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Showing posts with label Christianity. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Christianity. Show all posts

Saturday 16 November 2019

Scholars' Viewpoint: Which is the Oldest Religion?


Which is the oldest religion? - a question most often sought from Muslim scholars by the followers of other faiths and Divine religions that "seemingly" came before Islam. Thinking, that since Islam is hardly 1400 years old religion, the Islamic scholars will be found wanting for a convincing and plausible answer.

But in doing so, if they are not followers of a true faith, they forget that all Divine religions are in fact continuation of the religion that was revealed onto one of the specially picked messengers by Allah. The message with Prophet Adam (peace be upon him) descended the earth after been expelled from the heavens, was the same message that was revealed onto Prophet David (Daud, (peace be upon him)) in the form of Psalms, Prophet Moses (Musa, (peace be upon him)) in the form of Torah and Prophet Jesus (Eesa, peace be upon him) in the form of Bible (Injeel). 

Why there was need to send a book after the other is obvious from te history as each people following a book made its teaching corrupted and interjected many invocations to suit their mood and requirements. Thus it is generally believed that none of the earlier three Divine books are in their original form today. 




It may also be noted that in the Qur'an, the last revealed Divine guidance on Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him), there is a mention of 25 prophets only, whereas the Prophet of Allah has been quoted as saying that there have been 124,000 prophets that preceded him. That means there may have been many Divine scriptures that may have been revealed on to people around the world that got lost or corrupted to an extent that none is available today as authentic compilation.

It is only Qur'an, the revered book of Muslims and Islam, that still stands today uncorrupted for the resewn that after Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) there is to be no more prophets and Qur'an is to serve as the only authentic, complete and uncorrupted scripture for the entire mankind till the Day of resurrection.

And Islam is the same religion that Prophet Adam (peace be upon him) propagated right from day one and will be the religion till the last day this universe stands. 

A similar question was asked to Dr Zakir, an eminent Muslim scholar, by a Hindu woman and he so convincingly explained to him the entire journey of religions, including Hinduism, that she accepted Islam at the end of the session.

Please watch this enlightening video below in which Zakir Abdul Karim Naik, an Islamic televangelist and Islamic preacher, explains the subject very impartially, yet giving concrete references to the originality and finality of Islam. Dr Zakir is the founder and president of the Islamic Research Foundation. He is also the founder of the Peace TV:
Author's Note: The views expressed in the video above are that of the concerned scholar . We have shared these view as added information in better understanding of Islam. The reader may or may not agree with the view owing to their own perception. If any one differs with the material contained in this post, one may consult the references and their authors.  If someone has more material about the subject, he/she is most welcome to share in the comments box to make the post all encompassing.

For more Scholarly views and videos, please read our reference page: Scholars' Viewpoint on Important Issues Related to Islam.

You may also refer to our following sites for knowing more about Islam and Quran:
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Thursday 18 July 2019

Understanding Islam: Who is Allah? Is He the same God as that of Jews and Christians?


From today on, we at Islam:My Ultimate Decision begin a new series of post so that people understand Islam better than what has been told or what non Muslims have been made to believe. As already spelt out in the overview of this series, this will be in the form of most frequently asked questions by Non Muslims and provide them as authentic a reply as possible based on the similar questions asked to some of the prominent Muslim scholars of present times.

And the first most frequently asked questions is: Who is Allah? Is He the same God as that of Jews and Christians?   

Misconception exist among non Muslims, specially the Christians that Allah of Muslims is something different from God of Christians and Jews and all other faiths. The simple logic behind this misconception is that the God, the Creator of the entire universe and the heavens above is called "Allah" in Arabic. since the Holy Qur'an was raveled in Arabic, it used word Allah for the God. Had Qur'an been revealed in any other language, God would been called whatever was equivalent in that language for the only One God Who is the master of the universe.

Like in Portuguese, God is called Deus, Dios in Spanish, Brahman in Hinduism, in the Arabic translations of Bible, God is translated as Allah. It must therefore be understood that Allah” is a word in the Arabic language equivalent to the English word “God” with a capital “G”.  Thus the word “Allah” cannot be made plural, a fact which goes hand-in-hand with the Islamic concept of God.

It must also be noted that that the Aramaic word “El”, which is the word for God in the language that Jesus spoke, is certainly more similar in sound to the word “Allah” than the English word “God.”  This also holds true for the various Hebrew words for God, which are “El” and “Elah”, and the plural or glorified form “Elohim.”  The reason for these similarities is that Aramaic, Hebrew and Arabic are all Semitic languages with common origins.  It should also be noted that in translating the Bible into English, the Hebrew word “El” is translated variously as “God”, “god” and “angel”!  This imprecise language allows different translators, based on their preconceived notions, to translate the word to fit their own views.  The Arabic word “Allah” presents no such difficulty or ambiguity, since it is only used for Almighty God alone.  Additionally, in English, the only difference between “god”, meaning a false god, and “God”, meaning the One True God, is the capital “G”.  Due to the above mentioned facts, a more accurate translation of the word “Allah” into English might be “The One -and-Only God” or “The One True God.”

Now coming over the concept of the Supreme Being, the Only Creator and Master of the Universe has been no one except but God or Allah. Therefore like all other Divine religions, Muslims worship the God of Noah, Abraham, Moses, David and Jesus ( peace be upon them all). 

Herein under is the testimony of there being Only One Lord as has been referred to in Deuteronomy 5:1-9 New International Version (NIV), The Ten Commandments:
5   Moses  summoned  all Israel and said: "Hear, Israel, the decrees and laws:  I. declare in your hearing today. Learn them and be sure to follow them. 2 The Lord our God made a covenant with us at Horeb. 3 It was not with our ancestors[a] that the Lord made this covenant, but with us, with all of us who are alive here today. 4 The Lord spoke to you face to face out of the fire on the mountain. 5 (At that time I stood between the Lord and you to declare to you the word of the Lord, because you were afraid of the fire and did not go up the mountain.)"
And he said:
6 “I am the Lord your God, who brought you out of Egypt, out of the land of slavery.7 “You shall have no other gods before[b] me8 “You shall not make for yourself an image in the form of anything in heaven above or on the earth beneath or in the waters below. 9 You shall not bow down to them or worship them; for I, the Lord your God, am a jealous God, punishing the children for the sin of the parents to the third and fourth generation of those who hate me,
In the Holy Qur'an, Chapter 112 Surah Al Ikhlas, the same concept is repeated when Allah addresses His Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) and tells him to pronounce and tell others who Allah is:
قُلۡ هُوَ اللّٰهُ اَحَدٌ​ ۚ‏ Say: “He is Allah, the One and Unique;اَللّٰهُ الصَّمَدُ​ ۚ‏ Allah, Who is in need of none and of Whom all are in need;لَمۡ يَلِدۡ   ۙ وَلَمۡ يُوۡلَدۡ ۙ‏ He neither begot any nor was He begotten,وَلَمۡ يَكُنۡ لَّهٗ كُفُوًا اَحَدٌand none is comparable to Him.”‏ 
The opening verse clearly ratifies the verses 6-7 of the New Testament as quoted above. And it is very clear there exists a concept of One true Lord, the God, in both the Bible and the Qur'an. But when it comes to practice, differences and misconceptions arise.

However, when Muslims say Allah, they mean One True God as has been the belief of all before Christianity. Muslims - like Jews - reject the Christian beliefs of the Trinity and the Divine Incarnation.  This, however, does not mean that each of these three religions worships a different God, because there is only One True God.  Judaism, Christianity and Islam all claim to be “Abrahamic Faiths”, and all of them are also classified as “monotheistic.”  However, Islam teaches that other religions have, in one way or another, distorted and nullified a pure and proper belief in Almighty God by neglecting His true teachings and mixing them with man-made ideas.

The Christianity has added the Son and the Holy Ghost at the same par as God, they call father, the Trinity concept. So when Muslims say Allah, they do not mean God in Three. Allah is the same Creator who had Jesus been born from virgin Mariam (Mary) as one of His countless miracles. It is apathy that instead of celebrating a miracle, Christians have started calling Allah as Father.

