Frequently Asked Questions By Non-Muslims
What is Islam's view of
non-Muslims?
Muslims believe that
Islam is the religion of all the prophets sent by Allah to mankind,
it is the religion which was given to Adam, the first man and the first
prophet of Allah, the same religion of Abraham, Moses, Jesus, and Muhammad
(peace on all of them).
"Abraham was not a Jew nor Christian; but an upright Muslim."
(Qur'an 3:67)
The message of prophet Moses (PBUH) over time
was lost, changed, and foraged
by man to a different
religion, that has nothing to do with the true religion of God and the
teachings of Moses (PBUH). That's
why God sent Jesus (PBUH) later to correct the religion and spread the
true religion of God. Later Jesus (PBUH) teachings and message were lost,
changed, and forged by man.
Since the messages and
books of previous prophets were lost, changed, and forged by man over
time, God sent Prophet Mohammad (PBUH) as the last messenger with the the
final book of divine revelation, the Qur'an,
after that the only religion that God will accept from the day that
Prophet Mohammad (SAW) message came is Islam because it is the first, the
last, the only religion of God.
"If anyone desires a religion other than Islam never will It be
accepted of Him" (Qur'an 3:85)
God has guaranteed
that the he will guard the message of Islam from corruption by man and
that it will stand the test of time until the day of judgment.
Unfortunately, the
Christians made the same mistake the Jews did with Jesus (PBUH) by
rejecting Muhammad (PBUH) as a prophet without reading about his message
out of vanity.
Was Islam Spread by the Sword?
Suraht
Al-Kafirun [109] in the Nobel
Qur’an
1. Say
: O ye that reject Faith!
2. I worship not that which ye
worship,
3. Nor will ye worship that which I worship.
4. And
I will not worship that which ye have been wont to worship,
5. Nor
will ye worship that which I worship.
6. To you be your Way, and to
me mine.
that shows what
Muslims should do when faced with unbelievers. The basic summary is
live and let live.
any religion is vulnerable to being twisted and perverted when
MISINTERPRETED.
The Crusades and the
Spanish inquisitions two of the worst crimes against humanity were done in
the name of Christianity, although Christianity had nothing to do with
them
G. W. Bush claims that he
was told by god to fight the Muslims in Afghanistan, Iraq, and Palestine.
No one holds Christianity responsible for the hundreds of thousands of
innocent Muslims killed by his troops.
Adolf Hitler was a
self-proclaimed catholic till the day he died. But fortunately there are
enough people in the world intelligent enough to not judge all people in a
group based on a few nutcases.
Question:
How can Islam be called the
religion of peace when it was spread by the sword?
Answer:
It is a common complaint among
some non-Muslims that Islam would not have millions of adherents all over
the world, if it had not been spread by the use of force.
The following points will make it
clear, that far from being spread by the sword, it was the inherent force
of truth, reason and logic that was responsible for the rapid spread of
Islam.
1. Islam means peace.
Islam comes from the root word
‘salaam’, which means peace. It also means submitting one’s will to
Allah (swt). Thus Islam is a religion of peace, which is acquired by
submitting one’s will to the will of the Supreme Creator, Allah
(swt).
2. Sometimes force has to be used to maintain
peace.
Each and every human being in this
world is in favor of maintaining peace and harmony. There are many, who
would disrupt it for their own vested interests. Sometimes force has to be
used to maintain peace. It is precisely for this reason that we have the
police who use force against criminals and anti-social elements to
maintain peace in the country. Islam promotes peace. At the same time,
Islam exhorts it followers to fight where there is oppression. The fight
against oppression may, at times, require the use of force. In Islam force
can only be used to promote peace and justice.
3. Opinion of historian De Lacy O’Leary.
The best reply to the
misconception that Islam was spread by the sword is given by the noted
historian De Lacy O’Leary in the book "Islam at the cross road" (Page
8):
"History makes it clear however,
that the legend of fanatical Muslims sweeping through the world and
forcing Islam at the point of the sword upon conquered races is one of the
most fantastically absurd myth that historians have ever
repeated."
4. Muslims ruled Spain for 800 years.
Muslims ruled Spain for about 800
years. The Muslims in Spain never used the sword to force the people to
convert. Later the Christian Crusaders came to Spain and wiped out the
Muslims. There was not a single Muslim in Spain who could openly give the
adhan, that is the call for prayers.
5. 14 million Arabs are Coptic Christians.
Muslims were the lords of Arabia
for 1400 years. For a few years the British ruled, and for a few years the
French ruled. Overall, the Muslims ruled Arabia for 1400 years. Yet today,
there are 14 million Arabs who are Coptic Christians i.e. Christians since
generations. If the Muslims had used the sword there would not have been a
single Arab who would have remained a Christian.
6. More than 80% non-Muslims in India.
The Muslims ruled India for about
a thousand years. If they wanted, they had the power of converting each
and every non-Muslim of India to Islam. Today more than 80% of the
population of India are non-Muslims. All these non-Muslim Indians are
bearing witness today that Islam was not spread by the
sword.
7. Indonesia and Malaysia.
Indonesia is a country that has
the maximum number of Muslims in the world. The majority of people in
Malaysia are Muslims. May one ask, "Which Muslim army went to Indonesia
and Malaysia?"
8. East Coast of Africa.
Similarly, Islam has spread
rapidly on the East Coast of Africa. One may again ask, if Islam was
spread by the sword, "Which Muslim army went to the East Coast of
Africa?"
9. Thomas Carlyle.
The famous historian, Thomas
Carlyle, in his book "Heroes and Hero worship", refers to this
misconception about the spread of Islam: "The sword indeed, but where will
you get your sword? Every new opinion, at its starting is precisely in a
minority of one. In one man’s head alone. There it dwells as yet. One man
alone of the whole world believes it, there is one man against all men.
That he takes a sword and try to propagate with that, will do little for
him. You must get your sword! On the whole, a thing will propagate itself
as it can."
10.
No compulsion in
religion.
With which sword was Islam spread?
Even if Muslims had it they could not use it to spread Islam because the
Qur’an says in the following verse:
"Let there be no compulsion in
religion:
Truth stands out clear from
error"
[Al-Qur’an 2:256]
11.
Sword of the Intellect.
It is the sword of intellect. The
sword that conquers the hearts and minds of people. The Qur’an says in
Surah Nahl, chapter 16 verse 125:
"Invite (all) to the way of thy
Lord
with wisdom and beautiful preaching;
and argue with them in
ways that are
best and most
gracious."
[Al-Qur’an 16:125]
12.
Increase in the world religions from 1934 to
1984.
An article in Reader’s Digest
‘Almanac’, year book 1986, gave the statistics of the increase of
percentage of the major religions of the world in half a century from 1934
to 1984. This article also appeared in ‘The Plain Truth’ magazine. At the
top was Islam, which increased by 235%, and Christianity had increased
only by 47%. May one ask, which war took place in this century which
converted millions of people to Islam?
13.
Islam is the fastest growing religion in America
and Europe.
Today the fastest growing religion
in America is Islam. The fastest growing religion in Europe is Islam.
Which sword is forcing people in the West to accept Islam in such large
numbers?
QUOTATIONS FROM THE WRITING OF SOME OF THE PROMINENT NON-MUSLIM SCHOLARS AND LEADERS REFUTING THIS BASELESS ACCUSATION.
1. M.K.GANDHI
I became more than ever convinced that it was not the sword that won a place for Islam in those days in the scheme of life. It was the rigid simplicity, the utter self-effacement of the prophet, the scrupulous regard for his pledges, his intense devotion to his friends and followers, his intrepidity, his fearlessness, his absolute trust in God and in his own mission. These , and not the sword carried everything before them and surmounted every trouble." YOUNG INDIA, 1924.
2. EDWARD GIBBON:
"The greatest success of Mohammad's life was effected by sheer moral force without the
stroke of a sword."
HISTORY OF THE SARACEN EMPIRE, London, 1870.
3.A.S. TRITTON:
"The picture of the Muslim soldier advancing with a sword in one hand and the Quran in the other is quite false." ISLAM, London, 1951, page 21.
4. DE LACY O'LEARY:
"History makes it clear however, that the legend of fanatical Muslims, sweeping through the world and forcing Islam at the point of sword upon conquered races is one of the most fantastically absurd myths that historians have ever repeated." ISLAM AT CROSSROADS, London, 1923, page 8.
5. K.S. RAMAKRISHNA RAO:
"My problem to write this monograph is easier because we are not generally fed now on that
(distorted) kind of history and much time need not be spent on pointing out our
misrepresentations of Islam. The theory of Islam and sword, for instance, is not heard now in
any quarter worth the name. The principle of Islam, there is no compulsion in religion, is
wellknown".
MOHAMMED THE PROPHET OF ISLAM, Riyadh 1989, page 4.
6. JAMES A. MICHENER.
"No other religion in history spread so rapidly as Islam .... The West has widely believed that this surge of religion was made possible by the sword. But no modern scholar accepts that idea, and the Qur'an is explicit in support of the freedom of conscience." ISLAM THE MISUNDERSTOOD RELIGION, READERS DIGEST (American Edition) May 1955.
7. LAWRENCE E. BROWNE:
"Incidentally these well-established facts dispose of the idea so widely fostered in Christian writings that the Muslims, wherever they went, forced people to accept Islam at the point of the sword." THE PROSPECTS OR ISLAM, London 1944.
also regarding the History of Spain...I quote the following from the article "Andalusia when it was" written by Mariam Baig...InshaAllah it would help you in showing him the truth of Islamic Spain and how a great civilization rose as soon as the Sun of Islam came out.
