返回新站 返回总目录
Looking at FALSE Christian beliefs in
Looking at FALSE Christian beliefs in... Son of God
Sam Shamoun
The following
is a continuation of our rebuttal series to the claims of Nisar Muhammad.
We again would like to reiterate that Nisar’s arguments are some of
the worst ever and as such are not worth refuting. Yet since he has
repeatedly claimed that I have been unable to refute his arguments,
I have chosen to publicly respond to him in order to silence this lie
once and for all. We respond to Nisar’s article regarding
the deity of Christ found here:
http://www.answerchristianity.fsnet.co.uk/Son.htm
We begin, by the grace of our risen Lord
and eternal Savior Jesus Christ.
NISAR:
Jesus Is
Not God
The Qur'an
denies the deity of Christ: Surah
Al-Maeda: 17:
In blasphemy indeed are those that say that Allah is Christ the son
of Mary. Say: "Who then hath the least power against Allah, if
His will were to destroy Christ the son of Mary, his mother, and all
every - one that is on the earth? For to Allah belongeth the dominion
of the heavens and the earth, and all that is between. He createth what
He pleaseth. For Allah hath power over all things." 72:
They do blaspheme who say: "Allah is Christ the son of Mary."
But said Christ: "O Children of Israel! worship Allah, my Lord
and your Lord." Whoever joins other gods with Allah,- Allah will
forbid him the garden, and the Fire will be his abode. There will for
the wrong-doers be no one to help. 75: Christ the
son of Mary was no more than a messenger; many were the messengers that
passed away before him. His mother was a woman of truth. They had both
to eat their (daily) food. See how Allah doth make His signs clear to
them; yet see in what ways they are deluded away from the truth!
Islam, only accepts
Jesus as a Prophet. He is joined with Abraham, Ishmael,
Isaac, Jacob and Moses (Peace Be Upon Them All) as simply one of the
Prophets (an-nabiyyin) between whom no distinction of any kind
is made: Say ye:
"We believe in Allah, and the revelation given to us, and to Abraham,
Isma'il, Isaac, Jacob, and the Tribes, and that given to Moses and Jesus,
and that given to (all) prophets from their Lord: We make no difference
between one and another of them: And we bow to Allah (in Islam)."
Qur'an Surah Al-Baqara 136
He is no more than a servant. He was no more than a servant:
We granted Our favour to him, and We made him an example to the Children
of Israel. Qur'an Al-Zukhruf 59
And nothing more than a messenger. Curses
were pronounced on those among the Children of Israel who rejected Faith,
by the tongue of David and of Jesus the son of Mary: because they disobeyed
and persisted in excesses. Qur'an Surah Al-Maeda 78
The Qur'an states that Jesus was the
Messiah. He is called Al-Masihu Isa - "the Messiah Jesus"
(Surah 4.157, 171). The title
Al-Masih (the Messiah) sometimes appears by itself as in Surah
4:172 and on other occasions he is called Al-Masihubnu Maryam - "the
Messiah, son of Mary" (Surah 9.31), but on each of
the eleven occasions where it appears the title
Al-Masih it is applied specifically to Jesus alone. When the
Angel Gabriel first appeared to Mary he stated that the name of her
son was to be Al-Masihu Isa
(Surah 3.45).
The Qur'an declares
Christ the son of Mary was no more than a
messenger; many were the messengers that passed away
before him. (Qur'an Surah Al-Maeda 78)
RESPONSE:
Nisar appeals to the Quran in order to
prove that Jesus is not God. Yet Nisar fails to give us any reason for
accepting the Quran as a reliable source of information on the life
and mission of Jesus.
For instance, as Nisar himself noted,
Jesus is called the Messiah eleven times in the Quran. Yet the Quran
fails to explain the significance the title Messiah has in our understanding
of Jesus. What exactly is a Messiah? What is the Messiah suppose to
do? Why is Jesus called the Messiah? How do we know that he is the Messiah?
The Quran fails to answer these questions and as such is an incomplete
and unreliable record.
For the answer to these pertinent questions
we need to turn our attention to the word of God, the Holy Bible. It
is here that we discover that prophets, priests and kings were generally
consecrated to their respective positions by being anointed with God’s
special oil prepared by the priests. This anointing symbolized the person’s
divine commission, that the individual had been set apart and empowered
by God to assume a specific role or function. This made them Messiahs,
or anointed ones. (Cf. Exodus 30:22-31; 1 Samuel 10:1, 16:12-13; Psalm
105:15; Isaiah 45:1; Jeremiah 1:5; Lamentations 4:20)
At the same time, the Hebrew Bible singles
out one person in particular who would be greater than all the others
and who would reign on the throne of King David forever. This is the
One whom the Jews eagerly awaited, and whom they called THE Messiah.
Seeing that prophets, priests and kings
were anointed figures, this indicates that this specific Messiah would
also function as a prophet, priest and king. Several OT passages serve
to clarify this point:
“The LORD your God will raise up
for you a prophet like me from among your own brothers. You must listen
to him. For this is what you asked of the LORD your God at Horeb on
the day of the assembly when you said, ‘Let us not hear the voice of
the LORD our God nor see this great fire anymore, or we will die.’ The
LORD said to me: ‘What they say is good. I will raise up for them a
prophet like you from among their brothers; I will put my words in
his mouth, and he will tell them everything I command him. If anyone
does not listen to my words that the prophet speaks in my name, I myself
will call him to account.’” Deuteronomy 18:15-18
Both the NT and Rabbinic tradition viewed
this passage as a reference to the Messiah:
“He said to them, ‘How foolish you
are, and how slow of heart to believe all that the prophets have spoken!
Did not the Christ have to suffer these things and then enter his glory?’
And beginning with Moses and all the Prophets, he explained to
them what was said in all the Scriptures concerning himself.” Luke 24:25-27
“He said to them, ‘This is what I
told you while I was still with you: Everything must be fulfilled that
is written about me in the Law of Moses, the Prophets and the
Psalms.’ Then he opened their minds so they could understand the Scriptures.