Herein under are references that bring in the concept of Trinity, which negates the earlier reference given above from the New Testament:
Jesus was the only person to be born of a mortal mother, Mary, and an immortal father, God the Father. That is why Jesus is called the Only Begotten Son of God.[Reference]
Do you remember what Jesus’ Father did one day when Jesus was with three of his followers?— Yes, God spoke all the way from heaven to tell them: “This is my Son, the beloved, whom I have approved.”—Matthew 17:5.
We Muslims firmly believe that Prophet Eesa (Jesus, may peace be upon him) was one of the true messengers of Allah who was endowed with the holy scripture of Injeel (The Bible). But we also strongly believe in the third verse of the Surah Al Ikhlas quoted above that He (Allah) neither begot any nor was He begotten, which clearly means that neither He (Allah) has an offspring nor is He the offspring of another. Therefore Muslims do not subscribe to the concept of Trinity nor take Prophet Eesa as son of God, for Jesus is like all other messengers and prophets of Allah, though born in miraculous circumstances.

And this above referred surah is not the only one in which Allah strictly says of Himself being the Only One with no partners, associates or helpers, what to talk of a son, to run the affairs of the universe and heavens:
  • Allah is only One Deity: He is far too exalted that He should have a son: whatever is in the heavens and whatever is in the earth belongs to Him. (Surah An-Nisa, Ayat 171).
  • Note it well: they, in fact, invent a falsehood when they say, Allah has children. They are utter liars. (Surah As-Saaffat, Ayats 151-152).
  • They have invented a blood-relationship between Allah and the angels, whereas the angels know well that these people will be brought up (as culprits). (Surah As-Saaffat, Ayat 158).
  • These people have made some of His servants to be part of Him. The fact is that man is manifestly ungrateful. (Surah Az-Zukhruf, Ayat l5).
There can be numerous arguments which can be quoted from the Holy Quran, but to cut the discussion short, it should be noted that the Arabic word “Allah” contains a deep religious message due to its root meaning and origin.  This is because it stems from the Arabic verb ta’allaha (or alaha), which means “to be worshiped.”  Thus in Arabic, the word “Allah” means “The One who deserves all worship.”  This, in a nutshell, is the Pure Monotheistic message of Islam. And as per chapter 112 quoted above, The One True God or Allah is the One who has all these four unique attributes.

More and more Christians are reverting to Islam, many of whom had started reading the Quran only to prove it false. But truth always prevails. Many revers, whose experiences I have already shared in my blog, have confided that after reading and understanding Quran they now now understand that Prophet Jesus (peace be upn him) was not son of God, but a revered and blessed messenger and prophet of Allah, like all before him and Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) who followed him as the last of the prophets sent by Allah.

Now listen to one of the most prominent Muslim scholars of present times, Dr Zakir A Naik defining Allah and bringing out the truth from the all the Divine and man written scriptures about Allah which is One and Only One, the Creator of the Heavens and the Universe. Listen to him carefully, no matter which religion you belong to and then ponder over the misconceptions that  harbour in the minds of many non Muslims around the world about Allah:
My readers may read a post: 90 Verses That Say: Jesus is Not God Nor the Literal Son of God, for further clarification on the concept of Prophet Eesa being son of God.

May Allah show us the right path so that we do not go astray due to what man has interpreted verses of religious scriptures to suit their own religions and faith. Aameen.

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Monday 29 April 2019

Why Islam is called Deen - And Not Merely a Religion


Ordinarily speaking, Islam is one of the three Divine religions or "Mazhab" and its followers are called Muslims. That is how non Muslims know Islam. But those who have really understood Islam, would know that Islam is not merely a religion, it is a complete way of life or in other words it is a Deen as mentioned at many places in the Holy Qur'an.

Why I chose this rather difficult subject for today's post is that while I was presenting the exegesis of Surah As Shura - the 42nd chapter of the Holy Qur'an, I got stuck up at the exegesis of verse 13, in which a complete explanation of the term Deen was given and a reader made to understand why Islam is a Deen and not a religion:

بِسْمِ اللهِ الرَّحْمٰنِ الرَّحِيْمِ 
"In the name of Allah, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful"

شَرَعَ لَـكُمۡ مِّنَ الدِّيۡنِ مَا وَصّٰى بِهٖ نُوۡحًا وَّالَّذِىۡۤ اَوۡحَيۡنَاۤ اِلَيۡكَ وَمَا وَصَّيۡنَا بِهٖۤ اِبۡرٰهِيۡمَ وَمُوۡسٰى وَعِيۡسٰٓى اَنۡ اَقِيۡمُوا الدِّيۡنَ وَ لَا تَتَفَرَّقُوۡا فِيۡهِ​ؕ كَبُـرَ عَلَى الۡمُشۡرِكِيۡنَ مَا تَدۡعُوۡهُمۡ اِلَيۡهِ​ ؕ اَللّٰهُ يَجۡتَبِىۡۤ اِلَيۡهِ مَنۡ يَّشَآءُ وَيَهۡدِىۡۤ اِلَيۡهِ مَنۡ يُّنِيۡبُ

(42:13) He has prescribed for you the "Deen" (religion) which He enjoined upon Noah and which We revealed to you (O Muhammad), and which We enjoined upon Abraham and Moses and Jesus, commanding: “Establish this "Deen" and do not split up regarding it.” What you are calling to is very hard upon those who associate others with Allah in His Divinity. Allah chooses for Himself whomsoever He pleases and guides to Himself whoever penitently turns to Him.

Since its explanation is too lengthy, I skipped this explanation there for then the post on Surah As Shura would have become too lengthy and may have become too difficult to concentrate on this core issue which makes Islam stands out from rest of the religions, that is Jewish and Christianity.  

Here too, I shall present first the ordinary explanations by various interpreters and would then return to the detailed exegesis of verse 13 by one of the most enlightened scholars of the Muslim World Sayyid Abul Ala Maududi, given in his book "Tafhim al-Qur'an - The Meaning of the Qur'an."
A vast majority of the entire population of the world follows a particular Divine or man made religion or in some cases simply Atheists - not believing in any religion or even God or gods. People who follow certain belief as their religion are staunch followers of their belief and the rituals they follow are very much part and parcel of the their faith which is more emotional (in nature) then rational. And here lies in the difference between ‘Religion’ and ‘Deen’: Those who follow a  religion are more emotionally attached to their religions or faith, but Muslims are attached to their Deen for logical reasons rather than mere emotional attachment, for Deen deals with logic and logic alone whereas religion is seated deep inside heart, which is the seat of emotions. Since people of other faiths are unable to see the logic in the concept of ‘Deen’ so instead of coining a separate word for ‘Deen’ have intermingled it with religion.
Thus broadly speaking the difference between deen and religion lies in the very concept for the frame of reference of both is different. Religion is an individual matter, but deen is a collective matter. Religion is specifically focused on rights of Allah, the One God who has no partners are associates attached to Him. In fact, center of religion is ALLAH and its worship, but center of Islam as a Deen is HUMAN being. So, deen  has a broader canvas then religion. What differentiates Islam from other religions is:
  • Islam has its own unique economic system which in neither capitalistic nor communistic. Unlike modern interest based banking system, Islam promotes “ishteraak”. This thought can put an end to the on and off wars between the two ideologies and frequent economic recession.
  • Similarly, Islam also provides complete guidelines on governance and administration. it provides a system of governance which is in mid of monarchy and democracy, eliminating flaws of both systems and adding some of unique Islamic concepts. Clear guidelines on public administration. It even teaches about rules of war ! how to treat non combatants, military strategies.
  • Unlike system of west which is based on “Freedom”. Islam gives a social system based on “brother hood“. The social solidarity is a necessary component for health and evolution of a society and Islam emphasizes on social solidarity in form of concept of brother hood. Where individual actions can have a collective effect.
  • Since, the epicenter of Deen is human, the Deen guides about existence of other religions under its dominance. And these guidelines are not hypothetical. In fact, there demonstration was shown by prophet Muhammad (s.a.w) and the rightly guided caliphs in state of Madina. Concept of jizya tells a peaceful co-existence of multiple religions under a greater dominant system Islam as a deen.
In fact today when Islam is characterized as a religion it seems as if it is just one of the other religions of the world. Even some modern educated Muslims also think that Islam is only a religion just like other religions. This limited approach about Islam has led to a wrong conclusion that Islam is merely a religion in its restricted sense. Moreover, many Muslims are of the view that all religions are good and there is nothing wrong if people of other religions do not embrace Islam. This concept has been rejected by the Holy Quran in unequivocal terms in the followings verses:
  • Islam is the only right way of life in the sight of Allah.
  • And whosoever adopts any other way except Islam that shall not be accepted from him and in the Hereafter he shall be among the losers.
Defining Deen, Wikipedia accepts that there is no exact English translation of the term, its precise definition has been the subject of some misunderstanding and disagreement. For instance, the term is often translated in parts of the Qur'an as "religion". However, in the Qur'an itself, the act of submission to God is always referred to as Dīn rather than as Madhhab (مذهب), which is the Arabic word for "religion." It adds that the well-known Islamic scholar, Fazlur Rahman Malik, suggested that Dīn is best considered as "the way-to-be-followed". In that interpretation, Dīn is the exact correlate of Shari'a: "whereas Shari'a is the ordaining of the Way and its proper subject is God, Dīn is the following of that Way, and its subject is man". Thus, "if we abstract from the Divine and the human points of reference, Shari'a and Dīn would be identical as far as the 'Way' and its content are concerned"

