Do Muslims worship the same God as Christians?
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Monotheism, polytheism & pantheism
Polytheism:
belief in a multiplicity or pantheon of gods, varying in power, but who are
distinct from the rest of creation.
Pantheism:
belief that God is not a distinct personality, but the sum of everything i.e.
similar to “the Force” of Star Wars. According to this we are all part of God.
Monotheism:
belief in a single Creator God, who is distinct from His creation. The three
great monotheistic religions are Christianity, Judaism & Islam.
Christianity & Judaism are related in that they both believe in Yahweh as the Creator God. Both faiths accept the Old Testament (Mosaic Covenant) writings, but Christians accept Jesus as the fulfilment of the Messianic prophecies who instituted a New Covenant (Testament) with its associated writings. Judaism still looks for a Messiah in the future.
Is Islam related to
Judaism & Christianity?
On surface value, Islam appears to share common roots with Judaism & Christianity. Islam believes in a single, personal Creator God. It too is an Abrahamic religion and honours Adam, Noah, Moses, Abraham, Solomon & Jesus as prophets. Islam also claims to accept the Old & New Testament writings and looks forward to the return of Jesus (Isa) to judge the earth. In reality Islam is a combination of Arabian paganism (worship of the moon god Allah) and Ebionism, [1] a 2nd century Christian heresy.
Isaac & Ishmael
Isaac & Ishmael were brothers. God promised Abraham to bless Ishmael but made it clear that Isaac was the son of the covenant:
Gen
17:18-21 And Abraham said to God, “If only Ishmael might live under your
blessing!”
Then God said, “Yes, but your wife Sarah will bear you a son, and you will call
him Isaac. I will establish my covenant with him as an everlasting covenant for
his descendants after him. And as for Ishmael, I have heard you: I will surely
bless him; I will make him fruitful and will greatly increase his numbers. He
will be the father of twelve rulers, and I will make him into a great nation.
But my covenant I will establish with Isaac, whom Sarah will bear to you by
this time next year.”
Abraham’s seed reckoned
through Isaac
Gen
21:8-13 … on the day Isaac was weaned Abraham held a great feast. But Sarah saw
that the son whom Hagar the Egyptian had borne to Abraham was mocking, and she
said to Abraham, “Get rid of that slave woman and her son, for that slave
woman’s son will never share in the inheritance with my son Isaac.”
The matter distressed Abraham greatly because it concerned his son. But God
said to him, “Do not be so distressed about the boy and your maidservant.
Listen to whatever Sarah tells you, because it is through Isaac that your
offspring [2]
will be reckoned. I will make the son of the maidservant into a nation also,
because he is your offspring.”
Before his birth, Ishmael’s Egyptian mother Hagar was told prophetically by the angel of the LORD that Ishmael's descendant would live in hostility with his brothers. We see this fulfilled today with the hostility between the Arabs (Ishmael’s descendants) and Jews (Isaac’s descendants).
“You
….will have a son. You shall name him Ishmael, for the LORD has heard of your
misery. He will be a wild donkey of a man; his hand will be against everyone
and everyone’s hand against him, and he will live in hostility toward all his
brothers.” (Gen 16:11-12)
Gen
25:17-18 Altogether, Ishmael lived a hundred and thirty-seven years … His
descendants … lived in hostility toward all their brothers.
Hagar & Sarah
Gal
4:22-31 For it is written that Abraham had two sons, one by the slave woman and
the other by the free woman. His son by the slave woman was born in the
ordinary way; but his son by the free woman was born as the result of a
promise. These things may be taken figuratively, for the women represent two
covenants. One covenant is from
Isaac & Ishmael
In Genesis we learn how Abraham was commanded to sacrifice Isaac, the son of the covenant. While some Muslims claim that Ishmael was the son that Abraham was commanded to sacrifice, actually the Quran is silent about this. As the Arabs are descended from Ishmael, this is simply wishful thinking on their part.
Even Muslims are divided on this. Al-Tabari, considered to be one of the premiere Islamic historians, lists the divergent views held amongst the Muslim umma (community) in regards to this very issue: “The earliest sages of our Prophet's nation disagree about which of Abraham's two sons it was that he was commanded to sacrifice. Some say it was Isaac, while others say it was Ishmael … only the Quran could serve as proof that the account naming Isaac is clearly the more truthful of the two.” [3]
The Dome of the Rock is
built on
Some
time later God tested Abraham. He said to him, “Abraham!”
“Here I am,” he replied.
