Witnessing
to Muslims
Ground
yourself in the fact that God is sovereign in salvation.
Muslims come to
faith by a supernatural work of God, by which the Holy Spirit opens their
hearts (Acts 16:14) and grants them the gift of repentance
(2 Tim. 2:25). We believe that a Muslim
coming to faith is not intrinsically connected to our form of
contextualization, but rests solely on God’s divine intervention (Dan. 4:35; Ps. 115:3; John 6:64-65) and our humble obedience to
proclaim the gospel (Acts 1:8; Matt. 9:38, 28:19-20). God is not concerned with
glorifying a method; he is concerned with glorifying his Son. Strategies are
useful and necessary, but none of them offers the “key” to Muslim evangelism...
How
to Evangelize a Muslim
The testimony of
the Gospels provides the most reliable witness to Christ. Preach the Gospel as
it is! Do not soft-pedal around biblical terminology to please Muslim
hearers. Be clear about what you believe and why you believe it. Know the
Scriptures well, and know the confessions and what exactly you believe
(catechisms). The more you know about your faith, the easier it is to talk with
Muslims.
There is no gospel
in Islam. The Qur'an clearly contradicts the essence of biblical Christianity
and rejects the triune nature of God, disfigures the biblical doctrines of the
person of Christ and denies justification through faith on account of the work
of Christ on the cross. While claiming to be the perpetual religion of nature
and history, following in the footsteps of Christianity, it attempts to justify
its claims by asserting that the Word of God, revealed in the New and Old
Testament, is corrupted. Our apologetic discussion with Muslims should be to
defend the Scriptures and prove that the Scriptures aren’t corrupt as Muslims
claim.
Always ask them
the classic evangelistic questions. ‘What about your salvation?’ ‘Can you be
certain of this?’ ‘If you were to die, can you be certain you'd enter heaven at
some point?’ Their response is always, "No, I couldn't be certain, nor do
I care.”
Always remember
that you are talking to Muslims. Avoid the use of Christian jargon. Speak about
real sin, real guilt, real shed blood! Do not be ashamed to use Jesus’ direct
and indirect titles clearly such as ‘Son of God’ ‘Lamb of God’ ‘New Adam’ ‘I AM
- YAHWEH’ ‘Savior’ ‘Almighty God’.
Muslims will ask
you to comment on their faith. Don’t go there; they will not benefit from your
criticism (or feigned approval) of other religions. Your job isn’t to debunk
Islam but to give a clear witness to the truth of the Gospel. Instead of
letting them drag you into the topic, turn the tables and ask them questions.
Let them articulate their own understandings of the religious themes you are
discussing; let what you communicate be the plain truth of Christian doctrines
without enumerating how Islam is wrong.
Use the KJV Bible!
Do not use any
‘Muslim friendly’ bible translations. ‘Muslims friendly’ bible translations are
very deceptive! They are not true to the original Scriptures. Muslims see it as
a form of deception by missionaries!
Bible Verses to Share with Muslims
God's Promises to
Preserve His Word
Proverbs 30:5-6
"Every word of God is flawless; he is a shield to those who take refuge in
Him. Do not add to his words, or he will rebuke you and prove you a liar."
Isaiah
59:21"'As for me, this is my covenant with them' says the LORD. 'My
Spirit, who is on you, and my words that I have put in your mouth will not
depart from your mouth, or from the mouths of your children, or from the mouths
of their descendants from this time on and forever,' says the LORD."
Sura 5:46 - A
Remarkable Verse in the Qur'an
"And in their
[the prophets’] footsteps we sent Jesus the son of Mary, confirming the Torah
that had come before him: we sent him the gospel; therein was guidance and
light. And confirmation of the Torah that had come before him: a guidance and
an admonition to those who fear Allah"
Now this verse of
the Qur'an is quite remarkable. If God sent Jesus to confirm the Torah (first
five books of the Bible’s Old Testament), then at least in Jesus’ time, the
Torah that people could read and Jesus could confirm was the same Torah God
sent.
It goes on. Sura
5:47 goes on to say "Let the People of the Gospel Judge by what Allah hath
revealed Therein...." If the People of the Gospel are to judge by what God
has revealed in the Gospel, then how can the Gospel they are to judge by not be
the Gospel God told them to judge by?
Sura 5:48 says,
"To thee (People of the Book) We sent the scripture in truth, confirming
the scripture that came before it, and guarding it in safety: so judge between
them by what Allah hath revealed, and follow not their vain desires, diverging
from the truth that hath come to thee...."
Since God had the
power to give His word, God had the power to guard His word in safety. Do you
agree?
The Pre-Eminence of Jesus
Acts 4:12
"Salvation is found in no one else, for there is no other name under
heaven given to men by which we must be saved."
Philippians 2:5-12
"Your attitude should be the same as that of Christ Jesus: Who, being in
very nature God, did not consider equality with God something to be grasped,
but made himself nothing, taking the very nature of a servant, being made in
human likeness. And being found in appearance as a man, he humbled himself and
became obedient to death — even death on a cross! Therefore God exalted him to
the highest place and gave him the name that is above every name, that at the
name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the
earth, and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God
the Father."
1 Peter 3:15-16
"…Always be prepared to give an answer to everyone who asks you to give
the reason for the hope that you have. But do this with gentleness and respect,
keeping a clear conscience, so that those who speak maliciously against your
good behavior in Christ may be ashamed of their slander." … (18) "For
Christ died for sins once for all, the righteous for the unrighteous, to bring
you to God. He was put to death in the body but made alive by the Spirit,"
1 John 5:12-13
"He who has the Son has life; he who does not have the Son of God does not
have life. I write these things to you who believe in the name of the Son of
God so that you may know that you have eternal life."
John 14:6
"Jesus answered, 'I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to
the Father except through me." (NKJV, NIV)
1 John 2:22-23
"Who is a liar but he who denies that Jesus is the Christ? He is
antichrist who denies the Father and the Son. Whoever denies the Son does not
have the Father either; he who acknowledges the Son has the Father also. (26)
"These things I have written to you concerning those who try to
deceive you." (NKJV)
John 8:24
"Therefore I said to you that you will die in our sins; for if you do not
believe that I am He, you will die in your sins." (NKJV)
Peace and War
John 16:2-3
"…In fact, a time is coming when anyone who kills you will think he is
offering a service to God. They will do such things because they have not known
the Father or me." (Jesus is speaking)
Jeremiah 8:11-12
"They dress the wound of my people as though it were not serious. 'Peace,
peace,' they say, when there is no peace. Are they ashamed of their loathsome
conduct? No, they have no shame at all; …"
Revelation 17:5-6
"And on her forehead a name was written: MYSTERY, BABYLON the GREAT, The MOTHER OF HARLOTS AND
OF THE ABOMINATIONS OF THE EARTH. I saw the woman, drunk with the blood of the
saints and with the blood of the martyrs of Jesus. And when I saw her, I
marveled with great amazement." (NKJV)
Differences in Tone and Message
Luke 6:27-29 Jesus
said, "But I tell you who hear me: Love our enemies, do good to those who
hate you, bless those who curse you, pray for those who mistreat you."
Do you practice
the words of Jesus, the Prince of Peace?
1 Corinthians
13:1-7 "If I speak in the tongues of men and of angels, but have not love,
I am only a resounding gong or a clanging cymbal. If I have the gift of
prophecy and can fathom all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have a faith
that can move mountains, but have not love, I am nothing. If I give all I
possess to the poor and surrender my body to the flames, but have not love, I
gain nothing. Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not
boast, it is not proud. It is not rude, it is not self-seeking, it is not
easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. Love does not delight in evil but
rejoices with the truth. It always protects, always trusts, always hopes,
always perseveres."
Question:
"What is Islam, and what do Muslims believe?"
Answer: Islam is a religious system
begun in the seventh century by Muhammad.
Muslims follow the teachings of the Qur’an and strive to keep the Five Pillars.
The History of Islam
In the seventh
century, Muhammad claimed the angel Gabriel visited him. During these angelic
visitations, which continued for about 23 years until Muhammad's death, the
angel purportedly revealed to Muhammad the words of Allah (the Arabic word for
“God” used by Muslims). These dictated revelations compose the Qur'an, Islam's
holy book. Islam means “submission,” deriving from a root word that means
“peace.” The word Muslim means “one who submits to Allah.”
The Doctrine of Islam
Muslims summarize
their doctrine in six articles of faith:
1. Belief in one Allah: Muslims believe Allah is one, eternal, creator, and
sovereign.
2. Belief in the angels
3. Belief in the prophets: The prophets include the biblical prophets but end
with Muhammad as Allah’s final prophet.
4. Belief in the revelations of Allah: Muslims accept certain portions of the
Bible, such as the Torah and the Gospels. They believe the Qur'an is the
preexistent, perfect word of Allah.
5. Belief in the last day of judgment and the hereafter: Everyone will be
resurrected for judgment into either paradise or hell.
6. Belief in predestination: Muslims believe Allah has decreed everything that
will happen. Muslims testify to Allah’s sovereignty with their frequent phrase,
inshallah, meaning, “if God wills.”
The Five Pillars of Islam
These five tenets
compose the framework of obedience for Muslims:
1. The testimony of faith (shahada): “la ilaha illa allah. Muhammad
rasul Allah.” This means, “There is no deity but Allah. Muhammad is the
messenger of Allah.” A person can convert to Islam by stating this creed. The
shahada shows that a Muslim believes in Allah alone as deity and believes that
Muhammad reveals Allah.
2. Prayer (salat): Five ritual prayers must be performed every day.
3. Giving (zakat): This almsgiving is a certain percentage given once a
year.
4. Fasting (sawm): Muslims fast during Ramadan in the ninth month of the
Islamic calendar. They must not eat or drink from dawn until sunset.
5. Pilgrimage (hajj): If physically and financially possible, a Muslim
must make the pilgrimage to Mecca in Saudi Arabia at
least once. The hajj is performed in the twelfth month of the Islamic
calendar.
A Muslim's entrance into paradise hinges on obedience to these Five Pillars. Still,
Allah may reject them. Even Muhammad was not sure whether Allah would admit him
to paradise (Surah 46:9; Hadith 5.266).
An
Evaluation of Islam
Compared to
Christianity, Islam has some similarities but significant differences. Like
Christianity, Islam is monotheistic. However, Muslims reject the Trinity—that
God has revealed Himself as one in three Persons: the Father, Son, and Holy
Spirit.
Muslims claim that Jesus was one of the most important prophets—not God’s Son.
Islam asserts that Jesus, though born of a virgin, was created like Adam.
Muslims do not believe Jesus died on the cross. They do not understand why
Allah would allow His prophet Isa (the Islamic word for "Jesus") to
die a torturous death. Yet the Bible shows how the death of the perfect Son of
God was essential to pay for the sins of believers (Isaiah 53:5-6; John 3:16; 14:6; 1 Peter 2:24).
Islam teaches that the Qur'an is the final authority and the last revelation of
Allah. The Bible, however, was completed in the first century with the Book of Revelation.
The Bible warns against anyone adding to or subtracting from God’s Word (Deuteronomy 4:2; Proverbs 30:6; Galatians 1:6-12; Revelation 22:18). The Qur’an, as a
claimed addition to God’s Word, directly disobeys God’s command.
Muslims believe that paradise can be earned through keeping the Five Pillars.
The Bible, in contrast, reveals that sinful man can never measure up to the
holy God (Romans 3:23; 6:23). Only by God’s grace may sinners be
saved through repentant faith in Jesus (Acts 20:21; Ephesians 2:8-9).
Because of these essential differences and contradictions, Islam and
Christianity cannot both be true. The Bible and Qur’an cannot both be God’s
Word. The truth has eternal consequences.
“Beloved, do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits to see whether they
are from God, because many false prophets have gone out into the world. By this
you know the Spirit of God: every spirit that confesses that Jesus Christ has
come in the flesh is from God; and every spirit that does not confess Jesus is
not from God; this is the spirit of the antichrist, of which you have heard
that it is coming, and now it is already in the world” (1 John 4:1-4; see also John 3:35-36).
Muslims use much of
the same terminology that appears in the Bible: sin, salvation, heaven, hell,
one God, law, and punishment. What is missing from their lexicon is the word
“savior.” The Muslim does not believe that he needs a savior because he
believes he alone must atone for his sin by his works. Islam teaches that man
is born sinless and, therefore, does not have a sin nature from which he needs
to be saved. His sinlessness was corrupted by external influences and can,
therefore, be ‘cleaned up’ by works and efforts that please Allah. The Qur’an
tells the Muslim that his good deeds can cancel out his bad deeds (Sura
11:114), but no one knows how many good deeds are enough. Muslims believe they
can ask Allah for forgiveness from sins, but Allah may or may not forgive them.
There is, therefore (and this is the key), no assurance of salvation for
Muslims.
Muslims believe one must be sorry for sin and repent of it, but the idea that
payment for sin is required by a holy God is not part of Islam. It’s important
to begin with the idea that being sorry for sin will not help the Muslim when
he stands before a holy God on Judgment Day. Ask the Muslim if a murderer will
be allowed to go free if he says he’s sorry in court. Most Muslims would agree
that if the judge is a good man, he must make sure justice is done. Being sorry
won’t keep the murderer out of prison. Then ask the Muslim if he believes he
will go to heaven. Muslims believe in the Law of Moses, so ask if he has kept
each one of the commandments perfectly. Once he admits he has lied at some time
in his life or lusted after a woman in his heart, ask him, if an earthly judge
can’t pardon a murderer just because he is sorry, how can Allah forgive him
when he has just admitted to being a liar and/or an adulterer in his heart. If
he’s at all honest, he will admit this is impossible. At this point, you can
say that God made it possible for him to go to heaven even though he can’t get
there on his own. Preach Jesus Christ as our substitute for sin, our Savior
from sins we cannot atone for ourselves, but do not say that He was the Son of
God or allude to the Trinity as these ideas are anathema to Muslims.
