite the severest of deprivations and persecutions? To accuse the Prophet Muhammad of falsely claiming Prophethood and attribute the Qur’an to him, is the most groundless and the most degrading and meanest of accusations.
Although other Prophets like Moses and Jesus are mentioned many times in the Qur’an despite the Jews’ and Christians’ denial of Muhammad, we come across the name Muhammad only four times
The Prophet Muhammad, upon him be peace and blessings, saw much resistance from the Jews and Christians. He had to fight against the Jews of Madina several times and expel them from the city. Despite this, the Qur’an mentions the Prophet Moses, the Prophet sent to the Israelites, about 500 times, while the name of Muhammad is mentioned in the Qur’an only four times. The Qur’an also mentions the Prophet Jesus many times. Is it conceivable that one who falsely claims Prophethood ever mentions the Prophets of the peoples who show him great hostility?
The Qur’an’s mention of previous Prophets, including especially Moses and Jesus, upon them be peace, and the Christians’ and Jews’ denial of Muhammad’s Prophethood and the Divine authorship of the Qur’an, is an undeniable proof of the Prophethood of Muhammad and the Divine authorship of the Qur’an and that the Christians’ and Jews’ denial comes from purely false reasons like jealousy, prejudice and selfishness.
It is another argument for the Divine authorship of the Qur’an that it refers to certain facts of creation recently established by modern scientific methods.
It is another argument for the Divine authorship of the Qur’an that it refers to certain facts of creation recently established by modern scientific methods. How, except on account of its Divine authorship, is it possible for the Qur’an to be literally true on matters of which people had not the least inkling at the time when it was revealed? For example, if the Qur’an were not a Divine Revelation, would it have been possible for it to contain such a verse as this: Do not the unbelievers realize that the heavens and the earth were one unit of creation before we split them asunder? (al-Anbiya’, 21.20).
Whether the Qur’an really does refer, explicitly or implicitly, to the kinds of facts the sciences deal with, and the relationship between the Qur’an and modern sciences, are matters of considerable controversy among Muslim intellectuals. We should therefore treat the subject at length.
Conclusion
All of the six sides or aspects of the Qur’an are luminous and demonstrate its truth. From below, it is supported upon the pillars of proofs and evidences (rational, scientific, historical, and those pertaining to conscience and sound judgment, and so on); above it, are gleams of the seal of miraculousness: it aims at happiness in both worlds; and behind it are, another point of support, the truths of the Divine Revelation. To its right is the unanimous confirmation of guided reasons based on proofs; and to its left are the intellectual and spiritual contentment of those with sound heart and conscience, and their sincere attachment and submission to it. All these together bear witness that the Qur’an is an absolutely formidable, extraordinary and unconquerable stronghold which the hand of heaven established on the earth, and set their seal of admission of it as a faultless, true Word of God. The Administrator of the universe, Who always acts in a way to manifest unity, protect virtuousness and goodness, and extirpate falsehood and slander, has given the Qur’an the most acceptable, high and dominant rank of respect and success, and thereby confirmed its truth.
Also, the person who is the interpreter of the Qur’an, upon him be peace and blessings, believed in it and respected it more than anything and anybody else. He went into a sleep-like state during the revelation of its verses and confirmed and preached all of its decrees and commandments with utmost conviction and without exhibiting any deception and error to eyes wide open always to catch him, and without anything to shake him. Despite being unlettered, having founded on the Qur’an, he gave, without hesitation, news and information about the past and future and about the facts of creation and operation of the universe. Other sayings of his do not resemble the Qur’an and are inferior to it in certain respects. All this together proves that the Qur’an is the true, heavenly and blessed Word of that person’s Merciful Creator.
The fifth of mankind or even the majority of them in certain cases have always had an ecstatic and religious devotion to the Qur’an and listened to it lovingly and in adoration of truth, and as is testified to by numerous observations, signs, and events, as moths fly round a light, angels, believing jinn and other spirit beings gather together around it during its recitation. This also confirms that the Qur’an is accepted by almost all the beings in the universe and is of the highest rank.
Also, all the groups of mankind with different levels of understanding and learning, from the commonest to the most intelligent and learned, derive their share from the teaching of the Qur’an, and all the greatest scholars in Islamic sciences such as jurisprudence, theology, and religious methodology, have found in the Qur’an the answers to all of their questions and based their conclusions upon it. This is another evidence that the Qur’an is the source of truths, the mine of all true knowledge.
Furthermore, although among the unbelieving Arab literary men those who have been the most advanced in literature, have always felt much need to dispute with the Qur’an, they have been unable to do that even in eloquence, which is only one of the seven major aspects of the Qur’an’s miraculousness, and have not dared to produce the like of even one of its suras. The others, geniuses of learning and eloquence, who by disputing with it in eloquence have sought fame, have been compelled to refrain from doing so. This clearly shows that the Qur’an is a miracle, beyond the capacity of mankind.
Indeed, in order to judge the value, sublimity, and eloquence of a word it is asked: ‘Who has spoken it? To whom has it been spoken? Why has it been spoken?’ When considered from the perspective of these questions, again the Qur’an has no equal. For the Qur’an is the Word of the Lord of all beings and the Speech of the Creator of the whole of the universe which bears no signs to suggest that it is a book of imitation, one fabricated by someone and then falsely attributed to God. God revealed the Qur’an to the one whom He chose as the representative of all the creatures, one who is His most famous and renowned addressee, and the extent and strength of whose faith embraced the comprehensive religion of Islam and caused its owner to rise to the rank of the distance of two bows’ length, and being honored with direct conversation with the Eternally Besought-of-All, after which he turned back to the world to convey to people the principles of happiness in both worlds. The Qur’an explains the principles of happiness in both worlds and the results of, and the Divine purpose in, the creation of the universe, and expounds the Prophet’s most comprehensive faith, which sustains all the truths of Islam: it shows and describes the huge universe like a map or a clock or a house and teaches about the Artist Who made it. Certainly it is impossible to produce a like of it or to match the degree of its eloquence.
In addition, numerous collections of books on the interpretation of the Qur’an, some of which cover as many as forty or even seventy volumes—written by meticulous scholars of the highest intelligence and learning—expound with proofs countless virtues of the Qur’an and its subtleties and mysteries, and disclose and affirm its numerous predictions. Among them, the one hundred and thirty treatises of the Risale-i Nur explain each virtue and subtlety of the Qur’an, such as its allusions to the scientific and technical wonders of modern civilization like trains and aircrafts and electricity, and its indirect references to future victories of Muslims and the history of the Companions after the Prophet, and the meaningful and mysterious design of its letters. All this means setting a seal on the fact that the Qur’an is a miracle with no equals and the Word of the Knower of the Unseen, which is the tongue of the world of the Unseen in this visible world of corporeality.