Muslims entered Spain not as aggressors or oppressors, but as liberators. In this multicultural society, many Jews and Christians held government positions. Moreover, the Golden Age of Jewish history is in fact known as the period of Muslim rule in Spain. Islam allowed the Jews to flourish in Spain, with the example of the renowned philosopher Moses Maimonides, (Musa ibn Maymun) who wrote Guide to the Perplexed. "Judaism probably welcomed the conquest of Spain by the Muslims in 711.
With the Muslim conquest began a Golden Age of freedom and tolerance for Jews. They freely entered the fields of government, science, medicine, and literature." 6 Spain was home to by far the largest and most brilliant Jewish community in Europe; elsewhere, the Jews were hounded and persecuted. Although non-Muslims paid more in taxes than the Muslims, it was by far less than any previous government had imposed upon them, especially Roderic's.
In addition, it obviously wasn't much of a burden, however, since non-Muslims freely opted and longed to live under Muslim rule. "Throughout the period of Islamic rule, Al-Andalus was a remarkable example and outstanding model of tolerance." 7 We fail to remember that the tolerance the Muslims, in accordance to their faith, displayed towards the Jews and Christians enabled them all to live together in relative peace and harmony, an indication of the Greatness of Islam, without question.
No where else has there been so long and so close of a relationship between the 3 Great faiths. All Jews and Christians were allowed to maintain their beliefs and live their lives as they desired as long as they respected their Muslim rulers. "Some Mozarabs took issue with the tolerance Muslim authorities displayed toward them and the Jews, a tolerance based on two Qur'anic verses:
"No compulsion is there in religion" (2:256) and "If thy Lord had willed, whoever is in the earth would have believed, all of them, all together. Wouldst thou then constrain the people until they are believers?" (10:99)..."
As a result of the compassion Islam displayed towards the non-Muslims inhabitants, many of them embraced Islam. Many accepted Islam simply because Islam provided a superior, healthier way of life at a time when the social system was in rapid decay. 9 Unfortunately, religious tolerance was never a virtue in Christian Europe, as in the example of Charlemagne. 10 And so, the peace exhibited under Muslim rule did not continue after the last of the Muslim rulers was defeated in 1492.
In chapter 109 of the Qur'an, the Holy Book revealed to the Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) through the Angel Gabriel, Allah advises mankind:
"Say to the disbelievers:
I do not worship that which you worship.
Nor do you worship that which I worship.
And Nor will I worship that which you have worshiped.
Neither will you worship that which I worship.
To you belongs your religion, and to me mine."
"In a time of tranquility and justice, the Christians have never been compelled to renounce the Gospel and to embrace the Qur'an." 11 As a result of the tolerance displayed by Islam, the incredibly rich language of the Muslims became the official language of literature and scholarship in Spain for all by the year 1000. Christians, Jews, and Muslims alike devoted their time in studying Arabic. Christians essentially spoke Arabic, which was "often better than their Latin." 12 They absorbed the Arabic culture so much so that they began to be called, "mozarabs" a corruption of "must'arib" meaning the "Arabized ones."
Furthermore, the Christian Priest Alvaro complained in the 9th century that Christians preferred to read Arabic writings and studied Muslim theologians and philosophers rather than their own.
He exclaimed, "Oh, the pain and the sorrow! The Christians have even forgotten their own language, and in every thousand you will not find one who can write a letter in respectable Latin to a friend, while as soon as they have to write Arabic, there is no difficulty in finding a whole multitude who can express themselves with the greatest elegance in this language.
Do the teachings of Islam encourage terrorism?
The answer :
Certainly not
Islam totally forbids the terrorist acts
that are carried out by some misguided people.
Certainly, Islamic Law allows war
any religion or civilization that did not would never survive
but
it certainly does not condone attacks
against innocent people, women or children !
The Arabic word "jihad", which is often translated as "Holy War", simply
means "to struggle".
The word for "war" in Arabic is "harb", not "jihad". "Struggling",
i.e. "making jihad", to defend Islam, Muslims or to liberate a land,
where Muslims
are oppressed is certainly allowed (and even encouraged) in Islam
Everyone Must be in Unity Against Terror
The world has been living side by side with terror for hundreds of years. Even though actions may differ from country to country, all terrorist organizations aim at defenseless civilians and send their messages by way of these people.
In the terrorist attack in Oklahoma in the USA 167 people were savagely slaughtered, 19 of them children. A fanatical Jew who opened a hail of fire on Muslims praying in a mosque in Palestine caused the deaths of 29 people. Thousands of people have lost their lives in attacks against Muslims in India over the years. Terrorist attacks both great and small have for years been perpetrated in France, Spain, the Philippines, Japan and Ireland.
One could go on. However, the entire world came face to face with terror in 2001. In the wake of the attacks against two major cities in the USA which led to the deaths and injuries of thousands of people, the concept of "terrorism" began to be debated once again. That was because that attack had been carried out at an unexpected time, against a country regarded as the world's only superpower, and in a totally unforeseen manner. The attack created an air of fear and panic all over the world, especially in America.
Following the attacks, the USA embarked on a major fight against terror. Many countries have lined up alongside America in this struggle, and lent their support to it. The series of bombings in Istanbul, just when it was thought that the forces of terror had been brought under control, again reminded people of terrorism's dark face: first synagogues, then the British Consulate, then the HSBC General Directorate building ...
The Saturday prayer, which had been performed for centuries, was interrupted by the bombs exploded on November 15th. Twenty-four people were killed in the explosions at the Neva Shalom synagogue at Beyoglu Kuledibi and the Beth Israel synagogue at Sisli, and 300 were injured. Dozens of more people lost their lives in the explosions at the British Consulate and the HSBC building, and hundreds were injured. Images similar to those which followed the September 11 attacks began appearing on our television screens. Ruined buildings, people fleeing in panic, burned out busses, corpses lying in the streets ...
The point we wish to emphasize in this article is the Islamic perspective on terror attacks and the killing of the innocent. All forms of terrorist attack are roundly condemned in Islam. According to the Qur'an, it is a great sin to kill an innocent person, and anyone who does so will suffer great torment in the Hereafter:
... If someone kills another person-unless it is in retaliation for someone else or for causing corruption in the earth-it is as if he had murdered all mankind. And if anyone gives life to another person, it is as if he had given life to all mankind. Our Messengers came to them with Clear Signs, but even after that, many of them committed outrages in the earth. (Qur'an, 5:32) .
This verse equals the killing of one innocent to slaughtering all of humanity! Another verse expresses the importance that the faithful attach to life:
Those who do not appeal to any other deity besides God [alone]; nor kill any soul whom God has forbidden [them to] except with the right to do so; nor fornicate. Anyone who does so will incur a penalty. (Qur'an, 25:68) .
In yet another verse, God issues the following commandment:
Say: "Come, and I will recite to you what your Lord has forbidden for you": that you do not associate anything with Him; that you are good to your parents; that you do not kill your children because of poverty-We will provide for you and them; that you do not approach indecency-outward or inward; that you do not kill any person God has made inviolate-except with the right to do so. That is what He instructs you to do, so that hopefully, you will use your intellect. (Qur'an, 6:151) .
Any Muslim who believes in God with a sincere heart, who scrupulously abides by His verses and fears suffering in the Hereafter, will avoid harming even one other person. He knows that the Lord of Infinite Justice will suitably reward him for all his deeds. In one of the hadiths, our Prophet (may God bless him and grant him peace) listed the kinds of people who are not pleasing to God:
"Those who act cruelly and unjustly in the sacred lands, those who yearn for the ways of the ignorant, and those who wrongly shed human blood." (Sahih Bukhari Hadith)
Another element we wish to concentrate on is the attack on devout Turkish Jews worshipping in their synagogues. Churches, synagogues and mosques are houses for the worship of God. It is a terrible crime in the sight of God to slaughter innocent people as they worship in their churches, synagogues or mosques. These are houses where the name of God is remembered, praised and recited. In the Qur'an, God reveals that:
... God guides to His Light whoever He wills and God makes ****phors for mankind and God has knowledge of all things. In houses which God has permitted to be built and in which His name is remembered, there are men who proclaim His glory morning and evening. (Qur'an, 24:35-36)
The people who go to those places are devout, prayerful people. All houses where the name of God is remembered are sacred in the eyes of Islam. Visitors to these houses may be Jews, Christians or Muslims. The important thing is that each one is a devout believer in God. A Muslim must respect and protect the holy places where the People of the Book worship God, and protect them. For Muslims, these places are precious because in these places, people, whether Jews or Christians, remember God. In the Qur'an, the places of worship of the People of the Book, ie. monasteries, churches and synagogues, are mentioned as places of worship protected by God.
...If God had not driven some people back by means of others, monasteries, churches, synagogues and mosques, where God's name is mentioned much, would have been pulled down and destroyed. God will certainly help those who help Him-God is All-Strong, Almighty. (Qur'an, 22:40)
As a manifestation of his loyalty to God's commands, the Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) was most careful not to destroy the holy places of the People of the Book. Such destruction means, in the first place, opposing God's commands. This aside, it means preventing people who have faith in God worshipping Him. Indeed, the Prophet Muhammad (pbuh) promised the Christians, who were the other party to a peace agreement he made, that their churches would not be destroyed and that they would never be harmed. The tax (Jizya) agreements he made with Christians also guaranteed the safety of churches.
