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According to Islam, Jesus Christ PBH was not crucified. In the Bible it was mentioned that he was. So, who was crucified, Jesus the man?, Jesus the God ? or Jesus the man and God in the same time?
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On any law in the world, who is claiming is who has to prove, as the Islam came after Christianity by 600 years and totally denied the incident without proof, so it's funny now asking Christians that had eye witness beside Jewish also , who had seen on the cross Jesus himself. and the comedian issue that Islam came and said he wasn't Jesus, just simply without any explanation or mention who was the other person, and Muslim now need from all the world and the History concerns to change their minds and believe this claim based on simple sentence in Quran that non muslim don't consider it God's word for the mistakes and Contradiction inside,so your question should be asked to your brothers in Islam,how to prove that Jesus didn't die on the cross ,by logic and an Explanation respect the mind in 2006.
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Why muslims think that Quran is so trustworthy? I don't understand that.Because Quran says that Islam came to arabic speaking country because their language is hard and "if you change one word you will change all Quran" And God is/will protecting Quran.It is only what Quran(some book) says.I don't see any reason to believe this.I think that MANY things arab people changed,because in so many times woman is just piece of sh*t and this is not what God said about them,right?I think that arabs changed it for themselves to make themselves better and superior to a women.
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There is another book now challenging the Quran call the TRUE FURQAN on www.islam-exposed.org if we said that this the holy book of God not Quran then muslims have to prove that the Quran is the God's words this same as their claim above.
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quote:Originally posted by Aki: and the comedian issue that Islam came and said he wasn't Jesus, .
Islam did not say that, Islam said that Jesus Christ PBH was not killed or crucified, but God the almighty raised him up...... Now you did not answer, according to the Bible, who was crucified Jesus the god or the man???
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Jesus had two natures human that was fully human and divine that was fully divine. These two natures were united, and combined but not blended in Jesus, but inseparably one. I understand united, combined, but not blended to mean that the natures were distinct, separate and complete in Jesus. This can be illustrated by two sides of a piece of paper, as inseparable, yet distinct, combined and united, but not blended, without blurring of both sides. What this means is that we too may have two natures, distinct, and united but not blended together as one nature. We too can have both a human and a divine nature through our adoption by God mediated by the indwelling Holy Spirit. Jesus laid aside His own divine power and used and relied on His Fathers divine power. Jesus had our human nature but not our "taint of sin": "He had not taken on Him even the nature of the angels, but humanity, perfectly identical with our own nature, except without the taint of sin." Jesus came to earth "taking the nature but not the sinfulness of man". "Christ did not possess the same sinful, corrupt, fallen disloyalty we possess, for then He could not be a perfect offering." "taint of sin", "corrupt, fallen disloyalty" and "sinfulness of man" means the experience of sin that Jesus did not have. Apart from not experiencing sin, the human nature of Jesus was "identical" with our own at this end time of the earths history.
God showed his love for us by adopting our nature, in the person of his Son. God himself inhabited humanity, making us partakers of the divine nature, that by the incarnation and death of his only begotten Son, our adoption as heirs of God and joint heirs with Christ might be fully accomplished. The origin of this wonderful achievement was his own spontaneous love.
As children of the first Adam, we partake of the dying nature of Adam. But through the imparted life of Christ, man has been given opportunity to win back again the lost gift of life, and to stand in his original position before God, a partaker of the divine nature.
"As in Adam all die, even so in Christ shall all be made alive." And the life which Christ offers us is more perfect, more full, and more complete than was the life which Adam forfeited by transgression.
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I will answer you from Quran it's self that confirmed Jesus death and Resurrected again
إِذْ قَالَ اللّهُ يَا عِيسَى إِنِّي مُتَوَفِّيكَ وَرَافِعُكَ إِلَيَّ وَمُطَهِّرُكَ مِنَ الَّذِينَ كَفَرُواْ وَجَاعِلُ الَّذِينَ اتَّبَعُوكَ فَوْقَ الَّذِينَ كَفَرُواْ إِلَى يَوْمِ الْقِيَامَةِ ثُمَّ إِلَيَّ مَرْجِعُكُمْ فَأَحْكُمُ بَيْنَكُمْ فِيمَا كُنتُمْ فِيهِ تَخْتَلِفُونَ 3-55 Behold! Allah said: "O 'Isa! I will dead thee and raise thee to myself and clear thee (of the falsehood) of those who blaspheme; I will make those who follow you above 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.
وَالسَّلَامُ عَلَيَّ يَوْمَ وُلِدتُّ وَيَوْمَ أَمُوتُ وَيَوْمَ أُبْعَثُ حَيًّا ذَلِكَ عِيسَى ابْنُ مَرْيَمَ قَوْلَ الْحَقِّ الَّذِي فِيهِ يَمْتَرُونَ 19-34 "So Peace is on me the day I was born, the day that I die, and the day that I shall be raised up to life (again)!" Such (was) 'Isa the son of Maryam: (it is) a statement of truth, about which they (vainly) dispute.
The Quran confirmed that God will make him die and raise again, he will make who following jesus above the non followers till judgement day,also Jesus himself said when he was kid that he will die and raise again, Is it clear now.
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quote:Originally posted by Aki: On any law in the world, who is claiming is who has to prove, as the Islam came after Christianity by 600 years and totally denied the incident without proof, so it's funny now asking Christians that had eye witness beside Jewish also , who had seen on the cross Jesus himself. and the comedian issue that Islam came and said he wasn't Jesus, just simply without any explanation or mention who was the other person, and Muslim now need from all the world and the History concerns to change their minds and believe this claim based on simple sentence in Quran that non muslim don't consider it God's word for the mistakes and Contradiction inside,so your question should be asked to your brothers in Islam,how to prove that Jesus didn't die on the cross ,by logic and an Explanation respect the mind in 2006.
ok aki/ also jewish didn`t sure that jesus was killed on the cross you can see that in bible matta26:65,66 ,they asked the man who they caught him if he is jesus or not!!!! 62فَقَامَ رَئِيسُ \لْكَهَنَةِ وَقَالَ لَهُ: «أَمَا تُجِيبُ بِشَيْءٍ؟ مَاذَا يَشْهَدُ بِهِ هَذَانِ عَلَيْكَ؟» 63وَأَمَّا يَسُوعُ فَكَانَ سَاكِتاً. فَسَأَلَهُ رَئِيسُ \لْكَهَنَةِ: «أَسْتَحْلِفُكَ بِاللَّهِ \لْحَيِّ أَنْ تَقُولَ لَنَا: هَلْ أَنْتَ \لْمَسِيحُ \بْنُ \للَّهِ؟» 64قَالَ لَهُ يَسُوعُ: «أَنْتَ قُلْتَ! وَأَيْضاً أَقُولُ لَكُمْ: مِنَ \لآنَ تُبْصِرُونَ \بْنَ \لإِنْسَانِ جَالِساً عَنْ يَمِينِ \لْقُوَّةِ وَآتِياً عَلَى سَحَابِ \لسَّمَاءِ
Posts: 92 | From: egypt | Registered: Jun 2006
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quote:Originally posted by Marcella: Yes and he said it was him.
no , he said"you said!!!" that mean i didn`t say that,because he said also "if i will say ,you will not believe me"!!!!!
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إِنَّمَا الْمَسِيحُ عِيسَى ابْنُ مَرْيَمَ رَسُولُ اللّهِ وَكَلِمَتُهُ أَلْقَاهَا إِلَى مَرْيَمَ وَرُوحٌ مِّنْهُ 4-171 'Isa the son of Maryam was A Messenger of Allah, and His Word, which He throwed on Maryam, and a Spirit from Him.
If Jesus is the word and the spirit of God him self the question here, was God created his word and his spirit? If yes it means God has no word and not able to talk and has no spirit which mean he is not alive and dead ,all these can't be correct of course,
If No it God didn't create his word and his spirit and this logically matching the mind we know of course that nothing non created except God himself, do you understand now why Christian call Jesus God coz beside his human nature which eat,drink,,,,,etc he also has divine nature create,rise dead,heal,,,,,,etc ,so they also called him son of God as his nature belonging directly to God and doing what God doing and still alive.
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that iam not jesus , it`s so logical matter. and he always said "iam a son of man , not a son of God" thats means he is a prophet not God or son of God.as you say.
-------------------- abu maryam Posts: 92 | From: egypt | Registered: Jun 2006
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ِ مِنَ \لآنَ تُبْصِرُونَ \بْنَ \لإِنْسَانِ جَالِساً عَنْ يَمِينِ \لْقُوَّةِ وَآتِياً عَلَى سَحَابِ \لسَّمَاءِ it is funny that you think you will bring something from Gospels deny the crucifixion of Jesus :)so who said the sentence above, it is nice that you are reading the Gospels keep on.
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He couldn't say that he was a son of the man because he was only son of one human being.