It is because of such virtues of the Qur’an that its magnificent spiritual dominion and its majestic sacred rule has been continuing for centuries to illuminate the earth and the ages, time and space, and more and more people have been embracing it with perfect respect. It is because of the same virtues, that each letter of the Qur’an yields at least the merits, ten rewards, and ten fruits pertaining to the eternal world, and that the letters of certain verses and suras, each give hundreds or even thousands of merits, and when recited on certain blessed occasions, the light and merits of each of its letters multiply by tens or hundreds. The world-traveller came to understand this and said to himself: ‘Based on the consensus of its lights and mysteries, and the concord of its fruits and results, this Qur’an, miraculous in every respect, proves and testifies to the existence, unity, attributes, and Names of a single Necessarily Existent One in such a manner that the testimonies of innumerable believers have their sources from that testimony.’
In a brief reference to the instruction which that traveller has taken from the Qur’an about faith and the Unity of God, we say:
There is no god but God—the Necessarily Existent One, the One, the Single—the necessity of Whose existence in His Oneness the Qur’an of miraculous exposition decisively proves, which is accepted and sought for by the species of angels, human beings and jinn; all of whose verses are recited in every minute with perfect respect by the tongues of millions of human beings; whose sacred rule in the regions of the earth and the realms of space and on the faces of ages and time; whose enlightened spiritual dominion has prevailed with perfect splendor over half of the globe and a fifth of humankind for fourteen centuries... Likewise, with the consensus of its heavenly and sacred suras, and the agreement of its luminous Divine verses, and the correspondence of its mysteries and lights, and the concord of its truths, and results, it manifestly attests, and is a clear proof of, this same truth.
Monday, January 01, 2007
Top Ten List According to Bible Rejecting Jesus’ Divinity!
By: Shahid Bin Waheed! With some modifications. I hope he does not mind.
1. Mark 12:29 Jesus said "Here, O Israel: The Lord our God is one Lord." [This confirms that Jesus preached to worship One and Only God, not trinity.
2. John 20:17 Jesus said I ascend to my God and your God. [Jesus has a God according to him; we know that God can’t have a God?]
3. John 8:28 Jesus said, "I do nothing of myself” [He is dependant on God?]
4. John 14:28 Jesus said, "My Father (GOD) is greater than I am" [So, how can Jesus himself be a God?]
5. Luke 23:46 Jesus said "Father (GOD), into thy hands I commend my spirit" [he is like us we all in God's hands]
6. Matthew 24:36 Jesus told his followers that no one (including Jesus) knows when the judgment day will come, only GOD knows. [So God is the one who know]
7. John 5:30 Jesus told his followers that he couldn’t do a single thing of his own. [So it is God again]
8. John 5:32 Jesus told his followers that they have never seen GOD at anytime nor ever heard his voice. [So he is a prophet, he was not God or son of God]
9. Luke 5:16 Jesus prays to God. [if Jesus was God, then why he is praying to God?]
10. Matthew 26:39 Jesus fell on his face and prayed to his GOD ,like Muslims do. [How would you explain this from the very Bible?
1. Mark 12:29 Jesus said "Here, O Israel: The Lord our God is one Lord." [This confirms that Jesus preached to worship One and Only God, not trinity.
2. John 20:17 Jesus said I ascend to my God and your God. [Jesus has a God according to him; we know that God can’t have a God?]
3. John 8:28 Jesus said, "I do nothing of myself” [He is dependant on God?]
4. John 14:28 Jesus said, "My Father (GOD) is greater than I am" [So, how can Jesus himself be a God?]
5. Luke 23:46 Jesus said "Father (GOD), into thy hands I commend my spirit" [he is like us we all in God's hands]
6. Matthew 24:36 Jesus told his followers that no one (including Jesus) knows when the judgment day will come, only GOD knows. [So God is the one who know]
7. John 5:30 Jesus told his followers that he couldn’t do a single thing of his own. [So it is God again]
8. John 5:32 Jesus told his followers that they have never seen GOD at anytime nor ever heard his voice. [So he is a prophet, he was not God or son of God]
9. Luke 5:16 Jesus prays to God. [if Jesus was God, then why he is praying to God?]
10. Matthew 26:39 Jesus fell on his face and prayed to his GOD ,like Muslims do. [How would you explain this from the very Bible?
Wisdom behind Prohibition of Riba (Lending With Interest)
From: www.islamonline.com
We would like to cite for you what the eminent Muslim scholar Sheikh Yusuf Al-Qaradawi, stated in his well-known book The Lawful and the Prohibited in Islam, regarding the issue:
"Islam permits increase in capital through trade. Referring to this, Allah Almighty says, “O you who believe, do not consume your property among yourselves wrongfully, but let there be trade by mutual consent...” (An-Nisa’: 29)
At the same time, Islam blocks the way for anyone who tries to increase his capital through lending on usury or interest (Rriba), whether it is at a low or a high rate,
Among the last revelations are the following verses of Surat al-Baqarah: “O you who believe, fear Allah and give up what remains due to you of interest if you are indeed believers. And if you do not, then be warned of war (against you) by Allah and His Messenger, while if you repent you shall have your capital. Do not do wrong and you shall not be wronged.” (Al-Baqarah: 278-279)
The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) declared war on usury and those who deal in it; he pointed out its dangers to society, saying, “When usury and fornication appear in a community, the people of that community render themselves deserving of the punishment of Allah.” (Reported by Al-Hakim; Abu Y'ala has reported something similar on good authority)
Judaism, prior to Islam, had also prohibited interest. In the Old Testament we read, “If you lend money to any of my people with you who is poor, you shall not be to him as a creditor, neither shall you require interest from him.” (Ex. 22:25)
As for Christianity, the Gospel according to Luke reads, Give away to every one who begs of you, and of him who takes away from your goods, do not demand them back again. (Luke 6:30)
The wisdom behind the prohibition of interest
The strict prohibition of interest in Islam is a result of its deep concern for the moral, social, and economic welfare of mankind. Muslim scholars have sound arguments explaining the wisdom of this prohibition, and recent studies have confirmed their opinions, with some additions and extensions of their arguments.
