Islam
Islam today claims a following second only to Christianity. Many
followers of the Islamic faith proclaim that Islam is very much like
Christianity and that there is only one basic difference, namely --
Jesus was merely a prophet.
This difference is so vital and fundamental that it provides an insurmountable
barrier. It is impossible to reconcile:
a. Christianity, with its basic tenets that Jesus is God and that
the Bible is the Word of God, with
b. Islam, which states Jesus is a prophet and nothing else, and
that the Quran is the Word of God.
I have studied the Islamic Religion, which today has a large following
throughout the world. I am a Christian. I accept Jesus as my Lord
and the son of God, confess Him with my lips, and believe in my heart
that He was born of a virgin and that God raised Him from the dead.
The Bible states that those who so believe will enjoy everlasting
life and those who do not accept Jesus as the Son of God are destined
for the Lake of Fire.
Many of my friends whom I admire and love are Muslims, followers
of the Prophet Muhammad. So I set out to read and study their book,
the Quran, to identify wherein there are basic differences in belief.
I found that there are differences, and, as I have stated, that one
major difference concerns Jesus.
We Christians regard Jesus as the Son of God; we regard Him as being
Divine. He was crucified, died and was buried; yet, He rose from the
dead on the third day to dwell and live with the people for forty
days after His resurrection. He was seen by thousands; and on one
occasion by more than five hundred. After His resurrection, Jesus
was seen on seventeen separate occasion.
Islam, on the other hands, proclaims Jesus is not God; Jesus is not
the Son of God; Jesus is not Divine; Jesus is merely a prophet.
With this background, I seek to write you, my Islam friends, and
ask you to listen to my arguments and contentions with an open mind;
and I pray God that I am able to convince you that Jesus is
Divine from your very own Quran.
WHO WAS MUHAMMAD?
Now, let us commence with Muhammad, whose writings in the Quran you
trust as coming from God. Who was Muhammad? He was born in Mecca in
570 A.D. He had a human father. He had a human mother called Amina,
and a foster mother, Halima. Muhammad never claimed to be Divine.
Apart from declaring that there is one God, his sole claim was that
he was a prophet who "came in the fullest blaze of history; with
no learning he put to shame the wisdom of the learned." (Quran
C 18).
At forty years of age he received a call to stand forth and proclaim
the bounty of God. He sought after truth. He used to retire to a cave
at the side of Mount Hiraa, three miles from Mecca, for peaceful contemplation.
At twenty-five he was married to Khadija, a noble lady of great wealth,
and she assisted him in his meditations.
MANY FACTS IN THE QURAN ARE THE SAME AS IN THE HOLY BIBLE
The Quran says that revelations were given to Muhammad. "These
messages came as an inspiration to Muhammad as the need arose, and
on different occasions and in different places: he recited them, and
they were recorded by the pen." (Quran C 41). In this way, the
Quran was written. As is known, each chapter is called a sura (s)
which means "a step," and each verse is called an ayat which
means "a sign." Unless otherwise stated, the test translations
and commentary referred to in most of this booklet are by A. Yusuf
Ali, whose version is accepted in the whole Muslim world. All quotations
herein are given with their references taken from the Quran.
My friends, if anyone were to open the Quran at random he would see
many, many names and places referred to which are in the Holy Bible,
starting, for example with
S.11.29-- "It is He (God) who hath created for you all things
that are on earth".
And we find the story of Adam and Eve -
S.11.35,36 -- "Oh Adam! Dwell thou and thy wife in the garden;
and eat of the bountiful things therein as where and when ye will,
but approach not this tree, or ye run into harm and transgression.
Then did Satan make them slip from the (garden), and get them out
of the state (of felicity) in which they had been."
Indeed, in the Quran we read of the story of Moses, the story of
Abraham, and of other Biblical characters.
"Well," you may say, "This is fine, but let us come
down to the basic difference, and show us how one arrives at the acceptance
of the Christian point of view from the Quran or in what way the Quran
claims the same fundamental dogmas as Christianity."
THE BASIC DIFFERENCE
Let me repeat, there is one vital basic difference; the Quran refers
to Jesus as a righteous prophet, an Apostle to Israel. In the Quran,
Muhammad declares Jesus was not God, not the Son of God, and that
He was only an Apostle. In other words, the religion of Islam says:
Jesus lived. This Jesus was good. This Jesus was truthful. This Jesus
was righteous. But this Jesus was not divine.
However, Jesus had Himself said He was the Christ (John 4:25, 26).
If He were not the Christ, then He was a deceiver and liar. Yet, the
Quran itself rightly proclaims His rectitude and virtues. Can you
accept the Quran's statement that He was not Divine?