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Jesus was leaving the people to watching and answer them self as this the only way to be strong believer otherwise he could revealed his nature from the begining without tired ,this the perfect way of the teachers who leaving the students observe and getting the Conclusion by them self so they will not forget the Experiment for ever .
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quote:Originally posted by Aki: إِنَّمَا الْمَسِيحُ عِيسَى ابْنُ مَرْيَمَ رَسُولُ اللّهِ وَكَلِمَتُهُ أَلْقَاهَا إِلَى مَرْيَمَ وَرُوحٌ مِّنْهُ 4-171 'Isa the son of Maryam was A Messenger of Allah, and His Word, which He throwed on Maryam, and a Spirit from Him.
If Jesus is the word and the spirit of God him self the question here, was God created his word and his spirit? If yes it means God has no word and not able to talk and has no spirit which mean he is not alive and dead ,all these can't be correct of course,
If No it God didn't create his word and his spirit and this logically matching the mind we know of course that nothing non created except God himself, do you understand now why Christian call Jesus God coz beside his human nature which eat,drink,,,,,etc he also has divine nature create,rise dead,heal,,,,,,etc ,so they also called him son of God as his nature belonging directly to God and doing what God doing and still alive.
first,who was said or determined the nature of God? the answer is paul the cleric, not the God or the bible. second,jesus rised dead, heal....etc, that`s right ,muslims believe in that too, but as a prophet not as a God, as you say.it`s only miracles of our prophet jesus, like any prophet that the God were send them to salvated us.it`s so logical matter which our mind accept it easily.
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To Abu Mariam ,I really respect your opinion,but try to read the post from the begining again may be you can extract any thing difference than your idea,and also keep reading the Gospels,be sure that God will guide you to the tuth.
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quote:Originally posted by Marcella: Who are u talking about?
the conversation between the man who the jewish caught him and the big boss of clerics.in matta26
Posts: 92 | From: egypt | Registered: Jun 2006
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quote:Originally posted by Aki: ِ مِنَ \لآنَ تُبْصِرُونَ \بْنَ \لإِنْسَانِ جَالِساً عَنْ يَمِينِ \لْقُوَّةِ وَآتِياً عَلَى سَحَابِ \لسَّمَاءِ it is funny that you think you will bring something from Gospels deny the crucifixion of Jesus :)so who said the sentence above, it is nice that you are reading the Gospels keep on.
ok,even if jesus said this sentence,that means he is the son of man as he said,and i will try to agree with you, if jesus and God is one as you say, the question is why they are two on the throne?!! as your verse says. Posts: 92 | From: egypt | Registered: Jun 2006
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quote:Originally posted by Aki: To Abu Mariam ,I really respect your opinion,but try to read the post from the begining again may be you can extract any thing difference than your idea,and also keep reading the Gospels,be sure that God will guide you to the tuth.
thank you very much Mr/ aki for your approval,so i think you are a respected man,only we seeking for the truth in friendly way,thank you again.
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To Mr.Jebran I will ask you simple Question, Can you hit or bunch the ray of the Sun impossible of course and if you did do the Sun will affect by that also impossible, Do the sun ray does it's function from lighting, cleaning of microbes and so on in any place it will pass, does this mean the Sun it's self coming down and do that or it's ray which carring the function and the nature who doing that and the Sun exist in it's place, therefore we can say from Jesus biography and the history that he has two natures human and divine which combined together as I described above, The divine nature is looks like the ray of the sun it's belonging to God and God is in everywhere not a solid thing who leaves his place to another place.
When Jesus crucified his human nature with his flesh who suffered not of course the divine one, you can see that when any person tortured only his flesh and his body who suffering and wounding not his soul after that he will be die and his soul leaves him,
This what happened with Jesus and after three days in the grave he resurrected again as he promised his students and stayed 40 days with them and rised infront of them into the above sky, again as the Muslim and Christians believe that he will come again to judge who denied him (Christian view)
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quote:Originally posted by Marcella: He couldn't say that he was a son of the man because he was only son of one human being.
ok marcella/ which creed that you believe in it? are you convinced that jesus is the God or not? i rememberd that you said "jesus is jesus,and God is God",that what muslims say also.thank you marcella for your friendly way.
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To Mr.Lazar Who started Christianity, then? According to Islam, God did. If it was unintentional, then we must conclude that God didnt realize that he was about to start the largest religion in the world.
If it was intentional, then God is in the business of starting false religions. God is therefore either dreadfully ignorant or maliciously deceptive.
Muhammads position also means that Jesus was the greatest failure in the history of the prophets. He spent thirty-three years preaching (again, he began preaching Islamic theology at birth), yet after he died, there wasnt a single person in the world who even remotely resembled a Muslim. Those who believed his message became Christians, all of whom were guilty of the worst sin imaginable (shirk), while those who rejected his message were guilty of rejecting one of Gods greatest messengers.
Thus, I ask you, why does Islam consider Jesus to be one of the greatest prophets ever? It seems he should have been able to convert at least one person to Islam. But he didnt. On the other hand, there are roughly two billion Christians on earth at the present moment, so it seems that Jesus and God are responsible for starting the only religion in the world that overshadows Islam.
Needless to say, I think the Islamic view is extremely problematic. It requires us to believe that God either intentionally or unintentionally led billions of people astray. This could have been avoided if God hadnt been so intent on tricking people into believing that they had killed Jesus.
But why would God want everyone to believe that Jesus was dead when he wasnt? Why not raise Jesus up without giving his enemies the satisfaction of seeing him suffer and die? This is a difficult pill to swallow,
Yet Islam forces us to view the origin of Christianity in this way. Because this view is at odds with any traditional understanding of Gods nature (including the Islamic understanding), Islam is an incoherent religious system.
Christianity, on the other hand, easily accounts for the rise of Islam. Indeed, Christianity even predicts the formation of such systems. Jesus warned his followers that false prophets would come. He also commanded not to believe them. One of the ways we can spot false prophets is by carefully discerning when their teachings lead to unacceptable beliefs about God. God is Truth, and he is Love.
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quote:Originally posted by Marcella: He couldn't say that he was a son of the man because he was only son of one human being.
ok marcella/ which creed that you believe in it? are you convinced that jesus is the God or not? i rememberd that you said "jesus is jesus,and God is God",that what muslims say also.thank you marcella for your friendly way.
Yes that's what I said.But Jesus was son of Mary only one human being created by God.
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he is the Son of human as son of Mary/Mariam and the son of God as belonging to God him self no earthly father,we can't also neglect 300 Prophecies in the Torah (old Testament)about his birth,deeds,death,resurrection and the second coming.
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Just asking a question to those people that say the Jesus was crucified. how didnt God save His prophet Jesus??
I Dont beliieve that jesus is crucified at all because Quran says that he was saved and that is logic.
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The Quranic verses that aki mentioned dont mean that Jesus was crucified. These verses are not explained as you mentioned at all. I dont know where did you get that from. this is really weird for me.
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Tacitus was a Roman historian writing early in the 2nd century A.D. His Annals provide us with a single reference to Jesus of considerable value. Rather frustratingly, much of his work has been lost, including a work which covers the years 29-32, where the trial of Jesus would have been had he recorded it. [Meie.MarJ, 89]
Here is a full quote of the cite of our concern, from Annals 15.44. Jesus and the Christians are mentioned in an account of how the Emperor Nero went after Christians in order to draw attention away from himself after Rome's fire of 64 AD:
But not all the relief that could come from man, not all the bounties that the prince could bestow, nor all the atonements which could be presented to the gods, availed to relieve Nero from the infamy of being believed to have ordered the conflagration, the fire of Rome. Hence to suppress the rumor, he falsely charged with the guilt, and punished Christians, who were hated for their enormities. Christus, the founder of the name, was put to death by Pontius Pilate, procurator of Judea in the reign of Tiberius: but the pernicious superstition, repressed for a time broke out again, not only through Judea, where the mischief originated, but through the city of Rome also, where all things hideous and shameful from every part of the world find their center and become popular. Accordingly, an arrest was first made of all who pleaded guilty; then, upon their information, an immense multitude was convicted, not so much of the crime of firing the city, as of hatred against mankind.
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quote:Originally posted by Aki: To Mr.Jebran I will ask you simple Question, Can you hit or bunch the ray of the Sun impossible of course and if you did do the Sun will affect by that also impossible, Do the sun ray does it's function from lighting, cleaning of microbes and so on in any place it will pass, does this mean the Sun it's self coming down and do that or it's ray which carring the function and the nature who doing that and the Sun exist in it's place, therefore we can say from Jesus biography and the history that he has two natures human and divine which combined together as I described above, The divine nature is looks like the ray of the sun it's belonging to God and God is in everywhere not a solid thing who leaves his place to another place.