Then God said, “Take your son, your only son, Isaac, whom you love, and go to
the region of Moriah. Sacrifice him there as a burnt offering on one of the
mountains I will tell you about.” (Genesis 22:1-2)
By
faith Abraham, when God tested him, offered Isaac as a sacrifice. He who had
received the promises was about to sacrifice his one and only son. (Hebrews
11:17)
Was
not our ancestor Abraham considered righteous for what he did when he offered
his son Isaac on the altar? (James 2:21)
Some Muslims on the other hand feel that Ishmael was the one offered up by Abraham. They believe that the Bible supports this by its declaration that Abraham offered his “only” son. Ishmael was Abraham's only son for over 13 years, which would make it impossible for Isaac to be the child of sacrifice. [4] To support this view, and without any evidence, they then claim that scribes later corrupted the original reading from Ishmael to Isaac. However Genesis clearly records the event after Isaac’s birth, which renders both of these arguments invalid. Looking at the context of Heb 11:17-18 clearly shows that it was the son of the promise that is being referred to:
“By
faith Abraham, when God tested him, offered Isaac as a sacrifice. He who had
received the promises was about to sacrifice his one and only son, even though
God had said to him, ‘It is through Isaac that your offspring will be
reckoned.’”
Since this idea stems from the Muslim misunderstanding of the phrase “only son”, it becomes necessary to explain what this phrase exactly means in relation to Isaac. A careful reading of the Bible shows that the phrase is used to affirm Isaac's unique status, a status based on the following:
Isaac was the only promised child of Abraham, a fact which the Quran agrees with (cf. Genesis 17:15-21; Surah 11:69-73, 37:112-113, 51:24-30). Ishmael was never a promised child. Isaac was conceived miraculously to a barren mother and a very aged father, with the Quran likewise agreeing (cf. Genesis 17:15-17, 18:9-15, 21:1-7; Galatians 4:28-29; Surah 11:69-73, 51:24-30). Ishmael was conceived normally without the need of any miraculous intervention. [5]
The word monogenes (Greek) used of Isaac in Heb 11:17 doesn’t mean “only begotten.” It is derived from two Greek terms, monos (“only”) and genos (“class, kind”). It literally means “one of a kind” or “unique”. This is the same term applied to Jesus as being God’s “monogenes” i.e. unique son, or son of the covenant.
Muhammad
Muhammad is regarded by Muslims as the last messenger and prophet of God (Allah). He is considered to be the historical founder of the religion of Islam.
Sources on Muhammad’s life concur that he was born circa 570
AD in the city of
Muhammad gained few followers early on, and was largely met
with hostility from the tribes of
Seizures
Muhammad is reported to have mysterious seizures at the
moments of inspiration & receiving his messages. He initially had fears
that he was possessed by a jinn (demon). Welch, a scholar of Islamic studies,
in Encyclopedia of Islam states that the graphic descriptions of Muhammad's
condition at these moments may be regarded as genuine, since they are unlikely
to have been invented by later Muslims. [8]
Muhammad’s enemies accused him of being possessed, a soothsayer, or a magician
since these experiences made an impression similar to those soothsayer figures
well known in ancient
Commenting on the seizures, some modern critics have brought up what they see as evidence of psychological problems. Some specifically categorize his religious revelations as the product of these alleged problems. D.S. Margoliouth claims that there are confirmations that the strange fits that beset Muhammad while he was receiving revelation were a sign of epilepsy, and were even occasionally faked for effect. Sprenger attributes Muhammad’s revelations to epileptic fits or a “paroxysm of cataleptic insanity.” In an essay that discusses views of Muhammad's psychology, Dr. Franz Bul is said to have observed that “hysterical natures find unusual difficulty and often complete inability to distinguish the false from the true”, and to have thought this to be the “the safest way to interpret the strange inconsistencies in the life of the Prophet.” In the same essay Dr. D.B. McDonald is credited with the opinion that “fruitful investigation of the Prophet's life (should) proceed upon the assumption that he was fundamentally a pathological case.” [10]
Some of the pre-Islamic
sources for material in the Quran
According to the Quran, the disbelievers accused Muhammad or the Quran’s author of reproducing the fables of the ancients (Sura [11] 68:15 & Sura 83:13). [12] The unbelievers were right about the Quran and Islam presenting rehashed myths and ancient tales as God’s words. Some of the sources of the material in the Quran was indeed borrowed from:
Arabian
fables
Jewish
apocrypha
Christian
heretics
Borrowing from Arabian fables
A she-camel jumps from a rock
The story of the she-camel who leapt out of a rock was known long before Muhammad (Suras 7:73-77,85; 91:14; 54:29). [13]
Salih was sent as a prophet to the people of Thamud. They did not believe him, but asked him to show them a sign of his prophethood. He produced a pregnant she-camel from a rock that split open. However the people of Thamud subsequently complained that the camel drank most of their water and scared the cattle so they killed it. As punishment God then destroyed them in an earthquake. [14]
Jews descended from apes and pigs
The story of an entire village of Jews who were turned into apes because they broke the Sabbath by fishing was a popular legend in Muhammad’s day (Suras 2:65; 7:163-166). [15] They failed a test of their devotion when God tempted them with big fish that would appear in the waters only on their Sabbath day; but never on the other days of the week. [16]
The issue was the subject of an Islamic religious edict
[fatwah] made known in 
The fatwah is entitled
“The reincarnation of the sons of
“Scientific evidence” for the fatwah’s claim that the Jews
are the descendents of apes and pigs can be found in a book called “The Bomb”.
