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Blockbuster About Jesus Raises Passions
The famous actor-director Mel
Gibson's film The Passion of the Christ
has finally gone on general release after months
of debate. Watched with enormous interest in the
USA, the film caused some cinemas to assume the
air of churches. Millions of Christians have queued
to watch this important work about Jesus (peace
be upon him), the corner stone of their beliefs.
One of the aspects most concentrated
on by film critics is the way that this film is
not pure "entertainment," unlike classic Hollywood
movies. On the contrary, there are suffering and
even torture in a great many scenes. Christians
believe that Jesus was killed by the Romans by
being crucified, and Mel Gibson shows what a dreadful
form of torture crucifixion and the cruelty that
went before it were.
The Jewish Reaction
The greatest reaction to Mel
Gibson's film came from Jews, and is indeed still
doing so. Why is that? The answer to that question
lies in the history of Christianity as described
in the Bible.
According to the Bible, Jesus
is the savior whom the Jews had been awaiting
for centuries, in other words the Messiah. When
he began to preach his message, however, he both
called on the Jewish people to believe in God
and also criticized the hypocrisy of various men
of religion who enjoyed great prestige among the
Jews. For that reason, although a large part of
the Jewish people came to love Jesus, the men
of religion in question had enormous hostility
towards him and decided to set a trap to kill
him. Eventually they decided to complain to the
Romans, who ruled Palestine at the time. Appearing
before the Roman governor, Pontius Pilate, they
told him Jesus claimed to be a king whereas their
king was Caesar, and was causing political unrest.
Pilate questioned Jesus, and seeing that he had
committed no crime wanted to set him free. The
Jewish religious leaders insisted, however. They
demanded he be crucified, and Pilate accepted
that demand. Again according to the Bible, it
was the Jews who were actually responsible for
the decision to execute Jesus.
This led to some Christians harboring
an enmity for the Jews throughout history. One
of the reasons for the emergence of "anti-Semitism,"
or hatred of Jews, is that Christians regarded
the Jews as "Christ-killers."
The reaction of Jewish leaders
to Mel Gibson's film in recent months has been
that the film has revitalized this concept, which
has persisted for the last 2,000 years. In many
scenes in the film the hatred and anger of some
Jewish religious figures towards Jesus are depicted.
This is an important point of conflict which divides
Christianity and Judaism, which have a great deal
in common, and even sets them in opposition to
one another.
The Truth Revealed
in the Qur'an
However, there is a most important
truth behind the current debate over Jesus between
Jews and Christians.
This truth is revealed in the
Qur'an. According to the verses of Almighty God,
Jesus was not actually put to death by being crucified.
The Jews set such a trap for him, but God foiled
that trap with a miracle and rescued Jesus, with
someone else being crucified in his place. This
truth is described in Surat an-Nisa':
And [on account of]
their saying: "We killed the Messiah, Jesus son
of Mary, Messenger of God." They did not kill
him and they did not crucify him, but it was made
to seem so to them. Those who argue about him
are in doubt about it. They have no real knowledge
of it, just conjecture. But they certainly did
not kill him. (Qur'an, 4:157)
The expression, "they
did not kill him and they did not crucify him"
reveals that Jesus was not killed and crucified.
The next statement also contains very important
information: the person crucified was not Jesus,
but somebody else, although those who performed
the crucifixion believed that he was Jesus. That
was because this person resembled Jesus, or was
made to look like him. (Only God knows for certain.)
This information in the Qur'an
has been the subject of debate between Christians
and Muslims for hundreds of years. Christians
say that Jesus was crucified before hundreds of
witnesses, that the gospels and other Christian
authors are agreed on this, and that this is a
certain and attested truth believed in by millions
over hundreds of years.
The fact is, however, that some
Christians have also accepted the fact that Jesus
was not crucified.
Christians Who Have
Not Believed in the Crucifixion
Christians have provided different
answers to the question of who it was who was
crucified. These possessed a belief regarded as
"heretical" according to Catholic doctrine. That
movement is known as "Docetism."