When Jesus crucified his human nature with his flesh who suffered not of course the divine one, you can see that when any person tortured only his flesh and his body who suffering and wounding not his soul after that he will be die and his soul leaves him,
This what happened with Jesus and after three days in the grave he resurrected again as he promised his students and stayed 40 days with them and rised infront of them into the above sky, again as the Muslim and Christians believe that he will come again to judge who denied him (Christian view)
Mr/ aki you gave us nice example, but it was unsuitable to accorded to the nature of God,why? because jesus himself didn`t mentioned this point about his nature ,and i didn`t found that in bible also, and when i asked my coptic friend ,he told me that st.paul who was indicated to us this point of the nature of God according to principle of trinity. so how can we believe in what the cleric like st.paul or every one else said without any evidence from bible?!! it`s unsuitable too to say that the God have two natures,or repeat that the God or any part of him was pained or wounded or suffered!!!! it`s unsuitable to say too that the God was incarnated in a human being to salvated us (whom us) that what the God was created. so, why you didn`t believe that jesus was prophet only who the God was sent him to salvated the jewish from their sins and invited them to worship the one God in the sky who sent him.as he said.
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Introduction The Quran tells us a lot of wonderful things about Jesus. As a result, believers in the Quran love Jesus, honour him, and believe in him. In fact, no Muslim can be a Muslim unless he or she believes in Jesus, on whom be peace.
The Quran says that Jesus was born of a virgin, that he spoke while he was still only a baby, that he healed the blind and the leper by Gods leave, and that he raised the dead by Gods leave.
What then is the significance of these miracles? First, the virgin birth. God demonstrates his power to create in every way. God created everyone we know from a man and a woman. But how about Adam, on whom be peace? God created him from neither a man nor a woman. And Eve from only a man, but not a woman. And, finally, to complete the picture, God created Jesus from a woman, but not a man.
What about the other miracles? These were to show that Jesus was not acting on his own behalf, but that he was backed by God. The Quran specifies that these miracles were performed by Gods leave. This may be compared to the Book of Acts in the Bible, chapter 2, verse 22, where it says that the miracles were done by God to show that he approved of Jesus. Also, note that Jesus himself is recorded in the Gospel of John to have said, I can do nothing of my own authority (5:30). The miracles, therefore, were done not by his own authority, but by Gods authority.
What did Jesus teach? The Quran tells us that Jesus came to teach the same basic message which was taught by previous prophets from Godthat we must shun every false god and worship only the one true God. Jesus taught that he is the servant and messenger of that one true God, the God of Abraham. These Quranic teachings can be compared with the Bible ( Mark 10:18; Matthew 26:39; John 14:28, 17:3, and 20:17) where Jesus teaches that the one he worshipped is the only true God. See also Matthew 12:18; Acts 3:13, and 4:27 where we find that his disciples knew him as Servant of God.
The Quran tells us that some of the Israelites rejected Jesus, and conspired to kill him, but Allah (God) rescued Jesus and raised him to Himself. Allah will cause Jesus to descend again, at which time Jesus will confirm his true teachings and everyone will believe in him as he is and as the Quran teaches about him.
Jesus is the Messiah. He is a word from Allah, and a spirit from Him. He is honoured in this world and in the hereafter, and he is one of those brought nearest to Allah.
Jesus was a man who spoke the truth which he heard from God. This can be compared with the Gospel According to John where Jesus says to the Israelites: You are determined to kill me, a man who has told you the truth that I heard from God (John 8:40).
The Virgin Birth of Jesus Muslims believe in the virgin birth of Jesus. When the angels announced to Mary (peace be upon her) about Allahs promise that she will have a son, she was surprised, since she was a virgin. How can this be? she thought. She was reminded that it is easy for Allah to create whatever he wills.
She said: My Lord! How can I have a child when no mortal hath touched me? He said: So (it will be). Allah createth what He will. If He decreeth a thing, He saith unto it only: Be! and it is (Quran 3:47).
It is not difficult for Allah to do anything he wants. He can create a child with both human parents or only one. No miracle is beyond His power. After all, He had created Adam (peace be upon him) from neither a man nor a woman. He created the rest of us from both man and woman. What is so hard if Allah decides to create a human being from a woman only? He only commands Be! and it occurs.
Some people think that since Jesus, peace be upon him, had no human father then God must be his father. The Quran rejects this view. The position of Jesus with Allah is comparable to the position of Adam with Allah. Just because Adam had no human parent does not mean we should call him the Son of God.
Lo! the likeness of Jesus with Allah is as the likeness of Adam. He created him from dust, then He said unto him: Be! and he is. (Quran 3:59).
According to the Quran, everyone except Allah are His servants.
And they say: the Beneficent hath taken unto Himself a Son. Assuredly ye utter a disastrous thing, whereby almost the heavens are torn, and the earth is split asunder and the mountains fall to ruins, that ye ascribe to the Beneficent a son, when it is not meet for (the Majesty of) the Beneficent that He should chose a son. There is none in the heavens and the earth but cometh unto the Beneficent as a slave. (Quran 19:88-93)
The Miracles of Jesus According to the Quran, Jesus, on whom be peace, performed the following miracles by Allahs leave:
1. Spoke while he was only a baby. 2. Healed those born blind. 3. Healed the lepers. 4. Revived the dead. 5. Breathed life into a bird made of clay.
In the Quran Allah quotes Jesus, peace be upon him, as saying:
Lo! I come unto you with a sign from your Lord. Lo! I fashion for you out of clay the likeness of a bird, and I breathe into it and it is a bird by Allahs leave. I heal him who was born blind, and the leper, and I raise the dead, by Allahs leave. And I announce to you what you eat and what you store up in your houses. Lo! herein verily is a portent for you if you are to be believers. And (I come) confirming that which was before me of the Torah, and to make lawful some of that which was forbidden unto you. I come unto you with a sign from your Lord, so keep your duty to Allah and obey me. Lo! Allah is my Lord and your Lord, so worship Him. That is a straight path. (Quran 3: 49-51).
Again, in the Quran Allah tells us about the situation on the Day of Judgement:
In the day when Allah gathers together the messengers and says: What was your response (from mankind)? they say: We have no knowledge. Lo! Thou, only Thou art the Knower of Things Hidden. When Allah says: O Jesus, son of Mary! Remember My favour unto you and unto your mother; how I strengthened you with the holy Spirit, so that you spoke unto mankind in the cradle as in maturity; and how I taught you the Scripture and Wisdom and the Torah and the Gospel; and how you did shape of clay as it were the likeness of a bird by My permission, and did blow upon it and it was a bird by My permission, and you did heal him who was born blind and the leper by My permission . . . (Quran 5:109-110)
Not all of these miracles are recorded in the canonical gospels, the four gospels contained in the Christian Bible.
The fact that Jesus spoke while he was yet a baby is not written anywhere in the Bible. This should not be surprising, because none of the Gospels can claim to recover every single event in the life of Jesus. Instead, the gospel According to John seeks to emphasize that the events were too many to record.
Similarly, the miracle of breathing life into a bird made of clay is not attested by the Christian Bible. This too should not make us wonder. It is obvious that the writers of the gospels could write down only the tradition that was available to them. Furthermore, they could not write down everything they knew about Jesus for they were writing on papyrus material that were very limited in length.
What is worthy to notice here is that the Prophet Muhammad, may peace and the blessings of Allah be upon him, was honest enough to promulgate this information about Jesus. The religion taught by God through Muhammad would deny the divinity of Jesus. Any human being, therefore, who wished to deny the divinity of Jesus would have tried to belittle Jesus. Since Christians looked upon the miracles of Jesus as a proof of his divinity, we might expect that any human being who tries to deny the divinity of Jesus would not have informed people of miracles not previously known to them. He might have even tried to deny some of the miracles recorded in the canonical gospels. On the other hand, the prophet Muhammad honestly conveyed the message delivered to him from Allah. (May the peace and blessings of Allah be upon him.)
Allah tells us the truth without fear. Human beings trying to win followers tell us only what is conducive to winning us over. They usually withhold information that could lead to opposite conclusions. On the other hand, Allah informs us about the miracles of Jesus even if people use this information to support their prior commitment to the doctrine of the divinity of Jesus. Allah does not need to win worshippers. Those who worship Allah does so for their own good. And those who worship false gods do so to their own detriment.
What Allah emphasizes, though, is that the miracles of Jesus do not prove he was divine. The miracles he performed were a sign, a proof, that he was Gods messenger. He performed them with Gods help and permission. Those who use his miracles as proof of his divinity would choose to forget the following sayings of Jesus:
I can of my own authority do nothing. (John 5:30)
They also forget the declaration of Peter:
Jesus of Nazareth, a man approved of God among you by miracles and wonders and signs, which God did by him in the midst of you, as ye yourselves know. (Acts 2:22 KJV).
These passages suggest that Jesus did not do miracles on his own. These, rather were accomplished by Gods leave. Allah reminds us of this. Jesus also constantly repeated to his audience that the miracles he performed were by Gods leave.
