Bible:- Canon of the Bible..

find more about this topic at this url:

http://www.islamic-awareness.org/Bible/Text/Canon/


it's a very comprehensive details and interesting fact, spare a dime to read it for urself!

[ Last edited by DARSITA on 9-3-2005 at 11:10 AM ]

here's another interesting article about the Textual reliability of the  New Testament....go to this url :

http://www.islamic-awareness.org/Bible/Text/Bibaccuracy.html#2

aenemy7

This is the Q&A taken from

http://www.islamonline.net/askab ... sp?hquestionID=6067

Here are the copy

Name: Sam
Topic: Faith & Practice  
Title: Is the Bible the Word of God?  

Question:

As-salamu `alaykum Brothers,

I just have a question I would like you to answer. I have had a debate with my Christian friend, that the Bible has been corrupted. And, he told me: “Do you think God would let His Bible be corrupted?”

So, my question is: Why did God let the Christian Bible get corrupted?

Thank you.

Date  2003/12/14   

Name of Consultant: Nabil Haroun  


Salam Sam,

Thank you for your important question.

The answer is simple, but unfortunately widely unrecognized by Christians and - more so - by Muslims. Let us first ask:

“Is the current Christian Bible really the word of God?”

The Bible is a huge collection of “human” writings, 38 (+9 disputed) books comprising the Old Testament and 20 (+7 disputed) books of the New Testament. The Old Testament assortment includes books of history, proverbs, myths, legislation …etc, representing the popular literature of the Israelites. They were composed by many scribes, several centuries after the Prophet Moses, peace be upon him.

Similarly, the New Testament embodies the Gospels, four different biographies of the Prophet Jesus, peace be upon him, written by Matthews, Mark, Luke and John, whose identities are widely disputed. In addition, the New Testament contains the epistles of Paul, Peter and John. This is as well as the Acts - also due to Paul or Luke - and the Visions of John.

So, none of the Bible books can be claimed to be the word of God. It was the Nicea Council in the fourth century after Christ, who selectively sanctified these books to be “holy”, from among hundreds of other writings of the earlier Christians. While admitting the human authorship of these books, the churches claim and teach - without proof - that these human writings were “inspired” by God.

However, neither of the Bible authors themselves claimed, or probably even imagined that their books would ever be “holy”. Read for example:

“Forasmuch as many have taken in hand to set forth in order a declaration of those things …, Even as they delivered them unto us …; 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 ...” (Luke 1:1-4)

“The book of the generation of Jesus Christ, the son of David, the son of Abraham.” (Matthews 1:1)

“The former treatise have I made, O Theophilus, of all that Jesus began both to do and teach.” (Acts 1:1)

“These be the words which Moses spake unto all Israel on this side Jordan in the wilderness …” (Deuteronomy1:1)

“Now after the death of Moses, the servant of the Lord, it came to pass that the Lord spake unto Joshua the son of Nun …” (Joshua 1:1)

“Now after the death of Joshua it came to pass, that the children of Israel …” (1 Judges 1:1)

“Now it came to pass in the days when the judges ruled …” (Ruth 1:1)

“Now it came to pass after the death of Saul, when David …” (2 Samuel 1:1)

“Now king David was old and stricken in years ...” (1 Kings 1:1)

“Now in the first year of Cyrus king of Persia …” (Ezra 1:1)

“Now it came to pass in the days of Ahasuerus …” (Esther 1:1)

“Now it came to pass in the thirtieth year …” (Ezkiel 1:1)

Could any of these books be words of God, or rather typical human anecdotes and historical accounts?

Add to these facts the countless contradictions and obvious mistakes in the Bible text. As few examples, compare the following pairs:

“And again the anger of the Lord was kindled against Israel, and he moved David against them to say, Go, number Israel and Judah.” (2 Samuel:24:1V)

Please compare with:

“And Satan stood up against Israel, and provoked David to number Israel. (1Chr 21:1)

Also read:

“Therefore Michal the daughter of Saul had no child unto the day of her death.” (2 Samuel 6:23)

Please compare with:

“But the king took …; and the five sons of Michal the daughter of Saul, whom she brought up for …” (2 Samuel 21:8)

Then read:

“These be the names of the mighty men whom David had: … he lift up his spear against eight hundred, whom he slew at one time.” (2 Samuel 23:8)

Compare with:

“And this is the number of the mighty men whom David had: … he lifted up his spear against three hundred slain by him at one time. (1 Chronicles 11:11)

Also read:

“But the Syrians fled before Israel; and David slew of the Syrians seven thousand men which fought in chariots, and forty thousand footmen, and killed Shophach the captain of the host.” (1 Chronicles 19:18)

Compare with:

“And the Syrians fled before Israel; and David slew the men of seven hundred chariots of the Syrians, and forty thousand horsemen, and Samuelote Shobach the captain of their host, who died there. (2 Samuel 10:18)

Further, no rational mind could accept the false charges and shameless references to the great prophets, peace and blessings be upon them all, such as:
Noah: getting drunk and naked in front of his sons. See Genesis 9: 20-24.

Aaron: making a golden calf to worship. See Exodus 32: 3-4.

Solomon: worshiping false gods, to please his large harem. See 1 Kings 11: 9-10.

David: committing adultery. See 2 Samuel 11: 4-5.

Lot: committing incest with his two daughters. See Genesis 19: 31-36.
Could such texts be inspired by God!

It can thus be concluded that the available Bible has nothing to do with the original Injeel of Jesus or Torah of Moses, both of which have disappeared, except in as much as traces of their texts might be part of the few sayings attributed to Moses and Jesus in the Bible. Still, it is difficult to decide which of these sayings are divine revelations and which are the teachings of the respective prophet.

Hence, it is an over-simplification to say that the available Bible is the word of God, corrupted by Man. Rather, it is almost A-Z a human text. Why then should not God allow the corruption of what His creatures invented?

Allah says in the Qur’an what means:
*{So woe to [the ones] who write the Book with their hands; thereafter they say, “This is from [the providence of] Allah.” That they may trade it for a little price; So, woe to those for what their hands have written, and woe to them for what they have earned.}* (Al-Baqarah 2: 79)

*{And who is more unjust than he who has fabricated against Allah a lie, or has said: “to me it has been revealed” and nothing has been revealed to him. And who has said: “I will send down the like of what Allah has sent down.”}*(Al-An`am 6: 93)


I hope my answer is satisfactory. Thank you again for your question and please keep in touch.

Salam.



Allah Knows Best...
Peace Yall.....

aenemy7

This is an interesting question regarding the "revelation of the Bible" taken from :

http://www.islamonline.net/askab ... sp?hquestionID=5208

Here are the copy of the Q&A;


Name: Muhannad - Palestine
Topic: Faith & Practice  
Title :The Revelation of the Bible  

Question:

As-salaamu `alaikum,

We Muslims must believe that al-Injeel (the Bible) is a revelation from Allah (swt) to our beloved prophet Jesus (pbuh).

My question is:

How was the Injeel revealed to Jesus [pbuh]? Was the revelation process completed during his life time? When did the Bible exist free from corruption and when did the corruption start?

Thanks a lot, wa-salaam.


Date  2003/7/9   

Name of Consultant :Shahul Hameed  


Salaam Brother Ammar,

Thank you very much for your mail.

Muslims must believe in all the scriptures revealed by Allah to all the prophets. This is including al-Injeel (the Bible) revealed to Jesus Christ, known in Arabic to be Isa-ibn-Maryam (Jesus, son of Marry - peace be upon him).

We understand that all the revelations to the prophets came through Angel Jibreel (peace be upon him), who is called Ruuh al-quds (the Holy Spirit) in the Qur’an.

Christians of today regard the Holy Spirit to be God Himself. Rather, they hold that the Holy Spirit is one of the three persons in the One God. Whereas Muslims believe that the Holy Spirit is Angel Gabriel, or Jibreel (pbuh).

The revelation of the Bible was completed in Jesus’ life time, but was not documented then. How it was revealed to Jesus was not attached with any significance in shari`ah. Forms and ways of revelation are certainly part of divinity that is certainly beyond ordinary humans’ perception.

