In the name of God, the most beneficent, the most merciful Dear Readers,
" Assalaamu Alaikum " : ( Peace be upon you ).
This is the way a Muslim greets when he meets another, as taught in the Qur'aan.(24:61)
It is the same way Jesus Christ (peace be upon him) greeted his disciples: " Peace be unto you." (Ref. The Bible: John, Chapter 20, Verse 19).
After greeting you in the way taught by Allaah through the great prophets, (peace be upon all of them), I begin with a prayer from the Holy Qur'aan, as prayed by prophet Moses (Peace be upon him). Quoted from the Holy Qur'aan, Chapter 20, verse 25 to 28:
" Moses said: My Lord ! Open for me my chest
(i.e., grant me self-confidence, contentment and boldness),
And ease my task for me;
And loose the knot (the defect) from my tongue,
(i.e., remove the incorrectness from my speech),
That they may understand my saying. "
THERE IS ONLY ONE GOD:
All the religions teach us that There is only One God and no other besides him.
In the Holy Qur'aan, (2:163), Allaah, the God says: " And your God is one God; there is no God except Him, The Beneficent, The Merciful. "
And in Christianity, the very first commandment as per Deuteronomy 6:4 of the Old Testament of the Holy Bible, is: " Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God is One Lord."
And in the New Testament of the Bible, Jesus (peace be upon him), repeats it in Mark 12:29, by way of an answer to a question: "The first of all the commandments is: Hear, O Israel; The Lord our God is One Lord."
Hindu scriptures are quoted to say: " Ekam Braham Dwithiya Naasthay." (There is one God, no second.) then adding emphatically: "Nay-ha Naa; Naasthay Kinchan." (No; None; Not even a little.)
Another sanskrit quote from a Hindu scripture: " Ekam Yevam a-dwithiyam." (He is one; without a second.) Veda is quoted to say: "Ekam Sat; Vipra bahuda vadanti." (That which exists is One, sages call it by different names.)
A South-Indian (Tamil language) adage says: "Onray kulam; oruvanay daywan." (Only one race; Only one God.)
All the major religions, therefore, include the important fact: THERE IS ONLY ONE GOD, NONE BESIDES HIM.
Yet, transgressors have, down the ages, tried to conceal or dilute this supreme fact in many ways, to serve their own purposes.
WHAT WILL HAPPEN IF THERE WERE MANY GODS ?
In the Holy Qur'aan, the God, Allaah, says:
" If there were therein Gods besides Allaah, then verily both (the heavens and the earth) had been disordered. Glorified be Allaah, the Lord of the Throne: (high is He) above what they attribute to Him ! " (21:22)
Thus Allaah gives the example of the orderliness with which the systems of the earth and the heavens are functioning, which surely would have been ruined, had there been gods besides Allaah, the one God.
At this point, some of the non-Muslims might feel uncomfortable on the use of the name "ALLAAH" to denote the ONE SUPREME BEING - THE ONE GOD.
"ALLAAH" is the ARABIC name for THE ONE GOD. Therefore, if He is called by a different name in another language, then it is only a matter of difference in languages.
When all major religions agree that there is ONLY ONE GOD, then God's Unity (Oneness) is not a matter under dispute.
Dictionaries, which give the meaning of the word "Allaah", as 'the Muslim name of God', are not telling you the whole truth. Because, besides the Muslims, the Arab Christians call the God as Allaah and the Arabic Bible calls the God as Allaah. So, it is not just the Muslim name for the God, but also the Arabic name for the God.
Coming back to the topic of ONE GOD: In the above Qur'aanic verse, Allaah thus invites our attention to the orderliness of the universe, to make us understand that there is only one God.
A suggestion to those who are not convinced about this line of reasoning: They might try to have two, three or four presidents or prime ministers for their country, or on a smaller scale, for their municipal administration or business corporations and then see the consequences.
Moreover, it is not just the orderliness of the universe, but there are hundreds of thousands of wonderful, innumerable signs of the God, in His creations, which our senses can perceive, through which He wants us to recognize Him and His powers. Through these signs He wants us to recognize Him, UNSEEN, and then obey His commands and accept His guidance sent through His messengers, for our own good.
Allaah says in Qur'aan, Sura 25, Verse 21:
" Such as (those who) fear not the meeting with us (for judgement) say: ' WHY ARE NOT THE ANGELS SENT DOWN TO US OR, (WHY) DO WE NOT SEE OUR LORD?'. Indeed they think too highly of themselves and are scornful with great pride. "
The God has raised messengers from among the people themselves, for their guidance, who read His commandments and matters of wisdom, the like of which can never be conceived by man.
Ignoring and forgetting the teachings of the great prophets, people have taken other persons and/or objects as god/s, of their own accord.
No respectable person, who is now being worshipped as god, ever claimed " I am god. Therefore, worship me." People worship them, following their own conjecture.
Down the ages, only wicked persons, out of their arrogance resulting from either their wealth, power or knowledge of trickery, have claimed to be gods. We see that they were not masters of their own souls and none of them is alive to-day.
If there is a likelihood that you would meet a person who claims to be god, then, be armed with the argument of Prophet Abraham (peace be upon him), as told in the Qur'aan: Sura 2, verse 258 :
" Have you not looked at him who disputed with Abraham about his Lord, because Allaah had given him the kingdom; when Abraham said: My Lord is He who gives life and causes death, he answered: I give life and cause death. Abraham said: Lo! Allaah causes the the sun to rise in the East, so do you cause it to come up from the West. Thus was the disbeliever utterly defeated. And Allaah guides not wrong doing folk. "
MESSENGERS OF ALLAH :Let me clarify that Islam recognizes Abraham, Moses and Jesus as Allaah's Prophets, besides a number of other prophets mentioned in Quran, like Noah, John, David, Solomon, Ishmael, Isaac, Job, Jonah, Joseph and others (peace be upon all of them). Naturally, the Muslims give all of them the respect they deserve.
Besides those mentioned by name, there have been other prophets whose name has not been mentioned in the Qur'aan.
" And messengers we have mentioned unto you before and ( O Muhammad ! , there are) messengers we have not mentioned unto you. " (4:164)
And were messengers sent only to the Semitic people, the Jews and the Arabs?
NO. Allaah sent messengers to all nations.
"And for every nation (there is) a messenger" (Quran 10:47)
The basic message of all the messengers was: to ask the people to worship The One God and not to worship anyone besides Him.
And now, let me explain the terms ISLAAM and MUSLIM, which repeatedly occur in this lecture.
The Holy Qur'aan quotes various messengers proclaiming themselves to be a Muslim and/or asking their followers to be Muslims, including Prophet Abraham (2:131), Prophet Jacob (2:132), Prophet Jesus(3:52), Prophet Moses (10:84), etc. A Muslim means one (who has) submitted (to the will of Allaah). Islaam means SUBMISSION (to the will of Allaah), while it also means PEACE.
The prophet who brought the God's religion, for the last time, under the name Islaam, is Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him). The teachings of all the earlier prophets have also been essentially the same.
IMPORTANCE OF PROPHETS:
Let us now consider the importance of the prophets for mankind.
PROPHETS are the ONLY MEDIUM
between THE ONE GOD and the MANKIND,
through whom we can recognize Him and know, accept, follow and
benefit by His Guidance.
The GUIDANCE, the PROPHECIES and the MIRACLES brought by the prophets are totally beyond the powers of an ordinary human being and THEY CONFIRM RECIPROCALLY :
1. the EXISTENCE and the MIGHTINESS of THE ONE GOD whose messenger the prophet claims to be;
2. the PROPHETHOOD of the PROPHET; and
3. the TRUENESS of the BOOK or LAW given through the prophet.
Believing in a prophet of God and following the guidance brought by him, whenever the prophet arrived in the past, was not a matter of option, but compulsory. With the limited knowledge given to man, he is bound to be in a state of confusion, ignorance and dispute, in most of the matters, and thus go astray, unless guided by his CREATOR.
A simple example is how an Economic System devised by MAN, - relying purely on man's intellect, - and totally ignoring God's guidance, turned out to be AN EMPTY, SATANIC PROMISE OF EQUALITY and within a few decades laid many a nation which adopted it, in shambles. Thus, submitting to and following God's guidance is indispensable.
And where to find GOD'S GUIDANCE ? Of course, in the divine scriptures left behind by the honourable prophets of God.
HOW THE OTHER NATIONS TREATED THE SCRIPTURES GIVEN TO THEM:
The Jews and the Christians whom Allaah calls as The People Of The Book, and also other people, are endowed with His books of guidance. But unfortunately, they have, for ages, been endlessly tampering with the revelations of God. The many modifications, suppressions, deletions and additions have resulted in uncertainties detrimental to the interests of mankind.