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WHY DO CHRISTIANS CLAIM THAT JESUS IS THE SON OF GOD?
Quotations from the Holy Quran
· Say: 'O People of the Book, come to common terms as between us and you: that we worship none but God; that we associate not aught with Him; and do not some of us take others as Lords, apart from God. And if they turn their backs, say: 'Bear witness that we are Muslims. (3:64)
· They say, God taken to Him a son.' Glory be to Him. He is all-sufficient; to Him belongs all that is in the heavens and in the earth; you have no authority for this. Do you say concerning God what you do not know? (10:68)
· People of the Book! why do you disbelieve in God's signs, which you yourselves witness? (3:70)
· People of the Book! why do you confound the truth with falsehood and conceal the truth knowingly? (3:71)
Quotations from Hadith:
· Abu Hurairah reported Allah's Messenger (PBUH) as saying, "I am the nearest of kin to Jesus, son of Mary, in this world and the next. The prophets are brothers, sons of one father by co-wives. Their mothers are different but their religion is one. There has been no prophet between us". (Bukhari and Muslim).
· Abu Hurairah reported Allah's Messenger (PBUH) as saying," By Him in whose hand my soul is, the son of Mary will soon descend among you as a just judge. He will break crosses, kill swine and abolish the jizya (a tax payable by a community which accepts the protection of a Muslim ruler but whose members do not embrace Islam), and wealth will pour forth to such an extent that no one will accept it, and one sajda (the position in Muslims prayer where the forehead is placed on the ground), will be better than the world and what it contains". (Bukahri and Muslim).
PREFACE
The controversy about the personality of Jesus Christ is the major difference between Islam and Christianity. This difference keeps the followers of the two religions apart. Muslims look at Jesus Christ as a great Prophet of God and love and respect him as much as they love and respect Abraham, Moses and Muhammad. Christians on the other hand consider Jesus as God or son of God, a concept that Muslims cannot accept. Islam teaches that Jesus never made such a claim for himself. As a matter of fact all the cardinal doctrines of Christianity that are rejected by Islam center around the personality of Jesus. Specifically these are:
1. The Trinity
2. The Divinity of Jesus
3. The Divine Sonship of Christ
4. Original Sin, and
5. Atonement.
It is clear that all these dogmas are the result of over-exhalting Jesus Christ above what God wants him to be. These differences focusing on the personality of Jesus have overshadowed the many similarities between Christianity and Islam. Some examples are the moral system and the emphasis on human principles. They have even over shadowed the beliefs that Muslims associate with Jesus Christ such as the Virgin Birth of Jesus, being able to speak in the cradle, performing miracles, and the second coming of Jesus Christ.
The following two articles aim at presenting a true picture of Jesus in Islam and explaining why the Christians deviated from his original teachings. The first article also indicates that many scholars and thinkers, who are still within the fold of Christianity, are gradually coming to agree with the Islamic points of view about Jesus, in many cases without realizing it. This corresponds to my conviction that the more scientific and biblical studies advance, the more they will agree with Islam. In other words, the Islamic truth is more evident with the passage of time. God in the Holy Quran hints to this in the following verse:
We shall show them our signs in the horizons and in themselves, till it is clear to them that it is the truth. (41:53)
M.J.
INTRODUCTION
The Islamic view of Jesus lies between two extremes. The Jews, who rejected Jesus as a Prophet of God, called him an impostor. The Christians on the other hand, consider him to be the son of God and worship him as such. Islam considers Jesus as one of the great Prophets of God and respects him as much as Abraham, Moses and Muhammad. This is in conformity with the Islamic point of view of the oneness of God, the oneness of Divine guidance, and the complimentary role of the subsequent messages of Gods messengers. The essence of Islam, which is the willing submission to the will of God, was revealed to Adam who passed it on to his children. All following revelations to Noah, Abraham, Moses, Jesus and finally Muhammad were in conformity with that message in addition to some elaboration to define the relation between Man and God, man and man, man and his environment, and to live according to Gods instructions. Thus, any contradiction among revealed religions is viewed by Islam as a man-made element introduced into these religions. The position of Jesus in the three major religions: Judaism, Christianity and Islam, should not be an exception.
Although the Quran does not present a detailed life-account of Jesus, it highlights the important aspects of his birth, his mission, his ascension to heaven and passes judgements on the Christian beliefs concerning him.
MARY
The Qur'anic account of Jesus starts with the conception of his mother, Mary. The wife of Imran, Marys mother, vowed to dedicate her child to the service of God in the temple. Zacharia, who took charge of Mary, used to find food with Mary. When he asked her how she got it she answered that it was from God. The Quranic verses read:
When the wife of Imran said, 'Lord, I have vowed to you, in dedication, what is within my womb. Please accept it from me. you are the Hearer and knower'. And when she gave birth to her she said, 'Lord, I have given birth to her, a female... And I have named her Mary end commend her to you with her seed, to protect them from the accursed Satan.' Her Lord received the child with gracious favor, and by His goodness she grew up comely, Zacheria taking charge of her. Whenever Zacharia went to her in the Sanctuery, he found her provisioned. 'Mary', he said, 'how comes this to you? ''From God', she answered. Truly God provisions for whomsoever He will without reckoning. (3:95-7)
GLAD TIDINGS AND JESUS'S BIRTH
When Mary became a woman, the Holy Spirit (the Archangel Gabriel) appeared to her as a man bringing her the news of a son. We read the following dialogue in the Qur'an between Mary and the angels:
When the angels said, 'Mary. God gives you good tidings of a Word from Him whose name is Messiah Jesus, son of Mary; high honored shall he be in this world and the next, near stationed to God. He shall speak to men in the cradle, and of age, and righteous she shall be.' 'Lord', said Mary, 'how shall I have a son seeing no mortal has touched me? 'Even so' he said, 'God creates what He will.' When He decrees a thing He does but say to it, "Be", and it is.' (3:45-7)
Mary conceived the child miraculously and retired to a distant place where she awaited her delivery. The Qur'an in a chapter entitled 'Mary tells us how Mary felt and what the Jews told her when she brought the child home:
She conceived him and withdrew with him to a distant place. And the birth pangs surprised her by the trunk of the palm-tree. She said, 'would I had died before this. and become a thing forgotten.' The one from below her called to her, 'Do not grieve; see, your Lord has set below you a rivulet. Shake also toward you the palm trunk. and there shall come tumbling upon you dates fresh and ripe. Eat therefore, and drink, and be comforted; and if you should see any mortal, say. "I have vowed to the All-Merciful a fast, and today I will not speak to any man." Then she brought the child to her folk carrying him; and they said, Mary, you have surely committed a monstrous thing. Sister of Aaron, your father was not a wicked man, nor was your mother a woman unchaste.' Mary pointed to the child. but they said, 'How shall we speak to one who is still in the cradle, a little child?' He said, 'Lo, I am God's servant; God has given me the Book and made me a Prophet. Blessed he has made me, wherever I may be; and he has enjoined me to pray. and to give the alms, so long as I live, and likewise to cherish my mother; he has not made me arrogant or wicked. Peace be upon me, the day I was born, and the day I die, and the day I am raised up alive.' (19:22-23)
NOT THE SON OF GOD
In the same chapter, following the above quotation, God assured Muhammad and the whole world that what was mentioned above is the truth about Jesus although the Christians might not believe it. Jesus is not the son of God. He was, obviously enough, the son of Mary. The verses continue:
That is Jesus, son of Mary, in word of truth, concerning which they are doubting. It is not for God to take a son unto Him. Glory be to Him! When He decrees a thing. He but says to it "Be". and it is. (19:34-5)
After this strong statement about the nature of Jesus, God directed Muhammad to call the Christians to a fair deal: to worship the one God:
Surely God is my Lord, and your Lord, so serve Him. This is the straight path. (19:38).
The rejection of the idea of God having a son is reported later in the same chapter with even stronger words:
And they say, 'The All-merciful has taken unto Himself a son.' You have indeed advanced something hideous. The heavens are well nigh rent of it and the earth split asunder, and the mountains well nigh fall down crashing for that they have attributed to the All-merciful a son; and it behooves not the All-merciful to take a son. None is there in the heavens and earth but he comes to the All-merciful as a servant. (19:88-93)
The Quran recognizes the fact that Jesus had no human father but this does not make him the son of God or God Himself. By this criterion Adam would have been more entitled to be the son of God because he had neither a father nor a mother. So the Qur'an draws attention to the miraculous creation of both in the following verse:
Truly the likeness of Jesus, in God's sight, is as Adam's likeness; He created him of dust. then said He unto him, "Be", and he was. (3:59)
The Qur'an rejects the concept of the Trinity as strongly as it rejects the Sonship of Jesus. This is because God is One. This is the essence of all monotheistic revelations. Three, by reason and by simple arithmetic, are not one. The Qur'an addresses the Christians in the following verses in the chapter entitled "Women".
