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Islam 101
This article makes for interesting and enligtening reading. Islam is NOT a pacifist or peaceful religion.
Islam 101
Islam 101 is meant to help people become better educated about the fundamentals of Islam and to help the more knowledgeable better convey the facts to others. Similarly, my book and documentary are meant to serve as concise explanations of the major moving parts of Islam and their implications for Western society. Islam 101 is a condensation of the book and documentary with the aim of lending clarity to the public understanding of Islam and of exposing the inadequacy of prevailing views. All should feel free to distribute and/or reproduce it.
Table of Contents
1) The Basics
a) The Five Pillars of Islam
b) The Quran — the Book of Allah
c) The Sunnah — the “Way” of the Prophet Muhammad
i. Battle of Badr
ii. Battle of Uhud
iii. Battle of Medina
iv. Conquest of Mecca
d) Sharia Law
2) Jihad and Dhimmitude
a) What does “jihad” mean?
b) Muslim Scholar Hasan Al-Banna on jihad
c) Dar al-Islam and dar al-harb: the House of Islam and the House of War
i) Taqiyya — Religious Deception
d) Jihad Through History
i) The First Major Wave of Jihad: the Arabs, 622-750 AD
ii) The Second Major Wave of Jihad: the Turks, 1071-1683 AD
e) The Dhimma
f) Jihad in the Modern Era
3) Conclusion
4) Frequently Asked Questions
a) What about the Crusades?
b) If Islam is violent, why are so many Muslims peaceful?
c) What about the violent passages in the Bible?
d) Could an Islamic “Reformation” pacify Islam?
e) What about the history of Western colonialism in the Islamic world?
f) How can a violent political ideology be the second-largest and fastest-growing religion on earth?
g) Is it fair to paint all Islamic schools of thought as violent?
h) What about the great achievements of Islamic civilization?
5) Glossary of Terms
6) Further Resources
1. The Basics
a. The Five Pillars of Islam
The five pillars of Islam constitute the most basic tenets of the religion. They are:
1. Faith (iman) in the oneness of Allah and the finality of the prophethood of Muhammad (indicated by the declaration [the Shahadah] that, “There is no God but Allah and Muhammad is the messenger of Allah”).
2. Keeping of the five scheduled daily prayers (salah).
3. Almsgiving (zakat).
4. Fasting (sawm).
5. Pilgrimage (hajj) to Mecca for those who are able.
The five pillars in and of themselves do not tell us a lot about the faith or what a Muslim is supposed to believe or how he should act. The second through fifth pillars — prayer, almsgiving, fasting, pilgrimage — are aspects shared by many religions. The finality of the prophethood of Muhammad, however, is unique to Islam. To understand Islam and what it means to be a Muslim, we must come to understand Muhammad as well as the revelations given through him by Allah, which make up the Quran.
b. The Quran — the Book of Allah
According to Islamic teaching, the Quran came down as a series of revelations from Allah through the Archangel Gabriel to the Prophet Muhammad, who then dictated it to his followers. Muhammad’s companions memorized fragments of the Quran and wrote them down on whatever was at hand, which were later compiled into book form under the rule of the third Caliph, Uthman, some years after Muhammad’s death.
The Quran is about as long as the Christian New Testament. It comprises 114 suras (not to be confused with the Sira, which refers to the life of the Prophet) of varying lengths, which may be considered chapters. According to Islamic doctrine, it was around 610 AD in a cave near the city of Mecca (now in southwest Saudi Arabia) that Muhammad received the first revelation from Allah by way of the Archangel Gabriel. The revelation merely commanded Muhammad to “recite” or “read” (Sura 96); the words he was instructed to utter were not his own but Allah’s. Over the next twelve or so years in Mecca, other revelations came to Muhammad that constituted a message to the inhabitants of the city to forsake their pagan ways and turn in worship to the one Allah.
While in Mecca, though he condemned paganism (for the most part), Muhammad showed great respect for the monotheism of the Christian and Jewish inhabitants. Indeed, the Allah of the Quran claimed to be the same God worshipped by Jews and Christians, who now revealed himself to the Arab people through his chosen messenger, Muhammad. It is the Quranic revelations that came later in Muhammad’s career, after he and the first Muslims left Mecca for the city of Medina, that transformed Islam from a relatively benign form of monotheism into an expansionary, military-political ideology that persists to this day.
Orthodox Islam does not accept that a rendering of the Quran into another language is a “translation” in the way that, say, the King James Bible is a translation of the original Hebrew and Greek Scriptures. A point often made by Islamic apologists to defang criticism is that only Arabic readers may understand the Quran. But Arabic is a language like any other and fully capable of translation. Indeed, most Muslims are not Arabic readers. In the below analysis, we use a translation of the Quran by two Muslim scholars, which may be found here. All parenthetical explanations in the text are those of the translators save for my interjections in braces, { }.
Those Westerners who manage to pick up a translation of the Quran are often left bewildered as to its meaning thanks to ignorance of a critically important principle of Quranic interpretation known as “abrogation.” The principle of abrogation — al-naskh wa al-mansukh (the abrogating and the abrogated) — directs that verses revealed later in Muhammad’s career “abrogate” — i.e., cancel and replace — earlier ones whose instructions they may contradict. Thus, passages revealed later in Muhammad’s career, in Medina, overrule passages revealed earlier, in Mecca. The Quran itself lays out the principle of abrogation:
2:106. Whatever a Verse (revelation) do We {Allah} abrogate or cause to be forgotten, We bring a better one or similar to it. Know you not that Allah is able to do all things?
It seems that 2:106 was revealed in response to skepticism directed at Muhammad that Allah’s revelations were not entirely consistent over time. Muhammad’s rebuttal was that “Allah is able to do all things” — even change his mind. To confuse matters further, though the Quran was revealed to Muhammad sequentially over some twenty years’ time, it was not compiled in chronological order. When the Quran was finally collated into book form under Caliph Uthman, the suras were ordered from longest to shortest with no connection whatever to the order in which they were revealed or to their thematic content. In order to find out what the Quran says on a given topic, it is necessary to examine the other Islamic sources that give clues as to when in Muhammad’s lifetime the revelations occurred. Upon such examination, one discovers that the Meccan suras, revealed at a time when the Muslims were vulnerable, are generally benign; the later Medinan suras, revealed after Muhammad had made himself the head of an army, are bellicose.
Let us take, for example, 50:45 and Sura 109, both revealed in Mecca:
50:45. We know of best what they say; and you (O Muhammad) are not a tyrant over them (to force them to Belief). But warn by the Qur’an, him who fears My Threat.
109:1. Say (O Muhammad to these Mushrikun and Kafirun): “O Al-Kafirun (disbelievers in Allah, in His Oneness, in His Angels, in His Books, in His Messengers, in the Day of Resurrection, and in Al-Qadar {divine foreordainment and sustaining of all things}, etc.)!
109:2. “I worship not that which you worship,
109:3. “Nor will you worship that which I worship.
109:4. “And I shall not worship that which you are worshipping.
109:5. “Nor will you worship that which I worship.
109:6. “To you be your religion, and to me my religion (Islamic Monotheism).”
Then there is this passage revealed just after the Muslims reached Medina and were still vulnerable:
2:256. There is no compulsion in religion. Verily, the Right Path has become distinct from the wrong path. Whoever disbelieves in Taghut {idolatry} and believes in Allah, then he has grasped the most trustworthy handhold that will never break. And Allah is All-Hearer, All-Knower.
In contrast, take 9:5, commonly referred to as the “Verse of the Sword”, revealed toward the end of Muhammad’s life:
9:5. Then when the Sacred Months (the 1st, 7th, 11th, and 12th months of the Islamic calendar) have passed, then kill the Mushrikun {unbelievers} wherever you find them, and capture them and besiege them, and prepare for them each and every ambush. But if they repent and perform As-Salat (Iqamat-as-Salat {the Islamic ritual prayers}), and give Zakat {alms}, then leave their way free. Verily, Allah is Oft-Forgiving, Most Merciful.
Having been revealed later in Muhammad?s life than 50:45, 109, and 2:256, the Verse of the Sword abrogates their peaceful injunctions in accordance with 2:106. Sura 8, revealed shortly before Sura 9, reveals a similar theme:
8:39. And fight them until there is no more Fitnah (disbelief and polytheism: i.e. worshipping others besides Allah) and the religion (worship) will all be for Allah Alone [in the whole of the world]. But if they cease (worshipping others besides Allah), then certainly, Allah is All-Seer of what they do.
8:67. It is not for a Prophet that he should have prisoners of war (and free them with ransom) until he had made a great slaughter (among his enemies) in the land. You desire the good of this world (i.e. the money of ransom for freeing the captives), but Allah desires (for you) the Hereafter. And Allah is All-Mighty, All-Wise.
9:29. Fight against those who believe not in Allah, nor in the Last Day, nor forbid that which has been forbidden by Allah and His Messenger and those who acknowledge not the religion of truth (i.e. Islam) among the people of the Scripture (Jews and Christians), until they pay the Jizya with willing submission, and feel themselves subdued.
9:33. It is He {Allah} Who has sent His Messenger (Muhammad) with guidance and the religion of truth (Islam), to make it superior over all religions even though the Mushrikun (polytheists, pagans, idolaters, disbelievers in the Oneness of Allah) hate (it).
The Quran’s commandments to Muslims to wage war in the name of Allah against non-Muslims are unmistakable. They are, furthermore, absolutely authoritative as they were revealed late in the Prophet’s career and so cancel and replace earlier instructions to act peaceably. Without knowledge of the principle of abrogation, Westerners will continue to misread the Quran and misdiagnose Islam as a “religion of peace.”
c. The Sunnah — the “Way” of the Prophet Muhammad
In Islam, Muhammad is considered al-insan al-kamil (the “ideal man”). Muhammad is in no way considered divine, nor is he worshipped (no image of Muhammad is permitted lest it encourage idolatry), but he is the model par excellence for all Muslims in how they should conduct themselves. It is through Muhammad’s personal teachings and actions — which make up the “way of the Prophet,” the Sunnah — that Muslims discern what is a good and holy life. Details about the Prophet — how he lived, what he did, his non-Quranic utterances, his personal habits — are indispensable knowledge for any faithful Muslim.
Knowledge of the Sunnah comes primarily from the hadiths (“reports”) about Muhammad’s life, which were passed down orally until codified in the eighth century AD, some hundred years after Muhammad’s death. The hadiths comprise the most important body of Islamic texts after the Quran; they are basically a collection of anecdotes about Muhammad’s life believed to have originated with those who knew him personally. There are thousands upon thousands of hadiths, some running to multiple pages, some barely a few lines in length. When the hadiths were first compiled in the eighth century AD, it became obvious that many were inauthentic. The early Muslim scholars of hadith spent tremendous labor trying to determine which hadiths were authoritative and which were suspect.
The hadiths here come exclusively from the most reliable and authoritative collection, Sahih Al-Bukhari, recognized as sound by all schools of Islamic scholarship, translated by a Muslim scholar and which may be found here. Different translations of hadiths can vary in their breakdown of volume, book, and number, but the content is the same. For each hadith, the classifying information is listed first, then the name of the originator of the hadith (generally someone who knew Muhammad personally), and then the content itself. While the absolute authenticity of even a sound hadith is hardly assured, they are nonetheless accepted as authoritative within an Islamic context.
Because Muhammad is himself the measuring stick of morality, his actions are not judged according to an independent moral standard but rather establish what the standard for Muslims properly is.
Volume 7, Book 62, Number 88; Narrated Ursa: The Prophet wrote the (marriage contract) with Aisha while she was six years old and consummated his marriage with her while she was nine years old and she remained with him for nine years (i.e. till his death).
Volume 8, Book 82, Number 795; Narrated Anas: The Prophet cut off the hands and feet of the men belonging to the tribe of Uraina and did not cauterise (their bleeding limbs) till they died.
Volume 2, Book 23, Number 413; Narrated Abdullah bin Umar: The Jews {of Medina} brought to the Prophet a man and a woman from amongst them who have committed (adultery) illegal sexual intercourse. He ordered both of them to be stoned (to death), near the place of offering the funeral prayers beside the mosque.
Volume 9, Book 84, Number 57; Narrated Ikrima: Some Zanadiqa (atheists) were brought to Ali {the fourth Caliph} and he burnt them. The news of this event, reached Ibn ‘Abbas who said, “If I had been in his place, I would not have burnt them, as Allah’s Apostle forbade it, saying, “Do not punish anybody with Allah’s punishment (fire).” I would have killed them according to the statement of Allah’s Apostle, “Whoever changes his Islamic religion, then kill him.”
Volume 1, Book 2, Number 25; Narrated Abu Huraira: Allah’s Apostle was asked, “What is the best deed?” He replied, “To believe in Allah and His Apostle (Muhammad). The questioner then asked, “What is the next (in goodness)?” He replied, “To participate in Jihad (religious fighting) in Allah’s Cause.”
In Islam, there is no “natural” sense of morality or justice that transcends the specific examples and injunctions outlined in the Quran and the Sunnah. Because Muhammad is considered Allah’s final prophet and the Quran the eternal, unalterable words of Allah himself, there is also no evolving morality that permits the modification or integration of Islamic morality with that from other sources. The entire Islamic moral universe devolves solely from the life and teachings of Muhammad.
Along with the reliable hadiths, a further source of accepted knowledge about Muhammad comes from the Sira (life) of the Prophet, composed by one of Islam’s great scholars, Muhammad bin Ishaq, in the eighth century AD.
Muhammad’s prophetic career is meaningfully divided into two segments: the first in Mecca, where he labored for fourteen years to make converts to Islam; and later in the city of Medina (The City of the Apostle of God), where he became a powerful political and military leader. In Mecca, we see a quasi-Biblical figure, preaching repentance and charity, harassed and rejected by those around him; later, in Medina, we see an able commander and strategist who systematically conquered and killed those who opposed him. It is the later years of Muhammad’s life, from 622 AD to his death in 632, that are rarely broached in polite company. In 622, when the Prophet was better than fifty years old, he and his followers made the Hijra (emigration or flight), from Mecca to the oasis of Yathrib — later renamed Medina — some 200 miles to the north. Muhammad’s new monotheism had angered the pagan leaders of Mecca, and the flight to Medina was precipitated by a probable attempt on Muhammad’s life. Muhammad had sent emissaries to Medina to ensure his welcome. He was accepted by the Medinan tribes as the leader of the Muslims and as arbiter of inter-tribal disputes.
Shortly before Muhammad fled the hostility of Mecca, a new batch of Muslim converts pledged their loyalty to him on a hill outside Mecca called Aqaba. Ishaq here conveys in the Sira the significance of this event:
Sira, p208: When God gave permission to his Apostle to fight, the second {oath of allegiance at} Aqaba contained conditions involving war which were not in the first act of fealty. Now they {Muhammad’s followers} bound themselves to war against all and sundry for God and his Apostle, while he promised them for faithful service thus the reward of paradise.
That Muhammad’s nascent religion underwent a significant change at this point is plain. The scholarly Ishaq clearly intends to impress on his (Muslim) readers that, while in its early years, Islam was a relatively tolerant creed that would “endure insult and forgive the ignorant,” Allah soon required Muslims “to war against all and sundry for God and his Apostle.” The Islamic calendar testifies to the paramouncy of the Hijra by setting year one from the date of its occurrence. The year of the Hijra, 622 AD, is considered more significant than the year of Muhammad’s birth or death or that of the first Quranic revelation because Islam is first and foremost a political-military enterprise. It was only when Muhammad left Mecca with his paramilitary band that Islam achieved its proper political-military articulation. The years of the Islamic calendar (which employs lunar months) are designated in English “AH” or “After Hijra.”
i. The Battle of Badr
The Battle of Badr was the first significant engagement fought by the Prophet. Upon establishing himself in Medina following the Hijra, Muhammad began a series of razzias (raids) on caravans of the Meccan Quraish tribe on the route to Syria.
Volume 5, Book 59, Number 287; Narrated Kab bin Malik: The Apostle had gone out to meet the caravans of Quraish, but Allah caused them (i.e. Muslims) to meet their enemy unexpectedly (with no previous intention).
Volume 5, Book 59, Number 289; Narrated Ibn Abbas: On the day of the battle of Badr, the Prophet said, “O Allah! I appeal to You (to fulfill) Your Covenant and Promise. O Allah! If Your Will is that none should worship You (then give victory to the pagans).” Then Abu Bakr took hold of him by the hand and said, “This is sufficient for you.” The Prophet came out saying, “Their multitude will be put to flight and they will show their backs.” (54:45)
Having returned to Medina after the battle, Muhammad admonished the resident Jewish tribe of Qaynuqa to accept Islam or face a similar fate as the Quraish (3:12-13). The Qaynuqa agreed to leave Medina if they could retain their property, which Muhammad granted. Following the exile of the Bani Qaynuqa, Muhammad turned to individuals in Medina he considered to have acted treacherously. The Prophet particularly seems to have disliked the many poets who ridiculed his new religion and his claim to prophethood — a theme evident today in the violent reactions of Muslims to any perceived mockery of Islam. In taking action against his opponents, “the ideal man” set precedents for all time as to how Muslims should deal with detractors of their religion.
Sira, p367: Then he {Kab bin al-Ashraf} composed amatory verses of an insulting nature about the Muslim women. The Apostle said: “Who will rid me of Ibnul-Ashraf?” Muhammad bin Maslama, brother of the Bani Abdu’l-Ashhal, said, “I will deal with him for you, O Apostle of God, I will kill him.” He said, “Do so if you can.” “All that is incumbent upon you is that you should try” {said the Prophet to Muhammad bin Maslama}. He said, “O Apostle of God, we shall have to tell lies.” He {the Prophet} answered, “Say what you like, for you are free in the matter.”
Volume 4, Book 52, Number 270; Narrated Jabir bin ‘Abdullah: The Prophet said, “Who is ready to kill Kab bin Al-Ashraf who has really hurt Allah and His Apostle?” Muhammad bin Maslama said, “O Allah’s Apostle! Do you like me to kill him?” He replied in the affirmative. So, Muhammad bin Maslama went to him (i.e. Kab) and said, “This person (i.e. the Prophet) has put us to task and asked us for charity.” Kab replied, “By Allah, you will get tired of him.” Muhammad said to him, “We have followed him, so we dislike to leave him till we see the end of his affair.” Muhammad bin Maslama went on talking to him in this way till he got the chance to kill him.
A significant portion of the Sira is devoted to poetry composed by Muhammad’s followers and his enemies in rhetorical duels that mirrored those in the field. There seems to have been an informal competition in aggrandizing oneself, one’s tribe, and one’s God while ridiculing one’s adversary in eloquent and memorable ways. Kab bin Malik, one of the assassins of his brother, Kab bin al-Ashraf, composed the following:
Sira, p368: Kab bin Malik said: Of them Kab was left prostrate there (After his fall {the Jewish tribe of} al-Nadir were brought low). Sword in hand we cut him down By Muhammad’s order when he sent secretly by night Kab’s brother to go to Kab. He beguiled him and brought him down with guile Mahmud was trustworthy, bold.
ii. The Battle of Uhud
The Meccan Quraish regrouped for an attack on the Muslims at Medina. Muhammad got wind of the Meccan force coming to attack him and encamped his forces on a small hillock north of Medina named Uhud, where the ensuing battle took place.
Volume 5, Book 59, Number 377; Narrated Jabir bin Abdullah: On the day of the battle of Uhud, a man came to the Prophet and said, “Can you tell me where I will be if I should get martyred?” The Prophet replied, “In Paradise.” The man threw away some dates he was carrying in his hand, and fought till he was martyred.
Volume 5, Book 59, Number 375; Narrated Al-Bara: when we faced the enemy, they took to their heel till I saw their women running towards the mountain, lifting up their clothes from their legs, revealing their leg-bangles. The Muslims started saying, “The booty, the booty!” Abdullah bin Jubair said, “The Prophet had taken a firm promise from me not to leave this place.” But his companions refused (to stay). So when they refused (to stay there), (Allah) confused them so that they could not know where to go, and they suffered seventy casualties.
Though deprived of victory at Uhud, Muhammad was by no means vanquished. He continued making raids that made being a Muslim not only virtuous in the eyes of Allah but lucrative as well. In an Islamic worldview, there is no incompatibility between wealth, power, and holiness. Indeed, as a member of the true faith, it is only logical that one should also enjoy the material bounty of Allah — even if that means plundering it from infidels.
As Muhammad had neutralized the Jewish tribe of Bani Qaynuqa after Badr, he now turned to the Bani Nadir after Uhud. According to the Sira, Allah warned Muhammad of an attempt to assassinate him, and the Prophet ordered the Muslims to prepare for war against the Bani Nadir. The Bani Nadir agreed to go into exile if Muhammad permitted them to retain their movable property. Muhammad agreed to these terms save that they leave behind their armor.
iii. The Battle of Medina
In 627 AD, Muhammad faced the greatest challenge to his new community. In that year, the Quraish of Mecca made their most determined attack on the Muslims at Medina itself. Muhammad thought it advisable not to engage them in a pitched battle as at Uhud but took shelter in Medina, protected as it was by lava flows on three sides. The Meccans would have to attack from the northwest in a valley between the flows, and it was there that Muhammad ordered a trench dug for the city’s defense.
Volume 4, Book 52, Number 208; Narrated Anas: On the day (of the battle) of the Trench, the Ansar {new converts to Islam} were saying, “We are those who have sworn allegiance to Muhammad for Jihad (for ever) as long as we live.” The Prophet replied to them, “O Allah! There is no life except the life of the Hereafter. So honor the Ansar and emigrants {from Mecca} with Your Generosity.”
And Narrated Mujashi: My brother and I came to the Prophet and I requested him to take the pledge of allegiance from us for migration. He said, “Migration has passed away with its people.” I asked, “For what will you take the pledge of allegiance from us then?” He said, “I will take (the pledge) for Islam and Jihad.”
The Meccans were foiled by the trench and only able to send small raiding parties across it. After several days, they turned back for Mecca. Following his victory, Muhammad turned to the third Jewish tribe at Medina, the Bani Quraiza. While the Bani Qaynuqa and Bani Nadir had suffered exile, the fate of the Bani Quraiza would be considerably more dire.
Sira, p463-4: Then they {the tribe of Quraiza} surrendered, and the apostle confined them in Medina in the quarter of d. al-Harith, a woman of Bani al-Najjar. Then the apostle went out to the market of Medina and dug trenches in it. Then he sent for them and struck off their heads in those trenches as they were brought out to him in batches. Among them was the enemy of Allah Huyayy bin Akhtab and Kab bin Asad their chief. There were 600 or 700 in all, though some put the figure as high as 800 or 900. As they were being taken out in batches to the Apostle they asked Kab what he thought would be done with them. He replied, “Will you never understand? Don’t you see that the summoner never stops and those who are taken away do not return? By Allah it is death!” This went on until the Apostle made an end of them.
Thus do we find the clear precedent that explains the peculiar penchant of Islamic terrorists to behead their victims: it is merely another precedent bestowed by their Prophet.
Following yet another of the Muslims’ raids, this time on a place called Khaibar, “The women of Khaibar were distributed among the Muslims” as was usual practice. (Sira, p511) The raid at Khaibar had been against the Bani Nadir, whom Muhammad had earlier exiled from Medina.
Sira, p515: Kinana bin al-Rabi, who had the custody of the treasure of Bani al-Nadir, was brought to the Apostle who asked him about it. He denied that he knew where it was. A Jew came to the Apostle and said that he had seen Kinana going round a certain ruin every morning early. When the Apostle said to Kinana, “Do you know that if we find you have it I shall kill you?” he said, Yes. The Apostle gave orders that the ruin was to be excavated and some of the treasure was found. When he asked him about the rest he refused to produce it, so the Apostle gave orders to al-Zubayr bin al-Awwam, “Torture him until you extract what he has,” so he kindled a fire with flint and steel on his chest until he was nearly dead. Then the Apostle delivered him to Muhammad bin Maslama and he struck off his head, in revenge for his brother Mahmud.
iv. The Conquest of Mecca
Muhammad’s greatest victory came in 632 AD, ten years after he and his followers had been forced to flee to Medina. In that year, he assembled a force of some ten thousand Muslims and allied tribes and descended on Mecca. “The Apostle had instructed his commanders when they entered Mecca only to fight those who resisted them, except a small number who were to be killed even if they were found beneath the curtains of the Kaba.” (Sira, p550)
Volume 3, Book 29, Number 72; Narrated Anas bin Malik: Allah’s Apostle entered Mecca in the year of its Conquest wearing an Arabian helmet on his head and when the Prophet took it off, a person came and said, “Ibn Khatal is holding the covering of the Kaba (taking refuge in the Kaba).” The Prophet said, “Kill him.”
Following the conquest of Mecca, Muhammad outlined the future of his religion.
Volume 4, Book 52, Number 177; Narrated Abu Huraira: Allah’s Apostle said, “The Hour {of the Last Judgment} will not be established until you fight with the Jews, and the stone behind which a Jew will be hiding will say. “O Muslim! There is a Jew hiding behind me, so kill him.”
Volume 1, Book 2, Number 24; Narrated Ibn Umar: Allah’s Apostle said: “I have been ordered (by Allah) to fight against the people until they testify that none has the right to be worshipped but Allah and that Muhammad is Allah’s Apostle, and offer the prayers perfectly and give the obligatory charity, so if they perform that, then they save their lives and property from me except for Islamic laws and then their reckoning (accounts) will be done by Allah.”
It is from such warlike pronouncements as these that Islamic scholarship divides the world into dar al-Islam (the House of Islam, i.e., those nations who have submitted to Allah) and dar al-harb (the House of War, i.e., those who have not). It is this dispensation that the world lived under in Muhammad’s time and that it lives under today. Then as now, Islam’s message to the unbelieving world is the same: submit or be conquered.
d. Sharia Law
Unlike many religions, Islam includes a mandatory and highly specific legal and political plan for society called Sharia (pronounced “sha-r�e-uh”), which translates approximately as “way” or “path.” The precepts of Sharia are derived from the commandments of the Quran and the Sunnah (the teachings and precedents of Muhammad as found in the reliable hadiths and the Sira). Together, the Quran and the Sunnah establish the dictates of Sharia, which is the blueprint for the good Islamic society. Because Sharia originates with the Quran and the Sunnah, it is not optional. Sharia is the legal code ordained by Allah for all mankind. To violate Sharia or not to accept its authority is to commit rebellion against Allah, which Allah’s faithful are required to combat.
There is no separation between the religious and the political in Islam; rather Islam and Sharia constitute a comprehensive means of ordering society at every level. While it is in theory possible for an Islamic society to have different outward forms — an elective system of government, a hereditary monarchy, etc. — whatever the outward structure of the government, Sharia is the prescribed content. It is this fact that puts Sharia into conflict with forms of government based on anything other than the Quran and the Sunnah.
The precepts of Sharia may be divided into two parts:
1. Acts of worship (al-ibadat), which includes:
Ritual Purification (Wudu)
Prayers (Salah)
Fasts (Sawm and Ramadan)
Charity (Zakat)
Pilgrimage to Mecca (Hajj)
2. Human interaction (al-muamalat), which includes:
Financial transactions
Endowments
Laws of inheritance
Marriage, divorce, and child care
Food and drink (including ritual slaughtering and hunting)
Penal punishments
War and peace
Judicial matters (including witnesses and forms of evidence)
As one may see, there are few aspects of life that Sharia does not specifically govern. Everything from washing one’s hands to child-rearing to taxation to military policy fall under its dictates. Because Sharia is derivate of the Quran and the Sunnah, it affords some room for interpretation. But upon examination of the Islamic sources (see above), it is apparent that any meaningful application of Sharia is going to look very different from anything resembling a free or open society in the Western sense. The stoning of adulterers, execution of apostates and blasphemers, repression of other religions, and a mandatory hostility toward non-Islamic nations punctuated by regular warfare will be the norm. It seems fair then to classify Islam and its Sharia code as a form of totalitarianism.
2. Jihad and Dhimmitude
a. What does “jihad” mean?
Jihad literally translates as “struggle.” Strictly speaking, jihad does not mean “holy war” as Muslim apologists often point out. However, the question remains as to what sort of “struggle” is meant: an inner, spiritual struggle against the passions, or an outward, physical struggle.
As in any case of trying to determine Islamic teaching on a particular matter, one must look to the Quran and the Sunnah. From those sources (see above) it is evident that a Muslim is required to struggle against a variety of things: laziness in prayer, neglecting to give zakat (alms), etc. But is it also plain that a Muslim is commanded to struggle in physical combat against the infidel as well. Muhammad’s impressive military career attests to the central role that military action plays in Islam.
b. Hasan Al-Banna on jihad
Below are excerpts from Hasan Al-Banna’s treatise, Jihad. In 1928, Al-Banna founded the Muslim Brotherhood, which today is the most powerful organization in Egypt after the government itself. In this treatise, Al-Banna cogently argues that Muslims must take up arms against unbelievers. As he says, “The verses of the Qur’an and the Sunnah summon people in general (with the most eloquent expression and the clearest exposition) to jihad, to warfare, to the armed forces, and all means of land and sea fighting.”
All Muslims Must Make Jihad
Jihad is an obligation from Allah on every Muslim and cannot be ignored nor evaded. Allah has ascribed great importance to jihad and has made the reward of the martyrs and the fighters in His way a splendid one. Only those who have acted similarly and who have modeled themselves upon the martyrs in their performance of jihad can join them in this reward. Furthermore, Allah has specifically honoured the Mujahideen {those who wage jihad} with certain exceptional qualities, both spiritual and practical, to benefit them in this world and the next. Their pure blood is a symbol of victory in this world and the mark of success and felicity in the world to come.
Those who can only find excuses, however, have been warned of extremely dreadful punishments and Allah has described them with the most unfortunate of names. He has reprimanded them for their cowardice and lack of spirit, and castigated them for their weakness and truancy. In this world, they will be surrounded by dishonour and in the next they will be surrounded by the fire from which they shall not escape though they may possess much wealth. The weaknesses of abstention and evasion of jihad are regarded by Allah as one of the major sins, and one of the seven sins that guarantee failure.
Islam is concerned with the question of jihad and the drafting and the mobilisation of the entire Umma {the global Muslim community} into one body to defend the right cause with all its strength than any other ancient or modern system of living, whether religious or civil. The verses of the Qur’an and the Sunnah of Muhammad (PBUH {Peace Be Unto Him}) are overflowing with all these noble ideals and they summon people in general (with the most eloquent expression and the clearest exposition) to jihad, to warfare, to the armed forces, and all means of land and sea fighting.
Here Al-Banna offers citations from the Quran and the reliable hadiths that demonstrate the necessity of combat for Muslims. The citations are comparable to those included in Islam 101 section 1b and are here omitted.
The Scholars on Jihad
I have just presented to you some verses from the Qur’an and the Noble Ahadith concerning the importance of jihad. Now I would like to present to you some of the opinions from jurisprudence of the Islamic Schools of Thought including some latter day authorities regarding the rules of jihad and the necessity for preparedness. From this we will come to realise how far the ummah has deviated in its practice of Islam as can be seen from the consensus of its scholars on the question of jihad.
The author of the ‘Majma’ al-Anhar fi Sharh Multaqal-Abhar’, in describing the rules of jihad according to the Hanafi School, said: ‘Jihad linguistically means to exert one’s utmost effort in word and action; in the Sharee’ah {Sharia — Islamic law} it is the fighting of the unbelievers, and involves all possible efforts that are necessary to dismantle the power of the enemies of Islam including beating them, plundering their wealth, destroying their places of worship and smashing their idols. This means that jihad is to strive to the utmost to ensure the strength of Islam by such means as fighting those who fight you and the dhimmies {non-Muslims living under Islamic rule} (if they violate any of the terms of the treaty) and the apostates (who are the worst of unbelievers, for they disbelieved after they have affirmed their belief).
It is fard (obligatory) on us to fight with the enemies. The Imam must send a military expedition to the Dar-al-Harb {House of War — the non-Muslim world} every year at least once or twice, and the people must support him in this. If some of the people fulfill the obligation, the remainder are released from the obligation. If this fard kifayah (communal obligation) cannot be fulfilled by that group, then the responsibility lies with the closest adjacent group, and then the closest after that etc., and if the fard kifayah cannot be fulfilled except by all the people, it then becomes a fard ‘ayn (individual obligation), like prayer on everyone of the people.
The scholarly people are of one opinion on this matter as should be evident and this is irrespective of whether these scholars were Mujtahideen or Muqalideen and it is irrespective of whether these scholars were salaf (early) or khalaf (late). They all agreed unanimously that jihad is a fard kifayah imposed upon the Islamic ummah in order to spread the Da’wah of Islam, and that jihad is a fard ‘ayn if an enemy attacks Muslim lands. Today, my brother, the Muslims as you know are forced to be subservient before others and are ruled by disbelievers. Our lands have been besieged, and our hurruma’at (personal possessions, respect, honour, dignity and privacy) violated. Our enemies are overlooking our affairs, and the rites of our din are under their jurisdiction. Yet still the Muslims fail to fulfill the responsibility of Da’wah that is on their shoulders. Hence in this situation it becomes the duty of each and every Muslim to make jihad. He should prepare himself mentally and physically such that when comes the decision of Allah, he will be ready.
I should not finish this discussion without mentioning to you that the Muslims, throughout every period of their history (before the present period of oppression in which their dignity has been lost) have never abandoned jihad nor did they ever become negligent in its performance, not even their religious authorities, mystics, craftsmen, etc. They were all always ready and prepared. For example, Abdullah ibn al Mubarak, a very learned and pious man, was a volunteer in jihad for most of his life, and ‘Abdulwahid bin Zayd, a sufi and a devout man, was the same. And in his time, Shaqiq al Balkhi, the shaykh of the sufis encouraged his pupils towards jihad.
Associated Matters Concerning Jihad
Many Muslims today mistakenly believe that fighting the enemy is jihad asghar (a lesser jihad) and that fighting one’s ego is jihad akbar (a greater jihad). The following narration [athar] is quoted as proof: “We have returned from the lesser jihad to embark on the greater jihad.” They said: “What is the greater jihad?” He said: “The jihad of the heart, or the jihad against one’s ego.”
This narration is used by some to lessen the importance of fighting, to discourage any preparation for combat, and to deter any offering of jihad in Allah’s way. This narration is not a saheeh (sound) tradition: The prominent muhaddith Al Hafiz ibn Hajar al-Asqalani said in the Tasdid al-Qaws:
‘It is well known and often repeated, and was a saying of Ibrahim ibn ‘Abla.’
Al Hafiz Al Iraqi said in the Takhrij Ahadith al-Ahya’:
‘Al Bayhaqi transmitted it with a weak chain of narrators on the authority of Jabir, and Al Khatib transmitted it in his history on the authority of Jabir.’
Nevertheless, even if it were a sound tradition, it would never warrant abandoning jihad or preparing for it in order to rescue the territories of the Muslims and repel the attacks of the disbelievers. Let it be known that this narration simply emphasises the importance of struggling against one’s ego so that Allah will be the sole purpose of everyone of our actions.
Other associated matters concerning jihad include commanding the good and forbidding the evil. It is said in the Hadeeth: “One of the greatest forms of jihad is to utter a word of truth in the presence of a tyrannical ruler.” But nothing compares to the honour of shahadah kubra (the supreme martyrdom) or the reward that is waiting for the Mujahideen.
Epilogue
My brothers! The ummah that knows how to die a noble and honourable death is granted an exalted life in this world and eternal felicity in the next. Degradation and dishonour are the results of the love of this world and the fear of death. Therefore prepare for jihad and be the lovers of death. Life itself shall come searching after you.
My brothers, you should know that one day you will face death and this ominous event can only occur once. If you suffer on this occasion in the way of Allah, it will be to your benefit in this world and your reward in the next. And remember brother that nothing can happen without the Will of Allah: ponder well what Allah, the Blessed, the Almighty, has said:
‘Then after the distress, He sent down security for you. Slumber overtook a party of you, while another party was thinking about themselves (as to how to save themselves, ignoring the others and the Prophet) and thought wrongly of Allah – the thought of ignorance. They said, “Have we any part in the affair?” Say you (O Muhammad): “Indeed the affair belongs wholly to Allah.” They hide within themselves what they dare not reveal to you, saying: “If we had anything to do with the affair, none of us would have been killed here.” Say: “Even if you had remained in your homes, those for whom death was decreed would certainly have gone forth to the place of their death: but that Allah might test what is in your hearts; and to purify that which was in your hearts (sins), and Allah is All-Knower of what is in (your) hearts.”‘ {Sura 3:154}
c. Dar al-Islam and dar al-harb: the House of Islam and the House of War
The violent injunctions of the Quran and the violent precedents set by Muhammad set the tone for the Islamic view of politics and of world history. Islamic scholarship divides the world into two spheres of influence, the House of Islam (dar al-Islam) and the House of War (dar al-harb). Islam means submission, and so the House of Islam includes those nations that have submitted to Islamic rule, which is to say those nations ruled by Sharia law. The rest of the world, which has not accepted Sharia law and so is not in a state of submission, exists in a state of rebellion or war with the will of Allah. It is incumbent on dar al-Islam to make war upon dar al-harb until such time that all nations submit to the will of Allah and accept Sharia law. Islam’s message to the non-Muslim world is the same now as it was in the time of Muhammad and throughout history: submit or be conquered. The only times since Muhammad when dar al-Islam was not actively at war with dar al-harb were when the Muslim world was too weak or divided to make war effectively.