The topic of the corruption of the Bible involves a number of questions:
First of all consider the word, ‘Bible’ itself. ‘Bible’ is derived from a Greek word, biblos meaning ‘book’. This word is used for the whole scripture of the Christians, comprising the Old Testament and the New Testament.

Also, the use of the word ‘Injeel’ (Arabic word for ‘Bible”) is considered inaccurate. By Injeel we mean the collection of revelations received by Jesus Christ from God. They are not available now in the form of a book.

What we have is a collection of twenty seven books called the New Testament. The first four books of the New Testament are called the Gospels. These are supposed to have been written by the four disciples of Jesus, namely Matthew, Mark, Luke and John.

There are many evidences that the real authors of these four Gospels were not really the disciples chosen by Jesus Christ. Of course the Gospels speak about the twelve disciples chosen by Jesus himself; but the names Mark and Luke do not appear among these twelve.

Bible scholars point out many evidences to prove that the other two Evangelists Matthew and John were also two persons different from their namesakes among the disciples. So the opinion that the disciples of Jesus wrote the Gospels does not stand up to scrutiny.

There is an opinion that states that the content and the language of the Gospels clearly show that they are not the Word of God, and hence they were not revelations from God. See for example, how the Gospel of Luke begins: Luke 1 (1- 4):
1. Forasmuch 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 mightest know the certainty of those things, wherein thou hast been instructed.
We can understand the following details from the above verses:
Many people had written “those things” believed to have happened in the life of Jesus Christ.

Luke claims to have good understanding of “those things” from the very first, not because he was an eye witness, but because he says he received those ideas from eye witnesses and ministers of the word.

Like the others who took in hand “to set forth in order the declaration of those things”, he too felt like writing them down.

The purpose is that his friend Theophilus too can “know the certainty of those things” wherein he was instructed.

Evidently this is the beginning of a letter addressed to Theophilus.
The foregoing clearly shows that the Gospel of Luke was certainly not a revelation or the result of inspiration.

The real revelations of God came to Jesus and no doubt he taught his disciples quoting from them. But we have no evidence to prove that Jesus dictated these word for word to be written down and kept intact.

What are called Gospels today are considered by Muslims to be the compositions made by the four evangelists based on hearsay. And the Gospels clearly show the writers were not careful in recording the words of God - as quoted by Jesus - separate from those of the Prophet Jesus.

Still, most Christians believe that all the Gospels and even the writings of Paul, Peter and others included in the later books are the Word of God. This being the case, Muslims cannot accept the whole of the present day Bible, as the True Word of God.

What a Muslim needs to believe is that God revealed Injeel to Isa (Jesus - peace be upon him); and that at least some of the ideas of Injeel are present in the four Gospels. So to believe in the real Injeel is different from the Gospels now available.

Thus we have no record of the Bible existing as free from corruption. But we may say that some of its teachings are preserved in the present day Bible.

And Allah knows best.

Thank you again for your question and please keep in touch.



Peace yall....

aenemy7

This Q&A taken from ;

http://www.islamonline.net/fatwa ... .asp?hFatwaID=74493

Here are the copy;

Title of Fatwa :Has the Bible Been Tampered With?   
Date of Fatwa : 29/ March/ 2004   
Date of Reply  :29/ March/ 2004   
Topic Of Fatwa : Comparative Religions   
Question of Fatwa:

Dear scholars, As-Salaam `Alaykum. Recently I was visited by a Christian missionary at my home. We had a good discussion on Islam and Christianity. When I told him that the Bible was changed and is not in its original form, he did not agree with me. He told me that there were many ancient manuscripts of the Bible in its original Hebrew and Greek languages available today. He also told me that according to the Qur'an, Bible is the word of God and the word of God cannot be changed. The Qur'an says in (6:115) "none can change His words..." and in (10:64) "No change can there be in the words of Allah." Please help me to understand the meaning of these Qur'anic verses. On the one hand the Qur'an says that the Bible was from God and God's words could not be changed and on the other hand it says that Bible was changed. How should we explain these two different verses of the Qur'an? Jazakum Allah khayran.   
Name of Mufti Dr. Muzammil Siddiqi   
Content of Reply Wa`alykum As-Salaamu Warahmatullahi Wabarakaatuh.

In the Name of Allah, Most Gracious, Most Merciful.

All praise and thanks are due to Allah, and peace and blessings be upon His Messenger.

Dear questioner, thank you very much for having confidence in us and we hope our efforts, which are purely for Allah’s Sake, meet your expectations.

As regard your question, we’d like to cite for you the following Fatwa issued by Dr. Muzammil H. Siddiqi, former President of the Islamic Society of North America, in which he states the following:

"The Christian missionary who visited you tried to confuse you and mislead you about the Qur’an as well as the Bible. The Qur’an is the word of Allah and the word of Allah does not contradict itself. The basic argument of your missionary visitor seems to be as follows: According to the Qur’an the word of God does not change and since the Bible is the word of God (as the Qur’an also affirms) then the Bible cannot be changed and Muslims should accept the Present Bible as God’s authentic word.

First of all let me give you the meaning of the two verses of the Qur’an about the word of Allah that your missionary visitor mentioned. Second, I shall say something about the Bible, its authenticity and its various manuscripts. Our purpose is only to understand. We do not want to put down any personal beliefs or values. All open-minded people should try to follow the truth when it becomes clear to them. Please try to share these few lines with your missionary visitor if you can get hold of him and let me know about his response also for my own knowledge and information.

When we read any text, whether religious or secular, it is important that we read it fully. It is not right to take a sentence out of context or read only half of it and then give our opinion. The missionary visitor did not give you the full verse of the Qur’an. He quoted only part of it and ignored the other part. You should have consulted the Qur’an yourself.

In Surat Al-An‘am (6:115), Allah says, "The Word of your Lord does find its fulfillment in truth and in justice. None can change His words. For He is the one who hears and knows all." It is obvious that the expression “word or words of Allah” here does not mean a text, but it means "Allah’s decisions and judgments". No doubt, Allah's decisions and judgments are fulfilled in truth and justice and none can change them.

The second verse in Surat Yunus (10:64) should be read along with verses 62 and 63 to understand them properly. Allah says, "Behold, verily on the friends of Allah there is no fear nor shall they grieve. Those who believe and constantly guard against evil. For them are glad tidings in the life of the present and in the hereafter. No change can there be in the words of Allah. This indeed is the supreme felicity." The expression "the words of Allah" here means "Allah's promises for those who do good deeds." No one can change Allah's promises (or Allah threats for the wrong doers). These verses are not talking about any revealed books or manuscripts, but they are talking about Allah's judgment and promises in a general sense.

As far as the Bible is concerned, it is true that the Qur'an calls the Tawrat, Zabur and Injil as Allah's books and messages given to prophets Moses, Dawud and Jesus, peace be upon all of them, respectively, but the Qur'an also says that these books as they exist today are not in their authentic and complete form. Allah says, "They (i.e. Jews and Christians) changed words from their contexts and forgot a good part of the message given to them, and you will continue to find them -except a few among them- bent on new deceits…" (al-Ma'idah: 13) And He further says, "O People of the Book, now has come to you Our Messenger, clarifying to you much of that you used to conceal of the Book and passing over much (that is now unnecessary)." (al-Ma'idah 5:15) So our Islamic position is that the Bible has some true and authentic words of Allah, but it is not totally authentic. Some of its passages were lost and it had many additions and alterations.

Your missionary visitor told you that the Bible has not changed. You ask him, which Bible is not changed? Hebrew Bible, Greek Bible, Latin Bible, English Bible, Jewish Bible, Catholics’ Bible, Protestants’ Bible, Eastern Orthodox Church's Bible, which Bible is he talking about? All these Bibles individually and collectively have been changed and some are still being changed. The Bible contains two main sections: the Old Testament and the New Testament. The Old Testament is recognized by Jews and Christians both. Jews calls it the Hebrew Bible or TANAK. But their Bible has 24 books and some books have two parts thus a total of 39 books. Protestants also have 39 books but in a different order. The same Old Testament of Catholics has 46 books, while Eastern Orthodox Christians have 51 books in their Old Testament. Jewish version of the Bible is based on the Hebrew Masoretic text while Christians generally use the Greek (Septuagint) and Latin (Vulgate) versions as the basis of their Old Testaments. Each group also has variations in the texts of their books as well as in the number of verses.