If one were to browse through the index relating to the 'revelations of Allaah' in an English translation of Qur'aan, we find the following words about what the DISBELIEVING PEOPLE did with the revelations of Allaah:
They doubted, neglected, disputed, denied, distorted, changed, ridiculed, scorned, rejected, plotted against, strove against, turned away from, indulged in hating, hiding and indifference, indulged in vain discourse about, were stubborn about, treated as magic and jest and sold (traded its teachings) for a small price or gain. That is how they treated the revelations of the Lord.
QUR'AAN IS PROTECTED BY ALLAAH:But Qur'aan is the one book of Allaah which has remained unchanged and undistorted and will ever be so. Allaah has taken the responsibility about this:
" We have without doubt sent down the Message; and We will assuredly guard it (from corruption)." ( Qur'aan 15:9 )
Now, fourteen centuries later, we know for sure that Allaah's promise has been fulfilled.
As said earlier, the GUIDANCE, the PROPHECIES and the MIRACLES, brought by a prophet, CONFIRM RECIPROCALLY:
1. the MIGHTINESS of the ONE GOD whose MESSENGER the PROPHET claims to be,
2. the TRUENESS of his claim to PROPHETHOOD and
3. the WORTHINESS of the SCRIPTURE brought by him as the source of guidance.
The prophets performed miracles, by leave of the Almighty, to demonstrate the truth of their prophethood. In the case of Prophet Muhammad (pbuh), the Qur'aan remaining unaltered is one of the miracles given to him by the Almighty. Qur'aan shows the most straight path and offers the mankind the best guidance on all matters and solution for all of man's problems. The fact that such a book was recited by an unlettered man, constitutes the biggest miracle in itself and confirms the divine origin of the book.
THE FINAL GUIDANCE FOR MANKIND:
Though people of the earlier religions forgot a portion of the advice given to them, distorted the teachings and changed words from their contexts, Allaah has, by His bountiful mercy, rectified these distortions and have shown to them the correct religion through Muhammad, Islaam and Qur'aan; the prophet, the religion and the book, sent as the FINAL GUIDANCE for mankind.
If Allaah wills, by the time we conclude this lecture, you will be convinced that the basic belief of Islaam,
"THERE IS NO GOD EXCEPT ALLAAH "
"MUHAMMAD IS MESSENGER OF ALLAAH"
is an unshakable truth.
One who has NO RELIGIOUS BELIEF can be given the correct religion anew. And one who has a FALSE RELIGION can also be shown the correct path with relative ease. But people who really have God's Religion given through His prophets sent to them, but have distorted it, need to be given the correct version of the distorted teachings and happenings to their prophets, alongwith the correct religion, ISLAAM.
Qur'aan devotes a fairly large portion of its text for such correction of the distorted belief about the earlier prophets and religions.
THE TRUE MISSION OF JESUS (peace be upon him) AND THE DISTORTED CHRISTIAN TEACHINGS:
Qur’aan defines the mission of Jesus (pbuh), as under:
To confirm (the laws) that already existed even before his arrival, from the Torah (in the Old Testament) ; (61:6)
To give the good news (the gospel) of the arrival of a messenger who comes after him, whose name will be ‘Ahmad’ (another name of Prophet Muhammad (pbuh) ). (61:6)
To teach the Children of Israel, unto whom he was sent, matters of wisdom ; (43:63)
To clarify on certain matters in which they differed ; (43:63) and
To legitimize certain things that were earlier banned for them. (3:50)
Jesus (pbuh) upheld the laws that existed in those days in the Torah, the book of laws given to Prophet Moses (pbuh), except for:
clarifying certain matters in which the Children of Israel differed, which Jesus necessarily had to; and
legitimizing certain things, by the command of Allaah, that were earlier banned for them by Allaah as a punishment for their misdeeds.
Jesus (pbuh) says in the Bible: (Matthew 5:17) “Think not that I am come to destroy the law, or the prophets: I am not come to destroy , but to fulfil.” Therefore, Jesus (pbuh) brought no new religion.
Jesus believed in One God and preached God’s unity. Jesus was a messenger of God and he did not claim to be anything else. Jesus has said, addressing The Lord: (John 17:3)
“........ that they might know Thee the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom Thou hast sent.”
In other words, Jesus says to the Lord: You are the only true God and You have sent me, i.e. I am Your messenger.
Since all the people did not believe in him, those who did not believe in him as another prophet and messenger of God were “disbelievers in Jesus Christ” and those who believed in him were later on called as "Christians".
Therefore, true “ Christians “ would be those, who:
Believe in One God.
Believe in Jesus Christ as a messenger of God.
Accept and implement the laws that already existed in the Torah.
Follow the matters of wisdom taught by Jesus.
Look to The Prophet, (Prophet Muhammad), who was foretold by Jesus, to guide them on all matters, as per the gospel - the good news - brought by him.
THE MAJOR DISTORTIONS:
Many distortions were made about Jesus and his sayings and the events that occurred during Jesus’ stay on the earth. The major distortions are:
Calling Jesus (pbuh) god.
Calling Jesus (pbuh) the son of God.
The theory of trinity.
Doubting the chastity of Mary (pbuh).
The alleged crucifixion of Jesus (pbuh), his perceived death at the cross and the so-called ‘resurrection’.
Atonement theory: the redeeming of mankind, brought about by Jesus' sufferings and ‘death’.
The concept that having faith in Jesus is sufficient for a man’s salvation and that conforming to the laws is not important.
While Allaah protected Qur’aan from any change and thus ensured that the Muslims knew and kept the pristine truths forever, Allaah has, by His wisdom, also ensured that certain key truths are uttered by Jesus (pbuh) in an indirect and allegorical (hidden) manner, so that, when the time comes, Christians too would come to know of the truth through the very same Bible, in spite of the distortions made by its custodians.
The real and deeper meaning of such utterances were beyond the comprehension of the people who distorted the teachings. Otherwise, they would not have let these verses remain in the Bible. But Allaah does what He wills, even though detractors of the religion strive to suppress His guidance.
“ And Allaah has full power and control over His affairs; but most among mankind know it not. ” (Qur’aan 12:21)
Now, let us study the distortions one by one and see how the Bible carries the truths enshrined in Qur’aan.
(One of the major distortions, the alleged crucifixion of Jesus, is dealt in detail in a separate article.)
JESUS WAS A MAN, A MESSENGER OF ALLAAH:Qur’aan teaches us that all the prophets and messengers sent by Allaah were mortal men and His slaves, like all people. Muslims have not deviated from the Islaamic teaching that Muhammad (pbuh) too is a slave of Allaah and His messenger.
Likewise, Qur’aan teaches us that Jesus (pbuh) too was a slave of Allaah and His messenger. Allaah says in the Qur’aan: 43:59 about Jesus (pbuh): “ He is nothing but a slave on whom We bestowed favour, and We made him a pattern for the Children of Israel.”
Jesus (pbuh) indeed is a slave of Allaah. His various utterances and actions manifest the truth. Jesus (pbuh) confirms in John 5:30: “ I can of mine own self do nothing.”
Someone who can of his own self do nothing, is a slave. But his special position among slaves like us is that he was a messenger of Allaah.
I Timothy 2:5 calls Jesus “.... the man Christ Jesus.”
It is said in Bible, Luke 24:19 : “ Jesus of Nazareth ...... was a prophet mighty in deed and word before God and all the people.”
In spite of these clear teachings of Bible that he was a man and a prophet, Jesus is often sought to be projected as god.
Jesus says is Matthew 15:7 & 15:9 :
7. [Ye] hypocrites, well did Esaias prophesy of you, saying,
9. But in vain they do worship me, teaching [for] doctrines the commandments of men.
Jesus is quoted in Qur’aan : 61:6 “ And when Jesus said: O children of Israel! Indeed I am messenger of Allaah unto you......”
Jesus was a messenger of Allaah unto the children of Israel.
Let us see how Bible quotes the same words of Jesus (pbuh):
" I am not sent but unto the lost sheep of the house of Israel. ” (Matthew 15:24). In simpler words: Jesus says that he was sent (he is a messenger) only unto the house of Israel.
And who sent him ? In not less than 15 verses of the Bible, Jesus says: “ the Father which hath sent me.....” He was sent by the 'Father', (the authors of The Bible allude to The God, as 'Father'), or in other words, he is a messenger of The God. (Ref. John 5:30, 5:36, 5:37, 6:39, 6:44, 6:57, 8:16, 8:18, 8:29, 8:42, 12:49, 14:24, 17:21, 17:25, 20:21)
Jesus (pbuh) has clearly said that he was not sent but unto the house of Israel. On the contrary, Muhammad (pbuh) is meant for the whole of mankind. Allaah tells Muhammad (pbuh) in Qur’aan: (34:28)
“ And We have not sent you (O Muhammad) but as a bringer of good tidings and a warner unto all mankind; but most of mankind know not.”
