The Bible and Christianity (an Islamic View)

The Spread of Islam

A Christian couple came to see me. The wife was not wearing Hijaab. As soon as I came to know that both of them were Christians and had come to discuss about Islam, I said to the wife to put on Hijaab in order to enable me to talk to her. The woman was annoyed over my suggestion.

We have previously faced such situations too. So, I said to her, “This is my belief and you know that one’s belief is respected everywhere in the world.” She replied in affirmative and covered her hair, and said, “Actually, we are from Scotland, but have lived in London where we attended a few public addresses of Muslims at Hyde Park. We heard there that Islam had 500 million followers. This was very much surprising for us.” To make them more surprised, I said to them that in fact Islam has more than 800 million followers.41

“Why do you wonder?” I asked them. One of them said, and the couple used to respond alternately “Because Islam is a religion of savagery and a lot of absurdities, and it has passed its sell by date. So it is surprising as to how 800 million persons follow such a religion.” I said, “This attribute is not applicable to Islam. Who told you that Islam is such a religion as you have said? Have you studied Islamic books? Or are you just reflecting the biased views against Islam?” One of them said, “We have not yet discussed this issue with Muslims. We have not even yet attended any Muslims' religious gatherings anywhere. This is our first trip to visit Iraq and a few other Arab countries. We have not yet studied any Islamic book either. We know nothing more than what we used to hear from our elders or fathers of our churches. We do not think they would lie to us, we put much faith in our clergymen and do not hesitate to admit that we respect them and rely on whatever they say.”

I asked, “Have your Christian priests ever said why Islam was a religion of savagery? Why Islam ceases to be valid in this age? And which aspect of Islam is ridiculous?”

The husband said, “Yes, I heard so from them. The reason Islam is a religion of savagery is that it was spread by sword. To achieve success by force is an act of savage animals and not of human beings who should 41 This figure refers to the population of the 1950’s. Today’s consensus is closer to two billion.

achieve success by virtue of reason and good manners. The reason that Islam is not applicable in our age any more is because of its holy book, the Qur’an that has favoured horse and donkey but prohibited wine and music. Such statements might have been acceptable in the past but not in the current age of industrial and scientific progress. Therefore, this religion has no place in this age. The ridiculous things in Islam are those such as polygamy.”

I said; “Were these your only criticisms against Islam?” He said, “For the time being I say this much only. “ I said, “I could point you to truly objectionable aspects that exist in Christianity, but I shall confine myself just to remove the doubts that you expressed about Islam.” He said, “On the contrary, if there is any criticism against Christianity, I am ready to welcome it with my open mind.” I preferred to remove his doubts about Islam, and he first wanted to know the reply to the criticism that Islam was spread by sword. I said, “The religion of Islam was spread and expanded because of its good moral manners, and ethical teachings.

Allah says in the Holy Qur’an about the example character of the Holy Prophet Muhammad (may Allah’s blessings be upon him and his progeny), {You have the finest manners.}42 When Islam resorted to using sword, it was just to defend itself, not to gain wider acceptance. That is why the Holy Qur’an says, {Those who are suppressed are allowed to fight against their oppressors and Allah is powerful enough to help them.}43 and {Whoso aggresses over you, you too face them with the same force.}44 I went on to say, “When Islam was first proclaimed, a small group of people accepted and believed in it. The infidels condemned that group, killing some of them, while some others were forced to take refuge in Abyssinia (Ethiopia). However as the pressure of infidels continued to increase over the Muslims, they migrated from their homeland (Mecca) to Medina. The polytheists also imposed economic sanctions against the Muslims. The Muslims did likewise to confronting their caravan passing through the Medina area en route from Damascus to Mecca, and as a result a battle ensued, which ended in favour of the Muslims. After that battle, the infidels equipped themselves with sufficient fighting material so as to crush Muslims and eliminate Islam. Muslims defended themselves till Islam emerged victorious and the infidels were defeated. This fact is 42 The Holy Qur’an, the Pen (68): 5

43 The Holy Qur’an, the Pilgrimage (22): 39

44 The Holy Qur’an, the Heifer (2): 194

supported and documented in authentic books of history. Do you presume that self-defence is tantamount to spreading by sword or inviting at sword’s point?”

He said, “If it is so, I withdraw my words.” For his benefit he was referred to a number of relevant books on this subject, with the help of interpreters. He then asked, “How do you treat the word of our fathers of the churches? Do all of them tell lies?” I said, “With all my respect for them, whosoever accuses Islam in terms of its spread by sword is either ignorant or obstinate; otherwise, history is there (to rebut such falsehood).”