The most important information
about Docetism comes from the document Adversus
Haereses (Against Herecies) written by the
priest Irenaeus (115-202) at the end of the second
century CE. Irenaeus refers to one Basilides,
one of the representatives of this movement. According
to Irenaeus, Basilides, a historian from Alexandria,
insisted in his writings between 130 and 150 CE
that Jesus had not been crucified. He maintained
that somebody else, one Simon of Cyrene, had been
crucified and that God had miraculously altered
Simon's appearance to resemble that of Jesus,
and that the Jews and Romans thus thought they
were crucifying Jesus himself. Basilides even
wrote that Jesus watched as Simon of Cyrene was
being crucified, and that he then moved away and
was raised alive into the presence of God. (William
Smith, D., A Dictionary of Christian Biography,
Volume 1, p. 768)
Where might this information
have reached Basilides from? According to the
writings of a 3rd century Christian theologian,
Clement of Alexandria (150-215), Basilides claimed
to have received secret information. According
to his account, an individual called Glaucius,
who had acted as interpreter for Simon Peter,
one of Jesus' disciples, learned this secret from
Peter, and Basilides heard it from him. Basilides
wrote a new "Bible," in which the gospels were
corrected in the light of the information he had
received from Glaucius.
Basilides was not the only Docetist
to support this claim. In addition to him, various
individuals or sects regarded as "heretics" by
the Church also supported the view that Jesus
was not crucified, but was replaced by someone
bearing a resemblance to him. In Was Christ
Really Crucified? The Christian writer Faris
al-Qayrawani writes:
In the year A.D. 185 a .
. . sect of the descendant of the priests of
Thebes who embraced Christianity claimed that
"God forbids that Christ should be crucified.
He was safely lifted up to heaven." Also in
the year A.D. 370 a hermetic Gnostic sect that
denied the crucifixion of Jesus taught that
He "was not crucified but it seemed so to the
spectators who crucified Him." Again, in the
year A.D. 520 Severus, bishop of Syria, fled
to Alexandria where he encountered a group of
philosophers teaching that Jesus Christ was
not crucified but that it only appeared so to
the people who nailed Him on the cross. . .
. About A.D. 610 Bishop John, son of the governor
of Cyprus, began to proclaim that Christ was
not crucified but that it only seemed so to
the spectators who crucified Him. (Faris al-Qayrawani,
Was Christ Really Crucified?, Villach: Light
of Life, 1994, p. 23)
As of the 4th century,
however, when the absolute dominion of the Catholic
Church was established, Docetists gradually disappeared
just like the other movements regarded as "heretical."
The teaching that Jesus was crucified confirmed
its place as a fundamental dogma of the Christian
world by being imposed by the Church.
Mankind only learned the truth
about this subject by means of the revelation
of the Qur'an to the Prophet Mohammed. In the
Qur'an God has revealed this about Jesus:
"… They did not kill
him and they did not crucify him, but it was made
to seem so to them..." (Qur'an, 4:157)
THE LIFE OF JESUS ACCORDING TO THE
QUR'AN
According to the historical records
of Judaism, Christianity, and Islam, Jesus lived
approximately 2,000 years ago. He was a chosen
messenger of God and is held in honor both in
the world and the Hereafter. The Gospel of Mathew
states that he was born either during the reign
of Herod l or in a period of the regime change
(4 BCE). According to the Gospel of Luke, he was
born during the reign of Emperor Augustus (27
BCE-14 CE) when a census was being conducted in
Judea (6 CE). Such information cannot be verified.
However, experts analyzing various sources believe
that Jesus was born around 7-6 BCE.
The true religion brought by
Jesus, God's chosen Messenger who was rewarded
with Paradise and special gifts, exists today.
However, it does so in name only, for it has been
tampered with and falsified. Likewise, the revelation
given to Jesus by God exists only in name and
certainly not in its original, for the Christian
scriptures have been tampered with and altered.
As we cannot acquire any true knowledge about
Jesus from this source, we turn to the only source
that can provide true information: the Qur'an,
which God promised to protect until the Last Day.
The Qur'an reveals much about Jesus' birth, life,
examples of his encounters with other people,
the situation of those living around him, and
many other subjects. It also provides many examples
of his efforts to invite the Jewish people to
faith. The Qur'an relates the following words
of Jesus:
"I come confirming
the Torah I find already there, and to make lawful
for you some of what was previously forbidden
to you. I have brought you a Sign from your Lord.
So fear God and obey me. God is my Lord and your
Lord so worship Him. That is a straight path."
(Qur'an, 3:50-51)
Only a few Jews answered his
call and became his followers. The Qur'an reveals
the existence of these devout believers as follows:
When Jesus sensed
unbelief on their part, he asked: "Who will be
my helpers for [the cause of] God?" The disciples
said: "We are God's helpers. We believe in God.