Luke 24:44-45
“Philip found Nathanael and told
him, ‘We have found the one
Moses wrote about in the Law, and about whom the prophets also
wrote-Jesus of Nazareth, the son of Joseph.’” John 1:45
“But do not think I will accuse you
before the Father. Your accuser is Moses, on whom your hopes are set.
If you believed Moses, you would believe me,
for he wrote about me. But since you do not believe what he wrote,
how are you going to believe what I say?" John 5:45-47
“Some time after this, Jesus crossed
to the far shore of the Sea of Galilee (that is, the Sea of Tiberias),
and a great crowd of people followed him because they saw the miraculous
signs he had performed on the sick. Then Jesus went up on a mountainside
and sat down with his disciples. The Jewish Passover Feast was near.
When Jesus looked up and saw a great crowd coming toward him, he said
to Philip, ‘Where shall we buy bread for these people to eat?’ He asked
this only to test him, for he already had in mind what he was going
to do. Philip answered him, ‘Eight months’ wages would not buy enough
bread for each one to have a bite!’ Another of his disciples, Andrew,
Simon Peter's brother, spoke up, ‘Here is a boy with five small barley
loaves and two small fish, but how far will they go among so many?’
Jesus said, ‘Have the people sit down.’ There was plenty of grass in
that place, and the men sat down, about five thousand of them. Jesus
then took the loaves, gave thanks, and distributed to those who were
seated as much as they wanted. He did the same with the fish. When they
had all had enough to eat, he said to his disciples, ‘Gather the pieces
that are left over. Let nothing be wasted.’ So they gathered them and
filled twelve baskets with the pieces of the five barley loaves left
over by those who had eaten. After the people saw the miraculous
sign that Jesus did, they began to say, ‘Surely this is THE PROPHET
who is to come into the world.’ Jesus, knowing that they intended
to come and make him king by force, withdrew again to a mountain by
himself… So they asked him, ‘What miraculous sign then will you give
that we may see it and believe you? What will you do? Our forefathers
ate the manna in the desert; as it is written: ‘He gave them bread from
heaven to eat.”’ Jesus said to them, ‘I tell you the truth,
it is not Moses who has given you the bread from heaven, but it is
my Father who gives you the true bread from heaven.
For the bread of God is he who comes down from heaven and gives life
to the world.’” John 6:1-14, 30-33
“On hearing his words, some of the
people said, ‘Surely this man is the Prophet.’” John 7:40
“Now, brothers, I know that you acted
in ignorance, as did your leaders. But this is how God fulfilled what
he had foretold through all the prophets, saying that his Christ would
suffer. Repent, then, and turn to God, so that your sins may be wiped
out, that times of refreshing may come from the Lord, and that he may
send the Christ, who has been appointed for you-even Jesus. He must
remain in heaven until the time comes for God to restore everything,
as he promised long ago through his holy prophets.
For Moses said, ‘The Lord your God will raise up for you a
prophet like me from among your own people; you must listen to everything
he tells you. Anyone who does not listen to him will be completely cut
off from among his people.’ Indeed, all the prophets from Samuel
on, as many as have spoken, HAVE FORETOLD THESE DAYS.” Acts 3:17-24
“The King Messiah shall be exalted above
Abraham, be high ABOVE MOSES.” Neve Shalom
“In fact MESSIAH IS SUCH A PROPHET as
it is stated in the Midrash on the verse, ‘Behold my servant shall propser…
Moses by the miracles he wrought drew but a single nation to the worship
of God, but MESSIAH will draw ALL NATIONS to the worship of God.” Rabbi
Levi ben Gershom
Many Muslim scholars also believed that
Moses prophesied the coming of Jesus in the Torah. One such scholar
was Ibn Kathir. In his comments on S. 61:6 Ibn Kathir states:
‘Isa said, “The Tawrah CONVEYED
THE GLAD TIDINGS OF MY COMING, and my coming CONFIRMS THE TRUTH OF THE
TAWRAH. I convey the glad tidings of the Prophet who will come after
me. He is the unlettered, Makkan, Arab Prophet and Messenger, Ahmad.”
(Tafsir Ibn Kathir (Abridged), Volume 9, Surat Al-Jathiyah to the
end of Surat Al-Munafiqun, abridged under a group of scholars under
the supervision of Shaykh Safiur-Rahman Al-Mubarakpuri [Darussalam Publishers
& Distributors Riyadh, Houston, New York, London, Lahore; First
Edition: September 2000], p. 617; bold and capital emphasis ours)
Muslim biographer Ibn Ishaq wrote in
his biography Sirat Rasulullah:
“When the Christians of Najran came
to the apostle the Jewish rabbis came also and they disputed one with
the other before the apostle. Rafi‘ said, ‘You have no standing,’ and
he denied Jesus and the Gospel; and a Christian said to the Jews, ‘You
have no standing’ and he denied that Moses was a prophet and denied
the Torah. So God sent down concerning them: ‘The Jews say the Christians
have no standing; and the Christians say that the Jews have no standing,
and yet they read the scriptures. They do not know what they are talking
about. God will judge between them on the day of resurrection concerning
their controversy,’ i.e. each one reads IN HIS BOOK THE CONFIRMATION
OF WHAT HE DENIES, so that the Jews deny Jesus
though THEY HAVE THE TORAH in which God required them BY THE WORD
OF MOSES TO HOLD JESUS TRUE; while IN THE GOSPEL IS WHAT JESUS BROUGHT
IN CONFIRMATION OF MOSES AND THE TORAH HE BROUGHT FROM GOD: so each
one denies WHAT IS IN THE HAND OF THE OTHER.” (Alfred Guillaume,
The Life of Muhammad [Oxford University Press Karachi], p. 258;
bold and capital emphasis ours)
Interestingly, this tradition shows that
copies of the Torah of Moses and the Gospel of Jesus were available
during Muhammad’s time, being in the possession of the Jews and Christians.