He said, “What do you have to say about the applicability of Islamic teachings today?” I said, “This is what Islam teaches us: • That there is a god who is Just, All-Knowing, Powerful, and Able. He sent prophets for the guidance of human beings. The prophets too had their appointed successors (to maintain the guidance). All human beings will return to Allah to have their' reward to their deeds (in this world). The good-doers' shall enter Paradise and the evildoers into Hell.

• Islam makes it an obligatory duty to worship Allah, and to deal fairly and kindly with people. Allah has ordained for us the rules for marriage, divorce, inheritance and all the needs of human beings from birth to death.

• To maintain the obligation of truthfulness and honesty, trustworthiness, loyalty and modesty, and to refrain from telling lies, exercising dishonesty, crime and cruelty.” Then I asked, “Do you presume that the age of these values has ended?” He replied in negative.

I said, “But as for the horse and the donkey you referred to, do you think that these are bad things? If Islam admires useful things, is it a sin? He replied in negative. Don’t you know that nowadays the world feels pride to defend the horse and other animals? Is it not so that man meets many of his requirements from horse? Even in this advanced age, a great number of people make use of donkeys for carrying household effects and other loads.” When he confirmed my answer, I added, “On the very same basis, if horse and donkey are admired in Islam, it does not prove that Islam has passed its sell by date.”

The Christian man next asked for my opinion on the prohibition of wine and music in Islam. I said, “It has now been proved medically and psychologically that both wine and music are harmful to man and cause psychological and physical diseases. So, as prevention against such diseases, Islam has prohibited both of them. Do you know that prevention is better than cure?” He agreed again and added, “I have studied about them being harmful in a few journals.”

“Now kindly let me know as to why polygamy has been allowed in Islam.” I asked them “Amongst your relatives, how many unmarried women do you know of?” They laughed and said, “Why do you want to marry them?” I politely replied “No, but I want to explain a point” They said “seventeen.” I said, “Why these helpless women are still unmarried?” And added, “It is quite wise on Islam’s part, and in the best interest of both man and woman, that it has allowed polygamy (a man can marry up to four women).

This is to protect the women’s right to marriage, so that they would not remain unmarried for all of their adult lives.45 It is also a consideration of those men who are able to manage more than one family. If a man is able to manage four families and there are four women who are willing to marry him, why should he be stopped from doing so? If by law he is to marry only one of them, then not only his ability and skill have been repressed, but in the process the other women are denied the opportunity to marry him and raise their families. Do you think that Islam should not take into account the abilities of such men and the need of those women, and ensure that they are not repressed or denied their right? Moreover Islam has declared polygamy permissible and it has not termed it compulsory. You also might have observed that most of Muslims are content with one wife only.”

Both of them said that they had never come across such a crystal clear and eloquent explanation so far. I said, “The only reason is that you have never contacted Islamic scholars before to discuss such problems, otherwise, almost all of them are ready to clarify such ambiguities and solve such religious problems.” Then they asked, “What advantage will we have if we embrace Islam?” I said, “When someone embraces Islam, he is bestowed 45 The need for polygamy becomes particularly acute in the event of war, when men are most likely to be killed than women and therefore in a society the number of women exceeds that of men. In the aftermath of war and such circumstances, war widows, if they wish, would be able to marry married men. In this way society would not be left with a surplus of woman unable to marry unmarried men, due to their scarcity.

upon with the goodness of both worlds because Islamic programmes are to augment the prosperity of mankind. If the Islamic programmes are followed, it will cause man to win Allah’s pleasure, and will be made to enter Paradise in the next world.”

Our discussion went on for some time. At last, the Christian woman embraced Islam but the Christian man was hesitant to embrace Islam. Then I said to him, “Since your wife has embraced Islam, why do you hesitate?” He remained silent. I further elaborated Islam to him. At last he said, “I shall think about it.” But I explained to him that when the truth becomes clear to someone, there remains no justification to think it over again. He said, “In submission to your convincing arguments, should I abandon my religion?” I said, “No, this is not the case. You shall augment your faith in the Prophet Jesus Christ (upon whom be peace) with addition of your Islamic faith because the truth of Islam has become clear to you.” His wife having embraced Islam encouraged him also. With the grace of Allah the Almighty, he too embraced Islam. Thereafter, I advised them to contact Islamic scholars for obtaining more information about Islam when they return to London. Trinity

One day, an Italian Christian tourist came to me, but he seemed to be in a bitter mood, and visibly upset. He had asked one of the servants of the holy shrine of Imam Husayn (upon whom be peace) to take him to an Islamic scholar for enquiring about some issues. The servant brought him to my house only three hours before sunset. The tourist also spoke English, and I asked for one of my English-speaking companions to be the interpreter.