Bear witness that we are Muslims. Our Lord, we
believe in what You have sent down and have followed
the Messenger, so write us down among the witnesses."
(Qur'an, 3:52-53)
According to the New Testament,
Jesus traveled to all corners of Palestine with
his 12 disciples to call people to faith. On this
journey, God allowed him to perform many miracles.
He healed the sick and disabled, cured people
suffering from leprosy, brought sight to those
who had been blind from birth, and raised the
dead. The Qur'an reveals these miracles in the
verses below:
"I have brought you
a Sign from your Lord. I will create the shape
of a bird out of clay for you and then breathe
into it, and it will be a bird by God's permission.
I will heal the blind and the leper and bring
the dead to life, by God's permission. I will
tell you what you eat and what you store up in
your homes. There is a Sign for you in that if
you believe." (Qur'an, 3:49)
Remember when God
said: "Jesus, son of Mary, remember My blessing
to you and to your mother when I reinforced you
with the Purest Spirit so that you could speak
to people in the cradle and when you were fully
grown; and when I taught you the Book and Wisdom,
and the Torah and the Gospel; and when you created
a bird-shape out of clay by My permission, and
then breathed into it and it became a bird by
My permission; and healed the blind and the leper
by My permission; when you brought forth the dead
by My permission; and when I held back the Children
of Israel from you, when you brought them the
Clear Signs and those who did not believe said:
'This is nothing but downright magic.'" (Qur'an,
5:110)
Jesus performed great miracles,
and many people were impressed by them. However,
he always stated that these miracles happened
only by the will of God and, according to the
Bible, he always told the people he healed: "Your
faith has saved you." In response, the people
praised the Lord when they saw his miracles:
Jesus left there and went along
the Sea of Galilee. Then he went up on a mountainside
and sat down. Great crowds came to him, bringing
the lame, the blind, the crippled, the mute, and
many others, and laid them at his feet. And he
healed them. The people were amazed when they
saw the mute speaking, the crippled made well,
the lame walking, and the blind seeing. And they
praised the God of Israel. (Matthew 15:29-31)
Despite the increasing obstacles
and, in particular among the people who suffered
from oppression and cruelty, the number of believers
began to rise. At the time, Jesus and his disciples
had wandered through all of the towns and cities
in the land. Meanwhile, the priests and scribes
(teachers of the law) began to scheme and plot
against Jesus, who had been telling them of the
wrongs inherent in the traditions that they had
promoted for years, reminding them of the deviations
in the order they had established and calling
them to believe only in God and to live only for
him. (Luke 22:1-2, John 11:47-53)
Like all other Prophets, Jesus
called his people to believe in God, to submit
wholeheartedly to Him, to live for His good pleasure,
to refrain from sin and evil, and to do good.
He reminded them of life's impermanence and of
death's proximity, and told them that they would
have to answer for all of their deeds in the Hereafter.
He called them to worship God alone and to fear
and mind only Him. The Bible also contains much
advice and educational material (mashal)
in this respect. According to the New Testament,
Jesus advised those who were "short on faith,"
brought them the good news of God's imminent dominion,
and asked them to seek God's forgiveness. This
dominion is the rule which the Jews expected to
be established when the Messiah arrived, a rule
that would bring them renewed faith and deliverance.
Jesus remained true to the Mosaic
law (the commandments of the Torah) and reprimanded
the Jews for straying from them or their hypocritical
practice. According to the New Testament, he told
them: "If you believed Moses, you would believe
me, for he wrote about me" (John 5:46). Jesus
called people to return to the Torah. The Gospel
of Matthew records his order to abide by the Mosaic
law ("the holy law"):
I did not come to destroy, but
to fulfill. (Matthew 5:17)
Whoever therefore breaks one
of the least of these commandments and teaches
men so shall be called least in the kingdom of
Heaven; but whoever does and teaches them, he
shall be called great in the kingdom of Heaven.
(Matthew 5:19)
The Qur'an says the following
about Jesus:
[Jesus said,] "I come
confirming the Torah I find already there, and
to make lawful for you some of what was previously
forbidden to you. I have brought you a Sign from
your Lord. So fear God and obey me." (Qur'an,
3:50)
THE CONFLICTING ACCOUNTS
OF THE CRUCIFIXION IN THE GOSPELS
Present-day Christians believe
in the Holy Book known as the New Testament. Many
sections of this book call people to believe in
and worship God in a most sincere manner and recommend
excellent moral principles. In that respect, much
of the New Testament is compatible with the Qur'an.