Again, the key to witnessing to Muslims is their lack of assurance. Islam
teaches that Allah was the source of both the Bible and the Qur’an, so they are
willing to listen to passages from the Bible. Passages that speak to the
wickedness of man’s heart (Psalm 14:1-3; Jeremiah 17:9; Romans 3:9-18), the holiness of God (Exodus 15:11; 1 Samuel 2:2; Joshua 24:19; Psalm 93:5) and His hatred for sin (Deuteronomy 25:16; Proverbs 6:16-19) will drive home the need
for a Savior. As long as the Muslim believes he can atone for sin himself, the
message of the gospel will be foolishness to him. If he comes to understand
that “no one will be declared righteous in his sight by observing the law” (Romans 3:20), the door is open for the
light of the gospel to shine in his heart.
Of course, no one comes to the knowledge of the truth solely by good
apologetics. The natural man does not accept the things of the Spirit because
they are spiritually discerned (1 Corinthians 2:14), and the Holy Spirit
is the only one who can open the eyes of the spiritually blind.
WHO IS ALLAH?
IS HE THE SAME
AS THE GOD OF THE BIBLE?
We can learn about
the difference between the God of Christianity and Allah of Islam by examining
the description given each in the Bible and The Qur'an respectively.
Trinity or Absolute Unity
The views of God
in Islam and Christianity differ in how they describe God. This is our first
clue that the God of Christianity and Islam are not the same God.
Christianity: Triune Father, Son, and Holy Spirit
In Christianity
when we speak of God, we speak about the triune Godhead: that God is one God,
but composed of three persons -- Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. Each person,
Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, possesses all the attributes of God: Eternal, all
powerful, omniscient (everywhere all the time), has emotions (can be grieved),
and so on. We call our understanding of God with the word "trinity"
which comes from two words: Tri-Unity, Three-in-one.
Even though the
Bible never uses the word "trinity" anywhere, we can see many
examples of this tri-une God in the Bible:
Matthew 28:19 - Go
therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of
the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit
1 Cor. 12:4-6 -
There are diversities of gifts, but the same Spirit. 5 There are
differences of ministries, but the same Lord. 6 And there are
diversities of activities, but it is the same God who works all in all.
2 Cor. 13:14 - The
grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, and the love of God, and the
communion of the Holy Spirit be with you all.
Eph. 4:4-6 - There
is one body and one Spirit, just as you were called in one hope of your
calling; 5 one Lord, one faith, one baptism; 6 one God and Father
of all, who is above all, and through all, and in you all.
Because God is
triune in nature, we can better understand where "Love" comes from.
We love others because we are made in God's image. Therefore, God also must
love others. God cannot give us something he does not possess himself.
1 John 4:8b -
"God is love."
God has always
been "love" and has always been able to demonstrate love, for
eternity. God the Father in a loving relationship with God the Son, and God the
Holy Spirit in eternal loving communion with both God the Father and God the
Son. Love is one of God's eternal attributes because the trinity allows for the
existence of "Love."
Islam: Absolute Unity
Muslims understand
God (Allah) as absolutely single. He has no partners (as the Christian
Trinity). In fact, the Qur'an is very clear that anyone who says God is
anything but a single entity is guilty of blasphemy.
Sura 4:171 -
"O People of the Book, do not exaggerate in your religion and do not speak
against Allah and his word, which he cast to Mary ... and do not say
"Three." Cease. It will be better for you. Sure Allah is only one
god."
Sura 112: Say,
"He is Allah the one. Allah is absolute. He does not birth, neither was he
birthed, and there is no equal to him."
This presents a
problem for Islam, though. Muslims believe God created mankind, and gave
mankind all the attributes that make us human. But how can Allah have the
attribute of love if he is an absolutely singular god? Before we were created,
who did Allah love?
Love requires at
least two people: a lover, and an object of the lover's love. But if Allah was
alone by himself in eternity before creation, who did he love?
The trinity of
Christianity helps us make sense of who we are, since we love. Muslims also
claim the ability to love, but where do they get that from? They can't get it
from Allah, because Allah cannot be defined as "love."
We are talking
about two different Gods.
Knowable or
Unknowable
The next attribute
we need to look at is whether God can be known, or whether it is impossible to
know God.
Christianity: Knowable
The Christian God YHWH is certainly knowable. God has always been at work reaching out to us, his creation.
Even beginning in the Garden of Eden, we see God at work wanting to
"know" Adam and Eve, reaching out to them in relationship: Gen. 3:8
And they heard the sound of the LORD God walking in the garden in the cool of
the day, and the man and his wife hid themselves from the presence of the LORD
God among the trees of the garden. 9 But the LORD God called to the man and
said to him, "Where are you?
Throughout the
Bible, God makes appearances from time to time, allowing us to get to know Him.
The ultimate expression of God wanting us to know him was in Jesus.
John 10:37 If I am
not doing the works of my Father, then do not believe me; 38 but if I do them,
even though you do not believe me, believe the works, that you may know and
understand that the Father is in me and I am in the Father."
John 14:7 If you
had known me, you would have known my Father also.* From now on you do know him
and have seen him."
John 14:8 Philip
said to him, "Lord, show us the Father, and it is enough for us." 9
Jesus said to him, "Have I been with you so long, and you still do not
know me, Philip? Whoever has seen me has seen the Father. How can you say,
'Show us the Father'?
The God of
Christianity wants to be known and has attempted through all history to find
ways to make Himself known to man.
Islam: Unknowable
In Islam, Allah cannot be known at all. Allah never comes to earth as God did in Genesis 3
and a number of other places in the Old Testament (think of Moses leading the
people out of Egypt,
guiding them as a pillar of clouds by day and a pillar of fire at night).
The inability to
not know Allah in Islam is called transcendence, which means Allah is so far
away from his creation that it is impossible to know him. A famous Islamic
scholar by the name of Al-Ghazali said that Muslims who try to know Allah end
up understanding that he cannot be know him, and that it is absolutely
impossible to know Allah.
SO, the God of the
Bible can be known and goes out of the way to make himself known to man, even
to the point of becoming a man himself so that we might know him. The god of
Islam does not make himself known, and Islamic scholars admit Allah cannot be
known. So, the God of the Bible and Allah of Islam are not the same God.
Relational or not?
What can we learn
about how the God of the Bible and the god of the Qur'an relate to people? When
we understand Allah's relationship with his creation and mankind, is this the
same God we see in the Bible?
Christianity:
Relational
Look again at
Genesis 3:8-9. After Adam and Eve sinned, the Bible tells us that they heard
the sound of God walking in the garden, and God called out to Adam and Eve and
said, "Where are you?" Why did God do this? Was it because He didn't
know where they were? No, it was because a relationship was broken when Adam
and Eve sinned against God. God was giving Adam and Eve a chance to respond, a
chance to restore the broken relationship.
Throughout the
Bible, God shows that He desires a relationship with us. We are called God's
children, and God is called our Father. We are even encouraged to call Him a
name, Abba, which is a loving name similar to "Daddy."
Rom. 8:15 For you
did not receive the spirit of slavery to fall back into fear, but you have
received the Spirit of adoption as sons, by whom we cry, "Abba!
Father!"
Islam: Not relational
The god of Islam, Allah, is not a relational being. In fact, we just looked at how Islam teaches that
Allah is unknowable. If you can't know someone, certainly you can't have a relationship
with that person.
Nowhere is the
relationship of Allah to Muslims described as like a father to a child. In
Islam, the relationship is more like that of a Master to a slave. In fact,
that's what Islam means: to submit as a master to a slave, and a Muslim is one
who submits. In Islam, the relationship is a one-way street: Allah says, and a
Muslim does. One of the most common names for Muslim men and boys is Abdullah,
which literally means "slave of God."
The Character of God
We will look at three
descriptions of God and Allah to see if these descriptions of character are the
same for both: Goodness, Love, and Justice.
Good or Evil?
When we ask
whether God and Allah are good or evil, we see a real difference between the
two.
Christianity: Perfectly
Good
The God of the
Bible demonstrates perfect goodness. Everything God does is good; nothing God
does is evil. Even when God created the earth, he called it good:
Gen 1:31 And God
saw everything that he had made, and behold, it was very good.
Psa. 31:19 Oh, how
abundant is your goodness,
Zech. 9:17 For how
great is his goodness, and how great his beauty!
There are over 400
verses in the Bible where God condemns evil: evil people, evil judges, evil
thoughts, and so on. God is perfectly good and cannot allow evil to go
unpunished. In fact, this is what brought the flood of Noah's day.
Gen. 6:5 The LORD
saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth, and that every intention
of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually.
Hab. 1:13 You who
are of purer eyes than to see evil and cannot look at wrong
Psa. 5:4 For you
are not a God who delights in wickedness; evil may not dwell with you.
God hates evil and
will never participate in creating or inventing evil. Evil comes only from man's
disobedience to God.
Islam: Good and
evil both
Allah is responsible for the presence of both good and
evil.
Sura 4:78: If some
good befalls them, they say, "This is from Allah"; but if evil, they
say, "This is from thee" (O Prophet). Say: "All things are from
Allah.
In the following
verses from the Quran, the word translated "scheme" comes from a word
that literally means " an act of deception aiming at causing
evil."
Sura 3:54 - And
(the unbelievers) schemed and planned, and Allah schemed also, and
the best of schemers is Allah.
Sura 8:30 -
Remember how the unbelievers schemed against thee, to keep thee in
bonds, or to slay thee, or get thee out (of thy home). They scheme and
plot, but the best of schemers is Allah.
So the god of
Islam plans evil and actually uses it to his advantage. The God of the Bible
hates evil and can never participate in it. They are two different people.
Love: Unconditional or Conditional?
When we look at
the issue of love, we see quite a contrast between God and Allah.
Christianity: Unconditional
God's love is
unconditional. There is nothing we can do to earn it, nor do we deserve it. He
loves us in spite of anything we do to offend Him. God is described in the
Bible as "love" and this is one of his eternal attributes.
1 John 4:8 Anyone
who does not love does not know God, because God is love.
1John 4:10 In this
is love, not that we have loved God but that he loved us and sent his Son to be
the propitiation for our sins.
Jer. 31:3 I have
loved you with an everlasting love;
John 3:16 For God
so loved the world that He gave his only begotten son.
When we look at
Allah, the god of Islam, we see something entirely different.
Islam: Conditional
In the Quran,
Allah is called "The Loving One" twice, in Sura 11:90 and 85:14. But
this title does not mean Allah is love in the same sense as 1 John 4:8 in the
Bible speaks of God. A famous Islamic scholar explains this love as consisting
solely of objective acts of kindness and expressions of approval. He denies
that there is any subjectivity in the love of God, that is, that God feels any
love in his own heart towards mankind.
In many places in
the Quran we find Allah's love is conditional. Muslims have to do something to
earn the love of Allah, he does not love unless that love is earned. Those who
do not earn Allah's love, he is said to hate.
Sura 2:195 -
surely Allah loves the doers of good
Sura 2:222 - For
Allah loves those who turn to Him constantly and He loves those who keep
themselves pure and clean
Sura 3:76 - surely
Allah loves those who guard (against evil).
Sura 3:146 - And
Allah loves those who are firm and steadfast
Sura 3:159 - For
Allah loves those who put their trust (in Him).
Sura 5:13 - Allah
loves those who are kind.
In other places,
we find Allah does not love certain people.
Sura 28:77 for
Allah loves not those who do mischief."
Sura 30:45 For He
loves not those who reject Faith.
So we see that the
love of Allah is not the same as the love of God of the Bible. They are not the
same God.
Just or Unjust?
What does it mean
to be "just?" Just like a judge must pronounce judgment on a criminal
(murderer, thief, etc), so God must pronounce judgment on people who disobey
Him.
Christianity: Just
The Bible shows us
that God's justice is perfect.
1Pet. 3:18 For
Christ also suffered once for sins, the just for the unjust, that He might
bring us to God,
2Pet. 3:9 The Lord
is ... not willing that any should perish but that all should come to
repentance.
2Cor. 5:21 For He
made Him who knew no sin to be sin for us, that we might become the
righteousness of God in Him.
God made a way for
us to escape the punishment for our sins. Jesus himself died on the cross to
take the punishment for us, and we can escape God's judgment by trusting in
Jesus and making Him Lord of our life. This is God's perfect justice - that He
himself would become a man to pay the penalty for our sins.
Islam: Unjust
Allah is unjust.
Sura
4:119--"I will mislead them, and I will create in them false
desires;"
Sura
18:17-"Such are among the Signs of Allah: He whom Allah guides is rightly
guided; but he whom Allah leaves to stray- for him wilt thou find no protector
to lead him to the Right Way."
Sura 14:3 -
"Then Allah sendeth whom He will astray, and guideth whom He will."
Sura 4:88 -
"For those whom Allah has thrown aside and led astray, never shall they
find the Way."
Sura 4:142 -
"... Those who Allah causes to go astray and err will not find a
way."
On the day of
judgment, Muslims believe their good deeds will be weighed on a scale with
their bad deeds. If the good outweighs the bad, they might go to heaven.