We confine ourselves to what Imam al-Razi says in his tafsir of the Qur'an:
First: The taking of interest implies appropriating another person's property without giving him anything in exchange, because one who lends one dirham for two dirhams gets the extra dirham for nothing. Now, a man's property is for (the purpose of) fulfilling his needs and it has great sanctity, according to the hadith, “A man's property is as sacred as his blood.” (Reported by Abu Na'eem) This means that taking it from him without giving him something in exchange is haram.
Second: Dependence on interest prevents people from working to earn money, since the person with dirhams can earn an extra dirham through interest, either in advance or at a later date, without working for it. The value of work will consequently be reduced in his estimation, and he will not bother to take the trouble of running a business or risking his money in trade or industry. This will lead to depriving people of benefits, and the business of the world cannot go on without industries, trade and commerce, building and construction, all of which need capital at risk. This, from an economic point of view, is unquestionably a weighty argument.
Third: Permitting the taking of interest discourages people from doing good to one another, as is required by Islam. If interest is prohibited in a society, people will lend to each other with good will, expecting back no more than what they have loaned, while if interest is made permissible the needy person will be required to pay back more on loans (than he has borrowed), weakening his feelings of good will and friendliness toward the lender. (This is the moral aspect of the prohibition of interest.)
Fourth: The lender is very likely to be wealthy and the borrower poor. If interest is allowed, the rich will exploit the poor, and this is against the spirit of mercy and charity. (This is the social aspect of the prohibition of interest.) (Tafsir by al-Fakhr al-Deen al-Razi, vol. 7, p. 4.)
Thus, in a society in which interest is lawful, the strong benefit from the suffering of the weak. As a result, the rich become richer and the poor poorer, creating socio-economic classes in the society separated by wide gulfs. Naturally, this generates envy and hatred among the poor toward the rich, and contempt and callousness among the rich toward the poor. Conflicts arise, the socio-economic fabric is rent, revolutions are born, and social order is threatened. Recent history amply illustrates the dangers to the peace and stability of nations inherent in interest-based economies."
We would like to cite for you what the eminent Muslim scholar Sheikh Yusuf Al-Qaradawi, stated in his well-known book The Lawful and the Prohibited in Islam, regarding the issue:
"Islam permits increase in capital through trade. Referring to this, Allah Almighty says, “O you who believe, do not consume your property among yourselves wrongfully, but let there be trade by mutual consent...” (An-Nisa’: 29)
At the same time, Islam blocks the way for anyone who tries to increase his capital through lending on usury or interest (Rriba), whether it is at a low or a high rate,
Among the last revelations are the following verses of Surat al-Baqarah: “O you who believe, fear Allah and give up what remains due to you of interest if you are indeed believers. And if you do not, then be warned of war (against you) by Allah and His Messenger, while if you repent you shall have your capital. Do not do wrong and you shall not be wronged.” (Al-Baqarah: 278-279)
The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) declared war on usury and those who deal in it; he pointed out its dangers to society, saying, “When usury and fornication appear in a community, the people of that community render themselves deserving of the punishment of Allah.” (Reported by Al-Hakim; Abu Y'ala has reported something similar on good authority)
Judaism, prior to Islam, had also prohibited interest. In the Old Testament we read, “If you lend money to any of my people with you who is poor, you shall not be to him as a creditor, neither shall you require interest from him.” (Ex. 22:25)
As for Christianity, the Gospel according to Luke reads, Give away to every one who begs of you, and of him who takes away from your goods, do not demand them back again. (Luke 6:30)
The wisdom behind the prohibition of interest
The strict prohibition of interest in Islam is a result of its deep concern for the moral, social, and economic welfare of mankind. Muslim scholars have sound arguments explaining the wisdom of this prohibition, and recent studies have confirmed their opinions, with some additions and extensions of their arguments.
We confine ourselves to what Imam al-Razi says in his tafsir of the Qur'an:
First: The taking of interest implies appropriating another person's property without giving him anything in exchange, because one who lends one dirham for two dirhams gets the extra dirham for nothing. Now, a man's property is for (the purpose of) fulfilling his needs and it has great sanctity, according to the hadith, “A man's property is as sacred as his blood.” (Reported by Abu Na'eem) This means that taking it from him without giving him something in exchange is haram.
Second: Dependence on interest prevents people from working to earn money, since the person with dirhams can earn an extra dirham through interest, either in advance or at a later date, without working for it. The value of work will consequently be reduced in his estimation, and he will not bother to take the trouble of running a business or risking his money in trade or industry. This will lead to depriving people of benefits, and the business of the world cannot go on without industries, trade and commerce, building and construction, all of which need capital at risk. This, from an economic point of view, is unquestionably a weighty argument.
Third: Permitting the taking of interest discourages people from doing good to one another, as is required by Islam. If interest is prohibited in a society, people will lend to each other with good will, expecting back no more than what they have loaned, while if interest is made permissible the needy person will be required to pay back more on loans (than he has borrowed), weakening his feelings of good will and friendliness toward the lender. (This is the moral aspect of the prohibition of interest.)
Fourth: The lender is very likely to be wealthy and the borrower poor. If interest is allowed, the rich will exploit the poor, and this is against the spirit of mercy and charity. (This is the social aspect of the prohibition of interest.) (Tafsir by al-Fakhr al-Deen al-Razi, vol. 7, p. 4.)
Thus, in a society in which interest is lawful, the strong benefit from the suffering of the weak. As a result, the rich become richer and the poor poorer, creating socio-economic classes in the society separated by wide gulfs. Naturally, this generates envy and hatred among the poor toward the rich, and contempt and callousness among the rich toward the poor. Conflicts arise, the socio-economic fabric is rent, revolutions are born, and social order is threatened. Recent history amply illustrates the dangers to the peace and stability of nations inherent in interest-based economies."
What is the Wisdom of Islaam? And how will Allaah Almighty Judge both Muslims and Non-Muslims?
From: www.allaahuakbar.net
As I read the Noble Qur'ân almost everyday, I always gain more and more respect to this Wonderful True Religion of GOD. Humans today had so corrupted the beauty of believing in the One True Living GOD, that they no longer became certain of which path to take. Humans today are full of confusion and fear because many of them are apart from Islam. That is why we are having continuous religious and territorial battles and brutal blood shed throughout the world.
What is the Wisdom of Islam?