The first agreement made after the death of the Prophet (pbuh) that guaranteed the protection of the temples was a tax agreement Khalid bin al-Waleed signed with the leader of the city of Anat. Ibn Ishaq stated that those agreements made by Khalid bin al-Waleed were also approved by Abu Bakr and the three caliphs following him. (Levent Ozturk, Asr-i Saadetten Hacli Seferlerine Kadar Islam Toplumunda H?ristiyanlar (Christians in the Islamic Society From the Blessed Period to the Crusades), Iz Yayincilik, Istanbul, 1998, p. 111) This aside, Abu Bakr offered the same guarantees that had been offered to the people of Najran by the Prophet Muhammad (pbuh).
The Islamic societies that abided by Islamic morality after the death of the Prophet (pbuh) also paid special attention to this issue. Muslim leaders who adhered to the Qur'an and the Sunnah (the sayings and doings of the Prophet Muhammad (pbuh)) respected the places of worship of non-Muslims in conquered countries and showed great tolerance to the clergy.
Terror Will Disappear When People Come to Live by the Moral Values of Islam
In the Qur'an (32:9), God reveals that He has breathed His own Spirit into man, His creation, and that man is His representative on Earth (Qur'an, 6:165). One of the most important differences between man and the animals is that man was created with both earthly desires and with a conscience. Every person possesses desires that incite him to evil, along with a conscience that inspires him to avoid it. Alongside such pleasing attributes inspired by that conscience-love, sacrifice, compassion, humility, affection, honesty, loyalty and kindness-he also possesses destructive and undesirable tendencies, stemming from his earthly desires. Thanks to his conscience, however, the believer can distinguish between right and wrong and opt for what is morally right. Strong belief in and fear of God, faith in the Hereafter, powerful fear of the endless torments of Hell and a yearning for Paradise all keep the temptations of his earthly desires at bay. Therefore, he always behaves well towards people, is forgiving, responds to wickedness with good, assists those in need, and shows compassion, love, affection and tolerance.
Terrorists, on the other hand, listen to their earthly desire for violence instead of their consciences, and can easily turn to all forms of wickedness. They become loveless, aggressive people who easily hurt others without the slightest pang of conscience. Having no fear of God, they do not know the morality of religion, nor do they practice it. Nothing can stop them from committing crimes.
In restraining its citizens, society's prevailing rules can go only so far. Thanks to its law enforcement units, the state may be able to partially protect streets and public spaces, and -thanks to a powerful system of justice- may be able to take necessary means to ensure public order and ensure that the crime rate drops. But since it's impossible to keep watch on every individual, 24 hours a day, it's essential that peoples' consciences enter the equation at some stage. Someone who doesn't heed the voice of his conscience can easily turn to crime when on his own, or surrounded by people of like mind. That being the case, a model of society emerges which is composed of individuals who lie when necessary, have no hesitation about making unjust profits, and feel no unease about oppressing the weak. It is clear that physical precautions and measures will bear no fruit in a society which has no fear of God and which has lost its spiritual values. Religious moral values, on the other hand, command a person to refrain from evil, even if he is all alone, even if nobody will punish him for his evil deeds. It is evident that a person who knows that he will be called to account in the presence of God for his every deed, his every decision and his every word, and that he will be suitably rewarded for these in the eternal life of the Hereafter, will scrupulously avoid committing evil.
Terrorist organizations can't possibly have any place in a society whose people avoid evil of their own free will. Where religion's morality prevails, problems that give rise to organizations supporting the use of violence will disappear naturally. If the whole society possesses superior virtues like honesty, sacrifice, love and justice, there can be no place for such things as poverty, unequal distribution of income, injustice, the oppression of the weak, or limitations on freedoms. On the contrary, a social order will emerge that meets the wants of the needy; where the wealthy protect the poor and the strong, the weak; where everyone can enjoy the very best health care, education, and transport systems. There, tolerance and understanding will dominate the relationships between different ethnic groups, religions and cultures.
For these reasons, proper morality is the key to solving so many social problems. The source of that key, in turn, is the Qur'an, which God has revealed as a guide for mankind.
It must not be forgotten that unless necessary measures are taken, unless deep-rooted solutions are brought in, the 21st century will continue to be a time of terror and violence, just as the 20th was before it. The homes of innocent people will be bombed, and women and children will be slaughtered.
The ideological fight against terrorism, therefore, must begin started with great urgency, to include very great numbers of people. This fight will be fought on the level of ideas-between people who believe in God, who are loving, forgiving, compassionate and in full possession of their conscience; and those who draw their strength from ignorance and violence. In one verse, our Lord reveals, "Why were there not people with a vestige of good sense among the generations of those who came before you, who forbade corruption in the earth..." (Qur'an, 11:116).
Believers should possess the virtue that God describes in that verse. While terrorists hope to achieve their aims by violence, believers know that true success can be achieved only by clinging tightly to the religion of God, and acting accordingly. Jews, Christians, and Muslims will join together in that struggle, in a spirit of respect for all beliefs and ideas and, by the will of God, enjoy definitive success. This is God's promise to all His believing servants, which will definitely come true.
At this point, a great responsibility falls on all true believers, no matter what their religion. Jews must not ignore Old Testament statements calling mankind to peace and tolerance, and they must call on all other Jews to oppose terrorism. So should Christians call on all other Christians, taking as their guide the morality most pleasing to God. One should not forget that terrorism stems from wrong ideas and the basic struggle against terrorism should be on the level of ideas. Believers must explain that these ideas are wrong and that no idea can prevail by means of violence, oppression and cruelty; and despotism can never bring about beauty.
Terrorist ideology is built on sand. Its foundations can easily be swept away by mobilizing a proper education campaign. Sincere believers in all parts of the world can help end the ignorance that breeds terrorism by searching for solutions, writing books and articles, promoting educational activities and disseminating their own cultural heritage. The prevalence of tolerance, peace and security on the Earth, as commanded by God, will make terrorism disappear into the pages of history forever. Adopting a defeatist, pessimistic attitude in the face of terror is unacceptable. Our hope is that this suffering will not be repeated, and that all measures will be adopted to that end.
May God have mercy on those who died in those hateful attacks, and may He heal the injured. Our sincere condolences to all mankind
Question:
What is obligatory upon a Muslim with respect to non-Muslims concerning different types of interactions and also with respect to holidays and festivals?
Response:
The responsibility of a Muslim towards non-Muslims are many, including:
First, he must call them to the way of Allah. This is to preach to them and to make clear to them the reality of Islam, according to his ability and if he has the knowledge to do so. This is the greatest and best good deed that one could do toward his fellow citizen and for those who live together with Jews, Christians and other disbelievers. On this point, the Prophet (peace be upon him) said, "The one who guides to good gets the same reward as the one who performs it.
" [Muslim] The Prophet (peace be upon him) also told Ali, when he was sending him to Khaibar to encounter the Jews, to invite the Jews to Islam. He told him, "By Allah, if Allah guides one person by you, it is better for you than the best types of camels." [al-Bukhaaree, Muslim] The Prophet (peace be upon him) also said, "Whoever calls to guidance will have a reward similar to the reward of the one who follows him, without the reward of either of them being lessened at all." [Muslim, Ahmad, Aboo Daawood, an-Nasaa'ee, at-Tirmidhee, Ibn Maajah] Calling them to Islam, preaching Islam to them and advising them concerning that is one of the most important deeds and is one of the best ways to get closer to Allah.
Second, [the Muslim] may not wrong the other person with respect to his life, wealth or honor, if the non-Muslim is a citizen of the Islamic state or has attained other protection. He must fulfill the other's rights. He may not wrong him with respect to his wealth by stealing from him, deceiving him or cheating him. He cannot harm him in his body by beating or killing him. His protection from the state guarantees his safety from such things.
Third, there is no prohibition concerning buying, selling, renting or other such business transactions with them. It has been authentically reported that the Prophet (peace be upon him) bought things from the polytheistic disbelievers. He also purchased items from Jews. In fact, when the Prophet (peace be upon him) died, his shield was being held as collateral with a Jewish person in exchange for food for his family.
Fourth, He must be neighborly toward his non-Muslim neighbor. If your neighbor is good to you, you do not harm him and you may even give him charity if he is poor or give him a gift if he is rich. You may also advise him concerning what is good for him. and because neighbors have very great rights. The Prophet (peace be upon him) said, "The Angel Gabriel kept advising me concerning the neighbor until I thought he was going to inherit [from his neighbor]." [al-Bukhaaree, Muslim] Allah also says in the Quran, "Allah does not forbid you to deal justly and kindly with those who fought not against you on account of religion and drove you not from your homes. Verily, Allah loves those who deal with equity" [al-Mumtahinah (60):7].
It is recorded in an authentic hadith from Asma bint Abu Bakr that her mother, who was a polytheist, visited her and asked for her assistance - this was during the time of the peace treaty between the Prophet (peace be upon him) and the disbelievers so she went to the Prophet (peace be upon him) to ask him about that and he told her to keep the ties of kinship with her and be righteous towards her.
Fifth, a Muslim should not participate with them in their greetings and festivals. However, one may give them condolences upon the death of someone if he finds some legal benefit in doing so. He may say to them, "May future bring good to you," or something of that nature.
Do you believe in Jesus ?
