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The Way of Righteousness: Appendix D
[Table of Contents]
The Way of Righteousness: Appendix D
Insights Into Islam
Muslims are My Friends
With so much media attention given to radical, violent Muslim groups, we need to remind ourselves that most Muslims are friendly, hospitable, peace-loving people. They
are our neighbors and our friends. In general, I feel more comfortable speaking with Muslims than
with secularized Americans. Unlike so many in the West, most Muslims fear God, sense His
impending judgment, and are willing to talk about God and the prophets. For those unfamiliar with
a Muslim's basic beliefs and practices, the following observations may be helpful.
Islam, Muslims and Allah
Islam is the religion of Muslims. The Arabic word Islam means submission (to Allah). Muslim (or
Moslem) means one who submits. Allah is the Arabic word for God. Islam's fundamental concept of God is that God is one. God is great, indescribable, almighty, and
compassionate--especially to Muslims. Everything that happens in the world has been
predetermined by God. Muslims believe that God has revealed His will, but not Himself, to
humankind. Muslims view their relationship to God as a master-slave relationship, with no possibility
of a more intimate father-son relationship.
Five Pillars
The roughly one billion Muslims around the world find themselves in widely differing socio-economic-cultural circumstances--ranging from the wealthy oil sheiks of the Persian Gulf to the rural
farmers of West Africa. While local culture and perspectives affect Muslim beliefs considerably (Eg.
see note in Preface under the subtitle: The 'very religious' Wolofs), all Muslims assent to Islam's
"Five Pillars." Most Muslims believe that they must fulfill these five duties to atone for their sins and
merit a place in paradise.
The Five Pillars of Islam are:
1.) The Witness (Shahada): La illaha illa Allah, wa Mohammed Rasul Allah. "There is no god
but God, and Muhammad is the prophet of God."
2.) Ritual Prayers (Salat): Five times daily at hours specified, in the Arabic language, facing
toward Mecca, preceded by a ceremonial washing of face, hands and feet.
3.) Alms (Zakat): Sharing 2.5% of one's wealth with those in need.
4.) Annual Fast (Saum): An obligatory, dawn-to-dusk, month-long fast which takes place
during Ramadan, the ninth month on the Islamic lunar calendar.
5.) Pilgrimage to Mecca (Hajj): Required of all able-bodied Muslims who can afford it, at
least once in a lifetime.
The Prophets and the Qur'an
Most Muslims profess belief in the prophets of the Bible. The Qur'an names more than twenty
Bible prophets, including Abraham (Ibrahim), Moses (Musa), David (Dawud), John the Baptist
(Yahya) and Jesus the Messiah (Isa al Masih). Muslims consider Muhammad (born in Mecca, Saudi
Arabia, in 570 a.d. and buried in Medina in 632 a.d.) to be the last and greatest prophet.
Muslims maintain that God revealed His will through four holy books: the Torah ("Taurat") of
Moses, the Psalms ("Zabur") of David, the Gospel ("Injil") of Jesus, and the Qur'an (also spelled
Koran) of Muhammad. Many Muslims assert that the Qur'anic revelation annuls the earlier
revelations, but this assertion has no clear support from the Qur'an. They believe that Muhammad
(who never learned to read or write) received the Qur'anic verses over many years from the angel
Gabriel in a desert cave near Mecca. Muhammad recited the verses to his followers who wrote them
down. Years after Muhammad's death, these verses were collected into a single book known as the
Qur'an--which means "recitation."
The Qur'an has 114 chapters (suras) and is about two-thirds the length of the New Testament.
Muslims venerate the Qur'an and are profoundly affected by its Arabic language and poetic style.
Though most Muslims have never read the entire Qur'an, it is their point of reference for every area
of life: religion, family, health, ethics, economics and politics. Like the Bible, the Qur'an affirms the
reality of God and Satan, angels and evil spirits, a coming day of resurrection and judgment, a hell
to shun and a paradise to gain. But the similarity ends there. The Qur'an's descriptions and
definitions of these realities differ greatly from those recorded by the prophets of the Bible.
