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Christ (pbuh) in Islam
BY AHMED DEEDAT At the end of the debate - "Christianity and Islam" - which appeared on the SABC-TV programme "CROSS (+) QUESTIONS" on Sunday 5th June 1983, the Chairman, Mr. Bill Chalmers commented: "I think it can be said from this discussion that there is ,at present, somewhat more accommodation on the Islamic side for the founder of Chris trinity than there is on the Christian side for the founder of Islam. What the significance of that is, we leave it to you, the viewer, to determine, but I do think you will agree that it is a good thing that we are talking together." "BILL" as he is popularly addressed, without any formalities, on all his programmes, by all his panelists, is extremely charming and stupendous in his humility. He is a picture of what the Holy Quran portrays of a good Christian: "...AND NEAREST AMONG THEM IN
LOVE TO THE BELIEVERS WILT THOU FIND THOSE WHO SAY, "WE ARE
CHRISTIANS"1: BECAUSE AMONG THESE ARE MEN DEVOTED TO LEARNING AND MEN
WHO HAVE RENOUNCED THE WORLD. AND THEY ARE NOT ARROGANT." HOLY QURAN
5:58 Were the Muslims on the panel, trying to placate the viewers out of policy, deceit or diplomacy ? Nothing of the kind! They were only articulating what God Almighty had commanded them to say in the Holy Quran. As Muslim they had no choice. They had said in so many words - "WE MUSLIMS BELIEVE, THAT JESUS WAS ONE OF THE MIGHTIEST MESSENGERS OF GOD, THAT HE WAS THE CHRIST, THAT HE WAS BORN MIRACULOUSLY - WITHOUT ANY MALE INTERVENTION (which many modern-day Christians do not believe today), THAT HE GAVE LIFE TO THE DEAD BY GOD'S PERMISSION, AND THAT HE HEALED THOSE BORN BLIND AND THE LEPERS BY GOD'S PERMISSION. IN FACT NO MUSLIM IS A MUSLIM IF HE DOES NOT BELIEVE IN JESUS!" PLEASANT SURPRISE Over 90% of the people who
witnessed this debate must have been pleasantly, but skeptically,
surprised. They might have not believed their ears. They must have
surmised that the Muslims were playing to the gallery-that they were
trying to curry favour with their fellow Christian countrymen; that if
the Muslims would say a few good words about Jesus, then in
reciprocation the Christians might say a few good words about Muhummed
(May the Peace and the Blessings of God be upon all His righteous
servants like Moses, Jesus, Muhummed ); that I scratch your back and you
scratch my back - which would be a sham or hypocrisy. We cannot blame the Christians for their skepticism. They have been so programmed for centuries. They were trained to think the worst of the ma Muhummed (pbuh) and his religion. How aptly did Thomas Carlyle say about his Christian brethren over a hundred and fifty years ago - "THE LIES WHICH WELL MEANING ZEAL HAS HEAPED ROUND THIS MAN (Muhummed) ARE DISGRACE FULL TO OURSELVES ONLY." We Muslims are partly responsible for this stag ring ignorance of the 1,200,000,000 Christians of the world. We have not done anything substantial to remove the cobwebs. OCEAN OF CHRISTIANITY South Africa is an ocean of
Christianity. If Libya boasts the highest percentage of Muslims on the
continent of Africa, then the Republic of South Africa would also be
entitled to boast the highest percentage of Christians. In this ocean of
Christianity - the R.S.A. - the Muslim is barely 2% of the total
population. We are a vote less minority-numerical we count for nothing;
politically, we count for nothing, and economically, one white man, as
Oppenheimer, could buy out the whole lot of us, lock, stock and barrel.
The Christian does not know that
the true spirit of charity which the Muslim displays, always, towards
Jesus and his mother Mary spring from the fountainhead of his faith- the
Holy Quran. He does not know that the Muslim does not take the holy name
of Jesus, in his own language, withou saying Hazrat Eesa (meaning
revered Jesus) or Eesa alai-hiss-salaam i.e. ( Jesus peace be upon him).
WITH THE HOLY SPIRIT" HOLY QURAN 2:87 "..O MARY! GOD GIVETH THEE GLAD TIDINGS OF A WORD FROM HIM: HIS NAME WILL BE CHRIST JESUS, THE SON OF MARY.."