But the lulls in the ongoing war that the House of Islam has declared against the House of War do not indicate a forsaking of jihad as a principle but reflect a change in strategic factors. It is acceptable for Muslim nations to declare hudna, or truce, at times when the infidel nations are too powerful for open warfare to make sense. Jihad is not a collective suicide pact even while “killing and being killed” (Sura 9:111) is encouraged on an individual level. For the past few hundred years, the Muslim world has been too politically fragmented and technologically inferior to pose a major threat to the West. But that is changing.
i. Taqiyya — Religious Deception
Due to the state of war between dar al-Islam and dar al-harb, reuses de guerre, i.e., systematic lying to the infidel, must be considered part and parcel of Islamic tactics. The parroting by Muslim organizations throughout dar al-harb that “Islam is a religion of peace,” or that the origins of Muslim violence lie in the unbalanced psyches of particular individual “fanatics,” must be considered as disinformation intended to induce the infidel world to let down its guard. Of course, individual Muslims may genuinely regard their religion as “peaceful” — but only insofar as they are ignorant of its true teachings, or in the sense of the Egyptian theorist Sayyid Qutb, who posited in his Islam and Universal Peace that true peace would prevail in the world just as soon as Islam had conquered it.
A telling point is that, while Muslims who present their religion as peaceful abound throughout dar al-harb, they are nearly non-existent in dar al-Islam. A Muslim apostate once suggested to me a litmus test for Westerners who believe that Islam is a religion of “peace” and “tolerance”: try making that point on a street corner in Ramallah, or Riyadh, or Islamabad, or anywhere in the Muslim world. He assured me you wouldn’t live five minutes.
{A} problem concerning law and order {with respect to Muslims in dar al-harb} arises from an ancient Islamic legal principle — that of taqiyya, a word the root meaning of which is “to remain faithful” but which in effect means “dissimulation.” It has full Quranic authority (3:28 and 16:106) and allows the Muslim to conform outwardly to the requirements of unislamic or non-Islamic government, while inwardly “remaining faithful” to whatever he conceives to be proper Islam, while waiting for the tide to turn. (Hiskett, Some to Mecca Turn to Pray, 101.)
Volume 4, Book 52, Number 269; Narrated Jabir bin ‘Abdullah: The Prophet said, “War is deceit.”
Historically, examples of taqiyya include permission to renounce Islam itself in order to save one’s neck or ingratiate oneself with an enemy. It is not hard to see that the implications of taqiyya are insidious in the extreme: they essentially render negotiated settlement — and, indeed, all veracious communication between dar al-Islam and dar al-harb — impossible. It should not, however, be surprising that a party to a war should seek to mislead the other about its means and intentions. Jihad Watch’s own Hugh Fitzgerald sums up taqiyya and kitman, a related form of deception.
“Taqiyya” is the religiously-sanctioned doctrine, with its origins in Shi’a Islam but now practiced by non-Shi’a as well, of deliberate dissimulation about religious matters that may be undertaken to protect Islam, and the Believers. A related term, of broader application, is “kitman,” which is defined as “mental reservation.” An example of “Taqiyya” would be the insistence of a Muslim apologist that “of course” there is freedom of conscience in Islam, and then quoting that Qur’anic verse — “There shall be no compulsion in religion.” {2:256} But the impression given will be false, for there has been no mention of the Muslim doctrine of abrogation, or naskh, whereby such an early verse as that about “no compulsion in religion” has been cancelled out by later, far more intolerant and malevolent verses. In any case, history shows that within Islam there is, and always has been, “compulsion in religion” for Muslims, and for non-Muslims.
“Kitman” is close to “taqiyya,” but rather than outright dissimulation, it consists in telling only a part of the truth, with “mental reservation” justifying the omission of the rest. One example may suffice. When a Muslim maintains that “jihad” really means “a spiritual struggle,” and fails to add that this definition is a recent one in Islam (little more than a century old), he misleads by holding back, and is practicing “kitman.” When he adduces, in support of this doubtful proposition, the hadith in which Muhammad, returning home from one of his many battles, is reported to have said (as known from a chain of transmitters, or isnad), that he had returned from “the Lesser Jihad to the Greater Jihad” and does not add what he also knows to be true, that this is a “weak” hadith, regarded by the most-respected muhaddithin as of doubtful authenticity, he is further practicing “kitman.”
In times when the greater strength of dar al-harb necessitates that the jihad take an indirect approach, the natural attitude of a Muslim to the infidel world must be one of deception and omission. Revealing frankly the ultimate goal of dar al-Islam to conquer and plunder dar al-harb when the latter holds the military trump cards would be strategic idiocy. Fortunately for the jihadists, most infidels do not understand how one is to read the Quran, nor do they trouble themselves to find out what Muhammad actually did and taught, which makes it easy to give the impression through selective quotations and omissions that “Islam is a religion of peace.” Any infidel who wants to believe such fiction will happily persist in his mistake having been cited a handful of Meccan verses and told that Muhammad was a man of great piety and charity. Digging only slightly deeper is sufficient to dispel the falsehood.
d. Jihad Through History
In 622 AD (year one in the Islamic calendar, AH 1), Muhammad abandoned Mecca for the city of Medina (Yathrib) some 200 farther north in the Arabian peninsula. In Medina, Muhammad established a paramilitary organization that would spread his influence and that of his religion throughout Arabia. Because there has never been a separation of the political-military and the religious in Islam, this development was entirely natural by Islamic principles. By the time of his death in 632 AD, Muhammad had extended his control in a series of raids and battles over most of southern Arabia. The conquered populations of these areas either had to submit to Muslim rule and pay a protection tax or convert to Islam.
i. The First Major Wave of Jihad: the Arabs, 622-750 AD
Near the end of his life, Muhammad sent letters to the great empires of the Middle East demanding their submission to his authority. This dispels any notion that the Prophet intended Islam’s expansion to stop with Arabia. Indeed, it is only logical that the one true religion, revealed by the final and fullest prophet, should have universal sway. Thus, as Muhammad had fought and subdued the peoples of the Arabian peninsula, his successors Abu Bakr, Umar, Uthman, and Ali (known as “the four rightly-guided Caliphs”) and other Caliphs fought and subdued the people of the Middle East, Africa, Asia, and Europe in the name of Allah.
Volume 4, Book 53, Number 386; Narrated Jubair bin Haiya: Umar {the second Caliph} sent the Muslims to the great countries to fight the pagans. ? When we reached the land of the enemy, the representative of Khosrau {Persia} came out with forty-thousand warriors, and an interpreter got up saying, “Let one of you talk to me!” Al-Mughira replied, ? “Our Prophet, the Messenger of our Lord, has ordered us to fight you till you worship Allah Alone or give Jizya (i.e. tribute); and our Prophet has informed us that our Lord says: “Whoever amongst us is killed (i.e. martyred), shall go to Paradise to lead such a luxurious life as he has never seen, and whoever amongst us remain alive, shall become your master.”
Unleashing upon the world the blitzkrieg of its day, Islam rapidly spread into the territories of Byzantium, Persia, and Western Europe in the decades after Muhammad’s death. The creaking Byzantine and Persian powers, having battled each other into mutual decline, offered little resistance to this unanticipated onslaught. The Arab Muslim armies charged into the Holy Land, conquered what is now Iraq and Iran, then swept west across North Africa, into Spain, and finally into France. The Muslim offensive was finally halted in the West at the Battle of Poitiers/Tours, not far from Paris, in 732 AD. In the east, the jihad penetrated deep into Central Asia.
As Muhammad had plundered his foes, so his successors also stripped the conquered areas — incomparably richer both materially and culturally than the desolate sands of Arabia — of their wealth and manpower. Almost overnight, the more advanced civilizations of the Middle East, North Africa, Persia, and Iberia saw their agriculture, native religions, and populations destroyed or plundered. Save for a handful of walled cities that managed to negotiate conditional surrenders, the catastrophes those lands suffered were very nearly complete.
Bat Ye’or, the leading scholar of Islam’s expansion and its treatment of non-Muslims, has provided an inestimable service through the compilation and translation of numerous primary source documents describing centuries of Islamic conquest. She includes these documents in her works on Islamic history and the plight of non-Muslims under Islamic rule. In the history of jihad, the slaughter of civilians, the desecration of churches, and the plundering of the countryside are commonplace. Here is Michael the Syrian’s account of the Muslim invasion of Cappodocia (southern Turkey) in 650 AD under Caliph Umar:
… when Muawiya {the Muslim commander} arrived {in Euchaita in Armenia} he ordered all the inhabitants to be put to the sword; he placed guards so that no one escaped. After gathering up all the wealth of the town, they set to torturing the leaders to make them show them things [treasures] that had been hidden. The Taiyaye {Muslim Arabs} led everyone into slavery — men and women, boys and girls — and they committed much debauchery in that unfortunate town: they wickedly committed immoralities inside churches. They returned to their country rejoicing. (Michael the Syrian, quoted in Bat Ye’or, The Decline of Eastern Christianity under Islam, 276-7.)
The following description by the Muslim historian, Ibn al-Athir (1160-1233 AD), of razzias (raiding expeditions) in Northern Spain and France in the eighth and ninth centuries AD, conveys nothing but satisfaction at the extent of the destruction wrought upon the infidels, including noncombatants.
In 177 <17 April 793>, Hisham, prince of Spain, sent a large army commanded by Abd al-Malik b. Abd al-Wahid b. Mugith into enemy territory, and which made forays as far as Narbonne and Jaranda . This general first attacked Jaranda where there was an elite Frank garrison; he killed the bravest, destroyed the walls and towers of the town and almost managed to seize it. He then marched on to Narbonne, where he repeated the same actions, then, pushing forward, he trampled underfoot the land of the Cerdagne {near Andorra in the Pyrenees}. For several months he traversed this land in every direction, raping women, killing warriors, destroying fortresses, burning and pillaging everything, driving back the enemy who fled in disorder. He returned safe and sound, dragging behind him God alone knows how much booty. This is one of the most famous expeditions of the Muslims in Spain. In 223 <2 December 837>, Abd ar-Rahman b. al Hakam, sovereign of Spain, sent an army against Alava; it encamped near Hisn al-Gharat, which it besieged; it seized the booty that was found there, killed the inhabitants and withdrew, carrying off women and children as captives. In 231 <6 September 845>, a Muslim army advanced into Galicia on the territory of the infidels, where it pillaged and massacred everyone. In 246 <27 March 860>, Muhammad b. Abd ar-Rahman advanced with many troops and a large military apparatus against the region of Pamplona. He reduced, ruined and ravaged this territory, where he pillaged and sowed death. (Ibn al-Athir, Annals, quoted in Bat Ye’or, The Decline of Eastern Christianity under Islam, 281-2.)
This first wave of jihad engulfed much of the Byzantine, Visigothic, Frankish, and Persian Empires and left the newborn Islamic Empire controlling territory from Southern France, south through Spain, east across North Africa to India, and north to Russia. Early in the second millennium AD, the Mongol invasion from the east greatly weakened the Islamic Empire and ended Arab predominance therein.
ii. The Second Major Wave of Jihad: the Turks, 1071-1683 AD
Some twenty-five years before the first Crusading army set out from central Europe for the Holy Land, the Turkish (Ottoman) armies began an assault on the Christian Byzantine Empire, which had ruled what is now Turkey since the Roman Empire’s capital was moved to Constantinople in 325 AD. At the battle of Manzikert, in 1071, the Christian forces suffered a disastrous defeat, which left much of Anatolia (Turkey) open to invasion. This second wave of jihad was temporarily held up by the invading Latin Armies during the Crusades (see Islam 101 FAQs), but, by the beginning of the 14th century, the Turks were threatening Constantinople and Europe itself.
In the West, Roman Catholic armies were bit by bit forcing Muslim forces down the Iberian peninsula, until, in 1492, they were definitively expelled (the Reconquista). In Eastern Europe, however, Islam continued in the ascendant. One of the most significant engagements between the invading Muslims and the indigenous peoples of the region was the Battle of Kosovo in 1389, where the Turks annihilated a multinational army under the Serbian King, St. Lazar, though their progress into Europe was significantly slowed. After numerous attempts dating back to the seventh century, Constantinople, the jewel of Eastern Christendom, finally fell in 1453 to the armies of Sultan Mahomet II. Lest one ascribe the atrocities of the first wave of jihad to the “Arabness” of its perpetrators, the Turks showed they were fully capable of living up to the principles of the Quran and the Sunnah. Paul Fregosi in his book Jihad describes the scene following the final assault on Constantinople:
Several thousand of the survivors had taken refuge in the cathedral: nobles, servants, ordinary citizens, their wives and children, priests and nuns. They locked the huge doors, prayed, and waited. {Caliph} Mahomet {II} had given the troops free quarter. They raped, of course, the nuns being the first victims, and slaughtered. At least four thousand were killed before Mahomet stopped the massacre at noon. He ordered a muezzin {one who issues the call to prayer} to climb into the pulpit of St. Sophia and dedicate the building to Allah. It has remained a mosque ever since. Fifty thousand of the inhabitants, more than half the population, were rounded up and taken away as slaves. For months afterward, slaves were the cheapest commodity in the markets of Turkey. Mahomet asked that the body of the dead emperor be brought to him. Some Turkish soldiers found it in a pile of corpses and recognized Constantine {XI} by the golden eagles embroidered on his boots. The sultan ordered his head to be cut off and placed between the horse’s legs under the equestrian bronze statue of the emperor Justinian. The head was later embalmed and sent around the chief cities of the Ottoman empire for the delectation of the citizens. Next, Mahomet ordered the Grand Duke Notaras, who had survived, be brought before him, asked him for the names and addresses of all the leading nobles, officials, and citizens, which Notaras gave him. He had them all arrested and decapitated. He sadistically bought from their owners {i.e., Muslim commanders} high-ranking prisoners who had been enslaved, for the pleasure of having them beheaded in front of him. (Fregosi, Jihad, 256-7.)
This second, Turkish wave of jihad reached its farthest extent at the failed sieges of Vienna in 1529 and 1683, where in the latter instance the Muslim army under Kara Mustapha was thrown back by the Roman Catholics under the command of the Polish King, John Sobieski. In the decades that followed, the Ottomans were driven back down through the Balkans, though they were never ejected from the European continent entirely. Still, even while the imperial jihad faltered, Muslim land- and sea-borne razzias into Christian territory continued, and Christians were being abducted into slavery from as far away as Ireland into the 19th century.
e. Dhimmitude
Islam’s persecution of non-Muslims is in no way limited to jihad, even though that is the basic relationship between the Muslim and non-Muslim world. After the jihad concludes in a given area with the conquest of infidel territory, the dhimma, or treaty of protection, may be granted to the conquered “People of the Book” — historically, Jews, Christians, and Zoroastrians. The dhimma provides that the life and property of the infidel are exempted from jihad for as long as the Muslim rulers permit, which has generally meant for as long as the subject non-Muslims — the dhimmi — prove economically useful to the Islamic state. The Quran spells out the payment of the jizya (poll- or head-tax; Sura 9:29), which is the most conspicuous means by which the Muslim overlords exploit the dhimmi. But the jizya is not merely economic in its function; it exists also to humiliate the dhimmi and impress on him the superiority of Islam. Al-Maghili, a fifteenth century Muslim theologian, explains:
On the day of payment {of the jizya} they {the dhimmi} shall be assembled in a public place like the suq {place of commerce}. They should be standing there waiting in the lowest and dirtiest place. The acting officials representing the Law shall be placed above them and shall adopt a threatening attitude so that it seems to them, as well as to others, that our object is to degrade them by pretending to take their possessions. They will realize that we are doing them a favor in accepting from them the jizya and letting them go free. (Al-Maghili, quoted in Bat Ye’or, The Decline of Eastern Christianity under Islam, 361.)
Islamic law codifies various other restrictions on the dhimmi, all of which derive from the Quran and the Sunnah. Several hundred years of Islamic thought on the right treatment of dhimmi peoples is summed up by Al-Damanhuri, a seventeenth century head of Al-Azhar University in Cairo, the most prestigious center for learning in the Muslim world:
… just as the dhimmis are prohibited from building churches, other things also are prohibited to them. They must not assist an unbeliever against a Muslim … raise the cross in an Islamic assemblage … display banners on their own holidays; bear arms … or keep them in their homes. Should they do anything of the sort, they must be punished, and the arms seized. … The Companions [of the Prophet] agreed upon these points in order to demonstrate the abasement of the infidel and to protect the weak believer’s faith. For if he sees them humbled, he will not be inclined toward their belief, which is not true if he sees them in power, pride, or luxury garb, as all this urges him to esteem them and incline toward them, in view of his own distress and poverty. Yet esteem for the unbeliever is unbelief. (Al-Damanhuri, quoted in Bat Ye’or, The Decline of Eastern Christianity under Islam, 382.)
The Christian, Jewish, and Zoroastrian peoples of the Middle East, North Africa, and much of Europe suffered under the oppressive strictures of the dhimma for centuries. The status of these dhimmi peoples is comparable in many ways to that of former slaves in the post-bellum American South. Forbidden to construct houses of worship or repair extant ones, economically crippled by the jizya, socially humiliated, legally discriminated against, and generally kept in a permanent state of weakness and vulnerability by the Muslim overlords, it should not be surprising that their numbers dwindled, in many places to the point of extinction. The generally misunderstood decline of Islamic civilization over the past several centuries is easily explained by the demographic decline of the dhimmi populations, which had provided the principle engines of technical and administrative competence.
Should the dhimmi violate the conditions of the dhimma — perhaps through practicing his own religion indiscreetly or failing to show adequate deference to a Muslim — then the jihad resumes. At various times in Islamic history, dhimmi peoples rose above their subjected status, and this was often the occasion for violent reprisals by Muslim populations who believed them to have violated the terms of the dhimma. Medieval Andalusia (Moorish Spain) is often pointed out by Muslim apologists as a kind of multicultural wonderland, in which Jews and Christians were permitted by the Islamic government to rise through the ranks of learning and government administration. What we are not told, however, is that this relaxation of the disabilities resulted in widespread rioting on the part of the Muslim populace that killed hundreds of dhimmis, mainly Jews. By refusing to convert to Islam and straying from the traditional constraints of the dhimma (even at the behest of the Islamic government, which was in need of capable manpower), the dhimmi had implicitly chosen the only other option permitted by the Quran: death.
f. Jihad in the Modern Era
Following its defeat at the walls of Vienna in 1683, Islam entered a period of strategic decline in which it was increasingly dominated by the rising European colonial powers. Due to its material weakness vis-à-vis the West, dar al-Islam was unable to prosecute large-scale military campaigns into infidel territory. The Islamic Empire, then ruled by the Ottoman Turks, was reduced to fending of the increasingly predatory European powers.
In 1856, Western pressure compelled the Ottoman government to suspend the dhimma under which the Empire’s non-Muslim subjects labored. This provided hitherto unknown opportunities for social and personal improvement by the former dhimmis, but it also fomented resentment by orthodox Muslims who saw this as a violation of the Sharia and their Allah-given superiority over unbelievers.
By the late 19th century, tensions among the European subjects of the Empire broke out into the open when the Ottoman government massacred 30,000 Bulgarians in 1876 for allegedly rebelling against Ottoman rule. Following Western intervention that resulted in Bulgarian independence, the Ottoman government and its Muslim subjects were increasingly nervous about other non-Muslim groups seeking independence.
It was in this atmosphere that the first stage of the Armenian genocide took place in 1896 with the slaughter of some 250,000 Armenians. Both civilians and military personnel took place in the massacres. Peter Balakian, in his book, The Burning Tigris, documents the whole horrific story. But the massacres of the 1890s were only the prelude to the much larger holocaust of 1915, which claimed some 1.5 million lives. While various factors contributed to the slaughter, there is no mistaking that the massacres were nothing other than a jihad waged against the Armenians, no longer protected as they were by the dhimma. In 1914, as the Ottoman Empire entered World War I on the side of the central powers, an official anti-Christian jihad was proclaimed.
To promote the idea of jihad, the sheikh-ul-Islam’s {the most senior religious leader in the Ottoman Empire} published proclamation summoned the Muslim world to arise and massacre its Christian oppressors. “Oh Moslems,” the document read, “Ye who are smitten with happiness and are on the verge of sacrificing your life and your good for the cause of right, and of braving perils, gather now around the Imperial throne.” In the Ikdam, the Turkish newspaper that had just passed into German ownership, the idea of jihad was underscored: “The deeds of our enemies have brought down the wrath of God. A gleam of hope has appeared. All Mohammedans, young and old, men, women, and children must fulfill their duty. … If we do it, the deliverance of the subjected Mohammedan kingdoms is assured.” … “He who kills even one unbeliever,” one pamphlet read, “of those who rule over us, whether he does it secretly or openly, shall be rewarded by God.” (quoted in Balakian, The Burning Tigris, 169-70.)
The anti-Christian jihad culminated in 1922 at Smyrna, on the Mediterranean coast, where 150,000 Greek Christians were massacred by the Turkish army under the indifferent eye of Allied warships. All in, from 1896-1923, some 2.5 million Christians were killed, the first modern genocide, which to this day is denied by the Turkish government.
Since the breakup of the Islamic Empire following World War I, various jihads have been fought around the globe by the independent Muslim nations and sub-state jihadist groups. The most sustained effort has been directed against Israel, which has committed the unpardonable sin of rebuilding dar al-harb on land formerly a part of dar al-Islam. Other prominent jihads include that fought against the Soviets in Afghanistan, the Muslim Bosnians against the Serbs in the former Yugoslavia, the Muslim Albanians against the Serbs in Kosovo, and the Chechens against the Russians in the Caucasus. Jihads have also been waged throughout northern Africa, the Philippines, Thailand, Kashmir, and a host of other places throughout the world. In addition, the overwhelming majority of terrorist attacks around the world have been committed by Muslims, including, of course, the spectacular attacks of 9/11/01 (USA), 3/11/04 (Spain), and 7/7/05 (UK). (For a more comprehensive list of Muslim attacks, visit www.thereligionofpeace.com.)
The fact is, the percentage of conflicts in the world today that do not include Islam is pretty small. Islam is making a comeback.
3. Conclusion
The chief barrier today to a better understanding of Islam — apart, perhaps, from outright fear — is sloppy language. Let us take, to start with, the much-vaunted “war on terror.” Upon scrutiny, the phrase “war on terror” makes as much sense as a war on “blitzkrieg,” “bullets,” or “strategic bombing.” The “war on terror” implies that it is perfectly fine if the enemy seeks to destroy us — and, indeed, succeeds in doing so — as long as he does not employ “terror” in the process.
“Terrorism,” it should be obvious, is a tactic or stratagem used to advance a goal; it is the goal of Islamic terrorism that we must come to understand, and this logically requires an understanding of Islam.
As we have seen, contrary to the widespread insistence that true Islam is pacific even if a handful of its adherents are violent, the Islamic sources make clear that engaging in violence against non-Muslims is a central and indispensable principle to Islam. Islam is less a personal faith than a political ideology that exists in a fundamental and permanent state of war with non-Islamic civilizations, cultures, and individuals. The Islamic holy texts outline a social, governmental, and economic system for all mankind. Those cultures and individuals who do not submit to Islamic governance exist in an ipso facto state of rebellion with Allah and must be forcibly brought into submission. The misbegotten term “Islamo-fascism” is wholly redundant: Islam itself is a kind of fascism that achieves its full and proper form only when it assumes the powers of the state.
The spectacular acts of Islamic terrorism in the late 20th and early 21st centuries are but the most recent manifestation of a global war of conquest that Islam has been waging since the days of the Prophet Muhammad in the 7th Century AD and that continues apace today. This is the simple, glaring truth that is staring the world today in the face — and which has stared it in the face numerous times in the past — but which it seems few today are willing to contemplate.
It is important to realize that we have been talking about Islam — not Islamic “fundamentalism,” “extremism,” “fanaticism,” “Islamo-fascism,” or “Islamism,” but Islam proper, Islam in its orthodox form as it has been understood and practiced by right-believing Muslims from the time of Muhammad to the present. The mounting episodes of Islamic terrorism in the late 20th and early 21st centuries are due largely to the geostrategic changes following the end of the Cold War and the growing technical options available to terrorists.
With the collapse of Soviet hegemony over much of the Muslim world, coupled with the burgeoning wealth of the Muslim oil-producing countries, the Muslim world increasingly possesses the freedom and means to support jihad around the globe. In short, the reason that Muslims are once again waging war against the non-Muslim world is because they can.
It is paramount to note, however, that, even if no major terrorist attack ever occurs on Western soil again, Islam still poses a mortal danger to the West. A halt to terrorism would simply mean a change in Islam’s tactics — perhaps indicating a longer-term approach that would allow Muslim immigration and higher birth rates to bring Islam closer to victory before the next round of violence. It cannot be overemphasized that Muslim terrorism is a symptom of Islam that may increase or decrease in intensity while Islam proper remains permanently hostile.
Muhammad Taqi Partovi Samzevari, in his “Future of the Islamic Movement” (1986), sums up the Islamic worldview.
Our own Prophet … was a general, a statesman, an administrator, an economist, a jurist and a first-class manager all in one. … In the Qur’an’s historic vision Allah’s support and the revolutionary struggle of the people must come together, so that Satanic rulers are brought down and put to death. A people that is not prepared to kill and to die in order to create a just society cannot expect any support from Allah. The Almighty has promised us that the day will come when the whole of mankind will live united under the banner of Islam, when the sign of the Crescent, the symbol of Muhammad, will be supreme everywhere. … But that day must be hastened through our Jihad, through our readiness to offer our lives and to shed the unclean blood of those who do not see the light brought from the Heavens by Muhammad in his mi’raj {“nocturnal voyages to the ‘court’ of Allah”}. … It is Allah who puts the gun in our hand. But we cannot expect Him to pull the trigger as well simply because we are faint-hearted.
It must be emphasized that all of the analysis provided here derives from the Islamic sources themselves and is not the product of critical Western scholarship. (Indeed, most modern Western scholarship of Islam is hardly “critical” in any meaningful sense.) It is Islam’s self-interpretation that necessitates and glorifies violence, not any foreign interpretation of it.
4. Frequently Asked Questions
There are a handful of questions that invariably arise when the point is made that Islam is violent. These questions for the most part are misleading or irrelevant and do not contest the actual evidence or arguments that violence is inherent to Islam. Nonetheless, they have proven rhetorically effective in deflecting serious scrutiny from Islam, and so I deal with some of them here.
a. What about the Crusades?
The obvious response to this question is, “Well, what about them?” Violence committed in the name of other religions is logically unconnected to the question of whether Islam is violent. But, by mentioning the Crusades, the hope of the Islamic apologist is to draw attention away from Islamic violence and paint religions in general as morally equivalent.
In both the Western academia and media as well as in the Islamic world, the Crusades are viewed as wars of aggression fought by bloody-minded Christians against peaceful Muslims. While the Crusades were certainly bloody, they are more accurately understood as a belated Western response to centuries of jihad than as an unprovoked, unilateral attack. Muslim rule in the Holy Land began in the second half of the 7th century during the Arab wave of jihad with the conquests of Damascus and Jerusalem by the second “rightly-guided Caliph,” Umar. After the initial bloody jihad, Christian and Jewish life there was tolerated within the strictures of the dhimma and the Muslim Arabs generally permitted Christians abroad to continue to make pilgrimage to their holy sites, a practice which proved lucrative for the Muslim state. In the 11th century, the relatively benign Arab administration of the Holy Land was replaced with that of Seljuk Turks, due to civil war in the Islamic Empire. Throughout the latter half of the 11th century, the Turks waged war against the Christian Byzantine Empire and pushed it back from its strongholds in Antioch and Anatolia (now Turkey). In 1071, Byzantine forces suffered a crushing defeat at the Battle of Manzikert in what is now Eastern Turkey. The Turks resumed the jihad in the Holy Land, abusing, robbing, enslaving, and killing Christians there and throughout Asia Minor. They threatened to cut off Christendom from its holiest site, the Church of the Holy Sepulchre in Jerusalem, rebuilt under Byzantine stewardship after it was destroyed by Caliph Al-Hakim bi-Amr Allah in 1009.
It was in this context of a renewed jihad in the Middle East that the Roman Pope, Urban II, issued a call in 1095 for Western Christians to come to the aid of their Eastern cousins (and seems to have harbored the hope of claiming Jerusalem for the Papacy after the Great Schism with Eastern Christianity in 1054). This “armed pilgrimage,” in which numerous civilians as well as soldiers took part, would eventually become known years later as the First Crusade. The idea of a “crusade” as we now understand that term, i.e., a Christian “holy war,” developed years later with the rise of such organizations as the Knights Templar that made “crusading” a way of life. It worth noting that the most ardent Crusaders, the Franks, were exactly those who had faced jihad and razzias for centuries along the Franco-Spanish border and knew better than most the horrors to which Muslims subjected Christians. At the time of the First Crusade, the populations of Asia Minor, Syria, and Palestine, though ruled by Muslims, were still overwhelmingly Christian. The “Crusading” campaigns of the Western Christian armies were justified at the time as a war liberating the Eastern Christians, whose population, lands, and culture had been devastated by centuries of jihad and dhimmitude. Conquering territory for God in the mode of jihad was an alien idea to Christianity and it should not be surprising that it eventually died out in the West and never gained ascendancy in the East.
Following the very bloody capture of Jerusalem in 1099 by the Latin armies and the establishment of the Crusader States in Edessa, Antioch, and Jerusalem, the Muslim and Christian forces fought a see-saw series of wars, in which both parties were guilty of the usual gamut of wartime immorality. Over time, even with reinforcing Crusades waged from Europe, the Crusader States, strung out on precarious lines of communication, slowly succumbed to superior Muslim power. In 1271, the last Christian citadel, Antioch, fell to the Muslims. No longer having to divert forces to subdue the Christian beachhead on the Eastern Mediterranean, the Muslims regrouped for a 400-year-long jihad against Southern and Eastern Europe, which twice reached as far as Vienna before it was halted. In geostrategic terms, the Crusades can be viewed as an attempt by the West to forestall its own destruction at the hands of Islamic jihad by carrying the fight to the enemy. It worked for a while.
Significantly, while the West has for some time now lamented the Crusades as mistaken, there has never been any mention from any serious Islamic authority of regret for the centuries and centuries of jihad and dhimmitude perpetrated against other societies. But this is hardly surprising: while religious violence contradicts the fundamentals of Christianity, religious violence is written into Islam’s DNA.
b. If Islam is violent, why are so many Muslims peaceful?
This question is a bit like asking, “If Christianity teaches humility, tolerance, and forgiveness, why are so many Christians arrogant, intolerant, and vindictive?” The answer in both cases is obvious: in any religion or ideology there will be many who profess, but do not practice, its tenets. Just as it is often easier for a Christian to hit back, play holier-than-thou, or disdain others, so it is often easier for a Muslim to stay at home rather than embark on jihad. Hypocrites are everywhere.
Furthermore, there are also people who do not really understand their own faith and so act outside of its prescribed boundaries. In Islam, there are likely many Muslims who do not really understand their religion thanks to the importance of reciting the Quran in Arabic but not having to understand it. It is the words and sounds of the Quran that attract Allah’s merciful attention rather than Quranic knowledge on the part of the supplicant. Especially in the West, Muslims here are more likely to be attracted by Western ways (which explains why they are here) and less likely to act violently against the society to which they may have fled from an Islamic tyranny abroad.
However, in any given social context, as Islam takes greater root — increasing numbers of followers, the construction of more mosques and “cultural centers,” etc. — the greater the likelihood that some number of its adherents will take its violent precepts seriously. This is the problem that the West faces today.
c. What about the violent passages in the Bible?
First, violent Biblical passages are irrelevant to the question of whether Islam is violent.
Second, the violent passages in the Bible certainly do no amount to a standing order to commit violence against the rest of the world. Unlike the Quran, the Bible is a huge collection of documents written by different people at different times in different contexts, which allows for much greater interpretative freedom. The Quran, on the other hand, comes exclusively from one source: Muhammad. It is through the life of Muhammad that the Quran must be understood, as the Quran itself says. His wars and killings both reflect and inform the meaning of the Quran. Furthermore, the strict literalism of the Quran means that there is no room for interpretation when it comes to its violent injunctions. As it is through the example of Christ, the “Prince of Peace,” that Christianity interprets its scriptures, so it is through the example of the warlord and despot Muhammad that Muslims understand the Quran.
d. Could an Islamic “Reformation” pacify Islam?
As should be plain to anyone who has examined the Islamic sources, to take the violence out of Islam would require it to jettison two things: the Quran as the word of Allah and Muhammad as Allah’s prophet. In other words, to pacify Islam would require its transformation into something that it is not. The Western Christian Reformation, that is often used as an example, was an attempt (successful or not) to recover the essence of Christianity, namely, the example and teachings of Christ and the Apostles. Trying to get back to the example of Muhammad would have very different consequences. Indeed, one may say that Islam is today going through its “Reformation” with the increasing jihadist activity around the globe. Today, Muslims of the Salafi (“early generations”) school are doing exactly that in focusing on the life of Muhammad and his early successors. These reformers are known to their detractors by the derogative term Wahhabi. Drawing their inspiration from Muhammad and the Quran, they are invariably disposed to violence. The unhappy fact is that Islam today is what it has been fourteen centuries: violent, intolerant, and expansionary. It is folly to think that we, in the course of a few years or decades, are going to be able to change the basic world outlook of a foreign civilization. Islam’s violent nature must be accepted as given; only then will we be able to come up with appropriate policy responses that can improve our chances of survival.
e. What about the history of Western colonialism in the Islamic world?
Following the defeat of the Ottoman army outside Vienna on September 11, 1683 by Polish forces, Islam went into a period of strategic decline in which it was overwhelmingly dominated by the European powers. Much of dar al-Islam was colonized by the European powers who employed their superior technology and exploited the rivalries within the Muslim world to establish colonial rule.
While many of the practices of the Western imperial powers in the governance of their colonies were clearly unjust, it is utterly unwarranted to regard Western imperialism — as it often is — as an endemic criminal enterprise that is the basis of modern resentment against the West. It was only due to the assertive role of the Western powers that modern nation-states such as India, Pakistan, Israel, South Africa, Zimbabwe, etc. came to exist in the first place. Without Western organization, these areas would have likely remained chaotic and tribal as they had existed for centuries.
When one looks at the post-colonial world, it is apparent that the most successful post-colonial nations have a common attribute: they are not Muslim. The United States, Australia, Hong Kong, Israel, India, and the South American nations clearly outshine their Muslim-majority post-colonial counterparts — Iraq, Algeria, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Indonesia, etc. — by just about any standard.
f. How can a violent political ideology be the second-largest and fastest-growing religion on earth?
It should not be surprising that a violent political ideology is proving so attractive to much of the world. The attractive power of fascist ideas has been proven through history. Islam combines the interior comfort provided by religious faith with the outward power of a world-transforming political ideology. Like the revolutionary violence of Communism, jihad offers an altruistic justification for waging death and destruction. Such an ideology will naturally draw to it violent-minded people while encouraging the non-violent to take up arms themselves or support violence indirectly. Because something is popular hardly makes it benign.
Furthermore, the areas in which Islam is growing most rapidly, such as Western Europe, have been largely denuded of their religious and cultural heritage, which leaves Islam as the only vibrant ideology available to those in search of meaning.
g. Is it fair to paint all Islamic schools of thought as violent?
Islamic apologists often point out that Islam is not a monolith and that there are differences of opinion among the different Islamic schools of thought. That is true, but, while there are differences, there are also common elements. Just as Orthodox, Roman Catholic, and Protestant Christians differ on many aspects of Christianity, still they accept important common elements. So it is with Islam. One of the common elements to all Islamic schools of thought is jihad, understood as the obligation of the Ummah to conquer and subdue the world in the name of Allah and rule it under Sharia law. The four Sunni Madhhabs (schools of fiqh [Islamic religious jurisprudence]) — Hanafi, Maliki, Shafi’i, and Hanbali — all agree that there is a collective obligation on Muslims to make war on the rest of the world. Furthermore, even the schools of thought outside Sunni orthodoxy, including Sufism and the Jafari (Shia) school, agree on the necessity of jihad. When it comes to matters of jihad, the different schools disagree on such questions as whether infidels must first be asked to convert to Islam before hostilities may begin (Osama bin Laden asked America to convert before Al-Qaeda’s attacks); how plunder should be distributed among victorious jihadists; whether a long-term Fabian strategy against dar al-harb is preferable to an all-out frontal attack; etc.
h. What about the great achievements of Islamic civilization through history?
