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Showing posts with label Holy Spirit. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Holy Spirit. Show all posts

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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Thursday 3 May 2018

Bible and Quran - Contradictions (The Trinity)


Awhile ago I read a Christian brother remarking that the God of Christians is different from the Allah (Arabic translation of the word God). This really amazed me as we as Muslims always believe that there is only one Allah (or God) who created this entire universe and sent a large number of prophets starting from Prophet Adam, followed by Prophets Lut, Moses, David, Jesus and finally prophet Muhammad (peace be upon them all) and also revealed His four holy books to prophets David, Moses, Jesus and Muhammad (peace be upon them all).

However  when I finally read about the Trinity, did the true meaning of a God being different from Allah dawned on me. And the genesis of this notion commences with the birth of Prophet Eesa (Jesus, peace be upon him).

The birth of Prophet Eesa (Jesus) is a unique event in the lineage of prophets and messengers of Allah. While the details of the events leading to the birth of Prophet Eesa (peace be upon him) is being shared separately in the series of posts under the prophets and messengers of Allah, here the concept of Trinity arising out of extraordinary birth of Prophet Eesa by virgin Mariam (Mary) seems to have given the concept of Trinity: The Father, the Son and the Holy spirit.

The Trinity thus becomes another contradiction between Bible and Quran. Here we present the issue as narrated in Bible and Quran.

The concept of Trinity is quite complex to understand as it embodies one God in three persons. Herein under the concept of Trinity is described in the Wikipedia with references from the Christian holy scriptures:
As per the Christian faith, the Trinity holds that God is three con-substantial persons or hypostases — the Father, the Son (Jesus Christ), and the Holy Spirit—as "one God in three Divine Persons". The three Persons are distinct, yet are one "substance, essence or nature" (homoousios). In this context, a "nature" is what one is, whereas a "person" is who one is. Sometimes differing views are referred to as nontrinitarian.
According to this central mystery of most Christian faiths, there is only one God in three Persons: while distinct from one another in their relations of origin (as the Fourth Council of the Lateran declared, "it is the Father who generates, the Son who is begotten, and the Holy Spirit who proceeds") and in their relations with one another, they are stated to be one in all else, co-equal, co-eternal and consubstantial, and each is God, whole and entire.
In many holy scriptures of Christians words to this effect appear:
"I and the Father are one.” (John 10:30) 
“Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit”—Matthew 28:19 
Luke 3:21-22 . . . when Jesus also had been baptized and was praying, the heaven was opened, [22] and the Holy Spirit descended upon him in bodily form, as a dove, and a voice came from heaven, “Thou art my beloved Son; with thee I am well pleased.” (cf. Mt 3:13-17)
Even Judaism traditionally maintains a tradition of monotheism to the exclusion of the possibility of a Trinity. In Judaism, God is understood to be the absolute one, indivisible, and incomparable being who is the ultimate cause of all existence. The idea of God as a duality or trinity is heretical — it is even considered by some polytheistic.

Contrary to the Christians belief of Trinity, Allah Almighty very categorically clarifies the notion so held:
“And (remember) when Allah will say (on the Day of Resurrection): ‘O 'Eesa (Jesus), son of Maryam (Mary)! Did you say unto men: “Worship me and my mother as two gods besides Allah?”’ He will say: ‘Glory be to You! It was not for me to say what I had no right (to say). Had I said such a thing, You would surely have known it. You know what is in my inner-self though I do not know what is in Yours, truly, You, only You, are the All-Knower of all that is hidden (and unseen).
‘Never did I say to them aught except what You (Allah) did command me to say: “Worship Allah, my Lord and your Lord.” And I was a witness over them while I dwelt among them, but when You took me up, You were the Watcher over them, and You are a Witness to all things." [Surah Al-Maa’idah 5:116-117]
As for the oneness of Allah, which is also admitted by Judaism, the Holy Quran very clearly mentions the notion of oneness of Allah, God to others:
"Say: He is Allah, the One and Only; Allah the Eternal, Absolute; He begetteth not, nor is He begotten; And there is none like unto Him." (Sura Al Ikhlas 112-1-4)
The above verses from Holy Quran clearly maintains that Allah neither begetteth not, nor is He begotten, negating the very notion that Prophet Jesus is son of Allah.