HOLY QURAN 3:45 Though Jesus is mentioned by
name in twenty-five places in the Holy Quran he is also addressed with
respect as:"Ibne Maryam" - son of Mary; as Masi (Heb) Messiah -
translated as Christ; "Abd-ullah" servant of Allah;"Rasu -Ullah" -
Messenger of Allah. The Holy Quran refers to Jesus as "Eesa", and this name is used more times than any other title, because this was his "Christian"1 name. Actually, his proper name was "Eesa" (Arabic), or "Esau". (Hebrew); classical "Yeheshua", which the Christian nations of the West Latinised as Jesus. Neither the "J" nor the second "s" in the name Jesus is to be found in the original tongue - they are not found in the Semitic languages. The word is very simply - "E S A U" - a very common Jewish name, used more than sixty times in the very first booklet alone of the Bible, in the part called "Genesis". There was at least one "Jesus" sitting on the "bench" at the trial of Jesus before the Sanhedrin. Josephus the Jewish historian mentions some twenty five Jesus' in his "Book of Antiquities". The New Testament speaks of "Bar-Jesus"- a magician and a sorcerer, a false prophet (Act 13:6); and also "Jesus-Justus" - a Christian missionary, a contemporary of Paul (Colossians 4:11). These are distinct from Jesus the son of Mary. Transforming "Esau" to (J)esu(s) - Jesus - makes it unique. This unique (?) name has gone out of currency among the Jews and the Christians from the 2nd century after Christ. Among the Jews, because it came to be the proper name of their God(?) - their God incarnate. The Muslim will not hesitate to name his son - "Eesa" - because it is an honored name, the name of a righteous servant of the Lord. MANY REFERENCES At the end of the most popular translation of the Holy Quran in English, i.e. by A.Yusuf Ali2, there is a very comprehensive index. While browsing through, we will discover, on page 1837, i.e. Jesus, a rightenous prophet, vi.85; birth, iii. 45:47; xix. 22-33; apostle to Israel, iii. 49-51; disciples, iii. 52-53; v.114-118 taken up, iii. 55-58; iv.157-159; like Adam, iii.59; not crucified, iv.157; no more than apostle, iv.171; v.78; xliii 59, 63-64; not God, v.19,75; sent with Gospel, v.49; not son of God, ix.30; Message and miracles, v.113; xix.30-33; prays for Table of viands, v.117; taught no false worship, v.119-121; disciples declare themselves Muslims, v.114; mission limited, n.1861 to xiii.38; followers have compassion and mercy, lvii.27: disciples as God's helpers, lxi.14; as a Sign, xxiii. 50; xliii.61; prophesied Ahmad, lxi.6. CHAPTER 3 : MOTHER AND SON MARY HONOURED The second above mentioned topic
- "his birth" - are described in two places - Sura 3 and Sura 19.
Reading from the beginning of his birth, on page 134 of the translation
under reference, we come across the story of Mary, and the esteemed
position which she occupies in the house of Islam before the actual
annunciation of the birth of Jesus is given: "O MARY! GOD HATH CHOSEN THEE
AND PURIFIED THEE- CHOSEN THEE ABOVE THE WOMEN OF ALL NATIONS2." HOLY
QURAN 3:42 DIVINE REVELATION What is the source of this
beautiful and sublime recitation which, in its original Arabic, moves
men to ecstacy and tears? Verse 44 below explains MARY'S BIRTH The story is that the maternal grandmother of Jesus, Hannan, had hitherto been barren. She poured out her heart to God:If only God will grant her child, she would surely dedicate such a child for the service of God in the temple. ANTI-CLIMAX God granted her prayer and Mary
was born. She was disappointed. She was yearning for a son, but instead
she delivered a daughter; and in no way is the female like the male, for
what she had in mind. What was she to do? She had made a vow to God. She
waited for Mary to be big enough to fend for herself. THE SOURCE OF HIS MESSAGE This was the story. But where
did Muhummed (pbuh) get this knowledge from? He was an Ummi
(unlettered). He did not know how to read or write. He is made by God
Almighty to answer this very question in the verse above, by saying that
it was all "by divine inspiration". "No!", says th controversialist.