Islam is a very simple religion. Islam simply means submitting yourself in peace to the One True Living GOD:
"Then Praise be to Allah, Lord of the heavens and Lord of the earth- Lord and Cherisher of all the worlds! To Him be Glory throughout the heavens and the earth: and He is Exalted in Power, Full of Wisdom!. (The Noble Qur'ân, 45:36-37)"
"Say: 'O People of the Book (i.e., Jews and Christians)! Come to common terms as between us and you: That we worship none but Allah; that we associate no partners with Him; that we erect not, from among ourselves, Lords and patrons other than Allah.' If then they turn back, say ye: 'Bear witness that we (at least) are Muslims (bowing to Allah's Will).' (The Noble Qur'ân, 3:64)"
The GOD of Islam is the GOD of everything He created. There is no middle man between the Creation and the Creator; "We [Allah] are closer to the person than the jugular vein. (The Noble Qur'ân, 50:16).", and "Wherever you turn, there is the face of God. (The Noble Qur'ân, 2:109)."
Allaah Almighty knows what's in the heart and will judge us (all humans, Muslims and Non-Muslims) according to our intentions:
Let us look at Noble Verses 26:88-91 "The Day whereon neither wealth nor sons will avail, But only he (will prosper) that brings to God a sound heart; to the righteous, the Garden will be brought near, and to those straying in Evil, the Fire will be placed in full view."
Allaah Almighty created all mankind with different races, mentality and beliefs; "O mankind! [this includes Muslims, Christians, Buddhists, Hindus, Jews, Agnostics, etc...] We created you from a single (pair) of a male and a female, and made you into nations and tribes, that ye may know each other. Verily the most honoured of you in the sight of Allaah is the most righteous of you. And Allaah has full knowledge and is well-acquainted. (The Noble Qur'ân, 49:13)" Throughout the Noble Qur'ân, Allaah Almighty sometimes talks directly to Muslims, to Non-Muslims and to all mankind (both Muslims and Non-Muslims). This by itself means a lot to me as a human being. It tells me that Allaah Almighty's Book (The Noble Qur'ân) is not just meant for Muslims only. Anyone can reach his Creator through Islaam.
It also tells me that anyone can gain the Love of Allaah Almighty, which would eventually lead him to know His Creator and end up in paradise under Him: "It is He Who has Created you [humans]; and of you [humans] are some that are unbelievers, and some that are believers: And Allaah sees well all that ye do. He has created the heavens and the earth in just portions, and has given you [humans] shape, and made your shapes beautiful: and to Him is the final Goal. He knows what is in the heavens and on earth; and He knows what ye conceal and what ye reveal: Allaah Knows well the (secrets) of (all) hearts. (The Noble Qur'ân, 64:2-4)"
He knows well that we need Him, and that we are nothing without Him and His guidance; "O ye men! It is ye that have need of Allaah: but Allaah is the One free of all wants, worthy of all praise. If He so pleased, He could blot you out and bring in a new creation, Nor is that difficult for Allaah. (The Noble Qur'ân, 35:15-17)"
Allaah Almighty listens to our prayers; He is close and listens!
"When My servants ask thee concerning Me, I am indeed close (to them): I listen to the prayer of every suppliant when he calleth on Me: Let them also, with a will, Listen to My call, and believe in Me: That they may walk in the right way. (The Noble Qur'ân, 2:186)"
How will Allah Almighty Judge the non-Muslims? Should a person be a Muslim first to be accepted in Paradise by Allah Almighty?
It is important to know that in the Noble Qur'ân, Allah Almighty will admit to Paradise those from the Muslims and non-Muslims who He loves because of their righteous work and belief. Let us look at the following Noble Verses:
"O mankind! [this includes Muslims, Christians, Buddhists, Hindus, Jews, Agnostics, etc...] We created you from a single (pair) of a male and a female, and made you into nations and tribes [People with different religions and traditions and cultures], that ye may know each other. Verily the most honoured of you in the sight of Allah is the most righteous of you. And Allah has full knowledge and is well-acquainted. (The Noble Qur'ân, 49:13)"
"Not all of them are alike: Of the People of the Book [Jews and Christians] are a portion that stand (For the right): They rehearse the Signs of God all night long, and they prostrate themselves in adoration. They believe in God and the Last Day; they enjoin what is right, and forbid what is wrong; and they hasten (in emulation) in (all) good works: They are in the ranks of the righteous. (The Noble Qur'ân, 3:113-3:114)"
The above Noble Verses clearly speak about the righteous non-Muslims who believe in One GOD Almighty and do righteousness and will have their Great Reward and enter Paradise. There is no mention of them must first believe in the Noble Quran's Revelations and in Prophet Muhammad peace be upon him as GOD's Messenger to be accepted to Paradise.
My definition of the word "Muslim": Please be advised that the following statement of mine is only from my personal knowledge and beliefs that I built from learning Islam:
"I believe that the definition of "Muslim" is not someone who believes in Allah Almighty and Prophet Muhammad peace be upon him, and the Noble Qur'ân only. The definition of "Muslim" is someone who believes in the Oneness of GOD Almighty. This makes any Unitarian a "Muslim". This also makes the definition of "Islam" not limited to believing in Allah Almighty, the Noble Qur'ân, and Prophet Muhammad peace be upon him only. I believe that the definition of "Islam" is the belief in One GOD Almighty. This could be outside the scope of the Noble Qur'ân and Prophet Muhammad peace be upon him."
To support my statement above, let us look at the following Noble Verse:
"Say: 'O People of the Book (i.e., Jews and Christians)! Come to common terms as between us and you: That we worship none but Allah; that we associate no partners with Him; that we erect not, from among ourselves, Lords and patrons other than Allah.' If then they turn back, say ye: 'Bear witness that we (at least) are Muslims (bowing to Allah's Will).' (The Noble Quran, 3:64)"
Also, Jesus peace be upon him taught his followers to be "Muslims" 600 years before the birth of Muhammad peace be upon him: "And behold! I inspired the Disciples to have faith in Me [Allah] and Mine Messenger [Jesus]; they said, ''We have faith, and do thou bear witness that we bow to Allah as Muslims.' (The Noble Quran, 5:111)"
Noble Verse 5:111 seems to agree perfectly with Jesus' teachings in the Bible's Hebrew New Testament in Luke 6:40 "A student is not above his teacher, but everyone who is fully trained will be like his teacher."
Let us look at what Jesus said in Luke 6:40 in the language of Aramaic translated into Hebrew below:
"Ein talmeed na'leh 'al rabbo; shekken kal adam she'MUSHLAM yihyeh k'rabbo."
Taken from the Aramaic bible society.
Note: Aramaic and Hebrew are read from right to left, which is apposite to English.
Translation in English: "No student can be above his teacher, but everyone that is a MUSLIM, can be as his teacher."
Important Note: The Hebrew word "Mushlam" comes from the root "Sh L M". "Shalom" which comes from the same root means "peace". The Arabic word "Muslim" comes from the root "S L M". "Salam" means "peace". "Salem" means "safe". Also taken from the Aramaic bible society.