But here is the
problem: If their bad deeds are heavier, they will face punishment in hell. But
as we see in the verses above, it is Allah who causes them to do bad things. So
how can Allah punish them for doing the bad things that he causes them to do?
This is not justice.
Our Relationship With God
Finally, let's
take a look at our relationship with God and the Muslim relationship with
Allah. We touched on this briefly above, but another look is in order.
Christian Relationship with God
Relationship with
God in Christianity looks very familiar, because it's the same relationships we
have in our families.
Father/Child
Those who have
accepted Jesus as savior are said to be children of God. This implies a very
special relationship with God, like our relationship with our father or mother.
John 1:12 But as
many as received Him, to them He gave the right to become children of God
Rom. 8:16 The
Spirit Himself bears witness with our spirit that we are children of God
1 John 3:1 Behold
what manner of love the Father has bestowed on us, that we should be called
children of God!
A father's or
mother's love toward his or her children is one that nothing else can compare
to. A father or mother would do anything at all for his or her child,
even to the point of sacrificing their life to save the life of the child.
That's exactly what we find in the Bible: God sacrificing himself for us
because He loves us so much.
Relational in our
families reflects God's relational nature
Our family
relationship follows a pattern set by God, as Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. We
love one another in our families because we are made in the image of God, and
one of God's attributes is love. Since God is love, and we are made in His
image, we also have the capacity to love, and we do.
Muslim Relationship with Allah
The relationship
of a Muslim with Allah looks very foreign to us if we think in terms of our
family structure.
Master/Slave
Muslims are
described in the Quran as merely slaves or servants.
Sura 51:56 "I
have only created men that they might serve me."
Sura 49:13
"The most honored of you in the sight of God is he who is the most
righteous of you."
Being righteous
entails doing what Allah commands, just as an obedient slave would do.
We already
mentioned that Islam itself means "to submit" to Allah and be
obedient, and a Muslim by definition is "one who submits" and does
what Allah commands.
Allah says, and a
Muslim does. That is the picture of relationship in Islam. There is no
understanding of love or true relationship.
Relational in families also, but this is not Allah's
nature
In spite of the
relationship between Allah and Muslims as master and slave, Muslim families
recognize they are relational and loving. Fathers love wives and children, not
as slaves, but as flesh and blood offspring. They recognize a love where a
mother would be willing to lay down her life for her child. Yet this idea of
relationship cannot be found in the Quran. It is found only in the Bible.
Muslims are borrowing a model of relationship they have no right borrowing, but
they do so because they recognize that we are relational people. And we are relational
because God is relational. Allah is not.
Conclusion
The god of Islam,
Allah, is not the same person as the God of the Bible, YHWH.
YHWH is a trinity,
Allah is absolutely one.
YHWH can be known
and seeks to be known. Allah is unknowable.
YHWH is a
relational God and seek relationship with us. Allah does not.
YHWH is perfectly
good and is never responsible for evil. Allah causes evil along with good.
The love of YHWH
is unconditional; we cannot earn it. Allah's love requires a Muslim to earn it.
YHWH is perfectly
just. Allah is unjust because he punishes people for the sins he causes them to
commit.
The relationships
we experience in our families reflects the relationship with have with God, and
the relationship the triune God has with himself. The relationship Muslim
families also experience does not reflect the relationship with Allah.
Allah is not Yahweh, The God of the Christian Bible.
The Muslim God
“Allah” as stated in the Quran is…
THE AUTHOR OF EVIL
The Holy Bible
teaches that God cannot be tempted by evil and neither tempts anyone with evil;
evil being understood as referring to immorality and sin. James 1:13 (c.f.
Psalm 5:4-5; Habakkuk 1:13)
Yet, the Quran
teaches that Allah is the author of evil:
Verily, the
hypocrites seek to deceive Allah, but it is He Who deceives them.
And when they stand up for As-Salat (the prayer), they stand with laziness and
to be seen of men, and they do not remember Allah but little. S. 4:142
Hilali-Khan
And (the unbelievers)
schemed and planned, and Allah schemed also, and the best of schemers
is Allah. S. 3:54
Are they then
secure from Allah's scheme (makra Allahi)? None deemeth himself secure
from Allah's scheme (makra Allahi) save folk that perish. S. 7:99 Pickthall
Remember how the
unbelievers schemed against thee, to keep thee in bonds, or to slay
thee, or get thee out (of thy home). They scheme and plot, but the
best of schemers is Allah. S. 8:30
And when We make
people taste of mercy after an affliction touches them, lo! they devise
schemes (makrun) against Our communication. Say: Allah is quicker to
scheme (makran); surely Our apostles write down what you plan. S. 10:21
And those before
them did indeed scheme (makara), but all scheming (al-makru) is Allah's;
He knows what every soul earns, and the unbelievers shall come to know for whom
is the (better) issue of the abode. S. 13:42
So they schemed
a scheme: and We schemed a scheme, while they perceived not. S.
27:50
The term for
scheme in Arabic is makara which denotes one who is a deceiver, one who
is conniving, a schemer. It is always used in a negative sense. Allah is thus
seen as the best of deceivers, the premiere schemer and conniving one.
This is not simply
a Christian perspective but one thoroughly endorsed by Muslim theologians as
well.
For example Dr.
Mahmoud M. Ayoub in his book, The Quran and Its Interpreters, Vol. II The
House of Imran, brings up the question of "how the word makr
(scheming or plotting), which implies deceitfulness or dishonesty, could
be attributed to God." (Ibid. [1992 State University of New York Press,
Albany], p. 165)
After listing
several Muslim sources he quotes ar-Razi as arguing that "scheming (makr)
is actually an act of deception aiming at causing evil. It is not possible
to attribute deception to God. Thus the word is one of the muttashabihat
[multivalent words of the Quran]." (Ibid., p. 166)
Moreover, here is
how one of the earliest sources on the life of Muhammad interpreted Q. 8:30:
Then he reminds
the apostle of His favour towards him when the people plotted against him 'to
kill him, or to wound him, or to drive him out; and they plotted and God
plotted, and is the best of plotters.' i.e. I DECEIVED them with My firm GUILE
so that I delivered you from them. (The Life of Muhammad: A Translation of
Ibn Ishaq's Sirat Rasul Allah, with introduction and notes by Alfred
Guillaume [Oxford University Press, Karachi, Tenth impression 1995], p. 323;
capital emphasis ours)
In fact the Quran
furnishes plenty of examples on some of the methods Allah adopts in devising
evil:
Remember in thy
dream Allah showed them as a few: if he had showed them to thee as many, ye
would surely have been discouraged, and ye would surely have disputed in your
decision: but Allah saved you: for He knoweth well the (secrets) of (all)
hearts. S. 8:43
Allah is said to
have shown the opposing fighting forces as few to Muhammad since if he had
shown them as they actually were, the Muslims would have been afraid to fight.
Hence, Allah had to use deception in order to encourage the Muslims to fight in
his cause.
And when We desire
to destroy a city, We command its men who live at ease, and they commit
ungodliness therein, then the Word is realized against it, and We destroy
it utterly. S. 17:16
Allah commands men
to sin in order to destroy them completely.
They (Jinns-
demon spirits) worked for him (Solomon) as he desired ... then when We decreed
death upon him, nothing showed them his death except a little creeping creature
of the earth, which gnawed away at his staff. And when he fell the Jinns saw
clearly how, if they had known the unseen, they would not have continued in
the humiliating penalty (of work). S. 34:13-14
Allah deceived the
Jinns into working for Solomon by preventing the latter's death from being
disclosed to them, otherwise they would have stopped their work.
Allah also
deceived both Christians and Jews into thinking that Jesus was crucified when
in fact "it was so made to appear unto them", seeing that he never
was crucified or killed. S. 4:157
According to S.
9:51, nothing befalls Muslims except what Allah has ordained. And in S. 14:4,
we are told, "Allah leads astray whomsoever He will and guides whomsoever
he will."
And,
"Whomsoever Allah guides, he is the one who follows the right way; and
whomsoever He causes to err, these are the losers. And certainly We have
created for hell many of the jinn and the men; ... Whomsoever Allah causes
to err, there is no guide for him; and He leaves them alone in their
inordinacy, blindly wandering on." S. 7:178-179, 186
"If thy Lord
had so willed, He could have made mankind one People: but they will not cease
to differ. Except those on whom thy Lord hath bestowed His Mercy: and for this
did He create them: and the Word of thy Lord shall be fulfilled: ‘I will fill
Hell with Jinns and men all together.’" S. 11:118-119
Not only does
Allah guide people astray, but also has created men specifically for hell. To
make matters worse, he even ordains the evil one commits as we have already
seen in S. 17:16 and further clarified by this
Muslim tradition:
Abu Huraira
reported Allah's Apostle as saying:
Verily Allah
has fixed the very portion of adultery which a man will indulge in, and which
he of necessity must commit (or there
would be no escape from it)." Sahih Muslim #6421, 6422
To even imagine
that Allah causes adultery is not only horrendous but disqualifies him from
being the God of Moses.
A keen reader
might raise the objection that the Bible itself indicates in several places
that God had intended to do evil to certain nations and individuals such as
Absalom in 2 Samuel 17:14. Or that Jeremiah had been deceived by God in
Jeremiah 20:7: "O LORD, thou hast deceived me and I was deceived."
King James Version
Firstly, in regard
to 2 Sam. 17:14 as we had noted earlier God does not tempt anyone with moral
evil in the form of sin but brings upon man calamity as a consequence of their
sins. In fact, the term which the King James translates as evil is the Hebrew ra.
Accordingly, some Hebrew scholars see it as being derived from the word ra'a
which means to "break, smash, crush." (Vine's Complete Expository
Dictionary of Old and New Testaments, p. 232)
Strong's
Exhaustive Concordance of the Bible
gives various meanings some of which include adversity, affliction, calamity,
distress, evil, grief (#7451 of the Hebrew Dictionary Section).
Thus, the evil God
poured out upon these individuals was not immorality like that of the Quran but
judgement upon the wicked due to their persistence in sin and a refusal to come
into repentance.
The Hebrew term
for deceive used in Jeremiah 20:7 is pathath. Strong's lists it as #6601
in the Hebrew section with the following meanings; allure, enlarge, entice,
deceive, flatter, persuade, silly. In light of the wide range of meanings,
there is no reason to assume that Jeremiah meant that God was actually
deceiving him.
In fact the
context itself shows that the word can only mean "persuade" since
Jeremiah is complaining that God is persuading him to continue his ministry,
even though he doesn't want to:
"O LORD, You
induced me, and I was persuaded;
YOU ARE STRONGER THAN I, AND HAVE PREVAILED.
I am in derision daily;
Everyone mocks me.
For when I spoke, I cried out;
I shouted, ‘Violence and plunder!’
Because the word of the LORD was made to me
A reproach and a derision daily.
Then I said, ‘I will not make mention of Him,
Nor speak anymore in His name.’
But His word was in my heart like a burning fire
Shut up in my bones;
I was weary of holding it back,
And I could not." Jeremiah 20:8-9 NKJV
God was therefore
insisting that Jeremiah continue and did so by constant persuasion. This
passage has nothing to do with deception whatsoever.
Another possible
objection would be the King James rendering of Ezekiel 20:25 where God says to
Israel that he "gave them also statutes that were not good, and judgements
whereby they should not live." This strongly suggests that God is the
author of evil.
The context of the
passage is referring to Israel's reluctance in observing God's holy commands,
which prompted God to hand them over to their own desires (all of chapter 20).
Scripture clearly
teaches that when God sees that a nation refuses to embrace the truth he has
revealed, the Lord then hardens their hearts that they might continue in their
wickedness. This is done that he might bring upon them the judgement that they
deserve for their evil (c.f. Romans 1:18-32; 2 Thessalonians 2:9-12).
Therefore, God
does not give them unholy commands but allows them to embrace statutes which
are evil. This is the meaning of the Hebrew text as accurately reflected in the
New King James Version:
"Therefore, I
also gave them up to statutes that were not good, and judgements by which
they could not live."
Yet, the Arabic makara
does not allow for other possible meanings. And the Quran itself gives examples
of Allah using deception and sin to fulfill his will.
AUTHOR OF
ABROGATION
According to the
Quran Allah reveals a verse only to have it canceled out a short time later:
None of Our
revelations do We abrogate or cause to be forgotten but We substitute something
better or similar- Knowest thou not that Allah has power over all things? S.
2:106
When We substitute
one revelation for another- and Allah knowest best what He reveals (in stages)-
They say, "Thou art but a forger"; But most of them understand not.
S. 16:101
This leaves us
with the difficulty of having a God who does not remain consistent and often
changes his revealed purpose. This being the case, how is one to know that the
promises of such a Being in regard to eternal security can be trusted? Just as
he changes his mind in relation to the revelation, he can also decide to change
his mind in regard to the believer's ultimate destiny without anything stopping
him from doing so.
This is different
from Yahweh of the Holy Bible who does not change and as such can be totally
trusted in fulfilling all his promises:
God is not a man
that he should lie, nor a son of man that he should repent. Has he said, and
will he not do? Or has he spoken, and will he not make it good? Numbers 23:19
For I, Yahweh, do
not change. Malachi 3:6
If we are
faithless, he remains faithful; he cannot deny himself. 2 Timothy 2:13
Jesus Christ is
the same yesterday, today, and forever. Hebrews 13:8
Because the God of
the Bible is immutable he can promise, "Heaven and earth will pass away
but my words will never pass away" (Matthew 24:35).
Two responses can
possibly be presented and often are by Muslims. The first is the fact that
abrogation is not referring to the Quran but to previous scriptures such as the
Bible.