In islam we believe in Jesus as the prophet (the Messenger of God) Marry the mother of Jesus was unique ,in that she gave birth to a son by a special Miracle, without the intervention of the customary physical means.this of course Does not mean that she was more than human,any more than that her son was more than human. She had as much need to pray to God as anyone else.
Muslims respect and revere Jesus, and await his Second Coming. They consider him one of the greatest of God's messengers to mankind. A Muslim never refers to him simply as 'Jesus', but always adds the phrase 'upon him be peace'. The Quran confirms his virgin birth (a chapter of the Quran is entitled 'Mary'), and Mary is considered the purest woman in all creation. The Quran describes the Annunciation as follows:
'Behold!' the Angel said, 'God has chosen you, and purified you, and chosen you above the women of all nations. O Mary, God gives you good news of a word from Him, whose name shall be the Messiah, Jesus son of Mary, honored in this world and the Hereafter, and one of those brought near to God. He shall speak to the people from his cradle and in maturity, and shall be of the righteous.' She said: 'O my Lord! How shall I have a son when no man has touched me?' He said: 'Even so; God creates what He will. When He decrees a thing, He says to it, "Be!" and it is.' (Quran, 3:42-7)
Jesus was born miraculously through the same power which had brought Adam
into being without a father:
Truly, the likeness of Jesus with God is as the likeness of Adam. He created him
of dust, and then said to him, 'Be!' and he was. (Quran, 3:59)
During his prophetic mission Jesus performed many miracles. The Quran tells us
that he said:
I have come to you with a sign from your Lord: I make for you out of clay, as it were, the figure of a bird, and breathe into it and it becomes a bird by God's leave. And I heal the blind, and the lepers and I raise the dead by God's leave. (Quran, 3:49)
Neither Muhammad nor Jesus came to change the basic doctrine of the belief in One God, brought by earlier prophets, but to confirm and renew it. In the Quran Jesus is reported as saying that he came:
To attest the law which was before me. And to make lawful to you part of what was forbidden you; I have come to you with a sign from your Lord, so fear God and obey Me. (Quran, 3:5O) The Prophet Muhammad said:
Whoever believes there is no god but God, alone without partner, that Muhammad is His messenger, that Jesus is the servant and messenger of God, His word breathed into Mary and a spirit emanating from Him, and that Paradise and Hell are true, shall be received by God into Heaven. (Hadith from Bukhari) .
The Christian dogma ,in all sects except the Unitarian ,holds that : Jesus was God and the son of God .
Who is Jesus?
Without a doubt, you have often heard the claim that Jesus is God, the second person in the "Holy trinity." However, the very Bible which is used as a basis for knowledge about Jesus and as the basis for doctrine within Christianity clearly belies this claim. We urge you to consult your own Bible and verify that the following conclusions are not drawn out of context:
1.God is All Knowing...but Jesus was not
When speaking of the day of judgment, Jesus clearly gave evidence of a limitation on his knowledge when he said, "but of that day and hour knoweth no man, no, not the angels which are in Heaven, neither the son, but the Father." Mark 13:32, and Matt 24:36. But God knows all. His knowledge is without any limitations. That Jesus, of his own admission, did not know when the day of judgment would be, is clear proof that Jesus is not all-knowing, and that Jesus is therefore not God.
2. God is All Powerful....but Jesus was not
While Jesus performed many miracles, he himself admitted that the power he had was not his own but was derived from God when he said, "Verily, verily I say unto you, the Son can do nothing of himself, but what he seeth the Father do..." St. John 5:19. Again he said, "I can of mine own self do nothing: as I hear I judge: and my judgment is just; because I seek not mine own will, but the will of the Father which hath sent me." St. John 5:30. But God is not only all-powerful, He is also the source of all power and authority. That Jesus, of his own admission, could do nothing on his own is clear proof that Jesus is not all-powerful, and that therefore Jesus is not God.
3. God does not have a God ..... but Jesus did have a God.
God is the ultimate judge and refuge for all, and He does not call upon nor pray to any others. But Jesus acknowledged that there was one whom he worshipped and to whom he prayed when he said, "l ascend unto my Father and your Father, and to my God and your God." St. John 20:17. He is also reported to have cried out while on the cross, "My God, my God why hast thou forsaken me?" Matt 27:46. If Jesus were God, then couldn't this be read, "Myself, myself why hast thou forsaken me?" Would that not be pure nonsense? When Jesus prayed the Lord's prayer (Luke 11:2-4), was he praying to himself? When in the garden of Gethsemane he prayed,
"O my Father, if it be possible, let this cup pass from me: Nevertheless not as I will but as thou wilt." Matt 26:36-39. Was Jesus praying to himself? That Jesus, of his own admission and by his own actions, acknowledged, worshipped, and prayed to another being as God is clear proof that Jesus himself is not God.
4. God is an invisible spirit ..... but Jesus was flesh and blood
While thousands saw Jesus and heard his voice, Jesus himself said that this could not be done with God when he said. "No man hath seen God at any time." St. John 1:18. '"Ye have neither heard His voice at any time nor seen His shape." St. John 5:37. He also said in St. John 4:24. "God is a spirit and they that worship him must worship him in spirit and in truth." That Jesus would say that no one had seen or heard God at any time, while his followers both saw and heard him, is clear proof that Jesus was not God.
5. No one is greater than God and no one can direct Him
Jesus acknowledged someone greater than himself whose will was distinct from his own.
Perhaps the clearest indication we have that Jesus and God are not equal, and therefore not one and the same, come again from the mouth of Jesus himself who said in St. John 14:28, "My Father is greater than I." When someone referred to him as good master in Matt 19:17, Jesus responded, "Why callest thou me good? There is none good but one, that is God..." Furthermore, Jesus drew clear distinctions between himself and God when he said, "I proceeded forth and came from God, neither came I of myself but He sent me." St. John 8:42. Jesus gave clear evidence of his subordination to God, rather than his equality with God,when he said in Luke 22:42, "not my will but thine be done" and in St. John 5:30, "I seek not mine own will but the will of the Father which hath sent me." That Jesus would admit that he did not come into the world on his own initiative but was directed to do so, that he would acknowledge another being as greater than himself, and that he would negate his own will in deference to affirming the will of another, give clear proof that Jesus is not the Supreme One and therefore Jesus is not God.
Conclusion
The Church recognizes the Bible as the primary source of knowledge about God
and Jesus. But since the Bible makes it clear that Jesus is not the Supreme Being
and the Supreme Being is not Jesus, upon what basis have you come to believe
otherwise?
My brother or sister, the belief that the Supreme Being is a Trinity is false and
completely inconsistent with the words of Jesus as presented in the Bible. God is
one, not three. He is a perfect unity.
If you are interested in the truth about God and your relationship to Him, we invite you to investigate the religion of Islam.
What is the word of God about Jesus:
A. Regarding Sonship of Jesus:
That is Jesus, son of Mary, in word of truth, concerning which they are doubting.
It is not for God to take a son unto Him. Glory be to Him! When He decrees a
thing he but says to it "Be", and it is. (Qur'an 19:34,35).
And they say, 'The All-merciful has taken unto Himself a son.' You have indeed
advanced something hideous. The heavens are well nigh rent of it and the earth
split asunder, and the mountains well nigh fall down crashing for that they have
attributed to the All-Merciful a son; and it behoves not the All-Merciful to take a
son. None is there in the heavens and earth but comes to the All-Merciful as a
servant (Qur'an 19:88-93).
Truly the likeness of Jesus, in God's sight, is as Adam's likeness; He created him
of dust, then said He unto him, "Be", and he was. (Qur'an 3:59).
People of the Book, go not beyond the bounds in your religion, and say not as to
God but the Truth. The Messiah, Jesus, son of Mary, was only the Messenger of
God, and His Word that He committed to Mary, and a spirit from Him. So believe
in God and His Messengers. and say not, 'Three', Refrain, better is it for you. God is only One God. Glory be on Him - that He should have a son! To Him belongs that which is in the heavens and on the earth, God suffices for a guardian.
(Qur'an 4:171)
B. Regarding Jesus being God:
And when God said. 'O Jesus son of Mary,did you say unto men, "Take me and my mother as gods, apart from God?" He Said, 'To You be Glory! It is not mine to say what I have no right to. If I indeed said it, You knew it, knowing what is within my soul, and I do not know what is within Your soul; You know the things unseen. I only said to them what You did command me:
"Serve God, my Lord and your Lord." And I was a witness over them, while I remained among them; but when You did take me to Yourself the Watcher over them; You are the witness of everything. (Quran 5:116,117)
C. Regarding Crucifiction of Jesus:
And for their unbelief, and their uttering against Mary a mighty calumny, and for their saying, 'We slew the Messiah, Jesus son of Mary, the Messenger of God'...yet they did not slay him, neither crucified him, only a likeness of that was shown to them. Those who are at variance concerning him surely are in doubt regarding him, they have no knowledge of him, except the following of surmise; and they did not slay him of certainty... no indeed, God raised him up to Him; God is Almighty, All-Wise. There is not one of the people of the Book but will assuredly believe in him before his death, and on the Resurrection Day he will be a witness against them. (Qur'an 4:156-159)
JESUS in the QURAN
The Islamic view of Jesus lies between two extremes. The Jews , who rejected Jesus as a Prophet of God, called him an impostor. The Christians, on the other hand, considered him to be the son of God and worship him as such. Islam considers Jesus to be one of the great prophets of God and respects him as much as Ibrahim (Abraham), Moses, and Mohammed. (Peace Be Upon Them) This is conformity with the Islamic view of the oneness of God, the oneness of Divine guidance, and the complementary role of the subsequent mission of God's messengers.