God
The Qur'an presents God as a single entity. "Say not, 'Three.' Forbear, it will be better for you. God
is only one God! Far be it from His glory that He should have a son!" (4:172) {Note: "4:172" means
chapter 4 and verse 172 of the Qur'an. However, the verse may be as many as five verses away
in different versions of the Qur'an.} This and other Qur'anic verses (5:116), combined with the
Roman Catholic Church's unscriptural practice of praying to Mary, have caused many Muslims to
think that Christians believe in three gods-God, Mary and Jesus. This is a serious misunderstanding
of what a true Christian believes. The Bible says: "There is one God and one Mediator between
God and men, the man Christ Jesus." (1 Timothy 2:5)
The Bible clearly condemns polytheism and idolatry, and consistently confirms the oneness of God,
declaring: "You shall worship the Lord your God, and Him only you shall serve! ... The Lord our
God, the Lord is one!" (Matthew 4:10; Deuteronomy 6:4,13; Mark 12:29) Oneness, however, does
not preclude depth and dimension. The Qur'an reveals God as unknowable and one-dimensional.
The Bible reveals God as self-revealing and tri-dimensional--Eternal Father, Eternal Son and
Eternal Holy Spirit.
Satan, Sin and Man
The Qur'an teaches that Satan became the Devil (Iblis) when he stubbornly refused to bow down
to Adam at God's command (7:11-18). Adam is said to have been in a heavenly Paradise before
he ate the forbidden fruit. After Adam transgressed, God sent him down to earth. The Qur'an views
Adam's disobedience as a minor slip rather than a major fall. According to many Qur'anic scholars,
all Adam had to do to get back into God's favor was to learn and recite certain prayers (7:18-30;
2:30-40).
While the Bible portrays God as absolutely holy and man as totally depraved, the Qur'an portrays
man as weak and misguided. In the Muslim view, man does not need redemption, he only needs
some guidance so that he might develop the inherently pure nature with which the Creator has
endowed him. If he will be faithful in his prayers, almsgiving and fasting, God is likely to overlook
his sins and usher him into Paradise, a garden of sensual delights.
Jesus
Every Muslim professes to believe in Isa (the Qur'anic name for Jesus). They believe that Jesus
is one of 124,000 prophets, that he was sent uniquely to the Jews, that he denied the Trinity, that
he predicted the coming of Muhammad, that he was not the Son of God and that he was not
crucified! The Bible calls such a Jesus "another Jesus." (2 Corinthians 11:4)
The Qur'anic profile of Jesus presents Muslims with a difficult paradox. While certain verses
declare that Jesus was "no more than a prophet" (4:171-173; 5:75; 2:136), others ascribe to him
characteristics and titles never attributed to any other prophet. For example, the Qur'an affirms that
Jesus was born of a virgin, that he was righteous and holy, and that he possessed the power to
create life, open the eyes of the blind, cleanse the lepers and raise the dead (3:45-51; 5:110-112;
19:19). Furthermore, the Qur'an calls him the Messiah (Al Masih), the Word of God (Kalimat Allah)
and the Spirit [Soul] of God (Ruh Allah) (4:171,172). These supernatural descriptions and titles have
caused many Muslims to seek the truth about who Jesus really is.
One day, a devout Muslim man said to me, "The Qur'an calls Jesus Ruh Allah. If Jesus is the Soul
of God, then He must be God!" This Muslim was beginning to grasp one of the most basic truths of
Holy Scripture--not that a man became a god--but that God became a man in order to reveal
Himself to the children of Adam and save them from their sins. Some time later, at the cost of being
cast out by his family, this same Muslim boldly acknowledged Jesus as his Savior and Lord.
The Son of God
The ultimate sin in Islam is "shirk" (Arabic for association). Shirk is the sin of regarding anything
or anyone as equal to God. The Qur'an rejects Jesus' title as the Son of God. "They say: 'Allah has
begotten a son. God forbid!" (2:110) "Say: 'If the Lord of Mercy had a son, I would be the first to
worship him.'" (43:81; 4:172; 5:72.73) Unfortunately, many Muslims interpret "Son of God" in a
carnal sense. They understand the term to mean that God took a wife and had a son by her! In
several Way of Righteousness lessons (including #50, 61, 63, 75, 90, and 99), we explain from the
Bible why the prophets, the angels, and God Himself call Jesus the Son of God. These simple
explanations have helped many Muslims so that they no longer say, "Astaghferullah!" ("God forgive
you for this blasphemy!") when they hear Jesus called by His rightful title as The Son of God.