In Islam, Allah (God for all followers of heavenly religions), the ONENESS of Allah the Almighty takes precedence over everything. Therefore ascribing someone equal to or as partner of Allah is the greatest of all sins, called Shirk in Arabic meaning taking a partner. Allah therefore on many a places in the Holy Quran has asked the Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) to forewarn the people who equate someone with Allah:
“Then do not set up rivals unto Allah (in worship) while you know (that He Alone has the right to be worshiped).” (Al-Baqarah 2:22) 
Those who say Jesus is God are disbelievers

لَقَدۡ كَفَرَ الَّذِيۡنَ قَالُوۡۤا اِنَّ اللّٰهَ هُوَ الۡمَسِيۡحُ ابۡنُ مَرۡيَمَ​ ؕ وَقَالَ الۡمَسِيۡحُ يٰبَنِىۡۤ اِسۡرَآءِيۡلَ اعۡبُدُوا اللّٰهَ رَبِّىۡ وَرَبَّكُمۡ​ ؕ اِنَّهٗ مَنۡ يُّشۡرِكۡ بِاللّٰهِ فَقَدۡ حَرَّمَ اللّٰهُ عَلَيۡهِ الۡجَـنَّةَ وَمَاۡوٰٮهُ النَّارُ​ ؕ وَمَا لِلظّٰلِمِيۡنَ مِنۡ اَنۡصَارٍ‏ 
"And surely they disbelieved when they said: 'Christ, the son of Mary, is indeed God'; whereas Christ had said: 'Children of Israel! Serve Allah, Who is your Lord and my Lord.' Allah has forbidden Paradise to those who associate anything with Him in His divinity and their refuge shall be the Fire. No one will be able to help such wrong-doers." [Al Quran Surah Al Maidah Chapter 5: 72]
Allah begins this ayah by saying, “laqad kafara” meaning certainly they have disbelieved i.e. there’s no doubt they have committed kufr. Who are these people? These are the people who say that Allah is the Messiah or God is Messiah.

They made this claim in spite of the fact that Prophet Eesa (Jesus, peace be upon him) made it known that he was the servant of Allah and His Messenger. The first words that Prophet Eesa (Jesus, peace be upon him) uttered when he was still a baby in the cradle were:

إِنِّى عَبْدُ اللَّهِ ءَاتَانِىَ الْكِتَـبَ وَجَعَلَنِى نَبِيّاً
“Verily, I am a servant of Allah, He has given me the Scripture and made me a Prophet.”  [Surah al-Mariam 19: ayah 30]

وَإِنَّ اللَّهَ رَبِّى وَرَبُّكُمْ فَاعْبُدُوهُ هَـذَا صِرَطٌ مُّسْتَقِيمٌ
“And verily Allah is my Lord and your Lord. So worship Him (Alone). That is the straight path.” [Surah Ale-Imran 3: ayah 51]

We see that Prophet Eesa (Jesus, peace be upon him) clearly conveyed the message that Allah is my Lord and your Lord, so worship Him. He didn’t claim divinity. He didn’t demand the people to worship him, but Allah. In the ayah, the term “Rabb” has been used. Rabb denotes the Owner, Sustainer, Provider, Planner, and Creator. Prophet Eesa (Jesus, peace be upon him) was not a sustainer, provider, planner or creator. He was created himself. If he was the owner of the world, he would not have faced opposition when he came.

Whoever says Allah has a partner, He has a child or there’s someone else who should be worshipped along with Allah, such a person is not going to enter paradise. His entry into Jannah is forbidden. He will be sent to the Fire. And for the wrongdoers there are no helpers. Shirk is the greatest injustice. Allah created us and we worship or obey someone else?

In this verse:

  • Allah clearly says that those people who believe in the divinity of Prophet Eesa (Jesus, peace be upon him) are not believers. The usage of “laqad” in the beginning of the ayah lays emphasis on the matter.
  • All the messengers of Allah brought the message of tawheed. They didn’t claim to worship themselves or someone other than Allah subhanahu wa ta’ala.
  • Prophet Eesa (Jesus, peace be upon him) has no share in “uloowiya” of Allah meaning he doesn’t deserve worship. He called himself Abdullah, a slave of Allah. Slaves are not worshipped.
  • If Prophet Eesa (Jesus, peace be upon him) doesn’t have divinity then the same rule applies to other messengers and pious people. If a Prophet of Allah doesn’t deserve worship then what about those lesser than him? Why do people go to graves and pray for intercession? Why do people prostrate graves, scholars or pious people?
  • Anyone who commits shirk will not enter Jannah. He will become the fuel for HellFire. Allah says in Surah an-Nisa Ayah 116, “Indeed, Allah does not forgive that you associate partners with Him, but He forgives other than that for whom He wills. And whoever associates partners with Allah, then surely he has lost the way, straying far away.”