Having given the meaning of Deen in a layman's language, let us now turn to its interpretation by the scholar. While interpreting the above mentioned verse  13 of the Surah Ash Shura, Sayyid Abul Ala Maududi explains. However due to difficulty understanding the trued concept of the meaning and explanation of Deen, you may have to read the explanation given below a number of times to fully grasp and comprehend the concept of Deen:
It clearly states that Muhammad (peace be upon him) is not the founder of any new religion, nor was any of the Prophets a founder of a separate religion, but it has been one and the same religion which all the Prophets have been presenting from Allah from the very beginning, and the same is being presented by Muhammad (peace be upon him). In this regard, the first name mentioned is of the Prophet Noah (peace be upon him), who was the first Prophet after the Flood. After him the Holy Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) has been mentioned, who is the last of the Prophets; then the Prophet Abraham (peace be upon him) has been mentioned, whom the Arabs acknowledged as their guide, and last of all, the Prophets Moses and Jesus (peace be upon them) have been mentioned to whom the Jews and the Christians attribute their religions. This does not mean that only these five Prophets had been enjoined this religion, but what is meant to be said is that all the Prophets who came to this world, brought one and the same religion and the names of the five illustrious Prophets have been mentioned only as examples through whom the world received the most well known codes of divine law.
As this verse throws important light on Deen (religion) and its aim, it is necessary that we should study it to understand it well.
Lexically, the word sharaa in sharaa lakum (ordained for you) means to make the way. As a term it implies appointing a way, a code and a rule. Accordingly, in Arabic the words tashri and shariat and shari are understood as the synonyms of legislation and law and law giver respectively. This divine legislation, in fact, is the natural and logical result of the fundamental truths which have been stated in( verses l, 9 and 10) above: that Allah alone is the Owner of everything in the Universe, and He alone is man’s real Guardian and it is for Him to judge the disputes that arise between human beings. Now, when Allah alone is the Owner and Guardian and Ruler, inevitably He alone is entitled to make the code of law for man and it is His responsibility that He should give this code of law to man. So, He has carried out His responsibility like this.
Then the words min-ad-deen (of the nature of deen) denote that the way appointed by Allah is legislation pertaining to deen.
The Arabic word deen contains several meanings: (1) Domination and sovereignty, rule and political power and authority to enforce one’s decisions on others. (2) Obedience, compliance with commands and servitude. (3) The practice and the way that a man follows. In view of these three meanings, deen in this verse means: The way of life and attitude which a man adopts after acknowledging the supremacy and accepting the obedience of another; and to worship Allah making one’s religion exclusively His. This means that one should refrain from combining another’s worship with the worship of Allah, but should worship Allah alone, should follow His guidance alone, and should comply with His commands and injunctions only. 
If the explanation of the word deen given above is kept in view, there can be no difficulty in understanding that deen means nothing but acknowledging the sovereignty and leadership of someone and obeying his commands. And when this word is used in the meaning of the way, it implies the way which man must regard as obligatory for himself to follow and the one appointing it as the one whom he ought to obey. On this basis, calling God-appointed Way as legislation pertaining to deen clearly means that it is not merely recommendatory in nature or a mere counsel, but it is a law enjoined by the Master, which must necessarily be obeyed by the servants and disobedience of which is tantamount to rebellion, and the one who does not obey it, in fact, denies Allah’s being the Sovereign and Ruler and his own position of a servant.
Then, it has been said that this legislation which pertains to deen is the same as was enjoined on Noah. Abraham and Moses and the same now has been enjoined on Muhammad (peace be upon them all). This contains several points:
  • (1) That Allah did not send this legislation of His directly to every man, but appointed whenever He deemed proper and necessary a person as His Messenger and consigned the legislation w him.
  • (2) That this legislation has been the same from the beginning. It did not so happen that in one age one particular deen was appointed for a nation, and in another age another and contradictory deen was sent for another nation. Allah did not send many deens but on every occasion He sent one and the same deen.
  • (3) That it is an essential part of this deen to acknowledge the apostleship of those men through whom the legislation has been sent and the revelation in which the legislation has been couched, besides acknowledging the Sovereignty of Allah; and it is the demand of reason and logic too, that it should be a necessary part of it, for a man cannot obey this legislation at all unless he is satisfied that it is authentically from Allah.
Then it has been said that the Prophets were given this legislation pertaining to deen, with the express instruction: Aqim-ud-din; “Establish this Deen”, or “Keep this Deen established.” Both these translations are correct, for iqamat means both to establish and to keep established, and the Prophets were appointed to perform both the functions. Their first duty was to establish this Deen wherever it was not established, and the second that they should keep it established after they had established it, or had found it already established in a place. Obviously, a thing can be kept established only when it has already been established, otherwise the primary requirement would be to establish it first, and then make continuous effort to keep it established.