It was written by Muhammad ‘Issa Daud and published by Madbuli al-Saghir,
This anti-Semitic cartoon shown here is based on the Quran
verse stating that Allah turned the Jews into apes and pigs. The inscription
reads: “Barbaric Israeli acts against the unarmed Palestinian populace.” The
ape and the pig weep during an interview and the ape says: “I want to ask
[Israeli prime minister]
Dead birds flying
The fable of the pieces of four dead, cut-up birds getting up and flying was well known in Muhammad's time. [20] Paraphrasing Sura 2:260 Abu Sa’ad al-Babari writes, “One day he begged Allah to show him how He brought the dead back to life. Allah commanded Abraham to take four birds, cut them up and mingle their body parts, divide them into four portions and place them on top of four different hills, then call back the birds in Allah’s name. Abraham did as he was told. Immediately the mingled parts of the birds separated to join their original bodies in different places and the birds flew back to Abraham.” [21]
Borrowing from Jewish
apocrypha
Many of the stories in the Quran come from the Jewish
Talmud, the Midrash, and many apocryphal works. This was pointed out by Abraham
Geiger in 1833, and further documented by another Jewish scholar, Dr. Abraham
Katsh, of
The
story found in Sura 7:171 of God lifting up
The
fantastic tale that God made a man “die for a hundred years” with no ill
effects on his food, drink, or donkey was a Jewish fable (Sura 2:259). [24]
The
tale of Abraham being delivered from Nimrod's fire came from the Midrash Rabbah
(Suras 21:51-71; 29:16, 17; 37:97,98). [25]
The
story of the making of the golden calf in the wilderness, in which the image
jumped out of the fire fully formed and actually mooed (Suras 7:148; 20:88),
came from Pirke Rabbi Eleazer. [26]
A
story of Abraham destroying idols (As-Saffat 37) is found in a Jewish folktale,
the Midrash Rabbah. [27]
Borrowing from Christian
fables
In what is called the “Rip Van Winkle” story, seven Christian men of Ephesus and their dog, Kratim (aka Al Rakim, Katmir or Ketmir) slept for 309 years in a cave and then woke up perfectly fine (Sura 18:9-26)! This legend is found in Greek and Christian fables as well as Arabian lore. The dog subsequently became a great prophet and philosopher after its sleep. [28]
Borrowing from heretics
One of the most documented and damaging facts about the
Quran is that Muhammad used heretical “Christian” Gnostic gospels and their
fables for material in the Quran. Encyclopedia Britannica comments about
Muhammad: “The gospel was known to him chiefly through apocryphal and heretical
sources” (15:648). This has been demonstrated many times by various scholars
(Richard Bell, Tisdall and Pfander). [29]
Everything the Quran says about the life of Jesus which is not found in the
Bible can be traced to fables composed more than a hundred years after Jesus’
death. [30]
The
story of Jesus being born under a palm tree is also based on a late fable. [31]
In
Suras 3:49 and 100:110, the baby Jesus speaks from the cradle! Later on, the
Quran has Jesus making clay birds come alive. [32]
o The miracle of creating birds from clay is found in the pseudepigraphical [33] “Infancy Gospel of Thomas” (2nd – 3rd century) & the apocryphal [34] “Protoevangelium of James” (2nd - 5th century).
o The
Gospel of John tells us that the first miracle Jesus performed was at the
wedding at
Other myths
Solomon & the talking ants
At length, when they came to a valley of ants, one of the ants said: “O ye ants, get into your habitations, lest Solomon and his hosts crush you (under foot) without knowing it.”