It is recorded in the saheeh that the Prophet Muhammad (peace peace be upon him) had someone proclaim to the people,

إِنَّ الْجَنَّةَ لَا يَدْخُلُهَا إِلَّا نَفْسٌ مُسْلِمَة
“Only a Muslim soul shall enter Paradise.” Does that mean someone who claims to be Muslim only he will enter Paradise? No. But:

مُؤْمِنَة
Only a believing soul shall enter Jannah. This believing soul is a Muslim with the right faith and righteous deeds. This includes believers from the time of Prophet Musa (Moses, peace be upon him) and Eesa (Jesus, peace be upon him). As long as anyone followed his messenger correctly he was on the right path. A Muslim is the one who submits to Allah and worships Him alone.

It is a mercy of Allah subhanahu wa ta’ala that He is informing us beforehand that these actions will lead to the HellFire. It is our responsibility to go out to the people who take Eesa to be Allah, those who worship graves, or those who prostrate to scholars and inform them that this is shirk. These actions will make them fuel for fire. If we don’t tell them then we are concealing the truth.

To quote from the very books of Christians, here are References:
Matt. iv. 10, where Christ rebukes Satan for desiring the worship of other than Allah: John xx. 17, where Christ says to Mary Magdalene, "Go unto my brethren, and say unto them, I ascend unto my Father and your Father; and to my God and your God." Cf. also Luke xviii. 19, where Christ rebukes a certain ruler for calling him Good Master: "Why callest thou me good? None is good, save One, that is, Allah." In Mark xii. 25 Jesus says: "The first of all the commandments is, Hear O Israel; the Lord our God is One Lord."

The verse 73 of Surah Al Maidah Chapter below strictly rejects the doctrine of Trinity:
( 73 )   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.
People who say Allah is one of three gods are committing kufr [disbelieve]. According to one belief, the other two gods are Prophet Eesa (Jesus, peace be upon him) and his mother Lady Mariam. And according to another belief, the other two gods are Prophet Eesa (Jesus, peace be upon him) and the Holy Spirit i.e. angel Jibreel ‘alayhi salaam.

The concept of Trinity is a much later fabrication in the Christianity and is utter false fabrication. If they die upon this then nothing can save them from the painful torment in the Hereafter.

In Surah al-Anbiya 21: Ayah 22, Allah says, “Had there been within the heavens and earth gods besides Allah, they both would have been ruined. So exalted is Allah, Lord of the Throne, above what they describe.”

The system of the earth, in itself asserts that there is only One God. Surah al-Muminoon 23: Ayah 91 says, “Allah has not taken any son, nor has there ever been with Him any deity. (If there had been), then each deity would have taken what it created, and some of them would have sought to overcome others. Exalted is Allah above what they describe (concerning Him).” All these verses point towards one direction only: – Allah is the only God.

Therefore we as Muslims do not subscribe to the concept of Trinity nor take Prophet Jesus as son of Allah for Allah is far above these worldly relations. And believe in absolute oneness of Allah and believe that Prophet Jesus (peace be upon him) was a man just like others who was born naturally to his mother Mary, though in peculiar circumstances, and was a prophet of Allah, just like the complete lineage of prophets from Adm till Muhammad (may peace be upon them all).

You may like to watch a enlightening video by Dr Zakir A Naik, the prominent Muslim scholar on the subject of Trinity:

References: Surah Al Maidah [Part III] | Surah As Samad Chapter 112 |
If you like Islam: My Ultimate Decision, and to keep yourself updated on all our latest posts to know more about Islam, follow us on Facebook

Please share this page to your friends and family members through Facebook, WhatsApp or any means on Social Media so that they can also be benefited by it and better understand Islam and the Holy Qur'an - Insha Allah (Allah Willing) you shall be blessed with the best of both worlds.

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