Unfortunately for
the Muslims making this argument, this interpretation cannot be defended in
light of S. 87:6-8:
By degrees shall
We teach thee (Muhammad) to declare (the Message) so thou shalt not forget, except
as Allah Wills: For He knoweth what is manifest and what is hidden. And We
will make it easy for thee (to follow) the simple (Path).
It becomes obvious
that certain parts of the revelation given to Muhammad will eventually be
caused to be forgotten, since Allah later willed it.
The second
response often presented is that the Bible clearly speaks of God regretting to
create man or having repented of bringing on a certain disaster which he had
planned to do. (c.f. Genesis 6:6; Exodus 32:14)
There are
basically two responses for this assumed Muslim allegation. First, both the
Holy Bible and the Quran use anthropomorphic language in describing both the
nature and acts of God. For instance, both books speak of God's eyes, hands and
feet without implying that these things are to be taken literally. The purpose
of using such language is to communicate certain incomprehensible truths of God
in human language in order for man to grasp certain realities of the divine
nature. Hence, statements such as God having regrets is used to communicate
certain realities to man in relational terms, i.e. that God identifies with our
human condition and grieves for man's fallen state, having compassion for him.
Secondly, the
reason for indicating that God refrained from fulfilling an act he had decreed
is an indication of his divine patience. God does not desire to destroy the
wicked but to save them, desiring that they come into repentance:
Say to them:
"As I live", says the Lord God, "I have no pleasure in the death
of the wicked, but that the wicked turn from his way and live. Turn, turn from
your evil ways! For why should you die, O house of Israel?" Ezekiel 33:11
Likewise, if a
nation which has been promised prosperity turns to wickedness, God will also
refrain from fulfilling his promises of blessing. This is pointed out in
Jeremiah 18:7-10: "The instant I speak concerning a nation and concerning
a kingdom, to pluck up, to pull down, and to destroy it, if that nation against
whom I have spoken turns from its evil, I will relent of the disaster I thought
to bring upon it.
"And the
instant I speak concerning a nation and concerning a kingdom, to build and
plant it, if it does evil in My sight, so that it does not obey My voice, then
I will relent concerning the good with which I would benefit it."
An example of this
is seen in I Kings 21:29 where God had sworn to destroy
Ahab for his
wickedness, but decided against it: "See how Ahab has humbled himself
before Me? Because he has humbled himself before Me, I will not bring the
calamity in his days. In the days of his son, I will bring the calamity on
his house."
Or God deciding
not to destroy Ninevah after seeing their sincere repentance and humbleness:
"Then God
saw their works, that they turned from their evil way; and God relented from
the disaster that He had said He would bring upon them, and He did not do it." Jonah 3:10
These examples
indicate that certain warnings are given specifically to lead the person(s)
into right standing with God, and are not given as a sign that the matter has
been sealed and there is no averting the disaster.
AUTHOR OF
HISTORICAL ERRORS
The Quran contains
historical errors which implies that Allah is not an Omniscient Being, since an
all-knowing Being would be able to accurately recall historical events. Below
is a list of just some of the many problems we find in the Quran.
In S. 17:1 we are
told that Muhammad was taken to the farthest Mosque, Masjid al-Aqsa. The
problem with this is that the Aqsa Mosque had not been erected since Abd
al-Malik only built it in AD 691. It cannot be referring to the Temple in
Jerusalem since that was destroyed by the armies of the Roman general Titus in
AD 70.
S. 18:9-26 alludes
to several men and their dog who slept for approximately 309 years only to be
awakened in perfect condition.
According to S.
18:83-98, Alexander the Great called Zhul Qarnain, "the Two Horned
One," was a Muslim who traveled till he found the Sun literally
setting in a muddy spring. When we keep in mind that the title "the Two
Horned One" was a title given to Alexander in pre-Islamic times, the
Muslim attempts of trying to deny this fact utterly fails.
According to S.
4:157 the unbelieving Jews boasted by saying, "We killed the Messiah Jesus
the son of Mary, the apostle of Allah." The only problem with this is that
the unbelieving Jews never admitted that Jesus was Messiah and would not have
killed him if they had believed that he was their long-awaited Messianic
Deliverer. The unbelieving Jews had Jesus killed because they believed he was a
false Messiah: "And they began to accuse him, saying, ‘We have found this
man subverting our nation. He opposes payment of taxes to Caesar and CLAIMS
to be Christ a king.’" Luke 23:2
Christians are
accused of worshiping Mary and Jesus as two gods apart from the true God: And
behold! Allah will say: "O Jesus the son of Mary! Didst thou say unto men,
Worship me and my mother ... " S. 5:116
Christ the son of
Mary was no more than an apostle- many were the apostles that passed away
before him. His mother was a woman of truth. They had both to eat their
(daily) food. See how Allah doth make His Signs clear to them ... S. 5:75
In blasphemy
indeed are those that say that Allah is Christ the son of Mary. Say: "Who
then hath the least power against Allah, if His Will were to destroy Christ the
son of Mary, his mother, and all - every one that is on the
earth..." S. 5:17
This presumes that
since Mary ate food and could be destroyed by Allah she could not possibly be
divine. This gives the misleading impression that Christians believe that she
is more than simply human.
In fact, the Quran
proceeds to accuse Christians of worshiping three gods:
"They do
blaspheme who say: Allah is the third of three (inallaaha thaalithu
thalaatha)" S. 5:73
"... so
believe in Allah and His apostles. Say not three (thalaatha): desist: It
will be better for you: for Allah is one Allah ..." S. 4:171
According to
Muslim biographer Ibn Ishaq in his work, Sirat Rasulullah, a Christian
deputation from Najran came to debate Muhammad on the person of Jesus.
Accordingly, these Christians allegedly believed that Jesus, "is God; and
He is the son of God; and He is the third Person of the Trinity, which is
the doctrine of Christianity." (Alfred Guilliame trans., The Life
of Muhammad [Oxford University Press, Karachi], p. 271)
He goes on to say,
"They argue that he is the third of three in that God says: We have done,
We have commanded, We have created and We have decreed, and they say, If He
were one He would have said I have done, I have created, and so on, but He is
He and Jesus and Mary. Concerning all these assertions the Quran came
down." (Ibid., pp. 271-272)
The errors in the
Quranic teaching on what Christians believe becomes apparent to anyone familiar
with the basics of Christian doctrine. Firstly, Christians have never taken
Mary as a goddess alongside God. Secondly, Christians have never said God is
three or the third of three which is tritheism, three separate gods
forming a unity; as opposed to Trinity, ONE God who exists in Three
distinct yet inseparable Persons: Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.
Thirdly,
Christianity has never taught as part of its doctrine that Jesus is the third
Person of the Trinity. Rather, he is the Second Person, with the Holy
Spirit being the third Person of the Godhead. Matthew 28:19
Fourthly, Muslims
believe that Allah of the Quran is the same as God the Father of the Holy Bible
since they do not believe in God the Son, Jesus Christ, nor in God the Holy
Spirit who to Muslims is the angel Gabriel. This again causes a problem since
if Allah is indeed the same Person as God the Father then the Quran is wrong in
saying that Christians believe that the Father is the third of three.
Christians teach that the Father is the First Person of the One
True Godhead, not the third deity of three gods.
And finally,
Christians do not believe that Allah is the Messiah, or that God is the Messiah
since this implies that Jesus is the entire Godhead, which would be modalism.
The correct and biblical statement is that Jesus is God, since this suggests
that although Jesus is fully God by nature he is not the only Person who shares
the essence of Deity perfectly. The Bible also teaches that both the Father and
the Holy Spirit are fully God.
Mary the Mother of
Jesus is confused with Mary the sister of Aaron and
Moses, the daughter
of Amram: Behold! The wife of Imran (i.e. Amram) said, "O my Lord!
I do dedicate unto thee what is in my womb"... When she was delivered, she
said: "O my Lord! Behold! I am delivered of a female child ... I have
named her Mary... " S. 3:35, 36
"And Mary
the daughter of Imran, who guarded
her chastity.." S. 66:12.
"... They
said: O Mary! Truly an amazing thing hast thou brought! O sister of Aaron!
Thy father was not a man of evil, nor thy mother a woman unchaste." S.
19:27-28
"Then Mary (Heb.
Mariam), the prophetess, the sister of Aaron, took the timbrel in
her hand ..." Exodus 15:20
"The name of Amram's
wife was Jochebed, the daughter of Levi, who was born to Levi in Egypt; and
to Amram she bore Aaron and Moses and their sister Miriam." Numbers
26:59
This is an error
of nearly 1400 years! How could Moses' sister Mary be Jesus' mother, making
Moses his uncle?
Muslims give two
responses in trying to deal with this anachronism. First, it is stated that the
expressions "sister of Aaron" and "daughter of Amram"
refers to Mary's lineage, i.e. that Mary was a descendant of Aaron and Amram of
the tribe of Levi. Unfortunately for Muslims, this assertion cannot possibly be
the case since Mary was a daughter of Judah and a descendant of David:
"Now Jesus Himself began his ministry at about thirty years of age, being
(as was supposed the son of Joseph, the son of Heli ... the son of David ...
the son of Judah." Luke 3:23, 31, 33
The words,
"as was supposed," are given to clarify the fact that it is Mary's
genealogy which is being presented, with Joseph acting as the male
representative. This is supported by extrabiblical documents such as the Jewish
tractate of the Talmud, Chagigah, where a certain person had a dream in
which he saw the punishment of the damned. There, "He saw Mary the
daughter of Heli amongst the shades." ( John Lightfoot, Commentary
On the New Testament from the Talmud and Hebraica [Oxford University Press,
1859; with a second printing from Hendrickson Publishers Inc., 1995], vol. 1,
p. v; vol. 3, p.55)
In the book of
Hebrews we are told that, "it is evident that our Lord ( Jesus ) arose
from Judah, of which tribe Moses spoke nothing concerning priesthood"
Heb. 7:14.
And,
"I ( Jesus )
am the Root and Offspring of David, the Bright Morning Star."
Revelation 22:16
It is therefore
impossible for Mary to be a descendant of Levi, since both the orthodox Jewish
understanding and the biblical record agree that Messiah would arise out of
Judah (c.f. Genesis 49:10-12; Matthew 22:42-45).
Someone might
interject at this point and suggest that the Bible calls Elizabeth a relation
of Mary: "Now, indeed, Elizabeth your relative also conceived a son
in her old age..." Luke 1:36 NKJV
This seems to
imply that Mary is of Levitical descent, since Elizabeth is addressed as one of
Aaron's descendants. (Cf. Luke 1:5)
The term used for
relative in the Greek is syngenes. Gerhard Kittel and Gerhard Friedrich
define it as:
a. " The
adjective refers to a person of common origin, i.e., belonging to the
same family, race, tribe, or people. It can then mean 'related' in
disposition, 'corresponding', 'analogous', or 'similar.'
b. The noun means
'relationship' by descent or disposition, then more broadly 'analogy'
(e.g. between deity and humanity, or ideas and the senses, or the stars and
human destiny), whether in philosophy or popular belief." (Theological
Dictionary of the New Testament, abridged in one volume by George W.
Bromiley [Eerdmans, 1985], p. 1097)
Hence, Elizabeth and
Mary were related in the sense of being of the same race of people, i.e. the
Israelites. But this meaning seems to be unlikely since this could be said
about any other Israelite woman's relationship to Mary. It seems more likely
that Elizabeth and Mary were blood relatives. This being the case, this still
wouldn't prove that Mary was of the tribe of Aaron. All this would prove is
that Elizabeth had Judean blood in her, since Levites were allowed to marry
women from any of the twelve tribes:
"The woman he
(the Levitical Priests) marries must be a virgin. He must not marry a widow, a
divorced woman, or a woman defiled by prostitution, but only a virgin from his
people." Leviticus 21:13-14
Ezekiel, in his
vision of a restored priesthood and temple, further clarifies this point:
"They shall
not marry a widow or a divorced woman, but only virgins of the offspring OF THE
HOUSE OF ISRAEL, or a widow who is the widow of a priest." Ezekiel 44:22
ESV
The Holy Bible
even provides an example of a priest who had married a woman from Judea, who
was actually a descendant of king David:
"Now when
Athaliah the mother of Ahaziah saw that her son was dead, she arose and
destroyed all the royal family of the house of Judah. But Jehoshabeath, the
daughter of the king, took Joash the son of Ahaziah and stole him away from
among the king's sons who were about to be put to death, and she put him and
his nurse in a bedroom. Thus Jehoshabeath, the daughter of King Jehoram and
wife of Jehoiada the priest, because she was a sister of Ahaziah, hid him
from Athaliah, so that she did not put him to death." 2 Chronicles
22:10-11
The foregoing
demonstrates the plausibility of Elizabeth's mother being from the line of
David, from the tribe of Judah, accounting for her being related to Mary.
Elizabeth could
also be an aunt to Mary, see the entry on Luke 1:36
in the Bible Commentary section.
