Sam Shamoun
In this section of our Christian-Islamic studies, it will be our specific
goal to contrast the Jesus of the Holy Bible with Isa (i.e. Jesus) of the Quran.
This will be done in order to set forth both the similarities and the
differences within the Bible and the Quran on the person of Jesus Christ.
We hope to proceed from there and further contrast the life of Christ with
that of the Muslim Prophet, Muhammad ibn Abdullah. Our reason for making such a
comparison is the Muslim assertion that in Muhammad one finds a perfect example
of morality and virtue, making it incumbent on all mankind to imitate him as he
is the last and the greatest prophet.
To the Christian, it is Christ who is the standard of moral and spiritual
perfection. Hence, all who claim to be prophets and messengers appearing after
him, must stand in his glorious light and pass or at least match the standards
he has set.
Due to these preceding factors we felt that an examination of the lives of
both these men was indeed necessary, in order to reach a conclusion regarding
the question of which man should truly be set forth as a role model for all
mankind.
With this in mind, we proceed to our investigation in the hopes that all who
read this paper will do so with an open and inquisitive mind.
The Annunciation Of Christ
Quran:
Behold! The angels said: "O Mary! Allah hath chosen thee and purified thee -
chosen thee above the women of all nations." S. 3:42
(Note - Mary is the only woman mentioned by name in the Quran and is the only
woman to have a whole chapter named in her honor, Surat Al-Maryam - "The
chapter of Mary".)
The Quran also declares that she is preferred over all women of creation.
Although the Quran highly honors Mary the mother of Christ, it does not provide
the reader with a reason for such a high esteem.
"Behold! The angels said: "O Mary! Allah giveth thee glad tidings of
a
word from him: his name will be the Messiah Jesus, The son of
Mary, held in honor in this world and the hereafter and of those nearest
to Allah.." She said: "O my Lord! How shall I have a son when no man hath
touched me?" He said: "Even so: Allah createth what He willeth: when He hath
decreed a plan, He but saith to it, 'be; and it is!' " S. 3:45,47.
These passages confirm that Jesus is
1) Al Masih, the Messiah, 2)
virgin born, 3) Kalimat Minhu - a word from God and one of those nearest
to God.
Before elaborating on these points, a final passage will be quoted in order
to provide further insight into the person of Jesus Christ.
Relate in the book (the story of) Mary... She placed a screen (to screen
herself) from them: then we sent to her our angel (Ruh - spirit) and he
appeared before her as a man in all respects... He said: "Mary! I am only a
messenger from thy Lord, (to announce) to thee the gift of a holy (i.e.
faultless) son (Ghulamin Zakiyyan)." She said: "How shall I have a son,
seeing that no man has touched me, and I am not unchaste?" He said: "So (it will
be): thy Lord saith, 'That is easy for me: and (we wish) to appoint him as a
sign (ayat) unto men (alamin) and a mercy from us: It is a matter
(so) decreed." S. 19:16, 17, 19-21.
These verses further establish the fact that Jesus is 4) faultless and 5) a
sign from God to the entire world, not merely to the Israelites. To summarize,
we find that Jesus is:
-
The Messiah
-
Virgin born son of Mary
-
The word of God
-
Sinless
-
A sign and mercy unto mankind.
There are common Islamic objections to the ascribed attributes of Christ,
objections which are nothing but attempts to diminish the uniqueness of Jesus
the Messiah in the Quran. In this essay, we will attempt to refute each
objection point by point:
-
The Messiah
Although the Quran knows of only one Messiah namely Jesus, referring to him
as such a total of eleven times, Muslims object to the uniqueness that this
title implies by stating that there are many who are called messiah in the Old
Testament - Tawrat, demonstrating the fact that there is absolutely no real
significance in its usage.
The Hebrew word for Messiah,
Mashiach, means to anoint. All
prophets, priests and kings were consecrated to their respective positions by
being anointed with the special oil that God commissioned the priests to
prepare. (Exodus 30:22-31, 1 Samuel 10:1, 16:12-13) This would in a
sense make them "messiahs". In fact, the king of Persia, Cyrus, is also called
the mashiach of God in Isaiah 45:1.
Although it is quite true that many are referred to as being anointed by
God, the Hebrew Scriptures point to one person in particular who was to be
greater than all the rest and would ultimately be the supremely
anointed one of God, more so than any other person; the Messiah, son of
David:
"Why do the nations conspire, and the peoples plot in vain? The kings of
the Earth set themselves, and the rulers take council together, against the
LORD and His Anointed (Mashiach), saying, 'Let us burst their bonds
asunder, and cast their cords from us.' He who sits in the heavens laughs; The
LORD has them in derision, then He will speak to them in his wrath, and
terrify them in His fury, saying, 'I have set my king on Zion, my holy hill.'
I will tell of the decree of the LORD; He said to me (the Messiah), 'You
are my son, today I have begotten you. Ask of me and I will make
the nations your heritage, and the ends of the earth your
possession. You shall break them with a rod of iron, and dash them in
pieces like a potter's vessel.' Now therefore, o kings, be wise, be warned o
rulers of the earth. Serve the LORD with fear, with trembling kiss His
Son, lest he be angry, and you perish in the way; For his wrath is quickly
kindled. Blessed are all who take refuge in him." Psalm 2:1-11
And,
"The LORD says to my Lord [i.e. David's sovereign]: 'sit on my right
hand, till I make your enemies your footstool'... The LORD has sworn and
will not change his mind, 'you are a priest forever after the
order of Melchizedek.'" Psalm 110:1, 4
These two passages point out the fact that the one specific Messiah
predicted to come would be the Son of God, the King of all the nations and the
Eternal Priest of God who sits on the right hand of majesty forever.
The fact that Jesus is the one being referred to in these passages becomes
quite clear when reading the Gospel accounts of the angel's annunciation to
Mary:
"In the sixth month the angel Gabriel was sent from God to a city of
Galilee named Nazareth, to a virgin betrothed to a man whose name was Joseph,
of the house of David; and the virgin's name was Mary. And he came to her and
said, 'Hail, O favored one, the Lord is with you!' But she was greatly
troubled at the saying, and considered in her mind what sort of greeting this
might be. And the angel said to her, 'Do not be afraid, Mary, for you have
found favor with God. And behold, you will conceive in your womb and bear a
son, and you shall call his name Jesus. He will be great, and will be called
the Son of the Most High; and the Lord God will give to him the throne
of his Father David, and He will reign over the house of Jacob forever; and of His kingdom
there will be no end." Luke
1:26-33
Not only does this account confirm the Quranic narrative of Mary's election
over all women, but goes one step further by describing why she is so highly
preferred:
"...and she (Elizabeth) exclaimed with a loud cry, 'Blessed are you among
women, and blessed is the fruit of your womb!'" Luke 1:42
Indeed Mary is so highly blessed due to the reason that she was to conceive
the greatest man who ever lived; the Son of the Most High, the Savior of the
World, Jesus the Messiah.
1. The Virgin Birth.
To the Christians, the virgin birth proves that the son of Mary was divine.
Yet, to the Muslim Christ's virgin birth is comparable to Adam's creation
without mother or father. Muslims point out that if Christians accept Jesus'
virgin birth as evidence for his divinity then they should also accept Adam as
being the son of God. After all, he was fashioned more miraculously than
Christ, having been created without mother or father.
In Islamic understanding, Christ's conception in Mary's womb without the
aid of a man was an awesome display of God's ability to create anything He
chooses by divine utterance of His word, Kun Fayakun, "Be and it is."
In the Islamic thought process the virgin birth does not and should not
suggest that Christ was or is divine.
To point out the fallacy of comparing Adam's creation with the birth of
Jesus, it must be stressed that it was necessary for Adam to be created
without mother or father. The very fact that he was the only man on earth at
the time of his creation renders it impossible for him to be conceived in the
natural fashion of sexual reproduction. The same logic applies to Eve since
she was the first woman.
However, why was it necessary for Christ to be conceived in such
supernatural fashion, when God had already put into motion the natural
reproductive cycle of human birth? Why did God override his own laws of sexual
reproduction and intervene personally by causing Jesus to be born from a
virgin?