Islamic achievements in the fields of art, literature, science, medicine, etc. in no way refute the fact that Islam is intrinsically violent. Roman and Greek civilizations produced many great achievements in these fields as well, but also cultivated powerful traditions of violence. While giving the world the brilliance of Virgil and Horace, Rome was also a home to gladiatorial combat, the slaughter of Christians, and, at times, rampant militarism.
Furthermore, the achievements of Islamic civilization are pretty modest given its 1300 year history when compared to Western, Hindu, or Confucian civilizations. Many Islamic achievements were in fact the result of non-Muslims living within the Islamic Empire or of recent converts to Islam. One of the greatest Islamic thinkers, Averroes, ran afoul of Islamic orthodoxy through his study of non-Islamic (Greek) philosophy and his preference for Western modes of thought. Once the dhimmi populations of the Empire dwindled toward the middle of the second millennium AD, Islam began its social and cultural “decline.”
5. Glossary of Terms
Allah: “God”; Arabic Christians also worship “Allah,” but an Allah of a very different sort.
Allahu Akhbar: “God is Great (-est)”; term of praise; war cry of Muslims.
AH: “after Hijra”; the Islamic calendar?s system of dating; employs lunar rather than solar years; as of January 2007, we are in AH 1428.
Ansar: “aiders” or “helpers”; Arabian tribesmen allied with Muhammad and the early Muslims.
Badr: first significant battle fought by Muhammad and the Muslims against the Quraish tribe of Mecca.
Caliph: title of the ruler or leader of the Umma (global Muslim community); the head of the former Islamic Empire; the title was abolished by Kemal Attaturk in 1924 following the breakup of the Ottoman Empire and the founding of modern Turkey.
dar al-Islam: “House (Realm) of Islam”; Islamic territory ruled by Sharia law
dar al-harb: “House (Realm) of War”: territory ruled by infidels
dar al-sulh: “House (Realm) of Truce”: territory ruled by infidels but allied with Islam; territory ruled by Muslims but not under Sharia law
Dhimma: the pact of protection extended to non-slave “People of the Book”, usually Jews, Christians, and Zoroastrians, which permitted them to remain nominally free under Muslim rule.
dhimmi: “protected”; people under the protection of the dhimma.
dhimmitude: word coined by historian Bat Ye’or to describe the status of dhimmi peoples
hadith: “report”; any of thousands of episodes from the life of Muhammad transmitted orally until written down in the eighth century AD; sahih (reliable or sound) hadiths are second only to the Quran in authority.
Hijra: “emigration”; Muhammad’s flight from Mecca to Medina (Yathrib) in AD 622.
Islam: “submission” or “surrender.”
jizya: the poll or head tax prescribed by Sura 9:29 of the Quran to be paid by Christians and Jews in Muslim-held territory.
Kaba: “cube”; the Meccan temple in which numerous pagan idols were housed before Muhammad’s conquest of Mecca in AD 632, which is still the most venerated object in Islam; the Kaba’s cornerstone, which is believed to have fallen from heaven, is the stone on which Abraham was to sacrifice his son, Ishmael (not Isaac).
Mecca: holiest city of Islam; place of Muhammad’s birth in AD 570; its Great Mosque contains the Kaba stone; early period in Muhammad’s life where more peaceful verses of the Quran were revealed; site of Muhammad’s victory over the Quraish in AD 630.
Medina: “city,” short for “city of the Prophet”; second holiest city of Islam; destination of Muhammad’s Hijra (emigration) in AD 622; later period in Muhammad’s life where more violent verses of the Quran were revealed; site of third major battle fought by Muhammad against the Quraish tribe from Mecca; formerly called Yathrib.
Muhammad: “the praised one.”
Muslim: one who submits.
Quran (Kuran, Quran, etc.): “recitation”; according to Islam, the compiled verbatim words of Allah as dictated by Muhammad.
razzia: “raid”; acts of piracy on land or sea by Muslims against infidels
Sira: “life”; abbreviation of Sirat Rasul Allah, or “Life of the Prophet of God”; the canonical biography of the Prophet Muhammad written in the eighth century by Ibn Ishaq and later edited by Ibn Hisham; modern translation by Alfred Guillaume.
Sunnah: the “Way” of the Prophet Muhammad; includes his teachings, traditions, and example.
Sura: a chapter of the Quran; Quranic passages are cited as Sura number:verse number, e.g., 9:5.
Uhud: second major battle fought by Muhammad against the Quraish tribe of Mecca.
Umar: second “rightly-guided” Caliph; ruled AD 634–44, succeeded Abu Bakr; conquered the Holy Land.
Umma (ummah): the global Muslim community; the body of Muslim faithful.
Uthman: third “rightly-guided” Caliph; ruled AD 644–56, succeeded Umar; compiled the Quran in book form.
Yathrib: city to which Muhammad made the Hijra (emigration) in AD 622/AH 1; renamed Medina.
6. Further Resources
Online
Center for the Study of Political Islam
U Michigan’s searchable online version of the Quran translated by Shakir.
USC’s Muslim Students Association’s website with multiple searchable translations of the Quran and hadiths.
Islam: What the West Needs to Know homepage.
Canadian Muslim website with various writings on Islamic doctrine and events in the Muslim world.
From Jihad Watch
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Oct 17, 2008 - 10:10:52ISLAM A MODERATE RELIGION
West plunged into the Dark Ages after Roman bishop Leo I the Great with the support of the Roman Emperor Valentenian III (440-61) hijacked Christianity with an epoch-making edict imperially confirming the authority of the Roman bishop over all Christian churches [Ref: The Story of Civilization by Will Durant. Vol. 4. Page. 50-51]. Similarly, the ruling monarchies, dictators, fanatics, extremists, and terrorists in the Muslim world have hijacked Islam for their self-interest. Their political power and financial clout helped to suppress the moderate Islam preached by Prophet Muhammad (pbuh) and the Koran. The extremism is un-Islamic.
The Koran states that Islam is a middle of the road—not extreme left or right—religion. Islam recommends moderation and balance in every thing— belief, warship, conduct, and legislation. Moderation and balance are not only a general characteristic of Islam but it is a fundamental doctrine of Islam. The Koran states: “We made you to be the community of middle path…” (Verse 2:143).
Mohammad Asad, a well-respected exegete of the Koran, describes that Koranic community of Muslims “as middle most community that keeps an equitable balance between extremes.” Moreover, Prophet said: “Beware of excessiveness in religion. People before you have perished as a result of such excessiveness.” [Ref: Hadith collections of Ibn Hambal (780-855), al-Nasai (830-915), and Ibn Maja (825-887).
According to Imam Al-Qardawi, “as such the ideal Muslim community is a nation of justice and moderation, not of extremism.” [Ref: “Extremism” by Imam Yusuf Al-Qardawi in “Liberal Islam: A Source Book.” Edited by Charles Kurzman. New York: Oxford University Press, 1998.). Therefore, Talibanism and Wohabism of Saudi Arabia, and other religious extremisms are cults that have become overpowering force due to their financial and political strength. These ideological cults masquerading as Islam are dangerous to humanity as whole. These cults crushed cruelly the innocent and helpless Muslims at large into submissive robots and the mouthpieces of their masters. These cults transformed the practice of Prophet’s (pbuh) Islam of contemplation and analysis into simple mimicry.
Rabbi Hier, Cal Thomas, Rev. Franklin Graham, and The Koran Cal Thomas, Rabbi Hier, and others quote the verses (2:191) from Koran outside textural and historical context. They cunningly omit the verses 2:190 and 193 as well as other verses in order to promote violence and hatred against Muslims. They use these verses out of historical and textural context to make their point. We shall discuss these verses later.
How would Franklin Graham and Cal Thomas react if someone quotes the following verses from the Bible to misrepresent Christianity as a religion of violence? The Holy Bible states: “As for my enemies, who do not want me to reign over them, bring them here and kill them in my presence.” (Holy Bible: St Luke 19:26) and “Do not think that I came to send peace on Earth. I did not come to send peace, but a sword.” (Holy Bible: Mathew 10:34). If someone quote the following verses out of context from the Hebrew Bible to discredit Judaism, how would Rabbi Hier, the director of Jewish Center for tolerance reacts: “ If a man has a stubborn and rebellious son, who will not obey the voice of his father…Then all the men of the city shall stone him to death with stones; so you shall purge the evil from your midst; and all Israel shall hear, and fear.” (Deuteronomy 21:12-21); “Kill every male among the little ones, and kill every women who has known man intimately. But spare for yourselves all virgin maidens” (Holy Bible: Number 31:18).
Deception is not the true character of Christianity and Judaism.
No! I will not quote the above verses from the Holy Bible out of the context as Cal Thomas, Rev. Graham, and Rabbi Hier do from the Koran. Similarly, Christians, Jews, and Muslims who value truth, compassion, and love would not engage in such misrepresentation of fact as Rabbi Hier and Cal Thomas do. False accusation and Deception are not one of the true characters of Christianity and Judaism or Islam. Christianity of the Roman church of the Dark Ages was not a compassionate loving religion for centuries. Roman church did not allow the freedom of faith. Just like contemporary Muslim Mullahs of Kandahar, Afghanistan, Pope Bonifice VIII issued the bull Unam sanctam on October 1302 that there is only one true Church outside which there is no salvation; there but one body of Christ, with one head, not two; that head is Christ and His representative, the Roman pope. The pontiff council proclaimed: “We declare and define and pronounce,” concluded the bull, “that it is necessary for salvation that all men should be subjected to Roman pontiff.” [Ref: The Story of Civilization by Will Durant. Vol. 4. Page. 814]. However, it was also not the religion and same Church that guided Mother Theresa and Father Damien. It was not the Christianity that continues to guide President Jimmy Carter, a peacemaker, who builds homes for the homeless, and millions of devout Christians. Therefore, none must blame true Christianity for the fanaticism, cruelty, and extremism of Roman Christianity of the Dark Ages that made our ancestors to flee over Atlantic Ocean and build our “one nation under God” for freedom, happiness, safety, and justice for all. We must not blame Christianity for Inquisition and burning of Bruno also. Similarly, we must not blame Islam for the crime, cruelty, and fanaticism of the contemporary terrorist or state-enforced distorted form of Islam.
Similarly, we must not assume Roman Christianity of the Dark ages as true Christianity even though it was the most popular form of religion, probably the only form of religion, in western world before the Enlightenment and Reformation of west. We must not blame Christianity for massacre of Protestants by Catholics and vise versa all across Europe in 15th to 17th century. We must not blame Christianity for anti-Semitism existed in the west until very recently that made Jews to flee from Europe to Muslim dominated land. (“In the year that Columbus discovered America, the last Muslim strong hold fell to the Catholic rulers and, three months later, Ferinand expelled all Jews from Spain except for those who accepted to become Christians… The Majority of Jews turned eastward: from Mughirib to Iraq…” [REF: A History of Jews by Ilan Halevi. Page 78]). Similarly, it is not within Christian or Jewish ethics to equate intolerant, oppressive practices of the many contemporary misguided Muslims with the compassionate and peaceful religion of Islam that the Koran and Prophet preached. A review of the fundamental teachings of the Koran, the ultimate source of Islam, and the world history written by western historians would guide us to determine whether Islam fits with Graham’s description of it as “wicked religion.”
The Koran condemns Murder of innocents The Koran emphasizes the importance of saving life and condemns the indiscriminate murder of innocent people of all faith: “If anyone slew a person-unless it is the punishment for murder or for spreading mischief in the land- it would be as if he slew the whole people: and if anyone save a life, it would be as if he saved the life of the whole people.” (Koran 5:35). Another verse states: Chapter 6, verse 151: “Take not life, which God has made sacred, except by way of justice and law.” (Koran 6:151). Moreover, in Islam, suicide is prohibited: “Kill not yourselves.” (Koran 4:29).
These verses expose Attorney General John Aschroft’s distasteful misrepresentation that “Islam is a religion in which God requires you to send your son to die for him.”
The Koran advocates Compassion and Patience in Daily Living.
The Koran obligates Muslims to be compassionate and patient in daily living and human interactions. It states:
“and enjoin one another in patience, and enjoin one another in compassion such are the companion of the right hand.” (Koran 90:17-18).
Islam is the complete submission and obedience to Allah (God). The name Allah (God) in Islam never refers to Muhammad (pbuh), as many Christians may think; Allah is the personal name of God.
What do Muslims believe about Allah?
1. He is the one God, Who has no partner.
2. Nothing is like Him. He is the Creator, not created, nor a part of His creation.
3. He is All-Powerful, absolutely Just.
4. There is no other entity in the entire universe worthy of worship besides Him.
5. He is First, Last, and Everlasting; He was when nothing was, and will be when nothing else remains.
6. He is the All-Knowing, and All-Merciful, the Supreme, the Sovereign.
7. It is only He Who is capable of granting life to anything.
8. He sent His Messengers (peace be upon them) to guide all of mankind.
9. He sent Muhammad (pbuh) as the last Prophet and Messenger for all mankind.
10. His book is the Holy Qur’an, the only authentic revealed book in the world that has been kept without change.
11. Allah knows what is in our hearts.
These are some of the basic guidelines Muslims follow in their knowledge of God:
1. Eliminate any anthropomorphism (human qualities) from their conception of Allah. His attributes are not like human attributes, despite similar labels or appellations.
2. Have unwavering faith in exactly what Allah and Prophet Muhammad (pbuh) described Allah to be, no more, no less.
3. Eradicate any hope or desire of learning or knowing the modality of His names and attributes.
4. Belief totally in all the names and attributes of Allah; one cannot believe in some and disbelieve the others.
5. One cannot accept the names of Allah without their associated attributes, i.e. one cannot say He is Al-Hayy – ‘The Living’ and then say that
He is without life.
6. Similarity in names (or meanings) does not imply similarity in what is being described (referents). As a robotics arm differs from a human arm, so the “hand” of Allah is nothing like a human hand, His speech is nothing like human speech, etc.
7. Certain words are ambiguous or vague in their meanings, and thus may be susceptible to misinterpretation. Only those
meanings that are in accordance with what is specified by Allah and His Prophet (pbuh) are acceptable.
Cleanliness
Islam places great emphasis on cleanliness, in both its physical and spiritual aspects. On the physical side, Islam requires the Muslim to clean his body, his clothes, his house, and the whole community, and he is rewarded by God for doing so. Prophet Muhammad (pbuh) said, for example:
“Removing any harm from the road is charity (that will be rewarded by Allah).” [Bukhari]
While people generally consider cleanliness a desirable attribute, Islam insists on it , making it an indispensable fundamental of the faith. A muslim is required to to be pure morally and spiritually as well as physically. Through the Qur’an and Sunnah Islam requires the sincere believer
to sanitize and purify his entire way of life.
In the Qur’an Allah commends those who are accustomed to cleanliness:
“Allah loves those who turn to Him constantly and He loves those who keep themselves pure and clean.” [2: 22]
In Islam the Arabic term for purity is Taharah. Books of Islamic jurisprudence often contain an entire chapter with Taharah as a heading.
Allah orders the believer to be tidy in appearance:
“Keep your clothes clean.” [74:4]
The Qur’an insists that the believer maintain a constant state of purity:
“Believers! When you prepare for prayer wash your faces, and your hands (and arms) to the elbows; rub your heads (with water) and (wash) your feet up to the ankles. If you are ritually impure bathe your whole body.” [5: 6]
Ritual impurity refers to that resulting from sexual release, menstruation and the first forty days after childbirth. Muslims also use water, not paper or anything else to after eliminating body wastes.
Prophet Muhammad (pbuh) advised the Muslims to appear neat and tidy in private and in public. Once when returning home from battle he advised his army:
“You are soon going to meet your brothers, so tidy your saddles and clothes. Be distinguished in the eyes of the people.”
[Abu Dawud]
On another occasion he said:
“Don’t ever come with your hair and beard disheveled like a devil.” [Al-Tirmidhi]
And on another:
“Had I not been afraid of overburdening my community, I would have ordered them to brush their teeth for every prayer.”
[Bukhari]
Moral hygiene was not ignored, either, for the Prophet (pbuh) encouraged the Muslims to make a special prayer upon seeing themselves in the mirror:
“Allah, You have endowed me with a good form; likewise bless me with an immaculate character and forbid my face from
touching the Hellfire.” [Ahmad]
And modesty in dress, for men as well as for women, assists one in maintaining purity of thought.
Being charitable is a way of purifying one’s wealth. A Muslim who does not give charity (Sadaqah) and pay the required annual Zakah, the 2.5% alms-tax, has in effect contaminated his wealth by hoarding that which rightfully belongs to others:
“Of their wealth take alms so that you may purify and sanctify them.” [9: 103]
All the laws and injunctions given by Allah and His Prophet (pbuh) are pure; on the other hand, man-made laws suffer from the impurities of human bias and other imperfections. Thus any formal law can only be truly just when it is purified by divine guidance – as elucidated by the Qur’an and
the Sunnah – or if it is divinely ordained to begin with – the Shari’ah.
Muslims Contribution To Science
Astronomy
Muslims have always had a special interest in astronomy. The moon and the sun are of vital importance in the daily life of every Muslim. By the moon, Muslims determine the beginning and the end of the months in their lunar calendar. By the sun the Muslims calculate the times for prayer and fasting. It is also by means of astronomy that Muslims can determine the precise direction of the Qiblah, to face the Ka’bah in Makkah, during prayer. The most precise solar calendar, superior tothe Julian, is the Jilali, devised under the supervision of Umar Khayyam.
The Qur’an contains many references to astronomy.
“The heavens and the earth were ordered rightly, and were made subservient to man, including the sun, the moon, the stars, and day and night. Every heavenly body moves in an orbit assigned to it by God and never digresses, making the universe an orderly cosmos whose life and existence, diminution and expansion, are totally determined by the Creator.” [Qur'an30:22]
These references, and the injunctions to learn, mnspired the early Muslim scholars to study the heavens. They integrated the earlier works of the Indians, Persians and Greeks into a new synthesis. Ptolemy’s Almagest (the title as we know it is Arabic) was translated, studied and criticized. Many new stars were discovered, as we see in their Arabic names – Algol, Deneb, Betelgeuse, Rigel, Aldebaran. Astronomical tables were compiled, among them the Toledan tables, which were used by Copernicus, Tycho Brahe and Kepler. Also compiled were almanacs – another Arabic term. Other terms from Arabic are zenith, nadir, albedo, azimuth.
Muslim astronomers were the first to establish observatories, like the one built at Mugharah by Hulagu, the son of Genghis Khan, in Persia, and they invented instruments such as the quadrant and astrolabe, which led to advances not only in astronomy but in oceanic navigation, contributing to the European age of exploration.
Geography
Muslim scholars paid great attention to geography. In fact, the Muslims’ great concern for geography originated with their religion. The Qur’an encourages people to travel throughout the earth to see God’s signs and patterns everywhere. Islam also requires each Muslim to have at least enough knowledge of geography to know the direction of the Qiblah (the position of the Ka’bah in Makkah) in order to pray five times a day. Muslims were also used to taking long journeys to conduct trade as well as to make the Hajj and spread their religion. The far-flung Islamic empire enabled scholar-explorers to compile large amounts of geographical and climatic information from the Atlantic to the Pacific.
Among the most famous names in the field of geography, even in the West, are Ibn Khaldun and Ibn Batuta, renowned for their written accounts of their extensive explorations.
In 1166, Al-Idrisi, the well-known Muslim scholar who served the Sicilian court, produced very accurate maps, including a world map with all the continents and their mountains, rivers and famous cities. Al-Muqdishi was the first geographer to produce accurate maps in color.
It was, moreover, with the help of Muslim navigators and their inventions that Magellan was able to traverse the Cape of Good Hope, and Da Gama and Columbus had Muslim navigators on board their ships.
Humanity
Seeking knowledge is obligatory in Islam for every Muslim, man and woman. The main sources of Islam, the Qur’an and the Sunnah (Prophet Muhammad’s traditions), encourage Muslims to seek knowledge and be scholars, since this is the best way for people to know Allah (God), to appreciate His wondrous creations and be thankful for them. Muslims were therefore eager to seek knowledge, both religious and secular, and within a few years of Muhammad’s mission, a great civilization sprang up and flourished. The outcome is shown in the spread of Islamic universities; Al-Zaytunah in Tunis, and Al-Azhar in Cairo go back more than 1,000 years and are the oldest existing universities in the world. Indeed, they were the models for the first European universities, such as Bologna, Heidelberg, and the Sorbonne. Even the familiar academic cap
and gown originated at Al-Azhar University.
Muslims made great advances in many different fields, such as geography, physics, chemistry, mathematics, medicine, pharmacology, architecture, linguistics and astronomy. Algebra and the Arabic numerals were introduced to the world by Muslim scholars. The astrolabe, the quadrant, and other navigational devices and maps were developed by Muslim scholars and played an important role in world progress, most notably in Europe’s age of exploration.
Muslim scholars studied the ancient cavitations from Greece and Rome to China and India. The works of Aristotle, Ptolemy, Euclid and others were translated into Arabic. Muslim scholars and scientists then added their own creative ideas, discoveries and inventions, and finally transmitted this new knowledge to Europe, leading directly to the Renaissance. Many scientific and medical treatises, having been translated into Latin, were standard text and reference books as late as the 17thand 18th centuries.
Mathematics
It is interesting to note that Islam so strongly urges mankind to study and explore the universe. For example, the Holy Qur’an states:
“We (Allah) will show you (mankind) Our signs/patterns in the horizons/universe and in yourselves until you are convinced
that the revelation is the truth.” [Qur'an, 14:53]
This invitation to explore and search made Muslims interested in astronomy, mathematics, chemistry, and the other sciences, and they had a very clear and firm understanding of the correspondences among geometry, mathematics, and astronomy.
The Muslims invented the symbol for zero (The word “cipher” comes from Arabic sifr), and they organized the numbers into the decimal system – base 10. Additionally, they invented the symbol to express an unknown quantity, i.e. variables like x.
The first great Muslim mathematician, Al-Khawarizmi, invented the subject of algebra (al-Jabr), which was further developed by others, most notably Umar Khayyam. Al-Khawarizmi’s work, in Latin translation, brought the Arabic numerals along with the mathematics to Europe, through Spain. The word “algorithm” is derived from his name.
Muslim mathematicians excelled also in geometry, as can be seen in their graphic arts, and it was the great Al-Biruni (who excelled also in the fields of natural history, even geology and mineralogy) who established trigonometry as a distinct branch of mathematics. Other Muslim mathematicians made significant progress in number theory.
Medicine
In Islam, the human body is a source of appreciation, as it is created by Almighty Allah (God). How it functions, how to keep it clean and safe, how to prevent diseases from attacking it or cure those diseases, have been important issues for Muslims.
Prophet Muhammad himself urged people to “take medicines for your diseases”, as people at that time were reluctant to do so. He also said,
“God created no illness, but established for it a cure, except for old age. When the antidote is applied, the patient will
recover with the permission of God.”
This was strong motivation to encourage Muslim scientists to explore, develop, and apply empirical laws. Much attention was given to medicine and public health care. The first hospital was built in Baghdad in 706 AC. The Muslims also used camel caravans as mobile hospitals, which moved from place to place.
Since the religion did not forbid it, Muslim scholars used human cadavers to study anatomy and physiology and to help their students understand how the body functions. This empirical study enabled surgery to develop very quickly.
Al-Razi, known in the West as Rhazes, the famous physician and scientist, (d. 932) was one of the greatest physicians in the world in the Middle Ages. He stressed empirical observation and clinical medicine and was unrivaled as a diagnostician. He also wrote a treatise on hygiene in hospitals. Khalaf Abul-Qasim Al-Zahrawi was a very famous surgeon in the eleventh century, known in Europe for his work, Concessio (Kitab al-Tasrif).
Ibn Sina (d. 1037), better known to the West as Avicenna, was perhaps the greatest physician until the modern era. His famous book, Al-Qanun fi al-Tibb, remained a standard textbook even in Europe, for over 700 years. Ibn Sina’s work is still studied and built upon in the East.
Other significant contributions were made in pharmacology, such as Ibn Sina’s Kitab al-Shifa’ (Book of Healing), and in public health. Every major city in the Islamic world had a number of excellent hospitals, some of them teaching hospitals, and many of them were specialized for particular diseases, including mental and emotional. The Ottomans were particularly noted for their building of hospitals and for the high level of hygiene practiced in them.
Definition
The word ISLAM has a two-fold meaning: peace, and submission to God. This submission requires a fully conscious and willing effort to submit to the one Almighty God. One must consciously and conscientiously give oneself to the service of Allah. This means to act on what Allah enjoins all of us to do (in the Qur’an) and what His beloved Prophet, Muhammad (pbuh) encouraged us to do in his Sunnah (his lifestyle and sayings personifying the Qur’an).
Once we humble ourselves, rid ourselves of our egoism and submit totally to Allah, and to Him exclusively, in faith and in action, we will surely feel peace in our hearts. Establishing peace in our hearts will bring about peace in our external conduct as well.
Islam is careful to remind us that it not a religion to be paid mere lip service; rather it is an all-encompassing way of life that must be practiced continuously for it to be Islam. The Muslim must practice the five pillars of the religion: the declaration of faith in the oneness of Allah and the prophet hood of Muhammad (pbuh), prayer, fasting the month of Ramadan, alms-tax, and the pilgrimage to Makkah; and believe in the six articles of faith: belief in God, the Holy Books, the prophets, the angels, the Day of Judgment and God’s decree, whether for good or ill.
There are other injunctions and commandments which concern virtually all facets of one’s personal, family and civic life. These include such matters as diet, clothing, personal hygiene, interpersonal relations, business ethics, responsibilities towards parents, spouse and children, marriage, divorce and inheritance, civil and criminal law, fighting in defense of Islam, relations with non-Muslims, and so much more.
Human Rights
Islam has been from its inception very concerned with issues of human rights. Privacy, freedom, dignity and equality are guaranteed in Islam. The holy Qur’an states clearly:
“There is no compulsion in religion.”
And there are no reliable reports to confirm the old accusations that when the Muslim armies were expanding into Asia, Africa and Europe the people were put to the sword if they failed to convert to Islam. The best proof is that not only did the Christians, Jews, Zoroastrians and Hindus in those areas not perish or otherwise disappear, they actually flourished as protected minority communities, and many individuals rose to prominent positions in the arts, sciences, even in government.
The lives, property and privacy of all citizens in an Islamic state are considered sacred, whether or not the person is Muslim. Non-Muslims have freedom of worship and the practice of their religions, including their own family law and religious courts. They are obliged to pay a different tax (Jizyah) instead of the Zakah, and the state is obligated to provide both protection and government services. Before the modern era it was extremely rare to find a state or government anywhere in the world that was as solicitous of its minorities and their civil rights as the Islamic states.
In no other religion did women receive such a degree of legal and moral equality and personal respect. Moreover, racism and tribalism are incompatible with Islam, for the Qur’an speaks of human equality in the following terms:
“Mankind! We created you from a single soul, male and female, and made you into nations and tribes, that you may come
to know one another. Truly, the most honored of you in God’s sight is the greatest of you in piety.”
Jesus
Islam honors all the prophets who were sent to mankind. Muslims respect all prophets in general, but Jesus in particular, because he was one of the prophets who foretold the coming of Muhammad. Muslims, too, await the second coming of Jesus. They consider him one of the greatest of Allah’s prophets to mankind. A Muslim does not refer to him simply as “Jesus,” but normally adds the phrase “peace be upon him” as a sign of respect.
No other religion in the world respects and dignifies Jesus as Islam does. The Qur’an confirms his virgin birth (a chapter of the Qur’an is entitled “Mary”), and Mary is considered to have been one of the purest women in all creation. The Qur’an describes Jesus’ birth as follows:
“Behold!’ the Angel said, God has chosen you, and purified you, and chosen you above the women of all nations. Mary, God gives you good news of a word from Him, whose name shall be the Messiah, Jesus son of Mary, honored in this world and in the Hereafter, and one of those brought near to God. He shall speak to the people from his cradle and in maturity, and he shall be of the righteous. She said: “My Lord! How shall I have a son when no man has touched me?’ He said: “Even so; God creates what He will. When He decrees a thing, He says to it, ‘Be!’ and it is.” [3:42-47]
Muslims believe that Jesus was born immaculately, and through the same power which had brought Eve to life and Adam into being without a father or a mother.
“Truly, the likeness of Jesus with God is as the likeness of Adam. He created him of dust, and then said to him, ‘Be!’ and he was.” [3:59]
During his prophetic mission, Jesus performed many miracles. The Qur’an tells us that he said:
“I have come to you with a sign from your Lord: 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 the blind, and the lepers, and I raise the dead by God’s leave.” [3:49]
Muhammad and Jesus, as well as the other prophets, were sent to confirm the belief in one God. This is referred to in the Qur’an where Jesus is reported as saying that he came:
“To attest the law which was before me, and to make lawful to you part of what was forbidden you; I have come to you
with a sign from your Lord, so fear God and obey me.” [3:50]
Prophet Muhammad emphasized the importance of Jesus by saying:
“Whoever believes there is no god but Allah, alone without partner, that Muhammad is His messenger, that Jesus is a servant and messenger of God, His word breathed into Mary and a spirit emanating from Him, and that Paradise and Hellare true, shall be received by God into Heaven. [Bukhari]
Knowledge
Islam urges people to read and learn on every occasion. The verses of the Qur’an command, advise, warn, and encourage people to observe the phenomena of nature, the succession of day and night, the movements of stars, the sun, moon, and other heavenly bodies. Muslims are urged to look into everything in the universe, to travel, investigate, explore and understand them, the better to appreciate and be thankful for all the wonders and beauty of God’s creations. The first revelation to Muhammad showed how much Islam cares about knowledge.
“Read, in the name of your Lord, Who created…” [96:1]
Learning is obligatory for both men and women. Moreover, education is not restricted to religious issues; it includes all fields of knowledge, including biology, physics, and technology. Scholars have the highest status in Islam, second only to that accorded to prophets.
Almost from the very beginnings of the Islamic state Muslims began to study and to master a number of fields of so-called secular learning, beginning with linguistics and architecture, but very quickly extending to mathematics, physics, astronomy, geography, medicine, chemistry and philosophy. They translated and synthesized the known works of the ancient world, from Greece, Persia, India, even China. Before long they were criticizing, improving and expanding on that knowledge. Centuries before the European Renaissance there were Muslim ³Rennaissance² men, men who were simultaneously explorers, scientists, philosophers, physicians and poets, like Ibn Sina (Avicenna),
Umar Khayyam, and others.
Comparison Study of Judaism, Christianity, and Islam
Religion
Abrahamic Faith consists of Judaism, Christianity and Islam. These religions have something in common such as the belief of Adam is the first man created and the
ancestor of all human beings, Abraham as a prophet, and the Torat as a revelation of God. Nevertheless there are also some significance differences among them.
Judaism is a tribal religion that can only confessed by a Jew tribe. This religion could not be spread to Non Jew. That is why the number of its follower is only a few. Around 14 million people in the world. Meanwhile the Christianity and Islam are spreading to
all people in the world and confessed by billions of people.
About God
Judaism and Islam regard there is only one God. The Jews call the God as Yahweh which is third singular person means “He who is.” Muslims call God as Allah
which is singular form and genderless from ilah (God). In the Quran, chapter Al Ikhlas stated the unity of God:
Say: He is Allah, the One!
Allah, the eternally Besought of all!
He begetteth not nor was begotten.
And there is none comparable unto Him.
Actually in the Bible the Unity of God also stated in the Ten Commandments of God in Exodus 20:20:1 And God spake all these words, saying, 2 I am the
LORD thy God, which have brought thee out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of bondage.3 Thou shalt have no other gods before me. [Exodus 20:1-3]
Though in Judaism and Islam the Monotheism of God is absolute including of God’s essence, in Christianity there is a doctrine named Trinity that says God exists
as 3 persons: Father, Son, and Holy Spirit who are united in one substance or being. The trinity consists of 2 words: Three and Unity. Three is One and One is
three.
This concept is contradicted to Al Quran in Chapter Al Ikhlas that says God has no Father or Son. The Bible says:
“The God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, which is blessed for evermore, knoweth that I lie not.”[2 Corinthian 11:31]
“Blessed be God, even the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies, and the God of all comfort” [2 Corinthian 1:3]
The Bible verses above clearly said that God is the Father of Lord Jesus Christ. On the other hand, in Islam strictly stated the Oneness of God, that God is one, God has no Father or Son as follows:
“And say: Praise be to Allah, Who hath not taken unto Himself a son, and Who hath no partner in the Sovereignty,nor hath He any protecting friend through
dependence. And magnify Him with all magnificence.” [Al Israa’:111]
Allah has no Son or Partner:
“Allah hath not chosen any son, nor is there any God along with Him; else would each God have assuredly championed that which he created, and some of them
would assuredly have overcome others. Glorified be Allah above all that they allege.” [Al Mu’minuun:91]
About Jesus
The Jews not only deny Jesus as a God or a prophet, but they also tried to kill Jesus as a pervert.
On the contrary, the Christians regard Jesus as a God:
“The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, and the love of God, and the communion of the Holy Ghost, be with you all. Amen.” [2 Corinthian 13:14]
Islam regards Jesus not as a God, but only a human being that became a messenger of God:
“And when Allah saith: O Jesus, son of Mary! Didst thou say my mother for two gods beside Allah? He saith: Be glorified to which I had no right. If I used
to say it, then Thou my mind, and I know not what is in Thy mind. Lo! Thou, only Things Hidden.” [Al Maa’idah:116]
According to Islam, Jesus only a prophet to call people to worship only one God as God order in the Ten Commandments:
“I spake unto them only that which Thou commandedst me, and your Lord. I was a witness of them while I dwelt tookest me Thou wast the Watcher over them. Thou
art” [Al Maa’idah:117]
About Jesus Parent
As the Bible verses above, the Christianity regards Jesus as the Son of God:
“The beginning of the gospel of Jesus Christ, the Son of God” [Mark 1:1]
“He shall be great, and shall be called the Son of the Highest: and the Lord God shall give unto him the throne of his father David” [Luke 1:32]
Nonetheless, on Matthew 1:16-18 said that Jesus’ father is Joseph though Jesus was born from virgin Mary before Mary married to Joseph or having sex with him:
“1:16 And Jacob begat Joseph the husband of Mary, of whom was born Jesus, who is called Christ. 17 So all the generations from Abraham to David are fourteen
generations; and from David until the carrying away into Babylon are fourteen generations; and from the carrying away into Babylon unto Christ are fourteen
generations. 18 Now the birth of Jesus Christ was on this wise: When as his mother Mary was espoused to Joseph, before they came together, she was found with
child of the Holy Ghost.” [Matthew 1:16-18]
Jesus’ family tree at last follows Joseph’s instead of Mary’s.
On another verse described Jesus as the son of David, the son of Abraham.
The book of the generation of Jesus Christ, the son of
David, the son of Abraham.” [Matthew 1:1]
Jesus the Son of Man:
“For the Son of man is Lord even of the sabbath day.” [Matthew 12:8]
According to Islam Jesus is the Son of Mary. Not the Son of God or Joseph:
“The Messiah, son of Mary, was no other than a messenger, whom had passed away before him. And his mother was a used to eat (earthly) food. See how we
make the revelations they are turned away!” [Al Maa’idah:75]
The Power of God
In the Bible, Genesis 32:25-28 said that Jacob fought with God from night until dawn. When God could not defeated Jacob, God touch the hollow of Jacob’s thigh.
God named Jacob as Israel because Jacob has fought God and men and Jacob prevailed:
“32:24 And Jacob was left alone; and there wrestled a man with him until the breaking of the day. 25 And when he saw that he prevailed not against him, he touched the hollow of his thigh; and the hollow of Jacob’s thigh was out of joint, as he wrestled with him.26 And he said, Let me go, for the day breaketh. And he said,
I will not let thee go, except thou bless me.
27 And he said unto him, What is thy name? And he said, Jacob.28 And he said, Thy name shall be called no more Jacob, but Israel: for as a prince hast thou
power with God and with men, and hast prevailed.” [Genesis 32:24-28]
In the Gospel Matthew told how Jesus the God caught, spit, and beaten by men:
“27:27 Then the soldiers of the governor took Jesus
into the common hall, and gathered unto him the whole
band of soldiers.28 And they stripped him, and put on
him a scarlet robe.29 And when they had platted a
crown of thorns, they put it upon his head, and a reed
in his right hand: and they bowed the knee before him,
and mocked him, saying, Hail, King of the Jews!
30 And they spit upon him, and took the reed, and
smote him on the head.