Every religion in this universe started with a Prophet of GOD Almighty. Judaism started with Moses peace be upon him, Christianity started with Jesus peace be upon him and so on. Islaam on the other hand did not start with Muhammad peace be upon him. It simply started with the creation of Adam peace be upon him. The minute the man of mankind was created, the beautiful religion of Allaah Almighty Islaam was too created for mankind. Islaam is a religion that started with Adam and ended with Muhammad peace be upon them. Every religion of Allaah Almighty in between such as Judaism and Christianity is part of Islaam.
This is very important to know, because now we can see that the people who believed in the One Living True Undivided GOD Almighty before the birth of Muhammad peace be upon him were also Muslims. It is essential to not confuse the definition of the word "Muslim". A Muslim is one who believes in the religion of Islam, and as I mentioned above, the word "Islaam" means submitting yourself in peace to Allaah Almighty.
Important Note: It is up to Allaah Almighty to decide who goes to Heaven and who goes to Hell. But as we've seen in the above Noble Verses, Allaah Almighty doesn't just care about our faith, but also about our good deeds and hearts.
All good righteous Unitarians (those who believe in One GOD Almighty) are Muslims according to Islaam. Prophet Muhammad peace be upon him taught us that faith in One GOD is the most important and fundamental principle. It is the heart of Islaam and the mainspring of its power. All other beliefs, commands and laws of Islaam stand firm on this foundation. All of them receive strength from this source. Take it away, and there is nothing left of Islaam.
One of the beauties of Islaam is that when an individual becomes a Unitarian, this wonderful religion of GOD (Islaam) comes natural to him by the will of Allaah Almighty; "...Such are among the Signs of God: He whom God, guides is rightly guided; but he whom God leaves to stray,- for him wilt thou find no protector to lead him to the Right Way. (The Noble Qur'ân, 18:17)".
It comes in such a miraculous way that it creates a direct connection between Allaah Almighty and the individual; "...Allah has endeared the faith to you, Has made it beautiful in your hearts, and He Has made hateful to you unbelief, wickedness, and rebellion: such indeed are those who walk in righteousness- A grace and favour from Allaah; and Allaah is full of Knowledge and Wisdom. (The Noble Qur'ân, 49:7-8)"
Once that connection is created, then the new Muslim will naturally avoid unbelief and wickedness and stay in the Path of Allaah Almighty. The Muslim's faith will then only increase and strengthen:
"For, believers are those who, when Allaah is mentioned, feel a tremor in their hearts, and when they hear His Signs rehearsed, find their faith strengthened, and put (all) their trust in their Lord. (The Noble Qur'an, 8:2)"
"Say, the Holy Spirit has brought the revelation from thy Lord in Truth, in order to strengthen those who believe, and as a guide and glad tidings to Muslims. (The Noble Qur'ân, 16:102)"
"It is He [Allah] Who sent down tranquility into the hearts of the believers, that they may add faith to their faith- For to Allah belong the forces of the heavens and the earth; and Allah is Full of Knowledge and Wisdom. (The Noble Qur'ân, 48:4)"
As long as the person believes in "One GOD" and does Righteousness, then he should be ok:
"God forgiveth not that partners should be set up with Him; but He forgiveth anything else, to whom He pleaseth; to set up partners with God is to devise a sin Most heinous indeed. (The Noble Qur'ân, 4:48)"
"Who can be better in religion than one who submits his whole self to God, does good, and follows the way of Abraham the true in Faith? For God did take Abraham for a friend. (The Noble Qur'ân, 4:125)"
Idol worshiping, Trinity, and all other forms of using other Creations of GOD as mediators between yourself and GOD Almighty are not accepted by Allaah Almighty. This supports my statement above about a "Muslim" is one who believes in One GOD only.
"They say: 'Become Jews or Christians if ye would be guided (To salvation).' Say thou: 'Nay! (I would rather) the Religion of Abraham the True, and he joined not gods with God.' (The Noble Qur'ân, 2:135)"
"Abraham was not a Jew nor yet a Christian; but he was true in Faith, and bowed his will to God's (Which is Islaam), and he joined not gods with God. (The Noble Qur'ân, 3:67)"
Abraham peace be upon him was one who believed in One True Living GOD Almighty. He was a Unitarian, but different from the Jews today who don't believe in Jesus nor Muhammad peace be upon them. Please visit The Jews' offensive views toward Jesus, Mary, Women, and People. That is why Allah Almighty doesn't accept the Jews' way of life today as the Truth. They lost their scriptures and they are corrupt in the eyes of Allah Almighty.
The "true in Faith" or the "Religion of Abraham" that GOD Almighty accepts is as I said, believing in One True Living GOD Almighty. This is the main point of Islaam, and the belief that would ultimately guide the individual to Salvation.
So how will we be judged at Judgement Day?
Allaah Almighty is quite clear in the Noble Qur'ân about how He will judge us in the Day of Judgement.
Let us look at Noble Verse 10:61 "In whatever business thou mayest be, and whatever portion thou mayest be reciting from the Qur'ân, and whatever deed ye (mankind) may be doing, We are witnesses thereof when ye are deeply engrossed therein. Nor is hidden from thy Lord (so much as) the weight of an atom on the earth or in heaven. And not the least and not the greatest of these things but are recorded in a clear record." In this Noble Verse, we see Allah Almighty clearly describing to us that every single act even an atom of a thing we do in life from good and bad will be recorded in our records.
Let us look at Noble Verse 34:3 "The unbelievers say, 'Never to us will come the Hour': Say, 'Nay! but most surely, by my Lord, it will come upon you; by Him Who knows the unseen, from Whom is not hidden the least little atom in the heavens or on earth: Nor is there anything less than that, or greater, but is in the record perspicuous.'" Here we see in this Noble Verse Allah Almighty responding to the unbelievers when they approached our beloved Prophet Muhammad peace be upon him. Allah Almighty's response was that every atom of thing they do can not be hidden and is recorded in the record perspicuous.
Let us look at Noble Verse 34:22 "Say: 'Call upon other (gods) whom ye fancy, besides God: They have no power,- not the weight of an atom,- in the heavens or on earth: No (sort of) share have they therein, nor is any of them a helper to God.'" In this Noble Verse Allah Almighty claims that no god but He will do the Judgement in the Day of Judgement. All of the idols and images that people worshiped and still do will not take part of any Judgement. They will be worthless.