The essence of Islam - willing submission to the will of God - was revealed to Adam, who was passed it on to his children. All following revelations to Noah, Ibrahim, Moses, Jesus, and finally Mohammed (Peace Be Upon Them) were conformity with that message, with some elaboration to define the revelation between man and God, man and man, man and instructions. Thus, any contradictions among revealed religions is viewed by Islam as a man-made element introduced into these religions. The position of Jesus in the three major religions - Judaism, Christianity, and Islam - should not be an exception. Although the Quran does not present a detailed life-story of Jesus, it highlights the important aspects of his birth, his mission, his ascension to heaven, and passes judgements on the Christian beliefs concerning him. The Quranic account of Jesus starts with the conception of his mother, Mary, whose mother, the wife of Imran, vowed to dedicate her child to the service of God in the temple. When
Mary became a woman, the Holy Spirit (the Archangel Gabriel) appeared to her as a man bringing her news of a son. We read the following dialogue in the Quran between Mary and the Angel:
"When the angel said, "Mary, God gives you a good tidings of a Word from Him whose name is messiah, Jesus, son of Mary, -high honoured shall he be in this world and the next, near stationed to God. He shall speak to men in the cradle, and of age, and righteous he shall be, "lord" said Mary "How shall I have a son, seeing no mortal has touched me? "Even so, he said "God creates what He will". When he decrees a thing He but say to it, "Be", and it is. (Al-Imran 3:45-47)
In a chapter (Surah) entitled "Maryam" (Mary), the Quran tells us how Mary gave birth to her son, and how the Jesus accused her when she brought the child home:
"Then she brought the child to her folk, carrying him, and they said, "Mary, you have surely committed a monstrous thing. Sister of Aaron, your father was not a wicked man, nor your mother a woman unchaste. Mary pointed to the child; but they said, 'Hoe shall we speak to one who still in the cradle, a little child. And he said, 'Lo, I am God's servant, God has given me the Book and made me a Prophet Blessed He has made me ,wherever/may be; and hi has enjoined me to prayer, and to give the alms so long as I live, and likewise to cherish my mother; He has not made me arrogant and wicked. Peace be upon me, the day I was born, and the day I die, and the day I am raised up a live. (Maryam 19:29-33)
in the same chapter, following the above quotation, God assures Mohammed (PBUH) and through him the whole world, that what is told above is the TRUTH about Jesus (PBUH), although Christians might not accept it. Jesus is NOT the son of God: He was obviously enough, the son of Mary. The verses continue: "That is Jesus, son of Mary, in word of truth, concerning which they are doubting. It is not for God to take a son unto Him. Glory be to Him, He nut says to it, 'Be, and it is. (Maryam 19:34-35)
After this strong statement about the nature of Jesus, God directed Mohammed (PBUH) to call the Christians to worship the one God: "Surely God is my God, and your God, so surely serve him. This is the straight path". (Maryam 19:36) The rejection of the very idea of God having a son is restated later in the same chapter with even stronger words:
"And they say, The All-merciful has taken unto Himself a son. You have indeed advanced something hideous. As if the skies are about to burst, the earth to split asunder and its mountain to fall down in the utter ruin for that they have attributed to the All-merciful a son; and behaves not the All-merciful to take a son. None there in the heavens and earth but comes to the All-merciful as a servant" (Maryam 19:88-93)
The Quran recognizes the fact that Jesus had no human father, but this does not make him the son of God, or God himself. By this criterion, Adam would have been more entitled more entitled to be the son of God, because he had neither a father nor a mother, so the Quran draws attention to the miraculous creation of both in the following verses; " truly the likeness of Jesus, in God's sight is as Adam's likeness; He created him of dust, then He said upon him, 'Be' and he was. (Al-Imran 3:59)
The Quran rejects the concept of Trinity God the Father, God the son, God the Holy Spirit - as strongly as it rejects the concept of Jesus as the son of God. This is because GOD IS ONE. Three cannot be one. The Quran addresses Christians in the following verses from the Surrah entitled "An-Nisaa" (The Women)
People of the Book, do not go beyond the bounds in your religion, and say nought as to God but the Truth.
The messiah, Jesus, son of Mary, was only the messenger of God, and his word (Fulfilment of his word (Fulfilment of His command, through the word "Be", for the creation of Jesus) that he committed to Mary, and a spirit originating from Him (was given life by God). So believe in God and His Messengers, and say not 'Three'. Refrain, better is for you. God is only one God. Glory be to him-that He should have a son! To Him belongs all that is in the Heavens and in the Earth; God suffices for a guardian.
The Messiah will not disdain to be a servant of God, neither the Angels who are close to Him. Whosoever disdains to serve Him and walks proud, He will assuredly muster them to Him, all of them.
As for the believers, who do deeds of righteousness, we will pay them their rewards in full, and He will give them more, of His bounty; as for them who disdain and walks proud, then He will punish with a severe punishment, and they shall not find for them, apart from God, a friend or helper." (An-Nissa 4:171-173)
The denial of Jesus's divinity (and. For the matter, of Mary's divinity) is presented in the Quran in the form of a dialogue, at the Day of Judgement, between the Almighty Jesus.
All the Messengers and their nations will gather before God and He will ask the Messengers how they were received by their people and what they said to them. Among those who will be questioned is Jesus:
"And when God said, 'O Jesus, son of Mary, did you say unto men, "Take me and my mother as gods, apart from God"? He said, 'To you be glory! It is not mine to say what I have no right to. If I indeed said it, you would have known it, knowing what is within my heart, though I do not know your knowledge; you know the things unseen. I only said to them what you did commands me: "Serve God, my God and your God." (Al-Maida 5-116)
Given that the Quran denies the Trinity and the son ship of Jesus, what, according to the Quran, was the real mission of Jesus? The answer is that Jesus was a link in a long chain of Prophets and Messengers sent by God to various nations and societies whenever they needed guidance or deviated from his teachings of Moses and other Messengers. As he was miraculously supported by numerous miracles to prove that he was a Messengers from God. However, the majority of the Jews rejected his ministry.
In another verse of the Quran, Jesus confirmed the validity of the Torah which
was revealed to Moses, and also conveyed he glad tidings of a final Messenger
who follow him: "And when Jesus son of Mary said,
'Children of Israel, I am indeed the Messenger to you, confirming the Torah that is before me, and giving good tiding of a Messenger who shall be the praised one."(As-Saff 61:6)
Note that "praised one" is a translation of "Ahmad" - The Prophet Mohammed's name. Careful study of the New Testament shows that Jesus refers to the same Prophet in John 14:16-17: "And I will give you another Counsellor (ThProphet Mohammed). To be with you for ever, even the Spirit of Truth." The usual explanation of this Prophecy is that the counsellor referred to is the Holy Spirit, but this explanation is excluded by a previous verse in John: "Nevertheless I tell you the truth: it is to your advantage that I go away, for if I do not go away, the Counsellor will not come to you."
The characteristics of this counsellor, as can be derived from the prophecy, are that he will stay forever with the believers, he will glorify Jesus; and he will speak that he hears form God. All four characteristics apply to the Prophet Mohammed. He came six centuries after Jesus. He came six centuries after Jesus. He came with a universal and everlasting message, fulfilling the prophecy that the counsellor will stay forever with the faithful. He glorified Jesus as a great Prophet. The Quran attributes to Jesus miracles not mentioned in the Bible's Old and New Testaments, as well as specific verses in the Quran show how the Prophet Mohammad is rejected by Jews and Christians out of prejudice and misunderstanding, rather that carefully study the Bible.
It is a sad fact of history that not many are following the "straight path" to which people were called by Jesus. He was only followed by a few disciples inspired by God to support him. The non-believers plotted - as they would against Mohammed, six centuries later - to kill Jesus. But God had better plan for him and his followers, as the Quran tells us:
"And when Jesus perceived their unbelief, he said 'Who will be my helpers in the cause of God? The apostles said, 'we are Gods helpers. We believe in God; so bear witness of our submission God, we believe in that you have sent down, and we follow the Messenger. Inscribe us therefore with those who bear witness. 'And they devised, and God devised, and God devised, and God is the best of divisors. When God said, 'Jesus, I will take you to Me and will raise you to Me, and I will purify you (of the falsehoods) of those who do not believe. I will make your followers above the unbelievers till the Resurrection Day."(Al-Imran 3:52-55)
As the above verses indicate, Jesus was taken and raised to heaven. He was not crucified. It was certainly the plan of the enemies of Jesus to put him to death on the cross, but God saved him and someone else was crucified.
Jesus did not die on the cross, rather Allah saved His beloved prophet from such
a fate and cast his likeness on JUDAS Iscariot .
JUDAS Iscariot was crucified in place of Jesus (pbuh).
Jesus (pbuh) was subsequently taken up by Allah until his second coming near
the end of the world.
The crucifixion of Jesus is the foundation of Christianity and the excuse to live immoral and sinful lives. According to the Pauline doctrine, there is no salvation without the sacrificial death of Jesus, and hence “no salvation outside the Church”. Yet the Gospels provide evidence that Jesus was not crucified at all. It was Judas who took Jesus’ place on the cross while Jesus escaped for three days and three nights. Judas was transformed to look exactly like Jesus, and the Romans crucified him instead. Jesus said he would disappear:
For as Jonah was three days and three nights in the belly of a huge fish, so the Son of Man will be three days and three nights in the heart of the earth.