The New Testament is accepted by Christians only. It has 27 books: four Gospels and then other books and letters of various writers known as apostles. But Catholics add some verses in the Gospels that are not accepted by the Protestants. The Catholics as well as the Eastern Orthodox Christians accept some books that are not accepted by the Protestants.

As far as the ancient manuscripts of the Bible are concerned, it is known to the Biblical scholars that most of the manuscripts came from the fourth century CE down. The manuscripts that are discovered are mostly partial and their texts differ from each other considerably. M. M. Parvis in the Interpreter's Dictionary of the Bible (vol. 4, pp. 594-595) says, "The New Testament is now known, in whole or in part, in nearly five thousand Greek manuscripts alone. Every one of these handwritten copies differ from the other one… It has been estimated that these manuscripts and quotations differ among themselves between 150,000 and 250,000 times. The actual figure is, perhaps, much higher. A study of 150 Greek manuscripts of the Gospel of Luke has revealed more than 30,000 different readings… It is safe to say that there is not one sentence in the New Testament in which the manuscripts' tradition is wholly uniform."

Any one can get hold of the Good News Bible and can see for oneself that in the 1300 pages of this modern English version there are almost as many footnotes pointing to phrases, sentences and passages that are omitted or added by various ancient manuscripts or versions. Many of these alterations are not unintentional scribal errors such as are expected in handwritten copies of a book. A careful study of ancient texts has convinced scholars that the variations found in them were very often intentional tampering with the texts. This tampering is still going on for various political or ideological reasons. Under the pressure of the Jewish organizations, many churches in America and Europe have begun rephrasing Jesus' criticism of the Jews in the Gospels. Feminists groups are urging the use of unisex language in the new versions. Homosexual groups have their own versions. All these changes are taking place before our own eyes. Please tell your missionary visitor that neither the Qur'an nor history support his claims about the authenticity of the Bible. Of course, he can believe whatever he may wish."


Allah Knows Best...
Peace Yall....

aenemy7

Here are more Q&A regarding this thread topics taken from;

http://www.islamonline.net/askab ... sp?hquestionID=6173

Here are the copy....

Name :Ibrahim   - Turkey
Topic :Faith & Practice  
Title :Scriptures of People of the Book  
Question:

In the Qur’an Allah states that the People of the Book should conduct their daily lives and affairs according to their books, namely the Torah and the Gospel. Yet, at the same time, in the Qur’an, God also states that they - i.e. the Jews and the Christians - had knowingly and for profit changed/altered the wording in their holy books. Also, the Qur’an had been sent down to confirm the previous books and to preserve the Guidance of Allah.

My question is this:

How is it possible to hold the Jews and the Christians responsible for upholding their books, yet, at the same time, also hold them responsible for altering their respective books?

That they've altered their books is without question a fact as there's ample evidence for that. But what answer can we give the Jews and the Christians when they raise the above question?

Thank you for your time and taking into consideration my above dilemma of sorts...

Date  2003/11/11   

Name of Consultant:Shahul Hameed  

Salam Ibrahim,

Thank you very much for your question.

It seems your question has resulted from a confusion created in your mind by a Jewish or Christian friends. In fact, there is no conflict in the Qur’anic position on the Jewish and Christian scriptures.

You have written that God blames the Jews and Christians for upholding their books. The truth is just the opposite: God blames them for not upholding their books, and not the other way. And also Allah finds fault with them for altering these scriptures. These are two charges against the Jews and the Christians. And let us see some of the relevant Qur’anic verses, which mean:
*{It was We who revealed the law [to Moses]: therein was guidance and light. By its standard have been judged the Jews, by the prophets who bowed [as in Islam] to God's will, by the rabbis and the doctors of law: for to them was entrusted the protection of God's book, and they were witnesses thereto: therefore fear not men, but fear me, and sell not my signs for a miserable price. If any do fail to judge by [the light of] what God hath revealed, they are [no better than] unbelievers.}* (Al-Ma’idah 5:44)

*{And in their footsteps We sent Jesus the son of Mary, confirming the Law that had come before him: We sent him the Gospel: therein was guidance and light, and confirmation of the Law that had come before him: a guidance and an admonition to those who fear God. Let the people of the Gospel judge by what God hath revealed therein. If any do fail to judge by [the light of] what God hath revealed, they are [no better than] those who rebel.}* (Al-Ma’idah 5:46-47)

*{Then woe to those who write the Book with their own hands, and then say: "This is from God," to traffic with it for miserable price!- Woe to them for what their hands do write, and for the gain they make thereby.}* (Al-Baqarah 2:79)

From the above verses, we understand the following:

God revealed His Guidance to the people through Moses and Jesus; and the duty of their followers was to obey the commands given in those books and to judge by the principles therein. But their rabbis and doctors of law, instead of preserving God’s book intact, made additions or corrections to it with their own hands for miserable gains.

Here the People of the Book are held answerable for not following the commands of God given in their books and for making changes in them. Though this is plain commonsense, the missionaries would create some confusion here.

They argue:

“God asks the People of the Book to follow their Books; this is possible only if the Books are extant. But then the Qur’an says that those books have been changed!”

In fact, neither the Qur’an, nor any knowledgeable Muslim says that the Books of the Jews and Christians do not contain the Truth. The point is that the Jewish and Christian scribes and priests have added many things to the Book as God’s word on the one hand and on the other, they distort the true message through misinterpretation.

For example see how the Jews misinterpret Jehovah’s promise of the Land of Canaan to the Children of Abraham (Genesis 17): They claim that “the seed” of Abraham in the context refers to the Children of Israel only, and not to the Children of Abraham’s firstborn, Ishmael.

Similarly the Christians introduce into their Book, the pagan idea that Jesus was the only begotten son of God, (begotten not made!) and that he was/is really God Himself!

The Qur’an refers to such distortions of the Holy Book. But this fact does not in any way invalidate the truth that is still remaining in the Books of the Jews and Christians. And this is specifically ascertained by many verses. Note that the Qur’an gives this meaning when it says:
*{And when there came to them an apostle from God, confirming what was with them, a party of the people of the Book threw away the Book of God behind their backs, as if [it had been something] they did not know!}* (Al-Baqarah 2:101)

What some Jews and Christians try to do is to tell the Muslims that their own Book - the Qur’an - certifies the authenticity of the present versions of their books. But the Qur’an says what means:
*{To thee We sent the Scripture in truth, confirming the scripture that came before it, and guarding it in safety: so judge between them by what God hath revealed, and follow not their vain desires, diverging from the Truth that hath come to thee…}*(Al-Ma’idah 5: 48)

The actual Arabic expression used in the Qur’an, that is translated as “guarding in safety” above is: “muhaiminan”. Abdullah Yusuf Ali, the famous English translator of the Holy Qur’an has this to say about this expression:

“The Arabic word ‘muhaimin’ is very comprehensive in meaning. It means one who safeguards, watches over, stands witness, preserves, and upholds. The Qur’an safeguards ‘the Book’, for it has preserved within it the teachings of all the former Books. It watches over these Books in the sense that it will not let their true teachings be lost. It supports and upholds these Books in the sense that it corroborates the Word of Allah which has remained intact in them. It stands a witness because it bears testimony to the Word of Allah contained in these Books and helps to sort it out from the interpretations and commentaries of the people which were mixed with it: what is confirmed by the Qur’an is the Word of Allah and what is against it is that of the people.” [Emphasis added.]

So it is clear that the expression, “confirming the scripture that came before it, and guarding it in safety” indicates that the confirmation applies only to the truth that remains in the book, and not to all the spurious things that the scribes with their “false pen” had interpolated in it. Please see Jeremiah 8:8, where the prophet scolds the scribes whose job it was to write and copy the scripture:

“But, behold, the false pen of the scribes has made it into a lie.”

And remember Jesus himself in Matthew 23, calling the scribes and the Pharisees, hypocrites:

“Woe unto you scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites!”