If the Muslims argue that this was meant as a sign for mankind to
illustrate God's awesome power and glory, the counter argument would be that
this would represent a rather inadequate display of God's omnipotence. The
reason for such inadequacy is that, unlike the empty tomb of Christ where
people would go and observe that the body was gone, the virgin birth cannot be
verified by conventional means. It must be accepted by faith alone since no
one was present to see the angel's annunciation of the virgin birth to
Mary.
The Quran itself testifies to the fact that there were those who even
accused Mary of being unchaste. It was chiefly due to another supernatural act
which her innocence was upheld:
"At length she brought the (babe) to her people, carrying him (in her
arms). 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!'
"But she pointed to the babe. They said: 'How can we talk to one who is a
child in the cradle?' He said: 'I am indeed a servant of Allah: He hath given
me revelation and made me a prophet...'" S. 19:27-30
A. Yusef Ali writes in his footnote to this story:
"What could Mary do! How could she explain? Would they, in their censorious
mood, accept her explanation? All she could do was point to the child, who,
she knew, was no ordinary child. And the child came to her rescue. By a
miracle he spoke, defended his mother, and preached to an unbelieving
audience." (1: p.750, f. 2482)
This still does not address the necessity of the miraculous birth of Jesus.
To seek an answer we must refer back to the Bible:
"And Mary said to the angel, 'How shall this be, since I have no husband?'
And the angel said to her, 'The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power
of the Most High will overshadow you; Therefore the child to be born will
be called holy, the Son of God.'" Luke 1:34-35
The reason that the child is born of a virgin is because he is the Son of
God and as such, he could not be conceived in the normal fashion. Had he been
born otherwise he would have inherited a sinful nature like all the rest of
mankind.
In other words, the virgin birth was a necessity only for the fact that
this was the only befitting way for the King of glory to become incarnate,
since he is God's unique Son.
Hence, Christians do not believe that the virgin birth makes Jesus the Son
of God. Rather, they believe that because Jesus is the Son of God he had to be
born of a virgin.
2. The Word of God.
The typical objection to this title of Christ points out that the Quran
calls Jesus, "a word from God" (Kalimat-Minhu) and not the Word
of God. Those raising this objection, routinely cite S. 3:39 and 45 to confirm
their argument.
Yet, in S. 4:171 we are told:
"O People of the Book! Commit no excesses in your religion: nor say of
Allah aught but the truth. Christ Jesus the Son of Mary was a messenger of
Allah, and His Word (Kalimatuhu), which He bestowed on Mary, and
a spirit proceeding from Him (Ruhun-Minhu): so believe in Allah and His
messengers. Say not 'three': desist."
This verse, while stating that Jesus is but a messenger of God,
emphatically states that He is the Word of God since the phrase
Kalimatuhu refers to God's very own personal word. This passage also
affirms that Jesus is a Spirit from God, which we will expound upon later.
To further substantiate the fact of Jesus being
the word of God, we
quote from Muhammad Ayub's book, The Quran and Its Interpreters, vol.
II. The House of Imran:
Tabari, an Islamic scholar quotes on the authority of Al-Suddi a debate
between the Christians of Najran and Muhammad in which Muhammad was asked what
he thought of Jesus, to which he answered: "He is the servant of God, His
Spirit and Word." (p.184)
Another scholar, Sayyid Qutb, stated that "Messiah" is an alternative
expression for the "word, but in reality he (Jesus) is the word."
(Ibid., p.151)
Dr. Hasbullah Bakry in his book
Nabi Isa dalam Al-Quran ("Jesus the
Prophet in The Quran") p.109 declares: "The Prophet Jesus is called 'Kalimatu
Allah' (the word of God) because he is the incarnation of the word of
God which was signaled to Mary to bear the Prophet Jesus."
Both religious communities agree that the word of God is eternally
inseparable from Him, since God has always existed with the ability to express
His divine will through His Word. This would make Jesus eternally inseparable
from God, since the Quran, alongside the Bible, concurs that Christ is the
Word Incarnate:
"In the beginning was the Word and the Word was with God
and the Word
was God. He was in the beginning with God. All things were made through
Him, and without Him was not anything made that has been made...The Word
became flesh and dwelt among us, full of grace and truth..." John 1:1-3,
14a.
Hence, to illustrate that Christ is merely a creature indirectly assumes
that the Word of God is created. This is blasphemous, since both Muslims and
Christians affirm that God has eternally existed with all His qualities and
attributes. He has never been in need of acquiring anything since God is
immutable.
Yet, by acknowledging this fact Muslims are forced to conclude that Jesus
is the eternal Word of God. Being eternal would also imply that Jesus is both
distinct from God and also God by nature. However, a Muslim cannot adhere to
this fact since the Quran denies the deity of Christ. (S. 5:17, 72,75)
To avoid this obvious paradox, Muslims state that the meaning behind the
title "Word of God" simply implies that Jesus was created by God's command;
that he was a by-product of God's Word Kun Fayakun, "Be and it is."
They cite S. 3:59 to prove their case:
"The similitude of Jesus before Allah is as that of Adam; He created him
from dust, then said to him: 'Be': and he was."
Once again this argument is unfounded since if the title was given solely
to imply the creation of Jesus, then as the verse suggests, Adam should also
be called the Word of God. Yet nowhere in the Quran, or Hadiths for that
matter, is Adam ever referred to by such a title. This illustrates quite
conclusively that the title, when applied to Christ means much more
than what Muslims would have Christians believe.
We are then logically forced to arrive at the same conclusion that the
Apostle John comes to in the prologue of his Gospel; namely that Jesus, being
the Eternal Word of God, is the complete manifestation of the Godhead in human
form and the ultimate and final revelation of divinity. (John 1:1-3, 14,
18)
3. Sinless
It is not the principle of Christ's sinlessness that is at question here,
since both Christians and Muslims affirm his perfect life. The question
revolves around whether Jesus is the only prophet who is without
sin.
In Islamic understanding, all prophets are sinless as it would not be
befitting to the majesty of God to have messengers commit gross sins. After
all, the prophets are thought of as examples for all others to follow.
Although this sounds quite logical, for it to be true we must find
verification of it in the Quran and authentic Hadiths. The Quran surprisingly
however, rather than affirming the sinless nature of God's messengers,
actually emphasizes their need for forgiveness and cleansing from
impurities! A listing of the prophets and the Suras will be given below
to aid in illustrating this point beyond the shadow of a doubt:
Adam and Eve S. 2:36; 7:22-23
Noah S. 11:45-47
Abraham S.
26:82
Moses S. 28:15-16
David S. 38:24-25
Solomon S. 38:34
Jonah
S. 37:142; 21:8
Zechariah S. 3:40-41
(Note - Most Islamic commentators presume that Zechariah's request for a
sign as confirmation for the birth of John implies doubt on Zechariah's part,
and hence are at pains to explain it away. [2: p.112])
Muhammad S. 4:102-107; 9:43; 40:55; 48:1-2; 80:1-10
Two arguments are naturally brought out in order to refute the obvious
implications of the passages, namely that Jesus Christ is the greatest of all
prophets and men.
The first objection is in regards to Muhammad's need for forgiveness for
his sins. Muslims state that when the Quran mentions Muhammad as being a
sinner, it is in actuality making reference to the Muslim community through
Muhammad. This they claim, has nothing to do with the prophet of Islam.
However, a single verse from the Quran blows this theory away completely:
"Know that there is no deity but God. Implore Him to forgive your
(Muhammad) sins and to forgive the true believers, men and women." S.