So
he smiled, amused at her speech; and he said: “O my Lord! so order me that I
may be grateful for Thy favours, which Thou has bestowed on me and on my
parents, and that I may work the righteousness that will please Thee: And admit
me, by They Grace to the ranks of Thy Righteous Servants.” Sura An-Naml [The
Ant] (27):18-19
Ants communicate using smells, not modulation of sounds. Solomon could not have heard any talk since ants do not produce any. [35] Even though basically all communication between ants is through chemical signals, there are, however, a few subspecies of ants which do use some sound communication. But of what kind and complexity is it? [36]
The use of vibrational signals is weakly developed in ants
in comparison with communication by pheromones… Two forms of sound production
have been identified, body rapping against the substratum and stridulation, the
latter employing files and scrapers … It has long been known, thanks to the
experiments of… that ants are nearly deaf to airborne vibrations but extremely
sensitive to vibrations carried through the substratum… No evidence exists to
rank the chirps of stidulation as anything more than simple unitary signals. In
other words, ants do not ‘talk’ by modulating sound through time…
… sounds do not appear to vary within
species or within the repertory of one worker ant through time… stridulation in
ants produces a monotonous series of chirps with limited meaning. [37]
Solomon controls demons
& winds
The Quran narrates many fantastic details regarding Solomon, such as his having control over the winds and demons (jinns), speaking the language of animals, insects and birds etc. Muhammad b. al-Husayn (a Muslim commentator) relates how the devil impersonated Solomon and stole his ring from his favorite wife while Solomon was on the toilet. The devil then judged the people for 40 days. At the end of this story Solomon gets the ring back and summons the devil, who was subsequently brought to him. As punishment, the wind and the demons were made to work for Solomon on that day. [38]
Solomon’s flying carpet
The Muslim tradition says that Solomon use to travel on a carpet which was carried off by the winds! Renowned Sunni Commentator Ibn Kathir said regarding Sura 21:81, “He had a mat made of wood on which he would place all the equipment of his kingship; horses, camels, tents and troops, then he would command the wind to carry it, and he would go underneath it and it would carry him aloft, shading him and protecting him from the heat, until it reached wherever he wanted to go in the land. Then it would come down and deposit his equipment and entourage…” (Tafsir Ibn Kathir - Abridged) [39]
The Stone That Took Off Running
Allah’s
Apostle said, “(The Prophet) Moses was a shy person and used to cover his body
completely because of his extensive shyness. One of the children of
Adam was 90 feet tall
Narrated
Abu Huraira: The Prophet said, “Allah created Adam, making him 60 cubits
tall.]” Two cubits is a yard, so one cubit is a foot and a half. So for some
reason, the Prophet (peace be upon him) thought that Adam was 90 feet tall when
he was created. [41]
Narrated
Abu Huraira: Allah’s Apostle said, “The first group of people who will enter
According to J.B.S. Haldane, a British geneticist, the existence of a 90 feet (27½ metres) tall human being is physiologically impossible. [43]
No
animal body can function at this height. The highest that the heart could pump
blood from the feet would be less than 32 feet (9.81 metres); any greater
height than this would cause a vacuum lock to develop in the circulation
system. In fact the height at which the circulation system breaks down would be
considerably less than this due to friction between the blood and the walls of
the blood vessels. [44]
Dr. George Barnes, professor emeritus of physics at the
There
are quite a number of other physical characteristics that can be discussed
using scaling. For example, the cross sectional area of the leg bones obviously
scales as the square of the characteristic length while the mass of the body
supported by the legs scales as the cube. Since the bone has some ultimate
tensile strength in N/m2, there would be some limit to the height of an animal,
beyond which it would crumble under its own weight. [46]
A she-monkey stoned for adultery
In Islam, the tradition or collection of traditions attributed to the Prophet Muhammad that include his sayings, acts, and approval or disapproval of things. Hadith is revered by Muslims as a major source of religious law and moral guidance. It consists of two parts: the oral law itself and the isnad, or chain of authorities who passed it down to posterity. The various collections of Hadith provide the major source for studying the development of Islam in its first few centuries.
According to the Hadith traditions:
Narrated
Amr Bin Maimun: - During the Pre-Islamic period of ignorance I saw a she-monkey
surrounded by a number of monkeys. They were stoning it, because it had
committed illegal sexual intercourse. I too, stoned it along with them. (Sahih
al-Bukhari, Volume 5, Book 58, Number 188) [47]
There
is no Islam, no Prophet (swa), in this hadis. A natural question is - how did
the sahabi know about the crime? Did he talk to the monkeys? Was he gifted
enough with the ability of talking to animals after Hazrat Solaiman (as)? Where
was the he-monkey? Did it ran away, because after adultery whenever there is a
possibility of punishment, running away with lightning speed is an eternal male
culture. Then, what should we understand by adultery of animals, birds, fish,
etc.? (Source: About Sahi-Bokhari) [48]
Arab racism
According to the literal Arabic translation of Sura 3:106,
107, on Judgment Day, only people with white faces will be saved. People with
black faces will be damned. [49]
Rev
7:9-10 After this I looked and there before me was a great multitude that no
one could count, from every nation, tribe, people and language, standing before
the throne and in front of the Lamb. They were wearing white robes and were
holding palm branches in their hands. And they cried out in a loud voice:
“Salvation belongs to our God, who sits on the throne, and to the Lamb.”
