I know a Muslim
who had not studied the Quran to any great degree and was recently converted by
missionaries to Christianity.
I asked him why
he believed one book rather than another, the Bible rather than the Quran, and
why he converted seeing that Islam already contained all the teachings
contained in Christianity and much more besides. He said that he did not know
this and since no Muslim had told him so, he did not think this was correct.
So, I showed him from the Quran that this was indeed so. (This is shown in the
series of articles entitled "Views of Islam") He seemed surprised
also that Jesus was accepted in Islam and about what the Quran said about him.
After a little
thought he said in triumph:- "The difference is this:- If one accepts
Christ as the son of God and as one's saviour then one's sins are forgiven.
This is the only way one can enter heaven. God so loved mankind that He sent
his Son to die for us. There is nothing like this in Islam."
This seemed like
accepting something as true because it was convenient - salvation without
effort. The belief would make something true rather than the truth or
understanding of it, causing the belief. I asked him whether he believed the
Quran when it said that God was compassionate, merciful and forgiving? He did.
Did God send His Prophets and scriptures to guide man? Does this show His love?
The answer was yes. Did he know that the Spirit of God was in all men? No. He
did not. The Quran says so in 15:29 and 32:9. Would that make us into gods? No,
he did not think so because we were made of flesh from the earth and had to eat
food to live. Does the New Testament say that Jesus (saw) was the Word of God?
Yes. Does this refer to his body or to what it carries? No, not his body. Do other
genuine Prophets carry the Word of God? Yes. Would God be Just to all mankind
if He guided only the Jews for whom Jesus came and ignored all others? What
about all the peoples of the Past and elsewhere in the world? Do not all
Prophets represent God by conveying His Word? Is not the same thing said about
Muhammad (saw)?
And I showed him
passages from the Quran whose existence and significance came to surprise to
him.
"Say (O Muhammad to mankind): If ye love
Allah, follow me: Allah will love you and forgive you your sins. Allah is
Forgiving, Merciful." 3:31
"And obey Allah and the Messenger that you
may find mercy." 3:132
"We sent thee not save as a mercy for the
peoples." 21:107
The difference
between Christianity and Islam is only this that Christianity puts its
attention on Jesus alone, while Islam is Universal and recognizes all Prophets,
and whereas Christianity places emphasis on the messenger, Islam places it on
the message of God which is of course why the messenger was sent. Whereas Islam
builds a faith which does not flout reason, it becomes necessary, in order to
convert Muslims, to destroy their faith. But this also destroys rationality.
"When Abraham said: My Lord! Show me how
Thou givest life to the dead, He said: Do you not believe? Abraham said: Yes,
but I ask in order that my heart may understand. His Lord said: Take four of
the birds and cause them to incline unto (or love) thee, then place each of
them on a hill, then call them. They will come to thee in haste. And know that
Allah is Mighty, Wise. The like of those who spend their substance in Allah's
way is as the likeness of a grain which grows seven ears, in every ear a
hundred grains. Allah gives increase manifold to whom He will. Allah is
All-embracing, All-knowing." 2:260-261
It seems,
therefore, that resurrection refers to the return to God of those in whose
heart there is love of God, a love induced by God himself. It is love that
causes people to obey him and God bestows His bounties on those He loves.
Christianity
tries to induce this love by the doctrine (not taught by Jesus) that God
sacrificed His own son, Jesus, also a god, and that Jesus was willing to
sacrifice his life for the love of man. This also induces a guilt feeling in
that the death of Jesus was the result of the sins, which are to be found in
all men. These two impulses are then expected to transform the life of the
individual. This sometimes works.
The problem is
that this doctrine distorts the concept of God, and also damages the rational
faculty. To make the sacrifice effective, Jesus, the messenger, has to be
deified and then, in order to retain monotheism, a Trinitarian doctrine had to
be invented. (Jesus having died and returned to Heaven, the Holy Ghost has to
be a third partner). Since Jesus was human, then God is also human. But the
doctrine also requires the resurrection of Jesus, which nullifies the
sacrifice. Nor does it seem reasonable to say that God is unable to forgive
without the sacrifice, which He has Himself instituted as a means to forgiveness.