So much for Bible corruption! The following comments from Ar-Razi are
taken from Mahmoud M Ayoub’s book,
The Quran and Its Interpreters, Volume II, The House of Imran,
State University of New York Press, Albany 1992. p. 150:
Razi then raises the following question:
‘It may be argued that latter statement contradicts the one before it.
This is because it clearly indicates that he came to make lawful some
of the things which were unlawful in the Torah. This would mean that
his legislation was contrary to that of the Torah, which would contradict
his saying, “I shall confirm the Torah which was before me.”’ Razi,
however, holds that ‘there is actually no contradiction between the
two statements because confirming the Torah can only signify the belief
that all that is in it is true and right. If, moreover, the second purpose
[of Jesus’ apostleship] is not mentioned in the Torah, his making lawful
some of the things which are unlawful in it would not contradict his
having confirmed the Torah. Furthermore,
SINCE THE TORAH CONTAINS PROPHECIES CONCERNING THE COMING OF JESUS,
then neither his coming nor his law would be contrary to the Torah.’
(bold and capital emphasis ours)
Since Deuteronomy 18:15-19 is the only
clear-cut prophecy about a prophetic figure to come after Moses, the
Muslim claim that this prophecy refers to Muhammad cannot be sustained.
This becomes even more evident when we take into consideration that
this Prophet had to be like Moses in two respects, as the following
citations indicate:
“The Lord would speak to Moses
face to face, as a man speaks with his friend. Then Moses would
return to the camp, but his young aide Joshua son of Nun did not leave
the tent.” Exodus 33:11
“Since then, no prophet has risen
in Israel like Moses, whom the Lord knew face to face,
who did all those miraculous signs and wonders the Lord sent him
to do in Egypt-to Pharaoh and to all his officials and to his whole
land. For no one has ever shown the mighty power or performed the
awesome deeds that Moses did in the sight of all Israel.” Deuteronomy
34:10-12
This Prophet had to perform miracles
similar to those performed by Moses, and had to know God face to face,
i.e. have direct contact with God. Interestingly, the Quran also confirms
that God spoke directly to Moses:
We have sent thee inspiration, as
We sent it to Noah and the Messengers after him: we sent inspiration
to Abraham, Ismail, Isaac, Jacob and the Tribes, to Jesus, Job, Jonah,
Aaron, and Solomon, and to David We gave the Psalms. Of some messengers
We have already told thee the story; of others We have not;-
and to Moses Allah spoke direct;- S. 4:163-164
The following citations demonstrate that
Muhammad was quite unlike Moses in these areas:
But (now), when the Truth has come to
them from Ourselves, they say, "Why are not (Signs) sent to
him, LIKE THOSE WHICH WERE SENT TO MOSES?" Do they not
then reject (the Signs) which were formerly sent to Moses? They say:
"Two kinds of sorcery, each assisting the other!" And they
say: "For us, we reject all (such things)!" S. 28:48
Narrated Masruq:
I said to 'Aisha, "O
Mother! Did Prophet Muhammad see his Lord?" Aisha said, "What
you have said makes my hair stand on end! Know that if somebody tells
you one of the following three things,
he is a liar: Whoever tells you that Muhammad saw his Lord, is a
liar." Then Aisha recited the Verse:
'No vision can grasp Him,
but His grasp is over all vision. He is the Most Courteous Well-Acquainted
with all things.' (6.103) 'It is not fitting for a human being that
Allah should speak to him except by inspiration or from behind a veil.'
(42.51) 'Aisha further said, "And whoever tells you that the Prophet
KNOWS WHAT IS GOING TO HAPPEN TOMORROW, is a liar." She then recited:
'No soul can know what it will earn tomorrow.'
(31.34) She added: "And whoever tell you that he concealed (some
of Allah's orders), is a liar." Then she recited: 'O Apostle! Proclaim
(the Message) which has been sent down to you from your Lord..' (5.67)
'Aisha added. "But the Prophet saw Gabriel in his true form twice." (Sahih Al-Bukhari, Volume 6, Book 60, Number
378)
Narrated Masruq:
'Aisha said,
"If anyone tells you that Muhammad has seen his Lord, he is
a liar, for Allah says: 'No vision can grasp Him.' (6.103) And if
anyone tells you that MUHAMMAD HAS SEEN THE UNSEEN, he is a liar, for
Allah says: "None has the knowledge of the Unseen but Allah." (Sahih Al-Bukhari, Volume 9, Book 93, Number
477)
Returning to the OT portrait of the Messiah,
we are told:
“Listen, O high priest Joshua and
your associates seated before you,
who are men symbolic of things to come:
I am going to bring my servant, the Branch. See, the stone I
have set in front of Joshua! There are seven eyes on that one stone,
and I will engrave an inscription on it,' says the Lord Almighty, 'and
I will remove the sin of this land in a single day.” Zechariah 3:8-9
“The word of the Lord came to me:
‘Take silver and gold from the exiles Heldai, Tobijah and Jedaiah, who
have arrived from Babylon. Go the same day to the house of Josiah son
of Zephaniah. Take the silver and gold and make a crown, and set it
on the head of the high priest, Joshua son of Jehozadak. Tell him this
is what the Lord Almighty says: 'Here is the man whose name is the
Branch, and he will branch out from his place and build the temple
of the Lord. It is he who will build the temple of the Lord,
and he will be clothed with majesty and will sit and rule on his
throne. And he will be a priest on his throne. And there will be harmony
between the two.'” Zechariah 6:9-13
Rabbinic Judaism universally viewed the
title “Branch” as a name of the King Messiah, the son of David, something
which the OT affirms:
“A shoot will come up from
the stump of Jesse; from his roots
a Branch will bear fruit. The Spirit of the Lord will rest on
him-the Spirit of wisdom and of understanding, the Spirit of counsel
and of power, the Spirit of knowledge and of the fear of the Lord -
and he will delight in the fear of the Lord. He will not judge by what
he sees with his eyes, or decide by what he hears with his ears; but
with righteousness he will judge the needy, with justice he will give
decisions for the poor of the earth. He will strike the earth with the
rod of his mouth; with the breath of his lips he will slay the wicked.