Here, two questions arise: First, what is the meaning of establishing the deen? Second, what is deen itself, which we have been enjoined to establish and then keep it established? Let us try to understand these questions well.
  • The word iqamat (to establish) when used in respect of a material or physical object implies causing it to rise from the sitting or lying positions or assembling the scattered parts of a thing and raising it up high. But when iqamat is used in respect of a thing which is not material but spiritual in nature, it does not merely imply preaching it, but also acting according to it as best as one can, introducing it and enforcing it practically. For example, when we say that so and so established his rule, it does not mean that he invited others to his government but that he subdued the people of the land and organized the different departments of the government in a way that the administration of the country began to function according to his orders. Similarly, when we say that courts have been established in the country, it means that judges have been appointed to do justice and they ate hearing the cases and giving judgments, and not that hymns in praise of justice are being sung and the people being impressed. Likewise, when the Quran enjoins the establishment of the Prayer (Salat), it does not imply that one should merely preach and exhort others to the Prayer but that one should not only perform it himself, observing all its conditions, but should also strive to make arrangement so that it becomes a regular practice among the believers. There should be mosques, there should be arrangements for offering the Prayer collectively and for the Friday congregational Prayer, and for making calls to the Prayer punctually. There should be the Imams to lead the Prayers and the scholars to give sermons, and the people should visit the mosques regularly and punctually and make offering the Prayer an essential part of their daily routine. After this explanation, there should remain no difficulty in understanding that when the Prophets were enjoined to establish the deen and to keep it established, it did not simply mean that they should practice it themselves and not only that they should preach it to others so that the people may accept its truth, but also that when the people have accepted it, steps should be taken to introduce and enforce the entire deen practically among them so that they may start living according to it forever afterwards. No doubt preaching is the primary necessary stage of this work without which there can be no second stage, but every intelligent person can himself see that in this command preaching has not been made the object, but the real object is to establish the deen and keep it established. Preaching is certainly a means to the end but not the end in itself, but nobody can say that it was the only and foremost object of the mission of the Prophets.
Now, let us take the second question. When some people saw that the Deen which has been enjoined to be established is common among all the Prophets, and their shariahs (laws) have been different, as Allah Himself says: We appointed for each community among you a law and a way of life, they formed the view that inevitably this deen did not imply the shariah commandments, rules and regulations but only the acceptance of Tauhid, the Hereafter and the Book and the Prophethood and performance of certain acts of devotion to Allah, or at the most, it included some of the major moral principles which have been common to all the shariahs. But this is a superficial view, which has been formed after having a cursory glance over the unity of religion and the difference of the shariahs. This is, however, a dangerous view, which if not corrected in time, may well lead to the separation between deen (religion) and shariahs (law). It was this very view in, which St. Paul was involved, who presented the doctrine of the deen (religion) without shariah (law), and corrupted the community of the Prophet Jesus (peace be upon him). For, if shariah (law) is something separate from deen (religion) and the command is only for establishing the deen and not the shariah, inevitably the Muslims also, like the Christians, would regard the shariah as unimportant and overlook its establishment as not being the real object by itself, and would remain content with only beliefs and a few important moral principles. Instead of determining the meaning of deen from such speculations, let us turn to the Quran itself and see whether the deen which we have been enjoined here to establish implies the beliefs and a few important moral principles only, or the shariah values and commandments as well. When we explore the Quran we find that what it regards as deen includes the following things as well:
  • (1) And the only command they were given was to worship Allah, making their deen sincerely His, turning all their attention towards Him, and to establish the Salat and to pay the Zakat, this alone is the true and right deen. (Surah Al-Bayyinah, Ayat 5). This shows that the Salat and the Zakat are included in this deen, whereas the commandments pertaining to both have been different in the different shariahs. No one can say that in all the previous shariahs the Salat has had the same form, the same elements, the same number of the rakahs, the same direction of the qiblah, the same times and the same other commands concerning it. Likewise, no one can claim also about the Zakat that in all the shariahs the same has been the exemption limits, the same rates and the same injunctions concerning its collection and distribution. But in spite of the difference of the shariahs, Allah has regarded both these as part of deen.
  • (2) You are forbidden carrion and blood, the flesh of swine and of that animal which has been slaughtered in any name other than of Allah, and of the strangled animal, and of that beaten to death or killed by a fall or gored to death or mangled by a beast of prey, save of that you duly slaughtered while it was still alive, and of that which is slaughtered at (ungodly) shrines. It is also unlawful for you to try to find your fortune by means of divining devices, for all these things are sinful acts. Today the disbelievers have despaired of (vanquishing) your religion; therefore do not fear them but fear Me. Today I have perfected your deen for you and completed My blessing on you and approved Islam as the deen (way of life) for you. (Surah Al-Maidah, Ayat 3). This shows that all these shariah commandments are also deen.
  • (3) Fight with those from among the people of the Book, who do not believe in Allah nor in the Last Day; who do not make unlawful what Allah and His Messenger have made unlawful, and do not adopt the right deen as their deen. (Surah At-Taubah, Ayat 29). This shows that besides belief in Allah and the Hereafter it is also deen to accept and follow the commands about the lawful and the unlawful, which have been given by Allah and His Messenger.
  • (4) The woman and the man guilty of fornication, flog each one of them with a hundred stripes, and let not any pity for them restrain you in regard to a matter prescribed in the deen of Allah, if you believe in Allah and the Last Day. (Surah An-Noor, Ayat 2). It did not behoove Joseph to seize his brother by the king’s deen. (Surah Yousuf, Ayat 76). This shows that the criminal law is also deen. If a man follows the criminal law prescribed by God, he is a follower of God’s deen and if he follows a king’s law, he is a follower of the king’s deen.
These are the four specimens in which the shariah commandments have been described as deen in clear words. But, besides these, a careful study shows that the eradication of the sins for which Allah has held out the threat of Hell (e.g. adultery, taking of interest, killing of a believer, consuming the property of the orphan, taking possession of the other peoples properties in unlawful ways etc.), and the crimes which become the cause of God’s torment, e.g. sodomy (the act of Prophet Lot’s people) and dishonesty in business dealings (as practiced by the Prophet Shuaib’s people) should necessarily be included in deen, for if deen cannot save one from Hell and Allah’s torment, what use could it be? Likewise, those shariah commandments also should be part of the deen, violation of which has been regarded as cause of entry into the Fire, e.g. injunctions relating to inheritance, after stating which it has been said: And whoever disobeys Allah and His Messenger and transgresses the limits prescribed by Him, Allah will cast him into the Fire wherein he will have a disgraceful torment. (Surah An-Nisa, Ayat 14). Likewise, the prohibition of those things whose prohibition Allah has mentioned with great emphasis and absoluteness, e.g. prohibition of the mother, sister and daughter and prohibition of wine, theft, gambling, false evidence, etc. if not included in the establishment of the deen, it would mean that Allah has given some unnecessary commands also, which are not meant to be introduced and enforced. Similarly, establishing those things which Allah has made obligatory, e.g. fasting and pilgrimage, cannot be excluded from the establishment of deen only on the pretext that the entire month of fasting of Ramadan had not been enjoined in the previous shariahs, and pilgrimage to the Kabah was enjoined only in the Shariah which was inherited by the Ishmaelite branch of the Prophet Abraham’s progeny.

As a matter of fact, the misunderstanding was caused only because the verse: We appointed for each community among you a law and a way of life, has been misconstrued to mean that since the shariah appointed for every community was separate and the command given was only to establish the deen (way of life) which was common to all the Prophets, the establishment of the shariah was not included in the establishment of the deen, whereas the real meaning of this verse is just the opposite of it. If the context(verses 41-50)in which this verse has occurred in Surah Al- Maidah is studied carefully, it will be seen that the correct meaning of this verse is: Whatever shariah was given by Allah to the community of a Prophet, was the deen for that community, and the establishment of the same deen was the object during his Prophethood. And since now is the period of the Prophet Muhammad’s (peace be upon him) Prophethood, the shariah which has been given to the Ummah of Muhammad (peace be upon him) is the deen of this time, and to establish the same is to establish the deen. As for the difference of the shariah, it does not mean that the shariahs sent by God were mutually contradictory, but it means that in their details there have been some differences owing to the different environments, take, for instance, the Prayer and the Fast. The Prayer has been obligatory in all the shariahs, but the qiblah of all the shariahs was not the same, and there was a difference in its times and rakahs and elements as well. Likewise, the Fast was obligatory in every shariah, but the month long fasting of Ramadan was not there in the other shariahs. From this it is not correct to conclude that the Prayer and the Fast as such are included in the establishment of deen but performing the Prayer in a particular way and observing the Fast at a particular time is excluded from it. However, the correct conclusion that one can draw is: To perform the Prayer and observe the Fast according to the rules and procedures that had been appointed for the people in the shariah of every Prophet amounted to establishment of deen in his time. In the present age the establishment of the deen is that these acts of worship be performed according to the procedures enjoined in the Shariah of the Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him). The same is true about all other Shariah commandments as well.

