ham@gator.cacs.usl.edu (Hameed Ahmed Mohammed) (06/14/91)
In the name of God, most Gracious, most Merciful
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The controversy about the personality of Jesus Christ (on whom be Peace) is
the major difference between Islam and Christianity. This difference keeps
the followers of the two religions apart. Muslims look at Jesus (on whom be
Peace) as a great Prophet of God and love and respect him as they love and
respect Abraham, Moses amd Muhammed(Peace be on them). The differences
focussing on the personality of Jesus(on whom be Peace) have overshadowed
the many similarities between Christianity and Islam. Some examples are the
moral system and the emphasis on humane principles. They have even over-
shadowed the beliefs that Mislims associate with Jesus(on whom be Peace) such
as the Virgin Birth of Jesus(on whom be Peace), being able to speak in the
cradle, performing miracles, and the second coming of Jesus Christ(Peace be on
him).
The Islamic view of Jesus(PBUH) lies between two extremes. The Jews, who
rejected Jesus(PBUH) as a Prophet of God, called him am imposter. The Christianson the other hand , considered him to be the son of God and worship him as such.Islam consideres Jesus(PBUH) as one of the great prophets of God and respects
him as much as Abraham. Moses, and Muhammed(PBUT). This is in conformity with
the Islamic point of view of the oneness of God, the oneness of Divine guidance
and the complimentary role of the subsequent messages of God's messengers. The
essence of Islam,which is the willing submission to the Will of God,was revealed
to Adam who passed it on to his children. All following revelations to Noah,
Abraham, Moses, Jesus, and finally Muhammed were in conformity with that messagein addition to some elaboration to define the relation between man and God, man
and man, man and his environment, and to live according to God's instructions.
Thus, any contradiction among revealed religions is viewed by Islam as a man-
made element introduced into these religions. The position of Jesus(PBUH) in
the three major religions:Judaism, Christianity, and Islam, should not be an
exception.
The Quran says:
O People of the Book, come to common terms as between us and you:
that we worship none but God; that we associate not aught with Him;
and do not some of us take others as Lords, apart from God. And if
they turn their backs, say:"Bear witness that we are Muslims(one
submitting to God). (3:64)
...And thou wilt find those who say "Surely we are Christians." to
be nearest to them(the Muslims) in affection ...(5:85(82))
It is with an aim to find a common ground between these two great religions
that I intend to present to the gentle reader what Islam says about Jesus(PBUH).I very sincerely hope that this will help promote better understanding among
the Christians and the Muslims.
Mary
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The Quranic account of Jesus(PBUH) starts with the conception of his mother,MaryThe wife of Imran, Mary's mother, vowed to dedicate her child to the service of
God in the temple , Zacharia, who took charge of Mary, used to find food with
Mary. When he asked her how she got it she answered that is was from God. The
Quranic verses read:
When the wife of Imran said,"Lord, I have vowed to you , in dedicatiom,what
is within my womb. Please accept it from me, you are the Hearer and Knower".
And when she gave birth to her she said,"Lord, I have given birth to her,
a female...And I have named her Mary and commend her to You with her seed,
to protect them from the accursed Satan." Her Lord received the child with
gracious favour, and by His goodness she grew up comely, Zacharia taking
charge of her. Whenever Zacharia went to her in the santuary he found her
provisioned."Mary",he said,"how comes this to you ?"From God",she answered.
Truly God provisions for whomsoever He will without reckoning. (3:35-37)
Glad tidings and Jesus's birth.
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The Quran states that God chose Mary, purified her and raised her above all
other women of the world(3:42,43).
When Mary became a woman, the Holy Spirit (the Archangel Gabriel) appeared to
her as a man bringing her the news of a son. We read the following dialogue in
the Quran between Mary and the angels:
When the angels said,"Mary, God gives you glad tidings of a Word from
Him whose name is Messiah Jesus, son of Mary ; high honoured shall he
be in this world and the next, near stationed to God. He shall speak to
men in the cradle, and of age, and righteous he shall be."Lord",said
Mary,"how shall I have a son seeing no mortal has touched me?" "Even so" he said, "God creates what He will." When He decrees a thing He does
but say to it , "Be", and it is". (3:45-7)
Mary concieved the child miraculously and retired to a distant place where she
awaited her delivery. The Quran in a chapter entitled "Mary" tells us how Mary
felt and what the Jews told her when she brought the child.
She conceived him and withdrew with him to a distant place. And the
birthpangs surprised her by the trunk of the palm-tree. She said,"would I had died before this, and become a thing forgotten". The one from
below her called to her,"Do not grieve; see, your Lord has set below you a rivulet and shake toward you the palmtrunk, and there shall come
tumbling upon you dates fresh and ripe. Eat therefore, and drink, and be comforted ; and if you should see any mortal, say, "I have vowed to the
All-Merciful a fast, and today I will not speak to any man." Then she
brought the child to her folk carrying him; and they said,"Mary, you
have surely committed a monstrous thing. Sister of Aaron, your father
was not a wicked man, nor your mother unchaste." Mary pointed to the
child; but they said,"How shall we speak to one who is still in the
cradle, a child?" He said, " Lo, I am God's servent; God has given me
the Book and made me a Prophet. Blessed He has made me, wherever I may
be; and He has enjoined me to pray, and to give the alms, so long as I
live, and likewise to cherish my mother; He has not made me arrogant and wicked. Peace be upon me the day I was born, and the day I die, and
the day I am raised up alive." (19:22-23)
Note: I intend to continue the article in subsequent parts.
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ham@gator.cacs.usl.edu (Hameed Ahmed Mohammed) (06/22/91)
This article is the continuation of my article entitled
Christianity and Islam - Towards a better understanding.