31 And after that they had mocked him, they took the
robe off from him, and put his own raiment on him, and
led him away to crucify him.” [Matthew 27:27-31]
In Islam God is the Most Powerful. He cannot be beaten by any man even if they are all join together against Him:
“If He will, He can be rid of you and bring (instead of you). That is not a hard thing for Allah.” [Al Faathir: 16-17]
“Thy Lord is the Absolute, the Lord of Mercy. If He will, He can remove you and can cause what He will to follow after you, even as He raised you from the seed
of other folk.” [Al An’aam:133]
From the verses of Holy Book above, can you tell us which the Most Powerful God is?
The Independence of God
In Gospel Matthew said how Jesus complain and cry: “My
God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me?”
And about the ninth hour Jesus cried with a loud voice, saying, Eli, Eli, lama sabachthani? that is to say, My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me?”
[Matthew 27:46]
Do you think such statement will come out from the Most Powerful God?
In the Al Quran said that God is not a weak man that needs help:
“And say: Praise be to Allah, Who hath not taken unto Himself a son, and Who hath no partner in the Sovereignty, nor hath He any protecting friend through
dependence. And magnify Him with all magnificence.” [Al Israa’:111]
Whom should we worship for? The weak and need help God or the Most Powerful God?
The Knowledge of God
In Gospel Mark 11:12-13 said that Jesus felt hungry and did not know if the Fig tree is fruitless because it is not its season.
11:12 And on the morrow, when they were come from Bethany, he was hungry:
13 And seeing a fig tree afar off having leaves, he came, if haply he might find any thing thereon: and when he came to it, he found nothing but leaves; for
the time of figs was not yet.” [Mark 11:12-13]
In Islam God is All Knowing:
“And with Him are the keys of the invisible. None but He knoweth them. And He knoweth what is in the land and the sea. Not a leaf falleth but He knoweth it. Not
a grain amid the darkness of the earth, naught of wet or dry but it is noted in a clear record“ [Al An’aam:59]
Is God Sleep?
In Matthew 8:24 said that Jesus was a sleep:
“And, behold, there arose a great tempest in the sea, insomuch that the ship was covered with the waves: but he was asleep.” [Matthew 8:24]
According to Islam, God never feel weak such as sleepy or sleep:
Allah! There is no God save Him, the Alive, the
Eternal. Neither slumber nor sleep overtaketh Him.
Unto Him belongeth whatsoever is in the heavens and whatsoever is in the earth. Who is he that intercedeth with Him save by His leave? He knoweth that which is
in front of them and that which is behind them, while they encompass nothing of His knowledge save what He will. His throne includeth the heavens and the earth,
and He is never weary of preserving them. He is the Sublime, the Tremendous.” [Al Baqarah:255]
Prohibition of Statue
In the Ten Commandments stated in Exodus 20:4-5 God forbid man to make any statue:
20:4 Thou shalt not make unto thee any graven image, or any likeness of any thing that is in heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth.
20:5 Thou shalt not bow down thyself to them, nor serve them: for I the LORD thy God am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children
unto the third and fourth generation of them that hate me” [Exodus 20:4-5]
However the Christians now make many statues of Jesus
and Mary and put them on the churches.
In Islam making statues is forbidden. In Hadeeth
Bukharee, Ummu Salamah and Ummu Habibah said there is a beautiful church in Habsyi (Mary Church) with some beautiful statues. Muhammad said “When their saint died, the Christians will build church on the grave. Then they make many statues in the church. They are the worst creatures before God in the day of
judgement”
The Holy Book
Though the Jews Holy Book is quoted in Bible as the Old Testament, yet there are some significant differences between them. The Jews Holy Book mostly
written in Hebrew and a few in Aramaic. On the other the Old Testament in Christianity the oldest one written in Greek with 7 additional books.
The New Testament consists of 27 books (including 4 gospels) and originally written in Greek between 50-150 AD (Jesus died arount 29 AD).
The gospel consists of 4 different versions originally written in Greek namely: Mark, Matthew, Luke, and John. The Gospels written around 70-100 AD about 40
years after the death of Jesus.
For example, Luke wrote Gospel for a man called Theophilus
1:1 For as much as many have taken in hand to set
forth in order a declaration of those things which are
most surely believed among us,
2 Even as they delivered them unto us, which from the beginning were
eyewitnesses, and ministers of the word;
3 It seemed good to me also, having had perfect understanding of
all things from the very first, to write unto thee in order, most excellent Theophilus, 4 That thou mightestknow the certainty of those things, wherein thou hast
been instructed.” [Luke 1:1-4]
Luke sometime only guesses such as Jesus about thirty years of age and use the word “As was supposed”.
“And Jesus himself began to be about thirty years of age, being (as was supposed) the son of Joseph, which was the son of Heli” [Luke 3:23]
Though Jesus language is Aramaic, but the New Testament original language at least the oldest version is all in Greek.
If in Luke 3:23 Jesus’ grand father’s name is Heli,
In Matthew 1:16 Jesus’ grand father is Jacob:
“And Jacob begat Joseph the husband of Mary, of whom
was born Jesus, who is called Christ” [Matthew 1:16]
On the other hand, there is only one version of the Al Quran which is memorized by millions of Muslims and still in its original language: Arab, the language of
Muhammad.
“Lo! We revealed it (Al Quran) on the Night of Power” [Al Qadr:1]
Al Quran revealed by Allah to Muhammad. And Muhammad passed it on his followers. Some of the followers memorized Al Quran, some wrote it down on several media (leaves, bones, leather, etc). Abu Bakar, Muhammad’s friend, gather the Al Quran to be one. And Usman, another Muhammad’s friend, then compiled the Quran into one book called Mushaf Usmani with punctuation mark so the spelling complies with the Arabic language standard.
The Circumcision Obligation for Men
In Judaism and Islam, Circumcision is an obligation for men. It is complied with Bible:
17:10 This is my covenant, which ye shall keep, between me and you and thy seed after thee; Every man child among you shall be circumcised. 11 And ye shall
circumcise the flesh of your foreskin; and it shall be a token of the covenant betwixt me and you. 12 And he that is eight days old shall be circumcised among you,
every man child in your generations, he that is born in the house, or bought with money of any stranger, which is not of thy seed.
13 He that is born in thy house, and he that is bought with thy money, must needs be circumcised: and my covenant shall be in your flesh for an everlasting
covenant.
14 And the uncircumcised man child whose flesh of his foreskin is not circumcised, that soul shall be cutoff from his people; he hath broken my covenant”
[Genesis 17:10-14]
The uncircumcised man is regarded as unclean in Isaiah 52:1:
“Awake, awake; put on thy strength, O Zion; put on thy beautiful garments, O Jerusalem, the holy city: for henceforth there shall no more come into thee the
uncircumcised and the unclean” [Isaiah 52:1]
However though God said in Genesis 17:13 that circumcision is an everlasting covenant, the Christians no longer doing the obligation because Paul who claimed become apostle after Jesus died (when Jesus alive Paul is Jesus enemy) said that
circumcision is no longer an obligation:
2:25 For circumcision verily profiteth, if thou keep the law: but if thou be a breaker of the law, thy circumcision is made uncircumcision. 26 Therefore if the uncircumcision keep the righteousness of the law, shall not his uncircumcision be counted for circumcision? 27 And shall not uncircumcision which is by nature, if it fulfil the law, judge thee, who by the letter and circumcision dost transgress the law?
2:28 For he is not a Jew, which is one outwardly; neither is that circumcision, which is outward in the flesh: 29 But he is a Jew, which is one inwardly; and
circumcision is that of the heart, in the spirit, and not in the letter; whose praise is not of men, but of God.
3:1 What advantage then hath the Jew? or what profit is there of circumcision?” [Romans 2:25-29 – 3:1]
The Prohibition of Eating Swine
In Judaism and Islam, eating swine is strictly forbidden. It is complied with Leviticus 11:7-8 and Deuteronomy 14:8:
11:7 And the swine, though he divide the hoof, and be cloven-footed, yet he cheweth not the cud; he is unclean to you. 8 Of their flesh shall ye not eat, and
their carcass shall ye not touch; they are unclean to you.” [Leviticus 11:7-8]
In the Al Quran the prohibition stated:
“He hath forbidden you only carrion, and blood, and swine flesh, and that which hath been immolated to (the name of) any other than Allah. But he who is
driven by necessity, neither craving nor transgressing, it is no sin for him. Lo! Allah is Forgiving, Merciful.” [Al Baqarah:173]
Nevertheless Swine Flesh is a common food among the Christians now.
Original Sin
In the Christianity known the Original Sin Doctrine. All human race are sinners because of Adam committed sin by eating forbidden fruit. That is why Jesus sent
down as the Saviour to redeem the original sin. In Exodus 20:5 God said that He will punish the children, the third and fourth generation for the
iniquity of their fathers:
“Thou shalt not bow down thyself to them, nor serve them: for I the LORD thy God am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children
unto the third and fourth generation of them that hate me;” [Exodus 20:5]
In Islam every one will only responsible for their own
sin. No one can be punished because of other people sin:
“Say: Shall I seek another than Allah for Lord, when
He is Lord of all things? Each soul earneth only on
its own account, nor doth any laden bear another’s
load. Then unto your Lord is your return and He will
tell you that wherein ye differed.” [Al An’aam:164]
Slander on Lot
In the Bible, Genesis 19:30-38 said that Lot had drink wine and committed sexual intercourse with his own daughters (incest) and had children (or
grandchildren?) from them:
19:30 And Lot went up out of Zoar, and dwelt in the mountain, and his two daughters with him; for he feared to dwell in Zoar: and he dwelt in a cave, he
and his two daughters.
31 And the firstborn said unto the younger, Our father is old, and there is not a man in the earth to come in unto us after the manner of all the earth:32 Come, let
us make our father drink wine, and we will lie with him, that we may preserve seed of our father.
33 And they made their father drink wine that night: and the firstborn went in, and lay with her father; and he perceived not when she lay down, nor when she
arose.
34 And it came to pass on the morrow, that the firstborn said unto the younger, Behold, I lay yester night with my father: let us make him drink wine this night also; and go thou in, and lie with him, that we may preserve seed of our father.
35 And they made their father drink wine that night also: and the younger arose, and lay with him; and he perceived not when she lay down, nor when she arose.
36 Thus were both the daughters of Lot with child by their father.
37 And the first born bare a son, and called his name Moab: the same is the father of the Moabites unto this day.
38 And the younger, she also bare a son, and called his name Benammi: the same is the father of the children of Ammon unto this day.” [Genesis 19:30-38]
In Islam stated that Lot is really a prophet and cleanfrom such a sin such as drinking liquor or doing incest:
“And lo! Lot verily was of those sent (to warn)” [Ash Shaafaat:133]
In the Quran stated that God has raised Lot’s degree
over people. If common people will not commit adultery
with their own daughter, then a prophet such as Lot
will not such a thing:
“And Ishmael and Elisha and Jonah and Lot. Each one of them did We prefer above (Our) creatures” [Al An’aam:86]
Slander on David
In Bible, 2 Samuel 11:2-17 said that David (who in Matthew 1:1 described as Jesus’ father) committed adultery with Uriah’s wife, Bathsheba. After that,David ordered Joab to send Uriah to the front line of a battle and then deserted him so Uriah get killed by the enemy:
11:2 And it came to pass in an eveningtide, that David arose from off his bed, and walked upon the roof of the king’s house: and from the roof he saw a woman
washing herself; and the woman was very beautiful to look upon.
3 And David sent and inquired after the woman. And one said, Is not this Bathsheba, the daughter of Eliam, the wife of Uriah the Hittite?
4 And David sent messengers, and took her; and she came in unto him, and he lay with her; for she was purified from her uncleanness: and she returned unto
her house.” [2 Samuel 11:2-4]
In 2 Samuel 13:11-14 also stated that the son of David, Amnon raped his own sister, Tamar:
13:11 And when she had brought them unto him to eat, he took hold of her, and said unto her, Come lie with me, my sister.
12 And she answered him, Nay, my brother, do not force me; for no such thing ought to be done in Israel: do not thou this folly.
13 And I, whither shall I cause my shame to go? and as for thee, thou shalt be as one of the fools in Israel. Now therefore, I pray thee, speak unto the king; for
he will not withhold me from thee.
14 Howbeit he would not hearken unto her voice: but, being stronger than she, forced her, and lay with her.” [2 Samuel 13:11-14]
In the Al Quran, the Slander over David is denied:
“Those of the children of Israel who went astray were cursed by the tongue of David, and of Jesus, son of Mary. That was because they rebelled and used to
transgress.” [Al Maa-idah:78]
Prohibition of Adultery / Sex Story
In the story of Adultery or prohibition of Adultery, the Bible described it very detailed:
23:1 The word of the LORD came again unto me, saying, 2 Son of man, there were two women, the daughters of one mother:3 And they committed whoredoms in Egypt; they committed whoredoms in their youth: there were their breasts pressed, and there they bruised the teats of their virginity.
4 And the names of them were Aholah the elder, and Aholibah her sister: and they were mine, and they bare sons and daughters. Thus were their names; Samaria is
Aholah, and Jerusalem Aholibah.
5 And Aholah played the harlot when she was mine; and she doted on her lovers, on the Assyrians her neighbours, 6 Which were clothed with blue, captains and rulers, all of them desirable young men, horsemen riding upon horses.
7 Thus she committed her whoredoms with them, with all of them that were the chosen men of Assyria, and with all on whom she doted: with all their idols she defiled herself.
8 Neither left she her whoredoms brought from Egypt:for in her youth they lay with her, and they bruised the breasts of her virginity, and poured their whoredom upon her. 9 Wherefore I have delivered her into the hand of her lovers, into the hand of the Assyrians, upon whom she doted.
0 These discovered her nakedness: they took her sons and her daughters, and slew her with the sword: and she became famous among women; for they had executed
judgment upon her.
11 And when her sister Aholibah saw this, she was more corrupt in her inordinate love than she, and in her whoredoms more than her sister in her whoredoms.
12 She doted upon the Assyrians her neighbours, captains and rulers clothed most gorgeously, horsemen riding upon horses, all of them desirable young men.
13 Then I saw that she was defiled, that they took both one way,
14 And that she increased her whoredoms: for when she saw men portrayed upon the wall, the images of the Chaldeans pourtrayed with vermilion,15 Girded with
girdles upon their loins, exceeding in dyed attire upon their heads, all of them princes to look to, after the manner of the Babylonians of Chaldea, the
land of their nativity:16 And as soon as she saw them with her eyes, she doted upon them, and sent messengers unto them into Chaldea.
17 And the Babylonians came to her into the bed of love, and they defiled her with their whoredom, and she was polluted with them, and her mind was alienated
from them.
18 So she discovered her whoredoms, and discovered her nakedness: then my mind was alienated from her, like as my mind was alienated from her sister.
19 Yet she multiplied her whoredoms, in calling to remembrance the days of her youth, wherein she had played the harlot in the land of Egypt. 20 For she doted upon their paramours, whose flesh is as the flesh of asses, and whose issue is like the issue of horses.
21 Thus thou calledst to remembrance the lewdness of thy youth, in bruising thy teats by the Egyptians for the paps of thy youth.” [Ezekiel 23:1-21]
In Song of Solomon 7:1-8 the sexual desire described like this:
7:1 How beautiful are thy feet with shoes, O prince’s daughter! the joints of thy thighs are like jewels, the work of the hands of a cunning workman.
2 Thy navel is like a round goblet, which wanteth not liquor: thy belly is like an heap of wheat set about with lilies.
3 Thy two breasts are like two young roes that are twins.
4 Thy neck is as a tower of ivory; thine eyes like the fishpools in Heshbon, by the gate of Bathrabbim: thy nose is as the tower of Lebanon which looketh toward
Damascus.
5 Thine head upon thee is like Carmel, and the hair of thine head like purple; the king is held in the galleries.
6 How fair and how pleasant art thou, O love, for delights!
7 This thy stature is like to a palm tree, and thy breasts to clusters of grapes.
8 I said, I will go up to the palm tree, I will take hold of the boughs thereof: now also thy breasts shall be as clusters of the vine, and the smell of thy nose
like apples” [Song of Solomon 7:1-8]
In the Al Quran the prohibition of Adultery described in a gentle way so it do not arouse sexual desire of its readers. The readers will not have desire to have
sex with his wife or close friend or masturbate after reading the holy book:
“And come not near unto adultery. Lo! it is an abomination and an evil way. “ [Al Israa’:32]
Even the permission of having sex in the month of fasting described in a very decent way:
“It is made lawful for you to go unto your wives on the night of the fast. They are raiment for you and ye are raiment for them.” [Al Baqarah:187]
That is the Holy Book of Al Quran!
Retaliation Law
In the Old Testament, Exodus 21:11-22:19 stated the Retaliation Law, namely death sentence for killer, an eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth:
“He that smiteth a man, so that he die, shall be surely put to death.” [Exodus 21:12]
“21:24 Eye for eye, tooth for tooth, hand for hand, foot for foot,25 Burning for burning, wound for wound, stripe for stripe.” [Exodus 21:24-25]
But on the New Testament the Retaliation Law is eliminated and the Christians no longer follow the rule.
In the Al Quran the Retaliation Law restored:
“O ye who believe! Retaliation is prescribed for you in the matter of the murdered; the freeman for the freeman, and the slave for the slave, and the female
for the female…” [Al Baqarah:178]
The Retaliation Law applied so people will think twice before they kill others. If they kill other people then they will be sentenced to death so they could no
longer kill innocent people again in the future By this way the world will be safer for innocent people (but not for the killers):
“And there is life for you in retaliation, O men of understanding, that ye may ward off (evil).” [Al Baqarah:179]
Evil or Serpent who Cheated Adam and Eve?
In Genesis 3:1-19 said that Serpent is the most clever among animals and could talk so it could cheat human: Adam and Eve:
3:1 Now the serpent was more subtle than any beast of the field which the LORD God had made. And he said unto the woman, Yea, hath God said, Ye shall not eat
of every tree of the garden?
2 And the woman said unto the serpent, We may eat of the fruit of the trees of the garden:3 But of the fruit of the tree which is in the midst of the garden, God hath said, Ye shall not eat of it, neither shall ye touch it, lest ye die.
4 And the serpent said unto the woman, Ye shall not surely die:5 For God doth know that in the day ye eat thereof, then your eyes shall be opened, and ye shall
be as gods, knowing good and evil.
6 And when the woman saw that the tree was good for food, and that it was pleasant to the eyes, and a tree to be desired to make one wise, she took of the fruit
thereof, and did eat, and gave also unto her husband with her; and he did eat.” [Genesis 3:1-6]
3:13 And the LORD God said unto the woman, What isthis that thou hast done? And the woman said, The serpent beguiled me, and I did eat.
14 And the LORD God said unto the serpent, Because thou hast done this, thou art cursed above all cattle, and above every beast of the field; upon thy belly
shalt thou go, and dust shalt thou eat all the days of thy life” [Genesis 3:13-14]
In the Quran said that the cheater of Adam and Eve is Satan. Not animal like serpent:
“But Satan caused them to deflect there from and expelled them from the (happy) state in which they were; and We said: Fall down, one of you a foe untothe other! There shall be for you on earth ahabitation and provision for a tune.” [Al Baqarah:36]
If in the Christianity Adam and Eve remain as sinners and passed their sin to their descendants as original sin, in Islam after they regretted and asked God’s
forgiveness, God forgive them. There is no original sin to pass to their descendants.
“Then Adam received from his Lord words (of revelation), and He relented toward him. Lo! He is the Relenting the Merciful.” [Al Baqarah:37]
The Jews regard themselves as the Chosen People while the Christians believe there is no salvation for those who don’t believe Jesus as a God so they send many
evangelists/missionaries all over the world to make people become Christians. Islam said only Islam the religion that God loves:
“Lo! religion with Allah is The Surrender to His will and guidance (Islam). Those who (formerly) received the Scripture differed only after knowledge came unto
them, through transgression among themselves. Whoso disbelieves the revelations of Allah (will find that) Lo! Allah is swift at reckoning.” [Ali ‘Imran:19]
“And whoso seeketh as religion other than the Surrender to Allah (Islam) it will not be accepted from him, and he will be a loser in the Hereafter.” [Ali ‘Imran:85]
Those are some differences in Judaism, Christianity,
and Islam. Though there are many more differences, yet
Muslims are recommended to have a good social
relationship with them as long they are not hostile or
insulting Muslims or Islam.
Though there is no compulsion in religion, yet Islam
forbids Muslims to mix their religions with others.
Your religion is for you and our religion is for us.
That is the Islamic teaching.
What Do Muslims Believe about Jesus?
Muslims respect and revere Jesus (peace be upon him). They consider him one of the greatest of God’s messengers to mankind. The Quran confirms his virgin birth, and a chapter of the Quran is entitled ‘Maryam’ (Mary). The Quran describes the birth of Jesus as follows:
(Remember) when the angels said, “O Mary, God gives you good news of a word from Him (God), whose name is the Messiah Jesus, son of Mary, revered in this world and the Hereafter, and one of those brought near (to God). He will speak to the people from his cradle and as a man, and he is of the righteous.” She said, “My Lord, how can I have a child when no mortal has touched me?” He said, “So (it will be). God creates what He wills. If He decrees a thing, He says to it only, ‘Be!’ and it is.” (Quran, 3:45-47)
Jesus was born miraculously by the command of God, the same command that had brought Adam into being with neither a father nor a mother. God has said:
The case of Jesus with God is like the case of Adam. He created him from dust, and then He said to him, “Be!” and he came into being. (Quran, 3:59)
During his prophetic mission, Jesus performed many miracles. God tells us that Jesus said:
“I have come to you with a sign from your Lord. I make for you the shape of a bird out of clay, I breathe into it, and it becomes a bird by God’s permission. I heal the blind from birth and the leper. And I bring the dead to life by God’s permission. And I tell you what you eat and what you store in your houses….” (Quran, 3:49)
Muslims believe that Jesus was not crucified. It was the plan of Jesus’ enemies to crucify him, but God saved him and raised him up to Him. And the likeness of Jesus was put over another man. Jesus’ enemies took this man and crucified him, thinking that he was Jesus. God has said:
…They said, “We killed the Messiah Jesus, son of Mary, the messenger of God.” They did not kill him, nor did they crucify him, but the likeness of him was put on another man (and they killed that man)… (Quran, 4:157)
Neither Muhammad nor Jesus came to change the basic doctrine of the belief in one God, brought by earlier prophets, but rather to confirm and renew it.1
Footnotes:
(1) Muslims also believe that God revealed a holy book to Jesus called the Injeel, some parts of which may be still available in the teachings of God to Jesus in the New Testament. But this does not mean that Muslims believe in the Bible we have today because it is not the original scriptures that were revealed by God. They underwent alterations, additions, and omissions. This was also said by the Committee charged with revising The Holy Bible (Revised Standard Version). This Committee consisted of thirty-two scholars who served as members of the Committee. They secured the review and counsel of an Advisory Board of fifty representatives of the co-operating denominations. The Committee said in the Preface to The Holy Bible (Revised Standard Version), p. iv, “Sometimes it is evident that the text has suffered in transmission, but none of the versions provides a satisfactory restoration. Here we can only follow the best judgment of competent scholars as to the most probable reconstruction of the original text.” The Committee also said in the Preface, p. vii, “Notes are added which indicate significant variations, additions, or omissions in the ancient authorities (Mt 9.34; Mk 3.16; 7.4; Lk 24.32, 51, etc.).”For more in-depth articles regarding this subject, please visit the following external web pages: Confessions of the New American Bible and Bible Contradictions.
The Qur’an: A book you can believe in
In the name of God, the Most Compassionate, Most Merciful
The Qur’an: unique among Scriptures The Qur’an is the most often-read book in the world. Revealed by God to the Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) in the 7th century, and revered by Muslims as being God’s final Scripture and Testament, its words have been lovingly recited, memorised, and implemented by Muslims of every nationality ever since. The faithful are inspired, consoled often moved to tears by its eloquence and poetic imagery, especially when recited aloud. And yet, the Qur’an is unique in being the only Scripture that is free of scientific inaccuracies, whose historical authenticity can be verified, and whose text has been so carefully preserved that just one authorised version (in Arabic) exists. Approximately the length of the New Testament, the Qur’an is also the only holy book that can be memorised in its entirety by people of all ages and intellectual abilities – including non-Arabic speakers – which Muslims consider to be one of its miracles. We invite you to take a few minutes to learn something about a book that is the foundation of the world-view and culture of almost one-fourth of the people on this planet.
A scientific Scripture for a scientific age One of the most remarkable things about the Qur’an is that it contains many verses which accurately describe natural phenomenon in various fields such as embryology, meteorology, astronomy, geology and oceanography. Scientists have found its descriptions to be inexplicably valid for a book dating from the 6th century; in fact, many of the processes and functions mentioned in the Qur’an have been discovered only recently. This fact alone has been the cause of a number of distinguished scientists embracing Islam. It also explains why the conflicts that emerged in Europe during the Middle Ages between faith and reason, religion and science, never arose in Islam; the Qur’an repeatedly encourages people to reflect and use their intelligence, and most Muslim scientists and inventors have also been pious believers.
Some of the Qur’an’s ‘scientific’ verses include an accurate description of embryonic development during the first forty days of life; an explanation that the roots of mountains are like pegs which help to anchor and stabilise the earth’s crust; that a natural barrier exists wherever two seas meet (each maintains its own salinity, temperature and density); that waves occur in layers in the depths of the ocean; that the heavens and earth were first joined together before being split apart; and that the heavens emerged from ‘smoke’, i.e. the gases and dust that characterise nebulas as stars are forming.
The Qur’an was never meant to be a ‘science textbook’; whether highlighting the wonders of nature or the lessons of history, its verses direct us to reflect on the glory of God. However, no other ancient book or Scripture is accurate in this way. Muslims believe that this is one of the Qur’an’s proofs; one of the things that makes it a credible, ‘living revelation’ for a modern age, and allows it to reveal itself afresh with passing time.
The Qur’an and the development of knowledge The word ‘qur’an’ means ‘recitation’, and the first verse of the Qur’an to be revealed by the Angel Gabriel to the Prophet Muhammad was a command to ‘Read (or recite)! In the name of your Lord…’ This directive to a man who, like most people of the time, could neither read nor write, marked the beginning of a new age in human communication, learning, and development. Whereas earlier Scriptures had been written and passed down by elite circles of priests and scribes – usually long after the death of the religion’s founder – the preservation of the Qur’an was a community effort from the beginning, and it was completed during the Prophet Muhammad’s own lifetime. The Prophet’s early followers eagerly memorised and recorded each new revelation as it was revealed; by the time he passed away, thousands had memorised the entire Qur’an by heart. Within two years after the Prophet’s death, the first caliph Abu Bakr requested the Prophet’s secretary Zayd to collect all existing copies and fragments of the Qur’an in one place, in order to compile a standard edition. This manuscript became the basis for the authorised editions that were distributed to each Muslim province during the rule of ‘Uthman, third caliph; remarkably, a few of those early manuscripts have been preserved and can still be viewed in museums today.
Following the example of the beloved Prophet, who encouraged all Muslims, male and female, to seek beneficial knowledge, mosques became centres of learning as well as prayer. The concept of universal, free basic education originated in Islam; children learned to read, write, memorise the Qur’an and do basic maths at village mosque schools; bright students were sent to cities to pursue higher education. The world’s first universities, hospitals, and postal services were established by Muslims. Early caliphs set up institutions like the ‘House of Wisdom’ in Baghdad, where scholars were paid to translate scientific, literary and religious works from every known language into Arabic. It was this open-mindedness that inspired Jews and Christians under Muslim rule in Spain to translate classical Roman and Greek texts from Arabic into European languages, sparking the European Renaissance.
A book with a message and a purpose Like all books, the Qur’an is a means to convey a message – in this case, a very special message from the Creator to all humanity. The Qur’an is an ‘owner’s manual for the human being’; whoever wonders about the purpose of life and their own existence will find it to be a guide par excellence. Building on prior revelations, this Final Testament confirms the age-old truths of previous Scriptures, but clarifies points of faith where error or confusion have crept into them over the centuries. Those who have read the Bible will find much that is familiar: descriptions of God’s handiwork; stories of the Prophets, Satan, angels and the Day of Judgement; moral and ethical guidelines; and spiritual practices like prayer and fasting. Yet the Qur’an is not just a re-hashing of old stories; its perspective is unique and fresh, and its worldview eminently suited to people of today.
To give one example, according to the Qur’an, God held Adam and Eve jointly responsible for tasting the forbidden fruit; no special curse was laid on Eve for leading Adam astray, and no ‘original sin’ came into being, to be inherited for all time by innocent children. Adam and Eve simply sought His forgiveness and were forgiven, and Adam (peace be upon him) is respected in Islam as the first Prophet.
There are other important distinctions between the Qur’an and the Bible; the Qur’an asserts that much of the original books of the Bible and other Scriptures have been lost or corrupted over time (whether through warfare, political intrigue, religious schisms or other reasons). One only has to consider the number of different versions of the Bible in use today, the lack of ‘first’ originals, and the late discovery of long-lost Scriptures like the Dead Sea Scrolls to realise that this viewpoint is an objective one. The Qur’an rejects the concept of salvation or special privilege based on ethnicity; God does not discriminate on the basis of race or colour. It also denies the need for the sacrifice of innocent life – animal or human – in order for people to attain salvation. It states that Jesus (peace be upon him) was not crucified as claimed, but that God saved him from his enemies, as one would expect of God’s honoured and beloved Messenger; his life was meant to be an inspiring example. Spiritual salvation is to be achieved solely through humble repentance, coupled by an attempt to make amends for one’s sins, and a sincere intention not to repeat one’s mistakes in the future. There is no official priesthood in Islam, and the Imam is no more than a knowledgeable prayer-leader and brother in faith; one’s sins need only be confessed directly to the Creator.
The Qur’an’s main message is to call people to turn to the Source of all being and the Giver of life, and to serve Him with a pure heart, free of idolatry or superstition. In Islam, ‘One God’ means just that: there is no concept of trinity, or anything else to complicate one’s understanding. Like the single nucleus of a cell or an atom, He Alone is the ‘control centre’ behind it all; anything else would lead to chaos and confusion. God is Unique and without partner; He was not born and did not give birth; He is All-Compassionate and Merciful, Almighty and Just, and the only One we need turn to for guidance and help. Anything that we allow to come between ourselves and our Creator – even our own egos – is an idol. Wealth, fame, physical attraction and all the pleasures of this world will someday fade, and we will not be able to take them with us when we die. Only our faith and good deeds will remain, to light our graves and be a beacon for us on the Day of Judgement.
Although no translation of the Qur’an can faithfully capture its Arabic meaning (and all Muslims are encouraged to learn Arabic), the following excerpt illustrates these points beautifully:
‘Recite to them the story of Abraham, When he asked his father and his people, ‘What do you worship?’ ‘We worship idols,’ they replied, ‘and we are ever devoted to them.’ He said, ‘Do they hear you when you cry? Or do they benefit or harm you in any way?’ They said, ‘No, but this is what we found our forefathers doing.’ He said, ‘Do you see, then, what you and your forefathers have been worshipping? Truly, they are all my enemies, except the Lord of the Worlds, Who created me, and Who guides me, And Who feeds me and gives me to drink, And when I am ill, He heals me, And Who will cause me to die, and give me life again; And Who, I ardently hope, will forgive me my sins on the Day of Judgement. O Lord, grant me wisdom, and unite me with the righteous, And grant that I may be remembered well in future generations, And make me one of the inheritors of the Garden of Delight; And forgive my father, for he is one of those who is lost; And do not disgrace me on the Day when all will be resurrected, The Day that wealth and children will not avail anyone, Except one who brings to God a clean heart.’ (The Qur’an, Chapter of ‘The Poets’, 26:69–89)
——————————————- Interested in learning more? For reliable information on the Qur’an, Islam and Muslims, contact: WAMY EUROPE: 46 Goodge Street, London W1T 4LU, UK E-mail: wamy@wamy.co.uk, Tel: +44 (0) 20 7636 7010, Fax: +44 (0) 20 7636 7080 More Literature about Islam in other Languages is available in our website: http://www.wamy.co.uk
Allah, the unique name of God
The word Allah, according to several Arabic lexicons, means “the Being Who comprises all the attributes of perfection”, i.e. the Being Who is perfect in every way (in His knowledge, power etc.), and possesses the best and the noblest qualities imaginable in the highest degree. This meaning is supported by the Holy Quran when it says:
“His are the best (or most beautiful) names.” (17:110; 20:8; and 7:180)
Contrary to popular belief, the word Allah is NOT a contraction of al-ilah (al meaning ‘the’, and ilah meaning ‘god’).
Had it been so, then the expression ya Allah (‘O Allah!’) would have been ungrammatical, because according to the Arabic language when you address someone by the vocative form ya followed by a title, the al (‘the’) must be dropped from the title. For example, you cannot say ya ar-rabb but must say ya rabb (for ‘O Lord’). So if the word Allah was al-ilah (‘the God’), we would not be able to say: ya Allah, which we do.
Lane’s Arabic-English Lexicon (which is based on classical Arabic dictionaries), says under the word Allah, while citing many linguistical authorities:
“Allah … is a proper name applied to the Being Who exists necessarily, by Himself, comprising all the attributes of perfection, a proper name denoting the true god … the al being inseparable from it, not derived…”
Allah is thus a proper name, not derived from anything, and the Al is inseparable from it. The word al-ilah (the god) is a different word.
The word Allah is unique among the names of God in all the languages of mankind, in that it was never applied to any being other than God. The pre-Islamic Arabs used it to refer to the Supreme Being, and never applied it to any of the other things they worshipped. Other names of God used by mankind, such as “lord”, “god”, “khuda”, etc. have all also been used for beings other than God. They have meanings which refer to some particular attribute of God, but “Allah” is the name which refers to the Being Himself as His personal name.
The Holy Quran itself refers to the uniqueness of the name Allah when it says:
“Do you know anyone who can be named along with Him?” (19:65)
Arabic is the only language, and Islam is the only religion, that has given the personal name of God (as distinct from attributive names such as lord, god, the most high, etc.) There are clear prophecies in previous scriptures (the Bible, the Vedas etc.) about the man who will come and give the name of God, which in previous religions was regarded as a secret.
David prophesied:
“Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord” (Psalms 118:26).
This is also repeated in the Gospels (Matt. 21:9, etc.), and was fulfilled by the Holy Prophet Muhammad whose first revelation was “Read in the name of thy Lord” (the Quran, 96:1).
Zechariah prophesied:
“And the Lord shall be king over all the earth, in that day there shall be one Lord, and his name one.” (Zech. 14:9)
All Muslims, anywhere on the earth, speaking totally different languages, recognise the name “Allah”, thus fulfilling this prophecy, “his name one”. (All Christians, to take an example, do not recognise a single name of God, and therefore do not fulfil this prophecy.)
Isaiah prophesied:
“And in that day shall you say, Praise the Lord, call upon His name.” (Isaiah 12:4)
So Muslims say repeatedly exactly this: al-hamdu li-llah, and call upon His name Allah.
An objection answered.
The following objection has been raised regarding the name Allah:
Al -’The’, lah – ‘God’. It means the God. It was one of the gods worshipped by the Arabs. His female equivalent was Allat, al- ‘the’, Lat ‘goddess’. Muhammed’s followers did not like the concept of worshipping a female diety.
Answer.
“Allah” was NOT “one of the gods” of the pre-Islamic Arabs, but was recognised by them as the supreme, abstract God. There was no idol which they called “Allah”. The Quran quotes the idol-worshippers as presenting the argument that:
“We worship them (i.e. the idols) only so that they may bring us nearer to Allah.” (39:3)
Obviously then, “Allah” was not just one of the gods.
It is also entirely wrong to say that Al-Lat was a feminine form of Allah. Besides Allah, the different tribes of the Arabs believed in their tribal gods. “Al-Lat” was the tribal god of the Thaqeef tribe who lived in the city of Taif (where there was a shrine with an idol of Lat). The Quraish worshipped Uzza as their tribal god, and similarly with other tribes.
So it is simply incorrect to say that the Arabs regarded Lat as being a female equivalent of “Allah”. “Allah” was, as said above, regarded by them as their supreme God. Lat, Manat etc. were believed in as tribal gods.
Moreover, Lat, Manat and Uzza were believed by them to be daughters of Allah, as the Quran says:
“Have you then considered Lat and Uzza, and the third, Manat? Are the males for you and for Him the females” (53:19-21).
The Quran is here pointing out the contradiction in their beliefs, that they ascribed daughters to Allah, but preferred to have sons themselves! So Lat being believed as a daughter of Allah, could not possibly be regarded by them as the female equivalent of Allah.
In Lane’s Arabic-English Lexicon the words ilah (god) and Allah occur under the root A-L-H, but the word Al-lat is given under an entirely different root L-T. Therefore, “Al-lat” is not the feminine form of the word Allah (for in that case it would occur under the same root as for “Allah”), but is derived from a completely different root with a totally different meaning.