THE GOD HAS NO SON:
Jesus (pbuh) is projected as son of God, by the Christians:
Allaah says in Qur'aan, Sura Maryam, verses 88 to 93:
“ And they say: The Beneficent has taken unto Himself a son;
Assuredly you utter a disastrous thing,
whereby almost the heavens are torn,
and the earth is split asunder and the mountains fall in ruins,
that you ascribe unto The Beneficent a son,
when it is not suitable for (The Majesty of) The Beneficent
that He should choose a son.
There is none in the heavens and the earth but comes
unto The Beneficent as a slave.”
The above verses signify the enormity of falsehood the lie invented by them carries.
Allaah also says in another verse of Qur’aan: (2:116)
“ And they say: Allaah has taken unto Himself a son. Be He glorified ! Nay, but whatsoever is in the heavens and the earth is His. All are subservient unto Him. ”
From the above verse, we can deduce that the most desirable thing one would like to see in a son is obedience. Everybody would dislike his son who is not obedient. Since everything in the heavens and the earth belongs to Allaah and everything is obedient unto Him, what does having a son adds to His pleasure.
In the New Testament, the words “My Father” is widely used (while quoting Jesus (pbuh)) to denote God. This gives an impression that The God is Jesus’ father, which, in turn, projects Jesus as God’s son. All this misquoting comes to a naught, when in John 20:17 Jesus is quoted as having said: “I ascend unto my Father, and YOUR Father, and to MY GOD, and your God.”
In at least five verses of Qur’aan (3:51, 5:72, 5:117, 19:36, 43:64) Jesus is quoted as having referred to Allaah as MY LORD and YOUR LORD. The translation of verse No. 43:64 :
“Indeed Allaah, He is my Lord and your Lord, therefore, worship Him. This is right path.”
The verse of John 10:30, quoting Jesus: “I and [ my ] Father are one ” is often misused to reinforce the concept that Jesus is equal with The Lord. That is not the meaning of the verse.
A believer cannot say that I believe in The Lord (and what He says), but I do not believe in His messenger/s (and what they say) or vice versa. The messengers propagate what The Lord bids them to. Therefore, they cannot be differentiated for the purpose of belief. This is explained in verse 4:150 and 151 of Qur’aan:
“ Indeed those who disbelieve in Allaah and His messengers and seek to make distinction between Allaah and His messengers, and say: We believe in some and disbelieve in others, and seek to choose a way in between; Such are disbelievers in truth; and for disbelievers We prepare a shameful doom. ”
THE TRINITY AND ITS BASIS :
We shall now look at another wrong belief taught to the Christians: The theory of God’s TRINITY.
So far, no one has been able to satisfactorily explain what this theory is. But we can be sure that Jesus (pbuh) NEVER spoke of trinity. Nor the verses of the Bible on which this theory is presumably based, 1John 5:7 & 1 John 5:8 , are attributable to Jesus.
Moreover, we shall also see how the different versions of the Bible variedly quote these verses:
1. King James Version: (KJV) 1 John:
5:7 For there are three that bear record in heaven, the Father, the Word, and the Holy Ghost: and these three are one. 5:8 And there are three that bear witness in earth, the Spirit, and the water, and the blood: and these three agree in one.
2. Young’s Literal Translation: (YLT) 1John :
5:7 because three are who are testifying [in the heaven, the Father, the Word, and the Holy Spirit, and these—the three—are one; 5:8 and three are who are testifying in the earth], the Spirit, and the water, and the blood, and the three are into the one.
3. American Standard Version: (ASV) 1 John :
5:7 And it is the Spirit that beareth witness, because the Spirit is the truth. 5:8 For there are three who bear witness, the Spirit, and the water, and the blood: and the three agree in one.
4. New International Version: (NIV) 1 John : 5:6 (part) And it is the Spirit who testifies, because the Spirit is the truth. 5:7 For there are three that testify: 5:8 the Spirit, the water and the blood; and the three are in agreement.
While the first two versions referred above, KJV and YLT, speak of “the Father, the Word and the Holy Ghost” , the last two, ASV and NIV do not recognize these words. These three: “the father, the word and the holy ghost” are supposed to constitute the trinity. They are also referred as “ the father, the son, and the holy ghost ”(Matthew 28:19), representing The God, Jesus and the Holy Spirit.
We will take a close look at what these verses are talking about. The verses above give information about who bears witness in the heaven and the earth. Regarding the witnesses in the heaven, the first two versions (KJV and YLT) say that it is the father, the word and the holy ghost (holy spirit). Regarding the witnesses on the earth, the verses say that it is the spirit, the water and the blood. The other two versions (ASV & NIV) disagree with the above and say that the spirit is true, therefore it bears witness. Then in the later verse/s they proceed to confuse that there are three “the spirit, the water and the blood” and they are in agreement.
In any case, the verses are telling us nothing more than about the witnesses and variously conclude that:
these three are one;
these three agree in one;
these—the three—are one;
the three are into the one;
the three agree in one;
the three are in agreement.
Therefore, we can conclude that whatever be the number of witnesses, finally there is no conflict or fault in their witnessing and that they are all in agreement. Nowhere do these verses say that the witnesses means gods or components of Godhead.
On the same matter of witnesses, Allaah tells us about them in Qur’aan, clearly and without a conflict, as you will come to know from the following study.
1. Allaah is a witness over all things and He is sufficient as a witness.
“ And in whatever way you may be occupied; and whatever portion you may be reciting from the Qur’aan; and whatever deed you may be doing -We are witness thereof - when you are deeply engrossed therein. Nor is hidden from your Lord (so much as) the weight of an atom on the earth or in the heavens, nor what is less than that or greater than that, but it is (written) in a clear book. ” ( Qur'aan 10:61)
" Him unto Whom belongs the sovereignty of the heavens and the earth; And Allaah is witness to all things. " (Qur'aan 85:9)
2. Besides, angels are witnesses. " But Allaah (Himself) bears witness concerning that which He has revealed unto you; with His knowledge has He revealed it; and the angels bear witness: And Allaah is sufficient witness. " (Qur'aan 4:166)
3. Man himself is a witness of what he does and his tongue and limbs will speak out on the judgement day, as to what they used to do. " On that (judgment) day when their tongues, their hands, and their feet will bear witness against them, as to what they used to do." ( Qur'aan 24:24)
4. The book of records, prepared by the angels, will be a material witness on the judgement day.
Qur'aan 23:62 : " On no soul do We place a burden greater than it can bear; and with Us is a record which clearly speaks the truth; and they will not be wronged."
Qur'aan 43:80 : " Or deem they that We hear not their secrets and private counsels ? Nay, but Our messengers (angels sent by Us), present with them, do record."
Qur'aan 50:18 : "he (man) utters no word but there is with him an observer ready (to record)."
5. The messengers would be witnesses against the people unto whom they were sent.
Qur'aan 73:15 : " Indeed We have sent unto you a messenger as witness against you, even as We sent unto Pharaoh a messenger. "
THE OTHER BASIS FOR TRINITY:
Apart from the verses of 1-John (5:7 & 5:8), which talk about three witnesses in heaven and which form a basis for the trinity theory for its propagators, the other verse where the words the father, the son and the holy spirit appear, is Matthew 28:19. The Young’s Literal Translation, however, puts part of verse No.19 and a part of verse No. 20, which contains the words: father, son, holy spirit, etc. within parenthesis, as you may see below:
Matthew 28: 18 And having come near, Jesus spake to them, saying, ‘Given to me was all authority in heaven and on earth; 19 having gone, then, disciple all the nations, (baptizing them—to the name of the Father , and of the Son , and of the Holy Spirit, 20 teaching them to observe all, whatever I did command you,) and lo, I am with you all the days—till the full end of the age.’
The group of four verses beginning from No. 18, form a quotation of Jesus’ words (pbuh). What does the insertion of a group of words within parenthesis signify ?
1. First of all, it means that the words within parenthesis are not the words of Jesus. Otherwise, where is the need to put them within parenthesis.
2. At best, these words are the translator’s interpretation of Jesus’ words, if not an outright interpolation of words that are not in the source document, which the Young’s Literal Translation has honestly emphasized with the parenthesis.
The words “disciple all the nations” can be allowed to be interpreted as Jesus’ direction to “baptize to the name of father, son and holy spirit ” only if this meaning is commonly found elsewhere in the Bible. But in the only other place where this is found, (in 1-John 5:7), again we find them placed within brackets.
Analysis of the components of the trinity:
Now, we shall study the three words that denote the ‘trinity’ :
the father
the word and
the holy spirit.
You, I and any layman, or even a child knows what this word ‘father’ means and how one becomes a father. Yet, Christians are taught to use unhesitatingly, the word ‘father’ to denote The Almighty.
Prudence, propriety and common sense demands that words are not used inappropriately and that they are used strictly in the sense they are commonly understood and known to be used. In matters relating to God, it is even more necessary that we use words with utmost caution, so that we do not utter anything that is at variance with the truth or does not befit His Majesty.