People of the Book, go not beyond the bounds in your religion, and say not as to God but the Truth. The Messiah, Jesus, son of Mary, was only the Messenger of God, and His Word that He committed to Mary, and a spirit from Him. So believe in God and His Messengers, and say not, 'Three'. Refrain. better is it for you. God is only One God. Glory be to Him that He should have a son! To Him belongs all that is in the heavens and in the earth, God suffices for a guardian.
The Messiah will not disdain to be a servant of God, neither the angels who are close to Him. Whosoever disdains to serve Him and waxes proud. He will assuredly muster them to Him, all of them.
As for the believers, who do deeds of righteousness, He will pay them their rewards in full, and He will give them more, of His bounty; as for them who disdain and wax proud, them He will punish with a severe punishment, and they shall not find for them, apart from God, a friend or helper. (4:171-3)
The verses continue to draw the attention of people, all people, to the proof which Muhammad brought. God knows that people frequently inherit certain ideas and beliefs which include, among other things, the mistakes and interpretations of previous generations. They have no way of discovering such mistakes for themselves. Thus God presents the Quran as a proof to such people. He says:
O men, a manifest proof has now come to you from your Lord; we have sent down to you a clear light. As for those who believe in God, and hold fast to Him, He will surely admit them to mercy from Him, and bounty, and will guide them to Him on a straight path. (4:173-5)
The denial of Jesus' divinity (and for that matter Mary's divinity) is presented in the Quran as a topic of dialogue at the Day of Judgement between God Almighty and Jesus. All the messengers and the nations will be gathered in front of God and He will ask the messengers how they were received by their peoples and what they said to them. Among those who are going to be questioned is Jesus:
And when God said, 'O Jesus son of Mary, did you say unto men, "Take me and my mother as gods. apart from God? He said, 'To you be glory! It is not mine to say what I have no right to. If I indeed said it, you knew it, knowing what is within my soul, and I do not know what is within your soul. you know the things unseen. I only said to them what you did command me: "serve God, my Lord and your Lord." And I was a witness over them, while I remained among them; but when you did take me to yourself, you were yourself the watcher over them; you are the witness of everything. If you punish them, they are your servants, if you forgive them, you are the Almighty, the All-wise.' God said, This is the day the truthful shall be profited by their truthfulness. For them await gardens underneath which rivers flow therein dwelling forever, God being well-pleased with them end they well-pleased with Him; That is the mighty triumph'.
JESUS'S MISSION
Now one might ask: If the Qur'an denies the Trinity and the Sonship of Jesus, what was the real mission of Jesus according to the Qur'an?
Jesus was a link in a long chain of prophets and messengers sent by God to various societies and nations whenever they needed guidance or deviated from the teachings of God. Jesus was especially prepared by God to be sent to the Jews who had deviated from the teachings of Moses and other Messengers. As he was miraculously supported by God in conception, birth and childhood, he was also supported by numerous miracles to prove that he was a messenger from God. However, the majority of the Jews rejected his ministry. The Qur'an tells us about Jesus' mission in the following verses which are a continuation of the verses quoted earlier in which the glad tiding was brought to Mary:
And He will teach him the Book, the wisdom, the Torah, the Gospel and make him a Messenger to the children of Israel saying, I have come to you with a sign from your Lord. I will create for you out of clay as the likeness of a bird; then I will breathe into It, and it will be a bird, by the power of God. I will also heal the blind and the leper and bring to life the dead, by the power of God. I will inform you too of the things you eat, and what you treasure up in your houses. Surely in that is a sign for you if you are believers. Likewise I will confirm the truth of the Torah that is before me, and to make lawful to you certain things that before were forbidden unto you. I have come to you with a sign from your Lord; so fear God, and obey me. Surely God is my Lord and your Lord; so serve Him. This is a straight path". (3:45-51)
In another verse of the Quran, Jesus confirmed the validity of the Torah which was revealed to Moses and he also brought the glad tidings of the coming of a final messenger after him. This is clearly indicated in the following verse:
And when Jesus son of Mary said. 'children of Israel. I am indeed the Messenger to you, confirming the Torah that is before me, and giving good tidings of a Messenger who shall come after me, whose name shall be the praised one (note that this is translation of Ahmad which is Prophet Muhammads name). (61:6)
The messenger of whom Jesus gave glad tidings is referred to in both the old and new testaments of the Bible. The old testament contains several prophecies that apply only to the Prophet Muhammad. I quote only one of those which applies to none except Prophet Muhammad. This prophecy which was addressed to Moses said that God will send among the 'brethren' of the Israelites, a prophet like Moses who will be a founder, a leader, and an exemplar of a community of believers. We read this in the following verses of Deut. Ch. 18:
I will raise up for them a prophet like you from among their brethren; and I will put My words in his mouth, and he shall speak to them all that I command him. And whoever will not give heed to My words which he shall speak in My name, I Myself will require it of him. (Deut. 18:18-20)
Any one who is familiar with Prophet Muhammad's life, can easily see that no one fits the above description better than Prophet Muhammad. It was Prophet Muhammad, not Jesus, who like Moses was born from ordinary parents, got married, founded a faithful community, established a great law and died a natural death.
Careful study of the New Testament shows that this same prophet is referred to by Jesus in John 14:16,17:
And I will pray the Father, and He will give you another Counselor, to be with you for ever, even the Spirit of truth.
Later in John specific description of this Spirit of Truth and his role is given as we read in John 16:13,14.:
When the Spirit of Truth comes, he will guide you into all the truth, for he will not speak on his own authority, but whatever he hears he will speak and he will declare to you the things that are to come. He will glorify Me...
The terms of the prophecy do not warrant the conclusion usually attributed to this prophecy, namely that it refers to the Holy Ghost. The Holy Ghost explanation is excluded by a previous verse in John which reads:
Nevertheless I tell you the truth: it is to your advantages that I go away, for if I do not go away, the counselor will not come to you.
It is clear from the Bible that the Holy Ghost used to visit men before and during the life-time of Jesus. John was filled with the Holy Ghost before he was born and Jesus himself received the Holy Ghost in the shape of a dove.
The characteristics of this counselor, as can be derived from the prophecy,
are the following:
1. He will not come until Jesus leaves.
2. He will stay forever, with the believers.
3. He will glorify Jesus.
4. He will speak what he hears from God.
These characteristics are applicable only to Prophet Muhammad, as the
following brief remarks show:
Prophet Muhammad was the only messenger that came after Jesus. There was a period of six centuries between them. Jesus' mission was limited to the "lost sheep of the children of Israel, but Muhammad's was a universal message. This explains the second characteristic. Only Prophet Muhammad's message was intended by God to be a universal and everlasting message. This agrees with the statement that the counselor will stay forever with the faithful. No other prophet glorified Jesus as much as Prophet Muhammad did. The Jews called him an impostor and accused his mother of immorality. They tried to crucify him. Prophet Muhammad considered Jesus as great Prophet and the Word of God". The Qur'an attributed to him miracles that are not mentioned in the Bible. Mary is considered the most chaste woman and the best of all women in paradise. Thus did Muhammad really glorify Jesus. The fourth characteristic also applies neatly to Prophet Muhammad. The Quran was revealed to Prophet Muhammad through the angel Gabriel. When the angel finished reciting the Quran, Prophet Muhammad used to convey verbatim to his companions what he heard from the angel without adding, changing or forgetting anything. The Qur'an also describes Prophet Muhammad saying He does not speak out of his own fancy. He utters what is revealed to him." (53:4,5). If we compare this with, "He will not speak on his own authority", we see the striking similarity between the characteristics of the counselor and those of Prophet Muhammad. These and other prophecies in the old and new testaments predict in unequivocal terms the advent of Prophet Muhammad who is rejected by the Jews and Christians on the basis of misunderstanding and bias rather than on the basis of careful study of the Bible, the Qur'an and modern findings in the field of comparative religion.
JESUS RAISED TO HEAVEN
It is a sad fact of history that not many follow "the straight path", to which people were called by Jesus. He was followed by a few disciples who were inspired by God to support him. Not only that, but the non-believers plotted (as they did to Muhammad six centuries later) to kill Jesus, but God had a better plan for him and his followers as the Qur'an tells us in the following verses:
And when Jesus perceived their unbelief, he said, 'who will be my helpers in the cause of God? The Apostles said, 'we will be helpers of God.' We believe in God; be witness of our submission. Lord, we believe in that you have sent down, and we follow the Messenger. Inscribe us therefore with those who bear witness.' And they devised, and God devised, and God is the best of devisers. When God said, 'Jesus, I will take you to me and will raise you to Me, and I will purify you of those who do not believe. I will set your followers above the unbelievers till the Resurrection Day. Then unto Me shall you return, and I will decide between you, as to what you were at variance on. As for the unbelievers, I will punish them with a terrible punishment in this world and the next; they shall have no helpers.' (3:52-6)
As the above verses indicate, Jesus was raised to heaven before he died.