Now, the present Christian concept of the Book includes even the letters written by one Saul of Tarsus - later called Saint Paul - addressed to various individuals or church groups. It is unreasonable to imagine that when God in the Holy Qur’an refers to the Book revealed to Jesus, He means even the inventions and additions to it made by hypocrites. Allah (swt) says in the Holy Qur’an, about such hypocrites, what means:
*{Those who conceal the clear [Signs] We have sent down, and the Guidance, after We have made it clear for the people in the Book,-on them shall be God's curse, and the curse of those entitled to curse,- except those who repent and make amends and openly declare [the Truth]: To them I turn; for I am Oft-returning, Most Merciful.}*(Al-Baqarah 2: 159-160)

And Allah knows best.

Thank you again Ibrahim for your question and please keep in touch.

Salam.


Allah Know's Best....
Peace Yall.....

aenemy7

This Q&A was taken from;

http://www.islamonline.net/askab ... sp?hquestionID=1734

Name Simon:   - United States
Topic: Faith & Practice  
Title: Is Jesus God?  
Question :

HI! I JUST HAD A QUESTION. HOW DO WE KNOW THAT JESUS IS NOT THE TRUE GOD?  

Date  2002/6/4   

Name of Consultant: Shahul Hameed  


I seek refuge with Allah away from Satan the Rejected.
In the name of Allah the Beneficent, the Merciful.
Hello,
Shalom aleichem! (Peace be with you!)
Thank you for your quaestion.
I request you to read my mail with the charity characteristic of a follower of Christ.
Please read the following verses of the Bible and ponder over them:
Jesus taught: "And ye shall know the TRUTH, and the TRUTH shall make you free." (John 8: 32).
Therefore, at the very outset, let us pray to God Almighty to guide us to the Truth.
The above verse is just the opposite of another verse in the same New Testament of the Bible:
Paul said: "For if the truth of God hath more abounded through my lie unto his glory; why yet am I also judged as a sinner?" (Rom. 3: 7)
This means that Paul wanted to use LIE (not TRUTH) as a device to heighten the glory of God, and here he is questioning those who called him a sinner.
Dear brother, are you a follower of Jesus or Paul? For you cannot be a follower of both, as the above verses clearly show.
I urge you to be a follower of Jesus rather than Paul.

Coming specifically to your question:
The Bible, both the Old Testament and the New Testament categorically say that God is one and ONE ONLY. You may retort: "No, He is one in three; God is three persons in one God, and Jesus is one of the three persons in One God".
But really, was Jesus God?
The answer may come as a shock to many Christians. Jesus never said he was God. Actually, he said over and over again, and in many ways, that he was not God.
Jesus was a practicing Jew, and the very idea of God taking a human form is antithetical to the Torah or the Law of Moses.
The following quote proves that Jesus was a devout and learned Jew, a rabbi:
"Jesus returned in the power of the Spirit to Galilee, and his reputation spread throughout the region. He was teaching in their synagogues, and all were loud in his praise. He came to Nazareth where he had been reared, and entering the synagogue on the sabbath as he was in the habit of doing, he stood up to do the reading." [Luke 4:14-16]
As a rabbi, what did Jesus teach? Throughout the New Testament, Jesus exhorted the people to worship God alone and keep the Mosaic commandments. The first and the best known commandment in both the Old Testament and the New Testament, asks for total and absolute devotion to God alone:
"The Lord our God is Lord alone! Therefore, you shall adore the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your mind, and with all your strength." [Deuteronomy 6:4-5] [Mark 12:29-30]

Jesus most particularly stressed this First Commandment:
The scribe said to him: "Excellent, Teacher! You are right in saying, `He is the One, there is no other than He.' “Yes, `to love him with all our heart, with all our thoughts and with all our strength, and to love our neighbor as ourselves' is worth more than any burnt offering or sacrifice." Jesus approved the insight of his answer and told him, "You are not far from the reign of God." [Mark 12:32-34]
Again, Jesus' straightforward injunction to follow the First Commandment in particular, is so obvious. Significantly, he described the First Commandment as "The Great Commandment" (Mark 12:29).
For Jesus, this commandment meant more than just an injunction against worshipping idols. Jesus taught the absolute devotion to God alone:
On one occasion a lawyer stood up to pose him this problem: "Teacher, what must I do to inherit everlasting life?" Jesus answered him: "What is written in the law? How do you read it?" He replied: "You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your strength, and with all your mind; and your neighbor as yourself." Jesus said: "You have answered correctly. Do this and you shall live." [Luke 10:25-28]
Jesus even scolded those who called him Lord: "None of those who cry out, `Lord, Lord,' will enter the kingdom of God but only the one who does the will of my Father in heaven. When the day comes, many will plead with me, `Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in your name? Have we not exorcised demons by its power? Did we not do many miracles in your name as well?' Then I will declare to them solemnly, `I never knew you. Out of my sight, you evil doers!' " [Matthew 7:21-23]

Surely, when Jesus prayed in the Garden of Gethsemane he demonstrated that he was neither omnipotent nor omniscient:
"Father, if it is your will, take this cup from me; yet not my will but yours be done." [Luke 22:42]
Jesus made it clear in many, many ways that he was not God, that God is greater. Nowhere is this more definitely stated than when he spoke to his disciples about his imminent departure:
"If you truly loved me you would rejoice to have me go to the Father, for the Father is greater than I". [John 14:28]
We see that throughout the Gospels, Jesus prayed to God. This certainly argues against his being God. God would not pray to Himself.
There were times when Jesus felt the need to pray with special urgency. Luke reports that, on one occasion, Jesus prayed very hard:
"In his anguish, Jesus prayed with all the greater intensity, and his sweat became like drops of blood falling to the ground." [Luke 22:44]
One of the most compelling pieces of evidence that Jesus was not God is in the way that he taught the disciples to pray:
One day he was praying in a certain place. When he had finished, one of his disciples asked him, "Lord, teach us to pray, as John taught his disciples."
He said to them, "When you pray, say: `Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name, your kingdom come, your will be done on earth as it is in heaven. Give us today our daily bread, and forgive us the wrong we have done as we forgive those who wrong us. Subject us not to the trial but deliver us from the evil one.' " [Luke 11:1-4] [Matthew 6:9-13]
Note that Jesus taught us to pray to the Father, our Creator, not to himself. In fact, he did not mention himself in any way, nor did he indicate that we should pray in his name. His instructions were very specific-we are to pray to God alone.
This would not be the case if Jesus himself were God.
Conclusion:
Jesus followed the Mosaic law and did not claim divinity. According to the Bible, He was not omniscient nor omnipotent.
Given the fact that nowhere in the Bible do we see a direct identification of Jesus as God, and that Jesus strongly upheld all the commandments and emphasized the First Commandment, we can only conclude that the doctrine of Jesus' divinity has no foundation in the scripture nor in the life and teachings of Jesus. This concept is an innovation in Christian doctrine.
This may be a radical conclusion for you. Radical, only if you are not familiar with the historical development of the doctrine of Christ's divinity.
For a detailed study of the above topic, you may read the book:"JESUS" - Myths & Message by Lisa Spray, June, 1992, available on the internet at: http://www.themodernreligion.com ... sus_spray_intro.htm
May the good God guide us to know the truth and make us free from all corruption!
You shall know the Truth and the Truth shall make you free!
Thank you and keep in touch.



Allah Knows Best...
Peace Yall...

aenemy7

This was taken from ;        

http://www.islamonline.net/askab ... sp?hquestionID=6175

Name: Abu Ammar   - United States
Topic: Faith & Practice  
Title: The Credibility of Christian Love  
Question:
As-salamu `alaykum Dear Scholars,

The Christians keep telling Muslims and everyone else that the Bible says that God is love (1 John 4:16) and that He loves all people (Matt. 5:43-48; John 3:16) which I think a very beautiful thing. We as Muslims are taught in Islam that Allah loves those who are righteous and pious and He dislikes those who are evildoers, criminals, brutal dictators, etc…

My questions are:
Does that make the Triune God of the Bible better or more lovely and fair than Allah? I personally think that the Triune God of the Bible is love in a way, but not exactly and totally as the Christian brothers and sisters allege.

Otherwise, why would He cause the Christians - who are supposed to be His most beloved people since they are the ones on the right road - to massacre each others more than anyone else like in WW1 & WW2, etc… Why would He permit 80% of the world population to live under poverty line? etc…


Can we say that Allah is love and that He loves mankind? If yes, how can we prove it? Does His love differ from the love of the Triune God of the Bible? Which one has more love and mercy?