"This is Muhummed's own concoction. He copied his revelations from the
Jews and Christians. He plagiarized it. He forged it." SARAH AND HAGAR The Jews get their cock-eyed racism from their Holy Bible, where they are told that their father, Abraham, had two wives - Sarah and Hagar. They say that they are the children of Abraham through Sarah his legitimate wife; that their Arab brethren have descended through Hagar, a "bond- woman", and that as such, the Arabs are an inferior breed. (In fact, Hager was not a bond-woman but an Egyptian princess ) Will anyone please explain the anomaly as to why Muhummed (pbuh) (if he is the author) chose this Jewess for such high honor? The answer is simple - HE HAD NO CHOICE - he had no right to speak of his own desire. "IT IS NO LESS THAN AN INSPIRATION SENT DOWN TO HIM." (H.Q.53:4) SURA MARYAM There is a Chapter in the Holy
Quran, named Sura Maryam "Chapter Mary" (XIX) named in honor of Mary the
mother of Jesus Christ (pbuh); again, such an honor is not to be found
given to Mary in the Christian Bible. Out of the 66 books of the
Protestants and 73 of the Roman Catholics, not one is named after Mary
or her son. You will find books named after Matthew, Mark, Luke, John,
Peter, Paul and two score more obscure names, but not a single one is
that of Jesus or Mary! CHAPTER 4 : THE GOOD NEWS
BEHOLD! THE ANGELS SAID: "O
MARY! GOD GIVETH THEE GLAD TIDINGS OF A WORD FROM HIM: HIS NAME WILL BE
CHRIST JESUS THE SON OF MARY HELD IN HONOUR IN THIS WORLD AND THE
HEREAFTER AND (OF THE COMPANY OF) THOSE NEAREST TO GOD; HOLY QURAN 3:45
He is real, but He is not like
anything we can think of, or imagine. In eastern languages "right hand"
meant a place of honor, which the Holy Quran more fittingly describes as
- "IN THE COMPANY OF THOSE NEAREST TO GOD." CHRIST NOT A NAME The word CHRIST is derived from
the Hebrew word Messiah, Arabic-Masih. Root word m-a-s-a-h-a, meaning to
rub, to massage, to anoint. Priests an kings were anointed when being
consecrated to their offices. But in its translated, Grecian form
"CHRIST", it seems unique: befitting Jesus only. I am the God of Beth-el, where
you ANOINTED a pillar..... Genesis 31:13 Although, every prophet of God is an ANOINTED one of God - a Messiah, the title "Masih" or "Messiah" or its translation "CHRIST" is exclusively reserved for Jesus, the son of Mary, in both Islam and in Christianity. This is not unusual in religion.
There are certain other honorific title which may be applied to more
than one prophet, yet being made exclusive to one by usage: like "Rasul-lullah",
meaning Messenger of God, which title is applied to both Moses (19:51)
and Jesus (61:6) in the Holy Quran. Yet "Rasul-lullah" has become
synonymous only with the Prophet of Islam among Muslims. Whilst the good news was being
announced (verse 45 above) Mary was told that her unborn child will be
called Jesus, that he would be the Christ, a "Word" from God, and
that..... JEWS AMAZED There is no Joseph the carpenter
here. The circumstances being peculiar, Mary the mother of Jesus had
retired herself to some remote place in the East (H.Q.19:16). After the
birth of the child she returns. "The amazement of the people knew no bounds. In any case they were preparered to think the worst of her, as she had disappeared from her kin for some time. But now she comes, shamelessly parading a babe in her arms! How she had disgraced the house
of Aaron, the fountain of priesthood! "SISTER OF AARON: Mary is reminded
of her high lineage and the unexceptionable morals of her father and
mother. How, they said, she had fallen and disgraced the name of her
progenitors! A.Yusuf Ali, comments in his notes 2480-2482 on page 773 of his translation. BUT SHE POINTED TO THE BABE. THEY SAID: "HOW CAN WE TALK TO ONE WHO IS A CHILD IN THE CRADLE?" HOLY QURAN 19:23 And by a miracle he spoke: HIS FIRST MIRACLE(S) Thus Jesus (pbuh) defended his mother from the grave calumny and innuen- does of her enemies. This is the very first miracle attributed to Jesus in the Holy Quran - that, he spoke as an infant from his mother's arms. Contrast this with his first miracle in the Christian Bible which occurs when he was over thirty years of age: And the third day there was a marriage in Cana of Galilee; and the mother of Jesus was there: And both Jesus was called, and his disciples, to the marriage. And when they wanted wine, the mother of Jesus saith unto him, they have no wine. Jesus saith unto her, Woman, what have I to do with thee? mine hour is not yet come. His mother saith unto the servants, Whatsoever he saith unto you, do it. And there were set there six water pots of stone, after the manner of the purifying of the Jews, containing two or three firkins apiece. Jesus saith unto them, Fill the
water pots with water. And they filled them up to the brim. And he saith
unto them, Draw out now, and bear unto the governor of the feast. And
they bare it. When the ruler of the feast had tasted the water that was
made wine, and knew not whence it was: (but the servants which drew the
water knew;) the governor of the feast called the bridegroom, And saith
unto him, Every man at the beginning both set forth good wine; and when
men have well drunk, then that which is worse: but thou hast keep the
good wine until now. John 2:1-10 Since this miracle, wine has
flowed like water in Christendom. Many a fool reasons that what was good
for his Master is good enough for him. Jesus was no "Kill-joy" they say.