Whoever studies the Quran carefully will see that this Book does not envisage that its adherents will live as subjects of the disbelievers and will pass a religious life under them, but it openly proclaims that it will have its own rule established; it demands from its followers that they should struggle with their lives for the intellectual, cultural, legal and political supremacy of the true faith; and it gives them a program for the reformation of human life, the major part of which can be acted upon only when political power and authority is in the believers’ hand. As stated by itself, the object of this Book’s being sent down is: We have sent down this Book to you with the truth so that you may judge between the people in accordance with the light that Allah has shown you. (Surah An-Nisa, Ayat 105). The Commandments given in this Book about the collection and distribution of the Zakat expressly envisage a government who should be responsible for collecting the Zakat and distributing it among the deserving people according to a laid down procedure. (Surah At-Taubah, Ayats 60,103). The prohibition of interest that has been enjoined in this Book and the declaration of war that has been made against those who do not abstain from taking interest (Surah Al-Baqarah, Ayats 275-279) can be enforced only when the political and economic system of the country is entirely in the believers’ hand. The Law of Retribution for murder (Surah Al-Baqarah, Ayat 178), cutting off of the hand for theft (Surah AI-Maidah, Ayat 38) and carrying out of the prescribed punishment for adultery and calumny (Surah An-Noor, Ayat 2-4) have not been enjoined on the assumption that the believers will remain subject to the police and courts of the disbelievers. The command to fight the disbelievers (Surah Al-Baqarah, Ayats 190,216) has not been given with the idea that the followers of this deen will carry out this command by getting enlisted in the army of disbelief. The command to take Jizyah from the followers of the former Books (Surah At-Taubah, Ayat 29) has not been given on the assumption that the Muslims will take Jizyah from them while being their subjects and will be responsible for their protection. And this thing is not true only about the Madinite Surahs; in the Makkan Surahs as well a discerning eye can clearly see that the scheme envisaged from the very beginning was of Islam’s supremacy and dominance and not of Islam’s and the Muslims’ subjugation under an un-Islamic rule. See, for instance, (Surah Bani Israil, Ayats 76-89); (Surah Al-Qasas, Ayats 85-86); (Surah Ar-Room, Ayats 1-6); (Surah As-Saaffat, Ayats 171-179); Surah Suad(Ayat 11).

Above all, this misinterpretation clashes with the great work that the Prophet (peace be upon him) himself accomplished during the 23 years of his Prophethood. Who can deny the fact that he subdued entire Arabia by means of both preaching and the sword and established in it a full fledged system of government with a detailed law, covering all aspects of life, from beliefs and rites of worship to personal conduct, collective morality, culture and civilization, economic and social life, politics and judiciary, peace and war. If this entire work of the Prophet (peace be upon him) is not accepted as a commentary of the command of iqamat deen (establishment of deen) which, according to this verse, he had been enjoined to undertake like all other Prophets, then it could have one of the two meanings: That earlier, God forbid, the Prophet (peace be upon him) should be blamed that he had been appointed only to preach and teach beliefs and a few important moral rules but he exceeded his mandate and established a government of his own whim and laid down a code of law, which was different from the common law of the Prophets as well as in excess of it; or that Allah should be blamed that after having made the above mentioned declaration in Surah Ash-Shura. He went back on His own word, and made His last Prophet do something which was not only much over and about and different from the objective of iqamat deen as stated in this Surah, but on the completion of this mission He also made this declaration, contrary to His first declaration: Today I have perfected your deen for you. (Surah Al-Maidah, Ayat 3). May Allah keep us safe from this! Apart from these two, if there is any third alternative, which makes this interpretation of iqamat deen plausible and also does not lay any blame on Allah or His Messenger, we would like to know it.

After giving the command for iqamat deen, the last thing that Allah has stated in this verse is this: La tatafarraqu fihi: Do not create schisms in the deen: Be not divided in it. Creating schisms in deen implies that one should introduce something new in religion for which there exists no sound basis, and then should insist that belief and unbelief depend on the acceptance of the innovation, and should separate along with those who have accepted it from those who have not accepted it. This new thing can be of several kinds:
  • (1) To introduce something entirely new into deen.
  • (2) To exclude from deen something which actually belonged to it.
  • (3) To tamper with the fundamentals of deen by misinterpretations and introduce new beliefs and novel practices.
  • (4) To distort the deen by making changes of fundamental nature in it, for example, by reducing what was important in it to un-important, by raising what was at most permissible to the position of imperative and obligatory, even to the position of the most fundamental pillar of Islam. Owing to such innovations, divisions first appeared in the communities of the Prophets; then gradually the creeds of the sects developed into wholly separate and mutually exclusive religious systems whose followers now do not have any idea that once they all belonged to one and the same origin. These divisions have nothing to do with the permissible and reasonable difference of opinion which naturally takes place among the scholars when they are engaged in understanding and studying the injunctions and fundamentals of the deen for the purpose of deriving and extracting points of law, and for which there is room in the words of the Book of Allah itself owing to the considerations of lexicon, idiom and rules of grammar. (For a detailed discussion of this subject, see( Surah Al-Baqarah, Ayat 213); (Surah Aal-Imran, Ayats 19, 50); (Surah An-Nisa, Ayat 171); (Surah Al-Maidah, Ayat 77); (Surah Al-Anaam, Ayat 159); (Surah An-Nahl, Ayats 118-124); (Surah Al- Anbiya, Ayats 92-93); (Surah Al-Hajj, Ayat 67); (Surah Al- Muminun, Ayats 53-54); (Surah Al-Qasas, Ayat 53); (Surah Ar Room, Ayat 32).
In the end of the verse it is said: You are presenting the clear highway of religion before them but the foolish people, instead of appreciating the blessing, are becoming annoyed over it. But even among them there are the people of their own tribe, who are turning to Allah and Allah also is drawing them closer to Himself. But one should understand that Allah’s bestowal of His blessings is not blind. He draws only him towards Himself who is inclined to be drawn and not him who runs away from Him.

May Allah help us understand our Deen clearly and differentiate it from other religions.

You may refer to our post "114 Chapters (Sūrahs) of the Holy Qur'an" for translation, meaning and summary / exegesis of other chapters (Though not complete but building up from 30th Part backwards for chapters in 30th Part are shorter and easier to understand). 

Photo | References: | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 |
An effort has been made to gather explanation / exegesis of the surahs of the Holy Qur'an from authentic souses and then present a least possible condensed explanation of the surah. However, the exegesis of the chapters of the Holy Quran are basically based on the "Tafhim al-Qur'an - The Meaning of the Qur'an" by one of the most enlightened scholars of the Muslim World Sayyid Abul Ala Maududi. In addition the references of  other sources which have been explored have also been given above. Those desirous of detailed explanations and tafsir (exegesis), may refer to these sites. 

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Sunday 20 January 2019

Concept of Tawheed in Islam- The Oneness of Allah


Faith in oneness of Allah is the foremost pillar of Islam. Although all Divine religions since the Prophet Adam (peace be upon him) have revolved round the concept of oneness of Allah, there seems to have been some deviation in the concept of belief regarding God in Christianity. The concept of Trinity negates the very concept of oneness of Allah and divide the concept of God into three. Islam and followers of Old Testament (Torah) however strongly believe in oneness of one trued God, called in Arabic: Allah.

Thus the basic “doctrine of Oneness” (of Allah) is Islam’s most fundamental concept of Islam, called Tawheed. Surah Al Ikhlas, the 112th chapter of the Holy Qur'an clearly spells out the Declaration of Oneness of Allah, clearly dispelling any notion of Him being begotten or born:
Say (O'Muhammad), “He is Allah, (the) One (Ahad - In Arabic Ahad means One).   Allah, the Absolute.   He begets not, nor was He begotten;And there is none co-equal or comparable unto Him.”

The above surah lays down the foundation of the concept of absolute monotheism and dispels any notion of there being any equal or comparable to Allah and amply clarifies there is only Allah, like the God of Jews. But not like the God of Christians which also shares the title with two other. This, however, does not mean that the three leading religions of Jews, Christians and Muslims worship a different God , because all religions believe in One True God, though with passage of time the term has assumed different meanings due to distortions and man made beliefs and interpretations. We Muslims thus believe that there is no plurality of gods, as the polytheist society of Makkah believed before the advent of Islam.