Salvation according to the Christians only requires faith. In other words, one only has to believe in the alleged blood sacrifice and he/she will never perish. Whereas in Islam, we are taught that the way to salvation is faith and good work combined. Faith by itself will not lead to salvation. Which one makes more sense, the Christian point of view or the Islamic?


As I stated earlier, the way to salvation according to the Islamic teachings is faith and good work combined. Unfortunately, this caused many Christians - who have very little knowledge of Islam & Islamic views - to accuse Allah of “selling” His salvation through good work, piety, etc… They allege that the Triune God of the Bible does not sell salvation. It is a free gift of eternal life He offers to us through faith in His Son Jesus. Is this true that Allah “sells” his salvation through good work?
Even though I was able to refute such a nonsense allegations, but yet, Muslims are always taught to consult with scholars & people of knowledge, so I would like to forward the questions to you and see what is your answers. May Allah reward you immensely for taking the time to clarify Islam for everyone in a time where Islam is being opposed and disturbed within and outside the Islamic nations. Wa-salam.

Date  2003/11/13   

Name of Consultant Nabil Haroun  

Salam Abu Ammar,

Thank you very much for your question.

Before holding a comparison between the way Allah loves His creatures and that of the Triune God of Christianity, let us first ask: is God triune? Historically, the false claim of trinity was fabricated and sponsored for the first time by the Church in the Nicea Council of 325 C.E. This was followed by extended prosecutions of the originally Unitarian Christians, throughout the Roman Empire.

Jesus has never claimed to be God, son of God or part of a triune God. Trinity was a fallacy borrowed, almost literally, from earlier pagan beliefs: Metra, Hinduism, Budhism as well as Greek and ancient Egyptian mythology. As much as the concept of God was so distorted in Christianity, were the basic guidance and teachings of Jesus distorted as well.

Basically, Allah have sent all His messengers to set the criteria between the good and the evil, for our success and well-being both in this worldly life and in the hereafter. Through their guidance, human conscience was revived and the sense of responsibility was cherished. Jesus himself has emphatically said:

“Then the King [i.e. Allah] will say to those at His right hand: ‘Come, O blessed… inherit the Kingdom…’ Then He will say to those at His left hand: ‘Depart from me, you cursed, into eternal fire…’ And they will go away into eternal punishment, but the righteous into eternal life. (Matthews 25: 40-46)

In contrast, the concept of “Christian salvation” relieves the individual from any responsibility towards his own actions. It is enough for a Christian to believe in the story of crucifixion and resurrection of Jesus. Christians believe that God has, allegedly, sacrificed His son Jesus for the atonement of all humanity, who collectively bear the original sin of one man, Adam.

Could this be the picture of a “loving” and just God? Is it justice to sacrifice His “own” sinless “born” son for the atonement of all humanity? Is it justice to equally reward the pious, honest or charitable with the killer, wicked or tyrant, so long as the latter believe in an invented story?

When this is widely indoctrinated and accepted, would we expect any better world than ours? Christian nations, for the last few centuries to the present day so-called new world (i.e. Zionist-Christian) order, has witnessed wars, massacres and atrocities of all kinds, while raising slogans of “Christian love” and “salvation through Jesus”.

Allah does not “sell” his love for good work. Rather, He has sent His messengers with promises and warnings, to protect us from evil and pitfalls, and to achieve virtuous prosperous life in this world. Otherwise, the world would have been deprived of any incentive for noble actions or deterrent from evil ones. Consider the human penal code, the penalties therein are set, out of love for the welfare of the society at large. Parents, as well, punish their children only out of their love and compassion, to ward them off harmful or risky acts.

The bounties of Allah over all mankind, both righteous and sinner, believer or nonbeliever alike, as detailed in the Qur’an, are manifestations of His “free” love to all His creatures. The Qur’an reads what means:
*{And in case you number the favor/s of Allah, you will not enumerate them; surely Allah is indeed Ever-Forgiving, Ever-Merciful.}*(An-Nahl 16:18)

aenemy7

His gates of mercy and forgiveness are open all time to all human beings, who faithfully and sincerely approach Him. The Qur’an reads what means:
*{And when the ones who believe in Our signs come to you, then say: ‘Peace upon you.’ Your Lord has prescribed for Himself [the] mercy, that whoever of you does an odious deed in ignorance, thereafter repents even after that and acts righteously, then [say] that He is Ever-Forgiving, Ever-Merciful.}* (Al-An`am 6:54)

The Qur’an also reads:
*{Say: ‘O My bondmen who have been extravagant against themselves, do not feel respondent of the mercy of Allah! Surely Allah forgives guilty [deeds] all together, surely He, Ever He, is the Ever-forgiving, Ever-Merciful.’}* (Az-Zumar 39:53)

Allah (swt) does not need clergy or priests to act as “mediators” in order to grant forgiveness or “salvation”. The Qur’an reads what means:
*{And when My bondmen ask you concerning Me, then, surely I am near; I answer the invocation of the invoker when he invokes Me, and let them believe in Me, so that possibly they would respond right-mindedly.}* (Al-Baqarah 2:186)

The Qur’an also reads what means:
*{And your Lord has said: “Invoke Me and I will respond to you.” …}* (Ghafir 40:60)

So, God accepts repentance even if one spends all his previous life fighting against Allah’s guidance. The Qur’an reads what means:
*{Do they not know that Allah He, Ever He, accepts repentance from His bondmen, and He takes [accepts] the donations; and that Allah, He, Ever He, is the Superbly Relenting, the Ever-Merciful.}* (At-Tawbah 9:104)

Actually Allah Almighty gains nothing if all humanity is pious, and loses nothing if they are all tyrants. The Qur’an reads what means:
*{What would Allah perform with tormenting you in case you thank [Him] and believe? And Allah has been Thankful, Ever-Knowing.}* (An-Nisaa’ 4:147)

Worth mentioning is that Muhammad, the prophet of Islam, peace and blessings be upon him, was a model of mercy and love towards humanity and all creatures. The Qur’an reads what means:
*{And in no way have We sent you [Muhammad] except as a mercy to the worlds.}* (Al-Anbiyaa’ 21:107)

He preached love to all creatures, as exemplified in the following sayings of his:

“He who believes in Allah and the Last Day should do good to his neighbors; and he who believes in Allah and the Last Day should show hospitality to the guest; and he who believes in Allah and the Last Day should either speak good or remain silent.” (Reported by Al-Bukhari and Muslim.)

“Gabriel impressed upon me [kind treatment] towards the neighbor [so much] that I thought as if I would confer upon him the [right of] inheritance.” (Reported by Al-Bukhari and Muslim.)

“A woman was punished because she had kept a cat locked up until it died, and [as a punishment of this offence] she was thrown into Hell. She had not provided it with food or drink, and had not freed it so that it could eat the insects of the earth.” (Reported by Al-Bukhari and Muslim.)

Also Jesus has called for love, in order to soften the hard hearts of the Israelites who, over centuries, have distorted or forgotten the teachings of Prophet Moses. Here is some examples:

“And so we know and rely on the love God has for us. God is love. Whoever lives in love lives in God, and God in him.” (1 John 4:16)

“You have heard that it was said: ‘Love your neighbor and hate your enemy.’ But I tell you: ‘Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, that you may be sons of your Father in heaven.’ (Matthews 5:43-45)

“You shall love your neighbor as yourself.” (Mark 12:31)

“A new commandment I give unto you, that you love one another. By this shall all men know that you are my disciples, if you have love to one another.” (John 13:34-35)

However, it is also attributed to Jesus that he said:

“Do not think that I came to bring peace on earth; I have not come to bring peace, but a sword. For I have come to set a man against his father, and a daughter against her mother, and a daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law, and a man’s foes will be those of his own household.” (Matthews 10:34-36)

“I have come to bring fire on the earth, and how I wish it were already kindled! But I have a baptism to undergo, and how distressed I am until it is completed! Do you think I came to bring peace on earth? No, I tell you, but division. From now on there will be five in one family divided against each other, three against two and two against three. They will be divided, father against son and son against father, mother against daughter and daughter against mother, mother-in-law against daughter-in-law and daughter-in-law against mother-in-law.” (Luke 12:49-53)

“If anyone comes to me and does not hate his father and mother, his wife and children, his brothers and sisters - yes, even his own life - he cannot be my disciple.” (Luke 14: 26)

Christian nations, through their missionaries and overwhelming media and out of political motives, have strived hard to monopolize the slogan of “love” as a slogan for Christianity. They have nothing else, neither intellectual nor moral, to convince an intellect to accept the distortions introduced to the original monotheistic message of Jesus, nor to woo a sane Muslim out of Islam.