The root from which al-lat comes means (among other things) “to moisten”. Lane quotes several reports on how the idol came to be so called. It is named after a man called Al-Lat. Sometime before Islam, there was a man who used to give pilgrims a barley meal (known as saweek), moistened with either water or clarified butter. He thus became known as Al-lat. After he died, the rock where he was buried came to be worshipped and was known by his name. And thus there came to be the idol named Al-lat.
Why Muslims Believe that Islam is the truth
Many Christians & Jews don’t know that Muslims believe in their prophets and holy books. Muslims believe that the Bible and the Torah were changed by people for their personal benefits. This is why God sent Prophet Muhammad, peace be upon him, not with a new religion, but to correct the people who had gone astray, those who were worshipping idols and being misguided by their forefathers. Islam is the last message to the world and God wants the miracle of Islam to be witnessed by the people from Prophet Muhammad’s, peace be upon him, time till the day of Judgment. The miracle is the Qu’ran, Muslims holy book.
Many Christians & Jews don’t know that Muslims believe in their prophets and holy books. Muslims believe that the Bible and the Torah were changed by people for their personal benefits. This is why God sent Prophet Muhammad, peace be upon him, not with a new religion, but to correct the people who had gone astray, those who were worshipping idols and being misguided by their forefathers. Islam is the last message to the world and God wants the miracle of Islam to be witnessed by the people from Prophet Muhammad’s, peace be upon him, time till the day of Judgment. The miracle is the Qu’ran, Muslims holy book.
• Why is the Qur’an a miracle ? 1- The Qu’ran is an untouchable book : After 1400 years, from the begining of Prophet Muhammad’s, peace be upon him, message, the Qu’ran has not changed in any way, even as a matter of one charachter. Prooving this is very easy, since you can compare all the versions of the Qu’ran everywhere in the world and you will find them all the same. God ensured that this book would be saved from any changes attempted by human beings. God said in the Qur’an : ” We have, without doubt, sent down the Message; and We will assuredly guard it (from corruption)” 2- The Qu’ran contains many scientific facts that have been discovered recently using computer systems and microscopes. Many scientists have attended conferences dealing with this subject and have themselves accepted Islam. These same scientists have said that it is not possible that Muhammad, peace be upon him, an illiterate man, who lived 1400 years ago, could have discovered such things on his own. God said in the Qur’an : “Soon will We show them Our Signs in the (furthest) regions (of the earth), and in their own souls, until it becomes manifest to them that this is the Truth. Is it not enough that thy Lord doth witness all things” ( Quran 41:53 )For more information about this topic please visit : http://www.it-is-truth.org 3- The Qu’ran, which is in Arabic, was revealed to the people of the Arabian Gulf who invented the Arabic language. Through Muhammad, peace be upon him, Allah challenged the people who claimed that a human wrote it to emulate such a book. No one from the time of the Prophet till now could write a book that contained the many scientific facts, miracles and similar effects on people that the Qu’ran did and still does today. 4- The Qu’ran had not one Arabic grammar mistake, which was recognized by the disbelievers at the time of the Prophet, who were the founders of the Arabic language. These are a few examples of why Muslims believe in the Qur’an. Here are some verses from God to Muslims encouraging them to invite the People of the Book ( Jews and Christians to Islam ): God said : {Say: “O People of the Book! Why reject ye the Signs of Allah, when Allah is Himself witness to all ye do?} (Quran 3:98) God tell Muslims to say : {..’We believe in that which had been revealed to us and revealed to you, and our God and your God is One, and unto Him we surrender} (Quran 29:46) If you have any questions or would like to know more about the Qu’ran and Islam please contact me at : webmaster@islamway.com
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WHAT DO CHRISTIANS BELIEVE?
Seven Things About God
1. We believe there is Only One Unique God. It is written: (Deuteronomy 6:4) Hear, O Israel; The LORD our God [is] one LORD.
2. God is Creator of everything, this vast universe. All was created by His Word. He spoke it into being. It is written: (Genesis 1:3) And God said… and it was so. His Word is powerful.
3. How can we created beings know anything about God? How can we puny creatures know anything about His thoughts?
We can – but only because God Himself has chosen to reveal something about Himself to us. He is the God of Revelation. It is written: (Deuteronomy 29:29) The secret things belong to the LORD our God; but the things that are revealed belong to us and to our children for ever, that we may do all the words of this law.
What has God revealed about Himself to us?
4. He is Holy – pure – absolutely no evil can exist in or with Him. He has nothing to do with any sin, or wrong thinking, or evil. It is written: (Habakkuk 3:11) Your eyes are too pure to look on evil; you cannot tolerate wrong.
5. He is Just – which means that all wrongdoing will be punished. Sometimes people are confused on this point. Justice is not the same as mercy. Justice means if you break the law, you pay the penalty.
God does not compromise His nature of Holiness. He punishes all wrong doing.
It is not as if God puts all our good deeds on one side of a scale, and all our bad deeds on the other side to see which is heavier. To use an example: If I were to murder your brother, would a judge be just who said, “It’s OK. We can let him be free. He has done mostly good during his life.” God does not close His eyes to wrong. He does not tolerate it.
But doesn’t God know that we are all dust? That we are prone to make mistakes? There is no perfect man or woman. Yes, He knows. But does this mean that our mistakes don’t matter to God? God is holy and just, so they matter greatly. If we understand this, then we realize that we are in a very bad situation.
If we are honest – which of us has never had a selfish or wrong thought? or never lied? Who can say that they have a pure heart before a Holy God?
And even if we were able to live without making mistakes now – what about the past? Does God have a poor memory? Does doing good erase doing wrong? No.
Each of us deserves God’s judgment and Hellfire. It’s not just a matter of saying a prayer, “I am sorry. I will try to do better next time.” There would be no justice in that.
An example: If I drive through a red light and an officer stops me, is it any good saying, “But officer, I have been going through green lights the rest of my life!” If this argument wouldn’t work with an officer, how much less with a Holy and Just God! It is written: (Romans 6:23) The payment of wrongdoing is death.
Fortunately for each one of us, this is not the end of the story.
6. God is Almighty – God can do anything He wants to. It is written: (Jeremiah 32:17) Ah Lord GOD! You have made the heavens and the earth by your great power and outstretched arm, nothing is too hard for you.
There are no limits – no bounds to His power.
God is consistent. God is not contradictory – He doesn’t contradict His holiness or justice. He does not violate His law.
Let me ask a question: “How do you get to know someone?” You might be able to tell something about others from the way they look. But you can’t know what they think, what’s in their heart. We need to hear a person’s words. Their words tell what is inside their heart, what they are thinking in their mind.
If I want to communicate my wishes to you, there are several ways of doing it. I might send you a letter, writing down my thoughts. You could read it. But you might have questions, or not understand something. A better way is to send my letter with a good friend, someone who knows me well. My friend would be able to explain something of what I am saying. Better yet, I telephone you, and you can talk with me directly. But best of all, I come to you in person, and we meet face to face.
God’s Word spoke the universe into being. His Word is powerful beyond our comprehension. He wants us to know Him. God gave His written Word in the law. He sent the prophets to explain and clarify His Word. It is written: (Hebrews 1:1) In the past God spoke to our forefathers through the prophets at many times and in various ways.
God is so powerful that nothing is impossible – if God wants to, His WORD can actually come to us, face to face. His Word can become a man.
7. God is LOVE – God loves us and wants us to know Him – so His Word became a man.
It is written: (John 1:1,14) In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God … The Word became flesh and made His dwelling among us. We have seen His glory, the Glory of the One and Only.
Jesus is the Word of God. The pure and Holy Word of God.
Remember Abraham and his son? (Genesis 22:1-14) Abraham wanted to obey and submit to God. He took his son to sacrifice him, and on the way his son asked, “The fire and wood are here, but where is the lamb for the offering?” Abraham answered, “God himself will provide the Lamb for the offering.” Abraham laid his son on the altar for sacrifice and was about to slay him when God called to him, “Abraham! Do not lay a hand on the boy!” And Abraham looked up and saw a ram God momentously provided, caught by its horns, and sacrificed it instead. His son was ransomed.
The Bible calls Jesus the Lamb of God (John 1:29) when the prophet John declared, “Behold, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world!” He ransomed us. In love, God’s Word took the judgment we deserved upon Himself.
But He didn’t stay dead – He could not – He rose victorious – and conquered death.
How can we know God?
How can we know God? It isn’t easy – it takes humility.
It takes humility to recognize that we are dust, that we have unclean hearts, and our deeds deserve Hell.
It takes humility to receive what God has done: He washes us clean, makes us pure, and gives His Spirit to help us live lives of obedience.
There is great joy and freedom in knowing God – the One and Only God, the Creator, the One who Reveals Himself, who is Holy, Just, Almighty, and Loving.
He calls us not to be servants, but His children. Jesus says (John 15:15) I no longer call you servants, because a servant does not know his master’s business. Instead I have called you friends.
It is written: (John 1:12) To all who received Him, who believed in His name, He gave power to become children of God.
What is Islam?
The third, great Abrahamic religionThe name Islam, comes from an Arabic root word meaning “peace” and “submission.” Some who describe Islam therefore emphsize that this is a religion of peace, whereas others place the emphasis upon submission or obedience to the will of God. In either case most Muslims believe that one can find peace only by submitting to God (Allah). The same Arabic root word is used in the greeting “Salaam alaykum,” (“Peace be with you”).
Islam is a major world religion, with over 1.2 billion followers worldwide (1/5 of the world population); it ranks second only to Christianity. Islam is considered one of the “Abrahamic” religions, being derived from the tradition of Abraham, the Hebrew Bible patriarch. Although usually associated with the Arabs of the Middle East, less than 10% of Muslims are Arab. Muslim majorities are found throughout the Middle East, North Africa, East Asia and the Pacific Islands. There are more Muslims in Indonesia than any other country, while Pakistan and India rank second and third in the number of Muslim citizens, with well over 100,000,000 in each. It is difficult to determine how many Muslims there are in the US; some put the figure as high as six million, others place the figure closer to two million. Still, given demographic trends, it is probable that Islam will soon be, if it is not already, the second largest religion in the US.
Largest Muslim Populations in the World
Rank
Country
Muslim Population
1
Indonesia
182,570,000
2
Pakistan
134,480,000
3
India
121,000,000
4
Bangladesh
114,080,000
5
Turkey
65,510,000
6
Iran
62,430,000
7
Egypt
58,630,000
8
Nigeria
53,000,000
9
Algeria
30,530,000
10
Morocco
28,780,000
For our map showing the geopraphical distribution of Muslims
Who is the Muslim God, Allah?”Allah” is the proper name for God But Allah is also referred to as: the Creator, the Sustainer, the Merciful, the Compassionate, the Judge, the Governor, the Eternal, etc. Like Jews and Christians, Muslims believe that God is without beginning, without end, and alone sees and knows all things. Allah is transcendent, yet close to humanity. “…He knows what enters within the earth and what comes forth out of it, what comes down from heaven and what mounts up to it. And He is with you wheresoever you may be. And Allah sees well all that you do” (Qur’an 57:4). Also, like Christians and Jews, Muslims believe that God is all powerful and is alone worthy of worship and adoration. “There is no god but He, the Creator of all things; then worship Him, and He has power to dispose of all affairs. No vision can grasp Him, but His grasp is over all vision; He is the Sublime, Well-Aware” (Qur’an 6:102-103).
Muslims have difficulty with the Christian notion of the Trinity and especially the notion that Christ is “the only begotten Son of God.” In this sense Islam may be closer to Judaism in its affirmation of the unity and singularity of God. “Say: He is Allah, the One; Allah, the Eternal, Absolute. He begets not, nor is He begotten, and there is none like unto Him” (Qur’an 112:1-4). For Muslims, any worship or prayer directed at saints, prophets, other human beings is considered idolatry. Likewise, Muslims take the Hebrew Bible’s prohibition of idols literally. This extends even to art. In most Muslim cultures, artists are prohibited from painting images of God or of Mohammed.
This sacred text of Muslims is the Quran. We invite you to explore the entire English translation here.In the Muslim tradition, the naming of children is important and conveys strong meaning. To find the meaning of various, popular Muslim baby names check out our list.
Holidays of Islam — Complete holiday calendar for 2007 – 2010
Books About Islam now available from major publishers
Islam in the News — the latest headlines and newstories. Our newsfeed is updated daily.
Now let’s consider some definitions of Islam found in leading reference texts:
Islam (ĭsläm’, ĭs’läm) , [Arab.,=submission to God], world religion founded by the Prophet Muhammad. Founded in the 7th cent., Islam is the youngest of the three monotheistic world religions (with Judaism and Christianity). An adherent to Islam is a Muslim [Arab.,=one who submits].
Islamic Beliefs
At the core of Islam is the Qur’an, believed to be the final revelation by a transcendent Allah [Arab.,=the God] to Muhammad, the Prophet of Islam; since the Divine Word was revealed in Arabic, this language is used in Islamic religious practice worldwide. Muslims believe in final reward and punishment, and the unity of the umma, the “nation” of Islam. Muslims submit to Allah through arkan ad-din, the five basic requirements or “pillars”: shahadah, the affirmation that “there is no god but God, and Muhammad is the Messenger of God”; salah, the five daily ritual prayers (see liturgy, Islamic); zakat, the giving of alms, also known as a religious tax; Sawm, the dawn-to-sunset fast during the lunar month of Ramadan; and hajj, the pilgrimage to Mecca. The importance of the hajj can hardly be overestimated: this great annual pilgrimage unites Islam and its believers from around the world.
The ethos of Islam is in its attitude toward Allah: to His will Muslims submit; Him they praise and glorify; and in Him alone they hope. … Islam views the Message of Muhammad as the continuation and the fulfillment of a lineage of Prophecy that includes figures from the Hebrew Scriptures and the New Testament, notably Adam, Noah, Abraham, Moses, David, and Jesus. Islamic law reserves a communal entity status for the ahl al-kitab, People of the Book, i.e., those with revealed religions, including Jews and Christians.
Other Islamic obligations include the duty to “commend good and reprimand evil,” injunctions against usury and gambling, and prohibitions of alcohol and pork. Meat is permitted if the animal was ritually slaughtered; it is then called halal. Jihad, the exertion of efforts for the cause of God, is a duty satisfied at the communal and the individual level. At the individual level, it denotes the personal struggle to be righteous and follow the path ordained by God. Communally, it involves both encouraging what is good and correcting what is not and waging war against enemies of Islam
The Columbia Electronic Encyclopedia, Sixth Edition Copyright © 2003, Columbia University Press. Licensed from Columbia University Press. All rights reserved.
The religion of allegiance to God and to his prophet Muhammad, the religion (din) which God always intended for his creation, but which is derived in its present form from the prophetic ministry of Muhammad (c.570-632 CE) and from the revelation mediated through him, the Qur’an. The verbal noun islam appears eight times in the Qur’an: derived from the same Semitic root as Heb. shalom (peace), it means ‘entering into a condition of peace and security with God through allegiance or surrender to him’.
When Muhammad died, no exact provision had been made for any successor to lead the new community. Those who looked for the most effective leader chose Abu Bakr, known as caliph. Those who looked for the closest relative of Muhammad support ‘Ali. The party (shi’a) of ‘Ali broke away from those who claimed to be following the custom (sunna) of the prophet, thereby creating the divide between Sunni and Shi’a Muslims which persists to this day.
Muslim life and belief are derived directly from the Qur’an, but since the Qur’an does not deal with every issue or question which a Muslim might wish to ask, authoritative guidance is derive also from the traditions (hadith) concerning the words, deeds and silences of Muhammad and his companions.
The spread of Islam was extremely rapid. Within a hundred years of the death of Muhammad, it had reached the Atlantic in one direction and the borders of China in the other. At one stage (fom the 9th to the 13th centuries CE) the Muslim delight in creation led it into a passionate commitment to knowledge (‘ilm), which in turn led Muslims into spectacular achievements in philosophy (falsafa) and the natural sciences.
From John Bowker, ed., The Concise Oxford Dictionary of World Religions (2000). Text © Oxford University Press.
Paintings and other Images of the ProphetA discussion of the controversy surrounding the publication of sartical cartoons depicting Muhammed.
Why interfaith understanding, dialogue and cooperation are importantThe Top Dozen Religions of the WorldWhat are the largest religions of the world? What are their membership statistics, relative size, locations, rankings? Find out now simply by looking at out chart and map.
Can Christians Alone Be Saved?”I am the way, the truth and the light, no one comes to the Father but by me,” said Jesus. Does this mean that only Christians can be saved?
What is Islam?
The third, great Abrahamic religionThe name Islam, comes from an Arabic root word meaning “peace” and “submission.” Some who describe Islam therefore emphsize that this is a religion of peace, whereas others place the emphasis upon submission or obedience to the will of God. In either case most Muslims believe that one can find peace only by submitting to God (Allah). The same Arabic root word is used in the greeting “Salaam alaykum,” (“Peace be with you”).
Islam is a major world religion, with over 1.2 billion followers worldwide (1/5 of the world population); it ranks second only to Christianity. Islam is considered one of the “Abrahamic” religions, being derived from the tradition of Abraham, the Hebrew Bible patriarch. Although usually associated with the Arabs of the Middle East, less than 10% of Muslims are Arab. Muslim majorities are found throughout the Middle East, North Africa, East Asia and the Pacific Islands. There are more Muslims in Indonesia than any other country, while Pakistan and India rank second and third in the number of Muslim citizens, with well over 100,000,000 in each. It is difficult to determine how many Muslims there are in the US; some put the figure as high as six million, others place the figure closer to two million. Still, given demographic trends, it is probable that Islam will soon be, if it is not already, the second largest religion in the US.
Largest Muslim Populations in the World
Rank
Country
Muslim Population
1
Indonesia
182,570,000
2
Pakistan
134,480,000
3
India
121,000,000
4
Bangladesh
114,080,000
5
Turkey
65,510,000
6
Iran
62,430,000
7
Egypt
58,630,000
8
Nigeria
53,000,000
9
Algeria
30,530,000
10
Morocco
28,780,000
For our map showing the geopraphical distribution of Muslims
Who is the Muslim God, Allah?”Allah” is the proper name for God But Allah is also referred to as: the Creator, the Sustainer, the Merciful, the Compassionate, the Judge, the Governor, the Eternal, etc. Like Jews and Christians, Muslims believe that God is without beginning, without end, and alone sees and knows all things. Allah is transcendent, yet close to humanity. “…He knows what enters within the earth and what comes forth out of it, what comes down from heaven and what mounts up to it. And He is with you wheresoever you may be. And Allah sees well all that you do” (Qur’an 57:4). Also, like Christians and Jews, Muslims believe that God is all powerful and is alone worthy of worship and adoration. “There is no god but He, the Creator of all things; then worship Him, and He has power to dispose of all affairs. No vision can grasp Him, but His grasp is over all vision; He is the Sublime, Well-Aware” (Qur’an 6:102-103).
Muslims have difficulty with the Christian notion of the Trinity and especially the notion that Christ is “the only begotten Son of God.” In this sense Islam may be closer to Judaism in its affirmation of the unity and singularity of God. “Say: He is Allah, the One; Allah, the Eternal, Absolute. He begets not, nor is He begotten, and there is none like unto Him” (Qur’an 112:1-4). For Muslims, any worship or prayer directed at saints, prophets, other human beings is considered idolatry. Likewise, Muslims take the Hebrew Bible’s prohibition of idols literally. This extends even to art. In most Muslim cultures, artists are prohibited from painting images of God or of Mohammed.
This sacred text of Muslims is the Quran. We invite you to explore the entire English translation here.In the Muslim tradition, the naming of children is important and conveys strong meaning. To find the meaning of various, popular Muslim baby names check out our list.
Holidays of Islam — Complete holiday calendar for 2007 – 2010
Books About Islam now available from major publishers
Islam in the News — the latest headlines and newstories. Our newsfeed is updated daily.
Now let’s consider some definitions of Islam found in leading reference texts:
Islam (ĭsläm’, ĭs’läm) , [Arab.,=submission to God], world religion founded by the Prophet Muhammad. Founded in the 7th cent., Islam is the youngest of the three monotheistic world religions (with Judaism and Christianity). An adherent to Islam is a Muslim [Arab.,=one who submits].
Islamic Beliefs
At the core of Islam is the Qur’an, believed to be the final revelation by a transcendent Allah [Arab.,=the God] to Muhammad, the Prophet of Islam; since the Divine Word was revealed in Arabic, this language is used in Islamic religious practice worldwide. Muslims believe in final reward and punishment, and the unity of the umma, the “nation” of Islam. Muslims submit to Allah through arkan ad-din, the five basic requirements or “pillars”: shahadah, the affirmation that “there is no god but God, and Muhammad is the Messenger of God”; salah, the five daily ritual prayers (see liturgy, Islamic); zakat, the giving of alms, also known as a religious tax; Sawm, the dawn-to-sunset fast during the lunar month of Ramadan; and hajj, the pilgrimage to Mecca. The importance of the hajj can hardly be overestimated: this great annual pilgrimage unites Islam and its believers from around the world.
The ethos of Islam is in its attitude toward Allah: to His will Muslims submit; Him they praise and glorify; and in Him alone they hope. … Islam views the Message of Muhammad as the continuation and the fulfillment of a lineage of Prophecy that includes figures from the Hebrew Scriptures and the New Testament, notably Adam, Noah, Abraham, Moses, David, and Jesus. Islamic law reserves a communal entity status for the ahl al-kitab, People of the Book, i.e., those with revealed religions, including Jews and Christians.
Other Islamic obligations include the duty to “commend good and reprimand evil,” injunctions against usury and gambling, and prohibitions of alcohol and pork. Meat is permitted if the animal was ritually slaughtered; it is then called halal. Jihad, the exertion of efforts for the cause of God, is a duty satisfied at the communal and the individual level. At the individual level, it denotes the personal struggle to be righteous and follow the path ordained by God. Communally, it involves both encouraging what is good and correcting what is not and waging war against enemies of Islam
The Columbia Electronic Encyclopedia, Sixth Edition Copyright © 2003, Columbia University Press. Licensed from Columbia University Press. All rights reserved.
The religion of allegiance to God and to his prophet Muhammad, the religion (din) which God always intended for his creation, but which is derived in its present form from the prophetic ministry of Muhammad (c.570-632 CE) and from the revelation mediated through him, the Qur’an. The verbal noun islam appears eight times in the Qur’an: derived from the same Semitic root as Heb. shalom (peace), it means ‘entering into a condition of peace and security with God through allegiance or surrender to him’.
When Muhammad died, no exact provision had been made for any successor to lead the new community. Those who looked for the most effective leader chose Abu Bakr, known as caliph. Those who looked for the closest relative of Muhammad support ‘Ali. The party (shi’a) of ‘Ali broke away from those who claimed to be following the custom (sunna) of the prophet, thereby creating the divide between Sunni and Shi’a Muslims which persists to this day.
Muslim life and belief are derived directly from the Qur’an, but since the Qur’an does not deal with every issue or question which a Muslim might wish to ask, authoritative guidance is derive also from the traditions (hadith) concerning the words, deeds and silences of Muhammad and his companions.
The spread of Islam was extremely rapid. Within a hundred years of the death of Muhammad, it had reached the Atlantic in one direction and the borders of China in the other. At one stage (fom the 9th to the 13th centuries CE) the Muslim delight in creation led it into a passionate commitment to knowledge (‘ilm), which in turn led Muslims into spectacular achievements in philosophy (falsafa) and the natural sciences.
From John Bowker, ed., The Concise Oxford Dictionary of World Religions (2000). Text © Oxford University Press.
Paintings and other Images of the ProphetA discussion of the controversy surrounding the publication of sartical cartoons depicting Muhammed.
Why interfaith understanding, dialogue and cooperation are importantThe Top Dozen Religions of the WorldWhat are the largest religions of the world? What are their membership statistics, relative size, locations, rankings? Find out now simply by looking at out chart and map.
Can Christians Alone Be Saved?”I am the way, the truth and the light, no one comes to the Father but by me,” said Jesus. Does this mean that only Christians can be saved?
Yes just not the same God that Christians believe in.
His name is Allah. MMMMMMMMMM…
I believe that Muslim’s believe in the same God but Jesus was a prophet And not the Son of God and that the prophet Muhammud recieved the Book of the Qur’an by taking information from the ArchAngel Gabriel
Islam means “To enter into Peace”
Muslims believe in the same real God Almighty which Jesus and other prophets before him believed.
a. Elohim El, Elah, AlahIn the Bible, God is very often referred to as ‘Elohim’ in the Hebrew language. The ‘im’ in the ending is a plural of honour and God is referred to as ‘El’ or ‘Elah’ in the English Bible with commentary, edited by reverend C. I. Scofield. ‘Elah’ is alternatively spelled as ‘Alah’. The difference in spelling is only of a single ‘L’. Muslims spell Allah as ‘Allah’ while the Reverend has spelled it as Alah and they pronounce it as ‘Elah’. Muslims pronounce it as Allah. Hebrew and Arabic are sister languages therefore we say it should be pronounced as ‘Allah’ and not as ‘Elah’. When I was in school, I was taught ‘D, O’ is do, ‘T, O’ is to. What is ‘G, O’ It is ‘go’ and not ‘gu’. ‘N, U, T’ is nut, ‘C, U, T’ cut; ‘B, U, T’ is but, what is ‘P, U, T’? Not ‘pat’ but it is ‘put’. If you ask “Why?” The answer is “It is their language”. If I have to pass I have to say ‘P, U, T’ is ‘put’ and not ‘pat’. Similarly the right pronunciation for A, L, L, A, H, is Allah.
b. Jesus (pbuh) cried out Allah Allah when he was put on the crossIt is mentioned in the New Testament in the Gospel of Mathew, chapter 27 verse 46 as well as Gospel of Mark, chapter 15 verse 34 when Jesus (pbuh) was put on the cross.
Jesus cried with a loud voice saying “E’-Li, E’-Li la’-ma sa-bach’-tha-ni?” that is to say, ‘My God, My God why hast Thou Forsaken Me?’ Does this sound like Jehovah! Jehovah! why has thou forsaken me? Does it sound like Abba Abba? The answer is ‘No’. Hebrew and Arabic are sister languages and if you translate “E’-Li, E’-Li la’-ma sa-bach’-tha-ni” into Arabic it is ‘Allah Allah lama tarak tani’ does it sound similar?
This statement of Jesus (pbuh), “E’-Li, E’-Li la’-ma sa-bach’-tha-ni” is preserved in its original Hebrew in each and every of its translation which is available in more than 2000 different languages of the world and in each and every of them, “Allah” is present.
2. “Allah” in SikhismOne of the names by which Gurunanak Sahib referred to God is “Allah”.
3a. “Allah” in Rigveda Book 2 Hymn I verse IIEven in the Rigveda which is the most sacred scripture of the Hindus, one of the attributes given to God Almighty in Book no 2 Hymn no I verse II, is ‘Ila’ which if pronounced properly is the same as Allah.
3b. Allo Upanishad:Amongst the various Upanishads one of the Upanishad is named as ‘Allo’ Upanishad in which God is referred to as “Allah” several times.
True and Perfect God, to believe in Whom is essential for every person, is the Lord of all the worlds
The Promised Messiah 1835-1908 says:Impossible as it is, yet by way of argument let us assume that Jesus (peace be upon him) did claim to be God. In that case, for him to confine his beneficence to such a small circle as the House of Israel does not behove the magnanimity of God. Had he been God, was he God only for the House of Israel to the exclusion of all other nations? He is known to have suggested that he had no concern for those who did not belong to the House of Israel.In short, the Jews and the Christians do believe that all Prophets and Messengers have been appearing from among them, and that Divine scriptures were revealed to them alone. Thereafter, according to the beliefs of the Christians, the institution of revelation and communion with God ended with Jesus Christ (peace be upon him) as though a seal had been set on the institution of revelation from God.Unfortunately the Hindus of the Arya sect also entertain a similar belief. Like the Jews and Christians, who restrict the institution of Prophethood and Divine revelation exclusively to their people and deny the honour of Divine revelation to others, the Aryas also, unfortunately for the human race, have adopted the same doctrine. They too believe that the blessing of Divine communication was never bestowed to any people outside the domain of the Aryan race. Again it is India alone which, according to them, is exclusively blessed by God for the selection of the four ‘Rishis’ from its soil; it is Sanskrit alone, the language of the Vedas, which has always been the medium of instruction chosen by God. One can safely conclude from this, that both these nations do not consider God to be the Lord [Provident] of all the worlds. Notwithstanding this, He is still proclaimed to be Lord of the Universe and not that of the Israelites or the Aryans alone. Moreover this strange behaviour of God, as presented by them, draws an image of God which is so partial that He appears unmindful of the rest of His creation. Thus, it is for the refutation of such erroneous views, that God commences the Holy Qur’an with the verse: The Holy Quran : Chapter 1: Al-Fatihah [1:2] All praise belongs to Allah, Lord of all the worlds, God also made it clear in several places in the Holy Qur’an that His Messengers have been appearing in different lands all over the world. In fact He did not neglect any people or any country. The Holy Qur’an explains through various examples that just as God has been looking after the physical development of the people of every country, in accordance with their requirements, so has He blessed every country and every people with spiritual upbringing. Allah says in the Holy Qur’an:The Holy Quran : Chapter 35: Al-Fatir[35:25] Verily, We have sent thee with the Truth, as a bearer of glad tidings and as a Warner; and there is no people to whom a Warner has not been sent.Meaning that there is no people to whom a Warner has not been sent.Therefore there is no question that the True and Perfect God, to believe in Whom is essential for every person, is the Lord of all the worlds. Furthermore, His providence is not confined to any particular people, age or country. In fact, He is the Lord of all peoples, the Lord of time and space, and He is the Sovereign of all the countries. He alone is the 5. All praise belongs to Allah, Lord of all the worlds.Fountainhead of all beneficence and the Source of every physical and spiritual strength. All that exists is sustained by Him. He is the Support for every creature.It is the universal beneficence of God which encompasses all peoples, all countries and all ages. It so happened lest anyone should have cause to complain that: ‘God has bestowed His favour upon such and such people, but not upon us.’ Or that: ‘So and so received the Book in order to be guided while we did not.’ Or that: ‘In such and such an age, He revealed Himself through His revelations, communications and miracles but in our time He remained hidden.’ Thus, by demonstrating His universal beneficence, He left no justification for such possible accusations. He displayed His virtues boundlessly so that no people remain bereft of physical and spiritual bounties from Him. He also did not treat any age as doomed.So, when such are the attributes of our Lord, it is but befitting for us to acquire them ourselves. So, O compatriots!This short epistle entitled A Message of Peace is being presented to you with all due respects and with a sincere heartfelt prayer that Almighty God may Himself inspire you and fill your hearts with trust in my sincerity, lest you misread this friendly gesture and consider it to be an attempt to gain some ulterior motive. Dear Countrymen! The matter of the Hereafter is very often obscured to ordinary people. Its secrets are known only to a few of the enlightened, who embrace a kind of death [for the sake of their Lord] before they actually die. The goodness of this world, on the other hand, is easily recognized by any man with vision and wisdom.http://www.alislam.org/library/books/Message-of-Peace.pdfI am an Ahmadi peaceful Muslim Jesus (Isa) A.S. in Islam, and his Second Coming
“);}//–>
by Mufti A.H. Elias
I. Jesus (A.S.) In Islam
Muslims do believe that Isa (A.S.) was sent down as a Prophet of Allah (God), but he (Jesus) is not God or Lord, nor the son of God. Muslims do not believe that Isa (A.S.), also known as Jesus by Christians and others, is dead or was ever crucified. We believe that he was raised to heaven and is there, and will descend at the appointed time, end all wars, and bring peace to the world. Like Jesus (A.S.), Muhammad (Peace be upon him) is also a Prophet and Messenger. Muhammed (P.B.U.H.) is the last Prophet, though, and there is none after him. Hence, Islam is the last religion, complete, with the Holy Qur’an as the unchanged and perfect word of God for over 1400 years, as God promised to preserve it till the last day for all of humankind, unlike sacred texts of other religions which have mulitple versions and are “revised” periodically. God, or Allah in Arabic, is Divine and Supreme Being and Creator.
What the Holy Qur’an says about Jesus:
They slew him not, nor did they crucify him but it was made dubious to them. (Holy Qur’an, Surah Nisaa, Verse 157)
Hadhrat Isa (A.S.) himself told of the coming of Prophet Muhammad (Peace be upon him). In the Bible, Jesus (A.S.) says,
If you love me, Keep my commandments. And I will pray to the Father and He shall give you another comforter that he may abide with you forever. (Bible, John 14-15/16) But when the comforter is come, whom I will send unto you from the Father, even the spirit of Truth, which proceedeth from the Father, he shall testify of me, and he also shall bear witness, because ye have been with me from the beginning. (Bible, John 15-26/27) I have yet many things to say unto you, but you cannot bear them now. How be it when he, the spirit of Truth will come, he will guide you into all truth, for he shall speak not of himself, but whatsoever he shall hear, that he shall speak, and he will show you things to come. He shall glorify me, for he shall receive of mine, and he shall show it unto you. (Bible, John 16-12/14)
Ulema (learned scholars in Islam) have said that the person who is described by Hadhrat Isa (A.S.) to come after him – in the above verse – does not comply with any other person but Prophet Muhammad (Peace be upon him).
In this case, the “comforter” he mentions is none other than Prophet Muhammad (Peace be upon him) and his laws and way of life (Shariah) and Book (Holy Qur’an) are those that Hadhrat Isa (A.S.) asks his followers to abide by.
The “person” whom Jesus (A.S.) prophecised will come after him, is called Pargaleeta in the Bible . This word was deleted by interpreters and translators and changed at times to “Spirit of Truth” and at other times, to “comforter” and sometimes “Holy Spirit.” The original Greek and its meaning is “one whom people praise exceedingly.” The sense of the word, then, is applicable to the word Muhammad in Arabic, since Muhammad means “the praised one.”
Jesus (A.S.) also says in the Bible,
… and a little while and you shall not see me; and again a little while, you shall see me because I go to the Father.(Bible, John 16:16)
… and the Holy Qur’an says,
And surely they slew him not. But Allah (God) raised him unto Himself. (Holy Qur’an, Surah Nisaa, Verse 157-158)
As such, Muslims believe that Hadhrat Isa (A.S.) was raised to heaven. According to Hadith, he is on the second heaven. Rasulullah (Sallallaahu Alayhi Wasallam=Peace be upon him) mentioned, “During the Meraj (Ascension), I met Hadhrat Isa (A.S.) on the second heaven. I found him of medium stature, reddish white. His body was so clean and clear, that it appeared as though he had just performed ghusal (ablution, cleansing of the entire body) and come.” In another Hadith, Rasulullah (Sallallahu Alayhi Wasallam) mentioned to the Jews that, ” Hadhrat Isa (A.S.) is not dead, he will most surely return to you before Qiyamat (the Day of Judgement).”
May Allah Guide all people to the Truth. Aameen.
(For more information about Jesus A.S. in Islam, Click Here)
II. Hadhrat Isa’s (A.S.) Descension The Physical Features of Hadhrat Isa (A.S.)
He will resemble the famous Sahabi (A.S.) Hadhrat Urwa bin Masoodi (R.A.). He will be of average height and red and white in colour. His hair spread to the shoulders, straight, neat and shining as after a bath. On bending his head, it will seem as if pearls are falling. He will have an armour on his body. He will be wearing two pieces of cloth light yellow in color.
His Descension
He will descend on a Jamaat (group) that will be righteous at the time and comprising of 800 men and 400 women. The people will be preparing for war at the time against Dajjal (the anti-Christ). It will be time for Fajr prayers, and Imam Mahdi will be the Amir (leader). From the darkness of the dawn, a sound will suddenly be heard that “one who listens to your pleas has come” — the righteous people will look everywhere and their eyes will fall on Isa (A.S.). Briefly, at the time of Fajr, Isa (A.S.) will descend. When descending, Isa (A.S.)’s hands will be on the shoulders of two angels (according to another source (Kab Abrar), a cloud will carry him). On their insistence Hadhrat Isa will introduce himself. He will inquire about their enthusiasm and thoughts on Jihad against Dajjal. Hadhrat Isa (A.S.) will descend on the eastern side near the Minaret in Damascus (or in Baitul-Muqaddus by Imam Mahdi). At the time Imam Mahdi will have proceeded forward to lead the Fajr Salaat. The Iqamat of the Salaat would have been said (already recited) and Imam Mahdi will call Hadhrat Isa (A.S.) for Imamat (to lead the prayer), but he (Hadhrat Isa (A.S.)) will instead tell Imam Mahdi to lead the prayer since the Iqamat of that Salaat has already been said for him. Thus Imam Mahdi will lead the prayer, and Hadhrat Isa (A.S.) will follow him. After the ruku, he will make this statement: “Allah has killed Dajjal and the Muslims have appeared.”