47:19 (N. J. Dawood's Translation)
Both Muhammad and the Muslims are told to repent of their sins,
conclusively illustrating that Muhammad was in need of forgiveness
apart from the believers. The Hadith itself bears witness that Muhammad
was a sinner:
According to Anas, the Prophet said, "At the judgment Day the believers
will assemble and will say, 'Let us ask someone to intercede for us.' They
will go and find Adam, and say to him, "you are the Father of mankind; God has
created you with His hand, He has taught the angels to kneel before you, and
He has taught you the names of all things. Intercede to the Lord on our behalf
in order that He may deliver us from our predicament.' He will reply, 'I am
not the one you are needing. Go and find Noah; He is the first messenger whom
God sent to mankind.' They will find Noah, and he will say, 'I am not the one
you need.' He will remind them that he asked the Lord about things of which he
could have no knowledge, and he would be ashamed to intercede for them. 'Go,'
he will say to them, 'and find the Friend of the Merciful [Abraham].' They
will do as they are bid, and the latter will say, 'Go and ask Moses, this
worshipper to whom God has an addressed word and to whom He has given the
Torah.' They will go and find Moses, and he will say to them, 'I am not he
whom you need.' He will tell them that he killed a man who was not guilty, and
that he is ashamed before his Lord. The he arranges for them to approach
Jesus, the worshipper of God and His messenger, the Word of God and the
Spirit of God. But Jesus will say to them, 'I am not the one whom you
need; go and find Muhammad (God bless and preserve him!); he is the servant
for whom God has pardoned all sins, past and future. Then they will
come to me; I shall go to the Lord and ask Him if he will listen to me. He
will grant me my request, and when I see Him, I shall fall down to my knees
and remain there as long it pleases Him. Then He will say to me, 'Look up! Ask
and you shall receive; speak and you will be heard; intercede and your
intercession will be granted...'" (Bukhari, Mishkat al-Masabih, Book
23, chp.12)
Not only is Christ the only sinless person amongst all the prophets
mentioned in this tradition, but we have Muhammad once again confirming that
Jesus is THE Word and Spirit of God and not just a word or spirit from
him.
Accordingly, the story as
recorded in the Mishkat registers the
prophets' sins as the reason for their rejection as intercessors for the
people.
This complicates the matter further, as we see that Muhammad is also a
sinner in need of forgiveness for his own faults. This would nullify the idea
of Muhammad being an intercessor for his people. The Quran agrees:
"... Every soul gathers the result of its acts on none but itself.
No
bearer of burdens can bear the burden of another. You goal
in the end is towards God. He will tell you the truth of the things wherein
you disputed." S. 6:164 (see also 17:15; 35:18; 39:7; 53:38)
In other words, a person burdened with sin cannot bear another man's
transgressions. The Quran does acknowledge that God will permit the
intercession of him who is the witness to the truth:
"...And those (false gods) whom they invoke besides God have no power of
intercession. ONLY HE WHO BEARS WITNESS TO THE TRUTH and they know." S.
43:86
The only one who is not only a witness to the truth but is the very
Incarnation of Truth is Jesus Christ:
"Jesus said to him' "I am the way and the TRUTH and the life. No man
comes to the Father but by me." John 14:6
Due to the fact that Jesus is the Truth of God revealed to mankind and
because he, among all men, is without sin, his intercession is welcomed and
accepted. The short-comings of all the other prophets will prevent them from
fulfilling this role:
"For there is one God and
ONE mediator between God and men, the man
Christ Jesus." 1 Tim. 2:5 N.K.J.V.
"My little children, these things I write to you, that you may not sin. And
if anyone sins, we have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the
Righteous. And He Himself is the propitiation for our sins, and not for
ours only but also for the whole world." 1 John 2:1-3 N.K.J.V.
The second argument is made regarding many other prophets in the Quran who
are never told to repent of any sins. This, it is hoped, would imply that they
too are perfect like Christ. (i.e. John the Baptist. S. 19:13)
It is true that prophets like Elijah, Enoch and others are never mentioned
as being in need of forgiveness, but does this imply that they are without
sin? We must refer to Islamic traditions for the answer:
Tabari, citing Abu Hurayrah, states: "The messenger of God said, 'Every
newborn of the children of Adam must endure the stab of Satan's
[finger], which causes the child to cry out except Mary daughter of Imran
and her son.'" (2:94)
Qatadah, as reported by Tabari is said to have heard that, "Jesus and
his mother did not commit any of the sins which the rest of the
children of Adam commit." (2:94)
The children of Adam would include Elijah, Enoch and John the Baptist
showing that all have sinned, and have been touched by Satan with Jesus
and Mary being the sole exception to the norm. This would certainly include
Muhammad, since he too was a child of Adam.
In order to offset even these arguments, Muslim's counter by indicating
that although the Quranic testimony affirms Muhammad's sins, these were small
mistakes and not major crimes since the Arabic word used is thanb which
always refers to minor errors committed. It is then argued that Muhammad's
willingness to acknowledge his mistakes testifies to the authenticity of the
revelation since no one concocting scriptures would portray himself in such a
negative manner.
Our response to the first assumption is that the internal evidence within
the Quran tends to suggest that the word thanb does not refer to small
errors but to major sins committed as the following passages prove:
Aziz's wife is told in S. 12:29 to "ask forgiveness for thy sin
(thanb)," because of her adulterous desires for Joseph.
Allah will throw people in "the Blazing Fire" because of "their sins
(thanbahum)" which consisted of the rejection of "their Lord and
Cherisher." (S. 67:6,11)
The people of Thamud were destroyed due to their slaughtering God's
she-camel and rejection of the Prophet Salih, a serious "crime
(thanb)." (S. 91:11-14)
Finally, Qarun's
thanb led to his destruction, in the same way that
other generations before him were destroyed as a result of "their sins
(thanbahum)." (S. 28:78-81)
Furthermore, to say that because Muhammad was honest enough to acknowledge
his sins proves inspiration is erroneous, since this would make any and all
religious leaders equally inspired as many of them such as Buddha were also
honest enough to acknowledge their shortcomings. This would make the Muslim
assertion that the Holy Bible is corrupt fallacious since the Scriptures
portray the Jews, the Prophets and the Apostles as sinners, demonstrating
their honesty and care in preserving the text irrespective of how both the
Christians and the Jews were presented therein.
This line of reasoning also commits a logical fallacy by confusing a
question of fact with a question of relevance. It is irrelevant to the topic
at hand to speculate on Muhammad's motives in confessing his sins since the
issue which we are dealing with is Christ's uniqueness in relation to
the other Prophets. The fact that all of the Prophets and Muhammad were
sinners, clearly indicates to all open-minded individuals that Jesus is the
greatest man who ever lived since he alone is without sin.
One Muslim writer, who is honest enough to admit that Muhammad was a
sinner, is Muhammad Asad in his note on S. 48:2:
Lit., "so that God might forgive thee all that is past of thy sins and all
that is yet to come" thus indicating elliptically, that freedom from faults
is an exclusive prerogative of God, and that every human being, however
exalted, is bound to err on occasion. (The Message of the Quran,
p.785, n. 2 emphasis ours)
This would essentially be an indirect admission on the part of Asad to the
Deity of Christ, since only the Creator is above making mistakes and yet
Christ is faultless also.
In conclusion, we quote a final tradition which further illustrates the
glory and superiority of Jesus the Messiah over all men:
"When Jesus was born, the devils came to Iblis [their chief], informing him
that all the idols were found that morning lying face down. He said,
'something important must have happened; stay where you are!' He then flew out
and searched the entire earth; but he found nothing. He searched the seas, but
again to no avail. He flew out once more until he discovered Jesus born near a
donkey's manger, with angels standing all around him. Iblis returned to the
devils and said, 'A prophet was born last night. No female has conceived or
given birth but that I was present at her side, except this woman.
You must despair therefore of idols ever worshipped again after last
night. You must attack the children of Adam henceforth quickly and
stealthily.'" (2:94)
Faced with such solid evidence, should a person still refuse to acknowledge
Jesus' uniqueness and superiority over all things, then indeed no amount of
reasoning will convince him to the contrary.
To the Christian these stories are not required to confirm the preeminence
of Jesus, since he has sufficient confirmation of this in the Holy Bible:
Of humanity we are told that, "None are righteous, no, not one." Since
"all have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God." Romans 3:10,
23
But of Christ we read that, "He committed no sin, no guile was found on His
lips," and that He is "like that of a lamb without blemish or spot." 1 Peter
2:22, 1:19
Jesus Christ is "a high priest, holy, blameless, unstained, separated from
sinners, exalted above the heavens." Hebrews 7:26
He was "one who in every respect was tempted as we are, yet without sin"
and because of this God "made Him to be sin who knew no sin, so that in Him we
might become the righteousness of God." Hebrews 4:15; 2 Corinthians 5:21
So assured is the sinless life of Christ that He could ask His enemies,
"which of you can convict me of sin?" John 8:46
A question to which none could provide an answer. Inasmuch as Jesus lived
under the most intense scrutiny of the Jewish leaders, not one single charge
of misconduct could be levied against Him. This is food for thought
indeed.