Let us look at Noble Verses 99:7-8 "Then shall anyone who has done an atom's weight of good, see it! And anyone who has done an atom's weight of evil, shall see it." Everything we do in life will be recorded for us. For every atom of good we do in life we shall see it, and for every atom of evil we do in life we shall see it also. And Allaah Almighty will ultimately make His decision on whether you will make it to heaven or will make it to hell.
So am I suggesting that there is no need to believe in the Noble Qur'ân? Or there is no need to try to spread Islam to Unitarians such as the Jews?
Absolutely not! As a Muslim who believes in Allaah Almighty and all of His Revelations, I must believe with all my heart and mind that the Noble Qur'ân is the Seal of all the Revelations that came from Allaah Almighty, and it must be followed. Allaah Almighty clearly said: "The Religion before God is Islaam (submission to His Will): Nor did the People of the Book dissent therefrom except through envy of each other, after knowledge had come to them. But if any deny the Signs of God, God is swift in calling to account. (The Noble Qur'ân, 3:19)"
But the religion of Islaam is not just limited to the Noble Qur'ân's Revelations. Islaam started from Adam and ended with Muhammad peace be upon them. Islaam was perfected or finished with the Revelations of the Noble Qur'ân: "...This day have I perfected your religion for you, completed My favour upon you, and have chosen for you Islaam as your religion........ (The Nobel Qur'ân, 5:3)"
Islaam as I mentioned above existed before Prophet Muhammad peace be upon him and ended with him: "The same religion has He established for you as that which He enjoined on Noah - the which We have sent by inspiration to thee - and that which We enjoined on Abraham, Moses, and Jesus: Namely, that ye should remain steadfast in religion, and make no divisions therein: to those who worship other things than God, hard is the (way) to which thou callest them. God chooses to Himself those whom He pleases, and guides to Himself those who turn (to Him). (The Noble Qur'ân, 42:13)"
My suggestion: What I am suggesting is that when a Muslim is asked about who from Mankind will Allaah Almighty admit to Paradise and whom He won't admit, he should say "Only He the Almighty Knows, because He will decide based on the person's belief and good deeds on whether to admit him to Heaven or to Hell. There is no set rule on how the Judgement will happen. Every individual will have his own special and unique case that Allaah Almighty will consider."
That is why Allaah Almighty said in Noble Verses 99:7-8 "Then shall anyone who has done an atom's weight of good, see it! And anyone who has done an atom's weight of evil, shall see it."
Conclusion: Islaam is a beautiful True Religion of Allaah Almighty that frees the human being from wickedness, confusion and frustration, and sheds the Light of Allaah Almighty into his heart and leads him to the true Path in a miraculous and natural process. Allaah Almighty is the GOD of all mankind and is there for all the righteous. Every little atom of good and evil an individual makes in life will be recorded for him, and he shall see it in the Day of Judgement. Then Allaah Almighty will make His ultimate decision for that person on whether he shall go to hell or to heaven.
As I read the Noble Qur'ân almost everyday, I always gain more and more respect to this Wonderful True Religion of GOD. Humans today had so corrupted the beauty of believing in the One True Living GOD, that they no longer became certain of which path to take. Humans today are full of confusion and fear because many of them are apart from Islam. That is why we are having continuous religious and territorial battles and brutal blood shed throughout the world.
What is the Wisdom of Islam?
Islam is a very simple religion. Islam simply means submitting yourself in peace to the One True Living GOD:
"Then Praise be to Allah, Lord of the heavens and Lord of the earth- Lord and Cherisher of all the worlds! To Him be Glory throughout the heavens and the earth: and He is Exalted in Power, Full of Wisdom!. (The Noble Qur'ân, 45:36-37)"
"Say: 'O People of the Book (i.e., Jews and Christians)! Come to common terms as between us and you: That we worship none but Allah; that we associate no partners with Him; that we erect not, from among ourselves, Lords and patrons other than Allah.' If then they turn back, say ye: 'Bear witness that we (at least) are Muslims (bowing to Allah's Will).' (The Noble Qur'ân, 3:64)"
The GOD of Islam is the GOD of everything He created. There is no middle man between the Creation and the Creator; "We [Allah] are closer to the person than the jugular vein. (The Noble Qur'ân, 50:16).", and "Wherever you turn, there is the face of God. (The Noble Qur'ân, 2:109)."
Allaah Almighty knows what's in the heart and will judge us (all humans, Muslims and Non-Muslims) according to our intentions:
Let us look at Noble Verses 26:88-91 "The Day whereon neither wealth nor sons will avail, But only he (will prosper) that brings to God a sound heart; to the righteous, the Garden will be brought near, and to those straying in Evil, the Fire will be placed in full view."
Allaah Almighty created all mankind with different races, mentality and beliefs; "O mankind! [this includes Muslims, Christians, Buddhists, Hindus, Jews, Agnostics, etc...] We created you from a single (pair) of a male and a female, and made you into nations and tribes, that ye may know each other. Verily the most honoured of you in the sight of Allaah is the most righteous of you. And Allaah has full knowledge and is well-acquainted. (The Noble Qur'ân, 49:13)" Throughout the Noble Qur'ân, Allaah Almighty sometimes talks directly to Muslims, to Non-Muslims and to all mankind (both Muslims and Non-Muslims). This by itself means a lot to me as a human being. It tells me that Allaah Almighty's Book (The Noble Qur'ân) is not just meant for Muslims only. Anyone can reach his Creator through Islaam.
It also tells me that anyone can gain the Love of Allaah Almighty, which would eventually lead him to know His Creator and end up in paradise under Him: "It is He Who has Created you [humans]; and of you [humans] are some that are unbelievers, and some that are believers: And Allaah sees well all that ye do. He has created the heavens and the earth in just portions, and has given you [humans] shape, and made your shapes beautiful: and to Him is the final Goal. He knows what is in the heavens and on earth; and He knows what ye conceal and what ye reveal: Allaah Knows well the (secrets) of (all) hearts. (The Noble Qur'ân, 64:2-4)"
He knows well that we need Him, and that we are nothing without Him and His guidance; "O ye men! It is ye that have need of Allaah: but Allaah is the One free of all wants, worthy of all praise. If He so pleased, He could blot you out and bring in a new creation, Nor is that difficult for Allaah. (The Noble Qur'ân, 35:15-17)"
Allaah Almighty listens to our prayers; He is close and listens!
"When My servants ask thee concerning Me, I am indeed close (to them): I listen to the prayer of every suppliant when he calleth on Me: Let them also, with a will, Listen to My call, and believe in Me: That they may walk in the right way. (The Noble Qur'ân, 2:186)"
How will Allah Almighty Judge the non-Muslims? Should a person be a Muslim first to be accepted in Paradise by Allah Almighty?