The Killing of Dajjal (anti-Christ) and the Victory of the Muslims
After the completion of Fajr Salaat (congregational dawn prayers), Hadhrat Isa (A.S.) will open the door behind him where Dajjal accompanied by 70,000 Yahudis (Jews) will be. He will indicate with his hand to move away between him (Hadhrat Isa (A.S.)) and Dajjal. Dajjal will then see Hadhrat Isa (A.S.). At that time every Kafir on whom the breath of Hadhrat Isa (A.S.) will reach, will die. His breath will reach up to the distance of his eyesight. The Muslims will then come down from the mountains and break loose on the army of Dajjal. There will be war, Dajjal will retreat, and Hadhrat Isa (A.S.) will pursue Dajjal. Hadhrat Isa (A.S.) will have two flexible swords and one shield with him and with these he will kill Dajjal at the Gate of Hudd. He willl show the Muslims the blood of Dajjal which will get on his shield. Eventually the Yahudis will be selected and killed. The swine will be killed and the cross broken. People will revert to Islam. Wars will end, and people will return to their respective countries. One Jamaat (group) of Muslims will remain in his service and companionship.
Hadhrat Isa (A.S.) will go to Fajr Rawha and perform Haj or Umrah (or both) from there. He will also go to the grave of Rasulullah (Sallallahu Alayhi Wasallam) and present his greetings and Rasulullah (Sallallahu Alayhi Wasallam) will reply. People will live comfortable lives. The wall of Yajooj and Majooj (Gog and Magog) will then break.
III. The Blessings of Hadhrat Isa (Jesus) (A.S.)
1 Hadhrat Isa (A.S.) will descend and stay on earth. 2 His descension will be in the last era of the Ummat. 3 He will be a just ruler and a fair judge. 4 His ummat will be the Khalifa (deputies) of Rasulullah (Sallallahu Alayhi Wasallam). 5 He will act himself and instruct others on the Qur’an and Hadith (Shariat/Tradition of Islam). 6 He will lead people in Salaat (Prayer). 7 He will stay on earth for a period of 40 years after descending. The will be the best era of the Ummat after the first era of Islam. 8 Allah will protect his companions from Jahannam. 9 Those who will save the Deen of Islam by associating themselves with Hadhrat Isa (A.S.) will be amongst the most loved by Allah Ta’ala. 10 During this period all other religions and mazhabs besides Islam will perish, hence there will be no kuffaars (non-believers) in the
What makes Muslims believe that the Quran is not written by Prophet Muhammad? Does the Quran claim that it is from God? Could the Prophet have copied some portions of the Bible? Are there scientific facts in the Quran?
Muslims believe that Prophet Muhammad is not the author of the Quran. God is its Author. The following points bear the fact:
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First of all, the Quran itself, at a number of places and in different ways, says that it is from God. One of the claims runs thus: “This is indeed a Quran most honourable, a Book well-guarded…a Revelation from the Lord of the Worlds.” (Quran 56:77-80)
(Here, one ought to know the features of the Quran to understand the claim better. For instance, if the Quran had consisted of a number of books, and each book was made up of a number of chapters, then each of the books had to claim that it was from God in order to render the WHOLE volume as coming from God. But, this is fortunately not so with the Quran. The Quran is just ONE Book made up of 114 chapters. So, if the Quran claims, in any of its chapters, that the Book is from God, then the WHOLE Quran is from God. Yet, the Quran does not make the divine claim only once, but several times in different phrases and in different chapters.)
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If the Prophet had written the Quran _ a Book par excellence _ surely he would have claimed credit for it, but he did not. He could not claim what was not his. Indeed God says: “This Quran is not such as can be produced by anyone other than God.” (10:37)
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The Prophet was unlettered. However, even if he was educated and had written the Quran, how could he be bold enough to make this statement: “Do they not consider (ponder over) the Quran (with care)? Had it been from other than God, they would surely have found therein discrepancies”. (4:82)
Abdullah Yusuf Ali, commenting on this verse (verse 4:82) in his English translation of the Quran, says: “From a mere human point of view, we should have expected much discrepancy, because (1) Prophet Muhammad who promulgated it was not a learned man or philosopher, (2) it was promulgated at various times and in various circumstances, and (3) it is addressed to all grades of mankind. Yet, when properly understood, its various pieces fit together better than a jigsaw puzzle even when arranged without any regard to chronological order. There was just the One Inspirer and one inspired.”
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The Quran took 23 years to complete. Had the verses of the Quran (which contains 6,666 verses) been written by the Prophet, he would have needed a number of drafts and the work would have needed editing, updating, etc. But this did not happen, yet the information is consistent throughout the Quran. The verses were taken down as dictated by the Prophet only once and no redrafting, editing or updating took place after that.
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At a number of stages during the 23-year period, challenges to reproduce, even a chapter of the Quran, were made. If the Prophet had written the Quran, he would not have made the challenges, for fear that the learned
Arabs and eminent poets of his time would have taken up his challenges and shamed him. One of the challenges goes thus: “And if you are in doubt as to what We have revealed (from time to time) to Our servant (Muhammad), then produce a chapter like thereunto…” (2:23)
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The Quran says that the Prophet was not learned.
So, if the Prophet was educated in some institution but mentioned in the Quran that he wasn’t, he would have been accused of being a liar and his mission would have fallen through.
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Even if the Prophet was learned, how could he have written such an inimitable Book of Information and Wisdom without resorting to consultation with prominent scholars and the best books from the best libraries in the world?! If he did this, it would surely have been known, since every move he made was known to people. The Prophet was a historical figure, not a mythological figure.
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The Prophet was the busiest and most active person in history. So, how could he have found the time to write (even if he were educated) such a comprehensive and extensive Book of Guidance which would have needed years of seclusion and concentration to complete?
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In the Quran, in Chapter 111, it is mentioned that Abu Lahab, one of the Prophet’s uncles who was always against Islam, would never accept Islam. This Revelation came some ten years before the death of Abu Lahab. How could the Prophet have dared to write this chapter because all he (Abu Lahab) needed to do to prove that the Quran was not the Words of God, was to accept Islam dishonestly?
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The Prophet was mentioned by name in the Quran only five times whereas Jesus Christ’s name was (honourably) mentioned 25 times. Could the Prophet go to such an extent of honouring someone more than himself if he had written the Quran?
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There is a chapter in the Quran entitled and dedicated to “Mary”, the mother of Jesus Christ, while there is no chapter called, or dedicated to, the Prophet’s own mother, Aminah, or daughter, Fatimah, nor were their names mentioned in the Quran. Could this have happened if the Prophet was the author of the Quran?
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Mary, the mother of Jesus Christ, is glorified in the Quran as a “woman of all nations”. Why would the Prophet glorify a woman he had never seen and one from another race, saying that she was chosen (by God) above all women unless the formulation of the verses had nothing to do with the Prophet’s own authorship but that he only repeated what was inspired to him by God?
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In the Quran, God is called “Allah” (in Arabic). He is also referred to by His Attributes, like the Cherisher, the Merciful, the Almighty. There are 99 such Attributes but none of these is “Abba” (Father) by which the Arab Christians of the Prophet’s time (and even today) refer to God. If the Prophet was the writer of the Quran, he would surely have used “Abba” as one of the names for God because of its familiarity and also because it was easier to say “Abba” than many of the Attributes.
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Although the Quran’s objective is basically religious, it does touch on certain principles and laws governing the universe. A French scientist, Maurice Bucaille, in his book, “The Bible, the Quran and Science”, says: “What initially strikes the reader confronted for the first time with a text of this kind (the Quran) is the sheer abundance of subjects discussed: the Creation, astronomy, the explanation of certain matters concerning the earth, and the animal and vegetable kingdoms, human reproduction …I could not find a single error in the Quran. I had to stop and ask myself: if a man was the author of the Quran, how could he have written facts in the 7th Century AD that today are shown to be in keeping with modern scientific knowledge?”
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The Quran mentions a number of scientific facts which were unknown to the world then. Some of them are:
o
The moon has no light of its own and that what we see is the reflected light of the sun. (91:1-2),
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The universe came about by a “big bang” or disintegration billions of years ago. (21:30),
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Every living thing began in water. (continuation of 21:30),
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Stages of reproduction of a life in the womb.(22:5),
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Every living thing, including vegetable matter, is created in pairs (male and female). (36:36),
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All celestial body (namely, moon and planets) have their own course of orbit. (7:54 and 21:33),
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Space travel is possible. (55:33), and
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There is also life (in whatever form) in other parts of the universe. (42:29).
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All these scientific facts were discovered only in the last couple of centuries whereas the Quran mentions them 14 centuries ago. How could the Prophet, even if he were educated, have known these fact centuries ahead of recent times?
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Learned Arabs and other experts in the Arabic language acknowledge that the style, diction and rendering in the Quran far excels those in the Hadith. Those in the Quran are inimitable, proving that the Quran is authored by God.
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Umar, later to become Caliph, had wanted to kill the Prophet because of his (Islamic) teachings. One day, Umar heard his sister reading something _ the sound, diction and meaning of which made him halt to listen. His sister, who had secretly converted to Islam, was reading (part of) the Quran. Umar realised that the Words he was listening to could not be the words of man. He submitted to Islam soon after.
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The Quran says: “If the whole of mankind and jinns (spirits) were to come together to produce the like of this Quran, they could not produce the like thereof even if backed up by each other with help and support.” (17:88) This is a bold statement indeed. If the Prophet had written the Quran, would he as a human being, dare make such an explosive statement? Would this statement go unchallenged by the learned Arabs of his time?
Prophet Muhammad, being an unlettered person, could not have written the Quran, a Book full of wisdom and one dealing with varied subject matters. The Quran categorically states: “This Quran is not such as can be produced by anyone other than God. (It is a Book) from the Lord of the Worlds.” (10:37)
Why do Muslims refer to the Quran as a living miracle?
Many of God’s Prophets in the past had performed miracles either to prove that they were sent by God or to help people to achieve certain goals. However, as these miracles were for certain people of the time of the respective Prophets, they are neither tangible nor available today as a living proof. But the Quran is. It is a miracle by itself. When people asked Prophet Muhammad what miracle he had performed, the Prophet pointed to the Quran.
Muslims regard the Quran as a living miracle because, among other reasons, it:
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Is a Book par excellence in the provision of complete guidance for this life and the Hereafter,
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Is available in the language (Arabic) as revealed to the Prophet,
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Is inimitable in diction, sound and rendering,
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Is accurate in its presentation of facts,
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Has remained pure (without interpolation),
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Has no contradiction or inconsistencies,
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Has influenced the lives of people, and
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Is responsible for the speedy spread of Islam, even now.
With regard to the Quran being a miracle from the point of view of its influence on people, Maulana Muhammad Ali in his book, “The Religion of Islam”, says: “The Quran is a miracle because it brought about the greatest transformation that the world has ever witnessed _ a transformation of the individual, of the family, of the society, of the nation, of the country, an awakening material as well as moral, intellectual and spiritual. It produced an effect, a hundred thousand times greater than that of any other miracle recorded of any Prophet; hence, its claim to be the greatest of all miracles is uncontestable and uncontested.”
Researches on the Quran have been made throughout these 14 centuries. More particularly, in recent years, in the wake of religious enquiries, Quranic scholars, scientists and mathematicians have each, in their own way and knowledge, discovered that the factual contents of the Quran as well as the arrangement of its Words and text point to the fact that the Quran is indeed the living miracle of Islam.
Why do Muslims refer to the Quran as a living miracle?
Many of God’s Prophets in the past had performed miracles either to prove that they were sent by God or to help people to achieve certain goals. However, as these miracles were for certain people of the time of the respective Prophets, they are neither tangible nor available today as a living proof. But the Quran is. It is a miracle by itself. When people asked Prophet Muhammad what miracle he had performed, the Prophet pointed to the Quran.
Muslims regard the Quran as a living miracle because, among other reasons, it:
*
Is a Book par excellence in the provision of complete guidance for this life and the Hereafter,
*
Is available in the language (Arabic) as revealed to the Prophet,
*
Is inimitable in diction, sound and rendering,
*
Is accurate in its presentation of facts,
*
Has remained pure (without interpolation),
*
Has no contradiction or inconsistencies,
*
Has influenced the lives of people, and
*
Is responsible for the speedy spread of Islam, even now.
With regard to the Quran being a miracle from the point of view of its influence on people, Maulana Muhammad Ali in his book, “The Religion of Islam”, says: “The Quran is a miracle because it brought about the greatest transformation that the world has ever witnessed _ a transformation of the individual, of the family, of the society, of the nation, of the country, an awakening material as well as moral, intellectual and spiritual. It produced an effect, a hundred thousand times greater than that of any other miracle recorded of any Prophet; hence, its claim to be the greatest of all miracles is uncontestable and uncontested.”
Researches on the Quran have been made throughout these 14 centuries. More particularly, in recent years, in the wake of religious enquiries, Quranic scholars, scientists and mathematicians have each, in their own way and knowledge, discovered that the factual contents of the Quran as well as the arrangement of its Words and text point to the fact that the Quran is indeed the living miracle of Islam.
Why do Muslims refer to the Quran as a living miracle?
Many of God’s Prophets in the past had performed miracles either to prove that they were sent by God or to help people to achieve certain goals. However, as these miracles were for certain people of the time of the respective Prophets, they are neither tangible nor available today as a living proof. But the Quran is. It is a miracle by itself. When people asked Prophet Muhammad what miracle he had performed, the Prophet pointed to the Quran.
Muslims regard the Quran as a living miracle because, among other reasons, it:
*
Is a Book par excellence in the provision of complete guidance for this life and the Hereafter,
*
Is available in the language (Arabic) as revealed to the Prophet,
*
Is inimitable in diction, sound and rendering,
*
Is accurate in its presentation of facts,
*
Has remained pure (without interpolation),
*
Has no contradiction or inconsistencies,
*
Has influenced the lives of people, and
*
Is responsible for the speedy spread of Islam, even now.
With regard to the Quran being a miracle from the point of view of its influence on people, Maulana Muhammad Ali in his book, “The Religion of Islam”, says: “The Quran is a miracle because it brought about the greatest transformation that the world has ever witnessed _ a transformation of the individual, of the family, of the society, of the nation, of the country, an awakening material as well as moral, intellectual and spiritual. It produced an effect, a hundred thousand times greater than that of any other miracle recorded of any Prophet; hence, its claim to be the greatest of all miracles is uncontestable and uncontested.”
Researches on the Quran have been made throughout these 14 centuries. More particularly, in recent years, in the wake of religious enquiries, Quranic scholars, scientists and mathematicians have each, in their own way and knowledge, discovered that the factual contents of the Quran as well as the arrangement of its Words and text point to the fact that the Quran is indeed the living miracle of Islam.
“Why Do Priests & Preachers Enter ISLAM?”
Many people ask me how a preacher or priest in Christianity can ever go to Islam, especially considering all the negative things that we hear about Islam and Muslims everyday. Some people are simply curious, while others take a profound exception to my “conversion” to Islam. Some have asked how I could have turned my back on Jesus, or if I truly understood the Holy Ghost and some even questioned whether or not I considered myself as “born again” or had ever really been saved at all. These are good questions to which I will offer answers to at the end of this writing. I would like to thank everyone for their interest and offer my humble story, God Willing.
One very nice Christian gentleman asked me in email why and how I left Christianity for Islam. This is more or less a copy of the letter I sent to him.
Introduction
My name is Yusuf Estes now, but in years past my friends used to call me Skip. I have preached Christianity and worked in the entertainment and music industry since I was a boy in the 1950’s. My father and I have established music stores, TV and radio programs and outdoor entertainment for fun (and profit). I was a music minister and even used a pony ride and entertained the children as “Skippy the Clown.”
Once, I have served as Delegate to the United Nations Peace Conference for Religious Leaders. Now I am a retired former Muslim Chaplain for United States Bureau of Prisons, Washington, DC. and I join alongside many American Muslims, working with Muslim student and youth organizations as well as schools for Muslim children. As such, I travel around the entire world lecturing and sharing the message of the Christ of the Quran in Islam. We hold dialogs and discussion groups with all faiths and enjoy the opportunity to work alongside rabbis, ministers, preachers and priests everywhere. Some of our work is in the institutional area, military, universities and prisons. Primarily our goal is to educate and communicate the correct message of Islam and who the Muslims really are. Although Islam has grown now to nearly tie Christianity as the largest of religions on earth, we see many of those who claim Islam as Muslims, that do not correctly understand nor properly represent the message of “Peace, Surrender and Obedience to God” [Arabic = 'Islam']
Dear me, I am afraid that I got a bit ahead of myself. I was trying to give a bit of background of our work perhaps to see if it would in anyway benefit those who may being going through what I experienced while trying to resolve some of the issues of Christianity.
How It Happened
This may seem quite strange, while we perhaps may share a few different perspectives and concepts of God, Jesus, prophethood, sin and salvation. But you see, at one time I was in the same boat as many folks are today. Really, I was. Let me explain.
Born A Strong Christian
I was born into a very strong Christian family in the Midwest. Our family and their ancestors not only built the churches and schools across this land, but actually were the same ones who came here in the first place. While I was still in elementary we relocated in Houston, Texas in 1949 (I’m old). We attended church regularly and I was baptized at the age of 12 in Pasadena, Texas. As a teenager, I wanted to visit other churches to learn more of their teachings and beliefs. The Baptists, Methodists, Episcopalians, Charismatic movements, Nazarene, Church of Christ, Church of God, Church of God in Christ, Full Gospel, Agape, Catholic, Presbyterian and many more. I developed quite a thirst for the “Gospel” or as we say; “Good News.” My research into religion did not stop with Christianity. Not at all. Hinduism, Judaism, Buddhism, Metaphysics, native American beliefs were all a part of my studies. Just about the only one that I did not look into seriously was “Islam”. Why? Good question.
Music Minister
Anyway, I became very interested in different types of music, especially Gospel and Classical. Because my whole family was religious and musical it followed that I too would begin my studies in both areas. All this set me for the logical position of Music Minister in many of the churches that I became affiliated with over the years. I started teaching keyboard instruments in 1960 and by 1963 owned my own studios in Laurel, Maryland, called “Estes Music Studios.”
Business Projects In Texas, Oklahoma and Florida
Over the next 30 years my father and I worked together in many business projects. We had entertainment programs, shows and attractions. We opened piano and organ stores all the way from Texas and Oklahoma to Florida. We had earned millions of dollars during those years, but could not find the peace of mind that can only come through knowing the truth and finding the real plan of salvation. I’m sure you have asked yourself the question; “Why did God create me?” or “What is it that God wants me to do?” or “Exactly who is God, anyway?” “Why do we believe in ‘original sin?” and “Why would the sons of Adam be forced to accept his ’sins’ and then as a result be punished forever.” But if you asked anyone these questions, they would probably tell you that you have to believe without asking, or that it is a ‘mystery’ and you shouldn’t ask – “Just have faith, brother.”
Trinity Concept
Strangely enough, the word “Trinity” is not in the Bible. And it has been a concern for religious scholars as early as 200 years after Jesus was raised up by Almighty God. I would ask preachers or ministers to give me some sort of an idea how ‘one’ could figure out to become ‘three’ or how God Himself, Who can do anything He Wills to do, cannot just forgive people’s sins, but rather and had to become a man, come down on earth, be a human, and then take on the sins of all people; keeping in mind that all along He is still God of the whole universe and does as He Wills to do, both in and outside of the universe as we know it. They never seemed to be able to come up with anything other than opinions or strange analogies.
Father – Ordained Non-Denominational Minister
My father was very active in supporting church work, especially church school programs. He became and ordained minister in the 1970s. He and his wife (my stepmother) knew many of the TV evangelists and preachers and even visited Oral Roberts and helped in the building of the “Prayer Tower” in Tulsa, OK. They also were strong supporters of Jimmy Swaggart, Jim and Tammy Fae Bakker, Jerry Fallwell, John Haggi and the biggest enemy to Islam in America, Pat Robertson.
Distributing “Praise” Tapes for Jesus
During the early 1980’s my Dad and his wife worked together and were most active in recording “Praise” tapes and distributing them for free to people in retirement homes, hospitals and homes for the elderly. We were really “winning souls to the Lord – for Jesus” day after day.
Met A Man From Egypt
It was early in 1991 when my father began doing business with a man from Egypt and told me that he wanted me to meet him. This idea appealed to me when I thought about the idea of having an international flavor. You know, the pyramids, sphinx, Nile River and all that.
He Was A “Mozlem”
Hijackers; Kidnappers; Bombers, Terrorists – and who knows what else?
Then my father mentioned that this man was a ‘Moslem.’ First, I hated the idea of meeting an “infidel, hijacker, kidnapper, bomber, terrorist, non-believer.” Any normal person would be repulsed at the idea. I couldn’t believe my ears. A ‘Moslem?’ No way! I reminded my dad of the various different things that we had heard about these people.
Lies Against Muslims & Islam – They Told Us, Muslims:
* They don’t even believe in God
* They worship a black box in the desert.
* And They kiss the ground five times a day.
No Way! I Did Not Want to Meet Him!
I did not want to meet this ‘Moslem’ man. No way! My father insisted that I meet him and reassured me that he was a very nice person. This was too much for me. Especially since the evangelists that we used to travel around with all hated Muslims and Islam very much. They even said things that were not true to make people afraid of Islam. So, why would I want anything to do with these people?
Idea – “Change Him To Christian”
Then an idea came to me, “We can change this man to Christian.” So, I gave in and agreed to the meeting. But on my terms.
Met Him With A Bible, Cross and Cap with “Jesus Is Lord!” on it.
I agreed to meet him on a Sunday after church so we would be all prayed up and in good standing with the Lord. I would be carrying my Bible under my arm as usual. I would have my big shiny cross dangling and I would have on my cap which says: “Jesus is Lord” right across the front. My wife and two young daughters came along and we were ready for our first encounter with the ‘Moslems.’
Where Is He?
When I came into the shop and asked my father where the ‘Moslem’ was, he pointed and said: “He’s right over there.”
I was confused. That couldn’t be the Moslem. No way.
Turban & Beard?
I’m looking for a huge man with flowing robes, a big turban on his head, a beard half way down his shirt and eyebrows that go all the way across his forehead with a sword or a bomb under his coat.
No Turban – No Beard – [No Hair at All!]
This man had no beard. In fact, he didn’t even have any hair on his head at all. He was nearly bald. Best of all, he was very pleasant with a warm welcome and handshake. This didn’t make sense. I thought they are terrorists and bombers. What is this all about?
He Needs Jesus
Never mind. I’ll get right to work on this guy. He needs to be ’saved’ in the ‘Name of Jesus’ and me and the Lord are going to do it.
Introduction & Interrogation
After a quick introduction, I asked him:
“Do you believe in God?”
He said:
“Yes.” – (Good!)
Then I said:
“Do you believe in Adam and Eve?”
He said:
“Yes.” – (Very Good!)
I said: “What about Abraham? You believe in him and how he tried to sacrifice his son for God?”
He said:
“Yes.” – (Even better!)
Then I asked:
“What about Moses?”
“Ten Commandments?”
“Parting the Red Sea?”
Again he said:
“Yes.” – (Better still!)
Then:
“What about the other prophets, David, Solomon and John the Baptist?”
He said:
“Yes.” – (Great!)
I asked:
“Do you believe in the Bible?”
Again, he said:
“Yes.” – (OK!)
So, now it was time for the big question:
“Do you believe in Jesus? That he was the Messiah (Christ) of God?”
Again the said:
“Yes.” – (Fantastic!)
Well now – “This was going to be easier than I had thought.”
He was just about ready to be baptized only he didn’t know it.
And I was just the one to do it, too.
Shocking Knowledge – Muslims Believe in the Bible?
One day in the Spring of 1991, I came to know that the Muslims believed in the Bible. I was shocked. How could this be? But that’s not all, they believe in Jesus as:
* A true messenger of God;
* Prophet of God;
* Miracle birth without human intervention;
* He was the ‘Christ’ or Messiah as predicted in the Bible;
* He is with God now and most important;
* He will be coming back in the Last Days to lead the believers against the ‘Antichrist.’
After “winning souls to the Lord for Jesus” day after day, this would be a big achievement for me, to catch one of these ‘Moslems’ and ‘convert’ him to Christianity.
Cup of Tea – Discuss Beliefs
I asked him if he liked tea and he said he did. So off we went to a little shop in the mall to sit and talk about my favorite subject: Beliefs. While we sat in that little coffee shop for hours talking (I did most of the talking) I came to know that he was very nice, quiet and even a bit shy. He listened attentively to every word that I had to say and did not interrupt even one time. I liked this man’s way and thought that he had definite potential to become a good Christian. – Little did I know the course of events about to unravel in front of my eyes.
Agreed to Do Business
First of all, I agreed with my father that we should do business with this man and even encouraged the idea of him traveling along with me on my business trips across the northern part of Texas. Day after day we would ride together and discuss various issues pertaining to different beliefs that people have. And along the way, I could of course interject some of my favorite radio programs of worship and praise to help bring the message to this poor individual. We talked about the concept of God; the meaning of life; the purpose of creation; the prophets and their mission and how God reveals His Will to mankind. We also shared a lot of personal experiences and ideas as well.
Moved to Our Home
One day I came to know that my friend Mohamed was going to move out of the home he have been sharing with a friend of his and was going to be living in the mosque for a time. I went to my dad and asked him if we could invite Mohamed to come out to our big home in the country and stay there with us. After all, he could share some of the work and some expenses and he would be right there when we were ready to go to out traveling around. My father agreed and Mohamed moved in.
Continued Ministry & Preaching
Of course I still would find time to visit my fellow preachers and evangelists around the state of Texas. One of them lived on the Texas — Mexico border and another lived near lived Oklahoma border. One preacher liked to a huge wooden cross that was bigger than a car. He would carry it over his shoulder and drag the bottom on the ground and go down the road or freeway hauling these two beams formed in the shape of a cross. People would stop their cars and come over to him and ask him what was going on and he would give them pamphlets and booklets on Christianity.
Preacher Has Heart Attack
One day my friend with the cross had a heart attack and had to go to the Veterans Hospital where he stayed for quite a long while. I used to visit him in the hospital several times a week and I would take Mohamed with me with the hopes that we could all share together in the subject of beliefs and religions. My friend was not very impressed and it was obvious that he did not want to know anything about Islam. Then one day a man who was sharing the room with my friend came rolling into the room in his wheelchair. I went to him and asked him his name and he said that it didn’t matter and when I asked him where he was from he said he was from the planet Jupiter. I thought about what he said and then began to wonder if I was in the cardiac ward or the mental ward.
Man in Wheelchair – Needed the Lord
I knew the man was lonely and depressed and needed someone in his life. So, I began to ‘witness’ to him about the Lord. I read to him out of the book of Jonah in the Old Testament. I shared the story of the prophet Jonah who had been sent by the Lord to call his people to the correct way. Jonah had left his people and escaped by boat to leave his city and head out to sea. A storm came up and the ship almost capsized and the people on board threw Jonah over the side of the ship. A whale came up to the surface and grabbed Jonah, swallowed him and then went down to the bottom of the sea, where he stayed for 3 days and 3 nights. Yet because of God’s Mercy, He caused the whale to rise to the surface and then spit Jonah out to return back home safely to his city of Nineveh. And the idea was that we can’t really run away from our problems because we always know what we have done. And what is more, God also always knows what we have done.
Catholic Priest
After sharing this story with the man in the wheel chair, he looked up and me and apologized. He told me he was sorry for his rude behavior and that he had experienced some real serious problems recently. Then he said that he wanted to confess something to me. And I said that I was not a Catholic priest and I don’t handle confessions. He replied back to me that he knew that. In fact, he said: “I am a Catholic priest.”
I was shocked. Here I had been trying to preach Christianity to a priest. What in the world was happening here?
Priest in Latin America
The priest began to share his story of being a missionary for the church for over 12 years to south and Central America and Mexico and even in New York’s ‘Hell’s Kitchen.’ When he was released from the hospital he needed a place to go to recover and rather than let him go to stay with a Catholic family, I told my dad that we should invite him to come out and live with us in the country along with our families and Mohamed. It was agreed by all that he would so, he moved out right away.
Priests Must Study ISLAM? – YES!
During the trip out to our home, I talked with the priest about some of the concepts of beliefs in Islam and to my surprise he agreed and then shared even more about this with me. I was shocked when he told me that Catholic priests actually study Islam and some even carry doctors degrees in this subject. This was all very enlightening to me. But there was still a lot more to come.
Different Versions of the Bible
After settling in, we all began to gather around the kitchen table after dinner every night to discuss religion. My father would bring his King James Version of the Bible, I would bring out my Revised Standard Version of the Bible, my wife had another version of the Bible (maybe something like Jimmy Swaggart’s ‘Good News For Modern Man.” The priest of course, had the Catholic Bible which has 7 more books in it that the Protestant Bible. So we spent more time talking about which Bible was the right one or the most correct one, than we did trying to convince Mohamed about becoming a Christian.
Quran Has Only ONE Version – In Arabic – And Still Exists
At one point I recall asking him about the Quran and how many versions of it there were in the last 1,400 years. He told me that there was only ONE QURAN. And that it had never been changed. Yet he let me know that the Quran had been memorized by hundreds of thousands of people, in it’s entirety and were scattered about the earth in many different countries. Over the centuries since the Quran was revealed millions have memorized it completely and have taught it to others who have memorized it completely, from cover to cover, letter perfect without mistakes. Today, over 9 million Muslims have memorized the entire Quran from cover to cover.
How Could This Be?
This did not seem possible to me. After all, the original languages of the Bible have all been dead languages for centuries and the documents themselves have been lost in their originals for hundreds and thousands of years. So, how could it be that something like this could be so easy to preserve and to recite from cover to cover.
Priest Goes to the Mosque
Anyway, one day the priest asked the Mohamed if he might accompany him to the mosque to see what it was like there. They came back talking about their experience there and we could not wait to ask the priest what it was like and what all types of ceremonies they performed. He said they didn’t really ‘do’ anything. They just came and prayed and left. I said: “They left? Without any speeches or singing?” He said that was right.
Priest Enters Islam!
A few more days went by and the Catholic priest asked Mohamed if he might join him again for a trip to the mosque which they did. But this time it was different. They did not come back for a very long time. It became dark and we worried that something might have happened to them. Finally they arrived and when they came in the door I immediately recognized Mohamed, but who was this alongside of him? Someone wearing a white robe and a white cap. Hold on a minute! It was the priest. I said to him: “Pete? — Did you become a ‘Moslem?’
He said that he had entered into Islam that very day. THE PRIEST BECAME A MUSLIM!! What next? (You’ll see).
My Wife Announces Her Islam!
So, I went upstairs to think things over a bit and began to talk to my wife about the whole subject. She then told me that she too was going to enter into Islam, because she knew it was the truth.
Shocked!
I was really shocked now. I went downstairs and woke up Mohamed and asked him to come outside with me for a discussion. We walked and talked that whole night through.
Truth Had Come!
By the time he was ready to pray Fajr (the morning prayer of the Muslims) I knew that the truth had come at last and now it was up to me to do my part. I went out back behind my father’s house and found an old piece of plywood lying under an overhang and right there I put my head down on the ground facing the direction that the Muslims pray five times a day.
Guide Me! O God! Guide Me!
Now then in that position, with my body stretched out on the plywood and my head on the ground, I asked: “O God. If you are there, guide me, guide me.”
Sign Inside of Me
And then after a while I raised up my head and I noticed something. No, I didn’t see birds or angels coming out of the sky nor did I hear voices or music, nor did I see bright lights and flashes. What I did notice was a change inside of me. I was aware now more than ever before that it was time for me to stop any lying and doing anything sneaky. It was time that I really work at being an honest and upright man. I knew now what I had to do.
Wash Away the “OLD”
So I went upstairs and took a shower with the distinct idea that I was ‘washing’ away the sinful old person that I had become over the years. And I was now coming into a new, fresh life. A life based on truth and proof.
- And Become New!
Around 11:00 A.M. that morning, I stood before two witnesses, one the ex-priest, formerly known as Father Peter Jacob’s, and the other Mohamed Abel Rehman and announced my ’shahadah’ (open testimony to the Oneness of God and the prophethood of Muhammad, peace be upon him).
“I bear witness, there is no deity to worship, except Almighty Allah, alone and He has no partners and I bear witness that Mohammad is His messenger and servant.”
My Wife Was Next
A few minutes later, my wife follow along and gave the same testimony. But hers was in front of 3 witnesses (me being the third).
Then My Father
My father was a bit more reserved on the subject and waited a few more months before he made his shahadah (public testimony). But he did finally commit to Islam and began offering prayers right along with me and the other Muslims in the local masjid (mosque).
Children Too!
The children were taken out of the Christian school and placed in Muslim schools. And now ten years later, they are memorizing much of the Quran and the teachings of Islam.
Father’s Wife (Stepmother) Next
My father’s wife finally acknowledged, before she died, that Jesus could not be a son of God and that he must have been a mighty prophet of God, but not God. She passed away within a few months of this statement at age 86. May Allah accept her statement of faith, ameen.
Houseful of New Muslims – What’s Next?
Now stop and think. A whole entire household of people from varying backgrounds and ethnic groups coming together in truth to learn how to know and worship the Creator and Sustainer of the Universe. Think. A Catholic priest; a minister of music and preacher of the Gospel; an ordained minister and builder of Christian schools; and the children, even a great-grandmother – they all come into Islam!
His Mercy and Guidance
Only by His Mercy were we all guided to see the real truth of Islam, by removing the coverings over our ears and the blinders on our eyes, no longer having seals over our hearts – He was Guiding us now.
Amazing Story – Family and Friends Entering Islam – From One Man
If I were to stop right here, I’m sure that you would have to admit that at least, this is an amazing story, right? After all, three religious leaders of three separate denominations all going into one very opposite belief at the same time and then soon after the rest of the household.
More? – Yes! Baptist Seminary Student Reads Quran – Accepts Islam
But that is not all. There is more! The same year, while I was in Grand Prairie, Texas (near Dallas) I met a Baptist seminary student from Tennessee named Joe, who also came to Islam after reading the Holy Quran while in BAPTIST SEMINARY COLLEGE!
More? Yes. Catholic Priest Loves Islam – But Needs His Job!
There are others as well. I recall the case of the Catholic priest in a college town who talked about the good things in Islam so much that I was forced to ask him why he didn’t enter Islam. He replied: “What? And loose my job?” – His name is Father John and we still pray for Allah to Guide Him.
Another Catholic Priest Makes Shahadah
The very next year I met a former Catholic priest who had been a missionary for 8 years in Africa. He learned about Islam while he was there and entered into Islam. He then changed his name to Omar and moved to Dallas Texas.
Any more? Again – Yes! Orthodox Arch Bishop leaves church for Islam
Two years later, while in San Antonio, Texas I was introduced to a former Arch Bishop of the Orthodox Church of Russia who learned about Islam and gave up his position to enter Islam.
Daughter of Hindu Pundit (Religious Leader) – Accepts Islam – Helping thousands to Islam
I met a woman in New York who wanted to make our CDs about “What Is Islam?” After giving her permission several years ago, I have learned she has produced and distributed over 600 thousand of these to the non-Muslims in America. May Allah reward her and keep her strong in her efforts, ameen.
Hundreds – Thousands – Still Coming
And since my own entrance into Islam and becoming a chaplain to the Muslims throughout the country and around the world, I have encountered many more individuals who were leaders, teachers and scholars in other religions who learned about Islam and entered into it. They came from Hindus, Jews, Catholics, Protestants, Jehovah’s Witnesses, Greek and Russian Orthodox, Coptic Christians from Egypt, non-denominational churches and even scientists who had been atheists.
Why? Good question.
The combination always seems to be the same; people are sincerely seeking the truth and are willing to put their different prejudices and biases out of their minds and begin to ask God for His Guidance in their lives.
So, now you have the introduction to the story of my coming into Islam and becoming Muslim. There is more on the Internet about this story and there are more pictures there as well. Please take the time to visit it and then please take the time to email me and let us come together to share in all truths based on proofs for understanding our origins and our purpose and goals in this life and the Next Life.
9 Steps to Purify the Heart
May I suggest to the seeker of truth do the following NINE STEPS to purification of the heart?
1. Clean – your mind, your heart & soul – remove all prejudices & biases.
2. Thank God – for what you have – every moment of every day.
3. Read – a good translation of the meaning of the Holy Quran in a language that they can understand best. (http://islamtomorrow.com/downloads/)
4. Reflect on the meanings & consider the bounties of your Lord.
5. Seek – Forgiveness From God & Learn to Forgive others.
6. Ask – in your heart for Guidance from Above.
7. Open – your heart and mind.
8. Continue – to do this up for a few months. And be regular in it.
9. Avoid – the poison of evil while your heart is opening for the “rebirth of your soul.”
Remember: Clean; Thank; Read; Reflect – then:
“Seek, and ye shall find. Ask, and it shall be given thee. Knock, and it shall be opened.”
Then: Continue & Avoid
The rest is between you and the Almighty Lord of the Universe. If you truly love Him, then He already Knows it and He will deal with each of us according to our hearts.