Muslims are not to
be blamed for taking the phrase "brother of" as a reference to Mary's
lineage since Muhammad also used a similar line of reasoning to cover up this
error. In Sahih Muslim Mughirah ibn Shu'bah narrates: "When I came
to Najran, they (the Christians of Najran) asked me: You read ‘sister of Harun'
(i.e., Mary), in the Quran, whereas Moses was born well before Jesus. When I
came back to Allah's Messenger I asked him about that, and he said: ‘The
(people of old age) used to give names (to their persons) after the names of Apostles
and pious persons who had gone before them.'" #5326
Again, Ibn Abi
Ahaybah and Ahmad and Abdel Hameed and Muslim and At-Tirmidhi and An-Nassaa'I
and Ibn Al-Mundhir and Ibn Abi Haatim and Ibn Hibbaan and At-Tabaraani and Ibn Mardaweih
ans Al-Bayhaqi in ad-dalaa'il, narrated that Al-Mughirah Ibn Shu'bah said:
"The Prophet of God (PBUH) sent me to the people of Najran. They asked me:
Do you see what you read? O sister of Harun while Moses precedes Jesus with
such a long time? He (Al-Mughirah) said: So I went back to the Prophet and
mentioned that to him. He told me: "Would you tell them the folk used to
be called after Prophets and pious people who preceded them?"
(Jalaaluddeen As-Suyuti, Ad-durr Al-Manthur)
The only difficulty
with Muhammad's statement is that the Jews before and during the time of Christ
never used this phrase in this manner at all. Not one single reference from the
Bible, either Old or New Testaments, the Jewish literature before the birth of
Christ, or even the Jewish Talmud and Targums after Christ can be found to
support Muhammad's assertion. This is simply a gross error which cannot be
swept away.
The second
argument is actually a clarification of the first in that it is suggested that
both the Bible and the Quran furnish further evidence for the term "sister
of" being used to imply ancestry:
"His
(Zechariah) wife was of the daughters of Aaron, and her name was
Elizabeth." Luke 1:5
It is obvious that
the term "daughters" is speaking of Elizabeth's lineage and is not to
be taken to literally mean that her father was actually Aaron the brother of
Moses.
Again it is
unfortunate for Muslims that this argument does not help them, but actually
serves to weaken their argument. Although the Bible does use the phrases "son
of," or "daughter of" to refer to ancestry, it never
uses the terms "brother of" or "sister of" to
indicate this fact. A few examples of the former usage include:
"So ought not
this woman, being a daughter of Abraham, whom Satan has bound- think of
it - for eighteen years, be loosed from this bond on the Sabbath'?" Luke
13:16
"And Jesus
said to him, 'Today salvation has come to this house, because he also is a
son of Abraham." Luke 19:9
"And behold,
two blind men sitting by the road, when they heard that Jesus was passing by,
cried out, saying, 'Have mercy on us, 0 Lord, Son of David.' "
Matthew 20:30
Scripture never
addresses a person as a "brother of Abraham," or "sister of
David" when wishing to imply lineage. Hence, the Muslim position cannot be
defended biblically.
The second example
is from the Quran where Salih is called Thamud's brother: "We sent (
aforetime ) to the Thamud, their brother Salih ..." S. 27:45
The term brother
here refers to kinsmen, not actual bloodbrothers, exemplifying the many
different ways the term is used.
Once again the
problem is far from being resolved since the term "brother" is used
to address Salih's contemporaries, not his ancestors. This implies that to call
Mary Aaron's sister meant that Mary and Aaron were contemporaries, living at
the same time.
THE QURAN VERSES
THE BIBLE
Unlike the Quran,
the Holy Bible contains no historical errors. Most attacks on the Bible stem
from arguments from silence, i.e. the fact that no independent archeological
research has been discovered in support of certain recorded biblical events.
Yet, such arguments only prove that as of yet archeology has failed to furnish
evidence against an event reported in the Bible. Other attacks center on the
precise dating of certain archeological findings which some see as
contradicting the Holy Bible's chronology. Again, one cannot say that the Holy
Bible is in error when archeologists themselves are divided over the precise
dating of certain discoveries. This is especially so when one realizes that
there are certain archeologists who provide evidence which they feel proves
that the data corresponds perfectly with the Bible's chronology of the events
in question.
This is far
different from archeology providing evidence to show that certain events did
not occur in the same manner in which the Bible says it did. In fact, not one
archeological discovery has ever proven the Bible wrong; discovery after
discovery has demonstrated the amazing historical accuracy of scripture. The following
quotations from the world's leading archeologists affirms this fact:
"Nowhere
has archeological discovery refuted the Bible as history." ( John Elder, Prophets, Idols and Diggers [New
York; Bobs Merrill, 1960], p. 16 )
"Near Eastern
archeology has demonstrated the historical and geographical reliability of
the Bible in many important areas. By clarifying the objectivity and
factual accuracy of biblical authors, archeology also helps correct the view
that the Bible is avowedly partisan and subjective. It is now known, for
instance, that, along with the Hittites, Hebrew scribes were the best
historians in the entire ancient Near East, despite contrary propaganda
that emerged from Assyria, Egypt, and elsewhere." (E. M. Blaiklock,
editor's preface, New International Dictionary of Biblical Archeology
[Grand Rapids, MI; Regency Reference Library/ Zondervan, 1983], pp. vii-viii)
The late William
F. Albright, one of the world's foremost archeologists, stated: "There can
be no doubt that archeology has confirmed the substantial historicity of Old
Testament tradition." (J. A. Thompson, The Bible and Archeology
[Grand Rapids, MI; Eerdmans, 1975], p. 5)
Nelson Glueck,
world renowned archeologist, concurs: "As a matter of fact, however, it
maybe clearly stated categorically that no archeological discovery has ever
controverted a single biblical reference. Scores of archeological findings
have been made which confirm in clear outline or exact detail historical
statements in the Bible." ( Norman Geisler & Ron Brooks, When
Skeptics Ask; A Handbook on Christian Evidences [Wheaton, IL; Victor,
1990], p. 179)
It should be noted
that both Albright and Glueck were not conservative Christians and did not
believe in the inspiration of scripture. Their conclusions were based strictly
on the archeological data, forcing them to make the above admissions.
This cannot be
said of the Quran with all of its historical and scientific mistakes.
ALLAH IS THE
AUTHOR OF CARNAL PLEASURES
The Quranic
paradise is totally different from the biblical portrait of heaven. In Allah's
paradise, we find sexual and carnal pleasures for believers to engage in
throughout eternity:
But give glad
tidings to those who believe and work righteousness, that their portions is
Gardens, beneath which rivers flow, every time they are fed with fruits
therefrom, they say: "Why, this is what we were fed with before," for
they are giving things in similitude; And they have therein damsels (Arabic
- Houris ) pure (and holy); and they abide therein (forever)." S. 2:25
But to those who
believe and do deeds of righteousness, We shall soon admit to Gardens, with
rivers flowing beneath, their eternal home. Therein they have damsels
pure and holy; We shall admit them to shades, cool and ever deepening. S. 4:57
Of a rare creation
have We created the Houris, and We have made them ever virgins,
dear to their spouses, of equal age with them for the people of the right hand.
S. 56:35-38
But for those who
fear Allah is a blissful abode, enclosed gardens and vineyards, and damsels
with swelling breasts (Arabic - Kawa'eb), their peers in age, and a full
cup. S. 78:31-34 (Arberry and Rodwell translate this part correctly, see also this overview page)
The orthodox
Islamic understanding of these references are that Muslim men shall have a host
of swelling breasted maidens to engage in sex with, who return to their
virginal state after intercourse.
The paradise of
Yahweh is one that is devoid of such carnality, being filled with the infinite
love and joy of God instead. Hence, the believers' reward is to dwell with God
forever in eternal glory: "Jesus answered and said to them, 'The sons of
this age marry and are given in marriage. But those who are counted worthy to
attain that age and the resurrection from the dead, neither marry nor are
given in marriage; nor can they die anymore for they are equal to the
angels and are sons of God, being sons of the resurrection."
Luke 20:34-36
"The kingdom of God is not food or drink, but righteousness, peace and joy
in the Holy Spirit."
Romans 14:17
"And I heard a loud voice from heaven saying, 'Behold, the tabernacle of
God is with men, and He will dwell with them, and they shall be His people.
God Himself will
be with them and be their God. And God will wipe away every tear from their
eyes; there shall be no more death, nor sorrow, nor crying. There shall be
no more pain, for the former things have passed away." Revelation
21:3-4
ALLAH IS THE
AUTHOR OF FOREIGN WORDS
The Quran claims
to be in pure Arabic speech:
We have sent it
down as an Arabic Quran, in order that ye may learn wisdom. S. 12:2
"An Arabic
Quran, wherein there is no crookedness..." S. 9:28
And We know very
well that they say, "Only a mortal is teaching him." The speech of
him at whom they hint is barbarous- and this is Arabic, pure and clear.
S. 16:103
But according to
Arabic scholars the Quran is not in pure Arabic, containing dozens of foreign
words:
Abariq, S. 56:18,
Persian
Adam, S. 2:34,
Akkadian
Araik, S. 18:31,
Persian
Firdaus, S.
18:107, Pahlavi
Fir'awn, S. 73:15,
Syriac
Habr, S. 9:31,
Hebrew (Haver)
Istabraq, S.
18:31, Persian (Istabar)
Sakina, S. 2:248,
Hebrew
Sijjil (baked
clay), S. 105:4, Persian
Taghut (idols), S.
2:257, Syriac (Teghutha)
Zakat, S. 2:110,
Syriac (Zkhutha)
Zanjabil (ginger),
S. 76:17, Pahlavi
Muslims respond by
presuming that all living languages adopt words from other cultures, and it is
therefore not an error for the Quran to contain foreign words. This argument
only works in regard to imperfect human beings who continually adopt and adapt
to other cultures and customs.
Unfortunately for
Muslims, this argument will not work for an all-powerful Being who is the
Originator of human language. Such a Being is capable of inspiring his word in
perfect Arabic completely devoid of foreign words, especially when he himself
states that the Quran is in pure Arabic. This is even more so in light of the
claim that the Quran is the eternal speech of God, i.e. that the Quran existed
(on an eternal tablet) before the creation of human language. How can
God's speech contain foregin words when these foreign languages did not exist
in eternity? As one Muslim writer stated:
The Qur'an itself
repeatedly asserts that it is a unique and inimitable "Arabic Qur'an"
(12.2, 13.37, 16.103) in order to communicate its meaning in a perfect manner
to a people who took great pride in the expressive quality of their language. Much
of the early discussion about the linguistic components of the Qur'an centred
on the presence, or otherwise, of non-Arabic words in it - of course, based on
the premise that it was essentially an Arabic text. The verses referred to
above became the key supportive texts for those who argued that the Qur'an did
not contain any non-Arabic terms. The earliest exegetes, particularly those
associated with 'Abd Allah ibn 'Abbas (d. 68/67-68), a cousin of Muhammad,
freely discussed a large number of non-Arabic words in the Qur'an. Hadith
literature credits Ibn 'Abbas and "his school" with having a special
interest in seeking their origin and meaning. Later eminent scholars of the
Qur'an such as the philologist/exegete Abu 'Ubayd (d. 838), however continued
to argue that the Qur'an contained foreign words. Others such as Ibn 'Atiyyah
(d. 541/1146), Suyuti (d. 911/1505), and 'Abd al-Rahman al-Tha'labi (d. 1468)
tried to reconcile theology with linguistic principles. They argued that the
foreign words in the Qur'an came into Arabic through the ancient Arab's
contacts with other languages in foreign travel and commerce but that they had
been thoroughly Arabized by the time of the Prophet [Sam- If this were so then
there would have been no need to highlight the fact that these foreign words
had become part of the language since this would have been common knowledge to
native Arab speakers like Ibn Abbas. That an explanation was needed to explain
why foreign words appear in the Quran demonstrates how weak this Muslim claim
actually is!] Various theories were evolved to resolve THE CONTRADICTION
between the notion ascribed to Ibn 'Abbas and the one which subsequently gained
greater acceptance, i.e., that the Qur'an does not contain any foreign
terminology. To deal with the actual occurrence of words in the Arabic language
that were also found in non-Arabic languages, some of these scholars, such as
Muhammad ibn Idris al-Shafi (d. 204/819) and Tabari, developed the notion of
tawafuq (coincidence). They argued that both Arabic and other languages employ
the same words with identical meanings and that this uniformity of meaning was
purely coincidental.
The idea of any
language or discourse being absolutely free from expressions or words used in
another language is alien to one of the most basic linguistic principles, i.e.,
the inter-relatedness of human speech. While this may sound trite, two factors,
however, ensured that this notion was rejected by the "orthodoxy":
first, the Qur'an IS NOT REALLY REGARDED AS HUMAN SPEECH BUT RATHER GOD'S AND
GOD'S SPEECH CANNOT BE SUBJECTED TO ANY LINGUISTIC PRINCIPLES. Indeed, as is
commonly known, Qur'anic Arabic became the standard of Arabic grammar. (The
problem of God's speech of necessity having to coincide with human speech for
effect and meaning remains.)
Second, for the
"orthodoxy", God's own eternalness and self-subsistence fused with
those of His revelation. The Qur'an and its language thus came to be viewed as
equally timeless and independent of any "non-divine" elements,
non-Arabic included. The fact of God's revelation occurring in Arabic (or any
other language for that matter) alongside the insistence that this is the
unmediated medium which was used by God raises an interesting question: If all
comprehensible language and speech is the result of social interaction THEN
DOES THIS IMPLY THAT GOD IS ALSO 'LIMITED' OR CONFINED TO THE LIMITATIONS OF
LANGUAGE? If so, then WHAT DOES THIS IMPLY FOR THE ALL-POWERFUL NATURE OF GOD?