But we can see in the Bible that words were put to use in whatever way it pleased and suited its custodians. They are not only used inappropriately and irresponsibly, but also contradictorily and confusingly, as we observe in the course of this study. I must add that the contradictions in the Christian belief is not just due to an innocent misuse of words, but because the salient features of the Christian theology itself, as professed now and during the larger period of its existence, is not God-made but is man-made.
The seemingly unnecessary differences and contradictions were not introduced into an otherwise sound original theology without a purpose: The enemies of the religion and, therefore, also the enemies of God, who are averse to obeying the edicts of the holy books, operate in devious ways to destroy or dilute the laws, so that they can freely follow their own lusts, while at the same time pretending to follow the religion. As a result of this satanic scheme, the followers of a God-given, sound religion are divided with the tool of differences and controversies and made to fight and waste their energies and time, not only on trivial issues, but also on essential fundamental beliefs.
Allah says in the Qur’aan, pointing to the absence of any contradiction in the Qur’aan: “ Why do they not then ponder over the Qur’aan ? And had it been from (a source) other than Allah, they would have surely found in it contradictions in abundance.” (4:82).
The very first verse of the Bible, Genesis 1:1 “In the beginning God created.......... ” introduces us to the God as the creator. Anyone who has read just the first verse of the Bible knows God as The Creator. So, there is no need to call Him as Father, even to explain Him metaphorically, and try in vain to compare the One Who is Incomparable.
Allah condemns man for such behaviour, in Qur’aan (36:78):
“ And he makes comparisons for Us, and forgets his own creation....” .
(The Bible): Malachi 2:10 " Have we not all one father? hath not one God created us? " The above verse of the Bible is possibly the explanation for the unwarranted use of the word ‘father’ in the Bible to denote The Almighty’s function, attribute or power as The Sole Creator.
In the whole universe, He is the only Creator and everything else is His creature. In the book of Genesis, the Bible gives details of how the heavens, the earth, the light, the animals, the man, etc. were made by Allah. Everything came into being by His command.
“ For he spake, and it was done; He commanded, and it stood fast.” (Pslams 33:9)
In Qur’aan, similar details of His creative powers are given, where it is mentioned that whenever He decrees a work (to be done) or wills a thing (to be created), He says to it, " Be ! ", and it becomes. (2:117, 3:47, 3:59, 16:40, 19:35, 36:82, 40:68). In this manner, Allah has chosen to create everything. In the very same manner, Allah created Jesus (pbuh) too.
Qur’aan recounts the astonishment of Mary (pbuh), when she was informed that she is about to be blessed with a son, Jesus.
3:45 : When the angels said: “O Mary ! Allah gives you glad tidings of a word from Him: his name will be The Messiah Jesus, son of Mary, held in honour in this world and the hereafter and of those nearest (to Allah).
3:46 : He shall speak unto the people in his cradle and in his maturity and he shall be of the righteous.”
3:47 She said: " My Lord ! How can I have a child when no man has touched me." He said: “ Even so: Allah creates what He wills: When He has decreed a plan, He says to it, ' Be ! 'and it is ! ”
In verse 3:45 above, Allah gives Mary the glad tidings of a word from Him, a child whose name shall be Christ Jesus and He accomplished His will by commanding “ Be ! ”.
Thus created Allah the heavens and the earth and everything that He created:
(Qur'aan 2:117) : “The Originator of the heavens and the earth ! When He decrees a thing, He says unto it : Be ! and it is. ”
(Qur'aan 16:40) : “And Our word unto a thing, when We intend it, is only that We say unto it : Be ! and it is. ”
The Bible says: “ By the word of Jehovah were the heavens made.” (Psalms 33:6)
Touching the subject of Jesus’ creation, the Bible says: “And the Word became flesh ” (John 1:14)
The ‘word’, referred in the above verses, therefore, is the word of Allah, which is His speech or command. It is neither an independent thing or being nor ‘god’ as the Christians are being indoctrinated. The word is subordinate to the will or intention of Allah, as can be seen from the following verses:
Bible: Reve 4:11 (ASV) “ Worthy art Thou, our Lord and our God, to receive the glory and the honor and the power: for Thou didst create all things, and because of Thy will they were, and were created.”
Qur’aan: 36:82 “But His command, when He intends a thing, is only that he says to it, Be ! and it is.”
Bible: John 1:13 “ which were born, not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God. 1:14 And the word was made flesh,”
The word becoming flesh, by Allah’s will, as told in the above verse of Bible, is only half the story. For Jesus, or any other soul, to become a living being and not to remain just flesh, it needs to be infused with spirit.
Qur’aan: 15:29 “And when I have made him (Adam, the first man) and have breathed into him of My spirit.....”
Qur’aan: 32:9 “ Then He fashioned him and breathed into him of His spirit; ”
Bible: Genesis 2:7 “And the LORD God formed man [of] the dust of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living soul.”
Bible: Job 32:8 “But [there is] a spirit in man: and the inspiration of the Almighty giveth them understanding.”
So, Jesus (pbuh) after being conceived in Mary’s womb (pbuh), i.e., after he became flesh, is also infused with spirit, for him to become a living being. Qur’aan: 21:91 “And her (Mary) who guarded her chastity: We breathed into her of Our spirit, and We made her and her son a sign for all peoples.”
As distinct from the spirit that dwells within all people, the holy spirit, (or the holy ghost, as the Christians call it), is archangel Gabriel, about whom the Qur’aan gives, inter alia, the following information:
1. Allah strengthened Jesus (pbuh) with holy spirit (2:87, 2:253), which helped him speak from the cradle and in maturity. (5:110)
2. Allah revealed the Qur’aan to Muhammad (pbuh) through holy spirit. (16:102) The three verses quoted above (2:87, 2:253, 5:110) mention holy spirit in relation to matters connected with Jesus. Some other verses carry reference to “the spirit” or “our spirit” or “spirit from Us” that relate to matters other than Jesus.
But what is a spirit ? Allah says in the Qur’aan: 17:85:
“ They ask you (O Muhammad) concerning the spirit; Say: The spirit is by command of my Lord, and of knowledge you have been given but little.”
Excepting the information that the spirit is by the command of Allah, little else has been conveyed to us about it. The way the above verse is constructed, it also means that man has been given very little of the knowledge, in general.
From the above detailed study, we have come to know that the word is the speech and command of Allah and that the spirit is by the command of Allah.
From the following verse of Qur’aan, 4:171, we can observe that Jesus is a word of Allah, (by which he is first conceived in Mary’s womb as flesh - an embryo - ), and a spirit from Allah, breathed into her, (which makes him a live foetus).
“ O people of the Scripture!
Do not exaggerate in your religion nor utter anything concerning Allah
except the truth.
The Messiah Jesus, son of Mary, was only a messenger of Allah ,
and His word which He conveyed unto Mary, and a spirit from Him.
So believe in Allah and His messengers,
and say not “three” - cease ! - it is better for you.
Allah is only One God.
Far is it removed from His transcendent majesty that He should have a son.
His is all that is in the heavens and the earth.
And Allah is sufficient as Defender. ”
Thus, in the above verse, Allah explains and nullifies the aberration called trinity and asks the People of Scripture not to make god out of His messenger and His words or creations; There is only One God who owns the heavens and the earth and it does not befit His majesty to have a son.
Let us hear the word, Jesus, speak to his Creator:
“ And this is life eternal, that they should know Thee, the only true God, and him whom Thou didst send, [even] Jesus Christ. ” (John 17:3)
The above verse of the Bible demolishes the trinity theory with Jesus’ own words and conclusively proves that there is no god except The One God and that Jesus is His messenger.
The verses that want to prove Jesus as son of God are themselves based on heresy: a belief opposed to what other verses of the Bible say. 16 verses, from Luke 3:23 to 3:38 give the genealogy of 76 persons from Adam to Jesus. The first verse 3:23 states Jesus as the son of Joseph (the carpenter) adding the words “as was supposed” and the last verse calls Adam the son of God. Thus the first parentage is based on a supposition, (from where, naturally, it cannot proceed further) and the last link in the chain is Adam, whom we all know as created from dust and breathed with spirit from the Lord (Genesis 2:7).
Joseph the carpenter himself is told by an angel in his dream about Mary that “that which is conceived in her is of the Holy Spirit.” (Matthew 1:20). Thus, they have built a long bridge of 76 spans to prove Jesus’ lineage from God, but the first and the last spans of the bridge are made up of spiders’ web.
In another case of classic deception, Matthew 1:16 states “and Jacob begat Joseph the husband of Mary, of whom was born Jesus, who is called Christ.” The above verse makes you hazard a guess whether Jesus was the son of Joseph. If that was not the intention, to call Jesus as son of Joseph, then what is the purpose of stating the genealogy of Joseph through 15 long verses on the very first page of the gospel. Why not call Jesus as son of Mary, as the Qur’aan invariably calls him, a total number of 12 times.