It also negates the claims of the pagans of Makkah that angels are the off springs of Allah. The surah clearly states that Allah is far above being the progeny of anybody or having any offspring. Thus He has no son or father. He is eternal ,without beginning or end. He is such a unique being that there is nobody like Him or equal to Him in any manner whatsoever. As for the Three in One concept, Allah clearly says in the Holy Quran:
They have certainly disbelieved who say, " Allah is the third of three." And there is no god except one God. And if they do not desist from what they are saying, there will surely afflict the disbelievers among them a painful punishment. [Surah Al-Ma'idah 5:73]
The Holy Quran thus clearly asserts the existence of a single and absolute truth that transcends the world; a unique, independent and indivisible being, who is independent of the entire creation. Allah, is a universal God, rather than a local, tribal, or parochial one for Allah is an absolute, who integrates all affirmative values and brooks no evil.

The concept of Tawheed unequivocally holds that God is One (Al-ʾAḥad) and Single (Al-Wāḥid). The Arabic term Tawheed is used to describe this belief in the absolute Oneness of God. Tawheed comes from an Arabic word meaning "unification" or "oneness"—it is a complex term with many depths of meaning in Islam. The word Tawheed is derived from the Arabic verb wahhada, which means "He made it one; or called it one". The Arabs say "Wāḥid, Ahad and Waheed," all meaning one. Allah is Waahid, meaning that He has no rivals or peers in any way. So Tawheed means knowing Allah is One, with none like unto Him. Whoever does not acknowledge Allah in these terms and does not describe Him as being One with no partner or associate does not believe in Tawheed. Almighty Allah says in the Holy Quran [Surah Al Baqarah 2:255]:
“Allah - there is no deity except Him, the Ever- Living, the Sustainer of [all] existence. Neither drowsiness overtakes Him nor sleep. To Him belongs whatever is in the heavens and whatever is on the earth. Who is it that can intercede with Him except by His permission? He knows what is [presently] before them and what will be after them, and they encompass not a thing of His knowledge except for what He wills. His Kursi (literally, a footstool) extends over the heavens and the earth, and their preservation tires Him not. And He is the Most High, the Most Great.” 
Tawheed in nutshell is analogous to the monotheistic concept of God in Judaism, as declared in the Shema Yisrael, the Jewish declaration of faith. Tawheed is also analogous to Christian Unitarianism adhered to by a minority of Christian denominations which reject a trinitarian position of God in Christianity, which is in contrast to most Christian faiths that ascribe to the Trinity (God as three persons in one being; the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit). 

Prophet Muhammad Peace be upon him) has also stressed the concept of Tawheed in Saheeh al-Bukhaari (7372) 
Narrated Ibn `Abbas: When the Prophet sent Mu`adh to Yemen, he said to him, You are going to a nation from the people of the Scripture, so let the first thing to which you will invite them, be the Tawheed of Allah. If they learn that, tell them that Allah has enjoined on them, five prayers to be offered in one day and one night. And if they pray, tell them that Allah has enjoined on them Zakat of their properties and it is to be taken from the rich among them and given to the poor. And if they agree to that, then take from them Zakat but avoid the best property of the people.
Therefore it is mandatory for all Muslims, specially the reverts, to know the concept of Tawheed and FIRMLY believe in Tawheed - To acknowledge Oneness of Allah, who is away from likeness and numeration and he is not divisible even in imagination. Allah must be recognized as The Lord or The Master and that He is so absolutely pure and above nature that nothing can be added to or subtracted from His being.

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Tuesday 20 November 2018

Christian Concept of Vicarious Atonement and Islam


Since descent of Adam and Eve from heavens to the earth, Allah has sent thousands of prophets and messengers for the guidance of the mankind and make them realize that a day would come when everything visible to the naked eye of the man will be destroyed and all dead will be resurrected to answer for their deeds. No prophet or messenger ever proclaimed that his death will save their followers from their sins as they took upon them their sins.

But in Christianity, there exists a belief called Vicarious Atonement which contends that "Jesus Christ took the place of mankind, suffering the penalty for sin." Atonement is term meaning “reconciliation” or “amends.” Vicarious means “done in place of or instead of someone else.” So, in literal terms, the Christian concept of “vicarious atonement” is that Jesus was substituted for humanity and punished for our faults in order to pay for the sins we had committed and reconcile us to God. Vicarious atonement is also referred to as “substitutionary atonement” or “penal substitution.”

This concept only exists in Christianity and no other religion ratifies this belief.




In Islam the very concept of Vicarious Atonement is alien for it means that it is Jesus and not Allah who has the right to justice. It is something that is simply not palatable. Jesus like any other prophet or messenger was a messenger of Allah, chosen to show the righteous path to his people. We in Islam believe the innocence of Prophet Eesa (Jesus Christ) and are averse to the notion that a sinless person could have been punished by All on behalf of the sins of his people.
Sin is not a tangible matter nor is it a liquid that is injectable into the body. Sin is either a thought or an action. You can’t punish crime without punishing the criminal. Sin is what a sinner does and it is the sinner who deserves the punishment. Allah doesn't punish murder, theft and fornication, rather He punishes murderers, thieves and fornicators. We shouldn't be treating sin as some type of abstract thing.
If one wants to clarify “well what we mean is that all sin must be accounted for and it was accounted for in punishing Jesus”. But Jesus was innocent and sinless according to Christian theology, hence how could he be “punished”? How could an innocent person be “punished” when the very word “punished” itself denotes that one is suffering a penalty for an offense that he committed? Innocents are not “punished”, rather they are made to suffer at times, but never “punished”. [3]

Secondly the very concept of Vicarious Atonement nullifies the concept of repentance and forgiveness. In Islam we believe that if someone commits a crimes and repents with his heart and soul, he has been assured of forgiveness by the Allah Almighty.
“Say: ‘O my Servants who have transgressed against their souls! Despair not of the Mercy of Allah: for Allah forgives all sins: for He is Oft-Forgiving, Most Merciful. Turn ye to our Lord (in repentance) and bow to His (Will), before the Penalty comes on you: after that ye shall not be helped.’” (Surah Surah Az-Zumar, 39:53-54)
Holy Qur'an which is the last revealed Divine scripture from Allah, after the Psalms, Torah and Bible, makes it very clear almost throughout the 114 surahs / chapter that Day of Resurrection is a reality, a day when all lying in graves will be raised and they would run towards the point of assembly in waves as locust to be questioned for the deeds. 

The sole purpose of cautioning man of the Day of resurrection and presenting the concept of reward and punishment is that while one lives, one must adhere to commandments of Allah and follow the righteous path. and even if one is diverted from the path subscribed by someone, the door of repentance is always open and one must seek forgiveness of Allah. But despite all guidelines if one still persists and continues to sin and involves himself in pleasures and forgets the benevolence of Allah, then fro such people there will be a day when their deeds will be presented before them and justice will be done. 

Herein under are some of the excerpts from the Holy Qur'an:
They will come out of the graves with downcast eyes like an expanding swarm of locusts. (Surah Al Qamar 54:7) 
On that day all sovereignty will belong to Allah: He will judge between them; then those who have faith and do righteous deeds will be in gardens of bliss, (Surah Al Hajj chapter 22 , verse 56) 
And fear a Day when you will be returned to Allah . Then every soul will be compensated for what it earned, and they will not be treated unjustly. ( Surah Al Baqarah, chapter 2, verse 281) 
Do not these think that they shall be raised again, for a mighty day, the day on which men shall stand before the Lord of the worlds? (Surah Al Mutaffifin 83:4-6)
Verily We shall give life to the dead, and We record all that they send before and that they leave behind, and We have taken account of all things in a clear Book [of evidence]. (Surah Ya Seen, 36:12)
And to every soul will be paid in full of its deeds, and He knows best all that they do. (Surah Az Zumar 39:70)

The above four references amply make it clear that everyone who ever lived on this earth will be resurrected and questioned for one's deeds. And those whose deeds are heavier in good, will reside in Heavens forever. But those who lived their lives on earth in earthly leisure and pleasures and disregarded the message and commandments of Allah brought to them by their prophets, who were from among them, will be the losers for their final abode be the blazing fire of hell.