Perhaps this kind of dramatization was necessary at one time or for certain
people in order to accentuate the message. In the past people required visible
and human deities and took their Kings, Pharaohs, Caesars for gods.
But clearly in a
more rational age this method had to be superseded. Love of God can be induced
much more directly by the knowledge that we obtain all things from God and that
He in His love sent messengers to guide us, and these were willing to devote
their lives to their missions and undergo the hardships which this entailed.
(Sacrifice does not necessarily mean death. Note that the sacrifice Abraham
made did not entail the death of his son, but a goat was substituted.) It
remains true that one obtains forgiveness by accepting the messenger (not only
Jesus) as a representative of God and obeying the message he brings. To deny
the message is to deny the Messenger.
The Quran does
not deny that Jesus was a word and spirit from God and that he was the Messiah.
But it denies that he was God or the Son of God or that he was equal to God and
that God is a Trinity of three persons, or that he was crucified as a sacrifice
to redeem humanity. It denies that anyone can pay for the sins of others. But
the idea that Jesus was a representative or manifestation of God on earth and
that he sacrificed his life in order to bring people to religion and bring
about their spiritual regeneration or resurrection is perfectly acceptable.
Indeed, it is a demonstration of the love of God for mankind that he sends the
Messengers, and the love of the Messengers that they devoted themselves to God
and to mankind (3:164, 21:107). The Quran tells us that we ought not to make
differences between Allah and the Prophets or between Prophets. (4:80,150-151).
This does not mean that the Prophet is literally God. It also tells us that we
must obey the Messenger because they bring the message which gives us life
(8:24).
"Allah hath set a seal upon them for their
disbelief, so that they believe not save a few...and because of their saying:
We slew the Messiah, Jesus, son of Mary, Allah's messenger - They slew him not
nor crucified, but it was obscured unto them; and lo! Those who disagree
concerning it are in doubt thereof; they have no knowledge thereof save pursuit
of a conjecture; they slew him not for certain. But Allah took him up to
Himself. Allah is ever Mighty, Wise." 4:155,157-158
Thus the Quran
tells us that the claim of the Jews that they had killed Jesus was false. It
was God who took him up. A study of the New Testament shows that the disciples
did think that Jesus had been killed. But when he appeared before them, they
thought he was a spirit. Jesus, however, asked Thomas to touch him to verify
that he was in the flesh. Obviously he had not been killed though it appeared
so to them. He might have fainted, and there are many cases of people who have
apparently revived after death these days. It is not unusual. He was later
taken up to heaven (Luke 24:39,51).
The reason why
the Quran insists that Jesus did not die on the Cross seems to be that if he
was a Word and Spirit from God then he could not be killed. Another is this
that the physical death and resurrection is irrelevant. It cannot be proof of
our resurrection because it is no more difficult to believe in our own resurrection
after death than believing that Jesus was resurrected. What Jesus was teaching
was spiritual resurrection because humanity was spiritually dead after the
Fall. This can be seen from John 1:12 and John 3:5-7 where physical birth is
clearly distinguished from spiritual rebirth. If we look at the world around
us, then the idea that the sacrifice of Jesus itself removes sin is clearly
absurd. Certainly faith is needed but if it does not manifest in action, it is
not faith.
The following
quotations from the New Testament show that Jesus himself contradicts these
latter Christian doctrines: -
"Not every one that saith 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
"And this is Eternal Life that they might
know THEE THE ONLY TRUE GOD and Jesus Christ whom Thou has sent...while I was
with them in the world I kept them in THY NAME..." John 17:6,12
"Why callest thou me good. There is NONE
GOOD SAVE ONE, THAT IS GOD." Luke 18:19
"There is but one God, the Father." 1
Corinthians. 8:6
"We have one Father, even God." John
14:28
"I ascend unto my Father and your Father,
and unto my God and your God." John 20:17
Even Paul knew
this:-
"For there is one God and one mediator
between God and man, THE MAN CHRIST JESUS." 1Tim 2:5
"God is not a man, that he should lie;
neither the son of man, that he should repent: hath he said, and shall he not
do it? or hath he spoken, and shall he not make it good?" Numbers 23:19
"Be not deceived; God is not mocked; for
whatsoever a man sows that shall he reap." Galatians 6:7
"I marvel that ye are so soon removed from
him that called you into the grace of Christ unto another gospel."