" Assalaamu Alaikum " : ( Peace be upon you ).
This is the way a Muslim greets when he meets another, as taught in the Qur'aan.(24:61)
It is the same way Jesus Christ (peace be upon him) greeted his disciples: " Peace be unto you." (Ref. The Bible: John, Chapter 20, Verse 19).
After greeting you in the way taught by Allaah through the great prophets, (peace be upon all of them), I begin with a prayer from the Holy Qur'aan, as prayed by prophet Moses (Peace be upon him). Quoted from the Holy Qur'aan, Chapter 20, verse 25 to 28:
" Moses said: My Lord ! Open for me my chest
(i.e., grant me self-confidence, contentment and boldness),
And ease my task for me;
And loose the knot (the defect) from my tongue,
(i.e., remove the incorrectness from my speech),
That they may understand my saying. "
THERE IS ONLY ONE GOD:
All the religions teach us that There is only One God and no other besides him.
In the Holy Qur'aan, (2:163), Allaah, the God says: " And your God is one God; there is no God except Him, The Beneficent, The Merciful. "
And in Christianity, the very first commandment as per Deuteronomy 6:4 of the Old Testament of the Holy Bible, is: " Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God is One Lord."
And in the New Testament of the Bible, Jesus (peace be upon him), repeats it in Mark 12:29, by way of an answer to a question: "The first of all the commandments is: Hear, O Israel; The Lord our God is One Lord."
Hindu scriptures are quoted to say: " Ekam Braham Dwithiya Naasthay." (There is one God, no second.) then adding emphatically: "Nay-ha Naa; Naasthay Kinchan." (No; None; Not even a little.)
Another sanskrit quote from a Hindu scripture: " Ekam Yevam a-dwithiyam." (He is one; without a second.) Veda is quoted to say: "Ekam Sat; Vipra bahuda vadanti." (That which exists is One, sages call it by different names.)
A South-Indian (Tamil language) adage says: "Onray kulam; oruvanay daywan." (Only one race; Only one God.)
All the major religions, therefore, include the important fact: THERE IS ONLY ONE GOD, NONE BESIDES HIM.
Yet, transgressors have, down the ages, tried to conceal or dilute this supreme fact in many ways, to serve their own purposes.
WHAT WILL HAPPEN IF THERE WERE MANY GODS ?
In the Holy Qur'aan, the God, Allaah, says:
" If there were therein Gods besides Allaah, then verily both (the heavens and the earth) had been disordered. Glorified be Allaah, the Lord of the Throne: (high is He) above what they attribute to Him ! " (21:22)
Thus Allaah gives the example of the orderliness with which the systems of the earth and the heavens are functioning, which surely would have been ruined, had there been gods besides Allaah, the one God.
At this point, some of the non-Muslims might feel uncomfortable on the use of the name "ALLAAH" to denote the ONE SUPREME BEING - THE ONE GOD.
"ALLAAH" is the ARABIC name for THE ONE GOD. Therefore, if He is called by a different name in another language, then it is only a matter of difference in languages.
When all major religions agree that there is ONLY ONE GOD, then God's Unity (Oneness) is not a matter under dispute.
Dictionaries, which give the meaning of the word "Allaah", as 'the Muslim name of God', are not telling you the whole truth. Because, besides the Muslims, the Arab Christians call the God as Allaah and the Arabic Bible calls the God as Allaah. So, it is not just the Muslim name for the God, but also the Arabic name for the God.
Coming back to the topic of ONE GOD: In the above Qur'aanic verse, Allaah thus invites our attention to the orderliness of the universe, to make us understand that there is only one God.
A suggestion to those who are not convinced about this line of reasoning: They might try to have two, three or four presidents or prime ministers for their country, or on a smaller scale, for their municipal administration or business corporations and then see the consequences.
Moreover, it is not just the orderliness of the universe, but there are hundreds of thousands of wonderful, innumerable signs of the God, in His creations, which our senses can perceive, through which He wants us to recognize Him and His powers. Through these signs He wants us to recognize Him, UNSEEN, and then obey His commands and accept His guidance sent through His messengers, for our own good.
Allaah says in Qur'aan, Sura 25, Verse 21:
" Such as (those who) fear not the meeting with us (for judgement) say: ' WHY ARE NOT THE ANGELS SENT DOWN TO US OR, (WHY) DO WE NOT SEE OUR LORD?'. Indeed they think too highly of themselves and are scornful with great pride. "
The God has raised messengers from among the people themselves, for their guidance, who read His commandments and matters of wisdom, the like of which can never be conceived by man.
Ignoring and forgetting the teachings of the great prophets, people have taken other persons and/or objects as god/s, of their own accord.
No respectable person, who is now being worshipped as god, ever claimed " I am god. Therefore, worship me." People worship them, following their own conjecture.
Down the ages, only wicked persons, out of their arrogance resulting from either their wealth, power or knowledge of trickery, have claimed to be gods. We see that they were not masters of their own souls and none of them is alive to-day.
If there is a likelihood that you would meet a person who claims to be god, then, be armed with the argument of Prophet Abraham (peace be upon him), as told in the Qur'aan: Sura 2, verse 258 :
" Have you not looked at him who disputed with Abraham about his Lord, because Allaah had given him the kingdom; when Abraham said: My Lord is He who gives life and causes death, he answered: I give life and cause death. Abraham said: Lo! Allaah causes the the sun to rise in the East, so do you cause it to come up from the West. Thus was the disbeliever utterly defeated. And Allaah guides not wrong doing folk. "
MESSENGERS OF ALLAH :Let me clarify that Islam recognizes Abraham, Moses and Jesus as Allaah's Prophets, besides a number of other prophets mentioned in Quran, like Noah, John, David, Solomon, Ishmael, Isaac, Job, Jonah, Joseph and others (peace be upon all of them). Naturally, the Muslims give all of them the respect they deserve.
Besides those mentioned by name, there have been other prophets whose name has not been mentioned in the Qur'aan.
" And messengers we have mentioned unto you before and ( O Muhammad ! , there are) messengers we have not mentioned unto you. " (4:164)
And were messengers sent only to the Semitic people, the Jews and the Arabs?
NO. Allaah sent messengers to all nations.
"And for every nation (there is) a messenger" (Quran 10:47)
The basic message of all the messengers was: to ask the people to worship The One God and not to worship anyone besides Him.
And now, let me explain the terms ISLAAM and MUSLIM, which repeatedly occur in this lecture.
The Holy Qur'aan quotes various messengers proclaiming themselves to be a Muslim and/or asking their followers to be Muslims, including Prophet Abraham (2:131), Prophet Jacob (2:132), Prophet Jesus(3:52), Prophet Moses (10:84), etc. A Muslim means one (who has) submitted (to the will of Allaah). Islaam means SUBMISSION (to the will of Allaah), while it also means PEACE.
The prophet who brought the God's religion, for the last time, under the name Islaam, is Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him). The teachings of all the earlier prophets have also been essentially the same.
IMPORTANCE OF PROPHETS:
Let us now consider the importance of the prophets for mankind.
PROPHETS are the ONLY MEDIUM
between THE ONE GOD and the MANKIND,
through whom we can recognize Him and know, accept, follow and
benefit by His Guidance.
The GUIDANCE, the PROPHECIES and the MIRACLES brought by the prophets are totally beyond the powers of an ordinary human being and THEY CONFIRM RECIPROCALLY :
1. the EXISTENCE and the MIGHTINESS of THE ONE GOD whose messenger the prophet claims to be;
2. the PROPHETHOOD of the PROPHET; and
3. the TRUENESS of the BOOK or LAW given through the prophet.
Believing in a prophet of God and following the guidance brought by him, whenever the prophet arrived in the past, was not a matter of option, but compulsory. With the limited knowledge given to man, he is bound to be in a state of confusion, ignorance and dispute, in most of the matters, and thus go astray, unless guided by his CREATOR.
A simple example is how an Economic System devised by MAN, - relying purely on man's intellect, - and totally ignoring God's guidance, turned out to be AN EMPTY, SATANIC PROMISE OF EQUALITY and within a few decades laid many a nation which adopted it, in shambles. Thus, submitting to and following God's guidance is indispensable.
And where to find GOD'S GUIDANCE ? Of course, in the divine scriptures left behind by the honourable prophets of God.
HOW THE OTHER NATIONS TREATED THE SCRIPTURES GIVEN TO THEM:
The Jews and the Christians whom Allaah calls as The People Of The Book, and also other people, are endowed with His books of guidance. But unfortunately, they have, for ages, been endlessly tampering with the revelations of God. The many modifications, suppressions, deletions and additions have resulted in uncertainties detrimental to the interests of mankind.