This means that according to the Qur'an he was not crucified. It was the plan of
the enemies of Jesus to put him to death on the cross, but God saved him and
somebody else was crucified. This plot and the false accusation of Mary are
considered by the Qur'an to be some of the sins of the non-believing Jews. All
this is clear in the following quotation:
And for their unbelief, and their uttering against Mary a mighty calumny, and for their saying, We slew the Messiah, Jesus son of Mary, the Messenger of God'... yet they did not slay him, neither crucified him, only a likeness of that was shown to them. Those who are at variance concerning him surely are in doubt regarding him, they have no knowledge of him, except the following of surmise; and they did not slay him of certainty... no indeed; God raised him up to Him; God is Almighty, All-wise. There is not one of the people of the Book but will assuredly believe in him before his death, and on the Resurrection Day he will be a witness against them. (4:156-9).
Who was the person crucified instead of Jesus? The Qur'an does not elaborate on this point nor does it give any answer to this question. The interpreters of the Qur'an have suggested a few names. But all these are individual guesses not supported by the Qur'an or the sayings of the Prophet Muhammad.
This means that Jesus will come back before the Day of Judgement. Again the Second Coming is not clearly mentioned in the Qur'an. However, the explain of the Qur'an understood the last verse of the above quotation: there is not one of the people of the Book but will assuredly believe in him before his death, and on the Resurrection Day he will be a witness against them, to mean that Jesus will come back and all the Christians and the Jews will believe in him before he dies. This understanding is supported by authentic sayings of the Prophet Muhammad.
POINTS TO BE CONSIDERED
After reading this presentation a believing Christian might say "This is what the Muslims, whom we always considered as heathens or infidels, say about Jesus." But the point of view which the Qur'an presents deserves serious consideration, to say the least, by those who are really concerned about God, faith and even Christianity itself for the following reasons:
The Quran is the last version of Gods revelation and what it says is the ultimate truth. This might not mean much for those who do not believe in the Qur'an as such. However, the history of the Qur'an, modern textual criticism and scientific research of the content of this scripture leave no doubt about the truth it contains. The frequently made statements that the Qur'an is the word of Muhammad who copied his information from Jewish and Christian sources is made by people who do not know the history of the world, the Qur'an or Muhammad. The first Arabic translation of the Bible appeared two centuries after Muhammad's mission. If we add to this Muhammad's illiteracy and the scarcity of religious books in any language outside churches and temples in the sixth century we can understand the absurdity of this allegation. The oneness and universality of God's message requires that people accept all the messengers of God. Rejecting one of them amounts to rejecting them all. The Jews reject Jesus's mission and Muhammad's mission; the Christians reject Muhammad's mission; whereas the Muslims accept them all, but reject incorrect historical interpretations and human elements in these missions. Because of the Qur'an, Muslims love and respect Jesus as they love and respect the Prophet Muhammad. Moreover, the Qur'an reports some of Jesus's miracles which are not reported in the present gospel. For example, the Quran tells that Jesus spoke in the cradle and was able to tell people what they ate or treasured in their houses, to mention just a few. It is common knowledge that the divinity of Jesus was introduced by Saint Paul and his followers and was established on the dead bodies of millions of Christians through history which evoked the Castillo's well-known remark "To burn a man is not to prove a doctrine." The choice of the present four gospels was imposed in the conference of Nicea 325 C.E. under the auspices of the pagan Emperor Constantine for political purposes. Literally, hundreds of gospels and religious writings were considered apocrypha, i.e. books of doubtful authenticity. Some of those books were written by Jesus's disciples. If they were not more authentic than the four gospels they were of equal authenticity. Some of them still are available such as the Gospel of Barnabas and the Shepherd of Hermas which agree with the Quran. The Unitarian concept and the humanness of Jesus is not only held by Muslims but also by Jews and by some early groups of Christianity such as the Ebionites, the Cerinthians, the Basilidians, the Capocratians and the Hypisistarians to name several early sects. The Arians, Paulicians and Goths also accepted Jesus as a prophet of God. Even in the modern age there are churches in Asia, in Africa, the Unitarian church, and Jehova Witnesses who do not worship Jesus as God. Most serious studies of the Bible have shown that it contains a large portion of additions which neither Jesus nor the writers of the gospels said. The church, as Heinz Zahrnt said, "put words into the mouth of Jesus which he never spoke and attributed actions to him which he never performed." Those conclusions were arrived at by some members of the church. However, they are kept secret or available only to the specialists. One of those, who has shown that most of what the church says about Jesus is baseless is Rudolf Augustein in his book Jesus Son of Man, (published in Germany 1972 and translated into English 1977). The problem with present Christianity is the personality of Jesus which is completely misunderstood. Jesus' nature, mission and claimed death and resurrection, are all challenged by studies in the field. One of those is a book entitled The Myth of God Incarnate which appeared 1977 (edited by John Hick) and written by seven theologian scholars in England. Their conclusion is that Jesus was "a man approved by God, for special role within the divine purpose, and the later conception of him as God incarnate is a mythological or poetic way of expressing his significance for us." The best George Carey could say in his attempt to refute the findings of those theologians is that unless one takes Jesus as God Incarnate one won't be able to understand Jesus' mission or explain its impact on people. This definitely is a very weak argument because all great prophets such as Abraham, Moses, and Muhammad have had a tremendous impact on people and none of them claimed that he was God or a son of God. The concept of the Trinity is not, of course, available even in the present Bible. There are statements which negate it such as "The Lord our God is one Lord (Math. 12:29) and many others. It is worth noting that Jesus never claims divinity even in the present text of the Bible. The expression "Son of God" cannot be said to have come from Jesus himself. Hasting in The Dictionary of the Bible says "Whether Jesus used it of himself is doubtful." In my reading of the Bible, I found only two instances in John Chapter 5 and 11 where Jesus uses "son of God" to refer to himself. Other instances were used by others. Even those are very limited. However, even if the title "son of God" was used by Jesus himself one should remember the following points: As a biblical scholar said, "Semitic usage would never have allowed literal sense even though such an expression would be interpreted literally in the Hellenistic world of Jesus followers". The New Testament Greek words used for "son" are pias and paida, which means 'servant' or 'son in the sense of servant, are translated son in reference to Jesus and servant in reference to others in some translations of the Bible (Mufassir, P. 15). The title "son of man" which is a self-designation of Jesus and occurs 81 times in the gospels is the clearest description and emphasis by Jesus on his humanity. The classical interpretation given to this title is that it is used to emphasize the human side of Jesus. Now the question which suggests itself is: Do contemporary Christians emphasize this aspect of Jesus?
THE POPE CONTRADICTS THE BIBLE
The traditional Biblical account of Jesus' crucifixion is that he was arrested and crucified by the orders and plans of the chief priest and Jewish elders. This account was denied in the 1960's by the highest Catholic Christian authority, the Pope. He issued a statement in which he said the Jews had nothing to do with Jesus' crucifixion. This definitely does contradict the Biblical account. You might say: This is a political decree. This agrees with what Muslims are saying: the church had introduced many elements into Christianity and was influenced by many factors which made its view of Christianity not only changeable but, by and large, contradict the early forms of Christianity.
RELIGION VS. SCIENCE
The religious views concerning God, the Bible, and Man s relation to God which the church presented forced people into an unfortunate choice: either science or God. Most educated people have come to the conclusion that one can't be a scientist or an educated person and be a Christian. Thus many philosophers, scientists and the majority of the people lost hope of reconciling religion and science. This unfortunate understanding later on was generalized to include every religion as a result of the influence of western civilization, which was mainly Christian. This whole issue would not have rise in the first place if the teachings of Jesus were not distorted or tampered with. This is because, as Islam views the matter, there is no contradiction whatsoever between religion and science. Scientific facts are just one source of our knowledge of God. The other source is revelation as it is contained in the original teachings of Jesus and in the present text of the Quran. Both religion and true scientific knowledge are from the same source: God. So He won't contradict Himself.
Thus, concepts like the Trinity, The Son of God, Original Sin, the Atonement etc.. which were the product of distortion and miss-understanding in the history of Christianity drove people away not only from Christianity but also from other religions, including Islam, which is not affected by these problems. This is due to the fact that many people think that because Islam is a religion (the meaning of the very word is limited in western languages) it must be similar to Christianity. Very few people will have the interest and the ability to discover the falsehood of this assumption.
EVIDENCES FOR THE QUR'ANIC ACCOUNT
This implicit assumption is one of the causes of hesitation and unwillingness of many people to accept the Qur'anic view of Jesus. This is in spite of the fact that this point of view is supported by:
The early history of Christianity which continued for three decades after Jesuss disappearance as a sect within Judaism. The practice of many Christian sects and scholars throughout the history of Christianity. The findings of many Biblical scholars and scientific research which was applied to the Bible.
