Re: Love
Christian:-
Islam does not appear to have any concept of love.
Comment:-
"But those who have faith are overflowing with love for Allah. " 2:165
"And He is the Forgiving, the Loving." 85:14
"There has come to you a Messenger from amongst yourselves; hard for him to bear is it that ye should perish (from iniquity); full of concern for you, for believers full of compassion, merciful." 9:128
"Say: If ye love Allah then follow me, and Allah will love you and forgive you your sins, for Allah is Forgiving and Merciful." 3:31
Christian:-
This love is conditional and is not love at all.
Comment:-
The unconditional love of Allah is contained in the words Rahman. He is Beneficent. The fact that the Universe exists and all things are sustained is an indication of this. So is the fact that He sends Messengers to guide man.
But conditional love is also taught by Jesus:-
"Not every one that says unto me Lord, Lord shall enter into the kingdom of heaven, but He THAT DOETH THE WILL OF MY FATHER WHICH IS IN HEAVEN. Many will say to me in that Day: Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in thy name? and in thy name have cast out devils? And in thy name done many wonderful works? And then will I profess unto them, I NEVER KNEW YOU: DEPART FROM ME, YE THAT WORK INIQUITY." Matthew 7:21-23
"Now we know that God hears not sinners; but if any man be a worshipper of God and does His will, him He hears." John 9:31
You appear to have some non-scriptural idea of love.
Christian:-
There is no evidence in the Quran that your God is loving.
Comment:-
In the name of Allah, the Most Beneficent (or Compassionate) the Most Merciful.
This is repeated many times throughout the Quran.
But you seem to have some kind of fixation on the word "love" and do not want to accept that Beneficience, Compassion and Mercy are forms of love.
Christian:-
These may be results of love, but the Quran provides no credible evidence that Allah has these qualities. You are merely quoting slogans, empty claims.
Comment:-
I am quoting from what we regard as the Word of Allah just as you get your ideas from what you believe to be the Word of God, though these are third party reports.
But I see what you are getting at:-
According to what you have been taught:- God demonstrates His love by having a Son and sacrificing him. Is that what you mean? But you get this from Paul's writings.
From the Islamic point of view Allah demonstrates His love by sending Messengers to mankind in order to guide them, by forgiving their sins, and by directly guiding worthy human beings. These messengers sacrifice themselves to serve God and mankind.
"O ye who believe! Respond unto Allah and His Messenger when He calls you to that which quickens you; and know that Allah comes in between a man and his own heart; and that He it is unto Whom ye shall be gathered." Quran 8:24
We do not believe that Jesus was the son of God, (this is only a symbol for those who are led by God - John 1:12-13, John 10:35, Romans 8:14. - It is another way of saying they are Muslim (i.e. have surrendered to Allah).
Nor do we believe that he was sacrificed in the way you believe - i.e. by crucifixion and death. This does not make sense. If he died and was resurrected, where is the sacrifice? Apart from this, God is perfectly able to forgive directly without such devious methods seeing that it is He who does the forgiving in the end anyway. No, the sacrifice of the Messengers lies in the fact that they devoted their lives to the service of God and were willing to bear all the hardships this entailed without any worldly reward.
It is, of course, also true that salvation requires that people should accept the Message, and therefore, the Messenger who brings it and expounds it. It is not accepting the sacrifice of the Messenger which saves, but the Word of God which he brings. This was made clear by Jesus also:-
"Now we know that God hears not sinners; but if any man be a worshipper of God and does His will, him He hears." John 9:31 Also Matthew 7:21-23
"I can of mine own self do nothing: As I hear, I judge; and my judgment is just because I SEEK NOT MINE OWN WILL, but the WILL OF THE FATHER which has sent me." John 6:30
"..I do nothing of myself; but as the Father has taught me, I speak these things." John 8:28
"If I do not the works of my Father, believe me not. But if I do, though ye believe not me, believe the works: that ye may know, and believe, that the Father is in me, and I in him." John 10:37-38
What does the following mean:-
"Whosoever shall speak a word against the Son of Man (Jesus) it shall be forgiven him; but unto him that blasphemes against the Holy Ghost it shall not be forgiven." Luke 12:10
However, I do not suppose you will be satisfied. You appear to think that things must always be formulated in exactly the same way. There seems to be a fixation on words and forms of expression. This, of course, prevents the recognition of other forms of expression.
Islam differs from Christianity in being more Universal, though there are Muslims who also have fixation on forms of expression.
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