The Bible gives three main reasons why Jesus is called the Son of God. Interestingly, the
Qur'an contains verses that appear to affirm all three reasons.
1.) The Bible calls Jesus the Son of God because He came from God (Isaiah 7:14; Luke 1:34,35).
Similarly, the Qur'an teaches that Jesus came directly from God, that He was born of a virgin, that
He had no earthly father (3:47; 19:20). Also, the Qur'an sets Jesus apart from all other prophets by
calling Him the Messiah (the Anointed One) (4:157,171,172). Unlike Adam, who was formed from
dust, the Messiah came from Heaven.
2.) The Bible calls Jesus the Son of God because He is like God. He has God's holy and sinless
character and all of God's mighty attributes. Like Father, like Son (Hebrews 1:1-9; Matthew 17:5).
The Qur'an calls Jesus "a holy son." (19:19; 3:46) While the Qur'an speaks of the other prophets'
need of forgiveness (38:24; 48:1), it never attributes a single sin to Jesus. Also, it ascribes to Jesus
supernatural powers that God alone possesses (3:45-51; 5:110-112).
3.) The Bible calls Jesus the Son of God because He is One with God. He is the Eternal Word
who "was in the beginning with God." (John 1:1-18; Philippians 2:5-11) Similarly, the Qur'an calls
Jesus the Word of God and the Soul/Spirit of God (4:171,172). Just as, in some mysterious way, a
person is one with his words, spirit, and soul--so God and Christ are eternally One.
The Cross
All the prophets of the Bible, in one way or another, foretold the Messiah's sacrificial death. But the
Qur'an says: "They denied the truth and uttered a monstrous falsehood against Mary. They declared:
'We have put to death the Messiah, Jesus the son of Mary, the apostle of Allah.' They did not kill
him, nor did they crucify him, but it appeared so to them." (4:157) While Qur'anic scholars interpret
this verse in a variety of ways, most Muslims fervently deny the historical and Scriptural records
concerning Jesus' death on the cross. They believe it inappropriate that a great prophet like Jesus
should die such a shameful death. Thus, Muslims dismiss the central message of the prophets of
the Bible--that Jesus the Messiah willingly offered Himself as the final sacrifice to pay the sin-debt
of the world "that the Scriptures of the prophets might be fulfilled." (Matthew 26:56)
The Qur'an omits the Good News of atonement through Jesus' shed blood by which God "might
be just and the justifier of the one who has faith in Jesus." (Romans 3:26) The Muslim sees no need
for the sin-bearing death of the sinless Messiah. The Qur'an says, "No soul shall bear another's
burden." (6:164; 17:14-16; 39:7) Islam teaches that God excuses sin based on man's repentance and
good works (42:26,31; 39:54,55). The Qur'an bases salvation on what man can do for God. The
Bible bases salvation on what God has done for man, saying, "not by works of righteousness
which we have done, but according to His mercy He saved us ..." (Titus 3:4)
Islam's Sacrifice
While Islam denies the Messiah's death on the cross--it faithfully commemorates an Old
Testament sacrifice which prefigured the Messiah's sacrificial death. Every year, on the tenth day
of the last month of the Islamic calendar, Muslims celebrate the Feast of Sacrifice (Id al-Adha). On
this day Muslims around the world slay carefully selected rams (or lambs, male goats, cows or
camels) in commemoration of the ram that God provided on the mountain to die in the place of
Abraham's son. Tragically however, they overlook the fact that, about two thousand years after God
provided the ram for Abraham, God fulfilled the symbolism of Abraham's sacrifice. For on the
same mountain (not far from where the Dome of the Rock is located today), Jesus the Messiah
willingly shed His righteous blood as God's sufficient and final payment for sin. And three days later
God raised Jesus from the dead--the triumphant Savior and Lord of all who believe.