Thank you again for your question and please keep in touch.

Salam.



Allah Knows Best...
Peace Yall.....

aenemy7

This was taken from;

http://www.islamonline.net/askab ... sp?hquestionID=5201

Here are the copy of the Q&A;

Name :Gamil   - Sudan
Topic: Faith & Practice  
Title: Salvation Through Jesus?  
Question:

In Timothy I (2: 2-5) you see the important verses:

"This is good and pleases the Holy One God, our Savior, for He longs for all mankind to be saved from eternal death in Hell in the Last day, and to understand the Truth: that God is on one side and all sinned people on the other side, and Christ Jesus, himself man, is between them to bring them together, by giving with great love his life (on the Cross) for all mankind."

Also we should never forget what Lord Jesus said in John (14:6):

"I am the Way and the Truth and the Life. No one comes to the God Father except by me." And in John 3: 16, he also said, "For God so Loved the World that he gave (on the cross) his one and only Son (Holy Jesus, the incarnated Word & Spirit of God himself), that whoever believes in him shall not perish in the last day in Hell, but have happy Eternal Spiritual Life in the Kingdom of Heaven."

Almighty God, who loves everyone and wants them to be saved from Eternal death in Hell will bless you in this world if you a pass on this message and will reward you richly in the second spiritual life in Heaven. But if you don’t pass on this message to other people, definitely God will punish you severely for that.

Date  2003/12/15   

Name of Consultant: Shahul Hameed  


Salaam Gamil.

Peace be with you!

Thank you very much for your question.

You have made a very clear and emphatic statement of your faith and asked the Muslim brothers not just to accept the same faith, but to also propagate it. In a nutshell your faith can be put thus: God is on one side and all the sinners are on the other side. Christ Jesus is a man (?) “between them” who died in the attempt to bring God and the sinners together. If you believe this, you are saved; otherwise you are doomed to eternal damnation.

You have quoted Biblical verses to support this view. One such verse is the statement attributed to Jesus: "I am the way, and the truth, and the life; no one comes to the Father, but by me.” (John 14:6).

The above verse is probably the most quoted one in support of the Christian claim that “salvation” is possible only through Jesus. But if we closely read the verse, we can see that this verse does not unambiguously support that Christian claim; nor does it necessarily mean what the Christians say. For instance, the Christians would not accept that a Muslim who believes in God and Jesus (as God’s Messenger – "the way" in that sense) will enter heaven.

But please understand that a prophet of God can say that he is the "way," in the sense that the Guidance of God comes through him, or it is through him that people come to know God and His will. Similarly, he can say that he is "the truth" in the sense that he is the bringer of the truth from God. And "he is the life" can mean that he is the one who leads us to eternal life.

Assuredly John 14:6 cannot be cited as an incontrovertible proof for your claim that one may get to heaven only if he believes that Jesus died for him. Besides you cannot quote a single utterance of Jesus that specifically endorses your belief in his blood sacrifice. On the contrary, this is what we find in the Gospel about eternal life (Matthew 19:16,17):

"And behold, one came up to him, saying, 'Teacher, what good deed must I do, to have eternal life?' And he said to him, 'Why do you ask me about what is good? One there is who is good. If you would enter life, keep the commandments.'"

On one occasion an expert in the law stood up to test Jesus (Luke 10: 25- 28):

"'Teacher,' he asked, 'what must I do to inherit eternal life?'
'What is written in the Law?' he replied. 'How do you read it?'
He answered, 'Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength and with all your mind;' and, 'Love your neighbor as yourself.'
'You have answered correctly,' Jesus replied. 'Do this and you will live.'"

Can anyone be clearer than this? To the straightforward question about eternal life, Jesus gave a straightforward answer.

Wouldn't Jesus have known that to inherit an eternal life a person must necessarily believe that God assumed human form (i.e. that of Jesus) to suffer death on the cross? He doesn’t speak of himself as a mediator between God and himself. If what you say is correct, why would Jesus mislead the people?

You have also referred to the following verse from the Bible (John 3:16):

"For God so loved the world that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life."

One interesting point to be noted here is an attempt by the Church to foist this verse on Jesus. In fact this is one of those exegetical remarks put in edgewise by the author or by a later interpolator. Many Christian scholars assert that this verse was not spoken by Jesus, but rather introduced by the Gospel writer. For instance, Fr. Rudolf Schneckenburg says that the author of the fourth Gospel is commenting on the words of Jesus here, namely: For God so loved the world that he gave his only Son so that everyone who believes in him might be saved.

Note the use of the third person rather than Jesus speaking in the first person. Note that the text does not read: “For God so loved the world that he gave me, his only Son so that everyone who believes in me might be saved.”

Besides, the Revised Standard Version of the Bible, which incidentally is a very authentic translation that corrects many errors of earlier translations, clearly puts the words of Jesus within quotes, while this verse (3:16) is given outside quotes as part of the explanation by the author of the Gospel.

We must also remember that the only Gospel that contains these words is the fourth Gospel which was written at least 70 years after the disappearance of Jesus. All this points to the fact that Jesus had nothing to do with this idea of the Father giving the innocent Son to be crucified for saving sinners. But your belief is that for “salvation” one needs simply to believe this. That is to say you don’t need to lead a virtuous life along with holding that belief to earn eternal life.

Most certainly the above idea blatantly contradicts Jesus’ real teaching given in Matthew 19:17: “If you would enter life, keep the commandments.” Jesus explained that the commandments are those in the law of Moses by giving examples from Toraic law. Later the man called Saul of Tarsus (later St. Paul who came to the fold of Christ’s followers as “the thirteenth apostle” after Christ’s time) insisted that leading a virtuous life is not a condition to enter eternal life. See how he derides the observance of the Law, contradicting Jesus:

Romans 2:15:

“For the law worketh wrath. For where there is no law, neither is there transgression.”

And again Romans 3:28:

“For we maintain that a man is justified by faith apart from observing the law.”

Paul wrote to the Ephesians, 2:8-9:

“For it is by grace you have been saved through faith—and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God—not by works so that no one can boast.”

The above verses clearly state that faith alone saves a Christian from damnation. Good works have no place.

Yet, it is true that there is an emphasis on good works elsewhere in the Bible. For instance, Jesus is reported to have said, "Not everyone who says to Me, 'Lord, Lord,' shall enter the kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will of My Father in heaven." (Matthew 7:21) And James, the brother of Jesus, wrote in his Epistle, "Faith without works is dead." (James 2:20)

But the present Christian churches that follow Paul rather than Jesus would undermine this legacy, and weaken it with a bloody mythology of human sacrifice. They simplistically dismiss Jesus' teachings about the need for correct action, and preach that salvation exists because Jesus died on a cross as payment for our sins. Such a belief shows a total disregard for human accountability in achieving salvation.

Dr. Arnold Meyer says:

"If by Christianity we understand faith in Christ as the heavenly Son of God, who did not belong to earthly humanity, but who lived in the divine likeness and glory, who came down from heaven to earth, who entered humanity and took upon himself a human form through a virgin, that he might make propitiation for men's sins by his own blood upon the cross, who was then awakened from death and raised to the right hand of God, as the Lord of his own people, who believe in him, who hears their prayers, guards and leads them, who will come again with the clouds of heaven to judge the world, who will cast down all the foes of God, and will bring his own people with him unto the home of heavenly light so that they may become like His glorified body - if this is Christianity, then such Christianity was founded by St. Paul and not by our Lord." (Dr. Arnold Meyer, Professor of Theology, Zurich University, Jesus or Paul, p. 122)

According to the Bible, Jesus taught (John 8: 32):

"And ye shall know the TRUTH, and the TRUTH shall make you free."