-
Sign Unto Mankind
The universal ministry of Christ has been one of the most attacked aspects
of his mission. Most Muslims believe that Christ was not a universal prophet
like Muhammad, rather similar to prophets before him, he was limited to his
own people.
To prove their point Muslims extract certain passages from the Bible, which
on the surface would seem to confirm that Christ's mission was indeed limited
to Israel (Cf. Matthew 10:5-6).
This practice however, stands in neglect of scores of other verses that
show quite conclusively that the mission of Jesus was geared toward the whole
of mankind. (The reader may refer to John 4:40-42 as one example of this
fact.)
What the Muslims also seem to overlook is the point that the Quran itself
bears testimony to the universal mission of Christ:
He said: "so (it will be): thy Lord saith, 'That is easy for me: and (we
wish) to appoint him as a sign unto men and mercy from us.'" S.
19:21
And (remember) who guarded her chastity: "We breathed into her of our
Spirit and We made her and her son a sign for all peoples." S.
21:91
Yusuf Ali states in two separate footnotes that Jesus was meant to be a
sign for the world:
"Mary the mother of Jesus, chastity was her special virtue: with a son of
virgin birth, she and Jesus became a miracle to all nations. This was
the virtue with which they (both Mary and Jesus) resisted evil." (1:815, f.
2748)
"The mission of Jesus is announced in two ways (1)
he was to be a sign
to men: his wonderful birth and wonderful life were to turn an ungodly
world to Allah: and (2) his mission was to bring solace and salvation to
the repentant ..." (1:748, f. 2473)
Ar-Razi, commenting on the different types of elections, notes:
"As for the second type of election... it is that God granted her (Mary)
Jesus without a father. He moreover, made Jesus speak as soon as he was
separated from her, so that he testified to her innocence from all suspicion.
God also made her and her son a sign for humankind." (2:126)
Ibn Ishaq cites Muhammad as affirming Christ's universal mission.
Commenting on a letter that was written by Muhammad on the methods his
companions were to use in evangelizing the nations, Ishaq quotes from it and
says:
"God has sent me (Muhammad) to all men, so take a message from me, God have
mercy on you. Do not hang back from me as the disciples hung back from Jesus
son of Mary. They asked how they hung back and he said, 'He called them to a
task similar to that which I have called you. Those who had to go a short
journey were pleased and accepted. Those who had a long journey before them
were displeased and refused to go, and Jesus complained of them to God.
(Tabari. From that very night) every one of them was able to speak the
language of the people to whom he was sent.' (Tabari. Jesus said, 'This is a
thing that God has determined that you should do, so go.'
"Those whom Jesus son of Mary sent, both disciples and those who came after
them, in the land were: Peter the disciple and Paul with him, (Paul belonged
to the followers and was not a disciple) to Rome. Andrew and Matthew to the
land of the cannibals; Thomas to the land of Babel, which is in the land of
the east; Philip to Carthage and Africa; John to Ephesus the city of the young
men of the cave; James to Jerusalem which is Aelia the city of the sanctuary;
Bartholomew to Arabia which is the land of Hijaz; Simon to the land of
Berbers; Judah who was not one of the disciples was put in place of Judas"
(Sira Rasul Allah, p.653)
Not only does Muhammad testify to Jesus' universal ministry via his
disciples, but also indirectly acknowledges Luke's account of the Holy Spirit
coming upon the believers on the day of Pentecost, giving them the ability to
communicate in all the different languages of the people at that time. (Acts
2:1-13)
Ishaq also affirms that Paul was commissioned by God. This forces the
Muslims to not only accept the universal mission of Christ, but to also
acknowledge the Pauline Epistles and Luke's writings as authoritative and
inspired by God. Obviously, God would not inspire Paul or Luke in writing
letters that are brimming with errors. Accepting these writings would then
amount to an acknowledgment of the divinity of Jesus Christ the Lord.
To counter this charge, Muslims deny the inspiration of the Apostles, i.e.,
that the disciples of Christ were commissioned to write the inspired writings
such as those found in the New Testament.
Again, this charge finds no Quranic support, but to the contrary, the
Muslim Book testifies to both the authority and preservation of the Apostolic
testimony:
"Behold! God said: 'O Jesus! I will take thee and raise thee to myself and
clear thee (of falsehoods) of those who blaspheme; I will make those who
follow thee superior to those who reject faith to the Day of
Resurrection: Then shall ye all return unto me, and I will judge between
you of the matters wherein ye dispute.'" S. 3:55
M. Pickhtall's translation of this verse states that God would be "setting
those who follow thee above those who disbelieve until the Day of
Resurrection."
And when I (God) inspired the disciples, (saying): Believe in me and my
messenger (Jesus), they said: we believe. Bear witness that we have
surrendered (unto thee). S. 5:111 M. Pickhtall
O ye who believe! Be ye helpers of God: As said Jesus the son of Mary to
the Disciples, "who will be my helpers to (the work of) God?" Said the
Disciples, "we are God's helpers!" Then a portion of the children of Israel
believed, and a portion disbelieved: But we gave power to those who
believed, against their enemies, and they became the ones that
prevailed. S. 61:14
The Quran testifies that the Apostles were given the same inspiration
(wahi) that the earlier Prophets and Muhammad afterwards were given. It
also states that God would insure that the true disciples of Jesus Christ
would prevail and dominate till the Resurrection Day. Since the Day of
Resurrection has not arrived, this would mean that true Christianity still
exists. This would also compel us to accept the Bible as authoritative and
inspired since it is the only testimony given by the God-inspired Apostles to
their followers, a testimony that Allah himself said would remain and prevail
against the attacks of the unbelievers. For a Muslim to say that the Bible has
been corrupted would mean that God failed to keep his promise and that the
Quran is wrong.
Thus the Apostolic testimony recorded in the Holy Bible can be trusted, and
it is within these inspired pages that the universal mission of Christ is
confirmed:
"Again Jesus spoke to them saying, 'I am the light of the world; he
who follows me will not walk in darkness, but will have the light of life."
John 8:12
"As long as I am in the world,
I am the light of the world." John
9:5
"... and I, when I am lifted up from the Earth,
will draw all men to
myself." John 12:32
"For God so loved the world that He gave His only Son, that
whoever
believes in Him should not perish but have eternal life. For God sent the Son
into the world, not to condemn the world, but that the world might be saved
through Him." John 3:16-17
After examining the qualities just presented, one still has not fully
exhausted all the attributes and titles given to Christ in the Quran and
authentic Traditions. Rather than listing all these qualities we will enumerate
some of the most important ones and note the implications that they bear on the
overall question of who Christ really is.
Spirit Of God
As mentioned earlier, both the Quran and Traditions refer to Jesus as the
Spirit of God (Ruh-Ullah). While it is true that the title given to
Christ in S. 4:171, "a spirit from Him" (Ruhun-Minhu), implies that there
are others who could rightly be called spirits from God (i.e. Adam), two other
passages make it clear however that Christ is the Spirit of God
incarnate:
"And (remember) her who guarded her chastity;
We breathed into her of
our Spirit, and We made her and her son a Sign for all peoples." S.
21:91
"And Mary daughter of Imran, who guarded her chastity; and We breathed into
(her body) of our Spirit; and she testified to the truths of the words of her
Lord and of His revelations, and was one of the devout (servants)." S. 66:12
Al Qashani said, "Allah purposed to cleanse the body of Isa (Jesus) from
inherent impurities and he was an incarnate spirit in an ideal body, he (Allah)
cleansed his spirit and purified him from being influenced by natural instincts
and environmental characteristics, so that he could be supported by the Holy
Spirit on whose form he was." (3:12-13)
Ibn A'ta states, "The most excellent plants are those whose fruits are like
Isa, the Spirit of God." (3:13)
Ibn Arabi's statement is perhaps the closest acknowledgement any Muslim has
ever made in relation to Jesus' Deity: "Surely," he said, "He has no equal. He is the Spirit and the Son of the Spirit, and Mary is His mother."