Didn't he make good potent wine, that even those "well drunk", those
whose senses had been dulled could make out the difference? - "THAT THE
BEST WAS KEPT FOR THE LAST." This was no pure grape juice. It was the
same W-I-N-E that, according to the Christi an Bible, enabled the
daughters of Lot to seduce their father (Genesis- 19:32-33). It was the
same W-I-N-E which the Christian is advised to eschew in Ephesians 5:18
- "And be not drunk with WINE...." "PROBLEM DRINKERS". In South
Africa, they are called "ALCOHOLICS" - drunkard is too strong a word for
people to stomach. "MOTHER" OR "WOMAN"? "According" to St.John, in the fourth verse above, describing the marriage feast at Cana, we are told that Jesus (pbuh) behaved insolently to- wards his mother. He calls her "WOMAN," and to rub more salt into the wound he is made to say - "what have I to do with thee?" What connection is there between you and me, or what have I got to do with you? Could he have forgotten that this very "woman" had carried him for nine months, an perhaps suckled him for 2 years, and had borne endless insults and injuries on account of him? Is she not his mother ? Is there no word in his language for "mother"? Strange as it may seem, that
while the missionaries boast about their master's humility, meekness and
long-suffering - they call him the "Princ of Peace" and they sing hat -
"he was led to the slaughter like a lamb, and like a sheep who before
his shearer is dumb, he opened not his mouth yet they proudly record in
the same breath, that he was every ready with invectives for the elders
of his race, and was always itching for a show down i.e. if their
records are true:- "Ye hypocrites!" "Ye wicked and adulterous
generation!" "Ye whited sephulcres!" "Ye generation of vipers!" and now
to his mother - "Woman....." Muhummed (pbuh) the Messenger of
God, is made to absolve Jesus (pbuh) from the false charges and
calumnies of his enemies. One day, I was visiting the "Bible House" in Johannesburg, South Africa. Whilst browsing through the stacks of Bibles and religious books, I picked up an Indonesian Bible and had just taken in hand a Greek/English New Testament - a large, expensive volume. I had not realized that I was being observed by the supervisor of the Bible House. Casually, he walked up to me. Perhaps my bread and my Muslim headgear were an attraction and a challenge? He enquired about my interest in that costly volumeme. I explained that as a student of comparative religion, I had need of such a book. He invited me to have tea with him in his office. It was very kind of him and I accepted. Over the cup of tea, I explained
to him the Muslim belief in Jesus. I explained to him the very high
position that Jesus (pbuh) occupied in the House of Islam. He seemed
skeptical about what I said. I was amazed at his seeming ignorance,
because only retired Reverend gentlemen can be- come Supervisors of
BIBLE HOUSES in South Africa. I began reciting from verse 42 of Sura 3
-first in Arabic then in English The Christian would be reading here, in the Quran, everything he wanted to hear about Jesus, but in a most noble, elevated and sublime language. He could not help being moved by it. In these eight terse verses from 42 to 49 we are told: (a) That Mary, the mother of Jesus, was a virtuous woman, and honored above the women of all nations. (b) That all that was being said was God's own Revelation to Muhummed (c) That Jesus was a "Word" from God. (d) That he was the Christ that the Jews were waiting for. (e) That God will empower this Jesus to perform miracles even in infancy (f) That Jesus was born miraculously, without any male intervention. (g) That God will vouchsafe him Revelation. (h) That he will give life to the dead by God's permission, and that he will heal those born blind and the lepers by God's permission, etc.etc. CHALK AND CHEESE The most fervent Christian
cannot take exception to a single statement or word here. But the
difference between the Biblical and the Quranic narratives is that
between "chalk and cheese"! "To me they are identical, what is the
difference?" the Reverend asked. I know that in their essentials both
the stories agree in their details, but when we scrutinize them closely