Righteousness will be his belt and faithfulness the sash around his
waist. The wolf will live with the lamb, the leopard will lie down with
the goat, the calf and the lion and the yearling together; and a little
child will lead them. The cow will feed with the bear, their young will
lie down together, and the lion will eat straw like the ox. The infant
will play near the hole of the cobra, and the young child put his hand
into the viper's nest. They will neither harm nor destroy on all my
holy mountain, for the earth will be full of the knowledge of the Lord
as the waters cover the sea. In that day the Root of Jesse will stand
as a banner for the peoples; the nations will rally to him, and his
place of rest will be glorious. In that day the Lord will reach out
his hand a second time to reclaim the remnant that is left of his people
from Assyria, from Lower Egypt, from Upper Egypt, from Cush, from Elam,
from Babylonia, from Hamath and from the islands of the sea. He will
raise a banner for the nations and gather the exiles of Israel; he will
assemble the scattered people of Judah from the four quarters of the
earth. Isaiah 11:1-12
“And there shall go forth a King
from the Sons of Jesse, and the MESSIAH shall be ANOINTED from his children’s
children…” Targum Jonathan
“When the KING MESSIAH shall be revealed
all the nations of all the world shall be gathered to Him.” Rabbi Simeon
ben Jochai
“The Messiah had one spirit which
was equal to all the others put together according to Isaiah 11:1-10.”
Yalkut, Volume 1, p. 247d (Alfred Edersheim)
“The days are coming," declares
the Lord, "when I will raise up to David a righteous Branch,
a King who will reign wisely
and do what is just and right in the land. In his days Judah
will be saved and Israel will live in safety. This is the name by which
he will be called: Yahweh Our Righteousness.” Jeremiah 23:5-6
Notice that in this passage God states
that the Messiah’s name is Yahweh our Righteousness, implying that the
Messiah is God.
“Behold the days come, saith the
Lord, that I will raise up to David the MESSIAH, who is righteous, and
He shall reign a King, and shall prosper, and execute the judgment of
truth and justice in the earth.” Targum Jonathan
R. Joshua son of Levi, said: “Branch
is the name of the MESSIAH, for it is written, ‘Behold the man whose
name is the Branch, and he shall grow up out of his place.’” Midrash
(Ezek. 48:35)
What is the name of the KING MESSIAH?
R. Abba, son of Kohana said ’JEHOVAH,’ for it is written, This is HIS
name whereby HE shall be called, THE LORD OUR RIGHTEOUSNESS.” Midrash
(Ezekiel 48:35)
Interestingly, David’s sons were also
called priests:
“Benaiah son of Jehoiada was over
the Kerethites and Pelethites; and David's sons were priests (cohanim).”
2 Samuel 8:18
Since the Messiah is to be David’s greater
Son it is little wonder that the OT indicates that he too would perform
priestly duties. Being a royal priest, the Messiah would reign and intercede
forever:
“Why do the nations conspire, and
the peoples plot in vain? The kings of the Earth set themselves, and
the rulers take council together, against the LORD
and His Anointed (Messiah),
saying, ‘Let us burst their bonds asunder, and cast their cords from
us.’ He who sits in the heavens laughs; The LORD has them in derision,
then He will speak to them in his wrath, and terrify them in His fury,
saying, ‘I have set MY KING on Zion, my holy hill.’ I will tell
of the decree of the LORD; He said to me, ‘You are MY
SON, today I have begotten you. Ask of me
and I will make the nations your heritage, and
the ends of the earth your possession. You shall break them
with a rod of iron, and dash them in pieces like a potter's vessel.’
Now therefore, O kings, be wise, be warned o rulers of the earth. Serve
the LORD with fear, with trembling kiss HIS SON, lest he
be angry, and you perish in the way; For his wrath is quickly
kindled. Blessed are all who take refuge in HIM.” Psalm 2:1-11
“There are some who expounded this
Psalm as referring to God and Magog: and that the ANOINTED KING is the
MESSIAH.” Rabbi David Kimchi
“It is a tradition of the Rabbis
that MESSIAH, THE SON OF DAVID, who is to be revealed speedily… the
Holy One said unto HIM Ask of me anything and I will give it to thee,
for it is said, ‘I will declare the decree, etc. Today have I begotten
thee.’” Talmud Babylon, Succah fol. 52
And:
“The Lord says to my Lord: ‘Sit
at my right hand until I make your enemies a footstool for your
feet’… The LORD has sworn and will not change his mind, ‘you
are a priest forever after the order of Melchizedek.’” Psalm
110:1, 4
Finally:
“For to us
a child is born, to us a son is given,
and the government will be on his shoulders. And he will be called
Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of
Peace. Of the increase of his government and peace there will be no
end. He will reign on David's throne and over his kingdom, establishing
and upholding it with justice and righteousness from that time on and
forever. The zeal of the Lord Almighty will accomplish this.” Isaiah
9:6-7
“For to us a SON is born, to us a
Son is given: and He shall receive the Law upon HIM to keep it; and
HIS name is called from Old, Wonderful, Counsellor, ELOHA, THE MIGHTY,
Abiding to Eternity, THE MESSIAH, because peace shall be multiplied
on us in HIS days.” Targum Jonathan
“Rabbi Samuel, the son of Nachman,
said, ‘When Esau met Jacob he said unto him, “My brother Jacob, let
us walk together in this world.” Jacob replied: “Let my Lord, I pray
thee, pass over before his servant” (Gen. 33:14).’ What is the meaning
of, “I pray thee, pass over?” Jacob said to him: I have yet to supply
the MESSIAH, of whom it is said: ‘Unto us a child is born’.”
Midrash (Deuteronomy 2:4)
The OT also teaches that the Messiah
would usher in everlasting righteousness and that through his death
sin would be eradicated once and for all. The scriptures indicate that
this was to take place before the destruction of the second temple:
“Who has believed our message and
to whom has the arm of the LORD been revealed? He grew up before him
like a tender shoot, and like a root out of dry ground. He had no beauty
or majesty to attract us to him, nothing in his appearance that we should
desire him. He was despised and rejected by men, a man of sorrows, and
familiar with suffering. Like one from whom men hide their faces he
was despised, and we esteemed him not.