Thus if someone believes that Prophet Eesa (Jesus, may peace be upon him) would take away their sins no matter what they do on this earth are certainly misled, for every person will have to appear before Allah and be presented with one's dossier as has been mentioned above, and rewarded or punished accordingly.
When the earth is shaken with her utmost shaking, and the earth casts out all the burdens from within her, and man says, "What has befallen her?" On that Day shall she relate whatever had happened (on her), for your Lord shall have commanded her (to do so). On that day, men shall turn up in sundry groups to be shown their deeds. Then, whoever has done an atom's weight of good, shall see it; and whoever has done an atom's weight of evil, shall see it. (Surah Az Zalzala (The Earthquake) 
Therefore my brothers and sisters from all faiths, prepare yourself for the day when you will be standing all alone in front of the almighty Allah and listening to your deeds. Do good now and evade evil as best as you can to have a positive and righteous dossier that would not fail you. Remember, the clock is moving very fast and one may never know when angel of death will beget one.

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Tuesday 30 October 2018

Disinformation about Islam

Everyone has the right to follow a particular faith and defend it against the opposite beliefs. But one should be honest in analyzing one's own faith and should not twist facts as a means to spread disinformation about other's faith and religions. For truth always stands tall and cannot be hidden from the audience.

Before proceeding further, let me differentiate between disinformation and misinformation: Disinformation is intentionally false or inaccurate information that is spread deliberately. It is an act of deception and false statements to convince someone of untruth. Disinformation should not be confused with misinformation, information that is unintentionally false.

I usually come across many sites maintained by Christians which in order to uphold their viewpoint on Christianity and let down the religion of Islam, take help of out of context verses from the Holy Qur'an with a view to spread disinformation not only in others' mind, but also to mislead their own Christian brethren by feeding them disinformation. Naturally the Christians will not cross check references and will believe for sure that the information given is correct and would thus remain disinformed for their lives, unless someone ventures to find the truth.

And those who find the truth, accept Islam!! 

Let me now insert here referees and disinformation as contained in one of the sites. However it may be borne in mind that the purpose here is not to refute what Bible says or what Christians believe in. The purpose here is to remove any disinformation which being felt from the sites and answer the quires in the light of information contained in the Holy Qur'an. It is up to the reader to find the truth:

Case 1
Christianity: God is One in Three Persons: Father, Son and Holy Spirit.
Islam: Allah is One; he has no Son. The Holy Spirit does not exist.
Commentary:  Yes, we in Islam firmly believe in oneness of Allah and we denounce the notion that Allah could have a son and also believe that there is no concept of the Holy spirit.  In fact this is the main difference between Islam and Christianity. If this claim is accepted as false, then the whole concept of Christianity would crumble. 
  • We Muslims do believe in the extra ordinary circumstances of the birth of Prophet Isa (Christ, peace be upon him). In fact complete chapters (Surah Aal e Imran, Surah Maryam and Surah Nuh) have been dedicated to this effect. I have already deliberated upon the extraordinary birth of Prophet Isa separately which explains in detail our view point.
  • When Maryam (Mary, mother of Isa) was asked about the birth of a baby boy when she had not been married, she pointed towards her son who said: [Eesa] said, "Indeed, I am the servant of Allah . He has given me the Scripture and made me a prophet. (Al Quran Surah Noah, 19:30) And He has made me blessed wherever I am and has enjoined upon me prayer and zakah as long as I remain alive. And [made me] dutiful to my mother, and He has not made me a wretched tyrant. (Al Quran Surah Noah, 19:31-32)
  • The above is the first answer as to the birth of Christ and acceptance of his being a prophet in his own words.
  • As for he being son of God, the Holy Qur'an explicitly explains status of Allah: "Say (O'Muhammad), He is Allah, (the) One (Ahad - In Arabic Ahad means One). Allah, the Absolute.  He begets not, nor was He begotten; And there is none co-equal or comparable unto Him.” [Chapter 112 Sūra al-Ikhlāṣ - The Declaration of Oneness of Allah]
  • and if the words of Qur'an were not true, why every year so many Christians revert to Islam - it is because they find the word of Qur'an more convincing and carrying the ultimate truth.
Case 2
Christianity: God loves all people, including Muslims. Allah and God cannot possibly be one and the same.
Islam: Allah hates apostates and blasphemers.  Allah and God are one and the same.
Commentary: From the above said comparison an impression has been given as if Christianity is all love and Islam is region that "hates" and that Allah and God cannot possibly be one and the same thing. Here is my view point as a Muslim:
  • Yes Allah is different from the Gods Christian worship. We Muslims believe that Allah is monotheist and so do all religions before Christianity believe so including the Jews. In fact including anyone in the domain of oneness of Allah is a great sin as far Islam is concerned. Thus concept of the Father, son and the Holy Ghost (which constitute God in Christianity) is simply unimaginable for Allah is not a human to have wife and son. 
  • Therefore we Muslims believe that God and only He without inclusion of any humans into His Godly domain is our God. Allah is only the Arabic translation of the word God. It may be added that in all Arabic translated Bibles, the word Allah is sued for God.
  • Yes in Islam we do renounce apostates and blasphemers, for there cannot be anyone equal to Allah nor can anyone claim to be so. 
  • Islam like all religions is a religion of peace and does not in any way propagate violence. The islamophobia is creation of the sick people who have deliberately used Muslims to be become paid mercenaries and to disturb the world peace. No Muslim, except those "conditioned" to to play in hands of the disturbers of world peace, subscribe to the idea of terrorism. 
  • The world has started to release that the terrorists like IS and Taliban are but puppets that play the tune of those who want to project Islam as violent and explosive.
Case 3
Christianity: God commands all people to love him and love one another, even their enemies.
Islam: Allah commands Muslims to “Fight them on until there is no more tumult or oppression, and there prevail justice and faith in Allah altogether and everywhere; but if they cease, verily Allah sees all that they do.” (Qur’an 8:39)
Commentary: 
  • It is interesting to find this comparison. If God commands all people to love him and love one an other, even their enemies - how come there be any enemies among Christian world if this contention is taken as true? The two World Wars were fought between Christians that ended in killing of millions, all Christians. Then why didn't the Christians obey their God?
  • Yes Allah commanded Muslims to fight when being oppressed. In the early years of Islam, Muslims in Makkah were oppressed and mocked, but there was no Divine order to fight back. And in the height of oppression, Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) decided to migrate to Medina. It was then when the pagans of Makkah came laced with sinews of war that Muslims were allowed to fight back at the Battle of Badr. 
  • Even after the Battle of Badr, those infidels who were captured were never harmed and instead were asked to teach Muslims and were then freed. This is how Muslims treat prisoners of war and not like what the Americans did at the Abu Gharib prison, where Muslims were stripped naked and were photographed - even women soldiers posed with them. How unfortunate. Is this the show of love as propagated?
  • And this did not mean always to resort to war and killing if the opposing pagans gave in. The capture of Makkah is a classic example of restraint shown on the part of the Muslims when they asked Makkans to lay down their arms and they would be safe. And the world witnessed contingents of Muslims entering city of Makkah without anyone being hurt. In fact it was announced by the Prophet of Allah that anyone who sought refuge in the house of Abu Sufyan (an arch enemy of Muslims) will be safe.
  • This is how Islam teaches tolerance, peace and patience.