Sonship of Jesus:
----------------
The verses continue:
That is Jesus, son of Mary, in word of truth, concerning which they are
doubting. It is not for God to take a son unto Him. Glory be to Him!
When He decrees a thing, He but says to it "Be", and it is. (19:34-5)
After this strong statement about the nature of Jesus, God directed Muhammed to
call the Christians to a fair deal: to worship the ONE GOD:
Surely God is my Lord, and your Lord, so serve Him. This is the straight
path. (19:36)
The rejection of the idea of God having a son is reported later in the same chapter:
And they say, "The All-Merciful has taken unto Himself a son." You have
indeed advanced something hideous. The heavens are well nigh rent of it
and the earth split asunder, and the mountains well nigh fall down
crashing for that they have attributed to the All-merciful a son; and it
behoves not the All-merciful to take a son. None is there in the heavens
and earth but he comes to the All-merciful as a servant. (19:88-93)
The Quran recognizes the fact that Jesus had no human father but this does not
make him the son of God or God Himself. By this criterion Adam would have been
more entitled to be the son of God because he had neither a father nor a mother.So, the Quran draws attention to the miraculous creation of both:
Truly the likeness of Jesus, in God's sight, is as Adam's likeness; He
created him of dust, then said He unto him, "Be", and he was. (3:59)
The Quran rejects the concept of the Trinity as strongly as it rejects the
sonship of Jesus. This is because God is One. This is the essence of all
monotheistic revelations. Three, by reason and by simple arithmetic, are not oneThe Quran address the Christians as follows:
People of the Book, go not beyond the bounds in your religion, and say
not as to God but the Truth. The Messiah, Jesus, son of Mary, was only
the Messenger of God, and His Word that He committed to Mary, and a
spirit form Him. So believe in God and His Messengers, and say not,
"Three", Refrain, better it is for you. God is only One God. Glory be to
Him- that He should have a son! To Him belongs all that is in the
heavens and in the earth, God suffices as a guardian.
The Messiah will not disdain to be a servant of God, neither the angels
who are close to Him. Whosoever disdains to serve Him and waxes proud,He
will assuredly muster them to Him, all of them.
As for the believers, who do deeds of righteousness, He will pay them
their rewards in full, and He will give them more, of His bounty; as
for them who disdain and wax proud, them He will punish with a severe
punishment, and they shall not find for them, apart from God, a friend
or helper. (4:171-3)
The Quran says:
O men, a manifest proof has now come to you from your Lord; We have sent
down to you a clear light. As for those who believe in God, and hold
fast to Him, He will surely admit them to mercy from Him, and bounty,
and will guide them to Him on a straight path. (4:173-5)
The denial of Jesus's devinity ( and as a matter of fact Mary's divinity) is
presented in the Quran as a topic of dislouge at the Day of Judgement between
God Almighty and Jesus. All the messengers and the nations will be gathered in
front of God and He will ask the messengers how they were received by their
peoples and what they said to them. Among those who are going to be questioned
is Jesus:
And when God said," O Jesus son of Mary, did you say unto men, 'Take
me and my mother as gods, apart from God?' He said, 'To You be glory!
It is not mine to say what I have no right to. If I indeed said it, You
knew it, knowing what is within my soul, and I do not know what is
within Your soul; You know the things unseen. I only said to them what
You did command me. "Serve God, my Lord and your Lord." And I was a
witness over them, while I remained among them; but when You did take
me to Yourself, You were Yourself the Watcher over them; You are the
witness of everything. If You punish them, they are Your servents, if
You forgive them, You are the All-mighty , the All-wise." God said,
"This is the day the truthful shall be profited by their truthfulness.
For them await gardens underneath which rivers flow, therein dwelling
forever, God being well-pleased with them, and they well-pleased with
Him; That is the mighty triumph." (5:116-19)
* Peace and blessings be upon all the Prophets.
note: Remaining part of the article will be continued. God Willing.
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[Interesting. I'm not sure what your intent is in doing these
postings. We've had enough debates about the Incarnation and Trinity
that I'm not sure how eager people are going to be to respond to these
in detail. Presumably a response would not be that different from the
response to other postings we get from time to time that say "Jesus is
a great fellow, but what's all this divinity business?". A full
response involves a detailed review of Jesus' own statements about his
own role, as well as those of the rest of the NT. Certainly your
postings help make clear the great difference in how Jesus is treated
by the Bible and the Koran, which is certainly worth understanding. A
question for you: What authority do Moslems attribute to the New
Testament? Do they believe that the statements you quote are
consistent with the New Testament, or do they reject it as an
authoritative source of information about Jesus?
--clh]mmh@dcs.qmw.ac.uk (Matthew Huntbach) (06/26/91)
In article <Jun.22.01.17.12.1991.6915@athos.rutgers.edu> ham@gator.cacs.usl.edu (Hameed Ahmed Mohammed) writes: >The denial of Jesus's devinity ( and as a matter of fact Mary's divinity) is >presented in the Quran as a topic of dislouge at the Day of Judgement between >God Almighty and Jesus. > And when God said," O Jesus son of Mary, did you say unto men, 'Take > me and my mother as gods, apart from God?' No Christians see Mary as a "god". The Catholic position on the intercession of Mary and the saints has been discussed at length here - basically Catholics see it as legitimate to ask saints (including Mary) to pray for us, but we do not "worship" them. Your argument is spoiled by this since it is unnecessarily offensive. If you want to argue against Christianity in a reasonable way you ought to make some effort to find out what Christians believe. I am sure you would find it very offensive if Christians were to argue against Moslems on the grounds taht Moslems believe Mohamed to be a "god". Matthew Huntbach