Surely he took up our infirmities and carried our sorrows, yet we
considered him stricken by God, smitten by him, and afflicted. But he
was pierced for our transgressions, he was crushed for our iniquities;
the punishment that brought us peace was upon him, and by his wounds
we are healed. We all, like sheep, have gone astray, each of us
has turned to his own way; and the LORD has laid on him the iniquity
of us all. He was oppressed and afflicted, yet he did not open his mouth;
he was led like a lamb to the slaughter, and as a sheep before her shearers
is silent, so he did not open his mouth. By oppression and judgment
he was taken away. And who can speak of his descendants?
FOR HE WAS CUT OFF FROM THE LAND OF THE LIVING; for the transgression
of my people he was stricken. He was assigned a grave with the wicked,
and with the rich in his death, though he had done no violence, nor
was any deceit in his mouth. Yet it was the LORD’s will to crush
him and cause him to suffer, and though the LORD makes his life a guilt
offering, he will see his offspring and prolong his days, and the will
of the LORD will prosper in his hand. After the suffering of his soul,
he will see the light [of life] and be satisfied; by his knowledge my
righteous servant will justify many, and he will bear their iniquities.
Therefore I will give him a portion among the great, and he will divide
the spoils with the strong, because he poured out his life unto death,
and was numbered with the transgressors. For he bore the sin of many,
and made intercession for the transgressors.” Isaiah 53:1-12
“Seventy ‘sevens’ are decreed for
your people and your holy city to finish transgression, to put an
end to sin, to atone for wickedness, to bring in everlasting righteousness,
to seal up vision and prophecy and to anoint the most holy. Know
and understand this: From the issuing of the decree
to restore and rebuild Jerusalem until
the Anointed One (the Messiah), the ruler, comes, there will
be seven ‘sevens,’ and sixty-two ‘sevens.’ It will be rebuilt with streets
and a trench, but in times of trouble. After the sixty-two ‘sevens,’
the Anointed One WILL BE CUT OFF and will have nothing. The people
of the ruler who will come will destroy the city and the sanctuary.
The end will come like a flood: War will continue until the end, and
desolations have been decreed.” Daniel 9:24-26
These passages proclaim that this specific
Messiah is the Mighty God, the Son of God, the King of all nations,
sits on God’s right hand forever, the Eternal Priest of God, and God’s
prophet/spokesperson to the people. That Jesus is the one spoken of in these
passages becomes quite clear when reading the New Testament:
“In the sixth month the
angel Gabriel
was sent from God to a city of Galilee named Nazareth, to a virgin betrothed
to a man whose name was Joseph, of the house of David; and the virgin's
name was Mary. And he came to her and said, 'Hail, O favored one, the
Lord is with you!' But she was greatly troubled at the saying, and considered
in her mind what sort of greeting this might be. And the angel said
to her, 'Do not be afraid, Mary, for you have found favor with God.
And behold, you will conceive in your womb and bear a son, and you shall
call his name Jesus. He will be great, and will be called
the Son of the Most High; and the Lord God will give to him the
throne of his Father David, and He will reign over the house of Jacob
forever; and of His kingdom
there will be no end.” Luke 1:26-33
“When they heard this, they raised
their voices together in prayer to God. ‘Sovereign Lord,’ they said,
‘you made the heaven and the earth and the sea, and everything in them.
You spoke by the Holy Spirit through the mouth of your servant, our
father David: “Why do the nations rage and the peoples plot in vain?
The kings of the earth take their stand and the rulers gather together
against the Lord and against his Anointed One.” Indeed Herod and Pontius
Pilate met together with the Gentiles and the people of Israel in this
city to conspire against your holy servant Jesus, whom you anointed.
They did what your power and will had decided beforehand should happen.”
Acts 4:24-28
“But now
a righteousness from God, apart from law, has been made known, to
which the Law and the Prophets testify. This righteousness from God
comes through faith in Jesus Christ to all who believe. There is
no difference, for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God,
and are justified freely by his grace through the redemption that came
by Christ Jesus. God presented him as a sacrifice of atonement, through
faith in his blood. He did this to demonstrate his justice, because
in his forbearance he had left the sins committed beforehand unpunished-he
did it to demonstrate his justice at the present time,
so as to be just and the one who justifies those who have faith in
Jesus.” Romans 3:21-26
“Every high priest is selected from
among men and is appointed to represent them in matters related to God,
to offer gifts and sacrifices for sins. He is able to deal gently with
those who are ignorant and are going astray, since he himself is subject
to weakness. This is why he has to offer sacrifices for his own sins,
as well as for the sins of the people. No one takes this honor upon
himself; he must be called by God, just as Aaron was. So Christ also
did not take upon himself the glory of becoming a high priest.
But God said to him, ‘You are my Son; today I have become your
Father.’ And he says in another place, ‘You are a priest forever,
in the order of Melchizedek.’
During the days of Jesus' life on earth, he offered up prayers and petitions
with loud cries and tears to the one who could save him from death,
and he was heard because of his reverent submission. Although he was
a son, he learned obedience from what he suffered and, once made perfect,
he became the source of eternal salvation for all who obey him and
was designated by God to be high priest
in the order of Melchizedek.” Hebrews 5:1-10
“He of whom these things are said
belonged to a different tribe, and no one from that tribe has ever served
at the altar. For it is clear that our Lord descended from Judah,
and in regard to that tribe Moses said nothing about priests. And what
we have said is even more clear if another priest like Melchizedek
appears, one who has become a priest not on the basis of a regulation
as to his ancestry but on the basis of the power of an indestructible
life. For it is declared: ‘You are a priest forever, in the order
of Melchizedek’… And it was not without an oath! Others became
priests without any oath, but he became a priest with an oath
when God said to him: ‘The Lord has sworn and will not change
his mind: “You are a priest forever.”’
Because of this oath, Jesus has become the guarantee of a better covenant.