we will discover that the difference between them is staggering. MASTER DRAMATISER The eminent Billy Graham from
the United States of America dramatized this verse in front of 40 000
people in King Park, Durban - with his index finger sticking out and
swinging his outstretched arm from right to left, he said, "And the Holy
Ghost came and impregnated Mary!" On the other hand St.Luke tells us the
very same thing but less crudely. He says that when the annunciation was
made, Mary was perturbed. Her natural reaction was - In essence there is no difference between these two statements "seeing I know not a man" and "when no man hath touched me". Both the quotations have an identical meaning. It is simply a choice of different words meaning the same thing. But the respective replies to Mary's plea in the tow Books (the Quran and the Bible) are revealing. THE BIBLICAL VERSION ..." What did He SAY? He SAID - "BE" and "IT WAS!" He did not have to articulate the words. This is our way of understanding the word 'BE'-that He willed everything into being. CHOICE FOR HIS DAUGHTER "Between these two versions of
the birth of Jesus (pbuh) - the Quranic version and the Biblical version
- which would you prefer to give your daughter?" I asked the supervisor
of the Bible House. He bowed his head down in humility and admitted -
"THE QURANIC VERSION." LIKE ADAM Does the miraculous birth of Jesus make him a God or a "begotten" son of God? No! Says the Holy Quran: THE SIMILITUDE OF JESUS BEFORE
GOD IS THAT OF ADAM; HE CREATED HIM FROM DUST, THEN SAID TO HIM: 'BE':AND
HE WAS. HOLY QURAN 3:59 In God's sight Jesus was as dust
just as Adam was or humanity is. The greatness of Jesus arose from the
divine command "Be". for after that he was - more than dust - a great
spiritual leader and teacher." A.Yusuf Ali's note 398 to verse 59 above.
PAUL'S INNOVATION "FOR THIS MELCHISEDEC, KING OF
SALEM, PRIEST OF THE MOST HIGH GOD...." "Without father, without mother,
without descent, having NEITHER BEGINNING of days, NOR END of life..."
HEBREWS 7:1&3 The Muslim takes strong
exception to the Christian dogma that "Jesus is the only begotten son,
begotten not made". This is what the Christian is made to repeat from
childhood in his catechism. I have asked learned - Christians, again and
again as to what they are really trying to emphasise, when they say
"BEGOTTEN NOT MADE". They know that according to their own God-given
(?!) records, God has sons by the tons: "That the SONS OF GOD saw the
daughters of men that they were fair... "...Israel is MY SON, even my firstborn:" Exodus 4:22 "...for I (God) and a FATHER to
Israel, and Ephraim is my firstborn." Jeremiah 31:9 In my forty years of practical experience in talking to learned Christians, not a single one has opened his mouth to hazard an explanation of the phrase - "begotten not made". It had to be an American who dared to explain. He said, "It means, sired by God." "What?" I exploded. "SIRED- by God?" - "NO, no," he said, "I am only trying to explain the meaning, I do not believe that God really
sired a son." The Muslim takes exception to
the word "begotten", because begetting is an animal act, belonging to
the lower animal functions of sex. How can w attribute such a lowly
capacity to God? Metaphorically we are all the children of God - the
good and the bad - and Jesus (pbuh) would be closer to being the son of
God than any one of us, because he would be more faithful to God than
any one of us, because he would be more faithful to God than any one of
us can ever be. From that point of view he is preeminently the son of