(Farid Esack, The Qur'an - A Short Introduction [Oneworld Publications,
Oxford 2002], pp. 68-69; bold and capital emphasis mine)
ALLAH IS THE
AUTHOR OF GRAMMATICAL ERRORS
Not only does the
Quran contain foreign words, but according to Arabic grammarians it also
contains grammatical mistakes:
The Qor'an contains
sentences which are incomplete and not fully intelligible without the aid of
commentaries; foreign words, unfamiliar Arabic words, and words used with other
than the normal meaning, adjectives and verbs inflected without observance of
the concords of gender and number- illogically and ungrammatically applied
pronouns which sometimes have no referent- and predicates which in rhymed
passages are often remote from the subjects ... To sum up, more than one
hundred Qor'anic aberrations from the normal rules and structures have been
noted... ( Ali Dashti, 23 Years: A Study of the Prophetic Career of
Muhammad [Costa Mesa, Ca. 1994; Mazda Publishers], pp. 48, 50)
A few examples
include the following passages:
S. 7:56 -
"The mercy of Allah is near"
Arabic -
"inna rahmata Allahi qaribun min al-mohseneen."
The word qaribun
is the predicate of rahmata Allahi, and as such should match in gender.
Since rahmata is feminine the word qaribun (which is masculine )
should be qaribah, its feminine form.
S. 7:160 -
"We divided them in twelve tribes"
Arabic - "wa
qata'nahom 'ethnata 'ashrata asbatan."
In Arabic, any
noun which is counted by a number above ten should be singular, as is the case
in S. 7:142; 2:60; 5:12; 9:36; 12:4. As such the Arabic asbatan should
be sebtan.
S. 5:69 -
"Surely they that believe, and those of Jewry, and the Sabians, and
the Christians, whosoever believes in Allah and the Last Day, and works
righteousness- no fear shall be on them, neither shall they sorrow."
Arabic-
"Innal-laziina 'aamanuu wal-laziina haaduu was-Saabi'uuna
wan-Nasaara man'amaana bilaahi wal-Yawmil Aakhiri wa 'amila saali-hanfalaa
khaw-fun 'alay-him wa laa hum yah-zanuun."
According to
scholars, the Arabic Saabi'uuna has been wrongly declined. Compare the
same grammatical structure found in the following suras:
S. 2:62-
"Innal-laziina 'aamanuu wal-laziina haaduu wan-Nasaara was-Saabi'iina..."
S. 22:17-
"Innal-laziina 'aamanuu wal-laziina haaduu was-Saabi'iina
wan-Nasaara..."
In the last two
suras the term was declined correctly, Saabi'iina, as opposed to Saabi'uuna.
This is due to the word inna found in the beginning of the sentence
causing a form of declension called "nasb" (as in the cases of
accusative or subjunctive) with the "yeh" being the "sign
of nasb". But the word Saabi'uuna is given the case of 'uu,
a sign of "rafa" ( as in cases of nominative and indicative ).
Accordingly, the verse in 5:69 is wrong.
S. 91:5 - "By
the heaven and that which built it."
Arabic-
"was-samaaa-i wa maa ba-naahaa."
The word ma
is impersonal in Arabic. Yet, the subject of the verse is Allah, heaven's
Creator. As such the word man, meaning "him who",
should have been used instead of the impersonal ma.
It should be
pointed out that it is not only Arabic scholars who have discovered dozens of
grammatical mistakes within the Quran, but Muhammad's very own companions in
the past have also admitted this fact.
The Muslim scholar
Ibn al-Khatib in his book al Furqan quotes Muhammad's wife Aisha as
saying:
"There are
three grammatical errors in the Book of Allah, they are the fault of the
scribe: In 20:63 ... And in 5:69 ... And in 4:162." (Muhammad M. abd
al-Latif Ibn al-Khatib, Al-Furqan [Dar al-Kutub al-Elmiyah, Beirut], p.
91)
After seeing the
first standard copy of the Quran, Islam's third Caliph Uthman proclaimed,
"I see grammatical errors in it, and the Arabs will read it
correctly with their tongues." (Ibid., p.90)
For the Quran to
be the word of Allah and for Allah to be God one should find no grammatical
mistakes, especially since Muslims claim that the Quran contains no human
element whatsoever. Muslim view is that the Quran was dictated word for word to
Muhammad, which implies that Allah is the Author of these grammatical errors.
This disqualifies Allah from being God, especially Yahweh God of the Holy
Bible.
To avoid this
problem, Muslims assert that the Quran was revealed in a style called balaagha,
which is an eloquent method of expressing the Arabic. Due to this feature, the Quran
is not required to be grammatically correct since its aim is at eloquence.
Once again this
assumption serves to undermine the Muslim position. It may be true that a
document written by man cannot be both grammatically correct and still retain
an optimum level of eloquence, since a human writer most often sacrifices one
literary feature over the other. But this cannot be said of God since he can
easily produce a book which contains both perfect grammar and eloquence without
ever sacrificing one for the other. This the Quran fails to do.
ALLAH AND OATHS
A real point of
difference between Allah and Yahweh is that Yahweh swears by himself, since
there is nothing greater for him to swear by:
For when God made
a promise to Abraham, because He could swear by no one greater, He swore by
Himself. Hebrews 6:13
For men indeed
swear by the greater, and an oath for
confirmation is for them an end of all dispute. Hebrews 6:16
Hence, every time
God makes a pledge he swears only by himself to insure believers that he will
do all that he promises:
"I have sworn
by Myself; the word has gone out of My mouth in righteousness, and shall not
return, that to Me every knee shall bow..." Isaiah 45:23
"I swear by
Myself, says the LORD." Jeremiah 22:5
Yet, Allah swears
by things less than him:
Swears by the Quran
By the Quran, full of wisdom. S. 36:2
By the Quran, full of admonition. S. 38:1
Swears by the sky
and constellations
By the sky and the night visitant S. 86:1
Nay verily: By
the moon, and by the night as it retreateth, and by the dawn
as it shines forth. S. 74:32-34
By the star when it goes down. S. 53:1
Swears by the pen
By the pen and by the record which [men] write. S. 68:1
Swears by the city
Nay I do swear by
this city. S. 90:1
Swears by the
Creation
By the night as it cancels [the light]; by the day as it
appears in glory; by the Creation of male and female. S. 92:1-3
The fact that
Allah swears by practically anything and everything, while Yahweh swears only
by himself, makes it very difficult for the two to be the one and the same God.
ALLAH IS NOT
TRIUNE
The final proof
that Allah is not Yahweh Elohim of the Holy Bible is that Allah is not a
trinity. According to the Holy Bible, there is only One true God (Deuteronomy
6:4; Galatians 3:20).
Yet, at the same
time Scripture affirms that this One God eternally exists in three Persons:
The Father
"...elect
according to the foreknowledge of God the Father..." 1 Peter 1:2
The Son
"... looking
for that blessed hope and glorious appearing of our Great God and Savior
Jesus Christ..." Titus 2:13
The Holy Spirit
"But Peter
said, 'Ananias, why has Satan filled your heart to lie to the Holy Spirit...
you have not lied to men but to God." Acts 5:3-4
Three in One
"...
baptizing them in the Name (singular - implying unity) of the Father,
and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit ..." Matthew 28:19
But the Allah of
the Quran is not any of the three Persons mentioned above. For example S. 112
states,
Say: He is Allah,
the One and Only; Allah, The Eternal, Absolute-, He begetteth not, Nor is He
Begotten; And there is none like unto Him. S. 112: 1-4
Allah does not
"beget" meaning that Allah has no children either in a spiritual or
carnal sense. Thus, Allah can never be the Father. Nor does he allow himself to
be "begotten", i.e. does not take on human nature such as God the Son
did when he became man for our salvation. Finally, in orthodox
Islam the Holy
Spirit is not God, but the angel Gabriel. This fact separates Allah from ever
possibly being the same God that Christians worship.
Furthermore, we
read in I John 2:22-23:
"Who is a
liar but he who denies that Jesus is the Christ? He is Antichrist who denies
the Father and the Son. Whoever denies the Son does not have the Father
either; he who acknowledges the Son has the Father also."
Thus, to the
Christians Allah cannot be the biblical God since the inspired New Testament
record teaches that anyone denying the Father and Son as God is Antichrist.
One common Muslim
allegation needs to be briefly addressed before concluding. In Exodus 31:17 it
says that after Yahweh created the universe, he rested on the Sabbath and was
refreshed. This description is not befitting God since he never fatigues nor
does he need to be refreshed.
In response to
this, as we have already noted scripture often uses anthropomorphic language in
describing God's relations with man. The context of this passage deals with the
necessity of Sabbath observance as a sign between God and Israel, and as such
God is speaking to his covenant people in relational terms.
Just as God rested
on the seventh day, it is important for Israel to do likewise especially in
light of the fact that they are the chosen people of God and must imitate him
by observing all his commands.
Furthermore, the
term for Sabbath in Hebrew is shabat. It is listed in Strong's as #7673
with the following meanings: to stop, to cease, to rest, to end. Also, the term
"refreshed" doesn't necessarily mean that God needed to take a
breather after creating the universe anymore than the expression "my heart
was refreshed" implies fatigue. Rather, it refers to God rejoicing over
the goodness of his creation.
Thus, these terms
do not imply that God literally needed to rest and be refreshed. It simply
means that after the formation of man God stopped his work of creation and
rejoiced at the fact that all creation up to that point was very good. (c.f.
Genesis 1:31)
This
interpretation is consistent with the clear teaching of Scripture that God
never fatigues:
"He will not
allow your foot to be moved- He who keeps you will not slumber. Behold,
He who keeps Israel shall neither slumber nor sleep." Psalm 121:
3-4
"Have you not
known? Have you not heard? The everlasting God, the LORD, the Creator of the
ends of the earth, neither faints nor is weary. His understanding is
unsearchable." Isaiah 40:28
To then try and
use Exodus 31:17 as a prooftext while neglecting the overall context of
scripture is rather poor exegesis and unscholarly, since the Bible is clear
that God has inexhaustible power and energy.
Our brief
examination of Allah as presented in the Quran leads us to conclude that he
cannot possibly be the same God worshiped by Abraham and as described in the
Holy Bible. The contradictions in attributes and nature between Yahweh and
Allah are too numerous to pass over, and cannot be reconciled.
With that in mind,
we must point out another major difference between the two; namely that the God
of the Holy Bible gives an assurance of salvation through Jesus Christ the
Lord, something which Allah never guarantees:
For God so loved
the world that he gave his only begotten Son that whoever believes in him
should not perish, but have everlasting life. John 3:16
Most assuredly, I
say to you, he who hears my word and believes in him who sent me has
everlasting life, and shall not come into judgement, but has passed from death
into life. John 5:24
And if anyone
hears my words and does not believe, I do not judge him; for I did not come to
judge the world but to save the world. John 12:47
The Bible clearly
teaches that there is no other way for man to be saved, since Jesus alone can
guarantee eternal life, something which the Quran cannot promise any Muslim:
"Jesus said to him, 'I am the Way, the Truth, and the Life. No man comes
to the Father except through me.'" John 14:6
"Nor is there
salvation in any other, for there is no other name under heaven given among men
by which we must be saved." Acts 4:12
The reason why
Christ alone can promise salvation is because he alone paid the penalty for sin
which is death. By his death on the cross Christ provided the only acceptable
sacrifice to God on behalf of sinners:
"Being
justified as a gift by His grace through the redemption which is in Christ
Jesus; whom God displayed publicly as a propitiation) a sacrifice
offered which satisfies the divine justice of God) in his blood ..." Romans
3:24-25 "For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal
life through Jesus Christ our Lord." Romans 6:23
It is therefore up
to Muslims to decide whether to accept Jesus Christ as Yahweh's Son and the
Savior of the world and receive the assurance of eternal salvation. Or continue
to worship Allah of the Quran who never promises Muslims the joy of knowing
that their sins have been forgiven, giving them the assurance of eternal
salvation. The choice is left for the reader to decide.
ISLAM IS AN INFORMATION CONTROL CULT!
"O ye who believe! Ask not questions
about things which if made plain to you, may cause you trouble. Some people
before you did ask such questions, and on that account lost their faith."
(Surah 5:101-102).
"The Holy Prophet himself forbade people
to ask questions ...so do not try to probe into such things." (The Meaning
of the Qur'an, Maududi, vol. III, pgs. 76-77)
"The prophet was asked about things
which he did not like, and when the questioner insisted, the Prophet got angry.
(vol. 1, no. 92) The Prophet got angry and his cheeks or his face became red.
(vol. 1, no. 91) "Allah has hated you...[for] asking too many
questions." (vol. 2, no. 555; and vol. 3, no. 591, Bukhari's Hadith
commenting on Muhammad's reaction to hostile questioners.)
Although Muslims in the Western world will
claim Islam is an open religion, the fact remains that they contradict the
actions of their brethren in Muslim controlled nations. In other words, actions
speak louder than words! Remember, if Islam is such an open religion, why are
Christians harassed and murdered in all countries where Muslims are in control
of the civil governments.
| Muhammad, in our opinion, spoke truth when
he described the first reaction people had to his new religion: |
"This [Islam] is nothing but a lie
which he [Muhammad] has forged, and other have helped him do it... Fairy
tales of the ancients, which he has caused to be written; and they are
dictated before him morning and evening." (Surah 25:4-5) |
| Even Yusuf Ali, a translator of the Koran
into English makes this comment: |
"In their misguided arrogance they
say, 'We have heard such things before: they are pretty tales which have come
down from ancient times: they are good for amusement, but who takes them
seriously? The answer is that the Qur'an teaches spiritual knowledge of what
is ordinarily hidden from men's sight, and such knowledge can only come from
God to Whom alone is known the Mystery of the whole Creation.'" [3058-9] |
Questions to ask Muslims
1) Muslims
claim, that a proof the Koran was from God, is that it contains scientifically
accurate information about Embryology before man discovered it for himself.