(Matthew 12:39)
The “heart of the earth” does not mean tomb, but rather a secret location. Jesus knew the Jews wanted to kill him; he planned to hide himself and reappear at Jerusalem. He had every reason to hide, he was frequently stoned (John 8:59, 10:31).
Now when Jesus learned that the Pharisees had heard that Jesus was making and baptizing more disciples than John (although Jesus himself did not baptize, but only his disciples), he left Judea and departed again for Galilee. And he had to pass through Samaria. So he came to a town of Samaria called Sychar, near the field that Jacob had given to his son Joseph. Jacob's well was there; so Jesus, wearied as he was from his journey, was sitting beside the well. It was about the sixth hour. There came a woman of Samaria to draw water. Jesus said to her, "Give me a drink." (For his disciples had gone away into the city to buy food.) (John 4:1-7)
The “heart of the earth” was the city of Sychar in Samaria, and Jesus took refuge at Sychar during the three days.
When you are persecuted in one place, flee to another. I tell you the truth, you will not finish going through the cities of Israel before the Son of Man comes. (Matthew 10:23)
Jesus followed his own teaching by fleeing to another city. Jesus can’t die outside Jerusalem (Luke 13:33). The crucifixion was not his purpose (Deu. 24:16, Ps. 18:50, 20:6, 40:6, Isa.1:11, Mic.6:7-8).
And the king was sorry, but because of his oaths and his guests he commanded it to be given. He sent and had John beheaded in the prison, and his head was brought on a platter and given to the girl, and she brought it to her mother. And his disciples came and took the body and buried it, and they went and told Jesus. Now when Jesus heard this, he withdrew from there in a boat to a desolate place by himself. (Matthew 14:13, also John 7:1, 8:59)
Do not believe me unless I do what my Father does. But if I do it, even though you do not believe me, believe the miracles, that you may know and understand that the Father is in me, and I in the Father." Again they tried to seize him, but he escaped their grasp. (John 10:37-39)
Jesus replied, "Let us go somewhere else—to the nearby villages—so I can preach there also. That is why I have come." (Mark 1:38)
But he said, "I must preach the good news of the kingdom of God to the other towns also, because that is why I was sent." (Luke 4:43)
For the Son of man is come to save that which was lost. (Matthew 18:11, KJV)
But go ye and learn what [that] meaneth, I will have mercy, and not sacrifice: for I am not come to call the righteous, but sinners to repentance. (Matthew 9:13)
The 1945 discovery of Gnostic texts at Nag Hammadi, Egypt unearthed a book called The Second Treatise of the Great Seth, where Jesus states: I did not succumb to them as they had planned. But I was not afflicted at all. Those who were there punished me. And I did not die in reality but in appearance, lest I be put to shame by them because these are my kinsfolk. I removed the shame from me and I did not become fainthearted in the face of what happened to me at their hands. I was about to succumb to fear, and I suffered according to their sight and thought, in order that they may never find any word to speak about them. For my death, which they think happened, (happened) to them in their error and blindness, since they nailed their man unto their death. For their Ennoias did not see me, for they were deaf and blind. But in doing these things, they condemn themselves. Yes, they saw me; they punished me. It was another, their father, who drank the gall and the vinegar; it was not I. They struck me with the reed; it was another, Simon, who bore the cross on his shoulder. It was another upon Whom they placed the crown of thorns. But I was rejoicing in the height over all the wealth of the archons and the offspring of their error, of their empty glory. And I was laughing at their ignorance. (The Treatise of the Great Seth)
Let us discuss what exactly happened on the night of Jesus’ arrest. Judas Iscariot, a disciple of Jesus, was won over on the promise of receiving thirty pieces of silver, if, through his help, Jesus was arrested. In order to avoid any further trouble, it was decided to make the attempt at night. On reaching the place where Jesus had gone with a few of his followers, Judas was told to kiss Jesus, so that the foreign Roman soldiers could identify him. The plan miscarried. When the soldiers materialised from the darkness, a tumult ensued. The two Jews were mixed up in the dark, and the soldiers mistakenly arrested Judas instead of Jesus. Thus, the latter made good his escape. (Muhammad Ataur-Raheem, Jesus Prophet of Islam, p. 36)
The Gospels record the “disciples forsook him and fled” and Jesus was among them. The Gospel of Barnabas also details what happened at Gethsemane:
When the soldiers with Judas drew near to the place where Jesus was, Jesus heard the approach of many people, wherefore in fear he withdrew into the house. And the eleven were sleeping. Then God, seeing the danger of his servant, commanded Gabriel;, Michael;, Rafael;, and Uriel, his ministers, to take Jesus out of the world. The holy angels came and took Jesus out by the window that looks toward the South;. They bare him and placed him in the third heaven in the company of angels blessing God for evermore.
Judas entered impetuously before all into the chamber whence Jesus had been taken up. And the disciples were sleeping. Whereupon the wonderful God acted
wonderfully, insomuch that Judas was so changed in speech and in face to be like Jesus that we believed him to be Jesus. And he, having awakened us, was seeking where the Master was. Whereupon we marvelled, and answered: 'You, Lord, are our master; have you now forgotten us?'
And he, smiling, said: 'Now are you foolish, that know not me to be Judas Iscariot!' And as he was saying this the soldiery entered, and laid their hands upon Judas, because he was in every way like to Jesus. We having heard Judas' saying, and seeing the multitude of soldiers, fled as beside ourselves. And John, who was wrapped in a linen cloth, awoke and fled, and when a soldier seized him by the linen cloth he left the linen cloth and fled naked. For God heard the prayer of Jesus, and saved the eleven from evil. (The Gospel of Barnabas)
The renowned Muslim commentator Ibn Kathir record a similar tradition
(O you to whom the Dhikr (the Qur'an) has been sent down! Verily, you are a mad man!) When Allah sent `Isa with proofs and guidance, the Jews, may Allah's curses, anger, torment and punishment be upon them, envied him because of his prophethood and obvious miracles; curing the blind and leprous and bringing the dead back to life, by Allah's leave. He also used to make the shape of a bird from clay and blow in it, and it became a bird by Allah's leave and flew. `Isa performed other miracles that Allah honored him with, yet the Jews defied and bellied him and tried their best to harm him. Allah's Prophet `Isa could not live in any one city for long and he had to travel often with his mother, peace be upon them. Even so, the Jews were not satisfied, and they went to the king of Damascus at that time, a Greek polytheist who worshipped the stars. They told him that there was a man in Bayt Al-Maqdis misguiding and dividing the people in Jerusalem and stirring unrest among the king's subjects. The king became angry and wrote to his deputy in Jerusalem to arrest the rebel leader, stop him from causing unrest, crucify him and make him wear a crown of thorns. When the king's deputy in Jerusalem received these orders, he went with some Jews to the house that `Isa was residing in, and he was then with twelve, thirteen or seventeen of his companions. That day was a Friday, in the evening. They surrounded `Isa in the house, and when he felt that they would soon enter the house or that he would sooner or later have to leave it, he said to his companions, "Who volunteers to be made to look like me, for which he will be my companion in Paradise'' A young man volunteered, but `Isa thought that he was too young. He asked the question a second and third time, each time the young man volunteering, prompting `Isa to say, "Well then, you will be that man.'' Allah made the young man look exactly like `Isa, while a hole opened in the roof of the house, and `Isa was made to sleep and ascended to heaven while asleep.
Allah sid (And (remember) when Allah said: "O `Isa! I will take you and raise you to Myself.'') When `Isa ascended, those who were in the house came out. When those surrounding the house saw the man who looked like `Isa, they thought that he was `Isa. So they took him at night, crucified him and placed a crown of thorns on his head. The Jews then boasted that they killed `Isa and some Christians accepted their false claim, due to their ignorance and lack of reason. As for those who were in the house with `Isa, they witnessed his ascension to heaven, while the rest thought that the Jews killed `Isa by crucifixion. They even said that Maryam sat under the corpse of the crucified man and cried, and they say that the dead man spoke to her. All this was a test from Allah for His servants out of His wisdom. Allah explained this matter in the Glorious Qur'an which He sent to His honorable Messenger, whom He supported with miracles and clear,
unequivocal evidence. Allah is the Most Truthful, and He is the Lord of the worlds Who knows the secrets, what the hearts conceal, the hidden matters in heaven and earth, what has occurred, what will occur, and what would occur if it was decreed.
The scholar Ibn Kathir mentions a house where Jesus ascended to Heaven through a window, and it’s confirmed by Barnabas.