It is important to know that in the Noble Qur'ân, Allah Almighty will admit to Paradise those from the Muslims and non-Muslims who He loves because of their righteous work and belief. Let us look at the following Noble Verses:
"O mankind! [this includes Muslims, Christians, Buddhists, Hindus, Jews, Agnostics, etc...] We created you from a single (pair) of a male and a female, and made you into nations and tribes [People with different religions and traditions and cultures], that ye may know each other. Verily the most honoured of you in the sight of Allah is the most righteous of you. And Allah has full knowledge and is well-acquainted. (The Noble Qur'ân, 49:13)"
"Not all of them are alike: Of the People of the Book [Jews and Christians] are a portion that stand (For the right): They rehearse the Signs of God all night long, and they prostrate themselves in adoration. They believe in God and the Last Day; they enjoin what is right, and forbid what is wrong; and they hasten (in emulation) in (all) good works: They are in the ranks of the righteous. (The Noble Qur'ân, 3:113-3:114)"
The above Noble Verses clearly speak about the righteous non-Muslims who believe in One GOD Almighty and do righteousness and will have their Great Reward and enter Paradise. There is no mention of them must first believe in the Noble Quran's Revelations and in Prophet Muhammad peace be upon him as GOD's Messenger to be accepted to Paradise.
My definition of the word "Muslim": Please be advised that the following statement of mine is only from my personal knowledge and beliefs that I built from learning Islam:
"I believe that the definition of "Muslim" is not someone who believes in Allah Almighty and Prophet Muhammad peace be upon him, and the Noble Qur'ân only. The definition of "Muslim" is someone who believes in the Oneness of GOD Almighty. This makes any Unitarian a "Muslim". This also makes the definition of "Islam" not limited to believing in Allah Almighty, the Noble Qur'ân, and Prophet Muhammad peace be upon him only. I believe that the definition of "Islam" is the belief in One GOD Almighty. This could be outside the scope of the Noble Qur'ân and Prophet Muhammad peace be upon him."
To support my statement above, let us look at the following Noble Verse:
"Say: 'O People of the Book (i.e., Jews and Christians)! Come to common terms as between us and you: That we worship none but Allah; that we associate no partners with Him; that we erect not, from among ourselves, Lords and patrons other than Allah.' If then they turn back, say ye: 'Bear witness that we (at least) are Muslims (bowing to Allah's Will).' (The Noble Quran, 3:64)"
Also, Jesus peace be upon him taught his followers to be "Muslims" 600 years before the birth of Muhammad peace be upon him: "And behold! I inspired the Disciples to have faith in Me [Allah] and Mine Messenger [Jesus]; they said, ''We have faith, and do thou bear witness that we bow to Allah as Muslims.' (The Noble Quran, 5:111)"
Noble Verse 5:111 seems to agree perfectly with Jesus' teachings in the Bible's Hebrew New Testament in Luke 6:40 "A student is not above his teacher, but everyone who is fully trained will be like his teacher."
Let us look at what Jesus said in Luke 6:40 in the language of Aramaic translated into Hebrew below:
"Ein talmeed na'leh 'al rabbo; shekken kal adam she'MUSHLAM yihyeh k'rabbo."
Taken from the Aramaic bible society.
Note: Aramaic and Hebrew are read from right to left, which is apposite to English.
Translation in English: "No student can be above his teacher, but everyone that is a MUSLIM, can be as his teacher."
Important Note: The Hebrew word "Mushlam" comes from the root "Sh L M". "Shalom" which comes from the same root means "peace". The Arabic word "Muslim" comes from the root "S L M". "Salam" means "peace". "Salem" means "safe". Also taken from the Aramaic bible society.
Every religion in this universe started with a Prophet of GOD Almighty. Judaism started with Moses peace be upon him, Christianity started with Jesus peace be upon him and so on. Islaam on the other hand did not start with Muhammad peace be upon him. It simply started with the creation of Adam peace be upon him. The minute the man of mankind was created, the beautiful religion of Allaah Almighty Islaam was too created for mankind. Islaam is a religion that started with Adam and ended with Muhammad peace be upon them. Every religion of Allaah Almighty in between such as Judaism and Christianity is part of Islaam.
This is very important to know, because now we can see that the people who believed in the One Living True Undivided GOD Almighty before the birth of Muhammad peace be upon him were also Muslims. It is essential to not confuse the definition of the word "Muslim". A Muslim is one who believes in the religion of Islam, and as I mentioned above, the word "Islaam" means submitting yourself in peace to Allaah Almighty.
Important Note: It is up to Allaah Almighty to decide who goes to Heaven and who goes to Hell. But as we've seen in the above Noble Verses, Allaah Almighty doesn't just care about our faith, but also about our good deeds and hearts.
All good righteous Unitarians (those who believe in One GOD Almighty) are Muslims according to Islaam. Prophet Muhammad peace be upon him taught us that faith in One GOD is the most important and fundamental principle. It is the heart of Islaam and the mainspring of its power. All other beliefs, commands and laws of Islaam stand firm on this foundation. All of them receive strength from this source. Take it away, and there is nothing left of Islaam.
One of the beauties of Islaam is that when an individual becomes a Unitarian, this wonderful religion of GOD (Islaam) comes natural to him by the will of Allaah Almighty; "...Such are among the Signs of God: He whom God, guides is rightly guided; but he whom God leaves to stray,- for him wilt thou find no protector to lead him to the Right Way. (The Noble Qur'ân, 18:17)".