1) As
a child, Jesus was sheltered in Africa (
2) His
cross was carried by an African, Simon of Cyrene (in
3) One
of the first converts to Christianity was from
4) Many
of the early Church fathers were from
Some more errors
Mariam
the mother of ‘Isa (Jesus) is called a sister of Aaron, and also the daughter
of Aaron’s father ‘Imran (Hebr. Amram). Clearly Muhammad has confused Mary
(Miriam in Hebrew) with Miriam of the Exodus. The two lived more than a
thousand years apart! [50]
In
the Bible Haman is the minister of Ahasuerus in Media and
The
Quran has a Samaritan making the golden calf, which was worshipped by the
Israelites in the wilderness (Ta Ha 20:85) during the Exodus. In fact it was
Aaron (Exodus 34:1-6). The Samaritans did not exist until several centuries
later. They were descendants of the northern Israelites centuries after the
Exodus. [52]
Jesus’
alleged foretelling of Muhammad’s coming (As-Saff 61:6) is based on a garbled
reading of John 14:26, a passage which in fact refers to the Holy Spirit
(Paraclete). [53]
o John 14:26 But the Counselor, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, will teach you all things and will remind you of everything I have said to you.
The moon god, Allah
As has been pointed out by many scholars such as Alfred Guilluame, the moon god was called by various names, one of which was Allah! [54] Historically, Allah was a pagan god -one of about 360 gods worshipped by the pre-Islamic Arab world. Muhammad's biographers simply promoted a pagan god to preeminence by declaring Allah to be the one true god.
The religion of Islam has as its focus of worship a deity by the name of ‘Allah.’ The Muslims claim that Allah in pre-Islamic times was the biblical God of the Patriarchs, prophets, and apostles. In fact, he was the Moon-god who was married to the sun goddess and the stars were his daughters. [55] Together they produced three goddesses who were called “the daughters of Allah.” These three goddesses were called Al-Lat, Al-Uzza, and Manat. The daughters of Allah, along with Allah and the sun goddess were viewed as ‘high’ gods. That is, they were viewed as being at the top of the pantheon of Arabian deities. Along with Allah, however, they worshipped a host of lesser gods and “daughters of Al-lah” (Encyclopedia of World Mythology and Legend, I:61). [56]
Archeological evidence demonstrates that the dominant
religion of
The Crescent Moon Symbol
The symbol of the worship of the moon god in Arabian culture
and elsewhere throughout the
The Arabs worshipped the
Moon-god as a supreme deity. But this was not biblical monotheism. While the
Moon-god was greater than all other gods and goddesses, this was still a
polytheistic pantheon of deities. Now that we have the actual idols of the
Moon-god, it is no longer possible to avoid the fact that Allah was a pagan god
in pre-Islamic times. Is it any wonder then that the symbol of Islam is the
crescent moon? That a crescent moon sits on top of their mosques and minarets?
That a crescent moon is found on the flags of Islamic nations? That the Muslims
fast during the month which begins and ends with the appearance of the crescent
moon in the sky? [60]
The use of the crescent moon as the symbol for Islam which is placed on the top
of mosques and minarets is a throwback to the days when Allah was worshiped as
the moon god in
The Gods of the Quraysh
The Quraysh tribe into which Muhammad was born was
particularly devoted to Allah, the moon god, and especially to Allah's 3
daughters who were viewed as intercessors between the people and Allah. [62]
The literal Arabic name of Muhammad's father was Abd-Allah. His uncle's name
was Obied-Allah. These names reveal the personal devotion that Muhammad's pagan
family had to the worship of Allah, the moon god. [63]
The worship of the 3 goddesses, Al-Lat, Al-Uzza, and Manat, played a
significant role in the worship at the Kaaba in
The Black Stone in the
Kaaba
The Kaaba is a large cuboidal building located inside the mosque
known as al-Masjid al-Haram in
Praying Toward Mecca
An Allah idol was set up at the Kaaba along with all the
other idols. The pagans prayed toward
The Muslim Jesus – no cross
Isa (Jesus) did not die on a cross & hence no resurrection.
Christians
and Jews have corrupted their scriptures. (Âl 'Imran 3:74-77, 113) Although
Christians believe ‘Isa died on a cross, and Jews claim they killed him, in
reality he was not killed or crucified, and those who said he was crucified
lied (An-Nisa’ 4:157). ‘Isa did not die, but ascended to Allah. (An-Nisa’
4:158) On the day of Resurrection ‘Isa himself will be a witness against Jews
and Christians for believing in his death. (An-Nisa’ 4:159) [71]
The claim that Jesus was not executed by crucifixion is without any historical support. All the early 1st century sources agree on Jesus’ crucifixion & resurrection.