The Crucifixion of Judas:
Judas was crucified in Jesus’ place to punish him for treachery. Many people deny that Judas was crucified, yet the following passages condemn Judas:
Then Jesus replied, "Have I not chosen you, the Twelve? Yet one of you is a devil!" (He meant Judas, the son of Simon Iscariot, who, though one of the Twelve, was later to betray him.) (John 6:70-71)
While I was with them, I protected them and kept them safe by that name you gave me. None has been lost except the one doomed to destruction so that Scripture would be fulfilled. (John 17:12)
Judas cried with a loud voice that God forsaken him:
And about the ninth hour Jesus (Judas) cried with a loud voice, saying, Eli, Eli, lama sabachthani? that is to say, My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me? (Matthew 27:46)
And the soldiers came before him, bowing down in mockery, saluting him as King of the Jews. And they held out their hands to receive gifts, such as new kings are accustomed to give; and receiving nothing they smote Judas, saying: 'Now, how are you crowned, foolish king, if you will not pay your soldiers and servants?' The chief priests with the scribes and Pharisees, seeing that Judas died not by the scourges, and fearing lest Pilate should set him at liberty, made a gift of money to the governor, who having received it gave Judas to the scribes and Pharisees as guilty to death. Whereupon they condemned two robbers with him to the death of the cross. So they led him to Mount Calvary, where they used to hang malefactors, and there they crucified him naked;, for the greater ignominy. Judas truly did nothing else but cry out: 'God, why have you forsaken me, seeing the malefactor has escaped and I die unjustly?' Truly I say that the voice, the face, and the person of Judas were so like to Jesus, that his disciples and believers entirely believed that he was Jesus; wherefore some departed from the doctrine of Jesus, believing that Jesus had been a false prophet, and that by art magic he had done the miracles which he did: for Jesus had said that he should not die till near the end of the world; for that at that time he should be taken away from the world.
How can God forsake Jesus? This is absurd; God never forsakes His righteous servants.
For the LORD loves the just and will not forsake his faithful ones. They will be protected forever, but the offspring of the wicked will be cut off; (Psalms 37:28)
LORD God, do not reject your anointed one. Remember the great love promised to David your servant." (2 Chronicles 6:42)
For the sake of David your servant, do not reject your anointed one. The LORD swore an oath to David, a sure oath that he will not revoke: "One of your own descendants I will place on your throne- (Psalms 132:10-11)
Judas was forsaken by God, not Jesus!
According to the Gospels, Judas was given a sponge full of vinegar. The vinegar had stimulating effects on the body, the senses were aroused and the body awakened.
Now there was set a vessel full of vinegar: and they filled a spunge with vinegar, and put it upon hyssop, and put it to his mouth. When Jesus therefore had received the vinegar, he said, It is finished: and he bowed his head, and gave up the ghost. (John 19:29-30)
This proves Judas was poisoned, the vinegar is supposed to have stimulating effects, yet it killed Judas instantly!
Within the canonical texts certain clues may be found that shows that the biblical crucifixion was a less then transparent affair. In the Fourth Gospel Jesus, hanging
on the cross, says that he thirsts and is given a sponge allegedly soaked in vinegar. Tradition has it that this act was an act of derision, but in actuality vinegar - or soured wine –
was a temporary stimulant with effects similar to smelling salts. It was often used
to resuscitate exhausted galley slaves. For an exhausted man, a sniff or taste of
vinegar
would induce a restorative, rejuvenating effect. Surprisingly, in Jesus' case the
effect is exactly the opposite. As soon as he tastes or inhales the sponge he
expires.
Corey Gilkes, The Crucifixion Demystified,
The scholar Michael Baigent confesses that Judas was poisoned:
There is a curious incident recorded in the Gospels that may be explained by this hypothesis: while on the cross, Jesus (Judas) complained that he was thirsty. A sponge soaked in vinegar was placed on the end of a long reed and held up to him. But far from reviving Jesus (Judas), the drink from this sponge apparently caused him to die. This is a curious reaction and suggests that the sponge was soaked not in vinegar, a substance that would have revived Jesus (Judas), but rather in something that would have caused him to lose consciousness – some sort of drug, for example. And there was just this type of drug available in the Middle East. (The Jesus Papers, p. 128) Brackets are mine
Jesus said he wouldn’t drink any wine (fruit of the vine) until he arrives in Heaven.
But I say unto you, I will not drink henceforth of this fruit of the vine, until that day when I drink it new with you in my Father's kingdom. (Matthew 26:29)
Judas was crucified while Jesus escaped. Jesus couldn’t have drunk the wine because he specifically said he wouldn’t drink any wine. This indicates that Jesus
ascended to Heaven shortly after Judas was arrested. Historically, it takes three days to die from crucifixion, so Judas was indeed poisoned on the cross, which resulted in death.
The Gospels record that Jesus died instantly from the poisoned vinegar, but it wasn’t Jesus at all. The crucified was Judas Iscariot:
Now there was set a vessel full of vinegar: and they filled a spunge with vinegar, and put it upon hyssop, and put it to his mouth. When Jesus therefore had received the vinegar, he said, It is finished: and he bowed his head, and gave up the ghost. (John 19:29-30)
The vinegar Judas drank was really wine, yet Jesus said he wouldn’t drink any
wine!
The drink offered to our Lord was vinegar (made of light wine rendered acid, the
common drink of Roman soldiers) "mingled with gall," or, according to Mark
(15:23), "mingled with myrrh;" both expressions meaning the same thing.
If Jesus was truly hanging on the cross, then he contradicted his own words by drinking the vinegar (wine), which he promised not to drink (Matt. 26:29, Mk. 14:25, Lk. 22:18)
What Happened to Judas’ body?
There are two contradictory passages in the New Testament that record Judas’ death. The Gospel of Matthew says Judas hanged himself (27:5), yet the Book of Acts says Judas fell on rocks and his bowels burst open (Acts 1:18). There is no other solution but accepting the crucifixion of Judas, he was taken down from the cross and thrown into a field where his bowels burst open.
The tradition of Judas hanging himself is fabricated:
Matthew’s Gospel follows the Passion and Resurrection sections of Mark very closely in the main outlines but adds a number of new elements – what Beare calls “legendary embroidery”. These are the death of Judas by hanging (27:3-8); the dream of Pilate’s wife (27:19); Pilate’s washing of his hands and the acceptance of guilt for the blood of Jesus by “the whole people” (27:24 ff.) (what terrible persecution and hatred the Jewish people have suffered at so-called Christian hands because of this addition to the tale!); certain sayings of Jesus (26:26-9); and the story of the guard at the tomb (27:62-64) (Tom Harper, For Christ’s Sake, p. 101)
The contradiction between Matthew and Acts cannot be solved, so the only explanation is to reconcile Judas’ crucifixion with Acts 1:18.
According to Matthew’s gospel, the chief priests bought a field with 30 pieces of silver. Judas was already dead when the field was purchased, so his body was thrown “headlong” after he was crucified.
Notably, some would object to the suggestion of Judas having been crucified on the basis that, as per Matthew 27:5, Judas threw his ill-gotten silver back at the priests and “…went and hanged himself”. So some would object. The author of ‘Acts (commonly held to have been Luke the evangelist)…for Acts records that Judas “…purchased a field with the wages of iniquity; and falling headlong, he burst open in the middle and all his entrails gushed out”. (Acts 1:18) So if the
author of ‘Acts’ and the author of the gospel of ‘Matthew’ cannot agree on the matter, what truly happened could be anybody’s guess. (The First and Final Commandment, p. 213)
There is good reason to believe that God transformed Jesus to look exactly like Judas.
On the other hand, if the proposal of Judas having been crucified in place of Jesus sounds technically strained, it shouldn’t; God is described as having restrained the eyes of two disciples (i.e., intimate companions who should have readily recognized their teacher) when they met the supposedly ‘risen’ Jesus on the road to Emmaus, “…so that they did not know him” (Luke 24:16). Another Biblical example would be that Mary Magdalene is reported to have failed to recognize Jesus outside of the tomb, “…supposing him to be the gardener…” (John 20:15). A person could reasonably expect Mary Magdalene to have known better, under normal circumstances. (ibid, p. 213)
In the Old Testament, God transformed Miriam to be leprous:
The anger of the LORD burned against them, and he left them. When the cloud lifted from above the Tent, there stood Miriam—leprous, like snow. Aaron turned toward her and saw that she had leprosy; and he said to Moses, "Please, my lord, do not hold against us the sin we have so foolishly committed. Do not let her be like a stillborn infant coming from its mother's womb with its flesh half eaten away." (Numbers 12:9-12)
The face of Jesus was transfigured on the mount:
After six days Jesus took with him Peter, James and John the brother of James, and led them up a high mountain by themselves. There he was transfigured before them. His face shone like the sun, and his clothes became as white as the light. (Matthew 17:1-2)
Lawrence Brown further says:
Reviewing what can be surmised from unprejudiced historical accounts, opposing views to those of Trinitarian Christianity are seen to have been voiced by a large population of the religious, and spanning the known world. And the opinions of those who denied the crucifixion and death of Christ Jesus were not necessarily either a minority in their time or incorrect in their claim. All that not withstanding, many would argue that from a gut level it makes more sense for God to have punished Judas for his treachery than to have tortured Jesus for his innocence. (ibid, p. 221)
Many early Christian sects believed Jesus was spared:
On the other hand, if the concept of another crucified in place of Jesus sounds foreign to Christianity, it isn’t. Amongst the early Christian groups the Corinthians, the Basilidians, the Paulicians, and the Carpocrations all believe Christ Jesus to have been spared. The Basilidians, in specific, believe that Simon of Cyrene was crucified in his place. Typical of such dissenting groups, all of the above were judged to have been Gnostics and/or heretics by the orthodox Church, and were violently suppressed by a Trinitarian majority who systematically burned dissenters into oblivion for the first fifteen centuries of Roman Catholic rule. (ibid, p. 214)
"In the nineteenth century an eminent scholar, Rabbi Wise, searched the records of Pilate’s court, still extant, for evidence of this trial. He found nothing."