Therefore Muslims and Christians have a great
many beliefs in common and believe in the same
moral values. This is an important truth which
represents the groundwork for the establishment
of dialogue and cooperation between the two faiths.
However, God also reveals in
the Qur'an that two fundamental teachings in the
New Testament are erroneous.
The first of these is the belief
that Jesus was crucified and was a kind of "sacrifice"
for all mankind.
The second is the claim that
Jesus is the "son of God." (God is surely beyond
that. Far exalted is He above having a son.)
One interesting point is that
the statements in the gospels regarding these
two beliefs are actually contradictory.
The Four Gospels
The New Testament contains four
separate "gospels" which describe the life and
ministry of Jesus. The first three of these, the
gospels according to Matthew, Mark and Luke are
to a large extent parallel to one another. They
are thus described as the "synoptic" gospels in
the Christian tradition. (The word "synoptic"
means "taking the same point of view, and describes
the perspectives of the first three gospels.)
Despite being the second gospel in the Old Testament,
the earliest is the gospel according to Saint
Mark. It is accepted that Matthew and Luke used
the gospel according to Saint Mark as a source
when writing their own gospels, making a few additions
to it.
The fourth gospel is that of
John, and this is very different to the line taken
by the synoptic gospels. Some events described
by John do not appear in the synoptic gospels,
or are described in a contrary sense. Moreover,
one event described by John is described totally
differently from the way it appears in the synoptic
gospels.
The Contradictory
Descriptions of the Crucifixion
As we have already stated, it
is revealed in the Qur'an that the person who
was crucified was not Jesus but, by a miracle
of God, someone resembling him was crucified and
Jesus escaped the trap.
The gospels of the New Testament
insist that it was Jesus who was crucified. However,
their accounts of the crucifixion conflict with
one another to an extent far greater than in any
other subject.
There are enormous discrepancies
on this subject, both among the synoptic gospels
and that of John. The account which begins with
the Last Supper of Jesus and the disciples and
continues with his arrest and trial is the subject
of considerable contradiction among the gospels.
Let us now examine the major points of these contradictions:
o The synoptic gospels maintain
that there was a "ceremony of bread and wine"
at the Last Supper of Jesus and his disciples.
Yet John never mentions this. Instead, he makes
an entirely different claim that the disciples
washed his feet as an expression of love and respect.
o There is a similar discrepancy
with regard to Jesus' arrest by the Romans. According
to the claim in the synoptic gospels, Judas Iscariot
gave Jesus up by indicating him to the Romans.
According to John, Jesus gave himself up. The
replies given to Judas by Jesus are also described
contradictorily: According to Matthew, he said
to Judas, "Friend, do what you came for," whereas
according to John there was no dialogue between
the two.
o There is also disagreement
with regard to what the disciples did after Jesus'
arrest. According to Matthew, the disciples all
fled, with only Peter watching Jesus from afar.
Mark describes the odd detail of how only "a young
man, wearing nothing but a linen garment" watched
Jesus, and how he was caught but freed himself
from the garment and escaped. Like Matthew, Luke
writes that only Peter watched Jesus. John, on
the other hand, writes that Simon Peter and another
disciple were following Jesus.
o The answers to the question
of who judged Jesus are also different. The synoptic
gospels describe how he was tried by the Jewish
Supreme Court (the Sanhedrin). According to John,
Jesus was tried not by the Sanhedrin, but by Caiaphas,
the high priest that time, and his father-in-law
Annas.
o Jesus' trial by the Roman governor,
Pontius Pilate, is also described very differently.
According to the synoptic gospels, Jesus made
no reply to the accusations made against him by
Pilate, merely saying "Yes, it is as you say,"
when asked if he was the king of the Jews. John,
on the other hand, says that Jesus made a long
reply to Pilate, in a detailed statement saying,
"My kingdom is not of this world… But now my kingdom
is from another place."
o Who carried the cross is also
unclear. The synoptic gospels write that a man
named Simon of Cyrene carried it, whereas John
maintains that Jesus carried it himself.
o The robbers who were crucified
alongside Jesus are also described differently,
as are Jesus' last words.
o The gospels also describe the
timing of the crucifixion differently. According
to the synoptic gospels, it was on the second
day of Passover. According to John, it was one
day before the Passover.
It is clear that these discrepancies
reveal an interesting picture.