ANSWERS TO QUESTIONS
Now as I promised here are the answers to the questions many have asked me connected with my choice of Islam:
1. “How could you have turned your back on the perfect plan of salvation of Jesus Christ on the cross for you sins?”
Answer: Your question implies you have not considered the similarities and teachings of the Bible and the Quran.
“ISLAM” means – “Surrender, submit and obey your Lord in sincerity and peace.” Whoever is trying to do this, is a “MUSLIM.” If someone believes in Almighty God as One God and One Lord and wants to commit their life to serving Him and obeying His Commandments, then that person will be in the right way and they will be “saved” according to God’s Mercy. No one can take the sins of another and the guilty must stand accused for what they have done. It will be up to Almighty God to Forgive or Punish according to His Judgment on that Day.
According to the remains of the translations of the Bible [see: "Bible, A Closer Look"] Jesus, peace be upon him, did not preach a message of salvation by worshipping him. This was something added later by Saul (who later became Paul). We find clear statements indicating salvation would come only through acknowledging Almighty God as One God and worshipping Him with all the heart, mind and strength. Jesus, peace be upon him, taught his followers to worship “My God and your God, My Lord and your Lord.”
Again, according to the remains of the English translation of the Bible, we see the one on the cross crying out a very blasphemous statement, “Eli! Eli! Lama sabachthani?” (Which being translated means, “My God! My God! Why have you forsaken me?”) This statement on the cross clearly indicates the one on the cross is not pleased with the situation nor does he consider it right or just. Therefore, one would have to conclude this was not something Jesus approved of nor did he accept, or else someone else was on the cross in his place. Either way you look at it, the one on the cross did not accept this as a plan of salvation.
The Quran is absolutely in agreement with these teachings and Muslims do worship the same God and Lord of Jesus, Moses, Abraham and Adam, peace be upon them all. The Quran states in many places, no one will be taken to task for the sins of another, nor can anyone carry the burden of another. We will all be on our own on that Day. And I ask Allah to have Mercy and Forgiveness for all those who believe in Him, ameen.
I consider that I have not left the teachings of Jesus Christ, peace be upon him. On the contrary, I feel much closer to Jesus, peace be upon him, and I look forward to His return on earth more than ever before. Now I am worshipping the same God he worships and I serve the same Lord he serves, in the very same way he does. Jesus prayed to Almighty God and taught his followers to do the same. I am simply doing what he commanded to the best of my ability and ask Almighty God to accept it.
2. “Do you consider you were really “saved” and that you had in fact, been “born again?”
Answer: The Baptists have a statement, “Once saved, always saved.” I asked one of them about this and he agreed it was true. Then I mentioned at one time I had become a Baptist (in my teen years) but now I was a Muslim. I had also been “saved” and baptized at the age of 12. I had accepted the very statement of Jesus being the way, the light and the truth and no man coming on to the Father except by him. I understood these statements to mean I must follow Jesus and his teachings. Therefore, I read the Bible for myself and did not let others tell me what to think about what I was reading.
The Bible states that Jesus prayed for salvation for himself in the garden of Gethsemane in this way, “Let this cup pass from me, even so, Thy Will be done.” This prayer was repeated by Jesus, peace be upon him, a number of times and it is mentioned in more than one Gospel. Yet, according to Biblical accounts, the cup did not pass from him and his prayers were NOT ANSWERED. Islam teaches us his prayers were answered and he did not have to endure the cruel treatment and death on the cross, but rather he was taken up while still alive and is with Almighty God even now and ready to return in the Last Days to bring victory to the believers.
Additionally, we find Jesus, peace be upon him, teaching his disciples to pray like this, “Our Father in Heaven, Hallowed be Thy Name, Thy Kingdom come, Thy Will be done on earth as it is in Heaven. Give us this day our daily bread, and forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those who trespass against us. Lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from all evil. For Thine is the Kingdom and the Power and Glory, forever and ever, ameen.” Every Muslim I have met accepts every single word of this pray with the exception of calling “Allah” our “Father.” Muslims consider it better to call on Almighty God by His Names, which we do consider to be “Hallowed.”
3. “How did your family respond to your conversion?”
Answer: This is always difficult for families to adjust to and it usually takes time. My family was no exception. Although my wife, children entered into Islam and eventually my father came to declare Islam to be the way of salvation for himself, still my own mother and many others in my family resented our going to Islam at first. Eventually, things became more normalized and we do stay in touch, although they are all still very much involved in Christianity.
Allah promises to test those who declare their faith in Him with many types of difficulties and family is one of those mentioned as a test in the Quran. I do pray for them and ask Allah to guide them to the very best in this life and the very best in the Next Life. But it is up to Allah if He wants them to be in Submission to Him (Islam means, submission to Allah) or not.
4. “How about your congregation? What did they say?”
Answer: I never had my own church. I was a music minister in the Church of God (Anderson, Indiana branch) in Texas and did my preaching to businessmen and informal gatherings. Those who knew me for the most part did not object and some even came to Islam, but there were a few who felt very upset and accused me of “Turing my back on Jesus, peace be upon him.” No matter what I tried to say or do, these particular individuals would not listen nor did they want to learn anything about Islam.
5. “Did you experience a lot of difficulties in changing religions?”
Answer: Certainly anyone who wants to consider Islam in these times, just as in times gone by, will have to recognize there will be certain difficulties and tests along the way. The followers of Jesus, peace be upon him, were highly criticized and persecuted even until death (read what Paul said he used to do to them in the Bible; Book of Acts of the Apostles). Those who followed Muhammad, peace be upon him, suffered at the hands of their very own tribes, yet they were determined to continue to worship Almighty God Alone, without partners and submit to His Will.
The biggest problem with non-Muslims, is their lack of understanding and lack of knowledge as to what Islam is really all about and who the Muslims are supposed to be. I pray for them all and ask Allah to forgive the Muslims for not showing a better picture to everyone.
6. “Who was responsible for converting you?”
Answer: As Muslims we believe that it is only Allah who guides the people and whoever He guides will not be misguided and whomever He lets go astray none will be able to guide them. As such, it means we don’t believe anyone really can “convert” someone else.
Also, we accept that all children are born in the natural state of submission to Almighty God and as such that means they are Muslims. Should a child die he or she would go to Heaven as they are not responsible for what they do not understand.
7. “Don’t you ever think about coming back to being a Christian?”
Answer: “Christian” indicates a follower of Christ. When Jesus, peace be upon him, returns to earth in the Last Days, all the Muslims will be obliged to follow him. But we would not call ourselves “Christians” anymore than he would. He never called himself or his companions “Christians.” The Bible tells us they were never even called “Christians” until Paul was preaching his message in Antioch.
8. “Doesn’t it bother you to have left the way of peace, justice and love for a religion of hatred, violence and oppression toward women and others?”
Answer: All the prophets, peace be upon them all, called the people to worship Almighty God as One God and One Lord. As such, those who did not want to submit to Almighty God would combat them and treat them with hostilities, even unto death, as Paul had done while still being a Pharisee. The prophets, peace be upon them all, did encourage their followers to live in peace and deal with people in justice and certainly love is the highest form of emotion a human can have for another human being.
Yet at the same time, believers have to defend themselves, their families and the religion itself, lest those who are not believers should remove belief from the very face of the earth. Islam, like Christianity preaches a message of peace and tolerance – to a point. But when this is no longer possible without totally compromising and loosing one’s way of life and belief system, then there is no alternative except to engage in open combat against those who are combating against the believers.
Jesus called upon his followers to sell their coats and buy swords. He explained that he did not come with peace, but rather a sword. He and his companions were engaged in mortal combat with their enemies, the Pharisees when one of the priests slaves had his ear cut by the sword. Jesus then told them to put down their swords. This is mentioned in the Bible.
The word “sword” appears over 200 times in the Bible – but even though the Arabic language has more than a dozen words for sword, there is not a single occurrence of any of these words anywhere in the Quran.
Combat is ordered in the Quran, only under very specific and limited conditions and it is nothing more than what we would today call “The War on Terrorism.” Fighting against all acts of organized aggression, oppression, persecution and terrorism is an obligation on all believers. But it certainly has limits and women, children, elderly and any innocents are not to killed or injured during such occasions. Treatment of prisoners is not to be humiliating or torture of any kind. Even the dead of the enemy are to be buried with dignity and respect.
Now since writing my story and publishing here on the internet many other websites have picked up this story and it had become a famous example of how “Priest and Preachers Are Coming to Islam.”
Again, I thank you for visiting. And I thank our Christian friend for his email. If he hadn’t sent it, I probably would still not have completed this task of putting down the story once and for all of how my family, friends and myself all came to Islam.
Please feel free to share this story with others. You should print it out and make copies for everyone. Give them our links, add our story to your website or blog page, and send out emails to everyone you know. Maybe it could make a difference for others like us, God Willing.
May Allah guide you on your journey to all truth. Ameen. And May He open your heart and your mind to the reality of this world and the purpose of this life, ameen.
Peace to you and Guidance from Allah the One Almighty God, Creator and Sustainer of all that exists.
Your friend,
Yusuf Estes
Chaplain Yusuf Estes
In a truely Islamic society women have the following rights in Islam:
1. The right and duty to obtain education.
2. The right to have their own independent property.
3. The right to work to earn money if they need it or want it.
4. Equality of reward for equal deeds.
5. The right to express their opinion and be heard.
6. The right to provisions from the husband for all her needs and more.
7. The right to negotiate marriage terms of her choice.
8. The right to obtain divorce from her husband, even on the grounds that she simply can’t stand him. (pls note that God deeply frowns upon divorce as a solution unless there is hardly any other alternative but it does not mean that men have more right to divorce their wives than women do.)
9. The right to keep all her own money (she is not responsible to maintain any relations).
10. The right to get sexual satisfaction from her husband.
11. custody of their children after divorce.
12. to refuse any marriage that does not please them
and more…
ONE of the least understood aspects of Islam is the status of Muslim women and their role in society. It is widely believed in the West that Muslim women are oppressed, repressed, suppressed and depressed.
It is assumed that they have no rights and are treated as second-class citizens in Islam. This is further fuelled by sensational stories appearing in the media about honour killings, female circumcision, merciless flogging and the alleged treatment of women by the Taliban in Afghanistan.
The Islamic law (Shariah) is based on the divine source, the Koran and Hadith, the traditions of Prophet Mohammed. It is in the light of Shariah that we will examine the status of women and not dwell on the non-Islamic practices in some Muslim countries. At the outset, however, let us set the record straight. Female circumcision is not recommended, condoned or encouraged by Islam. It is a practice that predates Islam and is found in some African tribes, both Muslim and Christian.
The so-called honour killings (merely a fancy name for murder) have been found in Jordan and Pakistan. It is interesting to note that regimes of both countries are secular and refuse to treat this as a capital crime. This is in direct violation of Shariah. “Allah has ordained that if anyone slew a person, unless it be for murder or spreading mischief in the land, it would be as if he slew all of humanity. And if anyone saved a life it would be as if he saved all of humankind.” (K 31:34). Furthermore, the Koran states: “Do not kill your children … Surely killing them is a great sin” (K 17:13).
The case of the Nigerian court sentencing a girl to 100 lashes for fornication is clearly a miscarriage of justice. Shariah stipulates that if there is a slightest doubt, the punitive punishment (hudd) should not be carried out. In this case, the girl claimed rape, and under Islamic law the witness of a rape victim is enough to punish the perpetrator.
It is clear that the judge in this case made serious error and compromised some fundamental principles of Shariah. To take this one example as basis for Islam-bashing is unfair to say the least. Shariah, like any other body of law, needs to be understood in a comprehensive and contextual way rather than picking on bits and pieces.
The most important aspect to consider is that Islam accepts both men and women as equal in their creation and in their relationship to Allah. “O humankind, be careful of your duty to your Lord, Who created you from a single soul and from it created its make … Be careful of your duty to Allah in Whom you claim your mutual rights” (K 4:1).
This verse clearly defines the origin of men and women as coming from a single soul, thereby rejecting any claims that men are greater or better than women or vice versa. In the history of Islam, the question of whether a woman has a soul or not, was never entertained as she was always considered a person under Shariah with the same human rights as men. “And for women are rights over men similar to those of men over women” (K 2:226).
In the spiritual realm, men and women have equal access to the Creator. They are both responsible and accountable for their beliefs and deeds. Every ritual of worship, either the five daily prayers or fasting, is incumbent on both men and women. They are both promised the same reward for good deeds and same punishment for bad. “Whosoever does right whether male or female and is a believer, Allah shall quicken with good life and Allah shall pay recompense in proportion to the best of what they do.” (K 16:97).
Furthermore, the Koran holds both Adam and Eve (Hawa), responsible for their disobedience to Allah for partaking of the fruit from the forbidden tree. Islam does not portray Eve as temptress or all women as instrument of Satan. On the contrary, Islam calls women ‘Muhsana’ (fortress against Satan).
In the economic realm, Shariah treats woman as a completely independent entity. She can make any contract, bequest in her own name and is entitled to inherit as a mother, wife, daughter and sister. She can carry out trade or business independently and is not liable for her husband’s debt.
She is not obliged to spend a penny on the family, and her husband has no rights on her money whether earned or inherited. If she chooses, out of her free will, to contribute towards the family or help her husband, this is considered charity on her part. The husband, on the other hand, is obliged to provide for her and the family. Muslim women also maintain their maiden name after marriage, further stressing their independent personality.
Muslim women and men must observe modesty in their interactions and avoid any situation that will compromise their morals and mar their reputation. It is therefore forbidden for Muslim men and women who are not related to each other to be alone together.
Islam does not allow dating but makes provisions for intentions of marriage to socialize with the presence of a chaperon. “And say to the believing women that they should lower their gaze and guard their modesty. Tell the believing men to lower their gaze and keep themselves from immodest actions and that is pure for them” (K 24:31, 31:30)
Premarital and extramarital sexual relations are forbidden and are a grave sin, punishment for which are harsh but subject to conditions of proof that are almost impossible to satisfy. For example, for fornication and adultery there must be four reliable eyewitnesses who can testify that they witnessed the actual act of intercourse.
This is one condition that has never been satisfied in the history of Islamic civilization when Shariah is formally applied. The rare occasions when punishment for adultery and fornication have been carried out have been as result of confessions made at four to six different occasions by sane people.
Islam treats adultery as a crime and wants the punishment to serve as a deterrent. The punishment also applies equally to both men and women. When it comes to punitive measures of Shariah there is no discrimination in their application. Islam considers fornication and adultery as an act that destroys the very basis of family, which leads to quarrels and murders, ruins reputations and spreads numerous diseases physical and spiritual. “Do not come near adultery for it is a shameful deed and an evil, opening the road to other evils,” (K 17:32).
Muslim women are free to choose their partners and cannot be forced in to marriage against their will. “Do not prevent them from marrying their husbands when they agree between themselves in a lawful manner” (K 2:32). Shariah does not recognize marriage of a Muslim woman to a non-Muslim man and strictly forbids such a union unless the man freely converts to Islam. “And do not give your women in marriage to unbelievers until they believe: (K 2:221). The reasons for this are practical and wise. To expect a spouse who does not share one’s faith or way of life to abide by these values is a recipe for conflict.
Muslim women have similar access to divorce as men, and are free to remarry if divorced or widowed. As a mother, Islam puts women in a revered position. Prophet Mohammed stated that “Paradise lies at the feet of the mother.” When asked by his companions who they should serve to gain Allah’s pleasure the Prophet replied three times “your mother.”
Much is made of the way Muslim women dress that is seen by some as a symbol of oppression. I find this quite amusing since I did not adorn the ‘hijab’ till I came to Canada and had the opportunity to study Islam. By conforming to the Islamic dress code that requires the covering of the entire body in loose non-transparent clothing except the face and hands when in public. Muslim women make a statement that they are not sexual objects that can be exploited or accosted.
The whole idea of freedom is to have the right to make a choice, and by choosing Islam, I choose a certain ideology and way of life. By assuming that I do this under duress is condescending and presumptuous. It is essential that we acknowledge that there are Muslim women who do not wear the hijab. This in no way reflects on their sincerity of faith or religiosity, for only Allah knows what is in our hearts and Allah alone is the judge.
-Shahina Siddiqui is executive director, Islamic Social Services Association, United States and Canada (You go girl!)
Just an out there thought, right: why would so many “modern” women out there be converting to Islam now, if it brutalised and subjected us to men? Why would we ever get married or pray, hmmmm?- From a throughly modern women who also is Muslim
Akther, you have copied and pasted a whole lot of info here and around the site so my reply will be in the form of the following links: (Among many others…)
http://www.prophetofdoom.net/
http://www.thereligionofpeace.com/
http://www.islam-watch.org/
http://vikingdaughter.com/blog/
http://www.teawithterrorists.com/
They all speak for themselves.
So you are giving up and relying on these poor sad EX Muslims who are now Kafir [non believers]and did not even look at Christianity , and you are right those sorry sites do speak for themselves as being the most racist,liers,misquoters and disrespectful, and it is sad but then not surprising to see the likes of you with the holy ghost with you, and you use other to fire your shots, Shame on you!
LOL! Have you even visited any of the sites listed above? Let alone actually studied what they say?
It seems you have just dismissed them offhand because they don’t agree with your viewpoint or say what you want them to say. Are you afraid of the truth?
No my friend, SHAME ON YOU!
It looks like you who is not aware , yes i have visited these and i still do infact a few of them have blocked me ,because i was getting more attension than their filth ridden articles, as for as you are concerned , let us have debates and discussion on what you believe, because what i believe iknow it is my ticket to heaven, and as you are my brother/sister in humanaty my wish is that you may also join me there. i am willing to discuss on any of these subjects,[1] Bible as whole is not the word of God. [2]Was Christ cricified?. [3]Is jesus the son of God? [4] Mohammad the natural successor to Christ, or any other you want to suggest.
I’m curious, which sites have you banned? I’m in contact with some of them, so I’ll follow up on your claim? And which nickname of yours is banned so I can make sure I’m enquiring about the right person?
As to dicussing your 4 rediculous points, no thanks but again I suggest you visit the sites below, study their content. For your own good and the good of your soul. After all, if they contain filth and lies as you claim you can then discredit them to your hearts content.
http://www.prophetofdoom.net/
http://www.thereligionofpeace.com/
http://www.islam-watch.org/
http://vikingdaughter.com/blog/
http://www.teawithterrorists.com/
These sites did not block you “because I was getting more attension than their filth ridden articles…”
You were blocked because you are stubborn and dogmatic and won’t listen to reason and the truth is right in front of you to read (and crit if you find fault with) and you refuse to even consider it.
I’ve studied EVERY one of those sites, and have not found fault with the facts they state. You clearly follow the regular Muslim non-tolerance and hardline stance with respect to opposition i.e. if there is opposition just steamroll it and destroy it and deny it at all costs whether it’s true or not.
Perhaps you should go back to bombing and beheading us “infidel dogs” and blow yourself up so you can have your 72 virgins in paradise.
LOL, for a religion that is supposed to respect woman and is rather conservative in it’s sexual stance 72 virgins certainly sounds like a change in direction.
It is extremely sad that for some people of other religions to feel good about themselves they have to set up blogs discriminating against Islam. It seems that while we are observing the five pillars of Islam you are busy making up stories and plotting to ” bring us down”and that is how you make peace with yourselves. Everything that is taken out of context will seem incorrect but we, the believers have been warned about people like you, people who will make wrong right and who will cite references to something that they know nothing about. Islam does uphold woman and the people who do not like our ways are those stupid enough to think that being allowed to parade naked is liberation, then you can keep your liberation. Before you critisize learn about your topic thouroughly first, put things in context and just pray to God that you see the light in time. Our prayers as muslims do not only go out to our Muslim brothers and sister but for the ignorant people of this world like you.We and I personally refrain from crtisizing other religions especially Christianity as we believe in Jesus too and we are too sensible to be defaming a prophet of God.I pray that when Jesus returns you are of the people who recognise him, you see , we have sense, faith , love and respect for GOD and his revelations.
I’m curious how the truth can be considered “discriminating against Islam”?
Distortion of facts does not equal truth, neither does ignorance or unfounded arrogance.
And what facts have been distorted or are a lie?
Blumarine, when you take a part of the Quran or HAdith without understanding the true meaning and connotations and put up the parts of the Quraan that non muslim people will not understand or take the time to understand fully then that distorts the facts. When one does not understand something, we cannot judge. I am not equiped to quote verse for verse from Bible and Quraan and you will notice that even when Muslims do know the Bible and Quraan in and out , we do not take stabs at Christians and other religions, cos that is the way we have been thought-to be tolerant. Just like in every religion and race you get a few good and a few bad, we CAN NOT paint everyone with the same brush. We CAN NOT pass judgement on people and incidents that we know nothing of. Islam is a religion of universal brotherhood and I am sure even the strongest of christian, were they to convert to Islam, would be welcomed by Muslims with open arms, no grudges, no judgements. We propogate our religion and do not impose conversion to Islam for a plate of food or a parcel of groceries, we do what we can and if Allah guides those whom we have helped then that is just a bonus.We do not pass out booklets and pamphlets freely on the street or door to door as we are not selling our religion and our Quraan and Hadith is too important for us to put portions of it on paper for people who have no interest to throw it around. Our literature is freely available to those who want it and who will respect its contents. At the end of it all it boils down to RESPECT, for oneself for ones religion and for others.although religion needs to be accessable to all and at all times we live a diciplined life as Muslims, we read the Quraan with utmost respect and it is kept in a place of importance in our homes. If one has no reverence for their holy book how can we as mankind expect respect or consideration from them, I have seen Christians taking the bible into the toilet?! and keeping it anywhere even all the floor?! As I said previously although our religion DOES propogate peace and submission to the will of Allah not every “muslim” will follow the teachings of Islam as they need to be followed because we are human and we do err. We CANNOT misjudge a religion because of its followers also changing facts to suit their needs.
I watch the news and questions come easily:
Yeshua (Jesus Christ) is a Jew. Why does Amadinjab want to destroy every Jew? Muslims say they honour Jesus as a prophet but want to destroy His people. How do you explain this? Amadinjab has also said ….First destroy the Saturday people (Jews) and then the Sunday people (Christians). That is a lot of people he wants to wipe out. So much hatred and intolerance from one who purports to represent this “perfect” Sharia Law.
Why promise 70 virgins to young men for slaughtering innocent people? Are the virgins not part of the women you claim to respect? I see no respect.
Aqs… you say… “we do not take stabs at Christians and other religions, cos that is the way we have been thought-to be tolerant.”
Is beheading those who will not convert considered “tolerance”? I see zero tolerance with Islam. I see atrocious acts of violence with followers of Islam giving Allah glory for the acts committed. Over and over and over again. Suicide missions are well-documented now.
Aqs….you say….. “Islam is a religion of universal brotherhood and I am sure even the strongest of christian, were they to convert to Islam, would be welcomed by Muslims with open arms, no grudges, no judgements”……
Christian needs to be spelt with a capital.
You boast of nothing special. When Muslims convert to Christianity then they are murdered. So what does your statement prove? Nothing. If we accept your beliefs totally then you accept us …. but if we don’t or convert out of it…. we are murdered.
Jesus said: “You have heard the law that says, ‘Love your neighbor’ and hate your enemy. But I say, love your enemies! [Bless those who curse you. Do good to those who hate you.] Pray for those who persecute you! In that way, you will be acting as true children of your Father in heaven. For He gives His sunlight to both the evil and the good, and He sends rain on the just and the unjust alike. If you love only those who love you, what reward is there for that? Even corrupt tax collectors do that much. If you are kind only to your friends, how are you different from anyone else? Even pagans do that. But you are to be perfect, even as your Father in heaven is perfect. (Matthew 5)
You boast of loving those like you. What is that to boast about? Nothing. As Jesus said: Even the pagans do that.
Is persecuting Geert Wilders for speaking out against the cruelty and oppressive domination committed in the name of Islam called “tolerance”? I see no tolerance. He needs courage to speak out against so much hatred directed against him…. and I admire him for it. His movie Fitna was simply quotes from the Quran and then film clips of the horrors committed in obedience to the Quran. And he is hated for showing Islam for what it is…. a totalitarian political system seeking world domination by the medium of religious fanaticism. World domination is what Islam seeks and there is no love or tolerance in the agenda.
I have lived within a Muslim community. I was NOT treated with tolerance or respect as a woman. It was oppressive. Nothing you say makes any sense in the normal experience of people today. Too many people have been seriously traumatised by the actions of radical Musllims. And it is happening even now…… Muslims are fervently planning to destroy the lives of other people all in the name if Jihad…. while pretending to be good law-abiding citizens. To pretend and lie is acceptable to them.
That there are less radical Muslims is true….. but why don’t they speak out? …. because they are afraid of the extreme hatred. And if they stop being Muslim they will be murdered….even by their own family. Puppets without free-will…. terrorised into compliance.
Fear… and not love… rules Islam. No thank you…. not for me. I want to serve a Loving God Who will one day show the power of His Love for all mankind when He returns to deal with all this hatred.
Dutch bishop says Christians should call God ‘Allah’
Dutch Bishop: ‘Allah’ is a very beautiful word to use instead of the word ‘God’
A Roman Catholic Bishop in the Netherlands has proposed people of all faiths refer to God as Allah to foster understanding among religions.
Amsterdam, (CNA).- Bishop Martinus Muskens of Breda, Netherlands, suggested in an interview with Radio Netherlands that Christians should refer to God as Allah, which would promote better relations with Muslims.
The 71-year-old Bishop, Tiny Muskens, told Radio Netherlands that God did not mind what he was named and that in Indonesia, where he had spent eight years, priests used the word “Allah” while celebrating Mass.
Bishop Muskens
“Allah is a very beautiful word for God. Shouldn’t we all say that from now on we will name God Allah?”
The bishop, who had worked in Indonesia, noted that even Christians use the term Allah for God there. The Dutch should learn to get on spontaneously with different cultures, religions and behavior patterns:
“Someone like me has prayed to Allah yang maha kuasa (Almighty God) for eight years in Indonesia and other priests for 20 or 30 years. In the heart of the Eucharist, God is called Allah over there, so why can’t we start doing that together?” he was quoted as saying.
Some Dutch Muslims welcomed his comments as a valuable gesture of support coming just days after a far-right Dutch politician insulted the Holy Quran. Geert Wilders called for the Quran to be banned in the country.
Wilders, whose new party won nine seats out of the 150 in parliament in last November’s elections, is well known for his negative remarks on Islam.
Bishop Muskens admitted that he did not think his suggestion would be welcomed readily and that it would take about 100 years before Catholics would feel comfortable calling God “Allah”.
In an interview broadcast on Monday’s edition of current affairs show “Netwerk,” Muskens said he had worked in Indonesia where God is referred to as Allah in Christian services.
But a spokesman for one of the capital’s leading mosques said he was not happy with the statement.
“We didn’t ask for this, a spokesman for the Moroccan Mosque in Amsterdam told De Telegraaf. “Now it is as if we have a problem between Muslims and Christians.”
Gerrit de Fijter, chairman of the General Synod of the Dutch Protestant Church, also rejected Muskens’ suggestion. “I applaud every attempt to encourage dialogue with Muslims, but I doubt the sense of this maneuver,” De Fijter told De Telegraaf.
Neither De Fijter nor Muslim community leaders returned calls seeking comment Wednesday.
Speaking to a local television network Wednesday, Muskens said he was pleased his comments had sparked debate. “That they are interested in how to get along with God, that is a positive result,” he told Omroep Brabant.
Muskens is known for controversial statements. In 1996, he declared that it was acceptable for the hungry to steal bread. He also advocated condom use to prevent the spread of AIDS and urged the abolition of celibacy for priests.
In June, Muskens requested Pope Benedict XVI to grant him retirement from the bishopry. Muskens, aged 71, was appointed Bishop of Breda in November 1994.
+++++++++++
Allah
http://www.godallah .com/index. php
The word “Allah” is the perfect description of the “One God” of monotheism for Jews, Christians and Muslims!
Is “Allah” only for Islam and Muslims?
[No! It is for All Three Abrahamic Faiths.]
“Allah” is the same word used by Christian Arabs and Jewish Arabs in their Bible, centuries before Islam came.
On page one [1] of Genesis in the Old Testament, we find the word “Allah” seventeen [17] times.
Every hotel and motel has a Bible. Next time you see one look in the introduction, you will find samples of the different languages they have translated. For Arabic they have translated the verse in the New Testament in Arabic from the famous verse in the Gospel John 3:16 -
“For God so loved the world . . . ”
- and the word the translators used in Arabic for “God” is the very same word used by Muslims around the planet, “Allah.”
Where Does the word “Allah” Come From?
“Allah” comes from the Arabic word “elah”a god’ or something worshiped. – (Arabic) means ‘
This word (elah) can be made plural (gods), as in “aleha” and it can be male or female just as the word in English can be “goddess.”
“Allah” comes from “elaha” but it brings more clarification and understanding.
Allah= Has no gender (not male and not female) – “He” is used only out of respect and dignity – not for gender
Allah = Always singular – Never plural – “We” is used only as the “Royal WE” just as in English for royalty
Allah =Means “The Only One to be Worshipped”
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The word “Allah” in the Arabic Bible:
http://www.answerin g-christianity. com/allah5. htm
[Genesis 1:1 - Arabic Bible]
[John 3:16 - Arabic Bible]
[Luke 1:30 - Arabic Bible]
The word “Allah” exists in the Book of Genesis:
Akhter… you say….”The word “Allah” is the perfect description of the “One God” of monotheism for Jews, Christians and Muslims!
Is “Allah” only for Islam and Muslims?
[No! It is for All Three Abrahamic Faiths.]”
You can play with semantics about names but we are not talking about the same God at all….. the nature and teaching are opposite.
The teachings of Allah are not the teachings of the God of the Bible. YHVH and Allah are not the same God. I am talking about a nature of love as Jesus Christ has described and the nature of hate that the Quran describes. Jesus Christ teaches to love your enemies… the Quran teaches to hate and destroy your enemies… and even to destroy those who don’t think of themselves as your enemies… but whom the Quran calls your enemies simply because they believe differently to the Quran. No freedom of choice… just robots ruled by fear. Love only has meaning when the choice is given to love or not to love…. like YHVH in the Bible gives the choice to do. He will not lop off my head if I do not follow Him. I am given time to learn of Him and His ways and then it is easy to choose to love Him…. because He loves me so much. And you. He sent His Son to die for your sins so that you could live with Him – surrounded by His love – forever.
Jesus Christ says: Satan came to kill, steal and destroy. That is his mission. I see that being done in the name of Allah all the time.
Abraham was not Muslim. He fathered Isaac and Ishmael. Issac was the chosen son by YHVH through whom His Messiah Jesus Christ would come.
Abraham was the Father of Israel through Issac … the Israel that we see today was founded through Israel [Jacob... renamed Israel by YHVH when he wrestled with Him] … the very nation of Israel that the Muslims have sworn to destroy. Watch Aminajab voice his total intolerance for Jewish existence. He would make the holocaust look like child’s play. He does not want even one Jew to live. Not even one innocent child. All must be wiped out to satisfy his hatred. He proclaims to follow the Quran closely…. hoping to bring in the Mahdi. He wants to destroy YHVH’s chosen people. He is not from YHVH.
Jesus Christ is a Jew. He brought the Gentiles into Salvation too…. grafted into the vine… and with great gratitude received by millions. As have many thousands of Arabs who have also accepted Jesus Christ as the true Messiah. And Jews too.
In history the Jew is the chosen race. No other. Except we become chosen through Jesus Christ and grafted into the vine…. we then become chosen too…. adopted.
I have learned by watching the political landscape that Allah is pleased when people are murdered. These betrayals and murders are proudly done in the name of Allah. Suicide bombings that kill hundreds and thousands because they live in a society that does not follow Allah…. Over and over again these are planned by radical Muslims.
This is opposite to the message of Jesus Christ….
Jesus Christ came to reveal the nature of His Father in Heaven…. a nature of love not hate…. love is definitely not the nature of Allah. Allah hates me because I am not Muslim and never will be. The followers of Allah would rejoice at me being murdered because I reject Allah as the one true God. YHVH is my God…..He is the One True God….. The God of the Jews. There is no other. He is Life and Light and Love. Allah brings death, and darkness and hatred.
Abrahamic Faith consists of Judaism, Christianity and Islam. These religions have something in common such as the belief of Adam is the first man created and the
ancestor of all human beings, Abraham as a prophet, and the Torat as a revelation of God. Nevertheless there are also some significance differences among them.
Judaism is a tribal religion that can only confessed by a Jew tribe. This religion could not be spread to Non Jew. That is why the number of its follower is only a few. Around 14 million people in the world. Meanwhile the Christianity and Islam are spreading to
all people in the world and confessed by billions of people.
About God
Judaism and Islam regard there is only one God. The Jews call the God as Yahweh which is third singular person means “He who is.” Muslims call God as Allah
which is singular form and genderless from ilah (God). In the Quran, chapter Al Ikhlas stated the unity of God:
Say: He is Allah, the One!
Allah, the eternally Besought of all!
He begetteth not nor was begotten.
And there is none comparable unto Him.
Actually in the Bible the Unity of God also stated in the Ten Commandments of God in Exodus 20:20:1 And God spake all these words, saying, 2 I am the
LORD thy God, which have brought thee out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of bondage.3 Thou shalt have no other gods before me. [Exodus 20:1-3]
Though in Judaism and Islam the Monotheism of God is absolute including of God’s essence, in Christianity there is a doctrine named Trinity that says God exists
as 3 persons: Father, Son, and Holy Spirit who are united in one substance or being. The trinity consists of 2 words: Three and Unity. Three is One and One is
three.
This concept is contradicted to Al Quran in Chapter Al Ikhlas that says God has no Father or Son. The Bible says:
“The God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, which is blessed for evermore, knoweth that I lie not.”[2 Corinthian 11:31]
“Blessed be God, even the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies, and the God of all comfort” [2 Corinthian 1:3]
The Bible verses above clearly said that God is the Father of Lord Jesus Christ. On the other hand, in Islam strictly stated the Oneness of God, that God is one, God has no Father or Son as follows:
“And say: Praise be to Allah, Who hath not taken unto Himself a son, and Who hath no partner in the Sovereignty,nor hath He any protecting friend through
dependence. And magnify Him with all magnificence.” [Al Israa’:111]
Allah has no Son or Partner:
“Allah hath not chosen any son, nor is there any God along with Him; else would each God have assuredly championed that which he created, and some of them
would assuredly have overcome others. Glorified be Allah above all that they allege.” [Al Mu’minuun:91]
About Jesus
The Jews not only deny Jesus as a God or a prophet, but they also tried to kill Jesus as a pervert.
On the contrary, the Christians regard Jesus as a God:
“The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, and the love of God, and the communion of the Holy Ghost, be with you all. Amen.” [2 Corinthian 13:14]
Islam regards Jesus not as a God, but only a human being that became a messenger of God:
“And when Allah saith: O Jesus, son of Mary! Didst thou say my mother for two gods beside Allah? He saith: Be glorified to which I had no right. If I used
to say it, then Thou my mind, and I know not what is in Thy mind. Lo! Thou, only Things Hidden.” [Al Maa’idah:116]
According to Islam, Jesus only a prophet to call people to worship only one God as God order in the Ten Commandments:
“I spake unto them only that which Thou commandedst me, and your Lord. I was a witness of them while I dwelt tookest me Thou wast the Watcher over them. Thou
art” [Al Maa’idah:117]
About Jesus Parent
As the Bible verses above, the Christianity regards Jesus as the Son of God:
“The beginning of the gospel of Jesus Christ, the Son of God” [Mark 1:1]
“He shall be great, and shall be called the Son of the Highest: and the Lord God shall give unto him the throne of his father David” [Luke 1:32]
Nonetheless, on Matthew 1:16-18 said that Jesus’ father is Joseph though Jesus was born from virgin Mary before Mary married to Joseph or having sex with him:
“1:16 And Jacob begat Joseph the husband of Mary, of whom was born Jesus, who is called Christ. 17 So all the generations from Abraham to David are fourteen
generations; and from David until the carrying away into Babylon are fourteen generations; and from the carrying away into Babylon unto Christ are fourteen
generations. 18 Now the birth of Jesus Christ was on this wise: When as his mother Mary was espoused to Joseph, before they came together, she was found with
child of the Holy Ghost.” [Matthew 1:16-18]
Jesus’ family tree at last follows Joseph’s instead of Mary’s.
On another verse described Jesus as the son of David, the son of Abraham.
The book of the generation of Jesus Christ, the son of
David, the son of Abraham.” [Matthew 1:1]
Jesus the Son of Man:
“For the Son of man is Lord even of the sabbath day.” [Matthew 12:8]
According to Islam Jesus is the Son of Mary. Not the Son of God or Joseph:
“The Messiah, son of Mary, was no other than a messenger, whom had passed away before him. And his mother was a used to eat (earthly) food. See how we
make the revelations they are turned away!” [Al Maa’idah:75]
The Power of God
In the Bible, Genesis 32:25-28 said that Jacob fought with God from night until dawn. When God could not defeated Jacob, God touch the hollow of Jacob’s thigh.