Let us continue our examination of the Quran. What else did Muhammad
say of Jesus? The Quran in S.V.113 states of Jesus:
"By My leave, thou healest those born blind, and the lepers.
By my leave, and behold! Thou bringest forth the dead."
In summary form, Islam proclaims Jesus was a wonderful prophet, a
healer and one who brought the dead back to life. No such acts or
powers are ascribed in the Quran to the Prophet Muhammad. So the Quran
itself ascribes greater power to Jesus than to Muhammad.
THE PROOF THAT JESUS IS DIVINE!
Now arises the question....could any reasonable person reduce from
the Quran that Jesus is Divine? I claim, "Yes." And, I further
aver, to arrive at any other conclusion would be most unreasonable!
Let us examine this contention in two ways:
1. What factors should be present to convince anyone that Jesus is
Divine?
2. Are those factors present in the Quran?
3. If these factors are present, then surely you must accept that
Jesus is Divine--for the proof is taken from the Muslim's Authority.
THE FOUR FACTORS
Now, let us examine the first question. What factors should be present?
Well, I would expect if Jesus is the Son of God and Divine:
(a) There should be an earlier prophecy or expectation of His birth
which His coming fulfills.
(b) His coming, conception or birth ought to be supernatural, extraordinary,
an incredible miracle which could only be explained if He were the
Son of God, if Jesus were Deity.
(c) His life should be highlighted with miracles and His teachings
should withstand the passage of time. Jesus would be truly sinless.
(d) Finally, Jesus should conquer death.
FACTOR A: EARLIER PROPHECIES CONCERNING JESUS' COMING MUST
PRECEDE HIS BIRTH
Now, how are these four requirements met when we examine the Quran?
Let us take the first one--does His coming fulfill any earlier pronouncements?
(The Bible is replete with reference to the coming of Jesus, the time,
the place of His birth, etc.) And these were foretold hundreds of
years before His coming. Let us put this aside and confine our attention
to the Muslim's Book, the Quran.
In S.V.49-- Muhammad, reflecting God's dictation writes: "And
in their footsteps we sent Jesus the Son of Mary, confirming the Law
that had come before Him: We sent Him the gospel: therein was guidance
and light, and confirmation of the Law that had come before Him: A
guidance and an admonition to those who fear God."
What does this passage mean? It means what it says -- that Jesus
came to confirm the law -- the pronouncements laid down before He
came. The law was laid down by the prophets; that is to say, the prophecies
later were to be confirmed by the birth of Jesus.
Now, having read what the Quran says, let us look at its counterpart
in the Bible. Did Jesus Himself not say in Matthew 5:17, "Think
not that I am come to destroy the law of the prophets: I am not come
to destroy but to fulfill." And in Luke 24:44 Jesus again said,
"All things must be fulfilled, which were written in the Law
of Moses...." In like manner, the Quran is saying, Jesus is SENT
TO FULFILL, TO CONFIRM THE LAW or pronouncements laid down before
He came, that is, to confirm the prophecies. So this first requirement
is satisfied: "There should be prophecy which His coming fulfills";
and the Quran is saying the coming of Jesus was foretold, and His
coming was to confirm the law.
The Bible is a Book of Prophecies
Perhaps this is a good place to interpose the difference between
the Christian Bible and the twenty-six other books, such as the Quran,
the Bhagwat Gita, etc. The Bible is the only book that bespeaks prophecy.
One third of the Bible is prophecy. For prophecy to be accepted, it
must made beforehand, and come to pass in every minute particular.
The Quran, for example, excellent book though it is, does not contain
a single prophecy. Yet, here we find the Quran alluding to the fulfillment
of prophecy by the coming of Jesus -- "We sent Jesus the Son
of Mary, confirming the Law that had come before him; we sent him
the Gospel: therein was guidance and light and confirmation of the
Law that had come before him: A guidance and an admonition to those
who fear God." (S.V.49). So this establishes the first of our
four points to prove the Deity of Jesus. There is prophecy or expectation
which His coming -- the coming of Jesus, fulfills.
FACTOR B: JESUS' CONCEPTION AND BIRTH MUST BE SUPERNATURAL
The second factor we would expect if Jesus were Divine is that His
coming should be supernatural. Yes, it should be an incredible miracle,
which could only be explained if Jesus were the Son of God. This is,
in my view, the crucial test of Divinity. If the Quran satisfies this
requirement, then the Quran will be asserting that Jesus is the Messiah.
For a child to be conceived, the laws of nature are to be observed.
There must be the union of a man and a woman. In all history, throughout
all ages, only one birth makes the claim of a virgin birth; only one
birth has this claim been substantiated; and that is in the birth
of Jesus.