Muhammad claimed he received his revelations from Gabriel.
Paul
writes, “But even if we or an angel from heaven should preach a gospel other
than the one we preached to you, let him be eternally condemned!” (Gal 1:8)
1
Cor 1:18-24 For the message of the cross is foolishness to those who are
perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God…but we preach
Christ crucified: a stumbling block to Jews and foolishness to Gentiles, but to
those whom God has called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ the power of God and
the wisdom of God.
On the resurrection Paul writes:
“And
if Christ has not been raised, our preaching is useless and so is your faith.”
(1 Cor 15:14)
The Muslim Jesus – not God’s Son
Christians are commanded not to believe that ‘Isa is the son of God: ‘It is far removed from his transcendent majesty that he should have a son’. (An-Nisa’ 4:171; Al-Furqan 25:2) ‘Isa was simply a created human being, and a slave of Allah. (An-Nisa’ 4:172; Âl 'Imran 3:59) Christians are claimed by the Quran to believe in a family of gods — Father God, mother Mary and ‘Isa the son — but ‘Isa rejected this teaching. (Al-Ma’idah 5:116) The doctrine of the Trinity is disbelief and a painful doom awaits those who believe it. (Al-Ma’idah 5:73) [72] The claim that Christians believe in three Gods — Father, son Jesus and mother Mary — is obviously a mistaken notion.
The Bible says of Jesus, “who through the Spirit of holiness was declared with power to be the Son of God by his resurrection from the dead: Jesus Christ our Lord.” (Romans 1:4)
In the end times as described by Muhammad, ‘Isa becomes a warrior who will return with his sword and lance. He will destroy the Christian religion and make Islam the only religion in all the world. Finally at the last judgement he will condemn Christians to hell for believing in the crucifixion and the incarnation. [73]
The Quran & Bible on treatment of women
|
Muhammad |
Paul |
|
Men are superior to women. (Sura 2:228) |
Galatians
3:28 There is neither Jew nor Greek, slave nor free, male nor female, for you
are all one in Christ Jesus. |
|
Men are managers of the affairs of women because Allah has made the one superior to the other. (Sura 4:34) |
|
|
Get two men as witnesses or a man and two women. (Sura 2:282) |
|
|
Your wives are like a field. Plow them as often and anyway you wish. (Sura 2:223) |
Eph 5:25
Husbands, love your wives, just as Christ loved the church and gave himself
up for her |
|
Husband, discipline your rebellious wives, beat them and deny them sex. (Sura 4:34) |
|
|
Muhammad |
Jesus |
|
Narrated Usama: The Prophet said, “I stood at the gate of |
John
8:3-11 The teachers of the law and the Pharisees brought in a woman caught in
adultery. They … said to Jesus, “Teacher, this woman was caught in the act of
adultery. In the Law Moses commanded us to stone such women. Now what do you
say?” … When they kept on questioning him, he straightened up and said to
them, “If any one of you is without sin, let him be the first to throw a
stone at her.” |
Since polygamy was practiced in the Old Testament by such patriarchs as Abraham, the mere fact that Muhammad had more than one wife is not sufficient in and of itself to discount his claim to prophethood.
Although in the Quran he would limit his followers to having 4 wives, he himself took more than 4 wives and concubines. [74]
Marry
women you wish two or three or four. (Sura 4:3)
The question of the number of women with whom Muhammad was sexually involved either as wives, concubines or devotees was made a point of contention by the Jews in Muhammad's day. Ali Dashti comments: “All the commentaries agree that verse 57 of Sura 4 (on-Nesa) was sent down after the Jews criticized Muhammad's appetite for women, alleging that he had nothing to do except to take wives” (Ali Dashti, 23 Years, pp. 120-138). [75]
Muslim scholar and statesman Ali Dashti gives the following list of the women in Muhammad’s life: [76]
1) Khadija
2) Sawda
3) Aesha
4) Omm Salama
5) Halsa
6) Zaynab (of Jahsh)
7) Jowayriyi
8) Omm Habiba
9) Safiya
10) Maymuna (of Hareth)
11) Fatema
12) Hend
13) Asma (of
14) Zaynab (of Khozayma)
15) Habla
16) Asma (of Noman)
17) Mary (the Christian)
18) Rayhana
19) Omm Sharik
20) Maymuna
21) Zaynab (a third one)
22) Khawla
Several observations need to be given about the list.