(Quoted by Robert Payne in The History of Islam, p.83)
When we keep in mind that God is a Spirit (c.f. John 4:24) and Christ is the
Spirit and the Spirit's Son, this makes Christ God, the Son of God!
Ibn Abbas proclaims, "As it was the Spirit which was breathed into him and
the Holy One is Allah, so he is the Spirit of Allah." (3:13)
M. A. Qazi in his Concise Dictionary of Islamic Terms,
p. 57,
relates:
"Ruh-Ullah - Spirit of God, A special title given by Prophet Muhammad (S.
A.) to Jesus (A. A.)"
Nisaburi contrasts human beings with Jesus' unique relationship with God:
"The human spirit which is the viceregent of God in His earth is capable of
receiving all the kinds of divine attributes, by virtue of its viceregency, even
the power of creation, revivification, healing as well as all other miracles
which are the result of this power. But because of its attachment to the body,
which is made of the elements, and its being veiled by the darkness of the lusts
of the two parents, it is prevented from receiving the lights of [divine]
attributes until divine succor brings it out of darkness by means of right
guidance and its own physical and spiritual potencies. Then would the Prophet
manifest signs and miracles, and in the saint would appear the characteristics
of divine favors (karamat). Yet because the spirit and clay of Jesus,
which were brought forth from Adam's loins, were kept with God until He cast
them into Mary - without their being tainted by the darkness of the lusts of the
two parents, for which reason he was called the Spirit of God - he was capable
of receiving the lights of the attributes from the beginnings of his
being.
"Thus he spoke to the people in the cradle and was able to read and write the
Torah and the Gospel without instruction. He was also able to revive the dead
and heal the sick and perform many other miracles." (2:146)
There exists controversy however as to the Spirit's identity. Some Muslims
believe that the Spirit is the angel Gabriel. They base this belief on several
passages from the Quran:
When We change one verse for another (God knows best what He reveals), they
say: 'you are an imposter.' Indeed most of them have no knowledge. Say: 'The
Holy Spirit brought it down from your Lord in truth to reassure the Faithful,
and to give guidance and good news to those who surrender themselves.' S.
16:101-102 Dawood's Translation
Your Lord is the mighty One, the Merciful. This is surely revealed by the
Lord of the universe. The Faithful Spirit brought it down into your heart, that
you might warn the mankind in Arabic speech. S. 26:192-95 Dawood
Say: 'Whoever is an enemy of Gabriel (who has by God's grace revealed to you
the Koran as a guide and joyful tidings for the Faithful, confirming previous
scriptures) ...' S. 2:97 Dawood
Since the Quran states that the Spirit and the angel Gabriel brought down the
revelation, it would naturally be assumed that the Spirit and Gabriel are one
and the same.
Yet, when Muhammad was asked the identity of the Spirit, he replied that his
identity was known by God alone:
They ask thee concerning the Spirit (of inspiration). Say: "The Spirit
(cometh) by command of my Lord: of knowledge it is only a little that is
communicated to you, (O men)!" S. 17:85
At the same time however, there are verses that suggest that the Spirit is an
eternal and inseparable personality within the being of God:
"But He fashioned him (man) in due proportion, and breathed into him
something of His Spirit..." S. 32:9
"Behold! Thy Lord said to the angels: 'I am about to create man, from
sounding clay from mud molded into shape; 'When I have fashioned him (in due
proportion) and breathed into him of My Spirit fall ye down in
obeisance unto him.'" S. 15:28-29
The passages above indicate that God imparts life through the agency of his
Holy Spirit, making the Spirit the Agent of Life.
To say that the Spirit is of the created order would imply that God was
devoid of the ability to impart life to his creatures, since it is through the
agency of his Spirit that he gives life.
This suggestion is blasphemous since this implies a change in God's being.
God does not change, and therefore does not acquire anything. He has eternally
existed with all his qualities and attributes. In light of this fact, we are
forced to conclude that the Spirit of God eternal:
Al Sayyid Abdul Karim Al Djabal, states that the Holy Spirit is not created,
and what is not created is eternal and the eternal is God alone.
(4:27)
Al Shaikh Muhammad Al Harira Al Bayyumi is in agreement; "The Holy Spirit is
the Spirit of God and the Spirit of God is not created." (4:27)
Therefore, If the Spirit of God is eternal and Jesus Christ is the Spirit,
this makes Jesus eternal. Considering the weight of all the evidence, this
conclusion is in fact inevitable.
Yusef Ali noted that, "Whenever anyone offers his heart in faith and purity
to God, God accepts it, engraves that faith on the seeker's heart, and further
fortifies him with the Divine Spirit, which we can no more define
adequately than we can define in human language the nature of God." (1: f.
5365)
In other words the Spirit is mysterious, divine and uncreated, things true
only of God.
(Note - the Christians believe that based on the Bible, the Holy Spirit is
not Jesus Christ, but a distinct yet inseparable personality from Christ. God is
Father, Eternal Word and Holy Spirit.
The Father creates, bringing all things into existence through His Eternal
Word, by whom He also reveals Himself to man. The Father imparts life into man
and unites with him through the indwelling of His Holy Spirit. [Genesis 1:1-3;
2:7; John 1:1-3, 14,18; 1 Corinthians 6:19]
God as creator, the Father - Hebrews 3:4. God revealed, The Son - His Word -
Matthew 11:27; John 1:1; Revelation 19:13. God the giver of life, the Holy
Spirit - Romans 8:4b,11; 2 Corinthians 3:6b)
Christ The Author Of Life
The Quran portrays Jesus as the divine Creator and Author of life:
And Allah will teach him the Book and Wisdom, the Law and Gospel and (appoint
him) a messenger to the children of Israel (with this message): "I have come to
you, with a Sign from your Lord, in that I make for you out of clay, as it were,
the figure of a bird and breathe into it, and it becomes a bird by
Allah's permission. And I heal those born blind, and the lepers, and I
quicken the dead, by Allah's leave; and I declare to you what ye eat, and
what ye store." S. 3:48-49; 5:110
This is the closest the Quran comes to acknowledging the omnipotence of
Christ. Christ is given a prerogative that is God's alone, namely the ability to
infuse life into non-living matter by the breath of his lips. This power bears a
profound resemblance to the manner in which God fashioned the first man:
And when thy Lord said to the angels: I am going to create a mortal of
sounding clay, of black mud fashioned into shape. So when I have made him
complete and breathed into him of My Spirit, fall down making obeisance
to him. S. 15:28-29
From this we observe that Christ, similar to God, is a life-giving spirit.
This fact is echoed in the Holy Bible:
"...The first man Adam became a living being; the last Adam (Jesus) became
a life-giving Spirit." 1 Corinthians 15:45
The implications of this passage on the divinity of Christ are so enormous
that certain sects within Islam - such as Ahmadiyyah, have had to deny its
literal interpretation in order to avoid the obvious.
The late Maulana Muhammad Ali of the Ahmadiyyah sect writes,
"...The act of khalq (creating) in the sense of creation
cannot be
attributed to any being except Allah. The Quran has laid the greatest
stress upon this point. It again and again speaks of the Divine Being as the
creator of everything, so that there is nothing of which any one else may be
said to be a creator. And of those who are taken as gods by any people, it says
in particular that they do not create anything, while they are themselves
created (16:20; 25:3)." (Ali, Holy Quran, 1995 edition: f.
428)
What the Maulana is basically pointing to is that, attributing creative
actions to Christ is to make him God, since God alone has the supreme power over
all creation.
Muhammad Asad also agrees that to attribute creative powers to any human, is
to make him divine. In regards to Muhammad's inability to perform miracles, he
notes:
"...The repeated insistence in the Quran on the
humanness of the
Prophet is in tune with the doctrine that no created being has or could have
any share, however small, in any of the Creator's qualities or powers. In
logical continuation of this argument, the next passage (vv. 189-198), stresses
the uniqueness and exclusiveness of God's creative powers." (Asad, The
Message of the Quran, p.233, n. 154 on S. 7:188 emphasis ours)
Hence, if Asad's assessment is correct then Christ is more than human, since
he shares in God's exclusive powers of creation. This is the second time which
Asad indirectly affirms Christ's Divine nature.