Once again, let us not look at the Bible, which is the Christian
Authority, the Word on which the Christian leans; let us look at these
quotations taken from the Quran. The Quran first speaks of the mother
of Mary. The Bible makes no reference to the mother of Mary who became
the mother of Jesus. It is the Quran which goes back to Jesus' grandmother.
And the Quran says this of the grandmother, when little baby Mary
(the mother of Jesus) was born, the grandmother of Jesus had this
to say:
S.111.36-- "Oh my Lord! Behold! I am delivered of a female
child! And God knew best....I have named her Mary, and I commend
her and her offspring to Thy protection from the Evil One, the Rejected."
So, we find in the Quran that the infant Mary (who later became Jesus'
mother) is commended to the protection from the devil, the evil one,
the rejected one.
And then follows, in the Quran, a description of Mary's growth in
purity and beauty. Further, God supplies her, who was to the the mother
of Jesus, with sustenance. Let us read what the Quran says:
S.111.37-- "Right graciously did her Lord accept her (Mary);
He made her grow in purity and beauty: to the care of Zakariya was
she assigned. Every time that he entered her chamber to see her,
he found her supplied with sustenance. He said, 'Oh Mary! whence
comes this to you?' She said, 'From God; for provides sustenance
to whom He pleases, without measure.'"
In short, the Quran is here giving details of Mary, the mother of
Jesus, which is not found in the Bible. Mary is literally fed by God.
The Quran next identifies the young Mary in this manner. (All of
these quotations are taken directly from the Quran.) This is what
the Quran says of how Mary conceived the baby Jesus:
S.111.42-- "Behold the angels said: 'O Mary! God hath chosen
thee and purified thee -- chosen thee above the women of all nations.'"
Mary then is chosen and purified. The Quran continues:
S.111.43-- "O Mary! Worship thy lord devoutly; prostrate thyself
and bow down (in prayer) with those who bow down." And now
comes this vital and far reaching declaration in the Quran:
S.111.45-- "Behold! The Angels said: " Mary! God giveth
thee glad tidings of a Word from Him: His name will be Christ Jesus,
The son of Mary, held in Honour in this world and the Hereafter
and (the company of) those nearest to God. He shall speak to the
people in childhood and in maturity, and He shall be (of the Company)
of the righteous." Mary's reply (again from the Quran) is:
S.111.47-- "'Oh my lord! How shall I have a son when no man
has touched me?' The angel replied, 'Even so: God createth what
He willeth: When He hath decreed a Plan, He but said to it, "be,"
and it is!'"
Followers of Islam can never explain away these clear, unequivocal
statements written by their Prophet Muhammad who declared that Jesus
was born without a human father. This alone proves the Deity of Jesus.
This alone proves He is the Son of God.
Further, "the Angels said....'his name will be Christ Jesus.'"
(S.111.45). Christ means, "the anointed one"; Muhammad was
not referred to as Christ. He was born normally. He had a mother and
a father. Jesus was born without a father; yet, the Quran would have
us believe that Muhammad, a man, was greater than Jesus who is God
"come down' to this world as a Redeemer for all mankind.
Summary
Now what the Quran has said beyond question is that (a) Mary was
a virgin; (b) the angels brought the glad tidings of the coming birth
of Jesus to Mary; (c) Mary asked how could this be, when no man had
touched her; (d) the answer was: "God createth what He willeth"
(S.V.47); (e) Mary conceives; (f) Jesus is born -- all according to
the writing in the Book called the Quran; the angels said to Mary,
'His name will be Christ Jesus"; (g) Jesus was born of the will
of God. Jesus had no human father.
Is He not then the Son of God? Put another way, based on the Quran,
who would say is His Father: surely, the answer is GOD! My Muslim
friends, is this not clear and incapable of any other meaning?
I repeat, it is interesting to note that there is no prophecy about
the birth of Muhammad, nor Moses, nor any of the prophets; and no
one, however holy and chaste, could claim that he or she was born
with a father. Yet what Muhammad wrote in the Quran had been foretold
740 years earlier by the Prophet Isaiah in Isaiah 7:14 when he wrote,
"A virgin shall conceive, and bear a son, and shall call His
name Immanuel." Indeed, in the Quran (Al Imram v. 45) Jesus is
referred to as "The greatest above all in this world and in the
world to come."
Who can deny the miraculous birth of Jesus? Who can deny that it
was supernatural? Yes, you the followers of Islam must readily agree
with good reason that Jesus had no human father, for this is what
your Quran says. Why then do you doubt that Jesus was the Son of God?