That is because these events,
which comprise the last day in the life of Jesus,
from the Last Supper to the crucifixion, took
place, according to the Christian tradition, before
hundreds of witnesses. With the exception of the
Last Supper, attended only by the disciples, they
must all have taken place before large crowds.
According to the gospels, the arrest of Jesus
took place before hundreds of Romans and Jews.
Again according to the gospels, the crucifixion
happened in Jerusalem, before the eyes of the
populace.
So why is it that there are such
discrepancies between the accounts of these events
that happened in front of so many eye-witnesses?
The answer is clear: The reason
for these discrepancies in the accounts of the
crucifixion is that the story is based on an error.
It was not Jesus who was crucified. God saved
this blessed prophet from the trap laid for him.
Jesus Did Not Die,
but Is in the Presence of God
The Qur'an reveals that the unbelievers
devised a plot to take Jesus' life. However, they
have failed, for the Qur'an relates:
They [unbelievers]
planned and God planned. But God is the best of
planners. (Qur'an, 3:54)
As the verses reveal, they plotted
and moved to kill Jesus. However, their plot failed
and they ended up killing a look-alike. During
this event, God raised Jesus up to His presence:
And [on account of]
their saying, "We killed the Messiah, Jesus son
of Mary, Messenger of God." They did not kill
him and they did not crucify him, but it was made
to seem so to them. Those who argue about him
are in doubt about it. They have no real knowledge
of it, just conjecture. But they certainly did
not kill him. (Qur'an, 4:157)
The subsequent verse says the
following about Jesus' ascension:
God raised him up
to Himself. God is Almighty, All-Wise. (Qur'an,
4:158)
The reality revealed in the verse
is clear. Those who attempted to kill Jesus did
not succeed. The expression "but
it was made to seem so to them" reveals
this fact. God showed them a look-alike and raised
Jesus up to His presence. Our Lord also reveals
that those who made that claim had no knowledge
of the truth.
Jesus was not killed.
The truth, clearly indicated
in the Qur'an and the hadiths (sayings) of our
Prophet (may God bless him and grant him peace),
is that Jesus is still alive and will return to
Earth in the End Times.
JESUS WILL RETURN
TO EARTH
The subject of Jesus' return
to earth has been of great interest in the world
in recent weeks. In order to learn the truth of
this matter, one of course needs to study the
signs in the Qur'an.
There is important evidence in
the Qur'an regarding the second coming of Jesus.
This may be set out as follows:
1. "... I will
place the people who follow you above those who
are unbelievers until the Day of Resurrection..."
The first verse indicating Jesus'
return is given below:
When God said: "Jesus,
I will take you back and raise you up to Me, and
purify you of those who are unbelievers. And I
will place the people who follow you above those
who are unbelievers until the Day of Resurrection.
Then you will all return to Me, and I will judge
between you regarding the things about which you
differed. (Qur'an, 3:55)
God mentions that a group of
Jesus' true followers will dominate the unbelievers
until the Day of Resurrection. Jesus did not have
many followers during his tenure on Earth and,
with his ascension, the religion that he had brought
degenerated rapidly. Over the next two centuries,
those who believed in Jesus were oppressed because
they had no political power. Therefore, we cannot
say that the early Christians dominated the unbelievers
in the sense indicated by the verse given above.
At present, Christianity is so
far removed from its original state that it no
longer resembles the religion taught by Jesus.
In this case, "And I will place the people who
follow you above those who are unbelievers until
the Day of Resurrection" carries a clear message:
There has to be a group of Jesus' followers who
will exist until the Last Day. Such a group will
emerge in his second coming, and those who follow
him at that time will dominate the unbelievers
until the Last Day.
2. "There is
not one of the People of the Book who will not
believe in him before he dies..."
In the Qur'an, we read that:
There is not one of
the People of the Book who will not believe in
him before he dies; and on the Day of Resurrection
he [Jesus] will be a witness against them. (Qur'an,
4:159)
The phrase "there
is not one of the People of the Book who will
not believe in him before he dies" is very
interesting. Some scholars believe that the "him/it"
in this verse refers to the Qur'an instead of
Jesus, and so understand it to mean that the People
of the Book will believe in the Qur'an before
they die. However, it is beyond dispute that the
same word in the preceding two verses refers to
Jesus.