The
first 16 women were wives. Numbers 17 and 18 were slaves or concubines. [77]
The
last 4 women were neither wives nor slaves but devout Muslim women who ‘gave’
themselves to satisfy Muhammad's sexual desires. [78]
Zaynab
of Jahsh was originally Muhammad's adopted son Zaid's wife. The fact that
Muhammad took her for himself has been problematic to many people, Muslims
included. [79]
Mary,
the Coptic Christian, refused to marry Muhammad because she would not renounce
Christianity and embrace Islam. She bravely chose to remain a slave rather than
convert. [80]
The
Hadith collections of Bukhari (d. 870) and Muslim b. al-Hajjaj (d. 875) are in
general regarded as the most authentic by Sunni Muslims. Both quote Aisha
herself claiming she was six or seven at the time of her marriage and nine when
the marriage was consummated.
o Sahih Bukhari Volume 7, Book 62, Number 88 “Narrated Urwa: The Prophet wrote the (marriage contract) with Aisha while she was six years old and consummated his marriage with her while she was nine years old and she remained with him for nine years (i.e. till his death).”
o In other words Aisha was only 9 years old when Muhammad took her to his bed. According to Hadith, she was still playing with her dolls. [81]
o Muhammad was over 50 years old at the time.
A carnal heaven
The Quran promises a heaven full of wine and free sex (Suras
2:25; 4:57; 11:23; 47:15). If drunkenness and gross immorality is sinful on
earth, how is it right in
Islam – religion of
‘Peace’?
Treatment of infidels
During the year 628 AD eight men from the clan of Uraynah,
came to
Contrast this with Jesus:
Luke
9:51-55 As the time approached for him to be taken up to heaven, Jesus
resolutely set out for
But Jesus turned and rebuked them. And he said, “You do not know what kind of
spirit you are of, for the Son of Man did not come to destroy men’s lives, but
to save them.”
Muhammad is also criticised for the massacre of Banu
Qurayza, a Jewish tribe of
There have been several incidents recorded in Islamic histories and Hadith that have served as the basis for criticisms of Muhammad’s alleged cruel and unforgiving behavior in war.
Another controversial story is that of an attack on a Jewish settlement called Khaybar. After its last fort was taken by Muhammad and his men, the chief of the Jews, called Kinana ibn al-Rabi, was asked by Muhammad to reveal the location of some hidden treasure. When he refused, Muhammad ordered a man to torture Kinana, and the man “kindled a fire with flint and steel on his chest until he was nearly dead.” Kinana was then beheaded, and Muhammad took his young wife Safiyya bint Huyayy. [86]
America and Israel
In the Jerusalem Post of 1 May 2007 Sheik Ahmad Bahr, acting
Speaker of the Palestinian Legislative Council, declared during a Friday sermon
at a
Allah
willing, “you will be victorious,” while
Recent Jihad-inspired decapitations of infidels by Muslims have occurred across the globe- Christians in Indonesia, the Philippines, and Nigeria; Hindu priests and “unveiled” Hindu women in Kashmir; Wall Street Journal reporter, and Jew, Daniel Pearl. We should not be surprised that these contemporary paroxysms of Jihad violence are accompanied by ritualized beheadings. Such gruesome acts are in fact sanctioned by core Islamic sacred texts, and classical Muslim jurisprudence. [87]
The Quran & Bible on treatment of infidels
|
Muhammad |
Jesus |
|
Kill the infidels (non-Muslims) wherever you find them. (Sura 9:5) |
Matt 5:44
But I tell you: Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you. |
|
Fight the people of the Book (Jews and Christians) … (Sura 9:29) |
“You have
heard that it was said, ‘Eye for eye, and tooth for tooth.’ But I tell you, Do not resist an evil
person. If someone strikes you on the right cheek, turn to him the other
also. (Matthew 5:38-39) |
|
The Hadith itself states: "The Day of Resurrection will not arrive until the Muslims make war against the Jews and kill them, and until a Jew hiding behind a rock and tree, and the rock and tree will say: 'Oh Muslim, Oh servant of Allah, there is a Jew behind me, come and kill him!'“ - Sheikh Muhammed Abd al Hadi La'afi |
|
|
Do not befriend Jews and Christians. (Sura 5:51) |
Matt
9:11-13 When the Pharisees saw this, they asked his disciples, “Why does your
teacher eat with tax collectors and ‘sinners’?” |
|
|
Matt
5:46-47 If you love those who love you, what reward will you get? Are not
even the tax collectors doing that? And if you greet only your brothers, what
are you doing more than others? Do not even pagans do that? |
|
Islam |
Christianity |
|
Fight the people of the Book (Jews and Christians) and extort money from them. (Sura 9:29) |
Lk 3:14
“Don’t extort money and don’t accuse people falsely—be content with your
pay.” |
|
|
Heb 13:5
Keep your lives free from the love of money and be content with what you have |
Muhammad says ‘War’,
Jesus says ‘Peace’