God. BRAIN-WASHED INFERIORITY The human mind can't help reasoning that since the "begotten son" of an African will look like an African, and that of a Chinaman as a Chinese, and that of an Indian like an Indian: so the begotten son of God aught naturally to look like God. Billions of beautiful pictures and replicas of this "ONLY BEGOTTEN SON"(?) of God are put in peoples hands. He looks like a European with blonde hair, blue eyes and handsome features - like the one I saw in the "King of Kings" or "The Day of Triumph" or "Jesus o Nazareth" Remember Jeffrey Hunter? The "SAVIOUR" of the Christian is more like a German than a Jew with his Polly nose. So naturally, if the son i a White man, the father would also be a White man (God?). Hence the darker skinned races of the earth subconsciously have the feeling of inferiority ingrained in their souls as God's STEP-CHILDREN. No amount to face-creams, skin-lighteners and hair-strengtheners will erase the inferiority. GOD IS SPIRIT God is neither Black nor White. He is a spiritual Being, beyond the imagination of the mind of man. Break the mental shackles of a Caucasian - (white) man-god, and you have broken the shackles of a permanent inferiority. But intellectual bondages are harder to shatter: the slave himself fights to retain them. CHAPTER 6 : ANSWER TO
CHRISTIAN DILEMMAS He says: (a) "EITHER JESUS IS GOD OR A LIAR" (b) "EITHER JESUS IS GOD OR A LUNATIC" (c) "EITHER JESUS IS GOD OR AN
IMPOSTER" Is it not possible that Jesus is
simply what he claimed to be- a prophet like so many other prophets that
passed away before him? Even that he is one of the greatest of them - a
mighty miracle worker, a great spiritual teacher and guide - the
Messiah! Why only God or Lunatic? Is "lunacy" th opposite of "Divinity"
in Christianity? What is the antonym of God? Will some clever Christian
answer? (1) That he was the son of a woman, Mary, and therefore a man; (2) But an apostle, a man with a mission from God, and therefore he is entitled to honor; (3) A Word bestowed on Mary, for he was created by God's word "Be"(kun), and he was; see Holy Quran 3:59. (4) A spirit proceeding from God, but not God: his life and mission were more limited than in the case of some other apostles, though we must pay equal honor to him as a man of God. The doctrines of Trinity, equality with God, and son ship, are repudiated as blasphemies. God is independent of all needs and has no need of a son to manage His affairs. The Gospel of John (whoever wrote it) has put a great deal of Alexandrian Gnostic mysticism round the doctrine of the Word (Greek, Logos), but it is simply explained here, and our Sufis work on this explanation." A.Yusuf Ali's comment on verse 171 above. JESUS QUESTIONED Reproduced below are verses 119
to 121 from Sura Maida (Ch.5) depicting the scene of Judgment Day, when
Allah will question Jesus (pbuh) regarding the misdirected zeal of his
supposed followers in worshipping him and his mother: and his response-
If this is the statement of
Truth from the All-Knowing, that "Never did I say to them anything other
than what I was commanded to say ,that is WORSHIP GOD, WHO IS MY LORD
AND YOUR LORD", then how do the Christians justify worshipping Jesus?
Trinitarians - the worshippers of three gods in one God, and one God in three gods - "Jesus did claim to be God!" Where? REVEREND AT THE TABLE I had taken Rev. Morris D.D. and his wife, to lunch at the "Golden Pea- cock". While at the table, during the course of our mutual sharing of knowledge, the opportunity arose to ask, "Where?" And without a murmur he quoted, "I AND MY FATHER ARE ONE" - to imply that God and Jesus were one and the same Person. That Jesus here claims to be God. The verse quoted was well known to me, but it was being quoted out of context. It did not carry the meaning that the Doctor was imaging, so I asked him, "What is the context?" CHOCKED ON "CONTEXT" The Reverend stopped eating and
began staring at me. I said, "Why? Don't you know the context?" - "You
see, what you have quoted is the text, I want to know the context, the
text that goes with it, before or after." Here was an Englishman
(Canadian), a paid-servant of the Presbyterian Church, a Doctor of
Divinity, and it appeared that I was trying to teach him English. Of
course he knew what "contest" meant. But like the rest o his
compatriots, he had not studied the sense in which Jesus (pbuh) had
uttered the words. It is unfair on the part of the
Reverend, having failed to provide the context, then to ask me, "Do you
know the context?" "Of course," I said. "Then, what is it?" asked my
learned friend. I said, "That which you have quoted is the text of John
chapter 10, verse 30. To get at the context, we have to begin from verse
23 which reads: 23 And Jesus walked in the temple in Solomon's porch.