It comes in such a miraculous way that it creates a direct connection between Allaah Almighty and the individual; "...Allah has endeared the faith to you, Has made it beautiful in your hearts, and He Has made hateful to you unbelief, wickedness, and rebellion: such indeed are those who walk in righteousness- A grace and favour from Allaah; and Allaah is full of Knowledge and Wisdom. (The Noble Qur'ân, 49:7-8)"
Once that connection is created, then the new Muslim will naturally avoid unbelief and wickedness and stay in the Path of Allaah Almighty. The Muslim's faith will then only increase and strengthen:
"For, believers are those who, when Allaah is mentioned, feel a tremor in their hearts, and when they hear His Signs rehearsed, find their faith strengthened, and put (all) their trust in their Lord. (The Noble Qur'an, 8:2)"
"Say, the Holy Spirit has brought the revelation from thy Lord in Truth, in order to strengthen those who believe, and as a guide and glad tidings to Muslims. (The Noble Qur'ân, 16:102)"
"It is He [Allah] Who sent down tranquility into the hearts of the believers, that they may add faith to their faith- For to Allah belong the forces of the heavens and the earth; and Allah is Full of Knowledge and Wisdom. (The Noble Qur'ân, 48:4)"
As long as the person believes in "One GOD" and does Righteousness, then he should be ok:
"God forgiveth not that partners should be set up with Him; but He forgiveth anything else, to whom He pleaseth; to set up partners with God is to devise a sin Most heinous indeed. (The Noble Qur'ân, 4:48)"
"Who can be better in religion than one who submits his whole self to God, does good, and follows the way of Abraham the true in Faith? For God did take Abraham for a friend. (The Noble Qur'ân, 4:125)"
Idol worshiping, Trinity, and all other forms of using other Creations of GOD as mediators between yourself and GOD Almighty are not accepted by Allaah Almighty. This supports my statement above about a "Muslim" is one who believes in One GOD only.
"They say: 'Become Jews or Christians if ye would be guided (To salvation).' Say thou: 'Nay! (I would rather) the Religion of Abraham the True, and he joined not gods with God.' (The Noble Qur'ân, 2:135)"
"Abraham was not a Jew nor yet a Christian; but he was true in Faith, and bowed his will to God's (Which is Islaam), and he joined not gods with God. (The Noble Qur'ân, 3:67)"
Abraham peace be upon him was one who believed in One True Living GOD Almighty. He was a Unitarian, but different from the Jews today who don't believe in Jesus nor Muhammad peace be upon them. Please visit The Jews' offensive views toward Jesus, Mary, Women, and People. That is why Allah Almighty doesn't accept the Jews' way of life today as the Truth. They lost their scriptures and they are corrupt in the eyes of Allah Almighty.
The "true in Faith" or the "Religion of Abraham" that GOD Almighty accepts is as I said, believing in One True Living GOD Almighty. This is the main point of Islaam, and the belief that would ultimately guide the individual to Salvation.
So how will we be judged at Judgement Day?
Allaah Almighty is quite clear in the Noble Qur'ân about how He will judge us in the Day of Judgement.
Let us look at Noble Verse 10:61 "In whatever business thou mayest be, and whatever portion thou mayest be reciting from the Qur'ân, and whatever deed ye (mankind) may be doing, We are witnesses thereof when ye are deeply engrossed therein. Nor is hidden from thy Lord (so much as) the weight of an atom on the earth or in heaven. And not the least and not the greatest of these things but are recorded in a clear record." In this Noble Verse, we see Allah Almighty clearly describing to us that every single act even an atom of a thing we do in life from good and bad will be recorded in our records.
Let us look at Noble Verse 34:3 "The unbelievers say, 'Never to us will come the Hour': Say, 'Nay! but most surely, by my Lord, it will come upon you; by Him Who knows the unseen, from Whom is not hidden the least little atom in the heavens or on earth: Nor is there anything less than that, or greater, but is in the record perspicuous.'" Here we see in this Noble Verse Allah Almighty responding to the unbelievers when they approached our beloved Prophet Muhammad peace be upon him. Allah Almighty's response was that every atom of thing they do can not be hidden and is recorded in the record perspicuous.
Let us look at Noble Verse 34:22 "Say: 'Call upon other (gods) whom ye fancy, besides God: They have no power,- not the weight of an atom,- in the heavens or on earth: No (sort of) share have they therein, nor is any of them a helper to God.'" In this Noble Verse Allah Almighty claims that no god but He will do the Judgement in the Day of Judgement. All of the idols and images that people worshiped and still do will not take part of any Judgement. They will be worthless.
Let us look at Noble Verses 99:7-8 "Then shall anyone who has done an atom's weight of good, see it! And anyone who has done an atom's weight of evil, shall see it." Everything we do in life will be recorded for us. For every atom of good we do in life we shall see it, and for every atom of evil we do in life we shall see it also. And Allaah Almighty will ultimately make His decision on whether you will make it to heaven or will make it to hell.
So am I suggesting that there is no need to believe in the Noble Qur'ân? Or there is no need to try to spread Islam to Unitarians such as the Jews?
Absolutely not! As a Muslim who believes in Allaah Almighty and all of His Revelations, I must believe with all my heart and mind that the Noble Qur'ân is the Seal of all the Revelations that came from Allaah Almighty, and it must be followed. Allaah Almighty clearly said: "The Religion before God is Islaam (submission to His Will): Nor did the People of the Book dissent therefrom except through envy of each other, after knowledge had come to them. But if any deny the Signs of God, God is swift in calling to account. (The Noble Qur'ân, 3:19)"
But the religion of Islaam is not just limited to the Noble Qur'ân's Revelations. Islaam started from Adam and ended with Muhammad peace be upon them. Islaam was perfected or finished with the Revelations of the Noble Qur'ân: "...This day have I perfected your religion for you, completed My favour upon you, and have chosen for you Islaam as your religion........ (The Nobel Qur'ân, 5:3)"
Islaam as I mentioned above existed before Prophet Muhammad peace be upon him and ended with him: "The same religion has He established for you as that which He enjoined on Noah - the which We have sent by inspiration to thee - and that which We enjoined on Abraham, Moses, and Jesus: Namely, that ye should remain steadfast in religion, and make no divisions therein: to those who worship other things than God, hard is the (way) to which thou callest them. God chooses to Himself those whom He pleases, and guides to Himself those who turn (to Him). (The Noble Qur'ân, 42:13)"
My suggestion: What I am suggesting is that when a Muslim is asked about who from Mankind will Allaah Almighty admit to Paradise and whom He won't admit, he should say "Only He the Almighty Knows, because He will decide based on the person's belief and good deeds on whether to admit him to Heaven or to Hell. There is no set rule on how the Judgement will happen. Every individual will have his own special and unique case that Allaah Almighty will consider."
That is why Allaah Almighty said in Noble Verses 99:7-8 "Then shall anyone who has done an atom's weight of good, see it! And anyone who has done an atom's weight of evil, shall see it."
Conclusion: Islaam is a beautiful True Religion of Allaah Almighty that frees the human being from wickedness, confusion and frustration, and sheds the Light of Allaah Almighty into his heart and leads him to the true Path in a miraculous and natural process. Allaah Almighty is the GOD of all mankind and is there for all the righteous. Every little atom of good and evil an individual makes in life will be recorded for him, and he shall see it in the Day of Judgement. Then Allaah Almighty will make His ultimate decision for that person on whether he shall go to hell or to heaven.
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