To avoid this implication, Maulana Ali makes the verse read as an allegorical
statement:
"To understand the significance of this passage it is necessary to bear in
mind that the chief characteristic of Jesus' speeches is that he spoke in
parables and preferred to clothe his ideas in allegorical language... It is
perfectly intelligible if taken as a parable, but quite incomprehensible as a
statement of fact. If on the one hand a prophet's dignity is much above such
actions as the making of clay birds, on the other hand the act of creation is
not attributable to any but the Divine Being." (Ibid.)
For those Muslims who do believe in the literal interpretation of the
passage, the argument is avoided by the statement that Christ could only create,
heal and raise the dead by the permission of God.
Interestingly however, rather than this being a denial of Christ's deity, it
serves to confirm to Christians the unique relationship that Christ alone has
with God his Father.
Surely there are many prophets who have performed miracles. Moses and his
staff turning into a serpent stands as an example of this statement. However, no
prophet ever gave life to clay figures and no prophet ever contained life within
himself to impart to others if necessary. Jesus Christ alone is the possessor of
such a power.
It follows then to ask, why is Christ the only one who has been given the
supernatural prerogative to impart life! Furthermore, why is it that Christ is
the only prophet to have knowledge of the day of judgment as recorded in S.
43:59, 61?
The answer is recorded for us in the Bible:
"Jesus said to them, 'Truly, truly, I say to you, the Son can do nothing of
his own accord, but only what he sees the Father doing; For whatever He does,
that the Son does likewise. For the Father loves the Son, and shows him
all that he himself is doing; and greater works than these will he show him,
that you may marvel. For as the Father raises the dead and gives them life, so
also the Son gives life to whom he will. The Father judges no one, but has
given all judgment to the Son, that all may honor the Son, even as they
honor the Father. He who does not honor the Son does not honor the Father
who sent him. Truly, truly, I say to you, he who hears my word and believes him
who sent me, has eternal life; he does not come into judgment, but has passed
from death to life. Truly, truly I say to you, the hour is coming and now is,
when the dead will hear the voice of the Son of God, and those who hear will
live. For as the Father has life in himself, so he has granted the Son
to have life in himself and has given him authority to execute
judgment, because he is the Son of Man. Do not marvel at this; For the hour
is coming when all who are in the tombs will hear his voice and come forth,
those who have done good to the resurrection of life, and those who have done
evil, to the resurrection of judgment. I can do nothing on my own authority; as
I hear I judge; and my judgment is just, because I seek not my own will but the
will of him who sent me.'" John 5:19-30
We conclude that the reason behind Christ's authority to give life and to
judge is that he is the eternal love of God and all must worship him as the
Father's beloved Son. The following passages also confirm this fact:
"And when Jesus was baptized, he went up immediately from the water, and
behold, the heavens were opened and he saw the Spirit of God descending like a
dove, and alighting on him; and lo, a voice from heaven saying, 'This is my
beloved Son, with whom I am pleased.'" Matthew 3:16-17
"Father I desire that they (the disciples) also, whom thou hast given me, may
be with me where I am, to behold my glory which thou hast given me in thy
love for me before the foundation of the world." John 17:24
The Father and his Son have existed in perfect love from all eternity, making
them the object of each others love. From this unconditional love flows the
grace and mercy towards humanity, which has been revealed at the cross of
Calvary:
"He (Satan) has no power over me; but I do as the Father commanded me, so
that the world may know that I love the Father..." John 14:30b-31
"In this the love of God was made manifest among us, that God sent his Son
into the world, so that we might live through him. In this is love, not that we
loved God but that he loved us and sent his Son as an expiation for our sins." 1
John 4:9-10
The Quran only acknowledges what the Bible believing Christians have always
known, namely that Jesus is the resurrection and life:
"Jesus said to her, 'I am the resurrection and the life; He who believes in
me though he die yet shall he live, and whoever lives and believes in me shall
never die.'" John 11:25-26
Knowledge Of The Unseen
One attribute of God is the ability to know the unknowable (i.e.,
omniscience). No man or creature is capable of having the knowledge of the
things invisible and hidden. This the Quran bears witness to:
"Say: The unseen belongs
only to God." S. 10:20
Astonishingly, the Quran attributes to Christ a function that belongs to
Deity alone:
"...And I declare to you what ye eat, and what ye store in your houses.
Surely therein is a sign for you if ye did believe." S. 3:49
According to al-Tabari based on the authority of Ibn Ishaq, "When Jesus was
nine or ten years old, his mother sent him to a religious school. But whenever
the teacher tried to teach him anything, he found that Jesus already knew it.
The teacher exclaimed, 'Do you not marvel at the son of this widow? Every time I
teach him anything, I find that he knows it far better than I do.'" (2:142)
Again al-Tabari states, this time based on Said ibn Jubayr, "that Jesus would
say to one of his fellow playmates in the religious school, 'Your parents have
kept such and such food for you, would you give me some of it?'" (Ibid.)
Al-Suddi relates, "Jesus used to tell his fellow pupils what their parents
ate and what they kept for them. He used to say to a boy, 'Go home, for your
parents have kept for you such and such food and they are now eating such and
such food.' As the parents became annoyed by this, they forbade their children
to play with Jesus, saying, 'Do not play with that magician." (Ibid.:
142-143)
Christ Is Worshipped
The Quran announces the birth of John the Baptist as a messenger sent to
prepare the way for Jesus Christ:
"And the angels called to him (Zechariah) while he was he was standing at
prayer in the sanctuary, 'God gives you glad tidings of John, confirming a word
of God, a master, chaste man and a prophet, one of the righteous.'" S. 3:39
Mahmoud's Translation
That the word of God being spoken of here is Jesus, is almost unanimously
held by all Islamic scholars, making John a witness to Christ.
Mahmoud Ayoub, citing Tabarsi states:
"Tabarsi argues that John was obligated by God to be a witness to the fact
that Jesus was in truth the word of God and His Spirit." (2:109)
(Note - We once again find confirmation that Jesus is
THE Word of God,
not just a word.)
Zamakshari substantiates this by saying:
"It is related that John was the first to believe in Jesus. Jesus was
called Word... because he came to being only by God's word. It was His
saying, 'kunn' (be), and no other cause." (2:108)
What is more interesting though, is not the fact that John came as a
confirmation to Jesus, but what he actually did when he was in the presence of
Christ:
Qurtubi writes that when Mary conceived Jesus, her sister came to visit her
during the time of her conception of John:
"The sister visited Mary and said, 'O Mary, do you perceive that I am with
child?' Mary answered, 'Do you see that I am also with child?' Her sister went
on, 'I feel the child in my womb bowing down to the child in your
womb.'"
Qurtubi continues, "It is reported that she felt the fetus in her womb bow
down with its head turned toward Mary's womb." (2:108)
(Comment - It is interesting to note that this tradition states that Mary and
Elizabeth, the mother of John were sisters as opposed to being relatives as
recorded in Luke 1:36.)
Qatadah, reporting on the authority of Ibn Abbas, declares essentially the
same thing:
"John and Jesus were first maternal cousins. John's mother used to say to
Mary, 'I feel the child in my womb bowing down in reverence to the child in
your womb...'"
The bowing down to any one other than God in reverence is to commit shirk,
association of partners to Allah, which is unpardonable in Islam.
The only way John's bowing to Jesus (while still a fetus) can be accepted is
if Jesus was more than a messenger, being in actuality divinity clothed in
humanity. Otherwise, John would be accused of committing shirk.
(Note - The Quran in S. 15:28-29, records God's request that all angels
should bow in reverence to Adam, the first man, with Iblis refusing to do so.
Two serious problems arise from these passages. First, why would God command the
angels to do something which is unpardonable and unthinkable [namely, the bowing
down to anyone besides God] when it was God himself who requested that none
should do so?
Secondly, why was Iblis cast out for refusing to do something which was
forbidden for him to do in the first place? After all, he was only following the
command of La-illah Ill-allah - "there is none worthy to be worshiped but
God.")