Another point we need to make
here has to do with the interpretation of "before
he dies." Some believe that this stands for the
People of the Book "having faith in Jesus before
their own death." According to this view, everyone
from the People of the Book will definitely believe
in Jesus before he or she dies. But so far, millions
of the People of the Book have lived and died
without ever believing in Jesus. Therefore, the
verse does not speak of the death of this group,
but rather of the death of Jesus. In the end,
the reality revealed by the Qur'an is this: "Before Jesus dies, all People of the
Book will believe in him."
This can only be possible with
the return to Earth of Jesus and all the People
of the Book having faith in him during this second
life. That is in fact the promise in the hadiths.
(Only God knows for certain.)
3. "He is a
Sign of the Hour..."
In the Qur'an, we are informed
of Jesus' return to Earth. This verse states that
Jesus is a sign of the Hour:
He [Jesus] is a Sign
of the Hour. Have no doubt about it. But follow
me. This is a straight path. (Qur'an, 43:61)
The great scholars of Islam interpret
this pronoun as referring to Jesus, an opinion
that they base on other Qur'anic verses and hadiths.
In his commentary, Elmalili Muhammad Hamdi Yazir
writes that:
No doubt he [Jesus] is a
sign of the Hour, one that declares that the
Hour will come, that the dead will be resurrected
and stand up, because the miracle of Jesus'
second coming and his miracle of resurrecting
the dead, together with his revelation that
the dead will rise, prove that the Day of Judgment
is real. According to the hadiths, his arrival
is a sign of the Last Day. (Elmalili Muhammad
Hamdi Yazir, Kuran-i Kerim Tefsiri (Qur'an Tafsir);
www.kuranikerim.com/telmalili/zuhruf.htm)
Jesus lived six centuries before
the Qur'an's revelation. Therefore we cannot consider
his first life as a sign of the Day of Judgment.
The verse says that Jesus will return toward the
end of time or, in other words, during the last
period of time before the Day of Judgment. In
that context, his return is a sign of the Hour's
imminent arrival. (God knows best.)
4. "He will teach
him the Book and Wisdom, and the Torah and the
Gospel."
The verses 45-48 of Sura 3 reveal
that God will teach Jesus the "Book," the Torah,
and the Gospel. Obviously, this book in question
is very important. The same expression is also
used in the verse given below:
Remember when God
said: "Jesus, son of Mary, remember My blessing
to you and to your mother when I reinforced you
with the Purest Spirit so that you could speak
to people in the cradle and when you were fully
grown; and when I taught you the Book and Wisdom,
and the Torah and the Gospel." (Qur'an, 5:110)
When we examine how "Book" is
used here, we see that it refers to the Qur'an
in both cases. The verses reveal that after the
Torah, Psalms and the Gospel, the Qur'an is the
final divine book. Another verse uses "Book" to
denote the Qur'an, after mentioning the Torah
and the Gospel. (Qur'an, 3:2-3)
In this case, the Qur'an is the
third book that Jesus will be taught. But this
will be possible only when he returns to Earth,
for he lived 600 years before the Qur'an's revelation.
The hadiths also reveal that Jesus will rule with
the Qur'an, not the Gospel, on his second coming.
This corresponds with the meaning of the verse.
(Allah knows best.)
5. "The likeness
of Jesus in God's sight is the same as Adam."
The verse "The
likeness of Jesus in God's sight is the same as
Adam." (Qur'an, 3:59) could also indicate
Jesus' return. Muslim scholars who have written
Qur'anic commentaries point out that this verse
indicates the fact that both Prophets did not
have a father, for God created both of them with
the command "Be!" However, the verse could also
have another meaning: Just as Adam was sent down
to Earth from God's presence, Jesus could be sent
down to Earth from God's presence during the End
Times. (Only God knows for certain.)
6. "...The day
I was born, the day I die, and the day I am raised
up again alive..."
Surah Maryam also mentions Jesus'
death in the following verse:
[Jesus said,] "Peace
be upon me the day I was born, the day I die,
and the day I am raised up again alive." (Qur'an,
19:33)
When this verse is considered
in conjunction with Surah Al `Imran verse 55,
an important reality emerges: While Surah Al `Imran
states that Jesus was raised up to God's presence
and does not mention that he died or was killed,
Surah Maryam speaks of the day on which he will
die. This second death can only be possible after
he returns and lives on Earth for a period of
time. (Only God knows for certain.)