John, or whoever he was, who wrote his story, does not tell us the
reason for Jesus tempting the Devil by walking alone in the lion's den.
For we do not expect the Jews to miss a golden opportunity to get even
with Jesus. Perhaps, he was emboldened by the manner in which he had
literally whipped the Jews single-handed in the Temple, and upset the
tables of the money-changers at the beginning of his ministry (John
2:15). 24 Then came the Jews round about him. And said unto him, How
long dost thou make us to doubt? If thou be the Christ, tell us plainly.
If Jesus is "ONE" with God, and if that "ONENESS" makes him God, then the traitor Judas, and the doubting Thomas, and the satanic Peter, plus the other nine who deserted him when he was most in need are God(s), because the same ONENESS which he claimed with God in John 10:30, now he claims for ALL "Who forsook him and fled"(Mark 14:50) - ALL "ye of little faith" (Mathew 8:26) - ALL "O faithless and perverse generation" (Luke 9:41) Where and when will the Christian blasphemy end? The expression "I and my Father are one," was very innocent, meaning nothing more than a common purpose with God. But the Jews were looking for trouble and any excuse will not do, therefore, 31 The Jews took up stones again to stone him. 32 Jesus answered them, Many good works have I showed you from my Father for which of those works do you stone me? 33 The Jews answered him, saying, For a good work we stone thee not; but for blasphemy; and because that thou, being a man, makest thyself a God. In verse 24 above the Jews
falsely alleged that Jesus was talking ambiguously. When that charge was
ably refuted, they then accused him of blasphemy (kufr) which is like
treason in the spiritual realm. So they say that Jesus is claiming to be
God - "I and my Father are one". The Christians agree with the Jews in
this that jesus (pbuh) did make such a claim; but, differ, in that it
was not blasphemy because the Christians say that he was God and was
entitled to own up to his Divinity. Jesus refuses to co-operate in
this dirty game, so - 34 Jesus answered them, is it not written in your
law, I said, Ye are gods? 35 If he called them gods, unto whom the word
of God came, and the scripture cannot be broken; He is bit sarcastic in verse 34,
but in any event, why does he say: "Your Law"? Is it not also his law?
Didn't he say: THINK NOT THAT I AM COME TO DESTROY THE LAW OR THE
PROPHETS: I AM COME NOT TO DESTROY, BUT TO FULFILL (the Law). FOR VERILY
I SAY UNTO YOU, TILL HEAVEN AND EARTH PASS AWAY, ONE LOT OR ONE TITLE
SHALL IN NO WISE PASS FROM THE LAW, TILL ALL BE FULFILLED. (Mathew
5:17-18) "Ye are gods:" He is obviously quoting from the 82nd. Psalm (verse 6) "I have said, YE ARE GODS: and
all of you are, the children of the most High." CHAPTER 7 : "IN THE
BEGINNING" GREEK NOT HEBREW Since the manuscripts of the 27 Books of the New Testament are in Greek, a Christian sect has produced its own version and has even changed the name of this selection of 27 Books to "CHRISTIAN GREEK SCRIPTURES"! I asked the Reverend whether he knew Greek? "Yes," he said, He had studied Greek for 5 years before qualification . I asked him what was the Greek Word for "GOD" the first time it occurs in the quotation - "and the Word was with God"? He kept staring, but didn't answer. So I said, the word was HOTHEOS, which literally means "THE GOD". Since the European (in cluding the North American) has evolved a system of using capital letter to start a proper noun and small letters for common nouns, we would accept his giving a capital "G" for God; in other words HOTHEOS is rendere "the god" which in turn is rendered - God. "Now tell me, what is the Greek word for God in the second occurrence in your quotation - "and thw Word was God"? The Reverend still kept silent. Not that he did not know Greek, or that he had lied - But, he knew more than that, the game was up. I said the word was TONTHEOS, which means "a god". According to your own system of
translating you aught to have spelt this word God a second time with a
small "g" i.e. god, and not God with a capital "G"; in other words
TONTHEOS is rendered "a god". Both of these, "god" or "a god" are
correct. I told the Reverend "But in 2
Corinthians 4:4 you have dishonestly rever sed your system by using a
small "g" when spelling GOD - "(and the devil is) the god of this
world." The Greek word for "the god" is HOTHEOS the same as in John 1:1.