The Bible also records the incident of John leaping in the womb:
"...And when Elizabeth heard the greeting of Mary, the babe leaped in her
womb; and Elizabeth was filled with the Holy Spirit and she exclaimed with a
loud cry, 'Blessed are you among women, and blessed is the fruit of your womb!
'And why is this granted me, that the mother of my Lord should come to
me? For behold, when the voice of your greeting came to my ears, the babe in my
womb leaped for joy.'" Luke 1:41-44
Elizabeth gives a reason for John's joy. Mary was to conceive Elizabeth's
Lord, and because Jesus is Lord of all, everyone must bow down in reverence to
the Messiah:
"When they (the magi) saw the star, they rejoiced exceedingly with great joy;
and going into the house they saw the child with Mary his mother, and they
fell down and worshiped him." Matthew 2:10,11a
"...And those in the boat
worshiped him saying, 'Truly you are the Son
of God.'" Matthew 14:33
"And behold, Jesus met them and said, 'Hail!', and they came up
and took
hold of his feet and worshiped him." Matthew 28:9
"And when they saw him
they worshiped him; but some doubted." Matthew
28:17
"Jesus heard that they had cast him (the blind man) out and having found him
said, 'Do you believe in the Son of Man?' He answered, 'And who is he, sir, that
I may believe in him?' Jesus said to him, 'You have seen him, and it is he who
speaks to you.' He said, 'Lord I believe'; and he worshiped him." John
9:35-37
"And again, when he brings his first-born into the world, he says, 'Let all
of God's angels worship him.'" Hebrews 1:6
Because, "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." Philippians 2:10-11
To avoid any notions of divinity being attached to the worship of Christ,
Muslims counter by saying that worship here signifies intense love and respect,
not the type of worship given to God which includes offering up prayers and
supplications to the Creator. This assumption is erroneous on the basis that not
only did believers pray to Christ but that Christ condoned and commanded them to
offer up their petitions to him as they would to God:
"Most assuredly, I say to you, he who believes in Me, the works that I do he
will do also; and greater works than these he will do, because I go to My
Father. And whatever you ask in My name, that I will do, that the Father
may be glorified in the Son. If you ask anything of Me in My name, I
will do it." John 14:12-14 N.K.J.V.
In Acts 7:59, Stephen the first Christian martyr, during the time he was
being stoned, cried out, "Lord Jesus, receive my spirit." God alone
receives the spirits of men, indicating the fact that the first Christian
community prayed to Jesus as one would pray to God.
This becomes more evident in the book of Revelation where John the Apostle
was caught in the spirit and witnessed the inhabitants of heaven worshiping both
God and Christ equally, implying the absolute Deity of both the Father and the
Son:
"Whenever the living creatures give glory and honor and thanks to Him who
sits on the throne, who lives forever and ever, the twenty-four elders fall
down before Him who sits on the throne and worship Him who lives forever
and ever, and cast their crowns before the throne, saying:
'You are
worthy, O Lord.
To receive glory and honor
And power; For you
created
All things, and by your will they exist and were
created.'"
Revelation 4:9-11 N.K.J.V.
Notice the similar fashion in which the inhabitants of heaven worship
Jesus:
"Now when He had taken the scroll,
the four living creatures and the
twenty-four elders fell down before the Lamb, each having a harp, and golden
bowls full of incense, which are the prayers of the saints. And they sang a new
song, saying:
'You are worthy to take the scroll,
And to open its
seals;
For you were slain,
And have redeemed us to God by Your
blood
Out of every tribe and tongue and people and nation,
And have made
us kings and priests to our God;
And we shall reign on the earth.'
"Then I
looked, and I heard the voice of many angels around the throne, the living
creatures, and the elders; and the number of them was ten thousand times ten
thousand, and thousands of thousands, saying with a loud voice:
'Worthy is
the Lamb who was slain
To receive power and riches and wisdom,
And
strength and honor and glory and blessing!'"
Revelation 5:8-12
Finally,
"And I heard every creature in heaven and on earth and under the earth and in
the sea, and all therein saying, 'To Him who sits upon the throne and to the
Lamb be blessing and honor and glory and might for ever and ever!' And the
four living creatures said, 'Amen!' and the elders fell down and
worshiped." Revelation 5:13-14
The evidence compels us to conclude that to worship Jesus is to worship
God.
Christ Above The Law
All creation is subject to the Laws of God. None can add or subtract from the
divine decrees but must faithfully follow the commands established by the
Creator. For a man to override God's command is blasphemy. Yet, we find Christ
doing precisely this in Matthew 5:21-44 when after quoting the Law, he redefines
it on his own authority by boldly stating, "But I tell you this..." This
places Christ's authority on an equal level with God's, indicating equality in
essence and nature.
The Quran itself bears witness to this Biblical fact:
"(I have come to you), to attest to the Law which was before me
and to
make lawful to you part of what was (before) forbidden to you..." S.
3:50
According to Wahb bin Munabbih, Jesus came to "relieve" the Jews "of some of
the hardships" which the Torah imposed on them. (2:149)
Qatadah states: "The [Law] with which Jesus came was much more lenient than
that which Moses brought. The Law of Moses made unlawful for them to eat the
flesh of camel, the fat covering the stomach of an animal, and some birds and
fish." (Ibid.)
These commands were made lawful by Jesus according to al-Qummi (Ibid:
150)
In the view of Ibn Kathir, the Quranic injunction indicates "that Jesus did
indeed abrogate some of the precepts of the Torah." (Ibid : 149)
Indeed, the more one analyzes the Quranic portrait of Christ the more amazing
it appears. In fact, if it were not for the Quran's denial of Jesus' divinity
and unique Sonship in such passages as S. 5:72 and 9:30, one would be
left with the impression that the Quran does in fact tend to suggest that Christ
is both divine and human, two natures united in one person. Even the titles used
of Christ in the Quran suggest this i.e., ibn Maryam (son of Mary) and
kalimatullah (Word of God).
The title "Son of Mary" is equivalent to the Biblical "Son of Man," an
epithet used by Christ in regards to his own person; whereas the title "Word of
God" being a synonym for "Son of God." (cf. Mark 14:61b-62; John 1:18, 3:16)
Thus, Jesus Christ the man was limited to the extent of which all humans are
limited. He hungered, thirsted, grew weary, slept and grew in wisdom and
knowledge similar to all humans. Yet, as God's own Word and unique Son he is the
Bread of life, the Living Water, the Sustainer of the universe, the Judge of
both the living and the dead, the King of kings and the Lord of Lords. (cf. John
6:35, 4:10; Hebrews 1:3; John 5:26-29; Revelation 17:14, 19:16)
A common fallacy which Muslims commit is to attempt to disprove the divinity
of Jesus by emphasizing the passages exposing Christ's human limitations. This
is a fallacy of false dilemma i.e., that Christ cannot be God because he was
also a man.
The Biblical teaching is that Christ is God who became man, uniting two
natures in one Person. These two natures did not fuse together but rather
remained distinct, yet inseparable, in the person of Christ. Hence, we see time
and again that Christ could not do in his humanity what he could do in his
divinity and vice versa, displaying a perfect manifestation of both natures in
one person.
To finish with this aspect of our study, we would like to state that once the
evidence has been objectively examined, one will surely arrive to the logical
conclusion that Jesus is the Son of the living God, the Savior of the world.
(Note - The Quran also deals with the crucifixion and yet due to diverse
opinions held by different Islamic sects, this subject will be addressed fully
in a separate section.)
It is time to compare Muhammad, the prophet of Islam with Jesus Christ the
living Savior. The Muslims believe that Muhammad is the last and the greatest of
all the prophets. This naturally opens the door for comparison between him and
Jesus whom most, if not all, agree is the standard of spiritual perfection.
We will quote the Quranic view and traditional Islamic statements on Muhammad
and his life, contrasting it with the Biblical view of Christ. We will employ
Dr. Muhammad Muhsin Khan's nine volume translation of Sahi Al-Bukhari,
which most Muslims agree is the most authentic of all traditions put
together.