7. "... you
could speak to people in the cradle and when you
were fully grown …"
Another piece of evidence for
Jesus's return is the word kahlaan, used Surat
al-Ma'ida 5:110 and Surah Al `Imran 3:46. These
verses say:
Remember when God
said: "Jesus, son of Mary, remember My blessing
to you and to your mother when I reinforced you
with the Purest Spirit so that you could speak
to people in the cradle and when you were fully
grown (kahlaan)…"(Qur'an, 5:110)
He will speak to people
in the cradle, and also when fully grown (kahlaan),
and will be one of the righteous. (Qur'an, 3:46)
Kahlaan, which is used only in
these two verses, only in reference to Jesus,
and to express Jesus' adulthood means "someone
between the age of 30 and 50, someone who is no
longer young, someone who has reached the perfect
age." Islamic scholars agree that it denotes the
age of 35 or above. They base their views on a
hadith reported by Ibn 'Abbas that Jesus was raised
up to God's presence in his early 30s, and that
he will live for 40 years when he comes again.
Therefore, they suggest that this verse is evidence
for Jesus' return, since his old age will occur
following his second coming. (Muhammed Khalil
Herras, Fasl al-Maqal fi raf`i `Isa hayyan
wa nuzulihi wa qatlihi ad-Dajjal (Cairo: Maktabat
as-Sunnah, 1990), 20.)
In short, the miracle of the
second coming of Jesus, revealed in a great many
hadiths, is also mentioned in the Qur'an.
Jesus did not die, and will return
to Earth again.
THE CHRISTIAN ERROR OF THE
TRINITY
The Qur'an specifically points
to the positive beliefs and moral characteristics
of Christians. God has revealed that for Muslims,
Christians are "the people most affectionate to
those who believe" and "not arrogant." (Qur'an,
5:82) According to Islam, Christians are not deniers,
but are a People of the Book, together with the
Jews. In other words, they are faithful people
who believe in God's earlier revelations.
However, the Qur'an does point
to one major error by Christians. That is the
error of the Trinity, the ascribing of divinity
to Jesus. God warns Christians in this regard
in the Qur'an:
O People of
the Book! Do not go to excess in your religion.
Say nothing but the truth about God. The Messiah,
Jesus son of Mary, was only the Messenger of God
and His Word, which He cast into Mary, and a Spirit
from Him. So believe in God and His Messengers.
Do not say: "Three." It is better that you stop.
God is only One God. He is too Glorious to have
a son! Everything in the heavens and in Earth
belongs to Him. God suffices as a Guardian. (Qur'an,
4:171)
Indeed, when we look at the historical
facts, it can be seen that the Trinity is a myth
which entered into Christianity at a later date.
Monotheism: The Essence
of Christianity
Christianity was originally born
among the Jews living in Palestine. All of those
around and who believed in Jesus were Jews and
lived according to the laws of Moses. The most
fundamental feature of Judaism was monotheism,
the belief in one God.
However, Christianity began to
grow rather different after the ascension of Jesus
into the presence of God and with its spread from
the Jewish world into the pagan one. Monotheistic
belief, the essence of the law of Moses, underwent
a great change and Christians began regarding
Jesus as divine.
The belief in the "Trinity" emerged
at the end of this process. This concept describes,
for Christians, a three-way belief in God as "Father,
Son and Holy Ghost." The Trinity is one of the
fundamental conditions of faith for traditional
Christians. The belief in the Trinity regards
our Almighty Lord from a superstitious perspective
and is a mistaken concept which ascribes divinity
to Jesus, sent by God to mankind as a prophet.
Despite harboring a great many inconsistencies
and being totally incompatible with monotheism,
it occupies a central role in the Christians'
corrupted system of beliefs. Someone who does
not believe in the Trinity, and therefore that
Jesus is the son of God, is not regarded as a
real Christian by the supporters of traditional
Christianity.
The Pressure on Those
Who Denied the Trinity
One interesting point is that
the various individuals and movements which have
opposed belief in the Trinity and maintained that
Jesus was only a prophet of God were subjected
to great pressure during the course of Christian
history. These monotheists fiercely opposed those
who said that Jesus was the son of God, and openly
stated that this was "ascribing partners" to God.
For that reason, they were for hundreds of years
described as "heretics" and even "enemies of Christianity,"
and those who supported them met with the same
reception. Yet those who believe in the oneness
of God have always been in a minority compared
to the proponents of the Trinity in the Christian
world.
Even those neutrals who have
researched the subject have established that real
Christianity is the monotheistic Christianity
that was suppressed throughout history. A large
part of the independent Bible researchers, which
began in the 18th century in particular, concluded
that the Trinity, confession of sins and other
Christian dogmas had no place in true Christianity.