The instinct of many people (some of whom think they are Christians) who believe in the One God, but can't accept Jesus as God or The Son of God. It is worth noting that the main differences between the Qur'anic account and what modern research and scholars have found is that the Qur'an said what it says now about Jesus and his mission fourteen centuries ago and never changed its stand.
REASONS HOLDING PEOPLE FROM ISLAM
Some of the other reasons which might account for the rejection of the Qur'anic account include:
The time-honored bias against Islam which was partly the product of the Crusades and partly the product of the Arab-Israeli conflict in the Middle East. Confusion. Many people although they do not accept Christianity, do not know where the truth is. Social Pressure and Academic Reputation. Many people were afraid to accept Islam because they felt they would be mocked, alienated from their relatives and peers if they openly rejected Christianity and accepted Islam. At the academic level, especially among orientalists, if one writes favorably about Islam and the Qur'an no body will review his work, quote from it or even consider it a scholarly work. He could be even destroyed professionally. The Washington Post (January 5, 1978) reported that a University of Richmond Professor, Dr. Robert Alley lost the chairmanship of the Department of Religion there because he holds the view that Jesus never claimed to be the son of God. After considerable research into newly found ancient documents, Dr. Alley concluded that:
The (Bible) passages where Jesus talks about the son of God are later additions..... what the church said about him. Such a claim of deity for himself would not have been consistent with his entire lifestyle as we can reconstruct. For the first three decades after Jesus' death Christianity continued as a sect within Judaism. The first three decades of its existence of the church were within the synagogue. That would have been beyond belief if they (the followers) had boldly proclaimed the deity of Jesus.
ISLAM: THE NATURAL CALL
Despite these factors, and some others which I did not mention, there have been many people who have submitted to truth. The Islamic point of view about Jesus and other major issues strikes those who get introduced to it as something which makes a lot of sense and something which they hold implicitly without knowing it. This, and other characteristics made Islam the fastest growing religion in the world throughout history. It appeals even to faithful Christians because they discover that:
Islam does not abolish Jesus, it rather puts him in the right position in the long line of men who brought real salvation to humanity. In reality they are adding a new dimension to their understanding of God, prophet-hood, and revelation.
When Christianity and Judaism (or for that matter any religion) are looked at from the Islamic perspective they fit in neatly in the universal framework of the oneness of God and His plans for mankind. Moreover, one will understand clearly why there are some gaps or discrepancies in the Biblical account about certain issues. Islam does consider itself the final link in the long chain of revelation. It promises the followers of previous faiths great rewards if they add belief in Islam to their belief in their previous faith. The Prophet Muhammad said, "He who has believed in his religion then believed in what is revealed to me will be rewarded twice (by God)." That is once for believing in his faith and the other for recognizing truth and believing in Islam. To sum up, Islam considers Jesus as one of God's great prophets. His mission was to preach the Oneness of God and to lead man to his Lord. He never claimed to be other than a servant and a Messenger of God. The Qur'anic account of his life and mission is supported by overwhelming evidence. The Muslims do believe in and are awaiting the Second Coming of Jesus. He will come back not as God to judge the non-Christians, but as Jesus, God's servant. His coming is to correct the misconception which people have developed about his personality and his mission. According to a saying of the Prophet Muhammad, he will stay for forty years which is going to be the happiest years of life on this earth. At that time everybody will believe in him as the messenger, not the Son of God. However, what about those who will not be able to live till his second coming? They better do it now!
FURTHER READINGS ON ISLAM AND CHRISTIANITY
M. M. Pickthall, The Meaning of the Glorious Qur'an T. B. Irving, et al., The Qur'an: Basic Teachings Hamuda Abdulati, Islam in Focus M. Qutb, /slam: The Misunderstood Religion B. A. Bawany, Islam: The First and Final Religion Maurice Bucaille, The Bible, The Qur'an and Science Maurice Bucaille, The Origin of Man Lordsale and Laura Ragg, The Gospel of Barnabas Muhammad Ata-ur-Rahman, Jesus: A Prophet of Islam Rudolf Augustein, Jesus Son of Man John Hick (ed), The Myth of God Incarnate S. S. Mufassir, Jesus in the Qur'an. Some of these books and others about Islam can be obtained from:
World Assembly of Muslim Youth (WAMY)
P. O. Box 10845
Tel. (01)4641663
Riyadh 11443, Saudi Arabia
Or the nearest Islamic Center in your part of the world.
A LETTER FROM AN ENGLISH MUSLIM
INTRODUCTION
The Islamic account of Jesus's life and mission is quite reasonable and puts Jesus in his right place among the great messengers of God to humanity. Although the Islamic view of Jesus agrees with what many people instinctively think, it is sometimes rejected because this is what Islam says about him. However, those who come to Islam with an open mind and free from bias will submit to the logic and believability of the Islamic account of Jesus. The Islamic position is especially appreciated by those who have struggled with the various Christian dogmas that are centered around the personality of Jesus Christ.
The following is a letter which I received from one of the viewers who follow my program: ISLAM IN PERSPECTIVE, televised by the Saudi Arabian Television, Second Channel. It is a response to a two-episode discussion of Jesus called: JESUS IN ISLAM. I include this letter here for the following reasons:
The writer is an expert on this topic as a student of religion and an objective seeker of truth. The writer was a believing Christian who knows Christians' feelings and belief concerning Jesus Christ. The writers explanation of how the Christians deviated from Jesus instructions and mission is quite plausible and account for the present Christian belief about Jesus. .I would like to thank the writer for her kind permission to include her letter in this publication.
M. J.
WHY DO CHRISTIANS CLAIM THAT JESUS IS THE SON OF GOD?
Dear sir,
Assalamo Alaikum Wa Rahmatullah
OPINION REGARDING THE DISCUSSION ON YOUR PROGRAM
I was very interested in your discussion on TV since this is a topic which I have discussed many times, both as student of religion, and outside the learning environment, in many parts of the world.
As an English Muslim convert, now living in Saudi Arabia, I find the sharp contrast between societies, thought-provoking from many new points.
Focusing upon the nature of Jesus and Mary as explained in the Koran, and in the Gospel of the New Testament, we see two opposing views that of Christian teaching that Jesus is 'Son of God' and that of the Koran neglecting all such claims. It then, becomes necessary to ask the question WHY was it necessary for the early Christians to make such a claim about Jesus, when after all he never made any such claim himself?
It is my opinion that answer becomes clear if we study the basis for the religions of Islam and Christianity. As Muslims we base our faith upon God and upon Him alone, and upon the Koran God's word to His Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) in whom we also believe as a true Prophet of the one God. Muhammad (PBUH) is God's servant, faithful and obedient and totally human he remains the instrument of God's purpose to lead His people back to Him again.
Now, as a total contrast we turn to Christianity a religion built not around God, or His book for there was no 'book' until 150 years after Jesus' death. Christianity became built around the personality of Jesus himself. By laying more and more stress upon the magnetic and wonderful personality of Jesus and unable and un-willing to describe the Prophet's effect upon all who came to him in everyday terms more and more attributes are added to his reputation a man who could perform miracles, bring back the dead to life, heal the leper, cure the blind all by Gods will, is indeed a wonderful man blessed by God born by Gods will to do His service. But after his death, the 'magical' personality must be kept alive and 'Son of God' appears to suitably qualify all his actions.
Living in a society, strongly flavored by the Greco-Roman gods, all 'super
human,' the educated early Christians must surely also have been influenced in
thought by their surroundings. Paul himself, one of the great teachers of Christianity, was a Hellenized Jew, who never saw or met Jesus during his lifetime. Yet many of his reported sayings show the influence of the times in which he lived. 'The Living Lord' was very real to him.
The miraculous nature of Jesus' birth, also could help to give credence to the idea of Jesus identity as son of God. But it is child-like in its 1 + 1 = 2 type philosophy, i.e., God blew into the womb of Mary Mary had Jesus, therefore God is Jesus' father and Jesus is His son.
What Christians fail to see, and to understand is that in Jesus' birth and conception we see a touching and wonderful revelation of the Kindness of God.
We are told by both Koran and Christian writings that Mary was a young woman of exceptional purity of both mind and body, brought into the world already pledged as God's servant, blessed by God, while in His service in the synagogue so that she herself could produce small 'miraculous' occurrences by God's will. How natural then, that God, having chosen her to be the vehicle by which His new, Prophet should be born on earth chooses a means by which none of her blessed purity is touched. She serves her God, but in so doing He in His infinite kindness preserves her precious purity. Surely this needs no embellishment no claims to 'Sonship' of God. God's creation yes, but not Son by Paternity. That is obviously not the intention.