Let us pray to God Almighty to guide us to the Truth.




Allah Knows Best...
Peace Yall....

aenemy7

There's an interesting question in this Q&A and also some useful links....this was taken from;

http://www.islamonline.net/askab ... sp?hquestionID=4760

Name:Sarah- Egypt
Topic: Other  
Title: Various Da`wah Issues  
Question:

Salaam `Alaikom,

This is a very useful site, jazakom Allah kul khayr.

I have many questions and reflections on my mind, concerning Christian beliefs, among which are the following:

How is it possible for a normal Christian to reject the idea of Jesus being his Savior?

When we talk to Ahl al-Kitab (People of the Book) about the Qur'an , we should use material evidence like miracles and predictions and so on... not the moral issues, I hope u can understand that...

You can't make of something both the enemy and the judge. For instance: I can't tell them that the Qur'an is God's word because of its terrific language or because it wants us to be righteous… they need evidence, which their mentality could accept!

Another issue, more important than the above, and far more needed... is that of nassrat al-ummah (supporting the victory of our nation). If that issue was trivial yesterday - and it never had been - today it is essential as oxygen and water. Unluckily, so many youth and others are eager to do something for that nation, which was once the most glorious. Yet, they find nowhere to go. So what do you suggest about that? What can we all do?
Sorry, this was long.

Thank you and salaam

Date  2003/4/15   

Name of Consultant: Nabil Haroun  


Salaam Sarah,

Thank you for your question.

You have raised a number of important queries in your question, which are:


How can we help Christians to realize the falseness – according to Islam - of some of their basic beliefs, e.g. that Jesus was sent for salvation of all mankind from the original sin committed by Adam?


How to prove that the Qur’an is the true authentic book of God?


What can the youth do to support the Muslim nation out of its setbacks?

The answer to your first question can be found in the text of the Bible itself. The concept of “original sin” and atonement has never been mentioned or referred to, by Jesus.

It was the Church, after Paul, who has never met Jesus, that imposed this as a central concept to the Christian beliefs. By this is meant the ideas of:
Jesus being the son of God.

Although divine and part of the Holy Trinity, Jesus being sent in a human shape in order to be;

Crucified and then to rise from death, so that;

By sacrificing His beloved son, those who accept this story would be saved from punishment for the sin inherited by all humanity from one person, i.e. Adam.
Yet, neither of these claims could be attributed to Jesus anywhere in the Bible. On the contrary, both the Old Testament and New Testament contain statements opposing and refuting such beliefs. Few examples can be cited here regarding the concept of inherited sin and atonement:

“The fathers shall not be put to death for the children, neither shall the children be put to death for the fathers: every man shall be put to death for his own sin.” (Deuteronomy 24: 16)

“But every one shall die for his own iniquity.” (Jeremiah 31: 30)

“The soul that sinneth, it shall die. The son shall not bear the iniquity of the father, neither shall the father bear the inequity of the son: the righteousness of the righteous shall be upon him, and the wickedness of the wicked shall be upon him.” (Ezekiel 18: 20)

“Judge not, that ye be not judged. For with what judgment ye judge, ye shall be judged: and with what measure mete, it shall be measured to you again.” (Matthew 7: 1, 2)
“Now he that planteth and he watereth are one; and every man shall receive his own reward according to his own labour.” (I Corinthians 3: 8)

To sum up, Allah is Just and All-Forgiving, how could one believe that the sin of one person is inherited by all his human creatures!! You can read more about these topics in:
The Fastest Growing Religion

Islam Tomorrow

As for your second point;material miracles are proofs limited only to those peoples or generations who witnessed them. All prophets before Muhammad (pbuh) were sent to specific nations, in terms of place or time.

Islam, in its final form is the terminal message of Allah to ALL humanity and to the END of time. Hence, the proofs of Islam should be permanent and suitable to convince the intellect of all generations everywhere. Qur’an is that standing intellectual miracle, not only for its inimitable language, which in itself is an indisputable proof, but also in terms of its content of scientific facts and prophecies fulfilled.

These were far beyond human knowledge at the time of revelation and for several centuries to come. Much of these proofs were only verified quite recently, and probably other proofs will be realized later.

There are tens of such proofs related to: the nature, shape and motion of the planet Earth; to the nature and mechanisms of clouds and rain formation; to the nature and sources of rivers, groundwater and seas; to the origin, nature and development of the cosmos at large with its stars, planets and versatile forms of life therein; to the human embryology in terms of origination, stages, heredity and; to animal life and its classes, role of water, being in pairs, and precise specific features of bees, ants and cattle; to proper medical and health practice in foods, drinks, hygiene and avoiding damaging acts and behavior; to a series of prophecies mentioned in the Qur’an and revealed through the prophet’s hadiths that materialized and are still materializing nowadays.

It is not possible to elaborate any further in this brief answer, but you can refer to:

Islam for Everyone


Guide to Understanding Islam

Science Leads to Islam

Now, to your third point, which is: how to support the victory of Islam? This is quite a broad issue, as there is no single prescription that fits every Muslim. Every Muslim has a role for which he can be guided, provided he meets the following conditions:

Be faithful and sincere to Allah that you want to devote everything in your life to the cause of Islam.

Remember that we are all entrusted - each within his/her own capacity - to spread the guidance of Islam and apply its righteous model everywhere.

Know that Muslims should be one coherent cooperating nation.

Then, you have to prepare yourself with a clear and integrated knowledge of Islam as a comprehensive message and way of life; sources, faith, worship, conduct and legislation, etc...

Let what you learned guide your behavior and action in all aspects of life; personal worship and daily life, social charity and services, as well as family bondage. This is along with the broader solidarity and help of Muslims everywhere.

Try to convey what you have learnt to others and influence them to cooperate in applying proper Islam at home, in public life, and in fostering the unity of the Muslim world at large.
Thank you again for your answer and please, do keep in touch.

Salaam



Allah Knows Best...
Peace Yall....

13Friday

don't ban and blame Christians if we lecture you  as we had done this before in CARI months ago.


you ask for IT.

Debmey

Frankly, i have not read any of those cut and paste above.
The reason is very simple. I have rebutted all that nonsence long time ago.

aenemy7 needs to check back at old posts for the answers.

who would...excluding him...

Originally posted by me at 2004-11-30 12:00 PM:
who would...excluding him...

Excluding him means he read. I did too. If you & debmey cannot read or are lazy to read and think ~ just say that. Thats how christianity is taken anyway ~ just believe ~ without knowledge, without thinking.

hmmm...

excluding him...and ah chong...uh...i mean kennkid...

aenemy7

keep in touch!!!:lol


Allah Knows Best...
Peace Yall...

aenemy7

This Q&A was taken from;

http://www.islamonline.net/askab ... sp?hquestionID=8262

Name: Peter   - United Kingdom
Topic: Faith & Practice  
Title: Quibbling About Monotheism  
Question:

Greetings and peace to you and to all people of goodwill, wherever they are.
I understand that the primary testimony of faith in Islam is “la ilaha illa Allah” and in Christianity it is “credo in unum deum omnipotentem.” Where does the difference lie?

I find it impossible to accept the Christian doctrine of the Trinity. How can three be one? Would it be true to say that after the fundamental recognition of the oneness of God, everything else is quibbling?

Thank you for your patience with my confusion.

Date  2004/9/29   

Name of Consultant: Shahul Hameed  


Salam, Peter.

Thank you for your very insightful question.

As you have written, the primary testimony of faith in Islam is “la ilaha illa Allah,” which means that there is no one worthy of worship except Allah, the Creator. And you have given the first part of the Nicene Creed as the primary creed of Christianity: “Credo in unum Deum [Patrem] omnipotentem” (I believe in one God, the [Father] Almighty). As you do not accept the Trinitarian concept of Christianity this is fair enough.

The Islamic credo is essentially in agreement with the Christian creed when you put it this way. In fact, if we examine the whole of the Bible to find out the actual concept of God propounded by all the prophets and the books of the Bible (both the Old Testament and the New Testament), you can arrive at what you have written. And basically there is no difference between the Islamic concept of God and Christian concept of God. And indeed the Jewish concept of God is no different, either.