In their studies of the Old and New Testaments
and other Christian sources, experts have revealed
that traditional Christianity has very different
features to that of the time of Jesus, and was
shaped centuries after that time.
Christians Who Have
Denied the Trinity
It is under the influence of
these sources that some Christian sects today
reject the Trinity. The Unitarian Church, for
example, which maintains churches all over the
world, is one major Christian community which
rejects belief in the Trinity. Although they may
hold various different views, the members of that
congregation deny that Jesus is the son of God
and say that Christianity demands belief in a
single God. Many of them emphasize the mistaken
nature of the claim that Jesus was crucified to
redeem the sins of the world.
One can find opponents of the
Trinity among Christians of various different
persuasions and churches. The opponents of the
Trinity are growing in numbers, particularly in
America, every day, and there is a rapid rise
in the numbers of people who are openly expressing
the truth in the Christian world. Among these,
the "Worldwide Church of God" is particularly
noteworthy. Herbert W. Armstrong, the founder
of the church, maintains that the Trinity is a
pagan doctrine which entered Christianity from
pagan cultures.
The most noteworthy point on
this subject is that there is no trace of the
belief in the Trinity, portrayed as the foundation
of Christianity, anywhere in the Bible. It appears
neither in the Old Testament, the holy book of
the Jews, nor in the New Testament, the Christian
sacred text. Belief in the Trinity depends on
the interpretation of a number of statements in
the Bible, and the word itself was first used
by Theophilus of Antioch at the end of the 2nd
century. This belief became fully incorporated
into Christian belief long after that. For that
reason, Bible researchers and those opposed to
the Trinity concentrate on the questions of "Should
not belief in the Trinity, described as the basis
of the Christian religion, be openly stated in
the Bible?" and "If this belief were really true,
should not Jesus have openly spoken of it?"
The answer they provide is clear: No belief which
does not appear openly in the Bible and was thus
unknown to the first Christians can form the basis
of Christianity. This is nothing more than a myth
which formed after Jesus and under the influence
of Greek culture. It has nothing to do with the
essence of Christianity.
This truth can be seen from a
careful reading of the Bible.
The Basis of the
Bible Is Also "Belief in One God"
It is revealed in the Qur'an
that Jesus issued the following message to the
Jews:
..."O Tribe of Israel!
Worship God, my Lord and your Lord…" (Qur'an,
5:72)
The expressions of Jesus calling
to oneness of God are present even in the gospels
of the New Testament, which were exposed to distortion
and falsification. For instance, Jesus answered
a teacher of law who asked him, "Of all the commandments,
which is the most important?" as "The most important
one is this: 'Hear, O Israel, the Lord our God,
the Lord is one. Love the Lord your God with all
your heart and with all your soul and with all
your mind and with all your strength.' (Mark 12:28-30)
The following passage, again
from the gospel according to Mark, shows that
Jesus prevented not just the ascription of divinity
to him but even praise of him:
As Jesus started on his way,
a man ran up to him and fell on his knees before
him. "Good teacher," he asked, "what must I do
to inherit eternal life?" "Why do you call me
good?" Jesus answered. "No one is good-except
God alone." (Mark 10:17-18)
In fact, this passage alone is
sufficient to show that belief in the Trinity
is a violation of the New Testament. Rejecting
praise and stressing that only God is worthy of
praise Jesus openly stated that he too was a servant
of God.
In fact, Jesus is a prophet of
God, sent to tell people of the oneness of God
following the corruption of the revelation brought
by Moses and that there is no other god but him.
He called upon the Jews, who had corrupted the
true religion brought by Moses, to abandon their
bigoted traditions and superstitions and to submit
solely to God. This message of Jesus to the Children
of Israel is revealed thus in the Qur'an:
And when Jesus came
with the Clear Signs, he said, "I have come to
you with Wisdom and to clarify for you some of
the things about which you have differed. Therefore
fear God and obey me. God is my Lord and your
Lord so worship Him. This is a straight path."
(Qur'an, 43:63-64)
"I come confirming
the Torah I find already there, and to make lawful
for you some of what was previously forbidden
to you. I have brought you a Sign from your Lord.
So fear God and obey me. God is my Lord and your
Lord so worship Him. That is a straight path."
(Qur'an, 3:50-51)
It is the duty of Muslims, Christians,
Jews and everyone in the world to abide by this
divine call.
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