The book “The Martyrdom of Jesus of Nazareth” (1874) is out of print. The scholar Lloyd Graham records the discovery of Rabbi Wise in his book Deceptions and Myths of the Bible, both can be purchased online.
Furthermore, the trial of Jesus is filled with historical errors. This casts serious doubt on the Gospel story:
(1). The Sanhedrin was forbidden to meet over the Passover.
(2) The character of Pilate is false, he was brutal and wicked
(3). There was no Roman custom of releasing a prisoner at the Passover.
(4). Why did Pilate release Barabbas when he was a political threat to Rome?
(5) The story of Barabbas is fictional, he never existed.
(6). The Gentile writers exonerated the Romans.
(7) It takes three days to die from crucifixion, not three hours.
(8). According to Jewish Law, Jesus should’ve been stoned, not crucified.
(9). Why did six-hundred Roman soldiers come to arrest Jesus?!
(10). Why did Judas identify Jesus with a kiss when his face was recognizable?
(11) The exact date of Jesus’ crucifixion is unknown.
(12) The trial of Jesus is recorded differently in each Gospel.
(13) The Jewish philosopher Philo (50 CE) never mentions Jesus’ trial
(14) The Gospels never mention Pilate’s wife (Claudia)
(15) Jesus was crucified for political charges, and for blasphemy. This does mean he was false?
(16) In reality, Jesus was not crucified at all (Quran 4:157)
(17). Why didn’t the Romans seek evidence for the false charges against him?
Here is what scholar T.W. Doane says about Jesus’ trial:
The Jews said unto him: "Thou art not yet fifty years old, and hast thou seen Abraham'' If Jesus was then but about thirty years of age, the Jews would evidently have said : "thou art not yet forty years old," and would not have been likely to say: "thou art not yet fifty years old," ... ;' therefore, if Jesus was
crucified at that time he must have been about fifty years of age; but, as we remarked elsewhere, there exists, outside of the New Testament, no evidence whatever, in book, inscription, or monument, that Jesus of Nazareth was either scourged or crucified under Pontius Pilate. Josephus, Tacitus, Pliny, Philo, nor any of their contemporaries, ever refer to the fact of this crucifixion, or express any belief thereon. (T.W. Doane, Bible Myths and their Parallels in other Religions, p. 516)
There is no verification of a significant crucifixion in the writings of historians such as Philo, Tacitus, Pliny, Suetonius, Epictectus, Cluvius Rufus, Quintus, Curtis Rufus, Josephus, nor the Roman Consul, Publius Petronius. The crucifixion also was unknown to early Christians until as late as the Second Century.
We don’t know the exact date of Jesus’ crucifixion. According to scholars:
How long was Jesus on the cross before he died? I do not think anyone knows. Remember, those who might have noticed and relayed that information had all forsaken him and fled. he appearance of Joseph of Arimathea, the darkness over the land, the split in the temple veil, the ecstatic cry of faith from the centurion-all were elements of the developing legend. The hasty burial before the Sabbath was but a part of the burial legend. Thus no one knows how long Jesus lived on the cross, how he died, when he was taken down, or where he was buried, "for they all forsook him and fled." That means there was no first-day-of-the-week visit to the tomb by the women to anoint him, since there was no tomb and no sense of when he died or of where he was buried. (John Shelby Spong, Resurrection: Myth or Reality, p. 241)
The nativity was placed at the winter solstice, thus coinciding with the birthday of the Sun-god. And the date for the crucifixion was made to vary from year to year to conform to the astronomical principle which fixed the Jewish Passover. (J.M. Robertson, Pagan Christs, p. 68)
“…Mark continues: “The hour of the crucifixion was nine in the morning” (the third hour, Roman time – Mark 15:25); John, however, tells us that “It was the eve of Passover, about noon”, when Pilate “handed Jesus over to be crucified”. Thus, we cannot know the hour of the crucifixion. Nor, in fact, did the evangelists know; their times were fictional creations, parts of a theological framework. (Randel Helms, Gospel Fictions, p. 125)
“It is impossible to give definite dates for all the events of the New Testament” (The World Book Encyclopedia, by World Book editors, p. 235)
Regarding the so-called “darkness and earthquake” at the crucifixion, they are later embellishments to the Gospel story. The last gospel (John) never records the events. Paul; and the early Church fathers never mention it. The “darkness and earthquake” are fictional narratives:
“… We have here a good example of the credulity of Western man. For two thousand years he has been reading about this convulsion and “darkness over all the earth” without ever questioning it or demanding proof of it. Yet had it happened, would not some of those able historians have recorded it? Why did they not?”
“I wish all fundamentalists would take special note that while these quite public, literally stupendous events are alleged to have taken place, not a single other contemporary source can be found to corroborate or confirm them --- even
though this was at a time and in a place where capable observers, recorders of remarkable happenings, historians, and others were in no way lacking. There is not a smidgeon of a trace of historicity to be found”. (Tom Harper, The Pagan Christ, p. 149)
The most striking feature of the early documents is that they do not set Jesus’ life in a specific historical situation. There is no Galilean ministry, and there are no parables, no miracles, no Passion in Jerusalem, no indication of time, place of attendant circumstances at all. The words Calvary, Bethlehem, Nazareth, and Galilee never appear in the early epistles, and the word Jerusalem is never used there in connection with Jesus (Doherty, pp. 68, 73). Instead, Jesus figures as a basically supernatural personage who took the “likeness” of man, “emptied” then of his supernatural powers Phil 2:7. (G.A. Wells, Can We Trust the New Testament? p. 3)
The gospels included in the New Testament (NT) are widely agreed to have been written between A.D. 70 and 100. In these four gospels, it is claimed that Jesus taught in Galilee in the opening decades of the first century, worked miracles there, or what at an y rate were taken for miracles, and died in Jerusalem at the behest of the Roman governor Pontius Pilate. And yet, as I have reiterated in The Jesus Legend (1996) and The Jesus Myth (1999), none of these things are claimed, or even mentioned, in the earliest surviving Christian documents. In other words, none of these supposed historical events are touched upon in extant Christian documents which are either earlier than the gospels or early enough to have been written independently of them (that is, before those gospels or the traditions underlying them had become generally known in Christian circles). (ibid, p. 1)
The ‘empty tomb’ story is fabricated because the empty tomb never existed. Paul, the earliest Christian writer, never mentions the ‘empty tomb’ and the Gospel resurrection accounts. The resurrection of Jesus is hoaxed, it was never mentioned by the Jewish philosopher Philo (50 CE)!
Judas never rose from the dead; the ‘empty tomb’ is pure fiction.
Christianity probably began, and was taken up and preached by Paul the Apostle, with a different idea of the resurrection than is claimed today. The evidence suggests the first Christians, at least up to and including Paul, thought Christ's "soul" was taken up to heaven and clothed in a new body, after leaving his old body in the grave forever. The subsequent story, that Jesus actually walked out of the grave with the same body that went into it, leaving an empty tomb to astonish all, was probably a legend that developed over the course of the first century, beginning with a metaphorical "empty tomb" in the Gospel of Mark, most likely written after Paul's death. By the end of the first century the Christian fiction that would win total power three centuries later, and thus alone preserve its writings for posterity, had come to believe in the literal truth of the ensuing legend, forgetting or repudiating the original doctrine of Paul. (Robert M. Price, The Empty Tomb: Beyond the Grave, p. 105)
There is a strong probability that the story of Joseph of Arimathea was developed to cover the apostles’ pain at the memory of Jesus’ having no one to claim his body and of his death as a common criminal. His body was probably dumped unceremoniously into a common grave, the location of which has never been known-then or now. This fragment in Paul’s sermon in Acts thus rings with startling accuracy...the empty tomb tradition does not appear to be part of the primitive kerygma. (John Shelby Spong, Resurrection: Myth or Reality: p 225)
The scholar Shelby Spong says Paul never heard of the ‘empty tomb’
We must keep in mind that Paul knew nothing of an event called the ascension that was separate or different from Jesus' resurrection. Paul's writings contain no hint of the two-stage process that would develop later, where resurrection brought Jesus from the grave back to life and ascension then took Jesus from earth to heaven. Paul's proclamation was that God had raised Jesus into God's very life. That was Easter for Paul. For Paul there were no empty tombs, no disappearance from the grave of the physical body, no physical resurrection, no physical appearances of a Christ who would eat fish, offer his wounds for inspection, or rise physically into the sky after an appropriate length of time. None of these ideas can be found in reading Paul. For Paul the body of Jesus who died was perishable, weak, physical. The Jesus who was raised was clothed by the raising God with a body fit for God's kingdom. It was imperishable, glorified, and spiritual. (ibid, p. 51)
There is no doubt that Judas was crucified in Jesus’ place, and the Gospels are fabricated accounts of Pauline Christianity.
"And for their unbelief, and their uttering against Mary a grave false charge, and for their saying, 'We killed the messiah, Jesus son of Mary, the Messiah of God"…yet they did not slay him, neither crucified him, only a likeness of that was shown to them. Those who are at variance concerning him are surely in doubt the following of conjecture; and they did not kill him of certainty…no indeed; God raised him up to Him; God is Almighty, Allwise.
There is not one of the people of the book but will assuredly believe him before his death, and on the Resurrection Day he will be a witness against them." (An-Nissa 4:156-159)
"And ('Isa) shall be a Sign (for the coming of) the Hour (of Judgment):
therefore have no doubt about the (Hour),
but follow ye Me: this is a Straight Way ."(61 sura 43)
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