However, all the information in the Koran regarding Embryology is copied from
three sources, 1. A Greek doctor named Galen, who lived of 150 AD. 2. A Jewish
doctor named Samuel ha-Yehudi who lived 150 AD. 3. the Greek father of medicine
Hippocrates who lived 400 BC. My question is: in light of the fact that all the
information contained in the Koran was already in print by these three doctors,
will you retract the argument on Embryology? If not, will you supply one detail
revealed in the Koran about Embryology, that was not already revealed or that
was new?
2) Muslims
claim, that a proof that the Koran was from God is that it contains
scientifically accurate information about Embryology, yet in 86:6-7 the Koran
says, "man was created from ejected liquid- Proceeding from between the
backbone and the ribs". This echoes the scientific error of Hippocrates
who believed semen originates, from the brain down the spinal chord, before
passing through the kidneys and finally out of the body. (Hippocratic Writings,
Penguin Classics, 1983, p. 317) My question is: do you reject modern science
and believe the Koran when it says sperm originates from the mid-gut section of
a man's body.
3) Muslims
quote an article written in 1957 by the Jehovah's Witnesses who stated there
were 50,000 errors in the translation of the King James version. My question
is: Even if this were true, (which of course it is not), how does this prove
there is corruption in the original Greek MSS from which the King James version
was translated?
4) Muslims
claim, that the many different translations of the English Bible will render a
single text with many different words and phrases. You said this was proof the
Bible is corrupted and that the Koran reads exactly the same way everywhere in
the world in Arabic. My question is: Since the many English translations of the
Koran also render a single text with many different words, does that proof that
the Koran is corrupted?
5) Muslims
believe the word Allah was used by Jesus when he hung on the cross. The Bible
records that Jesus said "Eli Eli lama sabachthani", but you say Jesus
really cried out to Allah and said "Allah, Allah lama sabachthani" My
question is: Would you please explain why you would use this argument when you
don't believe Jesus ever hung on the cross? And second, since Jesus was quoting
Ps 22:1 on the cross, isn't rather unlikely that both the Hebrew Old Testament
and the Greek New Testament are wrong using Eli, a Hebrew word, rather than
Allah, an arab word?
6) Muslims
chide Christians because the earliest complete copies of the Bible were written
300 years after the originals of the first century. Yet Muslim scholars state
the earliest copy of the Koran was written no earlier than 150 years after
Muhammad died. My question is: in light of this fact, how could the Koran
possibly be better than the Bible and would you please state the name and
location and date of the earliest Koran you believe to be in existence?
7) Both
the Samarqand MSS is in Tashkent, and the MSS housed in the Topkapi Museum in Istanbul
are written in the script style called "Kufic". And not the earlier
style known as Ma'il or Mashq. This fact is the reason Muslim
scholars date these manuscripts no earlier than 200 years after Muhammad died.
My question is: leaving aside blind faith and wishful thinking, what evidence
do you supply that these MSS were written any earlier?
8) The
British Museum in London has an ancient copy of the Koran written in the Ma'il
style of script, but practicing Muslim scholar Martin Lings, who is the former
curator for the manuscripts of the British Museum, dates this manuscript at 790
AD. My question is: Apart from just making the claim, what evidence do you
supply that this MSS were written any earlier?
9) The
text of the Koran in 37:103 reads "they had both submitted their wills
(became Muslims)" while the Arabic text of the Tashkent MSS gives the
exact opposite meaning, "they did not submitted their wills" (they
did NOT become Muslims.) My question is: have you actually read the Tashkent
MSS for yourself in this passage and how do you explain this textual variation
given your comments on the miracle of the perfect Koran?
10) Qur'an
18:9, makes into real history, the second century myth of 7 Christian youths
who were persecuted for their faith and went to sleep in a cave for 300 years
and then woke up with no ill effects. In the original myth the hero is a
Christian, but in the Koran the hero is a Muslim. My question is: in the
absence of any copyright laws when the Koran was written, are you at least
prepared to pay compensation to the living relatives of the author of this
myth? If not, would you be in favor of going starting up a charity fund to
compensate for damages of copyright infringement?
11) Koran
5:116, represents Christians as worshipping Mary which is a historical error.
Given the fact that the pagan Arabs did worship Mary's idol in the Kaba, and
that history records no group of Christians had ever worshiped Mary at this
time, my question is would you please name the sect of Christians who worshiped
Mary at the time of Muhammad?
12) Muslim's
reject the doctrine of inherited sin of Adam but teach the Immaculate
Conception of Mary. The reason the doctrine of the Immaculate Conception was
invented was to remove inherited sin. My question is: since you reject the
doctrine of inherited sin and believe all men are born without sin, why do
Muslim's teach the doctrine of the Immaculate Conception of Mary?
13) In
Koran 7:125, death by crucifixion is stated to exist at the time of Moses in 1500BC.
Yet Encyclopedia Britannica, in harmony with all records of history, reports
that crucifixion did not exist any earlier than 500 BC. My question is: to how
do you explain this blaring historical error, and do you just disregard the
history of the world merely because the Karen says otherwise?
14) Muslim
scholar, Tabbarah, said in his book, The Spirit of Islam, "Moslems
do not worship the Black Stone, but only show special reverence and veneration
for its dignity and they kiss it only after the example of the Prophet and to
keep their Covenant with God to obey His Will and avoid His disobedience."
(Tabbarah, The Spirit of Islam, p. 173, Muslim). Focusing on Tabbarah's
key phrase of showing reverence and veneration to the Black Stone, My question
is do you see any difference between the Muslim practice of kissing showing
reverence and venerating the Black Stone and the Catholic practice of pope John
Paul II kissing the statute of the Virgin Mary with reverence and veneration?
15) Informed
Christians know there is no passage and the Koran that says the Bible is lost
altered or corrupted. My question is would you please list all the passages you
know where the Qur'an says the Bible that was in the hands of the Christians at
the time of Muhammad had been corrupted?
16) Muslims
will quote Quran 2:79 as a verse where the Koran says the canon of the Bible is
corrupted, "Then woe to those who write the Book with their own hands, and
then say: "This is from God," to traffic with it for miserable
price!" My question is: If this verse refers to the corruption of the
Bible, then why did Muhammad command Christians to follow the Bible they
possessed in 600 AD in Quran 2:89; 7:157? And is this the only verse in the
Koran that says the Bible is corrupt? (see also Quran 2:40-42,126,136,285;
3:3,71,93; 4:47,136; 5:47-51, 69,71-72; 6:91; 10:37,94; 21:7; 29:45,46; 35:31;
46:11)
17) Muslims
will quote Jer 8:8 as proof that the Old Testament canon is corrupt, "How
can you say, 'We are wise, And the law of the Lord is with us'? But behold, the
lying pen of the scribes Has made it into a lie" Yet this verse is
clearly speaking of the written scribal interpretations of the Bible as Jesus
condemned in Mt 15:1-14. Here Jesus accused the Scribes of the same thing
regarding washing of hands and Corban, "you invalidate the written word of
God for the sake of your tradition." My question is: is this the only text
in the Bible where you claim the canon was corrupted? If not quote the other
texts.
18) How can
Muslims claim there are no textual variations in the Koran, when the Tashkent
MSS differs from the modern Egyptian Qur'an in 5 passages: 2:284, 2:283, 3:37,
3:109 and 5:119. The Tashkent MSS uses the word 'Allah' while the modern
Egyptian Qur'an, uses the word 'huwa' (the pronoun 'he'). My question is: Which
word do you believe are in the "preserved master tablet" and
"mother of all books" in heaven?
19) The
yearly Passover ritual began the same year it was initiated in the 10th plague
and continued uninterrupted for 1500 years. The weekly Lord's supper ritual
began the same week that Christ was crucified and has continued ever since for
2000 years. The Islamic rituals just come out of nowhere, 2600 years after
Abraham lived. Being as unbiased as you possibly can, My question is: are not
the Jewish and Christian rituals more likely to be based on real history since
the rituals of Islam that just pop out of nowhere 2600 years later?
20) The
"Throw" is a reenactment ritual based upon Abraham and the "Run"
is a reenactment ritual based upon Hagar. My question is: Did Adam perform the
throw and the Run, and if not exactly when did they become part of Islamic
ritual and do you have any actual historical evidence to support such?
21) Given
the fact that Isaac Watt, said in his book, Islam and Christianity Today,
"By the standards of modern historiography, the crucifixion of Jesus is
one of the most certain events in past history" (Watt, Islam and
Christianity Today, p. 144). My question is: What historical evidence do you
give outside of the Qur'an that Jesus did not die on across?
22) If all Muslim's
must reject the crucifixion of Christ based on the Koran and all Christians
must reject Muhammad as a prophet based on the Bible, my question is: on
exactly what basis do you believe Christianity and Islam are compatible
religions?
23) Given the fact
that the gospel of Barnabas is the 15th century forgery by Muslims, my question
is: why do you quote this document as proof that early Christians denied the
crucifixion of Christ and what proof do you offer that it is not a Muslim
forgery?
24) Muslim's
will quote Yusuf Ali's comment in footnote 663, as proof that the three early
Christian sects of Marcion, Docetism, Basilides, denied the crucifixion of
Christ. Given the fact the three sects are condemned as false teachers,
deceivers and the anti-Christ in six Bible passages (1 John 1:1,14; 2:22;
4:1-3; 5:6; 2 John 7) My question is: on what basis do you claim they are
Christian sects and isn't it as much of a misrepresentation for you to quote
these Gnostic sects as Christians who deny the crucifixion, as it would be a
misrepresentation for Christians to quote the Baha'i faith as proof Muhammad
was not the final Prophet? (The holy Qur'an, text, translation and commentary
by Abdullah Yusuf Ali. 1872-1952, First published in 1938, 1973 ed., p. 230,
footnote 663, commenting on 4:157)
25) The
Koran says in 4:157, that God causes someone who looked like Jesus to die on
the cross in his place, therefore tricking the apostles of Christ into thinking
he was crucified. My question is: how can you escape the fact that the rise of
Christianity to the largest religion in the world is ultimately the result of
the divine action of Allah?
26) The
deity of Jesus is affirmed four times in Hebrews chapter 1. Jesus Christ is
called the son of God, worshiped by Angels, called God by the Father and stated
to be the creator. Given the fact that you would say that this is a textual
corruption of the original gospel message, my question is would you not agree
that this corrupted text does indeed call Jesus God?
27) The
Islamic religion teaches that Jesus Christ was a practicing Muslim. My question
is: is this any less ridiculous than if Christians said Muhammad was a
practicing Buddhist?
28) Muslim's
claim that Isaiah 42 is a prophecy of Muhammad. Yet Isaiah 53 is one of the
foremost prophecies of the crucifixion of Christ in the entire Old Testament.
My question is: on what basis do you feel Isaiah 42 is uncorrupted which
prophecies Muhammad, but Isaiah 53 is corrupted that prophesies the crucifixion
of Christ?
29) My
question is: If you feel the Bible is so corrupted, than why do you quote Deut
18:18 and John 16:13 as uncorrupted prophecies of Muhammad's comment in the
sixth century AD.
30) Acts
19:23-41 mentions a religion that worshipped the great goddess Artemis and her
meteorite which fell down from heaven. Taking note that this religion centered
around a meteorite, my question is: is it possible that this is a pagan
corruption of the Black Stone and meteorite that fell at the foot of Adam and
that at the time of Christ the Black Stone was actually in Ephesus Asia minor?
31) Galatians
1:6-9 Apostle Paul says "I am amazed that you are so quickly deserting
Christ for a different religion. But even if an angel from heaven, should
preach to you a different religion, let him be accursed." My question is:
Do you think it possible that this is a genuine text from God and he foresaw
that both Muhammad and Joseph Smith would be taught a new religion by an angel?
32) Before the
discovery of the dead sea scrolls in 1947 the earliest copy of the Old
Testament was the Massoretic Text dated at 1000 AD. The dead sea scrolls are
dated at 100 B.C. contain 19 copies of Isaiah, 25 copies of Deuteronomy and 30
copies of Psalms that are virtually identical to what we have in our Bible's
today. My question is: since you believe the Old Testament was corrupted long
before the dead sea scrolls were written in 100 B.C., will you at least admit
that there has been no further corruption of the Old Testament since 100 B.C.
right down to the present?
33) In Jude 3;
2 Peter 1:3; John 16:13 and 2 Tim 3:16 the Bible is called an all sufficient
book with no need for anything else in regards to how we live our lives or
worship God. You claim the same thing for the Qur'an. My question is: how can
the Qur'an be all sufficient in our worship of Allah, if it does not even
mention something as important as praying five times a day and does this not
prove that the Koran without the Hadith is like a car without an engine?
34) The
Huleatt Manuscript was written in 50 AD and is actually a prayer addressed to
Jesus and calls Jesus "God". Therefore, Christians have in their
possession archeological inscriptions within 20 years of Christ's resurrection
that say he is God. My question is: Do you know of any archeological
inscription dated within 100 years of Muhammad's death where he is called a
prophet? If so, please name it.
35) The
Bible contains over 60 distinct prophecies of Jesus Christ 1000 years before
hand. My question is: what is the single most remarkable prophecy that Muhammad
made that was fulfilled?
36) Muslim's
believe the Bible is corrupted. Yet in Isa 40:22 and three other passages.