If God willeth that Jesus should be so born, who are we, you and I,
to doubt that Jesus is Divine? My friends, on the basis of your own
Authority, the Quran, you must accept Jesus as the Son of God.
Christ Jesus
Permit me, for emphasis again, to state that special attention must
be paid to the words used by the Angels to Mary and recorded in the
Quran...."His name will be Christ Jesus."(S.111.45) In Greek,
Christ means, "the anointed one." It is the translation
of the Hebrew word "Messiah." Now "Messiah," in
Jewish theology, refers to the Divinely appointed Deliverer. The Angels,
by transmitting this message from God to Mary, were placing the imprimatur
or seal of approval on the Divinity of Jesus. Again, I pause to remind
you that this quoted passage is taken directly from the Quran. If
you accept the Quran, this you must accept, that the Angels from God
said His name will be Jesus. You must therefore accept that Jesus
is God.
All of this fits in beautifully with the Bible, for according to
the Synoptic Gospels the Messiahship of Jesus was expressly proclaimed
by Angels at His birth (Luke 2:11); and Peter at Caesarea Philippi
also explicitly confessed Jesus as the Christ (Mark 8:29 and Matthew
16:16).
It is Impossible to Approbate and Reprobate
The point I make, my Brothers, is that one cannot approbate and reprobate.
You cannot admit a fact with one breath, and at the same time deny
that fact. Your Authority, your Quran, says God, through His Angeles,
called the Baby, Jesus. What the Angels were saying is this: "His
name is the Messiah Jesus." How then, can you still maintain
the stand that Jesus is NOT Divine? The second requirement, His supernatural
conception and birth, is thereby satisfied.
FACTOR C: THE LIFE OF JESUS MUST BE HIGHLIGHTED WITH MIRACLES
AND HIS TEACHINGS MUST WITHSTAND THE PASSAGE OF TIME. JESUS HIMSELF,
AS THE SON OF GOD, MUST BE TRULY SINLESS
And now, for the third requirement, factor (c), that His life should
be fraught with miracles, and His teachings should withstand the passage
of time. And also He should be without sin.
His Teachings
It is nearly two thousand years since Jesus died. When He died, His
disciples were in disarray; they had fled. He was betrayed, denied
and deserted, yet His teachings are stronger today than at any time.
Yes, two thousand years have gone by, and in addition to the millions
and millions of Bible which have been circulated in all languages,
millions of books have been written, seeking to explain and bring
His teaching to all mankind. For two thousand years His teachings
have been the light of the world and His Word continues to endure
forever. Although Jesus never led an army, today there are two thousand
million Christians marching under His banner of Love. Truly His teachings
have withstood the passage of time.
His Miracles
The Bible records His many miracles; but since, in this letter, the
authority on which I examine is your Quran and not the Bible, let
us look at the Quran S.111.48, 49, and see what it ways about His
miracles. The Quran says of Jesus:
S.111.48,49-- God will teach him the Book of Wisdom, the Law of
the Gospel, "and (appoint him) an Apostle to the children of
Israel (with this message): 'I have come to you with a Sign from
your Lord, in that I make for you out of clay, as it were, the figure
of a bird, and breathe into it, and it becomes a bird by God's leave;
And I heal those born blind, and the lepers, and I quicken the dead,
by God's leave.'"
Yusuf Ali, in his editorial commentary in the Quran writes that those
miracles of curing the blind and the lepers and raising the dead are
in the canonical Gospels. He also states that giving a clay bird life
is only found in some of the apocryphal Gospels.
The Quran gives a wide spectrum of Jesus the Healer, and there is
given to Jesus the power to quicken or revive the dead -- a power
that Muhammad never claimed or never exhibited.
His Sinlessness
Would you agree that only if He were God would Jesus be without sin?
Islam shares the belief that Jesus was sinless. It speaks of the sin
of Adam, Noah, Abraham, Moses and even Muhammad -- but nowhere attributes
any sin to Jesus.
The conclusion is expressed in one of the traditions: "Every
child born of Adam is touched by Satan the day his mother is delivered
of him with the exception of Mary and her son."
Islam Gives No Hope for the Sinner
It is interesting to note that the Quran has no message for sinners,
who will receive nothing from God, except judgment, and who have no
merit to advance, nor rewards to weigh against their failures. Its
symbol is not the cross, which speaks of grace, God's free and unmerited
favour to sinners. Only the Gospel of Jesus proclaims salvation through
the merit of another who paid the price of sin in a unique, historical
act of self-sacrifice.