Galatians 1:6 Christians had already departed from the teachings of Jesus.
"Professing themselves wise they became
fools and changed the glory of the incorruptible God into an image made like to
corruptible man." Romans 1:23
Note that: "No
man has seen God at any time but the only begotten which is in the bosom of the
Father he has declared him." John 1:18. The term "only begotten"
refers to the Spirit or the Word of God not Jesus. It follows that Jesus whom
people saw and who was on earth was not God.
The phrase
"The Word was made flesh" John 1:14 is a metaphor. It is like
saying:- "This policeman is the embodiment of the Law."
We know that
Jesus spoke on behalf of God as His representative on earth. He said so himself
:-
"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 hath sent me." John 5:30 See also John 7:16
and John 8:28
This does not
accord with the concept of God. The doctrine of the divinity of Jesus would
contradict his own words. Was Jesus ignorant or was he lying? Do the supporters
of the doctrine know better? The answer is No. The term “god” is used in the
Bible loosely to refer to the Israelites (Psalm 82:6) and even to things pagans
worshipped. The Pharaohs and Caesars were also called gods in ancient days. Perhaps
it has not been understood that in Islam this term is reserved only for the
Creator and Lord of the Universe who is Omnipotent and Omnipresent. He does not
need to be incarnated. Thus Jesus may be regarded, as any other Prophet, the
manifestation or representative of God on earth. Prophethood is a sign of God.
The phrase
"son of God" is also a metaphor. It refers to those who are led by
the Spirit (Romans 8:14 and John 1:12-13), just as the Prophets are. It is also
used for Adam (Luke 3:38) and the children of Israel (Psalms 82:6). It is through
Prophets including Jesus that people are given the power to become the sons of
God who "are born NOT OF THE FLESH, but of the Spirit." It is
Spiritual regeneration, which is being spoken about.
As for the
Quran, it does not condemn the metaphorical idea but the literal idea. This
does not mean that the Quran mistakes Christian beliefs. Most Christians do
take the phrase "Son of God" literally and it is these that the Quran
condemns. As for those Christians who take these things metaphorically, there
is no quarrel between them and Muslims, except in so far as they do not accept
Muhammad (saw) as a Prophet and cannot, therefore, understand that the Quran
has removed the misconceptions which arise when metaphors are taken literally.
Indeed, these more enlightened Christians also understand perfectly well what
the Quran is getting at.
A reading of the
New Testament shows that there is in it very little description of God, whom
Jesus calls Father. This probably led early Christian Theologians to speculate
about Him. It is these unjustified speculations which the Quran corrects.
Indeed, Christian Theology is derived from that of Arab Muslim, manipulated to
fit in with the doctrines of the powers within the Church and State. The
Christian teaching is that the god-head consists of three persons, Father, Son
and Holy Spirit, the Spirit being derived from the other two. It is likely that
this idea is a misinterpretation of "The Spirit is by the Command of my
Lord." (Quran 17:85), where the Command stands for the Word. The Quranic
verse does not make the distinction between three persons and indicates that
the Spirit is not of the Essence of Allah, but of the Command. Nevertheless, it
is true that religion, not God, is presented to us by three that are ultimately
one in purpose, namely God, the Messengers and the Spirit. The last informs
both the Prophet and his followers. Each is essential to religion and confirms
the other. With this idea of the Trinity Islam cannot have a quarrel.
However, it is
necessary to point out that both Hebrewism and Islam require that no images be
made of God. If then someone worships Jesus or the saints as an Idol, even
though he does not think that it is God, then the following verse applies:-
"Surely pure religion is for Allah only.
Those who chose protecting friends besides Him say : We worship them only that
they might bring us near Allah. Lo! Allah will judge between them concerning
that wherein they differ. Allah guides not him who is a liar, an ingrate."
39:3
I left him
to ponder by himself.