The fact that so much time elapsed before any of the sayings of Jesus or his teachings were written, also allows for the "Oral tradition', by which they were passed on, to have substantially changed the original. And yet through the three synoptic gospels (John being written last and obviously full of religious dogma) Mathew, Luke and Mark despite any alteration a picture of Jesus as a quiet, yet magnetic personality a Prophet inspired by God, with a great love of all humanity, sent to sharpen out awareness of God, in all the aspects of life; Jesus tries to open our eyes and our hearts to a greater awareness of God an unselfish appraisal of ourselves from our thoughts, to our actions, and to enlarge Faith and Trust in God. Only by so doing by the simple Faith and Trust of a child is God's Kingdom to come on Earth this idea is repeated many times in many of his reported sayings. His closeness to God was evident from the strength that he drew from prayers, and the power he was given by God, to perform miracles. Yet in all this power and in the performance of God's wonders NEVER does he proclaim himself Son of God. In Jesus sense of the word 'Son" we are all children of God, His sons and daughters, here on earth, and as such Jesus taught the people to pray to 'Our Father, which art in Heaven'.
Of the actual volume of words he spoke or must have spoken in his teachings only a pitiable few, and not all reliable, have been recorded. Jesus seemed to be primarily concerned with the poor, the oppressed, the outcast, the sick and not tolerant of the sanctimonious and meaningless religious 'cant' of the so-called "pious. His call was to the hearts of men, and his theme was humanity and love. Did he mean to establish a church? I believe he did but not in the sense we see the church today Jesus was practical as well as spiritual. I believe he wanted to create a society of people whose Faith in God bound them to one another regardless of race or creed, in a family-type caring relationship under God's guidance. It is not really evident from his teachings that he saw himself as a great shining light in this process. He tended more to regard himself as a tool in the hands of God.
By raising him up to unbelievable heights, the early Christian followers brought upon themselves the endless problems of theoretically explaining the crucifixion and from this comes the doctrine of the suffering servants, raised from the Jewish ancient texts spoken of in Isaiah, the doctrine of Sacrifice for the sins of man, and the consequential exclusiveness of Jesus which is very important to the early Christians. A pagan could be equally faithful to many gods' but in Christianity this could not be ONLY by faith in Jesus can the Christian hope to gain salvation ONLY by accepting his death for the sake of man's sin and ONLY by belief in his resurrection (for as son of God, God must lift him up again) can the Christian hope to gain Paradise. Any other path is death although this places Jesus absolutely between God and His people a position he never occupied in his life on Earth.
Doctrine on doctrine becomes intertwined, and we find in the history of the church, endless meetings, theories and arguments as to the Nature of Jesus he has become now, in fact, less a tangible reality, and more an unearthly semi-spiritual being, wrapped in endless doctrine and dogma far indeed from the simple, gentle personality, in whom God placed so much power, in order that he could bring awareness to His people. Has not the church then defeated Jesus' own objective simplicity?
We find in the "Trinity" Father Son and Holy Ghost, perhaps the culmination of the efforts of people struggling for a 'Supremacy' in religious expression and achieving an enigma, few Christians can adequately explain today,
God's spirit is as real in the days of Moses and Abraham as it is in the time of Prophet Muhammad (PBUH). It does not need to be held in the confines of a "man-made" triangle. Nor did Jesus associate himself with any theory of this kind.
It is sad, that in the coming of Islam, Christians felt they saw the coming of the 'fake prophet' or Anti-Christ told of in the Book of Revelation to John (New Tes). It is even sadder that the noble who organized the 2nd Crusade against the Muslims was offered a copy of a translated Koran to read and cast it aside. It is sad because it reflects an attitude to Islam seen even until today kept alive in the history of the Crusades, and founded on a total ignorance. It is for Muslims, now to assert their faith and for Christians to at least be willing to be made aware of the meaning of Islam. I am sure that to many Islam and its teachings will be as a mountain stream in the desert, to the parched souls of many searching for truth.
quote:Originally posted by Marcella: He couldn't say that he was a son of the man because he was only son of one human being.
ok marcella/ which creed that you believe in it? are you convinced that jesus is the God or not? i rememberd that you said "jesus is jesus,and God is God",that what muslims say also.thank you marcella for your friendly way.
Yes that's what I said.But Jesus was son of Mary only one human being created by God.
that`s the miracle what muslim believe in too,how our prophet jesus was born....without father,why? this is the ability of God..like he did with our prophet adam,but without father and mother..that`s the miracle,which proved the ability of God. so what you said marcella indicated there are one God who created st.mary and his son.but it`s unlogic to believe that jesus the son was a creator. Posts: 92 | From: egypt | Registered: Jun 2006
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quote:Originally posted by Aki: he is the Son of human as son of Mary/Mariam and the son of God as belonging to God him self no earthly father,we can't also neglect 300 Prophecies in the Torah (old Testament)about his birth,deeds,death,resurrection and the second coming.
Mr/ aki why you considered that the resurrection and the second coming was happened, we muslims think that will happen in the last of days.only try to treat with jesus as a prophet not as a God.
Posts: 92 | From: egypt | Registered: Jun 2006
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quote:Originally posted by Marcella: He couldn't say that he was a son of the man because he was only son of one human being.
ok marcella/ which creed that you believe in it? are you convinced that jesus is the God or not? i rememberd that you said "jesus is jesus,and God is God",that what muslims say also.thank you marcella for your friendly way.
Yes that's what I said.But Jesus was son of Mary only one human being created by God.
that`s the miracle what muslim believe in too,how our prophet jesus was born....without father,why? this is the ability of God..like he did with our prophet adam,but without father and mother..that`s the miracle,which proved the ability of God. so what you said marcella indicated there are one God who created st.mary and his son.but it`s unlogic to believe that jesus the son was a creator. :rolleyes:
I didn't say that Jesus was creator. BTW why God didn't save Jesus on the cross? He did save him.He did save his soul.But as long as he was a only human he died by other people hand.And this is what he knew since the beginning he came.
Posts: 979 | From: Another world | Registered: May 2006
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[/qb][/QUOTE]I didn't say that Jesus was creator. BTW why God didn't save Jesus on the cross? He did save him.He did save his soul.But as long as he was a only human he died by other people hand.And this is what he knew since the beginning he came. [/QB][/QUOTE] ok marcella, Good point,but i understood from what you said that jesus not the God,he only a human being,i agree with you,and that only what we want to say. thank you very much again, and God bless you.
Posts: 92 | From: egypt | Registered: Jun 2006
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[1] Who hath believed our report? and to whom is the arm of the LORD revealed? [2] For he shall grow up before him as a tender plant, and as a root out of a dry ground: he hath no form nor comeliness; and when we shall see him, there is no beauty that we should desire him. [3] He is despised and rejected of men; a man of sorrows, and acquainted with grief: and we hid as it were our faces from him; he was despised, and we esteemed him not. [4] Surely he hath borne our griefs, and carried our sorrows: yet we did esteem him stricken, smitten of God, and afflicted. [5] But he was wounded for our transgressions, he was bruised for our iniquities: the chastisement of our peace was upon him; and with his stripes we are healed. [6] All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned every one to his own way; and the LORD hath laid on him the iniquity of us all. [7] He was oppressed, and he was afflicted, yet he opened not his mouth: he is brought as a lamb to the slaughter, and as a sheep before her shearers is dumb, so he openeth not his mouth. [8] He was taken from prison and from judgment: and who shall declare his generation? for he was cut off out of the land of the living: for the transgression of my people was he stricken. [9] And he made his grave with the wicked, and with the rich in his death; because he had done no violence, neither was any deceit in his mouth. [10] Yet it pleased the LORD to bruise him; he hath put him to grief: when thou shalt make his soul an offering for sin, he shall see his seed, he shall prolong his days, and the pleasure of the LORD shall prosper in his hand. [11] He shall see of the travail of his soul, and shall be satisfied: by his knowledge shall my righteous servant justify many; for he shall bear their iniquities. [12] Therefore will I divide him a portion with the great, and he shall divide the spoil with the strong; because he hath poured out his soul unto death: and he was numbered with the transgressors; and he bare the sin of many, and made intercession for the transgressors.
-------------------- The ground at Calvary's Cross is level Posts: 1172 | Registered: Apr 2006
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...but make no mistake, this does not mean that eskimos or pre-jesus people all go to hell, or that we should not live a good life.
REV 21:7-8 "He that ovrecometh shall inheret great things; I shall be his God, and heshall be my son. But the fearful, and unbelieving, and the abominable, and murderers, and whoremongers, and sorcerers, and idolaters, and all liars, shall have their part in the lake which burneth with fir an brimstone: which is the second death.
quote:Originally posted by Marcella: You are welcome but I still believe that Jesus died.
that`s right marcella ,jesus died and all of muslims believe that too, and Quran mentioned that, because he was only human being,so the logical end for our prophet jesus was the death. but the question now is:Are you believe that jesus is the God?
Posts: 92 | From: egypt | Registered: Jun 2006
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I already gave you answer.And I believe that Jesus died.And not the way that is in Quran.I don't believe what's in Quran about Jesus.
Posts: 979 | From: Another world | Registered: May 2006
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