The tourist said, “I had heard about Muslims being savages but did not think they would be to such an extent.” I said, “Have you seen all Muslims?” He replied in negative. I said, “Therefore, do not say that all Muslims are savages. Perhaps some of them might be so.” He nodded, and I requested him to allow me to ask him some questions before he could ask me his questions. Then I asked him where he came from, what religion he followed and what was his level of education. He said that he had come from Italy; he was a Christian and a graduate from university.

When I requested him to ask his questions, he said, “Some Muslims in this city behave savagely.” I said, “What has happened?” He said, “I wanted to enter the mausoleum of Husayn, but they prevented me. When I asked for the reason, they said that I was unclean. Does this make any sense? Is it possible for a person of my age to be unclean?” I said, “Do not feel so uneasy. Who said so to you? Was that person a scholar or some ignorant person?” He said, “Surely he must have been an ignorant person.” I said, “Don’t you Christians have any ignorant people in Italy?” He said, “Yes.” I said, “So there remains no justification for your being so uneasy.” He said, “All right, then kindly ask them to let me enter the mausoleum [shrine] of Husayn.” I said, “I can not do this, because Imam Husayn, the owner of the shrine who is laid there does not allow you to enter his place.” He was surprised and asked for the reason. I said, “You belong to a religion the followers of which had been offensive to him, his grandfather and his companions.” He said, “Did Christians offend them?” I said, “Yes. Because Christians treated Prophet Muhammad – the grandfather of Imam Husayn – like a liar, and thus they did not believe in him as a prophet after Jesus Christ. If you prevent a person who offends you from entering your house, do you have a right to that or not?”

The Christian tourist lowered his head and was pondering over something. Then he took a sigh and said, “You have also done the same thing to me when that person called me unclean. After all, how can I enter that shrine?” I said, “The only way is to admit that Muhammad was a true prophet.” He said, “It is all right, but having no proof for his prophethood, how can I believe that Muhammad was a prophet?” I said, “Here we have come to a point to settle the issue with reason and argument. You are right. You want me to prove the prophethood of Muhammad.” Then I added, “Muhammad (may Allah’s blessings be upon him and his Progeny) is a prophet on the same basis on which Jesus Christ (upon whom be peace) was a prophet.”

The Christian tourist said, “The proof of the prophethood of Jesus is his being the son of God.” I said, “Do you really and sincerely believe that Jesus was the son of God? Has God indeed caused birth to Jesus like a man? You are a learned man. How do you say this?” He said, “I do not mean to say that Jesus was the son of God due to actual birth, but he is the son of God with a view to nobility and dignity. In other words, he has an attribution of God.” I said, “Good, now can you explain as to how Jesus obtained this nobility and attribution?” He said, “For the reason that Jesus was born without a father.” I said, “If this is the case, why don’t you treat Adam as the son of God since he was not only without a father but also without a mother.”

The Christian pondered over the matter for a while, then he gave his proof to prove the prophethood of Jesus, saying, “I mean to say that Jesus was a prophet on the basis that he was bestowed with miracles.” I said, “Muhammad had also been bestowed with miracles.” He said, “What are the miracles of Muhammad.” I said, “Allah split the moon in two.” He said, “Oh, it is a ridiculous story also narrated to me by one of my church fathers that Muhammadans believed that the moon had been cleft in two, came down and entered into Muhammad’s sleeve. Is it logical that the moon with its so much volume could enter into the sleeve of a person?” I said, “Firstly, I did not say that the moon entered into the sleeve of Muhammad. You have added this portion. Secondly, what can prevent Allah from cleaving the moon into two parts? And if we were to assume your claim of entering the sleeve, it could be that by the will of Allah a small fragment of the moon entered his sleeve, and then by the will of God the moon was returned back to its previous state. He said, “This is an ambiguous explanation. We should leave it. A logical mind does not accept it.”

Then to show him the irrational belief they hold, I asked him, “How is it that you can believe in an irrational claim but cannot admit to a reasonable one?” He said, “How have we admitted an irrational word?” I said, “Splitting of the moon, is plausible, but the statement of you Christians who believe in Trinity that there are three persons, yet at the same time, they are not three separate persons but one. Isn’t it an irrational claim? Is it possible that these three fingers,” pointing at my three fingers “are three and at the very same time are one as well?” He said, “This concept is like a triangle, which has three sides but is one triangle.” I said, “Do you mean that God is one but has three parts?” He said, “No.” I said, “Then what does the example of the triangle mean?”