When we turn and look at the life of Muhammad we find that he clearly killed and robbed people in the name of Allah according to the Quran. He taught his disciples by example, command, and precept that they could and should kill and rob in Allah's name and force people to submit to Islam. [88] In the 1990's Sudan in north-east Africa has been suffering a Muslim jihad-war, whereby thousands of Christians and unbelievers have died, many by crucifixion, or have suffered by having their hands and feet on alternate sides cut off. Is it only coincidental that we find in the Quran the sanction for this very practice? [89]
“The
only reward of those who make war upon Allah and his Messenger and strive after
corruption in the land will be that they will be killed or crucified, or have
their hands and feet on alternate sides cut off...” (Sura 5:33)
Jesus said:
“Blessed
are the peacemakers, for they will be called sons of God.” (Matt 5:9)
Treatment of converts to other religions
If
anyone chooses a religion other than Islam, it will never be accepted. (Sura
3:85)
Kill
whoever changes his religion [from Islam]. (Sura 9:57)
Muslims
should not punish a Muslim if he kills a non-Muslim. (Hadith 9:50)
Sharia law
Punishment for crimes according to Islamic (Sharia) Law:
Stealing:
Cutting off a hand and foot (Sura 5:38)
Adultery:
Whipping one hundred lashes (Sura 24:2)
Drinking:
Whipping forty lashes (Hadith 8:770)
Cursing
Islam: Cutting off a hand and foot on opposite sides, or crucifixion or death
(Sura 5:33)
Muhammad a sinner, Jesus sinless
Nowhere in the Quran is Muhammad said to be sinless. Instead, Allah tells Muhammad that he is no different than any other man. In Sura 18:110, and elsewhere, Muhammad is commanded by Allah: “Say, I am but a man like yourselves.” Those Muslims who claim that Muhammad was sinless have failed to note Sura 40:55, where Allah told Muhammad to repent of his sins! Muhammad Pickthal translates Sura 40:55 as saying: “Ask forgiveness of thy sin.” [90]
Hebrews 4:15 says of Jesus, “For we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but we have one who has been tempted in every way, just as we are—yet was without sin.”
Muhammad wealthy, Jesus poor
By looting caravans and Jewish settlements Muhammad amassed fabulous wealth for himself, his family, and his tribe. [91]
2
Cor 8:9 For you know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that though he was
rich, yet for your sakes he became poor, so that you through his poverty might
become rich.
Matt
8:20 Jesus replied, “Foxes have holes and birds of the air have nests, but the
Son of Man has no place to lay his head.”
Muhammad & Jesus on salvation
Muhammad utilized the Testament of Abraham to teach that a scale or balance will be used on the day of judgment to weigh good and bad deeds in order to determine whether one goes to heaven or hell (Suras 42:17; 101:6-9). [92]
Paul writes:
“For
it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this not from yourselves,
it is the gift of God— not by works, so that no one can boast. (Eph 2:8-9)
Jesus said:
“I
tell you the truth, no one can see the
“For
God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes
in him shall not perish but have eternal life … Whoever believes in him is not
condemned, but whoever does not believe stands condemned already because he has
not believed in the name of God’s one and only Son. (John 3:16,18)
Muhammad is dead, Jesus
is alive
In 632 AD Muhammad fell ill and suffered for several days
with head pain and weakness. He succumbed on Monday, June 8, 632 AD, in the
city of
Luke
24:1-6 On the first day of the week, very early in the morning, the women took
the spices they had prepared and went to the tomb. They found the stone rolled
away from the tomb, but when they entered, they did not find the body of the
Lord Jesus. While they were wondering about this, suddenly two men in clothes
that gleamed like lightning stood beside them. In their fright the women bowed
down with their faces to the ground, but the men said to them, “Why do you look
for the living among the dead? He is not here; he has risen!
Summary
While being monotheistic, Islam’s Allah is not the same as Judaism and Christianity’s Yahweh. Allah was an elevation in the status of the traditional moon god. Islam’s Jesus is not the same as Christianity’s Jesus. He was not God’s Son, was never resurrected and was just a prophet in the same fashion as Moses and Abraham.
The Bible teaches that Jesus is superior not only to the prophets but also to the angels because he is the “Son of God”:
Heb
1:1-4 In the past God spoke to our
forefathers through the prophets at
many times and in various ways, but in
these last days he has spoken to us by his Son, whom he appointed heir of
all things, and through whom he made the universe. The Son is the radiance of God’s glory and the exact representation of
his being, sustaining all things by his powerful word. After he had
provided purification for sins, he sat down at the right hand of the Majesty in
heaven. So he became as much superior to
the angels as the name he has inherited is superior to theirs.