If one were to browse through the index relating to the 'revelations of Allaah' in an English translation of Qur'aan, we find the following words about what the DISBELIEVING PEOPLE did with the revelations of Allaah:
They doubted, neglected, disputed, denied, distorted, changed, ridiculed, scorned, rejected, plotted against, strove against, turned away from, indulged in hating, hiding and indifference, indulged in vain discourse about, were stubborn about, treated as magic and jest and sold (traded its teachings) for a small price or gain. That is how they treated the revelations of the Lord.
QUR'AAN IS PROTECTED BY ALLAAH:But Qur'aan is the one book of Allaah which has remained unchanged and undistorted and will ever be so. Allaah has taken the responsibility about this:
" We have without doubt sent down the Message; and We will assuredly guard it (from corruption)." ( Qur'aan 15:9 )
Now, fourteen centuries later, we know for sure that Allaah's promise has been fulfilled.
As said earlier, the GUIDANCE, the PROPHECIES and the MIRACLES, brought by a prophet, CONFIRM RECIPROCALLY:
1. the MIGHTINESS of the ONE GOD whose MESSENGER the PROPHET claims to be,
2. the TRUENESS of his claim to PROPHETHOOD and
3. the WORTHINESS of the SCRIPTURE brought by him as the source of guidance.
The prophets performed miracles, by leave of the Almighty, to demonstrate the truth of their prophethood. In the case of Prophet Muhammad (pbuh), the Qur'aan remaining unaltered is one of the miracles given to him by the Almighty. Qur'aan shows the most straight path and offers the mankind the best guidance on all matters and solution for all of man's problems. The fact that such a book was recited by an unlettered man, constitutes the biggest miracle in itself and confirms the divine origin of the book.
THE FINAL GUIDANCE FOR MANKIND:
Though people of the earlier religions forgot a portion of the advice given to them, distorted the teachings and changed words from their contexts, Allaah has, by His bountiful mercy, rectified these distortions and have shown to them the correct religion through Muhammad, Islaam and Qur'aan; the prophet, the religion and the book, sent as the FINAL GUIDANCE for mankind.
If Allaah wills, by the time we conclude this lecture, you will be convinced that the basic belief of Islaam,
"THERE IS NO GOD EXCEPT ALLAAH "
"MUHAMMAD IS MESSENGER OF ALLAAH"
is an unshakable truth.
One who has NO RELIGIOUS BELIEF can be given the correct religion anew. And one who has a FALSE RELIGION can also be shown the correct path with relative ease. But people who really have God's Religion given through His prophets sent to them, but have distorted it, need to be given the correct version of the distorted teachings and happenings to their prophets, alongwith the correct religion, ISLAAM.
Qur'aan devotes a fairly large portion of its text for such correction of the distorted belief about the earlier prophets and religions.
THE TRUE MISSION OF JESUS (peace be upon him) AND THE DISTORTED CHRISTIAN TEACHINGS:
Qur’aan defines the mission of Jesus (pbuh), as under:
To confirm (the laws) that already existed even before his arrival, from the Torah (in the Old Testament) ; (61:6)
To give the good news (the gospel) of the arrival of a messenger who comes after him, whose name will be ‘Ahmad’ (another name of Prophet Muhammad (pbuh) ). (61:6)
To teach the Children of Israel, unto whom he was sent, matters of wisdom ; (43:63)
To clarify on certain matters in which they differed ; (43:63) and
To legitimize certain things that were earlier banned for them. (3:50)
Jesus (pbuh) upheld the laws that existed in those days in the Torah, the book of laws given to Prophet Moses (pbuh), except for:
clarifying certain matters in which the Children of Israel differed, which Jesus necessarily had to; and
legitimizing certain things, by the command of Allaah, that were earlier banned for them by Allaah as a punishment for their misdeeds.
Jesus (pbuh) says in the Bible: (Matthew 5:17) “Think not that I am come to destroy the law, or the prophets: I am not come to destroy , but to fulfil.” Therefore, Jesus (pbuh) brought no new religion.
Jesus believed in One God and preached God’s unity. Jesus was a messenger of God and he did not claim to be anything else. Jesus has said, addressing The Lord: (John 17:3)
“........ that they might know Thee the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom Thou hast sent.”
In other words, Jesus says to the Lord: You are the only true God and You have sent me, i.e. I am Your messenger.
Since all the people did not believe in him, those who did not believe in him as another prophet and messenger of God were “disbelievers in Jesus Christ” and those who believed in him were later on called as "Christians".
Therefore, true “ Christians “ would be those, who:
Believe in One God.
Believe in Jesus Christ as a messenger of God.
Accept and implement the laws that already existed in the Torah.
Follow the matters of wisdom taught by Jesus.
Look to The Prophet, (Prophet Muhammad), who was foretold by Jesus, to guide them on all matters, as per the gospel - the good news - brought by him.
THE MAJOR DISTORTIONS:
Many distortions were made about Jesus and his sayings and the events that occurred during Jesus’ stay on the earth. The major distortions are:
Calling Jesus (pbuh) god.
Calling Jesus (pbuh) the son of God.
The theory of trinity.
Doubting the chastity of Mary (pbuh).
The alleged crucifixion of Jesus (pbuh), his perceived death at the cross and the so-called ‘resurrection’.
Atonement theory: the redeeming of mankind, brought about by Jesus' sufferings and ‘death’.
The concept that having faith in Jesus is sufficient for a man’s salvation and that conforming to the laws is not important.
While Allaah protected Qur’aan from any change and thus ensured that the Muslims knew and kept the pristine truths forever, Allaah has, by His wisdom, also ensured that certain key truths are uttered by Jesus (pbuh) in an indirect and allegorical (hidden) manner, so that, when the time comes, Christians too would come to know of the truth through the very same Bible, in spite of the distortions made by its custodians.
The real and deeper meaning of such utterances were beyond the comprehension of the people who distorted the teachings. Otherwise, they would not have let these verses remain in the Bible. But Allaah does what He wills, even though detractors of the religion strive to suppress His guidance.
“ And Allaah has full power and control over His affairs; but most among mankind know it not. ” (Qur’aan 12:21)
Now, let us study the distortions one by one and see how the Bible carries the truths enshrined in Qur’aan.
(One of the major distortions, the alleged crucifixion of Jesus, is dealt in detail in a separate article.)
JESUS WAS A MAN, A MESSENGER OF ALLAAH:Qur’aan teaches us that all the prophets and messengers sent by Allaah were mortal men and His slaves, like all people. Muslims have not deviated from the Islaamic teaching that Muhammad (pbuh) too is a slave of Allaah and His messenger.
Likewise, Qur’aan teaches us that Jesus (pbuh) too was a slave of Allaah and His messenger. Allaah says in the Qur’aan: 43:59 about Jesus (pbuh): “ He is nothing but a slave on whom We bestowed favour, and We made him a pattern for the Children of Israel.”
Jesus (pbuh) indeed is a slave of Allaah. His various utterances and actions manifest the truth. Jesus (pbuh) confirms in John 5:30: “ I can of mine own self do nothing.”
Someone who can of his own self do nothing, is a slave. But his special position among slaves like us is that he was a messenger of Allaah.
I Timothy 2:5 calls Jesus “.... the man Christ Jesus.”
It is said in Bible, Luke 24:19 : “ Jesus of Nazareth ...... was a prophet mighty in deed and word before God and all the people.”
In spite of these clear teachings of Bible that he was a man and a prophet, Jesus is often sought to be projected as god.
Jesus says is Matthew 15:7 & 15:9 :
7. [Ye] hypocrites, well did Esaias prophesy of you, saying,
9. But in vain they do worship me, teaching [for] doctrines the commandments of men.
Jesus is quoted in Qur’aan : 61:6 “ And when Jesus said: O children of Israel! Indeed I am messenger of Allaah unto you......”
Jesus was a messenger of Allaah unto the children of Israel.
Let us see how Bible quotes the same words of Jesus (pbuh):
" I am not sent but unto the lost sheep of the house of Israel. ” (Matthew 15:24). In simpler words: Jesus says that he was sent (he is a messenger) only unto the house of Israel.
And who sent him ? In not less than 15 verses of the Bible, Jesus says: “ the Father which hath sent me.....” He was sent by the 'Father', (the authors of The Bible allude to The God, as 'Father'), or in other words, he is a messenger of The God. (Ref. John 5:30, 5:36, 5:37, 6:39, 6:44, 6:57, 8:16, 8:18, 8:29, 8:42, 12:49, 14:24, 17:21, 17:25, 20:21)
Jesus (pbuh) has clearly said that he was not sent but unto the house of Israel. On the contrary, Muhammad (pbuh) is meant for the whole of mankind. Allaah tells Muhammad (pbuh) in Qur’aan: (34:28)
“ And We have not sent you (O Muhammad) but as a bringer of good tidings and a warner unto all mankind; but most of mankind know not.”