Case 4
Christianity: All Biblical scripture is inspired by God and is useful to teach us what is true. Abiding by its unchanging words brings peace of mind and heart.
Islam: Jews and Christians corrupted the Bible by removing verses that foretold Muhammad’s coming and adding verses to establish Jesus’ divinity.
Commentary: The very opener of the Christian view point above accepts that all holy scriptures are inspired by God - the only God. IF God is the originator of all holy scriptures, how can there be anyone else who can be called God too?
  • If everyone abides by the teachings of Allah, as called God above, there would never been any disputes. The Jews would not have crucified the Christ and tolerated him as a prophet.
  • But instead of targeting Jews for what they did to Christ, the Christians "move forward" to target Islam for Islam denounces the concept of Trinity.
  • As for the Muslims' claim that Jes and Christians have corrupted the Bible be removing verses that foretold Prophet Muhammad's coming, this is not absolutely true. In fact we say there are signs which Christians desist to accept, which foretell the coming of a Prophet
There are several citations in the Bible prophesying the coming of Prophet Muhammad, peace be upon him. 
Isaiah 42:4 says, "He will not fail nor be discouraged, till he has established justice in the earth." The Ministry of Jesus, peace be upon him, lasted only three years and at the time of his departure from this world it could not be truthfully said that 'he established justice in the earth'. However, Prophet Muhammad, peace and blessings of God be upon him, preached for 23 years and most certainly 'established justice in the earth' before he departed from the earth. It is therefore reasonable to conclude that verses 1-13 refer to the coming of Prophet Muhammad, peace and blessings of God be upon him.
Deuteronomy 18:18 "I will raise for them a Prophet like you (Moses) from among their brethren and will put My words in his mouth, and he shall speak unto them, all that I command him."
New Testament: "15. If you love Me, keep My commandments. 16. And I will pray the Father, and He will give you another 'comforter' (helper in other versions), that he may abide with you forever." Also John 15:26-27, John 16:5-8 and John 16:12-14. 
Let us analyze the above mentions:
  • Christians believe that this is a reference to Jesus, peace be upon him. One important word here is "Prophet". Christians believe Jesus is the son of God not a prophet of God. So if they accept Jesus as a prophet, why then create an innovation and assume him to be son of God? Something very misleading and because of this dichotomy why many Christians accept the Qur'anic version of Jesus being prophet of Allah and absolutely not Allah's son.
  • Another important word is "brethren". If it were Jesus the word would have been "children" because Jesus, peace be upon him, came from the children of Isaac. Since Ishmael, peace be upon him, was the brother of Isaac, peace be upon him, the reference is therefore to the children of Prophet Ishmael, peace be upon him, who will be brethren to the children of Isaac, peace be upon him. 
  • Again the only Prophet from the brethren of the Jews and the Christians was Prophet Muhammad, peace be upon him. 
  • The next important phrase is " ... like you (Moses)". Even a cursory comparison will show us that Jesus, peace be upon him, was very unlike Prophet Moses, peace be upon him. Prophet Moses' birth was natural whereas the birth of Jesus was miraculous without a father, to a virgin, peace be upon her. Prophet Moses married and had children, Jesus did not marry and of course did not have any children. The ministry of Jesus, peace be upon him, lasted three years and did not see the laws of God establish in his time. Prophet Moses, peace be upon him, preached the law of God for many decades and saw in his time, the law of God established. Comparing Prophet Moses, peace be upon him, with Prophet Muhammad, peace and blessings of God be upon him, brings out an amazing similarity. Muhammad's birth was natural, he was married and had children; preached the law of God for 23 years and saw in his own time God's Law established in his land.
  • The phrase: "I will put My words in his mouth", takes on great significance because Prophet Muhammad, peace and blessings of God be upon him, was unlettered; he did not know how to read or write. Normally God would put the message in the Prophet's mind. In this case attention is drawn towards "words" being put into the "mouth". Prophet Muhammad's sayings as well as eye witness accounts describe his receiving the verses of the Holy Qur'an, and his tongue moving with the words being put in his mouth. [Read details of first five verses of Surah Al Alaq - the first verses ever revealed to Prophet Muhammad, peace be upon him]
Case 5
Christianity: Jesus said, “Stop judging others, and you will not be judged.” (Matthew 7:1)
Islam: Allah gives Muslims the ability and authority to judge between men. (Qur’an 4:105; 5:49)
Commentary:
  • Now this is simply absurd. The above verse of Qur'an should have been quoted in full to truly reveal its meaning intended.
  • The complete verse reads: "Indeed, We have revealed to you, [O Muhammad], the Book in truth so you may judge between the people by that which Allah has shown you. So do not dispute on behalf of the dishonest." [Surah An Nisah 105]
  • The matter of the fact is that this verse was raveled for Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) to decide the case on merit even if it entailed a decision in the favour of a non Muslim.
  • The incident involved a person called Tu'mah or Bashir ibn Ubayriq of the Banu Zafar tribe of the Ansar (Muslims of Medina). This man stole an Ansari's coat of mail. While the investigation was in progress, he put the coat of mail in the house of a Jew. Its owner approached the Prophet (peace be on him) and expressed his suspicion about Tu'mah. But Tu'mah, his kinsmen and many of the Banu Zafar colluded to ascribe the guilt to the Jew. When the Jew concerned was asked about the matter he pleaded that he was not guilty. Tu'mah's supporters, on the other hand, waged a vigorous propaganda campaign to save Tu'mah's skin. They argued that the wicked Jew, who had denied the Truth and disbelieved in God and the Prophet (peace be on him), was absolutely untrustworthy, and his statement ought to be rejected outright. 
  • It was at this point of decision that this verse was revealed to guide the Prophet (peace be on him) to judge the case on merit and not taking side of His own people. 
  • False evidence is given in order to obtain wrong verdicts. The time when this case came up for decision was a time of severe conflict between Islam and unbelief. Had the Prophet (peace be on him) issued a wrong judgment on the basis of the evidence before him, it would have provided the opponents of Islam with an effective weapon against the Prophet (peace be on him) as well as against the entire Islamic community, and even Islam itself. They could have spread the word that the Prophet (peace be on him) and his followers were not concerned about right and justice: it would have been claimed that they were guilty of the same prejudice and chauvinism against which they had themselves been preaching. It was specifically to prevent this situation that God intervened in this particular case. 
  • In this and the following verse the Muslims were strongly censured for supporting criminals for no other reason than either family or tribal solidarity and were told that they should not allow prejudice to interfere with the principle of equal justice for all. Man's instinctive honesty revolts against the idea of supporting one's own kin even when they are wrong, and denying others their legitimate rights.
Case 6
Christianity: Jews are God’s chosen people. God will never allow them to be destroyed.
Islam: Jews are descendants of apes and pigs. It is a sacred duty of Muslims to convert, enslave or murder every Jew.
Commentary:
  • Quoting reference out of context always spreads disinformation. It is no where written in the Holy Qur'an that Jews are the descendants of monkeys and apes. However an incident is quoted through a verse in the Qur'an: “….those who incurred the curse of Allah and His wrath, and those of whom He transformed into monkeys and swine, and those who worshipped Taghoot….”
  • In the above verse, there is a mention of people who were cursed by Allah because of the wrong things that they were doing. Being cursed by Allah means being deprived of His mercy. And the punishment is mentioned that they were inflicted with. They were transformed into monkeys and swine. Why were they given this punishment? We read earlier in Surah al-Baqarah, the incident of Sabbath.
  • The main business of the Jews was fishery. They were forbidden to be occupied with their business on Saturday that was chosen as their religious day. To test them in their faith, this was also the day when most fish swam in the sea. The Jews couldn't let go of this opportunity. They saw profits. Therefore, in order to take benefit  they would lay their nets on Friday night while being away for their Saturday prayers. They were not physically conducting their business, but mentally they were occupied in something other than worship. 
  • For their disobedience, Allah transformed them into monkeys. Monkeys are not actually humans, but they act like them. Similarly, a swine cannot differentiate between his need and lust. He eats everything including its children and its own filth. Thus their reward and punishment is similar to the act performed.
  • They were cursed and transformed into monkeys and swine. And what is worst? That they worshiped Taghoot  - that is anything taken as deity other than Allah.
  • Hence based on this one incident, the Jews cannot be described as descendants of apes and monkeys.
This is not the end - one can go on and on to list disinformation substance as spread by the Christians to mislead their own people about the truth which they tried to hide with deceit as mentioned above. I hope the explanations would be adequate to open the eyes of those who have wisdom and can differentiate between misinformation and disinformation, for latter is deceit intended to mislead.

Photo | References: | 1 | 2 | 3 | Compare Christianity with Islam
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