Prophetic Calling
According to the Bible one is not to believe every spirit that claims to come
from heaven, but to "test the spirits to see whether they are from God." (1 John
4:1) The reason for this is that even "Satan himself masquerades as an angel of
light," to deceive people from the truth of the gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ.
(2 Corinthians 11:14)
That is why if even an angel from heaven should preach a totally different
Jesus Christ in contradiction to the Bible, the eternal condemnation of God will
be upon him. (cf. 2 Corinthians 11:4; Galatians 1:8-9)
We find Muhammad receiving a totally different message from a spirit named
Gabriel. This spirit denies the Lordship of Jesus Christ, his death on the cross
for humanity's sins and his bodily resurrection from the grave. (cf. S.
5:72; 9:30; 4:157-159)
The spirit first revealed himself to Muhammad when the latter, aged 40, was
meditating in a cave in the Hira mountains near Mecca. The spirit grasped him
suddenly, squeezing him half to death commanding him to "Read," to which
Muhammad replied that he could not. The spirit repeated this procedure two more
times when on the third try Muhammad, from fear of dying, exclaimed, "What shall
I read?" The spirit then replied:
"Read: In the name of thy Lord who createth. Createth man from a
clot.
Read: and thy Lord is the most bounteous, who teacheth by the pen, teacheth man
that which he knew not." S. 96:1-5 Pickhtall
After this event Muhammad, terrified, ran to his first wife Khadija, shouting
to her to cover him with a blanket for he was afraid that he was possessed by a
jinn (i.e. demon). This experience was so traumatic that it caused him to
contemplate suicide.
According to one source when some time had elapsed from this revelation, "he
was overwhelmed by grief. He sometimes climbed Thabir Mountain or Ghar Hira in order to throw himself from their summits." (7: p.15, citing
Al-Sira al-Halabiya and al-Quran al-Majid [emphasis ours]) Yet,
the spirit would prevent him from doing so.
According to another biography, Ibn Hisham, Khadija decided to test the
spirit:
"Would you please tell me when the spirit comes to you? When Muhammad told
her of the spirit's arrival Khadija said, 'Muhammad sit on my left thigh.'
Muhammad sat on her left thigh. 'Do you see the spirit?' she asked. 'yes.' 'Then
sit on my right thigh.' Muhammad sat on her right thigh. 'Do you see the
spirit?' 'yes,' he answered. 'Then sit on my lap.' Muhammad sat on her lap. 'Do
you see the spirit?' she asked. 'yes,' he answered. Khadija uncovered a
feminine part of her body while Muhammad was sitting on her lap. 'Do you see
the spirit?' 'no,' he answered. Then Khadija said, 'Muhammad, that spirit is an
angel, not a devil.'" (Hisham, Vol. 2, pp.74-75 emphasis ours)
Several questions need to be asked:
-
How could Khadija test the spirit when she herself was a pagan? Secondly,
does uncovering a female body part prove that a spirit is angelic or
demonic?
-
If this spirit was from God, why did he make a scientific error when he
proclaimed that man was created from a clot? Professor Hassanein Muhammad
Makhloof, on page 508 of his Dictionary of Meanings of the Words of the
Koran, notes that the Arabic word for "clot," alaq, really means
frozen blood. We note that this entire notion is an obvious scientific error,
as Dr. William Campbell, a medical doctor confirms:
As every reader who has studied human reproduction will realize,
there
is no state as a clot during the formation of a fetus, thus this is a
major scientific problem. (8: pp.16-17 emphasis ours)
The spirit also contradicted himself stating at one time that man was
created from a clot and at another time from clay. (cf. S. 96:1-5;
38:71-72)
-
The Biblical Gabriel never tortured people into receiving the revelation,
causing them to panic. He rather would always comfort and strengthen them:
"So he (Gabriel) came near where I stood: and when he came, I was afraid, and
fell upon my face... but he touched me, and set me upright..." Daniel
8:16-18 K.J.V.
"Do not be afraid Zacharias... I am Gabriel that stand in the presence
of God." Luke 1:13,19 K.J.V.
Gabriel also appeared to Mary who became greatly troubled. He went on to say
to her, "Do not be afraid Mary." Luke 1:30 K.J.V.
All these factors indicate that the spirit who came to Muhammad could not
have been sent from the only true and living Triune Godhead of Father, Son and
Holy Spirit. The fact that the spirit was not from God is solidified by Muslim
biography Muhammad Husayn Haykal in his book The Life of Muhammad, as he
speaks of the first encounter Muhammad had with the alleged angelic
messenger:
"Stricken with panic, Muhammad arose and asked himself, 'What did I see?
Did possession of the devil which I feared all along come to pass?'
Muhammad looked to his right and his left but saw nothing. For awhile he
stood there trembling with fear and stricken with awe. He feared the cave might
be haunted and that he might run away still unable to explain what he saw."
(Haykal, The Life of Muhammad [Indianapolis; North America Trust, 1976],
p. 74)
According to Haykal, this was not the first time Muhammad had felt that he
was possessed of the devil, only to be convinced otherwise by his wife Khadijah.
For, "as she did on earlier occasions when Muhammad feared
possession by the devil, so now stood firm by her husband and void of the
slightest doubt," convinced him that he was called to be God's prophet to the
Arabs. (Ibid., p. 75)
Hence, Muhammad himself originally believed that it was the devil who was
manifesting to him as an angel.
Before continuing one erroneous notion needs to be quickly addressed, that
being the idea that Muhammad never made sacrifices to idols, nor did he offer
any type of worship to them. Unfortunately for the Muslim, the internal evidence
within the Quran and Islamic sources refute such a notion:
"Did he not find thee an orphan and give thee a home? And found thee
erring (or straying) and guide thee..." S. 93:6,7 Rodwel)
This verse acknowledges that Muhammad was erring, i.e., lost in the paganism
of his ancestors before God guided him.
According to one Islamic Tradition, reported by Zaid ibn Haritha who was
present at the event,
The Prophet slaughtered a ewe for one of the idols (nusub min
al-ansab); then he roasted it and carried it with him, Then Zayd ibn Amr ibn
Nufayl met us in the upper part of the valley; it was one of the hot days of
Mecca. When we met we greeted each other with the greeting of the Age of
barbarism, in'am sabahan. The Prophet said: "Why do I see you, O son of
Amr, hated by your people?" He said, "This (happened) without my being the cause
of their hatred; but I found them associating divinities with God and I was
reluctant to do the same. I wanted (to worship God according to) the religion of
Abraham..." The Prophet said, "Would you like some food?" He said, "Yes." Then
the Prophet put before him the (meat of the ewe). He (that is, Zayd ibn Amr)
said: "What did you sacrifice to, O Muhammad?"
"He said, "To one of the idols." Zayd then said: "I am not the one to eat
anything slaughtered for a divinity other than God." (Al-Kharqushi, Sharaf
al-Mustafa, cited in F. E. Peters' Muhammad and the Religion of
Islam, pp. 126-127)
Ibn Kalbi also confirms the fact of Muhammad offering up a ewe to al-Uzza,
"in accordance with the religion of the people." (Ibid., p.127)
Adultery And Divorce
The Lord Jesus Christ taught, "You have heard that it was said, 'You shall
not commit adultery.' But I say to you that everyone who looks at a woman
lustfully has already committed adultery with her in his heart."
Matthew 5:27-28
And, "It was also said, 'Whoever divorces his wife, let him give her a
certificate of divorce.' But I say to you that everyone who divorces his wife,
except on the ground of unchastity , makes her an adulteress; and whoever
marries a divorced woman commits adultery." Matthew 5:31-32
Muhammad:
Behold! Thou didst say to one who had received the grace of Allah and thy
favor: "Retain thou (in wedlock) thy wife, and fear Allah." But thou didst
hide in thy heart that which Allah was about to make manifest, thou
didst fear the people but it is more fitting that thou shouldst fear Allah."
Then when Zayd had dissolved (his marriage) with her, with the necessary
(formality), We joined her in marriage to thee: in order that (in future)
there may be no difficulty to the believers in (the matter of) marriage with the
wives of their adopted sons, when the latter have dissolved with the necessary
(formality) (their marriage) with them. And Allah's command must be fulfilled.
S. 33:37
This verse was sent down to resolve t