THE GOD HAS NO SON:
Jesus (pbuh) is projected as son of God, by the Christians:
Allaah says in Qur'aan, Sura Maryam, verses 88 to 93:
“ And they say: The Beneficent has taken unto Himself a son;
Assuredly you utter a disastrous thing,
whereby almost the heavens are torn,
and the earth is split asunder and the mountains fall in ruins,
that you ascribe unto The Beneficent a son,
when it is not suitable for (The Majesty of) The Beneficent
that He should choose a son.
There is none in the heavens and the earth but comes
unto The Beneficent as a slave.”
The above verses signify the enormity of falsehood the lie invented by them carries.
Allaah also says in another verse of Qur’aan: (2:116)
“ And they say: Allaah has taken unto Himself a son. Be He glorified ! Nay, but whatsoever is in the heavens and the earth is His. All are subservient unto Him. ”
From the above verse, we can deduce that the most desirable thing one would like to see in a son is obedience. Everybody would dislike his son who is not obedient. Since everything in the heavens and the earth belongs to Allaah and everything is obedient unto Him, what does having a son adds to His pleasure.
In the New Testament, the words “My Father” is widely used (while quoting Jesus (pbuh)) to denote God. This gives an impression that The God is Jesus’ father, which, in turn, projects Jesus as God’s son. All this misquoting comes to a naught, when in John 20:17 Jesus is quoted as having said: “I ascend unto my Father, and YOUR Father, and to MY GOD, and your God.”
In at least five verses of Qur’aan (3:51, 5:72, 5:117, 19:36, 43:64) Jesus is quoted as having referred to Allaah as MY LORD and YOUR LORD. The translation of verse No. 43:64 :
“Indeed Allaah, He is my Lord and your Lord, therefore, worship Him. This is right path.”
The verse of John 10:30, quoting Jesus: “I and [ my ] Father are one ” is often misused to reinforce the concept that Jesus is equal with The Lord. That is not the meaning of the verse.
A believer cannot say that I believe in The Lord (and what He says), but I do not believe in His messenger/s (and what they say) or vice versa. The messengers propagate what The Lord bids them to. Therefore, they cannot be differentiated for the purpose of belief. This is explained in verse 4:150 and 151 of Qur’aan:
“ Indeed those who disbelieve in Allaah and His messengers and seek to make distinction between Allaah and His messengers, and say: We believe in some and disbelieve in others, and seek to choose a way in between; Such are disbelievers in truth; and for disbelievers We prepare a shameful doom. ”
THE TRINITY AND ITS BASIS :
We shall now look at another wrong belief taught to the Christians: The theory of God’s TRINITY.
So far, no one has been able to satisfactorily explain what this theory is. But we can be sure that Jesus (pbuh) NEVER spoke of trinity. Nor the verses of the Bible on which this theory is presumably based, 1John 5:7 & 1 John 5:8 , are attributable to Jesus.
Moreover, we shall also see how the different versions of the Bible variedly quote these verses:
1. King James Version: (KJV) 1 John:
5:7 For there are three that bear record in heaven, the Father, the Word, and the Holy Ghost: and these three are one. 5:8 And there are three that bear witness in earth, the Spirit, and the water, and the blood: and these three agree in one.
2. Young’s Literal Translation: (YLT) 1John :
5:7 because three are who are testifying [in the heaven, the Father, the Word, and the Holy Spirit, and these—the three—are one; 5:8 and three are who are testifying in the earth], the Spirit, and the water, and the blood, and the three are into the one.
3. American Standard Version: (ASV) 1 John :
5:7 And it is the Spirit that beareth witness, because the Spirit is the truth. 5:8 For there are three who bear witness, the Spirit, and the water, and the blood: and the three agree in one.
4. New International Version: (NIV) 1 John : 5:6 (part) And it is the Spirit who testifies, because the Spirit is the truth. 5:7 For there are three that testify: 5:8 the Spirit, the water and the blood; and the three are in agreement.
While the first two versions referred above, KJV and YLT, speak of “the Father, the Word and the Holy Ghost” , the last two, ASV and NIV do not recognize these words. These three: “the father, the word and the holy ghost” are supposed to constitute the trinity. They are also referred as “ the father, the son, and the holy ghost ”(Matthew 28:19), representing The God, Jesus and the Holy Spirit.
We will take a close look at what these verses are talking about. The verses above give information about who bears witness in the heaven and the earth. Regarding the witnesses in the heaven, the first two versions (KJV and YLT) say that it is the father, the word and the holy ghost (holy spirit). Regarding the witnesses on the earth, the verses say that it is the spirit, the water and the blood. The other two versions (ASV & NIV) disagree with the above and say that the spirit is true, therefore it bears witness. Then in the later verse/s they proceed to confuse that there are three “the spirit, the water and the blood” and they are in agreement.
In any case, the verses are telling us nothing more than about the witnesses and variously conclude that:
these three are one;
these three agree in one;
these—the three—are one;
the three are into the one;
the three agree in one;
the three are in agreement.
Therefore, we can conclude that whatever be the number of witnesses, finally there is no conflict or fault in their witnessing and that they are all in agreement. Nowhere do these verses say that the witnesses means gods or components of Godhead.
On the same matter of witnesses, Allaah tells us about them in Qur’aan, clearly and without a conflict, as you will come to know from the following study.
1. Allaah is a witness over all things and He is sufficient as a witness.
“ And in whatever way you may be occupied; and whatever portion you may be reciting from the Qur’aan; and whatever deed you may be doing -We are witness thereof - when you are deeply engrossed therein. Nor is hidden from your Lord (so much as) the weight of an atom on the earth or in the heavens, nor what is less than that or greater than that, but it is (written) in a clear book. ” ( Qur'aan 10:61)
" Him unto Whom belongs the sovereignty of the heavens and the earth; And Allaah is witness to all things. " (Qur'aan 85:9)
2. Besides, angels are witnesses. " But Allaah (Himself) bears witness concerning that which He has revealed unto you; with His knowledge has He revealed it; and the angels bear witness: And Allaah is sufficient witness. " (Qur'aan 4:166)
3. Man himself is a witness of what he does and his tongue and limbs will speak out on the judgement day, as to what they used to do. " On that (judgment) day when their tongues, their hands, and their feet will bear witness against them, as to what they used to do." ( Qur'aan 24:24)
4. The book of records, prepared by the angels, will be a material witness on the judgement day.
Qur'aan 23:62 : " On no soul do We place a burden greater than it can bear; and with Us is a record which clearly speaks the truth; and they will not be wronged."
Qur'aan 43:80 : " Or deem they that We hear not their secrets and private counsels ? Nay, but Our messengers (angels sent by Us), present with them, do record."
Qur'aan 50:18 : "he (man) utters no word but there is with him an observer ready (to record)."
5. The messengers would be witnesses against the people unto whom they were sent.
Qur'aan 73:15 : " Indeed We have sent unto you a messenger as witness against you, even as We sent unto Pharaoh a messenger. "
THE OTHER BASIS FOR TRINITY:
Apart from the verses of 1-John (5:7 & 5:8), which talk about three witnesses in heaven and which form a basis for the trinity theory for its propagators, the other verse where the words the father, the son and the holy spirit appear, is Matthew 28:19. The Young’s Literal Translation, however, puts part of verse No.19 and a part of verse No. 20, which contains the words: father, son, holy spirit, etc. within parenthesis, as you may see below:
Matthew 28: 18 And having come near, Jesus spake to them, saying, ‘Given to me was all authority in heaven and on earth; 19 having gone, then, disciple all the nations, (baptizing them—to the name of the Father , and of the Son , and of the Holy Spirit, 20 teaching them to observe all, whatever I did command you,) and lo, I am with you all the days—till the full end of the age.’
The group of four verses beginning from No. 18, form a quotation of Jesus’ words (pbuh). What does the insertion of a group of words within parenthesis signify ?
1. First of all, it means that the words within parenthesis are not the words of Jesus. Otherwise, where is the need to put them within parenthesis.
2. At best, these words are the translator’s interpretation of Jesus’ words, if not an outright interpolation of words that are not in the source document, which the Young’s Literal Translation has honestly emphasized with the parenthesis.
The words “disciple all the nations” can be allowed to be interpreted as Jesus’ direction to “baptize to the name of father, son and holy spirit ” only if this meaning is commonly found elsewhere in the Bible. But in the only other place where this is found, (in 1-John 5:7), again we find them placed within brackets.
Analysis of the components of the trinity:
Now, we shall study the three words that denote the ‘trinity’ :
the father
the word and
the holy spirit.
You, I and any layman, or even a child knows what this word ‘father’ means and how one becomes a father. Yet, Christians are taught to use unhesitatingly, the word ‘father’ to denote The Almighty.
Prudence, propriety and common sense demands that words are not used inappropriately and that they are used strictly in the sense they are commonly understood and known to be used. In matters relating to God, it is even more necessary that we use words with utmost caution, so that we do not utter anything that is at variance with the truth or does not befit His Majesty.