The Quran, as if to single out Jesus and place Him in a different
capacity, gives the following titles to Jesus, which titles are not
ascribed to Muhammad:
(a) The Messiah
(b) The Word of God
(c) The Sure Saying
All bespeak the Deity of Jesus. So the third factor necessary to
show that Jesus is God is established from the Quran, viz? Miracles
followed Jesus, and that He was without sin.
FACTOR D: JESUS MUST CONQUER DEATH
Finally, we come to the aspect that Jesus, if Divine, should be able
Himself to conquer death.
The Bible provides ample evidence of those who saw Him after His
resurrection: Peter and more than five hundred at one time; but we
are confining our attention to the Quran. The contention that is being
considered is this:
The Muslims claim that Jesus is not the Son of God and was not Divine.
Yet, how does this conclusion square with the irrefutable pronouncements
which we have studied so far in the Quran itself, of the Law which
was fulfilled by the coming of Jesus, PLUS His miraculous conception
and Divine birth, in which the Quran asserts that Jesus had no father,
but God's will was responsible for His birth?
PLUS, we have three years of teaching by Jesus, which from a tiny
area of the earth now covers the entire world.
PLUS, the miracles Jesus performed during these three years on earth
all showing, beyond doubt, that truly no one was like Him, for HE
WAS AND IS THE SON OF GOD, and, as the Quran puts it, was the only
one with SIN.
Now we come to the fourth factor: What does the Quran say about Jesus'
death and resurrection? Let us look at S.IV.157. This is the passage
often referred to in support of the contention that Christ was not
crucified. But is that what it really says? No! Let us see what it
does say:
S.IV.157, 158-- "We killed Jesus Christ, the Son of Mary,
the Apostle of God'; But they killed him not, nor crucified him,
but so it was made to appear to them, and those WHO DIFFER THEREIN
ARE FULL OF DOUBTS, WITH NO (CERTAIN) KNOWLEDGE, but only conjecture
to follow, for a surety they killed him not. NAY, GOD RAISED HIM
UP UNTO HIMSELF: AND GOD IS EXALTED IN POWER, WISE."
Let us examine this passage sentence by sentence. "They (the
Jews) said, 'We killed Jesus,' but they killed him not nor crucified
him, but so it was made to appear to them." In other words, they
thought they had dilled or crucified Jesus. "And those who differ
therein are full of doubts." That is, those who did not share
this view of killed Him are themselves full of doubts, with only conjecture
to follow. Then comes the statement "For a surety they killed
him not."
Of course, they did not kill Jesus finally and for all time. In one
sense, yes, they killed Him physically; but that was not the be-all,
for here in the Quran comes the punch-line, the line which one can,
with good reason, advance in support of the resurrection, and not
against the resurrection, as has been urged.
S.IV.158-- "NAY, GOD RAISED HIM UP UNTO HIMSELF." What
else could this mean but that man could not destroy Jesus, for God
resurrected Jesus? Is this not a straightforward interpretation?
In the Bible, Luke 24:46, Jesus said it was necessary for "Christ
to suffer, and to rise from the dead the third day." Then again,
Acts 2:32, Peter speaking about Jesus said, "This Jesus hath
God raised up whereof we all are witnesses."
Of a truth GOD RAISED HIM UP UNTO HIMSELF, as the Quran states. What
is of importance and enlightenment, however, is the continuation of
S.IV.158 (that is S.IV.159) in the Quran.
S.IV.159-- "And there is none of the People of the Book. But
must believe in Him before His death; And on the Day of Judgment
He will be a witness against them."
Surely this implies in the context of the general scheme of the preceding
sure as the meaning that (a) Jesus was put to physical death, (b)
that God raised Him up, and (c) that on the Judgment day He will be
a witness against them. A witness, knowing those who crucified Him,
and He will bear witness against them on that Judgment Day.
The Quran is saying, "God raised Him up unto Himself" (S.IV.158),
implying that Jesus is now in Heaven and that He is worthy of regard
in this world and the world to come. The Quran is asserting that Jesus
is ascended to Heaven, yet Muhammad, who is revered by the Muslims,
has yet to be raised up to be with God in Heaven.
The conclusions I have asked you to draw are all from your own Quran,
my friends; I do so without relying on the Bible. There are scores
of passages in the Bible which point to the Divinity of Jesus. I have
omitted these. Indeed, so often Jesus Himself declared, "I am
the Christ"; since He could not be a good, a righteous man and
a liar at the same time, His own assertion and testimony must bear
considerable weight.
The vital point at issue in this text has been the Divinity of Jesus,
it is established such as to satisfy even the most fastidious. --
L. Luckhoo - Former Muslim
The text above was written by a former Muslim. Now
we explore some of the inconsistencies
found in the Quran.