Having thought over a little, he could not give a logical answer but gave the common answer given by the Trinitarians when they fail, “The priests and Christian scholars say that trinity is beyond reason.” I said, “It makes clear to both of us that your point (on this issue of Trinity) is not logical.” Here he was silent. Then I added, “On the very same basis, Muhammad has shown the miracle in splitting the moon just like Jesus had shown, other miracles.” He said, “How do you prove the miracle of your prophet?” I said, our Holy Book, the Qur’an says, {The hour drew near, and the moon did rend asunder.}46 Had this event been fabricated the world’s contemporary authorities at the time of the Holy Prophet would certainly have proved it wrong. The fact that this event (the splitting of the moon) was not denied by all those concerned proves that the miracle did actually happen.”

He said he did not believe in the Holy Qur’an. When I asked him for the reason, he said, “Because the Qur’an insults the Christians.” I said, “Which verse of the Qur’an abuses Christians?” He said, “Qur’an calls us Kaafirs, i.e. unbelievers.” I said, “Do you know the meaning of Kaafir?” He said, “Kaafir is an insulting term.” I said, “No. Whosoever does not believe in God or in the prophets of God, or in the Day of Judgment, is called an unbeliever, i.e. Kaafir. As Christians do not believe in Muhammad, they are called unbelievers and as such this is not an abusive term but the expression of a fact.” Then I added, “Accordingly, if the reason for Christians' disbelief in the Qur’an is its use of abusive language against them, then why do you believe in the Bible in spite of the fact that it uses abusive language in respect of Jesus Christ peace be upon him?” 46 The Holy Qur’an, the Moon (54): 1

He surprisingly said, “Does the Bible use abusive language for Jesus?” I replied in affirmative; and when he asked me to show him that part, I quoted Paul’s letter to Galatians 3:13 saying that Jesus is “being made a curse for us.” He said, “This is absolutely wrong. There is no such verse in the Bible!” I said, “Yes, it is certainly there.” Then I opened the Bible and showed him the relevant verse. The interpreter translated the same for him. Astonished by this verse he said, “I had never heard of this before.”

Then I said to him, “Do you want the Jews to believe in the New Testament?” He said, “Yes.” I said, “But Jews have a right to say, ‘We do not believe in a book which use abusive language against us’, because the Gospel of Matthew, chapter 3, verse 7, calls Jews the off springs of vipers. What shall be your reply to them? Now let us suppose that the Holy Qur’an uses abusive language against Christians, but it should also be kept in mind that if we realise that the Qur’an is justified and right, then we should mend our ways, not revolt against it and refrain from believing it. Because Prophet Muhammad is just like Prophet Jesus; just as you believe in Jesus, you must also believe in Muhammad.”

Thereafter, I explained in detail the high character of Prophet Muhammad, his splendid virtues, and deep and extensive knowledge, as well as his battles, which were for the sake of Allah and for the betterment of humanity. In the process he was so moved by the noble character of prophet Muhammad as well as his words and teachings, that drops of tears rolled down his face. He then said, “If I embrace Islam and the people question me why I did so, what should I say?”

I said, “You say, I have found Muhammad to be a prophet in the same manner as I found Jesus, Moses, and the others to be the true prophets of God, and consequently I embraced Islam.” He said, “Such argument does not convince people.” I said, “It is compulsory for a person to convince his conscience but not his people. Do you now feel convinced or not that Muhammad is a prophet?” He said, “Yes.” I said, “So you embrace Islam and do not have any concern about the people.” He remained silent. To give an example from his own country, I asked him, “Do you know that there is a Communist Party in Italy?” He said, “Yes, there is.” I said, “Do the Communists believe in Jesus?” He said, “No.” I said, “When you believed in Jesus, what did you say to the Communists? Were your replies convincing to them?” He said, “No.” I said, “Therefore, you don’t have any concern about the people (in the matter of religion). Do not fear from the people. Your efforts must be to please Allah first, and secondly, to satisfy your conscience.”

Thereafter, I encouraged him to embrace Islam. Eventually, with the grace of Allah the Almighty, he embraced Islam, and stated the three declarations of faith. Then I gave him a copy of the Holy Qur’an with an English translation and a few copies of the magazine “Fundamentals of Islam”, which was being published in English in Karbala. Then I directed a servant to lead him to a bathroom (as some of the Islamic jurisprudents – Faqih – deem it necessary) to perform the ceremonial Ghusl bath before entering the shrine of Imam Husayn.