Now there have been many of those priests, since death prevented them
from continuing in office; but because Jesus lives forever, he has
a permanent priesthood. Therefore he is able to save completely those
who come to God through him, because he always lives to intercede for
them. Such a high priest meets our need-one who is holy, blameless,
pure, set apart from sinners, exalted above the heavens. Unlike the
other high priests, he does not need to offer sacrifices day after day,
first for his own sins, and then for the sins of the people.
He sacrificed for their sins once for all WHEN HE OFFERED HIMSELF.
For the law appoints as high priests men who are weak; but the oath,
which came after the law, appointed the Son, who has been made perfect
forever.” Hebrews 7:13-17, 20-28
“When Christ came as high priest
of the good things that are already here, he went through the greater
and more perfect tabernacle that is not man-made, that is to say, not
a part of this creation. He did not enter by means of the blood of goats
and calves; but he entered the Most Holy Place once for all BY HIS
OWN BLOOD, having obtained eternal redemption… For Christ did not
enter a man-made sanctuary that was only a copy of the true one; he
entered heaven itself, now to appear for us in God's presence. Nor did
he enter heaven to offer himself again and again, the way the high priest
enters the Most Holy Place every year with blood that is not his own.
Then Christ would have had to suffer many times since the creation of
the world. But now he has appeared once for all at the end of the
ages to do away with sin BY THE SACRIFICE OF HIMSELF. Just as man
is destined to die once, and after that to face judgment,
SO CHRIST WAS SACRIFICED ONCE to take away the sins of many people;
and he will appear a second time, not to bear sin, but to bring salvation
to those who are waiting for him.” Hebrews 9:11-12, 24-28
“And by that will,
we have been made holy THROUGH THE SACRIFICE OF THE BODY OF JESUS
CHRIST once for all. Day after day every priest stands and performs
his religious duties; again and again he offers the same sacrifices,
which can never take away sins. But when this priest had offered
for all time one sacrifice for sins,
HE SAT AT THE RIGHT HAND OF GOD.
Since that time he waits FOR HIS ENEMIES TO BE MADE HIS FOOTSTOOL,
because by one sacrifice he has made perfect forever those who are being
made holy… And where these have been forgiven,
there is no longer any sacrifice for sin.” Hebrews 10:10-14,
18
Seeing that the Quran teaches that Jesus
is the Messiah and yet denies Christ’s divine nature and his role as
priest and king strongly indicates that the author(s) of the Quran had
no clue what the title Messiah implied. Had the author(s) known then
he(they) may have hesitated in applying a title to Jesus which clearly
demonstrates Christ’s uniqueness and preeminence over all creation.
NISAR:
Islamic Viewpoint Discussed
The
Christian Gilchrist writes:
"The ultimate cause for the relative paucity of conversions
from Islam is the Qur'ans vehement rejection of the Christian belief
that Jesus is the Son of God such as we find in the following verse: They say, "God hath begotten
a son!" - Glory be to Him! He is Self-Sufficient! His are all things
in the heavens and on earth! No warrant have ye for this! Say ye about
God what ye know not? Surah 10.68
The Qur'an states that there is only
one sin that God will not forgive, namely the associating of a partner
with God. From this comes the belief that shirk, "associating",
is the only unforgivable sin in Islam:
God forgiveth not
that partners should be set up with Him; but He forgiveth anything else,
to whom He pleaseth; to set up partners with God is to devise a sin
most heinous indeed. Surah 4.48
"I believe that this verse is
probably the greatest barrier in the way of conversion from Islam to
Christianity. The very word "partner" comes from the same
root letters as the word shirk, namely yushraku, and in Surah 10.66
we read likewise of shurakaa, "partners", who are worshipped
other than God. As it is only two verses lower down that we find the
rejection of a son to God in such vehement language (Surah 10.68 quoted
above), it is to be presumed that the Christian belief in Jesus as the
Son of God is one of the express acts of shirk that the Qur'an sets
out to denounce as the greatest of all sins. In Surah 2.105 the Qur'an
expressly speaks of mushrikeen (associaters) among the Ahlal-Kitaab
(People of the Book), a common title for Jews and Christians, and in
Surah 9.31 both groups, especially the Christians who take the Messiah
to be ibnullaah (the Son of God) and their rabb (Lord), are said to
be those above whom Allah is glorified from their yushriknun - what
they "associate" with him
The only conclusion that can be drawn is that the Qur'an teaches
that among the acts of shirk, the unforgivable sin, is the belief that
Jesus is the Son of God. "
Abdullah Araby, a Christian who
wrote "A Christian Reads The Qur'an" states that Islam cannot
accept the role of Jesus as the Son of God. This destroys the idea that
the alleged eternal Son of God, one with the Father from all eternity
who allegedly "became
flesh and became a man".
Looking at the Qur'anic verse below and
his statement*:
O People of the book!
Commit no excess in your religion: nor say of Allah aught but truth,
Christ Jesus the son of Mary was (no more than) an apostle of Allah,
and His Word, which He bestowed on Mary, and a spirit proceeding from
Him. So believe in Allah and His apostles. Say not 'Trinity': desist!
It will be better for you. For Allah is One Allah. Glory be to Him:
(Far exalted is He) above having a son."
Surah 4:171
* "In this Qur'anic verse Jesus
bears the highly-charged names the "Word of God" and "a
Spirit proceeding from him". Both expressions refer to when Mary
became pregnant through a miracle of God. But so that there will be
no misunderstanding of the Qur'ans teaching on Jesus, the statement
is preceded by an assurance that Jesus is merely the apostle of God,
like Muhammad and many others. Besides this, the verse continues with
an attack against the Trinity and an assertion that God does not have
a son".
One wonders why Christians play gymnastics
and word games with the references to Jesus as "his
word" and "a spirit proceeding
from him."
Hence there is no Logos but rather a
servant of Allah and Prophet.
RESPONSE:
One wonders why Nisar plays gymnastics
and word games with the Quranic references to Jesus being God’s Word
and a spirit proceeding from God. Since Nisar has evidently read the
works of Gilchrist and Araby, then he is surely aware of the arguments
set forth by these men in relation to the significance these titles
have on the person of Christ.