(Prov 8:27; Amos 9:6 Job 26:10) it says the earth is round and not flat. Job
26:7 says the earth is free-floating in space: "he hangs the earth on
nothing." Both these facts are scientifically accurate, and revealed in
the Bible long before man discovered it for himself. My question is: Are these
passages scientifically accurate corruption's?
37) Muslims
proudly quote several passages in the Koran 30:48; 24:43, as scientifically
accurate explanations of the hydrologic water cycle. My question is: given the
fact the Bible had already fully documented the hydrologic water cycle 1600
before the Koran in Job 36:27-28, and 3 other passages (Eccl 11:3; Job 26:8;
Eccl 1:6-7), doesn't this proof Muhammad merely copied the scientific facts of
the hydrologic water cycle directly from the Bible? (Clouds hold water: Eccl
11:3; Job 26:8; Rivers recycle water: Eccl 1:6-7; Evapouration: Amos 9:6)
38) The 66
books of the Bible were written by 40 different men over a period of 1600 years
with multiple threads of unified themes that span cover to cover. My question
is: would you not agree that in contrast to the Bible, that the Qur'an is a
jumble of disjointed material, without order, continuity or unity of any kind?
39) Muslims
authorities refuse to release photographs of the ancient Topkapi manuscript in
Istanbul, one of the three oldest Korans in existence. My question is: do you
have any idea why Muslim authorities refuse to release documentary photographs
of the Topkapi manuscript in Istanbul and what they are afraid for the world to
see?
40) Muslims
have repeatedly claimed that Muslim women have more rights in Islam then
Western women do in Canada and the USA. The proof you supplied with the fact
that Islam gave women the right to vote 1400 years ago but women in the West
only got the right to vote 100 years ago. My question is: would you please name
one country in the world today that is ruled by a Islamic "Shariah"
law where women are permitted to vote?
41) Muslim's
claim that their growth rate is 235 percent and 47 percent for Christianity.
This statistic came from the Readers Digest Almanac and Yearbook 1983, and
represents 235 percent increase over 50 years. A simple review of the readers
Digest study shows that the growth rate of Islam vs. Christianity is directly
linked to the birth rate in Third World countries where Islam dominates and not
actual conversions to each religion. My question is: do you have any more
recent statistics on an annualized basis?
42) Muslims
claim that Jesus prayed using the Muslim prayer posture, along with all the
prophets. Yet Jesus instructed his disciples to pray while standing up. (Mark
11:25), King David prayed while sitting in (2 Sam 7:18), and Paul instructed
prayer in church with hands lifted up in the air. (1 Tim 2:8) My question is:
If Jesus was a Muslim, why would he instruct his disciples to pray standing up?
And when it says Jesus fell on his face and prayed, how do you know he was not
fully prostrate?
43) Muslims
claim that Muhammad always worshipped Allah in a 100% correct way, without the
need for any restoral. My question is: If this is true, then why did Muhammad
pray towards Jerusalem for the first 5 years of his prophethood, and later
redirected his prays towards Mecca? And did Jesus pray towards Mecca 5 times a
towards Jerusalem or Mecca?
44) The Bible
defines a miracle as something that defies the laws of nature. Muslims claim
the Koran is a miracle merely because it was allegedly transmitted perfectly
without alteration and flaw till the second coming. Since the Harry Potter
books will certainly be transmitted perfectly without alteration or flaw, and
be around until the second coming, my question is: does this make the Harry
Potter books a miracle like the Koran?
45) Muslims
claim that in Isa 42:1 Muhammad fulfilled the expression "bring forth
justice to the nations" indicating that the immoral pagan Arabs before
Muhammad's time were reformed into a just moral society. My question is: Even
though you believe the New Testament is corrupt, had the Immoral Pagan Arabs
all become Christians and followed the moral standards revealed in the
corrupted New Testament, would they not have also transformed into a just moral
society? If no why not? And how is the moral standard in the Koran superior to
the moral standard of the Bible?
46) Muslims
claim that the Angel Gabriel is the Holy Spirit who came upon Mary and caused
her to conceive based upon Luke 1:26:38. My question is: If this is true, then
why did Gabriel say to Mary in verse 35, "the power of the Holy Spirit
will come upon you" rather than "my power will come upon you"?
47) Muslims
quote Luke 22:43 as proof that when Jesus cried out to God not to be crucified,
that an angel came and saved him from crucifixion. However the next verses says
that Jesus was arrested by the mob for crucifixion. My Question is: on what
basis do you accept the first passage as uncorrupted scripture, but reject the
next verse as corrupted scripture?
48) Muslims
claim it was medically impossible for blood and water to come out of Jesus when
his side was pierced with spear because all the blood in Jesus body would have
been clotted. The universal opinion of forensic scientists say that blood takes
days to clot. My question is: Is this another example of where you reject all
known science simply because Islam says this?
49) Muslims quote
liberal agnostic Bible trashes who claim that the four gospels were copied from
a lost original gospel known as the "Q document". This is a mythological
document invented by these skeptics who reject Christianity, because they
simply cannot accept the Bible is a book inspired from God. My question is: are
you aware that the "Q Document" is a purely theoretical document that
has never been found and is a complete fabrication and invention of the mind?
And what is the value of quoting those who reject Christianity and Islam
equally?
50) Muslims
claim that the heading at the beginning of the four gospels "Gospel
according to John", for example indicated the words came from John alone
and prove the Bible to be a book of human authorship? In fact, that this text,
like chapter and verse numbers, was added much later and are not part of the
Bible? My question is: where did you learn that this text was part of the
Bible?
51) Muslims
state that they believe that the Bible is a book filled with pornography, and
quoted Gen 19:32 where Lot made his two daughters pregnant. My Question is: Do
you feel that the Bible should be removed from every library in Canada? And are
you comfortable with the fact that your prophet Muhammad married a six year old
child, when he was 55 years old? Do you think this is a good story to tell
children?
52) Muslims teach
Muhammad was sinless. However the Koran specifically limits the number of wives
a Muslim man can marry to 4. Yet Muhammad married at least 12 women. My
question is: Is Muhammad above the very law he gave in the Koran and isn't the
definition of sin violating the law of God?
53) Muslims
quote George Bernard Shaw who said, "The Bible is the most dangerous book
in the world, keep it lock and keyed." My question is: What value is there
for you to quote an atheist like Shaw who also said: "There is not one
single established religion that an intelligent, educated man can
believe." (George Bernard Shaw quoted in "2000 Years of Disbelief,
Famous People with the Courage to Doubt", by James A. Haught, Prometheus
Books, 1996) Shaw also said: "The fact that a believer is happier than a
skeptic is no more to the point than the fact that a drunken man is happier
than a sober one. The happiness of credulity is a cheap and dangerous quality.
(George Bernard Shaw, Androcles and the Lion, Preface, 1916)
54) To prove
the Bible text is corrupted, Muslims quote a newspaper article in the
"Daily News" of Durban South Africa, Tues. May 22, 1990, where you
claimed the Church of Scotland had deleted the virgin birth from the Bible. The
article actually said that the church of Scotland had merely deleted the
teaching from their local church creed and statement of faith. My question is:
Would you please explain how a church deleting the virgin birth from their
church doctrine books, in any way proves the Bible is corrupted?
55) Muslims
quote Isa 42 as a prophecy of Muhammad and say that Christians teach it is a
prophecy of the Holy Spirit. (In fact Christians apply the text to Christ.) You
also said that Isa 42 can only be fulfilled by Muhammad because Jesus is never
called "my servant". My question is: why did Matthew quote Isa 42 and
apply the whole text to Jesus in Matthew 12:18?
56) Muslims
claim that the prophecy of the coming prophet in Deut 18:18 cannot be fulfilled
by Jesus but could be fulfilled by Muhammad because the text says the prophet
must arise from among their own brethren. Muslims say that if a Hebrew was
intended, that the Bible would have said, "from among yourselves"
rather than the expression "from among their own brethren". Hence
Muslims claim the expression, "from among their own brethren"
excludes all Hebrews and specifically Jesus. My question is: Since Deut 17:15
uses exactly the same expression, when it said, "you shall surely set a
king over you whom the Lord your God chooses, one from among your own
brethren" why did God appoint Saul and David as King and not an
Ishmaelite? And in Deut 18:2 it says, "The Levites shall have no
inheritance from among their brethren." Did the Ishmaelites share the
inheritance of the promised land of Palestine with the Hebrews?
57) The Koran
says in 4:157, that God causes someone who looked like Jesus to die on the
cross in his place, therefore tricking the apostles of Christ into thinking he
was crucified. Apostle John wrote in1 John 1:1 concerning the crucifixion:
"What we have heard, what we have seen with our eyes, what we have looked
at and touched with our hands, concerning the Word of Life". My question
is: Was not John accurately reporting the things he actually saw, things that
Allah made appear to happen?
58) Muslims
claim that the New Testament story of Jesus dying on the cross is a corruption
of the truth and that Allah made it appear that Jesus died on the cross, as per
Q4:157. My question is: How can Muslims claim that they believe any of the New
Testament was originally revealed by God, since the corruption must have begun
at the cross.
59) Muslims believe
that the whole concept of blood atonement is an invention of the Christian
church. My question is: What were the Jews doing since 1500 BC on the "day
of atonement".
60) Muslims
reject the gospel story of Jesus being a substitute for our sins, the just for
the unjust. They use the illustration of a man having to pay for a speeding
ticket he did not commit. My question is: How do you explain that in the Muslim
view of the cross, someone completely innocent died in Jesus place, after God
made him appear to be Jesus? Was not this a Substitutionary sacrifice?
Questions And Answers for Muslims:
The outline below contains the very answers
to the very questions Muhammad did not want his followers to know, namely that
Islam is a sanitized version of ancient polytheistic moon worship which he
invented to exercise military control.
1) Does
the Qur'an define the word "Allah"? No.
2) Was
the name "Allah" revealed for the first time in the Qur'an? No
3) Does
the Qur'an assume that its readers have already heard of "Allah"? Yes
4) Should
we look into pre-Islamic Arabian history to see who "Allah" was
before Muhammad? Yes.
5) According
to Muslim tradition, was Muhammad born into a Christian family and tribe? No
6) Was
he born into a Jewish family or tribe? No
7) What
religion was his family and tribe? Pagans
8) What
was the name of his pagan father? Abdullah (Abd + Allah)
9) Did
Muhammad participate in the pagan ceremonies of Mecca? Yes
10) Did
the Arabs in pre-Islamic times worship 360 gods? Yes
11) Did
the pagans Arabs worship the sun, moon and the stars? Yes
12) Did the
Arabs built temples to the Moon-god? Yes
13) Did
different Arab tribes give the Moon-god different names/titles? Yes
14) What were
some of the names/titles? Sin, Hubul, Ilumquh, Al-ilah.
15) Was
the title "al-ilah" (the god) used of the Moon-god? Yes
16) Was
the word "Allah" derived from "al-ilah?" Yes
17) Was
the pagan "Allah" a high god in a pantheon of deities? Yes.
18) Was he
worshipped at the Kabah? Yes.
19) Was
Allah only one of many Meccan gods? Yes
20) Did
they place a statue of Hubul on top of the Kabah? Yes.
21) At that
time was Hubul considered the Moon-god? Yes.
22) Was the
Kabah thus the "house of the Moon-god"? Yes.
23) Did
the name "Allah" eventually replace that of Hubul as the name of the
Moon god? Yes.
24) Did they
call the Kabah the "house of Allah"? Yes
25) Did the
pagans develop religious rites in connection with the worship of their gods?
Yes.
26) Did
the pagans practice the Pilgrimage, the Fast of Ramadan, running around the
Kabah seven times, kissing the black stone, shaving the head, animal
sacrifices, running up and down two hills, throwing stones at the devil,
snorting water in and out the nose, praying several times a day toward Mecca,
giving alms, Friday prayers, etc.? Yes.
27) Did
Muhammad command his followers to participate in these pagan ceremonies while
the pagans were still in control of Mecca? Yes (Yusuf Ali, fn. 214, pg. 78).
28) Did
Islam go on to adopt these pagan religious rites? Yes. (Yusuf Ali: fn. 223 pg.
80).
29) Were
al-Lat, al-Uzza and Manat called "the daughters of Allah"? Yes.
30) Did the
Qur'an at one point tell Muslims to worship al-Lat, al-Uzza and Manat? Yes. In
Surah 53:19-20.
31) Have
those verses been "abrogated" out of the present Qur'an? Yes.
32) What were
they called? "The Satanic Verses." Yes.
33) Was the
crescent moon an ancient pagan symbol of the Moon-god throughout the ancient
world? Yes.
34) Was
it the religious symbol of the Moon-god in Arabia? Yes
35) Were
stars also used as pagan symbols of the daughers of Allah? Yes
36) Did
the Jews or the Christians of Arabia use the crescent moon with several stars
next to it as symbols of their faith? No
37) Did
Islam adopt the pagan crescent moon and stars as it religious symbol? Yes.
38) As
Islam developed over the centuries, did it adopt pagan names, pagan ceremonies,
pagan temples and pagan symbols? Yes
39) Is it
possible that most Muslims do not know the pagan sources of the symbols and
rites of their own religion? Yes.
40) Are they
shocked to find out the true sources of their ceremonies and stories? Yes
41) Can Islam
be the religion of Abraham if it is derived from paganism? No
42) What then
is Islam? A modern version of one of the ancient fertility cults.
43) Is
the "Allah" of the Qur'an, the Christian God of Father, Son, and Holy
Spirit? No
44) Do the Jews say
that the Muslim "Allah" is their God too? No
45) Then whose
god is Allah? Paganism