"Why have you not been consistent in your translation?" "If Paul was
inspired (?) to write hotheos - the God for the Devil, why begrudge him
that capital 'G'?" CHAPTER 8 : WHAT IS LEFT THREE TOPICS It can hardly be expected in a
small publication of this nature that one can deal with all the
references about Jesus (pbuh) interspersed through out the fifteen
different chapters of the Holy Quran. What we can do is to give a quick
glance to the index page reproduced from the Quran on page 7 of this
book. (1) not crucified, iv. 157 (2) Message and miracles, v. 113;xix. 30-33; (3) Prophesied Ahmed 1xi.6 Regarding the first topic, "not crucified", I wrote a full booklet titled "CRUCIFIXION OR CRUCIFICTION ?" that deals exclusively with that subject. As regards the third topic mentioned above, prophesied Ahmed", you can refer to my booklet titled " WHAT THE BIBLE SAYS ABOUT MUHUMMED" We are now left with Topic No.2
- "Message and miracles". The message of Jesus (pbuh) was as simple and
straight forward as that of all his predecessors as well as that of his
successor Muhummed (pbuh) namely "BELIEVE IN GOD AND KEEP HIS
COMMANDMENTS". For the God who ins- pired His Messengers, is an
unvarying God and He is consistent: He is not the "author of confusion"
(1 Corinthian 14:33). MIRACLES - WHAT THEY PROVE Regarding his miracles: the Holy Quran does not go into any detail about blind Bartimus or about Lazarus or any other miracle, except that he (Jesus) defended his mother as an infant in his mother's arms (Ch. 4). The Muslim has no hesitation
about accepting the most wondrous of his miracles - even that of
reviving the dead. But that does not make Jesus a "God" or the begotten
"son of God" as understood by the Christian. (b) Elisha is greater than Jesus
because the rotten bones of Elisha brought a man back to life merely by
coming into contact with the corpse (2 Kings 13:21). ....All power is GIVEN unto me
in heaven and in earth. Matthew 28:18 The "Power" as he says is not
his. "it is given unto me". Given by whom? By God, of course! Every
action, every word he attributes to God. But since so much is made of Jesus nightiest miracle of reviving Lazarus from the dead, we will analyse the episode as recorded in John's Gospel. It is astonishing that none of the other Gospel writers mention Lazarus in any context. However, the story is that Lazarus was very sick, his sisters Mary and Martha had made frantic calls for Jesus to come and cure his sickness but he arrived too late, actually four days after his demise. HE GROANED Mary wails to Jesus that had he
arrived in time, perhaps her brother would not have died; meaning that
if he could heal other peoples' sick- ness, why would he not have healed
her brother, a dear friend of his. Jesus says that "even now if ye have
faith, ye shall see the glory of God." The condition was that they
should have faith. Didn't he say that faith could move mountains? He
asks to be taken to the tomb. On the way, "he groaned in the spirit". He
was not mumbling; he was pouring out his heart and praying to God. But
while he sobbed so bitterly his words were not audible enough for people
around him to understand. Hence the words "he groaned". On reaching the
grave, Jesus "groaned" again; perhaps, even more earnestly and God heard
his groaning (his prayer), and Jesus received the assurance that God
will fulfill his request. Now, Jesus could rest assured and command that
the stone which was barring the tomb, be removed so that Lazarus could
come back from the dead. Without that assurance from God, Jesus (pbuh)
would have made a fool of himself. Mary thinks of the stink because
her brother had been dead for four days But Jesus was confident and the
stone was removed. Then he looked up towards heaven and said: "And I knew that thou hearest me
always: but because of the people which stand by I said it, that they
may believe that thou hast sent me." John 11:41-42 CASE NOT HOPELESS This very same message is
repeated by God Almighty in the Holy Quran, following the annunciation.
In verse 49 of chapter 3, Allah makes it clear that every sign or wonder
that Jesus performed was. *Among them: meaning the Jews
and the Christians there are two types of people; the one group
described as people of faith to whom this book is addressed, and the
other as rebellious transgressors. We must also find ways and means of
getting at them. Our literature is eminently suited to cater for all.
Read them and pass them around so it may be of use to some who have
faith . |