You have said that what comes after the primary declaration of faith is mere quibbling. I do not fully agree with this. I shall explain why.

In the case of the Muslim Shahadah (testimony of faith), the second part is “Muhammad Rasulu Allah” (Muhammad is the Messenger of God). So the over-all testimony is as follows: “Ash-hadu an la ilaha illa Allah, wa ash-hadu anna Muhammadun Rasulu Allah.” This is the full Shahadah. You can see that the Muslims accept this as authentic since they received the first part through the revelation given by God to Muhammad (peace be upon him). In Islam, there is no question of a Muslim accepting the first part of the Shahadah and denying the second. Obviously there is no quibbling in this matter.

Again, the second part of the confession, that Muhammad is the Messenger of Allah, means that it is Muhammad who is authorized to teach and explain the word of God, which he received from God—as also were other prophets before him. So Muslims receive the Qur’an and the Sunnah (the example of the Prophet) together as the fundamental sources of Islam.

Of course, if you ask which is the more fundamental of the two, the answer is the Qur’an. In fact the Sunnah is the Qur’an as praxis, without which God’s guidance remains, to a great extent, a set of precepts and admonitions. So despite the secondary status of the Sunnah, it is of equal importance to Muslims as humans confronting everyday reality.

Now we can have a look at the full Nicene Creed. To save time and space, I give only the English translation:
I believe in one God, the Father Almighty, Maker of heaven and earth, and of all things visible and invisible. And in One Lord, Jesus Christ, the Only-begotten Son of God, born of the Father before all ages; God of God, Light of Light, true God of true God; begotten, not made; of one substance with the Father, by Whom all things were made. Who for us men, and for our salvation, came down from heaven and was incarnate by the Holy Ghost of the Virgin Mary and was made man. He was also crucified for us, suffered under Pontius Pilate, and was buried. And on the third day He rose again according to the scriptures, and ascended into heaven. He sitteth at the right hand of the Father: and He shall come again with glory, to judge the living and the dead: and His kingdom shall have no end. And in the Holy Ghost, the Lord and Giver of life, Who proceedeth from the Father and the Son, Who, together with the Father and the Son, is adored and glorified: who spoke through the prophets. And one, holy, Catholic, and Apostolic Church. I confess one baptism for the forgiveness of sins. And I await the resurrection of the dead and the life of the world to come. Amen.
Here you can find how pure monotheism is watered down by the introduction of the Mithraic idea of a Trinitarian Godhead. “God is one but three persons” is a far cry from the concept of the Oneness of God preached by all the prophets of God, including Jesus Christ. The Christian belief in Trinity undermines, contravenes, and invalidates their belief in Oneness. Christians say, God is One but at the same time there are three persons in the One God—this, indeed, is a clear case of quibbling, as you have put it.

Another instance is its corollary: namely Jesus is fully God and fully man. It is beyond us, and it must be to any reasonable human—if one does not suspend one’s logical faculties temporarily for this purpose—to accept this idea of Jesus being fully God and fully man! Here too we find what you call “quibbling.”

Islam (submission to the will of God) is the religion of all the prophets from the first (Adam) to the last (Muhammad), including Noah, Abraham, Moses, and Jesus (peace be on them all). Islam to a human essentially means a jihad (a struggle or striving) to set aside all our petty concerns and interests for the sake of living in peaceful harmony with the will of God as evinced in His Books and exemplified by His prophets. Our ultimate concern and aspration should be to struggle sincerely towards the ideal set by God and His prophets for living as one Ummah (nation or community) in this world, disregarding all differences of race, color, or language and in mutual help and cooperation. That I believe, is the right path to the salvation of humanity in this world and the next.

And God knows best. Hoping this was helpful.

Thank you and please keep in touch.



Peace Yall....

aenemy7

This was taken from;

http://islamonline.net/askaboutislam/display.asp?hquestionID=4626

Name: Amy   - United States
Topic: Faith & Practice  
Title: Icons of Trinity  
Question:

I am a Catholic Christian and I see that you might have some misconceptions about our faith.

For example, you imply that Christians worship or pray to statues, icons, and symbols. This is most definitely not true for any Christian.

Icons and symbols are strictly reminders of what they stand for. One for example, does not pray to a statue of Jesus, but uses the statue as a reminder of Jesus Christ, who he is praying to.

And your interpretation of the Blessed Trinity seems to be that we worship three distinct gods. Contrary to this idea, we worship only one God.

Date  2003/3/19   

Name of Consultant: Shahul Hameed  


Salaam Amy,

Thank you very much for your question.

You say that you have sensed some objections in our answers, concerning the Christian veneration of pictures and status. The reason you sense this objection to their worship is that the Islamic point of view is totally different than that of Christianity.

Muslims can’t make a picture or a statue of God, for they see Him as sublime. They do not pray to their prophets or any other human, nor do they make images of them. This is quite different than how it is dealt with Catholic saints.

Yet, with deep respect, we request you to cite one verse from the Holy Bible that asks you to use pictures and status, or icons as you call them, as a reminder of Jesus Christ or any other prophet. Indeed, we could find the following verses there, which clearly prohibit the use of idols, statues, pictures or icons:

“Thou shalt not make to thyself a graven thing, nor the likeness of any thing that is in heaven above, or in the earth beneath, nor of those things that are in the waters under the earth.” (Exodus 20: 4)

“I am the Lord your God. You shall not make to yourselves any idol or graven thing: neither shall you erect pillars, nor set up a remarkable stone in your land, to adore it. For I am the Lord your God.” (Leviticus 26: 1)

Without defying the above commandments of God, how can the using of status or pictures albeit as mere reminders? I see some contradiction here, which I hope does not offend you.

As for the way Islam interprets Trinity, it is quite different than the Christian perception. The existence of this difference is really nature, for this is what makes the distinction between the two religions. What is important here is not the difference in perceptions, but it is the mutual respect to the ‘other’ that should exist.

It is not a must that one of the sides has to change to believe in the other’s point of view. Yet, it might be useful to understand how this ‘other’ sees it or think about it. Thus, I will mention in brief how Islam regards Trinity, with no need to repeat that not believing in it should never indicate disrespect.

Islam sees that Trinity [Father, Son and the Holy Spirit – three persons in one God] contradicts the concept of the Oneness of God. This is which is taught by the revealed scriptures of God and categorically stated in the Bible itself. Please read the following verses - among others - emphasizing belief in the One and Only God:

“Hear, O Israel: The Lord thy God is one Lord.” (Deuteronomy 6:4)

“Thus saith the Lord the King of Israel, and his redeemer the Lord of hosts; I am the first, and I am the last; and beside me there is no God. Fear ye not, neither be afraid; have not I told thee from that time, and have declared it? ye are even my witnesses. Is there a God beside me? yea, there is no God; I know not any.” (Isaiah 44:6,8)

You also have the following passages in the New Testament, in the words of Jesus Christ:

“And Jesus answered him, the first of all the commandments is: Hear, O Israel; the Lord our God is One Lord: And thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind, and with all thy strength: this is the first commandment. And the second is like, namely this, thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself. There is none other commandment greater than these…” (Mark 12:29-31)

“And this is life eternal, that they might know thee the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom thou hast sent.” (John 17:3)

In fact, we find the foregoing teachings of the Bible contradictory to the Trinitarian Christians argument: “Father is God, the Son is God, and the Holy Spirit is God. And yet there are not three Gods, but one God only.” Please permit me to say that I see this to be contradictive to the Bible and the teachings of all the prophets of God. I honestly hope this opinion would not offend you.

I feel, Amy, that I have to clarify again that you have the right to believe in whatever you find appealing to your heart and mind. We respect this and we appreciate your sincerity… but we don’t always have to agree…

Thank you Amy and please keep in touch.

Salaam



Allah Knows Best....
Peace yall....

aenemy7

Go to this URL:



It's a great website discussing about the "distortion & contradiction in the bible".... this websites is a full copy of a book "What Did Jesus Really Say"- by Misha'al ibn Abdullah , the discussion was very comprehensive! It's worth to read!! but it will take time coz there's a lot page to be read...this book clearly stated the intention of this thread! "Canon of the bible"


Allah Know's Best.....
Peace yall...