For instance, to say that Jesus is God’s
Word implies that Jesus is God’s self-statement, his self-revelation.
In other words, Jesus is God’s eternal and perfect statement that became
flesh. Cf. John 1:1-14
The common Muslim explanation that Jesus
is called God’s Word solely because he was created by God’s command
makes absolutely no sense whatsoever. Since if this were the reason
then we would expect the Quran to call Adam the Word of God since he
is said to have been created by God's command also. (Cf. S. 3:59) Yet,
neither Adam nor anyone else is ever called the Word of God.
Second, that Jesus is a spirit proceeding
from God implies that Christ preexisted as a Divine Spirit. This becomes
more evident in light of the fact that the same statement, “a spirit
proceeding from him”, is elsewhere used in reference to God’s omnipresent
Spirit:
Thou wilt not find any people who
believe in Allah and the Last Day, loving those who oppose Allah and
His Messenger, even though they were their fathers or their sons, or
their brothers, or their kindred. For such He has written Faith in their
hearts, and strengthened them with a spirit from Himself. And
He will admit them to Gardens beneath which Rivers flow, to dwell therein
(for ever). Allah will be well pleased with them, and they with Him.
They are the Party of Allah. Truly it is the Party of Allah that will
achieve Success. S. 58:22
That this Spirit is able to strengthen
a group of believers at the same time implies his omnipresence and omnipotence.
This is perhaps why Abdullah Yusuf Ali can say that the Spirit is divine:
“… Cf. ii 87 and 253, where it is
said that God strengthened the Prophet Jesus with the holy spirit. Here
we learn that all good and righteous men are strengthened by God with
the holy spirit. If anything, the phrase used here is stronger, `a
spirit from Himself'. Whenever any one offers his heart in faith
and purity to God, God accepts it, engraves that faith on the seeker's
heart, and further fortifies him with the Divine Spirit, which we
can no more define adequately than we can define in human language the
nature of God." (Ali, The Meaning of the Holy Quran, p. 1518,
f. 5365; bold and capital emphasis ours)
Since Christ alone is said to be a spirit
from God, this therefore implies that Christ is “the Divine Spirit,
which we can no more define adequately than we can define in human language
the nature of God.” This is perhaps the closest the Quran comes in affirming
the deity of Christ.
These titles demonstrate the inconsistent
and contradictory picture that the Quran presents of Christ. In one
breath, the Quran vehemently denies the divinity of Jesus, going so
far as to accuse those who would believe that Jesus is God’s divine
Son of blasphemy. Yet at the same time the Quran attributes titles and
qualities to Jesus that exalt him far above humanity. This conclusively
demonstrates that the Quran is not from God, since God wouldn’t give
two conflicting and contradictory views of Jesus Christ.
Nisar needs to face the music and deal
with the fact that these Quranic titles pose major problems for the
Muslim seeking to refute Christian beliefs. For instance, one such Muslim
who evidently struggled with refuting the Christian assertions in regards
to the divine implications of these titles was Ibn Kathir. In his commentary
on S. 3:7, he notes:
<So far those in whose hearts
there is a deviation> meaning, those who are misguided and deviate
from truth to falsehood…
<they follow that which is
not entirely clear thereof>
meaning, they refer to the Mutashabih, because they are able
to alter its meanings to conform with their false interpretation since
the wordings of the Mutashabihat
encompass such a wide area of meanings. As for the
Muhkam Ayat, they cannot be altered because they are clear and,
thus, constitute unequivocal proof against the misguided people. This
is why Allah said…
<seeking Al-Fitnah>
meaning, they seek to misguide their following by pretending to prove
their innovation by relying on the Qur’an- the
Mutashabih of it- but, this is proof against and not for them.
For instance, Christians might claim that [‘Isa is divine because]
the Qur’an states that he is Ruhullah [Sam- Spirit of God] and His Word,
which He gave to Mary, all the while ignoring Allah’s statements…
<He [‘Isa] was not more than
a servant. We granted Our favor to him.>
[43:59], and…
<Verily, the likeness of ‘Isa
before Allah is the likeness of Adam. He created him from dust, then
(He) said to him: “Be!” and he was.> [3:59].
There are other
Ayat that clearly assert that ‘Isa is but one of Allah’s creatures
and that he is the servant and Messenger of Allah, among other Messengers.
(Tafsir Ibn Kathir (Abridged), Volume 2, Parts 3, 4 & 5 (Surat
Al-Baqarah, Verse 253, to Surat An-Nisa, Verse 147), First Edition:
March 2000, pp. 112-113; bold emphasis ours)
Ibn Kathir’s comments only highlight
the major confusion and difficulty the Quranic picture of Jesus posed
for Muslims in their encounters with Christians. Add to this list the following factors,
and the Quranic confusion becomes more compounded:
1. Jesus is the only human to be conceived
of and born to a virgin. Cf. 3:45-47; 19:16-20; 66:12
The common Muslim arguments used to explain
away the significance of Jesus’ virgin birth are thoroughly inadequate.
For instance, many Muslims claim that God caused Mary to conceive as
a virgin in order to demonstrate his ability to create human beings
in different ways. God created Adam without a father and a mother. God
created Eve without a mother. God created Jesus without a father. And
God creates everyone else from a father and a mother.
This explanation fails to explain why
God chose Jesus to be born of a virgin, and not someone else
like Moses or Muhammad. Furthermore, seeing that Adam was the first
human being it was not possible for him to be born from either a father
or a mother. Likewise, since Eve was the first woman she could not have
been conceived from a mother. Yet this was not the case with Jesus since
God could have caused him to be born from a father and a mother. This
makes Jesus’ virginal conception much more astonishing and utterly unique.
In light of these considerations, we can see why the Muslim explanation
thoroughly fails to adequately deal with this fact.
2. Jesus’ mother is the only woman mentioned
by name in the entire Quran.
3. Jesus’ mother is the only woman to
have an entire chapter named in her honor.