Through Jesus' voluntary substitutionary sacrifice, God has revealed His great love and mercy to
humankind. The Messiah's death and resurrection perfectly fulfilled God's plan of salvation about
which the prophets wrote--thus eliminating the need for continued animal sacrifices. Yet millions
persist in sacrificing animals while ignoring the purpose, meaning and fulfilment of the animal
sacrifice.
The Qur'an says ...
Many are surprised to learn that the Qur'an commands Muslims to believe the Torah, the Psalms
and the Gospel. The Qur'an says:
"If you are in doubt concerning what we revealed to you, then question those who read the
Scripture that was before you." (10:94) "We sent down the Torah in which there is guidance
and light." (5:44) "We have revealed to you as we revealed to Noah and the prophets after
him, and as we revealed to Abraham, Ishmael, Isaac, Jacob, and the tribes; to Jesus, Job,
Jonah, Aaron, Solomon and David, to whom we gave the Psalms." (4:163) "We sent forth
Jesus, the son of Mary, to follow in the footsteps of the prophets, confirming the Torah which
was before him, and we gave him the Gospel with its guidance and light, confirmatory of the
preceding Torah; a guidance and warning to those who fear God. Therefore let the people
of the Gospel judge according to what God has sent down therein. Evildoers are those
that do not judge according to God's revelations." (5:46) "Those who treat the Book, and the
message we have sent through our apostles, as a lie, will know the truth hereafter: when, with
chains and collars around their necks, they shall be dragged through scalding water and burned
in the fire of hell." (40:71)
The Qur'an contains dozens of similar verses.
The Dilemma
Such Qur'anic verses confront sincere Muslims with a serious dilemma: How can one accept both
the Bible and the Qur'an when they clearly contradict each other? Furthermore the Qur'an
emphasizes the high risk involved: to treat any of the Writings of the Prophets as a lie is to be
"burned in the fire of hell." Many attempt to resolve their dilemma by contending that the original
Bible has been lost or falsified and is no longer reliable. Yet this explanation does not satisfy those
who know their Qur'an, which says: "The Word of God shall never change. That is the supreme
triumph." (10:64) "None can change the decrees of God." (6:34) The Qur'an claims that it was given
to confirm and guard the preceding Scriptures. Muslims must ask themselves, "Would the Qur'an
confirm a corrupted, unreliable book?"
Some suggest that Christians and Jews falsified the Bible after the time of Muhammad. This
argument is disproved by the fact that today's Bibles are translated from ancient manuscripts which
date to a time long before Muhammad. The Bible we are reading today is in harmony with the Bible
of Muhammad's time. "Allahu Akbar!" God is great and has preserved His eternal Word for every
generation.
Those who read the Bible with a desire to understand it will discover that it defends itself. The best
defense is a good offense. "The Word of God which lives and abides forever" presents an awesome
offense.
"All men are like grass, and all their glory is like the flowers of the field: the grass withers and the
flowers fall, but the Word of the Lord stands forever!" (1 Peter 1:23-25)
The Way of Righteousness
Wolofs say, "Truth is a hot pepper" and "Whoever wants honey must brave the bees." Similarly,
the penetrating power of God's Truth and everlasting sweetness of God's way of righteousness
make going after it worth every possible risk--even ostracism, persecution, and physical death.
The prophet Solomon wrote: "In the way of righteousness is life (a relationship with God), and
in its pathway there is no death (separation from God)!" (Proverbs 12:28) Does this claim sound
too good to be true? Friends, with God--nothing is "too good to be true." Allahu Akbar! God is great!
To all who submit to God's way of righteousness, He promises to give freely that which religion can
never provide: Salvation from the penalty and power of sin, a credited-righteousness, assurance
of sins forgiven, a cleansed conscience, a deep peace, an untouchable joy, a new nature, a personal
relationship with God, an eternal home with Him in Paradise, and infinitely more!
To all who have read or heard these one hundred lessons--we commend you to God, the
Compassionate, the Merciful, the Righteous--who extends this life-giving and life-transforming
promise to all who will claim it:
"You will seek Me and find Me, when you search for me with all your heart." (Jeremiah
29:13)
Please direct questions and comments to:
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