God named Jacob as Israel because Jacob has fought God and men and Jacob prevailed:
“32:24 And Jacob was left alone; and there wrestled a man with him until the breaking of the day. 25 And when he saw that he prevailed not against him, he touched the hollow of his thigh; and the hollow of Jacob’s thigh was out of joint, as he wrestled with him.26 And he said, Let me go, for the day breaketh. And he said,
I will not let thee go, except thou bless me.
27 And he said unto him, What is thy name? And he said, Jacob.28 And he said, Thy name shall be called no more Jacob, but Israel: for as a prince hast thou
power with God and with men, and hast prevailed.” [Genesis 32:24-28]
In the Gospel Matthew told how Jesus the God caught, spit, and beaten by men:
“27:27 Then the soldiers of the governor took Jesus
into the common hall, and gathered unto him the whole
band of soldiers.28 And they stripped him, and put on
him a scarlet robe.29 And when they had platted a
crown of thorns, they put it upon his head, and a reed
in his right hand: and they bowed the knee before him,
and mocked him, saying, Hail, King of the Jews!
30 And they spit upon him, and took the reed, and
smote him on the head.
31 And after that they had mocked him, they took the
robe off from him, and put his own raiment on him, and
led him away to crucify him.” [Matthew 27:27-31]
In Islam God is the Most Powerful. He cannot be beaten by any man even if they are all join together against Him:
“If He will, He can be rid of you and bring (instead of you). That is not a hard thing for Allah.” [Al Faathir: 16-17]
“Thy Lord is the Absolute, the Lord of Mercy. If He will, He can remove you and can cause what He will to follow after you, even as He raised you from the seed
of other folk.” [Al An’aam:133]
From the verses of Holy Book above, can you tell us which the Most Powerful God is?
The Independence of God
In Gospel Matthew said how Jesus complain and cry: “My
God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me?”
And about the ninth hour Jesus cried with a loud voice, saying, Eli, Eli, lama sabachthani? that is to say, My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me?”
[Matthew 27:46]
Do you think such statement will come out from the Most Powerful God?
In the Al Quran said that God is not a weak man that needs help:
“And say: Praise be to Allah, Who hath not taken unto Himself a son, and Who hath no partner in the Sovereignty, nor hath He any protecting friend through
dependence. And magnify Him with all magnificence.” [Al Israa’:111]
Whom should we worship for? The weak and need help God or the Most Powerful God?
The Knowledge of God
In Gospel Mark 11:12-13 said that Jesus felt hungry and did not know if the Fig tree is fruitless because it is not its season.
11:12 And on the morrow, when they were come from Bethany, he was hungry:
13 And seeing a fig tree afar off having leaves, he came, if haply he might find any thing thereon: and when he came to it, he found nothing but leaves; for
the time of figs was not yet.” [Mark 11:12-13]
In Islam God is All Knowing:
“And with Him are the keys of the invisible. None but He knoweth them. And He knoweth what is in the land and the sea. Not a leaf falleth but He knoweth it. Not
a grain amid the darkness of the earth, naught of wet or dry but it is noted in a clear record“ [Al An’aam:59]
Is God Sleep?
In Matthew 8:24 said that Jesus was a sleep:
“And, behold, there arose a great tempest in the sea, insomuch that the ship was covered with the waves: but he was asleep.” [Matthew 8:24]
According to Islam, God never feel weak such as sleepy or sleep:
Allah! There is no God save Him, the Alive, the
Eternal. Neither slumber nor sleep overtaketh Him.
Unto Him belongeth whatsoever is in the heavens and whatsoever is in the earth. Who is he that intercedeth with Him save by His leave? He knoweth that which is
in front of them and that which is behind them, while they encompass nothing of His knowledge save what He will. His throne includeth the heavens and the earth,
and He is never weary of preserving them. He is the Sublime, the Tremendous.” [Al Baqarah:255]
Prohibition of Statue
In the Ten Commandments stated in Exodus 20:4-5 God forbid man to make any statue:
20:4 Thou shalt not make unto thee any graven image, or any likeness of any thing that is in heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth.
20:5 Thou shalt not bow down thyself to them, nor serve them: for I the LORD thy God am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children
unto the third and fourth generation of them that hate me” [Exodus 20:4-5]
However the Christians now make many statues of Jesus
and Mary and put them on the churches.
In Islam making statues is forbidden. In Hadeeth
Bukharee, Ummu Salamah and Ummu Habibah said there is a beautiful church in Habsyi (Mary Church) with some beautiful statues. Muhammad said “When their saint died, the Christians will build church on the grave. Then they make many statues in the church. They are the worst creatures before God in the day of
judgement”
The Holy Book
Though the Jews Holy Book is quoted in Bible as the Old Testament, yet there are some significant differences between them. The Jews Holy Book mostly
written in Hebrew and a few in Aramaic. On the other the Old Testament in Christianity the oldest one written in Greek with 7 additional books.
The New Testament consists of 27 books (including 4 gospels) and originally written in Greek between 50-150 AD (Jesus died arount 29 AD).
The gospel consists of 4 different versions originally written in Greek namely: Mark, Matthew, Luke, and John. The Gospels written around 70-100 AD about 40
years after the death of Jesus.
For example, Luke wrote Gospel for a man called Theophilus
1:1 For as much as many have taken in hand to set
forth in order a declaration of those things which are
most surely believed among us,
2 Even as they delivered them unto us, which from the beginning were
eyewitnesses, and ministers of the word;
3 It seemed good to me also, having had perfect understanding of
all things from the very first, to write unto thee in order, most excellent Theophilus, 4 That thou mightestknow the certainty of those things, wherein thou hast
been instructed.” [Luke 1:1-4]
Luke sometime only guesses such as Jesus about thirty years of age and use the word “As was supposed”.
“And Jesus himself began to be about thirty years of age, being (as was supposed) the son of Joseph, which was the son of Heli” [Luke 3:23]
Though Jesus language is Aramaic, but the New Testament original language at least the oldest version is all in Greek.
If in Luke 3:23 Jesus’ grand father’s name is Heli,
In Matthew 1:16 Jesus’ grand father is Jacob:
“And Jacob begat Joseph the husband of Mary, of whom
was born Jesus, who is called Christ” [Matthew 1:16]
On the other hand, there is only one version of the Al Quran which is memorized by millions of Muslims and still in its original language: Arab, the language of
Muhammad.
“Lo! We revealed it (Al Quran) on the Night of Power” [Al Qadr:1]
Al Quran revealed by Allah to Muhammad. And Muhammad passed it on his followers. Some of the followers memorized Al Quran, some wrote it down on several media (leaves, bones, leather, etc). Abu Bakar, Muhammad’s friend, gather the Al Quran to be one. And Usman, another Muhammad’s friend, then compiled the Quran into one book called Mushaf Usmani with punctuation mark so the spelling complies with the Arabic language standard.
The Circumcision Obligation for Men
In Judaism and Islam, Circumcision is an obligation for men. It is complied with Bible:
17:10 This is my covenant, which ye shall keep, between me and you and thy seed after thee; Every man child among you shall be circumcised. 11 And ye shall
circumcise the flesh of your foreskin; and it shall be a token of the covenant betwixt me and you. 12 And he that is eight days old shall be circumcised among you,
every man child in your generations, he that is born in the house, or bought with money of any stranger, which is not of thy seed.
13 He that is born in thy house, and he that is bought with thy money, must needs be circumcised: and my covenant shall be in your flesh for an everlasting
covenant.
14 And the uncircumcised man child whose flesh of his foreskin is not circumcised, that soul shall be cutoff from his people; he hath broken my covenant”
[Genesis 17:10-14]
The uncircumcised man is regarded as unclean in Isaiah 52:1:
“Awake, awake; put on thy strength, O Zion; put on thy beautiful garments, O Jerusalem, the holy city: for henceforth there shall no more come into thee the
uncircumcised and the unclean” [Isaiah 52:1]
However though God said in Genesis 17:13 that circumcision is an everlasting covenant, the Christians no longer doing the obligation because Paul who claimed become apostle after Jesus died (when Jesus alive Paul is Jesus enemy) said that
circumcision is no longer an obligation:
2:25 For circumcision verily profiteth, if thou keep the law: but if thou be a breaker of the law, thy circumcision is made uncircumcision. 26 Therefore if the uncircumcision keep the righteousness of the law, shall not his uncircumcision be counted for circumcision? 27 And shall not uncircumcision which is by nature, if it fulfil the law, judge thee, who by the letter and circumcision dost transgress the law?
2:28 For he is not a Jew, which is one outwardly; neither is that circumcision, which is outward in the flesh: 29 But he is a Jew, which is one inwardly; and
circumcision is that of the heart, in the spirit, and not in the letter; whose praise is not of men, but of God.
3:1 What advantage then hath the Jew? or what profit is there of circumcision?” [Romans 2:25-29 – 3:1]
The Prohibition of Eating Swine
In Judaism and Islam, eating swine is strictly forbidden. It is complied with Leviticus 11:7-8 and Deuteronomy 14:8:
11:7 And the swine, though he divide the hoof, and be cloven-footed, yet he cheweth not the cud; he is unclean to you. 8 Of their flesh shall ye not eat, and
their carcass shall ye not touch; they are unclean to you.” [Leviticus 11:7-8]
In the Al Quran the prohibition stated:
“He hath forbidden you only carrion, and blood, and swine flesh, and that which hath been immolated to (the name of) any other than Allah. But he who is
driven by necessity, neither craving nor transgressing, it is no sin for him. Lo! Allah is Forgiving, Merciful.” [Al Baqarah:173]
Nevertheless Swine Flesh is a common food among the Christians now.
Original Sin
In the Christianity known the Original Sin Doctrine. All human race are sinners because of Adam committed sin by eating forbidden fruit. That is why Jesus sent
down as the Saviour to redeem the original sin. In Exodus 20:5 God said that He will punish the children, the third and fourth generation for the
iniquity of their fathers:
“Thou shalt not bow down thyself to them, nor serve them: for I the LORD thy God am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children
unto the third and fourth generation of them that hate me;” [Exodus 20:5]
In Islam every one will only responsible for their own
sin. No one can be punished because of other people sin:
“Say: Shall I seek another than Allah for Lord, when
He is Lord of all things? Each soul earneth only on
its own account, nor doth any laden bear another’s
load. Then unto your Lord is your return and He will
tell you that wherein ye differed.” [Al An’aam:164]
Slander on Lot
In the Bible, Genesis 19:30-38 said that Lot had drink wine and committed sexual intercourse with his own daughters (incest) and had children (or
grandchildren?) from them:
19:30 And Lot went up out of Zoar, and dwelt in the mountain, and his two daughters with him; for he feared to dwell in Zoar: and he dwelt in a cave, he
and his two daughters.
31 And the firstborn said unto the younger, Our father is old, and there is not a man in the earth to come in unto us after the manner of all the earth:32 Come, let
us make our father drink wine, and we will lie with him, that we may preserve seed of our father.
33 And they made their father drink wine that night: and the firstborn went in, and lay with her father; and he perceived not when she lay down, nor when she
arose.
34 And it came to pass on the morrow, that the firstborn said unto the younger, Behold, I lay yester night with my father: let us make him drink wine this night also; and go thou in, and lie with him, that we may preserve seed of our father.
35 And they made their father drink wine that night also: and the younger arose, and lay with him; and he perceived not when she lay down, nor when she arose.
36 Thus were both the daughters of Lot with child by their father.
37 And the first born bare a son, and called his name Moab: the same is the father of the Moabites unto this day.
38 And the younger, she also bare a son, and called his name Benammi: the same is the father of the children of Ammon unto this day.” [Genesis 19:30-38]
In Islam stated that Lot is really a prophet and cleanfrom such a sin such as drinking liquor or doing incest:
“And lo! Lot verily was of those sent (to warn)” [Ash Shaafaat:133]
In the Quran stated that God has raised Lot’s degree
over people. If common people will not commit adultery
with their own daughter, then a prophet such as Lot
will not such a thing:
“And Ishmael and Elisha and Jonah and Lot. Each one of them did We prefer above (Our) creatures” [Al An’aam:86]
Slander on David
In Bible, 2 Samuel 11:2-17 said that David (who in Matthew 1:1 described as Jesus’ father) committed adultery with Uriah’s wife, Bathsheba. After that,David ordered Joab to send Uriah to the front line of a battle and then deserted him so Uriah get killed by the enemy:
11:2 And it came to pass in an eveningtide, that David arose from off his bed, and walked upon the roof of the king’s house: and from the roof he saw a woman
washing herself; and the woman was very beautiful to look upon.
3 And David sent and inquired after the woman. And one said, Is not this Bathsheba, the daughter of Eliam, the wife of Uriah the Hittite?
4 And David sent messengers, and took her; and she came in unto him, and he lay with her; for she was purified from her uncleanness: and she returned unto
her house.” [2 Samuel 11:2-4]
In 2 Samuel 13:11-14 also stated that the son of David, Amnon raped his own sister, Tamar:
13:11 And when she had brought them unto him to eat, he took hold of her, and said unto her, Come lie with me, my sister.
12 And she answered him, Nay, my brother, do not force me; for no such thing ought to be done in Israel: do not thou this folly.
13 And I, whither shall I cause my shame to go? and as for thee, thou shalt be as one of the fools in Israel. Now therefore, I pray thee, speak unto the king; for
he will not withhold me from thee.
14 Howbeit he would not hearken unto her voice: but, being stronger than she, forced her, and lay with her.” [2 Samuel 13:11-14]
In the Al Quran, the Slander over David is denied:
“Those of the children of Israel who went astray were cursed by the tongue of David, and of Jesus, son of Mary. That was because they rebelled and used to
transgress.” [Al Maa-idah:78]
Prohibition of Adultery / Sex Story
In the story of Adultery or prohibition of Adultery, the Bible described it very detailed:
23:1 The word of the LORD came again unto me, saying, 2 Son of man, there were two women, the daughters of one mother:3 And they committed whoredoms in Egypt; they committed whoredoms in their youth: there were their breasts pressed, and there they bruised the teats of their virginity.
4 And the names of them were Aholah the elder, and Aholibah her sister: and they were mine, and they bare sons and daughters. Thus were their names; Samaria is
Aholah, and Jerusalem Aholibah.
5 And Aholah played the harlot when she was mine; and she doted on her lovers, on the Assyrians her neighbours, 6 Which were clothed with blue, captains and rulers, all of them desirable young men, horsemen riding upon horses.
7 Thus she committed her whoredoms with them, with all of them that were the chosen men of Assyria, and with all on whom she doted: with all their idols she defiled herself.
8 Neither left she her whoredoms brought from Egypt:for in her youth they lay with her, and they bruised the breasts of her virginity, and poured their whoredom upon her. 9 Wherefore I have delivered her into the hand of her lovers, into the hand of the Assyrians, upon whom she doted.
0 These discovered her nakedness: they took her sons and her daughters, and slew her with the sword: and she became famous among women; for they had executed
judgment upon her.
11 And when her sister Aholibah saw this, she was more corrupt in her inordinate love than she, and in her whoredoms more than her sister in her whoredoms.
12 She doted upon the Assyrians her neighbours, captains and rulers clothed most gorgeously, horsemen riding upon horses, all of them desirable young men.
13 Then I saw that she was defiled, that they took both one way,
14 And that she increased her whoredoms: for when she saw men portrayed upon the wall, the images of the Chaldeans pourtrayed with vermilion,15 Girded with
girdles upon their loins, exceeding in dyed attire upon their heads, all of them princes to look to, after the manner of the Babylonians of Chaldea, the
land of their nativity:16 And as soon as she saw them with her eyes, she doted upon them, and sent messengers unto them into Chaldea.
17 And the Babylonians came to her into the bed of love, and they defiled her with their whoredom, and she was polluted with them, and her mind was alienated
from them.
18 So she discovered her whoredoms, and discovered her nakedness: then my mind was alienated from her, like as my mind was alienated from her sister.
19 Yet she multiplied her whoredoms, in calling to remembrance the days of her youth, wherein she had played the harlot in the land of Egypt. 20 For she doted upon their paramours, whose flesh is as the flesh of asses, and whose issue is like the issue of horses.
21 Thus thou calledst to remembrance the lewdness of thy youth, in bruising thy teats by the Egyptians for the paps of thy youth.” [Ezekiel 23:1-21]
In Song of Solomon 7:1-8 the sexual desire described like this:
7:1 How beautiful are thy feet with shoes, O prince’s daughter! the joints of thy thighs are like jewels, the work of the hands of a cunning workman.
2 Thy navel is like a round goblet, which wanteth not liquor: thy belly is like an heap of wheat set about with lilies.
3 Thy two breasts are like two young roes that are twins.
4 Thy neck is as a tower of ivory; thine eyes like the fishpools in Heshbon, by the gate of Bathrabbim: thy nose is as the tower of Lebanon which looketh toward
Damascus.
5 Thine head upon thee is like Carmel, and the hair of thine head like purple; the king is held in the galleries.
6 How fair and how pleasant art thou, O love, for delights!
7 This thy stature is like to a palm tree, and thy breasts to clusters of grapes.
8 I said, I will go up to the palm tree, I will take hold of the boughs thereof: now also thy breasts shall be as clusters of the vine, and the smell of thy nose
like apples” [Song of Solomon 7:1-8]
In the Al Quran the prohibition of Adultery described in a gentle way so it do not arouse sexual desire of its readers. The readers will not have desire to have
sex with his wife or close friend or masturbate after reading the holy book:
“And come not near unto adultery. Lo! it is an abomination and an evil way. “ [Al Israa’:32]
Even the permission of having sex in the month of fasting described in a very decent way:
“It is made lawful for you to go unto your wives on the night of the fast. They are raiment for you and ye are raiment for them.” [Al Baqarah:187]
That is the Holy Book of Al Quran!
Retaliation Law
In the Old Testament, Exodus 21:11-22:19 stated the Retaliation Law, namely death sentence for killer, an eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth:
“He that smiteth a man, so that he die, shall be surely put to death.” [Exodus 21:12]
“21:24 Eye for eye, tooth for tooth, hand for hand, foot for foot,25 Burning for burning, wound for wound, stripe for stripe.” [Exodus 21:24-25]
But on the New Testament the Retaliation Law is eliminated and the Christians no longer follow the rule.
In the Al Quran the Retaliation Law restored:
“O ye who believe! Retaliation is prescribed for you in the matter of the murdered; the freeman for the freeman, and the slave for the slave, and the female
for the female…” [Al Baqarah:178]
The Retaliation Law applied so people will think twice before they kill others. If they kill other people then they will be sentenced to death so they could no
longer kill innocent people again in the future By this way the world will be safer for innocent people (but not for the killers):
“And there is life for you in retaliation, O men of understanding, that ye may ward off (evil).” [Al Baqarah:179]
Evil or Serpent who Cheated Adam and Eve?
In Genesis 3:1-19 said that Serpent is the most clever among animals and could talk so it could cheat human: Adam and Eve:
3:1 Now the serpent was more subtle than any beast of the field which the LORD God had made. And he said unto the woman, Yea, hath God said, Ye shall not eat
of every tree of the garden?
2 And the woman said unto the serpent, We may eat of the fruit of the trees of the garden:3 But of the fruit of the tree which is in the midst of the garden, God hath said, Ye shall not eat of it, neither shall ye touch it, lest ye die.
4 And the serpent said unto the woman, Ye shall not surely die:5 For God doth know that in the day ye eat thereof, then your eyes shall be opened, and ye shall
be as gods, knowing good and evil.
6 And when the woman saw that the tree was good for food, and that it was pleasant to the eyes, and a tree to be desired to make one wise, she took of the fruit
thereof, and did eat, and gave also unto her husband with her; and he did eat.” [Genesis 3:1-6]
3:13 And the LORD God said unto the woman, What isthis that thou hast done? And the woman said, The serpent beguiled me, and I did eat.
14 And the LORD God said unto the serpent, Because thou hast done this, thou art cursed above all cattle, and above every beast of the field; upon thy belly
shalt thou go, and dust shalt thou eat all the days of thy life” [Genesis 3:13-14]
In the Quran said that the cheater of Adam and Eve is Satan. Not animal like serpent:
“But Satan caused them to deflect there from and expelled them from the (happy) state in which they were; and We said: Fall down, one of you a foe untothe other! There shall be for you on earth ahabitation and provision for a tune.” [Al Baqarah:36]
If in the Christianity Adam and Eve remain as sinners and passed their sin to their descendants as original sin, in Islam after they regretted and asked God’s
forgiveness, God forgive them. There is no original sin to pass to their descendants.
“Then Adam received from his Lord words (of revelation), and He relented toward him. Lo! He is the Relenting the Merciful.” [Al Baqarah:37]
The Jews regard themselves as the Chosen People while the Christians believe there is no salvation for those who don’t believe Jesus as a God so they send many
evangelists/missionaries all over the world to make people become Christians. Islam said only Islam the religion that God loves:
“Lo! religion with Allah is The Surrender to His will and guidance (Islam). Those who (formerly) received the Scripture differed only after knowledge came unto
them, through transgression among themselves. Whoso disbelieves the revelations of Allah (will find that) Lo! Allah is swift at reckoning.” [Ali ‘Imran:19]
“And whoso seeketh as religion other than the Surrender to Allah (Islam) it will not be accepted from him, and he will be a loser in the Hereafter.” [Ali ‘Imran:85]
Those are some differences in Judaism, Christianity,
and Islam. Though there are many more differences, yet
Muslims are recommended to have a good social
relationship with them as long they are not hostile or
insulting Muslims or Islam.
Though there is no compulsion in religion, yet Islam
forbids Muslims to mix their religions with others.
Your religion is for you and our religion is for us.
That is the Islamic teaching.
Akhter…. I quote… “Judaism and Islam regard there is only one God. The Jews call the God as Yahweh which is third singular person means “He who is.”
Incorrect. Elohim in Genesis 1 means “Gods” Elohim is used before mankind was created. YHVH is used after man was created…. it is a name that denotes a closer relationship with mankind and is just a different name for the same Tri-une God…. three in Person but absolutely One in unity and harmony of thought and action. Both the Jewish God and the Christian God …. the same God….. are very different to Allah in this …. and in thought and action.
Akhter…. I quote… “Judaism is a tribal religion that can only confessed by a Jew tribe. This religion could not be spread to Non Jew.”
Incorrect. Proselytes were won to Judaism through the ages. They were supposed to do that. The Law was laid down by Moses and given to the Jews. Before the Law there was no awareness of YHVH’s righteous holiness and His perfect standards. The Law taught man that he was a sinner. It also taught him that he was not able to live the perfect life no matter how hard he tried. Jesus Christ came as the fulfillment of the Law. In all things He fulfilled the Law without sin and bought redemption for fallen man…. then given as a gift to those who believe. Trying to make it to heaven by our own good works is a waste of time… our good works are as filthy rags before YHVH…. they will never be good enough. Sin carries the penalty of death. Jesus died that death in our place… for all mankind who receive His gift of eternal life. (The Lamb of God Who takes away the sin of the world). It is as though as Judge He looked down on us and declared our sentence of death for our sin as we stood in the court-room dock…. and then He came down and took us from the dock and set us free and stood in the dock Himself to take the sentence of death upon Himself ….. because He paid the penalty for our sin by dying instead of us. You cannot work your way to heaven. It is a free gift of God to those who believe. I have never met a Muslim who is confident he is going to heaven.
Also…. the blessing of Abraham…. down to Isaac… and Jacob..(who was renamed Israel by YHVH)… was that through them all the nations would be blessed. This was speaking of the Messiah (Jesus Christ) who has brought salvation to all the world… if we believe that God raised Him (Jesus Christ) from the dead and will call Him Lord. Jesus Christ is King of kings and Lord of lords.
Salvation has come to the world through the Jews. This is not tribal…. it is global. It started as a seed… and grew in progressive revelation as the nature and intentions of YHVH were understood more and more over the ages…. until the culmination of His plan in bringing Messiah to the earth through the Jews.
The rest of the post is too long to comment on here. It is best to make a few points at a time. Good online ettiquette. Forgive me for pointing this out but you may think I have just ignored all you have written otherwise. But I do thank you for the discussion. It has been interesting to see what you have been taught about Judaism and Christianity. Islam is indeed very different. I wonder how you can say there is not original sin. Look around at the world today.
Why there is no such thing like the original sin in Islam.
Adam: The original Sin
One of the 3 fundamental issues that Islam and Christianity disagree about is the original sin of Adam. The Quran describes the event of the creation of Adam, his sin and its outcome in various places in the Quran.
Adam Sins.
Adam’s sin, and its outcome is depicted in the following verse of the Quran:
“O Adam dwell with your wife in the Garden and enjoy as you wish but approach not this tree or you run into harm and transgression. Then Satan whispered to them in order to reveal to them their shame that was hidden from them and he said:
‘Your Lord only forbade you this tree lest you become angels or such beings as live forever.’
And he swore to them both that he was their sincere adviser. So by deceit he brought them to their fall: when they tasted the tree their shame became manifest to them and they began to sew together the leaves of the Garden over their bodies. And their Lord called unto them:
‘Did I not forbid you that tree and tell you that Satan was your avowed enemy?’ ” (Quran 7:19-22).
Adam and Eve Repent and God Accepts.
When Adam and Eve realized that they have disobeyed God by eating the fruit they called:
“They said:
‘Our Lord we have wronged ourselves souls. If You forgive us not and bestow not upon us Your Mercy, we shall certainly be of the losers’ ” (Quran 7:23)
And God accepts their plea:
“.. Thus did Adam disobey his Lord, so he went Astray. Then his Lord chose him, and turned to him with forgiveness, and gave him guidance.” (Quran 20:121-122)
The Outcome.
Adam and Eve were instructed not to eat from a certain tree. Satan deceitfully tricked them into disobeying their Lord and as a result:
“(God) said:
‘Get down (from the Garden), one of you an enemy to the other [i.e. Adam, Eve, and Satan]. On earth will be a dwelling-place for you and an enjoyment — for a short time’. He (God) said:
‘Therein you shall live, and therein you shall die, and from it you shall be brought out [i.e. resurrected].’ ”
(Quran 7:24-25).
Adam and Eve were ordered to leave the Garden which they where in and descend to earth where they and their children will live and die, and where Satan will also be.
The Sin in the Bible.
The Judeo-Christian conception of the creation of Adam and Eve is narrated in detail in Genesis 2:4-3:24. God prohibited both of them from eating the fruits of the forbidden tree. The serpent seduced Eve to eat from it and Eve, in turn, seduced Adam to eat with her. When God rebuked Adam for what he did, he put all the blame on Eve:
“The woman you put here with me she gave me some fruit from the tree and I ate it.” Consequently, God said to Eve:
” I will greatly increase your pains in childbearing; with pain you will give birth to children. Your desire will be for your husband and he will rule over you.”
To Adam He said:
“Because you listened to your wife and ate from the tree …. Cursed is the ground because of you; through painful toil you will eat of it all the days of your life…”
In Islam (as depicted by the Quranic verses above) Adam doesn’t blame Eve for their fault. Both share the responsibility and both receive blame, equally. Furthermore, God doesn’t curse Eve for her mistake by “increasing her pains in childbearing”. This concept was a contributing factor for the unequal treatment of women in early Christianity (for more info follow this link ). Most importantly, God does not curse Adam for committing a sin and that sin in not inherited by the whole world.
Every Person is Responsible for Their Action.
This is what Islam preaches. This is what people throughout the world preach. We consider fair that no person be held accountable or responsible for someone else’s mistake. That if blame is due, then it is due on who deserves it. That if punishment is to be made, it ought to be on the one who wronged. We consider that to be fair.
The Quran states:
“That no burdened person (with sins) shall bear the burden (sins) of another. And that man can have nothing but what he does (of good and bad). And that his deeds will be seen, Then he will be recompensed with a full and the best recompense [fair] ” (Quran 53:38-41)
The Quranic message is: whatever it is that you do, you are alone will be held responsible for, not your brother, not your father, not your children. This is only fair, and God is Fair. Adam sinned, we agree. But why do his children have to bear something they took no part in? Why is a sacrifice needed to please a Most Merciful God? A Muslim will answer there is no need for any of that.
Akhter…. I quote you…. “The Quranic message is: whatever it is that you do, you are alone will be held responsible for, not your brother, not your father, not your children. This is only fair, and God is Fair. Adam sinned, we agree. But why do his children have to bear something they took no part in? Why is a sacrifice needed to please a Most Merciful God? A Muslim will answer there is no need for any of that.”
The Biblical message is that we are all responsible for what we do too….
But we all sin. We are not able to keep ourselves from doing so …. no matter how hard we try. To say we do not is to lie against the truth.
How do you explain that no one has to learn to sin? Everyone who is born commits sin. A child does not have to be taught how to lie or be selfish. They do it naturally from very young. Instead they have to be taught NOT to lie and to share and think of others. And until there is a heart change many never learn not to. Only through Jesus Christ can that heart change be effected.
If you can keep every one of these commandments listed below then you are without (original) sin. But if you fail to keep even one then you have sinned…. and that makes you a sinner. These are the standards of a true and righteous God. Any god who says that to do these things is acceptable is not righteous and is lying against the truth.
1. You shall have no other gods before Me.
2. You shall not make unto thee any graven image.
3. You shall not take the name of the Lord God in vain.
4. Remember the Sabbath day to keep it holy.
5. Honour your father and your mother.
6. You shall not murder.
7. You shall not commit adultery.
8. You shall not steal.
9. You shall not bear false witness.
10. You shall not covet.
The whole of the righteous law was summed up by Jesus Christ when He was asked:
Mat 22:36-40 “Teacher, which is the most important commandment in the law of Moses?” Jesus replied, “‘You must love the LORD your God with all your heart, all your soul, and all your mind.’ This is the first and greatest commandment. A second is equally important: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’ The entire law and all the demands of the prophets are based on these two commandments.”
The Quran does not teach you to love your neighbour as yourself….
In the Quran it is acceptable to lie to a wife. That is betrayal of trust. Who will trust someone who lies when it is inconvenient to tell the truth? To lie to a wife is disrespectful to her. That is acceptable in Islam.
It is also acceptable in the Quran to lie for political advantage… even to sign a treaty that is designed to bring trust between nations… but a nation ruled by the Quran can sign the treaty with no intention of honouring the treaty… but with full intent to betray the trust of the other parties involved… even as they sign while pretending to be honourable. That is the deceitfulness of sin. Where there is self-interest, pride and deceit … there is sin. That is not loving your neighbour as yourself.
The other party is not worthy of being treated with honour by those who follow the teachings of the Quran because they are merely considered an infidel. I think someone who will betray trust …. especially to such a deliberate degree of deceitfulness …. is an infidel… and a sinner. If you don’t want it done to you then why is it OK … and even promoted …. to do it to others? That is unrighteous.
There is no deceit in YHVH. He is holy and righteous and His standards are perfect. He is trustworthy.
You ask: “Why is a sacrifice needed to please a Most Merciful God?” Because a Most Merciful YHVH is also a just God. The wages of sin is death. That is righteous law… and cannot be broken or bent. We can see that the taint of sin is working itself out in our world today. There is blaspheming, hatred that leads to murder (such as suicide bombings), stealing, lying, betrayal, selfishness …. etc. It is very obvious to see. But because YHVH loves mankind He sent His Son to pay the price for the sin so that we will not have to pay for what Adam did.
That is why a righteous sacrifice was needed. That righteous sacrifice demostrated love and justice together when Jesus died on the cross. He chose to pay the price required by justice because of His great love for all of us…… every single human being on earth. His Name be praised forever! His great love and courage defeated sin and death. The power of sin is now broken for those who receive His free gift of eternal life. The cost to Him was great so that He could offer it freely. The quintessential of Love and Justice in one great sacrifice.
A sacrifice is not a must for Muslims ,we do it to remember the greatest test of beloved prophet Ibraheem,and we give sacrifice to remember the occasion ,with it comes the blessing, food for the giver and the poor.It is illogical that a creator gives sacrifice to its creations sins when it should be the creation which is dependent on the creator for every thing to give sacrifice if needs be.
http://www.guidedones.com/metapage/frq/eidadha10.htm
For your information, the greatest commandment in the Bible is the oneness of God.
The Ten Commandments in the Bible and in the Koran
Here are Exodus’s version of the Ten Commandments (which are repeated in Deuteronomy):
“You shall have no other gods before me. You shall not make for yourself a graven image, or any likeness of anything that is in heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth; you shall not bow down to them or serve them; for I the LORD your God am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children to the third and the fourth generation of those who hate me, but showing steadfast love to thousands of those who love me and keep my commandments. You shall not take the name of the LORD your God in vain; for the LORD will not hold him guiltless who takes his name in vain.
“Remember the sabbath day, to keep it holy. Six days you shall labor, and do all your work; but the seventh day is a sabbath to the LORD your God; in it you shall not do any work, you, or your son, or your daughter, your manservant, or your maidservant, or your cattle, or the sojourner who is within your gates; for in six days the LORD made heaven and earth, the sea, and all that is in them, and rested the seventh day; therefore the LORD blessed the sabbath day and hallowed it. Honor your father and your mother, that your days may be long in the land which the LORD your God gives you.
“You shall not kill. You shall not commit adultery. You shall not steal. You shall not bear false witness against your neighbor. You shall not covet your neighbor’s house; you shall not covet your neighbor’s wife, or his manservant, or his maidservant, or his ox, or his ass, or anything that is your neighbor’s.” (Exodus 20:3-17)
Now here is the Koran’s version of the Commandments, which include some not mentioned in the Exodus version, but which is still close enough to be an unmistakably parallel passage:
Say, “Come, I will recite what your Lord has forbidden you; that you associate not anything with Him, and to be good to your parents, and not to slay your children because of poverty; We will provide you and them, and that you approach not any indecency outward or inward, and that you slay not the soul God has forbidden, except by right. That then He has charged you with; haply you will understand.
(- 6:150 -)
Noble Quran
And that your approach not the property of the orphan, save in the fairer manner, until he is of age. And fill up the measure and the blanace with justice. We charge not any soul save to its capacity. And when you speak, be just, even if it should be to a near kinsman. And fulfil God’s covenant. That then He has charged you with; haply you will remember.
(- 6:151 -)
Noble Quran
Now here is the heart of morality. I think that these two verses contain the answers to all moral dilemmas, if you are wise enough to apply them properly to the dilemma. But the Bible’s version of the Commandments suffers from five problems:
1. It does not actually forbid you from worshiping other gods (so long as they are not graven images), but only from worshiping them before Jehovah.
2. It claims that God is a jealous God.
3. In the same breath, it claims that God punishes and rewards people for what other people do. (This contradicts Ezekiel 18, but that’s another story.)
4. It forbids only killing, not murder. Some translations, to be sure, say “murder”, but the RSV is the only one I trust completely, as comparing translations and learning about certain verses has led me to conclude that it is the most honestly translated one. In any case God repeatedly orders people in the Old Testament to commit what can only be called murder, such as in the command in 1 Samuel 15:3 to slay even the infants and sucklings of a raided civilization.
5. Wives are included on a list of property on a list with slaves, houses and farm animals.
The Koran’s version of the commandments, as you may have noticed, is free from these problems. Even if the hardcore inerrantist Christian apologists are right and I have misunderstood the text in all five of my points (as they would undoubtably say), there is no room for misunderstanding the Koran’s version of the Commandments in such an evil way, so no matter how you figure it, the Koran’s version is cleaned up from the Bible’s version, superior one way or another. Its superiority is also evident in numerous other ways:
1. While the Bible’s version, as I’ve pointed out, simply says not to have other gods before God, the Koran’s version actually says not to associate anything with Him.
2. The Koran’s version mentions the basic fact of justice, not just a few select forms of it like not stealing or committing adultery. It tells you to be just, and that covers so much more ground than these “perfect ten” do, n’est-ce pas?
3. The simple command to fulfill God’s covenant is somehow not in the Bible’s version of the Commandments! Not so with the Koran’s version.
4. The Koran’s version guides your whole speech, not just your speech about God.
I am not trying here to get into a “my scripture is better than yours!” tussle, or even to make the point, “My Commandments are better than yours!” The superiority I pointed out is of the sort where the Koran’s version of the Commandments is a polished, perfected, cleaned up version of the Bible’s, which like every other article on this page, is more evidence that the entire Koran is like that compared to the Jewish and Christian scriptures which are relevant to it. The Koran isn’t connected to the whole Bible and some of the scriptures contained in it (the Gospel written by the blessed Jesus himself, and the scroll of Abraham) weren’t in the Bible (although the teachings of the blessed Jesus and the Koran itself largely match those found scattered throughout the four Gospels and Gospel of Thomas), but in a certain, exagerrated sense, you could say that the Koran is a final draft for the Bible, that it has the good of the Bible while leaving out the bad, and I hope this article has provided another example of that.