But we can see in the Bible that words were put to use in whatever way it pleased and suited its custodians. They are not only used inappropriately and irresponsibly, but also contradictorily and confusingly, as we observe in the course of this study. I must add that the contradictions in the Christian belief is not just due to an innocent misuse of words, but because the salient features of the Christian theology itself, as professed now and during the larger period of its existence, is not God-made but is man-made.
The seemingly unnecessary differences and contradictions were not introduced into an otherwise sound original theology without a purpose: The enemies of the religion and, therefore, also the enemies of God, who are averse to obeying the edicts of the holy books, operate in devious ways to destroy or dilute the laws, so that they can freely follow their own lusts, while at the same time pretending to follow the religion. As a result of this satanic scheme, the followers of a God-given, sound religion are divided with the tool of differences and controversies and made to fight and waste their energies and time, not only on trivial issues, but also on essential fundamental beliefs.
Allah says in the Qur’aan, pointing to the absence of any contradiction in the Qur’aan: “ Why do they not then ponder over the Qur’aan ? And had it been from (a source) other than Allah, they would have surely found in it contradictions in abundance.” (4:82).
The very first verse of the Bible, Genesis 1:1 “In the beginning God created.......... ” introduces us to the God as the creator. Anyone who has read just the first verse of the Bible knows God as The Creator. So, there is no need to call Him as Father, even to explain Him metaphorically, and try in vain to compare the One Who is Incomparable.
Allah condemns man for such behaviour, in Qur’aan (36:78):
“ And he makes comparisons for Us, and forgets his own creation....” .
(The Bible): Malachi 2:10 " Have we not all one father? hath not one God created us? " The above verse of the Bible is possibly the explanation for the unwarranted use of the word ‘father’ in the Bible to denote The Almighty’s function, attribute or power as The Sole Creator.
In the whole universe, He is the only Creator and everything else is His creature. In the book of Genesis, the Bible gives details of how the heavens, the earth, the light, the animals, the man, etc. were made by Allah. Everything came into being by His command.
“ For he spake, and it was done; He commanded, and it stood fast.” (Pslams 33:9)
In Qur’aan, similar details of His creative powers are given, where it is mentioned that whenever He decrees a work (to be done) or wills a thing (to be created), He says to it, " Be ! ", and it becomes. (2:117, 3:47, 3:59, 16:40, 19:35, 36:82, 40:68). In this manner, Allah has chosen to create everything. In the very same manner, Allah created Jesus (pbuh) too.
Qur’aan recounts the astonishment of Mary (pbuh), when she was informed that she is about to be blessed with a son, Jesus.
3:45 : When the angels said: “O Mary ! Allah gives you glad tidings of a word from Him: his name will be The Messiah Jesus, son of Mary, held in honour in this world and the hereafter and of those nearest (to Allah).
3:46 : He shall speak unto the people in his cradle and in his maturity and he shall be of the righteous.”
3:47 She said: " My Lord ! How can I have a child when no man has touched me." He said: “ Even so: Allah creates what He wills: When He has decreed a plan, He says to it, ' Be ! 'and it is ! ”
In verse 3:45 above, Allah gives Mary the glad tidings of a word from Him, a child whose name shall be Christ Jesus and He accomplished His will by commanding “ Be ! ”.
Thus created Allah the heavens and the earth and everything that He created:
(Qur'aan 2:117) : “The Originator of the heavens and the earth ! When He decrees a thing, He says unto it : Be ! and it is. ”
(Qur'aan 16:40) : “And Our word unto a thing, when We intend it, is only that We say unto it : Be ! and it is. ”
The Bible says: “ By the word of Jehovah were the heavens made.” (Psalms 33:6)
Touching the subject of Jesus’ creation, the Bible says: “And the Word became flesh ” (John 1:14)
The ‘word’, referred in the above verses, therefore, is the word of Allah, which is His speech or command. It is neither an independent thing or being nor ‘god’ as the Christians are being indoctrinated. The word is subordinate to the will or intention of Allah, as can be seen from the following verses:
Bible: Reve 4:11 (ASV) “ Worthy art Thou, our Lord and our God, to receive the glory and the honor and the power: for Thou didst create all things, and because of Thy will they were, and were created.”
Qur’aan: 36:82 “But His command, when He intends a thing, is only that he says to it, Be ! and it is.”
Bible: John 1:13 “ which were born, not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God. 1:14 And the word was made flesh,”
The word becoming flesh, by Allah’s will, as told in the above verse of Bible, is only half the story. For Jesus, or any other soul, to become a living being and not to remain just flesh, it needs to be infused with spirit.
Qur’aan: 15:29 “And when I have made him (Adam, the first man) and have breathed into him of My spirit.....”
Qur’aan: 32:9 “ Then He fashioned him and breathed into him of His spirit; ”
Bible: Genesis 2:7 “And the LORD God formed man [of] the dust of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living soul.”
Bible: Job 32:8 “But [there is] a spirit in man: and the inspiration of the Almighty giveth them understanding.”
So, Jesus (pbuh) after being conceived in Mary’s womb (pbuh), i.e., after he became flesh, is also infused with spirit, for him to become a living being. Qur’aan: 21:91 “And her (Mary) who guarded her chastity: We breathed into her of Our spirit, and We made her and her son a sign for all peoples.”
As distinct from the spirit that dwells within all people, the holy spirit, (or the holy ghost, as the Christians call it), is archangel Gabriel, about whom the Qur’aan gives, inter alia, the following information:
1. Allah strengthened Jesus (pbuh) with holy spirit (2:87, 2:253), which helped him speak from the cradle and in maturity. (5:110)
2. Allah revealed the Qur’aan to Muhammad (pbuh) through holy spirit. (16:102) The three verses quoted above (2:87, 2:253, 5:110) mention holy spirit in relation to matters connected with Jesus. Some other verses carry reference to “the spirit” or “our spirit” or “spirit from Us” that relate to matters other than Jesus.
But what is a spirit ? Allah says in the Qur’aan: 17:85:
“ They ask you (O Muhammad) concerning the spirit; Say: The spirit is by command of my Lord, and of knowledge you have been given but little.”
Excepting the information that the spirit is by the command of Allah, little else has been conveyed to us about it. The way the above verse is constructed, it also means that man has been given very little of the knowledge, in general.
From the above detailed study, we have come to know that the word is the speech and command of Allah and that the spirit is by the command of Allah.
From the following verse of Qur’aan, 4:171, we can observe that Jesus is a word of Allah, (by which he is first conceived in Mary’s womb as flesh - an embryo - ), and a spirit from Allah, breathed into her, (which makes him a live foetus).
“ O people of the Scripture!
Do not exaggerate in your religion nor utter anything concerning Allah
except the truth.
The Messiah Jesus, son of Mary, was only a messenger of Allah ,
and His word which He conveyed unto Mary, and a spirit from Him.
So believe in Allah and His messengers,
and say not “three” - cease ! - it is better for you.
Allah is only One God.
Far is it removed from His transcendent majesty that He should have a son.
His is all that is in the heavens and the earth.
And Allah is sufficient as Defender. ”
Thus, in the above verse, Allah explains and nullifies the aberration called trinity and asks the People of Scripture not to make god out of His messenger and His words or creations; There is only One God who owns the heavens and the earth and it does not befit His majesty to have a son.
Let us hear the word, Jesus, speak to his Creator:
“ And this is life eternal, that they should know Thee, the only true God, and him whom Thou didst send, [even] Jesus Christ. ” (John 17:3)
The above verse of the Bible demolishes the trinity theory with Jesus’ own words and conclusively proves that there is no god except The One God and that Jesus is His messenger.
The verses that want to prove Jesus as son of God are themselves based on heresy: a belief opposed to what other verses of the Bible say. 16 verses, from Luke 3:23 to 3:38 give the genealogy of 76 persons from Adam to Jesus. The first verse 3:23 states Jesus as the son of Joseph (the carpenter) adding the words “as was supposed” and the last verse calls Adam the son of God. Thus the first parentage is based on a supposition, (from where, naturally, it cannot proceed further) and the last link in the chain is Adam, whom we all know as created from dust and breathed with spirit from the Lord (Genesis 2:7).
Joseph the carpenter himself is told by an angel in his dream about Mary that “that which is conceived in her is of the Holy Spirit.” (Matthew 1:20). Thus, they have built a long bridge of 76 spans to prove Jesus’ lineage from God, but the first and the last spans of the bridge are made up of spiders’ web.
In another case of classic deception, Matthew 1:16 states “and Jacob begat Joseph the husband of Mary, of whom was born Jesus, who is called Christ.” The above verse makes you hazard a guess whether Jesus was the son of Joseph. If that was not the intention, to call Jesus as son of Joseph, then what is the purpose of stating the genealogy of Joseph through 15 long verses on the very first page of the gospel. Why not call Jesus as son of Mary, as the Qur’aan invariably calls him, a total number of 12 times.