4. Jesus’ mother is preferred above all
women. Cf. S. 3:42
5. Jesus and his mother are said to be
a sign for mankind. Cf. 19:21; 21:91; 23:50
6. Jesus and his mother are protected
from the touch of Satan. Cf. S. 3:36
The Hadith expounds on the meaning of
this passage:
Abu Huraira said, "I heard Allah's
Apostle saying, 'There is none born among the off-spring of Adam, but
Satan touches it. A child therefore, cries loudly at the time of birth
because of the touch of Satan, except Mary and her child."
Then Abu Huraira recited: "And I seek refuge with You for her and
for her offspring from the outcast Satan" (3.36) (Sahih
Al-Bukhari, Volume 4, Book 55, Number 641)
Muslim historian al-Tabari cites Qatadah
as saying:
"Jesus and his mother did not
commit any of the sins which the rest of the children of Adam commit."
(Ayoub, The Quran and Its Interpreters, Vol. II, p. 94; bold
emphasis ours)
7. Jesus alone is explicitly said to
be honored or illustrious in the hereafter. Cf. 3:45
8. Jesus alone is said to be strengthened
with the Holy Spirit. Cf. 2:87, 253; 5:110
9. Jesus alone is said to have created
clay birds and breathed life into them, much like Allah breathed life
into Adam. Cf. 3:49; 5:110
Instead of evading these points, Nisar
needs to address each of them one by one.
NISAR:
Samuel Zweier writes
"The Koran denies the Divinity
and the eternal Sonship of Christ. He is a creature like Adam. God could
destroy Jesus and his mother without loss to himself. Surah Maryam Ayat 35 &
36: "God could not take to himself any son.... When
He decrees a matter He only says to it 'Be,' and it is." Surah
Al-Imraan Ayat 51: "Verily, the likeness of Jesus with
God is as the likeness of Adam. He created hint from the earth, then
He said to him Be, and he was". Surah At-Tawba Ayat 30:
"The Jews say Ezra is the son of God and the Christians say that
the Messiah is the son God; that is what they say with their mouths
imitating the sayings of those who misbelieved before. God fight them!
How they lie". Surah Al-Maeda Ayat 19: "Infidels
are they who say, Verily, God is the Messiah, the son of Mary. Say,
who has any hold on God if He wished to destroy the Messiah, the son
of Mary, and his mother and those who are on the earth together?"
God has no son...
"Say: 'If (Allah)
Most Gracious had a son, I would be the first to worship."
Al Zukhruf 43:81
It is completely unthinkable for God to have a son and therefore puts
himself forward as the first worshipper of this son, who according to
the Qur'an cannot exist.
Jesus denies he told anyone to worship
him...
"And behold!
Allah will say: 'O Jesus the son of Mary! Didst thou say unto men, "Worship
me and my mother as gods in derogation of Allah"?' He will say:
'Glory to Thee! Never could I say what I had no right (to say)."
Al Maeda Ayat 116.
RESPONSE:
It is true that the
Quran may say that Jesus is not God’s divine Son and that he
is not to be worshiped, yet the Holy Bible affirms both these truths
as we shall show. Nisar’s citations simply reinforce the contradictory
and confusing picture the Quran paints of Jesus.
NISAR:
Jesus (PBUH) is merely human...
"Christ, the
son of Mary, was no more than a Messenger..." Surah Al Maeda Ayat 75 "And
behold! Allah will say: 'O Jesus the son of Mary! Didst thou say unto
men, "Worship me and my mother as gods in derogation of Allah"?'
He will say: 'Glory to Thee! Never could I say what I had no right (to
say)...'" Al Maeda Ayat 116
"Say: 'If
(Allah) Most Gracious had a son, I would be the first to worship.'"
Surah Al Zukhruf Ayat 81 "Allah, the Eternal, Absolute;
He begetteth not, nor is He begotten; and there is none like unto Him."
Surah Al-Ikhlas 112:2-4 Allah
does not "beget" meaning that Allah has no children either
in a spiritual or carnal sense. Thus, Allah can never be the Father.
Nor does he allow himself to be "begotten", i.e. does not
take on human nature such as God the Son did when he became man for
our salvation.
The term "begotten" was applied to the Son by the early Church
Fathers. The Christian creed says: the only begotten son of God The
Qur'an teaches that Jesus, who was certainly born of a virgin, was only
human. The Qur'an also categorically denies that God revealed himself
in Jesus and that Jesus was the Son of God. God has never begotten anyone "Say: He is Allah, the
One and Only; Allah, the Eternal, Absolute; He begetteth not, nor is
He begotten, and there is none like unto Him." Surah
Al-Ikhlas Ayats 1-4
RESPONSE:
Before responding to Nisar’s false claims,
we would like to mention Nisar’s consistent plagiarizing of sources.
For instance, Nisar’s comments regarding Allah not begetting is taken
from my response to Akbarally Meherally which is found here:
http://answering-islam.org/Responses/Meherally/mehB12_0.htm
This is not the only time that Nisar
has stolen citations from other authors without giving credit where
credit is due, or asking permission. It is one thing to take citations
from authors and reword them in order to adopt them into one’s argument.
It is quite another thing altogether to simply quote verbatim and give
the misleading impression that the arguments are one’s own.
Second, to be more precise, the early
Church Fathers applied the term monogenes to the Son, a term
also applied to Jesus in the New Testament. (Cf. John 1:14, 18; 3:16;
1 John 4:9) Some English
translators have translated
monogenes as “begotten”, while others translate it differently.
J.N.D. Kelly for example, whom we will be quoting, translates
monogenes as “unique Son.”
Third, it may be true that certain verses
of the Quran emphatically deny Jesus’ divine Sonship and preexistence,
yet it is equally true that other Quranic passages affirm his divine
preexistence as we have already demonstrated. This concludes this section. Part two
to follow shortly, Lord Jesus willing.
- Home Back Home
- Articles by Sam Shamoun Found on Answering Islam main site
Quennel Gale at queball20@yahoo.com
